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Erika Peterson

Erika Peterson, Features Editor

Erika Peterson is a junior in her third year on The Southerner. Previously serving as the Arts and Entertainment editor, she is now excited to be editing Features. Erika is very passionate about social change and history. She enjoys being a part of the Southerner staff because she likes contributing to the collective effort it takes to run The Southerner. She’s okay with the additional work that comes with being an editor because she is passionate about quality journalism, and appreciates the opportunity she has since not a lot of schools have a newspaper class. She hopes to one day take her passion for journalism into a career as an investigative journalist, or go a different route and work in international diplomacy.

All content by Erika Peterson
Pre-pandemic South High students walk past the welcome desk on their way into the building. Because of distance learning, interactions like these no longer take place. Alongside teachers and students, non-teacher staff members like counselors, administrators, and attendance clerks have faced unique challenges brought about by this pandemic.

[Photo] Non-teacher staff share stories of distance learning

December 28, 2020

MPS votes to terminate contract with Minneapolis Police Department

Erika Peterson, Features Editor
June 2, 2020
Minneapolis Public School Board Director and Clerk Josh Pauly announced that he wrote a resolution to terminate the district’s contract with the Minneapolis Police Department. The contract, signed in August 2017 for $1.15 million per year that employs 14 School Resource Officers, was up for negotiation this year.

MPS Board Member announces resolution to terminate contract with MPD

Erika Peterson, Features Editor
May 29, 2020
Bernie Sanders speaks to a crowd of thousands of his supporters in the Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota. Several South students came to support Sanders, a frontrunner in the 2020 presidential race, and hear more about his plans. “The energy of being around other Bernie supporters was too good to miss,” said Tiger Worku, a senior at South who attended the event.

“Are we prepared to fight for one another?” South students attend Bernie Sanders rally

Erika Peterson, Arts and Entertainment Editor
November 11, 2019
Kare11’s new documentary “Love Them First: Lessons from Lucy Laney Elementary” has been playing at various theaters, including the St. Anthony Main Theatre for the MSP International Film Festival. The film tells the story of Lucy Laney Elementary School in North Minneapolis as Principal Mauri Friestleben struggles to get the school off “the list.”

New documentary “Love Them First: Lessons from Lucy Laney Elementary” sheds light on education standards

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
June 5, 2019
The Site Council meets on May 8 in the media center to continue the process of selecting South’s next principal. “The people in this room own the process,” said Leah Auckenthaler, a parent involved in the principal search.

Search continues to find next South Principal

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
May 14, 2019
Emma Dinger, a junior on the women’s soccer team, does calf raises at a weightlifting session before school. Many sports teams, including soccer, swimming, and badminton, have started holding practices in the morning to better accommodate schedules. “Rather than doing practices at 6 o’clock, after school, it’s just easier to do it in the morning. And I actually like doing it in the morning, because then I have the afternoons free,” said freshman Madeline Leventhal, a player on the Badminton team.

Sports before school: an early alternative

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
May 6, 2019
Students in Ms. Johnson’s AP Lit class participate in a ‘mindful moment’ at the beginning of class. “I thought it might be a little weird, because I’m not a person who likes to meditate, I would never choose to, but as it continued I just like that it’s a moment where you dont really have to worry about anything,” said Violet McMahon, a junior in Johnson’s 4th hour AP Lit class.

Meditation provides a ‘mindful moment’ for students after a stressful morning

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
April 18, 2019
Students put on previously made snowshoes near the field outside of South. In the coming weeks students in the All Nations program will be creating their own. “It’s a very culturally applicable project, really our students have kind of been into it, and I think that they can learn a lot from it,” said Vince Patton, the All Nations social studies teacher.

Snowshoe creation teaches All Nations students cultural and scientific skills alike

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
March 24, 2019
Ms. Woldum’s Open geometry class creates interdisciplinary projects every unit to match its focus on art. For their most recent unit, students are creating a mural on the wall outside Room 230. “You kind of get to put your own creativity into the stuff you’re doing, whereas in other math classes you kind of just take notes, and listen and do tests,” said Noa Simon-Latz, a freshman in Woldum’s class.

New geometry mural is anything but pointless

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
March 1, 2019
South sophomore Isra Hirsi making a plea to Minnesotas new Governor Tim Walz to take action on climate change. Hirsi is part of a youth-led group working for climate justice called MN Cant Wait, and was one of over 100 youth that met with Walz last Wednesday.

South students urge Governor Walz to take action on climate change

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
January 17, 2019
South senior Deisy Castro in an AVID class. “I noticed her advocacy and leadership from the very beginning,” said Erika Hernandez, mentor to Castro and leader of Jóvenes Latinas al Poder, a group that Castro is involved in. Photo: Spencer Kimball

South senior Deisy Castro making change on the Young Women’s Cabinet of Minnesota

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
November 16, 2018
Esmeralda Duran-Silvan, South’s Spanish and English speaking parent liaison, helps a Spanish-speaking family at parent-teacher conferences. Because of the lack of allocated resources for interpreters and services for non-English speaking families, there usually isn’t enough interpreters for all of the families that need one. “You’re going to have a far longer conversation with an English speaking family than you are with a translator… You know that there’s other people waiting for them,” said Alex Endeshaw, chair of the Equity team at South.

Language barrier posed at conferences, Equity team proposes solutions

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
October 25, 2018
Lillian Lamb, left, and Ashlyn Ziegler explain their writing project in the Writer’s Room. The Writer’s Room is a new support center at South in partnership with a local nonprofit dedicated to helping students improve their writing. “The emphasis is not on teaching people how to write, it’s on helping them be better writers in whatever way that means for them,” said Sam Oppenheimer the MOI staffer for the Writer’s Room. Photo: Erika Peterson

New Writer’s Room brings back support to the writers of South

Erika Peterson, Staff Writer
October 12, 2018
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