Local

Know: KWMU reported that Kirkwood High School freshman Kiden Smith complained about another student’s behavior to her grade-level principal.

Inform: Smith is a black student at KHS, a predominantly-white school. When she saw another student wearing what looked like blackface, she immediately notified staff members at the school. The offending behavior involved what the offender claimed was a beard made of charcoal. That student left a chemistry class where the offending student had donned the beard when Smith saw him. Smith reported the offense, which has lead to community members expressing concerns at a Kirkwood School District Board meeting.

Care: These are charged political times, and St. Louis is no stranger to racially-charged unrest. EHS continues to work on dialogue and building strong relationships of understanding with organizations like Eureka Equity and Gender and Sexual Advocacy. One person’s actions can trigger events beyond one’s control, especially when people feel disconnected or undermined.

National

Know: Recordings of presidential candidate Donald Trump and former Access Hollywood anchor Billy Bush talking about groping and kissing women surfaced, Oct. 7. Republicans who previously came out in support of Mr. Trump and his campaign for presidency has since renounced their support, including House speaker Paul Ryan and former nominee John McCain. Mike Pence, Trump’s own running mate, issued a statement via Twitter shortly after the “Trump Tapes” were released. Trump explained his comments as simply being “locker room talk.”

Inform: Many professional athletes took offense to Mr. Trump’s dismissive excuse for his comments. Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Doolittle took to Twitter to share his experiences in locker rooms, “As an athlete, I’ve been in locker rooms my entire adult life and uh, that’s not locker room talk.” Among the other athletes who also had an issue with what Mr. Trump said were University of Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley, former Philadelphia 76ers point guard Kendall Marshall and Atlanta Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme. The hashtag #NotInMyLockerRoom also began to trend following the string of athletes’ tweets. Following the presidential debate, Oct. 9, Muslim twitter users began to use the #MuslimsReportStuff hashtag to make their opinions heard. Some users also used the hashtag to poke fun at Mr. Trump.

Care: With, exactly 27 days remaining until election day, everything the candidates say and do will face intense scrutiny. The “Trump Tapes” scandal has had a negative impact on his campaign thus far, but if it causes him to lose the race is yet to be seen. This election cycle has proven to be particularly divisive, and EHS students are still divided on who they want in the Oval Office come Inauguration Day according to the latest Twitter poll posed by the Hub.

International

Know: Sightings of “creepy clowns” progressed from being reported mainly in the U.S. to now being prevalent in the UK. Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire are among the towns and counties reporting sightings of people in clown costumes carrying objects such as knives.

Inform: The creepy clown chaos began with an isolated incident in South Carolina, a young boy told his mother that there was a clown outside their Greenville apartment, Aug. 29. After this, reports of “creepy clown” sightings made a trend across the U.S., and now they have spread to the UK. North Yorkshire, a county in England, saw over eight reports of people dressed up as clowns, chasing after people, sent to the police. In Essex, another county, the police arrested two boys, ages 14 and 16, for dressing up as clowns and jumping out at and chasing people. A man dressed in a clown mask was hit in the face when a concerned man attacked him in Cambridgeshire, Oct. 10.

Care: While EHS itself has not seen had any clown sightings, both Parkway and Hazelwood School Districts have had to increase security on at least one occasion due to concerns among the community. Students may find dressing up as a clown and scaring other people funny, but it has become a serious issue for both people living in and the police departments of the communities who have been affected by the craze. Dressing up in an outfit and mask and wielding a weapon, fake or otherwise, is enough to scare children and adults alike. Police officers who have to respond to reports from concerned citizens are spending time away from more pressing issues and responding to what could be an unintentionally-harmful prank. Students should also keep in mind that the “creepy clown craze” is just that-a craze. While it may often be trending on social media, it won’t be popular forever. As with any trend or craze, it will eventually fade away.