Fall musical makes a big splash

All of the lines memorized, songs sung and flying practiced resulted in a fall musical that did NOT disappoint. The captivating light effects, intricate set, stunning costumes and amazing orchestra added to the “wow factor” of McAuley’s production of “The Little Mermaid.” The acting was on point, and anyone on stage would be a good candidate for a Broadway production. The musical was undoubtedly a result of everyone’s hard work. “As assistant director, I had to go to every rehearsal, and I was able to see everyone grow both theatrically and in their friendships,” Ava Rosenthal 12 said. All of the shows were a hit, and tickets were sold out before show week rolled around. At the all-school show, students were actually spotted on the edge of their seats. Would Ariel and Eric live happily ever after? Would Ursula be the eternal owner of Ariel’s soul? The stellar acting had everyone nervous with anticipation! Kaylee McClain 12, who played Ariel at the school show, commented on her reaction to the audience: “It was unreal. I’ve never felt energy like that before. It fueled me and kept me going,” McClain said. “It really made me realize that the whole school is always behind us.” From the start of the school show as Scuttle flew in from stage right, the school’s applause was roaring. As if the Daniella Hall the amazing acting wasn’t enough, there was actual flying involved in the show too. “I would say that being able to fly was a surreal opportunity,” Grace Celauro 12 said. “I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to play the role of Scuttle, and flying just made it that much better. I loved how excited the audience got when they saw us flying throughout the show.” The audience’s support was out of this world, and it was comparable to being at the McAuley state volleyball game. Some audience members even made an appearance in the musical. Raffle tickets were sold during lunches, and the proceeds went toward supporting an organization called A New Direction. The lucky winners of the raffle joined the actors onstage, and not one of them danced offbeat. One of the raffle winners described her time in the spotlight. “It was a super fun experience, and I loved getting to go backstage and see the cast before we went onstage,” Georgia Lausch 12 said. “My favorite part was going to rehearsal, learning the dance and getting put in a costume! I went to a rehearsal for 30 minutes, and I was exhausted after. It really shows how hard the cast and crew work on the play.”

above. The cast and ensemble of The Little Mermaid perform, “Kiss the Girl” on stage. photo by Daniella Hall

Alumnae Spotlight events

Tiffany Gonzalez

Throughout this year at Mother McAuley, alumnae are introducing students to new career opportunities or paths they could consider at “Alumnae Spotlight” events. Students across all grade levels are welcomed to join in and learn more about these career paths during select lunch periods. All kinds of careers are being featured, but there is a big emphasis on nursing and all of the different types of nursing specialties.

One alumnae who came back to McAuley and spoke to students is Maggie Clifford, who graduated from McAuley in 2014. She is now a MSN (Master of Science in Nursing). She talked about all the different roles and opportunities she had throughout her journey; she is currently a bedside nurse on the Postpartum/Mother-Baby floor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Kathleen Mixan, McAuley’s Director of Student Services, hosts these events at Mother McAuley to give students the opportunity and insight of all the choices one has to choose from for their future careers. Mixan strongly encourages students to come to these events “to be able to strengthen interests and hear about fields you’ve never heard of before.” You should be informed of what might be out there or an interest you might have! Finding your career path may be something you stress about, so going to these alumnae events can be beneficial. You can hear about these events through the announcements, parent newsletter and emails that go out to your parents. You can also register through the link that is in your Counseling Google Classroom. Engineering, Business and Psychology are all upcoming sessions for the upcoming year, so be on the lookout for these. Alumnae events are an exciting experience because they help you to think about your future and the upcoming challenges that you may have throughout your journey to learn more about what type of field you want to pursue or the path you want to take. Alumnae that come back to McAuley always express so much pride in what they do. They don’t regret the decision that they chose. These alumnae events set you up for success for your future. What are you thinking about for your future? McAuley girls who go to alumnae events have a clear mind after going to these events. They have a better understanding of what they might want to pursue, hearing feedback on career choices and different perspectives. You get a better understanding and view. It’s interesting and an experience you can’t miss out on. Lilly Coakley 12 says, “I really liked it. It was a great opportunity, and I learned about what kind of things I wanted to do in the future.” She was only in her freshman year getting insight, and now she is a senior looking at her options and careers. Alumnae events helped her drastically.

Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has begun purchasing his next project: Twitter. Musk was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa before moving to Canada at the age of 17. Following his move, he received bachelor’s degrees in economics and physics from the University of Pennsylvania. He is most well known for being the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX as well as the CEO of Tesla, Inc. With a net worth of nearly $195 billion, the world is Musk’s playground. In April 2022, Musk proposed a deal to the Twitter corporation to purchase the firm for $44 billion. The deal was closed on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, making Musk the new head of the Twitter corporation. Twitter is commonly used by celebrities to share their thoughts and experiences, as well as politicians to share their political views and stances. However, the majority of Twitter users share no celebrity status but are still able to use the app to share anything they wish. Twitter is used by over 450 million monthly active users and almost 240 million daily active users from all regions of the world. Musk’s latest advancement to Twitter comes with the price of $7.99. Twitter Blue, the latest iOS update to the app on Apple’s

Evelyn Ivers

App Store, allows users to receive the coveted blue check mark next to their username that is typically only displayed on the accounts of celebrities, companies and well-known politicians. While Twitter Blue is skyrocketing in popularity, there are many malfunctions still occurring within the app. Many sources attest that the blue check mark and “verified” label are not shown across many profiles despite having paid for Twitter Blue. Twitter also promoted an improved notifications tab that specifically moved tweets from verified users to the top of all user’s screens, encouraging users to purchase Twitter Blue in hopes that their tweets will receive attention. However, the notification tab has also disappeared from the app, leaving Twitter Blue users nothing to show for their purchase. Musk’s new takeover is not only presenting changes within the app, but also within the company. According to “The New York Times,” Musk has begun transitioning the company to a more privately structured firm, preventing Musk from having to share how the app is performing to shareholders as well as the public. He has also begun terminating some executive jobs such as the chief executive and financial officers, the top legal executive and the general counsel.

Twitter is in for some major changes structurally and socially with the new takeover of Elon Musk, and whether that’s for the best or worst will be revealed soon when his takeover really begins to take form.

above. Elon Musk declares free speech is now available to Twitter users.

World population climbs

Ella Martin

On Nov. 4, voters all over America were getting ready for the special voting day. Many races were up for grabs for either re-election or fist-time politicians. For the state of Illinois, Governor Democrat J.B Pritzker defeated Republican candidate Darren Bailey with 54% of the vote compared to Darren Bailey’s 43%. For the Illinois Senate race, Tammy Duckworth defeated Republican candidate Kathy Salvi and Libertarian candidate Bill Redpath with 56% to Kathy Salvi’s 42%.

Governor Pritzker has been in office since 2019 and has enacted many policies during his time in office. He raised the minimum wage to a living wage, which has been impactful for people with minimum wage jobs. Pritzker also launched a program to build roads, bridges and schools. 1.8 billion dollars have gone to tax relief on groceries, gas and property taxes; Pritzker also fought to make college more affordable.

With the win, he still has more to do. Pritzker plans to continue to tackle the issues from the pandemic and overcome issues working families tend to face. “When I took office in 2019, I pledged to make Illinois the best place in the nation to raise a family,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker. “By expanding the Strengthen and Grow Child Care and Child Care Assistance programs, we are living up to that pledge and making sure families in every corner of the state have access to quality care for their children during their most crucial developmental years.” With Tammy Duckworth Duckworth’s win, she has many plans to help Illinois by fighting issues of agriculture, nutrition, economy, healthcare, immigration and many more. Duckworth also plans to fight for affordable health care. For the agriculture industry, she is committed to reinforce initiatives that eliminate unnecessary red tape and expand opportunities for farmers. While the midterm elections are over, many voters are looking toward the 2024 presidential election. Voters wonder if President Biden will run for re-election; if he does, can he maintain the presidential seat against the Republican frontrunners: former President Donald Trump or the current Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis? We will have to see to find out.

graphs by Lisette Corral

What is causing Europe’s energy crisis?

Many European countries have been going through a major energy crisis in 2021 and 2022. In the European Union (EU), gas consumption has increased by nearly 25%. Many factors including COVID-19 and climate change have contributed to this crisis.

With the pandemic and lockdown, the demand for energy went down dramatically. This led to the supply of energy going down in response to the lower demand. However, after many places in the world started reopening, the demand for energy sources such as liquified natural gas went up, and suppliers weren’t prepared. This led to rapid inflation and unequal supply and demand.

Suppliers were also under extra pressure due to droughts in North and South America and heatwaves in Europe. The extreme heat had impaired the functions of many hydro powered generators. According to publichealth.org’s article “Climate Change,” “Most climate change experts agree that greenhouse gases-which trap heat and prevent it from leaving the Earth’s atmosphere-are mostly responsible for the temperature spike. Lilly Daggy

Even with a worldwide emphasis on reduced greenhouse emissions, temperatures continue to climb.” The recent colder winters have also frozen a lot of the liquified natural gas used for energy. These extreme changes in temperature have also caused many to use their heat and air conditioning more than usual. Renewable energy is also not as prominent in Europe as it is in other countries such as China and Uruguay. To make matters worse, the intake of gas was also impaired because suppliers in the United States were not able to transport as much liquified natural gas due to losing Texas’s power grid in the winter of 2021. Sanctions on Russia and the war in Ukraine have also contributed to the energy crisis. Even without sanctions, Russia has been short on their gas storages. This is in part due to climate change and the war in Ukraine. Fossil fuels release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which absorb heat. This raises the temperature and causes the Earth to be warmer and dryer, leaving many areas more susceptible to wildfires. The ozone layer of our atmosphere has also been damaged and is letting in more ultraviolet radiation. All these factors have contributed to Europe’s energy crisis. Now, countries in the EU are being asked to scale down their energy consumption by 15% in order to prepare for the winter. They also want to become less reliant on gas coming in from Russia and want to be able to provide for the industry through other countries and resources. With time, hopefully inflation will go down, and resources will be more widely available so that European nations will be able to better provide for their citizens.