March-April 2022
Volume 55, Issue 1
Blasting through the rest of the year.
Photo: Erin Krauss
Getting a Pandemic Education What is a line from your favorite movie?
“I’m not even supposed to be here today!” from Clerks April Valera, Freshman
“No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful.” from Ready Player One Braden Antonis, Sophomore
“You know what plan never fails? No plan at all. You know why? Because life isn’t planned.” from Parasite
How going to school during a pandemic affected the lives of students. Jada Carter Journalism Student
The pandemic has affected millions of people globally. The world was shut down for a few months straight and it is crazy to think that we are approaching two years since that happened. The effects of Covid-19 are still prominent today. Many people have lost their jobs and are still finding a new career. Professional athletes have to deal with the politics of the vaccine and drastic schedule changes. Our young generation should not have to grow up in a pandemic. Of course, our mask mandate was just lifted at Freedom High School. It is optional for everyone, including teachers. As we return to some normalcy, it is easily forgotten how bad Covid-19 used to be. What was school like when the pandemic first started? No school was ready for all the problems Covid-19 brought. Nobody in general was really ready for it. It would be hard for anyone to go from normalcy to complete disaster. Schools around the world were shut down one after the other, and I know it was not just me who hated “the new
normal” in which school was taught. “I switched to completely online classes at the end of December in 2020. I didn’t like the Hybrid system or being completely online. It made my grades worse than the year before which were straight A’s. It made it easier for me to procrastinate and it didn’t feel like I was learning, just doing work,” said Juliet Senick, a senior at Freedom High School. She is not alone when it comes to grades dropping drastically. It is hard to teach yourself something you know nothing about. On top of that, there is also the toll that takes on students mentally. As of 2020, 45 percent of high school students have reported feelings of stress. On a 10-point scale, the average rating was a 5.8, which is two points higher than the normal rating (Eira, Astrid. Finances Online, 2022). A lot of high school students these days have existing mental health problems whether it is school-related or not. Having such a drastic change in the way the world works has affected the minds of every student, one way or another. Some of the psychological challenges that today’s stu-
SmartPass: Unlocking The Mandela Effect Freedom
Photo: Jada Carter
dents face are changes in appetite and energy and feelings of anger, sadness, worry and frustration. From experience, I can say that most of that stems from suddenly being stuck at home and closed off from the outside world. Frustration because Zoom meetings and masks are annoying. Changes in appetite because why eat when you do not need energy for anything? It is also hard to try and go back to normal after being a certain way for so long. For example, social interactions are not the same anymore. Imagine going from having friends over everyday to not being able to see anyone outside your family at all. That is what it was like for the world in the beginning of 2020. (See PANDEMIC, Page 2)
How has FHS changed?
Winter sports come to an end
Freedom’s newest hall pass
Realities clashing?
A brief history
Highlights from last season
Page 2
Page 3
Page 3
Page 4
Maya Illescas, Junior
Freedom High School - 3149 Chester Avenue - Bethlehem, PA 18020 - www.FHSForum.com - @FHSForum Celebrating over 50 years of serving the Freedom community
2 News
March-April 2022
The Forum
SmartPass: Unlocking Freedom? How will the new SmartPass system work at Freedom? Ben Lee & Cody Ulianna Journalism Students The date is September 2021. Tiktok’s “devious” new trend of stealing bathroom doors and vandalizing school property is going viral, reaching its influence all the way to Freedom High School. The administration was in distress, baffled about what to do, until the SmartPass. The Smartpass is a digital tracking app that allows teachers to see where you are inside of the school. The app shows you the classes in the school and allows you to choose
What’s a line from your favorite movie?
which class you are in and which bathroom that class would associate with. Teachers can either decline or approve a student’s pass to go to the bathroom. If the pass is approved, students will have a time limit of approximately five minutes to use the bathroom. Once the time limit runs out, a timer will start from zero and count upwards to count how long someone has been out of the classroom past the fiveminute limit. The intention behind this implementation is to discourage acts of inappropriate behavior. Shortly after this was implemented, we decided to gather opinions from the student body as well as the staff. Here are some of their thoughts: “It’s more effective and it helps save the
Jessinda Quintana, Senior
Pennsylvania's newest step towards the mask mandates is interesting. While Omicron caused cases and deaths to skyrocket in the past month or two with a peak of about 30,000, this month, Covid-19 cases fell to about 1,300. In the Lehigh Valley, we have dropped to below 60 cases a day. Mask mandates and wearing masks in general have been a very controversial and sore subject with protests and riots happening pretty
much everywhere in the world. More recently, for over three weeks the Ottawa protest happened due to mask and vaccine mandates. Recently, Allentown has announced that it is dropping its mask mandate on all city property. Even though mask mandates are being dropped in some locations, it's still important to be safe in crowded areas such as stores, jails, or schools. Even with Covid-19 cases dropping, Pennsylvania will still be pushing for people to be fully vaccinated and get their booster shots. At least 67
PANDEMIC (from Page 1)
“You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me.” - from Wedding Crashers Mr. Cleffi, gym/health teacher
to your classroom.” (All students and teachers we interviewed chose to remain anonymous.) Overall, many students and faculty have thoughts on the Smartpass and it remains to be seen how things will unfold. Will the Smartpass help stop vandalism in the bathrooms or will it fail to stop the TikTok trend?
The app that gets you where you want to go Photo: SmartPass
Is PA easing up on mask mandates? Cody Ulianna Journalism Student
“Life’s simple. You make choices and you don’t look back.” - from Fast and Furious
environment since we’re using less paper” said an anonymous student. Another student said: “[I]t’s like a tracking device. They should do something else.” On the other hand, a teacher responded: “There are some pros to it, but there are some negatives. It’s harder to identify kids in the hallway who aren’t supposed to be there because they don’t have that visual pass. Positive is it can limit the number of kids in a bathroom at a time.” Another teacher said: “I think that the idea of it is good, but it needs to be streamlined. There are too many clicks to make a pass. If it’s pulling info from eSchool, it should be able to figure out what class you’re in and it should give you the option for the default bathroom according
Personally, it got to the point where I was begging my mom to go to the grocery store. Social interaction is a big part of human growth. Lack of interaction between people can have negative impacts on our minds and the way we think. That was definitely the case for junior Candy Florentino. “I believe the panadamic had a significant psychological and social impact on me. It was difficult for me to engage in many social interactions because I was so used to being at home alone. Despite the fact that I am an extrovert, it turned me into an introvert.” It is hard to remain an extrovert when Covid-19 keeps us inside against our will. The Freedom Forum A publication of Freedom High School Bethlehem Area School District 3149 Chester Avenue Bethlehem PA, 18020 (610) 867-5843 www.FHSForum.com
percent of people in Pennsylvania have been fully vaccinated. However, boosters still lack, with only 41 percent receiving doses. Pennsylvania does look like it's getting closer to dropping mask mandates everywhere and easing up a little bit. With everything said, Pennsylvania's
health department will still be monitoring Covid -19 heavily in highly affected areas to make sure another outbreak doesn't happen and cause the entire state to go into a lockdown again. Covid-19 stats as of March 13th Screenshot: Cody Ulianna
I think it is safe to say that I speak for everyone when I say that the pandemic has affected us in some way, shape or form. For high school students, it affected us in lots of ways. Maybe some students were affected positively but the majority were affected negatively. It is hard to get your life back on track when it was unwillingly derailed. Grades suffered and friendships were challenged. Masks were to be worn by all students and teachers, no matter how much they hated them. But masks are no longer mandatory, allowing students to feel like they have more of a choice. Most high schools are returning to normal, much like ours, and it is nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, hopefully leaving this pandemic behind us.
Staff Jada Carter Erin Krauss Ben Lee Deanna Miller Marella Ramsuchit Ashley Rodriguez Cody Ulianna Zachary Schafer
Advisor Miss Anna Marmaros Principal Ms. Laurie Sage Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy For our editorial statement and correction policy, please go to www.fhsforum.com/ about.html
3 Features
March-April 2022
The Forum
The Mandela Effect: Realities clashing? Deanna Miller Journalism Student Do you remember Curious George having a tail? What about LooneyTunes being spelt LooneyToons? If so, you aren’t alone. Thousands of people will swear by those statements! But how is it that so many people remember it a certain way when it’s not actually true? This phenomenon is called the Mandela Effect. One of the first cases of this is former South African president Nelson Mandela. Hundreds remember Mandela passing away in a South African prison in the 1980s. Some can even go into detail, explaining riots and a speech from his widow. People remember it down to the year and class they learned it. However, Nelson Mandela actually died in 2013 in his home. This case is how the phenomenon got its name, after it was first introduced by paranor-
mal researcher Fiona Broome, according to the website, VeryWellMind.com. There are two main theories as to why this is, one of them being the idea of multiple universes and realities. To expand, people have the same memories because the events did happen in another reality, but we’ve shifted to a different one. This can also lead to the idea of reality shifting, although a more plausible explanation is false memories. Our memories are not 100 percent reliable, and the Mandela Effect itself may be a result of confabulation. Confabulation is when one’s brain fills in gaps with events that didn’t happen to make sense of memories. The internet also plays a big part in this. Information is easy to spread, and it spreads quickly. Many posts contain false information that people think are real and spread themselves. Even sites
that aren’t lies can come into play. Post-event information can slightly alter someone’s memories, so when a number of people are telling their experiences, others may change. Freedom High School student Nivetha Varathakumar is intrigued yet baffled by this. She said, “The Mandela Effect is such a confusing concept … I understand if one or two people remember something, but it’s a whole community who distinctly remember it!” Varathakumar said, “My favorite example of this is the bank robber emoji. We all remember this, but it was never created!” As it turns out, the non-existent Apple emoji is quite popular among students. Ninth grader Aleksandra Dybas
The correct spelling of popular kids’ cartoon Looney Tunes has been a shock to many. Photo: Good Housekeeping
said, “I remember seeing it in comment sections and people using it on other social media platforms. I swear I’ve also used this emoji myself!” It is possible the idea of a bank robber emoji was planted in people’s minds because of other similar emojis such as the money bag. To this day, there is still no definite answer to explain why the Mandela Effect happens.
How has FHS changed? A brief history to catch up our new Freedom Family members. Ashley Rodriguez Journalism Student
Freedom High School main entrance, from the 1979 yearbook. Photo: Patricia Whirl
Freedom's history goes back to more than fifty years ago. It had many successful graduates who roamed the hallways and held many events throughout the years. However, what went on during Freedom’s early days? Freedom High School was built due to the expansion of the Bethlehem School District to include Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, Hanover Township, and Bethlehem Township. Freedom began being built in 1966 and later became an official school on September 7th,
1967. Later on in 2006 the school added 11 additional classrooms and also offices, a fitness room, aerobics room, and the state-of-art gymnasium. At Freedom there are a lot of weekly events and club meetings. However, one more notable event was the fiftieth year anniversary of the school, celebrated in the year 2017, fifty years since the school was built. It also celebrated East Hills Middle Schools and its successes too. Moreover, there are many famous Freedom graduates, like the actor Dwayne Johnson who everyone should know. He was a wrestler and was almost a football player but later was undrafted and signed off for the Hurri-
canes. Now an actor he has starred in many movies. We also have other actors like Anthony Azizi who worked on 24, and Criminal Minds. Another FHS graduate, Daniel Dae Kim is also an actor, who appeared on Lost. However, not just actors graduated from Freedom; there were also many others like the Pennsylvania State Senator Lisa Boscola and Former Bethlehem Mayor and Lehigh County Executive -Don Cunningham. Overall many things have happened throughout the history of Freedom. Freedom students and staff will continue to make history every year and make new chapters for the school.
Survey finds over 70% of Freedom students drink coffee
Coffee Shop baristas feeding Freedom’s caffeine addiction. Photo: Cha’nel Hamilton
What percent of Freedom students drink coffee? The results may be shocking. A survey conducted by the Freedom Forum
found that over 70% of polled Freedom students drink coffee. Furthermore, a few students have reported that they drink at least one to two cups of coffee a day. One of our own Freedom Forum writers, Jada Carter, shares her own experience saying, “I find a way to drink coffee everyday.” While we can all enjoy some Dunkin’, this may have some serious unsuspecting health consequences. According to the website Medical News Today, “More than 500-600 mg a day… can cause side effects, such as nervousness, anxiety, jitteriness, sleep problems, gastrointestinal disturbances, tremors, increased heart rate and even death.” The article goes on to say, “Even moderate doses of 100-400
mg can cause symptoms in chil- for your health, Freedom. dren and adolescents.” Even with these alarming discoveries, teenagers are rapidly becoming the highest percentage of coffee drinkers in the United States, even above adults. Approximately 83% of young people drink beverages containing caffeine on a daily basis along with 96% drinking caffeinated beverages irregularly. The website Insider says, “caffeine can lead to an increase in dopamine levels similar to addictive drugs like cocaine.” One student said, “I enjoy coffee a lot, but tend to stay away from it because too much of it is unhealthy senior Maya Riffert enjoys a and depending on how much sugar Freedom cup of coffee. is added will not be ideal healthwise.” Moral of the story: look out Photo: Cha’nel Hamilton
4 Sports & Entertainment
The Forum
March-April 2022
Winter sports come to an end Freedom athletes compete during the winter season and bring home some hardware. Erin Krauss Journalism Student As we approach the end of March, the winter sport athletes of Freedom High School are now finished with their seasons. Snow did not arrive until the first few weeks of January, which caused a few two hour delays and some postponed games this season. This snow, however, did not affect our athletes; they continued to play as if they had no days off. The basketball season seemed to flash by, ending as quickly as it
began. The boys team did fairly well this year, their record was 1012. The girls team was able to make playoffs by having at least a .500 win percentage; their record was 11-11. I was able to interview one of the juniors on the boys basketball team, Nick Ellis, about a huge win over Easton. He scored 12 points this game, contributing to the 6743 victory. I asked him if the energy was up at halftime and whether or not it made a difference in the way he played. “I think the atmosphere…boosted our energy at halftime. We knew we were the better team but needed to start playing it and I know personally
that I wasn’t playing the hardest I could have, so…I started to take over using my strength to score,” said key player, Ellis. Let’s dive into the water and check out the swim teams. Both the boys and girls teams went 2-4 on the season. The boys’ biggest win was against William Allen, with a score of 95-58 , and the girls had a huge victory over Allentown Central Catholic 92-62. Ms. Kutch, one of the swim coaches, is very proud of how her swimmers have handled this season, “being able to come back from a Covid season… and getting back into competing physically next to other teams and being so persevering…constantly
staying determined,” said Kutch. On the mat, the wrestling team had a long season, lasting all the way to District 11 States, traveling to Hershey. The boys went 18-591. Freedom placed 3rd overall with a win percentage of .557. Hopefully you were able to come to some of these games and meets, but if not, be sure to check out some of the spring sports that are right around the corner. To find out more about these past winter sports, you can go to lehighvalleylive.com. Stay tuned for upcoming spring sports including baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys tennis, boys volleyball, and track and field.
Winter sports athletes in action. Left: Keturah Stewart, junior; Center: Nick Ellis, junior, Right: Aliah Corrado, senior. Photos: Christmas City
Giving Big Stars High Ratings Rating the Super Bowl LVI halftime show Zachary Schafer Journalism Student Ever wanted to somewhat time travel and see someone you loved back in the nineties? Well now’s your chance! Big names from the nineties, Snoop Dogg, Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blidge, you name it, all came to the Super Bowl 56 halftime show. Located in SoFi Stadium in California, this year’s Super Bowl was a first-time performance for all of these artists, except for Blige, who performed in 2001. The trailer for the show has been released since January 20th and can be found on the NFL’s official Twitter page, as well as the full show. Kendrick Lamar is the only person who is from today’s generation of music who performed, but overall the five performers have a total of 43 Grammys and 21 Billboard No. 1 Albums. In terms of the show, overall it was amazing, nostalgic, and to say the least, well-deserved for the artists and the audience. With Covid19 still a thing two years later, it was good to see a normal halftime show. No masks, no distancing, nothing. Last year’s halftime show
had distancing and masks, and 2020’s show was before Covid-19 even hit the U.S.. This year’s show was awesome. There was a large house set in which Snoop and Dre could not have appeared more comfortable performing in. It was their “love letter” to their city, and what made it more authentic was that it was a literal house, and it really helped show off their creative sides, which was classic 90’s West-side rap. They had two special guests join the stage, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. 50 Cent joined as a result of his “In Da Club” video reaching over a billion views, and Anderson joined the show to play the drums for Eminem’s set. Mary J. Blige killed it on the stage, while rocking some killer boots! She gave all her heart and soul into her songs. At the end of her bit, she threw herself to the ground and dropped to the floor. Eminem once again stirred possible controversy during the show. He decided to take a knee, possibly in an unspoken tribute to Colin Kaepernick, who was banished because of his stance against racism and violence but also possibly as a tribute to Tupac, whose song was performed by Dr. Dre at the moment. Some background details on each artist: Snoop was born Calvin
Cordozar Broadus Jr, 1972, and has been recently well known as a TV personality. In 2016, he began co-hosting “Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” with Martha Stewart. Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, 1972 and is well known for his alter ego, “Slim Shady” which began in 1996. He has 15 Grammys to his name but has gone on many hiatuses to fight personal problems. Dr Dre. was born Andre Romelle Young in 1965. He founded Aftermath Entertainment and Beats headphones, and is CEO for
both. Mary Jane Blige was born in 1971. As of this year, she has eight grammys and 13 studio albums. Kendrick Lamar was born 1987, and is the youngest of the bunch. He made an album in 2017, “DAMN” which got him a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, and he wrote the Black Panther soundtrack in 2018 as well. All in all, the setlist was amazing, with some great throwbacks such as “Still D.R.E.” and “California Love”. This show is definitely a 10/10 for performance.
Dr. Dre, Blige, Snoop, and 50 Cent perform at the 56th Super Bowl half-time show Photo: CNN.com