Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, nearly 90 percent of schools nationwide reported having trouble hiring positions for both teachers and other staff members and though MHS is very fortunate to have a staff almost full of licensed educators, we are not excluded from this statistic. From the constant new faces in the math department to the bus drivers that we start and end our day with, each staff member has a special role in keeping the school running smoothly.
This year, the school has taken a new approach to filling in vacant spots due to substitute teacher shortages: using various teachers’ plan periods to cover for another.
“I’ve seen how many teachers have covered for other teachers,” English and theater teacher Margaret Matanic said. “They send an email out to teachers asking ‘can you give up your plan to cover this hour?’”
While the shortage of substitutes and math teachers is noticeable, administrators are doing all they can to bring new people and perspectives into the school. Running a school is much like running a business, from hiring staff to ensuring they are fit for the position. Every decision is vital to the success of the business, in our case, the business being students’ long-term education.
“All of our math teachers are licensed math teachers, and not every high school in Indiana can say that,” Principal Morgan Nolan said. “I know a lot of times people say there’s still good teachers out there that aren’t licensed. But you have to have a license to teach in Indiana. So, you either have to figure out a way to get them fast-tracked to get a license or you have to find people with licenses.”
The shortage of bus drivers, however, is a more complicated issue. In fact—it’s a national one.
“From an administrative level, the bot-
What’s driving
Addressing substitute teacher
tom line is that the kids have to get to school,” transportation secretary Tanya Nelson said. “That means we have to double up on routes. We have our mechanics driving. We have our director driving right now. We’re just doing what needs to be done to get the students to school.”
Handling five schools in our district, from all three elementary schools to MHS along with servicing St. Thomas More and occasionally St. Paul Lutheran, bus drivers are needed to transport kids to and from school. This includes extracurricular activities like field trips, sports, and club events.
“The drivers like to do the field trips,” Nelson said. “A lot of drivers are into the sports. We have one driver, Anthony Osahan, who’s heavy into the theater and the speech and debate. It’s not hard to fill the extracurricular activities.”
Day through night, drivers put their pedal to the metal to get the kids where they need to be. Nelson herself even hops in the driver’s seat on occasion to help fill the gaps.
“Even though we got them, we just don’t have the spare drivers that can hop in and fill a bus route on those mornings or afternoons,” Nolan said. “It’s a very similar problem with the math department. It’s a super competitive market and not a lot of people are certified.”
A commercial driver’s license, or CDL, is required to drive a school bus. Much like truck drivers, a person must pass a written test, skills exam, and additional driver test to acquire a CDL. Additionally, state law requires Indiana teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree, and pass the CORE, or Indiana Core Assessments for Educator Licensure.
“Math, science, bus drivers, even custodians are necessary. The people we have are awesome, but we always feel like we’re short one or two,” Nolan said. “They’re not easy jobs.”
“ “ The bottom line is that the kids have to get to school. That’s my first priority.”
Tanya Nelson Transportation Secretary
Kylee Barnes & Emma Starkey Page Editor & Web Chief
Illustration by Emily Dywan
New faces, same mission
Cyberpatriot welcomes fresh talent to the team
usually align with issues on competition images.”
Kick starting tomorrow, Cyberpatriot teams are off to a series of the online competition with a strict four hour time limit. To prepare, practice images are given to run through various faults within a desktop that can range from not using proper passwords or programs that cause crashes. With new members that are either in high school or middle school arriving to the challenge of the competition, experienced mentors help them along the way.
“I’m a strong advocate for beginners to join and learn the ropes through practice content,” freshman John Bellahcen said. “Preparing for competitions is surprisingly straightforward, the images have problems you need to fix and these problems
Starting off with programming on his own time, freshman Mathias Seidler soon transitioned over to the Cyberpatriot and joined after hearing programming was a part of the club. Attending the first meeting, Seidler was confused on what he exactly had to do. However, with the help of older experienced mentors, he soon gained more knowledge along the way. When competition arrives, a strategy of getting common problems out of the way before moving onto the time consuming ones comes into play.
“Cyberpatriot is a great way to teach people how to protect against attacks, not just for businesses, but for your own computer,” Seidler said. “There is a lot of club spirit with members frequently talking to each other, it is a really great community.”
“WAVE THERAPY” Displayed at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, art teacher Elena Lopez’s “Wave Therapy” is displayed. Her piece was created with acrylic on canvas and linen. “We had a lot of discussion about whether or not the pieces should be sewn together or attached to something so that they could just be put back up much easier. I didn’t want that, because in my mind, I thought, if this ever gets a chance to be seen anywhere else, I might not have this size. I might have to pull certain pieces for that particular space,” she said.
At a glance At a glance
Club Picture Day
Publications will host Club Picture Day on Dec. 16, where all Munster High School clubs will have their photos taken in the gymnasium for the yearbook.
RECEIVE YOUR PASS. Your club sponsor has your paper pass for your corresponding club picture. Do not throw away your pass.
CHECK YOUR PASS. Your pass will have a timestamp for when your club will take pictures.
ARRIVE EARLY. Corresponding to the time on your pass, plan to arrive five minutes before your scheduled picture.
BRING YOUR PASS. Students will be ineligible to participate in club photos if they do not bring their paper pass.
FIND YOUR CLUB. Publications will hold up signs in front of the gym according to your club. Line up with your club in the shortest to tallest order.
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA. Publications will direct you to the gym bleachers to take your photos. After your passes are collected, you are free to go.
Theater takes Regionals
Munster Theater Company attended Hobart Regionals on Dec. 7, and took home several awards for their performance of “#Censored”. The show took a first place victory, and earned Best Ensemble. Sophomore Ella Dahn obtained “Outstanding Lead Performer” while junior Logan Hayes took “Outstanding Supporting Actor.”
percent of the image complete and then have to lock in and as a team work through problems together.”
Making waves
Art teacher Elena Lopez’s “Wave Therapy” displayed at the Biannual Educators Show
and traveled to through her life.
Being highlighted for her work in reflecting the blue-green hues that ripple throughout each ocean, Savannah Gallery at IUN opened art teacher Elena Lopez’s installation “Wave Therapy,” lasting from Nov. 19 to Jan. 23.
The piece was inspired by Mrs. Lopez’s home coast, along with the various coasts she’s lived on
“I was born in New York and before I moved to Indiana, I lived between there and Miami. It was always 15 minutes or so away from the ocean. When we moved here, no ocean.” Mrs. Lopez said.
“I know it’s part of physics and geology, but there’s that electromagnetic force from the ocean that you don’t get with the lake and, for me, being near the ocean makes me feel calm.”
Inspired by the serenity absolving the coastlines, the piece is not just one canvas, but a multitude of canvases, covered in various techniques that called to Mrs. Lopez at the moment. Being entirely spontaneous, she said the tacked canvases are interchangeable, rather than sewn together.
“I wanted it to stay sort of unlocked, you know. I like that, and this way, it’s kind of like a living thing,” Lopez said.
Finals Schedule
Wednesday, Dec. 18: Finals in Periods 1, 4 and 7.
Period 1: 8:00 a.m. to 9:29 a.m.
Period 4: 9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
Period 5: 11:13 a.m. to 1:13 a.m.
Lunch A: 11:13 a.m. to 11:43 a.m.
Lunch B: 11:58 a.m. to 12:28 p.m.
Lunch C: 12:43 p.m. to 1:13 p.m.
Period 7: 1:20 PM to 2:50 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 19: Finals for Periods 2 and 6.
Students will still have a late start on Thursday.
Period 2: 8:20 a.m. to 9:49 a.m.
Period 6: 9:56 a.m. to 11:26 a.m.
Student Dismissal: 11:26 a.m.
Friday, Dec. 20: Finals for Periods 3 and 5.
Period 3: 8:00 a.m. to 9:29 a.m.
Period 5: 9:36 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.
Student Dismissal: 11:06 a.m.
Corrections
In Issue 4 of Crier, on page 2, Rachel Rancid is Rachel Siergey, and Kate Huang said the quote. In JEA/NSPA National Convention Awards Evelyn Koncalovic is a sophomore. On page 6, “Behind the headlines” photo was taken by Josephine Zangrilli. On page 7, the essay was written by Jorsch and Mainellis. On page 8, Yumna Jawad is a member of MCC, not president. Crier regrets these errors.
TOYS FOR JOY Looking for toys, juniors Jose Lemus and Evan Ponce de Leon pick up a Dragon Ball Z toy while they help out MVP at the annual Mustang Toy Roundup. The Munster Volunteer Project is accepting donations for the Toy Roundup until Dec. 13, gifts of value at least $15. “It’s a great way to help my community while having fun at the same time.” (Photo by Ben Schirz)
CRACKING THE CODE Looking at a computer, junior Tatyana Glowa and freshmen Julissa Gil and John Bellahcen go through practice images in business teacher Ryan Popa’s room. The three students are apart of one of the three Cyberpatriot teams, Echo. “I started knowing practically nothing and quickly learned how everything works,” Bellahcen said. “I really love competition days where you and your team get 95%
THE MORE THE MERRIER the Munster Choir sang their Winter Dreams performance at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Dec. 8. Having showcased their talents at St. Thomas More Catholic Church with guest instrumentalists from the Northwest Indiana Symphony, the Chorale looks forward to bringing the holiday cheer to the Munster stage on Dec. 16. “It’s such a great feeling to go caroling during the season. When you watch Christmas movies that have a choir’s caroling, you know how it feels. It’s a really magical experience,” junior Jovi Savaglio said. (Photo by Ben Schirz)
ONE LAST DANCE Performing her senior solo routine at the dance showcase Dec. 2, Sam Bleza and the dance team perfect their competition routines. “We showcased our routines to family and friends,” said Bleza. “Now, all of our practices are just prepar
Freshman focus
Dancers get ready for IHSDTA on Dec. 14 High hopes and kicks
On Sunday, Dec. 8. the Munster dance team won regional grand champions for varsity pom with the highest score at NDA (National Dance Alliance). Now, the team continues to practice dances for IHSDTA (Indiana High School Dance Team Association) on Dec. 14 to compete in the pom and jazz categories, as well as the solos and ensembles. This year’s theme for pom is ‘attributes of a Mustang,’ bringing in the strong attitude. With jazz, the team decided to try something different than last year’s slow jazz dance, having a more fast and sassy routine.
hard in some way,” senior Sam Bleza said. “It is hard on our bodies and mentally, but it just makes us stronger dancers and more united as a team.”
To prepare for the competition, sophomore McKenna Willis improves by doing dances full out and taking extra classes.
“I have met some of my goals this season but I have more to work on by practicing them consistently,” Willis said.
On the podium
Not only does individual improvement occur, but so does team improvement which can include closer bonds and communication.
Munster’s NDA placing
Team places: 1st in varsi -
ty pom, jazz and gameday
Sam Bleza: 1st in senior solo
“What gets us the most excited for competition is finally showing off what we have been working on all season long,” sophomore Gwyneth Cox said.
Liv Gouveia: 1st in junior solo
Having the right mindset and pushing toward the same level to get through the competition even if there are challenges is what the dancers try to strive for.
“Preparing for the competition is not easy, but I feel like it would be not fun if it was not
Swimmer Lilly King starts off season with a wave
Emily Dywan Editor-in-Chief
UP FOR AIR Swimming freestyle, freshman Lilly King competes in the 200 freestyle. For each event, swimmers will have a goal or focus for their race. “I focus a lot on kicking and on my turns being fast,
Hoops,
She broke the 100 backstroke record in Munster Swim Club this season. She made Munster varsity swim her first season. She’s placed first in all of her individual races in the swim team’s first two meets.
And she is just a freshman. Every dynasty has its season of rookies, and for the Munster swim team, freshman phenoms such as Lilly King have made a splash in the Seahorses’ early season.
Having been on the Munster Swim Club since 2018, the varsity players anticipated the introduction of King among her freshman peers for their high school debut. Since she began swim when she was only seven years old, King reflects on what drove her to swim.
“My mom used to swim, and she thought I would hate it. I came home with a flyer, signed up for the swim team, and ended up loving it,” King said. “I love swimming because I get to focus on my progress. Even though we’re all
they did it again
“Everyone’s staying positive throughout practice and helping each other out, no matter if someone’s in a bad mood,” senior Jisele Ruiz said.
With the closer bonds and communication, the girls help keep up the motivation in order to fuel the drive to meet goals and do their best.
“There were times when I was a freshman, and I was like ‘oh, this is only me going through it,’” Bleza said. “But knowing my teammates are there, doing the same things as me, just makes me more motivated as a dancer, and also the thought of getting that first place win for Munster.”
swimming in a team, you’re swimming for yourself in the pool.”
As a freshman, the swim team has helped ease King’s transition into high school. She notes one major difference between playing for club and school: spirit.
“One big difference in high school is that everyone’s up and cheering for us all the time,” King said. “I love leading cheers in Club, so when I hear everybody shouting for me, it just charges me to go faster.”
King placed first in 100 fly and 50 free individuals in her first meet against Crown Point. Head coach Matt Lee encourages his players to drive themselves.
“Before meets, coach tells us ‘brains off, gas on,’ and I think I sometimes take it too literally,” King said. “I’m not calm before my matches, but that fuels me. When I want to beat a time, I go for it. When I want to beat a personal best, I go for it. Competition drives me to do my best.”
Boys’ basketball prepares for game tomorrow vs East Chicago
Gabby Van Horne Beat Manager
The crowd cheers as senior captain Blake Trilli is awarded and makes his free throw at the game against Hammond Morton on Dec. 7. This season the team has had to adapt with three returning varsity players, senior captains Trilli and Tyler Fuller and junior captain Josh Malloy. The team has been working on communication teamwork and
defensive plays.
“As a new varsity player with many others, we all had to pay attention in practice and watch film to get us ready,” junior Danny Schassburger said. “The captains play a big part with all the new players with adapting to varsity.”
Having played four games so far, two away and two home, their record is 3-1. Tomorrow, the team will travel to East Chicago Central High School for their third away
game of the season. Transitioning from football to basketball season during November, Schassburger makes sure to take care of himself, both mentally and physically, throughout the season.
“The student section in both football and basketball play a big role with both teams,” Schassburger said. “The fans bring a ton of energy to the team, they uplift our team’s morale and give us an edge against our opponents.”
and my breathing,” King said. (Photo by Evelyn Koncalovic)
AGAINST THE CLOCK Eyeing his opponent, senior Blake Trilli tries to keep the opposing team from scoring. On Dec. 6, Munster played Illiana Christian and won 52-49. “I think about stopping the ball, making sure that they don’t score and helping our team out,” Trilli said. (Photo by Evelyn Koncalovic)
Diving into Lilly King’s swim bag
Goggle case
Goggles
Swim cap
Club medal
Photos by Josephine Zangrilli
Four the books
A pop culture rewind of the 2024 year
Lexi Villalobos
Deadline Manager
Films of twenty four
Top-grossing movies of the 2024 year
Spring
Jan 12 “Mean Girls” April 26 “Challengers”
While Dress to Impress released in October of 2023, the multiplayer dress-up Roblox game skyrocketed in users in mid 2024 Both Roblox and non-Roblox players began to play the viral phenomenon game.
A “feminonomenon”
Singer-songwriter Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, better known as popstar Chappell Roan, came into the spotlight after her hits “HOT TO GO” and “Good Luck, Babe!” broke the Billboard Hot 100.
She broke records of Lollapalooza’s largest crowd, fostering over 100,00 attendees at her set on Aug. 1, presumed to be the largest crowd ever gathered at a singular Lollapalooza set in the event’s history.
Brat to the bone
Charli XCX released the album “brat” on June 7, which soon rose in popularity with songs that captured the summer time. The social media trend “Brat Summer” spread, embracing individuality and high energy.
Summer
June 14 “Inside Out 2”
July 3 “Despicable Me 4”
July 26 “Deadpool & Wolverine”
87 and 89
Fall
Aug 9 “It Ends with Us”
Sept 6 “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
Oct 18 “We Live in Time” Nov 22 “Wicked” Nov 27 “Moana 2”
Ever since 2023, pop star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce’s relationship has been out to the public, the couple supporting one another in both of their careers. Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs games were broadcasted more often along with Kelce joining her on stage at the London Eras Tour concert on June 23.
Rise of the hippo
A pygmy hippopotamus named Moo Deng was born on July 10 in Thailand. After videos circled of her living the best life, Deng became an Internet sensation in Sept
Slay or decay?
brat summer
Generation Z’s slang, or “brainrot,” began developing more throughout the 2024 year, introducing words and phrases such as “sigma,” “skibidi toilet,” “rizz,” “fanum tax,” “mewing,” “pookie,” “let me cook,” and “1000+ aura.”
Ultimate showdown
The highly anticipated boxing match at the AT&T stadium between world champion boxer Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul streamed on Netflix on Nov. 15. Over 65 million people watched as Paul defeated Tyson by a unanimous decision.
We bring the
Making their debut on TikTok on March 1, father and son duo Andrew “A.J.” Befumo Jr. and Eric “Big Justice” Befumo filmed a video in Costco that reached 59.5 million views, as the phrase “we’re Costco guys” started to spread.
theaters Nov 22
Sabrina Carpenter “Short n’ Sweet” tour kicked off on Sept. 23
Jojo Siwa Released single “Karma” on Apr. 5
Simone Biles Won gold for U.S. gymnastics July 30
Cynthia Erivo “Wicked” premiered in
Four flavors, one year
Reviewing TikTok’s top food trends
Going for gold
In late July, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen blew up for his obsession with the Olympic Village’s chocolate muffins, making over nine TikToks raving over the sweet treat. I replicated the recipe with chocolate muffin batter, chocolate chunks and a ganache finish. Will these Olympic muffins stand Christiansen’s rave and win the gold?
Pack a punch
Hwachae, a Korean fruit punch, was this summer’s trending recipe. Influencer Amy Flamy sparked the traditional recipe on TikTok, fostering over 10 million views. Many TikTokers followed suit and imitated Flamy’s claims of “severe dehydration at 3 a.m.” Hwachae is a combination of strawberry milk and a fizzy citrus soda, commonly leveled to Sprite or Korean cider, as well as a wide assortment of fruits.
Tossing the greens
“Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber,” TikTok influencer Logan Moffitt emphasizes in his various videos. Since posting his first salad in July gaining 11 million views, Moffitt fostered a cucumber revolution among the nation, selling stores out of the produce for months.
Crier tried his first cucumber salad recipe, consisting of whipped cream cheese, red onion, smoked salmon, and everything bagel seasoning.
Oh, I’m a gummy bear
Save your Sprite from the Hwachae for this next recipe. After influencer Kat Chao garnered over 46 million views from her Oct. 23 post, fizzling a pack of Haribo gummy bears in Sprite, TikTok was quick to jump on the bandwagon. The gummy bears expand in the fizzy soda due to a process of osmosis. From there, transfer your gummy bears to the freezer and let them sit for a few hours.
Emily Dywan Editor-in-Chief
Presentation (5/5): With chocolate ganache piping and a rustic parchment paper lining, these muffins look straight out of the Olympic Village. The muffins take the medal for delivery.
Taste (3/5): A chocolate connoisseur’s dream. However indulgently rich this muffin is, you’ll surely need a napkin and a glass of water on standby.
Is it worth the hype? (4/5): Although this recipe took the most time out of all of the following recipes, the chocolate Olympian muffin is worth the payoff for those willing to invest extra love for this sweet treat.
Presentation (5/5): This punch is a stunning elixir of pastels for something so easy to assemble. Additionally, the ice and fruit makes for a satisfying stir.
Taste (3/5): With an unbelievable concoction of products from sprite to strawberry milk, this recipe proved my doubts wrong. However, the punch becomes hard to put down once you’ve eaten all the fruit.
Is it worth the hype? (3/5): I’d consider this recipe out of season, more fit for the pool side. Hwache is worth a try, but it’s not worth the trend.
Presentation (3/5): It’s hard to discern between the line of cream and cucumber. Perhaps it’d stun best in Logan’s iconic deli container. Taste (5/5): The cucumber’s crunch and the smoky salmon harmoniously complement the cream cheese concoction, creating the perfect flavor profile for a wonderful refreshment. Is it worth the hype? (4/5): Moffitt is right: sometimes you do need to eat an entire cucumber. With a wide spectrum of different recipe variations, the possibilities are endless. If you’re one for a refreshing snack that’ll just make you feel good, this salad will deliver.
Presentation (3/5): Beyond the excitement of seeing your gummy bears expand in the Sprite, there’s nothing certainly special about the looks of this recipe.
Taste (1/5): Don’t let the first few bites of these gummy bears deceive you. While Albanese gummy bears always tastes pleasant, the inside of this treat is grainy in the mouth, a consistency only comparable to that of a crushed Orbeez. Is it worth the hype? (2/5): A 24-hour process for an underwhelming result? This recipe let me down the most.
Illustrations by Emily Dywan
Your mind matters
Mental Health Club works toward an aware future
Gabby Van Horne & A. Kirk & Isla Utterback Beat Manager & Journalism 1 Writers
Days are getting darker as the Winter Solstice approaches, and students and teachers feel the effects in forms such as seasonal depression, finals stress and school related anxiety. Throughout this time, Mental Health Club has been working to inform and educate faculty and students on concerns, solutions and situations related to Mental Health.
“School can be a big thing that affects so many students’ mental health,” senior and co-president Ariana Perez said. “At this age we’re very impressionable and vulnerable, so I think mental health needs to be targeted for students, and there are so many ways we can be helped. More people need to be aware of that.”
On Nov. 21, seniors Jenna Richard, Lucia Salazar and Pemi Ogunjimi presented to staff members before school. Last year staff members began talking about mental health to teachers, and the officers wanted to bring it into the new school year. This year, they gave hypothetical situations related to student mental health, and asked teachers how they might handle them and then built off of their explanations.
into their classroom at the beginning of the day… because if they’re not processing their feelings well, they’re not going to learn.”
English teacher Leigh Ann Westland incorporates mental health support by having Mindfulness Mondays. After participating in mindfulness training four years ago, she decided it was something important to incorporate into her teachings. Each Monday her classes spend five minutes learning about ways to be mindful and how to deal with every day stresses. By definition, mindfulness is being present, and these Mindfulness Mondays are meant to encourage this.
Resources for you
• Call or text 988 : Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
• E-couch : Information on emotional problems
• The Trevor Project : 24/7 crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth
• Recovery International : Mental Health Organization with online and in person meetings based on specific needs
“I think everyone knows what they should do, they just don’t know how to implement that into their own teaching, their classrooms, and how they should approach the students,” Richards said.
Through the course of education, students are told that teachers can be trusted adults in which they can talk and express themselves too, but how do they make connections in the first place?
“I think, while not necessarily staff here at MHS, some have the perception that conversations about wellness and mental health are done in place of other things, or that they have to decrease the rigor of a class or take this big amount of time to accomplish,” English teacher Ben Boruff said. “Mental health should be, I believe, the very first thing that every teach er thinks about when they step
“Through my own mindfulness practice and using the many resources available online, I can spend five minutes a week sharing ideas and tools that could help students be happier,” Westland said. “I am also grateful that I teach a subject that involves human experiences and emotions that I can relate to social issues and students’ lives. I believe in the power of breathing, living in the present, having self-compassion, and practicing gratitude and loving kindness daily and enjoy sharing with students.”
As student mental health is becoming increasingly apparent in classrooms, the club leaders believe it is also important to remember teacher mental health.
“We tend to give very generic and robotic answers or commentary, and I think making it more personal will also help with that,” Richard said.
Along with awareness care from teachers, students should reciprocate respect and care to their teachers.
“I think we can engage in class and show that they’re paying attention,” Perez said. “That way the teachers don’t feel like they’re showing up
A. Kirk
Guest Columnist
Degeneracy Generative Flowers or weeds? Staff opinion
Let’s be honest: life has been a lot, recently. There’s a lot expected out of people, students and staff alike. We’re all in a period of stress, and we have found ourselves in a world where outward aggression is a suitable replacement for respect.
In the words of globally renowned mangaka Hirohiko Araki, we’re “headed for a future world dominated by fraudsters.”
The normalization of causal plagiarism has needlessly plagued modern technology within the span of just a few years; with seemingly every app adding an unnecessary generative AI tool for the sake of a trendy marketing ploy, the publicity of human artistry is at risk of becoming a niche minority. With Coca-Cola replacing their holiday commercial with a robotic emulation and even programs such as Adobe promoting image generation, the distribution of AI truly calls one thing into question: just how many creative individuals are being laid off in mass for corporate slop’s sake?
Large corporations have more than enough money to hire natural talent in the department of marketing and advertising, and yet a multitude of them have decided to take the cheap, uninspired way out. The job market for artists and writers is shrinking, and with AI on a generational rise, it’s looking bleak. Coming from an aspiring creative: widespread art theft will most likely lead to detrimental effects in not only the art industry, but also the environment.
AI systems thrive off of scraping every corner of the Internet for man made art, writing, and photography—circumventing copyright laws in doing so—in order to generate soulless amalgamations of preexisting works. To run these data scraping softwares and train a system, fossil fuels are burned in tons, emitting as much carbon as the standard American household does annually in one sitting. Speeding up the inevitable destruction of the planet all to generate something that has easily been done better by human hand for centuries is essentially pointless yet quite befitting of corporate greed.
Generative AI has become so deeply integrated into our society in the past few years that the dismantling of it is impossible. As human creativity exits mainstream, artists can only hope for the impacts of AI to eventually blow over. Whether it be new laws or the internal destruction of training softwares beginning to scrape their own AI content, hope still exists to minimize the use of generative tools in artistic industries; until then, creatives must struggle to work alongside the systems designed specifically to rob them of their efforts.
It’s a common complaint that students have too much to do. Between various before and after school activities and at-home responsibilities, consistent homework and studying for seven classes adds a lot of responsibility to the already busy schedule of the average student.
Sometimes it’s just not possible to get that worksheet done on time, and watching your grade plummet because of it just serves to add more stress on top of everything else. It’s especially for stressful for upperclassmen hoping to maintain a good GPA for college applications.
Yet, teachers have their own issues to consider. They consistently work through grading up to a hundred or more papers or tests, in addition to their own personal responsibilities. And some students consistently disrespect the teachers, even in subtle ways.
People undermine the teacher’s authority, succumb to absent-mindedness or sleeping in class, doing anything but the work they were given or flat out mocking the teacher. Every single one of
Our take
Mental health impacts both students and staff equally.
these things just serves to make life harder for our teachers. On both sides of the equation, respect and understanding has been lost. No-one knows exactly what goes on in a person’s
life, and you can never tell exactly what things people might be hiding from others. By continuing this cycle of disrespect, everyone is hurt. And while cliché, maybe it’s time to bring up that golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. That way, just maybe, it would be enough to turn the weeds of hurt to brilliant blooming flowers.
Now or never
During last year’s December issue, I wrote about CP2, a liquid natural gas (LNG) project. Currently, the construction on this LNG export facility has been halted until an ad-
CRIER CRIER
Crier, Munster High School’s official student newspaper, may be reached via mail at 8808 Columbia Ave, Munster, IN 46321; via phone at 219-836-3200, ext. 3443. Crier is published through the Student Media: Newspaper 1-4 classes and extra-curricular involvement. Crier’s website is mhsnews.net.
•The newspaper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for the school and community.
•Crier is a source of information, entertainment, advertising and opinion for the student body, faculty, administration and community.
•Published material will stress objective reporting except on the editorial page where opinion writing will be featured. All published material will stress accuracy, integrity, honesty, responsibility, objectivity, fairness and independence. Corrections, when necessary, will be published on page 2.
ditional environmental impact analysis is completed. Since that project was approved, there have been many successes, as well as setbacks, for the environment.
2024 has been the warmest year we have recorded, as well as the summer of 2024, June through August, being the hottest summer recorded by NASA. The Earth has begun to demonstrate the effects of this warming. Wildfires, earthquakes and hurricanes have plagued countries all over the world.
The United States experienced devastating hurricanes, one after another, during this year’s hurricane season. Beryl, Helene and Milton left millions displaced. Entire towns were washed
•Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the School Town of Munster, faculty or administration.
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away and destroyed. In early November, Spain experienced intense flooding. Areas like Valencia got almost a year’s equivalent of rain in a span of 8 hours, according to the World Meteorological Organization, leading to death and disruption for Spanish society.
Although there have been many downs this year, there have also been many ups, and they deserve to be acknowledged as well. There have been advances in renewable energy, conservation efforts sprouting everywhere as well as a lot of environmental advocacy. It is evident that there are people who still care, who are still working toward a better future, and this is what matters.
Editor-in-Chief Emily Dywan
Deadline Manager Lexi Villalobos
Head Photographer Zoe Clark
Cartoonist and Design Chief Damien Salahieh
Story Editor Emma Starkey
Photography Trainer John Kullerstrand
Page Editor Kylee Barnes
Photographers Evelyn Koncalovic, Sophia Rodriguez, Ben Schirz
Adviser Ms. Alexandra Sulewski
Illustration by Damien Salahieh
Social Media Manager Josephine Zangrilli Beat Manager Gabby Van Horne
Gabby Van Horne Beat Manager
Winter Wonders
With winter break approaching, here is an ultimate guide to spend your time
Kylee Barnes Page Editor
Christkindlmarkt, Chicago:
A community trained in celebrating a German Christmas with schnitzel and spätzel all around, Christkindlmarkt was founded in 1996. Being inspired by the first of its kind in Nuremberg, Germany, the outdoor market has been attracting tourists ever since, with vendors selling priceless trinkets and traditional German cuisine wafting through the streets.
The Kube, Hammond:
The perfect place for a seasonal holiday date, or just a quick winter workout, The Kube, Hammond’s ice skating rink, is a sports complex with two full rinks and plenty of room for annual ice hockey tournaments. The complex offers public activities like Rat Hockey, stick n’ puck, as well as stick-prohibited free skate sessions to the community.
44 % of students chose OWALA water bottle
2.) Yeti: 20% (44 students)
3.) Stanley: 13% (29 students)
4.) Other: 10% (23 students)
5.) Hydroflask: 7% (17 students)
6.) Camelbak: 1% (4 students)
6.) Takeya: 1% (4 students)
Indiana Welcome Center, Hammond: Based in Hammond, the Indiana Welcome Center is festively famous for their annual “A Christmas Story” exhibit through Dec. 30, featuring various window displays depicting iconic scenes from the classic film. There are also decorative Christmas trees from organizations all over Northwest Indiana.
29 % of students chose UGG shoe brand
2.) Nike: 26% (58 students)
3.) New Balance: 10% (23 students)
4.) Other: 10% (23 students)
5.) Adidas: 9% (20 students)
5.) Converse: 9% (20 students)
6.) Doc Marten: 5% (12 students)
40 % of students chose PERFUME for self-care
2.) Skincare: 36% (80 students)
3.) Other: 10% (22 students)
4.) Candles: 8% (10 students)
Source: Crier survey “What’s On Your List?” from Dec. 3-10, out of 222 responses
to mhsnews.net or @munstermedia at Instagram for the crossword key
Backtalk
What Christmas movie would you live in and why?
“‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’ I would steal the Grinch’s dog.”
Jujhar Toor Freshman
“‘Home Alone’ because it’s a classic and I love the way the church choir sings and the nativity set.”
Gianna Brazzale, Sophomore
“Any Hallmark movie. The food always looks so good.”
Cyia Payne,
“‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ so I could give the guy a hug. He’s so sad.”
“‘White Christmas’ because it’s my favorite Christmas movie and it has Bing Crosby.”
Tanya Mead, Math teacher
For any students interested in having their responses on the page, look out for the next email when we’re back from break!
”’Muppets Christmas Carol’ to see if Kermit really talks like that or if he’s just doing a voice for the camera.”
“Not a Christmas movie, but I would love to be in the Christmas episodes of ‘Gilmore Girls.’”
“‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles.’ It’s just such a funny movie and I love vehicles.”
“‘Polar Express’ so that I can give Santa Claus a handshake.”
It’d have to be ‘A Christmas Story,’ right? That’s the one that was filmed in Griffith and I’m from Griffith.”
