Sharing stories from a student perspective.

Summer 2014 . Issue 2 A magazine by Eugene area high school students

Teens crash into realityPg. 8

SCENIC DAY HIKES OUTSIDE EUGENE//CLASSROOMS PREPARE FOR THE NEW STATE STANDARDS

Cascadia

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TABLEOF

CONTENTS

Editor’s

Not

e

Pg. 4

Plan Yo

ur Nex

t Day

Hike

Pg. 6

Drunk D

riving

Asse

mbly Gets

Grap

hic

Pg. 8

The D

angers

of D

istrac

ted D

riving

Pg. 10

Navigati

ng th

e Com

mon Core

State

Stan

dards

Pg. 12

Are High S

choo

l Stud

ents

Overst

resse

d?

Pg. 14

Real Education. Real Results.Real Education. Real Results.

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CCChhhhoooooooosssseeee ffffrrrroooommmm mmmmoooorrrreeee tttthhhhaaaannnn CCCChhhCCCC3333...

55550000 ccccaaaarrrreeeeeeeerrrr aaaannnndddd tttteeeecccchhhhnnnniiiiccccaaaallll pppprrrrooooggggrrrraaaammmmssss1. Save at least 40% each year*

2. The smart start to your four-year degree

3. Choose from more than 40 career and technical programs

*Compared to the Oregon University System

startatlane.com

We’ve got you covered.High school sports brought to you by local experts in whatever platform you prefer.

Follow us on Twitter, visit registerguard.com on your mobile device, computer or pick up The Register-Guard. Lucas Clark

Prep Sports Reporter Follow on Twitter @LucasClark_RG lucas.clark@registerguard.com

Ben Schorzman Prep Sports Reporter Follow on Twitter @benschoz_RG ben.schorzman@registerguard.com

TRG | registerguard.com

Welcome into the minds of Eugene high school students! Flip through these pages and journey with us as we address the impact drunk and distracted driving has on our community, examine how Eugene classrooms are preparing to implement the new Common Core State Standards, and explore the toll that juggling after school activities and schoolwork can have on students’ stress levels. More importantly, discover how the minds of the future continue to create and enjoy journalism content. Journalism is a form of storytelling that lends us valuable information about our world while introducing different perspectives. The classical notion of “journalism” as a singular print product is gone, replaced by new media models in our ever-changing technology-driven world. The term “media” has expanded so enormously that today students can study to become “multimedia journalists.” Using video, photos, animations, graphics, and words to tell stories, students can produce newsworthy content to be published on a variety of online and mobile outlets. These days information can be accessed with the single swipe of a finger. Almost anyone can post newsworthy content. What distinguishes the journalist is understanding and practicing ethical reporting. We invite you to enjoy this colorful community-based magazine, brought to you by local high school students. I recall the many Monday afternoons over the course of this program spent writing, photographing, and preparing this issue from our hardworking fingertips. Now we are excited to share that with you!

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More photos from our cover shoot at at

Editor’s Note

Photo by Alan Sylvestre.

-Bella Anglin

Owen Rose Garden!

Photos by Bella Anglin.

Cascadia Magazine is produced by students at participating high schools in the Eugene-Springfield area.

Additional support is provided by Media Arts Institute’s Board of Directors:

This magazine was made possibly by Media Arts Institute, The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, Lane

Arts Council, The Register-Guard, and Eugene businesses. We thank our advertisers for their support.

Michelle Swanson - PresidentEsther Wojcicki - SecretaryKim Sheehan - TreasurerEd Madison - Executive DirectorMaya Lazaro - Production Coordinator

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Alan Sylvestre

Steven Asbury

Julie Newton

OR Media

Emerald Media Group

Bobbie Willis

Greg Cantwell

Al Villanueva

Aaron Thomas

Toni Cooper

WRITERS

Bella Anglin

Sam Fox

Natalie Brown

Noah Pruett

Ayla Bussell

ART DIRECTOR

Bella Anglin

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bella Anglin

DESIGNERS

Sam Fox

Bella Anglin

Natalie Brown

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Bella Anglin

Natalie Brown

Sam Fox

COVER PHOTO

Bella Anglin

CONTRIBUTORS

Tracy Pacana

Niharika Sachdeva

Russell Strand

Sabrina Melton

Cascadia

Sweet Creek Falls

Distance from Eugene: An hour and forty minutes; 46 miles west of EugeneLength of Hike: 3.6 miles round tripLevel: EasyDistingushing Features: This trail features eleven small, cascading waterfalls hugged by mossy rocks and lush greenery.

Kentucky Falls

Driving Time: A little over an hour; 50 miles west of EugeneLength of Hike: 4.4 miles round tripDifficulty Level: ModerateDistinguishing Features: Hike ends at an observation deck perched above two 100-foot waterfalls.

Mount June

Driving Time: An hour and twenty minutes; 34 miles southeast of EugeneLength of Hike: 2.4 miles round tripDifficulty Level: Moderate-DifficultDistinguishing Features: A steep trek upill will reward you with a bird’s eye view of The Three Sisters and Cascade Range.

Blue Pool (Tamolitch Falls)

Driving Time: An hour and thirty minutes; 67 miles east of EugeneLength of Hike: 4 miles round tripDifficulty Level: EasyDistinguishing Features: The trail ends at a swimming hole so pristine you can see to the bottom.

GOT A CAR? TAKE A HIKE!

Words & Photos Natalie Brown

Explore The Oregon Trails!

SuSan GriGSbySusan has been in the Eugene-Springfield area for 16 years. Fourteen of those have

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Beat cabin fever this weekend by trekking these stunning trails, all within a two hour’s drive of Eugene.

Bend

Medford

Portland

Salem

Tamolitch Falls

Mount JuneSweet Creek Falls

Kentucky Falls

Map out your day hike!

Eugene

Hordes of high school students gathered around the morbid headstones of their fellow students, snapping photographs, while the ghosts of the students wandered the hallways in dark hoods with gruesome injuries, speaking to no one and making the collective silence in the planters all the more ominous. Two hours later, the student body assembled in the gym, and—seated in front of their dead companions—they waited to be walked out to the mock car crash scene. The dead students led the junior and senior class outside to the front of the school. The first thing they saw was the bright yellow cautionary tape and the cameramen surrounding the smashed cars that glistened in the sunshine. The murmurs died down as the student body sat on the lawn in front of the wreckage to wait for the show to begin.

On Tuesday, April 15th students at Winston Churchill High School witnessed and participated in a mock car crash to promote safe driving, which brought on a lot of mixed emotions. Some students crouched eagerly in front of the scene

with their camera phones at the ready while others had to excuse themselves due to prior experience or knowledge of car crashes. This assembly could have drawn controversy among community members, but many students reflected that the experience was informative and realistic. Selena Gregory, a Churchill HS senior and volunteer at the mock car crash, says this assembly was organized to demonstrate the impact of drunk driving on teenagers. “A lot of people at first thought that [the assembly] was dumb, but the assembly made it more important, like this is why were doing it, this is why we have dead kids walking around the school--because we wanted to show the statistic,” says Gregory. “What if this happened at Churchill—every fifteen minutes someone was dead? There wouldn’t be anyone at school.” Every 15 Minutes is a two day program aimed at promoting

safe driving and personal safety. It originated in Chico, California and was organized by the

California Highway Patrol. Molly Hammans, the assistant principal at Churchill High School, was responsible for organizing and administrating the two day program. “We were approached by the Rural Fire and Rescue because we actually have a

parent here that’s a firemen in that committee, and they wanted to bring that assembly to the school this year,” she says. Churchill staff met with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane Rural Fire and Rescue organizations in October to discuss which program would best fit Churchill. Longstanding and well known Churchill campus security officer Aaron Johns, who works for the Eugene Police Department, is affiliated with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, which factored into Churchill selecting the Every 15 Minutes program. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for US teens according the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Some believed the assembly was a “scared straight”-type program, but the intent was to remind students that life is precious and that appropriate behavior behind the wheel is essential for safety. The Every 15 Minutes Assembly left a personal mark on many students. Hammans hopes that Churchill can incorporate similar assemblies and programs that educate students about impaired and distracted driving in upcoming years. z

Crash Course at C-HillA simulated car accident

teaches students the dangers of drunk driving.

“What if this happened at Churchill—every fifteen minutes someone was dead? There wouldn’t be anyone at school.”

Chad Luna (left, ‘14 Churchill graduate) and Selena Gregory (right, ‘14 Churchhill graduate) participated in a mock car crash as part of the Every 15 Minutes Assembly on Tuesday April 15th, 2014. Photo by Bella Anglin.

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The junior and senior class of Churchill High School watched the mock car crash scene, with included appearances by the Eugene and Springfield Fire Departments, in the school parking lot. Photo by Bella Anglin.

-Bella Anglin

No text message is worth putting someone else’s life at stake. According to textinganddrivingsafety.com, “55% of young adults claim it’s easy to text while they drive.” Hundreds of teenagers die each year due to accidents caused by texting while driving. When drivers bring out their phones it becomes dangerous and distracting. It’s more important to buckle up and focus on driving than to check your phone for your latest notifications.

Many people have been affected by accidents caused by distracted driving. Sheldon High School sophomore Kristen Meyers says, “I was in sixth grade and I was in the back seat of a car driven by my aunt. My sister’s dad was sitting in the passenger’s seat. We were driving on a highway and there was a car trying to merge into our lane.

The driver of the car was texting and in that moment [when they were distracted by their phone], their car collided very hard with our car. My aunt was killed in the crash.” Meyers says she was very sad and also angry at the other driver for texting instead of paying attention to the road. “I’m going to get my license next week and I think that [the experience I had in sixth grade] has made me more cautious as a new driver,” she says. “I would never text and drive.” Sheldon sophomore Courtney

White says, “If you text while you’re driving it causes distraction, and you

could not only kill yourself but you could claim the lives of other people as well.” When her older sister is driving White keeps her sister’s cell phone close by so that she can play the radio with it because the radio in her car is broken. “When [my sister] starts to reach for her phone if she gets a text or something, I’m just like, ‘No!’” White says. Sheldon sophomore Kaitlyn

Schauer adds, “What I would say to Sheldon students [about using your phone while driving] is that you should go look up some of those commercials about teenagers texting and driving. They are really depressing and they’ll make you think twice about texting and driving.” There are many Sheldon students who think that using their cell phones while operating a vehicle is a dangerous idea. However, that does not mean everyone thinks this. Some people argue that when you’re at a red light or you’re stopped in traffic then it is okay to use your phone for just one short moment. But that one short moment when you glance down to look at a text from your best friend can be the exact moment that you claim another human being’s life. For new drivers especially it is highly important to put your phone on silent in the back seat, turn your radio down, and focus all of your attention on the road. z

TEXTING

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&DRIVING:ADEADLYCOMBO

According to Distraction.gov, there are on average 660,000 drivers on the road using phones or other electronic devices at any given time. Photo illustration by Bella Anglin.

“I would never text and drive.”

A stroll along the water front by Owen Rose Garden in Eugene reveals quiet paths leading to hidden views of the river. Photo by Bella Anglin.

-Ayla Bussel

a standard ofSUCCESS

The Common Core State Standards will introduce a host of new benchmarks and expectations to Eugene classrooms. How is 4J making the transition?

-Sam Fox

The new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been a popular subject of discussion recently. This new style of teaching students and preparing them for college life poses new challenges for classrooms. “There is no question that a major shift in standards and assessments requires substantial time and resources,” says Assistant Principal of Sheldon High School Carey Killen. “In recent years in Oregon, time and resources for teachers have been in short supply across the state. It’s fair to say that schools statewide may be knowledgeable about CCSS and SB [Smarter Balance] and may be intent on making the necessary shifts to ensure that students are successful, but we all still have a long way to go to address fully the changes presented by CCSS and SB.” According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the standards are “research and evidence based, clear, understandable, and consistent, aligned with college and career expectations, based on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills, and informed by other top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy

and society.” “The adoption of CCSS by many states was related, in part, to the way federal funding of education is structured and the options provided to states to move away from No Child Left Behind,” says Killen. “There were many factors at play that led states to move toward CCSS, so the decision was based on several factors, not just a preference for a particular set of standards.” The Standards are creating a new hurdle atop the existing demands teachers and their students must overcome. While the Standards are expected to improve the quality of education for future generations as well as raise this country’s test scores, some teachers are wary these benefits are overstated. “The teachers that I know are passionate about doing what’s best for students,” says Killen. “On the whole, they would be in favor of making changes that are meaningful and that result in

improved proficiency for students and greater equity within our schools. Because the full impacts of CCSS and SB on student learning are yet to be seen, many teachers are reserving judgment until they have seen what the end results are system wide.” “Test administration in and of itself poses some interesting challenges for schools, particularly because the testing window falls in the last part of the year when other assessments (AP/IB), state competitions, and culminating events are conducted,” said Killen. With the rise of the standards, arises a new standardized test called Smarter Balance. This test will replace the OAKS (Oregon’s Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) that is currently in place.

With the introduction of the Common Core State Standards, some students may struggle to meet the new criterion. Photo illustration by Sam Fox.

Passing OAKS or an equivalent test is necessary for graduation. According to the Portland Public Schools website, “As we [the district] implement consistent math standards across the nation, there will no longer be a need for each state to have its own individual assessment system.

A portion of federal funds has been set aside for developing new assessments that are aligned to the Common Core Standards.” Sheldon HS Science Teacher Carol Standefer says, “I am excited for the possibility of a Smarter Balanced science test as I don’t believe the OAKS test is a very

good determinant of science knowledge.” The Smarter Balance Assessments will replace OAKS in the 2014-2015 academic year, and be administered online to improve scoring accuracy and question variety, according to the Portland Public Schools website. z

“The teachers that I know are passionate about doing what’s best for students.”

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-Carey Killen, Assistant Principal of Sheldon HS

It wasn’t always this way. Long ago, in the mystical times of the 1980s and the 1990s, our own teachers attended SEHS as students! “I probably had about an hour of homework a night, but sometimes I’d have three or four, depending on the class and day,” recalls Brad Jungert, the economics and U.S. history teacher who attended South Eugene HS from December of ‘83 to June of ‘86. “We had an eight-period day and I was required to take at least five classes, but I usually took six, which gave me two free periods to get my homework done. But I played

sports and that was three hours a day, so I usually got about seven hours of sleep a night.” While that sounds awfully familiar to the situation some students are in now, we’re on a 3x5 schedule. Many of us have at least one free period a day where we get some of our homework done, but isn’t the average teenager supposed to get around eight-and-a-half hours of sleep per night? Status update: according to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers are actually supposed to get nine and

one-fourth hours of sleep per night to function at their best, yet some studies show that only 15 percent of students are getting eight-and-a-half. How important is sleep? It turns out, it’s incredibly important. “Sleep is as important as eating and breathing—I mean, you will die if you don’t get enough,” says Anna Grace, a psychology and AP European history teacher who attended class at South as a high school student. “Sleep helps you to remember what you learned that day and helps prepare you for what you will learn the next day, and if you’re not sleeping enough you will not learn. Sleep also helps regulate your mood, so people suffering from depression or anxiety may be suffering from a lack of sleep. Sleep affects your entire system.”

So, we can cause serious damage mentally and physically if we starve ourselves of sleep. Especially during one of the most important periods of our lives: adolescence. Another teacher had a different take on his experience at South. “Anyone who tells you that a test score is going to dictate the rest of your life is lying to you,” says Chad Kessler, a South Eugene HS history teacher. He doesn’t remember sacrificing sleep in order to complete his homework. With colleges expecting

more of applicants, high school students are pressured to build a reputation that will attract colleges and scholarships by taking AP courses and joining student groups, like Robotics Club. “Usually I have about four-to-five hours of homework per night and then do things like Robotics Club, which can run really late at night, and having homework on top of it--sometimes I get about six hours of sleep,” says Sandra Lu, a senior at South Eugene High School. That’s not what South Eugene HS algebra II teacher Lara Kincaid experienced. Kincaid attended South from ‘90 to ‘94. “On average, I’d say I had an hour-and-a-half of homework each night up until senior year,” she says.

Status update: I have been writing this article for a total of three hours and I still have economics, Spanish, and math homework all due Monday. The same Monday this article is due is the same day I have a job interview, and the same day I head to the University of Oregon journalism school to become part of Cascadia magazine. At least I’ve still got Sunday. z

Status update: it’s finally Friday, the day we look forward to every week, and you’ve survived another week of two-to-four hours of homework, per night. All you’re thinking about is how much you need those two precious days to yourself, how you’ve earned the right to a breather. A smile breaks across your face.

And it’s shattered when you hear your Spanish teacher say that the rough draft of your Spanish script, a character biography, and a worksheet on the present progressive tense are all due on Monday. On the same Monday as the chapter nine Spanish test. You feel the weight of the world on your shoulders when your journalism teacher says a 1,200- to 1,500-word feature story is due in two weeks. You feel something crack when your Algebra II teacher says

to work through problems 25-35, 36-58 (even), 78-80, 93, and 98 on page 780 of your textboook. Status update: this work is going to kill you. Alright, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but being overworked can cause severe health issues, and many students at South Eugene High School are indeed overworked. With regular classes, along with AP courses, after school activities, and an after school job to earn money, we have little to no real free time for ourselves. Not to mention sleep.

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Stress! The Vicious High School Cycle

As students are expected to do more with less time, many report losing sleep and feeling stressed. Was school always this way?

-Noah Pruett

Between homework, social obligations, and after-school activities, some students feel overwhelmed. Photo illustration by Bella Anglin.

Corrections:

Due to an editing error, an article in our fall issue stated incorrectly that Bobby Doerr was celebrating his 100th birthday in April, 2014. He turned 96, not 100. He currently lives alone at an assisted living center in Junction City. We sincerely regret these errors.

“Anyone who tells you that a test score is going to dictate the rest of your life is lying to you.”

GREAT STORYTELLING STARTS HERE.

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