West Side Story

WSS Weebs episode 1

Sam Westergaard, Videographer and Photographer • October 20, 2020

In the first episode of WSS Weebs, host Sam Westergaard '21 and co-host Landon Mohr '21 discuss anime recommendations, underrated animes, as well as where to watch certain anime. The West Side Story...

Broken season

Krisha Kapoor, Hanah Kitamoto, Tosh Klever, and Alaina Greenlee • October 17, 2020

As the summer heat fades into an autumn breeze, the cool weather is normally met with roaring crowds on the bleachers of West High and the excitement that comes along with the fall sports season. The cheering...

District discrimination

Bess Frerichs, Maggie Huang, and Abby McKeone • October 16, 2020

This piece was written as a companion to WSS's 10/16 cover story, Unmuted. Stories of people being called slurs, acts of harassment and discriminatory jokes. All of these things, and more, have been...

Organizing online school

Vivian Polgreen, Cassandra Michaels, and Helelia Wa Kalala • October 10, 2020

The 2020-21 school year has been a change of pace for everyone. For students enrolled in the online academy, the change in routine has been especially drastic. While there are many benefits to online school,...

West Side Radio: conspiracy theories

Paige Albright and Renee Gould • October 4, 2020

In this episode of West Side Radio, WSS staffers Paige Albright '23 and Renee Gould '22 explain and debunk popular conspiracy theories ranging from the moon landing to the Manhattan Project and gay frogs....

Turning my teacher into a skater boy

Helelia Wa Kalala and Sidney Nash • October 1, 2020

Surviving cancer: five years later

Bess Frerichs, Online Managing and Feature Editor • September 29, 2020

When I was a kid, my house was full of music. My mom, Dannye Frerichs, was a singer. She sang in bands and at concerts, but what I remember most is hearing her sing at home. She would sing while getting...

No Cap Recap: fall sports shutdown

Owen Aanestad and Camille Gretter • September 28, 2020

It has been a crazy couple of months for athletes at West High. On this episode of the No Cap Recap, hosts Owen Aanestad '22 and Camille Gretter '23 take a look back at the summer sports season and...

Life After a Trojan: from West High to Silicon Valley

Paige Albright, Managing Co-Editor, Podcast Editor • September 27, 2020

In the first episode of Life After a Trojan, David Rodnitzky ’90 explains how his company, 3Q Digital, went from a single person working out of a coffee shop to a billion dollar tech company in Silicon...

West High Weekly 9.25.20

Tosh Klever, Isaac Young, and Alaina Greenlee • September 26, 2020

Iowa City hosts Speak Up, Speak Out event

Maddy Smith and Sachiko Goto • June 5, 2020

On the evening of June 3, Mayor Teague, Royceann Porter and Mazahir Salih lead an event called Speak Up, Speak Out. This event allowed citizens to speak their mind, particularly about racial matters. People...

Paras’ summer recipes

Paras Bassuk, Photographer • May 26, 2020

On their own or together as one delicious feast, these summer recipes are great ways to try new foods and develop new culinary skills. Over the course of quarantine, WSS staffer Paras Bassuk '21 has developed...