Monthly Archives: April 2018

Fashion/Make-Up

Cheap online clothing stores: Are they a scam?

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By: Alivia Arredondo, Piper Gallivan, and Alani Bayon

There are many online stores out there, whether it’s for toys, mechanical parts, or something else, but most people shop online for clothes. There are a some websites that a few people have questions about how trustworthy they are. Since the prices are very inexpensive on these sites, many worry about the brands being scams, whether or not the quality of the clothes is good, and much more. We put two of the many available stores to the test: Shein and Romwe. Here are our results.

Clothes ordered from Shein:

*Note: The blue shirt we ordered is no longer available, so there is no picture for that

Clothes Ordered from Romwe: 

Shipping

Shein

The shipping time for Shein’s products can be a little deceiving. When you first add things to your cart and look how long it will take, it says 6-8 days. This seems like a reasonable time frame, and I gave it a little wiggle room so that it would come in time for my upcoming trip to New York. I got a link to track my package and I checked that every few days. After about a week, it still had not left the first processing facility, so I became suspicious and checked their shipping FAQ area, on a separate website, for information about their company. It turns out that the 6-8 days were for the processing time frame, and shipping would take another 3-7. I went back to my cart and realized it said 6-8 days to ship, which technically isn’t wrong. This was very annoying because they had laid out the information to make it seem like a much better process, and I bought into it. Even taking into account the 15 maximum days it should have taken to arrive, it still took about 20 days to arrive, a few days after I had already gotten back from the trip I originally ordered the clothes for.

Romwe

Shipping for Romwe surprised me, and actually came on time. My order was processed within the 4-5 days, as the website said it would be, and arrived one week later, which was the latest the website said it would arrive. However, once you purchased the item and it said it was being shipped, there was no way to track where your order was, so you had no idea whether or not your order was close to arriving. On some websites, you have the option to return certain items but on Romwe you cannot return swimsuits and other items listed on their website such as underwear.

Prices

Shein

The prices on Shein seemed very hard to beat, especially considering how cute and trendy the clothes looked. I would compare it to the lower side of the prices you can get at Forever 21. Most tops, pants, and accessories were under $10, and outerwear and shoes were under $20. I ordered a windbreaker jacket, 2 t-shirts, and 2 nicer tops; one cutout suede short sleeve, and a short sleeve with mesh and embroidered flowers at the top. All of this was $39 including tax, which is very cheap especially considering I got 2 tops on the fancier side.

Romwe

Prices on Romwe were very cheap compared to other stores. A normal cute swimsuit at any other store from, Target, PacSun, or Aerie, can range from $20-40 for just one part of a swimsuit like a top or bottom. At Romwe, you could purchase the whole swimsuit (top and bottom or one piece) from anywhere between $5-12. These prices were unbelievably cheap compared to regular suit prices. Also, the cost of shipping was free if you paid over $50 on that website. In general, buying one full swimsuit, from a traditional store, could cost you up to $60; on Romwe I purchased 6 suits for $60.

Fit

Shein

The reviews on the items I ordered usually suggested to order the clothes a few sizes up, so I did that for every item. The first shirt I ordered was a normal light blue T-shirt one size up from what I would usually get. It fit fine, but the only issue was that it was very cropped which I was not expecting. It was not a shirt I was going to be able to wear anytime soon in Minnesota, and maybe never because you could basically see the underwire of the bra I was wearing. I checked back at the website and there was no indication that it would be cropped, and no pictures on an actual model to see for reference.

Romwe

The swimsuits themselves really weren’t consistent with their sizes online. When you are purchasing an item on Romwe you can see the size chart and use that to help determine what size you are. However, this size chart didn’t prove to be accurate. All of the bottoms I ordered fit perfectly fine. The tops are another story. Some of the tops I ordered were way too big, to the point where I could wrap it around by body twice, and some were way too small. Two out of the 6 tops I ordered actually fit right. As for the others, they didn’t fit well and looked frumpy. Since you can’t return swimsuits, I was unable to return them and get my money back.

Quality

Shein

The quality wasn’t terrible. For getting each thing for under $10 dollars I was pretty surprised on how they turned out. Obviously, it isn’t the same quality as more expensive brands like PacSun or American Eagle. I would again say Shein is most similar to Forever 21 quality. Nothing was actually see through, which is always a risk when ordering things that cheap. The only thing I had issues with was the windbreaker. The material was something similar to a tent, and did not seem like it would protect against the cold. Overall, you get what you pay for, and you can’t expect great quality, but for what it is, Shein did a pretty good job.

Romwe

The quality of the swimsuits weren’t bad. Obviously, since they are so cheap, they aren’t amazing quality. None of the bottoms or tops were see through, and the stitching was well intact. However, there was no way to adjust the straps. On most suits you can adjust the straps to better fit your body but the swimsuits from Romwe did not have this option. Also, on many of the swimsuits, the clip in the back was very strangely placed so that once you had it on, it would ride all the way up your back and look really weird. The quality of the bottoms were all just fine. They weren’t uncomfortable to wear and didn’t feel cheap, so overall the quality was mediocre.

Appearance

Shein

The actual appearance of the items was pretty varied on what I ordered. Two of my items, the flower mesh top and the windbreaker, looked just like the pictures, but the blue T-shirt and the suede top were a different story. Like I previously said, the blue T-shirt was actually a crop top, so that did not follow the description on the website. The suede shirt was a completely different color than the rusty pink on the website, it was more just a light brown color. So, none of the items were completely different than what I had ordered, but it didn’t always completely match the description.

Romwe

Compared to their online images, the swimsuits all looked the same. They were all the right colors and patterns as they looked on Romwe. However, unlike normal online websites, there was no model or a picture of a person with the swimsuit, which would have been nice to have. For example, online the suit looked perfectly fine but when tried on, it turned out the swimsuit was much more revealing then it seemed to be, which was a problem. In general, the swimsuits had the right colors and patterns as promised but not necessarily the fit.

All-in-all, you should be cautious about how your online clothes might turn out. They may sugarcoat on how their products are. You should take these experiences into consideration before you order from Shein or Romwe. Order at your own risk, and keep in mind what measurements are listed, and that it might not turn out as you planned it to.

Adapted Bowling, Adapted Softball, Badminton, Baseball, Golf, Lacrosse, Scoreboard/Schedule, Softball, Sports, Tennis, Track & Field

Sports schedule for: Apr 16-20

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***Due to our ever-changing weather this spring season please refer to: www.stpaulcity.org  for up to date information.***

Spring Sports: Baseball, Softball, Boys Golf, Girls  Golf, Adapted Bowling, Adapted Softball, Boys Tennis, Badminton, Track & Field

Activities the Week of April 16-21

Monday Apr.16:

Boys Varsity Tennis @ Henry Sibley 3:30pm ( Bus 2:45/5:30pm)

Varsity & B -Squad Softball vs. Washington Tech. Magnet @ HP 4pm- Postponed

Varsity Baseball @ Harding 4:30pm  JV @ Conway Playground 4:30pm  (Bus 3:30/6pm)

Tuesday Apr. 17:

Wednesday Apr. 18:
Boys Varsity Golf 9 -Hole Tournament @ Como GC 1pm

Girls Varsity 9-Hole Tournament @ Cedarholm GC 2pm
Varsity & JV Badminton vs. Como Park @ HP 3:15pm

Varsity & B-Squad Softball vs. Johnson @ HP 4pm

Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Johnson @ HP 4pm  JV @ Phalen Tennis Courts 4pm (Bus 3:15/6pm)

Varsity & JV Baseball vs. Harding @ HP 4:30pm

Thursday Apr. 19:
Varsity & B-Squad Softball vs. Como Park @ HP 4pm
Adapted PI Softball vs. Rochester Raiders @ Humboldt 4:30pm

Friday Apr. 20:
JV Softball Invitational @ No. St. Paul McKnight fields 3:45pm (Bus 2:45/5:30pm) Cancelled

Varsity & JV Badminton @ Harding 3:15pm (Bus 2:20/5pm)

Boys JV Tennis @ Mpls. Southwest 3:15pm (Bus 2:30/5:15pm)

Boys ‘Bobcat’ Lacrosse vs. Coon Rapids @ Central HS 5:30pm

JV Baseball vs. Central @ HP 4:30pm   B-Squad @ Jimmy Lee Rec. Center 3:45pm (Bus 2:45/5:15pm)
 
Saturday Apr. 21:
Girls ‘Bobcat’ Lacrosse @ Columbia Heights 11am

Varsity Baseball vs. Central @ CHS Field 7pm (Bus 5:45/8:45pm)

Softball @ McKnight Fields 9am (Bus 7/11:45am) Cancelled

Go Scots

Editorials/Student Voice, News

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal and the testimony of Mark Zuckerberg

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Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, has been under fire recently for a scandal involving data immorally obtained from its servers by the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. In 2014, Cambridge Analytica began collecting identifiable personal information from an alleged 87 million users, 70 million of which are Americans (according to Facebook). According to the BBC, though Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed in a recent testimony, before the U.S. Congress, that the data collected included only mundane things such as “public profile, page likes, birthday and current city,” the scandal, exposed by former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie, has been enough to incite a nationwide conversation about privacy on the internet and consumers’ rights.

The Guardian has reported that Cambridge Analytica collected data in a dishonest method. The firm sent out a survey for allegedly “academic purposes” only, to which several hundreds of thousands of Facebook users consented. However, the survey collected information not only from the consenting users, but also from others in their social network. But, what is even more controversial is that this data was then sold to political groups, including the 2015 presidential campaign of Ted Cruz and politicians involved in the Brexit vote of 2016. Also, according to The New York Times, the data was detailed enough to develop psychographical profiles of its subjects, which could yield useful information to politicians on how to deliver their message to voters in different constituencies.

In the aftermath of the scandal, Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been very apologetic, calling it an “issue,” a “mistake” and a “breach of trust”; Cambridge Analytica have been less so. They maintain that the collected data amounts to that of only 30 million users, not 87.

It is also believed, by many on the left, that Cambridge Analytica played a crucial role in the election of President Donald Trump. Secret footage filmed by BBC’s Channel 4 News revealed bosses of the firm bragging about their role in his presidential campaign. Furthermore, a link has been drawn between Cambridge Analytica and the alleged efforts of the Kremlin in Trump’s campaign. Hillary Clinton has said, in Business Insider, “So you’ve got Cambridge Analytica, you’ve got the Republican National Committee — which, of course, had always done data collection and analysis — and you’ve got the Russians. And the real question is how did the Russians know how to target their messages so precisely to undecided voters in Wisconsin or Michigan or Pennsylvania; that is really the nub of the question. So if they were getting advice from, let’s say, Cambridge Analytica or someone else about ‘OK, here are the 12 voters in this town in Wisconsin — that’s whose Facebook pages you need to be on to send these messages,’ that indeed would be very disturbing.”

Clinton’s remarks about the dishonesty and creepiness of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s actions represent those of many Americans on either side of the political spectrum. According to CBS News, speaking on a recent poll about the scandal, “Eight in ten Americans who took the poll said they weren’t surprised to discover outside companies got hold of their data, and 63 percent believe their Facebook data is currently unsafe.”

According to The New York Times, in response to allegations of dishonesty, poor regulation, and monopoly, Zuckerberg testified before the US Congress on April 10 and 11. Though he stated that Russia and Cambridge Analytica are corporations that “seek to harm us and hack our democracy,” and, “Do we have a responsibility for the content people share on Facebook? I think the answer to that question is yes,” Zuckerberg offered evidence of no actual solutions for the crisis being implemented, and was hesitant to answer any significant proposals of reform with a yes or no answer. This is especially important seeing as the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is not the first political scandal Facebook has been involved in in recent years; there were also the “fake news” and hate speech controversies. Zuckerberg’s testimony was perhaps more entertaining than informative, with internet commentators and meme creators teasing “Zucc” for his use of a booster seat and his alleged “reptilian” appearance mannerisms, especially on the social media network Reddit.

Vox reports that a civil rights movement is building against Facebook and it is uncertain how much the company is willing to give. Many protesters claim that Facebook’s virtual monopoly on social media (owning the three largest networks in the company, with Instagram and Facebook Messenger) justifies government intervention. Many individual Americans have sued Facebook in their county for infringements relating to the scandal. But, something even bigger is on the horizon: on Thursday, as reported by The Guardian, a joint US/UK class-action lawsuit was filed against Facebook, Cambridge Analytics and two other companies for using individuals’ private information for “political propaganda campaigns.” Even after the repealing of net neutrality laws last December, the future of consumer rights online may not be so bleak.

News

The Liberian immigration

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On Wednesday March 28, 2018, the Liberian community had a walkout to the state capital. This walkout was based on the new law that the president passed on Liberian immigration status. The law says that all Liberian immigrants, with no documents, will have to relocate back to Liberia, by March of next year, 2019.

During this walkout, we had some people talk about how the new law had affected them in different ways, and people also talked about how it may cause problems for their families.

The walk was from Brooklyn Park to the capital, and it was almost twenty miles. The estimated number of people was about three hundred. I talked to some of the people that were involved in the walkout, and had some people share their thoughts about how they felt.

According to one of the people, whose name is, Mary Johnson,“I came here during the civil war and my kids been here all their lives and currently I have a sixteen-year-old daughter to take care of. I am also a single mother that has to take care of six children, and my husband died after the last kid was born so if this laws take place it is going to affect me and my family, and I don’t want that” she cried.

There was also a lady named Joyce Mulbah, who also said, “I came during the Ebola crisis in 2014 and I been working, and the only person that provided for my sick mom who just stays home and does nothing. So I hope that the president have mercy on us and let us stay here.”

Most people said that they are going to continue to march until the president or the house or senators do something. I hope that the president will do something about the problem before next year’s deadline, and help them too.

Editorials/Student Voice

Should there be security guards during the day?

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Should schools invest on getting security schools during the day?

Especially in high schools, there are a lot of students, and when things go crazy, one teacher can’t really control all of them. There are some schools that don’t have any guards at all.
Guards are usually there after school to check if any misbehavior is happening, or if anything suspicious happens. On this topic, we went around to ask for student opinions if they believe that schools should get security guards during the day.

The questions we asked them were:

1. Do you think schools should get security guards during the day? Why?

2. What do you think guards should do for the school?

3. If schools did get security guards, what do you think would be different?

Loren Sanchez: Yes, because it is far too easy for anyone to get into school property. I think guards should just pretty much check people who aren’t students or staffs. Well, the main difference would be our liberty, for example, students usually work in the hallways and with a cop around, it might make students feel uncomfortable. There might be security checks so students might feel like they don’t have any privacy.

Calista Vang: Yea, I think schools should get at least 2 security guards or more depending on the population of the school. I feel like instead of the vice principal controlling the cameras, the guards should be in charge of that. And also, there should be a camera at every door that leads into the school. I think something that would be different is that every kid might be searched through backpacks for things that shouldn’t be at school.

Sahra Ahmed: No, because then I won’t be able to get out of school. I think guards should just chill and protect us, but like still be serious about their jobs. There are many kids that come together to do things that really aren’t school appropriate, so guards should be more observant. I feel like at first it would cause a lot of problems with the students because a lot of people would get caught ditching class, but I feel like overall it would be beneficial because if something suspicious happens, the guards would be there.

We also interviewed officer Hull, who is an SRO, and asked him the same questions. He has been working here at Highland for 7 years now. This is what he has to say about the topic.

Officer Hull: I don’t know what to say about security guards, but if you ask me if our job was important here, I would say it is absolutely important. I think our kids are really good, they’re doing a lot of great things. There’s nothing much I want to change about the kids. But something about my job I would like to change is that, I want people to understand my job and my actions. I am not here to arrest people, I am here to build strong relationships with people and keep everyone safe.

In the end, people seem pretty divided about this topic. Some see advantages to having more security in school during the day, and some don’t think that it is necessary.

Editorials/Student Voice, Sports

Rise of Highland Park athletics

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Ever since I have known about Highland Park Senior High, I have been aware of the Highland-Central rivalry. When I was 7, my cousin Stefan Landreau, started at HPSH and there came the football season. Stefan would report back to his parents, Charlotte and Carlos, disappointed at how Highland would lose most sports games to Central and other tough SPPS schools like Como. In particular, they would get trounced in football every year which seemed to be the most important game of them all.

Next, followed Stefan’s younger brother, Ian, who was even more socially involved and outspoken and therefore even more angered and disgusted with how poor Highland athletics were. Maybe it was out of luck, or Ms. Galligan, the former Athletic Director, worked some magic of her own behind the scenes, but something changed in/around 2014.

I was keen to flip the switch in the sports that I could: soccer. I played varsity tennis in 8th grade, and our tennis program has been at the top of the conference, along with Harding, as one of the state’s best in boy’s tennis for several years. The soccer team was a different story.

I know of, and am friends with, some guys from the middle school that entered in with me: Josh Aune, Charlie Weill, Declan Flynn, Gabe Nelson, Mohamed Bue, Charlie Dombrow, and Abdi Gutu just to name a few star athletes in my grade. I had a feeling with the guys above us heading into their sophomore years such as, Amitri, Dreem, Joe, and some upperclassmen that this continued lack of achievement in athletics was bound to change.

Every year since I have been here, the records of our teams have gotten better and better. In my freshman year on the varsity soccer team we had a record of 5-12-1; already better than the past years.

Sophomore year, we were about .500 and saw a coaching change.

These past two years, we have been under a fantastic coach, have really impressive records (as well as two consecutive appearances in the section semis in which we lost to the eventual state champions last year and runners-up this year), have won a conference championship, and a one game slip-up caused us the championship last year.

The rise has not just been in soccer though. We have beaten Central in football for two straight years now (lead by Josh Aune), have been contenders for basketball (lead by Mohamed Bue and Ian Gallagher) and football conference championships, as well as being in section championships for the past couple years as well.

Now, the gradual success does not stop there. In volleyball, we have now won the conference championship four out of the last six years, led by Ellie Egbert and Michaela McGough, and girl’s tennis has had significant improvement in conference play lead by Sami Linssen and Neesha Moore.

image taken from: https://www.spps.org/domain/2793

Boys track has now won three conference championships in a row, lead by Josh Aune and Abdi Gutu.

The boys lacrosse team, lead by Declan Flynn, has improved their record drastically during my time at Highland.

The biggest surprises, however, came in cross country running and skiing. Both have now won the conference championship six or seven times in the last decade, with many finishes in the top 15 of state in recent years.

This new wave of achievement is remarkable, yet not overwhelmingly surprising or unprecedented. Even with fewer people at Highland, continued work-ethic and persistence have paved the way for significant results building reputation. Highland did have success in the 90’s and 80’s but gradually declined toward the turn of the 21st century.

I am willing to bet that Ms. Galligan’s magic propelled the next wave of athletes into stardom rather than a random group of talented athletes enrolling Highland Park High School. At least, that’s this writer’s opinion.