For our March 14 issue of The Hyphen, we polled 462 students on how safe they feel at Jeffersonville High School. Below are our findings — some of which can be found on page 9 of the latest issue.
Category: News
Are we growing numb to the violence?
by Gabby Bishop and Greta Reel
In America, the average gun homicide rate is around 13,000 a year, which is over 25 times the average of other high-income countries. Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, over 400 people have been shot in more than 200 school shootings nationwide.
To students in today’s society, school shootings are no longer the tragic massacre of peers — people with lives and families — but another statistic in their common world.
So the question is: are Americans becoming numb to the consistent violence, and is the media unintentionally glorifying shootings with constant coverage?
Susan Duncan, editor for the Evening News and Tribune doesn’t believe the news is causing romanticization. However, she agrees that gun violence isn’t as surprising anymore.
“You’ve lost the shock factor,” Duncan explained, referring to shootings. “There’s an initial shock, but then there’s also that ‘Oh my gosh, here we go again.’
“But I think to point to the media as unintentionally glorifying, I think that’s a falsehood,” she continued. “If people are getting desensitized, it’s not because we’re writing stories about it — it’s because these things are happening.”
Jeffersonville High School radio/TV teacher Tim Dench thinks teens are becoming desensitized to gun violence.
“Teenagers nowadays think nothing of shootings,” Dench said. “Years ago, when there was a robbery, a shooting, or some crime, it usually involved a 30 or 40-year-old adult…. Now (it’s people) in their young 20s and a lot of times even into their teens; and the younger generation, they think nothing of using guns.”
Dench believes constant coverage of massacres may glorify guns, but the media has to cover it due to First Amendment rights.
“It is news. It’s not good news, but news is news, and it’s the job of the media to report the news,” he continued.
Jeff High sophomore Hailey Lathan believes she, too, is becoming numb to consistent violence.
“So much violence is going on in today’s world it seems as if the world wouldn’t be normal without it,” Lathan said. “I think media is bringing somewhat more awareness to school shooting, though some kids find it as an excuse to make a joke of it.”
According to Duncan, though, the news media should not be seen as the only blame to this desensitization. With most of the world on social media apps like Twitter or Facebook, being able to argue is easier than ever.
“There’s an anger that you see on social media that if it were one-on-one interactions, you wouldn’t see. It has empowered the worst in us…. People feel that they can just go after people,” she said.
Even though media could be considered a major factor for desensitization, it can also be seen as a way to show people the terror of these shooting. For example, videos of the Parkland FA. shooting spread like wildfire through social media. This first person point-of-view insight showed the true horror of what it is like to be a victim in a school shooting.
“You saw it, heard it, felt it from the inside that time. You could hear the terror, you could hear the screams, you could hear the gunfire,” Duncan said. “I remember seeing one angle of a student who had clearly… dove to the dirty, dusty floor to try to stay alive.”
School shootings have become a national epidemic, though one that people have the power to stop. It’s up to Americans to resolve it, and Duncan thinks the recent shooting in Parkland, Fla. will mark a change.
“I think (it’s) kind of a different dynamic that we’re seeing this time,” Duncan said. “This time it didn’t happen to little kids; it happened to kids who can think for themselves and take actions for themselves.”
School shootings put ROTC in unique position
by Bella Bungcayao
Leadership and discipline are two of many attributes JROTC students are taught to uphold in their schools.
Yet this program has been both criticized and praised nationally because of the recent Parkland, Fla. school shooting, and the involvement of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School JROTC.
Nikolas Cruz, the Florida school shooter responsible for the death of 17 students and staff, was, in fact, an ROTC cadet at Stoneman Douglas.
This rogue member, however, did not reflect the practices of the entire Parkland program.
As more details of the shooting started to uncover, many stories were told about JROTC members, and their heroism for protecting their peers. Some of these students even lost their own life, including 15-year-old Peter Wang.
According to witnesses, Wang was pulling students from the hallways into safety before he was killed by a single bullet.
Because of Wang’s selflessness shown on Feb. 14, he was honored with a traditional military funeral.
Two other JROTC cadets who were killed, named Martin Duque and Alaina Petty, were also said by fellow students to have been ushering their peers out of the halls.
These stories touched JROTC members nationwide, like Victoria Southern, who is the Corps Commander for Jeff High’s JROTC program.
“I think that the individuals in JROTC who took those life-threatening risks showed true leadership and service before self,” Southern said. “Which is something that is taught in the program.”
Southern and her JROTC peers took class time to write notes of encouragement and praise to these students, and sent them to the cadets in Parkland.
Retired Colonel Robert Benning, one of the two advisors of Jeff’s JROTC program, hopes his cadets feel encouraged by these stories of heroism, if the school was in the event of an active shooter.
“I would hope my students would feel the urge to protect their peers,” Benning said. “That type of bravery is what is taught in the program. However I wouldn’t want any of them to run out and confront an active shooter.”
These three students who lost their lives during this tragedy let their legacies live on accredited to their JROTC teachings. Their practice of service before self, leadership, and dependability, unfortunately, would lead to their cause of death.
However because of their heroics, it’s safe to say many other lives were saved.
Safety of athletes, fans top priority for JHS athletics
by Carlos Molina
Recent school threats have changed the way students want to attend sporting events. Some don’t feel safe being at school, let alone a high school game held after school hours.
So how is Jeffersonville High School taking proper precautions to ensure student safety?
“It’s re-evaluating what your safety procedure is,” Jeffersonville High School athletic director Todd Satterly explained. “Right now, we feel comfortable with our policy and the amount of security we have at events. I always have four officers at basketball games and six at football games.”
With football games being the biggest event attended by the community, safety is a major concern — not only for the spectators, but also for the players.
“Player safety, in any sporting event, is a huge concern. Whether its football or basketball, the crowd and students are more so of a concern,” head football coach Alfonzo Browning said. “I think it’s more so of an issue with the way things have played out here recently. There are so many people not being checked, you don’t know what they could be bringing into the building or game for that matter.”
Following the Parkland, Fla. shooting on Feb. 14 that claimed 17 lives, New Albany High School received threats the next day, leading to some frantic parents pulling students from school.
Despite the threat, that evening’s boys basketball game was not canceled, and proceeded as schedule. Satterly kept an eye on the crosstown high school, noting how they handled the situation.
“If (New Albany) still went on, then I’m sure they felt comfortable with continuing. Knowing (NA athletic director) Mr. (Don) Unruh well enough, I would believe as soon as a threat was made, that there was immediate action taken,” Satterly said. “It would be no different here, if we were initiated with a threat. The first phone call is to Mrs. (Julie) Straight, then central administration, and then get the police involved immediately to find out our options. (Finally) we’d notify the opposing school and notify our workers.”
With players being in the spotlight, though, their safety is the number one concern. Senior basketball and baseball player Hunter Schmitz doesn’t feel threatened, or in harm’s way during his games.
”I don’t worry about being safe at sporting events. You shouldn’t need to worry,” Schmitz said. “A precaution we could take is possibly adding more on-duty officers at these events.”
For future references, safety and security will continue to be a pressing matter. For now, spectators will determine the outcome for rules and guidelines.
“People won’t attend your event if they don’t feel safe,” Satterly said. “We plan for every possible scenario so our athletes feel comfortable. Unfortunately, we live in a time where those are things that we have to consider.”
GALLERY & MULTIMEDIA: The flooding of Jeffersonville and Utica
all photos by Dylan Shupe-Logsdon
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Settle down … Rusty is on the case
by Tristan Jackson
Every day, he comes into the school.
As he walks by students, they nod their head at him in respect for what he does to ensure their safety. With his uniform cleanly pressed, and his mindset on protecting Jeff High, officer Rusty Settles will do whatever he may have to do to keep Jeff, and the students within it, safe.
In a time where gun control, and school safety, is a hot topic, Settles follows a routine each morning to ensure students can go about with a normal day.
“When I get here everyday, I try to walk the building and check the doors,” Settles says. “I make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. Once that’s done, I always try to be visible throughout passing times.”
Being visible throughout the school can be tough, though, especially with a school as big as Jeff. Roughly 2,100 students attend JHS, and while the school is in a closed-campus setting, the building still spans a large area.
“I feel safe when I see Officer Settles in the hallways,” said senior Kip Jackson. “I love that I see him in more than one location in the school. He’s always checking up on me and my fellow students.”
Settles has been on the Jeffersonville Police Department for 25 years, as of June. When a position within the high school opened itself up, Settles found the job interesting and wanted to learn more about it.
Little did Settles know, though, that the job would be so critical for student safety years later.
Recent events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 14 students and three teachers were killed, have brought jobs like Officer Settles’ into the spotlight.
“There are lots of factors in how people view how we do our job. School shootings have caused a lot of different things, a lot of different ways, a lot of different mindsets,” Settles says. “Just think of how students feel when the fire alarm goes off. (They) call mom and dad. (Their) mindset has changed.”
But according to Settles, recent tragedies have not just changed students and parents — his frame of mind has been affected, too.
“My perspective on what has just happened (in Parkland), yeah it’s changed. It goes through my mind, I can’t say it doesn’t,” Settles says. “But I can say, I know some students that would report to me. I, along with the school corporation, will take what they would report and investigate thoroughly to help keep you safe.”
While Jeffersonville High School is fortunate to have Settles on duty full-time, some around the country would like to see teachers armed, or having more guns within the schools.
“It would be nice to have someone else to help investigate certain things. I always reach out to my colleagues at the (police) department for some help with things,” Settles says. “I don’t want to get overzealous with it, but with where we are today and the actions taking place within the country, it may need to be looked at over extra security or people trained to use a gun.
“Ask me a week from now,” Settles continued, “it might be different.”
But even with everything going on, Settles finds one thing is more important than anything else: his relationships he has built along the way.
“I want to build rapport with you guys. You need to know me, I need to know you,” Settles says of students. “That, in itself, is the most important thing.Through the NASRO (National Association of School Resource Officers) training program, I learned the number one thing is building that rapport to help create communication between each other.”
Building trust throughout JHS helps make Officer Settles’ job smoother, and create for a more welcoming environment at Jeff High.
“People may ask me why safety and keeping guns out is not the top priority,” said Settles. “But it is. The talk and communication can help prevent such things from every happening. My job is proactive and reactive.”
Raising Cain
Story by Tristan Jackson
Jeffersonville High School has a new state champion.
Camyle Cain, a wrestler in the 138-pound weight class on the female circuit, won the Indiana state competition on Jan. 19 — just one year after the first-ever state competition for girls, in which she placed second against Alara Boyd, the second-ranked female wrestler in the world in her weight class.
“I’ve never felt something so exciting,” Cain said on her experience at the state tournament. “Everyone is so welcoming and nice. Even if you’re going against the girl, she’ll help you warm up.”
Cain was convinced to join the wrestling team by head wrestling and strength & conditioning coach Danny Struck, who has been coaching at Jeff for over 20 years. While she excels on the mat, Cain’s first love was the football field.
“I didn’t want to originally,” Cain said on joining the wrestling team. “Struck would ask me everyday to come. He would say ‘if you don’t like it, don’t come back. Just try it.’ I didn’t like it the first week, but I kept going, and a month down the road, I realized I really liked this sport.”
Cain joined the football team her freshman year, and played under head coach Lonnie Oldham. During her first year, she built relationships with her coaches, including Alfonzo Browning, who would eventually go on to become the head coach.
Cain’s wrestling coaches have helped pave the path to a state title, and her football coach would end up accompanying her to the state championship
“It meant a lot to me, especially after everything we’ve been through over the last four years,” said Browning, on taking Cain to State. “I was honored to be able to take her up there.”
While Cain enjoyed the experience, a high school athlete’s goal is to win a state championship. Her hard work got her all the way to the championship match after winning the first two matches in the competition.
Cain went into her final match with a 8-0 record against female opponents, including a first place finish in the USA preseason national tournament and regional champion.
In dominating performance, her first two wins of the tourney would come by the way of pin. As the favorite, Cain would eventually make her way to the championship round, where she would face off against Westfield High School’s Melody Barrows.
During the final, she continued her impressive display, pinning her opponent less than two minutes into the match.
“When I won I couldn’t even control myself,” Cain said. “I really didn’t know how to act.”
The win is not only a tremendous accomplishment for Cain herself, but a groundbreaking accomplishment for the girls who could potentially follow down the same path.
“She improved both physically and mentally,” Struck said. “She’s grown up and she’s much better at keeping her emotions in check.”
It’s safe to say the win brought a lot of attention to Cain, and she has received an abundance of support from the students and teachers around the building.
“Every time Coach Browning sees me, he’ll say ‘what’s up champ’,” Cain said. “Everyone is so excited for me.”
Although Cain won a state championship, there will always be people who doubt and hate excellence, especially as a female exceeding in a predominantly male sport. Cain is no exception.
“I do get some crap for it. Some people say, ‘You didn’t really win state because you’re a girl,’” Cain said. “I don’t really know why. I guess they are just jealous.”
Regardless of the naysayers, Cain shined on her way to a state title, utterly dominating her competition.
“She’s got a runner-up against the second-ranked wrestler in the world and a state title; that’s a nice resume for when she goes for the All-Marine team,” Struck said.
With the backing of her coaches, teammates and classmates, Cain made her championship dream come true.
“I can’t believe I won state,” Cain said. “That’s something every athlete dreams to do.”
Cain finished her high school career on top, but it’s not the end of the road for the outstanding Red Devil. Although she has yet to pick out a college, Cain fully intends on wrestling post-high school, and the school that she decides to attend will be getting a girl who is ready to work.
“I just want to get better,” Cain said. “Get better for when I further it.”
Effects of Mental Illness on Women
She seems happy at school. She talks to her friends, eats her lunch, and does her work.
Unfortunately, it all changes as soon as she opens her front door to return home.
She starts to take off all her makeup, then just stares at herself in the mirror. She sighs and walks to her room, where she just sits on her bed. She has a feeling she is about to cry, but no tears come out.
Instead, she just sits there, staring into the nothingness she lives every day.
This is a normal day for sophomore Riley Brown, who suffers from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression.
“It feels like when you’re outside on the icy ground and you slip, but you catch yourself, except it keeps happening and it never actually stops,” says Brown. “The medicine helps. Instead of worrying 24/7, (now) it’s more like 12/7.
According to mentalhealthamerica.net, one of the nation’s leading websites on mental health, around 12 million (roughly one-in-eight) women experience some form of clinical depression every year.
Compared to their gender counterparts, women seem to experience depression at twice the rate of men. Specifically, girls aged 14-18 years have higher rates of depression than males around this age.
“Men often display their depression with anger and overworking, while women suffer in silence,” says Allison Puckett, a former Wellstone Hospital employee. “They do, however, seem to experience more support.”
According to Puckett, someone who shows signs of depression may just need someone to open up to.
“It’s really important to talk about depression. You won’t cause someone to commit suicide just by asking if they’re okay,” Puckett said. “If the signs are there, you should ask. People need to know to never give up. There’s always hope.”
Signs of depression include increased feeling of tiredness or insomnia, overeating or loss of appetite, excessive crying, loss of interest in activities, and outbreaks of anger.
“I encourage someone who is having negative thoughts to go to a trusted adult, coach, or counselor,” says Jeffersonville High School counselor Tyler Colyer. “If someone is showing signs, be supportive, aware, and tell a trusted adult.”
Now that Riley has started taking her medication she seems happier and less anxious. When she recognized the symptoms she confided in someone she knew cared about her.
That changed her life.
“I promise things do get better,” Brown says. “It might just take some time.”
Jeff High’s newest club is all about inclusion and acceptance
This time last year, junior Matthew Begin was talking to his friend Noah Fetter, who attends Silver Creek High School.
While their talk encapsulated many different topics, unity and acceptance of others was at the forefront.
As their conversation continued, they began discussing the possibility of creating a club to unite different LGBT friendships, and educating students on mental health that is not taught in the traditional system.
Begin asked assistant principal Marianne Fisher her thoughts on starting up a club at Jeff, and she helped him through the initial process. Sophomore Ryan Curry overheard Begin and Fisher talking about it one day, and thought the idea was great and wanted to contribute.
Thus, the team of students created the Jeffersonville High School Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance.
All the club had to do was find a sponsor, and space to have their meetings. Mrs. Virginia Herfel, a counselor, was glad to take the responsibility. The group had their first meeting in the AP conference room on Dec. 6.
The kick-off meeting was met with support, and the members discussed future goals and achievements.
“We are trying to get more sponsors so that we can do things like community service projects,” Begin said. “We also have recently been discussing the possibility of a dance.”
The clubs two main goals are to have fun, and educate the community on the differences of the LGBT and the challenges that they face everyday.
“We want to normalize queer people and not isolate them and make sure that they know it’s okay to be yourself,” Curry said.
Their motto is “providing education and advocation for equality and understanding.”
Begin says that all student are welcomed, even if you would just like to come and support , or attend a meeting to see what they are about. The members are very excited to have this opportunity, and are anxious to see where they go.
“No means No”
Story by Chloe Treat
Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Kevin Spacey, and Matt Lauer — these names are just a few of the many well-known men accused of sexual misconduct in, or out, of the workplace.
While all of these men have varying jobs (producer, Senator, actor, and national news anchor), they all hold one thing in common — power.
For years, there has been harassment and assault in the workplace that has gone unnoticed, simply wiped under the rug due to fear and shame. But recently, dozens of accusations have surfaced.
After a crime such as sexual assault, victims are left feeling small, vulnerable, and full of fear. The severity of the attack, and the person that commited the crime can be a major factor in deciding whether or not to come forward. Men of power, such as the names mentioned above, were people whos crimes didn’t come to light for months — some even years.
For these victims, coming forward changes their lives forever. It is important to understand that making accusations, especially towards men in powerful positions, does not benefit these victims. There is no closure, only the hope that it will never happen to anyone else.
Another common misconception is that sexual assault and sexual harassment is something that only happens against women by men, but that is not the case.
Men can be abused by women, or even other men. It is said that about one-in-six men will be sexually assaulted in their lives, a fact that is too often overlooked. Actor Kevin Spacey has been accused of more than a dozen assaults against other men, some even teenagers at the time.
While it might not turn physical, another too-often overlooked problem (and perhaps most prevalent) is sexual harassment. It is something that has possibly happened to your mother, your sister…maybe even you. It happens in schools, in stores, and even on city streets. As a teenage girl, I know I’ve experienced it myself.
Cat-calling, one of the most known examples, is not okay. It might seem to some as if it isn’t a big deal, but for women and girls everywhere, it destroys self-esteem and creates an overwhelming amount of discomfort.
Coming from a female’s point of view: whistling, or calling out, to girls as they walk past, whether it’s because of what they’re wearing or because of how they look, is never a compliment.
As a publication, and as the future leaders of our country, we must take a stand and make a change. Whether it’s speaking up when witnessing this take place, or even just being there for anyone you know that’s gone through these horrific crimes, there are many ways you too, can be an advocate for speaking against sexual assault.
If there’s anything that you’ve taken away from this, hopefully you realize how far behind our country is in terms of sexual misconduct, and hopefully you do as much as you can to prevent it.
Tully and Treat’s High School Help
What is it like to grow up as a female in today’s society?
Chloe’s Answer:
Being a girl in general is not easy, but being a teenage girl is even harder. It feels like there’s a constant expectation that has to be met: look this way, feel that way.
When I started high school, I was always comparing myself to other girls, and sometimes I still do. If you live your life trying to be like someone else, nothing will ever feel right.
Our high school years are some of the hardest mentally, too.
Obviously gender doesn’t determine whether or not one suffers from depression or anxiety, but it is more common in teenage girls than boys. Some doctors say this is due to girls maturing faster; therefore we are more vulnerable to these feelings.
For me, I think it has a lot to do with the social stresses put on girls. As humans, we want validation and acceptance from those around us, and that can affect our self esteem and confidence in a major way. For us girls, I think we try really hard to be good enough, pretty enough, and smart enough.
For as long as women can remember, they have been seen as inferior to men. This has caused women to have to prove themselves to anyone that sees them as different. You’re only a teenager for so long, so you can’t waste your time trying to prove yourself to people who probably don’t even care.
I think you have to reach a point where you love yourself for who you are, and you realize that you are good enough, in every way.
Emily’s Answer:
Growing up as a girl in today’s age is obviously easier than it was for the women that came before us. We don’t have to fight for the right to vote, for equal education, or any “real” barriers keeping us from our male counterparts.
However, this does not mean that growing up as a young girl is a walk through the park. There are a plethora of societal barriers that are holding young girls back from their full potential.
Throughout my entire life, I’ve felt a pressure about having to be a certain way. I have to be smart and level headed, but not smart enough to threaten my femininity. I have to wear clothes that are in style and that are flattering and feminine, but I have to make sure I’m not showing too much of any part of my body.
It took me awhile to actually realize these inconsistencies in the standards for boys and girls. I can thank my parents for that, for always encouraging me to be unapologetically me, and to not necessarily have to fit to these stereotypes.
Just because I was in this environment at home, doesn’t mean that it’s like that everywhere. Some of my earliest memories of this unfamiliar judgement were in a school setting. Being told to act “ladylike” was a very common statement that was pushed upon myself and my friends.
At the time we were embarrassed and ashamed. Were we not ladies anymore because we would rough-house and play pretend outside?
It’s taken me an extended amount of time to realize that women, as a whole, are held to societal standards that are dangerous and detrimental to one’s vision of themselves.
One of my favorite sayings is, “There is no wrong way to be a woman.” I try to remind myself of this consistently and empower myself and other girls to continue to encourage each other to be the best we can be at whatever we want.
No matter the connotation it comes with.
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