The Spoke April Issue 2021/2022

Coding creativity and competition: HackStoga holds first Hack-A-Thon

Page 5 Conestoga High School, Berwyn PA

Volume 72 No. 5

April 6, 2022

Assassinate away: Why the age-old game must stay

rallying ‘round: boys tennis shows potential this season

Page 9

Page 12

spoke.news

Raima Saha/The SPOKE

By Katherine Emmanuel, Umar Samdani and Reese Wang, Co-Copy Editor, CoManaging Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief Senior Emma Hopkins and her mother plan to travel from the suburbs of Berwyn to the city of Warsaw, Poland. There, they will rescue family members fleeing a war-torn Ukraine.

The maternal side of Hopkins’ family lives in the Ukrainian city of Kyiv. Amidst the ongoing missile attacks and military invasions, the

family is taking shelter in a neighbor’s basement for several months.

While men ages 18 to 60 must stay in Ukraine to fight, Hopkins’ pregnant aunt aims to send her children — ages 5 and 11 — to Warsaw, Poland, where Hopkins and her mom hope to secure and transport them to the U.S. However, to travel overseas, Hopkins and her mother must obtain a visa, a process slowed by the Ukrainian embassy facing an overflow of requests. Hopkins believes her cousins will have a better life, with steady access to basic necessities to food and water.

“It (coming to the U.S.) is more so to just keep them away from (the war) becoming the normal. I think for them (it’s important) to just have the ability to feel safe where

they’re at. Obviously, immigrating to America is a huge decision that they probably don’t want either, you know what I mean? But in terms of basic safety and not becoming normalized to war, having any family here at all is the safest option for them at the moment,” Hopkins said.

Although political tension has existed between Russia and Ukraine for decades, current conflict stems from Russia’s recognition of breakaway Ukrainian regions claimed by Ukranian officials to host Russian terrorist organizations. On Feb. 24, Russia invaded Donbas, an Eastern Ukrainian territory, to eliminate the possibility of Ukraine allying with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO). Consequently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky severed relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin and declared martial law against Russia.

Hopkins is not the only one to be negatively affected by the European conflict. Students, administrators and community members of various backgrounds are impacted by the war.

Professional photojournalist and 2013 Conestoga alumnus Zach Lowry has independently photographed in various conflict zones, including the political unrest caused by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. After witnessing the Russia-Ukraine war unfold on television, Lowry felt a drive to obtain a more genuine representation of the situation.

“In kind of following all the news and consuming all the images that were coming out of those conflicts, I felt that the way that the conflict was being visually translated to the world, at least to me, was somewhat distant,” Lowry said. “And I thought perhaps I could contribute a better record of that situation.”

On March 4, Lowry arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, where he spent time with soldiers at military checkpoints, injured civilians in hospitals and other areas decimated by Russia’s invasion. At the end of each day, Lowry posts his photos on his Instagram account @ Lowry.Zach. Each post contains a caption that narrates the image’s context. Lowry acknowledges the

difficulty of taking sensitive photos during a time of warfare. However, he knows the importance of his work and believes that his photos have positive social implications.

“It’s never easy to see these sorts of things happen in front of your eyes, and it’s difficult to watch so much human suffering be inflicted on people. But at the same time, while you are seeing this, you have to kind of remind yourself that there is a larger importance to document what’s happening,” Lowry said. “People in the world need to see and need to face the reality of what’s happening here. There are human rights being violated here. There are war crimes being committed here.

And if we as journalists and pho-

tographers choose to look away, how will people see?”

For the time being, Lowry plans to continue residing in Ukraine, and he hopes to release a documentary about his experiences. While he admits his job can be both mentally and physically taxing, he is also energized by the compassion he has experienced.

“I characterize war zones as an extreme dichotomy of humanity and inhumanity. On one spectrum, there’s a lot of death — senseless death — and destruction happening here. But on the other end, there’s also an enormous amount of love and compassion and empathy occurring here,” Lowry said.

Continued on page 3.

A catalyst for change: Senior fights for trigger warnings in English curriculum Evan Lu

News Editor

While quarantined at home throughout the spring of 2021, senior Cate Hashemi noticed a disturbing trend.

“Last year was rough for everyone because you’re inside and stuck alone with just your thoughts for so long — if you have a mental health problem, it’s kind of inevitable for it to come up a little more than usual,” Hashemi said. “I saw a lot of friends struggling with resurfaced trauma about sexual assault and rape.”

Hashemi sent an email to Conestoga mental health specialist Dr. Christine Dunleavy, asking for support options available to her friends. Following a lengthy virtual meeting, Dunleavy connected her with another student who had expressed similar concerns: then-senior Gabi Valencia. From there, the duo launched an initiative altering the ways in which Conestoga educators approach sensitive topics. They began by drafting a proposal later presented to school administrators.

“We had ideas ranging from revising the health curriculum and adding trigger warnings in English classes to mandating teacher training in trauma response,” Valencia said.

A key aspect of their proposal revolved around sensitive books read in English classes. Works currently read by students, such as “Native Son,” “Beloved” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” oftentimes include graphic depictions of sexual violence and abuse.

Through an anonymous form, Hashemi and Valencia gathered the stories of 30 to 40 seniors to report the issues they were seeing in the English curriculum.

“A lot of the books that people remember reading were from freshman year, where there were a lot of graphic sexual scenes and sexual violence,” Valencia said.

“While some teachers did a great job talking about that, some students felt that they failed to address it enough.”

Valencia graduated before the English department took further action, but Hashemi carried on the initiative into her senior year. Last fall, she approached English department chair Karen Gately, who drew immediate connections between Hashemi’s concerns and her own teaching experiences. In her classes, Gately emphasizes the difference between healthy “intellectual discomfort” and trauma.

“Intellectual discomfort is like, ‘I feel awkward, and this is an awkward conversation, but it might be necessary.’ It’s okay to be uncomfortable, it’s just not okay to feel traumatized,” Gately said.

With Gately’s help, Hashemi gave a presentation to the English faculty providing a template for introducing sensitive material to students. According to Gately,

teachers reacted positively, clearing the way for changes to be made. The department started by implementing trigger warnings, or lists of page numbers within

books where violence occurs.

Even though they’re simple and unassuming, Hashemi views trigger warnings as crucial to improving mental health.

“You never know what’s going on with a student, even if they seem okay with discussing something. Kids could come into class, leave and then carry a

Evan Lu/The SPOKE

A new status quo: Senior Cate Hashemi flips through the proposal she submitted to school administrators in the fall of 2021. The proposal, originally created by Hashemi and Conestoga Class of 2021 alumna Gabi Valencia, suggested that the school implement ideas like trigger warnings to help students deal with trauma in English books.

traumatic discussion with them,” Hashemi said. “It can really damage a teenager.”

Hashemi has no plans to stop anytime soon: next, she will expand her efforts into other departments. She is already working with health and social studies teachers to make their lessons more sensitive to trauma and hopes students will carry on her cause when she graduates this spring. Valencia, now a student at Northeastern University in Boston, watches Hashemi’s work from afar with pride.

“Every time I get a call, every time I get a text, every time I get an update, my heart skips a beat. Even after graduating, I love (Conestoga) so much. When you love something, you want to make it better,” Valencia said.

“We lit the torch together, but she’s just carrying it. She is doing far more than I ever imagined.”

To Valencia, the lessons applied at Conestoga are universal.

In college, sexual abuse and trauma are issues she hears about too often. She imagines a brighter future for trauma survivors within Conestoga, Northeastern and the national community.

“I was just planting the seed; everyone else who had a hand in this project allowed it to grow,” Valencia said. “Maybe I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did, but there was also a hope within me that things would change.”

News

2 A BRIEF LOOK THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN T/E AND NATIONAL NEWS

TREDYFFRIN

TOWNSHIP UPDATES PARK POLICIES In a recent update to a 1979 ordinance regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol in public parks, Tredyffrin supervisors banned alcohol in parks outside of approved daytime township events.

Other updates include banning unleashed pets, unlicensed gambling, fires and weapons on park grounds.

TESD SPRING BREAK APPROACHING SOON

All TESD students and faculty will be on Spring Break from April 11 to April 15. The district’s timing stands in stark contrast to many universities and private schools, who held break starting in March. However, TESD’s break coincides with other local public school districts, including Radnor and Lower Merion School Districts.

Instruction will resume as normal on Monday, April 18.

TEMS STUDENT PLACES AT STATE MATH COMPETITION

TEMS eighth-grader Jeffrey Wang placed ninth at the Pennsylvania state MATHCOUNTS Competition in Harrisburg on March 19. The national middle school mathematics competition, founded in 1983, comprises of four rounds. TEMS sent a team of six students to this year’s competition, led by longtime middle school math teacher and coach Lisa Stehouwer.

STUDENT

SERVICES HOSTS SOPHOMORE SPRINGBOARD

“Sophomore Springboard,” an annual informational meeting to help current sophomores better understand the college application process, is set to take place on April 21. Topics typically covered include standardized testing, summer extracurricular opportunities and how to choose the right college.

Read more at

NEWS

MiniTHON raises $17,000 for childhood cancer

Following a March 25 event hosted in the high school gymnasium, Conestoga MiniTHON raised more than $17,000 to fight childhood cancer. Students attending the event played party games, danced to music and snacked on pizza and mac and cheese throughout the night.

T/E LIFE

SPCA Club: A club for our four-legged friends

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Club recently welcomed back members after a brief two-year hiatus. Three siblings — junior Aidan Stewart and freshmen Amelie and Luuk Stewart — revived the club as an avenue to express their love and care for animals.

Greening ’Stoga: Working toward a sustainable future

TESD Action Teams start regular meetings Old stage, new floor Rohan Anne Staff Reporter

On March 15, an eager group of parents, students and community members gathered in the Conestoga auditorium for the first meeting of the TESD Action Teams, district-formed groups working together to create initiatives for TESD’s future.

The action teams are split to cover the different initiatives of change, curriculum, equity, mental health, safety, sustainability, engagement and faculty support. Led by administrators, the teams started meeting in midMarch, and will continue weekly through the end of April to create their initiative plans for the coming year. Christopher Brown, an English teacher involved with the Curriculum Action Team, believes that the teams focus on student outcomes.

“The TESD Action Teams focus on different problems to improve student outcomes and achievement,” Brown said.

“One goal for the Curriculum Action Team is to create an inclusive learning environment and have multiple pathways for student success, which is important because success is different for everyone: it’s not always a test.”

TESD formed their Action Teams in 2014 with the District Strategic Plan, a school board-approved education plan for TESD’s future endeavors. Five years later, the district gathered feedback from the T/E community in hopes of creating a plan to

reflect the different aspects of education. Due to the pandemic, teams could not start their planning process until the spring of 2022.

These community action teams will work to breathe life into each of TESD’s future goals through a five-stage strategic planning process taking place over six weeks. The teams are to analyze their given strategy from the Strategic Planning Committee, gather information related to their team goals, brainstorm ideas to solve problems, create a final initiative and finalize the action plan under a strict budget. Junior Neeladri Nag believes that brain-

storming is the most important part of the planning process.

“Creative problem solving is the most important because we have a rich group of individuals involved in the action teams including parents, teachers and students, and everybody brings forward a unique creative outlook toward issues,” Nag said. “Meshing all these ideas together and creatively finding ways to solve these problems is extremely important and is one of the core reasons these action teams are as successful as they have been.”

Student participants will attend the action teams plan-

ning sessions to provide student perspective and collaborate with other action team members, which Nag believes is one of the core reasons student involvement in the TESD Action Teams is important alongside the fact that students themselves are directly affected by these changes.

“The students have to give their perspective because they are the ones at school every day,” Nag said. “Students have to be part of the planning process to make sure that these resolutions will fit the student body like a glove, because that is the overall goal.”

Rohan Anne/The SPOKE

Deep discussion: Members of the Change Committee sit in a circle and talk about the team’s goals following a brief introduction. All action teams met for the first time in Conestoga on March 15. Over the next few weeks, teams will plan initiatives designed to improve district operations with respect to their designated areas of focus.

Shrija Krishnan Staff Reporter

Senior Ilena Mita, like the rest of this year’s spring musical’s cast, had prepared for her moment for the past two months. Mita, who played Countess Lily in “Anastasia,” readied herself to close the number “Land of Yesterday” as usual with a showstopping split. The only difference was that this time, along with the onlookers’ roaring applause, a piece of wood embedded itself in Mita’s knee — a result of having landed weirdly on the stage.

According to Mita, stories of similar injuries resulting from the stage’s previously worn-out condition are not uncommon. Conestoga’s stage hadn’t been renovated since 1955, the same year the school was first built. Given the auditorium’s age, the stage’s old floor was splintered, beaten up and peeled off. Fortunately, future actors won’t have the same complications as the stage was renovated in mid-March.

“The renovations are a fabulous improvement. It’s much safer for people to dance on — especially in bare feet if they’re doing some kind of breakdancing or something where they don’t get splinters in their back or hands. That was the main reason to have it done: for safety,” stage crew adviser Mike Starner said.

Starner, along with music department faculty members, had long advocated for im-

provements to the stage. In the renovation process, black hardboard and Masonite sheets covered the preexisting structure, enhancing the stage’s uniformity and increasing its visual appeal. If one sheet is damaged, it can be easily taken out and replaced without having to resurface the entire stage.

Cast and crew noted that the renovations will ease the workload for all musical members, reducing incidents of minor injuries. Senior and stage crew member Amanda Hess recalls taping splintered areas of the stage with gaffer tape following previous minor stage-induced injuries. Eventually, when “Anastasia’s” car scene mandated the drilling of a hole into the wood, Hess was convinced of a need for a new floor.

“We’re very much looking forward to a new, cleaner and smoother surface so it will be a lot easier to move things on the deck during the plays and musicals. It’ll just make things a lot easier for musical and stage crew members,” Hess said.

Ultimately, Mita is grateful for the renovation and hopes other school programs get the funding they need too.

“I think that this is a great example of how Conestoga is such a vast place with so many people doing so many things,” Mita said. “It’s definitely a conundrum when so many facilities are present, which is what makes our school so great, (but) those facilities need to be maintained as well.”

Minds behind the operation: Students plan Mental Health Week Ben Shapiro and Aashita Singh

Co-Copy Editor and Staff Reporter Over one morning’s breakfast, sophomore Giu Presa Vespa and her dad devised a plan to bring the student body together: taking a week out of the school year to focus on mental health. That same day, she brought the idea to principal Dr. Amy Meisinger’s attention, who, as Presa Vespa recalled, “absolutely loved it.”

After numerous meetings with Conestoga’s administration, Meisinger gave Presa Vespa the okay to start organizing the week’s plans, activities and assemblies.

In late December, Presa Vespa reached out to a group of her friends and peers, and they began planning Conestoga’s first-ever Mental Health Week that took place from March 28 to April 1.

“She (Meisinger) has heard from so many parents and students about how much we’ve been stressed out recently and just throughout the entire year, and she thought (Mental Health Week) was a good idea,” Presa Vespa said. “I hope that it will leave an impact at Conestoga and that students will benefit from it.”

Knowing that students would be excited to participate and engage in activities during class time, Presa Vespa called upon her peers to brainstorm interactive methods to teach students about coping mechanisms and how best to handle mental health problems and stress. From Monday, March 28 to Thursday, March 31, students listened to presentations by speakers from Minding Your Mind, an organization that holds mental health-focused assemblies at schools about topics ranging from independence to effective coping mechanisms.

On Friday, April 1, students participated in a cornucopia-styled “mental health fair” during the school day.

Ben Shapiro/The SPOKE

Playing with puppies: Sophomore Keira Ebersole pets therapy dogs with a smile plastered across her face. Student Services brought the dogs to the small courtyard on Friday, April 1 as one of the Mental Health Fair’s most popular events.

“A lot of (Friday’s events) consisted of chill activities like painting and coloring in the art rooms, movies, meditation, dance lessons, chilling and listening to music, board games and a kindness room — just a lot of really chill activities,” said sophomore Jordan Jacoel, one of the students helping to plan the week’s activities.

In addition, on Friday, student services brought therapy dogs to the courtyard and students had the opportunity to play with

them from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

In planning Mental Health Week, Presa Vespa and her team of student-leaders worked closely with Dr. Nicole Jolly, ninth grade assistant principal and head of student activities. Frequently meeting with the students to discuss the events they wanted to hold and the methods by which they wanted to get students involved, Jolly helped with the logistical side of things, providing administrative insight and aid.

Greening ’Stoga is here for change.

The student-led environmental task force works to make Conestoga more environmentally friendly. Headed by senior co-presidents Sammy Goldman and Emory O’Connell, the club regularly pitches projects to reduce the school’s ecological footprint, such as finding ways to repurpose old school supplies.

A brief intermission: Film Festival returns this year

The red carpet rolls through the atrium. A silence settles over the eager crowd as the lights slowly dim.

The Conestoga Film Festival’s long intermission has finally come to an end! The festival is finally back this year on April 7, and this new and improved event is currently being planned for students.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Ben Shapiro/The SPOKE

Stress-free salsa: Students participate in salsa dancing lessons during the Mental Health Fair on Friday, April 1. During the event, students had the opportunity to spend time with friends relieving stress and maintaining wellness.

“She (PresaVespa) did a lot of the legwork on her own; I wanted to see how dedicated she was to the cause. It was already a great idea, but once I saw the vision that she wanted to take with it, I was like, ‘We can make this happen,’” Jolly said.

With the main goal of the week being to relieve stress and the pressure of academics, Prespa Vespa pushed to remove homework assignments, tests and quizzes during Mental Health Week. While teachers were allowed to continue with their lesson plans, school administration strongly encouraged them to limit homework and exams, specifically asking them to be intentional with how much work they assigned and choose at least one day to not assign any homework at all. Sophomore Katherine Nguyen, one of Mental Health Week’s student-leaders, saw the plan to reduce students’ workload — and therefore stress — as an opportunity for students to collaborate with each other and focus on their mental health.

“I’m really excited because of the unity factor and the fact that we can come together as a school and it not (be for) an academic-related reason,” Nguyen said. “We can get to know our peers on a deeper level, reflect on ourselves and our mental health, and become more self-aware of our own mental health and how we can help improve our lives by creating a more positive environment for everybody.”

Student Council plans for April Homecoming Jui Bhatia Beats Editor

After a round of cancellations both this year and last, Student Council announced that it will hold Homecoming on April 23.

Aiming to run a mostly normal event, Homecoming will take place in the gym and masking will be optional.

Originally planned for earlier this year, a variety of factors led to Homecoming’s cancellation. Due to the overall uncertainty of the pandemic, Student Council found that because of Conestoga’s large student population, it would be impossible to follow the COVID-19 protocols required at the time.

“Our Homecoming was super early; we were the first school (to start planning), and we didn’t know what it would look like,” Student Council adviser Elizabeth Gallo said. “Other schools (had Homecoming) on their football field, but we were concerned with damaging the turf so that’s why we held off. I’m just hoping (the students) are excited to get dressed up and have a good time.”

Just like previous years, there will be no food served

at the dance, but students can still anticipate music and dancing. The timing of the dance will be an hour earlier than previous years and will now be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to make sure that there is more daylight. Student Council feels that these changes were necessary to make sure that students can enjoy the dance to the fullest.

“The pandemic was worse (at the start of the year), so (Homecoming) would have to be outside and colder, and we didn’t want that,” said freshman Isabella Ku, the freshman secretary and member of the Spirit Committee.

Senior Jocelyn Salinas is also looking forward to the new plans. After being disappointed in the cancellation, Salinas has already made plans to enjoy with friends.

“I was upset when it was canceled because I really wanted to have one last Homecoming with my friends because I’m about to graduate,” Salinas said. “I’m looking forward to hanging out with my friends and dancing because I have a lot of memories from last Homecoming of us dancing and just having fun.”

News

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

3

Community impact of Russia-Ukraine war Continued from page 1.

Reese Wang

Local connections to warzone residents Hopkins has feared for her maternal family’s safety since Feb. 24, when her relatives — residing in the city of Kharkiv at the time — suddenly became unresponsive on WhatsApp. “We couldn’t get a hold of them at all, whatsoever, because Kharkiv was one of the first cities that was bombed,” Hopkins said. “We found out later that they had to evacuate into the neighboring suburbs of the city because they had a mother-inlaw that was there. So then they created this makeshift bomb shelter in her basement.”

Toward the end of the day on Feb. 25, Hopkins finally received a message from the WhatsApp group: her family had obtained access to a cell phone, and they were alive and well.

Similarly, seniors Sofia Khugaeva and Leo Khugaev used social media platforms like FaceTime and WhatsApp to keep in touch with family members. While familial communication was relatively easy, Russia blocked Instagram, making it difficult for the twins to reach their friends in their hometown.

The twins grew up in Russia and moved to the U.S. in 2019 due to their mom’s job, and still have family members in both Russia and Ukraine. For Khugaeva, her family’s well-being is her biggest concern.

“Day to day, it’s in the back of our minds. We’re constantly checking the news to see if (the war) is worsening,” Khugaeva said. “It’s worrisome because of the family that we have in Ukraine, but also because the family that we have in Russia could get trapped.”

While the twins are closely related to the war, many other community members are not.

Khugaev says that to close this geographical and cultural gap, conversation is the key.

“In our community, for example, we are really far away

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Reese Wang/The SPOKE

Ukrainian pride: Assistant Principal Dr. Matthew Sterenczak points at the embroidery, or vyshyvka, on his grandparents’ bag. The warm colors represent hope and harvest, the green represents nature and renewal, and the black shows the strength of other colors. from the conflict in Russia and Ukraine. I think when people do have these conversations, they are able to grasp the seriousness of the situation, and it’s not just like, ‘Oh, it’s a headline in the news,’ because people are actually getting hurt. When we talk about (events), they stay in our minds longer,” Khugaev said. “This is an actual, multi-level issue. It’s not just black and white. Everybody is getting hurt in this conflict, both Russians and Ukrainians.”

A resurgence in culture Assistant Principal Dr. Matthew Sterenczak is not surprised by Ukraine’s political unrest, given the country’s history of conflict.

Both sides of Sterenczak’s family immigrated from Ukraine, often during times of turmoil.

“I think my family coming to this country is entirely a result of a lack of freedom in the Ukraine, and people just jockeying for that land, or for that territory, and quite frankly, to eliminate that culture,” Sterenczak said. “If circumstances weren’t different and my family didn’t feel like they had to leave… I guess this is almost kind of dark, but there’s always this feeling that it was never going to be safe for us there.”

Growing up near New York City, Sterenczak immersed himself in Ukrainian culture in a metropolitan area home to around 164,348 Ukrainian-Americans. His fami-

Courtesy Zach Lowry

Hero city: Local volunteers help carry an injured woman over the river in the northwestern Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 10. Blown up by Ukrainian forces to impede a Russian advance into Kyiv, the bridge was replaced by wooden planks and beams to aid civilians crossing to safety.

ly drove 45 minutes weekly to attend Ukrainian Catholic Church mass. He frequently went to his grandparents’ house, a cultural hub in itself, with Ukrainian art, holiday traditions and a wood portrait engraving of Ukrainian poet Shevchenko.

Yet, Sterenczak believes he didn’t understand what it meant to be Ukrainian until he was older. Without Ukrainian friends his age with whom he could connect, Sterenczak remembers the first time he heard the Ukrainian national anthem in sixth grade, watching figure skater Oksana Baiul receive her gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, the first following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“Growing up as a kid, (Ukraine) was still the Soviet Union. When you look on a map, you’re not on the map.

It’s the Soviet Union; you don’t see Ukraine. That was hard to understand as a kid. I think it wasn’t until I understood more that I really appreciated what it meant to be (Ukrainian) and what that history meant and to take pride (in it),” Sterenczak said. “There was a period of my life and, you know, you’re in high school. It’s awkward, right? I got this ‘Sterenczak,’ not everybody can say it. Not everybody can spell it. People asked, ‘What is it?’ There was a period where I would say, ‘It’s Russian,’ because it was easier to explain away.”

Continuing to talk with his family, Sterenczak feels he now has a stronger grasp of his culture as an adult, realizing a possibly grim reality.

“I was talking to my dad yesterday, and he’s just like, there will not be Ukraine. And it will not be Ukraine in your lifetime,” Sterenczak said. “I think that was really tough to

hear, to think about living a lifetime of Soviet occupation to a moment of freedom to now, whatever this is.”

Finding solidarity through community Intermittent responses from her Ukrainian relatives left Hopkins and her family extremely concerned. Searching for solidarity, Hopkins began to connect with fellow Ukrainian-Americans on social media. She has found that speaking with other students has eased her stress.

“It’s nice to know that there’s someone else that’s not necessarily going through the same thing but has that sort of connection. People can talk about it here as much as they like, but it’s different to talk about it when you have family there, when you have a connection to the country,” Hopkins said. “There’s definitely something just a little bit comforting being able to talk about it with people that have the same sort of experiences.”

Sterenczak appreciates the widespread support for Ukrainian well-being he has witnessed.

“It’s awesome the way that people have gravitated towards this cause and I hope people understand what it means. I think it’s very trendy to back causes or things that are on the news and I think what this really is, why people are seeing the resistance that they are, it has surprised many people. I will tell you that it has not surprised me or anyone in my family. This is about fighting for a home, fighting for a culture, fighting for language,” Sterenczak said. “This uniquely Ukrainian spirit, this culture: that is what they are fighting for.”

Seniors win Coca-Cola scholarship Maddie Pulliam Staff Reporter

An unexpected email from the Coca-Cola Scholarship program appeared on the lock screen of senior Aditya Sirohi’s phone while he was sitting alone at home. Months ago, he had applied to the prestigious scholarship program in hopes of placing among the 150 annual winners.

He prepared for the worst when he opened the message. His eyes scanned the screen and centered on a single word: “Congratulations.” This year Conestoga was the home of two winners: Sirohi and senior Hita Gupta, who declined an interview.

Community raises funds for refugees

The Coca-Cola Scholarship program is the most competitive merit-based scholarship for highschoolers in the country.

To become a Coke Scholar, one must have strong leadership skills and must participate in several service projects around the community. Each year, more than 70,000 seniors from around the country apply, and only 2% of the applicants progress to phase two. From there, 250 students advance and become regional finalists. Following rounds of interviews the top 150 students become the next Coke Scholars. Winners of this prestigious scholarship receive $20,000. Conestoga has not seen

a winner since 2016, but this year it is home to four finalists and two winners.

The program was in the back of Sirohi’s mind since he found out about it while in middle school. Since then, he has put in work and effort to help him go through to the final round.

“I was really nervous. It’s a lot of work going into it, and there are a lot of uncertainties about whether you’ll get (the scholarship) or not. You just want to put your best foot forward,” Sirohi said. “I also felt eager anticipation each month the decisions came up too.”

For Sirohi, the most memorable stage of the process was

the interviews. The interviewers asked him many targeted questions, so Sirohi was surprised when they brought up his Artificial Intelligence (AI) and engineering projects at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.

Sirohi’s interview was focused on his many interests and accomplishments. For example, he helped found Hand4Hand which supports more than 10,000 people from the homeless to foster children.

He also founded AI Club at Conestoga which exposes students to Artificial Intelligence through guest speakers and activities. He believes his

participation in these clubs helped lead to his triumph.

After receiving the news that he earned the scholarship, he texted his mom and received an excited stream of emojis in response. He did not tell many people at first because the news wasn’t public, but when he did, he received many enthusiastic words from his friends and mentors.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity. It’s been a long process, and I’m really happy that it’s finally over,” Sirohi said. “I’m now just waiting and trying to become a bigger part of the community, which is something that I’m really looking forward to.”

Inspired by her neighborhood’s tight-knit community that helps each other out, such as during power outages and by picking up each other’s kids from school, Thomas wanted to do something to help her Ukrainian neighbor.

Thomas’s neighbor works at the Ukrainian Culture Center in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which is holding a donation drive for Ukrainian refugees.

Wanting to give her classmates an opportunity to help, Thomas approached Students Organized for Antiracism (SOAR) sponsor Keri Phillips to introduce the drive to the school.

“There’s very little that we can do now, especially with nothing being able to be sent into Ukraine. There’s not many things that we as one person can do, but by one person donating a little bit, that can change someone’s life,” Thomas said.

The donation drive is currently ongoing and sponsored

by SOAR, but Thomas hopes to expand it to the whole school in the near future. On Fridays, Thomas puts the donated items in her car and brings them to her neighbor, so that volunteers can package the items and send them out on Saturdays.

After watching the news, community member Lisa Schreiber took action.

“My husband’s great-grandmother had (went through)

the exact same process 80 or 90 years ago where they left Ukraine by foot to Poland to seek a better life, and there was just something really poignant about that imagery for me, and just everything else we’ve been seeing on the news. I just felt like I had to do something,” Schreiber said.

After hearing about a fundraiser her parents’ neighbor ran in North Carolina selling seeds of Ukraine’s national flower, Schreiber decided to bring the event to Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School (TEMS), where her child currently attends.

The fundraiser, Sunflowers for PEACE, sold sunflower seed packets at $5 each, with all proceeds going to the International Rescue Committee. On March 16 and 18, the fundraiser sold seeds before school and raised around $2000, thanks to the contributions of both students and faculty.

Despite the T/E community’s geographical distance from the European conflict, Schreiber believes local students, teachers and residents alike are emotionally impacted by the Russian invasion.

“I think everybody’s feeling a little bit broken by what we’re seeing. And it doesn’t feel so far away. I mean, even though it’s in Eastern Europe, halfway across the world, there’s a sense that we are hurting too,” Schreiber said. “The world is quite small, and I think the impacts are being felt just in our local community.”

Reese Wang/The SPOKE

Loading up: Senior Megan Thomas loads donations into her car. Thomas extended her neighbor’s drive into school.

T/E LIFE

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

:Ice cream cone -oisseur

Written by Abby Carella, Social Media Editor Design by Abby Carella, Aditi Dahagam, Aren Framil and Akshita Joshi, Social Media Editor, Co-T/E Life Editor and Staff Reporters

Ice cream is a universal dessert. People don’t like cake; it’s dry. People don’t like pie; the texture is weird. People don’t like frosting; it’s too thick and sweet. But rarely will you find someone who cannot stand a good ice cream. What is served with nearly every dessert at parties and restaurants?

A scoop of ice cream.

The fan favorite dessert is sprinkled for sale throughout the community at shops including Berwyn’s Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and Yogurt (locally known as just Handel’s), King of Prussia’s Kilwins and Downtown Wayne’s The Sugaree. While all can provide a delectable treat and nice atmosphere, some stand out more than others.

I decided to check out each establishment, making sure to order the same flavor and cone combination for comparison purposes: a scoop of strawberry ice cream with chocolate sprinkles in a waffle cone. Weird combo, I know. But, I thought it was more exciting than eating three vanilla ice cream cones in the span of two days. Here’s the scoop on these places...

Menu variety

Atmosphere

Winner: The Sugaree

Winner: Handel’s Ice Cream

+old-timey candy shop aesthetic +underground, figuratively and literally +hand-chalked signs

+all flavors labeled with allergens +more than 40 ice cream flavors +locally famous flavors

Best waffle cone

Ice cream quality

Winner: Kilwins

Winner: Kilwins

+perfect combination of creaminess and stiffness +chunks of real, fresh strawberries +natural color

+deliciously sweet, crunchy and fresh +perfect size +not stale

Presentation

$5.75

Ease of enjoyment

Winner: Handel’s Ice Cream

Winner: The Sugaree

-low on sprinkles +very generous with scoop sizes +aesthetically pleasing

-cone eats up the ice cream… +...but much easier to eat this way +a lot of sprinkles

King of Prussia

Kilwins

255 Main Street, King of Prussia

Handel’s

$6.25

$6.45

576 E Lancaster Ave, Berwyn

The Sugaree 134 N Wayne Ave, Wayne

Devon Berwyn

Kilwins Handel’s

Strafford

Based on the number of categories it won and for having the best price point, Handel’s Ice Cream takes home the cone. However, all of these places are super sweet for their own reasons.

Want the picture for Instagram, access to dozens of flavors and the anticipation of waiting in a line? Head to Handel’s. If you are into fudge and are looking for a rich, fresh, perfectly textured scoop, head to Kilwins.

And what if you want to support a lesser-known business, be transported back to your favorite childhood candy shop and leave with a delicious Basset’s Ice Cream cone? Head to The Sugaree. Truthfully though, every place hits the spot. *Pro Tip: Ask for a spoon when you get your ice cream in a cone. Especially at the Sugaree because their spoons are extra fun and change colors.

The Sugaree

One stitch at a time: Students hooked on clothes-making hobby Chanelle Ongagna Staff Reporter

Freshman Siena Nguyen was bored and senior Olivia Dufour needed a new bag, so Nguyen took up crochet and Dufour took up sewing. What began as mere hobbies soon blossomed into a deeper appreciation for clothes-making.

Now Nguyen and Dufour wear and make their own cardigans, purses and other attire.

Nguyen toyed with learning to knit when she was younger but eventually gave up in frustration, finding it too difficult. Quarantine gave her the time and patience to explore a similar skill: crochet. Equipped with a new five-millimeter crochet hook and a ball of acrylic yarn, Nguyen soon learned how to complete basic crochet patterns by following YouTube videos and online tutorials. Figuring out how to handle her materials was one of the most challenging things she learned. In crochet, yarn tension determines the quality of the stitch work.

Pulling the yarn too

tight creates a higher tension, resulting in smaller stitches and shorter rows. Make the rows too loose, however, and the stitches quickly come undone. Getting the right tension, Nguyen says, was one thing she could only learn through practice.

“I would say just learning how to hold everything correctly (was hard),” Nguyen said.

“You have to hold your yarn a certain way for it to work.

Just getting into the groove of learning how to do everything comfortably was difficult. It was just a trial-and-error thing.”

Dufour faced a similar learning curve when learning how to sew. For a Positive Psychology project first semester, she chose to learn how to sew a bag, since she needed a new one and already had a sewing machine at home. Though her grandmother often advised her, Dufour figured out much of what she learned as she went along, including how to work the sewing machine, her biggest challenge.

“I think troubleshooting with the sewing machine was really difficult,” Dufour said.

“If something bad would happen with the sewing machine, I would not be able to figure it out for like an hour, and I’d be so frustrated.”

Despite the difficulties of learning these new skills, ultimately, both Nguyen and Dufour find clothes-making to be a comforting activity. Nguyen can now complete entire cardigans in hours, some of which she has gifted to friends. Dufour also made a wallet for her

friend, as well as hats and a St. Patrick’s Day-themed corset she later wore to a party. She is even considering sewing her own prom dress.

“I just kind of realized that I love sewing so much,” Dufour said. “Then I thought it’d be more special if I made my prom dress, and it wasn’t just something I bought at the store. Then it would mean more to me, and I’d be able to hold that with me for the rest of my life.”

Both Dufour and Nguyen found a source of pride and relaxation in clothes-making. They enjoy being able to wear the end result of their effort and encourage anyone interested in making their own clothes to try it out, regardless of whether they have prior experience. Nguyen’s passion for clothes-making inspired her to relearn knitting. From making clothes, both learned the value of patience and perseverance.

“Definitely give it a shot,” Nguyen said. “It’s very rewarding, after you make something you’re really proud of. Even if you hit a bunch of roadblocks or a bunch of obstacles, (it’s) just trial and error. Just keep at it because you’re going to get it at some point.”

Chanelle Ongagna/The SPOKE

Stitching up a storm: Freshman Siena Nguyen crochets a new cardigan.

Nguyen, who has always been interested in arts and crafts-type activities, took up crocheting during quarantine.

T/E Life

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Students celebrate Written by Maya Shah, Photography editor

5

hOlI

Designed by Abby Bagby, Aren Framil and raima saha, Co-Sports editor and Staff Reporters

Aditi Dahagam/The SPOKE

Cultural collaboration: Senior Namrta Wagle throws color on sophomore Giu Presa Vespa. Numerous students took the opportunity to get painted during the school day.

Aditi Dahagam/The SPOKE

The more the merrier: Sophomore Opal Jawale poses for a photo with friends. A wide range of students attended the event.

Aditi Dahagam/The SPOKE

Feeling festive: Junior Anish Garimidi celebrates during lunch.

The event took place primarily duing fifth and sixth periods.

Coding creativity and competition: HackStoga holds first Hack-A-Thon Shreya Vaidhyanathan Co-Webmaster

From programming under a Loss and Gain theme to a Super Smash Bros tournament, attendees of HackStoga’s event on Saturday, April 2 had the opportunity to learn and practice a new coding language. The clacks of computer keys and cheers at the final seconds made the event an interactive environment for all parties involved: competitors, judges and novices.

A Hack-A-Thon is a collaborative coding competition during which coders of all levels have the opportunity to submit a project and receive judging.

The six-hour event, held in the atrium, allowed students to sign up individually or in teams of up to four people, also providing workshops and lessons for beginners. HackStoga president and senior Jeffrey Tan felt that “the stars aligned” this year, allowing the club to host their first Hack-A-Thon.

“In a place like a Hack-AThon, there’s literally an atrium full of other coders there to support you, and it’s an environment where that kind of creativity is being fostered,” Tan said. “It’s (for) a lot of people from a lot of places that speak your language.”

HackStoga board members aimed for around 80 attendees and encouraged coders from nearby high schools to sign up. Board member and senior Sean Nissenbaum emailed computer science clubs at other schools to spread the word.

This type of outreach posed some challenges for him, as it was difficult to garner interest

without being able to speak to other students face-to-face.

“It (was) a bit of a struggle, quite honestly, because it’s so hard to find contacts at other schools,” Nissenbaum said. “Since the Hack-A-Thon is a full day commitment, (recruiting) kids from other schools without being able to actually talk to and excite them about it (was) difficult.”

Event sponsors Susquehanna International Group and Keystone Volvo helped with expenses such as prizes, food and shirts. In return, HackStoga thanked the companies in the opening speeches and sent someone to attend the event to look for possible talent. While some experienced coders attended the event, the board held beginner workshops to aid any novice coders. In reflecting on his experiences at other Hack-A-Thons, Tan finds the learning opportunity that comes with these social coding events to be essential.

“The biggest thing with coding is that you have to learn by doing, and you’re only going to do things if you have a passion for doing them,” Tan said. “It’s not that often that you get to see a coder who’s better than you actually code things.”

Club adviser and computer science teacher Ed Sharick, who has been teaching at Conestoga for seven years, is proud of the board for taking such a strong lead on this project. With four years of experience as the HackStoga adviser, Sharick is impressed by the effort and time this year’s board has put into planning the Hack-A-Thon, considering the importance of young minds having access to computer science events like these.

“The field of computer science is going to be dominating the job markets in the future,” Sharick said.

“Understanding what’s happening when you’re running a program and having computer literacy is going to be really important.”

Shreya Vaidhyanation/The SPOKE

Passionate planners: Board members Brendan Mcquilkin (left) and Jeffrey Tan (right) lead a meeting about the Hack-A-Thon. They garnered interest from Conestoga students by highlighting competitions and workshops.

When senior Deepthi Sathyanarayana planned to celebrate Holi with her two friends, she never expected crowds of people to take interest spanning over multiple lunch blocks. What started out as a small recognition of the Hindu festival quickly transformed into a colorful explosion of powder in the courtyard.

Holi, also recognized as the festival of colors, celebrates the coming of spring, love and a new life. On the day of the holiday — this year falling on March 18 — the main activity of celebration involves throwing colored powder or water on one another. For Sathyanarayana, bringing a coveted tradition onto school grounds made the experience more meaningful.

“It increases awareness,” Sathyanarayana said. “It takes (the celebration) out of just the Desi community and makes it an everyone holiday.”

Despite its success, the inschool celebration was entirely impromptu. Sathyanarayana and her two friends retrieved the colored powder from the Holi display in the library, planning to share it among themselves. For senior Namrta Wagle, the event’s rapid growth was unexpected.

“It was not supposed to be a thing; it was just us three getting to have Holi together before we leave (for college),” Wagle said.

While it started out among the three seniors, help from the Equity Leadership Alliance and Desi Club allowed people to be quickly interested in participating themselves. When leaders from the two organizations joined, other students asked to play or have colors painted directly onto them. Although some students were unfamiliar with the tradition, the seniors’ celebration offered an accessible way to get involved.

“So many people were interested. Even if we don’t know each other that well, people came together and played,” Wagle said.

Although the powder quickly ran out by C lunch, several students already had the opportunity to experience the colorful celebration. The event marked an important recognition of Desi culture within the school, raising awareness for a commonly celebrated festival among the student body. The seniors hope future grades will carry on the celebration and continue to promote the unity of cultural festivals. For sophomore Opal Jawale, the event fostered a sense of community that is especially unique.

“It made me have a sense of belonging seeing everyone have fun,” Jawale said. “If you see your culture being recognized in the environment around you, it gives you a certain sense of joy.”

Teacher Feature: Seth Dixon

Brooke Kennedy/The SPOKE

Twinsies!: Visual arts teacher Seth Dixon poses with his custom Funko Pop figure box. Dixon has taught every art class in his time at Conestoga, and enjoys the creative elements of profession.

Dixon’s favorite part about that, I wasn’t really sure what I TV and movies especially the Star Brooke Kennedy Wars series, reading comic books, teaching at Conestoga is teaching wanted to do.”

Staff Reporter Dixon believes the staff at watching anime, and playing his classes because it reminds him Conestoga alumnus Seth Dix- Conestoga reflect a big influence sports — primarily basketball. of when he was a student and can on has always loved art, but didn’t on him and says that connecting “On (the) weekends, I try to recognize a part of himself in each know what career he wanted to with teachers he has had in the find time to play video games, go of his students. pursue until he found his love for past has helped him gain insight outside a little bit, see some friends “I really enjoy teaching the teaching and decided to put the into the teaching world. and hang out with my family — classes that I teach because I two together. With this, Dixon is “I’m always impressed by some I’m very close with my family,” remember being a student mynow a teacher at Conestoga, where of the stuff (my faculty members) Dixon said. “But a typical weekend self in these kinds of spaces so he has taught every art class in- do and their knowledge,” Dixon is probably me trying to take a mo- I think it’s pretty cool,” Dixon cluding ceramics, drawing and said. “Mr. Starner was previously ment to relax and refresh myself as said “I imagine everyone as a painting, photography, studio art a teacher I actually had, and that much as I can so I can come in with different version of me and that and now mostly graphic design. it all goes well.” was really cool when I first started the energy to start the week.”

“I didn’t really find out I to have that relationship with him. liked teaching art until fresh- Being able to connect with some man year of college until we people that I’ve had experiences had this big arts day where we with when I was younger — and planned a lesson in pairs and now I’ve sort of taken their wisdom went down to the elementary — is always good.” school that was nearby and we Outside of the classroom, Dixtaught our lesson,” Dixon said. on enjoys playing a variety of vid“And then I realized I liked do- eo games like sports, role-playing, ing active teaching. But before fighting or racing games, watching

T/E Life

6

Wired Together Genshin Impact

What originally drew you to Genshin Impact?

Junior Adyan Chowdhury: I like the characters in the game. I thought they had an interesting design and I liked the lore of the game.

Senior Sara Borni: For me, I got into (the game) while we were still doing virtual learning and we didn’t really

Students find solidarity through gaming

Written by Aditi Dahagam and Hiba Samdani, Co-T/E Life Editors Designed by Aren Framil and Hiba Samdani, Staff Reporter and Co-T/E Life Editor fun of each other. It’s very fun.

Do you find multiplayer more enjoyable than single?

An anime-style, open-world game with magic.

Players engage in combat to complete quests that follow the gameʼs storyline.

Question & Answer

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Aditi Dahagam/The SPOKE

Genshin gods: (From left to right) Junior Angie Chen, senior Sara Borni and junior Adyan Chowdhury play Genshin Impact on their phones. They began playing the game during virtual learning to pass time in between classes.

have anything else to do in between time periods, so I just played Genshin.

person kind of just makes us all get closer.

Adyan Chowdhury: Gaming brings people together by giving people a chance to find common interests with one another. On the online sphere, it’s easier to find people with commonalities than in a setting like school where you’re bounded by schedules and dif-

How has gaming made you closer friends?

Sara Borni: Just the fact that we can communicate and interact with each other inside the call and then when we’re at school, we can see each other in

ferent classes that can prevent you finding people like you.

You could meet some of your closest friends this way.

What is the environment like when you play Genshin Impact together?

Junior Angie Chen: Chaotic. It’s a lot of people yelling over each other and dying in the game and making

Angie Chen: There’s not much to do in single player, but you could always come up with challenges or other things to do with other people. Even though (multiplayer) is not that good, we try to do it together because it’s funnier that way.

Sara Borni: There’s only four people that can go into one multiplayer group. So, if there’s someone left out, we split off and then some people would be playing their own game and others would also be playing their own game. But we still all talk to each other as a group.

Do you have any funny memories in particular from when you play the game?

Angie Chen: The game has a bunch of landscapes, and whenever anything goes mild-

ly wrong, Adyan would just jump off the nearest cliff.

Adyan Chowdhury: Angie got really lucky with her (character) pulls when she screen shared, and we got mad at her because we don’t like happy people.

How did you start playing “Genshin Impact” together?

Sara Borni: We made a group chat together and then eventually started adding a few more people. We just started playing the game together whenever we could.

ValorAnt Question & Answer Do you prefer multiplayer or single player games?

Junior Jason Jiang: I mean, it’s fun to be playing with people and then the few times that single player games, what really just happens is that it’s more of a race to finish the game before the other person, and clearly, it’s a lot less enjoyable.

Junior Kovid Tandon: What happens is you’re really into the game for a week — you do like 50 hours in a week.

That’s what happened with “Lost Ark”: we played 50 hours in a week and then we just gave up on it. I played a lot of hours, and then the game got boring.

So I think multiplayer definitely.

A team-based hero-shooter game. There are two teams with five people each — attacking or defending. Each player on the team selects a character (called an agent) that has its own set of abilities. The attackers try to set a bomb (called the Spike) and defenders try to defuse it or prevent it from being planted it. The first team to win 13 rounds wins the match.

certain role is going to be important. I’m not going to say that video games are the same as sports, but it’s kind of similar. In football, you have to have every position to win. In “Valorant,” having different characters that fill the different roles properly also helps.

How would you describe the atmosphere and the environment when you play Valorant?

Kovid Tandon: Normally it’s chill, we’re having fun. We’re talking to each other. We’re making fun of each other when we do bad, we’re hyping each other up when Do you notice any advantage in the we do good.

game from playing frequently together?

Kovid Tandon: Yeah, if I’m the last person left in the game, we already know we’re going to lose. If Jason is the last person left, we’re probably going to win.

Jason Jiang: I can’t give a specific example, but I think it does happen.

You know certain people are going Does having a gaming group help to play a certain way and then you with strategy? can base your own decision off that.

Jason Jiang: Definitely in any And it helps because you know what kind of team-based game, filling a your team’s doing.

Destiny 2 Question & Answer

Why do you play Valorant?

Jason Jiang: I guess we just didn’t have anything to do. “Valorant” kind of came out just as quarantine started. A lot of people weren’t going outside anymore, and we couldn’t meet up as a friend group, so then we kind of just turned to video games.

Kovid Tandon: And Valorant was free and it could easily run on bad computers.

Looter shooter game that is free-toplay and a sequel to the original Destiny game. Players are Guardians of Earthʼs last safe city and have a power called the Light to protect humanity from alien species and the threat of Darkness.

Ryan Williams: The mood Do you recommend games to er just because when we were that we’re in is pretty depenin school or playing together, your friends?

we would be talking for longer Sophomore Ryan Williams: I than we would in person. It refeel like a lot of people are in- ally feels like I know him just as troduced to games through oth- well even though I live across er people because it’s a lot more the country. attractive to play a game that How has gaming made you you will already have a friend to closer friends? (play) with than have to make Sophomore Alex Krapels: The ennew friends on the game. vironment between us and the other How do you interact with teams from around the world somethe other teams with whom you times is pretty wholesome. There’s are playing? these games where everyone’s compliRyan Williams: I still feel menting each other. And then there’s just as close (to Alex). Over some games where everyone’s just quarantine, I felt even clos- yelling at each other. It’s pretty funny.

dent on how the game is going for our team.

How has gaming impacted your friendship?

Alex Krapels: Gaming is this beautiful thing. It’s where you stay connected from so far away. Being able to play with each other and still be so connected. With school, I have a lot of work a lot (of the time). I have to do homework until late hours. Sometimes chilling to call and play games with (friends), whenever I have a break is nice.

Katherine Emmanuel/The SPOKE

Battle bros: (First and second from right) Junior Jason Jiang and junior Kovid Tandon play video games with their friends on their phones. They began playing together when quarantine first hit to spend time together despite the distance.

Question & Answer

Minecraft

Players enter different worlds where they build, fight and mine. The game offers endless opportunities as players break apart blocks to make their own creations in a three-dimensional world. The game is split into two worlds, Survival and Creative, and can be played multi or single-player. realize one of them is missing.’ We wrote a whole ransom letter and put it in her Freshman Anjali Chan: I don’t really house somewhere. I just dug the cat out play Minecraft without friends anymore after a while. because it gets kind of boring and loneWhy do you play Minecraft on ly. In Minecraft, I like that you can be in your PC? a space with your friends and be able to build things. (It’s fun to) fool around withFreshman Sarah He: My dad built it for out being in person and spend time with me a really long time ago. So, I use it for each other. both gaming and schoolwork. I think it’s a What is a memorable moment from lot easier, and a lot of games you can either only play (on) PC or laptop. playing Minecraft?

What do you like about Minecraft?

How have you become closer

Anjali Chan: My one friend had a bunch friends through gaming? of cats. When she was gone, I took one of her cats and buried it right next to her house. I Anjali Chan: Teamwork has defiwas like ‘She has so many. She’s not gonna nitely been better between our group

of friends. Not specifically for Minecraft or Roblox but just in general. We know how to communicate with each other more clearly. We’re all just a lot closer because we have another option of spending time with each other.

Sarah He: Playing it every day.

You’re doing something with (your friends), so it just gets you closer.

How frequently did you guys play during the pandemic?

Anjali Chan: We would first bother each other about when our classes ended. And then we’d all log on one by one and then join a discord call and whatever server that we’re in.

Alex Krapels

Ryan Williams Hiba Samdani/The SPOKE

Dynamic duo: (From left to right) Freshman Anjali Chan and freshman Sarah He pose for a photo before they play Minecraft. They began playing with a group of friends during the beginning of quarantine, and have continued to game with that group ever since.

T/E Life

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

7

ONESTROLOGY WRITTEN BY: AREN FRAMIL, RAIMA SAHA AND ZARA SAMDANI, STAFF REPORTERS DESIGNED BY: AREN FRAMIL AND RAIMA SAHA, STAFF REPORTERS

INTR

C

HINESE

IN

MATION R O F

O

Astrology is the predicting of earthly and human events by interpreting the positions of the sun, moon, stars and planets. As they are historically and heavily associated with religion and spirituality, astrological practices and beliefs vary depending on the culture from which they originated. From a personal force of guidance to a social topic of discussion, astrology has captured the attention of some of the student body and beyond.

Astrology is based on 12 constellations, each of which correspond with a specific zoWhat officially began on diac sign. Each of these signs are categorized into Feb. 4, 2022 was the year four sublunar elements (fire, air, water and earth) of the Water Tiger, a zowhich represent the type of energy that acts in humans. diac sign that embodies The planets, the sun and the moon rule these zodiac characteristics of bravery and signs and are indicative of one’s personality and how they courage. It also represents move through life. There are two main parts to astrologicaution, growth, chalcal signs: the sun and the moon. One’s sun sign defines their lenge and creation. personality and determines which zodiac sign under which they fall, while their moon sign gives insight into their inner self.

Sun signs are determined by one’s birthdate, while moon signs require the consideration of the time of birth and birthplace in relation to celestial bodies.

N

FA CT

The zodiac is traditionally believed to be a sphere with a finite radius upon which the constellations are fixed, with each zodiac sign taking up about 30° of the sperical space and Earth located in the center.

A popular tool for charting astrological predictions is a birth chart, or horoscope.

Horoscopes are visual representations of the heavens meant to interpret the alignment of the planets and provide insight into a person’s future based on the time and place of their birth. Conversely, electional astrology First appearing is the planning of events based on astrological auspiciousin 18th century Euness. Also called event astrology, it was historically A rerope, tarot card reading used to schedule battles, weddings and trips. search study is a type of divination that reported that 60% uses cards to gain insight into the of Americans believe in: past, present and future. However, tarpsychics, astrology, the presot cards themselves have existed since the ence of spiritual energy early 15th century in Italy and were used as reguin inanimate oblar playing cards. In each deck, there is a major and minor arjects or reincarcana. Tarot and astrology go hand in hand, with each nation. tarot card in the major arcana corresponding to a different star, element or planetary body. While the names and interpretations of each tarot card change with time, astrological influence is consistently present in its illustrations and meanings.

FU

TA R

OT

OPINIONS “I think that (astrology) does not describe the person. It’s just a generic description. A lot of people are born in a certain month which is uncontrollable.”

-Taurus

“It’s just really old.

I think that it’s lasting this long because it is kind of real, because it’s studying patterns within people.”

-Aries

Aziza Mukhammadomonova, 9

Carissa Mukasa, 12

“It’s not really (impacted) my life because I’ve just never really thought about it. I’m just not really familiar with it and don’t really see it a lot.”

-Libra

Sharon Baek, 9

“I feel like sometimes I allow the fact that I am a Capricorn and that I know what those signs represent to mold my actions.

Only sometimes I mold my actions myself.”

Kevin McFarlane, 12 -Capricorn

Galen Wertz, 11

Pradhit Gaddameedi, 10

Carys Collin, 10

“It shouldn’t be used to define people, like a strict science, but it’s just entertaining to see what the different zodiac signs are supposed to be personality wise.”

-Cancer

“I don’t really believe in it, but I think it’s fun, so I still pretend I believe in it.”

-Gemini

“I just feel like Leo has the best sign. That’s all I can say. I’m not really into (astrology) like that, but I try to stay away from Gemini.”

-Leo

“Some people are really obsessed with it.

I’m okay, do whatever you want. You know, it’s cool.”

-Virgo

Ally Wen, 9

“I don’t study astrology.

I just think of it as something fun, keeping up with my zodiac signs.”

-Scorpio

Declan Duffy, 9

Kayla Bowden, 10

“It’s pointless. The weirdest part of (it) all to me is that the ‘ology’ suffix is ‘the study of.’ But astrology is not actually the study of the stars; that’s astronomy.”

-Aquarius Matthew Greenwood, 11

“I don’t really know that much, so I can’t say that much. I know there is a Western (one), I know there’s differences. I don’t know the differences.”

-Pisces

Hannah Claiborne, 12

“I don’t think it really defines a person. Sometimes it can, but it’s not always (like) that.

People can be whoever they want to be.”

-Sagittarius

OPINION

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Senior farewell: Words of wisdom

After four years at ’Stoga, our Spoke seniors are signing off. But before they go, here’s some final advice:

School is difficult but don’t let it take over your life. I know it’s easier said than done, but try and make some time every day to do something you love rather than having your work consume you. At the end of the day, you just have to work hard, do your best, be nice and have fun!

- Devon Rocke Don’t get too caught up in the weeds of must-dos and have-tos. High school is a time to be stupid and go wild, so give yourself the grace to be stupid and go wild (to a reasonable degree). Ultimately, we’re all just tiny little dot humans floating on a rock in space, so who cares?

- Sophia Pan Prepare yourself for whatever opportunities come your way.

Stick to things you’re really excited and passionate about, and don’t let anything change the person you are.

- Reese Wang Let loose a little! You can still have fun and get into a great college. Looking back, I wish I had made a better effort to hang out with friends and experience life without the major responsibilities that are now creeping up on me (leaving my parents and

black line shouldn't to cuh

moving to a new city). Try and remember that everyone will end up exactly where they are supposed to be. Going to something like a weeknight movie with friends is not going to hinder that. Plus, you don’t want to have to pull a “Booksmart” the day before your graduation.

- Abby Carella Don’t get so caught up about the little things. The things stressing you out right now are what you’ll laugh at down the road. Enjoy the present and don’t always focus on the future because odds are when you get there there’s just going to be another future for you to anticipate.

- Ben Reed JFK once told Hedy Lamarr what the secret to life was: “Try everything. Join everything.

Meet everybody.” Looking back on the past four years of high school, you might be surprised to find that so much of it has dissolved into a blur you can’t recall clearly. But the memories that never fade are the ones where you tried new things, discovered new places, read new books, strengthened old friendships, took a chance and ultimately surprised yourself.

- Chanelle Ongagna Lose together. Win together.

Slay together. Stay together. Difficult times are surmountable when you have a shoulder to

gray

box

lean on and a hand to pull you back up. Be there for others and let them be there for you.

- Aditi Dahagam There’s a Swedish word, fika, for a moment taken to slow down and appreciate the good things in life. Don’t let your fears and ambitions prevent you from finding the people and things that make you happy. The smell of coffee, the sun on your face — there’s always a reason to smile if you look closely enough.

- Katherine Lee Your time at Conestoga goes by quickly. Make sure you have fun, enjoy your friends and create memories that will always keep you connected. Don’t get caught up in the competitiveness of high school. The classes you take and the college you attend won’t be what you’re remembered for.

- Brooke Kennedy Four years fly by faster than you can imagine, so make the most of your time. Find the people you like being around and remember that one good friend is worth 10 average friends.

Lastly, college admissions are NOT the end all be all. Just enjoy the ride, you’ll end up in the right place.

- Andrew Franceski Start every day with a blank slate: don’t worry about yester-

day’s test or the upcoming history project! It will do more harm than good in the long run. Although it may seem like the end of the world, it won’t by June.

- Kaitlin Campbell Breathe! Life moves fast — sometimes too fast. In the storm of APs, projects and extracurriculars, spend some time to take it all in. Remember you only go through high school once; make the best with the limited time you have and don’t forget to smile.

- Umar Samdani Don’t be afraid to explore all the opportunities that Conestoga can provide and don’t take classes that you don’t want to.

There’s certainly a “grindset” culture here, but you don’t have to play into it. Do what you love.

Make good art.

- Zach Rejonis Loosely based on a random tweet I once read: Never spend more time figuring out how you’re going to live your life that you forget to live it! Ignore others’ opinions and your unrealistic expectations of yourself. And don’t take yourself too seriously.

These years are for leeching off of your parents, figuring out what you love and living your life without experiencing the taxes and misery of adulthood (sorry to any adults reading).

- Aishi Debroy

Sophia Pan/The SPOKE

The slippery slope of Russia-Ukraine

Aishi Debroy Opinion Editor

Katherine Zhang/The SPOKE

From the Editors: Thank you and goodbye

Katherine Lee, Sophia Pan and Reese Wang Co-Editors-in-Chief Dear readers, In the fall of 2018, we were but tiny freshmen staff reporters setting foot in Room 280: overwhelmed and more than a little confused. We had no idea how big of a role Spoke would come to play in our lives. Four years later, as we prepare to graduate high school, we look back fondly on all the memories we have made during our time on The Spoke. From long production nights filled with candy and stress to joyous issue release dates, there is never a dull moment in the newsroom.

To say this experience has been eventful would be an un-

derstatement. Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic overturned The Spoke as it did nearly everything else, and we had to adapt to changing our ways of operation, leading our paper from our homes. Despite a year and a half of virtual high school, The Spoke has persevered and even grown. Throughout the years, we’ve switched printers, gone to full color pages, and covered protests and presidential elections. We’ve seen our staff nearly double in size and our readership as well.

As Editors-in-Chief, we have learned so much: not just journalistic writing, time management or people skills, but also the importance of student press rights. There have been countless moments when we’ve realized the necessity of a platform for student voices, such as earlier this year, when we saw the effects of the anti-mask mandate walkout on our school. As The Spoke, we strive to live up to our role as the paper of record for our community, and we are excited to support future generations of Spokies as they continue to uphold this mantle.

Thus, it is with that delight that we welcome our new Editors-in-Chief, Evan Lu and Hiba Samdani, to lead the paper we love. We are confident in their dedication to The Spoke and their ability to take it to new heights of journalistic excellence. To our new editorial board for the 2022-23 school year, we wish you the best of luck, and we hope that your experience on The Spoke will be as rewarding and as memorable as it has been for us. To our advisers, we would like to thank you for your time, commitment and patience with us as we navigated the rocky waters of student journalism. To our beloved readers, we would like to thank you for your support and your watchful eyes because without you, there would be no paper.

And to everyone in our Spoke family, we would like to thank you for the memories and lessons that we will take with us to college and beyond.

Thank you for everything.

Sincerely, Katherine, Sophia and Reese

Who would have thought that it would take Vladimir Putin’s impulsive attempt at displaying power to prompt Switzerland to emerge from their cave of neutrality to take a stance? It seems like every Western country is taking significant action — whether it be through verbal condemnation, economic sanctions or donations — against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

It would be an understatement to say tensions are high. For the past month, many political leaders have made some sort of statement addressing the inhumanity of the situation. But I’ve noticed an unsettling trend: the messages are infused with emotionally-charged language incorrectly implying that only aggressive measures, such as debilitating Russia with sanctions or military prowess, can end this conflict.

I completely understand the natural inclination to fight fire with fire — match Putin’s violence and ruthlessness with our own. But when one party consists of a leader with an unsettling grin, unpredictable war strategy and an arsenal of nuclear weapons,

The Spoke is published seven times a year by Trumball Printing. It consistently receives a Gold rating from PSPA and CSPA, and is a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker award-winning publication. The Spoke serves as a public forum for student expression.

The

Staff

Editors-in-Chief: Katherine Lee, Sophia Pan, Reese Wang Managing Editors: Devon Rocke, Umar Samdani News Editor: Evan Lu T/E Life Editors: Aditi Dahagam, Hiba Samdani Opinion Editor: Aishi Debroy Sports Editors: Abby Bagby, George Zhang Photography Editor: Maya Shah Multimedia Web Editor: Alexis Costas Beats Editor: Jui Bhatia Business Manager: Michael Tierney Webmasters: Nishka Avunoori, Shreya Vaidhyanathan Social Media Editor: Abby Carella Copy Editors: Kate Emmanuel, Ben Shapiro

, Cartoonists: Leon Li, Yuting Pu, Charity Xu, Katherine Zhang Staff Reporters: Rohan Anne, Kaitlin Campbell, Mareska Chettiar,

Brianna Fan, Melissa Fan, Aren Framil, Andrew Franceski, Julia Harris, Oviya Ignaci, Akshita Joshi, Brooke Kennedy, Howard Kim, Shrija Krishnan, Grace Kuryan, Amanda Markind, Caius Michlitsch, Chanelle Ongagna, Abbie Preston, Madeline Pulliam, Ben Reed, Zachary Rejonis, Raima Saha, Zara Samdani, Soumya Sathyanarayana, Hannah Simon, Aashita Singh, Aaron Wang, Juliana Yao Faculty Advisers: Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt, Alison Ferriola, Nicole Zakorchemny

it’s safe to say that negotiating is the best method to prevent countless Ukrainian casualties.

Thousands of sanctions against Russian companies and people have led to the collapse of Russia’s currency, the ruble, but the same can’t be said for Putin’s determination.

These economic sanctions are a quick but ineffective longterm solution. According to the Wilson Center, Western nations have sanctioned Russia before this conflict. In fact, in 2014, Russia’s invasion of Crimea invited a slew of crippling sanctions with no positive changes. Just the same-old Putin conducting

timent in sanctioned nations by overwhelmingly impoverishing citizens. Though it may destroy Russia for decades, Putin won’t pull out of this conflict losing face, even if it means subjecting his citizens, many of whom are already poor, to extreme deprivation.

Frankly, aggressive sanctions are just not sustainable.

The Institute of International Finance finds that Russia and Europe’s economic interdependence makes it impossible for European countries to phase out Russian energy.

Since Europe receives about a third of its natural gas from Russia, according to Time,

Putin-like behaviors: wreaking havoc and waging war.

Historically, the U.S. doesn’t have a great track record with sanctions. For example, sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba didn’t stop Maduro and Castro from increasing political corruption and implementing an authoritarian state. Instead, Brookings finds that they have increased anti-U.S. sen-

these sanctions will eventually incite an undesirable increase in gas prices internationally — though, a small price to pay for Ukrainian lives.

Sheer military force from the small-but-mighty Ukrainian army cannot continuously overpower Russian artillery and firepower in quantity or quality. According to CNN, in 2021, Russia spent

Non-staff contributions: Non-staff contributions from students, the community, graduates or other interested parties are welcome. Editors will decide which contributions are published based on space and relevance to the community. All contributions must conform to journalistic practices, including accuracy, timeliness, purpose and writing conventions. The Spoke reserves the right to work with the contributor to meet these standards. All outside contributions are bylined.

Letters to the editor: Letters to the editor may be submitted to Editors-in-Chief Katherine Lee, Sophia Pan and Reese Wang, or advisers Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt, Alison Ferriola and Nicole Zakorchemny.

Editorials: Unsigned editorials represent the views of The Spoke editorial board, not necessarily those of the administration, student body, community or advertisers. The opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of The Spoke.

Paid advertisements: The Spoke accepts paid advertisements. Email hello@spoke.news.

$45.8 billion and had 900,000 active military personnel compared to Ukraine’s measly $4.7 billion and 196,000 personnel.

Regardless of the international donations and 16,000 foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine, these contributions will be impractical as time progresses.

Ukrainians have displayed inspiring acts of bravery and courage, but against a trigger-happy Putin, a calculated negotiation strategy is necessary. He won’t leave the negotiation table surrendering and gaining nothing. According to former intelligence officer Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Putin may “double down and take a lot of risks in order to prevent any potential loss of power,” which means that playing his twisted game — to a reasonable degree, of course — may be the only way to prevent thousands of civilian casualties. The U.S., the E.U., and other international organizations may have to adhere to agreements with which they disagree; lifting sanctions or conceding to some of Putin’s terms may just be a necessary evil.

Yuting Pu/The SPOKE I know that most of us — even our political leaders — want to rush and do everything that we can for Ukraine. But as we tread these dangerous waters, we must be content with slowly and carefully analyzing and even addressing Putin’s requests. In the meantime, we should hope that our political leaders proceed logically and donate to the countless fundraisers for Ukrainian citizens.

www.spoke.news @thespoke @thespoke /thespoke the_spoke hello@spoke.news

OP/ED

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

9

Assassinate away: Why the age-old game must stay

Julia Harris Staff Reporter

It’s 6 a.m. on a typical weekday in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. The streets are quiet as students get ready for school. You wouldn’t expect to look out your window and see a high schooler hiding behind a neighboring bush, water gun in hand . . . unless it’s springtime and you are aware of the annual game of Senior Assassins.

Communication is paramount in a community the size of T/E, so a more thorough explanation of Senior Assassins would lessen the controversy surrounding it. People should be aware of

the positive aspects of the game before attempting to put an end to it, which some community members have been discussing recently on social media.

To play, seniors participating in the game have a fellow classmate to track down and spray with water to get them out. The prize for the player who stays in the game the longest is a cash amount equivalent to the graduation year; this year it’s $2,022. Even with so much money at stake, the game is lighthearted with the “assassin” and victim posing for photos together after battle.

I remember my sister, part of the class of 2020, excitedly talking about scoping out her target with her friends. With a senior class of around 550 people and randomly assigned targets, many students’

targets are someone of whom they have never even heard.

Internships and college are fast approaching, and the game brings the seniors together

and provides the opportunity to form new friendships. Even those not actually playing often get involved, coming to the aid of those who are. After two

Immediately after the game commences, there is chatter about it throughout the school.

In majority-senior classes, it is the favorite topic of conversation; a considerable switch from the fall’s top choice: college applications.

The game works to reduce some of the stress of awaiting college responses and ensures that not every conversation is about academics.

On the other hand, some parents and community members believe students are trespassing during the game. Others say the teenagers aren’t old enough to use Richard Diaz/The SPOKE common sense and something to which they can know the limits of what they’re allowed to do. look forward.

Keeping these thoughts in Senior Assassins is also a welcome distraction during the mind, it is important to note season of college admissions. that the police in the area are years of a pandemic and irregularity, Senior Assassins has been able to continue with no alterations, giving students a sense of normalcy in trying times and

aware of the game and have put out social media updates alerting the community when the Senior Assassin season is set to begin. The players also have their own set of rules to follow, including using brightly colored water guns and not trespassing onto other peoples’ property while playing.

However, since most of the communication takes place on social media, there should be consideration for those who don’t use the platforms, such as in the form of an update in the TESD newsletter or with written signs around the area.

To ensure the continuation of this tradition, the responsibility should fall on future game leaders to communicate specifics with police, school officials and the community as a whole.

People in the district should also be more open to learning about the game before issuing criticisms. Hopefully these groups working together will allow for a peaceful preservation of Senior Assassins.

Report Card

c

Kim K’s expert business advice + Advice from a celebrity is motivating for their supporters - Thanks...You seem perfectly qualified to talk about “hard work”

B

Will Smith at the Oscars + A lot more entertaining than the usual show - WHEW! I FELT that slap through the screen

A

Tipped minimum wage increase + Tipped workers are finally getting paid more than $2.83/hour!

- This is long overdue. I guess $7.25 is better than nothing, right?

“I am slightly perturbed by losing one hour, but I don’t know how I would adjust without daylight savings; the transition might be a little difficult.”

-

“It’s a good thing because it’ll help bring our country together.”

- Rohan Nayak,

Sarah Weng, freshman

sophomore

St. Peter’s Cinderella run

B

+ It’s always nice to see the underdog win - All for nothing: lost to UNC in the Elite 8 anyways

STUDENTS SPEAK OUT

Bridgerton season two

Q: How do you feel about the Sunshine Protection Act?

A+

+ South Asian representation!! Love it!

“I hear a lot of teachers and parents complain about daylight savings, and I don’t really have a problem with it. But it’ll help with the people who do.”

- Hannah Hoffman, junior

- Simon, we miss you!

“I like having the difference of it being either lighter or darker outside because it gives us the sense of seasons.

There’s nothing wrong with switching it up here and there, but I’m living my life regardless.”

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill passes

- Kaija Cooper,

+ Parents introduce sexuality on their own terms

senior

F

- Harmful rhetoric for LGBTQ+ children

We still need them!

Melissa Fan Staff Reporter

After a grueling session of essay editing, it’s independent reading time. The teacher tells everyone to take out their book, and you look around. How many students are using a kindle or an online device to read? Few. Comparing the number of people who are reading physical copies of books to those with online editions, it’s obvious: a book in hand is the better option. An online Forbes study found that 65% of readers prefer physical books in comparison to the 35% that prefer either audiobooks or e-books. Physical copies of books simply cannot be replaced by their technological counterparts, and the very core of where people find books, the library, is still a necessity.

The library is a simple way for students to access books for free. Without the need to pay for books, people of all social and economic statuses

are able to access the resources needed without having to worry about a price.

Despite the advantages technology may have, not everyone has access to a device or a stable internet connection. A study by Microsoft found that approximately 162 million Americans, around half of the country’s population, lack access to the internet. Without libraries, these people would lose their only means of connecting to the internet.

The library not only offers books to read for pleasure, but also textbooks and

libraries

resources, the library serves an integral role in providing academic support to students.

At Conestoga, the library is the only place in the school where students are truly able to study without chatter and other distractions. The cafeteria? Not an option unless you want food splattered over your chemistry homework.

The atrium? A place to socialize while getting some homework done with some episodes of “The Office” as background noise.

The library is rarely empty during the school day, with many students using the space during their free periods to study for tests, complete homework or catch up on classwork. It’s sometimes difficult to even find a seat in the back of the library due to the number of students occupying the quiet study desks.

Some might argue that there is no longer a need for libraries as school materials become Angie Chen/The SPOKE increasingly digistudy preparation materials. tized, but it is very difficult for A section of the library even the quiet study environment contains Advanced Placement of a library to be recreated.

(AP) practice books for stu- Filled with students quietly at dents seeking extra support work, the library encourages for AP exams. Additionally, a feeling of motivation that students often use the liter- cannot be replicated in other ary criticism section of the li- areas of the school.

Physical libraries are still a brary for their English classes to create annotated bibliog- need in the lives of students, raphies and strengthen their and it is imperative that they essays. With its abundance of should not be replaced.

Their time has passed!

Howard Kim Staff Reporter

Libby, Audible, Nook. Libraries have gained a lot of competition over the last few decades — and they can’t keep up anymore. Their inventories of physical literature have become obsolete.

The reasoning is simple. When libraries first came around, they played a vital role in society because they facilitated the sharing of literature and the dissemination of knowledge. However, technology that allows for instant access to these vast stores of information has made keeping physical copies unnecessary, and libraries and their patrons are already feeling the impacts of this change. According to the 2021 Freckle Report: Digital or Diverse? by Tim Coates, the former head of Waterstone’s bookshops, use of print books sank by 29% from 2019 to 2021, reflecting the downward trend of printed literature.

On the other hand, the list of advantages of digital resources is seemingly endless. Not only can

databases offer a wider range of books, but readers can also obtain their digitized versions at any time from anywhere.

Another perk is the portability of e-books. One Kindle can hold tens of thousands of novels — a feat impossible with physical copies. With this in mind, library-goers have already begun switching over to digitized resources.

Brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the portion of readers using e-books grew 60% from 2019 to 2021, and audiobook users increased by 250% over the same timeframe, according to Coates.

Another negative aspect of physical libraries — one that often goes unnoticed — is their detrimental impact on the environment. Independent reporter Donnachadh McCarthy predicts that the global book industry will chop down up to a staggering 3.4 billion trees

this decade, the equivalent of a forest more than four times the size of Wales. If these trees were left intact, their positive impact on the world would be tremendous: 3.4 billion trees can absorb approximately 81.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, negating the carbon footprints of 20.4 million cars annually. Switching over to e-books and preserving our world’s forests will reduce our carbon footprint and lessen the effects of climate change.

Proponents of traditional libraries believe that the facilities are essential because they serve as crucial pillars of their communities in a multitude of ways, from providing free internet access to offering help with job searches or serving as a quiet place to study.

While this is true, libraries can fulfill this role to an even greater extent by digitizing print texts, which frees up resources and space to be redirected towards these goals.

Overall, the drawbacks of physical libraries outweigh their benefits, and their funds should be allocated Leon Li/The SPOKE to a digital library.

This would enable its online databases and books to be available around the clock to anybody with an internet connection. Readers are already transitioning over to online content, and libraries should follow suit to accommodate their patrons’ needs.

Yuting Pu/The SPOKE

Sports

10

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

March Madness Cinderella craze Andrew Franceski Staff Reporter

Abby Carella/The SPOKE

Coaching with care: Softball coach Charlotte Bosco speaks to players during a game at D’Ambrosia Park. Her team played their first game against Haverford on March 29, taking a tough loss 12-7.

New softball coach brings fresh perspectives Hannah Simon Staff Reporter

“We were a mess,” laughs coach Todd Whitlow and his team during a team huddle at Ricci Field while reflecting on a past season riddled with lack of players and an unsteady schedule.

The shadows of last year seem to have no hold on the

team, though, as they usher in the 2022 season with goals of gaining experience and learning. Fiercely led by a large senior class along with immense potential in their underclassmen, both varsity and JV are hopeful to win. At the helm of this mission, is new coach, Charlotte Bosco.

Bosco, with more than 20 years of experience, is headed

for her first stint as a Conestoga head coach and excited to join a team a little closer to home. After playing for University of Rhode Island and West Chester University, Bosco then coached for various travel programs, holding the position of assistant coach for Delaware Valley University from 2017-2018.

Drawn to the aspect of coaching all different age groups and ability levels, Bosco believes teamwork is number one. While advocating for varsity players, she credits the joint practices of varsity and JV as an avenue for learning.

“I like to create a very open atmosphere for questions. I don’t want anyone to think that they can’t ask a question about something or are afraid to ask a question about something,” Bosco said. “Whether it’s a situation, a playground field form or a question as to why they’re doing something, I like people to be informed.”

As a coach, Bosco believes being able to consider all those questions and answer them as

needed enables her to run a fastpaced practice with constant improvement. Always looking to create long-lasting habits in her athletes, Bosco combines equal parts hitting and defense into practice, incorporating speed and agility likewise. The team’s successful output is not only attributed to Bosco and Whitlow’s guidance, but the reassurance that the girls keep their attitude as enthusiastic and bright as possible.

“I think I’m bringing in more fitness, speed, agility and getting them more as female athletes than just your typical softball player,” Bosco said.

At the discretion of Bosco, the team participated in voluntary winter workouts.

Weightlifting, hitting and speed training were all topics of focus, while fielding situations and game scenarios also took place. According to sophomore Marisa Francione, what stands out most about Bosco’s coaching style is her intensity and commitment. She believes it empowers the team’s “practice like you play” mentality.

“We are all really pushing each other to be the best we can and (are) always looking to compete against each other for playing time, of course,” Francione said. “The preparation has made us more in shape and ready for the season, including the tougher games and practices.”

Consistent amongst the changes, though, is the team culture first established by past coaches: the team’s unique camaraderie enables them to share the spotlight with one another. The team cherishes the opportunity to simply go out and play, as temperamental weather and the COVID-19 pandemic restricted the girls’ access to the field in the past.

“The experiences that I’ve had are so unique. I’ve met so many people who I think I will be friends with for a long time,” sophomore Ruijia Yang said. “I think just the fact that you have this set group of friends who you know you can count on and who pick you up that you see every day — I think that is really great.”

It happens every year without fail. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Hardcore fans have checked their brackets a thousand times and even casual fans with mascot brackets and brackets filled out the night before the start of the Big Dance feel safe. It is then they strike: The Cinderellas.

Every tournament has a Cinderella story, a low-seeded team who wins a few games with a colorful cast of players who were viewed as not good enough to play at a traditional powerhouse like Duke or UNC. Fans may recall the run of Loyola Chicago in 2018, when the 11th seeded Ramblers made it all the way to the Final Four, supported by spunky 98-year-old nun Sister Jean. Or last year’s darlings, Oral Roberts, who were the third ever 15-seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen behind the sharpshooting of Max Abmas.

Cinderellas are a quintessential part of March Madness, and the 2022 Men’s Basketball Tournament may have had the greatest Cinderella of all time: The Saint Peter’s University Peacocks.

This year, March Madness competitors entered more than 25 million brackets online alone as they geared up for the first normal March Madness in almost three years. Favorites included Gonzaga, Baylor and my pick to win it all: Arizona. Fourth on this list however was Kentucky.

The first half of Thursday games passed without any big upsets, then St. Peters vs. Kentucky tipped off. A tiny New Jersey college shut down Kentucky, led by potential number one pick this year, Oscar Tshiebwe 85-79 in overtime. Just like that, the number of perfect brackets — which started around 25 million — dropped

to less than 1,000. However, the magnitude of this upset would not truly sink in until the next day.

Kentucky spends 36 times the amount of money each year on their basketball program than St. Peters. The Peacocks’ home court has a similar capacity to the large gym at Conestoga. This was a true David and Goliath story. Surely, they couldn’t beat Murray State in the Round of 32. Murray State held the longest win streak in Division I at 21 games. St Peters quietly dispatched the Racers 70-60 behind mustachioed sharpshooter Doug Edert, who became the face of the team as they captured the hearts of America including mine.

The Peacocks became only the third 15 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen and returned home heroes to train for their matchup against Purdue, ranked eighth in the country, at the Wells Fargo Center. And Philadelphia welcomed them, in front of a large crowd almost all cheering for them, the Peacocks became the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight where they would lose to UNC 69-49 to end their magical run.

But the Peacocks left their mark on America. Jersey sales in the week following their Kentucky upset and winners’ bonuses, will provide extra funding to St. Peters’ athletics for years to come. Their Sweet 16 game against Purdue was also the most watched game of the entire tournament. America, myself included, for a week adopted these Cinderellas as they put together arguably the greatest underdog run of all time.

Even though the clock eventually must strike midnight and the carriage must return to a pumpkin, Cinderella runs are the best part of March Madness each year. There will be one next year, and I can’t wait for my perfectly constructed bracket to be busted by Cinderella and her slipper.

Katherine Zhang/T SPOKE

Field hockey coach opens yoga studio in Berwyn Grace Kuryan Staff Reporter

SQUASH www.conestogagirlssquash.org

’Stoga Proud

Tejas Yoga Collective (TYC) is a new yoga studio in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. The goal of the studio is to uplift the community by offering a variety of classes all taught by trained instructors.

Regan Marscher, varsity field hockey coach and ‘Stoga alumnus, created and runs the studio. Marscher lived in New Jersey for some time and was deeply rooted in a yoga community there. The studio she attended had a very welcoming and non-judgmental feeling. When she moved back to the T/E area, she hadn’t found that same feeling in a studio so she decided to create her own. In Nov. 2021, Marscher started to look for space, and on March 7, 2022 she opened her studio.

“It’s a small, intimate space; you feel like you’re in someone’s living room. It has a really warm feeling to it,” Marscher said.

The name of the studio is unique and carries a personal meaning to Marscher. Tejas is a Sanskrit word that means one’s inner fire or illumination. When Marscher was training to be a yoga instructor, the word was frequently used in a chant in which the students would take part.

Marscher took a liking to the word, and now has it tattooed on her foot.

TYC offers a variety of classes all taught by trained instructors. Amy Orcutt, ‘Stoga’s varsity lacrosse coach, is an instructor at the studio.

Orcutt has a passion for yoga and is the co-founder of her

own yoga company, Working Wellness Yoga. Orcutt and Marscher are long-time friends; they attended Conestoga where they played lacrosse together.

“She (Marscher) always said it was a goal of hers to open a studio, and when she did, she immediately reached out to me and asked if I wanted to teach with her — and I said ‘Of course,’” Orcutt said.

Marscher values that each instructor brings their own personality and passion to every class which is why she included the “collective” part of TYC’s name. The studio offers a variety of classes, one of them being specifically for teens. When Marscher opened the studio, it had been an intention of hers to offer yoga for teens.

“There’s so much stress on teens right now, and yoga is so good for relieving anxiety and helping with mental focus, even just to put the screen away for some time,” Marscher said.

Junior Lily Norton is planning on taking the teen yoga classes at TYC. Norton has done a small amount of yoga in prior years, but wants to do it more consistently.

“When I saw that there was a teen yoga class, I thought that was perfect. It will definitely give me a chance to relax,” Norton said.

Marscher wanted to accomplish her original goal of creating a comfortable space where anyone and everyone can come to practice yoga.

“I’m really supportive and encouraging of the students who come in,” Marscher said.

“I just hope this evolves into a community space where anyone could take yoga.”

Grace Kuryan/The SPOKE

Serene stretching: Field hockey coach Regan Marscher teaches a yoga class at her new studio, Tejas Yoga Collective. She opened it in March with the hopes of creating a safe and comfortable space for everyone to practice yoga.

Commitment Corner Kristen Lavallee DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY SPORT: TRACK AND FIELD GRADE: 12 Why Duquesne: “I chose Duquesne because I really like their coaches and how tight knit their track and field team is. That’s something that I was looking for because ’Stoga’s track team is almost like a family, and I want that when I’m playing sports in college.”

Sports

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

11 HIGHLIGHT REEL THE

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN SPORTS.

AWARDS Tennis coach Britt Aimone was named Pennsylvania High School coach of the year. This followed an undefeated girls fall season including a state championship title.

With only a couple of games left in the NBA season, it is once again time for the selection of the MVP award. Much like last year, this year features Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Sixers center Joel Embiid as the top two contenders. However, unlike last year, Embiid should be the one to take home the trophy.

Embiid currently sits at the number one spot on the KIA MVP Ladder as he averages 29.8 points per game (second in the league) and 11.3 rebounds (eighth in the league).

He also provides valuable defense in the paint as he has the ability to shut down other big men and block the shots of smaller players driving to the basket.

Last year, Embiid was leading the race for MVP until he injured himself in a game against the Wizards which sidelined him for a couple of weeks. The main reason most critics doubted that he would win was because of his injury issues. However, he is much more durable this season with 60 games played already. That is nine more than the num-

ber of games he played the entire season last year. Also, the games he missed this year do not show an accurate representation of his resilience.

Only one of them was due to an injury as the rest were either from COVID-19 protocols or scheduled rest days.

This shows his ability to listen to criticism and put in the work to be better — unlike another player who used to play for the 76ers.

Another reason why Embiid should be the MVP this year is that the Sixers cannot win without him. Up until the James Harden trade, Embiid virtually had no help putting the ball in the basket. Sure, Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris are great, but when the time comes for the Sixers to get a crucial bucket, it is still Embiid who has to do the work. Now, many think the addition of James Harden will take a lot of the scoring burden off Embiid’s shoulders — and it has, but only to a certain extent. As great as Harden is, no one can deny that he is slowly declin-

ing. He has had a few rough stretches with games where he just chucks up shots and ends the game with horrible shooting percentages.

Now it is time to address Embiid’s biggest rival, Nikola Jokic. Jokic is a generational talent, averaging a near triple-double with 26.3 points per game, 13.5 rebounds per game and 7.9 assists per game. These stats are great, but it does not prove that he is better than Embiid. Jokic is only better at passing the ball and maybe rebounding. Embiid is way more dominant offensively and defensively and is so much more talented in scoring the ball. While Jokic is an elite level player, Embiid is simply better.

Finally and most importantly, the narrative just fits Embiid winning. He has given it all for the organization the past few years and still remained loyal despite many disappointments. Not many players in today’s era would do that. Hopefully, he can win this award and let it signify the first of many to come.

STROKES The crew team participated in the PSRA Manny Flick #1. Notably, junior CJ Livingston and sophomore Aidan Gregory finished first in boys’ JV double and sophomore Helena Laursen and junior Annabelle Beirne finished first in girls’ JV double.

HONORS

Katherine Zhang/The SPOKE

The Philadelphia section of the Woman’s Umpire Association awarded the girls’ lacrosse team the sportsmanship award.

SIGNINGS The Philadelphia Phillies recently signed right fielder Nick Castellanos to a 5 year, $100 million contract. Many fans believe this is a win for the franchise and that they will soon be in playoff contention.

HIRINGS Following former coach Ben Wilson’s resignation, the athletic department named Dean Mariotti the head coach of the girls varsity soccer team.

Mariotti coached the JV team this year

Kate Galica Speed is one of junior Kate Galica’s many strengths as a midfielder on the varsity lacrosse team. In fact, she’s so fast that despite having more than a year left of high school, she’s a University of Virginia recruit.

Without having much of a season her freshman year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Galica began playing on the varsity team only last year. Her athleticism and performance on the field continue to bring success for the team.

“She’s extremely athletic, ridiculously fast and can really dodge anyoneand get to the cage when you need it,” said sophomore and fellow varsity player Keating Hopkins. “I think a lot of people do look up to her and her way of playing because it is really good.”

Galica committed to play at the University of Virginia last fall as a part of the Class of 2027. She is happy to have achieved her long-term goal of playing at a Division I school.

“From when I started lacrosse and just watching all those girls, and then when it became more of a reality for me, it just pushed me to play harder,” Galica said. “Then I could play better in front of coaches because they’d be on the sidelines in the summer watching, and

it just kind of pushed me harder to want to play at that level.”

With constant training and practice, Galica at times finds it difficult to stay motivated.

However, she believes this is a part of the process in competitive sports.

“There’s definitely times that I’ve been at tournaments and I’m just like, ‘I could just go home right now,’ but I think that’s just all part of the sport,” Galica said. “Every time I do play, even if I have a bad game — or whatever that may be — I still like always look forward to playing games and look forward to lacrosse season, so that’s just a big indicator that (lacrosse is) something that I really want to do for the next four years of my life.”

Galica’s experience with the recruiting process provides guidance for the underclassmen of the team. Her success acts as inspiration for younger players.

“I think it is definitely a good thing that we do have someone who’s gone through this process,” Hopkins said. “She’s definitely someone we can look up to (and) also if we have any

questions — she’s been through a lot of it.”

Galica enjoys the camaraderie among the team and believes that this adds to the experience during the season.

“I think we’re all really close, and we all have the same goal: to win,” Galica said. “At the same time, we’re not all super strict. We can have fun at the same time of playing lacrosse and winning.”

George Zhang/The SPOKE

Running it down: Junior Kate Galica takes the ball down the field in a game against Marple Newtown on March 31. The girls went on to dominate, finishing with a score of 18-2.

Patrick Jameison As a historically prestigious team, the boys’ lacrosse team is filled with talent. Among them is All-American, All-State and All-Central League recipient junior goalie Patrick Jameison. While he garnered these accolades last year as a sophomore he is now focused on what is to come for not just himself, but the team as a whole.

“My first (personal goal) would be to keep getting better and keep improving. For this year, it would be to be All-American, All-State and All-League. I think (my) biggest goal (for the team) is to win the state championship, and then along with that would be to win the central league title and then do as well as we can as a team,” Jameison said.

Jameison’s star potential does not end at the high school level.

When it comes to looking at colleges, he considered many schools that had both strong academics and lacrosse programs, especially the Ivy League schools. Ultimately, Jameison committed to Duke University where he will be playing Division I for the Class of 2027.

“When I visited (Duke), I kind of just thought it was the perfect fit of everything: it has great academics as well as great athletics, and

when I was on campus, I kind of just felt like I was at home,” Jameison said.

Commanding the defense as a goalie, Jameison works to enforce the team’s structure.

He uses his role as a leader to help improve the team and his teammates. Sophomore and varsity lacrosse player Luke Montanye appreciates Jameison’s leadership.

“He’s been a really good friend to me. He gives me a lot of advice, a lot of insight. We talk a lot about defense schemes, what we can do to make the team better and everyone better as a whole.

When Jameison isn’t playing for ’Stoga, he plays club lacrosse for Brotherly Love.

Montanye has played Township League with Jameison since he was in middle school, and notes how much he has seen Jameison improve through the years. He is glad to see that Jameison has developed into one of the best goalies in the country.

Brody Bush, the team’s coach, is looking forward to competing and believes he has an extremely talented group of players this year.

“Our team goals are obviously to win games, leagues, districts and championships.

More importantly is how we do this within our culture, the grind of practice and playing, and how we need to improve each day,” Bush said. “The season is like a marathon, and we need to be our best at the end when we are tired and beat up from playing 20 plus games. I want to achieve a great culture that can handle any adversity thrown our way.”

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Securing the save: Junior Patrick Jameison bends his knees in anticipation of the shot from the opposing team. The boys played Gilman on Friday, March 31 and lost 7-6.

SPORTS

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Commitment Corner Page 10

New faces on the field Page 10

Lacrosse standouts Page 11

Wednesday April 6, 2022

Joel Embiid for MVP Page 11

Akshita Joshi/The SPOKE

Serving up: Juniors Seena Amin and Vivek Chelur play a doubles match as members of the varsity tennis team. The boys have trained together rigorously since last year. They will continue practicing, hoping to dominate the Central League and make a run for the state championship.

Rallying ‘round: boys tennis shows potential this season Akshita Joshi Staff Reporter

Along with the rest of spring sports, the boys’ tennis team kicked off its season setting goals, adding new talent and incorporating a different training regimen. Spirit and motivation run high on the team, creating anticipation for success in the 2022 season.

While last year the boys’ tennis team competed in the states tournament, they ultimately fell short with a loss to Lower Merion earning second place overall. However, this year, the team hopes to excel further than last year with incorporated differences this season.

Senior Drew Casparius has been playing for the team for four years and started his tennis journey 12 years ago. With his extensive experience playing tennis for Conestoga, Casparius notes the differences from previous years.

“A lot of training this year — different from last year — has been mental prep. We’ve done a lot of team building also to try to build that team spirit that can power you through tough matches and moments,” Casparius said.

Along with mental preparation, the team has focused heavily on improving their players’ physical strengths.

Senior Manas Dhawan, like Casparius, has also played on the team for four years.

Along with being one of

only five seniors on the team, he is ser ving as this year’s captain.

“This is my first season as captain where I have to handle some new responsibilities and it is important personally that I meet these demands of leadership. We are trying to confront injuries, particularly in our varsity line up,” Dhawan said. “Some of our spectacular players have had to deal with injuries that moved our lineup around and have caused a bit of volatility.”

The dynamic of the team has not only been shifted by training changes, but also by losses and additions of members on the team. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many members initially left the team and subse-

quently shifted to another sport the following year for the spring. Due to this, the team currently has a small number of seniors and a larger number of new members.

One of these new members is freshman Rohan Rao who is adding new talent to the team playing in the second spot for singles, a rank usually held by seniors.

Along with being an experienced player, a particular quality differentiates him from the other players.

“I’m excited to be part of the Conestoga varsity team as I can learn and help my peers.

One skill I can bring to the team is being a left handed player because it forces others to adjust to my game style which can be harder,” Rao said.

With effective players and strategy, the team is anticipated to do well and has departed on their journey in completing their goals of winning the state championships this year. Coach Britt Aimone recognizes the effort the players are putting into the team this year and has faith in how the rest of the season will continue.

“These boys put in the work physically (and) there’s no doubt about that. But we will be better prepared mentally this year. Mindset makes all the difference,” Aimone said. “I admire the respect and trust that this team has for one another — the ability to be authentic and vulnerable with one another. The brotherhood is inspiring, these boys are a family.”

Touchdown in Atlantis: Rugby program experiences success Brianna Fan and Juliana Yao Staff Reporters

New developments in boys rugby have the potential to elevate their performance: a new head coach, Chris Ryan, and the selection of four players for a youth national team called Atlantis Rugby.

Based in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, the Atlantis team plans to compete in various tournaments around the country, starting in Florida and culminating in the national finals in Utah.

Two of Atlantis’ players, sophomores Patrick Walker and Caius Michlitsch, are on the U16 team, ages 1416, and seniors Erik Elken and Ryan Cammarata are on the U18 team, ages 1618. Playing on an exclusive team required each player

to work hard to perform well at games.

“It (getting into Atlantis Rugby) was something I was working towards for a while, and I was obviously pretty excited. I love meeting people from all over the nation and being able to work together,” Cammarata said.

Atlantis Rugby selects players in several ways.

Cammarata highlighted his skills during the rugby camps in which he participated. Walker and Michlitsch tried out for the team and secured their sports upon winning the junior boys’ state championship last year.

“Conestoga rugby has given them a platform to perform on,” Ryan said.

“They have taken that platform and performed well enough to deserve and play at a higher level.”

Atlantis Rugby plays a style of rugby called rugby sevens (7s), which is shorter in duration than a normal rugby game. While a typical rugby team is composed of 15 players, 7s only allows seven players on the field.

This style of 7s has always been Ryan’s forte, with five 7s national championship wins and a coaching position for the Philadelphia Elite City 7s and Atlantis Mens 7s. With this experience, he became the head coach during last fall’s rugby season, and by training under his instruction, the players were able to develop their 7s skill set.

“I played under (Ryan) in the fall for 7s and he’s helped me become a much better player and understand how to develop into the high school league,” Michlitsch said.

Members of the Atlantis team come from all over the countr y, making communication and teamwork on the field crucial. For Walker and Michlitsch, they hope to carr y the bond that they created over the years at Conestoga rugby onto the Atlantis team.

“It (having Caius) just makes me feel more comfortable — especially that I have chemistry with someone else on the team — and I feel like that will just help me a lot,” Walker said.

The players believe that their pre-existing connections will promote team chemistry.

Their addition to the national team garners positive recognition and pride for the school’s club team in the future.

“They all deserve to get picked,” Ryan said. “It’s quite an honor for these guys and this team.”

Juliana Yao/The SPOKE

Teaching from experience: Coach Chris Ryan watches his team play at Teegarden park on March 17.

The team practiced drills and plays under Ryan’s guidance.