FEATURES . . . 2&3 SPORTS

The Bucket List For An Epic Summer

Let's have fun in the sun!

By CECILIA CHENG, A&E EDITOR

With exams being just around the corner, you know what that means! Summer is finally (almost) here! You can just feel it in the air, with this ridiculous heatwave that has got me literally glued to my air conditioner. Whether you plan on doing more studying over the break or just relaxing, we all need to have some fun after being under so much constant stress. Here are 15 ideas you can add to your summer bucket list. 1: Go to a rage room: what better way to get all your stress out than destroying and breaking things. 2: Have a lake day / pool party: have a fun day with your friends while also cooling off. 3: Road trip: if you are anything like me, traveling with friends or family is one of my all-time favorite activities. You can make so many great memories and even explore new places. 4: Go to a concert: The Weeknd is coming to Tampa on Aug. 4 along with Doja Cat! Buy a ticket before it's too late!

5: Pull an all-nighter: now that we don't have to wake up at 7 a.m. every day, why not challenge yourself and stay up all night and have fun? 6: Have a "food tour": take a day and go around with your friends to find the best food in town! 7: Beach day: a must-do for the summer. I mean, we live in Florida. 8: Go thrifting: I went thrifting with my friends for the first time earlier this year and I had a blast! Going thrifting is great if you are looking for some new clothes on a budget. 9: Have a photoshoot: time to spice up your Instagram with new pics! 10: Tie-Dye day: although this can get a little messy, it is a new fun activity to try with your friends and family. You can even get your younger siblings to participate too. 11: Movie night: you can never go wrong with these. Grab a bowl of popcorn, sit back and enjoy the movie.

12: Have a painting/picnic day: I'm not the most artistic person, but I'll definitely be there for the food.

13: Go scuba diving: even though I have never done this before, it's not a bad idea to get scuba certified over the summer.

14: Learn a new skill: whether it be knitting or learning a new language, summer is the perfect time to learn something new. 15: Escape room/Haunted mansions: I went to an escape room with a few of my friends last summer and had a blast! It's definitely on my bucket list again for this summer. You won't regret it!

Regardless of your plans over the summer, I think all of us deserved this long-awaited break. Now, go make this summer a blast and the best it can be! There is only ONE "summer 2022," so make it worth it!

Robinson Knights Take Loss to Steinbrenner

The Knights lose to the Spartans (5-0) .

By NICOLAS DIAZ, STAFF WRITER

The Knights went against the Spartans on Tuesday April 19. The boys played hard against the Spartans all throughout the game. In the second inning, Lamont Atkins III almost made it to home base to score the first point. Sadly, he was forced out before he made it to the base. In the first inning the Knights' pitcher was able to strike a couple of batters out, but their pitcher did the same to us. In the end, our team lost the game 5-0.

Nathan Jennewein ('23) finishing his pitch to Steinbrenner. After games, players could think about what they could've done differently. "I think we had chances, but in the end we couldn't finish and the bats just went cold."

Photo by N. Diaz.

Russell Sandefer ('23) about to release his pitch. He's reflected on potential growth for the team. "Our lineup just needs to fix and improve their approach. Our coaching staff has been doing a great job of going out there and being competitive," Sandefer said.

Photo by N. Diaz.

Dominic Fernandez ('24) about to bunt the ball. As a sophomore, Fernandez has future seasons ahead of him to grow as a player. "I just need to improve my batting and get better at judging the pitch."

Photo by N. Diaz.

Flag Football pushes on

Robinson's Flag Football team is giving it their all this season.

By SALMA BOUGHDIRI, STAFF WRITER

This year Robinson's flag football team has achieved many goals and won numerous games, ultimately marking them the number one team in the state at the moment. The team's current goal now is to win the state championship. "We won five in a row, so anything could be less than that obviously in terms of winning, that [the state championship] has to be the goal. But obviously our goal all the time is to improve our general team and I think with our group of freshmen and sophomores we have done that," said Joshua Saunders, the team's coach.

The team is consisted of 41 members, The biggest class being sophomores. Even though a lot of their players are somewhat new, they play quite well and have adanced to a great extent.

Brianna Stearns ('22), one of the team captains, said,"On varsity we have a couple people that came up from JV. But we do have a lot of younger JV. Kids this year."

When big games are approaching, the team likes to practice on the basics. "We just practice the little things, catching balls and pulling flags, we do scout teams to see what other teams are going to do," Stearns said.

This is not Stearns's first year as captain. She was also the junior varsity captain last year.

"We have a head captain and then there is three other captains on varsity. We just help organize team bonding activities and help lead the stretches and the jumping jacks before and after games," Stearns stated.

Coach Saunders feels confident in this year's team.

"I think they are doing a pretty good job for the most part. We are the number one team in the state right now so if we continue to do the things that we are suppose to do I think we have a good chance to be at the state championship," said Saunders.

Knights' Coronation the

While running for queen taught her several valuable life lessons, just like Hill, she also admitted it was a lot to manage on top of her school work at times. "To be honest I started campaigning for prom queen since homecoming," she said. "It was definitely stressful but worth all of the hard work. The other candidates did have me a little worried, but at the end of the day If I didn’t win everything would’ve been alright.

"When I won prom queen, I was so shocked," Ward said. "Malachi and I were both stressing before we walked out and hearing the announcer say my name for queen was so calming. I am so thankful for everyone who voted for me." Hill decided to run for king because he thought it would be one last "bang" before leaving high school, but he did admit that while he had fun, it was a lot of work. Hill will be attending University of Central Florida in the fall while Ward will be traveling to Baton Rouge, LA to attend Southern University and A&M College. My favorite part about Robinson would have to be cheering at football games," Ward said. "I’ve cheered at pretty much every varsity game since freshman year and I am so thankful for the experience. From tumbling in front of the crowd to hyping everyone up I will never forget my high school football experience."

"The coronation process was stressful," Hill said. "I think I had a decent chance at winning but never underestimated my opponents. They're all good guys with plenty of friends. I'm just happy for the people who decided to vote for me." Additionally, Ward was grateful she got the opportunity to be a part of this process. She voiced how running for prom queen has even helped her make new connections and build her confidence when it comes to talking to new people, which helped her in the long run.

On Friday, April 22, the Student Government Association (SGA) put on a Pep Rally to celebrate the crowning of this year's prom king and queen in preparation for Robinson's first prom in two years. Dylan Carson, Gunnar Gibson, Malachi Hill, and Sam Valenti were the nominees for this year's king, while Jocelyn Carron, Christal Rolack, Joleyne Rodriguez and Mattie Ward were the queen nominees. The vote came to a close tie, but as the tension built up, it was announced that Malachi Hill and Mattie Ward will be Robinson's 2022 prom king and queen. "I remember the feeling of being nervous and to hear my name called out in front of the whole school was just a big relief," Hill said. "It felt like I was on Cloud 9." Ward was also surprised when she heard her name being called over the big speakers. Many have told her that she was for sure going to win. Despite all the support, she didn't let this get in her head and still treated all of her fellow nominees with respect.

Story By CECILIA CHENG, A&E EDITOR Photos By ZOE THAXTON, ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR

Charlie Thaxton ('23) jumps up and down during the junior call part of the spirit chant.

Caroline Brindise ('23) presents the prom queen's crown and sash.

Jacob Maskin ('22) dips Rafael Toronzo ('22) during the dance off between each grade level.

Resurgence of Quarantine-Era Making Policies at Many Universities

Omicron subvariants have caused a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, affecting policies at many colleges across the nation.

By VIKRAM SAMBASIVAN, NEWS EDITOR

out, especially in a big city that has not had a mask mandate for a while. Overall I’d still say that colleges are somewhat justified just because they’re trying to keep people safe, even if I don’t fully agree with their approach.”

tion to wear surgical masks since we’re all ful - ly vaccinated and boosted, but that’s my only critique. As someone who is currently infected with what I’m pretty sure is the BA.2 variant though, I think AU made the right call tim ing-wise” Woodward said. As with any issue that deals with one’s own personal rights, the justification of the authority's right to institute these infringements, in the name of public safety, can be drawn into ques tion.

name of public health and safety. “I think the mandates are in accordance with recent spikes in covid cases. It seems as though we’ve all forgotten about the pandemic, but it still exists. Masks stop the spread— it’s that simple” said Pham. RHS Alumnus Anna Woodward (’21), who currently attends American University (one of the colleges with the strictest COVID-19 reg ulations), stands in agreement with Pham. “It’s hard to define justified in this sense, because if my school really cared about COVID precautions they would’ve established surveillance and even mandatory testing much sooner,” said Woodward. “I think that testing should be the core of the COVID safety approach, rather than flip flopping between mask mandates, just because there’s always going to be people going

“I personally wasn’t too bothered by reinstated mask policies, just because I’ve been wearing one in a school setting for so long. I think that for my school specifically it was very extreme in that they went from no requirement to requiring KN95's everywhere (which is what we started the spring semester with). I would’ve liked to see at least some transition with the op

In reaction to the recent large spikes in the number of cases of the Omicron subvariants BA.2 and BA.2.12, many universities across the nation have reinstated quarantine-era mask pol icies as a method of reducing cases. Such uni versities include, but are not limited to: Colum bia University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, University of Rochester, American University, Johns Hopkins University, and more. In a statement provided by Georgetown University’s Chief of Public Health Officer, Ranit Mishori, he explained the reason for the reinstatement of masking policies, explaining that the new measures are in response to “…significant increases in COVID-19 cases, mainly among undergraduate students.” Some RHS students, such as Nathan Pham (’22) are in agreement with these policies in the