Will Gonsior, Opinions/A&E Editor
• October 10, 2024
“Ascending the stage” is a term that invokes the image of someone realizing their potential before an enraptured audience. This is the Tamil meaning of the word arangetram, the first solo...
The spread of English has its roots in 17th-century British colonialism and imperialism. As the language of the British Empire, history’s largest group of states, colonies and territories under one power,...
Welcome back to the international playlist series, featuring the FINAL six bilingual students, and languages ranging from Greek to Haitian Creole to Sanskrit. This series has featured a total of 18 students...
Cultural diversity traces its roots across West High, featuring students fluent in Korean to Bengali to Farsi. There is no shortage of foreign customs in the halls that surround us. With that, welcome...
From Portuguese to Hindi to Mandarin, our community is filled with countless languages, each with its own culture just waiting to be shared. Through this series, featuring six students at a time, members...
SOPHOMORE SAMIR SHAIK: Many people forget that Saint Louis is a cultural melting pot. Each year, countless cultural festivities are held that celebrate people from all walks of life.
SOPHOMORE...
Mdalala Abdeljabbar
Ayaan Sajid
Yunhao Zhao
Alysse Custard
Siddharth Sistla
Did you actually read those names? Did you take the time to try to pronounce them correctly? Or did you just skim...
Blackface. "Spirit animals." Kimonos. In today’s day and age, cultural appropriation — the adoption of one aspect of a culture from another, often disrespecting the original culture — is something...
![Eyes tracing his book, freshman Auggie Prsha works to translate a passage in Latin teacher Tom Herpel's classroom. Prsha decided to take Latin after hearing about the fun classroom activities, but he quickly began to see the effects of learning a foreign language in the world around him too. “Sometimes in English class, I can [recognize] some Latin words, and I notice Latin in other places [as well]. I enjoy the people [and] learning from Herpel,” Prsha said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/prsha.jpg)
![“[High School] is definitely better than middle school. [I’ve been on] the step team [since middle school]. It’s been around for many years. What [we] do as a team is a form of cultural African American dance that originated in the 1800s to communicate without words. It has been used by sororities and fraternities for 50 plus years. In elementary, they came to perform at my school. So [then] I was interested in it and it made me want to join when I got to sixth grade. My mom has supported me every step of the way since I was in sixth grade. And she intends on doing it until I decide I don’t want to be on the team anymore. I look up to my mother because she has always put 10 toes down [ & devoted herself ] to me, and she just supports me in every way. She always has my back. [Step has] impacted my life, I've made new friends, of course. I've actually learned more by being on the step team. Education wise, it has [even] helped me get my grades up.” - Trent Young, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_0390-1200x800.jpg)
![Cultural appropriation is being called out in mass media and online, but the line between appropriation and appreciation can often be hard to identify. Recently, Asianfishing and Westernization have become more acknowledged by the media, but it’s important to understand exactly why they are harmful. “Cultural appropriation can give [people] the wrong concept of [certain] cultures. They’re seeing what the American media perceives these [cultures] to be, and a lot of times that’s not [what] it [is],” sophomore Anu Pidikiti said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-01-10.02.27-AM.jpg)