![On Oct. 30, 24 Eco Club members took a tour of the school’s solar panels on the roof. They were guided and taught by an employee from E Light Electric, the company that maintains the school’s solar panels, and learned about how the panels are maintained and cared for. “I was definitely very excited about being on the roof in general,” Eco Club member Olivia Fang ‘26 said. “[It was exciting to] learn more about solar panels and how they work and how they supply energy to our school.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/RCH_2632-1200x800.jpg)
![Ice and snow make it difficult for drivers on the road. During snowstorms, drivers have poor visibility, and frozen roads make it difficult to stay in control. “Driving home from Denver [on Friday], the neighborhoods weren’t plowed. By the time we got back they were only plowing highways. We spun out, nearly got stuck and fishtailed a few different times,” Connor Pugh ‘26 said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Untitled_Artwork-e1732045465987.jpg)
![Varsity girls soccer midfielder Leah Sheahan ‘24 hugs a friend during the Senior Night celebrations before the home game against Mountain Vista High School (MVHS) at Echo Park Stadium April 29. During Senior Night, seniors were given flowers and the opportunity to walk out and take pictures with their family as their future plans and favorite memories were announced over the speakers. The Jags tied 0-0, losing the Continental League Championship. “We were obviously the stronger team but just couldn’t find a way to score, but otherwise our connection and our intensity was really high so I’m proud of that. We just have to find the net,” defense midfielder Clara Geuzaine ‘24 said. “[Losing League] wasn’t the best. It’s better than last year and like, I know our team and we are doing really good. I don’t want to jinx it but like hopefully [we’ll do] good [in playoffs].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Copy-of-DSC_4277-1-1200x868.jpg)
![In room 4101, Natalie Patterson ‘26, Ariana Magor ‘25 and Celina Salazar ‘25 create a poster in science teacher Kerry Reilly’s Chemistry Honors April 18. The three completed a worksheet and drawing to explain the implosion of a tank for their unit on gas laws. “At the start of class, we watched a video of the tank imploding,” Patterson said. “I think [making a drawing] is something new. I like more artsy activities.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_5019-1200x900.jpeg)
How to Fake Your Own Death… And the Consequences of Misleading Media
On May 29th, 2018, prominent Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko was found dead, shot in the back, in his Kiev apartment… or so everyone thought. At a press conference not even a day later, it was revealed that Babchenko was very much alive and had engaged in an elaborate plot to fake his own assassination- and you’ll never guess who helped him.
November 6, 2018
Originally published in Vol. 1 of The Rock
Corruption in Russian politics has continued, and will likely continue as long as President Vladimir Putin is in office, to prevail as a prominent world issue. As a recognized critic of the Kremlin and the President, Babchenko has had a target on his back since before 2014. This target was further imprinted in 2016, when he expressed his lack of sympathy for pro-government choir members and journalists who died in a plane crash. Just three months later, Babchenko and his family were forced to flee to Prague, Czech Republic, and later Kiev, Ukraine.
His continuous disapproval of the Kremlin has built up until May of this year, when Babchenko’s wife found him in a mess of, what was later revealed as, pig’s blood. He was then taken in an ambulance to the morgue, where for three hours he sat and watched news surface of his “death”. In order to catch Muscovite assassins suspected to be working for the Kremlin, the Ukrainian government had initiated a Byzantine plot to help fake Babchenko’s assassination. The plan ended successfully, as the hitmen were taken into custody by Ukrainian authorities shortly thereafter. However, this entire conspiracy raises a lot more issues than it solves.
How does this negatively affect the reputation of political journalists during a time that they are the targets of copious criticism already? And therefore, how does this actually help Moscow, rather than hurting them? In faking his death, Babchenko has essentially undermined the credibility of the media- which goes perfectly in favor of Putin’s dictatorial presidency. Without trustworthy journalism, governments have more power to persuade populations of anything that fits their agenda. As journalists in the United States gain a worsening reputation, it is important to remember why free press is and was such a central element of the constitution. The lesser the media’s voice becomes, the more at risk we are for that collective voice to fall into the wrong hands, and follow in Russia’s dangerous footsteps.