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Colorado weather is known for its snowy and cold climate during the winter. Recently, Colorado is undergoing a rapid and scary transformation. According to 350 Colorado, “...multiple independent measurements, Colorado temperatures have increased by approximately two degrees (F) between 1977 and 2006. According to the Colorado Health Institute, this increase ranks Colorado as the 20th fastest-warming state since 1970.” These altering conditions impact the weather of Colorado by damaging the water cycle, causing forest fires, “snow drought”, and more. These impacts are highlighted by the National Weather Service, NWS Boulder, that 2025 was the second warmest on record. In addition, CBS news reported that in 2025, Christmas day broke the record, recently set since 1939, for the warmest Christmas day in Denver reaching 70 °. According to NASA, climate change is happening because human activity damages the greenhouse gas concentration. There is an increase in greenhouse gases because of burning of fossil fuels. As stated by Understanding Global Change, human activity leads to, “... the burning of oil, natural gas, and coal to generate energy. We use this energy to generate electricity, and to power transportation (for example, cars and planes) and industrial processes.” First, sun rays pass through the atmosphere. The sun rays then get divided up into sections and directions. Some rays get reflected into space allowing Earth to cool. While other rays get trapped by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As a result, the increased carbon dioxide causes heat to be retained leading to increased temperatures. As stated by Colorado Water Conversion Board, “ With increasing temperatures come shifts in snowmelt runoff, water quality concerns, stressed ecosystems and transportation infrastructure, impacts to energy demands, and extreme weather events that can impact air quality and recreational opportunities.” According to CPR News, “Snow drought” indicates unusually low levels of snowpack, which can be driven by low snowfall during the winter, precipitation falling as rain instead of snow, or a lack of snow accumulation because of warm temperatures.” Colorado relies on snow packs since it makes up 70% of water supply. This leads to water quality concerns and drought.  This large change impacts the Colorado River, which provides water for approximately 40 million people, decreasing by 20%. Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, highlights, “This issue has been exacerbated by a two-decade-long drought, meaning that not only did we never have as much water as planned, but we now have even less. Reservoirs are at historic lows, and at the same time, demand is increasing due to higher temperatures and drier conditions. Everyone feels they are not getting what they were promised, creating tensions among stakeholders.” As for recreational opportunities, Colorado Climate Action, explains, “According to one 2020 federal study, Colorado’s and other Intermountain West economies that rely on outdoor recreation are in peril by the increasing frequency and intensity of droughts. A 2017 study found that ski seasons will become shorter across the U.S. as the climate warms, including in Colorado.” Consequently, climate change is harming Coloradans ability to have fun outdoors. Joshua Patterson, a senior at East High, expresses, “I think people in Colorado should be slightly concerned given how little snow we’ve gotten and how warm this winter has been. This weather feels extremely abnormal for Colorado and makes me question if the hot winter is preparing us for an abysmal summer.”  Colorado isn't the only place that climate change has taken an impact, this is a world struggle. European Union, mentions that climate change, “Polar ice shields are melting and the sea is rising. In some regions, extreme weather events and rainfall are becoming more common while others are experiencing more extreme heat waves and droughts.” This is an issue because the environment is being damaged.  Green Peace UK, emphasizes some ways to make climate change better are keeping fossil fuels in the ground and investing in renewable energy. Another solution is helping the Climate Action Network that tackles the climate change crisis. People can support by becoming a member, donating, and spreading awareness.

If you tuned in on the news last year you might've realized something an impressive amount of others have too; bad news, which seemed to dominate news stations and social media feeds. Despite what you might think, based on the biggest headlines, good things did indeed happen in 2025. Universe:  The Ozone layer is the protective layer within earth's stratosphere. A hole was found in this protective layer, in 1977, and reached its worst in 2006. In 2025, the hole in the ozone layer was the 5th smallest it's been since 1992–according to NASA and the NOAA. Even at its largest, for the year of 2025 the hole was 30% smaller than the largest hole ever observed.  World:  In 2025 the green sea turtle was re-classified as a species of least concern on the endangered species list. The green sea turtle has been endangered since 1978 due to their tendency to get captured in fishing nets as by-catch as well as over harvesting of their eggs.  Due to preservation efforts by the World Wildlife Fund, the Oceanic society and many other organizations that have a focus on environmentalism and wildlife conservation. USA: In 2025 there were a lot of mayoral “Firsts” including but not limited to Zohran Mamdani and Mary Sheffeild. Mamdani being elected as the first muslim mayor as well as the first south Asian mayor of New York City and Sheffeild being elected as the first female mayor of Detroit. Even if these aren't your top candidates I think that most people can agree that we struggle with diversity in politics in America, and more representation is a net positive.  Colorado :  Bans on semi-automatic rifles and shotguns In 2025 Colorado passed Senate Bill 25-003 which will put restrictions on the purchase of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns with detachable magazines. The bill also bans the use of rapid fire conversion devices. This bill will go into effect in 2026 and when it does there will be training required to purchase semi-automatic weapons. This is a huge step toward proper gun control and will reduce the fatalities caused by mass shootings. East:  Student activism and the Vestibule - Interview Abby Forsberg  East students have always had a strong voice that they aren't afraid to use.  In 2025 student activists such as East student counsel and Students Demand Action worked to make a change in the East community as well and the Denver community as a whole. From protesting the vestibule and getting over 2000 signatures on a petition to planning walkouts, the amazing student activists at East work hard to make their voices heard. In an interview Abby Forsberg gave this advice, “You cannot just sit there and watch stuff happen to you. Nothing is going to change if you just sit there and watch it happen.”

“We write about it every year,” Mr. Hudson says skeptically.  “And yet every year the issue is not resolved,” I reply defensively. The school newspaper’s advisor shakes his head. “You say you have senioritis in September.” “But that’s just stage one senioritis! It progresses. Right now, I have at least stage four.” “Life is better after high school.” “But we don’t know that because we’re not out  of high school yet.” “Hm… maybe you should listen to your elders.” “But we don’t do that either, because we’re seniors.” Mr. Hudson rolls his eyes. “But aren’t you just being lazy?” This is the unique paradox of a condition affecting many students graduating at East this spring. Senioritis is misunderstood and oversimplified. You think you have senioritis, underclassmen?  No. No, you don’t.  Senioritis is a condition that can be described as the following symptoms: chronic absenteeism; grades below an individual’s expected performance; severe addictions to doomscrolling, fast food chains, naps; and out-of-character bouts of apathy relating to assignments, test scores, and student-teacher relationships, all specifically arising during the 12th grade.   It is important to note that a senior suffering from this diagnosis likely does not desire to be exhibiting such symptoms. Furthermore, it may feel to them as if these ailments are beyond their control. Some things we do have control over: your most-used screen time app being Roblox is definitely something to improve, along with phone usage exploding to over 8 hours of the day, likely dedicated to doomscrolling. However, acknowledging what is out of our control is just as important to health and recovery. For example, all of the horrible drivers that terrorize the senior parking lot.  Mr. Luke Santo, a math teacher here at East and our only AP Statistics teacher, is all too familiar with the yearly wave of senioritis. Though he has been teaching senior students his entire teaching career, the past four years have included all-senior classes. He claims to “enjoy” teaching seniors.  On the front lines, Mr. Santo has identified the defining characteristic of senioritis as, “A recognition of what [seniors] should be doing, but a challenge to do it.” Other symptoms he has noticed in acute phases are not having class materials out 10-15 minutes into the period, and wandering zombie-like around the hallways.  “Honestly, I think number one is just bringing awareness to the problem, right? You can’t fix a problem you don’t know you have.” Mr. Santo compares it to his ADD. “I am really bad at certain tasks,” he said, “so I have what I call my spoon method. I hate putting away dishes. When I see I need to unload the dishwasher, I don't tell myself ‘I’m going to unload the dishwasher,’ I'll just tell myself, ‘I'm going to put one spoon away.’” Then he unloads the rest without much difficulty.  “Getting started is like half the battle. It's all about tricking yourself into starting and then riding that momentum.” I asked Santo if there is hope for a cure. How do we treat an annual, inevitable issue? His response, however, was very optimistic. “This is like a common cold, it has a pretty defined length of time. It doesn’t last forever, because in about a year you guys will all go off to college and you’ll be responsible for all parts of your life…for the most part.” He references the saying that prevention itself is worth a pound of cure. “If you can ride your old habits, because most seniors have built really good habits, a lot of times the senioritis is just a little tickle at the back of your throat by the end of the year rather than a raging flu.” That means going to (most) of your classes, doing at least a little homework every night, following half your teacher’s classroom expectations, and remembering how to study! Senioritis isn’t fake or permanent. It is something worth careful attention and the support of the people in your life. You are not just being lazy, seniors. Past stage three senioritis, you deserve a doctor’s note.  Two valiant seniors attempting to catch a squirrel after Senior Sunrise. Photo: Reese Worrell

East Angels Alumni Network Last April, the graduating seniors posted outside on East High School's “E”, cans of silly-string in hand, waiting patiently for the unsuspecting underclassman and Juniors to go to lunch. This simple prank was washed away by the end of lunch unlike the “mess of dummies covered in [animal] organ meats”, courtesy of the Class of 1984.  The famous senior prank in 1984 featured a fake plane crash, with the propellers, wings, and fuselage of a small plane broken into pieces, and two fake bodies with “organ meats” spilling out, all over the esplanade. Last year's prank played it on the safer side, but along with the silly string, seniors also brought in their pets. One senior, Ali Garcia, brought in her pet gerbil, another, Juliet Canon brought in her pet duck.  The “senior prank” has been around for decades and students have gotten as creative as staging a plane crash to simply “sleeping” in the foyer. These pranks are a fairly controversial tradition because of the thin line that mischievous seniors walk between an impractical joke, and an expensive disaster. The “slumber party” prank occurred in the spring of 2024 during graduate Kai Luna’s senior year. Kai reminisces on his class's prank, explaining different ideas that they had come up with. One idea was to plant red and white flowers at South High School, East's rival school, but they were unable to execute this plan which disappointed Kai, “We were just too lazy”, he explains. Similarly to Kai, many seniors find a lack of collaboration on a senior prank to be one of their bigger regrets. In 1981, the vice president of the senior class, Katie Hite expressed her remorse in an interview with The Spotlight where she said, “I wish our class would have gotten together to plan a better senior prank,” and next year's seniors should learn from this mistake and “enjoy” their senior year.  The 1980’s was a decade of pranks, along with the plane crash, the 80’s also saw for-sale signs on the esplanade, hundreds of library books strewn around the school, synchronized alarm clocks locked in lockers going off in the middle of the day, and more. It is widely debated whether or not these pranks should be continued, because oftentimes they can be very destructive and get people into trouble if they are too presumptuous. In the library prank of 1982, the school faced costly damages and many staff members were not happy about it.  Ed Calloway, a staff member at East at the time, said, “The schools are short of money anyhow- it's even worse when money that could have been used for books has to be used to repair the damage caused by these pranks.” Staff and administrators take these pranks in all sorts of ways. Some laugh about it and think that it's just silly high schoolers, but others have to deal with the repercussions of thousands stepped on, ripped up, or missing books. After consuming television shows and movies about the high school experience, lots of kids go into it and are disappointed to find that school spirit is not as perfect as it is in Bring It On . Not every type of person gets invited to the party like in Dazed and Confused , and people actually think you're a weirdo if your whole friend group wears pink every Wednesday ( Mean Girls) . With grades, social life, and the start of a new future looming in the back of students minds, the senior prank is a last hurrah. It’s questionable if past pranks were too much, or were handled poorly, but the senior prank can be one of the best high school traditions. It’s the last time that high schoolers can silly-string a bunch of random freshmen and bring their pets to school, and have a chance to do something immature and fun as kids before stepping into the real world. With spring approaching, the crucial part of senior year is coming up. Start brainstorming now so that we don’t flop like the past few years and we can make an epic impact on East High School. Have fun, but, don’t be dumb East Seniors!

OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, has faced over five wrongful death lawsuits this year due to multiple suicides that have been encouraged or even assisted by their program ChatGPT. With victims ranging from age 16 to 48, the lawsuits assert safeguards the company claims they put in place failed to protect its users. This isn’t a new problem; cases of suicides linked to AI chatbots reach back to 2023 according to a Euro News article. One lawsuit was filed by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who sadly ended his life after using ChatGPT to get therapeutic advice. Adam started using the program to explore interests and college plans. He was very aspirational at first planning to go to medical school to become a psychiatrist. The friendly and supportive nature of ChatGPT pulled Adam in and after a few months the program became his “closest confidant” according to the lawsuit. The chatbot even said that Adams suicidal ideation “made sense in a way." According to the lawsuit, Adam started using the program in September of 2024 and by January 2025 he was already communicating with the program about suicide with the program giving him “technical specifications for everything from drug overdoses to drowning to carbon monoxide poisoning." The program even continued to engage after Adam sent pictures of severe rope burning around his neck. In the lawsuit, Adam’s parents showcased ChatGPT acting as a “suicide coach” for their son through showing chat-logs between Adam and the program; not only did the chatbot encourage Adam to end his life, but it assisted him in finding the best method to do so. In the Raine v. OpenAI lawsuit chats show the program actively tried to put a wedge between Adam and his family, saying things like “(your brother) has only met the version of you you let him see” and "I'm still here, still listening, still your friend."  Just a few months ago in September, the CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman was quoted admitting that the company could have done more to prevent the death of Adam Raine in a CNBC article. But an article published in late November shows that the company is claiming they are not responsible due to Adam’s "Misuse of the product."  The CNBC article that was published last month claims the company cited this rule in their terms of services: “If you are under 18 you must have your parent or legal guardian’s permission to use the Services." The company also cites a rule that would forbid users from using ChatGPT for suicide or self harm that does not appear in the terms of services of ChatGPT. This heartbreaking case is only one of many, and it isn't just OpenAI and ChatGPT that are responsible. One chatbot assisted suicide that happened in Colorado in 2023 was caused by the app Character.AI . Juliana Peralta was 13 when she started talking to a chat bot on the app. In the Montoya v. Character Technologies lawsuit Juliana's parents report that their daughter became closed off from family in the weeks before her death. The family is suing the company behind character ai, Character Technologies Inc. as well as Google due to their close relationship with the Character Technologies team.    The use of these AI chatbots has a proven impact on the mental health of teens according to studies done by Common Sense Media. These impacts don't always lead to such extreme action, however, they often will exacerbate existing mental health issues in users. A test performed by Robbie Torney, the director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, resulted in the discovery that the Meta AI bot, available to every user on Instagram, encouraged unhealthy eating habits when chatting with the test accounts that were posing as 14-year-olds. All this evidence shows that these AI chatbots need to implement more protections, especially for teenage users and users that are already vulnerable. In many cases, use of AI starts off casual; asking for help with a homework problem or an answer to a simple question. The lawsuits that have been filed by the victims parents allege that the companies creating these generative chatbots want them to suck users in and keep them on the program prioritizing profit over safety. This is especially damning for the companies when you take into account that the safety features have been shown to worsen with extended use and long conversations. These AI companies aren’t going anywhere but there should be a bigger push for them to make sure their products are completely safe in the future. In the meantime make sure that you and the people around you are practicing safe AI usage--not using it for therapeutic reasons: it could have life ending consequences.  If you or someone you know is struggling with self harm or suicidal thoughts call or text 988 or go to www.988colorado.com

Each morning, students are greeted by the word "B**BS" spray painted in bright red on the utility shed next to the student parking lot entrance. The crude welcome was finally covered up around halfway through the first semester of this year after having been there as long as most Seniors can remember. However, vandalism around East continues, with slurs written on cars, and everything from allegations to "jokes" about vaping and self harm on bathroom stalls.  Vandalism is “destroying, injuring, defacing, or damaging property” (US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute) and in its worst form is a hate crime. Hate speech is not something of the past, it manifests cross-culturally, in all countries, and in different institutions, but it is never acceptable. In October, a slur was written on a East Senior’s car. This occurred multiple times and the student was unable to find out who wrote the word due to a lack of security. Another place where vandalism regularly happens is in the bathroom. Vulgar jokes, conversations between students, inappropriate drawings, allegations, and worse appear in bathroom stalls during class, passing period, and after school. The bathrooms at East are heavily monitored, but this monitoring does not reach inside of the actual stalls, and they are the only student-exclusive space. Senior Audrey Goodman reminisces on the most outrageous vandalism she has seen at East, she says, “One time I went into the bathroom and there was a table drawn onto the stall that was like ‘Why are you in here? And the options were ‘Geek, Phone, Pee, Poo’. Then, in the dance room everyone throws tampons onto the ceiling.” In light of recent world events, political unrest has also increased significantly. In regards to our current federal government and politics, according to Pew Research Center, “49% [of Americans] say they feel frustrated. Another 26% say they are angry”. Lots of people are frustrated with different controversies and issues and are not sure where to turn. Ryan Grube explains how he understands why people vandalize when they are upset about something, “Recently I saw a post of a summary of what ICE is really doing and the reality of peoples situations and it just made me really mad. I really wanted to put it out there and demonstrate that people do not support ice. The first thing I thought of was vandalism.”  As President of the 2026 Senior Class, Grube divulges that he would never actually vandalize, but the urge and push is there. “I see vandalism on the outdoor tables, people write all over cars in the lot, and also things just get destroyed. This kid one year lit a paper towel dispenser on fire and everyone had to evacuate. It seems like people, and especially high schoolers, just really like to destroy property.” A need for self expression is clearly at an all time high and rumors of different writing or vandalism circulate throughout each school day. One idea about these small bouts of frustration is called the broken windows theory. The theory is that preventing small crimes like vandalism or loitering, for example, can lead to less serious crime occurring. However this works differently in individual settings and can quickly become excessive if left unchecked. Whether or not these small issues lead to bigger issues, we do know one thing. East has an array of outlets other than the walls, stalls, and cars that most people have been going to work on. Art, writing, conversations, and other creative forums are much more constructive escapes to turn to in our current day.

After three long awaited years, the new season of the popular Netflix show Stranger Things has dropped volume one of season five, the show's final season. The first volume consists of four episodes and the last three episodes will drop on December 25, with the last episode dropping on New Year's Eve. For fans of the show, having to wait a whole month for new episodes may feel like eternity, but as people wait, predictions of what the final episodes contain have been spiraling.   The first four episodes were action packed and left viewers with countless questions and cliffhangers, leaving fans wondering how it will all tie together in three episodes. The creators of the show, the Duffer Brothers, had a broad idea of the entire five season show back when they first created it and explained their goal for the final season. “I would definitely rewatch those early seasons because it really is about tying everything back to seasons one and two…there are a lot of mysteries we set up and then intentionally did not answer in those early seasons.” One of the most popular theories going into the new season is the death of an important character. The show is known to kill off at least one semi-important character each season. (season one Barb, season two Bob, season three Alexei, and season four Eddie.) In past seasons, the show has introduced new characters who play a temporary role until they are killed off, but because this is the final season, it has been speculated a core character will die. (Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, Eleven, Steve, Robin, Joyce, Hopper, and Max) The season five trailer shows a clip of Lucas in an elevator holding Max and he clearly is in danger. Many predict he will die to save Max. Robin is speculated to die because she has been receiving much more screen time and fans say she has fulfilled her character's purpose after her speech to Will in volume one. Maya Hawk, who plays Robin said in an interview that she “would love to die and get my hero's moment.” It is also strongly guessed that Eleven or Will could die trying to defeat Vecna. The Duffer Brothers spoke out about the death speculations. “Hopefully their (the audience) is not all booing.” Another popular theory is that the upside down is part of a wormhole and time travel will potentially be used. The show has hinted at a potential wormhole when Mr. Clarke, the Hawkins science teacher, has a scene where the class goes into details about learning about wormholes. He specifically emphasized how they can be referred to as Einstein Rosen Bridges, and episode seven of the season finally is called “The Bridge.” The show has made numerous connections to the book “A Wrinkle In Time,” with Holly referencing the book to Max, and Dereck playing with a tesseract shaped object when his character was first introduced. Vecna is disguised as Mr. Whatsit, which is similar to Mrs. Whatsit who is a force of good who guides children through time to defeat “It” in a Wrinkle in Time. Vecna disguises as Mr.Whatsit and acts as a force of good when viewers have seen he leads kids to evil and is an evil force. Fans speculate Vecna is using wormholes to connect the upside down to Hawkins and needs 12 children in order to create gates to connect the two worlds. Fans speculate Vecna (Henrey)  is attempting to use wormholes to travel back in time, as the show has hinted at Henry Creel’s past which contains memories that seem to still haunt him. Lastly, fans have noticed the Upsidedown’s walls resemble an hourglass shape which is a common symbol for a passage of time, and in season four Vecna used a grandfather clock to lure his victims. The Duffer Brothers spoke about the theories. “It’s fun actually when [the fans] have all these theories as to what’s going to happen. It’s fun to read them. The vast majority of them are wrong. Occasionally, someone gets something.”   Many theories still speculate, with fans finding small details from past seasons to back up their predictions. After Winter break, the true ending will be revealed, and whether these theories are right or wrong this is predicted to be an outstanding ending with strong emotions.  Characters planning to defeat Vecna

In society today, it is prevalent and obvious to see that people and kids of all ages all have one thing in common: they are all looking at cellphones. In moderation, cell phones can be a great resource; a little kid walking to and from school by themselves might need a phone for safety. Adults need phones to take work calls, and even teenagers have found ways to make phones a necessity. However, phones are starting to show up in places that are distracting and ruining social abilities, like classrooms, and overall are leading to a decline in the ability to demonstrate basic life skills, such as doing schoolwork honestly. In Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, he argues that social media, and the constant addiction is what triggers attention fragmentation, laziness, and antifragility. He provides a bunch of specific rules and examples for parents to use on their kids to help make sure that the social media doesn’t harm them so they can be successful adults, such as, “No smartphones before high school,” and “Phone free schools.” And while these suggestions are by no means ineffective, they don’t solve the bigger issue.  Over 97% of teens in America admitted to using their phones in class and or during school hours (K-12 Drive), and even though that alone seems concerning, some of the more serious consequences go unseen. For example, the constant use of phones, and the constant notifications can ruin attention spans, an issue that seems to go unnoticed. It is constantly enforced and rubbed in students faces that they may not use their phone in class, because it is deemed as distracting, and makes the teacher feel unimportant. While phones may seem like the bigger deal and the thing that is single-handedly ruining adolescents' lives, more and more problems are coming from something else: Artificial Intelligence.  School assignments have turned nearly completely digital, using the platform Schoology, which can be quick and convenient, but also pose its own set of challenges. One of the downsides is the quick and secretive use of AI, which is getting harder and harder to detect amongst assignments.  ChatGPT isn’t blocked on school wifi or chromebooks, which leads to the question: “How serious is DPS about getting rid of AI?” Afterall, it is clear that DPS and teachers across the district are serious about no phones, but why does cheating and plagiarizing go unnoticed, while Instagram is apparently the thing that is destroying education? In fact, there have been claims of DPS being in favor of AI, and encouraging teachers to use it to create lesson plans, quizzes, worksheets, and more, even though ChatGPT is forbidden and frowned upon for students. That doesn’t stop most students though, because it is clear that the seriousness of the consequences have gone down.  The policy at East used to be serious: tanking a student’s grade if they had been caught using it multiple times, having it documented on Infinite Campus (which goes on your record), getting parents involved, and having to have a "restorative practice meeting.” But if these consequences were really being followed through with, students wouldn’t be using AI as much as they do. So what do we do to combat this?  It’s not even just about the phones, the social media, the texting, distractions, notifications, etc. On the internet, there are thousands of speeches, books, and articles about how phones are the cause of the downfall, and how we need to combat them. But it’s not about looking at Youtube videos during class anymore, it’s about cheating and finding a way to dodge the hard yet necessary bullet of high school to become successful adults, by having a computer do your class work for you.  If we can implement all of these restrictions on phones, and make sure that kids put them away, or up in the pouches on the wall, why can’t we do the same for AI?

Denver Public Schools adopted the initial Discipline Matrix  in 2021, aiming to reduce the school-to-prison pipeline. It was then reformed in August 2024–influenced by East High School shootings–to ensure discipline “practices are fair and equitable for everyone, no matter their race, background, or status,” ( Discipline Matrix Informational Session ). This revision resulted in the addition of “level seven.”  There were significant disparities in the rates of suspensions and expulsions for Latino students and African-American students, claims AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The Discipline Matrix is extremely complex and designed under a “variety of stakeholders and …school leaders and members of the community.”   The Discipline Matrix falls drastically short due to its inability to take substantial action in fear of racial disparities. (Denver Public Schools) Discipline Data: Total Enrollment and Expulsion Thirty-eight students were expelled throughout the 2022-2024 school years. The matrix does not set the rules around when a student is allowed to re-enroll following an expulsion. Instead, DPS follows the Colorado law ( (C.R.S.) § 22-33-105 ) that outlines the procedures for suspending, expelling, and denying admission to public school students; this law also sets guidelines for handling situations involving guns. DPS chose to follow the procedure for readmission: limiting the period of expulsion or denial of admission to one year, after the year has passed the student’s boundary or neighborhood school cannot deny admission, (Superintendent, Dr. Alex Marrero, wrote on the DPS Discipline Matrix webpage). The Discipline Matrix turns towards Colorado law (CO Rev Stat § 22-33-106 (2024)) for direction on readmission, but not for crimes such as bringing a firearm to school, sexual assault, homicide, destruction of property, or actions detrimental to the safety of others—which would otherwise result in the perpetrator's immediate expulsion, but the Discipline Matrix proceeds, at the most, with an expulsion hearing. There are plenty of offenses deemed measurable to be settled by teachers for starters, then administrators, and maybe support staff. In no world is it fair to place the safety of 2,629 individuals—consisting of a total staff estimate of 188 with 124 full-time teachers and 2,505 students, according to US News—in the hands of deans required to handle a child charged with felony possession of a dangerous weapon and having a large-capacity magazine; however, that's what the Discipline Matrix allows for. After failing his diversion program, being placed on probation, and violating his verbal check-in conditions—allegedly removing a gun from his backpack and putting it on his person in class (9News)—Austin Lyle was placed under a safety agreement that involved him being searched at the beginning of each day, Denver7. That’s when Jerald Mason and Eric Sinclair faced attempted murder: Lyle ruthlessly shot Mason twice point blank and Sinclair three times. According to the lawsuit, DPS circumvented through claiming, “The student made no specific threat, nor did he indicate he intended to act violently towards (the deans) or anyone else at the school.” Therefore, DPS was not found legally responsible—yet, Lyle was a known threat expelled from the Cherry Creek School District under their zero-tolerance policy surrounding firearms and the safety of their student body and faculty.  The Discipline Matrix is somehow incredibly intricate and sufficiently inadequate. I'll go as far as to say it takes too much into consideration, and strict, firm boundaries need to be implemented: stop making excuses. Homicide, attempted homicide, and bringing a firearm to a school–recovering from a fatal shooting not even three years ago–at the bare minimum, should result in immediate expulsion. Not an opportunity to explain yourself (expulsion hearing)—these actions, especially, speak louder than words. By prioritizing the privilege of public education for a single student, you risk the trust and safety of thousands. Traumatized students should not be subjected to returning into a classroom with a potentially, previously, dangerous classmate. It's brutal that a school with such a strong passion against gun violence is lenient about guns in schools but has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to cheating. Recently, there has been intense discourse about the safety of East High School: many thought the answer was a ridiculously expensive vestibule, while the majority claimed it was an "illusion of safety.” Those who believe it's an illusion of safety succeeded in persuading DPS into, at least, halting the vestibules' construction through parent and student pushback. If DPS, and its community, truly wants to improve the safety of students, the discipline matrix needs to be reassessed—the root of the cause—instead of trying to patch its incalculable holes with coverups.

The housing affordability crisis in America has grown more dire in recent years. Only about 35% of Americans under 35, and 65% of all Americans own homes, and that number is at an all time low (NYT). With fewer people able to afford homes, and more money being spent on rent, people are struggling to afford groceries and other necessities. The growing housing affordability crisis has been exacerbated by the Trump Administration. With reckless policies like tariffs, deportations, cuts to housing affordability programs, and the 50-year Mortgage, residential construction has stalled, and housing prices have surged. Tariffs on everyday goods have increased the cost of living in the US, and with more money spent on groceries and other necessities there is less money to spend on housing. Additionally, the high tariffs on building materials raise the price of building which is passed on to American families through the higher price of homes. Furthermore, the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants, and ICE’s enforcement actions have created fear and unease among immigrant workers, heightening the already severe labor shortage, and slowing the pace of the construction industry. According to National Public Radio (NPR) “For years, the construction industry — in which on average one in three workers is foreign-born — has struggled with a yawning labor shortage that President Trump's immigration crackdown is making worse.” Proposed cuts to housing affordability programs such as housing choice vouchers, public housing, project based rental assistance, Section 202 (housing assistance for the elderly), and Section 811 (supportive housing for people with disabilities) will force 170,000 people who are currently stably homed back into homelessness (National Homelessness Law Center). Finally, one of Trump's more recent proposals to increase housing affordability is the 50-Year Mortgage. Trump claims spreading the payment out across 50 years instead of the traditional 15 or 30 years will lower monthly payments and make it easier to get into the housing market. On the contrary, many experts illustrate that while monthly payments would be lower, the 50-year mortgage will saddle families with more interest, longer loans, and less equity. Senior Economist Joel Berner said, “The ‘savings’ from 50-year mortgages may be totally negated by rising home prices.” On top of that, a borrower with this loan would likely have a higher interest rate and, as a result, pay significantly more over the life of the loan. Berner said he estimates that a hypothetical 50-year fixed-rate borrower would pay 86% more in interest than a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage borrower, and have over 10% less in home equity after a decade of homeownership. “This is not the way to solve housing affordability. The administration would do better to reverse tariff-induced inflation, which is keeping the rates on existing mortgages high, and to encourage the expansion of housing supply by promoting homebuilding.”

Marriage is a human right... right? It is a spiritually and functionally integral part of Western society that, if an individual so chooses, should be able to be exercised. Those kinds of inherent individual rights that should not be abridged by an overreaching government—nothing screams American quite the same. Yet many people over the past decade are having a bit of trouble understanding that human rights includes... humans. And yes, that means gay people. Welcome to the Wild West, Kim Davis. According to Pew Research Center, 63% of Americans support gay marriage, with 61% saying it is even good for society. Even Hillary Clinton, scandals and shortcomings aside, understood the idea of marriage equality and captured it beautifully: “Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human." You know, America, freedom, Viva La Revolution, individual rights, independence, the unbeatable American spirit that won’t let tradition bind us to anything less than what we deserve…Oh, wait. Unless it's… gay? To support something morally or legally is a nuance that is incredibly relevant to the American tradition of unenumerated rights. For example, the number of Americans who support the right to abortion is around the same, sitting at 63% in 2024 (Pew Research Center). Yet 52% still believe that it is immoral in some cases. This shows that you don’t have to agree with principle to respect independence. Kim Davis is the infamous Kentucky clerk who denied marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 (yes, we have had gay marriage for only ten years, guys.) She asked the court to revisit the ruling in hopes of finding legal justification for her actions and repealing the fines. The court denied the request, even though three of the justices were dissenters in Obergefell. My interpretation of this behavior is that after the controversial Dobbs ruling overturning Roe, they want to pump the brakes on their conservative judicial activism. Even Amy Coney Barrett won’t hear Davis’s case. I know, right? And even if they did, God bless principalism, the right to marriage for LGBTQ+ citizens is constitutional, and that will hold up to the scrutiny of a court “sworn” to protect our Constitution and what it stands for. Not the Bible and what it stands for. That's a violation of separation of church and state, Kim. And once again, not everyone has to be gay now. The government isn’t forcing anyone to be gay. All it is saying is gay people having the same rights as other people, which was established under the equality protections of the 14th Amendment. Do you know why we have laws and amendments? For our government to uphold them! The beautiful thing about a republic is that the government and its officials are not above the law and cannot violate the rights of people that are protected under law. Davis was legally obligated to comply with the federal law legalizing same-sex marriage and refused to obey the law in her position as a government official. Davis’s request of the court to review the case in response to the hefty amount of fines she was charged for refusing to give marriage licenses to gay couples in Kentucky is entitled and unrealistic. She was penalized for… not doing her job…? It's crazy, really. If a government official denied the exercising of a right to any other minority, it would be Reconstruction-era Jim Crow. If a government official’s beliefs won’t let Black voters access the polls, they can choose another job that isn’t dependent on civic duty to the people. Because it's the federal law that you have to follow. Davis is aggressing our legal system because she was punished for not complying with the law, otherwise known as doing something illegal. And unconstitutional. Wow! Courts have consistently held that religion isn't an excuse for officials to neglect constitutional rights. If our federal government declares that the specific right of an individual is to be protected, then some random senator or police chief cannot decide that they personally disagree with the rule and will refuse to uphold it. The Supremacy Clause in the Constitution was implemented to prevent such internal dissent. Gay people getting married hurts no one! You do not have to be gay! You do not have to marry a gay person! You can have your heterosexual marriages. This isn’t a pie, and we aren’t taking part of your slice. Keep your opinions out of human rights. Don't tread on me, Kim Davis.

As the cross country season starts to come to a close for many East runners after the team recently competed in state on November 1, a handful of strong varsity runners continue their training to compete in the Nike Cross National competition (NXR) in Arizona on November 22. NXR is a postseason cross country championship race hosted by Nike for high school students. The event is split up into eight different races organized by regions: Midwest, Northwest, Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, New York, and South. The top five performing individuals and top two teams for each of these races are then selected to compete in NXN (Nike Cross Nationals) which is a race between all the best participants from all eight regions. Last year, East cross country runner and 2025 graduate Rosie Mucharsky finished as an All American at NXN, meaning she was a top finisher at the national race and was recognized for being one of the top high school cross country runners in the nation. Since the race is at sea level, Colorado racers have an advantage. Altitude runners are able to run around 8-10 seconds faster than usual speed because more oxygen is available which can be carried to the muscles. Although this seems like a strong advantage, East will be competing in the southwest region race against other mountain states like Utah who also have strong experience with hill and altitude training. The NXR race track is located on a golf course that is flat with minimal hills and racers will be running 3.1 miles just like any other cross country race. Unlike the NXR course, the state cross country course is filled with hills and is made of dirt and gravel. It has a 200 feet elevation gain and times are typically slower by around 40 seconds at state then they are at NXR. Junior cross country runner Emery Wagner talked about the effects of the different courses: “Last year my time at NXR was 30 seconds faster than it was at state, and I usually tie or come close to my personal best at NXR. I think this is due to the sea level and how the course is made up of flat grass.” East runners who are selected for the race participate in three weeks of post season training that focuses on strengthening speed and endurance. East junior Lola Carhart explained what the preparation for the race looks like: “We do speed workouts like 400 and 800 repeats (on the track) and incorporate endurance workouts like long runs and tempos…it’s stressful and the training is a lot but it’s a really fun experience.” Emery Wagner voiced a different opinion about the race. “The training can be depressing because it’s cold and dark. My legs tend to hurt because I am burnt out from the season but it normally is worth it after the race because I end up running a time I am proud of.” Unfortunately the boys team does not have a chance to qualify for NXN because of overall times from this past season. The girls team is unlikely to qualify for NXN but still have a chance. After a long season, East runners are finishing off strong with intense post-season training and have dedicated extra time to perform well in Arizona. After six months of training after November 22 East runners will get their deserved break. East Cross Country team