The Triangle, Vol. 101, Issue 3 by cnhsmedia

Columbus North High School • 1400 25th Street, Columbus, IN, 47201 • Volume 101 Issue 3 • Nov. 23, 2021

DECISIONS DECISIONS DECISIONS DECISIONSDECISIONSDECISI

DECISIONS

THE

TRIANGLE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Megan Allman Michaela Brown Tanya Iyer Anushka Nair CONTENT EDITOR Sanjana Penmathsa MANAGING EDITORS Alyssa Green Elaine Sanders

INDEPTH EDITOR Katharine Brunette COPY EDITOR Addy Rogers SECTION EDITORS Ananya Adur Josie Elwood Ananya Ramanujapuram INDEPTH TEAM Kaitlyn Ayers Abinaya Ganesan Addy Rogers PHOTO EDITOR Jordan Brady ART DIRECTOR Annagail Fields OPINION COORDINATOR Lawrence Delano ASSISTANT CONTENT EDITOR Ryan Clulow STAFF Natalie Brown David Chen Carolina Davidson Samantha Dearing Carson Embree Emily Johns Abigail Lovins Kya McQueary Liam Milne Izabelle Munn Alexandra Osburn Bladen Petro Paula Ramos Perez Ajay Singireddy Abigail Smith Novah Ulm Deshna Venkatachalam Grace Wheatley Mia Wilson Jasmine Yang ADVISERS Roth Lovins Rachel McCarver

EDITORIAL POLICY The Triangle is the designated forum for student expression at Columbus North High School. The student staff chooses all content. Signed columns published in The Triangle express the writer’s personal opinion and not the views of The Triangle, student body, BCSC, administration, board of trustees or faculty of Columbus North. The Triangle practices ethical journalism by providing balanced and fair coverage as determined by community standards. The Triangle strives to achieve 100 percent accuracy by checking sources, spelling, and quotes and attaining multiple sources. The Triangle encourages letters to the editor, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Triangle will not edit for content, but reserves the right to edit for grammar and length. Letters should be submitted to room 1507 or sent via e-mail to administrator@ cnhsmedia.com. All Letters much be signed by all persons involved in writing the letter, which the staff will check for validation. A letter sent via e-mail must be validated with a signature from the writer before The Triangle will publish it. If responding to a publication, letters must be turned in within one week of that

publication’s distribution. In the event of death, The Triangle will run a standard obituary. Pertaining to work submitted via social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), The Triangle will only accept written submissions from the original poster and owner and will only publish entries with the permission of the original poster and owner. The Triangle will not edit submissions for content and reserves the right not to publish them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple submissions of the same topic, vulgar or incendiary content. The Triangle will not publish photographs from Facebook. Posts on The Triangle’s social media pages by readers are owned by the readers and do not necessarily express the views or opinions of the staff. The Triangle is not responsible for their content and reserves the right to delete and report any inappropriate and unnecessary posts. By posting on The Triangle’s social media pages, the poster grants The Triangle permission to publish the contents of that post. In cases when a source’s information may bring ridicule or incrimination upon himself or herself, the editorial board reserves the right to cite the source as anonymous. The Triangle will never use composite sources and pass them off as anonymous sources.

5 NEWS

9 STUDENT LIFE DIVERSE DIETS 9

NORTH DRAMA ANTICIPATES UPCOMING FALL PLAY 5

Sanjana Jain, discusses her vegetarian lifestyle and what foods she eats on a daily basis

Drama club talks about the process behind the production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’

TIMELESS TRADTIONS 10-11

MARCHING INTO LUCAS OIL 7 North band conquers stadium that seats thousands

CELEBRATING VETERAN’S DAY 8

Students tell us how they celebrate holidays in November

GAP BETWEEN STUDENTS 12 Students share their opinions on the learning gap at Columbus North

Columbus North students celebrated Veterans Day Nov. 11

18 OPINION

20 SPORTS

ADVISORY: BENEFICIAL OR NOT? 18

DRIBBLE TILL YOU DROP 20

Columbus North girls’ basketball kicks off

YOUNG AT ART 18

Cheerleaders at Columbus North share how they’re getting prepared for Cheer Day

Does advisory benefit students, or is it added time for more schoolwork?

The true cost of small town art

14 INDEPTH

GAME DAY PREP 23

ONLINE PREVIEW

DECISIONS, DECISIONS Students tackle challenging moral dilemmas

cover photo by Annagail Fields

Scan with your iPhone camera (Snapchat, too) to be linked to all of CNHS Media’s socials

DECISION DIVISION

The Triangle staff explores the psychology behind teenage decision making

tudents make decisions every day. From choosing which pencil to complete a test with to what we eat for breakfast, studies show that people make up to 35,000 decisions in a single day As teenagers grow older, these decisions become harder and harder to make, from whether or not to wear a seatbelt when driving to completing their homework on time. As decisions grow more important, many parents are left wondering why teenagers continue to make bad decisions, jeopardizing their grades or safety. The amygdala plays an essential role in understanding the teenage brain. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the amygdala is responsible for immediate reactions such as fear and aggression, and develops early in life. The reasoning in our brain, however, develops much later. The frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for reasoning, is still developing and

changing much into adulthood. This order of development in the teenage brain is the primary reasoning behind their lack of self control. “Based on the stage of their brain development, adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, misread or misinterpret social cues and emotions, get into accidents of all kinds, get involved in fights and engage in dangerous or risky behavior,” AACAP said. “Adolescents are less likely to think before they act, pause to consider the consequences of their actions and change their dangerous or inappropriate behaviors.” Teenagers act on impulse. When deciding whether or not to complete their homework, a teenager may first consider their immediate feelings towards homework. Maybe they are upset that they have to do it or find it unfair that they have to work on it outside of school. Without their frontal cortex developed, students have less ability to reason between the pros and cons of skipping over an assignment,

so they are more likely to act on impulse, neglecting the assignment and sacrificing their grades. Although teenagers may struggle with decision-making now, it will become easier as the brain matures. “They [adolescents] will be able to think more logically, think about things more abstractly, pick up more on other people’s emotional cues, solve complex problems in a logical way, and see problems from different perspectives,” AACAP said. Not only will teenagers be able to reason better, but they will consider the future more, as well as the outcome of their actions. It is important that teenagers are considering the outcomes of their actions before making any decisions. Whether deciding to do your homework or trying not to give into peer pressure, the amygdala will overpower the frontal cortex. Teenagers should be aware of this and do their best to reason before they act.

BRAIN FACTS medicaldaily.com

1 2

Perceptual reality is entirely generated by our brain

We see the world in narrow disjointed fragments

Body image is dynamic and flexible

5 6

Our behavior is mostly automatic

Neurons are really slow

Consciousness can be subdivided

NORTH STUDENTS ANTICIPATE THE UPCOMING FALL PLAY by Paula Ramos design by Sanjana Penmathsa photos by Grace Wheatley

The Drama Club talks about the process behind the production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’

merging from a four-year hiatus, North Drama brings forth greed, the dichotomy between good and evil and love and friendship as it prepares for Shakespeare’s problem comedy: ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ Playing the role of Solanio in this year’s production, senior Eshaan Mehta anticipates the revival of the Bard. “This is really a nice return to it,” Mehta said. “The last [Shakespeare] play we had was ‘As You Like It’ in 2017 so it’s really been a while.” From the script to the stage, there are numerous factors of a production that go unseen by the audience. One of those factors is the technology crew. Senior Sofia Martinez mentions the hard work that she and the rest of the crew have put into the show. “There’s a lot of tech that goes into the show,” Martinez said. “The sets are built by students so sometimes they require a lot of architectural planning, work, and a lot of manual labor.” Similarly behind the curtain of glamour, the cast can be seen hard at work during rehearsal. “In a typical rehearsal, we spend two or three hours, some on reading lines, but a lot of the time we’re standing on stage,” Martinez said. Working in groups respective to their scenes, cast members spend their time blocking, interacting with others and getting familiar with their onstage personas—something that is very important for junior Ben Richards. “I feel like a big part of it is feeling what your characters are supposed to feel,” Richards said. “Feeling the

right emotion really helps to make the acting better.” Mixing diligence, passion and dedication, the cast and crew envision a spectacular performance as their end product. “I’m just looking forward to being in [the play] and performing with everyone. I haven’t performed with everybody in so long- like ever really,” Richards said. Conversely, sophomore Brianna Guthrie’s excitement focuses mainly on the stage display. “I’m very excited to see how we end up doing the set; this is supposed to have a lot of gold and I’m really looking forward to it,” Guthrie said. Guthrie encourages all to come and support the production. “It’s going to be a really fun show,” Guthrie said. “Even if you’re not super good with understanding Shakespeare, you can at least just enjoy and have a little laugh,” Cautioning students to not be intimidated by Shakespeare’s metric patterns, Guthrie argues the olden play has many modern applications. “I was expecting more of a traditional Shakespeare comedymarriages, people in disguises,”

THEATER SUPERSTITIONS

Thespians run lines from the fall play, The Merchants of Venice. North Drama had auditions for the play in early October. The play will debut Dec. 3.

Guthrie said. “It definitely has those aspects but in addition to that, it has a lot of comments of Shakespeare society that can be related to society still today.”

Broadway Direct

1) Say “break a leg” instead of “good luck” - Part of concept that you’ve crossed from backstage into the “playing area.” 2) Don’t wear anything blue onstage. - Throughout time, rumors emerged that blue costumes were unlucky in productions. 3) Sleep with your script under your pillow - It allegedly helps actors memorize their lines faster.

Get Involved

BCSC and the United Way of Bartholomew County team up every year to help people in our community. Here is how you can get involved: • Give or advocate any time by going to uwbarthco.org • Advocate for United Way and BCSC by sharing your support with others • Volunteer in your community by going to uwbarthco.galaxydigital.com

Learn more by scanning the QR codes below

BAND SEASON ENDS IN INDY WITH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Senior Ayumu Nakajima and Senior Kaitlynn Gibson discuss their previous thoughts in preparation for their final band competition by Natalie Brown design by Ananya Adur photo by Jordan Brady

Trumpet

one

mb Tro ls

m Cy

Sax

oph one

Marimba

n Nov. 11, the Sound and Spirit of Columbus marched into the Lucas Oil Stadium. The stadium was designed with marching bands in mind, and the combined bands of Columbus echoed loudly. Ayumu Nakajima’s last year at Columbus North as a piccolo player ended on a high note at their final performance. “In previous years, I’ve always been astonished by the size of the stadium and the jumbotrons. Just the atmosphere made us feel nervous. But it was definitely worth it,” Nakajima said. “Fighting through the anxiety of messing up, the pressure from the field judges; all of that changes to an accomplishment by the end of the day, which kept me in this program for four years.” The combined bands of Columbus marched with confidence as their constant practice paid off at the end of the season. “I don’t know if it is because I wasn’t experienced enough to know the feeling of desperation, but I had faith in this show. Now that the East band joined us, our team has created a

“That stadium always brings out a whole other level of excitement,” senior Katlynn Gibson (pictured left)

stronger impact on the judges and audiences,” Nakajima said. “We’ve gone through strict rehearsals [and] we’ve marched about 15 hours each week.” Katlynn Gibson, a senior at Columbus North, shared similar confidence in her performance. A flutist for the bands for the past few years, Gibson had high expectations for competing. “That stadium always brings out a whole other level of excitement, and once the adrenaline gets going, then all that we have worked on for the past few weeks shines through with ease,” Gibson said. Gibson was excited for the opportunity to show the newly combined band’s hard work in their final performance of the season. “We have a great show, and we have done a lot of work to make it perfect, and Lucas Oil was our last chance to show everyone what the Sound and Spirit of Columbus was truly capable of,” Gibson said.

ssi rcu Pe

STUDENTS HONORED VETERANS ON NOV. 11

by Izzy Munn design by Ananya Ramanujapuram

Various connections to veterans encouraged celebrations to students

eterans Day is more than just a day to celebrate and honor those who have served and currently serve in the military. It is a time for people to appreciate their loved ones for their dedication towards protecting the nation. This year, students celebrated their own family members for their service to the country. More specifically, sophomore Lydia Putney honored her brother, who is a Lance Corporal in the Marines. “It’s challenging because you don’t get to talk to them very often, so sometimes that challenges your bond with them but it also is a really good way to show how strong of a bond you have,” Putney said. Although her family doesn’t do anything too elaborate, she still honors Veterans Day and

cherishes the bond that she has with her brother. “We don’t have a huge celebration, we take it very seriously and we understand that the veterans are an important part of America,” Putney said. Katelynn Mabis is another sophomore with family in the military. Mabis has two parents in the National Guard and has dealt with the struggle of having military parents for a long time. “There were times where they were both deployed at the same time and I had to go live with my grandma,” Mabis said. Mabis has had to face many changes in her life due to her parents’ presence in the National Guard. “When I was younger we had to move to Kansas because my dad was stationed there,” Mabis said. “And other times one parent would be deployed while the

other was at home, so I would only have one parent that’s home with me.” Mabis has never really had the ‘traditional’ family lifestyle that a lot of students have, but her family honors Veterans Day in their own special way. “My parents don’t have work but I typically still do and have school, so they take the day off to celebrate themselves and then we’ll go out to eat as a family afterwards,” Mabis said. Mabis and her parents use Veterans Day to honor themselves and their military counterparts. She also wants to join the military later on in life, just like her parents. “I plan on going into the ROTC in college. So, still going to college but doing ROTC there and after that, going into the army as well,” Mabis said.

Many resources available

VEGGIE LIVIN’

Senior Sanjana Jain elaborates on aspects of her vegetarian lifestyle by Josie Elwood design by Carson Embree

was due to personal preferences. “Plant based meat does exist, but I’ve grown up never even seeing meat in my household,” Jain said. “So, even now I don’t want to try things that resemble meat because I know there are alternatives that generally taste better.” However, Jain’s decision to live the lifestyle of a vegetarian comes from more than simply her wish to not eat meat. “The reason I’m vegetarian is due to my religion,” Jain said. “It’s a religious belief based on nonviolence which is why I don’t eat any fish, eggs, or general meat.” Jain’s religious beliefs impact her diet in ways that differ from her friends, but that does not stop them from accommodating her

dietary needs. “Most of my friends do eat meat. A couple of them are vegetarian but to a lesser extent, so I think some of them just don’t eat red meat,” Jain said. “When we go out to eat, they are very considerate about going to places that offer things I can eat.” Furthermore, Jain discusses a local food service that she feels effectively adjusts its food content to satisfy her and her family’s dietary preferences. “In Columbus, Thai Connection is really good about modifying their menu. We go there and tell them to take out any meat in a specific dish,” Jain said. “My favorite meal is the Spaghetti Padd Ga Prow which is like a noodle dish.”

Avocados

Vegetables

Peanut Butter

Beans

Chicken

Fruits

junior Eaven Williams

WHAT TYPES OF FOOD ARE STUDENTS EATING?

VEGETARIAN

POLO PESCATARIAN

eople choose to be vegan, vegetarian, or even pescatarian for a number of reasons. Some want to promote animal conservation, while others wish to abide by their religious beliefs. Either way, choosing to lead a food-restrictive lifestyle comes with dietary choices that differ from the norm. Senior Sanjana Jain, a vegetarian, discusses her normal diet along with what makes up her meals. “In terms of what we eat, most of our meals are made up of vegetables,” Jain said. “A lot of them are plant based or in a broth of some sort.” Jain explained that using vegetarian alternatives for meat

senior senior, Sanjana Jain Jain Sanjana

TIMELESS TRADITIONS Students tell us how they celebrate holidays in November by Kya McQueary design by Ajay Singireddy and Alex Osburn photos by Bladen Petro

here are many different cultures and holidays that many people celebrate in November in different ways. Sophomore Michelle Caldwell shares how she celebrates Hanukkah. “I’ve celebrated Hanukkah ever since I was a baby, I celebrate by spending time with family and cooking. The whole holiday is centered around oil, so we use it in our cooking. We make latkes which are fried in oil and sufganiyot

(jelly-filled donuts) as well. We also light the menorah every night for all of the eight nights,” Caldwell said. Caldwell also talked about some of her favorite things to do during the holiday. “I really like to prepare all of the food for our big celebration. I love getting to spend time cooking with my grandma and mom, it’s just really cool to see how the traditions have been passed down over the years,’’ Caldwell said.

NOVEMBER 1

Junior Cesar Vazquez is a student who celebrates the Day of the Dead during October and November. “During Day of the Dead my family and I lay out a table and put candles and flowers and the food on the table. My family and I eat food and visit each other and enjoy family time.” Vazquez said. Sophomore Sid Jain celebrates around Thanksgiving in a different way than most. “We don’t particularly celebrate Thanksgiving but since we get the day off, we try to spend family time together watching movies and eating traditional Indian food together.’’ Jain said. Jain said that they have been celebrating Thanksgiving that way since they came to the US 8 years ago. “We celebrate it differently because we are vegetarian so we don’t have the traditional turkey feast. Instead of that, we try to make foods that we will enjoy.”

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday mainly celebrated in Latin American cultures. During this time it is believed that the border between the afterlife and Earth dissolves and the spirits of loved ones come back to visit. Living family members build ofrendas (altars with different foods and offerings) in their homes or at grave sites.

“My family and I eat food and visit each other and enjoy family time.” junior Cesar Vazquez

DIWALI

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights. The holiday celebrates the triumph of good over evil as well as the return of King Rama, a prominent figure in Hindu mythology, to Ayodhya after he defeated the demon Ravana. To celebrate, families will light clay lamps called diyas outside their homes.

Source: National Geographic

Sources: NPR, History.com

“Even though we aren’t back home in India, we don’t let that stop us from celebrating our culture and festivities.” sophomore Siddhant Jain

HANUKKAH

“It’s really cool to see how the traditions have been passed down over the years.” sophomore Michelle Caldwell

Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish festival that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the king Antiochus and his army. The Jews were able to take back their Temple on Kislev 25, so the festival begins every year on the corresponding day in the Gregorian calendar. An additional candle in the menorah is lit each night of Hanukkah.

Source: Britannica

JUMPING AHEAD Students share their opinions on taking advanced classes by Jasmine Yang design by Liam Milne

reshman Michael Crossman’s pathway is a bit different due to him starting as early as elementary school. “When I was in elementary school, I was able to take a math class a year ahead,” Crossman said. “In sixth grade I took two math classes, one of which was online. Now I’m taking Calculus this year.” Sophomore Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri explains why she decided to take a similar path instead of the standard one since ‘some students might wonder why it’s even worth it to take these classes.’ “Mainly for me I just wanted to have space to explore a lot of different courses,” Munjuluri said. “So because of taking math a couple years early, or taking some science classes a couple years early I’m able to take a wide variety of classes. I really want to touch on everything I want to cover.” Some students might not have as much of an impact, and Crossman is one of those students. “I don’t think it’s really affected it that much. All the other classes I’m taking are normal, so I haven’t felt like it’s much

different,” Crossman said. Even though every student might not be impacted much by the certain pathway they are on, there is still a positive effect overall. Munjuluri explains the benefits of taking any opportunities you are given at Columbus North. “If you’re given the opportunity and you have the knowledge that’s needed. When walking into class on the first day of school, one probably wouldn’t be expecting to see a freshman in an AP class,” Munjuluri said. However, some students at Columbus North get the opportunity to be in higher lever classes as a freshman or sophomore. The question that is posed is whether or not it is fair for some students to get this opportunity and others to only have the chance to stay on the standard pathway Sophomore Sreepada Munjuluri shares her thoughts on the fairness behind the learning gap and her experience of taking higher level classes as a freshman and sophomore. “I understand that there is a gap between people who don’t have the prerequisites and those who do, however, I do think that it should be allowed,” Munjuluri said.

“It allows each student to kind of create a learning experience that’s tailored for them.” Sophomore Preetham Yerragudi is taking AP Calculus BC this year and shares similar thoughts with Munjuluri. “To me, I feel like almost everyone could in technicality take these higher level classes, it’s just how much effort you put into it, and whether you want to take the class or not. So I think it’s all about the person,” Yerragudi said. Yerragudi took his own advice and put in the effort to get where he is now, which is taking AP Calculus BC. “I had to take a summer course over Pre-Calculus. I had to get permission from the math head Mr. Branham,” Yerragudi said. “Basically what [he had to check was] whether I had all good grades in my previous math classes and whether he’d think I could take Calculus as a sophomore.” “I definitely recommend going for it,” Munjuluri said. “One thing I would not recommend is jumping across hurdles to get to advanced courses. You always need your foundation.”

TRIANGLE: How do you feel about the ability to take advanced classes? “I think that it is a good thing for students to have this opportunity because if they are ahead of the standard classes it would be unhelpful for them, possibly even detrimental to take a class that they don’t need.”

Students share their opinions on taking advanced classes

TRIANGLE: How do you think students’ futures will be affected by having these opportunities? “I don’t think that their futures will be affected that much as probably one of the only things that could possibly happen is finishing their collegiate career a year earlier than their peers.”

Senior Morgan Allen discusses her senior project and what the process has been like.

PRO BAKJECT ING by Deshna Venktachalam design by David Chen

also have to “ You make sure you prepare because there’s a lot of different aspects that go into it

“

pcoming seniors anticipate one of the most important projects in their last year of high school - their senior project. Senior Morgan Allen talkss about her project, Baking Buddies, and the journey through it all. “I knew that I wanted to combine baking and kids so coming up with an idea to do that was pretty easy,” Allen said. Allen wants to become an elementary school teacher, so she went to Richard Elementary School and taught kids how to bake for four days. “We were able to get our hands on frosting and stuff and into different sprinkles and activities that they could get hands-on experience learning how to bake. It was very fun,” Allen said. According to Allen, the actual event was fun, but the preparation process was quite the opposite.

“It was kind of stressful because you have to work with adults and you have to email people,” Allen said. “Senior projects require a lot of time, effort, and communication.” To stay on track, Allen, along with many other seniors, added a senior class to their schedule. “It gives you a great outlook on what you need to be doing, it’s very detailed, and it helps support you through your project and make sure you get every single step of the way there that you need to with all the requirements,” Allen said. photo by Bladen Petro

DECISIONS

DECISIONS DECISIONS

DECISIONS DECISIONS DECISIONS

DECISIONS

DECISIONS, DECISIONS DECISIONS

DECISIONS

DECISIONS Students tackle challenging moral dilemmas by Kaitlyn Ayers and Addy Rogers design by Katharine Brunette and Abinaya Ganesan

ive point four percent of North students would be willing to commit a crime. Another 83.7 percent would aid a robbery. Welcome to the world of moral dilemmas, where context can force people to think the unthinkable. Students make thousands of decisions every day, but some carry much more weight than others. However, some decisions are much weightier than others -- and making the wrong choice can carry a steep cost. In some situations, there are no right answers. Moral dilemmas are designed to get people to think about why they make the choices they do. A classic dilemma called the Trolley Problem is an example of this. A runaway trolley is tumbling toward a group of five workers. On another track is a single worker. There’s a lever that can be pulled to change the trolley’s track. Is the best choice to leave the switch, killing five people, or flip it, killing the single worker? Although this is a decision that’s very unlikely to come up in real life, the premise has many parallels to everyday dilemmas. A Triangle survey given to students in psychology and sociology classes brought up this dilemma, along with several others. Regarding the trolley problem, 80.4 percent of the 92 students said they would pull the lever to save the five workers. One respondent summarized the reasoning of those who chose this. “Even though both are morally bad decisions, being a bystander who does nothing to prevent a greater

“Honestly, I don’t see any point in risking my neck for somebody else that I don’t really know.” sophmore AJ Valencia about the Medicine Dilemma

wrong is worse than being a guilty hero who did something to save lives,” the student said. Other students were more conflicted. A separate student argued that it would be best to pull the lever, but it wouldn’t be right to do so. “It is not up to me to decide who lives or dies,” the second student said. “In my opinion, one death is better than five, but then I would be responsible for the death of that one person. If I did nothing, I wouldn’t be responsible for those deaths.” When it comes to family, some people will go to great lengths to save one another. The Medicine Dilemma asks about even breaking the law for someone. Suppose your mother is dying from a certain type of cancer. There is only one drug that could save her, but the chemist is charging way more than you can afford. The only way to save your mother is to steal the drug. Asking students at North what they would do 55 percent said they would steal the drug for their mother. Junior Angie Villegas believes you

PATH OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

should. “Even if he doesn’t love her, a life is still a life,” Villegas said. “Even if it was someone you hated, I think you should still jump in front of a car for them just to save their lives.” Sophomore AJ Valencia disagrees and wouldn’t steal the medicine for someone he didn’t know or hated. “Honestly, I don’t see any point in risking my neck for somebody else that I don’t really know,” Valencia said. Fifty-five point four percent of students would save their mother by stealing the drug, but wouldn’t for people they didn’t know. When you want something bad enough you’ll do almost anything to get it. Joe’s Dilemma talks about a boy who really wanted to go to a concert, but his dad said he could only go if he got the money himself. Joe worked very hard to raise the money and ended up reaching his goal. However, just before the concert his dad needed money for his own benefit and asked Joe to give him his money. Should Joe give him the money, and was his dad even right to ask? Most students surveyed said Joe should keep the money for himself as he worked hard and deserves the money. “Joe’s dad told him he could go if he paid for it himself, and Joe worked hard and earned the money,” a third student said. “It is unfair for his dad to ask for the money to go on a special trip.”

1. Morals defined by punishment and obedience 2. Recognition of different beliefs 3. Conforming to seem good 4. Upholding the law and respecting authority 5. Consideration of individual rights 6. Developed one’s own universal principles

The Money Dilemma is one with mixed responses. Two brothers who must urgently leave town need money. The oldest brother, Karl, broke into a store and stole $1000. The youngest brother, Bob, lied to an old man and said he was very sick and needed money, and lied about paying him back. Both brothers then had $1000 and skipped town. Who was more wrong? One out of four students believed Karl was in the wrong, but the majority thought what Bob did was the worst. “Even though Karl stole from a store, he didn’t lie and create a whole situation,” they said. “Bob lied to a caring old man just to steal the money, knowing he will never pay him back.” Some students disagreed and thought what Karl did was worse “He broke in and stole it,” they said. “Stealing like that is worse.” The story of Robin Hood is a wellknown fable. Is it right to steal from the wealthy and give the spoils to the poor? A modern adaptation of this dilemma asks whether a person who knows the identity of a bank robber who donated the money to an orphanage should tell the police. One respondent makes a reasoned defense of the robber. “He was possibly sacrificing himself in order to save more lives than his own,” they said. “He donated the money, so he didn’t steal to make a profit. While he could have found a different way to make money, this was still a selfless act at its heart.” For nine point eight percent of

“Even if the one person was my loved one, because those other five people are someone’s loved ones.” junior Rafaela Franco respondents, the right thing to do would be to turn him in. “He still stole, which is against the law and not right no matter what it is for,” one said. This dilemma had a large disparity between what the students would do and what they believed to be right. 83.7 percent wouldn’t turn the robber in, but just 47.8 percent believed he had a good reason for committing the crime. It makes for an interesting contrast between one’s convictions and one’s actions. The Medicine Dilemma, Joe’s Dilemma and Bob’s Dilemma were all designed by researcher Lawrence Kohlberg. He sought to categorize people as belonging to one of six moral stages, ranging from blind obedience to universal moral principles. Taking a somewhat negative view, he proposed that only 10 or 15% of people ever reached this higher stage. Junior Rafaela Franco applied the stages to students at North. “I believe that [myself] and most students at North are at stage three, Social Contract,” Franco said. “We teenagers are all in a phase in our lives where we identify with rebellion and fight against the rules

that are pressed against us.” The basic idea of categorizing moral stages may seem like a good way to organize the world, but it’s worth noting the criticisms of the model. Morality is deeply personal; an argument can be made, for example, that respecting authority should be the most advanced stage because society requires it to run smoothly. Interesting though they may be, some dilemmas seem difficult to apply to every day life. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where a hapless North student would be put in charge of controlling a runaway trolley. By viewing them more abstractly, it becomes easier to draw real-world connections. The basic premise of the Trolley Problem comes down to this: is it better to take action and save more people, or do nothing, resulting in more casualties but absolving yourself of guilt? The Medicine Dilemma boils down to prioritizing life or profit. The Robin Hood Dilemma is a sort of variation on this, asking whether the needs of the wealthy or of the poor should come first. It may be that the best answer to these questions is a simple “I don’t know.” It can be hard for a person to know what course of action to take unless they found themselves in that situation -- and some things are much easier said than done. “I don’t know. I really don’t know if I would kill five people or one [unsuspecting] person,” Reyes said.

THE HEINZ DILEMMA

THE TROLLEY PROBLEM

Your mother is dying from a particular type of cancer. There is only one drug that may save her. However, the chemist is charging 10 times the money it costs to make the drug and you don’t have the money. The only way to save your mother is by stealing the medicine.

You are standing near some tram tracks and hear a runaway trolley coming for five workers who can’t hear it. There is a lever you can pull that diverts down a different set of tracks, however there is one worker who is also oblivious to the trolley. Do you pull the lever?

WOULD YOU?

IS IT JUSTIFIED?

Other 7.6% Yes No 35.9% 56.5%

Yes No 40.2% 59.8%

WOULD YOU? No Other 8.7% 8.7% Yes 82.6%

IS IT JUSTIFIED? Other 8.7% No 31.5%

Yes 59.8%

THE PARENTAL DILEMMA

THE ROBIN HOOD DILEMMA

THE THOUSAND DOLLAR DILEMMA

Joe wanted to go to a concert. His father said he could go if he found the money. Joe worked hard at his job to go to the concert and got the money. However, Joe’s father wants to go on vacation and needs a little extra money so asks Joe for his concert money. If Joe gives the money he can’t go to the concert, should he give his father the money?

You are an eyewitness to a crime: A man has robbed a bank, but instead of keeping the money, he donates it to an orphanage that can now afford to feed, clothe, and care for its children. You know who committed the crime. If you report it to the authorities, there’s a good chance the money will be returned to the bank, leaving a lot of kids in need. Do you report him?

Two brothers were leaving town in a hurry and needed money. The older brother, Karl, broke into a store and stole a thousand dollars. The younger brother, Bob, went to a retired old man and lied to him that he was sick and needed money. So the old man gave him a thousand dollars and the two brothers left town with a thousand dollars. Which one was more wrong?

WHICH WHAT BROTHER WOULD WAS YOU DO? WORSE?

WHAT SHOULD JOE DO? Keep it for himself (84.8%)

Keep quiet (83.7%)

Give father money (12%)

Turn the man in (9.8%)

Other (3.2%)

Other (6.5%)

WAS JOE’S FATHER RIGHT? No (88%) Yes (6.5%) Other (5.5%)

“Joe worked his share, and his father has no right to ask the person he should be providing for for the very thing he should already have.” sophomore AJ Valencia

WAS THE ROBBER JUSTIFIED? Yes (47.8%) No (38%)

Yes & No (7.6%) Other (6.5%)

“He donates the money to a good cause, which needed to be done, but the money in the bank could have had a family’s savings for their home, chronic illnesses, or other things.” senior Laura Latham

Bob (77.2%) Karl (22.8%)

“[Bob] lied and lead the retired man to believe he was helping someone out. The bank at least knows Karl did it with ill intent and that they probably aren’t going to get the money back.” Anonymous

“There is no legal punishment for [borrowing] money from another person, and not paying it back. There is a moral punishment in Bob’s case, that he will realize soon enough.” senior Macy Euler

ADVISORY: BENEFICIAL OR NOT?

Does advisory actually benefit students, or is it just added time for more schoolwork? by Izzy Munn

very day at 9:19 a.m. the bell rings and all students are supposed to be sitting in their assigned advisory room. Monday, Wednesday and Fridays are resource days for students, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are supposed to be days where students are taught different lessons that are meant to be useful to our school lives, but are they actually beneficial? Starting during the 2020-21 school year, North built an advisory period into the new block schedule. The class was meant to be a time for students to use as free time, but also for teaching students about social and emotional skills they may need while at school. Some of these lessons consist of time for breathing exercises and being taught about things like time management or

dealing with peers. Some North students find advisory unimportant and won’t show up, but others like having time to finish work and having a break from class. So, the question still remains, do we really need advisory? While personally I think that we need advisory so all students can have free work time, I don’t think that we necessarily need the advisory lessons. The lessons just reiterate what we’ve been told for years before this and hearing them over again aren’t really going to change what we think of the topic. So, if we designate all advisory time for students work, then maybe more work will get completed overall, which would be more beneficial for students and for the school as a whole.

YOUNG AT ART

The true cost of small town art

n heavily populated areas, art culture occurs more organically, as cities provide a higher demand for art, potential for collaboration, and a broader range of backgrounds, all characteristics often found to be deficits in small towns. These deficits present a uniquely challenging set of obstacles for young artists, an already chronically underrepresented group within the art community. Unique to other small towns, Columbus has a long-standing art background, equipping it with a strong understanding of art’s importance and established avenues for artistic expression. However, these long-standing avenues are not effectively accessible to young artists and building a relationship between a community and its creative youth should be prioritized.

by Ryan Clulow

The creative empowerment of the nation’s youth is already recognized as an important task by many prominent art organizations. In their efforts, many of them come to find it requires a unique set of solutions to properly support youth. These different strategies respond to problems that arise while artists begin to cross the threshold of amateur artistry, which include a lack of resources, lack of artistic platforms, and a wide array of different barriers. For towns like Columbus, young creative empowerment would require a substantial effort from the community and the locality itself. But the benefits that would come as a result, would strengthen the fabric of the community identity, grow the potential of the youth, and present a myriad of opportunities for all members of the community.

THE HOLIDAY WAY

As Thanksgiving gets closer, controversy on whether stores should stay open on this special day arise by Deshna Venkatachalam

eather gets colder, leaves start to change and the smell of pumpkin spice fills enclosed spaces. Families start making plans as soon as these signs occur in hopes of having a great Thanksgiving. All the while, managers are employing people to work on what is supposed to be a day of thanks and family. The controversy on whether stores should be open on Thanksgiving grows more and more. Thanksgiving, on Nov. 25, is a day of family. People should still be working, not at stores, but on making the best thanksgiving feast possible. If needed, stores like CVS should stay open in case of an emergency, but even then, only voluntary employees should be

allowed to work. The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. A time when people line up at store doors for hours waiting for them to open. A time where almost every store has great deals and gets emptied the first few hours of the doors opening. Since COVID-19 last year, stores have resorted to online deals. This seems to be the safest way for Black Friday to still happen. Due to COVID-19 still being a problem, stores should be considering strictly online orders. This allows for safer shopping and also allows the employees to spend time with family as they do not have to go in for work. People should not be forced to spend the 25th working on restocking clothes or checking out the food.

JASON MCCORD 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

residential • light commercial licensed and insured

It pays to advertise with the Triangle! Contact CNHS Media for more information advertising@cnhsmedia.com

McCord Plumbing LLC cell 812.447.9502

home 812.342.3548

SLAM DUNK T

by Mia Wilson design by Abbi Lovins

The girl’s basketball season kicks off he squeaks of tennis shoes and team cheers fill the gym as the basketball team dribbles the ball down the court. Sophomore Olivia Johnson has been playing basketball since she was in the fourth grade. “I play basketball because I love the sport and the social and physical benefits I get from it,” Johnson said. Basketball requires physical strength, strong coordination, and a powerful team bond. Junior Rylie Boezeman expresses her love for the skills it has taught her. “Basketball is a great team sport. It promotes teamwork, communication, and friendships with coaches and teammates,” Boezeman said. “ It has helped me socially with my friends especially with ones on the team, it has kept me in good shape, and basketball is a big thing that has bonded my family together because we all either play the sport or just like watching it.” The girl’s basketball team has worked for their success through long practices and tiring exercises under the guidance of Brett White, a veteran basketball

coach. White has been coaching basketball for 25 years, but this is his first year as a varsity head coach. “The most difficult part of coaching basketball is the time I have to be away from my family,” White said. “I have always appreciated the sacrifices they have to make in order for me to do something that I love. My father was a basketball coach, so I was introduced to it at a very young age. I enjoy the competition and strategy of the sport.” Boezeman talked about how basketball requres practice and confidence, which are developed through constant practicing. “We always begin practice with a warm-up drill. This takes around 10 minutes. Then, we have about eight minutes to stretch,” Bozeman said. “After stretching, we have different drills that allow us to get up and down the floor. This contributes to

our conditioning. Every practice, we spend time going over offense and defense. Finally, we end by breaking it down as a team.” Despite the physical exhaustion of the sport, the team keep up their spirits. “Basketball is a sport that teaches you how to deal with adversity. It is a sport that many times has more failures than successes,” White said. “It teaches players to put those failures aside and move on to the next situation. This is all learned in a team atmosphere where you must depend on and work with others.” As the girls head into the season, they get their heads into the game, not letting their nerves get to them. “I am not nervous about this season, but very excited about our potential. I am ambitious to meet and exceed our goals,” Boezeman said. The girl’s season officially started on Oct. 18. “I would say that I am more excited than nervous about the season. The main reason to be nervous is if you are not prepared,” White said. “I feel that I am prepared for the season and our team will be as well.”

SCHEDULE Dates and times of the girl’s home games

2021: 11/27 1:30 12/4 2:30 12/14 7:30 12/16 7:30 12/21 7:30 12/23 2:30

2022: 1/8 2:30 1/11 7:30 1/27 7:30 2/12 TBD

he strike of the serve hits the other end of the tennis court as senior Ashlie Wilson continues to compete in her match in her junior year tournament. Since she was a toddler, Wilson has had tennis in her life, and she is continuing to grow her passion. In her near future, Wilson will be a member of the womens’ Purdue tennis team. This future of following her mother’s footsteps is a lifelong goal of Wilson’s. “I chose to commit to Purdue because they have a really good tennis program, a nice facility, it’s a good distance from home and it has everything I want academically,” Wilson said. As Wilson goes into her senior year tennis season, she looks back

at her past successes to bring her more excitement in the future. “One of my biggest accomplishments is making it to the finals of a duo 18s national tournament in Oklahoma with my sister and making it to the quarterfinals of the Midwest championships,” Wilson said. Wilson’s recent accomplishments have inspired her to continue her tennis career. “It is important to me because I’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity to be a part of a team and travel around the country to play,” Wilson said. “I decided to play in college because I loved the sport and wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps.” Although Wilson has had many successes in her sport, she has had

many challenges to overcome. “During COVID, it was difficult to practice because of most of the courts being closed and having restrictions of being around people, so it was extremely difficult to get good hitting in and trying to stay motivated when there weren’t many training options,” Wilson said. Wilson has planned her goals for Purdue tennis, but she also wants to gain other experiences in her life after college. “My goal for college tennis is to win the conference as a team. As of now, I am not planning to continue tennis after college because I would prefer to settle down rather than travel a lot, but this may change in the future.”

ROAD TO PURDUE

Senior Ashlie Wilson commits to Purdue University and sees a future playing on their tennis team by Alyssa Green design by Annagail Fields

“My mom went to Purdue to play tennis, going there like she did has always been a dream of mine.” senior Ashlie Wilson

RUNNING FOR TIME

Boys’ and girls’ cross country runners shared their feelings leading up to semi-state and state competitions by Alex Osburn design by Abby Smith

ith both girls and boys finishing up in the top three spots at the state championship this past month, North’s cross country teams have successfully upheld their strong reputation once again. However, this achievement came from considerable preparation by both teams, who were inspired by the success of previous runners to practice more and train harder. Prior to competing at state, senior girls’ cross country runner Abby Jacobi discussed her thoughts on the source of her motivation to perform her best. “I think that the reputation we have at North is something I take pride in that I’m a part of, so I just want to go out there and every time that I run and make sure that I’m doing my best,” Jacobi said. Others, such as senior boys’ cross country runner Matt Newell, believed that this reputation created an expectation for a cross country runner’s behavior. “In terms of performance, there’s not really a certain standard where you’re meant to perform to a certain level,” Newell said. “In terms of culture, how we carry ourselves and how hard we train, there’s always going to be this idea that you’re supposed to work your hardest and do your best and apply yourself, and that’s just what’s always stuck with the team and what it represents.” The work ethic of a cross country runner applies to all events, whether a team member is running or not. Freshman boys’ cross country runner Evan Bense noticed this while traveling to away meets. “We have quiet bus rides and we try to be the best team there, not just running wise, but through behavior and setting a good example,” Bense said. “People look up to us because we’re state champions.” Bense’s faith in the boys’ cross country team was supported by the combination of experienced runners and dedication to improving every

The girls’ cross country team runs by North in their afternoon practice.

photo by Grace Wheatley

detail before competing at state. “This year we have a really experienced team, lots of good seniors and juniors, we have a lot of depth,” Bense said. “This year we’re just really focusing on doing the little things right.” Prior to competing, Newell expressed his assurance of victory for his team at both the semi-state and state championships due to their extensive practices and meticulous training. “I felt pretty confident,” Newell said. “I had a lot of trust in my team and myself to get the work done and continue to finish out the season strong.” Confidence about performance at tournament competitions was found in the girls’ cross country team as well. Junior Julia Kiesler viewed the state competition as a true test of the team’s abilities and progress this season. “We were pretty confident going into everything. State was where we would see how far we had come,” Kiesler said. “If we ran how we were supposed to and ran how we trained then we knew we would win.”

While nerves could be an obstacle for some athletes in important competitions such as semi-state, Kiesler tried to avoid this mindset prior to competing by focusing on the sport. “I tried not to think of the tournament season being more important because that made me nervous, and then when I get nervous sometimes it affects my performance,” Kiesler said. Nerves were not the only feeling leading up to tournament season. For seniors like Jacobi, these competitions were the last chances for them to run with the team. “I was excited at this point,” Jacobi said. “I know that we have a chance to go out and do something really cool this year, so I’m trying not to be nervous. I know that I’m the most prepared to run these races than I’ve ever been, so at this point I’m just trying to relax and enjoy the last few meets that I have.”

Photo by Jordan Brady

GAME DAY PREP The Columbus North Cheerleaders share their preperations for their competitions by Jasamine Yang design by Samantha Dearing

s practice starts, “5-6-7-8!” can be heard throughout the competitive cheerleading gym. The cheerleaders start going through the choreography of the dance they have been practicing since the summertime. After they finish the run, they go through it again, making sure to work through any mistakes they might have made in the first run. They had been working on this routine for a few months now, and their first competition was on Halloween. Senior Narissa Goins talked about how she felt about having this opportunity to compete. “We do a lot of spiriting with cheer day, and I’m looking forward to that carrying over to our games and just making the overall mentality of the games different,” Goins said. Game Day Competitions is an opportunity cheerleaders at Columbus North have to do competitive cheerleading rather than only cheering at football and basketball games. “It’s kind of like competitive cheer competitions but for high school, so we will take a day and we’ll compete.” Goins said. Junior Leah Hartwell describes how practices for competitive cheer are different from practices for football and basketball games. “They’re different because in competition cheer we basically only do easy stunts, so we don’t really have to practice that,” Hartwell said. “We practice motions, dance, sharpness, being loud, and being energetic. On

regular practices we practice harder Witchurch has been cheering for stunts and stuff like that.” nine years. She talks about what There are about 20 girls on the her favorite part of cheerleading Game Day squad. Hartwell describes is and how it carries over to her the process for which people are on performance on game days and the team. competition days. “All cheerers were given the “I really like the team aspect of it. opportunity to participate, but not Everyone there is there to build up everyone did. It was optional if you each other and support each other,” wanted to or not,” Hartwell said. Witchurch said. “I also like just being “We only had space for 20 people, in front of a crowd, and getting to so I think a couple girls had to get cut cheer on your school as the crowd is as there were tryouts, but [also] not cheering is a nice feeling because you really [tryouts].” feel part of the school and like you’re This is Senior Shayla Witchurch’s first doing something important to help year of competitive cheerleading, your team.” but she feels confident about how prepared the team is for their first competition. “I feel like we’re ready. We had a professional choreographer come to help us and Cheer day Schedule and Information we have practiced for a long time,” Performance Dates: Centerville High School Witchurch said. “I 500 East Franklin Street 10/30/21 could do it in my Centerville, OH 45459 11/21/21 sleep, we’ve done it so many times, 02/2022 so I feel like we’re 12:30pm 10:31am 10:43am ready. If we mess up Virtual Stretch Warm Up on anything, it’ll just Awards be because we’re nervous because it’s our first competition.” 11:03am Feeling this 10:37am Performance prepared helps with Tumble having previous experience in cheerleading and

Game Day Competitions

STUDENT THOUGHTS ON FALL CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS data based on stratified sample of student body

WHAT ARE “family” STUDENTS GRATEFUL FOR?

health pets

support “the little moments” “easy transition people one can to highschool” count on dogs loved ones

friendships siblings

by Anushka Nair

HOULD WE STA S N RT HE

37.9% AFTER HALLOWEEN

START OF DECEMBER

3.4% MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER

3.4%

approximately

10.3%

of students do not celebrate Thanksgiving

TOP 3 FAVORITE HOLIDAYS 1 CHRISTMAS 58.6% 10.3% HALLOWEEN 2 3THANKSGIVING 6.9% “changing of the leaves” “going Black Friday shopping

82.8%

of students are meeting family for Thanksgiving

AT ARE STUD EN WH T

SPRING 3.4%

WINTER 10.3%

37.9%

SUMMER 48.3%

FALL

STUDENTS’ FAVORITE FALL/THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

“dressing the turkey” going outside “warm sweaters” visiting family watching movies wish bone

ORITE SEASON FAV S? S”

AFTER THANKSGIVING 55.2%

S? MA

ATING CHR IST LEBR E C

approximately

“watching the Macy’s Day Parade”