Making a statement
By Priya Gregerson, Vandegrift High School
May 17, 2019
Filed under Features
As they stride down the hall, people admire their different hues. They are blue moons in a calendar of anonymous phases. No matter how many days students see them, whether it's the first time or the hundredth time, they are left dazed every instance. Sophomores Ashley Rodriguez and Amber Leal can...
Farm to Table: Youth raise livestock in the Bay Area
By Pablo Pinilla, Carlmont High School
May 17, 2019
Filed under Features
When people think about county fairs, they usually associate them with hot summer days, carnival rides and games, cotton candy, and livestock exhibitions. What most fair-goers don't realize is that for some young people, the county fair is more than just a day of summer fun. In fact, for members of local...
School-related meme pages entertain students
By Kamryn Harty, Henry W. Grady High School
May 17, 2019
Filed under Features
From knock-knock jokes with corny punchlines, to late-night, televised comedic sketches, to stand-up comedy, humor is inevitably intertwined with pop culture. One of the latest and most popular forms of comedy among teenagers are memes — online pictures or videos with funny captions. Helen Roberts*...
Students, teachers lean away from Mrs.
By Megan Neal, Piper High School in Kansas City, Kansas
May 16, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
Students learn to address their teachers by a specific title and when to use each one in elementary school. However, the use of honorifics in schools has changed. Many teachers and students find themselves only using the title Ms., even when they fit into the category for a different title. While...
The College Wait: What Students Feel, Experience Between November, May
By Gili Golan, Rockville High School
May 16, 2019
Filed under Features
As the May 1 national decision day for colleges quickly approaches, stress sets in for seniors as they grapple with their final days of high school and struggle to decide where to further their education. The thought process of students after their applications have been sent varies. One similarity...
Living the American Dream in Hiding
By Meghan Turley and Maddie Cooke
May 16, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
Student names have been changed for confidentiality and safety of those involved. Christine immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was three years old. “I feel like a lot of people who oppose illegal immigration always say ‘no parent would ever put their child in danger for crossin...
Actor Zachary Levi’s emotional journey from Ventura local to superhero stardom
By Bella Hall, Foothill Technology High School
May 15, 2019
Filed under Features
“I remember when I was a kid—a little kid—growing up in Ventura and running around barefoot on hot summer days, when the sun would go down the pavement and the concrete would all still be warm at sunset or dusk," Zachary Levi began. "We were outside playing in the beautiful weather and the concrete...
How the internet has changed education
By Jacob Tutterow, North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia
May 15, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
In human history, people have not faced the same amount of rapid technological advances ever before. Lives continue to change in various ways, and from the assembly line to the commercial airplane to the invention of the internet, individuals must constantly adapt. With this comes a new generation of k...
Rough Ride
By Jacqueline Downs, Triton High School
May 15, 2019
Filed under Features
Boeing is hitting some turbulence again, not even a month after the second fatal Boeing 737 MAX crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane claimed 157 lives and just five months after the first crash of a Lion plane. A lawsuit, Seeks vs Boeing Co. et. al, filed on April 9th, has brought more trouble for Boeing following problems with the Maneuv...
From sophomore to freshman: A 15-year-old PV student transitions to college
By Hannah Lederman, Pleasant Valley High School
May 15, 2019
Filed under Features
Many seniors are making final preparations for their post-secondary journey this fall, and Pleasant Valley sophomore Priyanka Srinivasan has decided to embark on that journey herself. As a 15-year-old, Srinivasan was accepted into Bucksbaum Academy, a program at the University of Iowa which allows...
Sophomore Ulaa Kuziez draws from Syrian heritage to fight for social justice
By Lydia Roseman, Parkway West High School
May 15, 2019
Filed under Features
With a new language, culture and lifestyle awaiting her in the United States, sophomore Ulaa Kuziez and her family immigrated from Damascus, Syria to Missouri when Kuziez was nine years old. “I don’t remember the exact day that we decided to go, but my parents were thinking about our future...
More Than Meets The Eye
By Jack Stromberg, Troy High School
May 14, 2019
Filed under Features
On the morning of January 10, 2018 at approximately 5 a.m., a car pulled into the front driveway of Troy’s Zion Church (located on Livernois, no more than half a mile down the street from the community center). The driver of the vehicle pointed a laser at the building and shot out the front window....
Breaking societal norms
By Stephany Jara and Anna Velazquez
May 14, 2019
Filed under Features
Sitting in front of his mirror, his left hand reaches out for the small tube of concealer and the other goes for a soft brush. He starts off by applying dots of concealer on his face, carefully blending it in. Junior Eric Pacheco gained inspiration to explore the world of makeup from YouTubers like James Charles and J...
Bailey Gong fights for a spot on national kung fu team
By Christy Yu, Lynbrook High School
May 14, 2019
Filed under Features
Sophomore Bailey Gong was just eight years old when his friend, senior Brian Chou, suggested that he try out martial arts. Little did Gong know then that kung fu and wushu, a more advanced type of Chinese kung fu, would later become his specialty and passion. “[Martial arts] is actually one of the...
Silver Star captain leaps into spotlight
By Abbie Brien, James Bowie High School
May 14, 2019
Filed under Features
Walk to center stage. Don’t trip. Keep a smile on. Hands behind your back. These thoughts race through senior Kristin Hauck’s head as she hears thunderous applause and prepares to perform. In addition to being the Silver Stars’ Captain, Hauck has been involved with studios such as Pr...
Garrison to retire after 16 years as principal
By Sophie Ryland, McCallum High School
May 14, 2019
Filed under Features
When Winsley Melancon was displaced from New Orleans in 2005 by the devastating Category 5 Hurricane Katrina, her life changed. She was living in the Austin Convention Center, well aware that she could not return to her old school, her old friends. When her mother went looking for a new school for...
Meditation provides a ‘mindful moment’ for students after a stressful morning
By Erika Peterson, South High School
May 9, 2019
Filed under Features
English teacher Elizabeth Johnson has recently started doing a ‘mindful moment’ during the first five minutes of her afternoon classes to promote mindfulness and allow students to calm down. Johnson uses the Headspace app to guide the class through meditation, an app she started using herself and...
College process: then vs. now
By Joyce Wu and Caitlin Newton
May 9, 2019
Filed under Features
From repeated standardized test-taking to writing supplement essays, the college process is long and complicated for most students and can start as early as their sophomore year. Currently, college acceptance rates are at an all-time low and decreasing every year. This rapid change raises the question: how did the college process 20+ years ago compare to how it is now? ...
Serving up some “love”: PV junior uses tennis to help individuals living with autism
By Sarah Danielson, Pleasant Valley High School
May 9, 2019
Filed under Features
Although April is Autism Awareness month, a student at Pleasant Valley High School is making a year-round commitment to help those living with Autism. ACEing Autism is a national organization with one main mission: to provide connections for children living with autism through tennis. They strive...
Café Justo’s Growth in Its First Year of Business Sparks Popularity and New Additions
By Olivia Galbraith, La Salle Catholic College Preparatory
May 9, 2019
Filed under Features
One year from its opening, La Salle’s student-led, fair-trade coffee shop, Café Justo, has gradually grown in sales and popularity, all the while expanding their initial menu and combating competition and small amounts of backlash. Café Justo opened in May 2018, after being funded by a Dare to Dream grant. The cafe buys their coffee beans from the organization Café Justo, which is based in Chiapas, Mexi...
Ford and GM: Big Cuts for a Brighter Future?
By Vanita Seed, Troy High School
May 6, 2019
Filed under Features
Within the past year, Ford and GM, two of America’s biggest automobile producers, have announced massive layoffs as part of a “restructuring process.” According to Detroit News, GM will be laying off 6,000 workers on five plants, in addition to laying off 2,250 white-collar jobs. The operation...
Student project prevents early trauma in children of Harrisonburg
By Sweta Kunver, Harrisonburg High School
May 5, 2019
Filed under Features
Through voluntary practices, special programs and classes, HHSis trying to give back to the community. One example of this is the Government Honors Service Learning class taught by social studies teacher James Hook. Working on their service project together, seniors Elisavet Savides and James Frakes...
Siegfried excels in stocks and socks
By Chas Morgan, Stillwater Area High School
May 5, 2019
Filed under Features
Senior Justin Siegfried has excelled in the Stock Market Games and his Marketing class teacher Debbie Drommerhausen thinks highly of him. Siegfried is not only known for his success in the Stock Market Games, but also for the silly socks he wears. Siegfried only began doing the Stock Market Games last s...
Senior Macauley Callahan, Oregon Zoo Volunteer and Aspiring Veterinarian, Gains Experience and Discovers a Career Path
By Samantha Kar, La Salle Catholic College Preparatory
May 4, 2019
Filed under Features
Khaki bottoms, a watch, a name badge, close-toed shoes, and a ZooTeens shirt… this has been senior Macauley Callahan’s uniform for the past four summers as a volunteer at the Oregon Zoo through the ZooTeens program. In just a couple of months, Callahan will be spending his last summer with the program. ...
Seniors’ Soundcloud Rap at 15,000+ plays
By Cari Spencer, Orono High School
May 4, 2019
Filed under Features
Cari Spencer Editor in Chief At 6Smith in downtown Wayzata, seniors Fisher Eiss, James “Jimmy” Buck and Ben Bissen sat down for dinner, having just released their song, “Hot Cold (prod. Ocean Beats),” to Soundcloud. It was Dec. 21, 2018 and their phones were “blowing up.” “People were ...
Shenal’s story
By Shenal Christian, Liberty High School
May 3, 2019
Filed under Features
“You are not beautiful. It’s disgusting” “Cut out your skin. Scrape it out” “You look like a cow” “Are you contagious?” “No one cares enough about you let alone how ugly your skin makes you look” “Is that how you’re going to look like forever?” “Are you...
Home Away From Home
By Katie Golden, North Allegheny Senior High School
May 2, 2019
Filed under Features
The vast majority of students who walk our halls have lived in NA for all their lives. NA has always been home, and graduations from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school have felt as natural as the change of seasons. That's not to say that life in Wexford has...
Stigma, Silence, and Slang
By Emma Chiu, Woodside High School
April 30, 2019
Filed under Features
Warning: The following story contains mentions of mental illness, self-harm, and suicide, and may be triggering for certain audiences. One in five American teens lives with a mental illness, but many face stigma and, as a result, hide their challenges from others. This stigma can also be affec...
High stakes
By Sophie Stephens, West High School
April 30, 2019
Filed under Features
*Some sources in this story have been given aliases, as they chose to remain anonymous. It’s a summer night, just a few weeks before you start high school. You are sitting with your friends in the house when they say they’re going outside. Out of curiosity, you follow them to the back porch. Instantly...
After two years of high school, sophomore Nadia Messmer is testing out
By Kayla Reuther, Parkway West High School
April 29, 2019
Filed under Features
While most students choose to complete the standard four years of high school, sophomore Nadia Messmer will complete only two before moving across the country this autumn to either Boston or San Francisco with hopes of starting a new chapter: college. Having moved around a lot, Messmer did not want...