February 2021

IHS TATTLER FEBRUARY 2021 | VOL. 128 | NO. 6

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE.

Established in 1892 Published Monthly www.ihstattler.com Ithaca High School 1401 North Cayuga Street Ithaca, NY 14850 FREE

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EDITORIAL

Supporting Students Means Supporting Counselors

BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL BOARD

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here are only eleven school counselors currently employed by the Ithaca City School District (ICSD), split between Ithaca High School, Boynton, DeWitt, and LACS. The school counselor-to-student ratio at IHS is a whopping 1:281. This means that our five school counselors are too overworked to meet with students more regularly than once or twice a year. Thus, students are often unable to get the individualized support and attention they need. School counselors help students overcome both social and academic challenges and sometimes work in tandem with social workers and school psychologists. The role takes on more importance when students reach their senior year of high school: for students interested in pursuing a college degree, school counselors connect them with college representatives, help them through the college application process, and write their letters of recommendation. For other seniors, school counselors help them make plans for graduation and beyond. These essential tasks are hard to do when counselors do not have the time to get to know their students during the first three years of high school, as well as having the responsibility of composing transcripts for each student’s college application. The solution to this problem is straightforward: ICSD must hire more school counselors.

The turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted ICSD, affecting both staff and students in myriad ways. Numerous staff members have left the district or elected to work from home, and consequently, ICSD is soliciting applicants for a number of positions, including substitute teachers, school nurses, and teacher aides—but not school counselors. Either ICSD does not recognize the need for a larger base of school counselors, or they lack the funds to pay more counselor salaries. According to Career Explorer, the mean annual salary for a school counselor at IHS ($47,730) is only three quarters of the national average ($61,800). It is not hard to see why ICSD might have difficulty attracting school counselors considering the discouraging salary.

“School counselors [do] so much more than just scheduling,” IHS counselor Eva Collier says. She compares the role of school counselors to that of general practitioners (GP). You meet with your GP for an annual checkup, and when you are healthy and do not need anything, that’s that. Other times you go for a visit to get a prescription or diagnostic test. In the case of school counselors, some duties are simpler than others, like writing a note to excuse a student from a class or facilitating a conversation with a teacher.

Otherwise, similar to when a doctor refers a patient to a specialist to sort out a chronic issue, school counselors may connect students with a social worker or school psychologist. But that is only when it comes to mental health. School counselors also help students with two other domains: academic and career.

Career counseling is done largely via Naviance, a college and

career research database used by school counselors and students.

Counselors help students navigate the website, research, and plan the steps they will take for graduation and beyond, whether or not they plan to attend college. In addition to general counseling, school counselors give a presentation to seniors each year outlining their role in the college application process and the process as a whole. The time it takes for school counselors to write letters of recommendation varies. Mrs. Collier says she can type one out in 20 minutes or less, but when interruptions and deciding what to say are involved, it can take weeks. Each counselor has this responsibility for 60 or more students, some of whom they know better than others. Taking into consideration all the other responsibilities of school counselors, it’s impressive that our school counselors get as much done as they do.

According to Mrs. Collier, the main challenge counselors face is time—or rather, the lack of it. In addition to working directly with students to develop skills and confront their academic, emotional, and career-related issues, school counselors collaborate frequently with other staff, most closely with school social workers and deans, as well as the parents of students at IHS. As one of the only positions in the building that work with students all four years, other staff members often come to counselors with questions about students’ histories. Besides, as Mrs. Collier points out, the challenges that school counselors help students work through are not quick fixes. They require significant maneuvering and resolving, and there is only so much time a counselor can devote to one student while there are hundreds more lining up outside the Student Services door. School counselors would have a much less stressful and demanding job if the district hired more. They would benefit any site, but Ithaca High School needs them the most considering the extra obligations of college and career preparation.

There is no doubt that school counselors play an indispensable role in the school community. Each and every student has their counselor to thank for the resolution of an issue throughout their high school career, whether it be switching them from zero period P.E. to fourth period P.E., referring them to mental health resources, or college preparation. Ironically, our counselors need our support too. On an individual basis, that means putting in the work to build the skills needed to help solve your problems.

Counselors can only do so much without the active cooperation of the students they help. But it takes more than the cooperation of students and collaboration with other staff -- for the school district as a whole, supporting school counselors means hiring more to lessen the burden and magnify the focus of the counselors we already have. Supporting our counselors in the pivotal job that they do will trigger a feedback loop that benefits the entire school community.

EDITORIAL

Staff 2020 – 2021 Editor-in-Chief

Anna Westwig ’21

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Colleges, Pick the Right Answer: Go Test-Optional

editor@ihstattler.com News Editor Katie Lin ’22 news@ihstattler.com

Opinion Editor Jinho Park ’22 opinion@ihstattler.com Features Editor Frances Klemm ’23 features@ihstattler.com Arts Editor Louisa Miller-Out ’22 arts@ihstattler.com Sports Editor Rohit Lal ’22 sports@ihstattler.com Literary Editor Adowyn Ernste ’22 literary@ihstattler.com Back Page Editor Ethan Carlson ’21 backpage@ihstattler.com Center Spread Editor Dorothy Hamilton ’21 centerspread@ihstattler.com Copy Editor Heewon Ahn ’21 copy@ihstattler.com Photography Editor Hannah Shvets ’23 photo@ihstattler.com Graphics Editor Aidan Hayward Toland ’22 graphics@ihstattler.com Layout Editor Jacob Yoon ’21 layout@ihstattler.com Business and Advertising Adam Saar ’22 business@ihstattler.com Webmaster Alexander Yoo ’21 web@ihstattler.com Distribution Manager Mollie Abelson ’21 distribution@ihstattler.com Archivist Raia Gutman ’22 archivist@ihstattler.com Faculty Advisor Deborah Lynn advisor@ihstattler.com

BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL BOARD

“W

e are in this together. We hope to navigate these difficult times with you as you begin your college application journey,” Stanford University announced in response to COVID-19, reassuring applicants that the California institute will be test-optional for 2020-21. The test-optional system offers students the choice of whether or not to submit standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, etc.) along with their application. These colleges insist that if students choose not to, they will in no way be disadvantaged. Brown, Cornell, and Harvard have similarly adopted a test-optional system for 2021 applicants, with Harvard stating they understand the “insurmountable challenges” the pandemic has created. Conversely, other schools such as the University of Florida have refused to make the switch. Being test-optional caters to students’ needs, alleviates stress from situations they cannot control, and is overall beneficial to both students who choose to submit their scores and to students who do not. More colleges across the US should adopt this policy and need to make a strong commitment to upholding it. Some universities, such as Yale and Columbia, have chosen a one-year test-optional policy. These schools ought to strongly consider extending the policy for the high school classes to come, all of which will continue to be impacted by the pandemic.

For many students, not submitting standardized test scores would be advantageous. When asked how COVID-19 has affected students’ ability to take typical college application exams, IHS counselor Eva Collier responded, “It was more difficult to take the test, as there were many test dates that had to be cancelled as a result of the pandemic, so students had fewer opportunities to be able to take an SAT or ACT… this also limited The Tattler is the monthly student-run newspaper of Ithaca High School. All currently-enrolled students at Ithaca High School are welcome to submit writing and photographs. As an open forum, The Tattler invites opinion submissions and letters to the editor from all community members. Email submissions to editor@ihstattler.com or mail letters to: The Tattler 1401 North Cayuga Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Send submissions by February 11 to be included in the January issue. The Tattler reserves the right to edit all submissions. All articles, columns, and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of editorial staff.

To read The Tattler online, visit our website at www.ihstattler.com.

the number of retakes a student might have otherwise chosen to do. Logistically, it was harder to get a test date and it was much later in the process than many might have otherwise chosen.” Given inconsistent and last-minute school closures nation-wide, students may have found themselves unable to take an exam at all, an unfortunate conundrum some of the class of 2020 became stuck in last year. Students may also have felt generally unsafe and uncomfortable going into school for several hours at a time to take the exam.

Alternatively, if a student earned a score they weren’t satisfied with but had no opportunity to retake it, they should have the choice to omit a score they believe doesn’t show the best version of themselves. Colleges cannot blame students for circumstances out of their control, and certainly shouldn’t force them to submit scores they don’t feel are representative of their actual abilities.

The test-optional system is not only valuable to students who don’t wish to submit test scores, but is also favorable to those who prefer to share them. Students who earned a score they are pleased with can submit it with confidence, providing themselves with a sense of security in such a confusing process. When IHS freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were polled by The Tattler and asked whether or not they would submit their test scores if colleges were test-optional for their class, one student commented, “I would, because it shows that I care about my schooling and education and that I’m determined. It shows my true potential.” Others discussed the hard work they put into studying for the tests and school in general, describing how they’d want to share the culmination of their efforts. The college application process is stressful enough as it is. As such feelings are exacerbated by the uncertainty the pandemic has brought upon students, the test-optional program would allow more confident students the option to submit their scores as they choose. Offering them at least a feeling of stability and strength, such a system clearly benefits all students, both those who’d prefer to withhold their scores and those who’d prefer to send them in.

The college application process as a whole has Continued on page 4

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EDITORIAL | NEWS

Colleges, Pick the Right Answer: Go Test-Optional Continued from page 3 the potential to be drastically improved with the implementation of a common test-optional system. Discussing the advantages of the policy, one IHS student stated, “The pros are the school is forced to look at you as a whole person (your passions, how you impact your community, your school, and family and friends), versus looking at just one test score. In very elite universities, the SAT is not used to admit students, but to eliminate students. Once that first round of elimination is done, then they look at the applications more closely.” Another advantage is more and more opportunities for all students begin to open up. Standardized tests often measure wealth over intelligence, favoring those who can afford to spend money on expensive test prep books and courses, and those who can pay the costs of several retakes. One student noted, “A lot of people may not have the resources to study and prepare for standardized tests. By making them optional, it may put students on a more level playing field.” A test-optional system ensures a more equal and unbiased chance for every student, even encouraging students to apply to high-tier schools they wouldn’t have previously considered.

In the currently common cold-hearted application process, the emphasis is often placed on scores—even though, as described by Mrs. Collier, “It’s one number from one test on one day. It neither defines a student as an individual nor gives a complete picture of their academic potential.” The College Board has long claimed that the SAT strongly predicts college success, yet new research shows that while SAT and ACT scores reserve students’ spots in college, they don’t accurately foresee post-high school achievement. According to a study by the University of Chicago, high school GPAs are five times stronger at predicting college gradua-

tion than ACT scores, suggesting the importance of test scores is overemphasized. GPAs, on the other hand, accurately test many skills over long periods of time. In a test-optional system, the emphasis is not on one ill-defining number, but on the student themselves: the effort they consistently put into school, the role they played in their community, and what they truly cared about.

The qualities that actually predict a student’s success in college are placed in the spotlight.

There are strategies both students and colleges can implement to help eliminate the growing concern that a student who submits test scores will have an advantage over one who does not. Test scores, when raised through retakes, can show a student’s improvement over time. As a substitute for test scores, a student can highlight their growth throughout high school on their application by discussing how they’ve risen to leadership positions in clubs, sports, and their community. It is also important that colleges adapt and work in tandem with students. They must emphasize a student’s essay, their accomplishments, and their commitment to the school. Combined with the stress of constantly adapting to Zoom classes, an ever-changing routine, and a loss of resources for students, it is essential that colleges have sympathy and stay true to their word, ensuring students who don’t attach scores are not put at a disadvantage.

From everyday home life to the high school environment, everything that significantly impacts students has drastically changed, and it’s time the college application process follows suit and properly adapts. Like many colleges already, it is vital that more schools across the US adopt a test-optional policy, where all students benefit, at least until the pandemic no longer heavily influences students’ educations. While colleges may be wary of changing their structure, if there’s a singular time when the rules should be shifted, it’s during a global pandemic.

Updates on the COVID-19 Vaccine in Ithaca

By FIONA HINRICHSEN

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s of December 21, 2020, the Cayuga Health Department began to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Starting January 11, 2021, New York entered stage 1b, which includes, among others, individuals 65 years and older, first responders, public transportation workers, and college instructors. Vaccines have also been administered by the state to some local nursing homes. Due to a limited supply, the vaccine is being given out in groups, which will continue to expand to the general population as the supply increases.

The first vaccination clinic in Ithaca opened on December 29 at the old Sears store side entrance behind Best Buy at the Ithaca Mall. The clinic is designed to deliver 1000 vaccines per day, says Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO of the Cayuga Health System.

“We really need everyone that is eligible to come out and get the vaccines that are available,” urged Frank Kruppa, Public Health Director in Tompkins County at the town hall meeting on January 6. “We’re confident that they’re safe, they’re highly effective, and they’re what are going to protect our community and those most vulnerable amongst us, and are going to allow us to

get back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Kruppa also discussed aiming for herd immunity, where a sufficient percentage of the population becomes immune through vaccination or recovered infection, reducing the number of people who will contract the virus and contribute to the spread. The estimated COVID herd immunity threshold is unclear so far, but according to Dr. Fauci, an American physician and immunologist working as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 70-90 percent of the population needs to acquire resistance to achieve herd immunity. Therefore, it is encouraged everybody goes to get vaccinated to protect those who are unable to do so.

In Ithaca, two vaccines are being administered: the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. After receiving the first dose, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose 21 and 28 days after the first dose, respectively. As described by the FDA, the Pfizer vaccine clinical trial showed a 95 percent efficacy rate after the second dose, while the Moderna trial showed a 94.1 percent efficacy rate. There has been evidence of side effects

NEWS

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IMAGE FROM THE ITHACA VOICE

Cayuga Medical Center administers vaccine to healthcare worker

after getting the vaccine, such as injection site pain and fatigue, but this is seen as a normal immune response. There have been no serious side effects reported for either vaccine.

Amie Hendrix, the Deputy County Administrator, said, “While vaccines are being made available, it does not mean we are at the finish line just yet. It’s really important that all of us continue to wear masks and keep the distance and check in on each other.” It is thus far unclear whether you are still able to transmit the virus as a “silent spreader” after the second dose; in other words, to protect our community and prevent more cases, it is vital to continue following recommended safety precautions.

In an interview on Good Morning America, Dr. Fauci described that the

speed of the development of the vaccines is a “reflection of extraordinary advances in the science of vaccine platform technology.” He also clarified that even though the vaccine was produced quickly, it is still safe, since the fast results were due to upgraded technology and the large amount of money invested. Similarly, Kruppa explained, “I am confident in the safety of these vaccines,” also stating that “vaccines are a key public health initiative—we’ve been using them to try and eradicate diseases for decades. This is just another opportunity for us to use the science that we have to help us combat disease.”

In our country’s past, there have been several cases of unethical testing, experimentation, and medical harm towards people of color, resulting in distrust in the public health system. In response to

historically marginalized groups expressing skepticism on receiving the vaccine, Jason Molino, County Administrator for Tompkins, asserted in the January 6 town hall that “We take on a special and a specific effort to educate our population. We try to hold meaningful conversation and dialogue with different groups in our community to educate them about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.” He also commented, “It’s a concerted effort that we have to make to build that trust.” They are working to eliminate concerns, and build confidence in the vaccine and the distribution system to ensure everyone will be able to get vaccinated and feel safe doing so.

If you are eligible to receive the vaccine, sign up at The Tompkins County Health Department website.

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NEWS

Agricultural Reform in India Leads to Historic Protests

By AITAN AVGAR

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n September of last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi supported the passage of three new laws with the intent to deregulate Indian agriculture by encouraging farmers to sell their produce directly to companies. Previously, the Indian government had long served as an intermediary between farmers and larger corporations, requiring minimum prices for agricultural products and protecting farmers from exploitation. The new laws strip farmers of these protections. Modi sees these new laws as a part of his plan to drastically change the farming industry in India through increased privatization, as a primary election commitment he made to his voters was to industrialize India, a promise he has yet to deliver on. This will lead the way for supply chains that will allow Indian agriculture to increasingly enter national and global markets. However, many farmers, who make up more than half of India’s population of 1.4 billion, see the Prime Minister’s new legislation as contrary to the agrarian traditions ingrained in Indian life and capable of damaging their agricultural system. The farmers fear that without government backing, their bargaining power vís-a-vís private corporations will put them at a severe disadvantage.

Over the course of the last few months, tensions around this agricultural reform have led to waves of mass protests across India. From New Delhi to the state of Punjab, farmers have come out in record numbers to voice their outrage over Modi’s reforms. According to the New York Times, at the height of the protests in November and December, over 250 million opponents of the new laws participated in the largest strike in history. For many days, protesters blocked off central highways, including those leading to the capital. These protests succeeded in uniting various political, economic, and social groups across India.

In an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) published on December 4, social activist Medha Patkar, who participated in the protests, captured a prevalent sentiment: “This sector is not just neglect-

IMAGE BY JUS CORPUS

Protest against agricultural reforms in India ed, but deliberately ignored and underestimated because of the present paradigm of development, which is not just market oriented but consumer-based. We want production by the masses—as Gandhi said—not mass production.” Protesters also point to the crucial role the agricultural system has played in feeding a country that as recently as the 1960s faced hunger and famine for hundreds of millions of its people. Damaging the industry through these laws risks future food insecurity.

In an effort to quell the widespread protests, farm union representatives and government officials came together and engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations with the goal of reaching a settlement to this national dispute with virtually no progress. Seeking to resolve this impasse, India’s Supreme Court ordered a temporary suspension of the controversial laws on January 12. This action is designed to help reengage the parties and to get them back to the bargaining table.

In fact, as reported in Foreign Policy, the court stated, “The [government of] India has to take the responsibility. The laws have resulted in strike and now you have to solve the strike.” It is unclear whether

the Supreme Court’s intervention will succeed. Farmer unions have been bolstered by these protests and have little appetite for concessions. Furthermore, the timing of the dispute could not have been worse for the Indian government, given that most of the season’s crops have already been planted, giving farmers more flexibility until March.

Much is on the line for India: its economy, and its political system. Like many countries, India is in the midst of a national recession, partly due to COVID-19.

The country has suffered two straight quarters of negative growth. Modi’s own political prospects are likely to be strongly influenced by the outcome of this rift. The Prime Minister is under growing international pressure as the cause of the farmers garners attention and support outside of India, including from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders. India is at a critical juncture: the country must choose between a future of neoliberal policies and the expansion of a market-driven economy, or a continued commitment to a mixed economy reliant on both public and private sectors. It is too early to tell which of these two paths will prevail.

NEWS

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Finalmente: Argentina Legalizes Abortion

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT

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n December 30, 2020, the Argentinian senate voted to legalize abortion, joining Cuba, Guyana, and Uruguay as the only Latin American nations to do so. The procedure is now legal during the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy. The legislation also provides exceptions to this fourteen-week time period in cases of rape or dangerous pregnancies, and makes abortion a free procedure in public hospitals. This historic decision is the culmination of a passionate and protracted struggle for reproductive rights and a major victory for the country’s pro-choice movement.

The bill was proposed in November by the country’s president, Alberto Fernández, and confirmed in a 38-29 vote, a wider margin than expected. However, this decision was neither quick nor easy. Hundreds of pro-choice protesters clad in green had been publicly marching and demonstrating for months. These persistent activists had been standing vigil outside the Argentinian Congress as legislators deliberated. The moment the bill was signed into law, a flood of emotion swept through the crowd: there were cheers of elation and sobs of relief from protestors who had dedicated colossal amounts of time and energy to the struggle for legal abortion. “I’m the mother of a little girl and I know she will have more rights tomorrow,” said Renata Vismara, an activist at the scene. There were also tears of grief for friends lost to unsafe abortion, those for whom this decision came too late. Before the vote, protestor Melisa Ramos was adamant that “Lawmakers who vote against legalization should know that on their hands will be the blood of the [people] who die in clandestine abortions.”

President Fernández and his administration are largely prochoice, and have framed the legalization of abortion as a necessary measure for the sake of public health. Prior to this decision, abortion was permitted in the cases of rape or dangerous pregnancy, but women faced manifold barriers to receiving the procedure, such as in the case of an 11-year-old rape victim who was denied the procedure because her life was “not in danger.” Because IMAGE PROVIDED

Pro-choice protestors outside Congress celebrate as the results of the vote are livestreamed

of this, nearly 40,000 women were hospitalized in one year due to unsafe abortions, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

These underground operations have also led to the deaths of 65 women in two years. Hopefully, the legalization of this procedure will save lives by promoting safer abortion. Fernández seems to think so, stating, “Safe, legal and free abortion is law. Today we are a better society that broadens rights for women and guarantees public health.”

The grassroots movement that pushed the government to this decision developed from public outrage over a string of femicides in 2015 and 2016. Under the name Ni Una Menos, or “not one (woman) more,” protesters marched and demonstrated to increase awareness of violent crimes against women and agitate for swift governmental action. As this campaign for women’s rights developed, it became increasingly focused on securing the right to safe and legal abortion. Their success in accomplishing this objective could possibly add legitimacy to the feminist movement and reinforce public confidence in the power of activism.

The green-clad supporters of reproductive rights were not alone that night outside Congress. Opposition protesters were present, with giant model fetuses and signs proclaiming the legalization advocates to be murderers. Many evangelical Protestant and Catholic churches have allied themselves with the opposition, and declared days of mourning in the wake of the new abortion legislation. Such groups enjoy the active support of Pope Francis, Argentinian by birth. Opposition protesters have made it clear that they will continue to fight against the right to abortion. However, the government’s decision to legalize it has dealt a blow to Catholic and evangelical Protestant influence on Argentine law, and may usher in a more secular future for the country and the rest of Latin America. After all, many groups in favor of legal abortion are also pro-secularism, and many of the countries with the strictest bans on abortion and the most aggressive prosecution of those who seek it are also areas where the Church holds a tremendous amount of influence. Perhaps the Church’s weakening grasp on the region will allow abortion rights advocates to step in and get the procedure legalized in more conservative areas of Latin America.

Similar struggles in support of reproductive rights are already underway in many Latin American nations, including Brazil and Mexico (where abortion has been legalized in Mexico City and Oaxaca so far). Argentina’s decision will likely provide fresh encouragement to these movements, and if the legislation is well received, other Latin American governments will have more incentive to heed the protestors. As described by José Miguel Vivanco, the director of the Americas division of HRW, “...as it occurred when Argentina legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, this new law could have a domino effect in the region.” The legalization of abortion in Argentina could symbolize a wave of change in Latin America—a shift towards a more equal, more secular future at the hands of passionate and tenacious activists.

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NEWS

February Op-Ed Contest The word “op-ed” derives from a tradition when op-eds were traditionally placed opposite the editorial page. Today, an op-ed describes a piece of short, persuasive writing that constructs an argument, often with support from logical reasoning or detailed evidence. For the month of February, The Tattler hosted an op-ed contest, which was open to all IHS students for submissions. Submissions were adjudicated anonymously. Some of the best submissions are published in this issue.

1st Place

The Correct Way to Eat Breakfast Cereal

By ANNIKA MARSCHNER

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he universal anguish of pouring oneself a bowl of light, crispy breakfast cereal, only to find most of it sunken to the bottom, slimy and unappetizing, in a matter of minutes—it’s suffering, and worse yet, it’s preventable suffering. The inherently repulsive nature of soggy breakfast cereal is one of the few things people can generally agree on, and yet typical methods of cereal consumption today seem to disregard it entirely. Why? Why must we abandon innovation? Allow me, in the following brief (but assuredly life changing) paragraphs, to shine the divine light of rationality upon you.

Now, I occasionally find myself victim to the question, “When you have a bowl of cereal, what do you pour first: the milk, or the cereal?” This is comparable to the “Is water wet?” quandary, but differs from it in two significant ways: firstly, while there is a relatively equal division of opinion on whether or not water is, indeed, wet, there seems to be a vastly more popular answer to the milk/cereal ordering question. Secondly, while the wetness of water might be a largely philosophical question, there is a clearly correct answer when it comes to the milk/cereal debate, and brace yourself: it’s not the popular one.

Approach any group, and you’ll almost certainly find an overwhelming majority of people with a cereal-first mentality. This is tragically irrational. Mob mentality has plagued America for centuries, but this is really where it gets unbear-

able. Now, I understand people’s initial wariness of milkfirst cereal consumption. Some questions are bound to come up: “If I pour the milk first, how will I have enough room on top for all the cereal? What if I don’t pour in enough cereal?

If I pour in the same amount of cereal that I would have, aren’t I ultimately having the same experience I would with the cereal-first method?”

These are valid concerns, but let me provide a genius solution to every potential problem above: the box of cereal is right there. It’s not that significant of an undertaking to just pick it back up and pour some more cereal on top of the milk. See? You’ve just improved your dining experience threefold—not only have you eliminated the prospect of sogginess in your cereal, you have vastly increased the amount of control you have: you didn’t commit to a certain quantity of cereal when you first poured it, so you won’t be left hungry. On top of that, you can now bend the milk-cereal ratio to your will, never having to eat any unappealing, almost-dry breakfast cereal. Lastly, since you’re paying more attention to preparing the dish, you’ll be able to enjoy it more thoroughly and attentively.

It’s indisputable—this is an immensely better approach.

Innovation starts with us—it starts with you, and you’re too good for mediocre, outdated cereal consumption. Start living your best life, embracing rationality, and eating cereal the correct way. Thank you.

OPINION

2nd Place

The War for LGBTQ+ Rights is Hard Enough Without Infighting

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT

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ecently, I noticed a post on Instagram about how the pansexual identity is invalid. For reference, pansexual refers to someone who is attracted to people regardless of gender, and that is how I identify. Incensed, I read through the post. By the last slide, I was fuming. It is always disheartening to hear someone try to invalidate an aspect of your identity, but this was particularly painful as it came from a fellow member of the LGBTQ+ community. This person sought to push me off our common ground, to chop a few letters off the acronym, along with the people they represent.

I have heard the rationale from exclusionary LGBTQ+ folk (perhaps they would rather be referred to as LGT, or LGBT, or LGB) that we must narrow the community to gain acceptance from cisgender and heterosexual people. “We must be palatable,” they say, “we cannot all be accepted, some people just have to be left behind.” I resent this argument. In fact, the struggle for freedom must be inclusive, or we queer people will never attain equality.

With the time and effort that it took to create that Instagram post, which did nothing but fill me with bitter resentment, the account owner could have educated others about the struggles facing LGBTQ+ folks. They could have spoken out about hate crimes or housing insecurity. They could have denounced institutions that promote homophobia, or advocated abolishing conversion therapy, an incredibly harmful practice which is still legal in 30 states. They could have provided empowering content or non-heteronormative sex ed-

ucation, or even shared places to donate to LGBTQ+ people in need. Instead, they devoted their energy to attacking other people who likely face much of the same discrimination they do. How is this advancing the struggle for queer equality?

Some exclusionary folks have faced such struggles to get ahead that they fear jeopardizing their own position by letting others advance. We see this in the feminist movement as well: “trans-exclusionary radical feminists,” or TERFs, deny inclusion and respect to trans women (as well as nonbinary and gender non-conforming folks). This is due to transphobia and the fear that their presence will somehow detract from women’s rights. But by beating down fellow womxn because they do not fit a narrow paradigm, TERFs assume the role of the oppressor. They become no better than the men who have denied womxn equal rights for centuries. Besides, they waste precious time that could be spent working to reduce violent crime rates against womxn or remove barriers to education for womxn worldwide. Similarly, queer folks oppressing queer folks does nothing to advance LGBTQ+ rights.

The gatekeeping of social justice movements is useless and counterproductive. If the struggle for equity is a war, rather than just idling on the battlefield, groups are separating into factions, wasting ammunition, and harming one another. If LGBTQ+ folks want equity and acceptance, we must dissolve the systems of oppression that we face. To do this, we must have each other’s backs.

IMAGE FROM GETTY IMAGES

Supporters of LGBTQ rights rally outside of the Supreme Court on October 2019

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NEWS

3rd Place

The Not-So-Colorful Truth About Marine Aquarium Fish

By FINN BUCKLEY

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altwater aquariums are everywhere in the US, everywhere from offices to homes, and the delightful colors of their aquatic inhabitants are singularly wonderful. It may surprise you to know the less than wonderful ways these fish came to be in those aquariums. Where do the fish in saltwater aquariums really come from? Out of approximately 1,800 marine fish species involved in the aquarium trade, only a small handful of these fish (roughly 2 percent) can be bred effectively in captivity. 98 percent of these fish species must be taken from their reef habitats to then be sold to hobbyists.

The modern day aquarium trade is a global enterprise with no central regulatory body to track the purchase

of fish or to enforce collection laws. In this multibillion dollar industry, millions upon millions of marine organisms are shipped worldwide annually with minimal oversight.

Taking fish from their reef habitats can impact not only individual fish species, but reef ecosystems as a whole. While some wild caught fish are quite abundant in reef habitats, making their collection for the aquarium trade a negligible threat to their wild populations, many popular aquarium fish species face overcollection and are threatened in the wild. When fish dwindle, not only their species suffers, but their natural prey may grow out of control and overwhelm coral reefs, while the species preying upon them languish.

IMAGE PROVIDED

Coral reef fish at the Cairns Aquarium

In addition to the dangers posed by the overcollection of fish species, the methods used to collect marine fish can also damage ocean habitats. According to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), up to 90 percent of the marine aquarium fish that enter the US each year are caught illegally with a highly toxic chemical called sodium cyanide. Many fish collectors will use squirt bottles to spray cyanide onto fish and their surroundings, stunning the fish which can then be easily snatched. Not only can sodium cyanide permanently injure and kill the target fish, but it can also wound their environment. Sam Mamauag of the International Marinelife Alliance, in the Philippines, says that the cyanide used to catch a single fish will destroy about a square yard of coral.

The US, which accounts for more than half of the global demand for saltwater aquarium fish, has immense power over the market, and therefore has a responsibility to stop these practices. While the Lacey Act, a US law prohibiting the import of any wildlife captured against the laws of other nations, gives law enforcement the power to turn away fish caught with cyanide or other illegal methods, no US agencies currently test incoming fish for cyanide.

To be sure, captive-bred fish cost more, but we must ask ourselves what are we sacrificing for the few dollars we save? In order to preserve these fish for the future, we must back legislation to protect them in their habitats, and fight collection practices detrimental to their ecosystems. Better oversight of fish collection must occur if these fish are to live on in our world.

OPINION

Turn On The Subtitles, Please

By MANU BOSTEELS

I

t’s Friday night. I click on the infamous red logo, and there appears Netflix’s selection of Scandinavian television, an endless supply of series that all manage to be forgettably similar and uniquely amazing.

Baa-duuummmm.

The show begins—I instinctively flick my eyes down for the very first words of this new, mysterious series.

There they are, in their beautiful, easy-to-read white font: subtitles.

I love them.

Subtitles are useful outside of international TV. I turn them on when I’m watching any show or movie, not because the dialogue is difficult for me to follow. Rather, I delight in the act of reading the subtitles as quickly as possible and relish in the knowledge of what the characters are about to say, mere moments before they utter the words. The sense of prophetic glee that this provides is wonderful, and in my mind, demonstrates subtitles to be an improvement to any form of audiovisual entertainment.

There are obvious benefits to subtitles; world-class movies and TV shows are made (surprise, surprise!) in languages other than English. After being stuck at home for nearly a year, browsing the catalog for new English-only shows is a struggle.

Behold! The international entertainment section!

At this point, someone may be thinking, “Well, that’s what dubbing and voice actors are for.”

And if you ask me, watching a show dubbed in any language other than the original is a disgrace. Anyone who does

that cannot be trusted.

Yet, for some reason, a survey of 2,200 Americans conducted by the Hollywood Reporter (and reported by Statista. com) found that 59 percent of respondents prefer dubbed entertainment over subtitled entertainment. So, in other words: be wary of those around you.

A question for those strangers in the majority— how can you possibly deal with the agonizing mismatch between the audio your TV emits and the movements of the actors’ mouths on the screen? With the lag between when a character gestures to accentuate a point and when the English voice actor actually begins speaking?

Moreover, considering that the average adult, as reported

by Forbes, reads at 300 words-per-minute, or five words a second, surely there is plenty of time to skim the dialogue and simultaneously revel in the wonder of corresponding audio and facial movement.

Finally, anyone trying to learn a new language can actually practice with international TV. I recently tried this out with a new Netflix show Lupin, which is entirely in French.

Try short spurts with French audio and subtitles, and then after a few minutes, you can switch the subtitles back to English if you feel like you can’t follow. Hearing the French audio and having French subtitles forces your brain to decode the new language, because, after all, no-one likes a show they can’t understand.

It’s Friday night again.

Let’s see what the international section (and its wonderful subtitles) has in store for today.

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OPINION

Teachers Can Choose to Grade Anonymously With Just One Click. Why Aren’t They Doing It?

By ONDINE MORGAN-KNAPP

I

n today’s age of Canvas and digital grading, grading anonymously could hardly be easier: all a teacher has to do is click the checkbox marked “Hide student names in the SpeedGrader” in the Canvas SpeedGrader options menu. But remarkably, many teachers choose instead to leave the door wide open to bias in their grading.

Anonymous grading, or blind grading, is a system that aims to reduce the influence of bias on students’ grades by “blinding” the teacher to the name of the student while the student’s work is being graded. It can help to mitigate the effects of racial and gender bias, as well as more personal biases based on the student’s participation, attendance record, previous work in the class, flattery of the teacher, or even physical attractiveness.

Numerous studies have shown that these biases can affect teachers’ grading in all subjects, including those that are commonly seen as more “objective” (like math).

This separation of a student’s identity and their work is not only what fairness demands; it is also pedagogically important. When a student knows that their work has been graded anonymously, they are less likely to take feedback personally (especially negative feedback). As a result, the student will be more likely to use constructive comments to improve their future work, rather than automatically viewing a bad grade as mean or unfair.

Some teachers may worry that anonymous grading will prevent them from giving feedback on drafts or preliminary stages

of an assignment, for fear of jeopardizing the anonymity of the work later on. This is rarely a problem when discussing ideas or preliminary drafts, which are unlikely to be defined enough to be identifiable in the final submission (particularly if the assignment is not due for several days or weeks). If feedback is necessary in the later stages of the assignment, or if teachers feel that individual discussions are too likely to identify a student’s final submission, comments can easily be given anonymously by having students submit drafts as a separate anonymous assignment. The teacher can then give feedback as they would for the actual assignment, but without attaching a grade.

Additionally, teachers considering anonymous grading may have concerns about assignment feedback being too generic and not “personalized” enough. However, in the cases in which it would be justified to give a student feedback that depends on their identity, rather than solely on their work, a teacher can still give this feedback while maintaining anonymous grading practices. The assignment can be graded and general feedback can be given anonymously, and, if they find it necessary, teachers can add “personalized” comments after the student’s name has been revealed—as long as the grade will not be changed based on the identity of the student.

Teachers should not be grading students—they should be grading students’ work. Anonymous grading can decrease the influence of bias and facilitate improvement, all without compromising feedback.

Write for the Tattler!

Submit your articles, poems, and photos to be featured in The Tattler’s March issue! Send submissions to editor@ ihstattler.com. The deadline is Thursday, February 11.

OPINION

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The GOP Needs to Leave Trump Behind

By MUKUND GAUR

O

n Wednesday, January 6, 2021, as Trump supporters chanted outside the Capitol building in DC and smashed through security barriers, this is what Trump’s Twitter feed said: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Republicans were left at a loss as once again; the Executive branch of the government appeared to be self-destructing, a common occurrence over the last presidential term. Four years of Trump’s presidency had done for Democrats what it had failed to do for Republicans—it united them. As Congress convened within their chambers, Republican lawmakers were divided into those who defended Trump, criticized him, or remained quiet.

As seen in the Democratic wins for the White House and the Senate, a divided Republican Party cannot stand against a united Democratic Party. To heal for a better future, they need to leave Trump behind. This will unite the Republican Party, promote a return to more traditional GOP values, and bring a sense of order to the party.

No president in recent history has divided the country more than President Trump, and his own party is not an exception to this division. This has been especially on show in the last few months, where Trump’s baseless election fraud claims have inflamed party tensions. These claims have repeatedly put Republicans in a dilemma, where if they support his claims, they are seen as anti-democratic; yet if they do not support his claims, they lose the support of Trump’s enormous voter base and face challenges from Republicans more eager to blindly support the president.

Once they make a decision, it is startlingly hard for them to turn back, and the two sides have clashed repeatedly over the last few weeks. As then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in his speech last Wednesday, “We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes with a separate set of facts and separate realities, with nothing in common except our hostility towards each other and mistrust for the few national institutions that we all still share.” McConnell has pointed out what Republicans have been struggling with for the past four years—whether to endorse traditional Republican values or the more wayward “Trumpism.”

The GOP has traditionally believed in a smaller government, lower taxes, a free market approach to the economy, and reduction in national debt. Trump has delivered on exactly one of these counts and caused an enormous chain reaction as a result. His tax reform, billed as a staple Republican reduction in taxes for the rich, coupled with lack of spending moderation, caused the

national debt to skyrocket, even before the COVID crisis. During Trump’s time in the White House, the national debt rose 7.8 trillion dollars, approaching levels seen during World War II, relative to the size of the economy. According to the Washington Post, the rise in the national debt under Trump’s presidency ranks as the third highest increase compared to any presidency, after the increase under George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln. For reference, George W. Bush began two foreign wars, and Abraham Lincoln had to fund the Civil War. Looking at the economy, Trump’s approach has been anything but free market, with billions of dollars of federal subsidies being funnelled to fossil fuel corporations. The stimulus package passed under Trump’s presidency allocated 72 billion dollars to the fossil fuels industry, more than any other country in the world, according to the Overseas Development Institute.

Finally, Trump’s volatility has been a major nuisance for Republicans. His spur-of-the-moment idea to “buy Greenland” was just one of the more high-profile unanticipated decisions he made. More recently, Republicans spent months debating with Democrats to push a 600 dollar per person stimulus package through, only to be faced with a message from their own president asking for a 2000 dollar stimulus package, exactly what they had been fighting against for the past months. The president then called the bill his own Treasury secretary had helped negotiate “a disgrace.” Trump’s unexpected decision threw Republicans into a spin. When 2000 dollar stimulus checks were voted on in the House, the party split, with 44 Republicans voting for them and 130 voting against. The motion eventually died in the Senate after Congress adjourned without voting on the stimulus check raise.

Instead of being the reliably Republican president that the GOP had hoped for, Trump has only been unpredictable at best and destructive at worst.

In order for the Republican party to move forward and unite, they need to abandon the volatile Trump, who has left a decidedly negative legacy, and move forward towards a new era. Through his divisive rhetoric, repetition of baseless claims, and violent movement, Trump has given Republicans a series of loyalty tests, each one more destructive than the last, culminating in the storming of the Capitol last week. His presidency has hardly followed Republican values, and often has completely gone against them. Trump’s unpredictability has been a major obstacle for Republicans during his presidency, and his statements during the Georgia runoff elections have shown that this will continue to be a problem even after he leaves office. If Republicans want to maintain a united front, they need to distance themselves from Trump, or live with the consequences.

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OPINION

Why Elizabeth Warren is the Progressive Voice We Need

By KAIA MOORE IMAGE BY JESSICA RINALDI

Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking in Laconia, NH during her presidential compaign

W

ith a tumultuous year behind us, America is yearning for leadership. It’s beyond clear that the American people need progressive change. On January 20, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They were not the first choice of many Americans. But why don’t they represent the progressive ideals of many Democrats?

To find the answers, it’s necessary to look back at the heated demcratic primary. The first candidate to jump into the race was Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. An innovative, productive, and moderately well-known politician, she was given attention as soon as she announced her candidacy in February 2019. Although her campaign started off with a bang, support soon began to fizzle out.

I was told time after time as I called potential voters that our country simply wasn’t ready to have a woman as its president. Even as Warren’s debate performances improved, her poll numbers largely remained stagnant below those of Senator Bernie Sanders and President Biden. Why? Part of the answer lies in the fact that the progressive vote was taken primarily by Senator Sanders. Throughout his career, Sanders has had very minimal or negative policy impact. As mayor of Burlington, Vermont, the poverty rate rose 42 percent. As a senator, he has sponsored over 600 bills, only two of which passed (the main purpose of one of the bills was to rename a post office). Even without significant policy achievements, however, he still stood as a force to be reckoned with in the primary season. After Warren released several plans early in her campaign, and became known for doing so (Warren has a plan for that!), Sanders knew he had to make plans to compete.

However, in contrast to Warren’s plans, Sanders’ plans consisted only of exciting ideas meant to fire up a base of young folks who didn’t know any better. They lacked details or methods of funding, but they led to memorable sound bites that lured the attention of Americans fed up with the state of the country. As a result, Sanders performed better in polls. Warren and Sanders do admittedly have similar ideas on lots of current issues, one example being Universal

Healthcare. In contrast to Sanders, Warren was able to illustrate her plan to fund Universal Healthcare. I believe it’s important to continue to educate the voting population on why they should support something, and if it will be possible to make it law. Warren embodies this logical, educational approach.

This emphasis on facts and educating voters is why Warren’s plans show maturity and pragmatism. They look thoroughly at all aspects of an issue and provide achievable sources of funding for a solution.

One example of a plan that Warren would implement is Universal Childcare, a plan which would be paid for entirely by Warren’s ultra-millionaire tax. But this sort of careful analysis of policy isn’t what the media likes to portray, and trying to explain a plan takes time, time that Warren didn’t have at debates. As a result, Sanders soaked up the progressive vote. When voters had to choose between a man who preaches radically anti-capitalist ideas but whose career lacks tangible policy achievements or a woman whose entire career has been spent working with and successfully fighting for Americans, they chose the man. But Sanders couldn’t hold up to the charisma and flourishing career of Biden, leaving Democrats with no progressive voice at all.

So what does the future hold for Warren? A 2024 presidential run? I think so. Warren is a progressive voice of reason, an articulate and poised speaker, and a highly effective change maker. Age and gender need not be excuses any longer. Democrats should get ready to back Elizabeth Warren in 2024, and they should feel confident that she can win. A realization is needed that someone like Bernie Sanders will never be successful in American politics. He has sought to work outside of the system for his entire career, refusing to compromise or weigh all effects of policy decisions. We see this by simply looking at his near empty record of successful and meaningful bills, and by contrasting it with all of Warren’s numerous achievements in every political position she has held. For those reasons, when the time comes, we must all rise up and support a progressive ticket, with Warren’s name right on top.

OPINION

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The Problem with Compromise in 2021

By MANU BOSTEELS

I

often hear that in order to make change, people on opposing sides of an issue need to reconcile and come to a compromise in which everyone’s thoughts and needs are taken into account. That we cannot move on unless we put our differing political opinions aside and reach a consensus.

Not anymore.

In the wake of a Trump-supporter led assault on the Capitol building, one which can best be described as an attempted coup d’état, what is the compromise? How do you find a middle ground between domestic terrorism and a functioning country?

Compromises won’t work in a nation where peaceful protests against police brutality are met with waves of law enforcement unafraid to use tear gas and rubber bullets, but armed insurrectionists are left for hours to lay waste to the Capitol building.

Consider this: compromises, by definition, require each side to yield something. Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and Nancy Pelosi have come to represent free healthcare, living wages, and support for federal stimulus checks. In contrast, many Republicans seem to not care about their constituents and prioritize their own self-interest. Prime examples of this are (former) Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who both, according to the New York Times, sold stock in January and February of 2020 belonging to companies that would be impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic after confidential Senate coronavirus briefings; although this was later not investigated by the Justice Department, the timing of the trades was, although maybe not technically illegal, suspicious.

With political parties that differ drastically from one another, what is there to yield?

There simply is no more middle ground. One of the few bright sides to the United States’ situation (aside from having said goodbye to Trump) is that, perhaps, the “brave patriots” who attacked the Capitol on January 6th have actually laid waste to Trump’s political power. Banned permanently from Twitter, indefinitely by Facebook, and by extension, Instagram, and now having become the first POTUS with more impeachments than presidential terms, Trump’s power is dwindling. Before the Cap-

itol attack, it seemed extremely likely that Trump would remain the face of the Republican party long after his White House exit.

While he no doubt still wields power within the political scene, Donald Trump is wounded.

I won’t get ahead of myself, though. It is ignorant to suggest that the seditionists who attacked the Capitol are insignificant.

Over 74 million people voted for Trump; regardless of whether or not all those supporters are willing to participate in acts of domestic terrorism, those 70+ million people still voted for the person who incited the violence in the first place. Furthermore, a recent poll conducted by YouGov found that 46 percent of Republican poll respondents support the Trump supporters’ actions at the Capitol.

It’s important for Democrats (or perhaps just non-Republicans) to call out the messages for ‘unity’ and ‘togetherness’ that Republican politicians have been echoing. Let’s not forget, many of them are the very same politicians who didn’t care about unity when it meant guaranteeing the safety of Black lives, when it came to providing Americans in need with stimulus checks, or when it came to putting on a piece of fabric during a deadly pandemic. The blatant hypocrisy of these Republicans is shocking, and it seems like a cover for those career politicians who fear the end of their terms to distance themselves from Trump and pretend everything else about their political background is a-ok. Seeing steadfast Trump supporters like Chris Christie suddenly realize the true nature of Trump after the Capitol attack is amazing; it is not as if inciting the Capitol mob was the first time Trump has done something that damaged the country. Democrats need to keep in mind that former Trump-loving Republicans are not suddenly good people now that Trump is out of office, and hold them accountable for their poor decisions, especially those in the past four years.

I hope that Trump will now face every bit of legal exposure that his corrupt presidency has shielded him from. At the time of publishing, Joe Biden’s administration will be in the White House, so please: President Biden, stop compromising with farright Republicans. The time for that is long gone.

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FEATURES

Guide to Helping a Friend Through Violent Relationships, Sexual Assault and Suicidal Thoughts

By FRANCES KLEMM

H

igh school can be hard, as all students have to juggle constant school work, new interests, and just developing as a person. It can be hard to deal just as a “regular” high school student; we’re still mainly living at home and with a guardian; we’re still treated as children. And because of that it can be even harder to recognize when real, “adult” problems come into our lives, or our friends’ lives. Issues such as sexual assault, intimate partner violence and sucidal thoughts, all common issues high schoolers deal with, but are rarely prepared for.

It’s difficult to recognize that a problem you’ve only heard of with adults or on TV applies to you or someone you’ve grown up with. It can be even more difficult to understand the weight of the problem at an age where we’re still dependent on others and well, children. So it’s important to understand these instances are not uncommon at all. It’s reported that around 48 percent of teens in America have experienced dating-related stalking and harassment. According to RAINN, “One in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an adult.” 42.2 percent of female rape victims were under 18 when assaulted: 29.9 percent were aged 11-17. The rate of death by suicide in people from 10 to 24 years old increased by 57.4 percent in the US over the 10 year period from 2007 to 2018, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday. These are life-changing issues, and they are incredibly and scarily common in high schools around the country.

If you’re facing something like this, know that there are so many people who want to help you and there are lots of resources available, some linked below.

This article is targeted towards the friends; for the friends who have emotional weight, guilt and stress over hearing their friends go through something terrible. Friends who don’t know whether they should speak up in fear of betraying their friend, who don’t know where to go to find help, who’s friend pushes them away or suddenly feels better and they don’t know if it’s their problem anymore and much more. IHS students are dealing with this everyday and to those who are, this is your guide.

Advocacy center representative Katrina Clark shares her thoughts on being a friend of someone undergoing domestic abuse or sexual assault trauma. In her words: “Sharing about assault, abuse, and unhealthy behaviors within relationships can be really difficult. There are many barriers to disclosing, including (but not limited to) not recognizing abusive behaviors, fear of hurting their dating partner’s feelings or future, embarrassment, fear that the abusive partner will find out and react negatively, and fear that people will not understand or not believe them.

“It is important, as a concerned friend, to recognize these barriers. Ultimately, by acknowledging how hard it can be to share, one is better prepared to respond. For example, if a friend

shares that they have been experiencing dating abuse for months, it might be easy to erupt with anger and ask why they did not tell you this information earlier (you care about them and hate to hear that they have been hurting), but if you know how hard sharing can be, you’re likely to respond more appropriately by focusing on them / their feelings instead of your own. A potential response could be, “Thank you for trusting me. How can I help make you feel safer?

“As a friend of someone experiencing abuse / assault, it can be helpful to offer (not insist—the choice is up to them) your presence if / when your friend wants to reach out for professional help. If possible, offer to be there as a friend calls the hotline, initiates a live chat with a service provider, or connects with a school guidance counselor about what they are experiencing. If being present with them is not possible, offer to be available for a call or check-in of some sort afterwards.”

One useful tool supplied by the RM2Bsafefor Youth resource is the Friend wheel, a list to guide any friend through how to react to someone telling you about their abusive relationship, This resource can also apply to sexual assault, believe their story, and make sure they know that nothing was their fault.

Unless you are concerned for your friend’s safety, let your friends make their own choices about who and when to tell people. This can be difficult but it’s necessary in maintaining your friend’s trust and giving them a lifeline. If the victim does want to talk to someone there are lots of options, such as an anonymous emailer, anonymous phone conversations or text messages. Talking to your doctor, therapist, trusted teacher, guidance counselor or parent. Reporting actions to the police is another option and can be particularly taxing on a victim but as a friend, you may help by encouraging them to document any abuse (if they are safe to do so)—this documentation will likely assist your friend in the future, if they ever choose to take legal action.

As a friend, it’s not your place to talk to anyone else about an abusive or sexual assault situation unless you are concerned for your friend’s safety and are reaching out to someone you trust. In sexual assault and domestic violence scenarios, believing the victim is one of the most important and crucial steps. Also, recognizing red flags and acting on them. Depending on the situation, victims tend to push close friends away for a variety of reasons and so no matter what as a friend, it’s crucial to give a support system where the victim can always feel safe. As previously mentioned, it can be hard to identify the severity of the situation, so taking a step at a time is important. Remember to take care of yourself too; we already have so much stress in our lives. Remember to pay attention, support the victim even when they’re pushing you away, reach out if you are concerned for your friend’s immediate safety, and to take care of yourself as well.

Reacting to a friend expressing suicidal thoughts can be just

FEATURES as terrifying, knowing that your friend has been thinking of ending their life is a lot to deal with and there are a lot of gut reactions, but make sure that you’re doing everything to protect your friend’s safety. Here are some tips the National Suicide Prevention Line shared on haing a converstion with a suicidal friend.

When talking about suicide, be as direct as possible; don’t shy away from using the word “suicide”. Be willing to listen and provide a safe space where they can discuss their emotions, and don’t judge anything. Some specific don’ts; don’t act shocked because it will only put more distance between you, don’t offer shallow reassurance, don’t dare them to do and don’t be sworn to secrecy. Instead take action, confiscate anything you know could be a danger such as weapons or pills, tell them about alternatives and direct them to crisis and sucicide prevention websites.

To the friend who’s reading this, your job in these scenarios is stressful, pressurized, and often essential. A good friend can save

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a life and bring justice. The job is critical. If you’re a high school student reading this and thinking about a friend you’re worried about, make sure to stay informed, bridge your differences and follow all of the resources linked in The Tattler website. Stay safe!

Check out the following resources: • 800-273-8255: National Sucide Prevention Line • 1.800.799.SAFE (7233): National Domestic Violence Hotline(they also offer an anonymous chat on the website) • Call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention • loveisrespect.org • actompkins.org • thehotline.org • Email teens@actompkins.org to chat with a professional anonymously 24/7

21 Good Things to Come in 2021

By RAIA GUTMAN

H

aving trudged through ten months of a pandemic, impeached a president twice, and watched the state of the planet deteriorate with little hope for recovery, we’re desperately in need of some good news. Fortunately, a new year brings new prospects for breakthroughs, discoveries, and entertainment. Things are improving everywhere around us, from the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine to plans on reducing carbon emissions in the near future in many countries. Take a minute to appreciate the good things ahead of us, big and small.

1. Not only is the COVID-19 vaccination widely available all over the country, it’s reached our school district! All ICSD faculty and staff are eligible for the vaccine.

2. On Wednesday, January 6th, the Common Council removed the ban on dogs on the Ithaca Commons. You can now take your dog on a responsible and law-abiding stroll downtown!

3. A newly identified snake species found in northern India was named after Salazar Slytherin from Harry Potter! The species is called Trimeresurus salazar.

4. The History Center in Tompkins County has reopened with stunning exhibits on a Civil War soldier from Tompkins County, the Gayogohó:no language, and more.

5. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) found an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone! It’s called TOI 700 d.

6. We’re getting another season of I Think You Should Leave! If you haven’t seen it, it’s a sketch comedy show starring Tim Robinson on Netflix.

7. A new Silence of the Lambs spinoff is coming to Netflix!

It’s called Clarice, and hopefully it’ll be accompanied by another season of Hannibal!

8. Dr. Anthony Fauci says concerts could resume this fall!

9. In related news, the Eurovision Song Contest, which was postponed from 2020, will happen this year!

10. Julien Baker, Japanese Breakfast, and Lucy Dacus plan to release albums in 2021!

11. Apple users can look forward to new emojis including mustachioed lovers, interracial couples, and a “head-inthe-clouds” face!

12. There are just two months until The Tattler’s annual April Fool’s issue comes out!

13. There are five new restaurants downtown! La Bodega is in the Dewitt Mall, Ooy’s Café and Deli and Hound & Mare are on North Aurora Street, Kimchi Korean Restaurant is on the Ithaca Commons, and the Greenhouse Café and Cocktail Lounge is on East State Street.

14. Ben & Jerry’s has put out a line of frozen dog treats! So far Pontch’s Mix and Rosie’s Batch are available in mini cups and multipacks.

15. The US is building a bike trail that will run across 12 states from Washington, DC to the Pacific Coast!

16. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf, and In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway have all entered the public domain. They are now free for use by the American public and free to adapt in a number of ways.

17. John Green’s collection of personal essays, The Anthropocene Reviewed, will be released in May. 18. The next total lunar eclipse since January 2019 will happen on May 26th and will be visible from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai’i, and the western US. For about 14 minutes the moon will turn a deep orange color.

19. The first tubeless automated insulin delivery system will be released in early 2021, making blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery much easier for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

20. NASA’s Perseverance will land on Mars in search of signs of ancient life. Its exploration of the Jezero Crater will commence on February 18th, 2021.

21. The Al-Huda Islamic Center purchased land in Lansing to be the home of the first mosque to serve Ithaca and Tompkins County.

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IHS Studens’ Views on Asynchronous Day Placement

By DOROTHY HAMILTON

Recently, we had a rather spirited discussion in our Tattler board meeting regarding the placement of asynchronous learning days. Some editors felt that Wednesdays work best, citing the break it provides between classes, time to catch up on work, and opportunities for office hours. However, a few of us argued that Fridays would be superior, because they’d give us a longer weekend, more time for scheduled studying, and better sleep schedules. Limited by the Board’s size, we thought it would be interesting to hear the opinions of the student body. We sent out a survey, and the results are as follows:

Friday Wednesday

85.4% of 158 students said they’d rather have asynchronous Wednesdays, while 14.6% preferred Fridays.

49.7% explained their answer to the previous question with “I like Wednesdays, because they provide a break in the middle of learning.”

34% said “I like Wednesdays, because they give me a chance to catch up on work.”

6.9% chose “I like Fridays, because they would give me a longer weekend to plan and space out my work,” and 6.3% chose “I like Fridays, because it would give us a longer, more relaxed break on the weekends.” One student said that they didn’t think we should have asynchronous days at all, and another mentioned their commitment to Dungeons and Dragons meetings, which require the open Wednesdays for prep time.

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In the final, open-ended question, students shared a number of thoughts, feelings, and concerns, such as…

“Asynchronous days seem to disturb the rhythm of the working week by creating an illusion of a weekend.

Therefore, it makes the day inefficient and unproductive in the sense of doing our school work, potentially leading to unproductiveness throughout the rest of the week.”

“With asynchronous Wednesdays, I find it’s harder to get up the next morning and it’s very confusing throughout the day. By time it’s the next day I’m ready to work the rest of the week but it’s [soon already] a weekend.”

“Part of the point of them is to clean the school between cohorts so it really doesn’t make sense to have asynchronous days be on Fridays.”

“I don’t think that teachers should be able to assign new homework on Wednesdays that is due on Wednesdays because that is evil.”

“I also like Wednesday because I don’t think I could stare at a computer for 4 days in a row. It’s so exhausting.”

“They should have asked us.”

“The only problem with asynchronous days is that all my teachers pile on a bunch of work that day that’s generally due the next day. As a result, asynchronous days tend to be filled with homework and don’t actually offer as much of a break as teachers think.”

“Please do not change the schedule again.”

Clearly, the select few Tattler editors who advocated for the switch to asynchronous Fridays are outnumbered. However, the survey has raised a number of relevant concerns regarding the current asynchronous Wednesday system. What policy, if any, should be implemented to avoid a “work overload” on Wednesdays, which are theoretically meant to be

a break from instruction? How should students best utilize this time to connect with teachers and manage their assignments? Is the day actually efficient at all, or is it simply a free-for-all that is treated differently by every teacher? And, most importantly, is it the best way to accommodate Dungeons and Dragons meetings?

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The Definitive 2020 Timeline

By JAY JIA

B

y the time you read this, there is at least a month of separation between you and the raging hellfire we call the Year 2020. Perhaps you’ve already mentally suppressed everything that happened during the time between January 1 and December 31. Or perhaps you still feel like you’ve never truly left that year. After all, the pandemic is still raging on, our country is more unstable than ever, and the monotonous Google Meet after Google Meet of virtual schooling still doesn’t seem to have improved. But it’s important to stand back and look at the whole picture. Yes, everything is still burning, but you’ve survived the worst of the inferno. You might not remember everything that happened in the timeline (trust me, a lot happened), but importantly, we lived through it all, together. With that said, here is the definitive timeline of every major event that happened in the year 2020.

JANUARY 2020 began in a very thematically appropriate way: everyone was terrified about WWIII causing the end of the world. On January 3, General Qassem Suleimani, one of the most powerful leaders of Iran, was killed in an US airstrike. Five days later, Iran launched ballistic missiles against military bases housing US soldiers. A war between the US and Iran seemed imminent, but the apocalypse fated for 2020 wasn’t going to be another World War. The situation de-escalated, and a war was avoided for now. In other news, Australia continued to struggle against intense wildfires carried over from 2019, which were burning away millions of acres of land, killing hundreds of millions of animals and displacing thousands of people.

In the US, the Senate began the impeachment trial of Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in regards to Trump’s attempt to solicit help from Ukraine to win the elections. Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend, died after a helicopter crash. Forebodingly, on the 30th, the WHO declared that the outbreak of a newly discovered coronavirus was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

FEBRUARY On February 5, the Senate voted to acquit Trump of the charges brought against him in his impeachment trial. The new coronavirus, now named COVID-19, claimed its first life in the US. On a more positive note, at the Academy Awards, the South Korean movie Parasite won best picture, becoming the first non-English film to do so.

MARCH On March 11, COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization to be a pandemic. Two days later, ICSD closed down, with the goal of reopening in April. As the pandemic continued to worsen, its effects increased in magnitude. The stock market crashed, borders began to close, and the Olympics were delayed until 2021. In US politics, the remaining candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 US Presidential Election combined Voltron-style to back Joe Biden against Ber-

nie Sanders.

APRIL All of ICSD remained closed as reopening dates were continuously pushed back. Meanwhile, in the outside world, the pandemic raged on, infecting over a million people in the US, while the first asymptomatic cases were reported. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic race, making Joe Biden the de-facto Democratic nominee for the election. $1,200 stimulus checks, all signed by President Donald Trump, were distributed to US citizens.

MAY Domestically, the US faced invasion at the mandibles of the murder hornets, who threatened domestic honey bees. In Minneapolis and across the rest of the US, Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and racial injustice flared up, incited by the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who had died on May 25 in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for an initially-reported eight minutes and 46 seconds. In the following weeks, thousands of protestors gathered together to protest his unjust death at the hands of police. These protests spread to other cities and countries and would continue in the coming months. Internationally, geopolitical tensions spread as Chinese and Indian troops clashed along their border (though luckily without weapons). In Venezuela, a coup supported by security company Silvercorp USA failed to overthrow Nicolás Maduro. And in Hong Kong, the Chinese government made the decision to impose a new security law, which would be passed in June, leading to crackdowns on protests and activists.

JUNE The Black Lives Matter protests continued, despite brutal crackdowns by police. Protests in Seattle occupied Capitol Hill and declared it to be an “autonomous zone” and “occupied protest”. The old state flag of Mississippi, the last to feature the Confederate battle flag, was retired. ICSD students bid farewell to a tumultuous academic year.

JULY Federal troops cracked down on Black Lives Matter protests in Portland as President Trump announced a surge of federal troops to Democratic cities. The president also commuted the prison sentence of his former advisor Roger Stone and suggested delaying the presidential election. On Twitter, numerous prominent accounts, such as Joe Biden’s Twitter account, were hacked and started to promote a Bitcoin scam before the hack was locked down by Twitter.

AUGUST Wildfires and a hurricane raged in the US. In California, a wildfire that would become the largest in the state’s history started in its northern region. Other wildfires erupted in Oregon and Washington, costing nearly $20 billion in total. Hur-

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ricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana to become the strongest hurricane ever experienced by the state, killing 42 people and causing 19 billion dollars worth of damages. On August 28, Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer.

In Beirut, Lebanon, a massive explosion caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate shook the city, killed hundreds, and led to protests and the resignation of the Lebanese government.

In Belarus, protestors rejecting the results of the reelection of president Lukashenko in an election that was neither free nor fair participated in the largest political march in the country’s history.

SEPTEMBER Students across Ithaca and the rest of the country returned to school, though for some, it was only in a virtual capacity. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and was replaced

by Amy Coney Barett. Trump debated Joe Biden in what was quite possibly the most disorderly presidential debate in the nation’s history. Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war against each other over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, legally owned by Azerbaijan but home to many ethnic Armenians.

OCTOBER On the first day of the month, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump caught COVID-19. On October 10th, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire, ending the Nagorno-Karabakh war, with Azerbaijan having come out on top. In Thailand, mass protests began, seeking reform to the country’s monarchy.

NOVEMBER Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the US Presiden-

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tial Election, becoming the 46th President-elect of the United States. Trump contested the results, and falsely alleged that he was the actual winner of the election. The president then initiated lawsuits, hoping to overturn the results of the election.

Around the same time as the elections, the US formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement, an agreement between countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help prevent climate change. However, the Biden administration is expected to rejoin the Agreement. Two intense hurricanes, Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, slammed into Central America, killing a combined total of 250 people. According to scientists at Yale, the recent intensification of hurricanes is a direct result of climate change. In Florida, the first operational crewed SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft took off from Kennedy Space Center toward the International Space Station.

DECEMBER A new and more infectious variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 started to spread rapidly in the UK. On December 4, the World Health Organization estimated that over 65 million people were infected with COVID-19, resulting in more than 1.5 million deaths, with an average of 10,000 deaths per day over the past week. However, vaccines for COVID-19 finally began to be distributed in the US and around the world.

You probably weren’t impacted by all of the events listed above, but many of them definitely did play a major role in your life. Importantly though, you’ve survived through them. While 2021 will have difficulties and challenges of its own, there will never be another 2020. Here’s to hoping that 2021 will be a better year.

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Why ICSD Students and Teachers Don’t Want Regents This Year

By FRANCES KLEMM

E

ver since the pandemic fully cancelled the January Regents exams for the first time ever, the question has been circulating whether the exams should be canceled again in June. Due to the continued threat of the Coronavirus pandemic and school being kept virtual and hybrid, the option seems likely. The end of year exams have always taken place in a gymnasium with students crowded together to test out on their skill for each Regents course they took that year. Passing marks will mean you’ve completed the course, failing will mean a repeat of the test in August, and possibly the course. For many students, the amount of stress associated with the Regents is already pretty daunting, but now there is a whole host of issues to deal with, including safety concerns, lack of learning equity, and a reduced amount of course content.

Regents have traditionally been used to hold schools and districts accountable, giving districts a chance to address disparities when exams come back negatively impacting students with disabilities, ELL(English Language Learner) students, or any specific group of marginalized students. If a significant discrepancy is found it will often lay the groundwork for a district plan to make the learning environment more productive and inclusive for the group. It’s important to note that two years without these accountability exams could prove problematic for more disenfranchised students statewide. The question here is whether the cons outweigh the pros.

In reaching out to Ithaca High School (IHS) students through a survey, the overwhelming and not shocking response was, “No”, they do not want June Regents. Responses cite the “outrageous” idea to put extra pressure on already stressed and isolated students. Others talk about more students cheating this year and an overwhelming feeling of the inability to learn, one anonymous high scholar stating, “Many students have turned to cheating this year, not because of rebellious needs, but simply because they do not feel adequately knowledgeable or taught enough to perform well on a test.” This sentiment was echoed by others who assumed students would automatically cheat on the Regents if the exam were to be conducted virtually. One student suggests if there were Regents exams that they be with open notes to somewhat prevent this.

Yet another huge complaint made by both teachers and students was the issue of inequities that have been brought out even more during the pandemic. One anonymous student says, “[Having June Regents] would also be unfair to kids in unstable living environments who haven’t gotten a steady education this year, whether that be because of WiFi connection issues or because of family members, they have also had a very hard time learning and focusing in class.” Teachers echo this sentiment. “Regular, dependable access to internet connectivity is another impediment to equity for students across the state this year. We know many, many families do not have reliable internet, or, in cases, those who do might need to share their bandwidth with parents and siblings, inevitably leading to missed opportunities for instruction and learning,” says Ms. Rebecca Gergely, an English teacher at IHS. “I don’t know how a fair test could be made under the circumstances.”

Talking to IHS teachers about their thoughts on holding Regents exams this year, the overriding answer was again, no. Most worried over students being unprepared. Steven Weissburg, an IHS math

teacher, stated, “I estimate that on average most math classes are covering about 70 percent of what we would normally cover,” mirroring students’ concerns about not taking in enough content. Ms. Lisa Alexander, another IHS math teacher’s, statement goes off of this: “New York State has not come out with any guidance for teachers and the courses they are teaching to let them know the most important topics and how deeply to go into those topics in order to earn credit for a course.” She continues, “If teachers’ ideas are not the same as those who write the Regents exams, then the students wouldn’t be prepared, through no fault of their own.”

On the other hand, Ms. Arti Jewett, an IHS Science teacher argues, “Many students would do just fine on a traditional Regents exam this year, because this is a test that lends itself to review and preparation. There are clearly stated learning standards, and many students are meeting them.” But Jewett also agrees that Regents tests this year would not be “necessary or helpful”. Instead she suggests, “ a teacher-made assessment of knowledge that allows for flexibility in design and scoring”. As for how IHS Science teachers are conducting their classes around the uncertainty of Regents exams, Jewett explains: “Some teachers have decided to move ahead with teaching NY’s Next Generation Science Standards (which will be adopted in coming years in statewide assessment). Others continue to shape their courses around the Regents exam because, in the absence of information from the state, they have to prepare students for a June exam. The decisions that teachers are making are informed by the needs of their students and by their professional judgment about how they can teach most effectively in these difficult circumstances.”

Overall most students across subjects agreed with Alexander, who states, “this year is a whole different animal” and shouldn’t be administered in June. They echoed similar questions as Alexander’s statement to The Tattler: “How would a Regents exam be given?

Would all students be forced to come to the school to take it, even if they don’t feel safe? Would there be a choice to take it online? What would that look like? How would it be monitored? What about students who have weak internet at their homes?” Ms. Yvette de Boer, an IHS Biology teacher, says she “can’t imagine what a test would look like right now.”

Plenty of responses from teachers and students offered the question of whether there should be Regents exams at all. Weissburg asks the state to use this pandemic to reconsider Regents exams altogether citing their cultural bias, overall lack of creative thinking and “undue emphasis to what I consider to be superficial standards.” De Boer believes a standardized test can be good for some aspects but also echoes the concerns over equity, “ I don’t know that that multiple choice, short answer test is fair to all students,” de Boer explained how different parts of the Regents such as reading, vocabulary can be difficult as well for students who aren’t good test takers, saying the Regents format can be “really hard for some students, even though they might know the material.” Weissburg states, “Hoping to make the best of a bad pandemic, I would like this to be an opportunity to reconsider Regents exams all together.

We’ve asked students and teachers to completely change how we do school, it’s time for NYSED to do the same.”

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Don’t Get Rejected! Your Guide to Recycling in Tompkins County

By ANNA COHEN

A

s of November 2, 2020, Tompkins County collectors will reject curbside recycling bins that contain contaminants, whereas previously, collectors only issued warnings.

The Department of Recycling and Materials Management (DRMM) hopes the rejection procedure will teach and enforce residents about curbside guidelines to create a cleaner recycling stream. Collectors will not collect contaminated bins, and they will leave red rejection stickers that indicate which items are unacceptable. Residents with rejected bins should remove contaminant materials, and then either wait for the next scheduled pick up day or bring their items to the recycling center (122 Commercial Ave. Ithaca).

We recycle in order to divert items from the landfill and re-form materials into new products, instead of extracting more raw resources from the Earth. Manufacturing industries want post-consumer items to create products ranging from paper egg cartons to plastic buckets to metal car parts.

Industries are willing to buy items that are collected by recycling facilities such as the Tompkins County DRMM. The income that DRMM makes from these sales helps cover transportation and processing costs of residents’ household items.

Industries are not willing to pay for contaminated materials, so when we contaminate our recycling stream, we lower the value of recyclables. If industries don’t buy our materials, recycling centers lose income, making it hard to continue their free service of curbside pick-up. This would harm the entire recycling system that the county has in place. Additionally, if the contaminated materials are unusable, they will be sent back to landfills where they do no good but take up space. In order to make recycling an effective and sustainable process, we need to be more vigilant about how and what we recycle.

Guidelines The only materials to recycle curbside: • • • • •

Cardboard & mixed paper Glass containers (clear, green, brown) Metal cans & foil #1, #2, and #5 plastic containers Paper cartons and drink boxes

*You are allowed to leave staples in paper, and lids, labels, and neck rings on containers.

Common contaminants to keep out: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Plastic bags or plastic film Any Styrofoam® product (ex. egg cartons, packing peanuts, etc.) #3, #4, #6, #7 or unmarked plastics Drinking glasses, Pyrex®, or coffee pots Paper cups, tissues, napkins Syringes Containers from hazardous waste Compostable disposables Padded envelopes Hangers PVC pipes Masks, wipes, gloves

*Despite the triangle symbol that some Styrofoam® products or unnumbered plastics display, these products are not accepted. Only plastics with recycling triangle labeled #1, #2, and #5 are allowed due to the limited market. *Additional materials such as electronics or yard waste are not accepted for curbside collection, however they can be dropped off at the recycling center. If you are unsure about how to recycle or dispose of materials, RecycleTompkins.org has a useful “What Do I Do With…?” tool where you can search for items.

How to prepare your materials: • As you collect items throughout the week, do not place them in plastic bags because plastic bags cannot be recycled curbside.

• Wash out dirty containers. Food and drink residues are not appreciated.

• Flatten all cardboard boxes. You can place them in your bin, or if they do not fit, you may make a stack next to your bin.

How to prepare your bin: • Your recycling bin must be labeled clearly with an “R” and placed so that the “R” faces the road.

Continued on page 24

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Don’t Get Rejected! Your Guide to Recycling in Tompkins County Continued from page 23 • If your recycling day is the same as your trash day, keep the bins separated by at least 2 feet so that collectors can distinguish easily between the bins.

Pick-up dates and times: • Every neighborhood in the county has a scheduled bi-weekly recycling day. You can easily find your pick-up date by entering your address in the “Find My Recycling Day” tool on RecycleTompkins.org.

• You must place your bin on the curb before 4am in the city of Ithaca or before 6am elsewhere in the county,

so most people put their bins out the night before.

Don’t let your bin get rejected; stay up to date with recycling guidelines, refer to RecycleTompkins.org if you are unsure, clean recyclables, and prepare your bin properly to streamline the recycling process. Your actions make a difference!

Natural Resource Spotlight on Aluminum: Found most commonly in beverage cans and pie tins, aluminum is the most valuable material in your recycling bin. Unlike plastic or paper, aluminum’s properties

do not degrade throughout the recycling process, so it can be recycled infinitely.

Extracting pure aluminum from its ore involves many steps (including electrolysis), so extraction is extremely energy intensive. However, recycling aluminum uses only 5% of that energy. Since recycled aluminum products are the same quality but require 95% less energy than virgin aluminum products, industries prefer to buy aluminum from recycling centers. Since aluminum is the most desired recyclable on the market and saves an enormous amount of energy, aluminum products will be your best contribution to the recycling bin.

Thoughts on Evermore

By JINHO PARK

L

ast December, when a few friends on The Tattler board told me that Taylor Swift was releasing another album, Evermore, I didn’t believe them. For reference, Folklore, Taylor’s last album, was released in July. But despite all my doubts and expressions of incredulity, it was true. Taylor had managed to release two albums in less than half a year.

Taylor describes Evermore as a sister album to Folklore, a deeper journey into the folklorian woods. Her description is quite accurate. While Evermore could stand alone as an album separate from Folklore, the parallels between Evermore and Folklore are undeniable. Both albums stray in genre from Taylor’s older work, most of which can be described as pop or country. Both rely on the intelligence of Taylor’s co-collaborators, of which there are many.

Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon, Aaron Dessner, and William Bowery (an alias for Taylor’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn) provide both variety in musical instrumentation and style, Finally, both rely heavily on Taylor’s uncanny ability to write stories—in both albums, she masterfully composes fictional narratives that are as clever as they are compelling.

As in Folklore, there are moments of brilliance in Evermore.

Mellow piano chords open “Champagne Problems”, which tells the gripping tale of two lovers who have different expectations for their future. Resonant drums drive “Gold Rush” forward, the thumping rhythm juxtaposing with Taylor’s voice to create a quixotic song of fresh love. Wailing sirens preface the macabre tone of “No Body, No Crime”, which is an enthralling, macabre murder mystery.

But despite Evermore’s mercurial highs, its weaknesses are also apparent. Every song on Evermore is good, but some of them are forgettable. While many songs (”Champagne Problems”, “Gold

Rush”, “No Body, No Crime”, “‘Tis The Damn Season”, “Dorothea”, “Marjorie”, “Evermore”) feel quite memorable, others disappear after a few listens. While this curse is true of all of Taylor’s albums—and in general, all albums—Evermore felt particularly susceptible. At this point, Taylor has written so many songs that some of them inevitably lack the narrative energy that characterizes her best songs.

It is possible, however, that after a few months have passed, I’ll come back to the album and find that some of the songs I find unremarkable now (“Long Story Short”, “Cowboy Like Me”, “Happiness”, “Tolerate It”, “Ivy”) suddenly become new favorites. Certainly, listening to music again has led me to reconsider many of my previous opinions. For example, Reputation, an album that I once derided as overly edgy, has been a source of great joy during the pandemic. Outside of Taylor’s music, I’ve become fond of Romantic-era piano and cello pieces, music that I would never have listened to voluntarily a few years ago.

The practice of perennially revisiting music is what makes music so inherently valuable—once music is made, it exists forever, serving as a soundtrack for our emotions, a mirror for our souls. Just as we revisit Beethoven’s grand symphonies or Chopin’s intimate nocturnes, future generations will continue to listen to today’s music, searching for emotional completion. Certainly, Taylor’s intensely emotional lyrics will be savored in the years to come. In “Willow”, the opening track of Evermore, Taylor says that she “comes back stronger than a 90s trend.” Decades from now, when artificial intelligence is creating tonally perfect symphonies and driving our cars and curating our entire lives, perhaps Taylor’s music will still be as potent then—in the year 2050, hopefully her music will be fondly remembered as more than a 2010s trend.

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Regal Cinemas Loses Its Crown

By MAYA BLANCHARD

E

yes blinking to adjust from the stark fluorescent hallways of the Ithaca Mall, you stare into the sparsely lit lobby that somehow seems expansive and claustrophobia-inducing at the same time. The carpets, nauseatingly patterned and stained with unknown substances, mask the sound of your footsteps as you walk towards concessions. You’re craving some protein to energize you for the show, but will you order a hot dog today?

Not if you value your life. You settle for stale popcorn, buying the large bucket even as your wallet cries out in protest. Nearly every Ithacan has experienced the sensory confusion that is Regal Cinemas. Some might say their fondest memories stem from giggling in the dark with their friends during an awful life-action Disney remake or bawling their eyes out after Avengers: Endgame. As the only commercial theater in town, we depend on it for mainstream movies that are unavailable for viewing at Cinemapolis. But, along with everything else involving public exposure, moviegoing habits changed once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Cineworld, the parent owner of Regal Cinemas, has recently announced an indefinite closure of all United States locations.

In his article addressing the closure, Brian Crandall from the Ithaca Voice explains, “The multinational theater chain…[has] struggled to address issues raised by the COVID pandemic, since the virus spreads most readily in enclosed spaces with extended exposure, the exact sort of thing that happens when you’re watching a movie.” The pandemic, coupled with the growing prevalence of streaming services, has put all cinemas in jeopardy.

With countless delayed releases and half-filmed movies, movie theaters are losing their sole purpose of existence. “Revenue for Cineworld has fallen 70 percent in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 2019,” Crandall explains. Movies that have come out this year, such as WarnerMedia’s Wonder Woman 1984 and Pixar’s Soul, have been released on their respective streaming services for viewers to enjoy risk-free in the comfort of their own homes. With this cleaner, more comfortable alternative available, will people ever want to go back into movie theaters? Even without the threat of a pandemic, Regal was never the most sanitary place to spend two hours. If movies continue to be released on streaming services after the pandemic, it seems as if movie theaters might become obsolete.

Wondering whether the populace was truly ready to abandon movie theaters, I polled IHS students to gain insight. First I asked my peers what they missed most about going to the movies, and 60 percent of students said it was the experience of having a good time with their friends. Other people responded that they miss the general vibe of the movie theater, the chance to see new releases, or the thrill of sneaking in outside food. This made me wonder if the actual theater affected how people felt about

the movie viewing experience or if it was more about being surrounded by friends, family, and food. To answer this question, I asked what students would do if, after the pandemic, cinema companies continued to release their movies on streaming services as well as in theaters. While 40 percent of IHS students agreed that they’d have all their friends over to watch the movie at home, 60 percent responded that they’d still go out to theaters.

Even though the floor is sticky and the food is subpar, moviegoing is an integral part of American culture and the experience is not solely about the film being shown. It’s about spending pocket money on a ticket, giggling with your friends as you carry armfuls of snacks into the theater, tumbling over rows of people into your seats, and guessing how many previews will show before the lights dim and the film transports you into another world. For many people, going to the movies was a family bonding activity, and for others it was a way to escape their home life and claim independence for a night. Movie theaters hold nostalgia for a time when we could stay out late with our friends and reminisce over the experience the next day at school, or a rare moment where the whole family could get along and laugh with each other in the darkness of a theater. According to my poll, my peers and I agree that we cannot bear to lose these childhood memories. Let’s hope that the pandemic does not rob us of our movie theaters!

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SPORTS

Athlete Profile: Benjamin Ruth

By AYA OULIDA IMAGE PROVIDED

B

enjamin Ruth ‘23 has been playing baseball since he was four, starting with the Lansing Baseball Program, and he’s never let his commitment to the sport waver, even through a global pandemic. I had the chance to interview him and ask some questions, about playing baseball in general, playing through COVID-19, and what he’s learned from the experience.

Aya OULIDA ’23: Explain the basic rules of Baseball: Benjamin RUTH ’23: Baseball is a simple sport, like everyone says. Throw the ball, hit the ball, and catch the ball.

AO: What do you like most about baseball?

BR: The competitiveness between the teams creates a rush during the game, it is a competitive sport and a team sport, and it’s a mental marathon not a sprint.

Putting in the hard time and effort is the

Benjamin Ruth ’23 pitching for Baseball U NY against the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs greatest reward of all in baseball. This is a non-forgiving game, but that’s what makes it so great.

AO: Why do you play baseball?

BR: Baseball brings families together. It is amazing to be around friends and teammates, most of the friends I’ve made are from baseball. Baseball creates a strong bond that lasts for life.

AO: What are three traits a leader should have or develop?

BR: A leader should have dependability, they should be able to respect their players and understand their struggle within and without the sport. A leader should also have commitment to the game and to the team, while also putting in the time and effort to better themselves as a player and as a leader.

AO: What are three traits that a teammate should have?

BR: A teammate should be able to communicate, asking for help is very important. Commitment to the team and to the sport is the biggest factor to develop as a player. With no commitment to the sport, you can’t better yourself at your greatest weakness, and then you become the anchor of the team. If a teammate doesn’t show commitment, you won’t be able to help the team play. Having faith is another key value, being able to believe in yourself is the first step as an athlete to improve as a player.

AO: What are three traits a coach should have?

BR: A coach should have experience within the sport, whether having a highschool career, or a college career. Whatever it might be, it will allow a coach to develop his players to the next level. I feel the biggest trait that a coach needs to have is to be able to communicate with his players. My highschool coaches, Cameron and Amato, know what happens in and

ARTS

out of the sport, whether it be an event I went to or how I did on my Algebra exam.

AO: How has your sport created who you are today?

BR: Baseball has taught me many life lessons: it taught me to be committed and put in time and work because with time, people will start to notice your efforts. The greatest thing that baseball has given me and taught me is the friendships and the community that I build around this sport will last forever. Having the bond of baseball is one thing that will never get old.

AO: How have your supporters helped you in your baseball career and progress as a person?

BR: Coaches, such as Coach Fazio from Ithaca College, and Bryan Gaal from Baseball U, and my family, have helped me stay focused and to continue to develop as a player. All the skill sets that I have learned have come from these Coaches and many more.

They also taught me life values. Mainly, when you get pushed down, you have to get right back up.

AO: Has COVID-19 affected your season? If so how?

BR: Covid has hit our season pretty hard, it has taken away our spring season and most of the summer season. The restrictions that were put in place to keep us safe were very helpful. The rules included wearing masks while entering the baseball field, staying 6 feet apart, and every half an inning, there would be a new clean ball that the opposing team had not yet touched.

AO: How have you developed as an athlete during quarantine?

BR: If you have a chance to do something and get better at it, even if it doesn’t seem like it will make a big change in how you perform, take that chance, It will help you. I used the time in quarantine to physically and mentally improve my skill set in baseball. During quarantine, I was able to spend more time with family to improve my throwing techniques. Taking the time you have for granted can cause people to push ahead of you and cause you to trail behind. If you have time given to you, you should take it. Instead of sitting down and watching The Office for an hour straight, go outside and work on your athletic ability. I’m not saying you can’t relax, but that extra work you put in, someday it will pay off.

AO: What changed about your season this year due to COVID-19?

BR: There hasn’t been much change to the sport, the only big difference that I have noticed is the umpire has moved back behind the pitcher’s mound.

AO: Do you think things will go back to normal?

BR: Yes, I think that baseball will go back to normal pretty quickly because this is not a contact sport, we are well more than 6 feet away. Also, if needed, umpires can wear masks when behind the plate calling the game. When the vaccine is found, the only “big” change that will happen is we will finally be able to be in the dug-

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out with our team mates.

AO: What quote has pushed you to persevere in baseball?

BR: Head coach at TC3, Billy Crowe, said, “Excuses are the nails that build the house of failure,” Don’t make excuses and if you do you won’t be able to work and if you can’t work you won’t play, and if you don’t play then you lose your love for the game.

AO: What is good advice you have for athletes during this time?

BR: Stay mentally and physically strong, you have to push through and keep working, keep the love of the game, find a way to keep pushing through the changes that are made because of covid.

AO: Who are your role models and why?

BR: William Ruth: William is the person that pushes me most in life, as a ball player and as a person. I see him everyday getting up at 6 in the morning to go lift at the YMCA, just so he can play baseball later in life. He has that personality that just makes you want to work even harder. Also, Holden Lazarus ’20 and Andrew Alise ’20: Holden and Andrew might be the best baseball players I have ever seen in my life so far. Seeing them succeed so much in this sport, makes me want to be as good as they are. These are hard shoes to fill, but I am trying everyday to get closer to that goal.

AO: What is your favorite baseball team?

BR: I have been a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan. Ever since I went to my first MLB (Major League Baseball) game at Turner Field, I fell in love.

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ARTS

The New Year: A Calendrical Playlist

By SAM SACHS

A

few months ago, I realized that a good number of songs I regularly listen to have the names of months in their titles, and are about that month in some capacity. This sparked the idea: a playlist of 12 songs, one per month, in calendar order, representing the year. It’s a little late now and although it feels like years of 2021 have already passed, think of this hour of music as a way to bring in the new year—hopefully a slightly better one than 2020. I already knew about half of the songs, and discovered the others through research, but I love them all, and I think you will too.

January: “January Wedding”—The Avett Brothers I’ve subconsciously known this song forever, thanks to my parents.

While it doesn’t really match the cold that’s often associated with January, the song evokes light reflecting on snow and the fresh start of a year’s beginning. The song, as the early lyrics describe, is simple but beautiful.

February: “February/Stars”—Darlingside This song is an awesome manifestation of Darlingside’s mood— chill indie folk with calm sounds but catchy melodies. It’s also a great embodiment of February and its emotions. I particularly love the difference between the first and second halves of the song, and the way they stand apart while still remaining congruous.

March: “Late March, Death March”—Frightened Rabbit We know that March in Ithaca can be… well, not very nice. It’s still dark and cold, but wetter, although definitely not spring yet. This song, maybe more than any of the others listed, is a classic indie rock song, with electric guitars and bass and drums and everything.

This conveys the nastiness of March, but in a way that’s quite nice and even somewhat anthemic. I think it’s extremely catchy, and it’s my favorite discovery I made for this playlist. This song bangs.

April: “April Fools”—Rufus Wainwright Talk about a killer chorus. “April Fools” is an awesome earworm with fun lyrics. If you’re not singing along by the end or at least nodding your head, you must have the wrong song. This is how it feels when spring really comes. Rufus Wainwright’s flat-out strange voice and the little electronic sounds make it a song you’ve never heard before, but one I suspect you’ll come back and listen to again.

May: “Third of May / Ōdaigahara”—Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes also fits into the indie folk sound, with choral harmonies and plenty of great guitar parts. I know it’s eight minutes long and there are some weird parts, but their sound is just so nice. Live in the space of it.

June: “June Hymn”—The Decemberists “June Hymn” is a wonderful song by one of my favorite bands. The instrumentation, especially the harmonica, gives this song a perfect early summer feeling. When I listen to it, I hear light, bright foliage and picnics.

July: “Fourth of July”—Sufjan Stevens

If there was an award for saddest song… If you don’t already know Carrie and Lowell, Sufjan Stevens’ masterpiece of an album, go check it out, but this track alone is so serene and powerful even on its own. Listen with your eyes closed.

August: “august”—Taylor Swift If you see the name Taylor Swift and are immediately turned away—I get it. That used to be me. Then I picked up 2020’s “folklore.” I try to refrain from using the word “vibe” to describe music, but of all the songs on this list, this one deserves it. It has impeccable august vibes.

September: “Pale September”—Fiona Apple What is the genre of this song (or of Fiona Apple in general)? No one knows, but it doesn’t matter. The semi-orchestral arrangement, steady piano, and floaty vocals have a strange but pleasant effect, and while it doesn’t quite feel like the beginning of school, the song perfectly illustrates the changing September weather.

October: “October”—Broken Bells “October” is another song with a classic indie-rock sound, which fits the height of fall oh-so-well. This song conjures images of walking through colored leaves in crisp air, the picturesque fall we always seem to have for at least a week or so. The groove is undeniably great—enjoy listening to it.

November: “November”—Gabriel Kahane Gabriel Kahane is known for his indie rock/folk/classical style that nobody else totally shares, and you can hear it in this song.

It’s about the 2016 presidential election in a roundabout way, and the semi-classical piano part meshes well with Kahane’s soft tenor, telling the story of a train ride he took.

December: “If We Make it Through December”—Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Bridgers is a relatively new artist to me, but her songwriting and sound are just incredible. Yes, this is a cover of an old country song by Merle Haggard, so Phoebe’s tremendous lyrical craft is not on display, but her soft and devastating voice is powerful nonetheless. Despite all the excitement of December (a break from school, holidays, etc.), this song captures some of the darker but calm feelings of the period—those of endings, the coming cold, and the darkest time of year.

Bonus Track: “The New Year”—Death Cab for Cutie Now if you’re like me, you end your playlist on a downer. If you’re not like me, here you go. The song that gives this playlist its name is an explosive little piece of alt-rock featuring the minorly strange (and arguably somewhat iconic) voice of Ben Gibbard, Death Cab for Cutie’s frontman, with a simple, yet eloquent song about the ever-complicating world. I don’t need to detail the prescience of this message in today’s world, and we can only hope to take Gibbard’s energy into the months ahead of us. We’ll need it.

Scan for the playlist (at the top of the page), and follow me on Spotify at “Tsar Mixolydian.”

LITERARY

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Writing Prompts

By Adowyn Ernste • Write a somber poem about clutter, trinkets, and broken things.

• Set a timer for three minutes to create a character or story premise. Develop the idea as much as possible in the limited time frame using whatever comes to mind in the moment.

• Write a short story from the perspective of water (in any phase or form).

• Go onto Google Earth and click the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button to transport yourself to a random location on Earth.

Use either the photos or description of this location to create a setting.

• Create a fable or myth that ends with an oddly specific moral or explanation about the world.

• Write a poem about a half-formed thought.

• Imagine if humans never forgot a single moment in their

lives, from birth until death. Would this be a utopia or a dystopia? Write the story.

• Create a tense final scene of a drama, and then destroy the tension at the most climactic moment.

• Find a writing prompt or story starter (either on this list or elsewhere) that you consider to be generic or uninspiring, and now use it to make something exquisite.

• Compose a Minute Poem, a short rhyming poem with 60 total syllables.

• 3 stanzas, 20 syllables per stanza • 4 lines per stanza (total of 12 lines) • 8 syllables in the first line • 4 syllables each in lines 2-4 • The rhyme scheme is aabb, ccdd, eeff.

• Strict iambic meter (every other syllable is stressed)

February Haiku Contest This month’s winner:

1/6/21

By Alice Burke They attack Congress Raise the Confederate flag Our country bleeding

A Breath of Fresh Air

By Anna Cohen A whisper of wind tells me a secret: allow the fog to lift. Breathe.

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LITERARY

I: Transcendental

II: Tigers

By Raia Gutman

By Raia Gutman

Above the forest floor, see the trees.

The trees, under a clouded sky, Stretching like hands, stretching toward What to them is so true Their roots are firm; They trust in Heaven And Heaven knows Trees have Faith.

We used to dig up plastic in the Garden. Wolves, donkeys, and tigers.

Little hands tired of playing, From porch to backyard, such Shallow graves for the Plastic tigers.

We found them The years Later.

III: Caricature

IV: Honestly

By Raia Gutman

By Raia Gutman

I am a Venus figurine more Than a woman. I am more of A tuxedo than a man.

I am the evening gown Without the husband, The chivalry Without the Male, male Gaze.

I would like you to know that no, you Should not stand so close. Not because Of covid but because I Honestly, with little Remorse, I do not Like you very Much at All.

V: Boiler

By Raia Gutman Our boiler forsook us on Wednesday.

Now I wonder about morphemes.

No showers for now, again.

Is :) a syllable?

No hot water :(.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you worry, Most poems Are senseLess.

Santo Stefano

By Louisa Miller-Out They watched us from the central tower We crept, for fear of being caught But now the cries of battle Drown out our secret plot No one guards the grim Panopticon Time to rise Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all Gone

LITERARY

Castellammare

By Louisa Miller-Out The word “Vesuvius” evokes images of lava spurting from a massive volcanic crater, people running in terror and succumbing to the suffocating clouds of ash that descended on the city of Pompeii in 79 CE. Lesser known is the town of Herculaneum, a locale similarly destroyed by the wrath of Vesuvius. But hardly anyone mentions the once-buried towns of Oplontis and Stabiae. They’ve been almost eclipsed. These forgotten places are time capsules full of drama and intrigue, if one knows where to look.

The class wandered through the sweltering heat, hardly able to focus on what the tour guide was saying about Villa San Marco. Giovanna’s girlfriend Paola whispered in her ear—a halfhearted proposal to sneak off to the air-conditioned comfort of their hotel room. As Giovanna considered the idea, the guide was leading them into the atrium of an Augustan mansion.

Her thoughts trailed off at the mesmerizing sight. Gentle sunlight streamed through a cubic tunnel in the ceiling, which was supported by four fluted pillars. The ruins had been almost impeccably preserved by volcanic ash—Giovanna could make out colorful pictures worked into the plaster of the walls. It was as if she had stepped over the threshold into another epoch, squeezed through the aperture in an ancient camera oscura.

The heat was hardly noticeable anymore.

Over their weeklong trip to mainland Italy from their Sardinian hometown, Giovanna and her friends had become almost jaded about ancient architecture—they’d been incessantly bombarded with crumbling buildings and raving tour guides—but there was something about the obscure town of Castellammare di Stabia, something refreshing, something that resonated in your ears and drowned out everything else.

Giovanna didn’t notice when the tour guide stopped talking and gave them permission to explore the Villa San Marco independently—Paola had to nudge her out of her reverie. The girls and a few other classmates strolled in and out of the rooms in a talkative cluster, but Giovanna eventually fell behind. Hardly anyone noticed—she was too enthralled to contrib-

ute much to the conversation anyway. She lingered in a room with bench seats and a loom, recalling from her Classical History class that Roman girls had to spend lots of time engaged in weaving. How ironic, she thought to herself. I’ve been educated about things that women like me used to do in lieu of education. A familiar fresco on the far wall caught her eye—a golden-haired woman and a raucously flapping white bird. Giovanna marveled that despite being nearly two millennia old, the piece was easily recognizable as Leda and the Swan. But something about the fresco was distinctly upsetting. In most depictions of the myth that Giovanna had seen, Leda was looking lovingly at the swan. Here, her expression was distraught and she had turned away defiantly from the aggressive bird. As Giovanna pondered why the inhabitants of Villa San Marco would commission such a candid and unconventional illustration, evoking the woman’s pain and fear, the tour guide called out for everyone to reconvene. She found her way back to the atrium and left with her classmates.

That night, Giovanna lay next to Paola in their hotel room overlooking the sea.

She was on the precipice of sleep, wishing she could join her girlfriend in the realm of dreams, when someone knocked on the door. It sounded like knuckles on glass, not wood. Someone’s out on the balcony, thought Giovanna, but maybe it’s just my imagination. She pulled the covers up higher and shut her eyes tighter, but then another knock cut through the silence. Giovanna knew it was stupid and dangerous to answer, but curiosity overpowered her. Heart beating, she got up, grabbed her pepper spray from the nightstand, and crossed to the balcony door.

She eased it open, half expecting some burly, masked aggressor. Instead, her eyes fell upon a trembling woman loosely wrapped in white fabric, her golden hair disheveled and soaking wet. “I’m so sorry to bother you at this hour, but I’m all alone and I don’t know where to go,” she whispered in a strange yet distantly familiar accent. “Can you help me?”

Giovanna nodded and let her in. She could see white feathers floating in the puddles of briny water on the floor.

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LITERARY

Wrapped Gut

By Zeke Lawrence I listen to music, alone in my room, Waiting for my thoughts to bloom.

It’s from the Renaissance, And I know what you’ll assume: This kid’s been living in a 400 year old tomb.

I love the slide of the sackbut, The lute’s frets with wrapped gut, It’s like that, but My brains I rack, but I can’t find the words.

My gut is wrapped Anytime someone disses my music.

It pierces my heart, I can’t begin to start, My world falls apart, I need a restart, And then I say to myself, “Yeah it’s still a fine art.”

We explore, You explore, I implore You to find Your music, Your truth, And not hate others If your tastes aren’t the same.

Don’t blame, Don’t shame, Don’t claim That your music is the best.

It’s just the name of the game.

For an audio version, scan the QR code below.

Pictures of Dreams

By Lily Grover I can spin With my feet on the ground My head in the sky And I feel like I am falling Tumbling down Without moving.

I can swim Through the clouds Surrounded by blue And fish that fly too But roots pull me down To the ground.

I can swing Through the branches Made of steel And cold metal My feet drag through water Frozen and powder.

I can speed Down a mountain Cold and exciting And land in a meadow Soft And inviting.

I can stay In this realm Of dry water And cold fire But never forever For that shall never come.

PENULTIMATE

35

Surrealio

By Ethan Carlson

February Sudoku

December Solution

The Coolness Spectrum How Does Your Morning Start? Perhaps This Horoscope Can Find Out!

Cool February Break

GME Stonks (To the Moon!)

By Ethan Carlson Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18): You do have an alarm set, but admittedly snooze it at least three times before actually getting up.

Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20): You keep having vivid dreams that you want to tell someone about, but you forget them by the time you go downstairs.

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19): You always wake up shivering because you keep throwing your blankets off when you’re asleep.

Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20): You wake up and have a nice conversation with your sleep paralysis demon.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Sprinting to the bathroom because you held it in since 4 am.

Cancer (June 21 - Jul 22): You change your clothes while still in bed because you hate the cold.

Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 22): “My mouth is dryer than my skin…

How?” Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22): You go brush your teeth, but not for nearly as long as you should.

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22): You pull out your phone, before you even open your eyes.

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21): Mindlessly stuffing food into your mouth before rushing to class.

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21): Mostly consists of you staring at the ceiling since 3 am.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19): “Ha, joke’s on you! I don’t get up until 12 pm!”

Federal Prisons no longer privatized

No more subject tests!

(Only) Halfway through the school year

Quarantine Valentines’ Day

AP Exams

Lack of mask police in school

Inefficient vaccine rollout

Uncool