Powerpuff Girls.
Check out “Israel Palestine Occupation: What’s Going On?” on page 790 to learn about the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Lookism..........pg. 789 Freshman Kamakshee Kuchhal analyzes the concept of lookism and the harmful impacts it can have on mental health and social standards. Art credits go to Fia Khalil. Design Credits: Akshtehaa Naveen-Kumar
Israel Palestine Conflict: What’s Going On?..........Pg. 790-791 With the recent increased coverage of the Israel vs Palestine conflict, it can be hard to learn more about the issue with differing media opinions. Waad Ibrahim ‘23 gives unbiased coverage and provides you with a timeline of major events with this decadeslong conflict. Design credits: Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar and Waad Ibrahim.
The Start of a Post Pandemic World...........pg. 792-793 The pandemic rapidly changed the entire world around us and has impacted everyone’s life. As vaccines are distributed and regulations lift, how do these changes influence the world around us? Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar ‘24 captures visuals locally on the continously evolving pandemic dayday life. Art credits go to Fia Khalil.
The Paranormal.........pg. 794 Have you ever wanted to learn more about the paranormal world? Jane Lam ‘24 and Kamakshee Kuchhal ‘24 cover all things about ghosts and even tell a scary story. Design Credits: Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar; Art credits go to Fia Khalil.
Word search.......... pg. 796 Fun word search that feature words related to all the articles and topics that were covered! Made by Fia Khalil.
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LOOKISM. BY: KAMAKSHEE KUCHHAL
Don’t judge a book by its cover. We all claim to have followed the old saying, but how many of us actually hold true to that? “Like ageism and sexism, lookism was everywhere, resulting in the good-looking getting the best jobs, winning all the plaudits, being let off the most parking ticketing by soft-hearted traffic wardens; being generally favoured.” Alexander McCall Smith, a respected British writer and an expert on medical law and bioethics, couldn’t have explained it better. Lookism, as many of our West High respondents answered, is known as prejudice based on how well people meet the conventional beauty standard. The vast majority agree on the fact that it’s discrimination too. However, it can occur in many different work and social settings. It isn’t just the way someone’s looks, it can include habits, expressions, their way of talking, or even how they walk. For example, according to Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable (2004), tall men do better socially and in employment than their shorter peers. But it affects people outside of levels of popularity and attention too. Research from Western University shows that attractive people will earn about 5 percent more per hour compared to those with average looks. Obese women were paid 4.5 percent less than their thinner female counterparts, while obese men were paid two percent less than their thinner male counterparts. There are still many questions about the depths of Lookism and how far it actually goes. Who sets these limits of what is attractive and what is not? Why is it that attractive people are benefitted when unattractive people are penalized? We still don’t know the answers. Lookism affects almost everyone on a daily basis. It’s a problem in society today, changing interactions within mere seconds. Based on a survey targeting West High Students, many respondents answered with their perspective of the typical beauty standard. There was a clear trend, especially for girls: large eyes and lips; average height; clear, light skin; and a skinny, curvy body. For boys, it was mostly a strong jawline, light muscles, and styled hair. Many people, in hopes of reaching a standard defined as “cute” or “hot,” might do whatever it takes to fit those stereotypes; even if they harm themselves in the process. Who knows how far people willing to go? If you’re struggling with your confidence, just remember that you’re not alone. Why are conventionally attractive women told not to go for “average” guys? How come girls with curly hair, glasses, and a large waist have to get rid of all three in order to have a boyfriend? When we tell our close ones that we have a crush on someone, the first question they ask is “Are they cute? Are they hot?” as if that’s the only reason we’d like them in the first place. We’ve made it a societal norm now. Lookism lurks behind every corner we turn. But we are all also human beings. Your judgment comes from a sense of safety for yourself. When you feel like you’re in a bad or dangerous situation, your brain kicks in to tell you, “Hey! You should probably get out of here.” Lookism is an instinct. It’s also human tendency to go for the better-looking object or thing. Dr. Judith H. Langlois conducted a study by showing young infants slides of attractive and unattractive females. Even they spent more time staring at the prettier woman. This proves that lookism isn’t something we have control over. Keeping this in mind, it’s much harder to find a solution to this kind of oppression. But can we lessen its effects? Lookism is plain degrading. By telling someone they’re inferior because of something they have little control over, you can scar someone for life. The result of dealing with shame, a lack of content, depression, or anxiety for extended periods of time can lead to consequences that can be sometimes fatal, such as suicide. Currently 85% of students have felt judged based on their looks. It’s time to do something before it gets out of hand. To be completely honest, there is no easy solution to lookism. When we look at people, especially strangers, we automatically judge them. “They’re overweight.” “They’re short.” But it’s your job to ensure you don’t act upon your thoughts. What’s the point of leaving them a mean comment? And most importantly, it’s time we tell our brains that it’s okay to be overweight, short, skinny, tall, or even average. I challenge you, after every time you judge something or someone, to ask yourself one question: so what? So what if they’ve got a few extra scars? So what if they have slightly baggier skin? They’re still beautiful and that’s all that matters.
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Israel Palestine Occupation: What’s Goin g On? Waad Ibrahim The rest of the world is now getting the gist of what’s going on with the Palestinians and Israelis. However, this has been a prevalent issue between the two for long before. As time goes by, the regional contest continues to change and new chapters of struggle evolve. The Gaza Strip has been the hearth to years of protests and violence as Palestinians and Israelis both claim the area. Jerusalem is separated by Israel, but it holds deep religious and cultural importance to both Arabs and Jews, which is why both groups are claiming it as their capital city. From up to 400 years ago, Arabs and the Jewish have had strong religious ties to ancient Israel, and the land has been conquered many times by multiple groups who call the region Palestine. This continuous conquering forced the Jews from their homeland, and when the 1800s came around, the Jewish had begun to emigrate back to the region. Now, control is in a complex state over the region, and the two groups cannot agree on their borders. In 1918, once World War I ended, the region called Palestine was taken control over by the British, at the time Muslims were the dominating population. Britain promised multiple groups of people ownership of the land. After more than 20 years of British rule in 1947, a plan was proposed by the United Nations once they were handed the land issue by Britain. The plan was to partition Palestine into an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab state while giving the Jewish significantly more land than the Arabs. The plan was to partition Palestine into an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab state while giving the Jewish significantly more land than the Arabs. That very period made way for more struggles and an increase in tension between the Jewish and Arabs. The neighboring Arab States quickly pushed in with their armies in opposition to Israel’s establishment. Israel then retaliated against the Arab states, displacing about 720,000 Arabs forced to refuge in the Gaza strip. This is known as the Arab-Israeli War. In 1967, from June fifth to the tenth, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan fought Israel. On the sixth day of this battle, Israel defeats the combined armies, capturing the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. This battle is known as the Six-Day War. With the victories from these battles, Israel took and kept more land than they had started with, leaving Palestinians to become refugees.This struggle for control had resulted in a flare-up. Protests, riots, Israel targeting their airstrikes to the Gaza Strip, and rocket attacks by Hamas on Israelis were taking place. On May 10, after the rundown on the Al Aqsa Mosque. had happened, the Israeli police ransacked the mosque once more, with stun guns and grenades. Israeli police ransacked the mosque once more, with stun guns and grenades. Check out this video about more in-depth details about the Israel-Palestine Conflict.
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1 That was the last straw for the Palestinians, and the rocket firing from Gaza commenced. May 21, 2021, a ceasefire took place, ending the 11 days of violence. 250 lives were lost, most taking place in Gaza. Not too long after the truce, Israeli police forces attack Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Thousands of people were there for the Friday prayers, and this put a dent in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The rest of the world has their eyes on what’s happening, and we learn more as time goes on. Tension is fluctuating between the two groups, and all we can do is wait and see where they go from this current position.
“America must always stand with Israel and make clear that the Palestinians must end the violence, terror, and rocket attacks, and make clear that the US will always strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself.” -Donald J Trump.
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Popular singer Rihanna posts on her instagram addressing her thoughts on the Israel Palestine situation.
6-Day War Casualties & Deaths; 1967 Study of casualties and deaths as a result of the 6-day War in 1967. (The Knesset: Six Day War, 2008)
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Mask Mandates are slowly being lifted across the country. As more and more people are getting vaccinated, they are able to feel comfortable going out in public without masks. People are enjoying the start of summer as school comes to an end and COVID-19 restrictions have loosened. They are planning vacations and making trips to spend the summer after staying locked inside their homes for more than a year. In some stores, the staff are actually starting to remove their social distancing stickers on the ground that helped guide people to practice it. As people believe the end of the pandemic is nearing, the need to stand six feet apart from others is declining.
The Start of a Post Pandem By: Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar
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It seems people don’t care about misplacing their face coverings anymore. There were countless numbers of masks discarded and left behind, simply because people didn’t need them.
There are increasing numbers of businesses opening back up, and they are announcing it loud and clear like this sign in front of Hyvee! The CDC has released new guidelines, stating that people who have already had both vaccines are no longer required to wear masks in public places. These rules are enforced and encouraged in stores, just like Menards.
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The Paranormal By: Jane Lam and Kamakshee Kuchhal Are ghosts real? If you’ve come to learn the answer of the question everybody’s been asking, you’re at the right place. The answer? We’re still not sure. There hasn’t been enough specific evidence to lead us in the direction of the paranormal. What would we define a “ghost” or as “ghost behavior”? A white shadow? A door closing on its own? Missing or moved objects? Many people who experience such behavior aren’t even positive if it was related to the spiritual realm; just that it was abnormal and eerie. The logic of it still remains chaotic. There are many contradictions with the idea of paranormal activity, especially within the people that believe them. What are they made of and what do they look like? Where do they come from? Why do they exist? There isn’t a universally agreed answer to any of these questions. And we still haven’t had any theories or mysteries that were backed up with hardcore evidence and haven’t been debunked through science over the years. But the reality is: we still don’t know. So why do we believe in ghosts? A survey conducted from West High students revealed that over 40% are unsure about the existence of ghosts and about 10% said that they believe in them. A large majority of people say it’s because of personal paranormal experiences. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winning psychologist, theory of having a tendency to a reactionary thought process might provide an explanation. If we hear strange noises, we are prone to immediately believing that there is a threat, thinking something more ominous is amiss. Society is often afraid of what we don’t understand or know little about. Since there are so many unanswered questions and unanimously agreed opinions on these phantoms, the fear of the unknown plays a big role in our fear. When asked from a range of 1-5, 65% of students range from a fear level of 2-3. Popular media and culture has also always linked ghosts with terror. Holidays such as Halloween encourage people to put up “spooky” decorations that often have ghost illustrations and blow-up inflatables. Horror movies often have haunting depictions of ghosts that chase innocent characters from their home, giving ghosts a bad reputation. Despite some people being scared of ghosts, 100% of the students unanimously agreed that ghosts aren’t evil or bad. Maybe it’s the cute cartoons of ghosts that makes us rethink evil intent or the lack of knowledge about them that makes us believe that they can’t harm us. Whatever the cause, ghosts are a fascinating topic and can be interesting conversation starters to see how different your perceptions of them are. For more than half of the student body that loves scary stories, we found what is deemed “The Most Terrifying Ghost Story of Iowa” with a bit of digging. Young Helen Esther Roberts was excited for her first year of college. However, when the Spanish Flu struck, she died in the infirmary in Voorhees Hall on October 19, 1918. They say she’s just trying to live the college life that was taken from her way too early. After her death, her family donated a grandfather clock to the college in her memory. It was originally placed in the Voorhees Hall before being moved to the Stuart Hall. The legend says that her soul lives within the clock itself. Visitors, students, and staff have all reported paranormal activity where the clock has resided. The ghost of Coe College is mostly known for wandering the halls (mostly up to her old dorm room), playing music late into the night, and disturbing students in their sleep. There have been numerous reports from the student body of being woken up to their covers being tugged, the slamming of doors, or the apparition reappearing next to beds. The clock eventually started to do strange things. The time was messed up, chimed at the wrong hours, and would often freeze at 2:53. The time Helen Roberts had died. It eventually stopped working altogether. One of the creepiest experiences would have to be told from the two security officers crossing campus in an underground tunnel that connects the campus buildings. They heard the sound of a string instrument playing through the wall. But the area was closed off. There was absolutely no way a human could’ve been making the sounds deep under the grounds of the campus. There have been many articles written on the ghost of Coe College, but the most interesting one was written from the institution in 2018 itself. It says, “In 1918, a young woman passed away just three weeks after beginning her education at Coe. It’s now been 100 years and some are convinced her spirit never left campus.”
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About the Authors Hey! I’m Waad Ibrahim ‘23 (they, them), and I’m the Editor-In-Chief and a main writer of Powerpuff Girls. I like to keep myself involved with pressing problems around the world and write about topics that people may find “controversial”. That’s why I took up the “Israel and Palestine Occupation” topic for my article. I hope you not only enjoy our publication, but that you also learn a thing or two as well. <3
Hello! My name is Akshethaa NaveenKumar ‘24 (she/her), and I am a main designer and photographer of the Powerpuff Girls. I worked on the design for most of the pages and the photos on “The Start of a Post-Pandemic World”. I’ve always been interested in the visual appearance of things and I hope to continue that throughout my high school career in journalism. Hey, I’m Fia Khalil ‘23 (she/they), and I’m the main artist and co-designer for Powerpuff Girls. I’ve always loved to make drawings, especially those that bring awareness to important matters, so I really enjoyed making the drawing for our Lookism article. I also really enjoyed working for this design in general as it allowed for me to improve a lot more on my digital drawings. I hope you all enjoy the little cartoons and have fun with the word search on the back cover!
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Hey y’all, I’m Jane Lam ‘24 (she/her), and I’m a side-writer and designer for Powerpuff Girls. One of my favorite parts of working on this publication was exploring “taboo” topics with our Ghosts article and experimenting with different design concepts in Monarch. Enjoy reading a wide variety of topics and I hope that you will have fun while learning something new!
My name’s Kamakshee Kuchhal ‘24 (she/ her), and I’m one of the main writers of Powerpuff Girls. I love to research controversial societal issues that are often overlooked but change the world around us, which was the inspiration to write “Lookism”. It’s almost summer too! I hope “Ghosts” gives you the engaging, reader-friendly experience you were looking for before the end of this crazy school year. If all goes well, I’ll see you guys on staff in a few months. :)
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