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Community, Feature, Front/Home

Homecoming Court

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     Alaina Hoover

     Friends and couples are given the opportunity to compete against each other to be on homecoming court. Students who are nominated are looked up to, and the tradition is known to be a fun experience. 

     Student council was in charge of coordinating voting, and it took place on Wed, Sept. 11 through an anonymous link sent through email. Students voted for two people in their class who they think deserved the spots.

     This year’s freshman candidates are Chloe Brooker and Antonio Fabela. For the sophomores, Olivia Taylor and Benjamin Elmore . The juniors representatives are Claire Hawes and Brian Rath, Sydney Cravens and Tristen Harper.

     Seniors have the chance to win Homecoming king and queen if they are on court. The options are Abi Baldwin and Adam Folk, Julia Csernyik and Ethan Hearty, Emily Thomas and Williams Boggs, or Elora Nicholas and Matthew Duffy.

  Some people did not receive the email, or did not even know voting was going on. Many students thought the process was unfair that it was not made more clear how to vote; however, voting was not re-opened.

     Everyone on court attends Luncheon on Wed, Sept. 25 during seventh period to go over everything they need to know for the parade, game and dance. They also all practice the announcing at halftime of the Homecoming game during ninth period on Fri, Sept. 27.

    In the parade on the same Friday, court sits on the back of cars and are presented to the city. During the game they sit on the sidelines under a tent. Later on, the courts are announced at halftime.

     They walk down the center of the field with their parents, while the students’ future plans are announced over the speakers. Every senior is given a box; the girl with the red flowers is queen, and the guy with the red crown is king.

     Baldwin is most excited for the Homecoming parade and football game. She is looking forward to making new memories and cannot wait to be part of this tradition.

     “Adam and I both love Stow, and we are such a close couple. He’s practically my best friend, and we will represent Stow really well,” Baldwin said.

   Taylor is thrilled to be on court and said, “It is a privilege to win, and I’m excited that we did. I hope we have a fun evening and treasure that special memory.”

     Homecoming court can be a lot of pressure, since the couples are in front of the whole city and school. Court has many expectations to live up to and are idolized.

     “I think it will be fun to go to all of the events, but slightly stressful because we will be in front of many people,” Rath said. He still hopes to have a fun time and add to his highschool experience.

     As freshmen, Brooker and Fabela are looking forward to making new friends. Court is a great way to get out there and be known.

      “I feel like this experience will be fun because of the connections we can make with others,”  Brooker said.

     The dance is held on Sat, Sept. 28 in the highschool gym. Tickets can be purchased during lunch periods from Mon, Sept. 23 to Fri, Sept. 27. Homecoming court will be called in, and a slow dance will be held between the king and queen.

 

Community, Front/Home

Alzheimer’s Walk

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     Shea Sullivan

     Around 1,200 people gathered at Canal Park in Downtown Akron for the annual Alzheimer’s Walk, a disease that 5.8 million Americans are diagnosed with every year. 

     On Sept. 14, those affected by alzheimers walked in support of their loved ones taken away by this disease and raised awareness for the costly effects of this epidemic.

     According to the NY Daily News, 83,000 people in the United States die every year from alzheimers, and it is currently the most expensive disease, costing the government $277 billion a year.

     Over 600 different cities host an Alzheimer’s Walk in their community, organized by a local Alzheimer’s Association. At this Akron walk, a total of $172,530 was raised from individual participants, teams and businesses.

     Education programs, caregiver support groups and chapter events–such as this annual walk–are just a few of the many services provided by the Greater East Ohio Alzheimer’s Association.

       “So many people are affected by this disease, so the money raised for this helps the programs and services we offer at no cost. Without these fundraisers, we would not be able to help the community with all we do, and it raises awareness for this disease which is becoming a bigger issue,” Volunteer Coordinator Bernadette Duffy said. 

      A symbolic tradition from this event are the alzheimer’s flowers. These flowers have different colors for different meanings and promote the prevalence of this illness within families and the community. 

     A yellow flower represents that someone is a caregiver for someone with alzheimers, purple represents someone who has lost a family member or friend from alzheimers, orange supports the vision for a world without alzheimers and blue is for someone diagnosed with alzheimers. 

     A one mile and two-and-a-half-mile walk were options for participants, spanning from canal park, through downtown Akron, to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath. Sunny weather made for a great turnout and enthusiastic crowd. 

     Aside from the actual walk, a scavenger hunt was put together around the park for participants, and organizations set up booths to promote how their work helps those with alzheimers. 

     “This event had many outlets that could help those who were affected by this disease in any way. There was a lot of fundraising, medical information and political help during this event,” volunteer and senior Abigail Baldwin said.

     Volunteers for this event participated in advocacy, encouraging walkers to sign a petition supporting the Ohio Congress to fund more research for alzheimers. 

     According to Act.alz.org, Ohio funds $450 million into alzheimer’s research, but needs to increase funding to at least one billion “in order to translate today’s basic research findings into tomorrow’s treatments.” 

     No matter how far someone walked in support of this cause, at the end of the day, thousands of dollars were raised and hundreds of people came together in support of one common goal: furthering the fight to end alzheimers.