Harry Potter by Carmel Acumen

vol. xix, issue ii

12.03

EDITORS IN CHIEF Sam Hawkins Karolena Zhou ASSOCIATE EDITORS Tsion Daniel Sarah Zheng

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! 20 years ago, the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, starring an 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe and directed by Chris Columbus, hit theaters in the United States and became a beloved classic. Since then, the Harry Potter universe has expanded to encompass a total of 7 novels, 8 movies, a play, games, theme parks and now several generations of readers and characters. Please fnd enclosed an exploration of its themes, legacy and history, put together by the HiLite and Acumen staff with care. Term begins December 3, 2021. We eagerly await your arrival. Yours sincerely, WORDS Christian Ledbetter Kate Loper Rohan Mahesh Maggie Meyer Pallevi Pillai Alivia Romaniuk Darshini Shankar Raghav Sriram Kruti Subbannavar Siri Surapaneni Leah Tan

COVER ART Chloe Sun GRAPHICS Nathan Huang Archit Kalra Riley Laferriere Chenyao Liu Yichen Liu Rohan Mahesh Jillian Moore

Ali Persinger Arya Pinnamaneni Arjun Purohit Emily Sandy Daniel Tian Elise Varhan Jasmine Zhang

PHOTOS Royce Brown Hibba Mahmood Arthur Mansavage Zoe Tu Ryan Zhang

The L if Book e of Harry s Potte r Movi Rule es for 4 the W Speci al in 6 Wiza Effects rding 7 World World 8 Good of Fantasy a 10 Fated nd Evil 12 Art/is t 16 Interw o 18 Fact i ven n 20 Quid Fiction di 21 Adop tch Throug tio h The A n Allusion the Ages 22 r 24 The S t of Potion -Mak orting 26 ing Hat 28 30

s t n e s e r p n e um

HARRY POTTER 12.03 03

GRAPHIC JILLIAN MOORE, ELISE VARHAN

SOURCE TV OVERMIND

YEAR 1: THE SORCERER’S STONE (MOVIE RELEASED ON NOV. 16, 2001) When Harry Potter turns eleven, he finds out he is a wizard and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He also learns more about his past and the scar on his forehead, which was from an evil wizard named Voldemort, who killed his parents. Harry is sorted into Gryffindor, known as the house of the brave. The characters who will become his closest friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, are also sorted into this house. Harry and his friends bond over shared adventures at Hogwarts. They learn the Sorcerer’s Stone, which grants immortality, is hidden at the school. They solve a series of puzzles and protect the stone from Voldemort.

YEAR 3: THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (MOVIE RELEASED ON JUNE 4, 2004) Escaped convict Sirius Black, who is believed to have killed Harry’s parents, is on the run. Dementors, which feed on happiness, are placed around the school to find him, but Harry reacts more strongly to their presence than the other students. Professor Lupin teaches Harry to cast a Patronus, which repels dementors. Harry discovers Black is innocent, but dementors capture him after Harry, his friends and others meet in the woods. Harry and his friends go back in time, and he saves his past self from the dementors with a successful Patronus. They rescue Black from where he is locked in the school and help him escape on a hippogriff.

YEAR 2: THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (MOVIE RELEASED ON NOV. 15, 2002) After a miserable summer with his relatives, Harry reaches Hogwarts in a flying car with Ron. However, he hears strange voices due to his ability to understand snakes, Parseltongue. Students are found petrified under mysterious circumstances. As he and his friends try to solve the mystery, Harry finds a diary which writes back to him. Suspicions grow that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin and responsible for the petrified students. When Hermione is petrified, Ron and Harry discover a basilisk is responsible for the petrification. Harry goes into the Chamber of Secrets, where he meets a young Voldemort, preserved through the diary. Harry kills the basilisk, destroys the diary and saves Ginny Weasley, Ron’s younger sister

YEAR 4: THE GOBLET OF FIRE (MOVIE RELEASED ON NOV. 18, 2005) The Triwizard Tournament, in which various magic schools compete for a title, is taking place at Hogwarts. Despite not entering his name, Harry is picked by the Goblet of Fire to compete. Harry faces difficult challenges, including fighting dragons, rescuing friends from under the lake and solving a hedge maze, throughout the year. Meanwhile, Voldemort’s followers, Death Eaters, are becoming a large dark force. Once he reaches the center of the hedge maze, Harry is transported to a cemetery where he barely escapes Voldermort; however, his classmate dies and no one believes him that Voldemort is again a threat.

YEAR 5: THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (MOVIE RELEASED ON JUL. 11, 2007) As the Ministry of Magic ignores Harry’s claims about Voldemort’s return, Harry discovers The Order of the Phoenix, a secret society founded to oppose Voldemort. When Harry arrives at school, a strict new professor from the ministry, Dolores Umbridge, begins to create new rules to promote order. Harry creates a secret club for students to train to defend themselves called Dumbledore’s Army. During the school year, Harry begins to have nightmares involving a mysterious prophecy in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. It is later revealed that this prophecy forsees a boy who will take down Voldemort. Aware that Voldemort is after the prophecy, Harry and members of Dumbledore’s Army travel to the Department of Mysteries, where they locate the prophecy and are confronted by Death Eaters. A battle ensues between the Death Eaters and Dumbledore’s Army, which is joined by members of the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius Black is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. In the final part of the fight, Harry is confronted by Voldemort himself where he stands his ground until Dumbledore arrives to help. The Ministry of Magic sees the return of Voldemort.

YEAR 6: THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (MOVIE RELEASED ON JUL. 15, 2009) At the start of his 6th year at Hogwarts, Harry discovers an old Potions book that once belonged to the “Half-Blood Prince.” The book is filled with helpful tips and tricks that help Harry excel in the course. Outside of his studies, Harry witnesses two instances of hexing and concludes that someone is trying to hurt headmaster Dumbledore and suspects classmate and rival Draco Malfoy. In a meeting with Dumbledore, Harry learns about Horcruxes, a form of dark magic used by Voldemort to ensure his immortality. Harry and Dumbledore venture to an island to find and destry one such Horcrux, the locket of House founder Salazar Slytherin. Once Harry and Dumbledore return to the school, they are faced with the arrival of Death Eaters, who encourage Draco to fulfill his mission to kill Dumbledore. Draco fails to accomplish his mission, so Professor Snape, who is revealed to be Death Eater, does it for him, killing Dumbledore. That same night, Harry learns that Snape is the “Half-Blood Prince”.

YEAR 7: THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (PART 1 RELEASED ON NOV. 19, 2010; PART 2 RELEASED ON JUL. 15, 2011) Instead of returning to Hogwarts, Ron, Harry and Hermione continue Dumbledore’s mission to destroy all remaining Horcruxes before confronting Voldemort in order to be able to kill him. The trio learns about the Deathly Hallows, three items that have been used to cheat death. They then venture to a secluded forest, where Ron leaves after a fight. Still unable to destroy the locket, Harry and Hermione travel around until one night, a patronus leads Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor, as well as Ron. Together, they destroy the locket using the sword. The following day, however, the trio is abducted by bounty hunters. After imprisonment and torture, the trio and the other prisoners are saved by Dobby the House Elf, who suffers a fatal wound. Voldemort acquires the Elder Wand, the first Deathly Hallow, from Dumbledore’s tomb.

The trio breaks into a vault in Gringotts Bank and acquires a 4th Horcrux, Hufflepuff’s Cup. The trio return to Hogwarts, where a battle begins between Voldemort’s army and the Order of the Phoenix with Dumbledore’s Army. Ron and Hermione destroy the cup, while Harry finds the 5th Horcrux, the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. In a pivotal moment, the trio witness the death of Snape, who reveals his double agency and Dumbledore’s plan to have Harry die, as he is in fact the final Horcrux. After turning himself in to Voldemort, he survives the killing curse one more time, destroying the Horcrux. Classmate Neville Longbottom slays Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, and all seven Horcruxes have been destroyed. In a final fight, Harry kills Voldemort, and the protectors of Hogwarts win the war.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 05

Books V BOOKS RULE

Harry Potter books convey more accurate depiction than movies

n the fall of fourth grade, on a camping trip, I took my beloved Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for my main entertainment for the week-long trip. I raced through the pages and ended up finishing it two days before the end of the trip. Eager to see how the movie version compared, the first thing I did when I got home was watch it. Through watching it, I learned that the movie missed major important plot details, or did not go fully in depth into many of the major events of the story. The movie did not give the same feel of the book, and it felt more like merely an outline of the story I loved. I understand that in most movies adapted from books, those changes aren’t unusual; many key details get omitted in order to keep up with budgeting or to not have a 10-hour movie. This makes sense, as no one would see a movie of that length. It simply is not of human interest to sit down for an extended period of time watching the same movie. But the budget for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” for example, was $125 million. This movie was also only two hours and 32 minutes long, a length that allowed for many plot gaps within it. If the movie was over this length though, the budget would have been through the roof, which could have affected the ability to make

Kate Loper

HiLite Reporter

more films down the road. Despite these hurdles, though, the “Harry Potter” filmmakers changed the overall composition of the characters and that’s a problem. For example, the in-depth persona of the icon of the book, Harry Potter, is never achieved to its fullest extent in the movies. You get the overall view of who he is, but not his true self. His backstory, which includes the moment of how he became so famous is too overgeneralized. Additionally, Ron and Hermione, who are so pivotal to the books’ plot, often get treated as side characters. Audiences never get an in-depth aspect of who they are as characters and the aspects of them that make these loveable characters seem like true people. Hermione is just seen as the intelligent friend, and Ron the friend who has many siblings and is slightly awkward. While I understand very few movies fully capture a book author’s true intent, many people still view movies as the better choice because they take less time to consume and give a nice overview of the story that does not require much focus. In the case of Harry Potter, though, not reading the books can lead many to not get the experience the author intended. In this case, they miss out on a great A story that captured the hearts of many.

Stats and Facts

GRAPHIC TSION DANIEL SOURCE CHS, SCREENCAST

Take a look at data on the Harry Potter books and Movies CHS STUDENT POLL:

Do you prefer the books or the movies?

Movies

64%

36%

Books

$100 $150 $250 MILLION

MILLION

was the cost of production for the “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets” movie.

was the cost of production for the “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire” movie.

was the cost of production for the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” movie.

VS Movies MOVIES FOR THE WIN

Harry Potter movies focus on most important plot developments, more enjoyable

love the Harry Potter books. I do. But on most rainy days, I would rather curl up in a blanket and binge watch the movies instead of settling down and getting absorbed in one of the books. For those people who think I’m absolutely crazy, hear me out. First of all, the original series is really really LONG. With about 4,224 pages in the series, reading a page in one minute, it takes a little more than 70 hours spent reading to get through the seven books. And if you only decide to finish one book and never pick up the rest, you’re missing out on the rest of the series. The movies, in contrast, are collectively much shorter. Each movie is a little more than two hours long, and each News Editor provides a lot of the same entertainment than in the books. Second, one of the ways the movies have an edge is the phenomenal job in casting and acting. The actors portrayed the characters accurately and provided that many of them were only around 10 years old and most not having acted in a production before, the actors’ portrayal of their characters in the movies is something to applaud. Also, for a series that

Zainab Idrees

worked with four different directors, the films are surprisingly cohesive. Yes, they change stylistically to focus on a more character-led point of view, but that ultimately only helped the franchise because the “Harry Potter” films humanize the characters more, and allows for a more face to face connection on screen. The “Harry Potter” films took away all the insignificant details and instead focused on the crux of the story. This is largely due to studio rules, movies often have time constraints, and the series is no different. But I appreciate that. Because of those constraints, the movies were able to focus on scenes and characters that really advanced the plot and for the most part, concerned the main ideas. There’s no useless characters that are just there that don’t really serve a purpose. Some say that the movies don’t do justice to the books, but not every movie is going to be perfect. But according to Forbes, the “Harry Potter” movies have collectively grossed over $7.7 billion. It remains one of the biggest movie franchises in the world, even years after its release. And, in my A opinion, it deserves its fame and success.

Speak Up! What do you think is the biggest difference between Harry Potter movies and books? “I think it’s like the characters that are shown in the books. I think a couple of characters in the books were not mentioned in the movies. So, I feel like because of the amount of time they had in the movies that kind of influenced what could be in the books. SOPHOMORE RIDHI DONDETI

“It’s obviously one of the better movies that’s been transferred from books on to the screen; they did a really good job on that. I just feel like there are so many little details missing everywhere that really would have made it so much better.” JUNIOR CLARE LEEDKE

HARRY POTTER 12.03 07

LIGHTS, CAMERA, MAGIC WORDS DARSHINI SHANKAR

PHOTOS ARTHUR MANSAVAGE

agic is essential to the “Harry Potter” movies and how an audience perceives them. According to an article by Broadway Direct, the “Harry Potter” movies use artistry behind the scenes, such as computer graphics and scene changes, to create the appearance of transformations, flying and other magical effects. However, in the theater production of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” producers were faced with a challenge as they had to create the shapeshifting effects of Polyjuice Potion and other magical occurrences before an audience’s eyes. The tech theatre department at this school similarly faces a challenge as members must often make an audience see magical occurrences in plays and musicals. According to Andrew Okerson, tech theatre teacher and auditorium director, creating the scenes is a fun puzzle to solve. “The fun part is that the script that we get is typically where we start on these things. And it will say, for instance,

Scan this QR Code to learn more about the use of special effects in “Harry Potter” movies.

a character flies in. That’s all we get,” Okerson said. “So then it’s our job to figure out how to do that practically and safely in a way that can make the audience feel like it’s magic.” Olivia Sumner, stage manager for the fall play and junior, said an example of special effects the tech theatre students are currently working on is pyrotechnics, or creating a fireworks display on the stage. Sumner said, “We’re doing pyrotechnics right now for our fall play. So, (to create that effect), we’re having a fire on stage.” Another special effect frequently used by the tech theatre crew is dry ice. Okerson said many plays need a cloud or fog in a scene, for which the students use dry ice to replicate. “Last year, on (the musical) ‘Mamma Mia,’ we had to do low-lying fog effects. So we had 500 pounds of dry ice that we had to handle safely to create this billowing cloud of fog,” Okerson said. Elliot Clancy, technical theatre student and junior, said they will be once again using dry ice in the spring play, “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat,” to create a fog effect. “For our spring play, we’re going to have a lot of dry ice (to create) fog,” Clancy said.

A for Effect Take a look at a timeline of the development special effects in film Stop motion and perspective shifts used to create scenes in “Cinderella” and “A Trip to the Moon.”

1895

Computer-generated imagery (CGI )is implemented. CGI can be seen in “Terminator 2,” “Jurassic World” and “Star Wars.”

1950

SOURCE CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FILM SCHOOL

2001 1991-1999

1899-1902 Luminere brothers invent the cinematographé, a motion picture apparatus which be used as a camera and as a projector.

GRAPHIC ARYA PINNAMANENI

Paramount invents the “repeater”— the first use of mechanical control in special effects.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is released on Nov. 14. The movie contains many special effects.

Junior Elliot Clancy paints a sign for the theater production of “Because their Hearts were Pure” which ran from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13. Clancy said he is in charge of making sure set pieces are in place for each scene during a show Tech theatre students will also create the appearance of flying in the spring production, Okerson said, as they create a chariot that will carry the main character through the set. “We have a bunch of fun effects coming up in ‘Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ our spring musical,” Okerson said. “We’re creating a chariot that’s going to carry Joseph through the gym.” Aside from using objects like dry ice and fire to create a magical effect, the tech theatre students often have to make objects disappear on stage. According to Okerson, the challenge they faced is similar to that of Harry Potter’s producers in the scene of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” where Harry Potter lands in the snake display. Okerson said, “To connect it back to ‘Harry Potter,’ Harry Potter falls through the glass and the glass disappears and he lands in the display with the snake. How do you make that happen and make an audience believe it? That’s our job.” To create the effect of objects disappearing from the set, Sumner said shift changes are crucial. According to Sumner, tech theatre students often

have to quickly remove objects while the audience’s attention is diverted elsewhere. “We had a shift change once where we had to really quickly take a bunch of stuff off while everyone was focused on a different thing. So (the) things (we removed) just magically disappeared (to the audience),” Sumner said. Clancy said he plays an important role in these scene changes as he’s in charge of making sure all the pieces are removed and set as necessary for each scene. “I’m doing running heads. So, (for) all of the scene changes, I’m in charge of that stuff and making sure each set piece and some of the props are set (for) each scene,” Clancy said. According to Sumner, these scene changes are essential to having a magical effect on an audience. Sumner said, “We just have to be on top of everything and kind of be perfect every time or else A the whole effect is gone.” Senior Patrick “P.J.” Smart sews in preparation for the “Because their Hearts were Pure” theater production.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 09

THE WIZARDING WORLD Take a look at some attractions in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando GRAPHIC ARCHIT KALRA, ROHAN MAHESH, DANIEL TIAN

SOURCE UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

Flight of the HippogriffTM: As one of the first rides to be added to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Flight of the Hippogriff, imitates Hagrid taking passengers on a test ride of the majestic hippogriff. The hippogriff soars through the air, arrives at a peak where riders have a full aerial view of the park, dips and turns through the Hogwarts Grounds and finally lands at the start of the track, where Hagrid thanks the riders. Hippogriff: A half-eagle, half-horse mythical creature

Harry Potter and the Forbidden JourneyTM: The ride is a combination of walking, riding and “flying” as it takes riders on a tour of the elusive Hogwarts Castle. Following a close Quidditch match, riders encounter the Whomping Willow, a horde of dementors and giant spiders.

Dragon (Ukrainian Ironbelly): Largest dragon species in the world, produces jets of flame up to 3,560°F and was guarding Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault

Harry Potter and the Escape from GringottsTM: This ride takes Muggles on a journey with Harry Potter to break into Gringotts Bank, where countless magical characters store their gold.

G R I N G OT T S

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike AdventureTM: As part of its own phase, this ride opened on Jun. 13, 2019, replacing the racing Dragon Challenge roller coaster. As the sixth attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the ride takes Muggles on Hagrid’s motorbike on a journey through the Forbidden Forest, coming face to face with magical creatures of the Wizarding World.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 11

WORLD OF FANTASY Students, teachers, offer opinions on fan fiction, fan culture WORDS CHRISTIAN LEDBETTER

PHOTOS ZOE TU

enior Olivia Rohan likes to spend her free time reading or writing fanfiction, particulary fanfiction from the Japanese role-playing game series “Mother”, localized as “Earthbound”, which hasn’t had a new release since 2006. Rohan said her enjoyment of fanfiction comes from belonging to a lot of fan communities that have gone dormant, with a lack of content in recent years and the ability to have new content. “You just want more content. You want more of the same characters and maybe even some new ones and new stories, new anything.” Rohan said she liked the opportunity creating fanfiction provides fans to imagine or interpret continuation of series or characters that wouldn’t otherwise be continued. Among the sub-genres of fanfiction she said she enjoys, Rohan specified fixit fics, where authors alter a story’s main conflict to see where the story would turn if a different conflict arose instead. Another sub-genre was canon alteration. “I really like canon alterations because in the ‘Mother’ series, (which) has been dead for at least 15 years, you read these canon alterations and this crazy stuff where these people, they got so inspired by this series and they just ran with it. ‘I have an idea. It isn’t in line with canon. What if this happened instead?’”

BY THE NUMBERS

14% of stories are Harry Potter stories on fanfiction. net

MILLION stories are on fanfiction.

of stories are Naruto stories on fanfiction. net SOURCE COLAH

Fanfiction Nonfiction

Take a look at the origins, history of fanfiction websites Don Quixote

Jan. 16, 1605 Fanfiction dates back prior to the 20th century, when an unauthorized sequel of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote started circulating.

Fan

IB English teacher Austin Flynn said he read Harry Potter fanfiction in high school following the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. “I read the sixth book,” he said. “I did the midnight release and just that anticipation for the seventh book, I just wanted more and I wanted to get a sense of all the ways that the story could wrap up, things that could happen. There’s a lot of comfort in that. There was a sense of a community with everyone who obviously heard about the IP as well and wanted to make the story grow.” While both Rohan and Flynn said fanfiction offered opportunities for fans to celebrate the stories and characters they loved, Rohan said it could at times get out of hand. “There’s a whole, really tangled web of people and ideas that make up a fandom and what typically ends up happening is that humans, we have priorities; we know what we like and most of the time a lot of us happen to like these crazy romance stories that have nothing to do with an actual story,” she said. “Those are the most popular things. If you go to any fanfiction site like Wattpad, Archive of Our Own (AO3), honestly, Tumblr, and you look up a fanfiction tag for a certain fandom or something, the top of the list is always going to be a romance shipping (story.)”

The first fanfiction website, fanfiction. net is created. The site is now the most popular fiction community in the world Oct. 15, 1998 Fiction

Late 1944 The term fanfiction is officially coined by the science fiction community to distinguish between pro and amateur fiction.

Junior Abigail Bailey and freshman Aaron Lehikoinen scroll through their computers to find ideas for their Just Write story. They said the Just Write club allows for opportunities to write stories that will not be found in the school curriculum, including fanfiction. According to an article from Vox, “shipping” is when members of a fan community root or speculate about the romantic potential between characters from a piece of media. Most works of fanfiction tend to involve shipping to some degree, with popular fanfiction site AO3 offering a search by relationship tab and Tumblr, another site, listing its top 100 searched ships in annual year reviews. According to Rohan, most ships tends to focus on same sex couples, which comes from a lack of LGBTQ+ representation in more institutional works of media; however, she said it has gotten to the point of oversaturation. “People are like, ‘Here is this one character, the main character, and here is this side character that has nothing to do with this character,’ and they’re shipping them for the sake of them being the same gender or something. It’s honestly to the point of fetishization.” Florian Foster, Just Write Club leader and senior, said he agreed with that sentiment. “It’s somewhat disturbing sometimes to be in some fan spaces because there is a lot of fetishization and squashing any character into a box of boy 1, boy 2 and just smashing them together with no regard for character traits or previous story or anything like that,” he said. Flynn, however, had a different perspective on this controversy. “I’m just glad people are writing,” he said. Honestly. I think there is a lot, whether fanfiction writers realize it or not. There is so much analisis that goes into that. If an author is trying to get close to the style or the voice of the individual author, think about the level of attention to syntax and structure and how those characters speak. There is so much that goes into writing it well.”

A nonprofit, source known as Archive of Our Own (AO3) is founded. New fanfiction categories take shape.

Speak Up! What is your opinion of fanfiction? “Some of them shouldn’t exist, because the people writing them always make them so descriptive and it bothers me. I read one about Loki x Tony Stark and that just scared me.” SOPHOMORE EVELYN SASSEVILLE

“There is a reputation of being weird. People tend to think its weird because you’re fantasizing about either people or characters and so people tend to think that’s weird.” FRESHMAN AISSATOU DIATTA SPEAK UPS, PHOTOS CHRISTIAN LEDBETTER

8 Common Tropes Alternate Universe Angst

Anime & Manga

Crossover Fluff

Hurt Comfort

Podfic Songfic

GRAPHIC NATHAN HUANG SOURCES BOOKRIOT, MEDIUM, TECHTIMES

Harry Potter

Star Wars

Books & TV Shows

July 2011 Creation of fanfiction rises after the conclusion of the books and movies.

Dec. 2015

Nov. 2020 Focused on popular shows such as Doctor Who and Supernatural

Nov. 15, 2009 Feb. 2007 Fanfiction genres modeled after popular Japanese animations

The revival of the franchise inspires new fanfiction

HARRY POTTER 12.03 13

conversation could go - but I think individuals or fans He said that a number of authors, such as the Hugotaking ownership of the characters of the ideas, I think award-shortlisted author Tamsyn Muir, got their start there could be an issue.” in fanfiction and that the practice offered writers an Foster said he agreed, saying fan communities opportunity to develop a voice for characters who could often expect endings that the creators never already existed. intended to put. He specifically However, though authors such mentioned events following as Muir have gotten success through the 2016 Dreamworks reboot I think (for a writer) there writing fanfiction, many authors of Voltron, where, according to criticize the practice, with writers like is a certain kind of ownership Polygon, fans sent death threats George R. R Martin, best known for that needs to happen. It’s to writers and voice actors over the Song of Ice and Fire series, later their story, they’re the ones expectations for two characters, adapted for TV as “Game of Thrones’’, Keith and Lance, to end up in a calling it bad practice for writers. Other telling it and I think for individuals relationship together. writers, such as J.K. Rowling and to write, in that world, I think it is He said fan pressure is paying respect to them. Stephenie Meyer, best known for Harry nothing new, though writers Potter and Twilight respectively, said should focus on writing what they approve of fanfiction of their work. IB ENGLISH TEACHER AUSTIN FLYNN they want to write. Flynn said his mind often changed “If you’re writing for other people you get bad on the issue, though he did see it as a sign of respect. books, like the whole Young Adult craze where “I think (for a writer) there is a certain kind of it’s the same book over and over again because it’s ownership that needs to happen,” he said. “It’s their story. profitable. I don’t like that. I think creators shouldn’t They’re the ones telling it and I think for individuals be obligated to consider the occasionally rabid actions to write, in that world, I think it is paying respect to of fan groups as a hazard.” them. I think - and I don’t know if this is where the

“

Choose Your Journey Here’s how to decide what new fanfictions to start reading Alternative Universe

A story that diverges from the main plot?

Start here New to fanfiction? Or Looking for a new genre to explore? What do you want from the fanfiction?

GRAPHIC NATHAN HUANG SOURCES MEDIUM, QUIZONY, QUORA

Hurt/Comfort

A story that focuses on a certain relationship between characters?

A story that fixes something from the original plot?

Soulmates Happily Ever After (HEA) “Feel Good” (Fluff) Fix-It Fic(tion)

Here’s what a preferred genre might be...

While Rohan said she agreed that fan communities often tend to take shipping too far, at times going so far as to scare potential fans away from the base material, she said she still appreciates fanfiction for what else it offers. “A lot of people latch onto these fandoms just as an emotional thing and because fanfiction is a way of expressing yourself,” she said. “ It’s an artform, you’re writing. Writing is still art. It’s just another way of identifying with that character or relating with that character, I guess. A lot of people find comfort in that; all my favorite characters are goofball idiots. I just like writing them do goofball idiot things because it’s funny, it makes me laugh, A it makes other people laugh.” Freshmen Mason Buysse (left), Julia Hohne (middle) and Maddie Stock (right) type their stories during the Just Write club meeting on Nov. 12. During the meeting students worked on stories for NaNoWriMo in which a student must write or type a 50,000 word story of any genre within the month.

A story where the author changes the settings or circumstances Stories derived from the emotions of a specific character A story which tracks the development of one romance Fanfictions like these will often have two characters in a final romance Stories progress towards reaching a satisfying conclusion. Story where the author makes one change from the original plot

Commaful Focuses on the retelling of popular stories (the most popular being Harry Potter and Star Wars). Wattpad Focuses on romance, thriller, and science-fiction. Wide fan base and community.

Pokémon Naruto Riverdale Game of Thrones Black Widow Japanese animation Spiderman Dreams/Fantasies

Art of our own (AO3) Has a massive community (around 2.5 million users) who focus on changing stories from their canon counterparts.

Sherlock Supernatural The Avengers Teen Wolf

Here’s what those genres contain

Where to look for specific fanfictions...

Popular categories on each site...

HARRY POTTER 12.03 15

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us....

Students share definitions of “good”

SPEAKUPS OLIVIA MCKEE

“Well, there is no good, and there is no evil, because it’s everyone’s perception of good and evil. So, one person might think one thing is good whereas one person might think that thing is evil and vice versa, so there is no true good or true evil.” SENIOR MARK BISBECOS

“Good isn’t necessarily a definition. I say good is more of the emotional appeal. (It) is more like the positive feeling that you get when you do something for someone else, or when you do something for yourself that makes you reflect back on yourself in a positive manner.” JUNIOR AVERY GATES

Good

“I define good as being the best you can be. For example, a good person is being the best person you can be towards others and yourself. I live by this by always being the nicest I can to others, being helpful, and following the rules and instructions set before me. I try to be a good person by being the best person I can be and give a good effort by giving forth my full effort.” FRESHMAN ALEXA ADE

“I believe good is doing the right thing in every situation or what is morally right. We were all taught this concept very young, especially from Disney and childhood movies. Today, I try to live by doing good by thinking about what positive impact my actions will leave behind.” SENIOR PAIGE ZURCHER

“Being good is about living each day with a focus on living according to your morals and focusing on what’s right for yourself and what’s right for others and hopefully trying to leave the world a little better than you found it.” SENIOR MAXWELL “MAX” KIM

Evil

...What matters is the part we choose to act on. THat's who we really are". - Sirius Black, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

SPEAKUPS ROHAN MAHESH

Students share definitions of “evil” “Evil is something that is negative to this world. We can see evil in many things and many forms. I think that evil is a psychological trait inherited from seeing everyday societal factors like TV shows or even other people.” SOPHOMORE ADITHYAN “ADI” NAREN

“I define evil as hateful wrongdoings. I see evil today between people. Our world is so divided and polarized, and people can be cruel. Human beings are all the same inside and we can stop evil from winning.” SENIOR AVERY EBBERT

“To me, evil is defined when I notice something that is not right. For example in a person, if I notice that they find happiness in other people’s struggles, I would consider them evil.”

“Evil is a very broad range of definition. I would probably say that the definition of evil is the intentional acts of wrongdoing according to social norms of society. And well I see it as bad in human nature that we perceive such a hideous thing.” JUNIOR YUCHENG WANG

SENIOR AMEYA BHARGAVA

“I define evil as malicious intent. Whenever someone acts with the intent to do harm to others, I see that as evil. I see evil intentions occurring in a lot of things including the news we hear and the world we live in.” JUNIOR NOAH MEROUEH

HARRY POTTER 12.03 17

FATED

Students, counselor discuss following fate, making one’s own choices for their future WORDS KRUTI SUBBANNAVAR

PHOTO KRUTI SUBBANNAVAR

ccording to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, fate is a power that controls what happens in the future. It is also said to be the future of a person. Senior Marina Andrews and senior Rekha Muralidaren both say they believe in fate to take care of their futures. Andrews, is going to the same college as her siblings and father did before her—Indiana University, Bloomington—believes that her fate is to go on to Indiana University and pursue the same career as her family and become a doctor. Andrews said, “I hope that my destiny is to become a doctor and help underprivileged kids in countries that don’t have the access to a lot of the healthcare that we do at the states,” Similarly, Muralidaren also said her destiny was to become well-settled in life and said she believes so because being well-settled will bring her respect in society and give her parents a peace of mind. Both Muralidaren and Andrews said they believe destiny controls their life and what happens, they said they needed to believe in something to make sure that whatever happened in their life happened for a reason. “Life has got to have something to go off of,” Muralidaren said. “There’s a little metaphor my parents

Senior Rekha Muralidaren studies after class. She said she ultimately thinks her destiny is to pursue a career in medicine after trying and liking other fields such as Computer Sceine during her freshman and sophomore years.

used for me when I was younger, the idea of a little notebook (that is) supposed to be our life and it has everything that’s supposed to happen written in it.” Similarly, Andrews also said she believed in a higher power that would control her life. However, Harry Pettibone, College and Career Resource Counselor (CCRC) said exploration was a good idea for students to figure out what they like before sticking to a certain profession and deciding on it. “I kind of don’t always believe in fate,” Pettibone said. “I believe that one has the power within them to gear or head their fate towards something that they really want to get into. I think you have ownership of yourself and your path to a very large degree...I think you can plan and make your own pathway,” he said. Pettibone said students should use high school and the first few years of college to explore different interests and change their minds as often as they change interests as they can look into many different things to find their niche or passion to work in. He said the pressure that student’s place on themselves to figure their life out by the time they go to college is not a good thing and that students must take advantage of the vast resources they get at high school to freely look around different career paths.

On the other hand, both Muralidaren and Andrews say they are quite sure of their future careers of pursuing medicine and that they knew they wanted to go into this career at different stages of their life so far. Andrews said she was inspired by her family and being constantly surrounded by doctors, as well as the mission trips they did together. Andrews also said her family being from a different country originally influenced her decision in a huge way as well. “I’ve really seen how bad (the medical situation) can be for some people and also experienced the privilege that I have, living here, so I want to help out any way I can,” she said. Andrews said as she went through high school taking advanced science classes, she started to fall in love with the intricacies of the human body and the way that it all worked, and she said it made her fall in love with the idea of being able to practice medicine as a way to make a living. Muralidaren said that, although she tried to go away from medicine as a possible career path at one point, she found herself drawn to science and kept coming back to it, to where she said she decided to pursue it as a career. “I did have this pressure to go into pre-med,” she said. “But, with that, I first started to diverge from it, and ended up choosing computer science, and

Speak Up! Do you believe in fate? “Sort of. I feel like it’s nice to know that I have my own decision on how my life ends out but at the same time, it kind of is also interesting to think that there is some sort of fate. I am a Christian, so there is the belief that God guides us and how something is planned out for us.” JUNIOR TERESA YU

“I don’t believe that anything is inevitable, but I do believe that it is important to learn to have an attitude of acceptance for what happens in life. While I don’t think there is a grand design or that the universe is on some linear, predetermined path, I do think it’s important that people learn to accept reality on it’s own terms.”

AP RESEARCH TEACHER CHAD ANDREWS

SPEAK UPS, PHOTO SARAH ZHENG

that let me find out that (computer science) wasn’t it for me and ended up leading me back to (pre-med science paths)” Muralidaren said. Andrews said although she similarly felt pressured to keep up a standard of hard work that had been set by her parents, she was grateful to it as it gave her the strength to continue with hard classes and said that she would not change anything. Pettibone said the highly academic nature of CHS as a community is also a pressure for certain students to choose specific academic career paths and said he believes that students should be allowed to ultimately choose what they decide to do in life. Regardless, Muralidaren said, although one could make certain decisions, fate would always bring them to where they needed to be, whenever it should happen. “You can make whatever decisions you want, but the end goal is going to be something specific that you divert to, at one point or another without you A realizing,” Muralidaren said. Senior Marina Andrews (middle) poses with her sister Crestin Andres (right) at her white coat cermony going into medical school in 2016. Andres said she always wanted to pursue a career in medicine to help the underprivileged people.

did you know? In Greek mythology there were three Fates. They were three goddesses who determined when every person was going to be born, how they would live and when and how they would die. SOURCE ENCYCLOPEDIA

HARRY POTTER 12.03 19

ART/IST

Society should separate art from artist, avoid disregarding one’s art after controversy WORDS ALIVIA ROMANIUK

ack in 2019, J.K. Rowling, the famed author of the Harry Potter series, became the subject of controversy when she announced her support for Maya Forstater, a researcher who lost her job for stating that people can not change their biological sex. Rowling also voiced her concerns regarding the proposed changes to the British Gender Recognition Act, which would allow people to self-declare their gender. In an essay later published on her website, she argued that this would endanger women in female-only spaces, such as restrooms. While some praised her courage and honesty, others were heartbroken by what she had to say. On Twitter, people began labeling her a “TERF,” which stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist. Despite the controversy, the Harry Potter franchise continues to thrive. A 2021 Statistica report revealed that it was the third highest grossing franchise in the world. Likewise, Kevin Hart faced backlash in 2018 when a series of his anti-gay tweets from 2009-2011 resurfaced. He refrained from apologizing to the LGBTQ+ community and ended up stepping down from hosting the 2019 Oscars.

Despite this, in 2019 he was still the highest-paid comedian in the world. Being in the public eye means that your every word and every action is scrutinized. It is nearly impossible for celebrities to avoid criticism or controversy during their careers. Even figures such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have faced criticism. While celebrity status should not excuse problematic behavior, celebrities are still human, and their actions and beliefs should not undermine their work. In 2020, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) nominated Rowling’s essay regarding transgender rights for the Russell Prize, an annual journalistic award, and responded to criticism by calling it “the price of free speech.” Celebrities are allowed to speak their mind about important topics, and in doing so, they cannot please everyone, making criticism inevitable. Rowling’s unpopular beliefs should not undermine her extraordinary work, and people should not feel guilty for enjoying her books. While her opinions may have been hurtful to some fans, she had every right to share them, and she was A brave for doing so.

Alivia Romaniuk HiLite Reporter

Problematic Learn more about criticims of characterizations, stereotypes in “Harry Potter” universe The Goblins J.K. Rowling characterizes the Goblins in the “Harry Potter” universe as having hooked noses, and shifty eyes and being greedy bankers. While likely unintentional, fans say this caricature pushes anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Cho Chang Cho Chang’s name consists of two Korean surnames, despite her Chinese descent. Fans also argue Chang was intentionally set up as weak to make Ginny Weasley, Harry’s eventual love interest, look stronger in comparison. This fits a common theme where women of color have minor character arcs intended to develop another’s story.

INTERWOVEN

“Harry Potter” series riddled with cultural insensitivity, prompts conversation about proper representation WORDS PALLEVI PILLAI

n the summer of 2020, JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, received backlash for her comments about the transgender community. After the controversy surrounding the author was plastered all over social media, it gave fans momentum to vent about a lack of cultural sensitivity in the books that had previously been swept under the rug. At first, I didn’t really understand fans’ outrage over this topic. As a kid, I was a self-proclaimed Potterhead, having a crazed obsession over the series. I didn’t feel there were any cultural insensitivities in the series. But after recently watching the movies again, I realized there were seemingly insignificant, but irritating moments that I had brushed off as a kid. One of these instances is the Yule Ball scene in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Harry and Ron’s dates to the ball were their classmates Parvati and Padma Patil, who are British Indians. I vividly remember watching the Yule Ball scene as a fourth grader and being caught completely off guard as the Patil sisters entered the banquet; they wore shabby, poorly designed versions of what vaguely resembled “lenghas”— stylish Indian dresses embroidered with intricate designs. In addition to the complete lack of research on the costume department’s part, I was also slightly riled up by

Pallevi Pillai HiLite Reporter

Skinwalkers In the “Harry Potter” universe, Rowling reimagined the skinwalker—which in Navajo legend are said to be evil men or women who can take the form of animals—as Animagi, and wrote, “in (her) wizarding world, there were no skinwalkers.” Members of the Navajo tribe criticized Rowling’s writings, saying native religions are real and still practiced and could not be reinterpreted for a fantasy novel.

the fact they wanted the sisters to appear more “ethnic” in that scene. In the book, the Patil sisters wore elegant dress robes along with the rest of the students. I was even more surprised because quite honestly the Patil sisters’ ethnicity seemed quite ambiguous until the Yule Ball scene, as there is no other mention of it in the series. After this observation, I began to realize the Patil sisters had the potential to be more than just surface-level side characters. In the beginning of the series, Parvati and Padma were sorted into two different houses (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw). Being identical twins, this was an abnormal occurrence — an untapped plotline begging to be explored that Rowling never used. To be fair, I do not think that any of these portrayals were intentional on Rowling’s part. Rather, it speaks to a larger truth about minorities’ roles in media; for the most part, their roles fall into two extremes: either as borderline-insulting stereotypes, or their ethnicity is never elaborated on to the point where it feels ambiguous and they serve as a background character. However, ethnicity is not something to be inserted when convenient or for the sake of political correctness— it should be woven into a character’s identity without being their only plotline. A

SOURCES POPDUST, THE SPECTATOR, TIME GRAPHIC CHENYAO LIU

Seamus Finnigan Throughout the series, Seamus Finnegan often creates explosions and has a fascination with alcohol, which are common Irish stereotypes. The series is also set in the 1990s during “The Troubles,” a period of ethno-nationalist conflict in Ireland consisting of violent protests and bombings.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 21

FACT in FICTION Students, teachers assess importance of fiction in school curriculum, compare to experiences reading at

WORDS LEAH TAN

eading fiction is senior Ella Joliet’s most it, many would miss out on a lot of fiction that favorite and frequent pastime. they wouldn’t have read otherwise. It’s also the only “Most of the time, I read for personal setting where you can sit down and discuss, which entertainment to distract myself from my current is so helpful in understanding literature.” life,” Joliet said. “I also read fiction to learn about Joliet said she can relate to sticking to one genre new things; a lot of it is now incorporating a lot and claims the exposure to new content is one about other cultures.” of the primary benefits she’s gotten from reading But the extensive time she spends reading is fiction in school. not isolated to her home setting. She said she also “I definitely gravitate towards some genres more reads a lot of literature in school. In fact, Joliet said than others. I don’t like mystery or horror, but I love she has taken AP Literature and AP Language Arts realistic fiction, fantasy or romance. The upside to and Composition, both of which require reading classes like AP Literature where we read fictitious copious amounts of texts in their works is exposing me to new content. curriculum. Unlike reading at home, Like, we read Frankenstein and it Fiction can accomplish however, Joliet said her experience was definitely something I’d want to reading for school is vastly different. read again that I wouldn’t have read things that other works like “I don’t like reading as much without it being enforced,” she said. nonfiction cannot because when it comes to school curriculum,” Senior Jillian Escobar said she it wears a mask. It’s an art she said. “I definitely feel more agreed. For her, she said the wide form, so it’s able to cross obligation whenever I have to read variety of fiction texts that grapple boundaries others cannot. for school. I could enjoy books way themes applicable to reality is why more if I read it on my own behalf.” it’s necessary to include them in the ROYA FARROW English teachers are not blind to school curriculum. this phenomenon. English teacher Roya Farrow “These texts I find to be a more effective said she recognizes this challenge when it comes to commentary on society in general, and that type of teaching fiction and other literary works in school. change in perspective is something I wholeheartedly “(In our curriculum) we have left behind the appreciate,” Escobar said. “When something is value of fiction as entertainment, “ she said. “No well-written such that a powerful and meaningful student wants to be bored in class, and fiction is message is achieved, that’s when I really begin to meant to entertain.” understand why we teach literature in the first place.” Despite these obstacles, Farrow said she strongly Farrow said broadening one’s views and applying believes the incorporation of fiction in school a text’s themes into one’s real life is her ultimate curriculum is necessary and beneficial. goal as a teacher. “Fiction is most beautiful and impactful because “I hope my students can become better readers by it teaches us to understand people in situations that learning to understand more literal meanings and we may never interact with in real life,” Farrow said. the different textual nuances. The more you read “Fiction does this most impactfully compared to anything, the better your reading comprehension non-fiction works because if it’s well-done, we get will be, and with it, you’ll learn the ability to look sucked into the story and learn all of this without at something that’s creative and artistic and see how knowing. Learning fiction from an academic it’s a reflection of history, culture, and themselves setting is of particular importance because without so they can apply it to their real lives.”

“

Contrary to the many benefits it offers, Farrow Because of her negative experiences, Escobar said said teaching fiction comes with some challenges she hopes the school district will choose texts that more other than disengagement. clearly reflect themes applicable to modern society. “It can be challenging for the teacher because as “The themes of Great Expectations are not the much as you want to expose people most relevant to modern society today, to a bunch of content, you only have making it impossible to have meaningful Did You Know? so much time,” Farrow said. “I think discussion about the deeper message from a student’s perspective, the main the author is trying to convey,” Escobar George Orwell’s 1949 novel challenge is that it can be uncomfortable said. “I’ve much preferred The Nickel Boys, 1984 went to the Amazon to read and even more so to talk about which deals directly with the issues of race, it. You have to be aware of other people’s bestsellers list in 2017 after then segregation and injustice, all timeless emotions and the reasons why they themes. That’s the type of literature I find presidential adviser Kellyanne might struggle with a story, but you also engaging and important and encourages Conway referred to falsehoods want to dig into it.” the broadening of one’s horizons beyond as “alternative facts.” Escobar said she has had her own what we could previously see.” negative experiences reading fiction in Ultimately, all of them said that fiction SOURCE STACKER school because of the themes it’s tackled. is a vital and unique resource that provides “I’ve had experiences in both the fiction and benefits nothing else can. Farrow said, “Fiction can nonfiction texts in our school curriculum that left accomplish things that other works like nonfiction much to be desired; some pieces I found to be cannot because it wears a mask. It’s an art form, so it’s A downright insulting,” she said. able to cross boundaries others cannot.”

Bookish Benefits Read about main benefits of reading fiction in childhood

ation Interpret

Creativity

ction Reading fi e requires th on of ti interpreta ation. m r fo new in

Fiction encourages creativity by introducing the reader to new ideas.

lary Vocabu ces

Socialization

introdu Fiction ds to the r new wo xpanding e , reader abulary. c o their v

Seeing how characters interact can help the reader learn to socialize.

GRAPHIC ARJUN PUROHIT SOURCE CENTRALSCHOOL

Empath y

Readers empath feel y charact for the ers in fictiona l works .

Focus

To un work derstand a o the re f fiction, a focus der must ed on be it.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 23

Quidditch

Through the Ages

Take a look at the different facts about Quidditch, how to play it at home GRAPHIC EMILY SANDY, YICHEN LIU

By the Numbers

matches Harry Potter played in

150

is the amount of points the golden snitch is worth

MONTHS the longest quidditch match lasted

SOURCES FANDOM, WIZARDINGWORLD, POTTERVERSE

Quidditch Quotas

Learn some statistics about talented quidditch players

Cho Chang

Team: Ravenclaw Position: Seeker Through her entire time at Hogwarts, she remained Ravenclaw’s first choice seeker

Cedric Diggory

Team: Hufflepuff Position: Seeker/Team Captian His team defeated Harry’s despite Dementors in the stadium

Ron Weasley Team: Gryffindor Position: Keeper/ Team Captian Ron helped Gryffindor to another Quidditch Cup victory with his perserverence and talents

Did You Know? Harry Potter’s catch of the Golden Snitch scored his team (Gryfinndor) 150 points, leading them to victory. This was the first match of the season, as well as Harry’s first match ever

Home Gamin’

See how to play Quidditch at home

Assign roles

Ball Backgrounds Take a look at development of various balls in quidditch 1050 Gertie Keddle’s diary A witch living on Queerditch Marsh recorded what would be the first Quidditch game

Chaser (3-4 per team) Throws quaffles through hoops

Tagger (3-4 per team) Use bludger to tag out chasers & seekers

Seeker Keeper (1 per (1 per team) team) Catches Guards snitch goal and and tries blocks to score balls from with it entering hoop

How to Play

1. Begin with a chaser from each team standing in the center with everyone else standing around them. Beaters should stand back, attempting to protect their goal 2. Referee tosses the quaffle in the air and the center chasers try to tip the ball to other chasers on their team (much like a basketball tip-off) 3. Once the quaffle is caught by a chaser, they aim for the goals of the opposing team, earning 10 points if it goes through 4. Taggers play defense by throwing bludgers. Once tagged with a blunger, the chaser must stop moving and try to pass the quaffle to another teammate 5. At some point in the game, the referee will release the snitch by bouncing it on the ground. The seekers are the only ones who can touch the snitch. The first seeker to catch the snitch wins 150 points for their team and the game ends

Materials

- Broomsticks (for each player) - 1 yoga ball (quaffle) - 4-8 small balls (bludgers) - 1 tennis ball (snitch) - Hoolahoops attached to poles (goals)

1st Entry: people playing Quaffle: used with a ball and flying to score goals. on broomsticks. Chasers must 2nd Entry: players made get it through the opposing team’s a new ball after she confiscated the last one, goalposts, past the Keeper guarding them. and were scoring goals by throwing it through trees.

Bludger: knocks players off their broomsticks. Beaters protect their team from them while using them to attack the other team.

3rd Entry: introduction of flying rocks that knock players off their broomsticks

1150 Goodwin Keen’s Letter A letter sent from a wizard to his cousin. • The sport was called Kwidditch, with many organised teams. 1269 Game in Kent • Barberus Bragge released a Snidget (a type of bird), and announced he would award 150 Galleons to the player who caught it. • Soon a Snidget was released to be caught and killed at every game, but that decreased Snidget numbers and they could no longer be used for Quidditch. • Bowman Wright invented a fake Snidget, and the games continued.

Golden snitch: very fast, small, and can make sudden changes of direction. Seekers catch it for 150 points (in memory of Bragge), ending the game.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 25

Adoption Illusion Students, teachers reflect on adoption, foster care process, address misconceptions during National Adoption Awareness Month WORDS RAGHAV SRIRAM, SIRI SURAPANENI

ne of the key elements of Harry Potter’s By the character, in being adopted, is that he embodies the stereotypes on the adoption Numbers process and adopted children. Harry, who was greatly mistreated by his aunt and uncle after being adopted, reflects the misconceptions that still THOUSAND surround adoption holistically. children But Jasmine McCarty, who is adopted, said the are adopted actual difficulties of being an adopted child are very different from the stereotypes portrayed in each year in popular culture. the U.S. She said, “I think one of the hardest things (about being adopted) is that want, that feeling of being wanted or being chosen. Because it’s so hard of people to now put a lot of trust into people thinking if spent 5 or they are going to stay or not, if they are going to do more years exactly what happened before or if you’ll be put in a position where you’re alone. So I think that’s one in foster care of the hardest things to get over and even just like, SOURCE be aware of, you know, capsulate.” ADOPTION NETWORK

McCarty said the stigma around adoption makes it difficult for transparency between those who adopted and those who are not. McCarty is one of many students at this school who are adopted. Sophomore Olivia Jones said she shares McCarty’s perspective on common misconceptions surrounding adoption. She said, “I feel like a lot of TV shows put a bad rep on adoption. It’s always surprising to people (when I tell them I’m adopted).” According to AdoptUSKids, currently, more than 400,000 people across the United States are part of the foster care system—ranging from infants to people 21 years of age in some states. According to Tony Dunham, former foster parent and English teacher, these children are in need of loving adults who can provide them a stable home. “I think my wife and I just saw there was a need and heard about there being a need for fostering as well. We had the space both emotionally and physically in our home to invite kids into. I think both my wife and I have the heart for that and again these kids are the most vulnerable part of our population,” he said. Dunham also said many children are overlooked due to the 16.66 lack of knowledge that surrounds the fostering or adoption process. “I think foster kids are some 12.10 of the most vulnerable people in our society. And I think that 11.82 they are kids and they just need people to step in their lives and provide shelter and some of 10.77 the most basic needs and a safe home. That’s why I think it’s so 9.39 important,” Dunham said. McCarty said she agreed; however, she also said it is important for adults to avoid developing a hero complex, a

140

20%

A New Home

Take a look at the states with the highest private domestic adoptions per 10,000 households Utah Alaska Indiana West Virginia Arkansas GRAPHIC JASMINE ZHANG

SOURCE SMART ASSET

PHOTO ROYCE BROWN

term often used by the media to describe the behavior of a person who seeks heroism or recognition by partaking in the adoption or fostering process. “Putting yourself on a pedestal almost, saying that you are such a good person for being someone who adopts or putting yourself in a position where you think that you are above and that you’re saving people really needs to change. It really isn’t that way, a lot of people can be fine in adoption centers. It’s just (some) people do want to get the care that other kids get,” McCarty said. Jones said she hopes the media and society in general approaches the adoption process with more sensitivity. She said, “Whenever people ask me where I was born and who my parents are, whenever I tell people I’m adopted, they are always like, ‘Who are your real parents?’ when my (adopted) parents are my real parents.”

Junior Jasmine McCarty holds up a picture of her adoptive family. She said adoption is a good process she thinks more people should look into. “There (are) so many people out there that are waiting for people to take them in,” she said

“I think something that kind of went through me for a little bit was that feeling of shame, almost, for being with my family because some people will always ask me where I’m from or why my parents are different, like a different race, or what have you,” she said. “I think that’s something that I had to work on though—realizing that I shouldn’t be ashamed of being adopted. I’m sure a lot of (adopted people) are going through a time where it’s like, ‘I was not wanted and now I’m part of a family that does want me, but it’s not a family that I’m alike physically,’ so you just have this overhanging cloud of guilt for being (adopted) and being part of your family. I feel like (that feeling) has gotten less extreme over time, so that’s good, but I think bringing awareness that there is a lot of guilt that comes with being A adopted is really important.”

HARRY POTTER 12.03 27

The Art of Potion Making Q&A with baker , freshman Savneet Dulay When did you first start to bake and how did you get into it? I have been baking since I was young— about 7 years old—I at first started getting into it (baking) because I was just sitting around and decided I wanted to make some cookies. I went out, bought some flour, and made chocolate chip cookies. After that I found new recipes and tried new things and I really got into it and really enjoyed baking.

What makes baking enjoyable?

The smells that fill the house and I like mixing stuff and seeing my hard work all come together and see the separate ingredients turn into these really tasty things.

What is your favorite thing about baking?

My favorite thing is finding new things to try and make and exploring the options available in baking.

What is your favorite thing to bake? I would go with either chocolate chip cookies or brownies; those are classic.

Who are your role models?

Definitely my mom, she works really hard and I definitely want to grow up to be like her.

Freshman Savneet Dulay uses a broiler to prepare burger patties, one of the three methods her team is supposed to use in room B101.

Q&A MAGGIE MEYER

PHOTO RYAN ZHANG

distinctive dining Learn how to make “Harry Potter” Butterbeer

GRAPHIC ALI PERSINGER SOURCE TABLESPOON

INGREDIENTS 1 cup light or brown sugar 2 tablespoons water 6 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon rum extract 12 oz bottle cream soda

STEPS 1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water 2. Gently boil, stirring often, until it reads 240 degrees on a candy thermometer 3. Stir in butter, salt, vinegar, 1/4 of cream 4. Set aside to cool to room temperature 5. Stir in rum extract 6. In a medium bowl, combine 2 TBS of sugar mixture and rest of cream How often do you bake? 7. Beat until mixture is thick Whenever I find the time, like sometimes 8. Divide mixture into 4 glasses and add 3 oz of I bake for my mom’s co-workers because they love the chocolate chip cookies that cream soda I make. So everytime there is a birthday or something, I make cookies for them. 9. Stir and enjoy Who is your baking inspiration?

Rosanna Pansino, she is a baker on YouTube. I watch her pretty often. I have watched cooking shows on Food Network for a long time so I get inspired by those people from those shows as well.

What is something you have always wanted to bake and why? (Something I have always wanted to make is) a soufflé; I have never made one before and I want to try it out.

Do you see this as a career?

I used to see it as a career because I want to be a veterinarian. I could open a Veterinary medical center and also bake dog treats and sell them there but it has become more of a hobby for me as I grow up.

Do you bake from scratch?

Pretty much all of the chocolate chip cookies I have made are from scratch. But I sometimes make brownies from a box.

HARRY POTTER 12.03 29

The Sorting Hat

Take this quiz to find out which Harry Potter house you belong in GRAPHIC RILEY LAFERRIERE, ELISE VARHAN

SOURCE POTTERMORE

Begin Here Pick one word to describe yourself

wise

Do you prefer sunrise or sunset?

adventurous witty

caring sunrise

Would you rather be liked or be trusted?

be liked

be trusted Are you Do you care concerned with how howothers others perceive perceiveyou? you?

yes

Hufflepuff

sunset

Gryffindor

Are you more street-smart or book-smart?

book

street

Ravenclaw

Slytherin

Gryffindor

Founder: Godric Gryffindor Mascot: lion Colors: gold and red Traits: courageous, chivalrous, determined Acumen editor: Sam Hawkins

Hufflepuff

Founder: Helga Hufflepuff Mascot: badger Colors: black and yellow Traits: hard-working, loyal, fair Acumen editor: Sarah Zheng

Ravenclaw

Founder: Rowena Ravenclaw Mascot: eagle Colors: bronze and blue Traits: witty, intelligent, creative Acumen editor: Tsion Daniel

Slytherin

Founder: Salazar Slytherin Mascot: serpent Colors: silver and green Traits: resourceful, cunning, ambitious Acumen editor: Karolena Zhou

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