The Union St. Journal: Cherry Creek High School's official news source

Union St. Journal
The Union St. Journal: Cherry Creek High School's official news source

Union St. Journal
The Union St. Journal: Cherry Creek High School's official news source

Union St. Journal
Wryn Duepre

Wryn Duepre, Chief Photographer

Hi, my name is Wryn and I am a senior! I am the Chief Photographer for the USJ and this is my second year doing so! I love writing, reading, and taking pictures. I am a freelance photographer in my spare time and I love teaching photography and creating impactful photos that tell stories!
All content by Wryn Duepre
Despite the health benefits of being outside, students often fall victim to endless scrolling and brain rot. The algorithms on different social media apps make it harder to put the phone down, but doing it can be beneficial.

[Photo] Put Your Phone Down and Pick Up Your Mental Health

Izzy Krauss, Opinions Editor
May 13, 2024
Many people use “KMS” as a common saying to express irritation. This normalizes and devalues cries for help.

[Photo] Get a New Punchline: ‘KMS’ Is Not Funny

Jude Gorden, Features Editor
May 13, 2024
Dr. Kelly Albada is not just Principal Silva's assistant and office manager; She's a PhD, a professor, an R&B fan, and world traveler.

[Photo] Behind the Scenes

Alex Gribb, Editor-in-Chief
January 11, 2024
Junior Giselle Yokomichi poses behind a curtain. For Yokomichi, her experience with sexual assault was a battle between sharing her story and staying quiet. "As far as my own experience and others, a lot of the time you want to stay anonymous and we want to keep the other person anonymous," Yokomichi said. "You don't want to be reminded of it. I feel like most victims want to stay quiet and hidden away."

[Photo] ‘You Never Really Heal From Something Like That’

Alex Gribb, Editor-in-Chief
March 16, 2024
In an effort to save paper waste and increase testing security, AP made nine AP tests fully digital using College Board's Bluebook app. Creek will administer three AP tests online in 2024, then four more in spring 2025.

[Photo] College Board Makes Nine AP Tests Fully Digital Across the Nation

Jonathan Lee, Assistant Video Editor
April 11, 2024
Senior James Taylor uses his crocheting skills to design some of his outfits. Often he gravitates toward more feminine patterns.

[Photo] Be a Man, Wear a Dress: Femininity on the Rise in Men’s Fashion

Jude Gorden, Features Editor
April 2, 2024
Most math classes have a workbook created by math teachers and modified each year to meet student needs. The new OUR (Open Up Resources) curriculum may change the extent to which teachers are involved in creating their classroom resources.

[Photo] CCSD Mandates New Algebra 1 Curriculum

Amanda Castillo-Lopez, News Editor
April 2, 2024
Students often group up through shared experiences and interests, often resulting in gatherings of the same race or ethnicity. “Me and my friends have a lot of shared experience, from our culture, to home lives, to experiences in general,” junior Angie Wang said.

[Photo] The Power of Shared Experience: Why Students Self-Segregate

Angela Xu, Chief Artist
March 27, 2024
Creek teacher Michael Mazenko came to Creek 21 years ago. He’s leaving this year after a career of teaching English, mentoring students, and working as an administrator.

[Photo] The Legacy of ‘Mazen-glish:’ 21 Years at Creek

Serenity Hurtado, Staff Writer
April 3, 2024
LET IT OUT: Theo Odendahl poses for a photo in the mirror. Men struggle with not being allowed to cry their whole lives. This causes lash outs, breakdowns, and more. This unspoken rule that men can’t cry needs to stop.

[Photo] Men Aren’t Allowed to Cry, and It’s Killing Them

Rue Minar, Staff Writer
March 25, 2024
English teacher Erika DeShay Lowenkron incorporates queer texts in the new course CP Introduction to Queer Literature, including classical works such as Orlando by Virginia Woolf as well as contemporary LGBTQ+ writings. “The goal is to try to give a little bit of history of queer authors and queerness in literature,” DeShay Lowenkron said.

[Photo] CP Introduction to Queer Literature Highlights LGBTQ+ History and Experiences

Izzy Krauss, Opinions Editor
January 11, 2024
As students walk through the hall, they are bombarded with slurs, leading to harmful mindsets. While this happens many teachers hide in their classrooms protecting themselves rather than the students.

[Photo] Our Solution To Hallway Slurs: Admin Intervention

Jude Gorden, Features Editor
October 27, 2023
Some Jewish students feel the need to disguise their religious identities due to rising antisemitism. "This is a societal problem. Can we completely eradicate hate?" Campus Middle School Principal Lisa Staal said. "I'd like to think so. But in order to do that, we need allies and advocates."

[Photo] ‘That’s What My Grandparents Did’: Jewish Students Force to Adapt to Antisemitism in Schools and Beyond

Alex Gribb, Editor-in-Chief
October 27, 2023
Constant stress: On many buses within the district, girls continually get harassed verbally and physically. This continues to happen every day, with nothing being done to stop it. The disruptions in the back of the bus not only harm the riders, but distract the drivers as well.

[Photo] The Bus Ride Home

Sophia Hady, Staff Writer
October 26, 2023
Sophomore Addison Beck finishes up homework at the Starbucks on Bellevue Square, which closed for business on Oct. 13. For students like Beck, this Starbucks location was part of their daily routine. “I come here like almost every day after school because that's where my mom picks me up,” Beck said before the closure. “And it’s great because [it has] free Wi Fi and I just get my work done.”

[Photo] Belleview Square Starbucks Closing

Gabby Schrock and Paola Juarez Gonzalez
October 25, 2023
Teens often drink caffine to stay awake during school, but many experts say their dependency on the drink is rapidly becoming an addiction.

[Photo] It Gives You Wings, But At What Cost?

Jude Gorden and Sydney Smith
May 9, 2023
Six Creek Students Receive Colorado Regional Art Award

Six Creek Students Receive Colorado Regional Art Award

Wryn Duepre and Maddie Hart
April 20, 2023
Junior Sara Swedan yells while attending a Creek home game against Pine Creek Varsity Girls’ basketball team. Games can quickly become competitive, yet many students enjoy the competitive atmosphere. “There’s always banter between us but it’s in,” Grandview High School Grayson Wolfe said.

[Photo] Outside Looking In: How Local Students View Creek

Gabby Schrock, Assistant A&E Editor
April 7, 2023
English teacher Christin Jacob lectures her AP Language and Composition class. After teaching at Creek for 18 years, Gilbert will next year take on the role of English Coordinator.

[Photo] Christin Jacob to Become New English Department Coordinator

Sydney Smith, Staff Writer
March 13, 2023
Sophomore Jude Gorden constantly finds themself waiting for long amounts of time to get into the gender-neutral bathrooms. While these bathrooms were established for trans and nonbinary students, cis students and faculty still use them.

[Photo] Can They Hold It? Trans Students’ Bathroom Options Are Lacking

Jude Gorden, Assistant Opinions Editor
March 13, 2023
Students gathered in Shillinglaw and the Innovation Center to watch Creek play Grandview in the 2023 Class 6A Semifinals on Friday. Creek lost to Grandview 31-28 after a series of Grandview advances in the last half.

[Photo] Girls’ Basketball Loses Semifinal Game to Grandview

Quinn Rudnick, Managing & Sports Editor
March 12, 2023
ChatGPT is the most advanced publicly available chatbot on the internet right now. Because of its human-like writing, it’s difficult for teachers to tell if it’s human or robot writing. “It's kind of like with calculators in math,” said Dr. Rob Harper, a professor of history at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “Even though it's really handy to have a calculator to run equations, there is still value in figuring out how to do long division or all these other things ourselves.”

[Photo] Essay-Writing AI Threatens Academic Integrity

Peter Philpott and Ayushi Sah
March 12, 2023
A new Colorado law puts a small fee on disposable plastic bags and will completely eliminate them in 2024. “Plastic is really an egregious offender in climate change, both in the production and in disposal,” Colorado Senator Lisa Cutter said. The bill’s sponsors hope that their bill will positively affect Colorado’s environment and encourage more people to buy reusable bags.

[Photo] Shoppers Pay for Plastic Under New Bag Law

Peter Philpott and Natalia Perusquia
March 12, 2023
Senior Rhodes Hickey tries out for the varsity baseball team on Feb. 27. Tryouts lasted for three days before the spring season began.

[Photo] Four Things You Didn’t Know About Creek Baseball

Avery Hutchins and Isabel Alley
March 13, 2023
On Monday, senior Raegan Knobbe (pictured) and juniors Coco Katskee and William McDavid hosted a livestream for Cherry Creek Sports Network, aiming to raise funds for Bags of Fun and celebrate Power Week’s kick-off. The livestream featured special guests like senior Blake Purchase and 9News reporter Scotty Gange. “The importance of hosting this livestream is to raise money for Bags of Fun,” senior Sam Pemberton, who participated in the live stream, said. “[It] impacts the students by getting them ready for the events, [the] dress up days to come, and to raise money to support Bags of Fun.”

[Photo] Creek Raises $51,000 For Bags of Fun in Record Power Week: See Moments Here

Carly Philpott, Alex Gribb, Quinn Rudnick, Gillian Neale, and Gabby Schrock
February 24, 2023
Senior football players celebrate signing to colleges on Feb. 1st, National Signing Day. All 13 players intend to pursue sports related majors in college.

Thirteen Football Players Sign to Colleges: “Big Dream For a Lot of Us”

Wryn Duepre, Chief Photographer
February 2, 2023
Junior Sydney Soderholm-Hudson acts as the dungeon master during a game of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Creek's D&D club invites players of all levels to stop by or join the club. “Our group would love to expand and get more people involved, and it’s a great way to meet people and just have fun doing something,” Earnest said.

[Photo] Creek’s Dynamic Dungeons and Dragons Club

Emily Gleason, Features Editor
January 11, 2023
ASL teacher Anne Zurcher teaches one of her level one ASL classes. She makes sure to be aware of any students with any hearing difficulties. “Those little things that you might not think of come naturally and are more obvious to me now that I’ve been involved in the Deaf community for a long time,” Zurcher said.

[Photo] Anne Zurcher Amplifies Accessibility

Isabel Alley and Sydney Smith
December 20, 2022
Students perceive each other in highly critical ways. This is only magnified when the person being observed is transgender. Sophomore Aram Bazarian sat with a trans pride flag for our cover in an all too familiar position. As a trans person at Creek, Bazarian often feels isolated from students around him, not only because of his identity, but also because of the possible hate he could experience for being himself. “Some [students] have never met a trans person before,” senior Karter LaBarre said. “So I sometimes have some educating to do.” Educating their peers is the tip of the iceberg for these trans students. Name-changes, basic respect, and deadnaming are all part of the trans experience.

[Photo] Across the Hall

Carly Philpott and Aurora Miller
November 1, 2022
Belleview Elementary student Delaney Kregas scans her RFID card upon boarding her bus. Belleview implemented the card system earlier this school year to help transportation staff have an accurate count of how many students will be on the bus that day.

District Plans to Reduce Bus Overcrowding

Wryn Duepre, Staff Writer
October 31, 2022
Part of the Creek drumline performs with the marching band during the Western Welcome Week Parade. In addition to the marching band's general win, the drumline also placed first in their own category Aug. 20.

Marching Band Claims First Win of Season in Western Welcome Week Parade

Carly Philpott and Wryn Duepre
August 30, 2022
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