The Little Hawk

“UNBREAKABLE”

By Kaitlyn Brown

LITTLE HAWK THE

SERVING UP THE STYLE

A look at fashion at City, featuring Nora Cole ‘26, Yosephina Abwe and Eve

Theresa Okoubi Aventt ‘24

By Sadie Bodzin and Wisdom Konu

Walking through the hallways at City High, it’s clear that many students take pride in expressing themselves through the clothes they wear. Here are a few stylish students and a look into how they’ve crafted their style into what it is today...

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MUSIC FRESHMEN TO WATCH

By Esther Puderbaugh

Freshman Nate Malone ‘27 has been singing as long as he can remember...

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STAFF EDITORIAL

Book Bans Infringe Upon Students’ Rights

By Tai Caputo

In the November 7th Iowa elections, the citizens of Iowa City demonstrated their disapproval of the new book-banning regime by defeating three conservative board members who support book banning in a landslide...

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STUDENTS NAVIGATE ADMISSIONS AFTER AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

By Tai Caputo

As City High seniors complete the college admissions process this fall, they are the first to experience the effects of the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overrule race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The significance of this decision upon City High students and upon college admissions at large is being discussed and debated among students, teachers, and school administrators.

On June 29, the United States Supreme Court overruled affirmative action in college admissions in a case known as Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, on the basis that considering race as a factor in admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause. This would outlaw consideration of race in student applications after 40 years in which institutions of higher education were allowed to consider applicants’ race as a factor for admissions.

According to a statement by the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 1977, affirmative action is “any measure, beyond simple termination of a discriminatory practice, adopted to correct or compensate for past or present discrimination or to prevent discrimination from recurring in the future.”

The Supreme Court chose to single out race from a variety of other types of affirmative action, including economic status, generational status, and geographic location.

In the Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the ruling still allows admissions officers to consider students’ racial backgrounds...

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Hello Little Hawks!

Happy holiday season!

We are so excited for y’all to read this issue of The Little Hawk! This issue is jam-packed with awesome student journalism from the News section to the Opinion section. In News, affirmative action to new book banning laws are covered, in A&E four music freshmen to watch are featured, and in Culture we have a Taylor Takeover! Make sure to check out the Feature Mag too and take a look at the cute kittens and puppies.

We hope you all have an amazing and peaceful holiday season! Thank you all for your support of our publication. Grab a blanket and some hot cocoa while you read this issue. We hope that you’ll share a copy with a friend, family member, or neighbor and that you’ll recycle your copy when you’re done reading.

Sending holiday cheer and our favorite songs of this season to you!

City High introduces end-of-trimester finals

The new schedule outlines two days at the end of each trimester for cumulative finals for all classes

By Kate Meis

As midterms pass by and students begin to get ready for the end of the first trimester, a new part of this preparation is getting set for the new extended class periods dedicated to class finals on November 15th and 16th.

“Last year during the third trimester, administrators met with every single teacher and there was overwhelming feedback from teachers for a final schedule, a couple of days devoted to true testing with some longer periods, so we could do a true summative assessment of the trimester,” Vice-principal Phillip Hansen said.

Those involved in the planning for the new schedule worked with administrators at both West High School and Liberty High School about their own established finals schedules. In the past City High has had some form of finals, usually all subjects having different devoted days to give their final assessment.

“[Past finals] would keep you to the limited 50 minutes so allowing an hour and fifteen minutes, provides some more flexibility to do a true summative assessment,” Han-

STAFF

sen said.

Hansen emphasizes the new finals being accumulated content from the trimester, allowing students to show what they have learned and what they are capable of.

“[Teachers] should not be trying to catch you off guard with what’s on it. Finals are an opportunity for students to show what they have learned and that they have mastered the standards that the course has covered throughout the trimester,” Hansen said.

Finals are also a way to prepare students planning to reach higher education through colleges or universities.

And then I also think there’s a benefit at the high school level preparing many students for the next step terms with college or universities. We have a lot of students go on to higher education. I think there is an importance of the testing feel, preparing for a larger summative assessment that covers multiple months of material,” Hansen said.

By allotting two days for the testing, administration is ensuring all classes get the opportunity to have time for longer assessments.

“We want every course to have a summative assessment that allows students to show what they have learned. That is the best practice, that is something we feel strongly about. Are we going to reflect and ask for feedback? Absolutely. So second and third trimesters, it may look different, just small details. But ultimately, we do want to provide time for finals.”

Across courses, not every final assessment will look the same. It can be anything from a multiple-choice test to a group presentation.

“As a former math teacher, maybe that’s a free response and a multiple choice part covering the entire trimester’s worth of material, however, that may look different for an art class and your final may be a portfolio of one’s work really outlining everything they’ve done. In World Language maybe there’s an oral, spoken exam,” Hansen said.

The finals are up to the teachers and will look different based on the course and how instructors believe students can best show their understanding of content and standards thus far in the year.

“I think some of the concerns we’ve heard is ‘Okay there’s finals,

that’s going to be sit-down, like the SATS, everyone’s going to be pen and paper, We’re going to be filling in bubbles.’ I think we’re going to find that that’s not the case. It could be a paper project, speech, presentation, whatever,” Hansen said.

Though the assessments may be higher stakes with the large timespan of course material, the point of finals is not to add extra stress

to student’s already busy schedules. Students are encouraged to reach out to teachers or administrators if they are feeling overwhelmed.

“The purpose of the final is to show what you’ve done and prepare for many students going on to that next level, so if you find yourself in that boat of being stressed, talk to us. We have some things built in to help alleviate some of that,” Hansen said.

Sub shortage hits City High

By Logan Kelly and Dominic Roe

Going into the 2023-2024 school year, there has been an increase in sub shortages. This shortage has not only found its way to City High but all across the United States. According to the Monthly Labor Review, 20 percent of requests for substitutes are unfilled.

Principal John Bacon is proud of all the quality subs that we have at City and knows that it isn’t an easy job. He also understands that, as a large school district, it is difficult to sustain a large pool of subs.

“We’re a pretty large school district, so we have a need for a pretty large pool of substitute teachers. I think finding enough people to meet that need can sometimes present challenges,” John Bacon said.

One thing that could help with the shortage is making sure students treat the substitutes like they would treat any other teacher, maintaining a respectful environment is necessary in order to have a larger pool of subs.

“You know, I want them to say, ‘I’m choosing City High because I always have a great day there.’ So, in terms of what we can do, I think the way to do our part is to make sure that we treat our substitute teachers with high levels of respect and kindness, and make them feel appreciated because we want them to keep coming back to City High,” Bacon said.

When left without a teacher, there’s a substitute, but they seem to be missing too

Bacon faced many hardships in his time while subbing, but that never pushed him away from doing what he loved.

“My very first day, I just graduated college. I graduated college in December, at semester break for that second semester of that year, I did substitute teaching and I subbed in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. My first day ever was at Horace Mann Elementary. I got there [and] it was for PE class and the sub-plan consisted of one word: volleyball. That’s all it said. Like, what do I do? Volleyball. So we had to figure out exactly what that meant exactly. So I just think the point is a sub needs to be able to really be flexible and be creative, so not an easy job,” Bacon said.

Bacon’s hardships throughout the early years of subbing never discouraged him from pursuing teaching, having subbed, Principal Bacon understands the difficulties of the job. Currently at City High, Chris Jackson is a sub at City High.

“I think it can be a challenging job in a lot of ways. It requires a strong personality and it’s a highstress job that requires people who are able to manage their own stress well,” Jackson said.

Subbing can be hard because Substitutes are rarely familiar with who they are teaching which, can be stressful if they don’t know what to expect.

“I’ve been in 40 different schools in the last year. You don’t fall into a comfort zone because the faces in

the names change every day. And you have to have your guard up all the time,” Jackson said.

The difficulty of the sub shortage has affected students.

“One time I was in class, my teacher couldn’t find a sub, and we didn’t have a teacher for like 25 minutes. I went to the library and didn’t go to class. The sub shortage is basically influencing kids to not go to class because there are no teachers,” said Lily Cain ‘25.

As with any other job, the more money it pays, the more people will want to do the job. According to the Monthly Labor Review, close to six hundred thousand substitute teachers cover over 30 million teacher absences in K–12.

provide more instruction on how to be a sub.

“I think higher pay usually helps just about everything. You know, anything and everything. Right. And, and I don’t know if there’s another easy answer outside of that. I think most school districts and teachers worked and worked their butts off,” Jackson said Beyond paying subs more, some teachers believe the schools could

“I think we should do an advertisement or something out in the community like ‘Hey we need really good subs and we’re really trying to make it a fun job where you can help out the community and help out teachers.’ When I have to go to a conference or miss school for an illness it’s stressful knowing that I might not have a sub and other teachers might have to fill in,” Johnathon Rogers, City High Journalism teacher, said.

Mrs. Rivers is one of the regular subs to help fill in at City High. PHOTO BY LOGAN KELLY

Claire Hartwig ‘25 studies for her finals. PHOTO BY KATE MEIS

Going Green: Environmental Club

How

City High’s Environmentalism Club Hopes to Lower ICCSD’s Carbon Footprint

By Esmé Hutchinson-Reuss

It’s Monday morning, 30 minutes before the start of school. Light floods into the windows of the environmental science room, where Siena Brown,‘26, and Althea Downing-Sherer,‘24 are discussing how best to continue spreading the word about composting at City High.

“I think some people have some great ideas, I think everyone comes in with a different perspective, and they all come in with different ideas which is really great. They’ll say, like ‘Oh I think this could work’ and it’s been amazing to hear all those different points of view,” Brown said. This is her first year as Co-President of the Environmental Club, and she’s starting it off by bringing back the club’s focus on composting.

“The two presidents before were Nora and Matisse (‘23). [They] were really the ones who brought the compost movement to life, and they started the Earth Day celebration and brought a lot of things to the club, so my goal for this year is that I want to bring more things to the club like that,” said Brown.

Last year, Iowa City Community School District won the Green Ribbon Schools award for environmentally friendly school districts in the United States. Alongside her hopes to continue the work of the previous presidents, Brown’s main focus is on how to widen awareness about City High’s composting program. The compost bin from the lunchroom is taken out three times a week in bags made from recycled plastic. It then has to be searched for contaminants; non compostable things that have been thrown in the bin. After that, it ends its journey at the Johnson County Composting Center, where it is composted. She hopes that the student body at City High will begin to compost more and take into consideration the effects of their actions on the environment.

“Our generation is going to feel the brunt of the effects of climate change, and so it’s

really important to have a way to make a difference, and for kids to have a way to feel like they can help,” Brown said.

Alma Bhandary-Narayanan ‘26, who is currently in AP Environmental Science, thinks that composting at City High could make a profound impact.

“We generate a huge amount of trash every day at lunch and throughout the day, and trash in the landfill releases carbon as well as polluting the environment, so we would be reducing our footprint in multiple ways [by composting],” said Bhandary-Narayanan.

The environmental science class studies the way that factors interact with each other, including humans’ interactions with the planet. Bhandary-Narayanan believes composting will benefit the school greatly, but she does, however, have reasons to want an improved system.

“I think that leaving the lids [on the compost bins] open would streamline the process and remove the mental barrier to composting. I would compost if the lid was open, but I don’t, because I don’t have time to sort out my trash and open the lid before class, and I don’t want to get my hands dirty and just have them be dirty for the rest of the day,” said Bhandary-Narayanan.

Bhandary-Narayanan’s idea is that the easier composting is, the more people will do it. Brown and Downing-Sherer have come across a related need for student engagement in their endeavors to teach the student body about composting.

“A hard part of [running the composting program] has been to try to incentivize students to use and learn how to compost,” Brown said.

The club has recently settled on handing out cookies to people who compost at lunch to encourage participation, as well as holding advisory lessons on how to compost. They plan to continue promoting climate action at City High as the year goes on.

Senior photos & song instructions

What soon-to-be graduates should know about their photos, quotes, and senior songs

By Wisdom Konu

As the class of 2024 begins to close their high school chapter, the deadline to submit senior photos, songs, and quotes for this year’s yearbook draws near.

Earlier this year, The 2023-24 yearbook theme was announced: Hawkify. This theme utilizes Spotify album covers and playlists as inspiration for the designs.

“This year, because our yearbook theme is Hawkify, which is music and Spotify themed, we decided that having a senior song would tie really well with the theme,” Yearbook Assistant Editor, Molly Savage ‘25 said.

Traditionally, senior quotes are used as a way for people to remember who you are, leaving a final impression of some sort at the school. This year, seniors can choose to add a song instead of a quote.

“I believe it’s another way for students to express themselves and to leave something behind at school like the yearbook instead of a quote or words that others have said before, it’s creative as well as different,” said Ariel Johnson ‘24.

The deadline for submitting your senior photos is January 10, 2024, by 11:59 PM. If photos are not submitted, school-issued photos will be used.

The guidelines for yearbook senior photos photo are a vertical photo - colored photos only - with a full face view with only you in the photo and no creative filters or photographic treatments.

“We decided to do the songs because a lot of people find themselves and their identity in music so we think that having songs of senior quotes might be a little bit more fun and it’s more with the times,” Lili Moesnner ‘24 said.

Club grants are set in motion

By Yomi Hemley

After homecoming, Student Senate quickly shifted their gears towards club grants. With 16 clubs asking for money between $0-500, but only $3000 to give in total, tough decisions must be made.

“What we did this year and what we’ve been doing for the past few years is Mr. Tygrett will send out a Google Form to all the administrators of clubs. Then the administrator can fill out the Google Form requesting a certain amount of money. Each year, students and I will put a cap on how much they can request based on our budget. Then the administrator can request up to the cap off,” Margalit Frank ‘24 said.

As the treasurer of Student Senate, Frank is in charge of the budget, expenses, and profits of the student organization.

“My job was to meet with Mr. Tygrett, Rose, and Lulu, and look over the amount of money that we have in the Student Senate bank account. Look over all of the finances of the past couple of years and then plan out our future expenses for the year,” Frank said.

This year, Student Senate only gave out $3000 for clubs which is on the lower side. However, Student Senate plans on doing a second round of club grants in the spring, keeping the total cost at $6000.

“[We look at things like] how much it costs to rent The Graduate for prom, how much food costs for prom, how much the senior picnic is going to cost? And take those out and see what we have left,” Frank said. “That also gives us a good cushion if anything were to go wrong or if we weren’t going to

POLICIES

Student

profit from something. We figure out what would be the best way we can give out the most money without being too risky financially.”

Student senate decides on which clubs will get money and how much each club will get by reading out the clubs request, seeing what they will use it for, discussing, and then voting.

“The process is probably the biggest debate that we get into throughout the whole year,” Frank said. “We read each request and what they’re going to use the money for. Then people in Student Senate can vote. We go back and rank which ones we feel are more important, will be the most impactful, and help the most students.”

Despite this way of distributing club grants being effective, it isn’t without its flaws and problems.

“There’s definitely bias involved [in voting]. This is how we’ve been doing it for a really long time, so I don’t know what it might look like to change that up. I don’t think it’s

totally fair. When there’s overlap of some kids that are in these clubs and then voting to give themselves money,” Frank said.

This process has been used for a long time over the many years of Student Senate, so a sudden switch would be hard. While some students may find this process unfair, others find it understandable.

“Given the resources that Student Senate has, I think that’s fair. Basing it on how important it is and what it would do for the club. With their limited funds, I think that’s a fair way of doing it,” Kaden Huntley ‘25 said.

Huntley is the founder of the astronomy club. Small clubs like the astronomy club greatly benefit from the club grants that Student Senate gives out.

“We’re trying to save up and buy a high-tech telescope. Currently one of our members owns [a telescope] but it takes about 90% of the time looking through the telescope just fiddling around with

the settings locking on a planet or a moon. If we got an electronic one, we could do that in 10 seconds,” Huntley said.

Club members, sponsors, and leaders take advantage of the opportunity to get money from Student Senate to help grow and strengthen their club.

“I’d definitely say [that club grants are important]. Especially because we’re a pretty small club. We only have five or so members. For small clubs, [club grants] are really important because last year, we needed to fund some small things for our project that year, and we couldn’t have done it without the club grants that Student Senate gives,” Huntley said.

The way that club grants help clubs is different depending on the club. Each club spends its money differently, but the money is always appreciated.

“The Student Senate grants are very helpful because they give a few $100 which really allows us to

buy smaller things when we need them and not have to worry about spending a few months getting money for smaller things. In terms of bigger things, it’s not normally enough money, but it’s very helpful to always have backup money,” Huntley said.

Frank, Mr. Tygrett, and the school’s co-presidents did the calculations and saw that they were able to give each of the 16 clubs between $75-100 to evenly split the money between each club. Nonetheless, they decided that wasn’t the best way to spend their money. Instead, they decided to give more money to the clubs that truly needed more money.

“I always feel bad because we’re not always giving [clubs] money. I think last year we had a really good experience with club grants even though we were really low on money. Last year, our cap was at $300. At the beginning of the year, we didn’t have any money to give out so last year Student Senate started the first annual Winter Carnival, which is purely just to raise money to give to clubs. So we’re doing that again this year so that we can hopefully do a second round of club grants and fulfill more requests that we weren’t able to fill the first time around,” Frank said.

To make the process of giving out club grants more fair, student and club member participation is needed.

“Sometimes [students in clubs] have their friends come to Student Senate to vote, even if they don’t come to Student Senate that often. But it’s not accessible to every person to be able to come to those morning meetings, but Student Senate is open to everybody,” Frank said.

ICCSD releases list of banned books from schools

By Sadie Bodzin

This October, the Iowa City Community School District released a list of 68 books set to be removed from local libraries under new Iowa law. The bill, titled Senate File 496, bans books with depictions of sexual acts from school libraries as well as prohibits teaching on gender and sexuality until seventh grade, in addition to other legislation.

S.F. 496 has become quite con-

troversial, especially among students in the ICCSD who feel that the bill has negative effects on their learning environment.

“Part of these book bans is just taking away any sources of education and representation for marginalized students,” Reyna Roach ‘24 said. “Especially queer students and racially marginalized students.”

This legislature comes after the disputed House File 802 which prohibits teaching about systemic racism in Iowa schools, among

other things.

“It negatively impacts both teachers and students because our ability to really read is being damaged,” Lulu Roarick ‘24 said about books being removed from libraries.

The list of banned books includes titles like The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky.

“Our commitment remains steadfast in complying with these new requirements while also maintaining our dedication to supporting our students and fostering safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments within our schools for all students,” Superintendent Matt Degner said in an email to families about the book bans.

More recently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa, announced that they are suing to block S.F. 496. They claim

that the bill discriminates against LGBTQ students and violates their Constitutional rights.

“Removing books that discuss queer topics or people from our schools tells our queer students that they do not belong there, that their existence is shameful,” Puck Carlson ‘24 said in their client statement. “I am not shameful.”

The lawsuit is summoned on behalf of a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ youth called Iowa Safe Schools.

“Removing these books not only makes queer people less visible,” Carlson said in their client statement. “But it also stops students from discovering and being true to themselves.”

In addition to the list of banned books, the ICCSD has extended the same type of review that is used for books in the library to books used during independent reading time and for class assignments. Books used for independent read-

ing must be off of a pre-approved list or have to have been cleared by a teacher, lamenting that the book doesn’t have content that conflicts with the law.

“For a lot of students, this independent reading or this assignment is the only time that they’re reading,” Roach said. “So if you’re blocking especially queer students from reading books about themselves during the only time they have set aside for that, it’s completely limiting to the representation they have access to.”

The list of banned books will not be finalized and put into effect until January 1, 2024. After that date, teachers and administrators will be able to be penalized for violating the bill’s legislation.

“It is important to show that students are thinking about [the bill] and that students do care,” Roarick said. “It’s best shown when you have bodies going up and speaking and writing these things.”

Over 50 books were banned as a result of Senate File 496 PHOTO BY SADIE BODZIN

GRAPHIC BY ROSANGEL FLORES-RUBIO

STUDENT

FALL FOCUS

A look into first trimester at City High

By Kate Meis

The end of Trimester 1 at City High marks the end of fall and the beginning of winter for students and Little Hawks have found success in their fall extracurriculars from sports to drama.

City High’s student-led paper

The Little Hawk attended the Iowa High School Press Association State Conference in October. At the conference, the team took home the All-Iowa News Team of the Year award, given to 5 of Iowa’s best news teams for their stories and photos from the previous year. Additionally, The Little Hawk’s yearbook team won many awards for first and second place in the design category.

City High Drama’s production

of Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin went on through early November in Opstad. The play tells the story of Emi Edwards, a geek turned Shogun in her journey to overthrow the school’s hierarchy. Yomi Hemley ‘25 played Emi, calling the experience of the show “Super fun, I felt close to all of the cast and it was great hanging out with all the cast”.

On election day as students had the day off of school, those over 18 were voting in the local election.

Part of that election was voting on members for the school board. Lily Rantanen, reporter for The Little Hawk, interviewed candidates for the board; linked in the QR code beside this story. The winners of the election were Mitch Lingo, Molly, Abraham,

Charlie Eastham, and Lisa Williams, all featured in the linked story.

Down in the basement City High’s art students had their first of three art shows this year. The show featured ceramics, glass, paint, and all the mediums in between as a final showcase of student’s hard work throughout the trimester. Read more about the show, artists, and works on A10. With the start of Trimester Two comes new classes and winter break to look forward to for students. Winter also means winter sports including wrestling, basketball, boys swimming, and bowling. Other extracurriculars include Charisma and 4th Ave show choir in the music department, Model United Nations, and Mock Trial.

Yomi Hemley ‘25 Brody Clarke ‘25 PHOTO BY LILI MOESSNER

Elenor Decker as Mary in City High Drama’s fall play.

PHOTO BY LILI MOESNNER

Journalists from The Little Hawk pose with their award for All Iowa News

Team of the Year

PHOTO BY JONATHAN ROGERS

SCAN TO READ MORE

Student art featured on the walls of the art room

PHOTO BY MEGAN SWARTZENDRUBER

Artists use many mediums to create unique art pieces PHOTO BY MEGAN SWARTZENDRUBER

Marching band and show choir to count as P.E. credit

By Estelle Hartz

Show choir and marching band now count towards P.E. credit at City High in light of many music directors across Iowa advocating for this change for a long time.

“This change specifically came from the state legislature, and was a part of a bill that was passed,” Tyler Hagy, a City High Choir Director, said.

Sports have historically counted as a way that students can get P.E. waivers, a way for students to be exempted from having to complete P.E. requirements. However, there are many extra curricular activities, such as marching band and

Day in the

show choir that have not counted as P.E. credit up until recently.

“I don’t think people realize how physical marching band is. During the first trimester we practice everyday like a sport would. It’s also just a fun way to exercise and build teamwork,” said Poi Borchardt ‘26.

“If nothing else, it’s important to acknowledge the physical work it takes to pull off a marching band show or show choir performance. It doesn’t seem like that to the audience but [these activities] require a lot of physical work to do them well,” Aaron Ottmar, a City Band Director, said. “We try to do high level shows in both of those areas and that does require a lot of physical work and effort to make that happen.”

Rules regarding P.E. credits have been applied differently

from district to district throughout the state of Iowa over the years.

“This law, in a way, was to help standardize [the different requirements] and allow students to substitute activities which can usually involve some significant physical activity, such as marching band and show choir in for taking the actual P.E. class,” Hagy said.

Teachers and music directors across the state have been pushing for this change for years with the Iowa Legislature officially instituting regulations this past legislative session.

“I think It’s nice that the state of Iowa and our school district is recognizing this too, and allowing for students to get P.E. credit and waivers,” Ottmar said.

life of a City High drum major

Follow along with Drum Major Janie Owens ‘25 as she prepares for performance at the homecoming football game

Zach Falk ‘25 marches at the City vs West game. PHOTO BY MOLLY SAVAGE

Janie

MUSIC FRESHMEN Nate Malone

FBy Esther Puderbaugh

reshman Nate Malone ‘27 has been singing as long as he can remember. “I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember,” Malone said. “The first memory I have was singing.”

Since coming to City this fall, Malone has taken part in Little Hawk Singers and was selected for Opus Honor Choir. Malone is also a member of City’s Varsity show choir, 4th Avenue Jazz Company.

“[My biggest accomplishment musically is] probably this Opus Honor Choir that I’m in. It’s super cool,” Malone said. “It’s that or it’s 4th Ave. I mean [4th Ave] is a totally new experience for me and it’s awesome.”

According to Malone, joining 4th Ave wasn’t what he expected.

[It’s] super surprising. I was in the show choir down at South East and they tell you [that] once you get up to 4th Ave everybody is like a family to you. They say that about every group that you’re in, but it really is [like that with 4th Ave],” Malone commented. “The relationship between freshman and seniors [has] no real barrier. You’re just all there and you’re all doing something that you really really really like doing.”

Malone hopes that his involvement with music will extend past his high school years.

“I would love for my focus in college to be towards music,” Malone said. “[Going to a school like] Luther (College), or one of those types of schools [would be awesome]. If I could do something with music, that would be amazing. That would be where I’m shooting for.”

Malone’s favorite part of music is performing it, and it is something he hopes to pursue in college.

“The performance aspect of singing has always been my favorite part about [music],” Malone said. “I love performing - it’s a super cool feeling. Just showing people what you’ve done and what you work so hard to do [is so cool]. I love when you get a new set of music, and instantly you find a rhythm with the people that you’re singing with. It’s an awesome feeling.”

Until graduation, Malone hopes that the rest of his high school years will be full of music.

“It’s so crazy to think [ahead] three years. I just [hope to be] more involved in choir, and involved in music or the arts that the school offers here.”

Willow Schultz

By Esther Puderbaugh

Willow Schultz ‘27 has played piano, percussion, flute, guitar, and violin. Currently, Schultz plays percussion in band and plays piano in City’s premier jazz band, Jazz Ensemble.

“This year I played piano and I got into the top jazz band for that so that was exciting,” Schultz said. “I’m hoping to do more with [piano] too. I’ve really found interest in it. I feel like I could have potential in that.”

Being in high level ensembles with upperclassmen can be a scary thing. But Schultz has found it to be a more friendly en- vironment than she anticipated.

“[I] was really nervous because I knew I was going to be the only freshman [in Jazz Ensemble],” Schultz said. “But it’s actually been really good and all of the people are really nice and fun to be around.”

“All of the people are really nice and fun to be around”

Schultz has many goals for her career at City.

Willow Schultz

“My goal this year probably is to do SEIBA Jazz,” Schultz said. “I’d like to hopefully be consistent and get into the top jazz band each year.”

Looking ahead, Schultz has high hopes for her improvement.

“I really like jazz and I really like playing piano. Hopefully [I get] better and [have] more opportunities,” Schultz said.

PHOTOS BY ESTHER PUDERBAUGH

TO WATCH

Lucas Iverson

By Esther Puderbaugh

After playing the violin for over a decade and taking up flute along the way, Lucas Iverson ‘27 is making waves in City’s musical ensembles.

“During COVID I really started to [do] a little more fun music on the violin and started the flute,” Iverson said. “I really started to enjoy the violin. I think it was [a] very pivotal moment when I finally was thankful that my mom made me start the violin. And, [I was] really excited to play and work hard at it.”

Iverson, concertmaster of Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of Concert Band, and a first year All-Stater, has enjoyed the journey that challenging himself through music has led him on.

“One of my main goals was going to All-State for violin and I really did not care that much about the outcome,” Iverson said. “I really cared about the journey and getting there and all the stuff that I would be taught with challenging music.”

At first, being in Philharmonic Orchestra with upperclassmen was an adjustment for Iverson because he didn’t know the other students and director very well. However, things got easier as he got to know the other members of the orchestra better.

“The first month of orchestra was kind of difficult,” Iverson said. “But then I started getting to know my section better and started to be more familiar with people in orchestra.”

Iverson has big goals for the future.

“I would love to be a four year All-Stater. I want to keep working on that every year,” Iverson said. “I would also love to do SEIBA on the flute at some point. I really just want to be doing the best that I can. I want to be in leadership [roles in] my section.”

Naomi

Downing-Sherer

By Esther Puderbaugh

Growing up with parents who always required her to be learning at least one instrument, it’s no surprise that Wind Ensemble member Naomi Downing-Sherer will be a force to be reckoned with with her trumpet.

“My mom was always really into band and her whole family played an instrument. All my uncles played trumpet as well so I was like maybe I should try out trumpet. I started playing around on it a little bit [and] I was like, this was pretty fun,” Downing-Sherer said.

Downing-Sherer has enjoyed her time at City since coming in the fall.

“[Music is] definitely like a whole nother level compared to what it was like at South East and just like the people care more about band here at City High than they did at South East I think which is exciting,” said Downing-Sherer.

Downing-Sherer’s favorite band memory so far was marching with the City High Marching Band in the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade.

“The homecoming parade that we did downtown was really, really fun,” Downing-Sherer said. “The weather was super nice and the bus ride was super fun. And then getting to march surrounded by my friends was really fun. And just seeing people that I knew well, while I was walking in the parade was fun, too.”

Making All-State as a freshman is a big deal for Downing-Sherer.

“I wasn’t really expecting to [make it in] as a freshman because everyone was telling me like freshmen don’t usually get in so I wasn’t expecting to,” Downing-Sherer said. “I was pretty surprised but I was really happy that I got in.”

Downing-Sherer’s motivation and discipline have gotten her far this year and she hopes that they will continue to take her far throughout her high school career.

“I just want to continue to improve. By the end of my high school career, I just want to keep improving and getting better with playing trumpet,” Downing-Sherer said. “I don’t ever want to find myself staying the same or good. I always want to be striving to get better.”

The Little Hawk

Little Hawk Journalism Staff

Executive Editors

Rosangel Flores Rubio

Wisdom Konu Esther Puderbaugh

News Editor Kate Meis

Sports Editors

Ahmed Basheir

Kaitlyn Brown

Jack Rogers

Opinion Editors

Tai Caputo

Isabella Young

A&E Editor Esther Puderbaugh

Culture Editors Wisdom Konu

Sadie Bodzin

Broadcast Editor Grace Kirschling

Feature Editors

Hattie Conover

Yomi Hemley

Yearbook Editors

Lili Moessner

Megan Swartzendruber

Assitant Design Editor Greta Hayek

Assistant Editors

Amelie Donovan, Claire Hartwig, Estelle Hartz, Molly Savage

Staff

Bobby Bacon, Josh B-G, Kaitlyn Brown, Helena Echa, Summer Eland, Zsigmond Ford, Lily Rantanen, Catalina Armstrong, Ramatou Diallo, Gabe Egeland, Samuel Keuter, Diego Loria-Evans, Rito Perez

Adviser

Jonathan Rogers

Mission Statement

The Little Hawk, student journalism newspaper and website of City High School, aims to inform, educate and entertain readers. LH journalists follow the code of the journalist by seeking truth, doing no harm, being independent, and working toward balance in all news stories.

All student voices are enouraged to be part of a LH journalism class. To join the class, talk to your guidance counselor today.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to: LittleHawkPage@gmail.com

ICCSD Equity Statement

It is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in its educationall programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you (or your child) have been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the

Equity Director at:

509 S. Dubuque Street (319) 688-1000

WHAT MORE WILL IT TAKE?

Iowa School Shootings Continue to Threaten Students’ Safety

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES-RUBIO

On May 17th, 1984, a 17-year-old entered Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, carrying a handgun. What ensued was so horrifying that it is almost unimaginable. Violence. Blood. Death.

Nearly half a century later, in the year 2024, nothing has changed. According to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, there has been a total of 2069 school shootings since 1970 in the United States alone. That is about 38 school shootings every single year. The U.S. leads the world with the highest number of school shootings by a large margin.

In 2021, Iowa lawmakers made the process of obtaining a gun easier by removing the permit requirement. Acquiring a permit used to require firearm safety training and extensive background checks. But now, anyone who is at least 21 years of age who legally owns a firearm may open carry (the practice of carrying a fully or partially visible firearm) their firearm in public without a permit or license. Not only is it easier to own a gun nowadays, it is easier to endanger innocents.

In addition to this, House File 654 states that “A person may carry, transport, or possess a dangerous weapon in a privately owned motor vehicle on the real property comprising a publicly accessible, nonsecure parking lot that is oper-

ated by the state or a county, city, or township in the state if the carrying, transportation, or possession of the dangerous weapon is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state and if the dangerous weapon remains out of sight and inside a locked vehicle on the real property when the vehicle is unoccupied.”

other conservative politicians have been criticized for their lax gun law policies. The Governor’s actions (or lack thereof) following the shooting at Perry showed that she had nothing to say.

STAFF EDITORIAL LEAD WRITERS

In an age of rampant school shootings, the idea that anyone can legally bring a gun onto school property is unconscionable. The tangible consequences of this lack of accountability do not fail to show themselves, over and over again.

Tai Caputo

Isabella Young

On January 4th, 2023, a 17-year-old entered Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, carrying both a handgun and a shotgun. Seven people were injured, and two died. Ahmir Jolliff, a 6th grader, who died as a result of being shot three times, and Perry High School’s principal, Dan Marburger, who died January 14th as a result of his injuries. The shooter, Perry High School student Dylan Butler, shot himself after his rampage.

Govenor Kim Reynolds and

“Our thoughts, hearts and prayers continue to go out to the Perry community,” Reynolds said.

“This was a horrible tragedy. . . No additional gun laws would have prevented what happened. There’s just evil out there.”

In this statement, Reynolds abdicated all of the responsibility to prevent school shootings that she and other lawmakers possess. Shootings don’t happen as a result of “just evil”; the decision to commit murder is the result of complex factors, but the access to a gun that enables shootings is under the express purview of Reynolds.

Although politicans may pretend otherwise, the solution to gun violence is not to make gun access easier (or, God forbid, increase the number of firearms in a school by installing a security team or arming teachers), but simply to limit access to guns in the first place. While the sentiment that “Guns

don’t kill people, people do,” rings true, it is also a fact that none of these school shootings would’ve happened without access to guns.

Political polarization has led lawmakers to disregard various solutions to gun violence. The fight against gun violence should transcend party lines. After all, its consequences do. Children, teachers, and staff die regardless of their political views.

California is the leading state in gun control, and thus has many fewer gun violence-related deaths than Iowa does. With a composite score of 89.5 for gun law strength, they only have on average, 8.7 deaths per 100,000 residents. Iowa has a weak composite score of 15.5 for gun law strength, and on average, 11.3 deaths per 100,000 residents. Of the many gun control laws that California has, they do require a background check for those looking to purchase a gun, which greatly reduces potential harm that any buyer could do with a gun by making sure that they are stable enough to own one.

We call on lawmakers in Iowa and the U.S. to step up to their responsibilities and initiate stricter gun laws. We call on the citizens of Iowa to do their duty and vote for politicians who will actually protect the people they represent, and who will use the millions of dollars that have been granted to actually make schools safer. Until then, our lives are on the line.

The Little Hawk

Little Hawk Journalism Staff

Executive Editors

Rosangel Flores Rubio

Wisdom Konu

Esther Puderbaugh

News Editor Kate Meis

Sports Editors

Ahmed Basheir

Kaitlyn Brown

Jack Rogers

Opinion Editors Tai Caputo

Isabella Young

A&E Editor Esther Puderbaugh

Culture Editors Wisdom Konu

Sadie Bodzin

Broadcast Editor Grace Kirschling

Feature Editors

Hattie Conover

Yomi Hemley

Yearbook Editors

Lili Moessner

Megan Swartzendruber

Assitant Design Editor

Greta Hayek

Assistant Editors

Amelie Donovan, Claire Hartwig, Estelle Hartz, Molly Savage

Staff

Bobby Bacon, Josh B-G, Kaitlyn Brown, Helena Echa, Summer Eland, Zsigmond Ford, Lily Rantanen, Catalina Armstrong, Ramatou Diallo, Gabe Egeland, Samuel Keuter, Diego Loria-Evans, Rito Perez

Adviser

Jonathan Rogers

Mission Statement

The Little Hawk, student journalism newspaper and website of City High School, aims to inform, educate and entertain readers. LH journalists follow the code of the journalist by seeking truth, doing no harm, being independent, and working toward balance in all news stories.

All student voices are enouraged to be part of a LH journalism class. To join the class, talk to your guidance counselor today.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to: LittleHawkPage@gmail.com

ICCSD Equity Statement

It is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in its educationall programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you (or your child) have been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the

Equity Director at:

509 S. Dubuque Street (319) 688-1000

BOOK BANS INFRINGE UPON STUDENTS’ RIGHTS

In the November 7th Iowa elections, the citizens of Iowa City demonstrated their disapproval of the new book-banning regime by defeating three conservative board members who support book banning in a landslide victory for intellectual freedom.

Despite this win, the Iowa City School District is still subject to Senate File 496, a law that was passed by the Iowa Legislature in May, 2023. This new law requires all public school districts in Iowa to remove books that “depict or describe sex acts.” Last month, the Iowa City Community School District published a list of books they are now required to remove from their libraries in order to clarify the effects of the new law to administrators, librarians, and teachers.

Senate File 496 constitutes the first-ever statewide book banning law in Iowa. Critics may argue that these books are not “banned,” but merely limited in access. However, according to Britannica, book banning is “the practice of prohibiting or restricting the reading of certain books by the general public or by members of a local community or religious group.” Access to these books has been restricted; therefore, according to this definition, they are banned.

STAFF EDITORIAL LEAD WRITER

Tai Caputo

Should the new law be abolished?

YES: 12 NO: 0

On November 28th, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Iowa Legislature and demanded that Senate File 496 be suspended immediately, because in addition to requiring the removal of books containing “sex acts,” Senate File 496 contains anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and requires staff to report students who use different pronouns or nicknames in accordance with their gender identity. The ACLU represented eight students and their families from the State of Iowa. The lawsuit is currently going through the legal system as of the publication of this article. One student involved in the case is City High student Puck Carlson ‘24, who identifies as nonbinary.

Puck Carlson said in a statement that removing books is detrimental to queer students.

“Removing books that discuss queer topics or people from our schools tells our queer students that they do not belong there, that their existence is shameful,” Carlson said in a statement. “I am not shameful.”

On November 30th, the publishing company Penguin Random House and several best-selling authors filed an additional lawsuit against the State of Iowa for its book-banning provision on the grounds that it violates the 1st and 14th Amendments.

student reading as the Iowa Legislature could hope to do. But things have only gotten worse from there. On November 14, District leaders emailed all secondary English teachers to inform them that students could no longer read any independent reading books for an English class that do not already belong to the school library. According to teacher estimates, about a third to half of all students typi cally bring books from the public library or from home.

this new rule is to drastically cut the number of books that high school students are allowed to read for school. The City High School Library has many fewer books and is much more limited in scope than the Iowa City Public Library. While the ICCSD’s list of 68 banned titles is clear-cut and obvious, this new rule is much more insidious and much more harmful, amounting to the de facto removal of thousands of books from what can be read for independent reading in English classes. While the City High Library is carefully curated to cater to teenagers’ interests, it is relatively limited, and does not have access to a budget that would allow it to include everything a high school student might want or need to read. Furthermore, this new rule goes against the intention of Senate File 496 by infringing on the rights of parents to provide independent reading books to their children and to have a say in what they read at school. This restriction affects families from across the political spectrum. Neither liberal parents nor conservative parents will be able to choose which books their students read. The Color Purple, a book that reflects typically liberal ideologies, is on the banned list, while Hinds Feet on High Places, which reflects typically conservative ideologies, is not in the City High Library.

As a result of the Senate File 496 and the District’s new rule, a small number of adults are being allowed to diminish and control entire families and communities, as well as the reading materials of 156,336 public high school students in Iowa. These book bans are detrimental to the education of City High students, reducing their allowed reading materials to a fraction of what they were previously able to have access to. It also undermines the rights of parents by not allowing them to have input into the reading of their teenagers.

Perhaps most significantly, the law also takes away the agency of high school students, treating teenagers as if they were small children, and restricting their access to great works of literature that the libraries cannot afford. Students are also no longer able to participate alongside teachers, librarians, parents, and citizens on book review committees, erasing our opinions and perspectives even when we are the ones this law is impacting.

We high school students should not have our education undermined for political reasons by the adultist Iowa Legislation. We should be treated as individuals capable of making decisions for ourselves.

We support the ACLU’s demand that Senate File 496 be suspended immediately. The book-banning laws are unfairly destructive to education at City High School and infringe on students’ rights to choose what they

We support Puck Carlson’s reflection on the importance of reading in their life

derstand the world around me,” Carlson stated. “Every student should have the right to do the same: to be able to learn about people, cultures and perspectives and to be able to learn about all of the world around them —

LATINO FIRST

The common misconception that Latino and Hispanic are synonymous

By Rosangel Flores-Rubio

Across the table sits my grandpa; his skin is brown and his hair peppered. Next to me, my cousin; her tight dark curls are tied back into a ponytail and her eyes are green. A few chairs away my youngest cousin; his skin is pale and his hair is a blonde turning brown.

In Latin America, we’re all Latinos. In Latin America, the word Hispanic is redundant. But in the U.S., Latino and Hispanic have different meanings. In Latin America, Hispano means nothing more than Spanish-speaking. However, in the U.S. it’s classified as an ethnicity and often labeled as a race.

But Hispanic should never be considered an ethnicity, much less a race.

National Geographic defines race as linked with someone’s physical characteristics (like skin color, hair texture, etc.), while ethnicity refers to someone’s cultural identity. This means shared geographic region, history, and norms.

The term Hispanic comes from the word Hispanicus: the Latin word for Spanish. Up until the late 20th century, Hispanic was mostly used to refer to Spaniards, or things relating to Ancient Spain. This changed when in 1970, the U.S. Census asked people if they identified as “persons of Spanish origin” in an attempt to identify and collect data on Latino communities. It wasn’t until 1980 that the Census reworded the question and asked people if they identified as “of Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent.”

Hispanic would not be as popular today if the U.S. Census hadn’t popularized it. At its roots, the word Hispanic is a word with heavy colonial ties.

In reality, when the word Hispanic is used in the USA it can only tell you someone links their ethnic identity to a Spanish-speaking country. This not only excludes Latin American countries whose official language isn’t Spanish, like Brazil, but it also includes Spain.

What does a Spaniard have in common with someone who identifies as Ch’orti’ from Guatemala?

This is also the reason why so many are against calling Latino Heritage Month “Hispanic Heritage Month.” Latino Heritage Month starts on September 15th, which is the independence day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The month not only celebrates the contributions and achievements that Latinos have made, but it also celebrates Latin American independence. It’s contradictory to include Spain on a month celebrating independence from Spain.

The word Hispanic is too broad to be grouped into a single ethnic category; however, it is also very limited when we account for what people associate with it. When you search “Hispanic” on websites like Google, the stereotypical Brown, dark-haired Latino comes up.

However, that is a very narrow representation of Latino and Hispanic people.

Latino is an ethnicity, but it is not a race. A Latino is someone of Latin American descent or origin. Latin America is incredibly diverse, not all Latinos are racial minorities. There are indigenous, mestizo, Asian, Black, and White Latinos.

The use of the word Hispanic when describing ethnicity leads to a misconception of a one-size-fits-all mentality when people think about Latinos, which can be incredibly harmful when we consider how different the experiences of POC and White Latinos are.

It’s important to be aware and really understand what we’re saying when we say Hispanic before Latino, especially when we keep in mind that Hispanic is only popular in the U.S. For many, calling themselves Latino is a way to reclaim heritage. I will always identify myself as Latina before Hispanic.

NEW FINALS SYSTEM: PROS AND CONS

How well is this new system working?

By Isabella Young

PROS CONS

The new finals system provides a scheduled opportunity for students to review their course materials. Students will be able to go over and process things they might not have gotten the first time, bolstering their learning experience. This can also lead students to practice helpful reviewing strategies that will help them in their daily school life. Students have even created study groups, fostering more bonds and strengthening the learning between them.

Structure is also important to a student’s life. Every trimester, students will know just what to expect, when to expect it, and what’s going to be on the final. This helps students worry less, along with the allotted time for test taking being longer. It went from 50 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes, so students have more time to focus and complete their work.

The first time doing anything is bound to be hard and stressful. However, as students get more used to having finals, they will come to expect and deal with it. Many high school students will have to deal with finals in college, so this experience can adequately prepare them. City High also has many resources students can use if they need help, such as the NESTT, or their guidance counselor.

This summative assessment can even give teachers a chance to reflect. The scores on the finals can be used to check how well students are grasping the material. As such, teachers can use the tests to adjust accordingly.

While this system is designed to help students feel less stressed, it may be doing the opposite. 87.5% of students who took a survey about their feelings about finals reported that they felt more stressed due to it. Another weight has been thrown on students lives as they try to balance classes with their free time and extracurriculars. The fear of failure and impending stress leaves students mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Students may even become more physically exhausted, as well. As students try to cram before the exam, they may fall victim to irregular sleep patterns. Late-night study sessions can impact their physical health by depleting their energy and compromosing their well-being. Less sleep effects your test taking abilities as well, impairing your ability to pay attention.

It also comes to a matter of preference. 85.1% of students who took the same survey showed that they preferred the old way of doing things. Humans are creatures of habit, so it’s no surprise that this change comes unwelcome to students.

Final exams are a common source of academic stress, and with constant stress before an exam, students are more likely to fail. Constant worry makes it difficult to concentrate and answer questions correctly. After the exam, these feelings of worry can turn into self-doubt and impede on the overall academic performance of a student.

NCAA REFS SHOULD GET PENALIZED

By Ahmed Basheir

Over the past couple of weekends in college football, there have been calls by the officials that were honestly mind-boggling. The worst is happening in Iowa City, but I will get to that in a minute. It is time that refs be held accountable!

In the Pitt vs Wake Forest game, Pitt’s quarterback Christian Veilleux was clearly able to get past the first down marker using his feet; but because he started his slide a half yard before the first down marker, he was ruled down. What was a threatening spot where Pitt could have scored, Pitt had to punt the ball and eventually lost by way of a game winning-touchdown to Wake Forest. It also didn’t help Pitt fans that a couple of hours later, the Florida State quarterback, Jordan Travis, clearly started his slide about two yards before the first down marker, but they ended up giving him the first down. On the same day, late in the fourth quarter of the Arizona State game, the Sun Devils went on to lose due to a questionable pass interference call.

While all three of those calls were definitely poor, the worst call by far happened right here, in Iowa City. Going into the Iowa vs Minnesota game, Iowa was ranked 24th in the country holding a record of 6-1. With five very winnable games, the Hawkeyes were projected to finish the year off 11-1, winning the Big Ten West, which would have sent them to the Big Ten Championship, and would have definitely set them up for a chance in the College Football playoffs.

As the Hawkeyes were down 12-10, with just over a minute to go in the game, they would get one more chance to win. When the Hawkeyes needed a big play, Cooper DeJean delivered on a punt return with the most electric play of his entire

career, taking the ball back for a touchdown, which for the moment seemed like Iowa was going to win the game. The referees ended up going back to review if he had stepped out of bounds on the return, but came to the conclusion that Cooper had an invalid fair catch.

“Apparently the fair catch was so unbelievably obvious that the refs on the field didn’t point it out, and the replay crew in the studio decided to point it out,” Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said when asked about the call after the game

While there are definitely plays that need to be reviewed, play reviews have gotten way out of hand. If it wasn’t clear to the ref, who was standing a few feet away, that the flagged play was illegal, then it’s too nitpicky, and the play doesn’t need to be challenged.

I don’t know what side of the table fans fall on, but I think that it is ridiculous how inconsistent the calls on the field are, especially in crucial moments that could define a team’s whole season. And at some point, could it be justified that refs who unfairly flag these plays should be held accountable and receive some sort of fine or punishment? What should happen is that the NCAA should develop a system similar to the NBA, which would allow every single ref to get scored. This score would result in the importance of a game that the ref would be able to be a part of. For example a ref with a bad average grade shouldn’t have any business being a ref in a big game with stakes for the rest of the season.

Art by Isabella Young

SERVING UP

A look at fashion at City, featuring Q&A’s with Nora Cole ‘26,

Eve Okoubi and Yosephina Abwe ‘24

By Wisdom Konu

Walking through the hallways at City High, it’s clear that many students take pride in expressing themselves through the clothes they wear. Here are a few stylish students and a look into how they’ve crafted their style into what it is today.

What specific style do you personally enjoy the most?

Yosephina: One of the styles that I enjoy the most is the Y2K style because of the amount of design that goes with it. I love doing my makeup -- my nails, my hair, just like the way that the style used to be back in the days.

Eve: I also enjoy Y2K as well as baggy looks like streetwear. I like streetwear because I just like big clothes and I like the way you can put things together and design it.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Yosephina: I usually get my inspiration from things like Instagram or TikTok. I always see very beautiful people and the way that they put their clothes on and I’m like I need to wake up and turn my swag on just like they did.

Eve: I usually get my looks from Pinterest and TikTok but mostly TikTok.

What are some components that make up your own personal style?

Yosephina: I would say that when I don’t have things that I see in videos on social media, I try to work with things that I already have or things I already love and maybe replace the type of shoes that they’re wearing by replacing it with shoes of my own.

How do you incorporate your personality into your style?

Eve: I feel that personality wise, I’m so more laid back and I try to incorporate it into my streetwear looks because when I think about baggy and street wear looks, I think about relaxing and comfortable looks and it also just depends on the day.

What are your favorite brands to wear?

Yosephina: My favorite brands are sometimes New Balances and other sports brands, most of their old stuff.

Eve: It depends. I don’t have a favorite brand -- I like to try new things. It doesn’t really matter as long as it looks good and as long as I like it.

What factors do you think about when shopping for clothes?

Yosephina: Usually when I’m shopping for clothes. I do a lot of thrift shopping because I feel like you can find so much while thrift shopping and keeping it cheap because you can be a baddie on a budget! But I also shop online sometimes like from SHEIN, Fashion Nova, or Amazon.

How do you decide what to wear in the morning?

Yosephina: Just like I said earlier, I just wake up and turn on my swag like I turn on the light and I’m like yep, that’s what I want to wear. I look for my favorite colors. Usually I love pink but I also like brown, neutral colors, white and black, etc.

Eve: I find my outfits basically under pressure. So it’s like last minute for me, I always find an outfit to wear but say I don’t, I always go with baggy because that’s just my style.

Do you follow trends? If so, which ones?

Yosephina: I would say I do follow trends, sometimes or most of the time. A lot of them, I don’t know the names of but my sister’s just always like “Yeah, you’re dressed like the trend that’s going on on Tik Tok right now” and also I do love Aliyahcore. That’s someone that I’ve tried to also dress like because there’s so much creativity and colors.

Eve: Yes, I would say I follow trends like streetwear, one of the styles that I’ve been inspired by as well as Aliyahcore, so yes, I do.

THE STYLE

Yosephina Abwe and Eve Theresa Okoubi Aventt ‘24

Nora Cole ‘26

By Sadie Bodzin

Where do you get your style inspiration from?

So mainly there’s this old Japanese magazine called “FRUiTS” and that’s where I really jumped off from. I also am really fond of big colorful 80’s sweaters and thrift stores in general, especially [the store] Artifacts.

What specific style do you personally enjoy the most? Like, what would you say your style is like?

That’s a complicated question. I don’t know, I’ve never really been able to define my style as like a specific aesthetic or something because I feel like it definitely blends a lot of different things. And it just depends. Like in terms of music, I listen to most ly goth music, but I don’t dress that way at all. So I don’t know. I honestly can’t answer that.

What are some components that make up your personal style? What do you think about when you put together an outfit?

end up buying two or three things every time I thrift because one thing that I hadn’t been careful of was I was buying so much clothing and accumulating so much of it that I was just hating a lot of the clothing that I was getting. So it’s important to only buy a few things and just decide what is the best out of all the random things that you grabbed.

What components do you think about when buying clothing? Does sustainability play a role in what you buy?

Oh, for sure. Definitely with textures of clothing and how much clothing I buy. So like. For example, I probably won’t get something that I can only wear a few times. So I try to avoid fast fashion in thrift stores if I can and it’s hard to nowadays because there’s so much fast fashion in thrift stores. But I try to avoid fast fashion and fabrics that will hurt my skin especially since my skin is really sensitive so I have to find fabrics that are very comfortable and high quality. Which is especially why I like 80’s sweaters because a lot of them are well made and are made of 100% wool as opposed to just a bunch of polyester.

So far I’ve said 80’s sweaters for sure. Bright colors, but especially pink, green, blue and purple are kind of my color palette. I tend to stick to that. Especially pink and purple. Definitely lots of layering and different textures is also a big thing for me. I love embroidery. And I like colored tights. That’s a big one. And interesting hats.

How do you incorporate your personality into your style?

Oh, for example, one thing that I really like doing is I like making fish necklaces. I like making a lot of the jewelry and stuff that I do and stuff that I wear. So one of my biggest passions is science and art. So I tend to mix that a lot so I’ll wear fish necklaces or insect necklaces based on different types of animals that I’m interested in at the time. I also really like pink so I wear pink a lot.

Do you thrift most of your clothes and if yes, what do you look for in a thrift store?

I thrift all of my clothes. The only clothing I usually buy new is probably jewelry sometimes? Or like if someone gives me something then sometimes I’ll reuse it for something else but I don’t buy any new clothing.

For thrifting I go and I grab everything that strikes me as interesting. So I end up getting a cart full of stuff and it’s really fun. But the most important thing with that is that even though I get all these things and I get anything that catches my eye, I only

Do you have any tips for people trying to find their personal style?

First tip, download Pinterest. Second tip, see what you already like and add that component to your own style. So if you really like sports and that is something that you have always been interested in, then maybe the lowquette? thing is for you or if you’re really into art, then make some of your own jewelry. So just incorporate things that you already do in your life into your style and that will always make something new and different.

Do you have any fashion icons?

One is Frida Kahlo. I know a lot of people know her for her art but she is also a fashion icon because of the way she switched from masculine to feminine styles and also probably [1960’s English supermodel] Twiggy because I just love her makeup specifically. She’s really cool.

How did you get into making your own jewelry?

I’ve always been into art in general and it just kind of made sense. I’ve been making jewelry since I was five or six years old. So it’s just always been something that I liked. But in terms of getting into fashion. I only really got into fashion over the pandemic when I needed something to occupy myself because I wasn’t always dressing the way I am. I mean I was when I was little, but when I turned second, third, fourth grade, I kind of slid back into what because I wanted to fit in or whatever. But at this point, it’s just like, screw it.

Is there anything else that you want to add?

I think a big misconception about the way I dress is that I dress to catch people’s attention, although that may be a part of it sometimes. It’s also just what makes me comfortable and I just want to remove that stigma of that I’m just looking for attention or that people who dress in an outward style are just looking for attention. It’s not just about that, it’s also about expressing what’s within on a personal level, not just sharing it with the world.

One of Nora’s homemade fish necklaces

A handmade heart patch by Nora

Nora Cole ‘26 posing in front of a mirror

TAYLOR SWIFT TAKEOVER

“Taylor’s Version”: past, present, and future

By Kaitlyn Brown

Front page headlines. Record-breaking shows. The “Biggest Hit” of the summer. Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” was in all of our minds. Performing over 25 shows across America, the superstar had everyone invested in her surprise songs, interactions with the crowds, and just about every second of her 3-hour-long show.

Whether someone wants to label the tour as a “fashion show” or “the best concert EVER,” it is undeniable that Taylor Swift changed concert expectations. Nobody has done what she did, and she is quite literally one of the most successful artists of the decade. If you think about it, what other artists have you seen have such loyal - yet kind of insane - fans? Fans who refuse to listen to albums owned by a producer Taylor hates, fans who back her up in every choice. Sometimes, the large fan base is scary, yet also it has some of the best critical thinkers.

After Taylor Swift re-released the first album of her “taking back my songs” era, Fearless, fans worldwide lost their minds. Soon following, Red Taylor’s Version, Speak Now Taylor’s Version, and now 1989 Taylor’s Version have

Re-released records and international tours take the billboards and break the screens

broken records. Not only has no other artist done this, but no other artist has had an initially successful album become MORE successful the second time it is released. Something about her re-recordings just makes them better. Whether it was lyric changes like in Speak Now TV or significant production changes, including the addition of synth music in 1989 TV, Taylor Swift is clearly doing something right. People have opinions of the original albums versus the re-recordings, influenced by the superstar’s context or something else entirely. Still, everyone seems to find the heartbeat of each Taylor’s Version album in one spot: the vault tracks.

When an artist releases an album, there is a lot of thought put into what songs go where and which tunes can even be included. Taylor Swift had a lot of cutting down to do back in 2014 when she sculpted the iconic pop album 1989. Nine years later, with the release of 1989 TV, she made many fans extremely happy by including 5 “vault tracks.” A “vault track” was initially defined during the first re-recording as a song written simultaneously with the original album but did not make the cut. Swift has locked these songs

away for a long time, waiting for the right time to show the world. Thankfully, the re-recordings of these albums provide that moment she had been waiting for.

On October 27, hundreds of thousands of fans waited for the clock to strike midnight ET and listened to 1989 TV. The insane commitment to Swift’s music is incredible to witness. In mere minutes, memes, tweets, and reviews were released, ranking the highly

anticipated vault tracks. Whether you are a Harry Styles fan or not, the 5th and final track blew minds.

“Is It Over Now?” was one of the most relatable tracks, with the perfect amount of Taylor Swift’s mind-blowing lyricism. Followed closely by “Sl*t!” and “Say Don’t Go” on my rankings, the vault tracks just meshed so well with the fresh pop album.

What’s next, though? Reputation TV, Taylor Swift TV, or a new

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album altogether? What does the superstar have planned? Fans can speculate all they want, with many “connecting the dots” with easter eggs or coincidences set up in her lengthy timeline in the music industry, but Taylor Swift will not admit to any plans. The millions hoping for an answer will just have to wait. She will likely be taking a trip to watch the Superbowl before announcing another world-shattering album, but time will tell.

LH Album Review: 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

After years of waiting, Taylor Swift has finally released her version of 1989, and it definitely lived up to the expectations

By Sadie Bodzin and Claire Hartwig

When Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album 1989, was released in 2014, it became a smash hit. After debuting as a country artist, Swift released 1989 as a full-fledged pop album, redefining her genre and style forever. Hits like “Bad Blood,” “Shake it Off,” “Blank Space,” and more were featured on the album, making it one of Swift’s most popular to date. This album is beloved by both fans and non-fans alike, so when the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was announced during the final Eras Tour stop of her first leg of the tour, the notice of the album release created a buzz all over the world. The album was released on October 26th, with 5 vault tracks and one deluxe track.

Something that fans have brought up as Swift goes back and re-records her main singles is that something is always a little off about them. For this album, people on social media have been making noise about how “New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)” and “Style (Taylor’s Version)” both sound different from the original tracks. After listening to both versions, there’s some truth to these claims. There’s something about the original backing track and the way Taylor sang the original version of “Style” that really resonates with fans. This time around, it’s almost less enthusiastic and there’s

little to no emotion in her voice, especially in the chorus.

The vault tracks begin with “Slut!” which is an airy pop ballad. It talks about not caring what people say about you for being in a relationship. Swift uses soft drums and synthesizers in the instrumental to give the song life. The lyrics go in depth about Swift being criticized for being in a public relationship but not caring what people think because it is worth it to her. “And if they call me a slut / You know it might be worth it for once.” The song from an outside glance could be perceived as a risky song but if you actually listen to it it holds a deeper meaning. It’s

about a girl who is criticized for every relationship she’s been in but for once, it’s all worth it to her.

The second vault track, “Say Don’t Go” presents a relationship in which somebody abruptly left her and she doesn’t understand why. The main chorus renders, “Why’d you have to lead me on? / Why’d you have to twist the knife? / Walk away and leave me bleedin’, bleedin’?” This theme continues with the lyric “I said, “I love you” / You say nothin’ back.”

These verses give the impression that the person this song is about only wanted something short with her. Like many of Swift’s tracks, the song touched teenage girls

everywhere with lots of people taking to social media to express the relatability of the song.

“Now That We Don’t Talk” is the third vault track. This song has been compared to “Maroon,” a track off of Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights. Swift sings about not talking to a person anymore and what’s left of the relationship now. Beginning with lyrics about hearing about said person’s life now. It also addresses changes about the person and wishing they used to be the same. But deep down knowing it wasn’t going to work out and it was for the best. Throughout the song you hear her reminiscing then reminding her-

self that it wasn’t a good relationship and she’s better off alone.

The fourth vault track is titled “Suburban Legends.” The writing in this track is akin to the style of storylike writing Swift utilizes notably on albums like folklore and Midnights. The song tells the story of a high school romance that Swift thought would be the stuff of “suburban legends,” but the relationship went south. This song shows the talent Swift has of painting a picture for her listeners to visualize describing things like a “1950s gymnasium” in the track.

The fifth and final vault track, “Is It Over Now?,” is a bit like a sequel to the track “Out of the Woods,” also on 1989. This song is presumably about waiting to finally end an on-again-offagain type of relationship. Swift’s delivery in this song is incredible with lyrics like “You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor” and “Your new girl is my clone.” This is the perfect last track for 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Swift has the final word and she executes it flawlessly. All in all, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) definitely met the high expectations that were set for it. Every vault track is very promising and really showcases Swift’s growth from 2014, to now. For anyone wishing to relive the pop music days of the 2010’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) brings both the nostalgia and excitement from Swift’s first ever pop album.

WISDOM KONU

GRAPHIC BY WISDOM KONU

Artificial by Amy Kurzweil: Review and Q&A

By Tai Caputo

In Amy Kurzweil’s second graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, she explores her celebrated father Ray Kurzweil’s attempt to recreate his father Fredric through an Artificial Intelligence chatbot programmed with writings and documents that he kept in a storage space after his death.

“REMBERING IS A LONELY ART. MAYBE WE CAN SAVE OBJECTS BECAUSE THEY CAN BE SHARED.”

Futurist Ray Kurzweil is known for having popularized the term “singularity”: the point at which the intellectual capabilities of technology explode to surpass those of humans. His attempt to recreate Fredric Kurzweil, a gifted Viennese Jewish musician who fled the Nazis in 1938, is a project born from his fascination with these capabilities as well as by the loss of his father. “I regard death as the greatest tragedy,” he has written.

Amy Kurzweil

Kurzweil, a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine, published her first graphic memoir, Flying Couch, in 2016. Flying Couch traces the intertwined stories of Kurzweil, her mother, and her grandmother. Artificial: A Love Story is a braiding of Kurzweil’s philosophical deliberations with a retelling of her relationship with her partner, Jacob, and an examination of artifacts from her grandfather’s safe. Kurzweil discovers that both she and her grandfather share the universal quest for belonging and self-acceptance. The ultimate question of whether an artificial chatbot can truly simulate a human being is never fully answered; the real-life story is to be continued. “If science couldn’t help,” she writes, “perhaps storytelling would.”

Artificial: A Love Story combines the people and events of the past with the technological possibilities of the future. I don’t often read graphic novels, but I enjoyed this one immensely. It was intellectual, witty, and entertaining, full of poetic nuance and fathomless complexity. Many things are happening at any given moment, in the text, the captions, and the dialogue. It is a commentary on the ability of technology and art to transcend death.

You have a job that many people dream of having: you are a cartoonist for the New Yorker and you have also published two graphic novels. Did you always think you would become a cartoonist?

No, I thought I would be a writer. I studied writing in school, and in college, and in grad school I got an MFA in fiction writing. I became a cartoonist because when I started my first book, I wanted to write about my grandmother’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor, and I felt like writing made it difficult for me to get at the emotion of her story in a way that felt authentic and fresh. And so drawing helped me do that. The New Yorker cartooning stuff started after I finished my first book, which took seven years. After that, I realized that I wanted to embark on projects that took less time to complete. And the New Yorker was surprisingly accessible, because there was a policy back in 2015, when I started submitting, that you could just walk into the office and show your cartoons to the editor and get feedback. So that was really exciting and surprising to me, because nothing like that existed in the prose literary world. So I took that opportunity, and the editor was a little bit intimidating and insulting, but still encouraging. That was his style. The editor was Bob Mankoff at the time. And he would kind of say, “You’re not terrible.” That was what he said: “Come back.” So I kept submitting, and that really changed my career.

Do you invent the captions by yourself, or do you only do the drawing? Who writes the captions?

Caption and drawing come together. It used to be different in the older days, when illustrators were paired with writers, and often you didn’t know who the writers were, you just had the illustrator’s signature. But today, it’s very rare that people split those roles, so I do both.

Can you tell us about your first graphic novel, Flying Couch?

My first graphic novel tells the story of three generations of women in my family: me; my mother, who is a psychologist, who was born in Germany after World War II in a displaced person’s camp; and my grandmother, Lily, who’s a Holocaust survivor, and she left the war zone ghetto when she was 13, and survived on her own, and lost her entire family. And the book is about telling her story

in juxtaposition with stories from my life, my relationship to home, and my relationship to those women who raised me, finding my Jewish identity and how it related to inheriting that history, trying to understand certain things about myself in relation to that traumatic inheritance. It’s the book that taught me how to draw comics. So I started it as my college thesis, when I really didn’t have very much drawing experience, and emerged from college with a draft of the book that was not very well-drawn. And ended up submitting it to publishers with an agent and the feedback was, “You need to learn how to draw better,” which was sort of devastating, but I took some years to work on my drawing, and then I redrew the book from the beginning. Then I found a new agent and managed to sell it. So I did draw the book twice, which was sort of my 10,000 hours of drawing practice, and by the end of the book, I knew how to draw and had a much better sense of how comics could work.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY KURZWEIL

ART COURTESY OF AMY KURZWEIL

Heaven Knows

PinkPantheress has finally released her long-awaited debut album, Heaven Knows

By Wisdom Konu

On October 12th, viral musician PinkPantheress finally announced her debut album, Heaven Knows. The highly-anticipated project came out two years after the artist’s breakout EP, To Hell with It, which was released in October of 2021. Beginning as just a teenage girl releasing snippets of her music on social media, her organic rise and blossoming career is something to be studied. Leading up to the album’s release, the artist released the tracks “Mosquito” and “Capable of love.” With those two tracks, it is very apparent that PinkPantheress is consistently constructing and defining her sound. The 13-track debut album, titled Heaven Knows, is PinkPantheress’ follow-up to her EP, To Hell With It.

The album opens with “Another Life,” featuring Nigerian artist Rema. The song opens with church organs and closes with church organs paired with a guitar solo. In the song, PinkPantheress interpolates lyrics from f(x)’s song “Ice Cream”: “You melt up my body and all my heart.” She has always been very vocal for her love for K-Pop and its influence on her music and in November of this year, she listed f(x) as one of her favorite girl groups. PinkPantheress’ DNB and breakbeat sound is something that she’s famously known for and with this album, she not only continues with it but expands it.

Like her EP, To Hell With It, this album explores her love-related moody sentiments and those songs are like listening to the entries of her diary. And a new theme that is explored with this album is death. “Ophelia” is the finished version of the previously leaked track “phelia.” The track describes PinkPantheress getting murdered by her lover. Not only has she expanded her sound but she’s grown as a lyricist. Ophelia is a fictional character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the character in the end is dead by suicide, after getting rejected by the person she was madly in love with. This song paints a heartbreaking love story, where PinkPantheress lies – like Ophelia in the water – reminiscing about the past feelings she had for her lover with the track ending with the bubbles of her drowning.

To contrast her EP, Heaven Knows comes with features. Her viral

remix, “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2” featuring drill artist Ice Spice, nicknamed “The People’s Princess,” “Bury Me,” featuring R&B artist Kelela, as well as “Nice to meet you” featuring Central Cee. The music video for “Nice to meet you” dropped as part of celebration for the album release. Co-produced by PinkPantheress and Cash Cobain, the song is about devotion to her partner with a verse from one of the UK’s hottest artist, Central Cee. A component you can find in this album as well as her other songs is drill/jersey club elements. The music video

Snow Angel

By Esther Puderbaugh

On August 18, one of Broadway’s brightest young vocalists released her first full-length pop album. The album, titled Snow Angel, is Reneé Rapp’s follow-up to her debut EP, Everything to Everyone. Rapp described the album as being created in response to a traumatic experience she had had the year before. While working on new music, Rapp realized that she had to write about that experience, and after finishing the title track in one night, Rapp and her producer decided to scrap the previously finished first single of the album and start fresh. In addition to her run as Regina George in the Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls, Rapp has also starred in an HBO series and is set to appear as Regina George once again in the movie musical adaptation of Mean Girls.

Rapp, known for her soaring soprano belt, doesn’t hold back vocally on this project. The title track, Snow Angel, is an emotional rollercoaster of a song, much like the album named after it. Opening with delicate piano and featherlight vocals from Rapp, Snow Angel eventually takes a rock-like turn with the incorporation of percussion and electric guitar. The bridge of the song showcases her sky-high, emotive vocals at their most impressive on the album. The more upbeat pop numbers are contrasted well with several moving, predominantly piano-backed tracks. On Gemini Moon and The Wedding Song,

is drenched in the frutiger metro aesthetic, which adds to the nostalgia found in her music. With this album, PinkPantheress has evolved from a baby bird to a flourishing dove. She’s developed her UK garage and breakbeat sound and has mixed it with R&B and pop, moving on to use instruments sound like organs, rock-inspired drums, and harps. Heaven Knows expands her ability as a writer and artist and it’s without question that this debut album has solidified her as an artist that is here to stay.

Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

By Juan Rosado

Reneé’s anguish-filled vocals are palpable. While Rapp’s Broadway-trained vocals shine particularly on these slower, moodier tracks, Rapp’s truest strength lies in her more upbeat tracks. One of my favorite types of pop songs, a song with sad lyrics but an upbeat melody, makes it onto this album in the form of Pretty Girls. Pretty Girls, a buoyant, dance-like track about Rapp’s experience as a bisexual woman, combines her signature wit with her knack for pop music.

Snow Angel closes with Willow and 23. Both of these songs feature more relaxed vocals from Rapp, showcasing her versa-

tility in sound. In Willow, Rapp refers to a loved one as a weeping willow in a hazy, guitar-heavy number. And lastly, in 23, Rapp shares some of her deepest anxieties about social life and mortality.

Snow Angel, a record with many emotional highs and lows, is an excellent full-length debut from Reneé Rapp. The record showcases both her vocal versatility and her witty pop writing style, in addition to demonstrating the many different kinds of sounds and production styles that can work with her voice. It will be exciting to see where Rapp’s powerhouse voice takes her next.

Trap Bunny is back! Bad Bunny has finally returned with his long awaited album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

Seven years ago, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was bagging groceries at his local supermarket in the small town of Almirante Sur in northern Puerto Rico. During his time working there, he started publishing one or two songs here and there on Soundcloud by his artist name, Bad Bunny...

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Reneé Rapp has released her first full-length pop album, Snow Angel

GRAPHIC BY WISDOM KONU

GRAPHIC BY WISDOM KONU

GIRLS WRESTLING

Little Hawk Invitational

Little Hawk girl’s wrestling opens up the season with The Little Hawk Invitational.

By Kaitlyn Brown

Hosting their first meet of the year, women’s wrestling came up with some big pins to succeed in matches and place individual wrestlers.

It is not often that you see three wrestlers from one school pin opponents in less than 30 seconds each. Shoana Emmanual ‘26, Molly Carlson ‘26, and Sierra Pruessner ‘24 did just that. With young and old talent, City High’s women’s wrestling team will hope to take many individuals to the State Tournament this year, a feat they accomplished last year after the first annual IGHSAU-hosted State Meet was put in place.

“Now that our team has had our first match experience, we’ll understand what we need to practice so we’ll be unstoppable on the mats. I’m really excited with the depth we have this year, and the team we put to-

gether,” commented Pruessner, a senior wrestler and leader on the team.

Carlson placed first in her weight class, and fellow sophomore Cooper Hamilton ‘26 ended in 2nd place in the 105 class. Emmanuel placed 4th and Pruessner ended in 6th. The young talent on the team showed up at the meet and hopes to improve as the season progresses did as well. Teams often go through rough battles when losing wrestlers, but the additions and improvements of our women’s wrestling team this season were apparent at the Little Hawk Tournament. City High will host their next meet against Cedar Rapids Washington on December 7th at 7:00 PM.

Even after losing talent with their senior class, this wrestling season proves to be an exciting watch as the girls will take on LinnMar at their duals meet (11/25) and many other highly anticipated teams as they build their records and approach the MVC tournament.

City High Wrestling Coach Ryan Ahlers celebrating a takedown. PHOTO BY LILI MOESSNER

ABOVE: Paige Dixon ‘26 clinching with opponent during Little Hawk Invitational.

FAR LEFT: Nina Peterson ‘25 wrestling in the Little Hawk Invitational

MIDDLE: Molly Carlson ‘26 gets her hand raised after winning a match.

RIGHT: Nina Yankey ‘24 pre match during the Little Hawk Invitational tournament.

PHOTOS BY LILI MOESSNER

GIRLS BASKETBALL

YOUNG TEAM BUILDS WITH EARLY WINS

By Kaitlyn Brown

Starting an array of underclassmen the girls team also started with a pre-season win. In the first four quarters the team proved their talent and labeled themselves as an exciting team with a 75-68 against Clear Creek Amana.

As the season takes off, many returners have taken over the court. August Palmer ‘25, Tess Driscoll ‘26, Emmy McComas ‘25, and Avy Lindsay ‘25 are the big names on this year’s varsity squad. With such a young group of girls, these leaders have each taken moments to shine. Joining the team this year, freshmen Hattie Galloway and Kaitlin Loria ‘27 are stepping into big roles with ease.

not come back from. Palmer ended with 30 points, Driscoll followed close behind with 24, and McComas ended with 12. Even with the big returners putting up the points to bring an exciting win, members from the bench came in at key moments and made necessary adjustments.

The “Achieve Challenge Game” was created for Unbreakable Female Athlete, a brand started by a University of Iowa rower. This scrimmage raised funds for UFA, and both the Little Hawks and the Clippers have their own items on the website.

“THIS TEAM’S MAIN GOAL IS TO JUST DO WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING.”

Coach Bernard

“I think I will have to step into a bigger leadership role this year, but I also see everyone contributing, too,” Driscoll said.

Palmer and Driscoll led the team in the CCA scrimmage with big threes and points to bring us up to a lead in the 3rd quarter that the Clear Creek Amana Clippers could

“This team’s main goal is to just do what we are capable of doing. And I think there is a mindset aspect of that, and it’s just doing what you’re capable of,” Barnard said about her goals and aspirations for the young team. The Little Hawks women’s basketball kicked off their season with three early wins over No. 2 (4A) Clear Creek Amana, Solon and C.R. Jefferson. This year’s starting lineup is filled with young talent

The Little Hawks traveled to Central DeWitt for their season opener on Nov 21, 2023 which was soon followed by a game versus Solon, that both ended in close losses. As the season progresses, Head Coach Lynsey Barnard looks to keep the energy and mindset up, with hopes that the record will follow.

Emmy McComas ‘25 shoots a free throw vs Solon High School PHOTO BY AMELIE DONOVAN

ON TOP: Tessa Driscoll ‘26 brings the ball up the court.

ABOVE: August Palmer ‘25 waiting for the ball to get inbounded.

LEFT: Coach Barnard coaching her team during an timeout.

PHOTOS BY AMELIE DONOVAN

ALL IN FOR THE PIN

Wrestling team starts off the year with world champion shoes to fill at the Dan Gable Donneybrook tournament

By Rito Perez and Jack Rogers

Coming off a historic season featuring three state champions the City High Boys Wrestling team has a lot to back up from last year. The team, led by head coach Cory Connell had eight state qualifiers out of 14 weight classes. Those nine state qualifiers came from weight classes 106, 113, 126, 132, 138, 145, 170, 182, and 220. Only five state qualifiers will be returning for this season. Some of those losses include Ben Kueter and Gabe Arnold, who now both wrestle at the University of Iowa.

“We had a couple big losses to the team but outside of that we are still really deep,” Gabriel Egeland ‘25 said.

This year, the IHSAA introduced new weight classes into the rotation, they are as follows for City High. Wrestling at 106 pounds is freshman Teagan Jones. Wrestling at 113 pounds is junior Kendall Kurtz. Wrestling at 120 pounds is sophomore Chris Da-

vis. Wrestling at 126 pounds is senior Edgar Mhoon-Lopez. Wrestling at 132 pounds is senior Cale Seaton. Wrestling at 138 pounds is senior Kael Kurtz. Wrestling at 144 is senior Jake Mitchell. Wrestling at 150 pounds is Junior Gabe Egeland. Wrestling at 157 pounds is Senior Kale Voinovich. Wrestling at 165 pounds is senior Obed Dominguez. Wrestling at 175 pounds is junior Mason Tilley. Wrestling at 190 pounds is junior Drew Nye. Wrestling at 215 pounds is sophomore Raphael Etuma. Wrestling at 285 pounds is junior Shabaan Naim.

There are going to be seven returning varsity starters for the upcoming year. The season opens on November 30, against Waterloo West. After that, the varsity team wrestles in the Dan Gable Donnybrook tournament. This season has a lot to hold for the little hawks and their potential and how different it will be without four time state champ and world champion Ben Kueter.

“I’m really excited for the season and I believe this team has a lot of potential and I really feel like we could thrive this year,” Chris Davis ‘26 said.

Kael Kurtz ‘24 makes the finals in the Dan Gable Donnybrooke tournament. PHOTO COURTESY OF AMBER SEATON

Gabe Egeland ‘25 wins tight mtach six to five in the Dan Gable Donnybrooke tournament held at Xtream Arena. PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMBER SEATON

BLAZING START

AJ Wright splashes a three pointer and drives for a bucket against Muscatine. A.J. opened the season shooting over 60% from the field. Number 11, Trey Wright plays point guard and hits one of his six three pointers in the first two games. PHOTOS BY LILI MOESSNER

UPCOMING GAMES

By Rito Perez and Jack Rogers

With dominating wins over Burlington and Muscatine the boys basketball team used pace and a blaze of hot three point shooting to get off to a 2-0 start.

“I feel like we made improvements from last year and made progress that this young team needed,” Jameer James ‘24 said.

City did lose a star player this offseason, when one of team’s best players, Samuel M’Bingazo transferred to Bishop Alemany in California. Along with his departure, City High lost quite a few starters from their senior class including Thomas Ksobeich, Shamar Benton, and Evan Lampe (‘23) who were all pivotal parts of the team last year. Another lost piece of the team was senior Matt Schaeckenbach (‘23) who brought energy off the bench for the team.

To open up the season, the team beat Burlington 62-27 in their home opener, a team that upset them in their season opener last year away. Other important games coming up this season are at home against one of the two cross town rivals

City has which is Liberty High on December 15th at home and the second of the two rivals West High on December 22nd away.

“I’m feeling optimistic about the season, I think we’ve been working really well together and we have a lot of chemistry,” Parker Sutherland ‘25 said.

TOP RIGHT: Number 23, Chris Watkins ‘26 brought an inside force to the sophomore team. He scored 30 points in the season opener against Burlington.

BOTTOM LEFT: Number one, Javeon James ‘26 looks for an assist against Muscatine.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Number three, Cal Vitense ‘26 points a teammate in the right direction.

TOP LEFT: Number two, Jack Lampe ‘26 sets up the sophomore office as point guard in the second game of the season against Muscatine.

PHOTOS BY LILI MOESSNER

“UNBREAKABLE”

ABOVE: August Palmer ‘25 warms up for the “UFA” Game at City High.

TO THE LEFT: Nina Peterson ‘25 wrestles against an oppenent from Prarie in the Girls Wrestling Home Meet.

BELOW: Margalit Frank ‘24 high fives a West High swimmer after a race during senior night.

PHOTOS BY LILI MOESSNER

Female Athletes bring new meanings to the term, discussing mental health, balance, and struggle.

By Kaitlyn Brown & Halle Larew

Mental health is a big discussion we take part in here at City High, and with the incorporation of local brands like UFA, many female athletes have brought that discussion to new levels.

“Athletes are often burdened, especially female athletes, by the pressures to be successful in their sport, to be the best version of themselves, to look the part and act the part but that’s just not real life. Female athletes are humans too and supporting the human side is just as important as supporting the athlete,” JV Girls basketball coach Paul Roesler has been a major advocate for the mental health support recently implemented in City High’s athletic programs.

It has not just been our school to take these steps towards promoting support and a feeling of community. Individual sports recognize new levels of sportsmanship and connections, reinforcing the concept that it really is easy to connect with other athletes experiencing similar things.

“The other teams and the other lanes always say ‘Good job, you did great’ after a race. We have a very supportive environment for girls swimming in Iowa, and I’m very thankful for that,” shared Margalit Frank ‘24, a captain for the swim team.

As the swim season came to a close, the senior captains were able to discuss their past four years with the team, highlighting the good and opening eyes to the bad. Something many people look past when talking about girl’s sports is the lack of support from peers, and with that fewer people in the crowds to impress. This has been a topic of interest for many female athletes as they watch their male peers be given big spotlights to show their talents.

the same relentless workouts as you. It’s unmatched,” commented Sierra Pruessner ‘24, a member of the wrestling team since its beginning as a sanctioned sport in Iowa. Both the wrestling and swimming team are gaining more support and coverage during their lengthy seasons. Yet, the athletes are still burdened with the stress that comes with their sports.

“The mental side of swimming is something that I’ve always struggled with. But, it’s what defines swimming as a sport. Being able to get through it, knowing what that struggle looks like for you, and also knowing how to reach out when you need help is important,” said Seaton after discussing balance and mental health in a long season.

Discussions over loss of passion and what it means to enjoy your sport happen constantly throughout high school, especially with female athletes. It is hard to keep moving forward, and it is harder to know when mental health needs to be a priority over the sport you are in. Taking breaks and communicating are steps being taken by our very present and progressing coaching staff here at City High, especially staff connected to the brand “Unbreakable Female Athlete.”

“FEMALE ATHLETES ARE HUMANS TOO AND SUPPORTING THE HUMAN SIDE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS SUPPORTING THE ATHLETE.”

Coach Paul Roesler

“Unbreakable Female Athlete celebrates, recognizes, and supports all female athletes and our basketball team using its platform to promote female athletics is extremely important to us,” Roesler is a sophomore volleyball coach and a JV basketball coach, throughout his time at City High, his support for athletes has been unwavering.

“We’re here all the time, morning and night. We’re always at the pool,” Kalea Seaton ‘24 discussed the swim season, emphasizing all the work the team put in. Her fellow captains backed up her statements about struggling with something that does not have an outcome people celebrate.

Peer support is just one of many struggles faced by female athletes. Many student athletes could share their stories with mental health and balance while in season.

To many of these athletes, there is no definition of “balance.” It is just something that you sometimes get better at with time, and everyone has to figure it out for themselves.

High school athletes often discuss the stress that comes with prioritizing academics and sports. Long practices and games hinder the ability to do work and can cause you to fall behind, which in turn creates less fun in your athletic environment. It is a full, circle, and many outside perspectives fail to recognize how incredible success is in these situations.

“Our first wrestling meet was a good reminder of the strenuous work required for small successes. I’ve missed cheering on teammates and the feeling that comes with supporting the people who go through

This brand has brought a lot of support and connections to City High, and with the edition of new coaches this year, awareness has been extending to very high levels. “Unbreakable”, when used to describe female athletes does not just mean one thing, but many different things.

“An unbreakable female has an unwavering belief in their ability to accomplish anything they put their mind to. They don’t let others’ opinions determine their fate, and they work consistently and relentlessly to reach their goals. They display selflessness by putting their ego desires aside and they do whatever it takes for the greater good of the team regardless of whether they are a starter or the last person on the lineup,” newly appointed varsity volleyball coach Carolyn Giese shared.

August Palmer ‘25, a girls basketball player and a part of the team that brought UFA’s message to our school also stated what being unbreakable means to her, “An unbreakable female athlete is a positive role model on and off the court. As female athletes we also have an impact on the little girls that come to our camps and games, they look up to us. We show them the impact female athletes can have through sports.”

As the message of UFA shines through our female athletes, the impact they have increases, and soon “unbreakable” will have a new meaning altogether.

Check meow out on page 4!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4-7

Furry Friends for the Winter

8-9

Winter Trends

10-11

Mixed Up

12 13-14

Esther Puderbaugh Profile

15-16

Garlic Bread & Classic Recipes of 2109 Games!

FURRY FRIENDS FOR THE WINTER

An

introduction to an adorable

collection of friends looking for a home

By Rosangel Flores-Rubio and Yomi Hemley

From bikes to shoes, paints to electronics, parents search for the perfect gift to give their kids this upcoming holiday season. And as the holiday season approaches, many families look towards animal shelters to find their kids a furry friend. Iowa City Animal Care & Adoption Center is one of these destinations.

DURZAN KHAN

If you feel that cats and dogs are too much of a hassle to take care of, that’s understandable! If you want a smaller and less stressful pet, adopting some guinea pigs is the perfect solution. The animal shelter currently holds four guinea pigs, Durzan Khan, Taze, and Jeeb & Jimmy. Each guinea pig has their own story and deserves a home this winter. Durzhan Kahn is three months old. At just a week old, Durzan Khan was dropped off at the door with a large group of 11 other guinea pigs. He is brown and white and is three months old. He is good friends with Taze who is also three months old and was in the same batch of guinea pigs that Durzan Khan arrived with.

If you have your eye set on an animal, an application is needed to interact with them. Once it’s approved and a visit is scheduled, you may interact with the animal and decide if you want to set up an adoption appointment. To view more animals and learn more about

PHOTOS BY HATTIE CONOVER

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES-RUBIO

MORGANA

Here comes the orange cat! Being a domestic short hair, orange tabby, Morgana thrives in an indoor environment. Morgana has already been litter box trained and spayed, leaving the only thing for you to do is adopt her. Morgana is two years old and has been with the animal shelter since September. She is ready to go to a home to fill it with love.

POPTART

The common misconception that pitbulls are scary and violent is proven wrong with Poptart. Poptart is a 1 year old pitbull mix with lots of personality. She loves playing outside and is motivated by food, meaning she is a perfect dog to train. She does well in an outdoor and indoor environment. She has not been spayed yet, but she will once she is adopted into a family. She is compatible with other cats and dogs if properly introduced, and is very compatible with children. However, she still must be watched over when it comes to small children due to her loads of energy. This energetic dog loves nothing more than fun adventures outside, so winter walks with her are a great way to bond.

PHOEBE

DUSTBUNNY

Meet the handsome boy from the cover. DustBunny is a male domestic long-haired black cat with bright little eyes, he’s a little over a year old and his energy shows it. He loves pets and playing, he’d thrive best in a home with no other cats. He’s an indoor cat and has been with the shelter only a short while, arriving in October. As it gets colder, DustBunny and his plenty of fur will be sure to keep you warm.

PHOTOS BY HATTIE CONOVER ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES-RUBIO

WINTER

With winter drawing near, the fashion is at its peak. The way the leaves turn brown and the nights grow longer, a cycle of change occurs for the fashion trends as well. As the cold moves in, here are some of students' favorite winter fashion trends.

Jeremiah Jones ‘27

What is your favorite winter fashion trend and why?

My favorite winter fashion trend is uggs. Uggs are such a fashionable shoe to pair with any outfit. Everyone’s wearing them, even all the celebrities. I just love how when I’m lazy in the morning with everything, I can just slip them on and my feet will be comfortable for the rest of the day. Winter is when uggs truly thrive and everyone bring-

With winter right around the corner, we

ing out their uggs is so real.

Do you prefer summer fashion or winter?

I prefer summer fashion all the way over winter fashion. In summer, it’s so much easier to express yourself. In the winter, almost everything you wear, if you don’t want to not die from hypothermia, has to be longsleeved and cover your body. Whereas in the summer, you can wear almost anything!

What is your favorite winter fashion trend and why?

There are so many fun trends in the winter, but the thing that’s easily my favorite is boots. Boots are literally the best thing ever- I love them so much and I wear them all the time! Short heeled boots and tall boots, but especially ones with laces. They’re so fun to wear; I have to force myself not to wear heeled boots every day so my feet will survive high school.

Do you prefer summer fashion or winter?

I think I like winter and summer fashion equally, but one thing I especially enjoy about winter fashion is layers and the color

Esme Hutchinson-Reuss ‘26

UGG Classic Mini II Boot

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHOPLOOK

TRENDS

ask Little Hawks their fav winter trends

schemes. In the summer, it’s more common to wear bright colors and more cute, short, and open outfits, but I personally really like the muted color tones that come with fall and winter. Browns and oranges and greens are really fun to work with in an outfit, and a lot of the jewelry I have is more coppery as well. It’s fun to wear, say, dresses with jackets over them, or turtlenecks with corduroy or more jean-textured dresses. With layering you can get in a lot more colors and textures, whereas with summer fashion a lot of the variety comes with jewelry and accessories in my experience. Both summer and winter have their perks.

Claire Lanternier ‘25

What is your favorite winter fashion trend and why?

I absolutely love fall/winter fashion (especially watching different high-fashion

brand runway videos of it like Versace, Prada, Dior, etc) and my favorite winter fashion trend would probably be fur-trimmed coats or tops. A skirt with tights and boots will also always be a go-to look for me

Do you prefer summer fashion or winter?

It’s really hard to choose between winter and summer fashion but I’d say I usually prefer summer fashion so I can have an excuse to wear more revealing clothes that compliment my figure!

Fiona

Arnold ‘24

What is your favorite winter fashion trend and why?

My favorite winter fashion trend is tights because they’re such a simple way to elevate an outfit and adapt it to lower temperatures.

They’re so customizable, with so many different colors or patterns, and even just a plain pair makes an outfit immediately look much more put together!

WOLFORD BOOGIE Circle Net Tights

PHOTO COURTESY OF PRET A BEAUTE

Do you prefer summer fashion or winter?

I definitely prefer winter fashion as I love the cozy outfits cold weather brings us! While there are some cute summer trends, winter has a tendency to bring cuter, more comfortable outfits.

PHOTOS BY WISDOM KONU

MIXED UP

How growing up biracial affects teens and their perception of their racial identity

By Yomi Hemley

Poi Borchardt ‘26 didn’t understand why the people at her elementary school wouldn’t believe her when she said she wasn’t Chinese, she was just mixed. No matter what she said, the students around her continued their racist comments without acknowledging her racial identity.

“My mom is a very cultural person from Laos. She brought a lot of that culture with her and so she’ll take me and my brother to the temple and practice Buddhism with her. I’ve been very connected with my mom’s side. That’s what I grew up on,” Borchardt says.

The students around teens have an impact on how biracial teens view their own identity. Being mistaken for almost everything in the book brings in uncertainty about their own self.

“I feel like it depends on who I’m around, who I’m talking to at the moment. There’s people who will say things that make me feel disconnected to my culture,”

“I wasn’t neccessarily ashamed [of being mixed], but I wished I looked more like them so I could fit in.”

Poi Borchardt ‘26

Cameron Echols ‘26 says.

According to Echols, being secure in your racial identity is a need.

“I consider myself biracial. I’m mixed. I’m black and white,” Echols says. “Sometimes [I have trouble fitting in] just because some people will say ‘you’re barely even black’ or ‘you’re barely white.’ That makes me feel like I don’t fit in with them. I know what I am, so it shouldn’t make me feel like that.”

When it comes to extended family with two different cultures, being with a certain side may be extremely different.

“I think it’s weird with my dad’s side. I just feel weird going over there because it’s strange being the only people of color there. Then going to my mom’s side, it’s weird being the only one who’s mixed with white there. They make assumptions,” Borchardt says.

Depending on each mixed person, their connection to their culture is always different. Whether that be feeling like an out-

sider, or being completely immersed in the culture from a young age.

“Yes, [I am connected to my culture]. Growing up, my family has always loved doing things from our culture and making sure that me and my brother know all about it,” Layla Lovan ‘25 says.

Although a mixed teen may feel confident when it comes to their culture, that same confidence isn’t always there when it comes to their mixed identity.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been ashamed of it, but I feel like sometimes I’ve been fearful of it, just because sometimes when people find out you’re mixed, they try to make you choose a side or choose one culture over the other even though you have both. It’s hard to find a place when you’re mixed,” Claudia Lusala ‘24 says.

Growing up with that sense of not belonging and being out of place from a young age furthers the notion that as a mixed kid, you have to pick a side. According to Lusala, no matter what side you choose, you will be penalized.

“In middle school, people made you pick a side. You feel detached from your culture, and with being an African, it’s kind of hard to embrace Americanized black cul-

ture. It’s very hard to step into that because you kind of have a very different view. African culture is very different from black culture in America,” Lusala says.

To connect with Lusala’s father’s side, learning Congolese is a must to be completely engaged with that culture.

“I feel like it’s really hard to be fully involved in that culture when you really just can’t understand what’s going on fully. It’s also a translation barrier. You can translate some of these things into English, but they don’t have the same emotion behind them and the same feeling,” Lusala says.

When faecd with two distinct sides of a person, it is important to acknowledge and learn from both sides.

“I feel like my mom really embraced my dad’s culture. So I feel like I definitely got way more of that side’s culture. I still had my mom’s family and everything and they brought that culture in, but I feel like mainly it was Congolese culture that was fronting my whole childhood,” Claudia Lusala ‘24 says.

Although many mixed teens are pressured into picking a side, it still doesn’t affect the fact that no matter what, they are mixed.

“I’m half Congolese, and then I’m half white. So when I tell people my race, I just tell them I’m Congolese and white. It’s not like I can really consider myself as one thing since I am both,” Lusala says.

While the sense of identity is a major part of mixed teen’s problems, the racism they face also adds onto the insecurity.

“I’m not ashamed [of being mixed], but I’m not open about it. I was scared for some reason. I don’t know why. I think it’s just because of past experiences with racism,” Lovan says.

SCAN TO READ MORE:

Claudia Lusala ‘24 with her Congolese dad and white mom. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAUDIA LUSALA

Staff Profile: EstherPuderbaugh

By Hattie Conover

6th grader Esther Puderbaugh dips her head to bow to the audience, her arms resting on the shoulders of surrounding actors. She sees camera flashes throughout the Opstad Auditorium as City High School journalists cover the spring production of Les Miserables.

“I first learned about the Little Hawk when I was a kid in the ensemble of City’s musical in 2018, Les Miserables. I remember loving that experience, a lot of people who were in the play were journalists. They created a little video of us that’s still up on the Little Hawk today,” Esther said.

The moment Esther got to City High, she hit the ground running with the Little Hawk publication. Three years later, she is the Arts & Entertainment editor and executive website editor.

“It’s really cool that with journalism and other programs here at City, you can be involved in them and be an active part of them no matter your age or experience,” Puderbaugh said.

Esther’s journey to the positions she now holds has been nothing short of hard work. It continues to challenge her every day, from constantly cycling through the website, checking for errors, to communicating with editors and supervising sections.

“My number one advice is to work really hard. Other than that, get out there and explore what you want to do. Make sure that you’re happy with and apply to the section you want to be in. I don’t want to do sports stories all the time but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a great section, or the thing will have great editors, but maybe that’s not for me,” Puderbaugh said.

Outside of journalism, Esther excels in her musical background. She plays the Viola in City High Orchestra, piano, and is highly involved in voice, regularly attending competitions. Esther also participates in Mock Trial, is a City High Ambassador, and

attends student senate, running the ‘Period.’ chapter for the school, an organization that helps to end period poverty.

“I wrote a period poverty feature, which was great, and the graphics for that were a lot of fun to work with. I was able to talk to the school board and I believe I helped get free period products in the bathrooms so that is something I’m always going to be grateful for and very proud of,” Puderbaugh said.

In Esther’s time as an editor, her musical endeavors have inspired her to get more of an appreciation for the arts, especially by increasing coverage in the Arts & Entertainment section of the newspaper and website.

“I did a piece on All-State Auditions last fall which was very long and a lot of work. I interviewed like 10 Different people. My goal was to reflect to people the scope of how much work all state auditions are, and I think that I successfully did that,” Esther said.

Even though she still has two years left with the Little Hawk publication, Esther has future plans to attend college and likely double major in music and international relations.

“Leadership opportunities are available to anyone who wants them and they teach you a lot, I know I’ve learned a lot in the last year and a half and I think I will continue to learn a lot,” Puderbaugh said.

PHOTO BY GRACE KIRSCHLING

CHAI TEA SUGAR COOKIES

By Esther Puderbaugh

Recipe adapted from Taylor Swift’s Chai Tea Sugar Cookie Recipe. As the resident baker of the journalism room, I have been making this version of Taylor Swift’s famous chai tea cookies for my fellow Little Hawk Journalists for just over a year now. These have always been a favorite of our staff because of their soft texture and unexpected chai spice. These cookies make the perfect winter treat and we hope that you’ll try this recipe out as a gift from us to you this holiday season!

INGREDIENTS

½ c unsalted butter, softened

½ c melted butter, cooled to room temperature

½ c granulated sugar

½ powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 chai tea bag

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

2. Beat softened butter in a bowl with either a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the cooled butter.

3. Add the sugar, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to the bowl and combine.

4. Next, stir in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. After the basic sugar cookie dough is formed, stir in the contents of the chair tea bag by cutting open the top of the bag and pouring them into the bowl.

6. The dough will be very soft. Line the baking sheet with balls of cookie dough and press lightly.

7. In a time crunch, baking the dough without chilling works just fine. Bake room temperature dough for 11-14 minutes. If you have time to chill the dough, chill it for about an hour. Baking time for the chilled dough will be between 14-17 minutes. Keep in mind that cook times may vary depending on the oven used, so it’s wise to check the cookies along the way as they bake to make sure they don’t overbake. Take out of the oven when the edges are slightly golden brown.

8. Enjoy with a warm mug of cocoa or some chai tea!

Lili Moessner, Grace Kirschling, Catalina Armstrong, and Diego Loria-Eivins ‘24 enjoy Chai Tea Sugar Cookies. PHOTO BY ESTHER PUDERBAUGH

GARLIC BREAD

By Hattie Conover

INGREDIENTS

4 bulbs of garlic

1 stick of salted butter

1 baguette

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbsp. olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees farenheit

2. Chop bulbs of garlic in half and place onto a sheet of foil

3. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil on the garlic and completely cover with foil

4. Place in the oven for one hour

5. Squeeze the garlic into a bowl and fully mash

6. Stir garlic with the butter, red pepper flakes, and salt

7. Liberally spread onto a baguette split in half lengthwise

8. Place the bread onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees

9. Enjoy!

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