Vol. 21, Issue 1

New House For

staff

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LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

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IN THIS ISSUE

Cover photo: Gavin Chen

Cover design: Disha Kumar

Disha Kumar

Hritvi Ahuja

COPY/MULTIMEDIA EDITORS

Megan Serfontein

Manasa Premanand SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Kevin Xiang Mekayla Upton

Krystal Wu

Sydney Mulford

Carter Willis

Ria Dubey

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Gavin Chen

ADVISER

Meredith Evans

Anya Biswas Banee Chadha Natalie Damer-Salas Elizabeth Leffew Milly Miao Eowynn Miller Remi Munye Nethra Pai McKenna Ryan Hamilton Sule Casey Wong Katelyn Wu

gallery

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Seniors gather at the stadium on the first day of school to celebrate the Senior Sunrise.

In the annual Wax Museum, se nior Kate Wilson teaches how to make a Marmalade Sandwich as Paddington.

GAVIN CHEN, STAFF WRITER

Sophomore Rebecca Wells plays defense for the varsity volleyball team as the middle blocker.

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

At the pep rally, seniors shield their view of the underclassmen using newspapers.

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

The Seven Habits

As I weed through old notebooks and binders, one catches my eye: “The Seven Habits of the Happy Kids.” The tree on the front, with squirrels and mice dancing at its base, brings back memories from my Shakerag days—Mr. Avery’s wall-canvases, the Science Force trailer, and even the occasional “Shark Bump” in the hallways. I lift the cover of the binder, reminiscing on the growth of the “leader in me” over the years. Even though dust bunnies now accompany the actual bunnies on the pages, I find that the habits are just as applicable in high school as they were 10 years ago.

1. Be proactive: Just as it sounds, this is taking initiative. This can mean taking charge in an AP Lit group project when everyone else is slacking or picking up cafeteria trash that someone else left behind. Proactivity leads to productivity.

2. Begin with the end in mind: If you’re an Excel-spreadsheet type of person, this one’s for you. This habit is all about planning ahead; it helps to have an overarching goal as your starting point. To all the gold personalities out there, you’re welcome.

3. Put first things first: I can almost picture the hand-gesture accompanying this one, with fists stacking on top of each other. For all of the procrastinators out there (myself included), prioritization can go a long way.

4. Think win-win: Disagreements are inevitable. However, if you change your mindset from lose-lose to win-win, you can easily find a solution that works for both sides, even if you aren’t Henry Clay.

5. Seek first to understand and then to be understood: Listen before you speak. No, seriously. I can assure you that whatever you have to say can wait (including gossip from the WhatsApp aunty group chats).

6. Synergize: Teamwork makes the dream work!

7. Sharpen the saw: Just sit back and take a break. High school can be stressful at times, but it helps to distract yourself by doing the things that you love with the people you love. Read that book that’s been sitting on your bookshelf. Take a hike (literally) in the Appalachian Mountains. Play Monopoly with your family (even if you hate it because it’s “too long” but really because you always lose). Look at me, instead of working on my supplementals, I’m cramming silly little thoughts into a 400(ish)-word Leditor.

Why did I just list out seven tenets you probably already knew? It felt fitting to include them in an issue about the guy who introduced them to me. The Four Pillars are great and all, but I can assure you that following The Seven Habits will make you one happy kid.

Disha Kumar

Disha Kumar, Editor-in-Chief

MONTHLY

TITAN WEDNESDAY ENDS

SStarting Nov. 9, 2022, Northview ended “Titan Wednesdays.” Northview will follow the same bell schedule now, meaning there will be titan time daily and no extended lunch on Wednesdays. ELA and science classes will still switch lunches on Wednesdays in accordance with the old schedule; ELA classes from B to A lunch and science classes from A to B lunch. Lunch had become too long on Wednesdays; it was to the point where students had become off-task and did not have a place to be. The hope for the new schedule is that students can stay on task better.

“I’m glad they brought titan time back on Wednesdays because it was confusing having to switch for no reason,” Areel Qureshi said. “It’s also nice that lunch is reasonable now; it used to be drawn out and annoying. The only bad thing about it was there’s like six bells that go off before B lunch, so it’s kind of confusing. [On Wednesday] we were in the cafeteria for 15 minutes before like other people started coming in because our teacher already dismissed us.”

2022 Election

Election Day was on Nov. 8, 2022. Over 2.5 million Georgians participated in the 2022 election, many of them young adults. All 14 House seats were up for election. The Republican party took the majority of nine, while the Democrats only took five. Republican Brian Kemp ran against Democrat Stacey Abrams for governor; he had narrowly beaten Abrams four years ago. Kemp won the gubernatorial race again with a 53.4% share of the vote. The Republican party also took the majority of seats in the General Assembly. There was a run-off election on Dec. 6, 2022, for the Senate. Democrat Raphael Warnock won the runoff election with 51.4% of the vote, defeating Republication candidate Herschel Walker.

Senior Nathan Ware votes on Nov. 8, 2022 NATHAN WARE, SPECIAL

Students spend lunch time with friends SYDNEY MULFORD, FEATURES EDITOR

Johns Creek hosted its inaugural Diwali Festival on Oct. 22, 2022, at Shakerag Park. Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The festival had activities for people of all ages, including various shops with traditional clothes and jewelry, bouncy houses, face painting, balloon artists, diya painting, and giveaways. There were also ten restaurants serving traditional food. At the end of the night, there were multiple dance performances and fireworks.

“It was really nice to celebrate after two years [because of COVID-19],” Esha Brahmbhatt, a student at Northview who celebrates Diwali every year, said. “It was nice seeing a lot of people together in one area all for [the Diwali] celebration.”

diwali festival World Series

The Houston Astros won the 2022 World Series on Nov. 5, 2022. The Astros won four games, whereas the Phillies only won two. This is the second time they have won the world series. Jeremy Peña, a shortstop for the Astros, is the first rookie to become MVP of the World Series. The Astros have reinvented themselves since 201—when the cheating scandal blew up. Currently, there are only five players who are still on the team who played in 2017. Lance McCullers Jr., the Astros’ pitcher, believes that this win is the start of the Astros’ journey as a major baseball force.

Much Ado About Nothing

The Northview Theatre Company performed its annual fall production on Nov. 10 through Nov. 12, 2022. This year’s show is “Much Ado About Nothing,” a romantic comedy following two love stories. One is between sworn enemies Beatrice and Bendick, and the other is between star-crossed lovers Claudio and Hero. The play follows the two couples’ ups and downs and features dramatic plot twists, an evil scheme, and proof that love conquers all. The play attempts to teach its audience that the act of deception is not always inherently evil but can be used to have a good end.

The Houston Astros celebrate their win in Houston against the Phillies ANNIE MULLIGAN, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Senior Maansi Manoj and junior Jiya Rawla perform GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

A group of dancers performs at the Johns Creek Diwali Festival

AMBER PERRY, APPEN MEDIA

Johns Creek Arts Festival

National Art Honor Society members from Northview participate in the Johns Creek Arts Festival

MEKAYLA UPTON, SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR HRITVI AHUJA, STAFF WRITER

Every year, people come out to support the local Johns Creek Arts Festival, which takes place during the third week of October. This tradition has occurred annually for the past 10 years and includes the participation of local schools. Since the festival’s start, Northview has displayed art from its chapter of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS).

“It’s so thrilling as I pull into the parking lot. I can smell the cut grass, the big oak trees, in my mind representing the timelessness of art, and the celebration of art in that open field,” art department chair Jeannette Clawson said.

The NAHS is an organization where students help and learn from the art community. To be a member, the art teachers nominate students in their art classes and see how these students can apply art to other aspects of their lives.

“I get goosebumps and get so excited. It’s like you’re going to the opening of a concert,” Clawson said. “I get absolutely thrilled by the idea that the community is going to be out there enjoying the creativity of others and that they’re all together in open space.”

Northview sent in pieces from the AP art

department and each piece had either a theme or symbol. There was a clear diversity between each work, each artist showed a distinctive background within their art. Most of the artwork was illusions in photography, and the themes had an emotional connection with each individual artist.

“The art sent was truly a representation of each student and it resembled the capability of Northview students,” Clawson said.

The Glimmer of Hope by Alexis Ma, was a display of a picture of a skeleton positioned mostly in the shadow with its hands hovering over the heart. The skeleton symbolizes how dark times will eventually always end, and light will once again pour back into our lives. Afternoon Tea by Audrey Wei displayed a more blocky painting style, including unique strokes to make each shape. It simply represented the name, Afternoon Tea.

However, schools and students are not the only contributors to this festival’s success. Artists from all over Georgia visit the festival to showcase their art, with some artists even selling their art. Over the years, about 1,000 people have come to support the festival, supporting the local vendors and making donations.

“Now to see that we’re coming out of COVID-19, a lot of these artists and crowds have come again and expressed their support for the festival,” sophomore Sophia Rutlege said.

In prior years, the festival hosted people from all over to enjoy the art. However, due to COVID-19, circumstances have changed. The pandemic created a lack of crowds and vendors, compared to pre-pandemic years. However, this year, more people returned to the festival.

This year, over 30 vendors and 1,500 people attended the festival, with entertainment for both adults and kids. There was a build-yourown sand jar, paper painting, and kid-friendly games. Kids also had the opportunity to jump on a big inflatable ship, a new addition to the festival. For the adults, there was displayed art, food, and drinks.

“I think it was really cool because there was art from a lot of different people ranging from kids to adults, and there are all different kinds of art like pottery, paintings, and many handcrafted things,” Lillian Tong, a NAHS member, said. “There were so many people out there which was really cool.”

Students display their art at the Johns Creek Arts Festival. GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

DESIGN: MEKAYLA UPTON, SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR & HRITVI AHUJA, STAFF WRITER

Inflation

RIA DUBEY, OPINIONS EDITOR NETHRA PAI, STAFF WRITER

DESIGN: RIA DUBEY, OPINIONS EDITOR

After COVID-19, the rate of inflation soared to 9.1%. Even though the rate is slowly decreasing to 8%, inflation is still an important issue that affects everyone. Unfortunately, it also affects people differently based on income.

It can be hard to describe inflation. For example, the prices of goods increase at varying rates. However, the statistic people normally hear is a standardized measurement from the government.

“Inflation, the percentage that you hear, is measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Northview economics teacher Lincoln Silver says. “[The Bureau of Labor Statistics] basically takes a theoretical market basket of goods and services an urban dwelling consumer would buy, and it tracks the prices of these things from month to month.”

This means that inflation affects everyone differently. It affects people who primarily spend on necessities, usually those with lower incomes, the most. The prices of high-demand products, like necessities, drastically increase with inflation, especially if the product is becoming scarcer.

“Lower-income people are already spending a large percentage of their income on the necessities,” Silver said. “If the prices of those

things increase, that doesn’t leave much money leftover. So, really, inflation can actually cause people to go into poverty.”

Many Northview students also see inflation’s effects when buying necessities, like gas and groceries. Gas prices have risen by 10.96% since last year, and Forbes says grocery prices have risen by 11.92% in the same time.

“My mom is always complaining about how expensive groceries are,” junior Sherry Zhou said. “We went to Walmart and it used to be like $50 per round. Now, it’s over $100.”

Despite the decreasing value of the dollar and increasing costs, salaries remain the same. Students like sophomore Maanvi Mohan experience the impacts of these changes.

“I find myself spending more money on things that I didn’t have to spend on before. Since the amount of money my parents have been making hasn’t increased, more money is going out of the house than coming in,” Mohan said.

For Northview students that primarily spend money on more optional things, the effect is less evident.

“[Inflation] hasn’t affected me much. I do find it slightly interesting how Dollar Tree is now $1.25-tree,” junior Andrew Sheppard said.

“Other than that, I haven’t really noticed it.”

At Northview, stances like Sheppard’s are more common. Since Northview is in a relatively affluent area, some see themselves benefiting from inflation rather than losing. Inflation increases the value of assets, like houses or valuable jewelry, so people who own them also become wealthier.

“The people in this community, especially those people that are homeowners, have seen the value of their assets increase significantly,” Silver said. “After 2020, I saw an increase in my wealth, which has more than compensated for the increase in prices.”

However, inflation can have vastly different effects on different people, purely based on income.

“Certainly, [inflation] has an effect on people’s quality of lives,” Silver said. “The question is how much it affects students and families in the community who live around Northview relative to other communities where the family incomes are significantly lower.”

Inflation affects almost everyone in different ways, but specific people are impacted far more

profile highlights

Jason Cho, 12

Color guard is an artistic sport few would consider joining, and this is especially the case for men who are hesitant to participate. Regardless, senior Jason Cho joined the color guard as the only male member of the team.

Participating in a predominantly female sport led Cho to gain a new perspective on color guard. He attended the Fulton County Marching Band Exhibition on Sept. 17 where many Fulton County marching bands gathered to perform half-time performances in unique and creative ways. While there, he saw how little men participated in color guard.

“I would love it if there were more guys that do color guard,” Cho said, “It was interesting because, at the [exhibition], a lot of schools were able to point out, ‘Oh, you guys have a male color guard.’ It was really cool to see that, and I think it’d be cool if our school had future male color guards as

His teammate, junior Madison Pedraza-Gargurevich, realized the lack of male color guards, too. She mentioned how color guard involves many feminine moves, and even so, Cho learns every routine. She respects the positive attitude Cho brought to Northview’s color guard team.

“It’s a predominantly feminine sports activity, but [during practice] he just kind of laughs and says, ‘this is so fun,’” Pedraza-Gargurevich said. “So I really admire him to be able to be like ‘Yeah, I want to join [color guard].’”

Cho participates in many activities inside and outside school. Committing to color guard, he attended band camp over the summer to learn routines before the start of this year. And although he devotes his time to his other extracurriculars during the school year, he manages to balance his busy schedule to accommodate color guard practices as well.

Cho’s teammates have noticed his involve

“[Color guard has] pushed me to grow in a sense of being in a very uncomfortable environment. It’s the first time I ever would be swinging flags or pompoms or flicking my hips left or right, but it’s a fun experience,” Cho said.

Cho practices two days a week under the hot sun to prepare for half-time performances at Northview home games. But in trying something new, Cho also gained some memorable moments in color guard. He enjoys all the performances he participates in.

“The most exciting part of color guard is probably when you’re doing the performance itself,” Cho said. “It’s very fun to toss flags. Because if all of the people in color guard toss the flag together in synchrony, it’s a very beautiful scene.”

Cho finishes off his last high school year by challenging himself by participating in a traditionally female sport and breaking gender norms, and at the same time, shows the upsides of doing so. He hopes to inspire others not to dwell on difficulties or let negative thoughts weigh them down.

“If you’re worried, don’t worry, [branching out to something new is] fun and it’s not that bad,” Cho said, “Be uncomfortable, it’s good for you.”

GAVIN CHEN,

EDITOR

MILLY MIAO, STAFF WRITER

only male color guard member at Northview balances many extracurriculars

always ready to try something new

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

The return of Titus

CARTER WILLIS, SPORTS EDITOR

DESIGN: CARTER WILLIS, SPORTS EDITOR

Apart of Northview’s past has been sitting in a closet corner in the baseball building for the past three years. The Northview senior class of 2023, specifically the leaders of Northview Nation, decided it was too long since Titus made an appearance. It was not until the first home football game of this year that Northview’s mascot, Titus, made its comeback.

“The people who used Titus before our freshman year left the mascot out in the rain one day, and they just completely trashed it and it smelled bad, like really, really bad,” senior and Northview Nation leader Joon Kwon said. “So the admin took it away from them, but this year we told Mr. McDaniel that we would take care of it and clean it up. The thing after that was who was going to be Titus?”

The answer to that question is not simple. Titus is multiple people but there is one main Titus who is usually the mascot during football and volleyball games. For now, the main Titus is an undisclosed person in order to keep the tradition of Titus a mystery to the student body.

“There may be a Titus reveal one day,” Titus said. “I have to talk to my other Tituses to see

what we have in store for y’all.”

Being Titus entails hyping up the crowd, running around high-fiving people during sporting events, and enduring the heat that gets trapped in the costume head. It is not an easy task to keep up for multi-hour sporting events, but the multiple people behind Titus bring it out to hype up the crowd and foster an environment of school spirit during sporting events. The Tituses do their job to encourage school spirit because they have a lot of fun and truly enjoy being the school’s mascot.

“Just the thought of being your school’s mascot is thrilling,” Titus said. “The [best] thing about being Titus is the fist bumps and hiding behind the mascot as a different person. I don’t know many people who were their high school’s mascot, so it’s definitely a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity.”

During the games, all the Tituses agree that it is a blast, but the job also has downsides. Behind Titus is a real person who is a part of the Northview student body. A person that hears what you say about it.

“It’s fun doing stuff in the costume without people knowing that it’s you,” Titus said. “But then people around school start taking credit

for things that I did, and I can’t really say anything—I have to keep my mouth shut. But I try to ask people what their interaction with Titus face-to-face was like and that’s really fun.”

Titus is not just something that this senior class wants to have this year and then sit in a closet corner for three more years. They want to pass Titus on to a rising senior in the spring. Then the new leaders of Northview Nation will keep on the tradition.

“I feel like every grade wants to have a fun class,” senior and Northview Nation leader Ella Schuman said. “We want to have a really memorable senior class, and, honestly, Titus will be a big part of how our class will be remembered. We brought the mascot back and that’ll be our big highlight moment.”

The senior class has high hopes for the incoming classes to continue the tradition of Titus for many years to come. For this year, though, there will still be much more of Titus, planning to make appearances during winter and spring sports.

Northview’s Senior Class of 2023 Brings Back the Titus mascot

Students show school spirit by cheering on Northview at a football game.

A deep dive into Northview’s sustainable future and factors to attain environmental progress in classrooms

NATALIE DAMER-SALAS, STAFF WRITER

DESIGN: DISHA KUMAR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The increases in climate strikes, governmental promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and rising water levels and temperatures have led schools across the globe to take a stance and push toward a transition to more environmentally-sound classrooms. Georgia’s schools are no different—working with state and county legislators, schools and their students are lobbying and organizing programs to become more environmentally-conscious.

In Northview, students have previously led such initiatives as well. Before schools shut down due to the pandemic, Northview had a student-led classroom recycling pick-up. However, without a company to come to the school and pick up the recycling, the service stopped.

“I was absolutely shocked and shaking in my boots when I learned that Northview didn’t recycle,” senior and president of Northview’s environmental club, Vidhi Tiwary said.

Despite the lack of recycling at school in recent years, based on a survey that 59 students filled out, Northview’s student body is in support of the reimplementation of a recycling system. Although students commonly envision undertaking projects like the establishment of recycling systems or composting areas to make their schools more sustainable, Principal Martin Neuhaus believes that there are steps students must take before tackling such tasks. While Neuhaus is in support of the re-establishment of these systems, he emphasizes the need for students to have a personal responsibility to commit to these matters.

“We need people to be responsible. This school has more trashcans than any school I’ve

ever worked so there’s a lot of opportunities to take care of your stuff, but students’ trash seems to be anywhere but in the trash cans,” Neuhaus said.

Tiwary also believes that having successful environmental initiatives at the school, specifically in the cafeteria, involves more than just implementing the project. Though Tiwary and other environmental club members are actively working towards finding ways to make meals in the cafeteria more sustainable, Tiwary emphasizes the need to strategize before attempting to undertake such initiatives. In particular, the environmental club has been tackling the issue of composting unwanted food in the cafeteria and discussing the various steps to take before attempting to solve such a matter.

“Number one, of course, is waste reduction. Before thinking about the big solutions like composting, you need to think of how to reduce it,” Tiwary said. “So prevention over solution. The number one thing for prevention is to educate students about what they’re wasting through student leaders.”

Beyond education, the process of waste reduction involves not only students but staff as well. Northview’s cafeteria staff works hard to satisfy students’ needs as well as Fulton County Schools’ (FCS) policies for food. Northview’s Nutrition and Cafeteria Manager Pamela Patterson offers insight into the system she uses to attempt to reduce the cafeteria’s food waste.

“Yesterday, I estimated needing to prepare 26 (chicken biscuits) so we made 30,” Patterson said.

“At the end of breakfast, we only sold 15. So, the next time I prepare chicken biscuits, I’ll only make 20 because I don’t want to have

that waste.”

But, it is not always possible to predict the outcome of what students will want each day. Patterson also explains how the cafeteria aims to have an abundance of food each day because FCS policy states that students should always have a variety of choices for their meals, rather than allowing a meal to run out—a late student only getting what is left over. This often results in a surplus of food that gets thrown out.

How can Nort its envir

Patterson is entering her second year at Northview but has worked in school nutrition for over 30 years. Though she has noticed that school cafeteria guidelines are very similar in every school district she has worked in, Patter-

recycling bins in the cafeteria more trees on campus

son has seen unique programs that she would love to see implemented in Northview.

“In Tennessee, we partnered with MICA, a Food Access initiative, and, whatever was left over, we put it into a container, cooled it down properly, and the organization would come and pick it up,” Patterson said.

thview

Neuhaus echoes a similar experience when he worked at Barnwell Elementary. The school began a Helping Hands initiative which donated its uneaten food to North Fulton Charities. Neuhaus and Patterson both agree that the implementation of a food donation system at Northview would be beneficial. Sustainable planning also requires the superation of certain hurdles that require powers outside of Northview’s walls. Last year, many neighborhood recycling companies stopped their weekly recycling, and homes were forced to mix recycling with trash to rid themselves of their waste.

“It’s hard to get people to do something for work; my neighborhood’s company had to focus on garbage,” Neuhaus said. “Garbage piles up and is really stinky problem, but recycling piles up and it’s not as bad.”

Although FCS has seen a shortage of staff in these positions, the Sustainability and Resilience Department of FCS’ newly revised (as of March 2022) Sustainability Plan promises to increase the number of employees who work in sustainable modes and will establish a green workforce development training and job placement program in the educative staff force by 2030. By implementing these changes, Northview can hope for enough employers to support a new recycling system.

Financials present another hurdle in a fu-

ture recycling system or other planned projects requiring any type of funding. Tiwary is all too aware of the setbacks this has caused for the implementation of sustainable alternatives at Northview, but her club is determined.

“It’s not cheap to install a pick-up and delivery system,” Tiwary said. “We’re planning a fundraiser, we are talking to city leaders, and we have a new principal. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make a change and a change that lasts.”

A change in supplies is another change that requires a flexible budget. Many schools around the country and in Georgia have attempted to administer a switch from styrofoam to biodegradable cafeteria trays. Even though biodegradable trays are only a few cents more expensive than the popular styrofoam trays, the cents add up when needing to provide enough trays to feed almost 2,000 hungry students. FCS had biodegradable cafeteria trays for a month last year, but they were not feasible to use with the county’s current budget.

“Last year, it was a major struggle to even get the styrofoam trays,” Patterson said. “The director had to push and push the budget just to feed our students.”

Patterson illustrates the dimensionality of a school’s support system beyond the classroom. Northview’s staff and administration endeavor

to help the school thrive in all aspects but must prioritize upholding the government’s requirements and the well-being of the students over creating sustainable programs at school. Patterson would love to use biodegradable rather than styrofoam trays but knows that it is simply not possible given the school and county’s current situation.

Although they are conscious of the setbacks and obstacles on the path to a safer school, Northview students still share their ideas with the school’s administration and are passionate about introducing sustainable reforms to the school. Since Tiwary established the Environmental Club in their freshmen year, Tiwary’s favorite aspect of the Environmental Club has not been the initiatives or its upheld environmentalist ideals but the individuality of the people who are a part of it.

“It’s really beautiful how they come together and just seeing how unique they all are and their different interests in the environment,” Tiwary said.

Northview students’ clubs and initiatives have had immense impacts on the school and its community—ranging from growing school gardens to collecting recyclable materials from classes. With the combined efforts of its students, staff, and FCS, Northview can work towards ensuring a greener future.

This data is based solely on information submitted to The Messenger by Northview students. The Messenger cannot account for those who

New house for Neuhaus

Northview Principal Martin Neuhaus moves into his new home KEVIN XIANG, COPY/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR KRYSTAL WU, NEWS EDITOR DESIGN: KEVIN XIANG, COPY/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

In a full circle, Martin Neuhaus went from Shakerag Elementary School to Northview High School, where he is now back with many of his former students.

“I was certainly excited to find out that Mr. Neuhaus was going to be stepping into this role [as principal,” former principal Brian Downey said. “I think he has the personality and the expertise to help move Northview forward.”

Neuhaus has had to adapt to high school as his previous positions were principal positions at Barnwell and Shakerag Elementary Schools. Luckily for Neuhaus, he is already a familiar face to many students at Northview. Given his background as the former principal of Shakerag, students trust him to lead the school in a positive direction.

“[Neuhaus] was really well-liked,” junior Arushi Cumer said. “We had a Shakerag fall carnival, and he was always the one in the dunk tank, taking it with such great stride.”

Senior Ansh Misra can attest to Neuhaus’ popularity as he routinely sees Neuhaus in the hallways interacting with students and helping teachers. For Misra, Neuhaus’ return represents something special.

“He was there when we first started, and he’s going to be here when we leave,” Misra said. “I think it’s really cool that he’s back.”

Not only do students like Misra and Cumer enjoy Neuhaus’ return but former parents and administration also anticipate his being back.

After becoming a front office atten-

dant, Karen James worked alongside Neuhaus for 14 years until he left for Barnwell. As a parent at Shakerag, James experienced the effects of Neuhaus’ teachings and school implementations, including cool shark bump greetings

Neuhaus has made. Peter Zervakos, Northview’s first principal, mentored Neuhaus for 10 years at the start of his career as a school administrator.

“This job opened up, and I felt compelled, like a call home,” Neuhaus said. “It would be an honor and a privilege to come back and honor him as one of my mentors.”

Due to his history with Northview, Neuhaus’ transition to becoming principal flowed smoothly. Zervakos influenced the fundamental values and beliefs that Neuhaus carries throughout his teaching and administration career.

and class teams.

“We all would have lunch almost every day together. It was wonderful,” James said. “It was a very family-first feeling and people really worked for each other as a team.”

Neuhaus approaches leadership with the concept of family: the staff shares more than an employee-work relationship. During her time at Shakerag under Neuhaus’ leadership, James became friends with all of her fellow faculty and teachers. Not only that, but she always felt welcome to reach out for help and ask for advice.

“I would have [followed him to Barnwell] if the front desk position were open, but it wasn’t,” James said. “When he took this job [as principal of Northview], he realized there was a part-time front desk position, and it just worked perfectly in my world to be able to say ‘yes,’ so he offered it to me.”

This is not the only full circle that

Northview administrators feel that Neuhaus is knowledgeable and adept at assuming the principal role, especially in listening to others and receiving feedback.

“He wants to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for the students,” Dr. Christi

“This job opened up, and I felt compelled, like a call home. It would be an honor and a privilege to come back.”

Martin Neuhaus

Bounds, assistant principal, said. “He definitely is a student-first leader.”

Math teacher Victoria Hedden has also seen this in action. After speaking with Neuhaus, she can confidently say that student well-being is important to Neuhaus. She leads the school’s Spirit Squad, a team that aims to boost staff morale by having dress-up days, an activity that Neuhaus supports.

“He’s been very open to that [teacher spirit] and has given me good feedback,” Hedden said. “He’s willing to meet with me and be a part of what we’re trying to do.”

Neuhaus is already starting to act on some of the concerns from staff. With his administrative and leadership team, he has looked into the Titan Wednesday lunch schedule and implemented a different bell schedule that is more suitable for students and staff. He is also trying to understand and see if he can strengthen Northview’s relationship with the 3DE program.

“Sometimes, you do things because this is what you’ve always done,“ Bounds said. “He’s coming in with some fresh eyes.”

However, Neuhaus is also cognizant of not jumping in and changing too much. He wants to thoroughly consult his team and consider all the outcomes of a decision before making it. Neuhaus relies on Northview’s well-established administration to provide feedback and point out any ideas he might miss because this is his first time stepping into the position of a high school principal .

“He knows he’s not the type of leader that is going to mandate and dictate,” Assistant Principal Robert Hunter said. “It’s more of a shared, ‘hey, we’re in this together [attitude]. Let’s work collectively as a team.’”

Neuhaus also does not hesitate to ask questions to try to understand Northview better, leading to transparency among the administrative team.

“[Neuhaus has] come into my office frequently and asked me, ‘hey, I just don’t know this’ because he doesn’t have any perspective of high school,” Hunter said.

On top of administrative adjustments, Neuhaus’ realm of responsibility expanded at Northview.

“Probably the biggest change from elementary to high school is the after-school activities,” Neuhaus said. “Until this year, I had never been to a softball game my whole life.”

Neuhaus works to balance his new working environment. While he does want to attend every Northview event, he reminds himself to not get burned out. As he continues to adapt to his role at Northview, he hopes to ease into learning more about Northview’s goals and the student body.

“Our mission statement is to instill excellence in academics, arts, and athletics. Sometimes, we lose sight of those last two A’s, right?” Neuhaus said. “Once you get to enjoy [all three], you get the full breadth of experiences.”

Neuhaus strives for success as a principal, but, despite his long history in education, Neuhaus did not intend to become a teacher from the start. Instead, he went to college to become an accountant before planning to go to law school. However, Neuhaus disliked accounting. After his grandfather shared his experiences as a teacher and encouraged him to try them out, Neuhaus became a substitute teacher.

“My first day, I did substitute teaching in first grade. [At age 6], you’re cute as can be,” Neuhaus said. “I fell in love and realized that this is what I want to do.”

Instead of going to law school, he switched to the education pathway, receiving his Master’s degree in education from the University of Florida. From then on, Neuhaus continued down the educational pathway in elementary schools, but, with Northview, he starts a new chapter.

After being in education for over 20 years, Neuhaus’ grandfather inspired him to be the role model he was. As a principal, he touches the lives of children from elementary school to high school.

“My grandfather is one of the biggest influences on my life and pretty much impacted why I’m in education today,” Neuhaus said. “He was a carpenter who ended up being a teacher to teach kids how to use tools and stuff like that.”

Inspired by his grandfather, he also aims to exert a positive influence among students and staff.

“Don’t forget about yourself. It’s nice to be kind to each other, but be kind to yourself, to those thoughts. There’s a voice you hear in your head; it’s powerful,” Neuhaus said.

“He wants to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for the students. He definitely is a student-first leader.”

Christi Bounds

The rise of Neuhaus

Neuhaus grew up in New Jersey and then moved to South Florida at the age of 10. Growing up, Neuhaus thought he was going to become a lawyer.

ShakeragNeuhausbecameaprincipalat ElementarySchoolfor14 years.Thenhemovedtobeprincipal atBarnwellElementarySchool.

Neuhaus ended up going to Clemson University and getting a Bachelor’s in accounting. However, after working at an accounting firm, he realized that he did not like that career path.

Neuhaus eventually went into Fulton Country’s administrative internship program. The school he interned at was North Springs High School, where he met Peter Zervakos, Northview’s first principal.

After spending a lot of time golfing with his grandfather who was a teacher, he eventually tried out education as a career path. He fell in love with teaching and landed a job at Findley Oaks Elementary School as a teacher.

Neuhaus finishes his master plan.

HAMILTON SULE, STAFF WRITER

Neuhaus’ new home.

SYDNEY MULFORD, FEATURES EDITOR

Administrative changes

DESIGN: KRYSTAL WU, NEWS EDITOR

After the last eight years as principal of Northview, Brian Downey assumed the vacant superintendent position, becoming the new zone superintendent of Learning Zone 6. In his prior role, Downey oversaw the students and staff of Northview individually, but with his new role, he oversees the students and staff of 15 schools, including; nine elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools. As an educator, Downey’s journey throughout his career compelled him to continue trying new roles and adapting new environments.

“Anytime you transition into a new role, you have to go through this period of time where you learn like you don’t just step in and say ‘hi, I’m the boss and we’re changing everything,’” Downey said. “But, my interactions so far have been wonderful.”

When Principal Neuhaus switched from Barnwell to Northview, the principal position at Barnwell opened up. With 19 years of experience with Fulton County Schools, including assistant principal of Renaissance Elementary School and Northview, Takisha Benning steps into the vacant principal role at Barnwell. Not only that, but before being an assistant principal at Northview, Benning was also an assistant principal of an elementary school.

“A good leader is going to be a good leader, no matter what setting you put them in,” former Northview principal Brian Downey said. “I was directly involved in the hire [for Barnwell’s principal] and made a recommendation for Ms. Benning for that role.”

Brian Downey Takisha Benning Christi Bounds

After 12 years with Fulton County Schools, Christi Bounds takes on the role of assistant principal. She already had experience with student support, because of her prior job of assistant administrator, she has been able to adapt to her role smoothly. Not only is Bounds fully accustomed to the way Northview runs, but teachers and administrators also appreciate having a new administrator that they already have a relationship with.

“Now, I still do a lot with students, but I’m now on the administrative side, so I deal mainly with discipline for parents and teachers, being an instructional leader for them,” Bounds said.

BRIAN RAWLIN, SPECIAL

SYDNEY MULFORD, FEATURES EDITOR KATELYN WU, STAFF WRITER DESIGN: SYDNEY MULFORD, FEATURES EDITOR

Founded in 1994 by high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson, LGBTQIA+ History Month takes place in October and celebrates the achievements of several important figures in the queer community. These individuals and their achievements traverse through time, from Hans Christian Andersen in the 19th Century to Jazz Jennings, a current youth activist and influencer.

At Northview, students designed the Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) club to celebrate queer identity and provide a safe space for those who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“When I became an officer, I very much wanted the focus of the club to be more to-

wards advocacy of queer rights in Georgia,” GSA President Maansi Manoj said. “[I wanted us to focus on] what we could do within the school to make the school more safe and accepting.”

In order to achieve this goal, the GSA club hopes to introduce a pronoun policy, which would ensure that the Northview community addresses students properly. This program would involve students filling out a Google form with their preferred name and pronouns. Manoj also hopes that, in the future, the administration will hang a pride flag in the foyer year-round instead of just during LGBTQIA+ history month. Lucas Ricaud, a student who is a part of the queer community at Northview,

agrees and wants Northview to acknowledge the LGBTQIA+ community more consistently.

“After about a month of begging and planning, we managed to put up a pride flag in the halls and that was with no fanfare,” Ricaud said. “There’s nothing done by the administration, and it’s all teachers doing their own things to try and show support.”

Manoj, as well as Rohan Vish, a student who is a part of the queer community, both agree that educating others about LGBTQIA+ history would be a big step towards normalizing acceptance at Northview.

“We have to [learn about LGBTQIA+ history month] for ourselves because no one talks

The impact of LGBTQIA+ History Month and what Northview students would like to see in the future

about it, so a lot of stuff is kept in the dark about the history,” Vish said. “I know the big things but not the small things because I have no one to tell me that.”

To reach this goal, history books could add more information about queer history, such as the LGBTQIA+ protests in New York’s Greenwich Village, Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, and the Stonewall Uprising.

Though she is not part of the 31 individuals highlighted this month, Ricaud considers Marsha P. Johnson as an influential figure because of her participation in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. She stood against the police when they raided the Stonewall Inn.

“[She had] the courage to do that, in face of knowing that inciting this will lead to possible death,” Ricaud said. “She still had the courage to go, ‘no, I will stand up’ even though she was part of the group that was being persecuted. She might have been able to get away, but she chose ‘no, this is wrong, I need to stand up and fight.’”

Ricaud and a group of students at Northview feel that uneducated people make harmful decisions toward the LGBTQIA+ community. When Ricaud went to the Atlanta Pride Pa-

rade on Oct. 9, 2022, they saw a group of people who were against the march and what it stands for. Not only that, but Ricaud has seen microaggressions with the word “gay” and the use of slurs.

“[These words are] definitely part of people’s subconscious and vocabulary. It’s just that a lot of them have realized you cannot say them publicly,” Ricaud said. “So, when they’re safe to say anything they want, I have oftentimes heard slurs thrown around.”

Ricaud is not alone; Manoj has also seen the LGBTQIA+ community becoming a target of uneducated students. She has seen people sign their friends up for GSA as a joke,

but GSA means a lot to its members. Due to these problems within the school community, Manoj does not want to make a big deal about LGBTQIA+ history month.

“I’m apprehensive about making it a school-wide thing,” Manoj said. “Number one, I doubt participation would be big. Two, Northview is pretty great, but the student body at times [is not], and I don’t want to deal with that because that’s going to take a lot of emotional labor.”

Manoj, Ricaud, and Vish all want to see the LGBTQIA+ community accepted and normalized at Northview, a place where they do not have to stress about people targeting them because of their sexuality.

“I want it to become something where [the LGBTQIA+ community is] just a regular part of everyday life,” Vish said. “Where your saying that ‘I am a part of the community’ doesn’t separate you from everyone else. I want it to be so normalized that it doesn’t need to be a distinction.”

Under the guise of progress

NATALIE

DESIGN:

On Sept. 9, 2022, Walt Disney Studios released a teaser of the highly anticipated live-action version of “The Little Mermaid.” The one minute and 23 seconds long video gave a peek at the kinds of design, lighting, and general ambiance of the movie. But the last 22 seconds sparked overwhelming backlash evidenced by the 3.2 million dislikes on the video and a series of outcries in the form of chaotic Twitter threads, many containing #NotMyAriel.

Disney had, for the first time, cast an actor of a different race than portrayed in the animated version of a Disney princess movie. Rather than type casting, they chose Black singer and actor Halle Bailey, known for her role in “Grown-ish” and the many Grammy Awards she has won. Halle’s silvery voice and bubbly personality would lead one to believe she would be perfect for the role.

Unfortunately, Disney’s casting choice was met by a wave of racism. One tweet directed at Disney read: “Don’t ruin my childhood memories like that.” Many more tweets claim that Disney’s failure to produce an Ari-

el with the same skin tone will make the movie less enjoyable, and to some, even unbearable. White nostalgic sentiments fuel the pushback of a Black Ariel.

As an entertainment powerhouse, Disney should be a role model to other companies to include more diversity, but it has always lagged behind in exemplifying progressive ideals. Rather than using their platform for political innovation or correctness, Disney focuses on wide political acceptance: sticking to their tale as old as time until a large enough part of the population calls them out on their lack of social innovation. Even if Disney calculates that its decisions are in the mainstream, it still receives backlash as evidenced by the response to Halle Bailey’s casting and the reproach to Disney’s first openly gay character on “Andi Mack” from worried Disney parents who claimed that Disney had

become a bad influence on their child. However, Disney would lose a larger amount of viewers if they did not attempt to improve their reflection of the audience they cater to.

Walt Disney claims that their corporate mission is to: “entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.”

Up until a few decades ago, Disney had seemed to have forgotten that the 7.9 billion people “around the globe” they cater to are not all white, English-speaking, and heterosexual. When they finally remembered this, they began creating more racially and ethnically diverse stories but carelessly failed to do enough background research to prevent stereotyping the characters and cultures they depicted. For example, Disney portrayed the Middle East as a dangerous place in “Aladdin,” gave a historically inaccurate retelling of Pocahantas’ story in order to glorify her oppressor, John Smith, and refused

The casting of Ariel in upcoming version of “The Little Mermaid” reveals Disney’s true ideals in matters of equity and inclusion

DAMER-SALAS, STAFF WRITER

NATALIE DAMER-SALAS, STAFF WRITER

Aladdin’s (1992) Jasmine wa s Disney’s

to find two different Asian actresses to voice Jasmine and Mulan.

The recasting of Disney princesses with actors of color for live action versions is just the latest in its push for a more accurate reflection of their audience’s diversity. Bailey was not the only actress of color to be cast for a Disney princess role this year. There were similar but far less controversial (compared to Bailey’s casting) responses to Yara Shahidi—best known for her role in “black-ish” and also Bailey’s co-star in grownish- playing a Black Tinker Bell, Rachel Zegler - known for her debut role in the 2022 version of “West Side Story’’ — who is half Colombian, playing Snow White in the upcoming live action movie, and the casting of singer Gabriella Wilson— more commonly known as H.E.R— who is Black and Filipino, to play Belle in Disney’s second live action version of “Beauty and the Beast”.

Although Disney has improved their commitment to diversifying stories, casting actors of color to play originally white princesses over creating authentic storylines featuring Black, Indigenous heritage, and people of color, further exemplifies a seeming lack of effort to understand the importance of cultural representation and young girls of color seeing themselves as princesses.

This tweet said it best: “Black women shouldn’t have to recycle white princesses in order to be royalty.”

A Pop Dust news article had some-

thing similar to say: “casting a Black Ariel (is) a superficial way to appeal to the public’s growing demand for ethical cultural representation.”

Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog” was still based on the German fairytale written by the Grimm brothers, and while “Soul” was an original Black story, many people complained that the protagonist was a blue blob for the majority of the film, as though including his race throughout the whole storyline would be too complicated to deal with.

For years, the cinematic industry has been casting white actors to play every ethnicity possible - Johnny Depp playing a Native American in “The Lone Ranger” or Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, who was meant to be Romani and Jewish - so why the sudden outrage at the casting of a Black actress in an originally white role?

Disney created some of our happiest and most magical childhood memories. Its formulated plot lines allow for the known and beloved “Disney comfort” when watching their movies and their iconic songs have been our favorite soundtracks as we grow up. In recent years, society has continuously had to call Disney out on their slow pace in changing and diversifying media representation, and in order to keep their sphere of influence, Disney complies. Being a global company, Disney has had to consider the opposing political views that people have, while avoiding supporting discrimination.

In the past few years, Disney released movies like “Coco,” which features authentic Mexican music and beautifully vivid depictions of Dia de los Muertos. The characters of Moana, from “Moana’’, and Mirabel from “Encanto” were responses to not only the lack of ethnic diversity but also the uniformity of body types that Disney had previously animated for their princesses/heroines, which in turn promoted an unrealistic standard for young girls. Disney gave Mirabel and Moana unique facial features and body types leading to a positive reception from the public—for both the accurate representation of cultures and their amazing soundtracks.

Since Disney has such an expansive platform, normalizing racially diverse environments and LGBTQIA+ couples and characters would allow our society to see a boost in progressive thinking among younger generations. Rather than pushing for curating their films to be the change in the cinematic industry, Disney has acted under the guise of progress.

Elena of Avalor (2016) Latina princess

Poc ahantes (1995)

The modern obsession with true crime

True crime’s popularity and its damage to society

MCKENNA RYAN, STAFF WRITER

DESIGN: MCKENNA RYAN, STAFF WRITER & MANASA PREMANAND, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

America’s cultural fixation on true crime has flourished over the past few years of the worldwide state of panic. The self-proclaimed “guilty pleasure” has intruded the public psyche, provoking worrisome factors in the minds of society. The consumption of true crime is psychologically unhealthy as it tends to romanticize serial killers, devalue the victims, and desensitize audiences.

While true crime series and films are essentially intended to inform, they often result in glorifying cold-blooded killers. A 2018 study found that 73% of true crime audiences are women, and platforms like Netflix have geared their marketing around this statistic. The casting choices made by directors are intended to stimulate a disturbing type of celebrity crush in their audiences. Stars that fans swoon over, such as Matt Damon, Ross Lynch, and Leonardo DiCaprio, have been cast to fulfill the alarmingly popular “hot serial killer” trope. In the 2019 film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Zac Efron is cast as Ted Bundy. Although there is an attempt to portray Bundy’s “charming” manipulation tactics, the film and audience’s attitudes utterly juxtapose the horrific nature of his crimes and erroneously depict his character. The opinions about Efron’s casting either focused on how “edgy” his role is, or solely his hotness. A headline from Hello

Giggles, a site aimed at teen girls and young women, the same group that Bundy targeted, reads, “The latest picture from Zac Efron’s serial killer movie has him smoldering and scheming.” “Smoldering and scheming” is a questionable way to describe the kidnappings, rapes, and murders of more than 30 women. By casting murderers with attractive actors that fans adore for their appearance, audiences begin to fantasize about being victims of their crimes. There is a widespread fan base, not only for the actors playing the criminals but for the criminals themselves. Ted Bundy fan pages are across all social media platforms and thousands of fanfiction accounts that regularly publish stories fantasizing about being one of his victims. The amount of media attention on these crimes has resulted in the glamourization of the murderers and ultimately casts them in a flattering light.

As there is widespread use of media attention on true crime cases, the stories tend to focus extensively on sensationalizing and exploring the perpetrators, withdrawing emotional aspects of victims. In most true crime stories, victims consist of marginalized groups, such as people of color, members of LGBTQIA+ communities, poor people, and women who struggled to be seen as “normal” before they trusted the wrong smile, got in the wrong car,

or drank the wrong drink. The dehumanization of the victims generates a collective theme that certain marginalized groups are “disposable.” The media has separated these groups from the stories of their own deaths, turning them into “controversial debates” in our society of systemic racism and toxic masculinity. Ultimately, the “murdered girl” became some sort of pop culture fantasy, but even then, only a specific type of murdered girl was of any importance: a girl who is white, skinny, and pretty by societal standards. The picking and choosing of details in stories with this emotional extremity disregards the actuality of the trauma experienced by victims, further dehumanizing them.

The modern pop cultural fixation on true crime and killers has caused audiences to casually forget the humanity of the victims. The media’s neglect of the victims in true crime cases has resulted in the audience’s desensitization of not only the victims but the gruesome crimes. The obsession has produced a “true crime industrial complex” which has amplified the demand for more interesting and shocking cases for public consumption, regardless of what the families of the victims want. The recent release of the Netflix show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” has curated disputes from the families of Dahmer’s victims. The

family of Errol Lindsey, a victim of Dahmer’s crimes, has voiced their distress with the show. They claim that they were never asked for consent in producing the show and did not receive monetary compensation. Rita Isbell, Lindsey’s sister, expressed that she felt as if she was “reliving it all over again.” The heartless disrespect towards Lindsey’s family proves that true crime productions have given no consideration to those who suffered from Dahmer’s crimes. The focus of this production was merely financial and never considered those it negatively impacts. The stories of victims should not be exploited for entertainment while their families suffer.

Although the display of horrific acts of violence is used as an understanding as to why violence occurs, it is still psychologically detrimental and lacks empathy for the victims. Women form groups around true crime stories because, thanks to rape culture, women have felt the vulnerability that comes with being a woman in society, and collectively experience the paranoia that accompanies being vulnerable. This communal release of women feeling that they are not alone in feeling unsafe is not only upsetting in terms of society but detrimental that women get “used to” or “comfortable” with such horrific violence.

The popularity of true crime, with its relentless passion and discussion of sexualized violence, has also had the absolute opposite effect on women. Watching other women be violated and have the utmost awful things happen to them, is sickening. The pit in your stomach and the heaviness of your heart as you look back at yourself, seeing a woman, just like the victims, wearing everyday clothes that were not thought upon until they were covered in blood. These acts should never be gawked at, fantasized about, sexualized, or turned into a Rotten Tomatoes review.

Voter suppression

On March 25, 2021, the Georgia State Congress and Gov. Brian Kemp passed Senate Bill 202, also known as the Election Integrity Act of 2021. The law makes many controversial changes in how voting happens in Georgia.

The majority of the changes made by SB 202 have made it more difficult for people to participate in the voting process. The bill makes it especially harder for disabled people, people of color, and new citizens/Georgia residents to vote due to the inaccessibility of information and access to the polls. For disabled and BIPOC Georgians the moving of the polling locations and drop boxes means that many will not be able to submit their ballot or reach their polling place due to circumstances beyond their control. In terms of absentee ballots, the application process for requesting a ballot is now more difficult as there is less time to request a ballot— only 11 weeks before the election, half the time of the former 180 days. Secure drop boxes for absentee ballots are also now only available during early voter days and hours rather than 24/7. Mobile voting sites that were available in Fulton County, Georgia are no longer available in the 2020 election and are now a crime to use unless there is a state of emergency declared. The bill has also made it illegal to hand out food or drink to anyone waiting in line to vote. Counties must also start processing, not counting, absentee ballots two weeks before the election and must have all absentee ballots counted by 5 p.m. the Wednesday after election day or risk the possibility of an investigation. This may lead to inaccurate counts due to the pressure of calculating votes quickly rather than accurately.

The only change in the SB 202 that allows voters to access the polls more easily is extended

early voting access. The changes make counties add an additional Saturday to early voting days as well as offer Sunday voting hours as an option. Early voting hours may be longer for some counties as well either from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For rural and suburban voters this is a huge change; however, this does not impact many metropolitan voters since those were the hours that most large voting centers operated under previously.

The November midterms were the first statewide and federal elections in which these new restrictive and suppressive laws will be enacted for Georgia voters. Many voters are not aware of these changes and therefore will be unable to exercise their right to vote. Additionally, many Georgians may face fines or jail time for helping their fellow voters by giving food or water.

The changes made by SB 202 work not only against Georgians but against businesses as well. Many businesses no longer want to conduct operations in Georgia due to restrictive voting access. In 2021, the Major League Baseball organization pulled the 2021 All-Star Game from Truist Park in Cobb County, Georgia over the suppressive voting act. Georgia lost an estimated $50 to $100 million in possible revenue from the moving of the game and many of the small businesses around the baseball stadium felt the losses particularly hard.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed many federal lawsuits against the state of Georgia over what they call “anti-voter attacks.” That is exactly what SB 202 is, anti-voter and suppressive. Its undemocratic effects will be felt majorly for the first time during the Nov. midterms; its restrictive nature will leave behind a severe legacy.

m chinut

The Messenger’s monthly digest

MANASA PREMANAND, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DESIGN: MANASA PREMANAND, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Stationed next to the Publix and Little Caesars on McGinnis Ferry Road is Mochinut’s Alpharetta location. Unlike regular donut stores, Mochinut sells mochi donuts, a pastry that originated in Hawaii as an amalgamation of American donuts and Japanese mochi. Famous for their chewy and bouncy texture, these pastries are easy and addictive to eat.

After learning of Mochinut’s widespread popularity among my peers, I decided to visit the store and sample their famous mochi donuts. My first impression of Mochinut was that it was an incredibly vibrant shop. The interior was decorated with lights and large windows that customers could eat next to, and the mochi donut selections were displayed on a large board visible from the store’s entrance. Mochinut’s menu items range from their most-adored dish, the mochi donut, to other popular Korean snacks such as Korean hot dogs and boba tea.

Upon entering, I was slightly daunted by the variety of mochi donuts showcased on the

menu. Cookies and cream, melona, matcha, churro, and ube were only a few of the many mochi donut flavors customers could order.

Fortunately, the employees at Mochinut noticed my bewilderment and suggested that I order their Halloween-exclusive mochi donuts to celebrate the holiday. I acquiesced and decided to purchase six of their spookiest mochi donuts to taste at home.

My initial thoughts on the mochi donuts were that they had surprisingly subtle flavors. As someone with a considerable sweet tooth, I was anticipating the icing-covered pastries to be cloyingly sweet. Much to my surprise, I only tasted hints of sweetness in the mochi donuts. Instead, each had unique flavors and decorations that made it particularly memorable.

My personal favorite was the Cookie Monster mochi donut, which tasted similar to a chocolate-chip cookie but retained the bouncy and chewy texture distinctive to mochi donuts. Not only was its design an adorable homage to a television series character from my childhood, but the composition of chewy mochi

and chocolate chips was delectable.

The only downside I saw to buying mochi donuts was the price. As a high school senior with semi-decent pay from my part-time job, I try to avoid purchasing food from places with particularly costly menu items, yet the six mochi donuts that I bought amounted to a whopping $16.50 without tax. However, due to the exceptional quality of the donuts, I decided to overlook their prices and consider my purchase a Halloween treat for myself.

Overall, Mochinut’s ability to integrate popular Korean street food into the Johns Creek ethnoburb impressed me. As I sat in the shop, I took notice of its diverse clientele: customers of various races and ethnicities had gathered to try this new pastry, and judging by their contented faces and cheerful laughter, they were more than pleased with their food. Although I need to be mindful of the store’s prices, I still plan to return to Mochinut during the Christmas season and sample their upcoming holiday-exclusive mochi donuts.

Mochinut’s Halloween exclusive mochi donuts DISHA KUMAR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DESIGN:

ANYA BISWAS, STAFF WRITER & ELIZABETH LEFFEW, STAFF WRITER

ELIZABETH LEFFEW, STAFF WRITER

Student debt has been a problem for centuries, especially in Georgia. Currently, Georgia is ranked third in the country for the worst student debt rate with students owing an average of about $42,000. This needs to stop. Student debts should be forgiven because the economy would benefit greatly. Research done by the Center for Law and Social Policy shows that by forgiving students’ debts, state GDP would increase by millions, if not billions of dollars. An estimated 1.5 million new jobs would also be created, causing a decrease in unemployment rates across the United States. These new jobs would allow individuals who have financial hardships to focus more on their education and societal productivity. Furthermor, student debt is not equal among gender and racial groups. Women make up more than two-thirds of all student debt, while Black students have a higher debt average. Systemic barriers such as discrimina-

YES NO

ANYA BISWAS, STAFF WRITER

While there may be good intentions for canceling student debt, the current plan is too faulty to be effective. In August 2022, President Joe Biden announced a Student Loan Forgiveness Plan to cancel $10,000 for eligible borrowers in federal student loan forgiveness. What about people who have already paid off their student debt? What about the students who are about to take on new student debt - will they be forgiven? What about the people who never went to college? What about the people who have more student debt than others? The criteria of having borrowed money for college is too random and does not factor in the savings, position, age, or occupation of the person. There are so many factors that play a role, and many people affected are too easily overlooked.

Funding for these plans comes from taxpayers across the country, many of whom did not even go to college. An Edge Research study found that one of the biggest reasons students are not enrolling in colleges is the worry of

tion in housing and employment, and having less access to education opportunities have stopped many students of different racial and gender groups from receiving an equitable education. While there are individuals within these groups who have succeeded in spite of the many obstacles, they are still saddled with massive amounts of debt that they may not be able to pay.

A little-known fact: students that are currently enrolled in college do not make up the majority of individuals mired in college debt. This unsavory title is held by former students that have already finished their educations. They already have their own homes, jobs, and families to worry about in addition to the stress of allotting money to pay for their former education. Without the burden of student debt payments, former students will have more money for basic needs, while also being able to put money aside for their family’s future by building inheritable wealth.

Education should be a right, not an expensive privilege, meaning that debt forgiveness is a right for all students. With the prospect of being able to earn a steady income and start a family immediately after school, students are more likely to earn better grades and work harder in their classes because they will not have the worry of instant debt when they finish their education.

While the problem of student debt has been discussed, and there are resources that are given to students to assist in school financials in the form of scholarships, these only fix part of the problem. The HOPE Scholarship will pay a maximum of $7,680 for two semesters of enrollment of 15 credit hours per term, while the Zell Miller Scholarship will cover 100 percent, or a maximum of $10,258, of total costs for in-state tuition. While these scholarships cover a majority of school expenses, they do not cover every fee, due, or overhead, leaving students in debt, even with this level of stellar support.

amassing student debt. Now, after making a wise financial choice they have to give up their hard-earned money to pay for someone else’s poor decision-making. Instead, this money could go directly into improving the nation with investments in healthcare, infrastructure, renewable energy, and sustainable communities for all citizens.

The gender gap cannot only be seen in salaries but also in student loans. Women hold 58% of all student loan debt, according to the National Center for Education Studies. It takes them an average of two years longer to pay off those loans. Therefore, even with the appearance of additional aid women are still disadvantaged.

According to the Forbes 2022 Student Loan Debt Statistics, there are 2.3 million borrowers who are 62 years old or older and collectively owe $86.8 billion. The older generation has just been piling up their student debt, and by canceling this student debt the economy would not improve.

There are too many fallacies in this plan to relieve all residents from debt, not just a select few. Many students have already worked hard to pay off their student debt. These individuals planned ahead and changed their priorities in order to be free of this heavy burden, while others were putting certain wants first which means that those who already paid off their debt would have worked hard for nothing.

This one-time cancellation of $10,000 for college debt is only a partial fix to an ongoing issue. Instead, we need to address the real issues that cause this distress: college affordability. College tuition has more than doubled in the past 30 years. In other countries, higher education is free because taxpayers pay for college tuition, and students can smoothly enter the workforce. By providing more scholarships and encouraging lower tuition, we can try to create a long-term decrease in student debt.

EOWYN MILLER, STAFF WRITER DESIGN: MEGAN SERFONTEIN, COPY/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

On Oct. 21, Taylor Swift’s new pop-techno album, “Midnights,” came out at the very hour described in the album title. It includes 13 songs detailing sleepless nights over the course of Swift’s life. She even surprised fans with seven more songs at 3 a.m.

The wonderful album contains five confirmed themes about self-loathing, fantasizing about revenge, wondering what could have been, falling in love, and falling apart. Despite not being mentioned in this list, a notable recurring message in the album is about figuring out to love oneself. These themes helped shape the album into the hit it is now. Each song draws listeners in with the deeper meaning laced in each word.

The songs about self-loathing set this album apart from modern music. Swift addresses topics that many artists are to afraid or ashamed to discuss. In the songs with these themes she mentioned depression, eating disorders, and overworking. These lyrics that do not hide the depth of the problems Swift faces are important for people to hear. By sharing what she goes through Swift opens the door to discussion on mental health which is a topic that needs to be focused on.

Fantasizing about revenge is a common theme among all of Swift’s songs and many fans are here for its return. Drama has seemed to follow the artist around ever since her career started which resulted in her to stop producing music for awhile. After she returned, she released her “Reputation” album that made

many fans fall in love with her all over again. “Midnights” has many songs that are nearly identical and come with the same amazing feeling of blasting “Reputation” from the car speakers. These revenge songs will make listeners want to scream-sing all day long.

Another repeated theme throughout Swift’s songs is falling in love. In this album Swift focuses more intensely on how it felt to fall in love with her current boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn. Their relationship has notoriously been kept private, so fans were excited to hear more about them as a couple. Swift, most likely aware of this, had her first song about their relationship in the album be about how annoyed she is with everyone focusing on their relationship. It was an incredible turn of events that had many excited at her tenacity.

The last official theme was falling apartThis theme was hard to differentiate between self-loathing. The major difference between the two would be how falling apart typically referred to losing a lover in her songs. Both themes tended to occur together though.

The top song from the album has to be “Anti-Hero.” This song comes from the first theme of self-loathing that becomes more raw and real with each passing lyric. This song dives deep into Swift’s insecurities which it is why it is such a hit. This song is important for people to hear because it helps listeners understand that even those in the limelight with “perfect” lives deal with negative self-views. This is a feeling a lot of people go through, and it is good to hear an artist, and a popular one

at that, discuss their self love struggles.

The number two song of this album rating has to be “Mastermind.” This song is a love song about Swift’s relationship with Alwyn. While not going into too much detail about their relationship, Swift sings about how since the moment she met Alwyn, she planned and worked for them to get together. This song has a heartfelt feeling when you think about the meaning of the lyrics, but also if a fun song just to mindlessly sing along to with it’s metaphors and poetic-like lyrics.

An honorable mention is the song “Karma.” While not ranking the highest it is a fun song with the theme of revenge. In addition, the lyrics compare karma to a cat which all hardcore fans know cannot be an accident. There is no doubt that this fun little easter egg is referring to Swift’s three cats: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button.

“Midnights” breaking the largest number of first day streams on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music is not a shock after listening to the album. Each song contains the Taylor Swift energy that listeners were looking for from the genre change to the beautiful five core themes. Whether someone wants to listen to a song about learning about what self love really means, revenge, wanting to change the past, love, or struggling, “Midnights” is the album to listen to.

Taylor Swift’s new pop-techno album, “Midnights,” and the reason for this album’s claim to fame

The state of free speech on social media The Ministry of Truth

Billionaire Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter and subsequent changes in the company (such as adding charges for the verification badges) have caused an uproar in the Twitterverse. This is seen particularly among avid users who have accused Musk of stripping them of their right to free speech. However, what we really should be questioning is: did we ever really have free speech on social media? The answer is no. Social networking sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are privately owned and operated, and stipulations like the ones Musk put in place at Twitter have been happening for years. The only difference this time is that we are finally becoming aware of them.

The perfect example of the numerous subtle forms of censorship on social media is when Instagram announced its goal of ‘reducing hate speech’ in 2017. They stated that they were planning on using an algorithm to filter through posts and remove ones with any forms of hate speech,

and accounts that are deemed more likely to use such speech are shown lower on people’s feeds. At first glance, this seems like a perfectly innocent and even positive announcement to make. However, filtering algorithms such as this one are known for being more restrictive toward marginalized communities, and rather than encouraging people to express themselves, it seems to restrict them instead. People have invented what is essentially a new language in order to overcome barriers set by companies. Words are no longer formed by just letters but symbols as well. Lesbian became le$bean, suicide became su!c!de, dead became unalive – the list goes on. People may not have realized it, but they were censored by social media companies for much longer than the few weeks it has been since Musk’s takeover.

Of course, even though this has been going on for years longer than most people realize, Twitter’s recent hand-off does not bode well for the future of what little free speech is left

on social media. One might think since now we’re aware of and protesting it, censorship would decrease. Unfortunately, life rarely works that simply. People being aware of the censorship simply means that tech companies are also aware of the power they hold as the main mode of communication these days, and they are becoming bolder as they continue to wield this power. They know that their power has amassed to the point that election campaigns can be held through platforms like Twitter, and they are exploiting it to the fullest. The best we can hope for is for the entire user population of one of these apps to suddenly leave, and maybe then there will be a slight dent in the system. Still, we all know how unlikely the chances of that happening are. Thus, the cycle continues: people realize something is wrong, companies release a statement about it, everyone forgets about it because it’s gone from their social media feed, and the injustice continues.

RIA DUBEY, OPINONS EDITOR

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GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

GAVIN CHEN, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Du ring the Senior Night football game, students cheer on Senior Varsity Cheerleader Victoria Gotham.

The softball team qualified for region and state playoffs.

Sen iors Angie Casal and Grace Chawla perform Stephen Gregg’s "Trap."

Sophomore Fallon Keel performs color guard alongside marching band.

Afte r batting, junior Shadi Karimifard gives a hand to freshman Burdick Jordyn as Jordyn gets ready to play on the field.

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