May 2021

IHS TATTLER MAY 2021 | VOL. 128 | NO. 9

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 | NEWS

Haven’t We Been Through Enough?

BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL BOARD

J

ust as IHS students looked on hopefully toward the beginning of Spring Break two weeks ago, many noticed a significant shift in teachers’ homework policy from the beginning of the year: more classes seemed to have become quite comfortable with the idea of assigning homework over break, despite the precedent that had previously been set by the district. Simply put, this apparent change fails to take into account the underlying circumstances behind students’ greatly altered schedules and priorities this year.

When students and members of the workforce alike hear the word “vacation,” their ears inevitably prick up. A vacation is meant to be a time of rest, relaxation, and renewal. Periodic vacations are highly beneficial to the mental and physical health of hardworking members of society, young, old, and everything in between. Some would say such respites are even necessary. And yet, when students at IHS go on vacation, we can hardly ever expect a stress-free break. All too often, we begin thinking about our homework as soon as the final bell rings. Even if we’re being whisked away to a tropical paradise or planning to spend time with our beloved family, we still have to worry about fulfilling our academic obligations.

Back in the early days of remote instruction, teachers were told that ICSD was planning to greatly limit the amount of homework given to students over breaks. The district cited concerns with technical difficulties, increased family responsibilities for many students during the pandemic, mental health, and the idea of break as a time for students to unwind and recharge for the coming week. Such concerns were entirely valid in many respects - the rapid transition to Canvas and remote learning would naturally result in complications for many students in a regular year, let alone one in which a global health crisis and economic recession caused discord and uncertainty for households across the nation. Whether it was during our first snow days or our long-awaited Winter Break in December, the message was clear: teachers would be advised not to assign full-length homework assignments during break, and those who did would be few and far between any given student’s schedule.

However, after a full year of online learning, several classes have opted to pile assignment after assignment onto their students during a period specifically designed, at least in theory, for students to wind down and recoup their studious energy for the quarter ahead. Perhaps this was simply due to the imminent

end of the third quarter; perhaps it was just negligence on certain teachers’ part; or, as has often been the case in the past, it might be that many instructors perceive break as an open slot on students’ calendars - one in which they are free to pack as many assignments as can fit within twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

This onslaught of work is all in spite of the fact that many of the district’s concerns from the first semester have not subsided in any way. Although more students are available to attend in-person classes now and the vaccine rollout has fortunately been steadily underway in Tompkins County, the chief consequences from the end of the world last year—responsibilities, mental health, the need for students to unwind—have not become any less prominent by any metric. Even after the pandemic comes to its long-awaited curtain call and sees itself out in the coming months, this superficial change will not change the fact that students’ productivity and mental health have long been negatively impacted by the simple lack of unoccupied time slots in our schedule throughout our high school years.

All of this does not even take into account the negative impacts of prolonged screen time, as break homework requires that students sit in front of a screen for even more hours per day, without a spark of hope of escape from our blue light ocular prison. Screen time has already drastically increased to the realm of ten to twelve hours per day with online classes and homework; depriving students of the one (1) week in which they are free to experience the world in a format other than pixels undoubtedly has a large impact on the attentiveness, drive, and motivation of students throughout the rest of the year. This may be beneficial for the eyeglasses and migraine pill industries, but the well-being of an entire generation of students hopefully ranks slightly above the district’s list of priorities than the entirely irrelevant Q1 earnings report of Luxottica.

Given both the continued impact of online learning and the ever-persistent cycle of leisure-deprived students resulting in low productivity and academic vigor, it is our belief that teachers should refrain from or strictly limit the assignment of homework over break. The marginal benefit gained from one additional problem set or break project is vastly outweighed by the marginal cost of a lost week for students. The invaluable experience of getting to breathe fresh air for a week in high school is one that simply cannot be recovered once lost.

Admissions To Prestigious Universities Is Unsurprisingly Difficult

By JINHO PARK and ADAM SAAR

3.4,

4.6, 3.6—these are the acceptance rates for Harvard, Yale, and Columbia from the 20202021 college admissions cycle. These accep-

tance rates are astoundingly low, even in comparison to previous years (Harvard, for example, had its acceptance rate drop from 5.6 to 3.4, a 31 percent decrease). To internalize the dif-

NEWS

Staff 2020 – 2021 Editor-in-Chief

Anna Westwig ’21 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

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ficulty of a three percent acceptance rate, try flipping a coin five times in a row; the chance of getting five consecutive heads is around three percent.

To make matters worse, applicants to top schools are often a self-selecting pool of qualified students. In other words, most students applying to top schools would probably fit in if accepted. The problem, though, is that there are limited spaces for a surfeit of qualified students.

Consequently, admissions rates have become milk percentages. While admissions to prestigious institutions has always been difficult, it has never been more difficult than it is today.

In the 2020-2021 admissions year, the number of applications to prestigious universities increased dramatically. For instance, according to the Wall Street Journal, the restrictive early action round at Harvard and Yale received 57 and 38 percent more applications than last year, respectively. This change is similarly mirrored at other top institutions—every university in the Ivy League reported a higher number of applicants during each application cycle this year.

Amidst this drastic increase in applications, the number of individual applicants applying to college this year barely increased—by just under two percent. What turned the system on its head was an 11 percent increase in individual applications sent to universities, meaning that roughly the same number of students applied to significantly more colleges. This created an overflow of applications at each individual university, yet with much higher uncertainty over whether these students were determined to attend a given university, or whether they were just shotgunning—the practice of applying to a large number of reach schools in the hope of getting in somewhere.

This stark increase in applications can be partially attributed to the test-optional policies most renowned universities adopted for the 2020-21 admissions cycle to accomodate for the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. By allowing students to submit an application without SAT or ACT scores, colleges opened the door to those unable to take the tests due to the pandemic and those without test preparation resources to apply to universities

that previously would have been deemed out of reach. However, the path towards test-optional had been started long before the pandemic. As they recognized that standardized test scores are as much of a reflection of a student’s family income as it is their academic aptitude, colleges nearly universally dropped the requirement for the writing supplements that accompany the SAT and ACT, and valued students’ test scores less.

By going test-optional, prestigious colleges have fully embraced a holistic admissions process, in which they seek to evaluate people, not numerical scores. While the change to test-optional is novel, the trend toward a holistic evaluation is certainly not; elite universities have overlooked test scores in favor of extracurricular passions, life experiences, and other unique talents for decades.

The test-optional policy, more holistic admissions, and the drastic increase in applicants created an admissions cycle in which thousands of similarly qualified applicants in the forms of transcripts and essays fought for only a few hundred spots on the desks of overwhelmed admissions officers. In the end, an all-time high majority of applicants received rejection letters, while waitlists were also larger than ever before, leaving students feeling cheated—asking themselves if their years of hard work and carefully crafted applications were worth it—and even more convinced of the random nature of the whole process.

Admission into a prestigious university is difficult—the milk-percentage-esque admissions rates confirm that. As a result, it’s certainly an incredible accomplishment to get into a prestigious school. But behind every application (regardless of whether it turns out to be an acceptance or a rejection), there is an incredible student—someone who displayed devout diligence in their academic accomplishments, fervent curiosity in their extracurricular passions, and heartwarming compassion in their service to the community. While there may not be enough space in the Ivy League for each outstanding student, there is certainly enough space in the world—and their value cannot be compared to mere pixelated confetti on an admissions portal.

Distribution Manager Mollie Abelson ’21 distribution@ihstattler.com Archivist Raia Gutman ’22 archivist@ihstattler.com Faculty Advisor Deborah Lynn advisor@ihstattler.com

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 May 14 to be included in the June 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.

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NEWS

Local Asian-American Groups Volunteer to Distribute Food

By KATIE LIN

O

n Sunday, April 18, the Ithaca Asian-American Association (IAAA) hosted a food distribution event in downtown Ithaca, at Shortstop Deli. An impressive number of volunteers from both the IAAA and IHS’s own new club, the Asian-American and Allies Council (AAAC), gathered to set up tables and unload cardboard boxes of packaged food, about 9000 pounds in total. The boxes contained potatoes, onions, milk, seasoned chicken, and more. Dedicated volunteers distributed the food, part of the United States Department of Agriculture Farmers to Families program, to a large line of cars and people in need.

IHS AAPI volunteers signed up through the AAAC, co-founded by passionate students Evelyn Kim ‘21 and Grace Lim ‘23.

When asked how they were inspired to establish the club, both discussed the recent rise in anti-Asian racism across the US: “All throughout our lives we’ve been experiencing this. The recent uptick, like the Atlanta shooting and other crimes in general against Asian people just because we’re Asian… that kind of triggered this nationwide awareness. AAPI have been going through racism our entire lives, and we just felt really passionate about spreading awareness. We really want to see change now, and we’re done being silent about this. We need to see change happen—and no one else is gonna do it for us,” says Kim. Lim elaborates, referencing the ten percent of Ithaca City School District students who are Asian and the importance of raising awareness: “Especially in IHS, that’s where we can start. The administration and our Board of Education need some assistance beginning this conversation, and we, Asian-American students and allies, can do just that.”

In response to the event, Kim and Lim both expressed gratitude and excitement. Kim notes, “It was amazing, great turnout, so many volunteers from IHS, and we’re so grateful for that. We had a lot of people come for food—I think it was like 458 boxes that we gave away.” After the initial rush, volunteers were also able to walk food boxes across the street to the Salvation Army for those in need. The teamwork among the organizers and volunteers was clear, as the group directed traffic, made signs, and communicated with each other to ensure everything flowed smoothly.

Lim highlights, “Thank you to everyone who volunteered as well as the IAAA for hosting and organizing this community event. We appreciate everything that our community and our own students at IHS are doing to raise awareness about anti-Asian racism.” In terms of important information, pamphlets were also distributed to provide details on how and where to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and the Ithaca Dragon Boat Club, and an illustration emphasizing how the virus has no nationality was displayed.

When asked if the AAAC plans to volunteer and help out at more events like the food distribution, Kim and Lim were certain. Lim says, “For me, this event was like the start. This year, the IAAA organization is hosting a mural painting, so we’re planning to help with that, as well as a film festival at IHS to spread awareness. Through these events, we hope that our school and the greater community will understand and learn about students’

IMAGES BY EVELYN KIM

A table with food boxes, featuring a “virus has no nationality” sign

IAAA, Ithaca, and Lansing volunteers at Short Stop Deli Top row: Anna Fulbright ‘23, Palzom Lhamo ‘23, Alicia Fulbright ‘23 Middle row: Benjamin Nathbheem ‘21, Victor Teng ‘21, Xuyan Dong ‘22, Andrew Lim ‘21, Evelyn Kim ‘21, Katie Lin ‘22, Elise Nishii-Kim ‘22, Jordan Sieverding ‘23 Front Row: Grace Lim ‘23

experiences being Asian-American.” Kim, who will be attending Ithaca’s own Cornell University in the fall, notes, “Definitely. At Cornell, I’m planning on joining the Asian and Asian-American Center, and I also want to keep working with the community and organizations on issues related to social justice in general. That’s such an important topic to me, and I hope I keep being involved in these events and organizations.”

The AAAC hopes to provide a safe space where AAPI students can share their personal experiences, and facilitate important discussions around how to address anti-Asian hate in Ithaca and IHS. Similarly, the IAAA continues to do great work for the local community—to find out more details, visit their website for information about their organization and essential resources.

NEWS

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The Disturbing Wave of Anti-Trans Legislation

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT (Content Warning: This article contains mentions of transphobia and suicide.)

T

hough 2021 is far from over, this year marks the highest number of anti-transgender bills in history. These bills, many of which target children and youth, have been introduced in 28 states as of this writing, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Most seek to either bar trans people from sports or restrict access to gender-affirming health care. This unprecedented onslaught of anti-transgender legislation is evidence that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is far from over.

In March 2021, Mississippi governor Tate Reeves signed a law banning transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports in the state’s public schools and colleges. A similar anti-trans sports bill was approved in Tennessee, relegating students to play on sports teams corresponding to their assigned sex at birth. That same month, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson codified the ironically-named “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which revokes the right of trans girls and women to participate in sports that are consistent with their gender identity.

Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights are concerned that these bills disregard the fact that one’s gender identity does not always match the sex they were assigned at birth. In addition, the sex on one’s birth certificate may be completely incongruous with their current state of mind and body. LGBTQ+ advocates also point out that such blatantly discriminatory legislation assumes that trans women are not “real” women, invalidating their identity. Moreover, most of these laws take effect beginning in elementary school, a particularly tender time in the lives of children learning to accept themselves. Discriminatory treatment so early in life could have profound negative effects on trans children’s self-esteem and mental health.

These bills are only the tip of the iceberg, as almost 50 such restrictions on transgender female athletes’ participation in sports have been introduced this year alone. Sports bans specifically targeting trans youth have drawn heavy criticism from college athletes, hundreds of whom are now demanding that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) pull championships from states who vote to implement anti-trans legislation. The NCAA itself has since expressed that they can only hold championships in “locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination,” in a statement issued shortly before the Florida House of Representatives was set to discuss a bill forcing trans athletes to compete on the team of their assigned sex at birth. The NCAA also opposed Idaho’s shortlived anti-trans sports ban last year, which was quickly overturned by a federal district court.

Besides barring trans people from equal participation in sports, new legislation seeks to restrict their access to gender-affirming health care. Against medical advice from the Endocrine Society

IMAGE FROM ABC NEWS

and the American Academy of Pediatrics, several states are seeking to criminalize the use of puberty blockers for children under 16 and hormone replacement therapy for those over 16, even with parental consent. The Arkansas Senate has already voted to approve one such bill, which would remove access to gender-affirming treatment to trans people under the age of 18. The representative who proposed the bill, Robin Lundstrum, stated that trans people “may choose to be transgender when they’re older.” However, according to the American Psychological Association and leading neurobiologists and physiologists, being trans is not a choice. The instigators of anti-trans legislation seemingly lack basic knowledge of the science of gender identity. This ignorance is not an issue to be taken lightly.

Protesters stand up against anti-trans legislation in Alabama

Access to gender-affirming care is not only a major human rights issue, but one of life and death. For trans youth living with gender dysphoria, the severe distress produced when one’s assigned sex does not match their innate gender identity, puberty blockers and hormone therapy can significantly reduce their mental discomfort and risk of suicide. A 2020 study published in the esteemed journal Pediatrics found that those who had access to puberty blockers during adolescence had lower odds of considering suicide than those who did not, while attempts to force trans people to conform to their assigned sex at birth resulted in a higher risk of suicidal thoughts. According to Raquel Willis, a Black trans activist and author, “Affirming health care can literally be life or death for anyone, but particularly for trans youth. People think you can just discipline identity out of someone and that is not true and in many ways is torture.”

The recent surge of anti-transgender legislation has been a source of distress and fear for members of the trans community as well as their loved ones. Trans rights advocates lament that so many state governments are pursuing regressive policies, but posit that this conservative backlash could be a reaction to advances towards equality. Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David stated, “In a year that has taken a toll on each and every one of us, it is shocking that anti-equality extremists in state legislatures across this country have dedicated an unprecedented amount of time and energy to attacking the LGBTQ community and particularly LGBTQ youth. The furious pace of these bills shows that hateful anti-equality groups across the country and extremist legislators alike realize that equality is gaining momentum.” David and others retain hope that the attempted repeal of trans rights and freedoms will be overcome by the changing tide towards true equality, liberty, and justice for all.

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OPINION

Distance Learning at IHS: Taking the Right Step Forward

By RAIA GUTMAN Editor’s Note: This article was written in response to an opinion article, “Distance Learning at IHS: A Clear-Eyed Assessment and a Call to Action,” featured in the March issue of The Tattler.

I

n March, an opinion article entitled, “Distance Learning at IHS: A Clear-Eyed Assessment and a Call to Action,’’ was published in The Tattler. It offered a scathing critique of the structure of this school year, particularly the format of distance learning and new IHS policies. Above all, the article was informed by a limited perspective representing only the most high-achieving, well-equipped, college-minded students—not nearly the majority of the student population of the school. To this end, the authors’ critique was apt: the pandemic-era model does fall short of academically challenging the most high-achieving students in some areas. But the purpose of the public education system, ICSD’s Culture of Love, and the reforms that the pandemic has prompted are not to solely provide for these students, not even to place their academic needs above others. To hear the authors define the goal of secondary education in general as “preparing students for fulfilling future employment” is frankly disappointing.

As a student who has been on an accelerated track since middle school, I know the consequences of being underchallenged and under-engaged. However, these concerns, which most often affect students from affluent, highly-educated families, should not take precedence over the very real equity issues that prevent students from lower-income backgrounds from achieving the same kind of success. The district’s pandemic policies are in line with this perspective and hope to effect the academic survival and overall well-being of disadvantaged students to the extent a school district can. With this pressing need at the forefront, the students who come from advantaged backgrounds, whether they acknowledge this or not, should not expect ICSD to prioritize their need for more demanding classes and advanced tracks.

In this article, I will address the points argued by the authors of “Distance Learning at IHS: A Clear-Eyed Assessment and a Call to Action” and voice my concerns about their implications for the development of pandemic-era education policies, as well as for students’ attitudes toward those policies. In my view, any piece reacting to policies made specifically to further equity must take an approach that examines how these new policies, in addition to traditional outlooks on education, affect each demographic at IHS. Cameras are not required.

It is true that the lack of visual engagement in online classes is unfortunate. However, as long as in-person faces cannot be seen, and the issues of body image, self-esteem, socio-economic disparity, and ever-present comparison to one’s peers plague teenagers, student choice in this matter must be the deciding factor. It is necessary that school policies reflect respect for students’ unique circumstances in all areas. Requiring cameras to

be turned on in online classes would be an unnecessary, punitive measure that shows no such respect. Instead, teachers could recommend students change their profile picture to something that represents their interests, which may even spark conversations and create social connections during class.

Class participation is not required.

In most, if not all, classes at IHS, participation is both an expectation and a criterion for grading. Although participation takes different forms when school is online, it is a component of each class. The levels to which teachers enforce it, mainly by way of subtracting points, vary. Anyone, but particularly high school students, would be naive to suggest that the act of declaring something “mandatory” or “weighted” makes students more likely to fulfil their end of the bargain. Classroom engagement does not come from the inclusion of participation as a deciding factor in whether a student succeeds or struggles. Instead, it is a continued process that results from both teachers and students, and it is certainly more difficult to produce now than ever. Nevertheless, many of the students who do not participate will not feel compelled to participate once it holds greater weight in their grade. They will simply see their grades drop.

Late assignments are not penalized.

A student may hand in assignments late (or not at all) for a myriad of reasons. Some of these reasons stem from inequity, such as poor internet or the responsibility to work to support the family, but others are just as valid. A student who is unengaged or simply does not know how to complete the assignment should not be punished for these shortcomings. Penalizing students for their mistakes, including handing in work late or incomplete, does not fulfill the goal of creating higher achievement. It is a common misconception that students will be motivated to improve when they receive a poor grade. Instead, grades injure students’ confidence and reinforce an already common view that achieving high grades is extremely difficult or impossible. This is not the way we should be awarding grades if we want to see growth. Instead of numerical grades, the focus must be on written and verbal feedback, opportunities for support, and classroom engagement that goes beyond strictly graded assignments.

Failing grades and incomplete assignments are masked by “safety net” measures.

There is no blame to be had in observing a decline in the rigor of one’s schoolwork and seeking to find a solution. In fact, it is the mark of a driven, inquisitive student. However, approaching this problem with the end goal of getting grades up is misguided. Grades are not a foolproof indication of learning or of progress. Meeting students’ needs goes beyond showing them failing

OPINION

grades that unnecessarily range from zero to 65. In fact, providing opportunities for students to fall further and further behind in terms of numerical grades is antithetical to the district’s goal for this school year: to get everyone back on track, regardless of inequities that the pandemic has exposed.

Books have been replaced with “manageable” short articles; thoughtful analysis has been replaced with students’ immediate, emotional reactions and impressions; long-term research and writing projects have been replaced with extemporaneous discussion.

I conducted a small-scale poll on my Instagram story to find out if my classmates had the same experience as me. 51 out of the 55 IHS students who responded to the question, “How has the pandemic/online school affected your focus?” answered, “It’s harder for me to focus.” Two students stated that they can focus better now, and another two stated that the pandemic has had no impact on their ability to focus. Despite the small sample size, it can be reasonably inferred that the overwhelming majority of students have seen their focus wane. Thus, reading long chapters of thick books has become a more difficult task, one that a student who knows they will not be able to focus long enough to complete may not even attempt.

Apart from the difficulty of transporting books from the school library to students’ houses, the motive behind the receding use of physical books is clear, and it is in line with students’ realities.

What may have already been a difficult task before screens dominated our lives has become even more grueling. As fun as reading books is for those of us who engage in it as a hobby, it can feel labored, extraneous, and hopeless. The words swim before one’s eyes, all blending together, forming a whirlpool of boredom. It is not ICSD’s job to force this upon students in hopes of transferring to them a valuable skill simply by exposure. Assigning long readings in print books does not teach students to enjoy reading. Short articles are much more likely to be engaging in topic and style, and they give students the satisfaction of focusing long enough to absorb the takeaways of the reading, a feeling that is hard to come by as of late.

Teachers are obliged to carry out ICSD Board of Education policies that hamper teachers’ own expertise, experience, and efficacy in the classroom.

“Experienced teachers who are forced to abandon their own best teaching practices are left unable to help students, especially students in crisis.” The last sentence of this subsection concerns me. The article, up to this point, has addressed the policies that were designed to aid “students in crisis” from a standpoint of academic achievement. Here, the authors pivot to an unclear definition of what it means to be in crisis as an IHS student. Are they referring to failing students? Students who are earning low

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grades because of late work or missing assignments? Or has the perspective of the article suddenly shifted to express a concern for the out-of-school mental, physical, and social well-being of students, who, during the pandemic and accompanying recession, may be experiencing housing and food insecurity and lack a safety net or the aid their families ordinarily receive?

The subsection refers to teachers’ obligation to comply with new district policies, such as lenient grading for late work and relaxed participation requirements. The authors seem to suggest that teachers would be better prepared to help students in crisis if they reverted to their original, most likely stricter, teaching practices. This does not make sense. Although teachers may struggle to adjust to new district-wide guidelines, these guidelines are all intended to assist struggling students. Teachers should prioritize student success and well-being over their own preferred teaching practices. Reverting to the vast array of varying grading policies, requirements, and criteria that teachers employ would make classes much more confusing for all students, especially those already struggling to keep up with schoolwork.

This article has displayed a reverence for the traditional methods of measuring student achievement: grades, test scores, and the abstract idea of being well-equipped for the academic and professional worlds. Human crisis, and certainly student crisis, goes beyond failure to earn a grade above 65. Making deadlines stricter, participation mandatory, and reading assignments long and heavy is not the way to relieve student stress and boost student trust in their education. Neither is leaving learning entirely up to the students. A healthy middle ground that does not threaten students with failing grades, nor encourage high-achieving students to value their ‘A’s as indications of personal worth, is necessary to empower students to engage fully with their education.

“Distance Learning at IHS: A Clear-Eyed Assessment and a Call to Action” presents a particular type of standpoint on education. It is one that emphasizes a traditional definition of success—one that encompasses numerical grades, advanced classes, familiarity with classic literature, and preparedness to enter the workforce as a well-educated person. Even in a normal year, these are not values that should take priority over physical and mental well-being. Nor should the perceived intellectual needs of high-achieving students reared in affluent households (classic literature, an advanced track, rewarding grades) come before the material needs of underserved students. Equity must be the primary concern of the school district, as equity in education produces the need for more advanced options and high-level learning, not the other way around. The path to equity begins with the system that ICSD has been working to set up: a system that offers support to every student and does not rely on grades to encourage or discourage behavior.

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OPINION

AP 2021: A Normal Exam for an Abnormal Year

By ADOWYN ERNSTE

A

s the end of the school year draws near, many students are once again faced with their last great hurdle before summer break: the AP exams. Year after year, the testing season has left many students feeling jittery. Will their year-long efforts pay off at long last, they wonder? Or will the long-dreaded assessments only lead to disappointment?

This year, students have more cause for worry than usual. After last year’s abbreviated, 45-minute tests, it came as a surprise for many students to hear that College Board has decided to reinstate the AP exams in their original, full-length form. While imperfect, the testing alterations of 2020 were an amiable effort to reflect the challenges of the pandemic. But after more than a year of online instruction, many of these challenges remain and, in many cases, have only been amplified. With open-note tests, reduced participation requirements, and incomplete class content becoming the norm, students are now more unprepared than ever before for the notoriously-rigorous AP exams.

In response to these concerns, Sara Sympson, a College Board representative, told Evanston Now that colleges “expect exam scores to reflect the full scope of AP coursework.” Citing approval from AP teachers and last years’ high scores (averaging 3.03, the highest since 2000), College Board will continue to give exams in a form that creates “unprecedented flexibility,” according to Trevor Packer, a senior vice president leader of the College Board. For most subjects, exams will be offered both in-person and online on three different dates. As for the digital exams, which caused a plethora of problems in 2020, the new digital exam application is more tolerant of Wi-Fi disruptions. Students will no longer be able to use a smartphone to take the exam, toggle between questions, or upload their work using pictures. Along with these technical changes, students will test for the full three hours and will thus be held accountable for the full scope of the course.

Pete Bavis, a longtime advocate for the AP exams and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at Evanston Township High School District 202 in Illinois, works at a school that has been nationally recognized for increasing the ability of students of color to find success with AP courses. In response to College Board’s claims that “the majority [of AP teachers] urged us to stick with the full exam,” Bavis reported that his conversations with AP teachers have shown otherwise. After receiving many calls from frustrated parents after the 2020 exams, Bavis was cautiously hopeful this year’s exams might run more smoothly. But after receiving the information for this year’s exams, Bavis was again disappointed. In an article for Education Week, he writes, “The College Board’s insistence that this school year is normal has transformed the AP exam from an instrument of upward academic mobility to one of our students’ greatest mental-health risks…”

As Bavis indicates, the mental health of many students has continually deteriorated over the course of the pandemic. A combination of social isolation, loss of day-to-day support from friends and family, upending of life structure, and increased anxiety have led to higher rates of mental health problems among teenagers. According to the US Centers of Disease Control and

Prevention, from April through October of 2020, the proportion of children between the ages of 12 to 17 visiting an emergency department because of a mental health crisis has climbed 31 percent compared to the same time period in 2019. But this statistic only accounts for those who visited emergency departments. It does not include those who sought help elsewhere or had mental health problems below the crisis level. Whether the impact has been large or small, the pandemic has affected the mental health of everyone. According to a national survey by the JED Foundation, children from ages 13-18 reported increased challenges with social isolation, anxiety, trouble concentrating, difficulty handling emotions, depression, difficulty coping with stress in healthy ways, lack of family stability or support, self harm, substance use, and suicidal thoughts. Considering the palpable impact that the pandemic has had on mental health, College Board should have adjusted its exams to correspond to the situation.

At the end of the day, students’ long-term mental and emotional health is too important to be traded off for a simple exam score.

But unfortunately, the stress of the pandemic isn’t the only factor placing students at a disadvantage for AP exams. This year, class time has been cut drastically short due to scheduling shifts for online instruction. Many teachers have been forced to condense or even cut content, which is especially problematic for already fast-paced AP courses. Science classes have been hit especially hard with the complete loss of the hands-on lab component. But in all courses, the virtual setting makes it more difficult for students to engage meaningfully with the material and to get the support they need from peers and teachers. With many hard-working, straight-A students reporting lower or even failing grades, it is clear that virtual school has created numerous learning barriers, many of which have persisted even a year later.

Last year, teachers lost the last four months of school to virtual instruction, causing exams to be reduced in length and content.

This year, teachers have lost an entire year of in-person class time, and yet the exams have been restored to their full length.

The expectation for students to take the full-length AP exam covering the entire course content is incongruent with the realities of student life and virtual learning. As was stated by Assistant Superintendent Bavis, “let’s at the very least acknowledge it is essential that the content of AP tests appropriately represent what is taught during the pandemic. This is a pillar of good assessment practice.” Due to circumstances beyond their control, students are clearly left unprepared for the full content and format for their exams compared to a regular year. Rather than serving as an accurate measure of student learning, the full-length 2021 AP exams become yet another additional, unnecessary stress for those already struggling to cope with the challenges of virtual learning.

Furthermore, these challenges are exasperated for minority groups and low income families, who have been hardest-hit by the pandemic. According to an EdWeek Research Center survey in 2021, mental health struggles are more pronounced for those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals as well as members of Black and Latinx communities. And this year’s AP Exams, which

OPINION

have placed these groups at a distinct disadvantage, have done nothing to acknowledge the added stresses or accommodate for the inequity. As one example, a national-level Pew Research study conducted in April 2020 found that 40 percent of low-income families reported unreliable internet connections at home.

As for minority groups, 54 percent of Hispanic broadband users and 36 percent of Black broadband users worried about paying the bill for their home’s Wi-Fi, according to the same study.

Based on the College Board exam requirements, students with poor Wi-Fi or improper technology will need to take in-person exams, which will increase the risk of these students and their families of exposure to COVID-19. This oversight by the College Board only creates further inequities for groups that are already historically disadvantaged by standardized testing.

In order to voice concerns over equity, loss of class time, and the effects of the pandemic on education, a group of Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia students formed social media accounts with the name @students4examequity. The group created a petition demanding that College Board cancel the current policies preventing students from returning to previous questions, make the tests open-note and based on the accessible study materials, and cancel all AP test fees for this year with refunds for those who were already charged. As of late April, the petition had approximately 40,000 signatures out of its targeted 50,000.

And yet, despite numerous criticisms, College Board has stood firm with its plans for this year’s AP exams. The organization claims that they are working to follow feedback from teachers and students despite the @students4examequity petition and the statements by Pete Bavis, both of which represent significant op-

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position to the current exam format by students, teachers, and administrators. As for the claim that colleges expect students to take a full AP exam, it seems unlikely that colleges would be unwilling to adapt to a modified test given the pandemic-related modifications that colleges have already made, such as the new test-optional policy that is sweeping the nation. Most notably, colleges pledged to fully accept last year’s shortened AP exam format in recognition of the challenges that the pandemic creates for students.

Across the country, final exams are being cancelled. At IHS, most Regents exams have been called off, with many teachers deciding to forgo finals. However, there are still many students who wish to take the AP exams—91 percent according to a College Board survey from last year. Given this high demand, it is commendable that College Board has responded, creating a system for students to continue to obtain college credit in the virtual world. But aside from fixing the technical problems from the 2020 exam season, the format and expectations for the 2021 exams are far from “flexible.”

As College Board’s justifications begin to crumble under the protests of students and teachers across the country, it becomes clear that AP testing has neglected the mental health crisis of many students and the lack of preparation provided by online classes. Treating the 2020-2021 school year as if it is a normal year is a bewildering response to the challenges that many students have faced. AP exams are intended to help students—to open doorways for the future and create new opportunities. But when the test becomes an inaccurate measure of student learning, perhaps the College Board should reassess its own standards.

Why Space Debris Needs to be Addressed

By MUKUND GAUR

A

s far as apocalypses go, being trapped on Earth might not seem too intimidating. However, the rapidly growing problem of space debris could make anything outside our atmosphere untraversable. Before the launch of the first satellite, the space surrounding our planet was relatively clear of pollution. Now, after decades of space launches, low earth orbit is a minefield of debris, where the debris is moving at up to 30,000 miles per hour.

Space debris, or more aptly named, space junk, can refer to any piece of machinery or equipment left behind in space from our thousands of rocket and satellite missions. These can be as big as dead satellites (which have either had mechanical failure or were simply left in orbit after their mission), or they could be as small as bits of metal that came off a rocket as it launched.

The scope of this problem is astounding. There are nearly 3,000 dead satellites floating in Earth’s orbit, about 34,000 pieces of junk larger than 10 centimeters, and perhaps up to 128 million pieces between 1mm and 1cm long, according to the European Space Agency. Although the latter may seem insignificant, they are still extremely dangerous. Debris in space moves at speeds up to seven or eight kilometers per second (About five times as fast as a bullet). At these speeds, even the smallest piece of orbiting junk could wreak havoc on the complex hardware of satellites.

All of these problems, although substantial, pale in compar-

ison to the largest danger of space junk, known as the Kessler Syndrome. The Kessler Syndrome is named after the scientist Donald J. Kessler. It refers to the scenario where the amount of space debris in orbit reaches a critical level. At this point, collisions between pieces of junk would cause a cascade, where each collision generates more debris, which in turn collides, causing an exponential increase in the total amount of debris. Within a short period of time, this effect could make it too dangerous and expensive to launch anything into space at all, bringing our space missions to a grinding halt.

But why does this even matter, unless you’re an astronaut?

Space debris pose a second danger, with more far reaching effects. Already, satellites in space make hundreds of maneuvers per year to avoid debris. If the amount of junk continues increasing at this rate, it could possibly destroy our satellite system. Satellites serve extremely important purposes on Earth, from GPS systems to cell phone communication to the internet. The loss of the satellite grid could send human technology back to the 1970s.

So, with all of these impending dangers, how can we stop this problem? Space agencies have already begun searching for strategies to prevent future debris, such as more efficient de-orbiting systems. These would reduce the velocity of the satellite or rockContinued on page 10

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Why Space Debris Needs to be Addressed Continued from page 9 et component via a sail or other friction-creating device, which would cause the satellite to sink into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Other solutions proposed include an orbital use fee on satellites in Earth’s orbit, to prevent operators from excessively launching satellites. These solutions all regard preventing future space debris. The solutions for removing current space debris are a bit more far fetched, suggesting using nets, harpoons, or lasers to capture or destroy space junk. NASA has already tested an autonomous satellite which was capable of deploying a net to capture a simulation of debris.

On the bright side, looking into the future, more and more satellites are beginning to follow debris guidelines, peaking at 35 percent in 2018. Between 40 to 80 percent of rockets also com-

plied with debris guidelines in the last decade. Since rockets are some of the largest bodies we send into space, preventing them from causing more debris is important. More satellites are also being placed in lower Earth orbits where they burn up on their own, and in geostationary orbit (where many important satellites are used for GPS systems on Earth), between 60 percent to 90 percent of satellites successfully followed debris mitigation systems.

Although space debris is an obscure problem, it’s one that needs to be addressed before it leaves obscurity. It has far reaching effects, and if left unattended, could cause catastrophic damage. Thankfully, most major space operators such as NASA and the European Space Agency are taking this problem seriously, and solutions are being developed by governments and private organizations. However, despite these efforts, we still have a long way to go before Earth’s orbit is secure for future generations.

Biden Must Deal with the Immigration Crisis on the Southern Border

By AITAN AVGAR

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ince the early days of his presidency, Joe Biden has faced a mounting immigration crisis at the southern border. As reported by the New York Times, in March alone, 170,000 migrants travelled to the border, which is the largest reported monthly rate in over a decade. Making matters worse, a substantial proportion of these emigrants from Mexico and Central American countries are unaccompanied minors. These unaccompanied minors pose a unique challenge to the US immigration system. According to The New Yorker, as of early April, there are 18,000 unaccompanied migrant children in US custody, 5,000 of which are in holding cells as the government rushes to find housing and other resources to support them.

Unsurprisingly, the Biden administration is confronting a wave of intense criticism from Republicans for its inability to find an adequate solution to the overflow of immigrants. These critics have accused Biden of softening his stance on immigration, thereby encouraging migrants to seek refuge in the U.S. who otherwise might not have under the Trump administration. The irony, of course, is that when children were being separated from their parents during the former president’s term, many Republicans and Trump supporters barely acknowledged it. These Republicans, suddenly woke, are now appalled by the conditions in which many of the unaccompanied minors who recently arrived at the border are being held. Aside from the pure hypocrisy of the Republican belief that Biden’s election encouraged immigration to the United States, it also happens to be factually incorrect.

As noted by Jonathan Blitzer in his recent New Yorker article, many of these migrants are fleeing their home countries in response to devastating natural disasters inextricably linked to climate change as well as unstable communities rife with violence, poverty, and corruption. The pandemic has also played a role in slowing immigration to the U.S., creating an overflow of migrants now that the virus has been to some extent contained.

These factual fallacies notwithstanding, many of Biden’s critics are calling on him to halt the reversal of Trump-era immigration policies. Concerns about this issue go beyond Republicans, and polling data shows that 67 percent of Independents disapprove of Biden’s handling of the situation. This level of disapproval among Independents will likely get the Biden administration’s attention as Independents are a key group for Democratic chances of holding onto the majority in the House and Senate in 2022.

Despite the political pressure Biden is facing to impose tougher immigration policies, it is imperative that the administration hold firm on their policies and move toward lasting and viable immigration reform. While Biden has been quick to reverse some of Trump’s harsh immigration approaches, he has surprisingly held on to others, some of them quite problematic. For example, the “remain in Mexico” policy adopted by the Trump administration (which forces asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are pending) has not been undone. Similarly, Trump brought the asylum process to an almost complete halt, and Biden has been slow to fully revive this essential and longstanding feature of the U.S. immigration system.

Biden has proposed a multitude of efforts to address the crisis at its root in Mexico and Central America by improving living conditions in these home countries as well as revitalising programs implemented under the Obama administration to expedite migrant children’s asylum cases before they arrive at the border.

While these plans are commendable, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the more than 18,000 children currently seeking asylum, Biden must take action to create an inclusive and welcoming United States. Rather than cave to the political pressures to adopt stricter immigration policies, the current crisis is a moment where President Biden can reform a system that few presidents before him were brave enough to take on.

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Teaching About Racism in IHS English and Social Studies Classes: An Update

By ELLA KEEN ALLEE

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020 was notable for several reasons, including COVID-19 and everything that came with it. However, a less talked about issue (but certainly no less important) is the fight for racial justice that erupted in June, following the death of George Floyd. Besides talking about what we can do as an entire country, many began to talk about how to include more information about racism into education, which has begun to be tackled at IHS—especially in the English and Social Studies departments. In an interview with the head of the English department, Mr. Reiff, he stated that “Teachers across the board have begun tackling new texts, new voices, and new thinking [...]

We have begun work on collaboratively developing that new curriculum.” So how has the curriculum changed since the beginning of the year? How have students responded to the incorporation of anti-racist work? I asked teachers in both the English and Social Studies departments, and here are their responses.

At the beginning of the year, IHS English and Social Studies teachers prepared to incorporate more about the complex issue of historic and current racism in their classrooms. Several teachers responded to my query about how their teaching has changed throughout the school year, and how it might continue to evolve. English teacher Ms. Deverin mentioned that “Even though I’m teaching a lot of new courses this year, I didn’t leave a single course curriculum alone.” In classes such as Women & Lit, for example, she has shifted the focus from “firstwave (white) feminism” to lesser-known Black suffragettes. On the social studies side of things, US History teacher Mr. Heiland stated that his (and the department’s) teaching and curriculum has been constantly shifting and improving over time. His teaching of race is a twofold approach: “Firstly, an examination of systems of oppression that create systems of power and privilege for some, and marginalization for others [...] Secondly, teaching that focuses on empowering the groups that have been marginalized (and still are), and seeking to empha-

size these groups as complex, diverse, all while highlighting their excellence.”

Though the social studies department’s main curriculum hasn’t changed significantly because, according to Mr. Heiland, “both racism and antiracism are central to every topic”, lessons frequently change to accommodate current events, leaving space for the exploration of new texts and media by POC authors and creatives.

Literary texts are integral to any humanities curriculum, and this year many teachers have expanded the scope of their book collections. In between the “core texts’’ of an English class, teachers have begun to include new books authored by people of color. In answering the question of how these texts have been incorporated into the curriculum, one teacher mentioned how they approached things in a similar twofold approach: “There are two ways I’ve done this—one is to read new/new-to-IHS texts [...] The second way to accomplish this is to read older texts and texts by white authors, but to analyze them through a variety of critical lenses—race, feminist and queer theory, postcolonial/antiimperialist writing, etc.” The English department has added books such as The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison), With the Fire on High (Elizabeth Acevedo), Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi), Born a Crime (Trevor Noah), Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler), The Deep (Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes), and many more! The Social Studies department has also included texts such as selections from Stamped from the Beginning, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, as well as documentaries such as 13th.

In order to provide a well-rounded update, I asked teachers about how bringing up race has changed student behavior and engagement, as well as how they get feedback from their students. Mr. Riess, an IHS English teacher, believes that many students are very passionate about the issue of racism, which helps to create an interesting conversation. “Students

feel the immediacy of the problem. They watch the news, some of them went out and marched, and they read (and argue) online.” Ms. Kautz, a U.S. History and Honors Economics teacher adds, ”Overall it is clear to me that most of my students want to talk about race, and they want to make the connections to ongoing issues today,”. She relays that her students have often expressed sadness and anger when asked about how they feel about occurrences of racism in both the past and the present, prompting engaging conversations.

However, it is very important to note that different students engage and participate in different ways, and especially with incredibly complex topics such as racism, many are hesitant to speak out.

Teachers have been trying to accommodate this when thinking about how to approach engagement. “My job is to give students the tools to produce change (and, therefore, hope)”, said Mr. Riess.

Across the responses received from IHS teachers on the issue, teachers seem to have gotten mostly positive feedback after making these complicated changes in curriculums.

However, the positive response was not unanimous, as one teacher pointed out. While discussing Black Lives Matter action steps in one of their classes, a parent decided to pull their child from the class as a result of the discussion. Twelfth grade English teacher Ms. Ostrom also mentioned students having differing opinions on such topics during facilitated discussions, sometimes prompting arguments among students. With racism and related issues being such a current and ever-changing issue in America, these sometimes volatile conversations have only increased in importance, and, as Ms. Deverin added, “this is precisely the reason this work needs to continue.”

In terms of getting feedback directly from students, many teachers have opted to use tools such as Google Forms and the discussion feature on Canvas. Ms. Ostrom frequently uses Forms and other reContinued on page 12

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Teaching About Racism in IHS English and Social Studies Classes: An Update Continued from page 11 sources as a way to get information from her students. She tries to create multiple spaces throughout the year for students to give feedback in reflection form, guiding her teaching and focus. U.S. History teacher and Social Studies Department chair, Mr. Jordan also spoke about course evaluations and reflections, especially at the end of the year. An overall pattern in the responses showed that students were not shy in conversations about topics as well as what they thought about the overall class, which helps teachers figure out what they want to do in the future or even in the next lessons. Many also mentioned that brief one-to-one

conferences when possible, surveys, and check-ins are useful.

Of course, this is just the start of the long journey that is anti-racism work. COVID-19 has only complicated these efforts, but it has also provided us with more time to think about racism, what it means to us, and what we can do. These departments have continued to include and emphasize important ideas that are crucial for everyone to learn about, especially in today’s political, social, and economic climate. There is a long road ahead and room for even more anti-racism incorporation, but this year IHS has made significant strides.

Deja Foxx: Future President and Activist

By FIONA HINRICHSEN

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eja Foxx is a 21-year-old reproductive rights activist, influencer, and strategist from Tucson, Arizona. In high school, her interest in reproductive rights began as she became aware of her high school’s failure to educate its students properly on the importance of consent and birth control. She then took it upon herself to go to the school board and demand comprehensive sex education.

Foxx, like many other young adolescents, went to Planned Parenthood for birth control due to a lack of money and insurance. In 2017, Foxx’s life changed during a Mesa town hall debate when she stood up to anti-Planned Parenthood Republican Senator Jeff Flake and said, “I just want to state some facts.” According to a Tucson newsletter, she declared, “I’m a young woman, you’re a middle-aged man. I’m a person of color, and you’re white. I come from a background of poverty, and I didn’t always have parents to guide me through life. You come from privilege.

So I’m wondering, as a Planned Parenthood patient and someone who relies on Title X, who you are clearly not, why is it your right to take away my right?”

This moment went viral, causing her to later become “the face of Planned Parenthood.” She went on to found the El Rio Community Health Center’s Reproductive Health Access Project during her senior year of high school, where she and other teenagers worked to ensure all young people in Tucson had access to reproductive health care. During the same year, she organized a walk-out and march as part of the March for Our Lives movement, along with arranging protests at child detention centers.

Subsequently, she received a full ride to Columbia, and is set to graduate in 2023. She has worked on Columbia’s Housing Equity Project, a student-run organization that aims to staff local homeless shelters, and also joined JUV Consulting, a marketing agency run by a GenZ team that engages young audiences. In addition, she founded her online organization, GenZ Girl Gang, which focuses on creating an inclusive community for women to support one another, bridging generational gaps, and learning from and teaching each other.

Some of GenZ Girl Gang’s seasonal campaigns include community events, mentorship opportunities, and informational

digital content. A few of their current projects include College Access for All, Demand and Disrupt, which focuses on women in the workforce, and Pitch, Please!, which aims to empower people and build personal networks. The overall goal of her organization is to develop social media connections into a caring and supportive community online and offline. Foxx said to Rolling Stone, “I think about how we can translate this idea of solidarity, this idea that ‘when I do better, you do better,’ into a digital space, because more and more that’s where we’re spending our time.”

When she was fifteen, financial issues and a mother dealing with addiction led to Foxx becoming homeless and living at friends’ houses. She came to learn that there were many people like her, and as a result brought her fellow peers together to build a community of First Generation Low Income (FGLI) students at Columbia. She also worked as a coordinator for UpLift, another Columbia community surrounding student housing in which FGLI members support and help each other.

When arriving at her dorm at Columbia in 2019 as a sophomore, she received a message via Instagram inviting her to become part of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. Soon after, she moved to Baltimore and became the youngest staffer on Harris’s campaign at 19, as an influencer and surrogate strategist. As stated in Rolling Stone, Foxx had a unique position on Harris’s team: “I got to step in as the expert because there is no one getting a PhD in TikToks and influencer strategy,” she said. Through the power of social media Foxx was able to promote Harris and causes they were passionate about. Foxx is also seen speaking out at Capitol Hill, leading rallies, and announcing herself as the future president on social media.

Currently, Foxx has joined Ford Models as a digital creator and is building strategies for political action committees and nonprofit organizations, as well as continuing her education at Columbia virtually.

Today, her media presence continues to grow and gain support, as we see her embark on new projects. From homelessness in high school to becoming a young reproductive activist and influencer, Deja Foxx has a voice and passion that will continue to change lives.

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Lake Source Cooling: What is it, Misconceptions, and the IHS Connection

By FRANCES KLEMM

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n July of 2000, the Lake Source Cooling (LSC) Project was officially launched, becoming the United State’s first ever major deep water cooling system. Initiated by Cornell University, the project has successfully cooled down Cornell’s campus (as well as that of IHS!) for 20 years. It saves over 20 million kWh per year by using the depths of Lake Cayuga and has revolutionized the campus’s energy budget—reducing it by about 85 percent. LSC uses the chilled lake water for refrigerators, air conditioners, and biological incubators. Despite having relatively high name recognition with most Ithacans, the details of the project are lesser known and often misunderstood.

As can be seen from the drawing below, taken from the Cornell University website, the project functions on two loops: the open lake-water loop and the closed campus loop. In the former, lake water is taken from Lake Cayuga at 250 ft depth.

In the closed campus loop, the cool water is pushed up the hill towards campus by the warm water going in the opposite di-

rection as well as larger pipes so that there is less friction. In short, the water from the depths of Cayuga is brought up to the open lake water loop to the Water utility center, and from there pushed up to the campus by the closed campus loop.

At the time of the project’s initiation back in the late 1990s, public opinion towards the project was generally negative.

Despite praise from environmentalists around the world, throughout the late nineties and until it was installed, there were consistent protests attempting to stop the project. Looking back though, the criticism was largely due to the lack of information and spread of misinformation about the new, expensive and transformative system. Many of the arguments raised concerns about the potential rise of phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the lake.

The other misconception was that the warmer water returning to Cayuga would increase South Cayuga’s algae blooms and less-than-desirable swimming conditions.

When, in fact, these conditions are mainly due to the number of rivers entering

that part of the lake and climate change.

The southern part of the lake is also much shallower, and therefore more prominently displays the symptoms that the majority of the lake is experiencing. Phosphorus and nitrogen levels have increased and the prevalence of algal blooms has skyrocketed, but their causes are world-wide climate change and an assortment of reasons that have nothing to do with LSC. The LSC project does extract phosphorus from the upper parts of the lake and brings the phosphorus down to the lower part of the lake when it returns—but the real issue is the source of the phosphorus, not that LSC is moving it. LSC isn’t pulling more phosphorus out of the bottom or causing more phosphorus to be released, but instead recycling what is already in the lake. The teams at Cornell stressed that the amount of phosphorus LSC is putting into the lake is the smallest fraction of a percent of the amounts that are shown coming from other factors and makes an Continued on page 16

IMAGE PROVIDED

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Recapping the 2021 Ithaca Earth Day Rally, and What We Should Do Going Forward

By DOROTHY HAMILTON On Thursday, April 22, members of the Ithaca community gather on The Commons for an Earth Day rally. Like the September 2019 walkout and climate strike, a group of students began at IHS and marched to the Bernie Milton Pavilion, where demonstrators listened to numerous speeches by local activists. The overall purpose of the rally, according to the media advisory (courtesy of Magnolia Mead ‘21), was that

“We’re running out of time to heal this planet. Our future is in the hands of our political leaders, and it’s time for bold climate action.

In order to achieve climate justice, we must work together, striving towards justice and human rights for all.”

Multiple IHS students were instrumental in the successful planning and execution of the rally. Magnolia Mead led the organizing of the rally with Noni

Pattington, ‘21, and Ruby Zawel, an 8th grade student at EAC Montessori. They also worked with Rebecca Evans, the director of Sunrise Ithaca. Together, they reserved the pavilion, planned a program, invited speakers and reporters, and promoted the event via social media and posters around Ithaca. The group also collaborated with other organizations like Mothers Out Front, a group “unified by the drive to protect all children from the climate crisis that impacts their health today and a livable climate for them tomorrow,” (mothersoutfront.org), and Ithaca Democratic Socialists.

I spoke to a few organizers and demonstrators, and they all happily shared their experiences with me. Eden Lewis, ‘23, mentioned how COVID-safe she felt they were, and how safely the participants handled themselves.

For her, the best moment was speaking and cheering on the other speakers, as well as the live music.

When I asked Magnolia about her favorite part of the rally, she told me about one of the moments right near the end: We had just heard from all of the incredible speakers and the band (Second Spring Ithaca) was playing their last song, and

it started snowing. It was really powerful and moving to me because we were all standing together—all of the organizers and everyone who came to support—and I thought,

‘Whatever happens in the future, we will always have this beautiful moment where we all came together amidst snow and freezing cold to demand justice for our future.’

Clearly, the rally was a success, and the organizers went above and beyond in their efforts. As we look back on Earth Day, and the countless Instagram posts we got out of it, it’s important to keep that energy going.

One infographic on your story or a picture from your beach vacation is simply performative in the absence of direct action.

Individual action cannot feasibly save the planet, but that fact shouldn’t preclude you from acting as though you live in the sustainable future we want to create. So, you’ll find below a list of 15 things that you can easily do to protect the earth!

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1. We’ve all been hearing it since elementary school: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

2. Unsubscribe from catalogues and magazines that send you junk mail to help reduce paper waste.

3. Donate to The Canopy Project, which plants a tree for every dollar given.

4. Expand your repertoire of plant-based, responsibly-sourced recipes. You don’t have to go vegan to support the environment, but being mindful of your meat consumption—especially where it comes from—is important.

5. Pick up trash that you find outside to support the Great Global Cleanup, or…

6. Organize a community cleanup.

7. The Global Earth Challenge app promotes citizen science and climate literacy. By collecting environmental data right where you live, you can help experts monitor and prevent environmental threats.

8. Talk to your representatives!! Politicians need to know how important environmental causes are to their young constituents, so write an email or make a phone call ASAP. 9. If you can, start to replace your single-use items. Products like toothbrushes, shampoo bottles, and ziploc bags now have eco-friendly alternatives, that are cheaper in the long run and much better for the environment.

10. Start composting easily by utilizing Tompkins County Solid Waste’s dropoff sites around town.

11. Plant a garden! This is a cheap, fun way to cut down on waste from food production and get fresh, delicious veggies.

12. Buy a reusable water bottle.

13. Carry a portable utensil set with you to avoid excess plastic waste at restaurants.

14. Donate your clothes and buy second hand, or even host a clothing swap with your friends.

15. Speaking of, one of the best ways to cut down on your waste is to avoid excessive shopping. How about going to the public library instead of Barnes & Noble, or buying your new desk from Reuse?

Photos by Perrin Woods and Leo Brisson

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Lake Source Cooling: What is it, Misconceptions, and the IHS Connection Continued from page 13 almost nonexistent impact on warming lake temperatures. And the benefits seem to dwarf the drawbacks: it saves huge amounts of energy and rids Cornell of former cooling systems that released huge amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

In 2021, analytics and new data from the past 20 years have shown that the problems that were once feared by activists have proven to be either nonexistent or on much smaller scales than previously thought or represented. Yet, in those 20 years, there has been no real systematic assessment of the current performance of LSC compared to the original plans, and outgoing public information has been slim. But this semester, a team of Cornell students are looking back on the 20 years’ worth of data and analyzing the real impacts from LSC. Twenty years after LSC’s start, Cornell Professor Peter McIntyre launched an analysis of the project as a Cornell capstone class, a project-oriented, team-based class focused, in this case, on LSC. The class of majority Environmental Science majors has been split into groups, each focusing on a different side of LSC’s impact, such as greenhouse gases/energy budget, lake ecological impacts, economic return on investment, and community engagement. After speaking to the project’s founders in depth and analyzing data from the past 20 years, the students will be publishing their findings on the Cornell website for the public, to document the impact the massive project has made.

But the LSC has helped more than just Cornell. Back in the

Apple Foods Photo submission from MAIA KUBICK

1990s when Cornell was first drafting out their plans for the massive project, engineers were figuring out where to position the pipes and coincidentally, they ran into IHS. Quite literally. The route they had planned to take was down Gun Hill, along Lake Street and through Ithaca City Schools Property. Cornell couldn’t just venture into ICSD property without permission, and so the two institutions made a deal to let Ithaca High School in on one of the main benefits of LSC: air conditioning.

Now this might come as a surprise to IHS readers; as anyone who has spent more than a year in that building knows that the one thing most students can bond over is suffering through wild temperature fluctuations in the G-Wing. But there actually is air conditioning in the high school. When you go to the cafeteria, the library and the district offices (school board and Superintendent offices etc.) the temperature is controlled by LSC. The original deal was for the entire high school to be cooled, but this quickly proved too expensive and now the luxury is limited to just a few of the more important buildings. In fact, if you look around the back of the building near F and K, you will find a small brick building sitting by itself; this is where IHS connects to LSC. Although controversial in its inception, LSC has proven to be a boon for Cornell, the environment, and even a slice of IHS! Thank you to Professor Peter McIntyre, Professor Anurag Agrawal, Mark Nelson, and the Cornell student teams for volunteering your time to speak about Lake Source Cooling.

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The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards: #Scammys?

By ALICE BURKE

T

he 63rd Annual Grammy Awards was held in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. Although this award ceremony has been important to the music industry for decades, recent controversies have left many artists questioning its validity. Musicians and fans are doubting the relevance of the Grammys due to its continued lack of diversity and inability to be transparent about the nomination and voting processes. Artists such as The Weeknd, Halsey, and Zayn Malik have spoken out against what The Weeknd has dubbed a “corrupt” voting process, going as far as claiming racism and favoritism. Even the hashtag #scammys was trending on Twitter as members of the BTS “Army” expressed their discontent at BTS’s loss.

The Grammy Recording Academy has been facing scrutiny about their lack of diversity for the past few years. In 2018, the hashtag #GrammysSoMale went viral after only one major award went to a woman. In addition to this possible male favoritism, only ten Black artists have won the Album of the Year award since 1959. Even less representation has gone to other minority groups, spurring claims of sexism and racism by the Recording Academy.

The integrity of the Recording Academy is dubious as well, with artists concerned about the secrecy surrounding the voting process. Ex-One Direction Star Zayn Mailk tweeted about the lack of transparency, claiming it “creates and allows favoritism, racism, and networking politics to influence the voting process.”

On Instagram, Halsey expanded this sentiment, writing that the Grammys “can often be about behind-the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not-bribes.’” The personal bias of each voting member must also be taken into account. Moreover, the voting base is large and semi-unregulated, which results in many of the voters lacking expertise to select specific genre winners or objectively choose the winners of the four main awards.

In addition to general speculation on the diversity of nominees and integrity of Recording Academy voters,, specific controversies have stirred up even more doubt about the relevance of the 2021 Grammy Awards. When his song “Blinding Lights” failed to receive even a single nomination this year, The Weeknd boycotted the Grammys and claimed that he would no longer allow his label to submit any of his music to the Recording Academy until the “secret committees” used to decide the nominations were eliminated. The fact that “Blinding Lights” was not nominated for even one award was a surprise to many in the music industry, as the song was dubbed #1 Song of the Year by The Official Big Top 40: Chart of the Year, and received massive attention throughout 2020, including being performed in

the Superbowl Halftime Show. In early March, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” even succeeded in becoming the first song to ever spend a full year in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. This alone is an incredible achievement, and the fact that “Blinding Lights” did not win Song of the Year, let alone get nominated for a single award at all, is astonishing to many and leaves them questioning if the Grammys have become irrelevant.

Discontent among many artists’ fans in wake of the Grammy Awards Ceremony has been common as well, notably among fans of the South Korean pop band BTS. This year, the boy band smashed records with their song “Dynamite,” including its music video breaking 100 million views on Youtube within the first 24 hours of its release, making it the biggest 24-hour Youtube debut of all time. The song was also Spotify’s biggest debut of 2020, with its 7,778,950 streams within a day breaking Taylor Swift’s previous record of 7.742 million streams for her song “Cardigan.” “Dynamite” secured BTS their first No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 songs chart, becoming the first all-South Korean act to do so. Despite the clear success of the song, BTS did not win their single nomination for “Best Pop Group/Duo Performance.” In the wake of this disappointment, the fans of the boy band, the BTS “Army,” trended the hashtag #scammys to express their discontent at the Recording Academy’s decision.

The Army claimed this loss was due to the Grammys’ possible diversity and racism issues including the lack of Asian-American representation within the Recording Academy voting base. With Asian-Americans only constituting 3 percent of all voters, they are one of the most under-represented minorities within the Recording Academy. The BTS Army used this lack of diversity to speculate on the Grammys’ failure in recognizing these South Korean artists and the growing dominant force that is K-pop.

With Halsey, Zayn Malik, The Weeknd, and the BTS Army all rejecting the importance of the Grammys, it seems as though this prestigious award show has become less relevant in recent years, and especially the past few months. More artists have begun to distance themselves from the event as many are starting to prioritize connecting with their own fan bases on a more personal level rather than aspiring to win the industry recognition that the Grammys have to offer. Maybe diversity and the voting process for the Recording Academy will improve and the Grammys will gain back some of the credibility that they have lost this past year. But given the development of new, more inclusive music award ceremonies held by extremely popular streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, it seems more likely that 2021 is the first step towards a future in which the Grammys have dwindling power in the music industry and popular culture in general.

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ARTS

Working the Side Door: Netflix’s College Admissions Scandal Documentary

By KATIE LIN

W

hen a sly conspiracist unites with rich American parents desperate to get their children into top-tier colleges, the result is the largest college admissions scandal ever investigated by the Department of Justice. In the infamous 2019 scheme, parents paid William “Rick” Singer huge sums of money to bribe college administrators and athletic coaches to get their children guaranteed acceptance. Netflix’s documentary Operation Varsity Blues: the College Admissions Scandal highlights the shocking details of the conspiracy. Directed by Chris Smith, it has exposed just how twisted the admissions process has become.

According to Singer, portrayed by Matthew Modine, there are three different ways to get accepted into college: the front door, in which a student traditionally gets in on their own merit, the back door, in which the student’s family makes a huge donation, and Singer’s side door. A prime example of the back door is Jared Kushner, whose father made a $2.5 million donation to Harvard, and got accepted despite being an average student.

However, the back door holds no absolute guarantee, leading many parents to turn to Singer’s 761 side doors to an assortment of prestigious colleges including the University of Southern California (USC), Yale, and Stanford. In the special arrangement, Singer promised he could facilitate admissions in a “done deal,” and parents made donations to Singer’s organization, the Key, to conceal the fact the payments were bribes. As stated in the documentary, between 2011 and 2018, parents paid Singer about $25 million to bribe administrators and coaches.

Singer had two main schemes, revolving around both sports and standardized test scores. For the children of business tycoons such as Bill McGlashan, Agustin Huneeus, and Michelle Janavs, Singer created fake sports profiles. He essentially lied to universities and claimed they were recruited athletes, posing them as fake water polo, tennis, and volleyball players. It was common for Singer to even photoshop the students’ faces onto pictures of athletes to further the illusion. The system continued smoothly with the help of university coaches and sports administrators. USC sports liaison Donna Heinel, who received $20,000 a month from Singer, smoothed over any red flags in the admissions process, and Yale soccer coach Rudy Meredith also worked closely with Singer while receiving more than $860,000 in bribes.

The second main scheme relied on Mark Riddell, a mastermind test taker, who was paid $10,000 per standardized test to fly out, proctor, and basically take the SAT/ACT for students.

Singer would tell parents to get their children tested for learning accommodations, and inform them their children should “be stupid” while getting examined. Gordon Caplan, a partner at a large law firm, flew his unknowing child out to LA to take the ACT with Riddell as the proctor. As part of the testing accommodations, his daughter wrote her answers on a separate sheet of paper. After leaving, Riddell took the test for her, and was smart

enough to get any desired score.

Ultimately, the main theme of the documentary is corruption—of both the college admissions process and America’s wealthy. Smith excels in portraying just how exponentially stressful and dishonorable the process has become. The documentary features students across the US discussing their experiences with applying to college, feeling extremely anxious, and getting rejected. In one instance, a student expresses, “I took AP Bio. I’m taking AP Environmental Science this year. I… I’m not interested in it at all. Just to have this extra leverage that doesn’t even help.” Barbara Kalmus, an education consultant, adds on, “This is what’s going on in high schools across the country. How many advanced classes can you take?” Another student elaborates on the feelings of failure and inadequacy brought on by the modern admissions process, admitting, “If you’re a freshman, I’m really sorry, because you are gonna be thrown into a world where they’re gonna be like, ‘college, college, college. Go to college. You have to get the best grades. If you’re not, you’re gonna feel like a failure. You’re the worst.’” The overwhelming burden of college anxiety and cramming advanced courses into schedules, often destroying mental health, is emphasized throughout the documentary in a manner to which many students can relate.

The corruption of the wealthy is another concept Smith doesn’t shy away from, bringing in education consultants and former admissions officers to share their perspectives. Akil Bello, a test preparation expert, speculates, “At what dollar value will you be willing to compromise your ethics? That’s the ultimate question. For me, it keeps coming back to, it’s the wealthy who have the ability, and in this case, the means and the willingness, to take advantage of these things.” On the same note, Jon Reider, a former Stanford admissions officer, elaborates, “Over the last three or four decades, higher education has become increasingly a commodity, something that you purchase.

A product. It’s a goal in and of itself, rather than the goal being to get an education.” The documentary goes to great lengths to emphasize how attending elite institutions has become a pivotal status point in which the wealthy have the advantage, becoming more important than actual education or attending whichever school fits the student best.

Perhaps the most shocking and angering aspect of the documentary was the relaxed, candid manner of Singer and the parents involved in the conspiracy. The real phone calls and conversations featured in the documentary expose how laid back the schemers were, evoking a certain anger within the audience, the director’s call to action to reform the system. The last minutes of the documentary are quiet yet forceful, showing footage of parents and administrators being arrested and charged, and ends with noting how colleges continue to remain corrupt with a last quote: “Rick Singer pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Rick’s ‘side door’ into colleges is now closed. The ‘back door’ remains open at many colleges, for those willing to pay.”

ARTS

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ARTS 3.7

By adowyn ernste

Hey Norma Jean! Looks like I made it just in time.

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Where’ve you been?

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What was it that I was so worried about?

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ARTS

21

The Devil Wears Air Maxes: Lil Nas X’s “Demonic” New Music Video

By HANNAH SHVETS

I

f you haven’t been living under a rock for the last month, you’ve most likely heard the buzz on social media (especially TikTok) about “Satan Shoes” and pole dancing into the depths of hell. Montero Lamar Hill, more commonly known as Lil Nas X, took the world by storm on March 26 with the release of the official music video for his hit single “Montero (Call Me

By Your Name)”. In an interview with Genius Lyrics, Lil Nas X explains where the inspiration for the title/chorus came from: the acclaimed queer coming-of-age film starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name”. Although popular conservative personalities like Candace Owens did not react well to the content of this music video, I found myself in awe over the backgrounds, costumes, and overall presentation.

It looked like something straight out of a high-budget movie and had a similar feel to Cassandra Clare’s “Mortal Instruments” book series.

The biblical references in the lyrics and video were interpreted by most viewers as inspired by the singer-songwriter’s sexuality and the homophobia he and other people in the queer community have experienced. The music video begins with Lil Nas X’s voice speaking about how in this world (the world of this music video), people are free to be themselves. “Montero” starts right out with the religious references as we see Lil Nas X in what seems to be The Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were said to face temptation in the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis. Like in the original story, Eve (portrayed by Lil Nas X), succumbs to temptation in the form of a serpent.

The following scene shows Lil Nas X in a colosseum wearing a pink wig and in chains, surrounded by duplicates of him, judging him. This historical reference has several layers, not only taking its inspiration from people being stoned to death by the masses for their beliefs but also incorporating symbolism related to gender identity and internalized homophobia. I didn’t even see this meaning until I looked more into it; the people judging Lil Nas X in the pink are dressed in blue attire, possibly alluding to the struggle between masculinity and femininity, specifically how queer men face bigotry for expressing their femininity.

It’s also worth noting that the masses, judgemental people, and the judged, are all played by Lil Nas X. Overcoming homophobia is an internal battle almost as much as external, a truth many queer people have come to know. On Twitter, Lil Nas X posted a note to his younger self in which he discussed how he never wanted to be “that type of gay person” and didn’t even plan on coming out. This scene symbolizes the internal struggle surrounding sexuality and the decision around letting your true self

show or suppressing it.

The colosseum scene comes to an end when a butt plug—yes, a butt plug—hits Lil Nas X in the pink and kills him. He begins his ascension to heaven, but then seems to change his mind and the most iconic scene of the video begins: the stripper pole hell scene. Lil Nas X descends into hell on a stripper pole, showing off his impressive pole dancing skills and a pair of tall black boots which I will be looking for online in the coming weeks. He’s seen seducing the devil himself and then killing him, only to take his crown and release the “darkness” within himself as he unfolds a pair of black wings. From the succumbing to temptation in the first scene to the “letting out one’s darkness” at the very end, the message of this video seems to be about the exploration of one’s sexuality and being oneself, even if that may make one a “sinner” in the eyes of religion.

A music video like this takes a lot of bravery to publish, and Lil Nas X reacted to the outrage and controversy that followed as always; with calm and humorous tweets. Candace Owens, conservative commentator, had a lot to say about the Satan Shoes that followed the drop of the music video. The shoes sold out in less than a minute and apparently had a drop of human blood in each pair’s sole (Nike is currently suing Lil Nas X because the shoes are modified Nike shoes with the Nike logo, which they didn’t have permission to use). Owens took to twitter to post a tweet saying, “We’ve turned George Floyd, a criminal drug addict, into an icon. We are promoting Satan Shoes to wear on our feet. We’ve got Cardi B named as woman of the year. But we’re convinced it’s white supremacy that’s keeping Black America behind. How stupid can we be?” Lil Nas X quickly clapped back with tweets like, “don’t care and ur a flop,” “call me by your name outsold,” and “you know you did something right when she talks about it.”

Youtube and Tiktok were also flooded with videos of conservatives and religious people reacting to the video, calling it demonic, satanic, etc. I watched several of these videos, and many of them quickly turned homophobic and racist. However, Lil Nas X is staying unbothered and will continue to release jaw-dropping music for the world to enjoy. If people feel this is offensive or a bad influence on their children, they can simply not watch it. Lil Nas X fulfilled the purpose of art and is truly an inspiration for all the queer children in this world who feel ashamed to be who they are because they believe they will go to hell for being gay. At the end of the day, true art will always provoke an emotional reaction and give a different meaning to every person who consumes it.

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LITERARY

春短歌 (Short song for spring)

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT Barefoot on the grass Soil blooms with tender shoots Buds turn to flowers Everything is sunshine and Earth has never looked so green

Nostalgia

Water at Night

By LAURA MEAD Nostalgia is strange The past won’t ever change I see my happiness, my pain I see my laughter and as I gain Confidence I’m learning because of it Avoidance, I want to forget it I see how good life can get Nostalgia Says things can get better yet

By ALICE BURKE Starlight reflected on the dark lake’s still surface water calm, waiting I fear to look in the lake― Will my own image stare back?

Writing Challenges for the Iron-Willed

By ADOWYN ERNSTE 1. Wordbank: Dr. Seuss was once challenged by his editor to write a book using only fifty words, where words could be repeated or reused. The result of this endeavor was Green Eggs and Ham. Try this challenge for yourself and see what you can come up with!

2. Fast and Fearless: Ideas will come to the page if you only let them flow. Heat a pot of tea (or another hot drink, if you prefer) and finish a draft of a story or poem before the water grows cold. Allow yourself the freedom of writing without the fear of imperfection. Not all ideas will be genius, so simply discard the bad results and pour yourself another cup.

3. The Imitation Challenge: Choose a poem. Keep only the title and the first three lines. Throw away the rest, and create your own ending. Imagine you are holding the author’s pen rather than your own. How does this impact your writing style?

4. Flash Fiction: As the story goes, Ernest Hemingway was once dared to write a complete story with a clear beginning, middle, and end...in only six words. The result is the now-famous line, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The more concise the story, the more meaning attached to each word.

Try this deceivingly-difficult art form for yourself!

5. The Creative Twist: Find (or come up with) the most terrible, uninspired premise that ever was. Perhaps it’s an overused or uninteresting first line. Maybe it’s a set of limitations that you find dull and confining. Now twist the boring

prompt into something creative and amazing.

6. Kill the Adjectives: Mark Twain once said, “When you catch an adjective, kill it...They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are far apart.” Write a story or poem that lacks adjectives entirely.

7. Imagine the Scene: Sometimes, a good title is the best place to start. Somewhere around your house, find a book that calls to you, preferably one that you haven’t read. Using only the title and cover design, write a scene that you imagine would take place in your chosen book.

8. In the Abstract: In one of her most beloved poems, Emily Dickinson urges us to “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.”

Start with an idea or concept to frame a poem or story, and then revise the wording to “tell it slant.” How does the distortion of an idea change its meaning?

9. The Daily Poem Challenge: Every day for one week (or longer if you are feeling particularly inspired), force yourself to write a poem every morning before you get out of bed.

Write about the first idea that comes to mind when you wake up. Not all the results will be masterpieces, but at least one or two will certainly be memorable.

10. A Boring Concept: There is no concept that is so incredibly boring that it cannot be expressed in an interesting way.

Think about it. And the more you think, the more you’ll realize: there’s inspiration everywhere if you look in the right places.

LITERARY

Adventures in Adova: The Kidnapping

By CAITLIN STRONG Leon glanced at the silvery watch adorning his left wrist only to discover that he had twenty-five seconds left. That wasn’t nearly as much as he’d hoped. It took Leon at least thirty seconds to tie his shoelaces, let alone save the world in five seconds less. He no longer had any choice—curse the consequences.

Leon tugged the metallic chain, cool against his sweaty skin, that was linked around his neck, and the clasp pulled apart with a snap.

Time froze, and so did everything around him.

His watch read twenty-three seconds now, but it didn’t change.

He couldn’t do anything crucial, but he could think without wasting precious time. Hopefully, that would be enough. Every spare second counted, after all. Leon scanned his surroundings and the rag-tag team behind him. Penny, Adam, Kat, and Maxon were fighting as best they could, but they wouldn’t be able to hold their attackers off for long. Reinforcements were on their way, and when they arrived, the five of them were all done for. Not to mention all of the prisoners. Even if they did manage to hold the soldiers off, the bomb would explode and destroy this entire place, taking them all with it. Unless he could turn it off.

He turned his attention to the dimly-lit hallway in front of him and the rows of cells beyond it, as far as the eye could see. How many people were in here? How many of them would he be able to save before they were all blown to bits? He didn’t know.

He could see many familiar faces, people he knew, and likely family members of the four people behind him, as well as others they’d lost along the way. He wanted to save them all: Henry, Sorren, Namiah, and even Lilith, despite how much he despised her.

However, he could not find the one face he was desperately searching for, the one that belonged to his twin brother, James. Hopefully, Leon would locate him later. He ignored the nagging voice in his ear telling him that James might already be dead and pushed the thought to the back of his mind. There were more pressing matters at hand.

There had to be a switch, a button, a lever, something that would open all of the cells at

once and hopefully shut the bomb off. He only had to find it. Twenty-three seconds, Leon reminded himself. That’s all you have. You’ll only get one shot at this.

Then, he spotted something on the wall directly across from him. Could that be it? It would have to be. Nothing else looked like it could be it. The problem was, he had to run past all of the cells to get to it. If he could hit the button, the countdown should stop, and he would be able to free everyone, then fully disable the bomb. Luckily, Leon was a fast runner.

He grasped both ends of the chain and held them around his neck. He took a deep breath and fastened the clasp. The silence disappeared, and movement returned in his peripheral vision as Leon sprung forward and sprinted towards the back wall. Only 90 yards.

Then 75. Then 50. Then 20...10...5...4...3... He outstretched his arm, reaching for the button.

All he had to do was press it.

“CONNOR!” The sound of my name jolts me from the trance of my game, and I reflexively look towards the noise. Then, I remember, and swing back towards the screen, spam clicking on the button that Leon’s supposed to have pressed.

I hesitated too long. The words “You Lost” crawl across the screen as Leon and his crew explode. I let out a frustrated yell. “No! No, no, no!” I’d been working on Adventures in Adova: The Kidnapping for months, and then I died, I died, on one of the last levels. “You have got to be kidding me,” I moan and flop back onto my bed.

“CONNOR!” My sister shouts again.

I sigh and close the computer. Stretching, I stand up and make my way downstairs to see what was so important that she made me lose my beloved game. “You so owe me, Alya,” I mutter as I exit my room. Leon had been my finest character yet. He would have won me the game if Alya hadn’t distracted me. Honestly, Leon was probably a better person than I ever was. Well, if he was an actual human being, that is. Unfortunately, Adova doesn’t exist.

That’s Leon’s world. Not mine. I live in boring old Dewhurst, Idaho, where nothing out of the ordinary happens. Nor would it ever.

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LITERARY

Happy Story Contest This month’s winner:

Letters to Cat

By LAURA MEAD I can’t remember exactly what was wrong that day. It could have been a fight with my sister, an awkward conversation with my mother, or that feeling when you have so much work to do that you can’t figure out where to start.

Whatever the problem was, it was making me feel terrible.

I felt like curling into a tiny ball and hiding away. I snapped at anyone who talked to me, I didn’t answer my texts. My walls were caving in and smothering me.

Then someone called me from downstairs, “Laura, you have a letter!”

I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position, running my hand through my ratty hair. A letter? I guessed it was from Cat, my pen-pal, because no one else writes physical letters anymore. Honestly, I wasn’t really in the mood. All I wanted to do was hide inside my room until night, when I would have the excuse to sleep. But I knew that I should go get that letter and read it. It’s not like the letter would make me feel worse.

I swung my feet over the edge of my mattress and slowly stood up. I knew that underneath me was a rug and that as I walked past my trash can, a bad smell overwhelmed me and that there was soft music playing from the clock, but I didn’t feel the rug or smell the trash or hear the music. All my mind could think was, Get the letter. Just get it and try to read it. After dragging my feet downstairs and tripping over my cat as I walked through the kitchen, I had the soft, white envelope clutched in my hand. Back up the stairs and into my room, past the trash and the clock and over the rug. I settled back into my bed, the covers blanketing me in warmth and the smell of my room, shielding me from the outside world.

I ran my finger down the top of the envelope, watching it rip open with jagged edges. Inside was the letter. I took a deep breath and pulled it out. It was five pages of writing, single-spaced, with little drawings on each page. I couldn’t help but smile at Cat’s depiction of a pumpkin. I started to read: October 22, 2020 Dear Laura…

Slowly the terrible feeling inside of me became less terrible. The want to curl up into a ball was less urgent. I stood up and pushed back against the walls caving in on me. Each word brought back something in me that I didn’t realize I was missing. Each sentence made me smile. Being able to think about her life, worry about her problems, and predict what she might be doing at that very moment took the weight off my own problems. My life didn’t feel as smothering.

Cat’s writing was funny, smart and interesting. Her drawings were cute. At one point she wrote out a text conversation she’d had with her crush. I hoped things would work out between the two of them. As I read, I felt the bumpy paper in my hands, indented with her pen strokes. I imagined her writing to me, maybe during one of her classes, only half paying attention to her laptop as she scribbled away. As I reached the end of the letter, I found myself wanting more, wishing that I could keep reading the spirited commentary of her life.

Love, Cat I hadn’t realized how much better one letter could make me feel, and how much a letter from a friend could mean to me. I folded the paper back up into thirds and placed it into the envelope and onto my pillow. I threw back my covers and sprung out of bed. The rug underneath my socked feet was bumpy and thin. I heard the music playing from my clock and reached over to turn it off. I passed the trash can and thought, I should take that out as soon as I’m done writing back. Out my door and over to my desk, I shuffled through its drawers until I found a stack of lined paper. I grabbed my favorite black pen and went quickly back into my room.

As I jumped lightly onto my bed, the mattress sank and then bounced Cat’s letter on my pillow. I didn’t even bother pulling the covers over me as I happily clicked the end of my pen. I put the date at the top of the fresh piece of paper and wrote: October 28, 2020 Dear Cat...

LITERARY

A Doe Writes a Poem Called Mercy

By ANNA WESTWIG The doe places its hooves between moss-filigreed rocks with the delicacy of a wish. Silent, nose twitching, it bends a long, swooping neck to forage amongst the rich rot of fallen leaves. The sun filters through a pine-clotted canopy, knitting lacy carpets of light over the forest floor. Idle, glancing rays streak the doe’s dappled pelt russet. A creek burbles in the distance, where it makes a glimmering silver half-circuit around the grove. These are deep woods. They reek of pine and soil, and between the towering trees, the damp, green air holds still, long and meditative like a diver’s breath. Beetles squirm through the deadened trunks of giants that have been magnificent corpses for decades.

The iron taint of blood sits in the hunter’s mouth like a premonition. Spring is a hungry season, but in her stomach, a companion to hunger writhes like a knot of eels: guilt. She knows it will be quick—the doe won’t have time to be afraid. The animal never stops its methodical chewing of whatever tender greenery it can find, its ears never

flicker in alarm: it doesn’t sense what’s coming. But the burn of the bow string cuts into the hunter’s two fingers.

Her breath flutters over chapped lips. The hunter tries to calm her heart, let it throb a patient rhythm, steady, slow, assured. Out here, the deep sea light and the thrumming world is the kind of scene poets write about. And, even as she cordons off the thought with the necessary cruelty, she can’t help but wonder: what kind of poem would a doe write? Would it be the startling fear of a shadow or a snapping branch? Or would it be the texture of a maple bud or her mother’s nuzzling touch? And it is too late for her to unthink now, of mothers and of sweetness, so the hunter eases the string of her bow, and goes to where the wild spring onions squelch in the creekbank mud.

And the doe, whether she ever wanted to write a poem or not, does not realize she has already composed one of mercy. She flicks her white-striped tail and goes to where the grass grows thick and the evening shadows thin.

Inside Every Dark Cloud

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT “I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you.

Which would you like to hear first?”

The doctor looks at me expectantly. I reply, “Bad news.

Let’s get it over with.”

“You’re going to need a new kidney, Leah.”

My blood turns to ice. It’s a feeling I didn’t expect to get until at least my 50th birthday: an inescapable awareness of my own mortality. Death feels so tangible, closer than ever. I can feel it waiting for me just over the horizon.

The doctor has just spoken into existence what I’ve been dreading for months, made it real.

“Don’t you want to hear the good news?”

“Sure.”

“This is definitely not something we see every day. As a woman of science, I don’t believe in miracles, but I can say that you, Leah, have had a fantastic stroke of luck.”

“With a side of advanced organ failure.”

“Right, but take a look at this.”

She fires up the ancient, dusty Dell computer sitting on the desk between us.

“I ran your medical information through our registry of donors. Blood type, tissue type, organ size, all that good

stuff. Normally it takes a bit of time to find a suitable genetic match to avoid organ rejection. But within seconds, this popped up.”

She shows me the profile on her screen, her expression shifting from excitement to bewilderment at my underwhelming reaction.

“Leah, this registered kidney donor is genetically identical to you.”

“Wait, what?”

“So this is as close as you get to having a brand-new organ customized perfectly to your body! We already reached out and she’s consented to the procedure.”

I can’t hold back the tears, can’t keep the smile off my face. “I need to call my mom.”

My hands shake as I speed-dial her. The phone rings once… twice… three times and then I hear her voice on the line.

“Hi Leah, what’s going on?”

It’s hard to talk through this joyful deluge of salt and mucus, but I manage to get the words out.

“Mom, they found Stephanie.”

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LITERARY

Springtime Dog Walk

By ALICE BURKE The tall food-giver with two legs and head-fur the color of the sun is speaking. Her words escape from her mouth in an unintelligible rush, but my large ears hear Gussy! and Walk! and I immediately jump up and rush to the exit of the den.

I wag my tail excitedly as the food-giver approaches, and when she arrives, I leap up, placing my front paws on her chest. She laughs and scratches behind my ears as I lick her face.

Barking, I drop from the food-giver’s chest and run around her feet in circles, tripping over the paw-covers that the food-givers use to walk in. I can never understand why I’m not allowed to chew them; it doesn’t seem fair that my food-givers can have them and I can’t. Sometimes, when the tall food-giver or the male one with no head-fur aren’t watching me, I play with their paw-covers. I have a secret corner that is filled with paw-covers I’ve taken from them, and when they aren’t looking, I chew them up, and sometimes I even eat them. They have a surprisingly rich taste, almost like the smelly cheese I stole from my food-givers a few days before the last full moon.

I watch as the food-giver moves toward the exit of the den. It’s a flat tree attached to the inner walls, and I wonder how the tree can grow inside the den, and why it’s so flat. I’ve never seen flat trees outside. Maybe they’re a special species that don’t grow anywhere except inside my food-givers’ den.

The tall food-giver opens the flat tree and steps outside, pulling on the rope attached to my neck-loop (which is also off-limits to chew, unfortunately). I bound outside, nose twitching as I breathe in the spring air. It smells sweet, like flowers and new grass, and I have a sudden urge to roll on the ground and bark at all the smells assaulting my deli-

Avian Reminiscence

By LOUISA MILLER-OUT Remember this apocalyptic day When acid rain laid mighty creatures prone The brand-new serpent casts its skin away They watched as twilight ripped the sun astray The blood-red sky and blazing mountains shone Remember this apocalyptic day

cate nose, but the tall food-giver is holding the rope and I can’t get away from her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a rabbit freeze as it stares at me in alarm. I go still as well, watching as it slowly blinks at me and then hops in the other direction.

I crouch, straining against the rope the tall food-giver is holding, hoping I can race after the rabbit. I don’t want to catch it―I just want the thrill of the chase. I love running and feeling the wind against my face, and rabbits are so fast and agile.

I leap forward, pulling the tall food-giver’s arm as I try to break free from the rope constraining my movement.

She cries out, startled, and the rope slips from her paw. As soons as the tension of the rope is lifted, I run towards the rabbit, barking in my excitement.

The rabbit’s strong hind legs propel it forward, and soon we’re racing across the path that the food-givers walk on. I start to overtake the rabbit but then it dives into a bush and escapes into its burrow. Exhausted and delirious from the adrenaline-filled run, I lay down in the shade of the bush, panting and smiling up at the sun.

The tall food-giver walks up to me and grabs my rope.

She sounds stern and disappointed, but I don’t care. The warm spring air and rabbit chase have put me in such a happy mood, and I don’t think anything could make me gloomy right now.

The beauty of spring is infectious, and soon the tall food-giver is smiling as well. We walk together past other food-giver dens and enjoy the birdsong and beautiful smells. Eventually, the heat makes me pant, and I pull the tall food-giver back to our den so I can drink water and lay in the shade. I’m tired but happy, and I hope that this walk is the first of many on this beautiful spring day.

The late Cretaceous terrors will decay The green-gold scales of glory turn to stone The brand-new serpent casts its skin away Did all the fallen have a debt to pay?

Will life be better now they’re overthrown?

Remember this apocalyptic day Your feathers stand on end as you dismay You carry them in every hollow bone The brand-new serpent casts its skin away Your dying class in obsoletion lay And you, their only bastion, spared alone Remember this apocalyptic day The brand-new serpent casts its skin away

PENULTIMATE

27

Surrealio

By Ethan Carlson

May Sudoku April Solution

The Coolness Spectrum Procrastinator?

Here Are A Few Signs Of Being One:

Cool The Old Tattler Board

The New Tattler Board

By Ethan Carlson Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20): “I’m not procrastinating! I’ve just been taking a break for the past 2 hours.”

Gemini (May 21 - June 20): You say you will finish an assignment tomorrow morning, but you wake up at 10 AM the next day.

Cancer (June 21 - Jul 22): No, seriously pondering what playlist to listen to while working is not considered being productive.

Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 22): You only did two problems and you have already stopped working.

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22): You are doing an assignment at 3 AM. I don’t care what led to this point, but it is on you.

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22): “Just one more…”

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21): You’re on Google Images (there are very few exceptions to this).

College Commitment

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21): You’re on YouTube (there are even fewer exceptions to this).

Returning to In-Person

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19): You are unaware of what assignments you have despite having access to them.

No Spring Pep Rally

Weather Whiplash

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18): You shower more than twice a day.

Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20): No, you do not need to reorganize your room.

Entering AP Season

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19): I’m too lazy to make a joke here… oh wait…

Vaccine Patents

Incoming Freshmen

Uncool