After the 45th

VonDras voices her concerns for political problems Pussy Hats. Ranging in colors from hot pink, light pink, bright pink, to coral pink, these cat-eared hats are simple yet effective when it comes to providing those who advocate for women’s rights with a unifying visual statement. Joan VonDras, a retired Glenridge Elementary School teacher and current resident of the Clayton community, uses her k...

The 2015 CHS graduate hopes to pursue a career in politics “Kent, my old basketball coach [at CHS], used to say, ‘Play with a chip on your shoulder.’ I knew what it meant, but I never truly understood internally what it meant until the election,” Reeves Oyster, CHS graduate of the class of 2015, said. By election, Oyster means the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump, which she has grapp...

Video Production Teacher Justin Seiwell explains what it is like to be a journalism teacher in the post-election environment “Ever since I was little, both of my parents were pretty vocal in the house as far as where they stood on things,” said CHS Video Production and Forensics teacher Justin Seiwell. “Growing up in [a] household that had that kind of discourse, I’ve never been someone who can ju...

Students stand up and speak out in order to be heard “I really am a protest girl at heart. I go to protests whenever I can. I love the atmosphere of a protest and the community within a protest,” said CHS senior and social activist Brooke Jones. “When Michael Brown was shot, there was something that sparked inside me. After the shooting, I began to attend protests,” she said. “Many times...

Two years in Clayton and Humphreys is already a community leader Lisa Humphreys identifies as a feeler, a person whose emotions are codependent with those of others. In other words, Humphreys desires peace and harmony but fears that current political divisions threaten to disturb these ideals. Her first reaction has been to be proactive about responding the changes in government. Humphreys’ newest p...

CHS senior builds community connections “You grow up naive, ignorant to everything,” senior Natasha Jain-Poster said. For her, this all changed when a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri killed Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American man. “When the situation in Ferguson happened, I was really hurt. My mom was like, ‘We need to go to this Ferguson protest.’ It was a Black Lives Mat...

Murphy hopes to build community through personal dialogue After the most recent election, Clayton parent Julie Murphy felt a calling that she never had before. “Before, I never felt pressured ... And now I just, I can’t watch the news and know that I am doing nothing.” In the past, Murphy volunteered for mayoral elections and participated locally, but she believes that this particular politi...

In the late 1980s, Karen Handelman and a couple of her friends got in a car and drove from college in Michigan to Washington D.C. to march in protest of restrictions on reproductive rights. Thirty years later, Handelman relived the moment, this time accompanied by her daughter, as she took to the streets to participate in the Women’s March on St. Louis. For Handelman, however, the march was only...

Sehi takes action by getting involved in her community “Sure he’s a businessman, but I don’t think he really knows what he’s doing,” Sehi said. CHS senior Auriann Sehi has been an active participant of the rapidly growing ‘resistance’ movement – a sentiment sparked by the recent election of Donald Trump. “My current concerns about the government are that certain interests of certai...

Johnson speaks hopefully about the progress America is bound to make after the election “I felt like I had woken up to a new world, which wasn't true, obviously. We had been living in that world the whole time,” CHS Spanish teacher Señor Johnson said. Johnson was shocked by the recent election. “It was just that that world existed to such a great extent that I think a lot of us were surpri...

A life-long interest in social change encourages Baker to help her students find their voice “I can’t sit around and do nothing,” Wydown Middle School Literacy teacher Deb Baker said. “I feel like I have a responsibility to try to promote change in places where I think change needs to happen.” Baker has been passionate about certain social issues since a very young age. “I think that my...

CHS parent and longtime Clayton resident has been an active protester of Trump's administration Amidst a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people in Washington D.C. on Jan. 21 was CHS parent and Washington University Italian professor Iva Youkilis. It was the Women’s March, the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history, aimed at newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump. Youkilis’ unique ex...

Clayton parent Jessica Del Pilar has taken to the streets in response to the state of politics Clayton resident Jessica Del Pilar has been participating in the fight against injustice alongside many others in the Clayton community. The Glenridge mother of two has become involved with different groups, marches and Lobby Days for over a year. With the future of her country and her children in mind, De...

CHS senior Dominic Derfler is taking a stand against hate within the halls of CHS On Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, many CHS students decided walk out of class at noon in protest of Trump’s entrance to office. Senior Dominic Derfler had been asked by student organizers to speak at the event, however he did not know at that point that he would soon become a leader of the whole march. Students met in...

The Social Studies teachers offer perspectives on the historical significance of the Trump presidency and how to address the controversy in the classroom. A main component of all history classes is to draw parallels with the events of the past and the events of the contemporary world. The Trump Administration is no exception to this rule and the CHS social studies department is intent on discussing t...