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As East students walked into the building for the first time in over a year and a half, one thing was blatantly obvious: masks. The COVID-19 pandemic has been on everyone's mind. We are still trying to protect ourselves by wearing masks, but unlike last year's hybrid program, vaccines are now readily available for the virus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the Coronavirus vaccine available to children 12 and up on May 10, and recently fully approved it on August 23. Most public officials, health professionals, and scientists are urging people to become vaccinated. On September 9th, President Biden mandated all federal workers to get vaccinated and required companies with more than 100 employees to require vaccines or weekly Covid testing. Before the school year, Denver’s Mayor, Michael B. Hancock, issued a mandate for all city workers including administration and teachers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by Sept. 30th. This gives students the reassurance that the teachers are vaccinated, but both students and faculty have been left in the dark about the vaccination rates of the students. The Spotlight team conducted a survey the week of September 6th at East, and found that out of 245 students across all grades, 83% had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. The East student population closely resembles most of Denver's population. “Metro Denver ages 12+ has a vaccination total of 75% as of September 10st,” reports the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The survey, which was left anonymous to encourage honesty, asked three questions: Are you vaccinated? What grade are you in? What percent of the East student population do you think are vaccinated?” When we analyzed the data, we found that the majority of kids who were vaccinated thought that more than 75% of the East students were vaccinated. However, most of the unvaccinated students assumed only 30-40% were vaccinated. This trend was consistent throughout the data. The unvaccinated students were under the assumption that the majority of the population have not been vaccinated. Fortunately, vaccination is free and readily available at East’s own Denver Health school-based clinic. We talked to Paulette Littlejohn, the medical assistant, about how to get the vaccine. “Students can get the vaccine to COVID right here in the clinic … the easiest way is to walk into the clinic located at room 140 and schedule an appointment or call at (720)432-8378.” We also asked her about parental approval using the clinic, her response was, “Yes, if you are under 18 and would like to use the clinic, you will need to fill out the school based health consent, however if you are using the clinic just for the Covid vaccine the clinic can call your parents just for a verbal consent.” Ms. Littlejohn also commented that the covid vaccine is free. Ms. Littlejohn finally commented,“Please follow COVID guidelines when in the building by wearing your mask completely over your nose. If you have any more questions please come by the clinic.”

My advice to incoming freshmen, and honestly all years, is to join a club at East. I somehow have managed to make it to my second semester of senior year in high school and never have I participated in a club. Of course, COVID did take away a year or two of actually being able to join a club. However, it is essential to get a well-rounded high school experience. In college, clubs are used to make friends and expand interests, this is the same in high school. However, students don’t see the importance of being in a club. The first step is to go to a club fair. Luckily East hosts a large club fair every year. Over 20 clubs set up tables out on the E during lunch. They have big signs and sometimes hand out treats, like candy. This is where you can find a club that suits you best. Ask them all the questions you need to and get clarification on what joining the club entails. This is also one of the places where you can sign up for the club. Don’t worry, if you don’t want to rush your decision there are opportunities to sign up after the fair. The next step is to attend a meeting, at lunch depending on the club, the days will differ. This is a great opportunity for freshmen to make friends that share the same interests. Seniors realize that it's good to have friends to hang out with on the weekends and have friends that share the same educational interests as you. It's important to expand your range of social skills in an academic setting. Most clubs are based around common interests, and it's a good chance to learn more about your interests and get into deep conversations over specific topics. Even if you can’t find a club that interests you. East offers the opportunity to Juniors and Seniors to make a club. This expands the scope of clubs. Just this year someone made a jazz club, East also has a bee club. The point is, Clubs are important, and no matter what your interests are, East will have a club that is the perfect fit for you, and if it doesn't you can make one!

To say it’s been hotter than hell for most of this year would be a bit of an understatement. The city of Denver has had 31 days where the temperature is above 90 degrees, and the average daily temperature puts us, very uncomfortably, at the 5th hottest year on record. One doesn't need statistics to know this, sitting in any classroom on the second floor accomplishes that well enough, but they help these numbers feel more damning. The fact that a school day was cut short because of heat, while nice in the moment, is still a very concerning precedent to have set as a possibility. But the thing is, there are far more signs to be noticed even just around the school that oftentimes get overlooked out of convenience for the beholders peace of mind. The recycling bins at East High School are in almost every room, but do they even need to be? Every day students make a conscious effort to use them and make sure the items that need to be separated are, but due to understaffing at the school and throughout Denver Public Schools, oftentimes it doesn’t make a difference. This isn’t to say that either DPS or East are deliberately neglecting the importance of recycling, but rather, there’s just not that much that can be done. Issues like this are representative of the bigger problem at hand. It’s not an issue of effort on the part of the people involved, it really does just come down to a lack of resources. If anything, on the effort front, East is one of the best in the district, if not the state. This is partially thanks to Gabriel Nagel and the Sustainability Club; they’re working to get East to become the first school in all of DPS to be officially green certified. Their achievements over the past few years include implementing the use of compost in the cafeteria kitchen and planting 400 trees in the Boulder area after the fires that ravaged our state earlier this year, which is symbolic of the amount of paper East goes through in a whole school year. Another key component is Mr. Knauer, one of the AP environmental science and Marine biology teachers. Knauer is the main teacher sponsoring the sustainability club and has been teaching at East for eight years. Not only does he teach marine biology, but he was also a key factor in getting the class added to the curriculum in the first place. “Because we’re in a landlocked state, I feel like it’s important for the students to understand a lot of the oceanic issues and how they affect everyone on the planet, not just people by the coast.” Having taken his marine biology class, this is a vital point to understanding how big the issue at hand is. Every part of nature feeds into the rest of it. While it may be easy for us to not think about the ocean living here in Colorado, it is worth keeping in mind with the way that everyone disposes of waste. Knauer is a great example of doing simple actions in everyday life to cut down on carbon footprint, such as biking to work and the grocery store and setting aside days of the week to not eat meat. Having polled a random selection of East students, it was found that only 30% get to school in ways that don’t involve cars(walking, biking, public transport). Again no one can fault the students who have to use cars to get there, because that’s the problem, so many of them don’t have another option. Ultimately the biggest issue in all of this is a lack of ability to do these things that can cut down on carbon footprint. Just because people such as Knauer can afford to do these things to help doesn’t mean that everyone else can. Everyone comes from different environments, whether it be socioeconomic or where they physically reside, and not everyone can afford to make these changes to their lifestyle. What people should consider from this article is just being more aware of these things that make an impact on the environment, no matter how small or large they may be. Global warming and climate change are two issues that grow bleaker by the day and it’s easy to lose hope, but you have the ability to make a difference.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I’ve always wanted to be a good liar. I always fail at any attempt to get away with even the most minor white lie. Tragically, I am left with the only option: to be honest. Who doesn’t want to maneuver lies with ease and catch others with no moral conscience? With a quick Google search, one can find universally recognized indicators of a liar: ………the use of vague language, the repeating of basic questions, incomplete sentences, and frequent fidgeting. In all honesty, these indicators just make me feel like I need to stop being lazy when explaining a story and be less deaf. Regardless, there is more that goes into finessing a lie. To elaborate on such ideas, we interviewed East’s professional lie detector of kids, Erik Sinclair. East Dean Mr. Sinclair refused to reveal all his tricks in identifying a lying student, however, he illuminated specific dead giveaways of deceitfulness. He explained, body language capitalizes on a bad liar. For instance, avoidance of eye contact and overt fidgeting indicate a nervous and therefore lying student. Notably, if a person finds themselves lying, whipping out the Rubik's cube or slime in their backpack will be counterproductive in proving their case. In addition, long pauses are direct indicators of being mendacious. Therefore, having one’s story straight might just be the difference between receiving a Dean’s look of disappointment in contrast to receiving their wrath. Side note, there are cameras all over East. Meaning, before lying about stealing a friend's pop tart or licking the lockers, just know the deans check security daily. Notable advice, if a person is willing to make the journey and lie, MAKE IT A GOOD LIE. For instance, a person should not lie about smoking a joint, if they smell like they just smoked a joint (Mr. Sinclair has the nose of a bloodhound). Alike, someone should not lie about what floor they are supposed to be on when the color-coordinated hall pass in their hand indicates what floor they are supposed to be on. Awareness of these methods can save a student from the humiliating embarrassment of simply being a bad liar. While many perceive lying to be necessary for certain situations, lying is helpful only momentarily. According to Mr. Sinclair, “habitual lying will make your life worse” and I agree. While many East students try to avoid confrontation with deans, truthfulness and owning up to one’s mistakes actually define a better-liked person. Important to note when caught lying to another person, dishonesty threatens the trust and respect that live in a relationship. Therefore, being deceptive not only damages the liar’s own self-growth, but it disrespects the very essence of the individual being lied to. And once that trust is broken, that is a point very few people can and ought to recover from.

On May 3, 2022, for the first time in United States history, a leaked draft was sent into POLITICO, exposing the Supreme Court's intentions for restricting abortions. The draft that was recently leaked overturned Roe v. Wade that was first established in 1973. The Roe v. Wade lawsuit was originally provoked by Jane Roe, a 22-year-old unmarried, unemployed, and pregnant woman who sought to have an abortion in opposition of the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas. Roe sued Henry Wade, the district attorney, with the determination to legalize abortions for women. With a 7-2 majority vote in support of Roe v. Wade from the Supreme Court, the power of abortion rights was no longer in the hands of individual states. The recently leaked draft provided the public with information that threatens the futures of women in the United States. Justice Alito drafted the outline with the intention to give states back the ability to decide abortion laws themselves. Democratically aligned states have stipulated their prioritization for allowing abortion, while others have passed bills in anticipation of completely banning abortion. This draft is not an outright ban on abortion but a redistribution of power. According to Statista in 2021 47% of people were pro-life, 49% were pro-choice and the other 2% were neither. Considering these circumstances different perspectives on abortions come into play. A strong driving factor for the pro-life people is the Catholic church. Catholics believe that having abortions goes against their religion. When a pregnancy is terminated, a human's life is disrespected. Both religious and non-religious people must find a compromise that factors in individual beliefs without pressuring ideals onto each other. Should religion take part in a women’s right to choose? The separation of church and state is pertinent to an inclusive and democratic society. Currently, there is a 6 to 3 ratio of men to women in the Supreme Court, with men taking the majority. Men’s opinions are overpowering the women’s views, automatically conducing a pro-life, right-leaning political climate. Abortions are a human right that is more crucial for people with a female reproductive system. The Supreme Court majority does not have the experiences of the people's lives they are affecting. Economic disparity in the United States has always been prevalent and persistent; repealing Roe v. Wade would only offer a more extensive amount of financial setbacks. If a state decides to ban abortion, many wealthy individuals will be able to travel to a neighboring state to receive the procedure. Low-income women will find this option implausible and are more likely to give birth. Forbes states that the average cost of raising a child through the age of 17 is $233,610. These low-income women and families will only fall further into poverty simply because they could not afford airfare in the first place. Another factor is that Caucasian people in the United States only have a 10% poverty rate, whereas Native Americans, black and Hispanic ethnicities each have a poverty rate of 20% or higher. Redistributing the power of abortion to states will only create more economic and racial inequality. Students may have developed dismissive and passive attitudes toward abortion rights, especially if they believe pregnancy would never be a concern, or rather, their concern. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, for every 1,000 men, 10 start fatherhood as a teenager. This ratio is factored in after 28% of teen pregnancies are aborted. Whether it's motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood in general, banning abortion will increase the number of teen parents. Pregnancy affects all genders, not just the pregnant individual. The leaked draft is taking the direction toward states having the full autonomy of abortion rights, it becomes crucial in our progressive community to get out and vote. No matter what gender you identify as your voice is a key factor in the optimistic growth of our society. If you are a student eligible to vote at East be aware of the impact you can make in today's society.

The Park Hill Safe Outdoor Space, only 2.2 miles away from East High School, has minimized the gap between the homeless community and stable housing. Instead of viewing them as “outsiders,” people are now welcoming them to the community as neighbors; all deserving of kindness and breaking down the stigma. Colorado Village Collaborative (CVC) program manager Cuica Montoya actively works to provide a safe pathway between streets and stable housing. Montoya has recognized that homelessness has historically generated an abundance of stigma. “A misconception is that everybody’s a violent criminal or drug addict or has mental health issues,” Montoya details. “The biggest misconception is that it’s a moral failing of a person.” CVC is aiming to diminish those biases by encouraging healthy and safe support to anyone in need. From personal experience, Montoya admits she “experienced homelessness for three years after a series of unfortunate events.” She had previously maintained a career, house, and family life. Getting out of homelessness was a “full-time job” that required the utmost amount of motivation; expecting less or providing less to the community of homeless people is unethical because anyone can be in that position. “There's family breakups, domestic violence, and youth who experience homelessness due to coming out as LGBTQ.” A major obstacle to providing temporary housing and encampments is funding. In 2020, Denver passed a homelessness resolution called 2B, which dedicated a “25% sales tax for every 100 dollars spent in Denver” to the resolution of homelessness. This allows the CVC to provide resources such as doctors, nurses, and behavioral health technicians; as well as technology access, sourced by the Denver Public Libraries. A grant for phones has also been acquired for job hunting. Montoya has recently seen a resident move into an apartment and another to a treatment program. “They decided to tackle their challenges of substance abuse,” as a result of the CVC’s guidance and resources. CVC is actively voicing core values the public should hold: homelessness wasn't caused by homeless people — homelessness should be dignified, and financially struggling people have a right to the city. Residents of the affluent Park Hill area were initially “really pissed” about the new encampment. After six months of housing several dozen residents, “a huge group of people were in support,” Montoya continues “it was a complete shift of perspectives.”

"I wouldn’t eat it even if I was starving." Harsh statement: but is it fair? Growing up in Spain, I have heard many stories about American school lunches being very low quality. Not only do they hardly contain any vegetables or fruit, they mostly consist of junk food. Back in Spain, I never saw these kinds of things in my school lunches. I originally thought it was an imaginary problem and that it hardly ever existed. Until I came to the United States. One of the biggest cultural shocks I had was finding myself with the poor quality of the food that was served in the school. I never could have imagined that this was the type of food that students were being served. Denver Public Schools serves over 50,000 free lunches daily, which is incredible since there are many students who cannot afford lunch. The government itself offers free meals throughout the year for students who need them. Could the recent decrease in quality of the food be due to it being free? After asking some students who have been studying at East High school, they can confirm that the quality has not changed. According to the World Health Association, a healthy meal should contain 50% fruit and vegetables, 25% protein, and 25% fiber-rich carbohydrates. When we look at a school lunch in America, we find that they contain 5-10% fruit and vegetables, 60% carbohydrates, and 35% protein. Most products, even the fruit, are hyper-processed. Eating this food every day creates an unhealthy eating habit and has a negative effect in the long term. Nowadays in America, over 40% of adults and 18.5% of teenagers suffer from obesity. Not only does this affect them physically, but also mentally. This type of diet can be considered pro-inflammatory, which means that it contains a high quantity of carbohydrates and ultra-processed products. Consuming this type of food can produce mental and physical fatigue, as well as increase the risk of anxiety and depression. Over the past 10 years, there have been many studies about the relationship between diet and mental health. The results of the Dickson-led study were recently published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology under the title Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat. Confirms that diet significantly influences mental health and well-being. Such as the ability of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet to help children with conditions such as epilepsy or to offset the effect of vitamin B12 deficiency on fatigue, poor memory, or depression disorders. They also found strong evidence of the benefits that a Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables and olive oil, can have on mental health, such as providing some protection against depression and anxiety. I think that school lunches must follow a Mediterranean diet because it has proved to be the best and most healthy diet in the world. This is a big problem that the United States has been dragging on for many years. It has improved since the Michelle Obama school nutrition policy. But is not fully over. Food is a very important factor for proper mental and physical development. Students deserve to be treated with respect. In my opinion, when DPS offers these types of meals shows that they do not take us seriously and they don’t care about the students. The day this is changed we will notice a great change for the better in many aspects.