Principal Frank Mirandola canceled the mock election due to the current, intense political climate. The cancellation of the mock election is not coincidental. Fearing backlash from community members, Minter believed that hosting a mock election would invite questions about what he thinks is an innocuous situation.
“As a public institution and because of a lot of the polarization, people tend to believe that schools are very, very liberal places,” Minter said. “Why invite any unnecessary scrutiny? People might perceive [the mock election] in [a way that was not intended].”
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the gap between moderates, progressives and conservatives. This phenomenon can be described as political polarization, which is “the divergence of political attitudes to ideological extremes,” according to the European Center for Populism Studies.
The polarization within America has afected the way public schools can handle discussions surrounding political topics. According to Mirandola, Prospect will be acknowledging the election while also ensuring students respect the electoral process.
“As a school, you can’t pick a [political] side,” Mirandola said. “You have to be open to all opinions and open to all ideas and continue to uphold that. It’s about understanding the value both sides see and knowing where you fall into the equation on what you believe.”
Wanting to still educate students during the election year, Minter brainstormed other ways that
do as a school,” Minter said. “So, I thought it was better to do something more instructionally focused.”
However, senior Christina Frigelis thinks that there’s value in a mock election, as she is interested in seeing how students would vote if given the opportunity. She notices that adults frequently express their opinions, whereas students’ beliefs are sometimes overlooked.
“It’s cool to see what students think,” Frigelis said. “Most high school students and students in general can’t vote, but they probably still have opinions.”
Minter, however, did not see a lot of value in only receiving statistics from a fake election, and he wanted to shift the focus from voting to civic engagement. Weston collaborated with the Human Geography teachers to devise each aspect of the lesson, which took place on Oct. 23 and 24. The lesson focused on the importance of civic engagement, registering to vote and being aware of fake news surrounding politics.
Political polarization heightened during upcoming election
voters, Weston is also collaborating with the As sociated Student Body to have students hand out voting stickers as people walk into the building.
“Just having a piece of paper where kids check a box for a mock election, I don’t feel like that’s a very authentic or meaningful experience for students,” Weston said. “We’re really going to be engaging students for 85 minutes … to try and help students understand what it means to vote and [think about] issues that [they] care about when [they’re able to vote].”
Frigelis believes that the civics lesson is better than not discussing the election at all; however, she would like to see the civics lesson and mock election working together to educate students.
- Tim Beishir, Social Science teacher
“It’s probably a good idea to be well-informed about what to expect,” Frigelis said. “But [the mock election] is a learning experience. You’re not actually voting, but it’s cool to see what you will do eventually.”
When it comes to reevaluating future mock elections, Mirandola, who was a U.S. History teacher before becoming an associate principal, is open to the idea but is curious to see how the new civics lesson plays out. He believes it is important for students to understand political issues and how those issues might afect their lives.
“I think the biggest thing to understand about politics is that if it was easy and there was one right way, we’d all be doing it,” Mirandola said. “It’s really about this ever-changing world where issues evolve and our nation evolves and our problem-solving and understanding of those problems has to continue to evolve with them.”
Also emphasizing the importance of education surrounding politics is Social Science teacher Tim Beishir, who pointed out the intense political climate of recent years.
“Right now, we’re in a pretty fractured place in our ability to have political discourse,” Beishir
STRAINED: With Election Day just 11 days away, political tensions are heightened across America. When asked to describe American politics today, around 8 in 10 Americans “responded with a negative word or phrase,” according to the Pew Research Center. Due to this polarization, Prospect has decided to cancel their traditional mock election. (art by Siena Mirandola)
said. “[Saying that] ‘I’m on the red team or I’m on the blue team’ is easy instead of [saying] ‘I think [this] about these issues, so [then] I can cross reference that based on what the candidate said.’”
Beishir is not the only one who has noticed a shift in politics. According to the Pew Research Center, when asked to describe American politics today, around 8 in 10 Americans “responded with a negative word or phrase.”
The cancellation of the mock election spoke to the current state of political discourse, according to Beishir. However, he shares Minter’s belief that a mock election is not as substantive as a classroom conversation.
When Beishir was growing up, he recalls being told not to discuss politics at the dinner table. This lack of discussion has fostered an inability of many people to have a productive conversation, according to Beishir. To combat this, Beishir emphasizes political discourse in his AP United States Government and Politics class, and he begins the year with a debate over dipping sauce to simulate what a respectful conversation looks like.
“It’s important to [have political discussions] frequently so it becomes commonplace to have to deal with potentially politically sensitive conversations [in the future],” Beishir said.
Beishir attempts to focus the conversations on issues rather than on the candidates themselves. However, he also understands that certain political issues can be more important and sometimes emotional for people, so he tries to give students a space to discuss their beliefs appropriately.
“In a national campaign lens, it’s easy [for some people] to feel like ‘my ideas are right and the other people are the evil empire,’” Beishir said. “You can just think your idea is better, [and the other person doesn’t] have to be the villain.” The political climate has cultivated tension from both sides, and on the extreme end of this has resulted in two attempted assassinations of former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Planting the future of Prospect
ALYSSA KOWOLS
Online Associate Editor-in-Chief
As Italian teacher Natalie Del Percio walked around campus, she got to see her majority-senior AP Italian class help a non-proft organization called Openlands plant trees to enhance the campus. While she herself didn’t physically plant them, she did enjoy watching her seniors give back after the four years they have spent at Prospect.
“I love the idea of planting trees, mostly because I’m doing this with my class ... ,” Del Percio said. “… I thought I could walk around campus in my free time and think of my students and this opportunity we had together.”
On Oct. 2, Openlands donated 19 trees to beautify and improve Prospect’s campus. Many classes, like Del Percio’s, came out during seventh block to help plant the trees.
Openlands frst approached Prospect in June to assess the potential of a tree planting, according to Associate Principal Frank Mirandola. After Prospect expressed interest, Openlands toured the property and agreed that it was a good ft. Then, there were multiple site visits between Openlands, the building and grounds team and the athletics department.
to see who would be interested. Within 20 minutes, more than enough classes signed up to help support this initiative.
In addition to Openlands, the TreeKeepers of Arlington Heights pitched in by helping teach the students and staf about the trees, their benefts and why each species was picked. According to Molly Roche, the Openlands TreeKeepers Program Coordinator, they picked from a variety of species for the tree planting event. Openlands wanted to choose species of trees that would thrive and aren’t overpopulated in the area. As a result, they ended up picking sweetgum, riverbirch, american hornbeam, honey locust and ash – two diferent oak species and three others that grow well in this region.
“When looking at supporting the environment and fnding ways to add to [the] campus, [students] are excited to do that, and sometimes you just need a reason and the resources to do so,” Mirandola said.
Openlands is based in the Chicago area and has been around for 61 years, according to Karen Mukhopadhyaya, an Openlands volunteer. They engage in land preservation, tree plantings and environmental education programs.
Openlands was in the area in 2022 to assist the Chicago Region Trees Initiative planting event at South Middle School with their campus. While they were there, Thomas Middle School expressed interest, resulting in a tree planting event there as well. Soon after, they sent letters to all the high schools in D214, and Prospect was the frst to respond.
For Openlands volunteers Mary Anne O’Toole and Linnea O’Neill, participating in these events is not only a way to plant trees, but to volunteer.
“[The most rewarding part is] watching [the trees] grow, but we both like working with the kids,” O’Neill said.
Juniors Sasha Zajac and Nikki Niebrugge also volunteered, and they both agreed that they would do it again next year. Del Percio also agreed that this was a fun event, and she would do it again.
“I think it’s such a great idea,” Del Percio said. “As soon as I saw the email about vol-
ENGAGED: Students work with the TreeKeepers of Arlington Heights to plant trees around campus on Oct. 2. (photo by Xander Adkins)
unteering, I wanted to participate, because I am a big advocate for being proactive and helping the environment.”
Niebrugge enjoyed participating in this event because she felt she was making a diference. Meanwhile, Zajac was more interested in how the trees help the environment and nature.
“It’s really rewarding,” Zajac said. “It’s really nice to help nature, to help the environment and to make Prospect look nicer.”
In a few years, the trees will start to grow and make an impact in Prospect’s environment.
Del Percio thinks the new trees are nice because in a few years, students will be able to sit under them, eat their lunch and talk. According
to Roche, they picked these areas strategically because they would create shade for sports spectators. Mukhopadhyaya believes there is going to be an increase in wildlife, too, along with cleaner air.
Along with these possibilities, Mirandola hopes the trees’ benefts will extend beyond Prospect alone.
“The shade, the beautifcation, but also supporting the ecosystem of Mount Prospect [and] Arlington Heights [are all possible positive impacts],” Mirandola said. “If we could have students planting one tree here, that could spark and inspire people to plant trees elsewhere, or to just take care of the environment their own way.”
Community service brings together sports, activities
s Sophomore Aiden Robinson and Chemistry teacher Alexander Hernandez raking leaves at First United Methodist Church in Arlington Heights.
s Senior Tania Perna and juniors Athanasios Stavropoulos and Dean Frigelis helping prepare food at Hubby’s Hot Dogs in Mount Prospect.
Seniors Matthew Fouch and Griffn Whalen and junior Riquelme Huezo giving out candy at Lion’s Park Rec at their Fall Fest.
&
s Sophomore Ella Daly spray painting the ground for the Lemons of Love 5k race.
s Junior Sage Altschuler helping out at the bouncy house at Lion’s Park Rec. for their Fall Fest.
Photos by Alyssa Kowols, Sienna Demonte
Cora Richer
VIRGINIA TECH SANDY HOOK UVALDE
ALL-AMERICAN ISSUE: The colloquial names or locations for every mass shooting (four or more deaths) since and including the Columbine High School Massacre as of Oct. 25, 2024. Name sizes are based on the number of people killed or wounded, excluding perpetrators. Name placement is in no specifc order. There were 193 people killed and 166 wounded in the incidents above. (graphic by Peter Radosh)
Addressing reality of violence
PETER RADOSH Associate Editor-in-Chief
The lights were of. The door was locked. Directions to follow the “run, hide and fght” protocols blared over the school’s loudspeakers. Senior Alexis Muntean-Hapa crouched in the corner of her AP European History classroom with the rest of her classmates while School Resource Ofcer Tyler Johnson cleared out the commons. This is the Sept. 26 hard lockdown: an opportunity for students, teachers and administration to practice the standard protocol if a violent perpetrator has entered the school.
Preparation for school shootings is all too familiar for American students. Due to the growing incidence of gun violence in schools, since 2019, the School Safety Drill Act has made it mandatory for every school in Illinois to practice at least one hard lockdown each year.
According to CNN, when Muntean-Hapa frst entered kindergarten in 2012, there were 13 school shootings. Throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, the rate of school shootings steadily increased. After slightly dropping in 2020 due to COVID-19, the incidence of gun violence in U.S. schools skyrocketed. In 2021, there were 73 school shootings. 2022 saw 79. And 2023 recorded 82.
As the rate of school shootings rose throughout her time as a student, Muntean-Hapa notes that seeing them in the news has always been her reality.
“Even in elementary school, we were hearing about school shootings,” Muntean-Hapa said. “It’s been a part of our daily life since we were little kids; there was never really a time where we didn’t know about school shootings.”
While there has been gun-related violence in U.S. schools since the birth of the United States, the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, where two students killed 15 people, is often pointed to as the “frst” mass shooting in America — a mass school shooting being defned as a shooting in which at least four people are killed at an educational institution. Contrary to popular belief, Columbine was not the frst mass school shooting in the United States. There were at least 13 mass shootings before Columbine, including an incident in 1966 where a student murdered 18 others at the University of Texas.
was the frst of what seems to be a string of mass school shootings, and it forced the issue of school shootings into the national spotlight. There were 11 mass school shootings in the 20th century, including Columbine. In the 24 years since the turn of the century, there have been 19.
For many millennials, Columbine was the frst time they had frsthand heard the news of a mass shooting of that magnitude, seeing as they wouldn’t have been alive during the University of Texas tower shooting, and they may have been too young to fully grasp the weight of the fve that occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. Spanish teacher Molly Klein was a sophomore at Prospect on the day of Columbine.
“As I remember, it was really the frst big mass school shooting,” Klein said. “I remember people were just in shock, were scared and [were] just unsure of how to move forward.”
According to Klein, there was a larger community reaction to the shooting. However, as the years have passed and the rate of school shootings has increased even further, Klein feels that the response of the public isn’t what it once was.
“[After] Columbine happened and [school shootings] started to occur more often, there’s not as much of a reaction [when they happen],” Klein said. “As a teacher, it’s really hard to see [school shootings] on the news. It’s something that I feel like we should still address and talk about.”
Associate Principal for Activities and Operations Frank Mirandola echoes this sentiment.
“It’s always heartbreaking when you hear about something that goes on in a school,” Mirandola said. “It’s also more heartbreaking to see how quickly much of America goes back to its normal way of living and accepts it almost as a risk. That should never be normalized in any capacity.”
Johnson notes that the partial normalization of gun violence in schools is part of a wider desensitization of the American public due to the accessibility to violent material.
“There’s been a desensitization to everything in general, period,” Johnson said. “From consumptive problems where people think it’s acceptable to consume illicit drugs [to] violence in general, where some people’s frst reaction is physical violence to resolve an issue … It’s sad and disheartening, but [it’s] because of volume.”
The frequent news of school shootings in America has even reached an international front. Muntean-Hapa, whose family is from Romania,
shares that school shootings have created a stigma around U.S. schools and that the desensitzation regarding American schools stretches overseas.
“Even internationally, people are like, ‘Oh yeah, you go to school in America. Has your school been shot up?’” Muntean-Hapa said. “[It] is crazy that when people think about American schools, [school shootings] are the frst thing they think about.”
While the most sensational form of desensitization Muntean-Hapa has heard is the generalization of all American schools as shooting-afficted, she witnesses desensitization day-to-day as the denial that gun violence can happen in Prospect’s community. For example, during the Sept. 26 hard lockdown, she felt that many people weren’t taking the lockdown precautions seriously.
only entering and exiting through door six and door 30 unreasonable. Meanwhile, 31.1% fnd the rules regarding physical IDs unreasonable. However, Mirandola puts a reason behind each rule and stresses that the protocols are there for students’ beneft.
“Safety is the number one priority at all times, [even] if that limits individual movement,” Mirandola said. “It’s important to have a physical ID to minimize a chance of someone being in the building that shouldn’t be in the building.”
All visitors must check in at door six so security knows everyone who enters and exits the building. When people enter and exit through other doors, it creates a higher chance that someone who shouldn’t be in the building can enter.
WE HEAR ABOUT [SCHOOL SHOOTINGS] SO OFTEN THAT FOR MOST OF US, IT DOESN’T EVEN REGISTER THAT IT HAPPENED.”
- Alexis Muntean-Hapa, senior
“No one ever thinks that anything is going to happen here,” Muntean-Hapa said. “Obviously, none of us want anything to happen, but I think it’s a little bit dangerous to assume that nothing’s going to happen here, so we can just blow of these serious drills.”
In fact, in September, there were three gun-related incidents at Glenbard East High School, another school in the Chicago suburbs only 18 miles from Prospect — including the arrest of a student for bringing a loaded gun into the school. Gun violence can happen anywhere, and the rise in school gun violence cannot be attributed to one reason. As the primary two people in charge of school safety, Mirandola and Johnson are focused on what they can do to address the issue.
“[School shootings are] horrible, but that’s why myself, the school and the district are taking actions,” Johnson said. “That’s why we train, that’s why we do these drills, that’s why we do these scenarios.”
Day-to-day, a few rules are in place to keep the school secure. Limiting entrances and exits, using physical IDs, keeping the school free of weapons and ensuring security guards greet everyone who enters the building are the primary protocols for keeping students safe at Prospect.
Although rules are put in place to protect students, they can also make students feel less free.
According to a KnightMedia survey of 425 students, 34.8% of students fnd the rule regarding
What made Columbine diferent was that it
In the case someone seeking to hurt others enters the building, the school has protocols in place. Although, according to Mirandola and Johnson, the specifics of each part of a hard lock-
down drill cannot be shared in order to protect student safety, the school has three hard lockdown drills planned to practice their protocols in diferent situations. Illinois only requires schools to practice one. Making sure protocol is up-todate is part of Mirandola’s safety philosophy.
“No matter what you do, you always know you can be better,” Mirandola said. “Being safe is in a constant state of evolution, and you can never be satisfed with where you’re at because it’s important to continue to grow.”
Administrators aren’t the only people who can take action to address the issue of violence. Johnson stresses that the anonymous tip line is a tool put in place for students to report dangerous activity.
“We’re trying to give [students] the tools because you guys are the frst line of defense,” Johnson said. “Frankly, it’s your safety, it’s your wellbeing [on the line].” Johnson and Mirandola maintain that they are doing what they can to keep the school safe and give students the power to keep themselves safe. Even if there is a desensitization to school gun violence in the wider public, Johnson and Mirandola say they will always take it seriously and work with the rest of the administration to evolve protocols and convey to the student body how important safety is.
“How do you make a school shooting more serious … how [much worse] does it have to be than telling people that the result is dead kids,” Johnson said. “I don’t know how to make people take it more seriously, but I know we are.”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Drop o letters to the Prospector in the box in the library, in room 162 or email letters to prospectornow@ gmail.com. All letters must be signed. Limit letters to 400 words. The Prospector reserves the right to edit for style and length.
Kindness above politics
Staff Editorial staff
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Amanda Feinberg
MANAGING EDITORS
Ben Mitchell, Stella Palm, Tessa Trylovich
ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Peter Radosh
COPY EDITORS
Xander Adkins, Jocelyn Farina, Sage Gilliland
ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Claire Wynkoop
ASSOCIATE ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Alyssa Kowols
KNIGHT TV EXEC PRODUCER
Kenny Munao
KNIGHTVOICES EXEC PRODUCER
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ADVISER
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MISSION STATEMENT
The primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospector is to report news and explain its meaning and signifcance to our readers and the community. We, The Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide an unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions. The Prospector is published by students in Multimedia Communications courses. Some material is courtesy of MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.
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As Culture Club creator Michelle Tantillo and roughly a dozen other teachers, including Principal Greg Minter and Associate Principal Frank Mirandola all sat down to discuss the culture at Prospect in room 306 on an early Wednesday morning. She brought up the upcoming election and how it would afect students. With the upcoming election, political polarization has been more prevalent than ever, and it has started afecting students who can’t even vote. Tantillo had concerns that these political opinions would seep into classrooms, ultimately disrupting the culture that administration and staf have worked so hard to create at Prospect.
“There’s going to be people who are happy and those who are upset or scared no matter the outcome,” Tantillo said. “The goal is to provide a space that feels safe and welcoming to all. That’s what is most important.”
Culture Club is a staf-only organization that began in the spring of 2019 with a few teachers aiming to improve Prospect’s culture — beginning with the administration and staf. The frst workshops and meetings began in the fall, leading up to COVID-19. According to Tantillo, the club’s goal is to address concerns and have conversations about is sues in the building and begin to remedy those issues.
This par ticular meet ing broached concerns about student reactions to the upcoming election, which is on many teachers’ minds. One such teacher is Psychology and Law teacher Jay Heilman.
POLITICAL PROBLEMS: It’s no question that, following the election, on both sides of the political spectrum, students will be upset by the outcome. The concern is this will turn into unkindness from students, which in-turn, affects the overall culture at Prospect. (art by Sienna DeMonte)
The clear solution is to have open conversations about the election. Open conversations are important to facilitating discussions about difcult topics. Regarding the election, starting these conversations in safe spaces allows kids to grow and become better about speaking their opin-
Tantillo, herself, is going to talk to students about the day of we get for the election. While her lesson is partially to emphasize the importance of elections and voting, it’s also to share the idea that students’ voices matter and that what you say has an impact.
thews Band, which says, “Be kind always. No matter.” This is the idea the administration is going for as they approach the election.
We, KnightMedia, believe that, following the election, respect and kindness are the only options. Understanding that there will be feelings about the election either way it falls is important, but we believe that school is not a place for politics, and expression of these feelings and opinions should stay separate from the classroom.
“I think because this is such a polarizing election that there are going to be people upset on both sides,” Heilman said. “When the polarization makes its way into Prospect’s halls, it has the potential for confict. This can lead to disruption in classes and potentially become a concerning situation.”
According to Tantillo, the idea behind the club was to be proactive rather than reactive. With politics being so prevalent and accessible due to technology, there are more people aware and opinionated about the situation. Tantillo believes that the best way to attack the potential of classroom polarization is to get ahead of it.
The goal that was reached in the Culture Club meeting was that the best strategy was a common message from the building. Through possible announcement videos and just the continuous message of kindness from faculty, the hope is that students will take on the same attitude as staf.
Against
“The majority of people will buy in if everyone is on the same page. Do what you need to do outside, but [school] is not a political place,” Tantillo said. “I don’t want people to feel like they don’t have freedom of speech. We just have to be respectful of what is appropriate for a classroom.”
Heilman, as a Knights Way adviser, believes that we have an amazing opportunity heading our way as the next Knights Way day is the Thursday following the election. Knights Way, while aiming to teach the core values of Prospect, is just another step towards clear and honest conversation between students, their peers and their teachers. Heilman believes that this lesson, in conjunction with folds of honor, offers the chance for student leaders and teachers to prove united and share an overall message of kindness.
Voting results of the KnightMedia staff in regards to this editorial.
Kindness and respect are the overarching themes. Tantillo’s favorite quote is by Dave Mat-
“This is our opportunity to come together no matter the politics,” Heilman said. “A chance to get together to remember we are still a ‘United’ States of America. We can still take actions and choose service and choose country over any candidate or unkindness and we can move forward together.”
Dancing with the Stars creates controversy
Anna Delvey was dressed in a gown covered in sparkles and feathers for her second appearance on the 33rd season of “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS). She was ready to take on the ballroom, dancing a quick step to “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall with her partner Ezra Sosa.
Sounds normal, right? But I forgot to mention one crucial factor about this: since Delvey, born Anna Sorokin, is a con artist and is currently on house arrest, she was wearing an ankle monitor on the show.
Due to her longer dress, Delvey’s ankle monitor was less visible in her second appearance on the show than it was in her frst, where it was covered with a bedazzled sleeve to match her outft. Nevertheless, in the second episode, it had rhinestones and feathers on it to match her costume.
learned from her experience on the show, Delvey responded with “nothing.”
Situations like Delvey’s appearance on DWTS make viewers consider how certain celebrities are portrayed in the media and their impact on viewers of varying ages. It also may lead many to question, including myself, the intentions of broadcast companies, like ABC, when choosing who is put in the public eye.
LEANNA KEWARKIS Executive Features Editor
The second episode of the season, which aired on Sept. 24, happened to be Delvey’s last night on DWTS as she was eliminated along with star Tori Spelling due to her low scores from the judges, as well as a low amount of votes from the viewers of the show.
When host Julianne Hough asked Delvey about what she
Starting in 2013, Delvey defrauded multiple banks and socialites by impersonating a German heiress. She made over $275,000 through her scams. In 2019, Delvey was convicted of second-degree larceny, theft of services and frst-degree attempted grand larceny. Delvey was released on parole in Feb. 2021. According to Variety, by Oct. 2022, Delvey was released on bail and put on house arrest.
According to School Resource Ofcer (SRO) Tyler Johnson, in Cook County, house arrest is issued as a sentence depending on the severity of a case. Someone who committed an extremely dangerous
Anna Delvey, a convicted con artist on Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, dances the cha-cha with a bedazzled ankle monitor. She was eliminated in episode two of the season but still managed to cause some controversy over her involvement in the dance show.
crime would not be put under house arrest but would instead serve their time in prison. Additionally, the parameters of each house arrest case may vary. Some individuals are required to stay in their home, while others may be allowed to travel within a county, state or country.
In Delvey’s case, she had to get approval from Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) to appear on DWTS, according to Rolling Stone.
SPARKLE:
End of school dance era is near
Fall of Winter Ball illustrates decline of school dances
Is it hot in here, or is that just me?” is exactly what I thought to myself as I navigated through the brutal, unforgiving mosh pit of my freshman year Homecoming “Dance” (if you consider “dancing” to be jumping up and down like an eight-year-old boy with ADHD who just absorbed a box of Sour Patch Kids and pushing people over harder than the Bears have done all season, then yeah, Hoco had plenty of dancing).
See, the phrase had layers to it. Not only was I feeling ultra sexy in my Walmart-branded dress pants and polo I had been wearing since the sixth grade, but I was also literally boiling: soaked in sweat from my slicked back hair to the blister-infested dress shoes on my feet.
As hundreds of squeaky shoes fought for their noise against the clean versions of rap songs blasting from the overworked DJ’s speakers, I fought my way through the crowd. Sure, I was enjoying the atmosphere, greeting people I barely knew and stepping over the occasional unconscious body, but there was one goal I had that surpassed the rest. Something I wanted more than anything at that moment.
To leave.
Yeah, that’s usually how it ends up going at Hoco — especially if you’ve already done it before. You spend countless hours obsessing over sign proposals, outfts, pre-event photo shoots and determining which afterparty is going to have the best corner to stand in silence in that the actual event just kinda fies by.
Also introduced by ASB, the Winter Ball was a Homecoming-esque dance that took place on February 3rd last year. All grades were allowed to go, and the dance was a bit smaller than Hoco, with fewer decorations and activities and being held in a portion of the indoor basketball courts, as opposed to the massive Field House.
If this is your frst time hearing about this ever/in a while, you’re probably thinking one of two things: either “Why would anyone want to go to another Homecoming?” or “Sounds like fun, why haven’t I heard about another one?”
These were the two demographics that made up the student body when the Winter Ball came around. Long before the dance, ASB sent out a survey to roughly 700 students asking if they were interested in a winter ball. Around 400 claimed they were, so the dance was set up; however, less than 300 people actually ended up attending.
Ray expresses her disappointment for the Winter Ball’s turnout, having hoped that it would have done better.
“I was very disappointed … and kind of frustrated, because so many kids seemed like they were excited about it [but] didn’t show up,” Ray said.
With the Winter Ball being one of the few Prospect events that didn’t make more money than it took to set up, Ray says that it’s unlikely to happen again this year, which is a shame.
And yet, Homecoming is a symbol of American high school culture: truly the pinnacle of student social life and status. Even if our Associated Student Body (ASB) totally sucked at putting together the dance — which they don’t — and made tickets $100 apiece — which they aren’t, thank God — we’d all still put on our fancy clothes, ask out some random people and have an excuse to loosen up through excessive jumping and ear damage.
ASB Adviser Kristine Ray agrees on the importance of school dances.
“I can’t imagine getting rid of a dance like Homecoming,” Ray said. “[Dances] like it have been around since these schools have been created.”
I think I speak for most people when I say I couldn’t imagine high school without Homecoming either, although that may be a reality soon. Provided by Ray, ticket sales throughout the past eight years show that Homecoming attendance has been steadily lowering.
Of course, that would be ignoring the COVIDshaped elephant in the room, but we’ll circle back to that.
Anyway, still don’t believe that Hoco could die out? Let’s take a look in the past to see what our so-called “time-honored tradition” could become: the depressing ballad of the Winter Ball. What, you have no idea what I’m talking about? I fgured.
As someone who actually went to the Winter Ball, I think the attendance problem had nothing to do with the actual event. It really was just a smaller Homecoming. The real problem had to do with the reasons that people like Homecoming: everything surrounding the event. Creating an original dance during the winter isn’t going to have the same signifcance as Hoco or Prom because it hasn’t been around nearly as long. There hasn’t been any time for students to come up with unique traditions or rituals for the event because it’s “the new kid on the block.” Nobody wants to be the one to fnd out whether he’s the coolest kid in the neighborhood or the local Fregley (if you don’t get this “Wimpy Kid” reference, we can’t be friends, sorry not sorry).
If there were to be another Winter Ball, I would put more efort into advertising. It was all over the announcements and social media, but I would have appreciated some traditions industry-planted by ASB. For example, everyone knows for Hoco you make a sign to propose, go to after parties and yada yada — the whole nine yards — so I would have loved to see an aspect that made the Winter Ball stand apart. Something winter-related, y’know?
What if instead of signs, people proposed by drawing in the snow (in any color but yellow)?
Or what if, like, throwing a snowball at someone was the way to ask them to the dance?
You know how there are diferent colored fowers you can buy for people during Prom season, with each color representing diferent relationships? What if it was like that, but with varied colors of snow cones?!
My genius only goes so far, but I’m sure an auditorium full of ASB members could come up with better ideas in an hour than I just did
become the lives
in three minutes. Even if they did, though, there’s another issue that’s been afecting attendance in all school activities for a while now: the COVID-19 pandemic.
I’m a trustworthy guy, so I’m going to fulfll that promise I made earlier. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about it (and you’d better believe I’m sick of writing about it), but COVID put a halt on the world, and school activities were obviously no diferent.
I mean, my whole anecdote in the beginning was about pushing through crowds of people just to get outside, so you can imagine how that wouldn’t fy in an era where people were willing to completely disassociate with you if you so much as coughed in public.
However, before the pandemic, ticket sales for Homecoming were already steadily declining. While the stats for ticket sales pre-GoFan don’t include the tickets sold at the door, Ray recalls a noticeable shift.
“We had tons of kids [attend school dances] for years, and then all of the sudden it just dropped of,” Ray said. “We traditionally always had higher numbers … I don’t know the reasoning behind [it lowering].”
With 2020 being the only recent Prospect year without Homecoming, 2021 did extremely well because students were just coming of of the only year where Hoco wasn’t an option — a classic case of people taking something for granted, then missing it when it’s gone.
This makes even more sense when you remember that not all schools were even doing Hoco in 2021, so that left a lot of their students with no other option than to go to Prospect’s dance.
sales are dropping again, and with (hopefully!) no pandemic in sight for another few dozen years, I can’t help but feel like the post-COVID efect has worn of and school dances may be kicking the bucket for good soon enough. Still seem improbable? Like I said before, I couldn’t imagine high school without events like Homecoming and Prom either — but do you think our parents expected high school to be like it is now when they were our ages?
I mean, rules about phones in class? “How are these kids hauling landlines with them?” Taking of smart watches before tests? “Is a dumb watch one that has the wrong time? And how would knowing the time even help you cheat?”
The 2021 Homecoming Dance sold 1,856 tickets presale, with an additional estimated 500 or more tickets sold at the door based on profts, according to Ray. That makes 2021 Homecoming one of the most proftable events in Prospect history - so much so that pre-ordering tickets was a requirement from then on.
However, a familiar pattern has emerged within the past few years. Ticket
Using AI on essays? “Like the goddamn robot from ‘Rocky IV’? Dude spoke like… y’know, a robot!” My point is — and bear with me as I get way too philosophical for a story about school dances — the world’s landscape is always changing, especially for young people. Obviously, we can’t go anywhere in life without at least a few years in high school, so it’s up to administrators to constantly adapt to our frequently changing shenanigans to keep the foundations of school intact. And you can tell they’re adapting well because I just used, like, seven four-syllable words in that paragraph. Look, someday when we’re all Boomers with kids in high school who come home with dozens of questions about what things were like when we were in their shoes, we’re going to remember this time — the current era where this newspaper just came out. The time where we thought Homecoming and Prom could never go away — and how dumb we were for thinking the way school dances worked would never change.
Ray shares a similar idea, sharing what she believes the future of school dances to be.
“[School dances] are crucial … in my eyes. But things can change at any moment,” Ray said. “Nobody knows what the future of [what school] events holds … but I hope the social piece stays so students can have the experiences I had when [I] was in high school.”
PARTY IN THE PHS: Students bust moves and
of the party at the Feb. 3, 2023 Winter Ball. (photo by Xander Adkins)
XANDER ADKINS Copy Editor
Informed or influenced?
While spending time scrolling through social media, senior Addie Walker, who is eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election, often comes across political ads and videos. Whether it’s a campaign account trying to garner support for a candidate, or a funny meme about a candidate themselves, these are all things that young voters, like Walker, are exposed to on a daily basis.
After clicking into the comment section of one of these videos, Walker was surprised to see many people commenting about how the video was changing some of their political opinions. Some people were even expressing how they now agreed with the political message in the video. This was especially startling to her because she doesn’t believe that videos, such as celebrity endorsements on social media, are the most appropriate way to help people decide who to vote for.
“I’ve seen people have their minds changed and I think [social media is] really efective in reaching younger audiences because that is where a lot of young people get all their information from,” Walker said.
AP United States Government and Politics teacher Tim Beishir states that misinformation refers to mistakes and inaccuracies, while disinformation is intentionally trying to mislead and lie to people.
“It’s [an] easy and accessible way to send information, but it’s also full of misinformation… [and] it’s also full of disinformation,” Beishir said.
I am thankful that currently my own social media pages are full of shopping hauls, hair tutorials and videos of my friends. Nevertheless, as I get closer to voting age, I expect my feed to food with more and more political infuencers.
Political candidates can create their own campaign accounts, designing what kind of presence they want to have on social media, which increases online interactions that people have.
Election day is coming up on Nov 5, and no matter who you are voting for, the most important thing you can do is cast an informed vote. Voting is sometimes referred to as “fulflling your civic duty,” and I wholeheartedly agree. It’s one thing to simply cast your vote, but stepping up to become an informed voter is what truly makes a diference.
Educating yourself and deciding what political policies and issues you care about most are vital to casting an informed vote. In a country with a complex amount of political information foating around, sorting it out can be a difcult and imperative task for any voter.
Voters can get their political information in a variety of ways and some are more reliable than others. News stations on TV, websites online and social media are all common sources of information for people.
However, when it comes to fnding quality information, voters should steer away from social media. Every single person creating content on social media can say whatever they want and portray whatever story they choose, but the information they share is not always true.
When you hear a candidate’s views directly from them, it will usually be more reliable than when translated through others on social media. I often go to a candidate’s ofcial website, so that I can get their direct views on issues.
Using mainstream news sources, TV channels and websites is also a solid approach to inform yourself. With information written by trained journalists, they will defnitely lead you in a much better direction than the 500 random TikToks you see on your “for you page” every day.
However, high school voters don’t always get their views from TikTok or other social media platforms. Sometimes, they get their political views from their parents.
I know I hear my own parents discussing politics all the time and, whether I realize it or not, it impacts my opinion. Along with most kids in the world, I have grown up believing, trusting and relying on what my parents have taught me, including politics.
Walker confrms that her parents have indeed played some role in her political beliefs.
“Since I’ve grown up and [have] been able to form my own thoughts and opinions, I feel like [my opinions] have diverted a little bit, but I would say that I feel similar [to] certain values [as] my parents,” Walker said.
Social media has contributed a lot to spreading information about current politics and politicians. There are both positive and negative aspects of this new news source.
Much of the recent content put out by and related to politicians has been very lighthearted. I enjoyed some of the content like the meme surrounding the “coconut tree” video of Kamala Harris that embraced the “brat summer” trend. Content like this is put out on TikTok and Instagram to target a younger demographic of voters, like myself, who already spend so much of their time on social media.
While it’s nice to have a less serious way to look at politics and get more people interested in voting, it is causing some people to vote for a candidate for the wrong reasons. This might cause some to vote more based on random presidential candidate TikTok edits and less based on the real values they have on issues.
Though social media is full of young voters, candidates can also reach out to a wider range of ages by spending upwards of billions of dollars on their campaign. According to OpenSecrets.org, in the 2020 election political spending reached up to $14 billion. A lot of that is dedicated to making and running commercials on pop- ular TV stations.
Beishir argues that because they spend all this money on TV ads, it shows that there are plenty of people who haven’t built strong opinions yet. The surface level per suasion tactics in these commercials aren’t going to infuence someone who’s well rooted in their views. If they know what they believe in, a 30 second TV ad will not sway them.
To be a well informed voter, you should know the nuanced policies of the candidates in the election and cross reference them with what you value the most for the country, Beishir says. Everybody should be an issues voter and know what their top fve most important issues are.
ty can close people of from new information and make people less informed about an election.
“I also see kind of a one-sidedness in other people just not wanting to be open [to other ideas] … that’s kind of hurtful because people don’t want to learn, and aren’t open to listening,” Walker said.
As per Jocelyn Lopez, Administrative Assistant to the Associate Principal for Instruction, there are 111 Prospect students this year who will be eligible to vote in the presidential election on November 5. However, just because they are all eligible to vote does not mean they will all actually vote.
Not voting isn’t uncommon in the U.S., and as reported by Pew Research, only about two thirds of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election. This is weird considering that it was also the highest turnout rate for a national election since 1900.
Though, for new voters that number is even less. According to CIRCLE, in the 2020 election, just 46% of 18 and 19-year-olds cast a ballot.
I don’t think that not voting would ever be a consideration for me, and I wish I was eligible to vote in this election. It is something that might not seem like it has a lot of power, but each and every person has the potential to shape the future of our country together.
Walker says that she considered not voting just because she didn’t want to have to deal with it. She decided to vote just because she ultimately believes that it is important to vote, but understands why others wouldn’t want to.
“Especially with this election, it’s extremely competitive and there’s a lot of people who are extremely passionate about their choice… it can become scary almost,” Walker said.
Even though Walker is going to vote, she admits that she hasn’t even technically registered yet, since sometimes that seems like the most intimidating part.
Walker and Beishir both agree that a good way to combat voting hesitation in high school seniors would be for Prospect to provide a guide or resource to help students register to vote with ease.
While registering may seem like a tricky task, Illinois makes it incredibly simple to register to vote. You can register online in just a few minutes, or walk into your local polling location and register in person on Election Day.
Even though I can’t vote, I was still ofered the chance to pre-register when I got my driver’s license.
It’s such a great way to strengthen voter registration among high schoolers, even if it is two years early.
Prospect also helps facilitate young voter registration Associate Principal Frank Mirandola shares that Prospect is a longtime host of the League of Women Voters, a group who often come in to host voter registration drives in the spring. These drives are intended to register anyone who is not already registered to vote.
Though having well informed opinions is the ideal situation for any voter, it can be tough to dedicate time to researching, often uninteresting, political topics. Because of this, some people fnd it easier to just vote with their party instead of based on specifc issues.
“The tribalism of red team, blue team is so much easier than reading a nuanced discussion of healthcare policy,” Beishir said.
Walker thinks that only voting based on par-
APPROACHING ELECTION STRIKES CONTROVERSY
Electoral college
STELLA PALM Managing Editor
To many, especially AP United States Government and Politics teacher Tim Beishir, the system of the Electoral College (EC) is viewed as “undemocratic” and “outdated.” History. com acknowledges that, while these claims may be true, the system was a way to compromise a never-ending argument between the founding fathers: How should we vote for the president?
The EC decides who will be elected as the president and vice president of the U.S. It consists of 538 electors that are elected by voters in each state during the general election. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president.
The number of electoral votes each state receives is based on the Census. For instance, a state like New York will have 28 votes compared to only four votes for Rhode Island, according to archives.gov.
While Beishir thinks that the system isn’t as useful now, he admits that this wasn’t always the case.
“The Electoral College is an arcane relic that, at the time of the ratifcation of the Constitution, there were salient arguments for,” Beishir said. For instance, he mentions that, at the time, lots of the population were either illiterate or uneducated. This made it difcult for people to become informed voters if they couldn’t read and learn about the candidates. The EC ensured that all the electors would be enlightened enough to make an informed decision when voting. These issues that the country was dealing with in
“It’s a physical reminder that it’s important to register to vote to make sure that your voice is heard,” Mirandola said.
Though all of the aspects of voting –- from registering to educating yourself –- can seem very overwhelming, Beishir argues that it does not have to be as daunting as we make it out to be.
“Decide what you think frst. There’s dozens of politically relevant issues. You [have] got to decide which ones matter to you,” Beishir said.
APPROACHING ELECTION STRIKES CONTROVERSY
college discounts popular vote
much diferent from the ones we have now.
“Those arguments no longer hold water because, you know, we don’t have an illiterate population anymore,” Beishir said. “It’s never been easier to disseminate information in seconds.”
Beishir thinks it is important to note that the can still hold a great amount of power, especially in the swing states. Swing states have similevels of Democratic and Republican support, making them up for grabs by either party.
According to usnews.com, the swing states this election are Arizona (11 electoral votes), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Nevada (6), North Carolina (16), Pennsylvania (19) and Wisconsin (10).
“[The vote] is going to be really close in Pennsylvania [since it’s a swing state],” junior Brendan Ziegenhorn said. “Whoever wins [in Pennsylvania] is probably going to win the election.”
On the contrary, states that have been heavily Democratic or Republican in the past couple of elections can be considered as “safe states.” This means that it is unlikely, but not impossible that these states could switch over to the other party.
For example, Illinois has been a blue state for past eight elections, making it one of the “big three” Democratic states alongside California (54) and New York (28).
Even though the EC can highly infuence the presidential election, Beishir believes that the EC contradicts the idea that elections are meant to be voted on by the people, for the people.
“It seems at times undemocratic. Actually, it’s always undemocratic,” Beishir said.
For instance, in the elections of 2000 and 2016 the winner of the EC lost the popular vote, according to britannica.com. In the election of 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote by 543,835 votes, but lost the electoral college to George W. Bush by fve electoral votes.
*According to a KnightMedia survey of 425 students
History repeated itself in 2016 when Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in the popular vote by 2,868,686 votes, but lost the electoral college by 77 electoral votes, according to 270towin. com.
Ziegenhorn acknowledges that it “didn’t make much sense” when the winners of those elections did not refect of the popular vote.
It is realistic to think that those with opinions like Beishir and Ziegenhorn may want something to change about the EC. It would require a constitutional amendment to altar the EC.
This kind of amendment needs to be approved by threefourths of the states in order to be ratifed, according to law.cornell.edu.
Beishir acknowledges that this makes any change to the EC highly unlikely, but not unfeasible.
“[Only using popular vote] would certainly be more democratic than what’s supposed to be the grand symbol of democracy in the world,” Beishir said.
90.4%
of students believe that social media endorsements and campaigns are effective for gaining votes and awareness for candidates
The frst happened while he was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. The bullet grazed Trump’s ear and caused him to bleed as he was escorted of of the stage by the Secret Service. The second occurred on Sept. 15, 2024 at his Mar-a-Lago golf course. Out of the 46 Presidents of the United States, only four have been assassinated with the most recent being John F. Kennedy in 1963.
“Many things have been normalized in the last few years in American political discourse,” Beishir said. “I don’t think it’s about issue polarization, I think it’s about … how people are speaking about politicians. People’s words matter, particularly when they are leaders of national importance.”
While Beishir’s perspective examines a growing divide in political discourse, Mirandola wants to foster unity with the popular “USA” football game theme. Last September, controversy arose over Rolling Meadows High School’s proposed “USA” football game theme. As of now, the theme is scheduled as a home game against Bufalo Grove on Oct. 25. Mirandola has no issue with the theme itself, and he believes that “USA” symbolizes patriotism and not political views.
“I love doing ‘Red, White and Blue,’ or
‘USA,’ as a home game whenever possible because we know we have [security] making sure that [the theme] is done properly,” Mirandola said.
According to Mirandola, discussions involved which game would have the theme, not the theme itself or calling it ‘USA” vs. “Red, White and Blue.” When selecting themes, Mirandola looks to see how the theme could be interpreted by others, and he makes sure it is appropriate for all venues. While no props, signs or fags are permitted — the same rules that apply at every game —, students are allowed to wear political merchandise if they so choose.
Interpreting the skincare world
JOCELYN FARINA Copy Editor
By the time most kids reach the age of 12 or 13, they realize that something’s changing. Typically, teens begin to grow taller and develop acne. Senior Blaike Mertes went through these normal changes when she was about 13.
She recalls being in seventh grade and watching a show featuring a relatively new actress, Millie Bobby Brown. Mertes watched as Brown performed her role as Eleven in the show Stranger Things. Fast forward two years, she released a beauty brand called “Florence by Mills.”
“I saw her, and I was like, I really wanted to do that. Her [products] looked so cool, [and] so that’s when I started,” Mertes said.
For many teens, skincare is no joke. Whether a teen’s skin is acne-prone, sensitive, dry or oily, teens appear to be using skincare products more than ever before. According to We’re Charlotte North Carolina, teens spent 23% more money on skincare in 2023 compared to 2022, with each teen having an average annual expenditure of $324 on these products.
This is no diferent at Prospect, where a survey of 430 students found that 55.1% of them have a skincare routine that involves more than just facial soap and lotion.
This recent increase isn’t surprising when considering the extent to which social media has become integrated into peoples’ lives.
The Drum reported that 90% of all social media posts related to beauty are posted on Instagram, and that 75 hours of beauty content is uploaded to YouTube daily. Some of the most popular beauty channels, such as James Charles, can typically accumulate an audience of one million views per video.
With videos online boasting about new products and routines, it’s no wonder that confused teens might turn to these outlets as opposed to doing their own online research. Mertes describes connecting with those who look to social media, as she did not have much guidance with her frst skincare routine.
55.1% of Prospect students have a skincare routine.
according to a KnightMedia survey of 430 students
PRESENTATION: A teen performs their skincare routine for a day, as their skin is the foundation of their facial appearance. “Skincare, it’s very frst thing that people [see when they] look at you,”esthetician Nadia Elmaouhi said. (art by Sage Gilliland)
“My mom was like, ‘Yeah, you just wash your face and [use] a moisturizer of some sort,’ but there’s never really been any other direction than that, which is fne, but I think that is a pretty common trend [for teens to look towards the media for guidance],” Mertes said. “That’s the reason that a lot of younger people will kind of fall into TikTok [and] popular skincare products.”
Some dermatologists such as Robin Travers, who published an article for Skincare Physicians in Massachusetts, notice that social media is
could actually help her explore new brands and used that to her advantage.
“I’ll see [celebrities and infuencers] use a product, and [I’m like], ‘oh, I have kind of similar skin,’ and then … I’ll try to incorporate [that product] somehow,” Mertes said. “I would say a lot of it’s just trial and error.”
So, how can a newly aged teen even begin to navigate the skincare world when there seems to be so many diferent voices and infuences out there?
Some parents like Tyler Mertes, Blaike’s father, argue that kids should always try to gather their information frst before making any decisions.
“I think you can probably do a lot of [research] on your own … with the internet … but anytime you’re ingesting something or putting something on your body, you probably ought to know what is in it and what it’s gonna do,” Mertes said.
According to a Harvard Health article written by Claire McCarthy, a Primary Care Pediatrician at the Boston Children’s Hospital, teens should only use skincare for acne and use mild cleansers with no alcohol to treat it. She also mentions that people should be cautious with over-the-counter acne products and exfoliants, which can sometimes leave the skin in worse shape than it was before.
Despite all of this, many skincare brands quickly become expensive after buying even just one item. A trip to Sephora or Ulta can rank up anywhere from $25 - $200 per visit in search of skincare. However, Elmaouhi claims that expensive doesn’t always mean better.
over-infuencing healthy skin to the point that skincare products are becoming unhealthy as they are commonly misused by teens.
However, Nadia Elmaouhi, an esthetician for Scruples Salon & Spa in Glenview, works with teens’ skin all the time. She thinks that there’s a reason, other than social media, that backs the ever growing need for skincare.
“People want to stay young. People want their skin to be tight. They don’t want to lose collagen. They don’t want saggy skin, so [skincare is] going to be big,” Elmaouhi said. “It’s a big thing already, there’s a million, billion people [already] spending [money] on beauty products [and] on skin products.”
Mertes notices the efects of these two ideas on her younger sister, who is in middle school, as she begins to dive deeper into the realm of skincare.
“She’ll totally play into the trends, which is fne. I think it’s … her life … I don’t think [she] takes into consideration what her skin actually needs, … she has great skin, but she defnitely just hops on the trailer [of social media],” Mertes said.
However, just because society is scared of growing old and falling behind on trends doesn’t mean that everyone is doomed to have terrible skin because of social media.
Travers also stated that the presence of social media has prevailed with some benefts, stating that, “We [dermatologists] have seen teenage acne patients who are already following a very reasonable over-the-counter acne regimen
“If you buy [a skincare product] from Neiman Marcus … one of those high end products, and buy something [similar] from a diferent brand … look at the ingredients. [It’s possible that the] ingredients are the same, but it’s, of course, [being sold under a] diferent name,” Elmaouhi said. Many doctors, such as the ones that write for TeensHealth, state that simple routines like washing your face twice a day or avoiding the urge to touch your face can make a world of difference. They also mentioned that teens should avoid popping pimples — contrary to many satisfying videos online — to lower the risk of infection.
Elmaouhi said that she always takes a step back to look at the bigger picture when teens come to her looking for more extreme treatment.
“I usually would do [a] facial to see the reaction, especially if they’ve never done anything of that [sorts before] … [If] you came to me and told me, ‘Oh, can you do a chemical peel for me?’ I would say, ‘no.’ I wouldn’t do a chemical peel [right away, but instead] I would do a regular facial to see your [initial] reaction,” Elmaouhi said. By doing these test patches without harsh chemicals, Elmaouhi is able to see a teen’s skin for its full, unique value.
“Some people have redness in their skin … [others have] dark skin. People, they’re diferent … I always tell [teens] … to clean their face, especially at night and in the morning. Always moisturize and never leave home without your sun protection,” Elmaouhi said.
It’s really that simple. Not every product is “one size fts all” because it’s not hard to see all of the diferent products that are designed to treat various
Transitioning from family to faculty
SARAH GEORGE Executive Arts & Entertainment Editor
As the buzzer sounded, World Religions teacher and boys’ varsity basketball coach John Camardella beamed. Jumping up and down and shaking the bleachers, the crowd screamed and cheered. Hundreds of fans rushed to the court to congratulate the winning team.
The boys’ varsity basketball team had just won the 2020 regionals competition against Bufalo Grove. Camardella — feeling immense pride for the team — high-fved his players as they all shared congratulations and good jobs. Camardella looked around and scoped the area, hoping to see his ffth grade daughter, Peyton Camardella, somewhere in the crowd. Peyton, who spotted her dad frst, ran up to hug him.
“It was so surreal, knowing how much [my team winning regionals] meant to her,” Camardella said.
For him, seeing his daughter — who is now a sophomore — grow and learn every day at the building he works at is one of the many highlights of his position. This story is similar for the many teachers whose children attend Prospect as students.
The Camardella family lived in the Hersey area and planned to send Peyton to that high school. However, with her dad being a teacher at Prospect and knowing the school better than Hersey, the question came up as to whether or not Peyton should attend Prospect instead.
After a lot of consideration, and knowing how passionate Peyton was about spending her four years of high school with her dad alongside her, Camardella and his wife came to the conclusion that Hersey wouldn’t be the right place for Peyton to go. They moved to Prospect territory in early 2018 when Peyton was in fourth grade.
The question that comes with most students who have parents working in the building of their high school, such as Peyton, is whether or not students are able to take their parents’ classes. According to Associate Principal Frank Mirandola, there is no formal policy in this case. If the parent is the only one teaching a certain class, their child is allowed to partake in that class.
Because Camardella is the only World Religions teacher, he would be allowed to have Peyton in class her senior year if she would like.
EMBRACE: John Camardella and his daughter Peyton hold each other after the boys’ varsity basketball team won the 2020 regional competition. For Camardella, celebrating a win with his daughter was one of his most memorable moments at his job. (photo courtesy of Camardella)
He built his own curriculum from the personal, real-life experiences he obtained during his world travels. During these trips, he would take Peyton with him whenever the opportunity arose. They have been to a number of diferent countries together, and Peyton has had the chance to experience diferent customs of each corner of the world. Both Camardella and Peyton feel that her taking his World Religions class wouldn’t be worth her time.
all A’s,” Peyton said. “I just know that my parents want me to try my best and put in the most efort that I can.”
This is the same mindset that Sociology and World History teacher Kristen Ray shares. Her sons, Mason (junior) and Parker (senior), are both students at Prospect. Similar to the situation of Camardella and Peyton, Ray and her sons lived in the Hersey area where her boys were previously going to go to school. The idea was challenged when her oldest Parker proposed that he wanted to attend Prospect.
MY BOYS GREW UP HERE ... THIS WAS LIKE THEIR SECOND HOME.”
-Kristen Ray, Social Science teacher
“It wouldn’t be fair to [her] to sit in a classroom [full] of beginners that are just learning the material when she’s learned it and even experienced some of it,” Camardella said.
Peyton expressed that although having a parent as a teacher may seem difcult in terms of academic pressure, Camardella working at her high school is a positive aspect and something that she cherishes as part of her high school experience.
“It’s not like I’m pressured to get
Throughout her kids’ childhoods, Ray would always bring them to her work, which they viewed as a very special opportunity.
With Ray being an advisor of the Associated Student Body (ASB), her sons would play in the staf area and spend time in her class as she taught and set up decorations for events like school dances and football games.
“My boys grew up here,” Ray said. “This was like their second home.”
Both Mason and Parker have played football, which is an aspect of their high school career that Ray appreciates greatly. She loves the social side of the sport, and seeing her sons play is such
a privilege for her.
Another beneft Ray has gained from working at her sons’ school is watching them grow up and prepare themselves for college and their journeys ahead. From events like homecoming, prom and sporting events, to small traditions like Toga Day, homecoming week and Senior Sunrise, Ray is grateful for her front row seat of her sons’ last four years at home.
“If I had advice [for high schoolers], from what I’ve seen and got to experience, it would be that you’re only in high school once,” Ray said. “You have four years left before college, so make the most of it; it really does go by fast — at least it does for the parents.”
Similarly to the Ray family, Mirandola’s daughter, junior Siena Mirandola, adores the relationship she has with her dad. Whether Siena is stopping by her dad’s ofce with her friends to say hi, or just high-fving each other in the hallways, both Mirandola and Siena have many opportunities to see each other throughout the day.
“My dad has a candy jar in his classroom, so it’s super fun stopping by with my friends to talk to him and get candy,” Siena said.
Being the Associate Principal, Mirandola is very involved with the school culture and events. To Siena, he is the ultimate “hype man” that the school needs, but sometimes he takes “hype man” to the next level.
During Christmas time one year, Mirandola brought up an ambitious idea to his daughter: he wanted to walk around the school dressed as Buddy
the Elf from the renowned Christmas movie “Elf.”
“He told me that, and I was like, ‘No you are not doing that … I still go to school here,’” Siena said. Mirandola is present all around the school: from helping at football games to welcoming freshmen at the One Prospect activities. Siena fnds the most enjoyment in seeking out her dad wherever she is.
“I appreciate his enthusiasm and how excited he gets the school,” Siena said. “I love that I have someone always here whenever I need, and seeing him throughout the school day is the best part of my day.”
Singles shake up music industry
Now, I wouldn’t exactly claim to be a Swiftie or anything, but given that Taylor Swift is probably the most infuential celebrity on the planet right now, I try to keep up with her music. When she released her deluxe album of “Midnights (3am Edition)” with a whopping seven new tracks, I felt it was overkill. She then proceeded to release what I like to call an “ultra-deluxe” album, releasing “Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)” seven months after her frst one. I mean, at that point, just release a new album.
A deluxe album is an extended version of an artist’s original album, typically featuring around three to four new songs. The concept has been around in Western music since the 60s, but recently it has reached new levels of trendiness, as evidenced by Swift releasing two. They’re meant to be timely and are typically released four months after the original album, when popularity has died down a bit, but the album is still just popular enough to keep fans interested.
Similarly, the release of singles before an album has become increasingly popular. To garner more streams and popularity before an album’s release, artists will release one or two songs featured on their album before the album’s release date.
Personally, I am not a fan of these trends. Initially, the idea behind deluxe albums and singles was to produce more music for listeners to enjoy. However, deluxe albums and singles have strayed far from the original concept, given where we are today. It seems like artists are grasping at straws to release a couple more songs to make an extra buck; it’s not about authenticity anymore.
If just observation isn’t enough, this is evident in statistics. According to an article from Medium, “In the year 2000, for example, the US music industry earned 1% of its revenue from CD singles and 92.3% from CD albums.”
their release.
“If you’re really good at getting your stuf out there, doing the recordings and constantly [releasing] stuf, people are going to listen because people are on social media all the time,” Timler-Lingenfelter said.
But there’s no guarantee that a single will be successful. Because singles are usually rushed for proft, songs may not always turn out well, and audience reception will refect that.
People were releasing singles just for the joy of it rather than looking to proft of of it. Of course, they should want to make money; it is their career. However, that shouldn’t be the only focus for megastars.
According to that same article, “streaming now accounts for 65% of revenue — and most of this consumption is of individual songs rather than entire albums.” Clearly, if you’re looking for a little more cash in your pocket, a single is the way to go. This massive change is due to the speed at which social media spreads the word about song releases.
Social media has completely shifted the way artists market their music. Colleen Timler-Lingenfelter, a private vocal coach and head of Prospect’s vocal jazz group, believes that since singles have the potential to build hype for albums over social media, streaming is likely to go up due to
“I think it can be a good marketing strategy if it’s a great song — if it does well. But it can also backfre if it’s not received well, right?” Timler-Lingenfelter said. “If you put a song out there and it’s not received well, it could make people think, ‘Oh, maybe this album’s not going to be great.’”
Deluxe albums are actually worse for consumers than getting a full new album, especially when buying physical records. Buyers are putting the same amount of cash down for a few more songs as they would for a new album. Sure, people don’t buy records as much as they used to, but it’s gaining traction once again.
Additionally, the releases of singles and deluxe albums can create controversy if they’re not “done right” per se. When Charli XCX released her “Brat” album in June, she was lined up to hit number one on the U.K. Billboard charts. However, Taylor Swift had been number one for fve weeks at this point, and to retain her number one spot, she released a 32nd version of her album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
This version was available for only 24 hours and was U.K. exclusive. Personally, I found this ridiculous. How greedy can a person be? It clearly was for monetary gain. There was nothing new or appealing about this new album; she didn’t even bother adding a new song, just some pointless voice memo. I mean, who wants that? But in the end, she got what she wanted. Her album remained number one, and Charli XCX debuted at number two.
This situation is what makes releasing deluxe
albums of-putting to me. However, I do think that there’s a right way to do it. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” album was the perfect example of how to do it right. She released two singles two months apart to give fans what they wanted: more music.
Two months after that, she released the entire album. This timely decision kept fans excited but, at the same time, fed them with new, quality music. Guts was in production for about two years. Rodrigo wasn’t just pumping out middle-of-theroad songs for no reason.
Moreover, the deluxe version of “Guts” was marketed amazingly. On the original album, Rodrigo put a diferent “surprise song” on each of the four versions of the record sold. This excited her more dedicated fans, as they actually had to purchase the album to listen to it; no streams were involved.
Then, when she released “Guts (Spilled),” those surprise songs were the additional tracks. It was just a fun, enjoyable release. She only released fve new tracks, each recognizable amongst the other. She wasn’t just putting out vaguely different songs, like Swift, and there was thought put into the new music.
So, I guess I’m not entirely against this trend. There’s just a classier way to go about it, and releasing the same song with diferent remixes twenty times is defnitely not it.
There still needs to be thought put into songs on deluxe albums, and they need to be representative of the artist. We all know that Swift is capable of more than another “sad girl autumn” remix. As long as artists maintain their musical identity and value quality over quantity, I can come to terms with this trend.
EXPANDING: Deluxe albums such as “The Secret of Us” by Gracie Abrams, “Guts (spilled)” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)” by Taylor Swift are examples of artists making another album with new music for more proft. (graphic created by Sarah George and Sydney Strimling)
Samp breaks barriers in new role
TESSA TRYLOVICH Managing Editor
On Sept. 17, while getting ready to start a game against Barrington, boys’ varsity head soccer coach and dean Jenna Samp headed onto the feld for the coin toss. A referee told Samp that no assitant coaches were allowed on the feld during the coin toss and asked her to leave. Samp persisted as the referee mistook her for an assistant coach multiple times, until she eventually explained to him that she was the head coach.
“I don’t take ofense to it, but it’s an assumption,” Samp said. “They see [a] female [and they automatically] assume my assistant coach, coach Cohen, is the head coach.”
At Prospect, Samp became a Dean of Students during the 2023–24 school year. This is the frst year Samp has coached boys’ soccer at Prospect, as she previously coached freshmen girls’ soccer last school year. When the opportunity for the boys’ head coaching position opened up, she rose to the occasion.
She frst began coaching soccer during her junior year of high school and got her United States Soccer Federation License to continue coaching throughout her
“Having the ability to be able to participate after in semi-professional leagues, I didn’t think that that was going to be the outcome of me playing, but I think it was because I couldn’t give up the love of the game,” Samp said.
Currently, Samp is the only female head boys’ soccer coach in the Mid-Suburban League (MSL). However, she has never felt out of place because of her time playing soccer with her brother while growing up.
“I’ve always felt like a part of the guys group, that’s always been my persona,” Samp said. “I always love hanging out with the guys and competing with the guys, and that’s how I grew up.”
Throughout her time coaching, Samp has fostered many strong relationships with the other coaches in the MSL. Having attended Palatine High School, she knew many of their coaches previously. Although Samp had many connections, it still took other coaches and referees time to get used to seeing her around.
“The nice thing is that the soccer world is small, but at the same time, it’s like, ‘OK, so you’re the only female at the table,’” Samp said. “It doesn’t change anything for me, and I know for them it doesn’t [either].”
With any sport, bringing in a new coach comes with its highs and lows. Samp overcomes the diffcult moments by using practices to help bring the team together as much as possible.
- Jenna Samp, head coach
“Obviously, it’s hard getting a new coach in general, whether it’s a male or a female; gender doesn’t really matter,” senior Sebastian Parks said. “[You just have to] adjust to new tactics and fnd new
According to Samp, when she was frst announced as the new head coach, many of the players were skeptical. However, once she explained her experience in the game, the team opened up
“They know my background ... of the game, and I think that was something that I had to
share for them to be like ‘OK what is she doing out here? What is her background?’” Samp said.
The team is currently 3-8-5 as of Oct. 23. Samp makes sure her athletes push through adversity to do as well as they can. She takes each game minute by minute and always focuses on what is ahead of the team rather than the past.
“Our results don’t prove the hard work that has been put in place, and I think part of that too is when you have a new coach, there’s a lot of challenges and hurdles to get over,” Samp said. “So, that’s been a struggle for some of them because they’ve had a diferent coach, and bringing in a new coach presents a lot of diferent chal-
lenges, so we’ve done a lot to get to where we are today.”
Although being a female coach for a boys’ team isn’t unheard of, Samp feels somewhat of a responsibility to the other women in the coaching world. She wants to set a good example to prove that being a female coach of a male sport can be done.
“I think for me, if someone [tells] me I [can’t] do something, it just [lights] the fre even more to prove that I can do it ... ,” Samp said. “I don’t think anything twice about me being a boys’ varsity head coach, but I do hope it inspires others if they want to go do those things.”
NEW COACH: Head varsity boys’ soccer coach Jenna Samp speaking with athletes Sebastian Parks, Alan Malikowski, Philip Lysek and Rique Huezo (left to right) during practice. (photo by Violet Cantu)
The battle between the Knights and the Huskies ends in a Knights win 30-27
Football shifts their momentum
After 0-2 start, football has six game win streak
LUKE ROBINSON Sports Reporter
After losing to Lyons Township, ranked 9th in the state in Class 8A, and Palatine, ranked 21st in the state, the football team has picked things up, improving their record to 6-2 heading into the fnale tonight against Bufalo Grove. According to junior Nate Cichy, their wide receivers trust the calls of head coach Dan DeBoeuf, and the puzzle pieces are falling into place.
”Our practice weeks have been great recently,” Cichy said. “We need to keep that focus throughout the year.”
Cichy has emerged as a star after having a solid sophomore season, and he has posted 36 catches for 559 yards and 9 touchdowns. Along with Cichy, senior running back Noah Easter is putting up great numbers with 145 carries for 920 yards and 14 touchdowns. Their initial losses made Cichy understand the importance of consistent hard work.
“The slow start defnitely was a motivator,” Cichy said. “It made me realize that we had to make a change in order to fnd our identity and start a winning streak.”
Although the team faced tough competi-
tion early in the season, DeBoeuf believes that the early losses have highlighted weaknesses in the team, such as the passing game. The players worked hard at practice, and it has shown in their recent games against Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove and their biggest rival, Hersey. As the schedule became lighter toward the backend of the regular season, the team applied what they learned by outsourcing their opponents 261-82.
“I think you do have an opportunity to learn more from a loss than a win,” DeBoeuf said. “Sometimes you can get away with things and still get a win, and then you don’t necessarily get those lessons driven home to make those changes.”
Sometimes to improve, players need to keep pushing through the rough spots in their season.
“We just had to fnd our way and we had to join back together,” Easter said. “It felt like we fell apart a little bit but then we joined back together and we just went on a run.”
Not only does Easter work hard at perfecting his game, but he also looks to keep the team close as he helps the juniors on varsity improve.
“Just leading by example helps them a lot because they’re already self-motivated,” Easter said.
The team has created many bonds, which have helped them become close and trust each other for the season. While many players already know each other, this season, with its highs and lows, has helped strengthen their bond even more.
“A lot of us have played sports together since elementary school,” Cichy said. “But we have made an even bigger bond this season.”
One way the players bond is through zero hour, which is when the whole team goes in early before school so they can get a lift in as a team. Zero hour is benefcial for the team so that they
can maximize practice time after school. The team captains, wide receiver Nick Carlucci and Easter, each have their own leadership styles.
“Noah Easter [is] a more of a soft-spoken kind of guy, but he’s … one of those guys with that work ethic where he leads by example, so guys [will] work like he works,” DeBoeuf said. “Whereas a more vocal guy like Nick Carlucci has grown up a ton and matured into a leader.”
Not only has zero hour helped foster bonds within the team, it has also allowed some juniors to play on varsity, such as Cichy and cornerback Jackson Parish. According to DeBoeuf, these players have a drive unlike anyone else. While many players have to be pushed to work harder, sometimes DeBoeuf has to tell them to ease up.
Along with zero hour, the ofseason training programs have helped the players a lot. Cichy in particular got the opportunity to lift four days a week, along with running track in the spring. His hard work helped him keep his varsity spot, a rare feat for the team's dynamic, according to DeBoeuf.
“Honestly, it's a little diferent for us in what we have had over probably the last fve years,” DeBoeuf said. “We’ve been really senior heavy and people work hard, and when they are seniors they get a chance to play. Between Cichy, [Lucas] Deines and Parish, some of those guys are really talented — not just athletically. Their talent really goes back to their work ethic and mental approach to the game.”
As their early opponents have helped them prepare for the playofs, the Knights have built trust in each other to fnish the season strong.
“Even though losing sucks, I think it will have been a positive thing for our team in the long run,” Cichy said.
Strong team bond leads runners to success
KADEN CHUNG
Social Media Director
As the boys’ cross country team hits the streets, they bring more than just the motivation and determination to run. They embrace team spirit by having jersey days, college shirt days, tropical clothes days and twin days where they wear the same outft as a teammate. These theme days are part of the boys’ cross country culture that senior Boris Dimitrov describes as a brotherhood.
“Brotherhood for boys’ cross country exemplifes the fact that the team is like a family,” Dimitrov said.
According to Dimitrov, strong bonds are created through teammates, and as the team’s work ethic increases, so does their morale. Many of the younger runners, such as junior Collin Ryan, have stepped up for the team despite their inexperience. From his sophomore to junior year, he went from being an alternate on varsity to a top fve runner.
Ryan cemented himself as an integral part of the team at the Peoria invite on Sept. 21 when he fnished 41st out of 565 runners in the varsity
three mile, running a 15:32.2. For head
coach Jay Renaud, Ryan’s drastic improvement came as a bit of a surprise.
“I didn’t necessarily foresee that happening this season, but it’s happening, and I love it,” Renaud said.
Ryans’ best three mile time from his sophomore season was 16:10.8; it has now gone down to 15:32.2 at the start of his junior season, according to Athletic.net. Renaud attributes Ryan’s large improvement to his strong work ethic.
“Collin’s working out with our top varsity guys consistently day in and day out, completing his task before practice starts and after it ends, working very hard in the weight room, doing a lot of the little things right and that’s making a big impact,” Renaud said.
Team-wise, cross country also creates culture through pasta parties and having breakfast after long runs every Saturday. They love to spend time together and have many traditions. For example, Renaud has a tradition of reading a kids book to all of the runners in his room before the day of a race, making great memories for the team.
“I read the team a children’s book on overnight trips,” Renaud said. "I have a three and four-year-old, so we have lots of kids books. I got the idea of reading books to my kids. Most kids books have some type of moral or teachable moment. Some of the books I’ve read [include] Little Blue Trick, the Little Engine that Could and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Ryan notices how the strong team bond has improved the boys' running.
“Everyone bounces of each other for encouragement and to improve as a team, so I kind of think there’s a little bit of friendly competition, but everyone’s pushed to do better by each other,” Ryan said.
Ryan embraces the program’s culture and strives to make a diference for the team. Now that he’s an upperclassman, he hopes to make a positive impact on the younger runners. According to Renaud, Ryan has matured a lot since his freshman year, and Renaud believes there’s something diferent about his work ethic this year.
Assistant coach Bryan Quesa has foreseen Ryan’s involvement with the team and expected big things from him going into his junior season.
“It’s a big shift with Collin Ryan. He’s started to put more efort and care [in] putting more emphasis on being competitive in a race, not just being complacent [and] really attacking the race to make moves,” Quesa said.
According to Ryan, his mindset has changed because he doesn’t want to be a spectator anymore. Rather, he wants to compete at the varsity level. He feels it’s great that his teammates have helped push him more and knows they always have his back.
“[In] prior years he hasn’t really [shown] as much emotion when it comes to running,” Dimitrov said.
“[Now], you know he gets mad when he’s had a bad race and happy when he gets a good race, he cares about it more and it’s shown on other teammates.”
girls’ xc battles through injuries
BROADCAST STORY SHOWING HOW THE TEAM PERSEVERES
pRospect Marching knights brings home accolades
PMK BECOMES CLASS 5A CHAMPION AND PLACES SECOND OVERALL
CLOSE CALL: Junior Nate Cichy toe taps the sideline, making the catch. (photo by Kenny Munao Jr.)
TOGETHER: Senior Finley Moss, and juniors Collin Ryan, Luke Robinson and Quinn Davis (left to right) win the MSL East on Oct. 1. (photo by Xander Adkins)
