His motives are unclear & blank
But his effect on me has sank
He makes me stare at his gaze
While I think & forget my ways
His long, slim body haunts my dreams
While his pale, blank face causes screams
Once you see him, you can’t look back
But it’s impossible to do a sneak attack
His illusion is the biggest fear
But I can still sense that he is near
His actions has raised the bar
But I can still hear him calling me from afar
His image strikes fear in your heart
But the victims’ souls are torn apart
The legends about him are spilling
But the truth about him is chilling
For anyone who takes this as a joke
I’m warning you, you will start to choke
Do not repeat his frightening name
If you don’t want to play his game
The Star poetry contest was announced on Page One of the Feb. – March 2019 issue. Students had until Tuesday, April 30 to submit poems. Every year the Star and other poetry lovers celebrate National Poetry Month, which is held in April.
On Friday, March 22, Steinmetz finished 4th in the city for the most Scholastic Press Association of Chicago media awards, beating out Taft, Whitney Young, Pritzker Charter, Phoenix Military, Mother McAuley and many other Chicago high schools. The top award-winners were Jones, Lane, and Payton.
Steinmetz students received Excellent and Superior awards for their special coverage of seniors, sports reporting and feature writing, column writing, staff editorial, layout, and overall newspaper.
Individual award winners were Alyssa Avilez, Adrienne Henry, Rocio Flores, and Nelida Navarro. Co-editors-in-chief Tamara Johnson and Erika Carrasco contributed stories to the special coverage (of 2018 graduates) that received recognition. Dozens of journalism students and Newspaper Club students contributed to the Star staff editorial, and overall newspaper.
The Steinmetz Star has been in print for 84 years, regularly showing that all students are valuable and that their opinions matter. While many other high schools have dropped their newspapers, Steinmetz continues to support student voice, realizing the great benefits to the community that result from a print newspaper that is created by and for students.
]]>Some schools have uniform policy, and Steinmetz is one of them. A Star poll taken last year showed that 93 percent of students dislike the policy; seven percent of students are okay with the policy. Of the students who accept the uniform requirement, most still don’t feel comfortable wearing khaki pants.
The Local School Council changed the uniform policy three years ago to require khaki pants. Prior to that, the “Spirit Fridays” dress code (any pants with a Steinmetz shirt) was the regular uniform policy.
The LSC should drop the khaki pants requirement. Besides the fact that the pants are a sign of elementary, charter or Catholic schools, not neighborhood high schools, the council needs to have consideration on women.
For girls, it’s really uncomfortable to wear light-colored pants when we are on our period because an accident can happen and it makes us feel embarrassed. We don’t want to take advantage of it or say that we don’t want the uniform at all, we would like to just wear any Steinmetz shirt and any other type of pants.
The Star asked other students if they felt comfortable wearing khakis.
“No, I don’t feel comfortable,” senior Kimberly Peralta said. “I’m constantly worrying if I stained my pants. I have to be careful while I sit down. I feel way more comfortable with joggers because khaki pants are too tight.”
In addition to the fit, students dislike how dirty they get.
“It’s hard to find the right size of pants, and they get dirty really fast,” senior Yannaly Alvarenga said. “Also, we have to buy expensive pants because most of the times the fabric is cheap quality.”
Wearing khakis limits students.
“I don’t find comfortable khaki pants,” senior Lesly Martinez said. “I have to fold the bottom of the pants because they are too long. I get paranoiac when I’m on my days because khaki pants are literally close to white pants.”
Nearly all girls dislike wearing the pants when they’re on their period.
“I’m not comfortable wearing them because what if you get your period unexpectedly and if you get stained it would be very noticeable,” junior Erika Nieto said.
Boys dislike the khakis, too.
“I prefer to wear joggers because khaki pants are too tight and they are not comfortable,” senior Daniel Reyes said.
]]>[An excerpt of this piece was published in the Feb.-March 2019 Steinmetz Star print edition.]
The word “lost” means to unable to find one’s way; not knowing one’s whereabouts. Well, if you ask Bad Bunny, he’ll give you a more unique definition. Bad Bunny’s thoughts are that he thinks that being lost is not knowing who you are or were you stand. That’s his meaning of lost.
On his first and newest album called X100PRE (Forever), he wrote a very interesting song. Its name is RLNDT (Rolandito). It refers to the case of the child Rolando Salas Jusino, who disappeared on July 7, 1999 in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico; as a metaphor of how you feel: lost. The case of Bad Bunny is different, since he is lost by fame and without knowing himself.
The song’s opening line starts with him saying, “Hola, ¿Quién soy? No sé, se me olvidó”, meaning, “Helo, Who am I?, I don’t know, I forgot”. This part of the song, next to the title of it, refers to Rolandito’s case. Benito (Bad Bunny) does not talk about the case exactly, but he uses it as a metaphor to explore the subject of the depression he felt at a moment of apogee (the highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination) in his career. Having fame and success but not finding himself, feeling like a vacuum.
The first verse has him saying, “Hoy olvidé las coordenadas de mi destino, Se me dañó el GPS a mitad de camino, Y no sé si me raptaron o estoy perdido, Pero ya son varios días que no hablo conmigo, No sé navegar con esta oscuridad, siento que estoy algaro, No sé si dejarme llevar, no confío en los faro’ ”. He means, “ I forgot the coordinates of my destination, My GPS was damaged halfway through my journey, And I don’t know if they kidnapped me or I’m lost, But it’s been several days since I’ve talked to myself, I don’t know how to navigate with this darkness, I feel that I’m algaro (running), I don’t know whether to let myself go, I don’t trust the headlights”. All of this is about his journey through depression and how he doesn’t know who to trust anymore.
Near the end of the song, Benito says in a line, “¿Será como me crié o como crecí? Algo que escuché o algo que vi, Lo tanto que amo, ya no me hace feliz ¿Será que no lo amo o que no soy así?”. Saying, “Is it how I grew up or how I was raised? Something I heard or something I saw, So much that I love, it does not make me happy anymore, Will it be that I don’t love it or that I’m not like that?”. It refers to the love and/or attachment that came to feel for the things he got because of fame, they no longer make him happy. “Could it be that I do not love him or that I’m not like that?” Means that those things no longer give him happiness because the real Benito does not love them. Speaking of which he has deviated from the likes of Benito, who he really is.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer. While working in a supermarket as a bagger and studying at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, Bad Bunny gained popularity on SoundCloud. And he is now one of the most recognized latin artist throughout the world.
Now another song on his album, and probably the most liked, has a great meaning to it, it is called, Estamos Bien (We Are Fine). This is an upbeat song where Bad Bunny describes his fancy lifestyle and that he doesn’t care about what others think about him. At the same time talking about how he feels after Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico on September 16, 2017, Puerto Rico had no electricity for 6 months.
The song starts with Benito saying, “’Tamos bien (wuh), yeh, Sobran los billetes de cien, yeah, No hay nada mal, estamos bien, ‘tá to’ bien, hey, To’s los míos están bien, ‘tamos bien, hey”. Meaning, “We’re fine (wouh), yeh, We got bricks to spare, yeah, There’s nothing wrong, we’re fine, everything’s fine, hey, All of mines are fine, we’re fine, hey”. He talks about after everything, his family is still good, they are still wealthy, and they have nothing to worry about.
Almost at the end of the song, Bad Bunny says, “Aunque pa’ casa no ha llega’o la luz, Gracias a Dios porque tengo salud, eh, eh (amén)”. He says, “Although we have no light at home, Thank God because I have health, eh, eh (amen)”. Bad Bunny is referring to the Hurricane María that came across his home country in Puerto Rico on this line which caused an electrical issue across the country, yet he goes on and says that he’s still thankful to God for being healthy trying to say that as long as he’s healthy everything is fine.
Bad Bunny truly loves his work, he’s an achieving, unique, and talented artist. He now is one of the most famous latino celebrities. From a supermarket bagger to a famous artist. Benito Martinez is truly the only one of his kind. On July 21, 2018, Bad Bunny had a five-minute performance at the Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium as part of the set presented by DJ Alesso, who invited him to perform. He sang his lyrics to the Cardi B song “I Like It”. On October 11, 2018, Bad Bunny released “Mia”, a collaboration with Drake, first teased in January. The pair released the video in tandem. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Bad Bunny released his debut album X 100pre on Christmas Eve 2018. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 at it’s week of its release. That is El Conejo Malo, Bad Bunny.
First, ask yourself: What is breast cancer?
What did you come up with? For those of you who don’t know what it is, or happen to know very little about it, keep reading. This could change the course of your life or somebody else’s life.
Breast cancer is when cells divide and grow without their normal control. There are three main types of breast cancer: non-invasive (or DCIS), invasive, and metastatic.
Non-invasive breast cancer, or better known as DCIS, is caused by the abnormal cells that are contained in the milk ducts. These cells have not yet left the milk ducts to invade nearby breast tissue, which is why you may hear the terms “pre-invasive” or “pre-cancerous” to describe DCIS.
DCIS is treated to try to prevent the development of invasive breast cancer, but it can still be found alone or combined invasive breast cancer. Without treatment, DCIS could develop into invasive cancer over time. Invasive breast cancer occurs when cancer cells from inside the milk ducts or lobules break out into nearby breast tissue.
If breast cancer spreads, the lymph nodes in the underarm area (the axillary lymph nodes) are the first place its likely to go. Metastatic Breast cancer (also called stage IV or advanced breast cancer), however, is not a specific type of breast cancer, but rather the most advanced stage of breast cancer.
To put it into a better perspective, stage IV breast cancer is when the cancer has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body, most often the bones, lungs, liver and/or brain.
Treatments
Every breast cancer — depending on what stage of development that its in — has different symptoms and treatments that go along with it.
Non-invasive breast cancer can only be treated with surgery, whether it’s with or without radiation. After surgery and radiation therapy some women may take hormone therapy and with treatment prognosis/forecast of the final outcome is usually excellent.
The treatment for invasive cancer, on the other hand, includes a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. These treatments are designed to remove the cancer from the breast and destroy any cancer that might still be inside the rest of the body.
As of today, there isn’t a known cure for metastatic cancer. The treatment mainly focuses on length and quality of life. The treatment plan is guided by many factors, including the biology of the tumor (characteristics of the cancer cells), where the cancer has spread, symptoms, and past breast cancer treatments.
Men and women affected
Did you know that men can get breast cancer as well as women?
According to the Susan G. Komen organization, it is estimated that in 2019, there will be 2,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer, 500 breast cancer deaths for men, 41,760 breast cancer deaths for women, and an estimated amount of 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer.
Organized to help
Throughout the years there have been many organizations to help aid the fight against breast cancer, one of which has supported and helped me refine my understanding of cancer through this whole learning process. It is the Susan G. Komen non-profit organization, with the help of Ariel Thomas, the community programs manager for the organization’s branch here in Chicago.
The organization was founded by Nancy G. Brinker who made a promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen in Dallas, Texas in 1982, that she would do everything in her power to end or find a cure for breast cancer. The Susan G. Komen organization is now the largest and best funded breast cancer organization in the United States.
My aunt, who recently passed away from a late diagnosed breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer, had the symptoms, but never got it checked until it was too late. It was so late that not even chemotherapy would help. After she was diagnosed in December, she passed away six months later in June.
Having someone close to me go through something like this made me realize that I could help someone else and prevent them from going untested.
There are eight main warning signs of any kind of breast cancer:
* Lumps, hard knots, thickening inside the breast area or underarm
* Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast
* Change in size or shape of the breast
* Dimpling or puckering of the skin
* Itchy, scaly sore or rash on nipple
* Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
* Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
* A new pain in one spot of the breast that does not go away
For further information visit https://ww5.komen.org; call 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636); or email at [email protected].
]]>Of the 219 students who voted in the Star poll, 74 voted for Eniya, 38 percent of the voters. The second place finisher was Susana Mendoza, who received 51 votes, 23 percent of the vote.
219 students surveyed
Amara Enyia 74
Susana Mendoza 51
Lori Lightfoot 21
Bill Daley 19
John Kozlar 16
Toni Preckwinkle12
Gery Chico 12
Willie Wilson 7
Jerry Joyce 6
N.Sales-Griffin 4
Bob Fioretti 3
La Shawn Ford 2
Gary McCartney 2
Paul Vallas 2
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I’m so tired of students saying Steinmetz isn’t a great school, when you’re ditching class, not doing homework, failing classes, disrespecting teachers, fighting, spreading rumors, causing drama and etc.
Some of you bring your own demise to yourselves. You want to know why we don’t have a lot of clubs? Because everyone says it’s dumb and no one joins them.
How do you expect a school to put effort and change when you don’t even do anything yourselves. The only way Steinmetz will get better is if you get up and do your job as a student.
I’m sorry, but do not say Steinmetz is a bad school if you are not:
1. Taking any honor/AP/IB classes, or
2. In a school sport, club or activity, or
3. Putting your best foot forward in school.
Also, it is never too late to apply yourself in school. We just began a new semester. Apply yourself and see the change you create. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior about to graduate, straight A’s feel great and you can definitely achieve them. Steinmetz also has tutoring.
Our Black History Month hero today is one of the most gifted Americans of the 20th century – Paul Robeson.
He won an academic scholarship to Rutgers University, where he also became a football All-American and the class valedictorian. He earned a law degree at Columbia University while playing in the National Football League.
Paul Robeson
But it wasn’t athletic skills or his law practice for which he became internationally famous; he was known throughout the world for his singing and his acting – in plays and movies. He was a worldwide star.
Paul Robeson used his talents to entertain as well as to organize against racism in the United States and fight imperialism. He was a champion of working people.
He said: “The artist must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.”
Share your hero
Star reporters would like students and staff to share their Black History Month heroes with us. If you want to contribute to this feature, please comment at the end of this article. You may also meet with a Star reporter in Room 308 during Journalism class, 8th period.
See information on all the Black History Month heroes our students shared during morning announcements earlier this month in this post beneath these 2018 interviews.
Who is your Black History Month hero?
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019
Our Black History Month hero of the day is Fannie Lou Hamer, shared with the Star by English teacher Mr. Sloan.
Fannie Lou Hamer was a voting and women’s rights activist, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. She worked for Black people to be free to vote in the south.
Fannie Lou Hamer
She changed people’s lives with her courage and organizational skills.
She was the leader of Freedom Summer. She also demanded change the structure of the Democratic party so that Black people were represented.
In addition, she helped people gain financial freedom through her organization of business and housing co-ops.
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019
Our Black History Month hero of the day is A. Philip Randolph, suggested to the Star by history and civics teacher Mr. Patner.
A. Philip Randolph
Labor leader and social activist A. Philip Randolph fought for decent pay for African Americans through unionism in the early 1900s.
He founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black labor union.
He was one of the main organizers who pushed President Roosevelt to end racial discrimination in government defense factories and to desegregate the armed forces.
A. Philip Randolph was also a principal organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Friday, Feb. 15, 2019
Jackie Robinson is our Black History Month hero of the day.
Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball in 1947.
Jackie Robinson transformed baseball and the entire country by becoming the first African-American to play in the major leagues in the modern era.
“By stepping onto a major league diamond as a Brooklyn Dodger on April 15, 1947, he allowed a sport that thought of itself as the national pastime to finally be just that,” sports writer Claire Smith said.
Although baseball was his fourth best sport – he had excelled in football, basketball, and track in college at UCLA – he was one of the best players in the major leagues.
He endured abuse from racist players and fans, putting up with insults, hate mail, and death threats.
“At his best and bravest, showed us all how to be strong enough not to fight back but rather to fight on and on and on,” Smith said.
He used his celebrity to increase awareness about injustice. He fund-raised for freedom riders and lobbied politicians to support key civil rights initiatives. He was a board member of the NAACP and campaigned across the country in support of the movement.
His number 42, is the only number to be retired across all of Major League Baseball. Each year on April 15th, the day baseball players wear the number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson’s legacy.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Back in the days when integration wasn’t fashionable, Jackie Robinson underwent the trauma and the humiliation and the loneliness which comes with being a pilgrim walking the lonesome byways toward the high road of Freedom. He was a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides.”
Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019
Our Black History Month hero today is Maya Angelou, a teacher, activist, artist, actress, singer, dancer, author and poet.
Maya Angelou, poet
She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace, working for civil rights throughout her life. She inspired people with her six-part autobiography that began with “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” as well as her poetry, especially when she performed her pieces, as she did at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.
One of her greatest poems, “Still I Rise,” speaks to the resiliency, strength, and beauty that Black communities continue to show through hundreds of years of oppression and discrimination.
One of her greatest poems, “Still I Rise,” speaks to the resiliency, strength, and beauty that Black communities continue to show through hundreds of years of oppression and discrimination.
Still I Rise
By Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019
Today’s Black History Month lesson is about historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the origin of Black History Month.
The U.S. government officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, but it really started in 1926 when Negro History Week was created by Dr. Carter G Woodson, a historian, author, and journalist educated at the University of Chicago and Harvard. He chose the second week of February because of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Lincoln’s birthday is today; Douglass’s birthday is Monday.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Dr. Woodson created Negro History Week because Black Americans and their accomplishments were largely left out of the educational curriculum of that time; when African Americans were mentioned, it was usually with very demeaning imagery or discriminatory ideas.
According to Stacy Swimp of the Black Leadership Network, Dr. Woodson intended the observance to be a way to “fight back against the institutional hatred of the era and create more accurate teaching of American history. He wanted Americans to understand the strong family values, work ethic, sense of individual responsibility, spirit of entrepreneurship and dignity that was indicative of Black Americans and their African ancestors.”
Monday, Feb. 11, 2018
Today’s Black History Month hero is Ida B. Wells, a journalist who exposed the horror of lynching, something other reporters ignored. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of lynchings occurred in the south.
Ida B. Wells also taught school in Memphis, TN, and published reports on the poor conditions of the segregated schools. She stood up to racism when it happened to her personally. After she was forcibly moved when she refused to leave a train’s first class car, she won money damages in a civil lawsuit she filed.
Ida B. Wells, journalist
In addition to her influential writing, she became a national and international speaker, raising awareness of the racism in the U.S.
She also worked for women’s voting rights, refusing to have black women marginalized in that movement. She helped found the NAACP, although she stepped back from the organization when she decided it wasn’t militant enough. After she married, she and her husband raised their children in Chicago.
Ida B. Wells died of kidney disease at the age of 68. She left behind an “impressive legacy of social and political heroism,” according to Biography.com.
“With her writings, speeches and protests, Wells fought against prejudice, no matter what potential dangers she faced. She once said, ‘I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap.'”
]]>From Perla Gonzalez
I’m going to spend this Valentine’s Day with the ones who love me for who I am and who are always happy to see me – my dogs.
The love of my dog is worth every hair I find in clothes, every muddy paw print, every early morning walk, every dollar spent.
I just want to shout out to the best person with a heart of gold. I love you very much. Happy Valentine’s Day, best friend. Love, Sofia Martinez
Happy Valentine’s Day to my dog, Obi, from Marta Stasik. He doesn’t fail to make me feel better; he is the reason I’m in a good mood all the time. Whenever I feel like I have no one, he reminds me I have him.
Happy Valentine’s Day to Kim Taehyung for making me happy. Alejandra Cruz
To my best friend Sofia, I love you so much. You’ve given me a best friend, a sister, a whole new family, and a support system I never knew I needed. I’m blessed to have you and hope you know just how much I appreciate you. Thank you for putting up with me and loving me like no other. Thank you for being the Rico to my Pedro. We got this. Alyssa
To Maria Flores From Areli Ångulo-Perez I’m going to spend Valentine’s Day with my person that makes my day everyday and that loves me for who I am and supports me. The love I have for her gets strong everyday and there isn’t a day that i would go without telling her I love her and that she means everything to me and she never fails on making me the happiest person ever, like that’s my person. 12/22/17<3
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Imagine if the Mona Lisa had an obvious modification to it — something dramatic, like a gigantic scribble grazed over the entire painting, or something simple, like if she had a mustache. Even if it was one minor line it would change the entire outcome of the art piece. One simple line is all it takes to destroy or enhance a finished product.
Consider yourself a blank canvas. Endless possibilities linger in the air on what you will turn out to be. On this canvas there is an outline of your basic identity, and your ego becomes the main focus of this still life. However, everyone who comes in contact with you can leave a mark of any kind, ultimately affecting the end result of you.
Our ability to create a chain reaction is obnoxiously overwhelming. Our words spill out of our mouths like vomit, and since we want to be heard, it feels like it is impossible to contain them.
This all could be easily summed up into one simple sentence: What you do affects people, so watch what you say and do.
But that isn’t intense enough. It is so incredibly easy to disregard the impact that these random words hold. The order in which we place words can make a difference or just become repetitive things said in different variations. We are capable of enhancing each other.
Educate yourself on issues happening in the world, or even just about one specific person, and strive to make things better.
Unity is necessary for survival; there is absolutely no point in hating each other or disrespecting others because of their beliefs and opinions when toxic issues in the world are unraveling before our eyes.
Step away from just your perspective in the world and absorb compassion and love. Not everyone will agree with what you believe in or stand for, and that is simply okay.
Dreaming becomes a beautiful tool, especially when having an optimistic point of view. The power we have to imprint all things possible is combusting inside of us.
Instead of saying controversial things to be funny, or purposefully hurting or insulting someone for simply living, acknowledge the impact you have on yourself and others and constantly try to be better.
Everyday, everyone has the potential to be different. No one is the same as he or she used to be. Constant change, whether it is negative or positive, continues to flourish.
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