News

Sean Hogan

Staff Writer

Since February 24th if this year ], the world has had its eyes on the war that Russia has waged in Ukraine. The conflict has displaced at least 10 million people and resulted in sanctions and businesses pulling out of Russia. The concern about the oil supply has caused massive price hikes for gasoline, and politically the tensions are reminiscent of the cold war.

How has the SLA community been impacted by the conflict? SLAMedia spoke with students about their connections to and opinions about the conflict

Sophmore Biran Mahmoud told me about his family in Syria, another nation where Russia has been having a military intervention since 2015.

“My famly lives in the small towns/villages so they aren’t targeted by Russian artillery,” Mahmoud explained. “They do experience issues with smaller groups but don’t really come under fire.”

As for the conflict in Ukraine, Mahmoud is clear: “There is no point in this war, no one really wants this. It’s just an old man’s war.”

Mahmoud also recognizes the complicated nature of the conflict: “They (NATO) are already pretty involved in supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammo, and supplies. But they should instate a No-Fly Zone but that could start WW3 with them shooting down Russian planes. It’s a tricky situation with Russia threatening nuclear war.”

“It’s very unpredictable,” he said. “I hear the Russians are losing, but god only knows how this war will end.”

Senior Eric Casalena reported that he doesn’t “know every single detail” about the war, but enough to have formed some opinions.. ”

“I feel like no one deserves this and the only person who wants this war is Putin because even his soldiers don’t want this war.” He was also asked if NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) should step in and assist Ukraine directly, He said that NATO should Intervene but then asked me if Putin was threatening nuclear escalation.

When asked if he thinks Russian forces committed war crimes, he said “100%”

As for how the conflict might end, Casalena provided three scenarios.Number one is that Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy sit down and resolve this conflict peacefully, the second one is that Vladimir Putin gets assassinated, and lastly that Ukraine surrenders to Russia.

Senior Philip Lee said that his take on the conflict

Is “generally the same as most folks. Trying to take over a country like that isn’t too moral.”

SHould NATO intervene? “As of now? Probably not since I’ve heard their (Ukraine) doing a pretty good job at defending themselves to the point where Russian troops are refusing to go and would rather face consequences from higher-ups.”

He also stated he does not know if Russia has committed war crimes. As for how it will all end, “Ukraine will likely keep its independence and the violence will end though I don’t see Russia halting other strategies like media manipulation, data collection, spies, political interference, etc.”

While we may not know how this horrible war will end, we can only keep aware of the situation, Donate to charities and support the refugees of wars like the one happening in Ukraine.

Claire Powell

Staff Writer

    As SLA seniors consider their college acceptances, they are faced with two questions — where they got into, and what their financial packages look like. For the Class of 2022, the decision is complicated by covid as a new factor, since.. Many people are at a loss for a steady income and education. 

These circumstances are making some seniors ask: Why is college so expensive and how can students afford it? Is college even worth it? 

                        SLA seniors are not alone in these concerns.  College tuition has been on an upward trend for the last two decades. US News states that the average tuition at private National Universities have jumped 144%. Out-of-state tuition at public National Universities have risen 171%. In-state tuition and fees at public National Universities have grown the most, increasing 211%. This increase is huge, with many people not being able to afford college. Enrollment has even declined by nearly a million students since the start of the pandemic.

                    This sudden increase is not is not entirely a choice. The pandemic had forced factories to shut down which also affected the fees that are built into the college tuition including meal plans and technology. Virginia Tech increased its meal plan by 9 percent because of the dining hall workers who were not making enough money. This is just one example of sudden expenses.

                          Senior Piper McConnell is one SLA student whose choices have been influenced by all of these factors.   

“I feel like it’s really hard to be affordable, it depends on your resources,” she said.“Even if you have a bunch of money for college, it is really hard to afford it. I wish I could pay for my college education easily. I think it would open up the option for a lot of people. “

Fortunately, Piper is able to attend her top school, University of San Francisco. “A Lot of people feel like it is not an option for them to go to college, or the school that they want to go to just because of how much it costs.” 

                  Senior Paula Vekker also knows how important long-term planning is to make college affordable. , “I was lucky enough to have my tuition saved through my entire family. Generations saved up just for me to go to college. “ Thanks to this long-term planning, Paula will be attending University of Pennsylvania in the fall without major concerns about how the degree is being paid for. She knows that this good fortune does not come to everyone. “College disproportionally affects families who have low incomes,” she noted. “Institutions disregard the financial aid crisis.”

                 Despite all of these challenges, researchers say college is worth the cost. According to a report by The College Board, people who graduate from college earn about 73 percent more than high school graduates. College Board also states, those with advanced degrees earn two to three times as much as high school graduates. On average, college graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetimes than high school graduates.

We have all heard numerous times, people questioning the cost of college. For some it might be the right track, but for others maybe not. 

            Lily Prendergast, another senior at SLA, was deciding between two schools, Temple and University of Pennsylvania. “Even with the generous tuition benefit that they gave me, Penn was still such a huge cost in terms of all four years of my life.” Lily is now able to go to Temple for four years and hopefully graduate without any loans! 

Lia Dunakin, Adrie Young

Staff Writer

Daniel Symonds, an African American and World History teacher at SLA, is leaving the SLA community at the end of the school year after six years of teaching here. 

During his time as a teacher at the school, Symonds has helped to establish many new and exciting programs. These include the SLA bowling team, the rock climbing club, and the international exchange program with Frankfurt, Germany. He also teaches a 10-12th grade elective named Philadelphia Power and Politics.

Mr. Symonds is not leaving Philadelphia, however – he will be attending Temple Law School in the public interest program.

 “I would not forgive myself for having missed the opportunity to go to law school,” he said about the career shift. “I can’t imagine another point in my life where I’d have the chance to do this… although I might not enjoy being a lawyer as much, I might not be as good at it, but I think I’ll make more of a difference.”

At law school, one of Mr. Symonds’ main goals is to gain more power, which he hopes to use for the common good. 

“I’d like to be a person who can help social movements in my lifetime do well,” he explained about his future intentions. So, as Black Lives Matter, as climate justice movements, as economic justice movements grow in this century, there have to be some lawyers to protect those movements’ money, to help people when they’re dealing with state violence and arrest and things like that.”

Mr. Symonds leaving opened up a spot in SLA’s history department, and he made sure to involve himself in finding a new teacher.

One thing that Mr. Symonds feels strongly about is the importance of hiring a person of color to join the SLA history department. Especially since they would likely be teaching 9th graders African American history, he was adamant about that. “It’s high time that we try, when we’re doing hiring at SLA, to make our staff less white,” he said.

Matthew Kay, a freshman and sophomore English teacher, was also involved in finding a new history teacher. Mr. Kay volunteered to be involved in the search even though he is not in the same department. This is because he would be working closely with them, as he does with Mr. Symonds, since they teach the same students every year. 

According to Mr. Kay, to find a new teacher, SLA posts the job, and people interested send resumes and cover letters to Principal Lehmann.  He also mentioned that there is always a hiring committee. 

“Mr. Lehmann allows any of us who want to be on the committee to be on. I normally don’t volunteer to be on them because it’s a lot of work – you’ve got all the interviews and stuff like that – but this year I’m on it…because if this new person slides into Mr. Synomds’ teaching load we’re gonna be sharing students. And so I figured that while the history department makes the call, I wanted to, you know, lend my voice to it since whoever it is will be someone who I’ll be working with,” said Mr. Kay.

After looking at the applications and deciding which ones they like, the committee brings people in for an interview.

When asked about his personal criteria for the applicants, Mr. Symonds mentioned that he was looking for a person that was enthusiastic about the past, and could make students excited about learning from others. He described it as “an unapologetic nerd.”

Normally, the committee makes an offer off of the interview. But in a scenario where the committee likes multiple applicants, they will provide an opportunity for a demo lesson. This allows teachers and staff members to see the candidates teach, and also provides space for student feedback.

And this is what happened for the two finalists for the position of history teacher; they were brought in to each teach a 20-minute demo lesson to copper stream.

Maxine Wray, a sophomore in copper stream, described what it was like in the classroom during and after the demo lessons. She added that after both of the demo lessons had finished, Principal Lehmann and some of the other teachers observing the lessons had asked the class what they thought about the candidates.

“People were saying that they liked one teacher better than the other, and someone also said that the first teacher was better cut out for SLA because she had students collaborate,” Wray said.

Wray also expressed her opinions on student involvement in the process: “It’s so important to have student feedback, because we’re the ones being taught…I thought it was really helpful.”

In the end, the candidate that both students and teachers liked best, Ms. Clancy, who is a person of color, was offered the job. Ms. Clancy is currently a student teacher at the Academy of Palumbo and is getting her teaching degree at Temple.

“I thought Ms. Clancy did a really good job of showing that she is interested in the people who are doing the learning, not just in the quality of the ideas being shared,” said Mr. Symonds.

When asked his thoughts on Mr. Symonds leaving, Mr. Kay wished him the best in finding new avenues for his passions, such as social justice. 

“The second he said ‘I’m going to law school’ I’m like ‘well that’s on-brand. That makes total sense for him,’” Mr. Kay said. 

Mr. Symonds expressed that what he will miss most about SLA is working with teenagers.  

“Kids are more open-minded, funnier, and just a lot more ambitious and a little less jaded than adults.” From walking around the school and helping students, to a desk job, the paces of each career are very different.

During the beginning of law school, Mr. Symonds told us that he is going to be very focused, and doing everything he can to be a top student. But after the first year, he expressed that he doesn’t want to be a stranger to SLA students.

“I would love to teach, if it’s like, a mini-course…I would love to help teach legal skills to students…I’m still trying to remind people that I really want to help them with college financial aid and rec letters. I’m not really disappearing, but, my priority’s going to be school – just for the first year.”

Students would also love to see Mr. Symonds around the building even if he is not teaching them history anymore. 

Mr. Symonds’ advisee, sophomore Anna Diemer, said “Mr. Symonds does a great job at creating a sense of community in our advisory, that is going to be extremely difficult, but not impossible, to replicate.”

“I was pretty sad about [Mr. Symonds leaving SLA] because he’s such an iconic teacher and I feel like his energy is something that SLA needs more of,” said Wray. “It’s like a bitter-sweet feeling. I’m excited to see whatever he does in the future.”

Oskar Glahn

Staff Writer

Students nowadays can undergo a lot of stress due to high amounts of schoolwork and the social life of attending high school or university. Now add sports; intensive workouts, practice and film sessions, and a lot less time to do schoolwork. Being a student-athlete can undoubtedly add a lot of stress to your everyday life.

Personally, I have played many sports throughout high school. It isn’t always easy to balance good grades and good performance as an athlete. School, ideally, would be one’s first priority while being a student-athlete, but for many it is not, for good reasons. Personally,  I take sports a lot more seriously than I take school, because I am a lot more passionate about the sports I play. Although I try in school to get good grades, I won’t ever miss practice or a game because I have schoolwork to do.

As a productive athlete, you need to get good sleep, balance your calories and eat healthy, train correctly, prevent or recover from injuries, all while improving your ability to play your sport. Think about professional athletes. Although they have more on their plate than an average high school athlete, that is their whole life. They spend each and every one of their days thinking about their end goal: improving their game. Many high school athletes share this goal, while also having to keep up with a tedious school schedule. Student-athletes need to find time to go to the gym, train, eat, and get decent sleep while spending seven to eight hours at school, plus the commute both ways, as well as the time it takes to do homework.

Coaches and teachers often overlook students’ stress levels and mental health. Smothering students with busywork never will be an effective way of teaching, and I feel like that could and should be changed because school is about learning, not being kept busy. 

Overall, balancing physical and mental health and sports is not an easy thing to do. With the help of a good coach and sympathetic teachers, athletes can enjoy their sport while not being overloaded with schoolwork. Coaches and teachers should not look over the hard work students-athletes put into their everyday lives, it’s not easy.

Cameron Booker

 Staff Writer

The amount of trash in the commons is absurd. People really should begin to clean up after themselves because this is our school and we should definitely keep it clean because our school is a reflection of who we are.

 As the first quarter comes to an end people are realizing the mess that is left in the commons and they really don’t like it.

 I’ve talked to a few students who don’t like the fact that during their independent study period they have to clean up after the other students. Some wonder why the students are “irresponsible to clean up the mess they made during their lunch” 

infact me and a couple of friends stopped sitting in the commons during lunch periods because of the amount of chaos and trash all over. 

On top of that, the students that have to clean up others feel unsafe and think that there is a possibility that they will get sick and don’t think that it is safe at all. So I have thought about writing an article on it so we can make a change and create a way for students to dispose of their trash and not have to leave.

Over the two, one hour long lunch periods we have plenty of students who eat school lunch, bring their own lunches and buy things from the school store. 

People sit in their friend groups and can talk until the end of their lunch band and the crazy thing is is that when the invisible bell rings all students run to their next class leaving the trash of candy wrappers, sandwich bags, noodle cups, etc. lying around and the janitors are left to clean up after them  this is not ok and we need to put a stop to this before it gets any worse. 

I wouldn’t say that it is the kids fault. I think that the fact students only have two trash cans in the commons is the reason there’s so much trash because there’s nowhere to put it.

The amount of waste begins to stink up the commons and we are left with food particles everywhere on the floor in my now 4th year at SLA. I wonder how we get like this and before it was never like this and what can we do to change it.

Having only 2 trash cans in the commons is a problem and there is an easy solution. I think that we should get some designated trash cans that stay in one area so that people can find them easily. I think that there should be a recycle bin, and another trash bin for just plain trash like forks, bags etc. 

If we were to put three of these connected trash cans in the commons in three different locations I think that we would be able to keep our school clean and this will keep us in the position we need to be this will always make it an easier job on the janitors, the trash would be disposed of correctly and it would help the world in a way because things (trash) would be going to the right location.