by Sam Ottinger

The focus of WJHI has always been on the subject that they are focusing on, yet turning the cameras back on those running the TV & Radio process is an important part to truly understand the work that they all do.

One of these hard workers is one of the new TV & Radio teachers, Fred Cowgill, who brings his expertise to WJHI and JHS. 

As fate would have it, right after grad school, Cowgill would get a position on CNN and be “thrown on national tv,” as Cowgill put it, at the age of 22. After being a stand-in for someone who was sick, he has been on the air ever since.

After spending 44 straight years on air, Cowgill has settled down in JHS’s broadcast department and officially got the job in June. Prior to this, he worked at U of L and WLKY as a sportscaster for 38 out of the 44 years.

He started in Atlanta, Georgia, with CNN Sports, then went on to shift over to ABC Rochester New York for four years, until he made his way down to Kentucky for WLKY, in 1986.

While there, he “fell in love with the city and everything around it,” enjoying the horse racing, like the Derby that he was able to cover for 38 years straight, and the college sports that filled the town. This enjoyment led it to becoming a very personal and bittersweet departure, but as Cowgill put it, it was time for him to go.

Even though he had pursued the live broadcasting side of the industry, he still had just as much passion in teaching. Cowgill graduated with a masters in broadcast journalism, seeing this as the only way for him to get into the business, hoping that one day he would be able to teach. And he got that day after U of L asked him, and he agreed to teach part time back in the 80s. He had then left the teaching business until this past spring to teach a course in Producing Kentucky Derby stories after he retired from his job at WKLY in May. 

Now, Cowgill may have been out of his broadcast job, but even in his retirement, the fire to teach had not gone out. He wasn’t sure if he would get another job, even though he was searching, there were none that checked all the boxes. 

This also applied to our school when principal Pam Hall and athletic director Larry Owen contacted Cowgill in late May, informing him of the developing position, during his final week at WKLY. 

He was willing to listen, but admitted, “At first, when I came over, I was ready to say no a couple times” due to the amount of work it would take for one person, yet Hall wasn’t going to let go of this opportunity. And due to her willingness to help aid the changes Cowgill suggested, he decided to take the job.

Cowgill’s reluctance to take the job was not due to him being picky; it was due to the massive workload that taking this position would have on one person. The lessons he teaches are unlike lessons from the past teachers, which forces him to take the knowledge and reverse engineer it to make an understandable curriculum. 

Having to become a master in different editing programs all at the same time can be a struggle, even to those like Cowgill who have been working in this type of field for as long as he has. 

This struggle has been eased due to the help from the other new production teacher, David Callan.

“If that basketball court was Adobe Premier, Mr. Callan could tear it apart and put it back together again, while I just play basketball on it. The same thing is true here. I can play in the neighborhood, I just don’t know how it was built,” said Cowgill.

Cowgill and Callan knew and worked with each other from 1986 when they were both on WLKY, Callan having worked there for 28 years, up until 2003 when Callan transferred to WRDB, where he worked for 21 years. Callan left on a Friday and started working at WRDB the following Tuesday. 

Callan started his radio journey as a station runner for WLKY. He would run errands like picking up video tapes, film, and audio tracks. 

This may sound like a small job, but this was all prior to his senior year in high school where he was able to get up close and personal to the equipment.

Callan has a total of 49 years in radio, which he’s now leading into his 50th year with working in radio at JHS, and freelance jobs, like working on and off for the Cincinnati Bengals, where he is an operator of the big screens.

Callan “blames Cowgill” for first hearing of the position at JHS when Cowgill brought along Troy Middaugh, Production Manager at Hearst Television, to help him teach the more technical side of TV & Radio. Middaugh was a past employee of Callan, and a past coworker to Cowgill, so he understood both of their abilities and thought that Callan was the one he knew to call.

“I feel honored and blessed,” Callan stated.

Callan said it was as if his planets aligned when he got the call from Cowgill, recalling how his path on WDRB was changing due to choices being made to the station by the owners.

“I helped build something great, and now they wanted me to tear it down”, so when the company was offering people of a certain age early retirement to reduce staff, he took the retirement, unexpectedly by the company, “I’m going to take the retirement, and I’m going to come over here and have fun.”

Hall described the hiring of the new broadcast team as a great moment for the program and the school.

“Any time it comes to bringing on staff to work with our Red Devils, I want to hire the best. I try to swing for the fence, every time. This school year, I was able to hit many home runs with the hires, across the broad in all subject areas. Hiring Mr. Cowgill and Mr. Callan was a grand slam!” she said.

One final project that Cowgill was keen on mentioning was one goal being worked on in TV & Radio, “I am Jeff.”

Similar to the “I am Horseracing” campaign launched in 2019 by those in the industry, in order to improve the public’s view on horseracing, yet this new plan has little to do with horses, and more to do with improving our own self image.

Cowgill stating, “There is a lot more here to be proud of, and people don’t necessarily get that.”

Two weeks ago, a rumor of a name change for the social media company Facebook was spreading fast among internet users. Facebook has been around since February 2004, and it has developed and changed quite a bit. The name, however, has remained the same. Back in 2003, the original intention of the social media app was a “hot or not” style website, originally called Facemash, where students at Harvard University could rate the faces of their classmates. While it got shut down two days later, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg aimed to redesign the website, giving it its new purpose – connecting people. In early 2004, it was re-released as the Facebook we know today.

On Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, Facebook announced the new company name as Meta Platforms, in reference to the metaverse (a fictional future vision of the internet.) According to CNBC, the change comes after the company faced scrutiny over the spread of “hate speech” and “misinformation” earlier this year.

In relation to the name change, the company will still remain in control of the other social media platforms such as Instagram, Oculus, Whatsapp, etc. and they will become what is known as subsidiaries, which means they will be less of a focus for the company but still important nonetheless.

“The best way to understand the metaverse is to experience it yourself,” Zuckerberg said in his announcement. “It doesn’t fully exist yet.” He hopes this name change will give a fresh face for the embattled company. 

Story by Anna Hardin

The 2021-2022 school year has brought many changes for Greater Clark County Schools(GCCS). The largest change has been the elimination of the My School Online virtual learning option and the creation of an alternative online option referred to as the Virtual Academy. Unlike last year, parents were required to enroll students in the new online option during the summer break. Also, this year, in-person students are no longer permitted to switch over to the virtual learning option as they were last year with My School Online.

Senior Shay Graziano, aMy School Online student last year who returned to in-person school this year, states “Honestly I switched back to normal school [this year] because I found that I was unmotivated to do work and procrastinated a lot. Literally almost failed my art class because of it. Something about me being at school instead of at home makes me work differently.”

Last year, the online option created many challenges for teachers and students alike. My School Online required teachers to design and teach lessons simultaneously for both in-person students and online only students, and online only students were often required to attend virtual Google Meets to interact with teachers. Although there were some students and families who benefited from My School Onlinelast year because of concerns over COVID-19, some online only students struggled and fell behind in their learning.

Whereas the elimination of My School Online has helped some students who struggled with virtual learning last year return to in-person school, some students who actually did better with virtual learning have been forced to return to in-person school without any available online option. The elimination of My School Online for in-person students has also created some confusion for students who have been quarantined during the school year dueto Covid and forced to work from home without a virtual learning option to connect them to their classes.

Additionally, students who have enrolled in theVirtual Academy option for this school year are not allowed to participate in sports or extracurricular activities unlike students enrolled in My School Online last year. For some students, being able to play sports and participate in extracurricular activities was the primary reason that they chose to return to in-person school. “The reason I’m not going online is because I play volleyball, and if I go online, I can’t do sports anymore,“ says Junior Bella Hall.

The return to in-person school has been a shock to many students who spent last year online only. For many returning students, the hallways have never seemed so jammed packed with people and it’s been hard to adjust. “The hardest thing about being back at school is probably the fact that you are around so many different people at once and our school does not have the capacity to distance everyone. It is not their fault, but you never know who is sick and who isn’t until it’s too late and you’re already exposed,” says Hall.

Story by Raquel Lopez

Like many other issues in theUnited States, COVID-19 vaccines have become divisive and politicized. Additionally, with the Pfizer vaccine being fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the possibility of vaccine mandates in public spaces is increasingly becoming a reality.

Currently, all evidence points to the conclusion that the vaccines are both safe and effective. Studies by the CDC show that all approved vaccines provide strong protection against COVID, including the delta variant of the virus. According to theCDC, unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than their fully vaccinated peers.

At JeffersonvilleHigh School, while vaccines are not required, they are recommended. At the time of this publication, the policy has recently changed. When school initially started, vaccinated students were not required to quarantine if they were asymptomatic and had proof of vaccination on record; on the other hand, unvaccinated students would have to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of whether they tested positive or negative. On Aug. 24, Greater Clark County Schools announced that the quarantine time could be decreased to eight days if the student had proof of a negative test result. On Aug. 31, following the Indiana Department of Health guidelines, schools were no longer required to contact trace if a student were to test positive regardless of vaccination status.

Meanwhile, views on COVID vaccines vary among Jeff High students. While there are students who are clearly for or against vaccination, some students are undecided. Senior Claire Storz is pro-vaccination. “I always hear or see the numbers of deaths due to COVID and I want people to get vaccinated so we don’t have to lose loved ones. Or so I don’t have to hear people complaining about the mask mandate. I highly encourage it [getting theCOVID vaccine], especially if someone they know is immunocompromised. It can help protect them as well”

On the other hand, Senior Vaughndez Banes is against the COVID-19 vaccine. “I feel like theCOVID vaccine was rushed and I personally had COVID and I was sick like a lot of other people but it never got too bad,” Banes said, before adding, “and knowing the COVID vaccine won’t prevent COVID, only help with symptoms just isn’t enough to push me over the edge.”

In California, students attending Los Angeles Unified Public Schools are now required to be vaccinated by the end of the calendar year, according to CNN. Banes says that if vaccinations were to be mandated in Greater Clark County schools, he would transfer schools. “The way I see it is, if your mask works so well, why are you worried about mine. Same thing with the vaccine,” Banes explains.

Freshman Savannah Monroe is in the middle of the debate, supporting them in certain circumstances. Monroe explains that she feels as if maybe they were developed too fast. However, she also said, “But I definitely think a vaccine was needed due to the rising cases. But overall, I’m for the vaccines but I think they [scientists and the government] should prove the effectiveness and safety to convince the public to get them”

Story by Max Fisher

Last year, as protests swept the country, advocating for an end to police brutality and racial equity in America, Instagram was plastered with political content created by young people. Content posted contained everything from informational messages about current events to fiery opinions from both sides of the political spectrum. Now it seems that you can’t spend longer than a minute on Instagram without encountering some political content. We all know the posts. Often it’s a post with multiple pages, providing facts and commentary about a controversial topic or political issue ranging from defunding thepoliceto abortion rights, all with a perfectly curated aesthetic design.

According to a 2021 Harvard Youth Poll, political participation is up among young Americans compared to past generations. Today 36%of Americans aged 18-29 years old are politically active compared to 24%from 12 years ago. The same poll reports that one-third of respondents said that politics had gotten in the way of a friendship for them. Ultimately, politics is increasingly seeping into the personal lives of young people and social media is one of the most significant ways to track this increase in political participation among young people.

An issue that has arisen following the increase of political content on social media is whether these posts should be considered “performative activism”. Performative activism is when a person posts something with the intention of increasing popularity or follower-ship rather than engaging in genuine political action. In other words, many critics have accused Instagram activists of posting political content to appear politically active rather than actually participating in politics in real life.

Jeff High students have many different opinions on Instagram political activism. Sophomore Elle Marble says she doesn’t post political content on her story, and she feels most of the time posting is more about virtue signaling, or superficially displaying moral character, rather than changing minds, “That [posting political information] doesn’t lead to people changing their mindsets or views. So the only goal you end up achieving is showing people where you stand.”

Senior Justus Bowman says she will post on Instagram whenever something is important and needs to be shared, but she also expressed some criticism about using Instagram for political activism. “It allows people to post and share content but it can sometimes lead to activism stopping at the post,” Bowman said.

Mirroring the current political climate in America, there is no consensus among users on how to appropriately post political content on social media. However, as political participation continues to trend younger and social media continues to impact politics, the debate over how to use Instagram for political activism will certainly continue to be an issue.

Students and staff are now used to wearing their masks and sitting in distanced rows of desks after Greater Clark County Schools changed policy August 9 to mandate masks. This new policy reflects the rapidly changing reality of COVID in Indiana and uses a color system to designate the density of specific disease spread in Clark County. The colors are determined based on the weekly case numbers and seven day positivity rate. The description of the color – from the Indiana Department of Health – along with the school actions taken are listed below. 

• Blue (minimal community spread)
  • Staff and students who are not fully vaccinated are recommended to wear a mask/face covering; however, it will be optional during the school day.
  • Masks/face coverings are required on school buses for all staff and students due to federal regulations for public transportation.
• Yellow (moderate community spread)
  • Staff and students who are not fully vaccinated are strongly recommended to wear a mask/face covering; however, it will be optional during the school day.
  • Masks/face coverings are required on school buses for all staff and students due to federal regulations for public transportation.
• Orange (medium to high community spread)
  • Face coverings are required for all staff and students on school buses and indoors, unless a medical situation warrants otherwise.
• Red (very high positivity and community spread)
  • Face coverings are required for all staff and students on school buses and indoors, unless a medical situation warrants otherwise.

In addition to those guidelines, some others changes took effect based on the Board’s decision:

• Classroom furniture are now in rows, spaced apart as reasonably possible, and facing in the same direction as much as possible.

• Seats will continue to be assigned in the classroom, cafeteria, and other areas used by large numbers of students. These assigned seats greatly improve contact tracing accuracy.

• Custodians will increase the use of sanitizing sprayers during and after school.

What is an online friend? Well, you can think of them as a modern-day penpal. Almost 47% of the world population use the internet, according to United Nations News. Therefore it isn’t surprising that those people are connecting with others who live nowhere near them. 

If the saying is true that friends help the world go round, what about having friends around the world? According to Pew Research, 57% of teenagers have made a friend online, and 29% said they have made more than five online friendships. It is common to make these friends while playing video games and social media. According to the University of California, Irvine,  many of these digital friendships serve the same purpose and qualities as face-to-face relationships. 

Despite having similar qualities to traditional friendships, online friendships don’t have in person connections like other kids who have friends from school or in their community. Therefore, they have become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic because many people have been spending much more time online. That may sound like a bad thing, but it can be helpful. You can meet new people without the hassle of social distancing, masks or even getting out of bed. It has not only been beneficial for young people but also for people of any age. Some adults have moved houses during the pandemic and can’t meet their neighbors face to face, but apps like Nextdoor allow you to virtually connect with people around you until it is safe to join social events again. 

Some Jeff High students have online friends who have gotten them through tough times. For example, Junior Georgia Martin says, “It was nice to see how different their life was from mine. I learned about their past experiences and then finding out about mine.” Martin adds that these friendships are mutually beneficial. “I sort of became like their rock. Whenever they needed me or needed to talk to me, I was always there for them. I wish I could do anything for them even though they were like halfway across the world.We could do the same things even though our lifestyles were completely different.” 

Amaya Russell, another Junior at Jeff High, says having an online friend has been beneficial for her, especially through the pandemic. “My online friend has been pretty helpful. Mainly which is like talking about my emotions and talking about stuff other people won’t talk about. They have helped me through a lot that other people won’t talk about, even people I know. They just listen and reply better and sometimes get your situation. It depends on the person, but my online friend has just been very helpful.”

For people who live outside the United States, online friendships can have an even bigger impact. “Jane” (who asked to use a pseudonym), a female from India, says, “Through the internet, we get to know about more things happening globally, and we become aware of our rights. By interacting with people from different nations, we get the idea of what we can do to bring change to our society to make it a more beautiful and safer society. People’s interaction with other people from this vast world can give them the idea for some good thoughts. For example, the farmer’s protest here in India is now becoming a worldwide movement. All can see and give a fair opinion. On the other hand, this is how we came to know about the Black Lives Matter movement.” 

“John” from Iran (who also asked not to use his real name) says his friendships with people in other countries make the world better. “With this ideology, the new generation makes a more peaceful world,” he says. 

The internet has become a world in itself which can benefit us just like our face-to-face reality. With the interconnectedness of the youth across the world, we will see how this impacts the future.