The Beehive by Foundations of Journalism

THE BEEHIVE

WATE R WOR R I ES How run-off from farms in Iowa can cause problems across the country- and what we can do to stop it

Editor’s Letter

ear readers, With summer rapidly approaching and the school year coming to an end, the Beehive has been a relief from studying for finals. The hours spent on this magazine haven’t been an arduous chore, but a fun, creative process. Don’t get me wrong, there has been plenty of stress surrounding deadlines and putting out a quality product, but the end result is worth it. We’ve been busy bees over here at the Beehive. Our cover story for the first issue of the Beehive revolves around a very important problem for the state of Iowa, and other places all around the world: water quality. We hope to shed some light on how poor water quality damages ecosystems and people alike, and what causes it. An issue that more directly affects West High, especially since grading scales are changing next year, is AP classes. We’ve gone in depth on how much they matter and why people hold them in such high regard on page 4. For a light-hearted article, check out the musical debate of the modern era, Apple Music versus Spotify, on page 12. As my sophomore year comes to a close, as well as my time in Foundations of Journalism, I hope all of the knowledge our team has gained over the year shines through in our stories. A huge thank you to Ms. Whittaker for her masterful teaching and to the Beehive staff for working their stingers off. Have a great summer.

ISSAC YOUNG Editor-In-Chief

Issue 1 | May 2019 COVER BY KAILEY GEE

CONTENTS

TAB L E OF

4 6 8 12 14 15

Cramming Culture

We take a look into AP testing and cramming

2020 Vision

A brief overview of the many candidates running for president in 2020

Water Worries

Our cover story investigates problems with runoff in Iowa

The Great Musical Debate

West students make the hard decision: Apple Music or Spotify?

My Thoughts on Marvel

Film critic Jack Harris gives his opinion on the Marvel cinematic universe

Editorial

The Beehive staff gives their opinion on fixing Iowa's water runoff issue

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CRAMMING CULTURE Wylan Gao ‘20 and Maddy Smith ‘22 analyze two students enrolled AP courses and their reasons.

Last year, West High introduced two new Advanced Placement Classes: Seminar and Research. It shows public schools still continue to receive funds so they can implement new AP Courses, but eight high schools in the Washington D.C. area are doing the exact opposite. These schools plan to eliminate AP courses by 2022 because it does not foster the curiosity to learn and instead focuses on the students’ ability to cram cited by the school board. On the contrary, West High plans to change their unweighted grade point policy for

2019-20. The goal is to encourage students to enroll in AP Courses and help students gain scholarship opportunities. The different approaches for implementation in AP Courses nurture different ideas. Will students take AP courses to learn, or to gain an advantage in the college process? Mr. Henderson thinks it will be interesting how next year will play out. The AP Psychology teacher is curious about how next year’s proficiency-based grading will affect the students. The new grading system will make advanced place-

ment classes more rigor and hopes to stimulate more class engagement. “Which is going to make it easier to demonstrate proficiency which should be like a C, but it’s going to make it harder to be in the A-line as well,” said Mr. Henderson. The new proficiency-based grading system will prevent students from regurgitating information and instead stimulates classroom engagement. Proficiency-based grading is based on the criteria of excellence which is an A, outstanding a B and C is proficient. Compared to a percent-

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age letter grade, grades will be focused on academic performance. This will prevent students to base grades on percentage. “Students like that striving for a 5 in their GPA. I think students will have to make some worth.” Mr. Henderson explained. With this new system, Mr. Henderson thinks it will be compelling how next year grading system will keep the students in check. Bivan Shrestha ‘22 has goals of getting into a top university. As he googled college acceptance rates in the 8th grade, Shrestha began to fascinate the ideal college applicant: perfect grade point average and balance extracurriculars. So, in junior high, he scribbled out his entire high school schedule to fit the mold of the ideal applicant. At the same time, he made sure that his classes would be hard yet interesting. He did not cram this year as a freshman, but can see himself doing so in the future, which is the problem colleges have with AP classes. They are teaching cramming, not learning. “So they know the information for the test. But then after the test. It all kind of goes away because they don’t need it anymore.” said Shrestha. He found himself doing something similar for American Studies. Shrestha believes he does not need to cram for his AP classes next year, “I don’t think [I’ll cram]. From what I’ve heard from a lot of upperclassmen, AP Euro is fine as long as, like, you take notes and do the work in class, and AP Bio, the teacher gives out a lot of extra credit...so I’m not really worried that much my sophomore year.” Scared straight by an upperclassman who complained about a B in AP Chemistry, which he plans to take his junior year, Shrestha plans on to protect his perfect grade point at all costs. ¨High school kind of rewards people who..are not the best at learning, but like the best at cramming information to their head, “ Shrestha points out. Most colleges will accept the score of 3 on an AP test. At the University of Iowa, the majority of the courses will accept the bare minimum score of 4. Yet, some colleges won’t accept AP credits, and it is believed that the AP courses will not prepare students for college. Shrestha believes that this system is not the student’s fault. “That’s more of a problem with the school education system as a whole.” Though he feels that the new GPA will af-

fect the “die-hard people,” Shrestha believes the grade change will take the stress off wanting to keep a 4.0. If he were to hypothetically get a B in a class, the hope is that the 5.0 GPA will balance his grade point. He hopes that he will maintain a GPA above

So they know the information for the test, but then after the test, It all kind of goes away because they don’t need it anymore. “

4.0 for his remaining years in high school. Not many people in his grade including his friends are going out of their way to take AP classes due to the change, according to him. They aren’t taking the courses they aren’t interested in just because of the AP acronym in front of the title. “There are a lot of AP classes that I’m not taking like AP Spanish [or] AP Psych because they don’t seem that interesting to me. Like, I’m taking AP classes, but I guess they are ones I want to take.” He plans on continuing to take AP classes throughout his high school career. He plans on taking AP Gov and AP Econ just because the upperclassmen said they were easy. Shrestha will continue to develop his ideal college application by taking AP courses, even though it will sacrifice his study methods. On the contrary, Mazen Nour ‘20 selects classes based on pure interest. When he is not slaving at Pancheros serving the “burrito built better,” Nour can be seen at either hanging out with friends or studying on his bed. He did not schedule himself to take a College Board class until his junior year. He decided it was time to challenge himself, so he registered for AP Psychology. “I heard [Mr. Henderson] was a really good teacher, and the class seemed interesting,” said Nour. With hundreds of concepts to under-

stand, Nour felt challenged. Unlike other classes, most of these concepts can be applied to the real world. For example, social interactions between individuals can be boiled down to theorems. Additionally, written response questions known as the FRQ makes students to critically write a response, which is not available in a non-AP course. “He (Mr. Henderson) gives us vocab words and we’ll apply it to real life applications in society ” Nour replied. Though the class can be tough at times, Nour is glad he registered for the course. “I don’t think math is really useful in the real world, but [like] ideas of how people and society interact can be seen if you just go outside,” said Nour. Nour has only taken one AP Course, but he believes that people who take AP courses should be motivated by more than just boosting merits. “It just seems fake...like kids should be defined of what they do out of school not in school.” When he grows up, Nour wants to become a lawyer. He is inspired by his father’s job as a paralegal in Saudi Arabia and wants to follow his footsteps. Next year, he plans to take AP Government so that he can get a foot ahead. His hopes that his experience in AP Psychology will transition to other AP courses at West. “He (Mr. Henderson) gives us vocab words and we’ll apply it to real life applications in society.” Next year, the grade point average will impact how students perceive advanced placement courses. The change in grading style will reflect the students’ knowledge of the courses and increase the competitive nature of West High Students. The two different types of students will become more polarized in their reasons to pick a class based on rigor. Though the GPA change will increase the attendance of students in an AP course, it will set a future of more rigor.

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2020 VISION Maddy Smith ‘22 and Jack Harris ‘22 give brief summaries of some of the candidates for this upcoming 2020 election

Joe Biden (D) After spending years in a will he won’t he, former Vice President Joe Biden finally entered the race a few weeks ago. He’s currently the favorite for the democratic nomination despite some initial worries from many over reports of him touching women inappropriately. He’s run for president previously, falling flat on his face both times, but because of his immense popularity as Obama’s VP he’s running again and is well liked by voters for his policies such as strong gun control, his leading of the violence against women act, and being the first politician to propose climate change prevention laws.Some voters worry that the only reason he’s running is because he has a grudge against Donald Trump and would rather beat him than win the presidency. For other voters however love his ability to make Trump angry and get under Trump’s skin. He’s a familiar and well liked figure in the democratic party, and that alone is what makes him the front-runner.

Donald Trump (R) Donald Trump is the current President of the United States and has been running for reelection since the day his presidency began. At no point in Trump’s presidency has his approval rating been positive maxing out at 45% on january 4th, 2017. Despite this he is incredibly popular among republican voters, whom are very supportive of him. He’s been criticized for having policies that divide the country, but the reason those policies are so divisive is because they’re designed to appeal to far right voters. For his 2020 campaign he’s continued to push his border wall as well as campaign heavily on the economy’s success under him. One of the issues that could make or break his campaign is how most of the accomplishments he advertises on his website are seen as very partisan, whether it’s repealing parts of Obamacare, removing the Iran deal, and making the U.S. the only country in the world to not be a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2016 Trump’s rhetoric and boldly partisan policies got him elected. Only time will tell if history repeats itself.

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Bernie Sanders (D)

MAY 28TH 2019

Following his failed bid for the Democratic nomination in 2016, Bernie is back for round 2 and campaigning on relatively the same platform. He wants Medicare for all, free college, fix social security, and stop climate change. He’s been widely credited with popularizing the term democratic socialist and helping create a wave of new young democratic voters and politicians who advocate for many of his positions. Bernie’s main obstacle for 2020 is that some of his positions seem too radical for some more moderate voters. Bernie has changed the political landscape more in the past 3 years more than he did in his previous 26. He seems to just be hitting his stride politically and whos to say that his young and powerful base will carry him all the way to the white house.

Kamala Harris (D) Kamala Harris is a California Senator and former Lawyer. Her parents are Jamaican and Indian but she was born in Oakland, CA. She’s appealing to people because she’s a nice blend of policy and personality. She does a good job of seeming down to earth in interviews but is also smart and assertive on the Senate floor. Only elected in 2017 she’s gained popularity by working hard and being ambitious. She’s very progressive in many of her policies, supporting things such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for all, but is good at objective and coming up with fair and just laws because of her time as California Attorney General. As stated prior she’s for the Green New Deal and Medicare for all, but she also supports a ban on assault style guns, increased pay for teachers, legalized marijuana, and decriminalizing sex work. Kamala Harris is well liked by most in the democratic party and she has policy that could attract a lot of voters. Only time will tell what happens to her but it seems quite possible that she would come out on top.

Elizabeth Warren (D) Elizabeth Warren has a bold strategy for 2020. Win on policy alone. Especially when it comes to the economy. This approach could be because of her scandal last year involving her being part native american. Warren had claimed in the past to be part native american and had even called herself a minority while at certain jobs. Many, including the president, called into question the legitimacy of her claims and she took a DNA test that said she is roughly 1/272 native american. To put this behind her and have people focus less on who she is personally, she’s rolled out more policies than any other candidate running for president. Some of her ambitious plans include ending corruption in Washington, increasing the number of supreme court justices, revamping the budget to invest better, a tax on americas 75,000 richest families (that would be able to pay for medicare for all, free college, universal childcare, and the green new deal), creating an amendment that ends voter suppression, outlawing partisan gerrymandering, ending donations from lobbyists, ending privatized prisons, more benefits for veterans, and banning senators and congressmen from from trading stocks. Elizabeth Warren might be the most qualified person for presidency when it comes to her policies and the sheer number of them, but only time will tell how popular these policies really are.

Photo Credits: Elizabeth Warren, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders- Official Portrait Kamala Harris, Joe Biden- Campaign Site

BY ISAAC YOUNG AND WYLAN GAO

In a farming-centered state like Iowa, we use a lot of water. Where does it all go? Iowa is known to the world as an agricultural state. Endless acres of corn make up the state’s identity, but the process used to raise that corn is hurting the people and wildlife of Iowa. The fertilizers applied to millions of acres of farmland contain nitrate, a potentially dangerous chemical compound to humans and marine life alike. Nitrate has proven invaluable to Iowa’s agricultural sector, however negative consequences can’t be ignored. To ensure a bright and sustainable future, Iowa will require a plan to stop the state’s ever expanding nitrate output, before irreparable damage is done. The root of Iowa’s nitrate problem is in the water cycle. When farmers spread fertilizer or manure onto their fields, especially before planting, rain can fall and displace them. Iowa applies the most commercial fertilizer of any state, around one billion pounds of nitrogen annually, especially for the production of corn, so every rainfall can bring about thousands of pounds worth of contamination. This rainfall carries nitrate that has been placed into the soil away to streams and rivers, where it is then able to circulate all over the state and beyond. Nitrates refer to ionic compounds consisting of one nitrogen atom bonded with three oxygen atoms. They’re commonly found in foods, like leafy greens and cured meats. While it is true that humans regularly consume this seemingly harmless compound, the problem arises when too much nitrate is present in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, has set a limit of 10 milligrams nitrate per liter of water in order to be safe for human consumption. This limit is regularly surpassed in Iowa waterways, sometimes reaching as high as 25 milligrams per liter, however numbers fluctuate depending on the time of year. In the Des Moines area, nitrate levels are so high that the largest nitrate removal plant in the entire world was opened in 1992. The process of removing nitrate works by creating an ion exchange process, on a massive scale, to reduce the nitrate levels in the water to zero. The completely purified water is then mixed back in with nitrate contaminated water until it is at a level of around 10 milligrams per liter. This facility costs around $7,000 everyday to manage, and the money to cover operation costs isn’t coming from the farmers who contribute to the problem. Without the operation of nitrate removal facilities, like in Des Moines, serious health consequences can occur. When consumed

in large amounts, nitrates can cause the body to become deprived of oxygen by interfering with the hemoglobin found in blood. This effect is especially dangerous for infants and babies still in-utero. In the developmental stages, it is even more difficult for the body to overcome nitrate poisoning and “blue baby syndrome” can develop if contaminated water is consumed. Additionally, continued consumption of water high in nitrates has been linked to increased risks of thyroid, bladder, and ovarian cancers in women by Peter Weyer, doctor of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health at the University

“ YOU ’ RE O N LY TH E N J UST F IX I N G O N E STREAM O F TH E PRO B LE M . YOU ’ RE N OT F IX I N G TH E I SSU ES RE LATE D TO ECOSYSTE M , RE LATE D TO TH E GU LF O F M EX ICO, RE LATE D TO EVE RY SMALL BO DY O F WATE R B ETWE E N H E RE AN D TH E GU LF.” - Larry Weber, Professor at the University of Iowa

of Iowa. In areas where people get water from unregulated sources, like private wells, the danger is higher than in urban settings with removal systems. In March of 2015, Des Moines Water Works, the water utility responsible for the Des Moines area, opted to sue three Northeastern Iowa counties: Calhoun, Sac, and Buena Vista. They filed the lawsuit because they felt it shouldn’t be the full responsibility of the utility company to fix the nitrate problem, while agricultural groups, like the Iowa Farm Bureau, stood in opposition of the lawsuit. “That’s the crux of the big debate in Iowa right now,” said Larry

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Weber, Professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa, “does the polluter pay, the farmer, or does the community pay?” Ultimately, the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal district court, still, it started a statewide conversation about poor water quality and its effects on people and the environment. In addition to the potential negative health effects and all the money poured into removal, there are serious consequences on the environment, both locally and beyond. The current method being implemented in Des Moines, and other areas, is to treat only the water that humans will come into contact with. “The counter to [only treating water for human consumption] is that you’re only then just fixing one stream of the problem,” said Weber, “you’re not fixing the issues related to ecosystem, related to the Gulf of Mexico, related to every small body of water between here and the Gulf.” The current solution alienates the importance of keeping the environment protected. Oxygen deprivation, caused by high nitrate concentrations, is an overwhelming challenge that ecosystems face. High nitrate levels allow algae to bloom at a much higher rate than they usually would. This increased presence of algae consumes large amounts of oxygen from the water, oxygen that would usually support marine life. The result is so called “dead zones.” These regions of hypoxia, or abnormally low oxygen levels, can span 5,000 to 15,000 square kilometers. In this vast area, no marine life is present because the water doesn’t contain the oxygen needed to support it. While this effect is seen mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, other large bodies of water can be affected as well. The misuse of fertilizer and manure in Iowa leads to entire areas of the Atlantic Ocean becoming completely uninhabitable by plants and animals. Although massive amounts of damage in the environment have been traced back to nitrate contamination by organizations in Iowa and beyond, there is still debate surrounding application of fertilizer to fields. According to Weber’s estimates, for every acre of Iowa farmland, around 100 pounds of excess nitrogen fertilizer is used. These numbers would indicate a huge overapplication of nitrates, but Jerry Anderson, Regional Manager of the Johnson County branch of the Iowa Farm Bureau, insists that it would be fiscally impossible for farmers to overapply fertilizer. “We’re only going to put in what the crop removes, because we can’t afford

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WHERE DOES THE WATER GO?

Run-off doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only affect water in Iowa. On this map (courtesy of NASA Earth Obervatory) tan circles represent the size of dead zones across the U.S. Black dots indicate dead zones of unknown size.

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to spend [extra],” Anderson said. Although it seems counterintuitive, it is common practice to overapply fertilizers according to Weber. By using more nitrate than necessary, farmers avoid the risk of their fields being under fertilized, which would be far more detrimental than spending slightly more on the initial cost of fertilizer. The cost of fertilizer is so low, about 30 cents a pound, in comparison to the value of a bushel of corn, around six dollars, that the balance between the cost and the benefit leans heavily toward spending extra of fertilizer. For Weber, the most likely solution to the nitrate problem is to reduce the excess nitrate that is often used, “The economy is that fertilizer is too cheap, so it either needs to be regulated or it needs to be more expensive,” said Weber. By increasing the price of fertilizers or regulating exactly how much fertilizer can be applied per acre of land, Iowa could cut its nitrate output. There is an abundance of evidence, such as research from the Sierra Club, a nationwide environmental organization, on the effects of Iowa’s pollution of the Gulf of Mexico, that points to the negative consequences of nitrate contamination, so what prevents significant action from being taken? The reason can be whittled down to a very simple concept. “Iowa is an agricultural state, by in large, and so our economy is driven by agriculture,” said Weber. The importance of agriculture in Iowa’s economy is massive, so when comparing the potential loss of crop yields to environmental damage and the worries of citizens, farmers often win the debate. It would be detrimental for Iowa to suffer huge losses in the agricultural sector, especially since around 17 percent of Iowans are employed by the field according to Iowa State University, so finding a balance between maintaining profitable farms and minimizing nitrate contamination will be key for the state’s future. Currently, farmers use many methods to minimize their nitrate output. They use waterways, terraces, and cover crops in order

“ WE ’ RE O N LY GO I N G TO PUT I N WHAT TH E CRO P RE M OVES, B ECAU SE WE CAN ’T AF FO RD TO SPE N D (EX TR A).” -Jerry Anderson, Johnson County Farm Bureau to catch water and soil that has eroded from the field. Waterways are places in the ridge between two downhill slopes and are used to prevent soil and water from traveling into the center of the ridge by placing grass in the center. Terraces are ridges dug into the sides of a downhill in order to create a sloped area in order to catch erosion that go downhill. Cover crops, the newest of these innovations, works by planting grasses with deep roots in areas that may be subject to runoff. The cover crops catch water that is high in nitrate and use it for their own growth instead of introducing it into waterways. Most of these methods are very effective for maintaining soil erosion, however the main problem with nitrate pollution is water runoff, which waterways and terraces do very little to address. The bulk of the progress made to lessen nitrate concentrations has been through cover crop planting, which has increased 1,800 percent in recent years. While all of these methods have been relatively successful, especially for eliminating phosphorus, another dangerous contaminant, but they’ve failed to make a significant impact on nitrates These methods are unable to solve the nitrate problem because control erosion, but not water flow, which is how nitrates travel. One well intentioned practice, tiling, is even harmful to water quality according to Weber. Tiling works by placing piping through farmland to give water an easy route to follow. The hope

“TH E ECO N O MY I S THAT F E RTI LIZE R I S TOO CH EAP, SO IT E ITH E R N E E DS TO B E REGU LATE D O R IT N E E DS TO B E M O RE EX PE N SIVE .” - Larry Weber, Professor at the University of Iowa -

is that allowing water to flow more easily will stop sediment erosion, and it is largely successful in this goal, but it also increases the flow of water through the field. This means that more nitrate contaminated water flows out of the field for any given interval of time. By trying to stop erosion, farmers have inadvertently worsened the nitrate problem. The solutions currently being used have made a minimal impact on the overall problem of nitrate contamination, so it is clear further action needs to be taken. Currently, Iowa is operating with a voluntary solution. This means that farmers can choose whether or not they will personally take action towards reducing their nitrate output. “If you are required to do all of these things, and on the ground that doesn’t need it, or in a watershed that isn’t impaired you’ve just reduced the profitability of all of those operators,” said Anderson. The argument is that forcing farmers who are on level land or in a watershed area that has a small amount of nitrate doesn’t help solve the problem and harms farmers’ livelihood. It would also be difficult to enforce regulation because ever farmer’s land is different from the next. Iowa is currently on the fifth year of this voluntary system, and there has been very little change in nitrate levels, however five years hasn’t been enough time to gather sufficient data. Only time can tell whether or not a voluntary approach is the final solution. Nitrate pollution is a very daunting problem to solve. There are many angles that need to be brought into consideration when looking at potential solutions. Agriculture is a vital part of Iowa’s economy, so alienating it is clearly not a viable option. The state government can find a way to enforce regulations or entice farmers to voluntarily take action to reduce their own nitrate outputs for immediate action. Finding a solution that works for everyone is a convoluted process, but cooperation between environmentalists and agriculturists will be vital, the future of Iowa and environments all around the nation depend on it.

ART AND DESIGN BY KAILEY GEE

F E AT U R E

MAY 28, 2019

THE GREAT MUSICAL DEBATE Kailey Gee ‘22 and Maddy Smith ‘22 investigate what music streaming service is superior at West High. As the great Bob Marley once said: “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Music has the ability to bring forth many different emotions, but what has

“ I U SE IT B ECAU SE IT I S TH E M OST WI DE LY U SE D SO HAS TH E G R EATEST CHAN CE O F HAVI N G M OST O F WHAT I LI K E ” the ability to bring forth music? The platform of course. The most popular music providers competing for your attention are Apple Music and Spotify. Spotify gives users the chance to listen for free but also offers a premium, ad-free subscription. It has premade playlists based around moods or themes. They tailor specific playlists towards the listener’s music tastes. Users can also make their own playlists or use playlists others have created. Up and coming artists can upload their music onto Spotify, and the app allows you to see your monthly listeners. There is no fee for uploading music. The service can be added to your laptop, phone, or tablet. Spotify also has a Behind the Lyrics by Genius feature where listeners can view the lyrics and the artists’ thoughts behind the

songs. There is a screen where users can watch short, looped music videos the artists have provided for specific songs. Apple Music is a subscription-based streaming service, similar to Spotify. The user can add songs from their personal librarydigital or burned CDs- and have it all in one app. Like Spotify, it has a feature where you can download the music in order to listen offline. Apple Music is targeted towards Apple users, but the app can be downloaded onto Android devices as well. It has lyrics provided for thousands of songs by Genius, the same company that does Spotify’s Behind the Lyrics. It can also use Siri to pull up songs using only lyrics, which comes in handy if you can’t remember the artist or song title. We asked West students what they preferred: Spotify or Apple Music.

In general, West students seem to prefer Spotify. Spotify gives users a wider range of options since they have the choice of a free and a premium version. This allows for accessibility and convenience. What do you prefer?

“ I ’ VE ALWAYS U SE D SPOTI F Y, AN D I LI K E TH E FO R MAT AN D ALL TH E PE RSO NALIZ E D PL AYLI STS IT MAK ES FO R YOU.”

“ I LOVE TO LI STE N TO

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MAY 28, 2019

M U S I C WITH MY PH O N E TU R N E D O F F AN D

“APPLE M U S I C DO ESN ’T

SOU N DCLOU D DO ES

LOO K AS COO L”

O F F E R A LOT O F G R EAT SO N GS.”

“J U ST B ECAU SE I HAVE A R EALLY GOO D FAM I LY PL AN , SO MY WH O LE FAM I LY LI K ES TO U SE IT.”

“ WH E N I ’ M WO R K I N G O N MY CH RO M E BOO K , IT ’S TH E EAS I EST TH I N G

“ IT ’S J U ST M OSTLY B ECAU SE IT ’S Q U I CK AN D EASY ”

I HAVE ACCESS TO. I DO N ’T U SUALLY U SE MY PH O N E .” Designed by Jack Harris

OPINION MAY 28, 2019

MY THOUGHTS ON MARVEL Jack Harris ‘22 analyzes the Marvel Cinematic Universe and why it’s the coolest death of cinema ever The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a there is usually a mini battle where the heroes movies. D.C., Marvel’s arch-rival, tried to carefully crafted, revolutionary franchise are beaten, but not defeated by the villain. copy them and decided to give up after only that has changed the way Hollywood makes The villain usually gets the powerful object five movies and go back to making individual movies, but it’s and the heroes are franchises. Even Star Wars, arguably the also a predictable left feeling dismayed. greatest franchise ever across all mediums, has formulaic cash cow “ EVE RY M OVI E In the “epic” finale tried to follow Marvels example through spinthat everyone in the heroes finish off movies such as “Rogue One” and “Solo: Hollywood is trying FO LLOWS MARVE L’S their character arcs A Star Wars Story” the latter of which lost so to copy and squeeze which inspires them much money that Lucasfilm is considering as much money out CE NTR AL FOR M U LA and they have a big canceling all future spin-offs. Because of of as possible. With CGI battle with the Marvel most studios that make big-budget the main storyline MAKI NG TH E M villain where they are movies are valuing starting a franchise over coming to an end, ultimately victorious. making a good movie, leading to a worse and the original ALL U N SPECIAL , The movie also needs experience for the audience. However, the characters’ stories to include a catchy fact that no one else has been able to replicate are wrapping up, R E PETITIVE , AN D FAR soundtrack, teases Marvel’s success is an enormous testament people have had time for future movies, to how special and unique the MCU is. It is to reflect on how the TOO OFTE N BO RI N G.” and lots of inside possible that the world will never see anything MCU has impacted jokes. If every marvel like it again, so by blasting the MCU with the world. Marvel has movie just follows these complaints am I simply taking it for done a great job making movies that people, this basic formula and ends up being cookie- granted? I don’t think so. including myself enjoy. They’ve created cutter why should they receive praise and Because of the formula Marvel has, and the interesting vibrant characters and captivating hundreds of millions of fans of fans? ungodly amount of money their movies make, storylines, but every movie follows Marvel’s One of the largest problems with the Marvel has made it clear that they don’t plan to central formula making them all unspecial, MCU isn’t stop pumping out repetitive, and far too often boring. something that movies any time Every Marvel movie, from “Iron Man” is directly their soon. And why BY TH E to “Avengers Endgame” follows a similar fault, but is a should they stop? pattern for story and traits. It starts with the byproduct of Marvel has created hero being introduced to a powerful item. their success a step by step This can vary such as the tesseract in “The and ability guide to making Avengers” or the arc reactor/iron man suit in to constantly billions of dollars, number of mcu films as “Iron Man”. This is followed by a first battle give fans an and I would of may 2019 that introduces us to the heroes powers, the “entertaining” consider a majority main villain, and often the personalities of movie. Since of their movies the main characters. Throughout the movie, h o l l y w o o d quite entertaining, but mainly in the second act, the main execs realized and the ability to number of marvels movies protagonist(s) is having an inner struggle that how profitable entertain is the key that have lost money the audience can identify with them more. this “Cinematic to why I can’t hate Examples of these conflicts include, Captain U n i v e r s e ” Marvel despite America’s turmoil over discovering his best idea is they their serious flaws. total gross of friend is still alive but he might have to kill have tried Me along with every mcu movie him in “The Winter Soldier” or T’Challa’s d e s p e r a t e l y millions of others combined in struggle over what Wakanda should do and to recreate it’s enjoy going to the billions if he should follow in his father’s footsteps success, but movie theater every or pave his own path in “Black Panther”. This to no avail. time a new movie is inner battle is often paired with a villain who U n i v e r s a l ’ s released, because is basically the exact same as the main hero “Dark Universe”, a cinematic universe of while Marvel makes generic, formulated, but bad, for instance Killmonger in “Black classic movie monsters like the mummy, the predictable movies, they also make genuinely Panther” and Yellowjacket in “Ant-Man”. missing link, and Frankenstein, bombed so fun and memorable ones, and as contradictory Before the character(s) can finish their arc hard at the box office that it only lasted two as that is, it’s the truth.

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EDITORIAL

E D I TO R I A L MAY 28, 2019

DESIGN BY WYLAN GAO

OU R STANCE

6 0 The Beehive editorial board feels very strongly that measures need to be taken to regulate agricultural practices so they don’t compromise water quality in Iowa. This regulation could be created by stricter EPA standards, but it would come about more easily through legislation from the Iowa state government. It is not environmentally sustainable for Iowa to continue its current rate of nitrate output through runoff from fertilizer and manure into streams and rivers. It is a potential public safety hazard to allow such high levels of nitrate contamination to exist in bodies of water that Iowan citizens get their drinking water from. Overall, we firmly believe that action needs to be taken before we fully realize the scope of the consequences of poor water quality. It is the opinion of the Beehive editorial board that the natural beauty of our state, and other parts of the nation, need to be taken into consideration when evaluating this problem. The environmental damage high nitrate contamination has caused is undeniable. Algal blooms have led to oxygen deprivation in local lakes, streams, and rivers, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico. This lack of vital oxygen contributes to declining populations of native marine species and lifeless voids in the Atlantic Ocean, called “dead zones,” that can be miles in diameter. Damage to our planet on this scale cannot be justified by careless agricultural practices and must be remedied as soon as possible. A huge concern for the people of Iowa is the health danger nitrates pose. Nitrates, if ingested in large amounts, can interfere with hemoglobin in the blood and make it difficult for oxygen to move through the body. This is especially alarming for infants and pregnant women because fetuses and babies are more susceptible to the harmful effects of nitrate poisoning and can get blue baby syndrome from oxygen deprivation. Luckily, the EPA has set a 10 milligrams nitrate per liter of drinking water in order to avoid endangering the public. However, this only applies to areas that are under EPA regulation, large water treatment facilities that provide for cities, or potentially counties. Private wells, which account for 230,000 to 290,000 Iowans’ drinking water according to the Des Moines Register, aren’t subjected to the same strict regulation from the EPA as larger water treatment facilities. This means they can have much higher levels of nitrates in their drinking water that can lead to dangerous effects. Pollution to private wells, and the drinking water of those in more urban areas, is contaminated constantly by farms without any repercussions for those responsible. The continued pollution of drinking water sources by the agricultural sector is simply unacceptable.

measures should be put in place for farmers to restrict nitrate usage. measures should not be placed because of the five year downturn in the economy.

Action needs to be taken in order to stop absurd amounts of nitrates from flowing through Iowa’s streams and rivers. The easiest solution to the problems is for the Iowa government to put measures in place that ensure farms have a minimal output of nitrates. Currently, it is only suggested that farmers take certain measures to minimize their pollutant runoff. Legislation that enforces regulations need to be enacted. Giving out fines to farms that don’t follow approved practices may be one way to go about this. Whatever litigation is implemented, it needs to happen quickly. Unfortunately, there are many barriers to getting rules in place for farmers to follow. It can be incredibly difficult to track non point source pollution back to its origins, especially since many farmers in the same area can contribute to the contaminants found downstream. This makes it incredibly hard to determine, with certainty, which farmers have been releasing nitrates over a set limit. Another challenge for Iowa is how dependent the state is on agriculture. In 2016, $1.176 billion in corn was exported from Iowa to place all around the world. Iowa is a global agricultural superpower, so any water quality legislation that threatens farmers’ profits will inevitably get shot down if left up to representatives alone. The only way around the politics is for the citizens of Iowa to demand change so we can live in a cleaner future. It is our strong opinion at the Beehive that it is necessary to stop nitrate pollution while we still can. The threat it poses to ecosystems, locally and beyond, is far too dangerous and unacceptable. The health risks currently presented by agriculture are unfair to the citizens of Iowa and will only become worse with time. It is up to the people of Iowa to decide whether the natural beauty of our state and our health are worthy of defending.

- The Beehive Staff

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