News Briefs: Issue 15

EAST

The annual East Poetry Slam will be held on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the library.

The slam is a chance for students to feature their original poems in a relaxed style, and according to sponsor and English teacher Amy Andersen, they are expecting a good turnout of kids competing this year.

“We are expecting fierce performances and even fiercer competition this time around,” sponsor Andersen said.

So far, there are 13 students signed up including last year’s winner, Aakriti Chaturvedi, who won for her three-page slam piece “I wish I Could Understand.”

The poets will be judged by various teachers, on three main categories: content (message), artistry (how well it’s written) and performance, on a scale from 1-10. The poem topics can range from surrealistic to political, usually with some sort of hidden or blatant message.

Chaturvedi and her competitors have participated in Andersen’s creative writing  workshops during her class, in anticipation of the slam.

“I’ve had the chance to meet lots of wonderful poets competing and I am very excited to show my new piece,” Chaturvedi said.

The winners of the slam will receive gift cards (need to find out where) along with poetry slam bragging rights.

LOCAL

On the Ball, a new locally-owned doggy daycare, will be opening in the Village Shopping Center on May 8. The shop has been undergoing a soft launch  since March 17.

On the Ball is a premier dog day care shop with amenities such as warm dog beds with Casper mattress cushioning, a well trained staff to keep the dogs involved in human contact and excellent grooming, according to founder Meagan Dowell.

The shop has opened job opportunities to East students because of its location and willingness to hire teens.

“I love playing with the dogs and getting to see the different personalities of the different pets,” employee Megan Sandstrom said.

Animals, especially dogs, have always been something founder Meagan Dowell cares about, from working at various animals shelters across the metropolitan area, to caring for her two rescue dogs Bizie and Mitchell.

However, she could never find a place for her dogs to stay and be comfortable at, SO she decided to make one that she and many other pet owners could use.

“It was really challenging to find a place for my dogs to stay at,” Dowell said. “I could never find the right spot that fit my dogs needs, so I created my own.”

NATIONAL 

Three Christian Sri Lankan churches erupted in flames due to three staged terrorist attacks on the morning of Easter Sunday.

The attacks were carried out by terrorists in the National Thoeheeth Jama’th — a small Islamic extremist group .

This is the biggest attack to happen in Sri Lanka since the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009.

The attacks were also alerted by the police to be planned 10 days in advance, but did not act upon the claims.

According to the April 11 alert in Sri Lanka, “A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo.”  

There have been 300 confirmed deaths and over 450 injuries, and the response from the public has been worldwide and somber.

To keep their citizens from further attacks, the government decided to begin blocking various social media platforms, like Instagram and Snapchat.

They have also issued a country-wide curfew, to make sure they can guarantee safety to their citizens

“I have family in Sri Lanka and it is so sad to see that such a depraved country would be targeted like this” Sophomore Ishara Depaepe said.