Viking Saga
NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL
GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA
VOL. 58 ISSUE 5
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Playful plaques By Meghan Pennell Junior Danyka Galvan has been making decorative Spotify plaques ever since she saw some inspiration online in November. Continued on page 4
Junior Danyka Galvan holds the plaque junior Sydney Fisher purchased for her friend junior Trinity Brewer, based on an inside joke from their childhood.
Photo by Dankya Galvan
Presidency Preview
Roundabout PSA
Take a look at the issues President Joe Biden plans to tackle during his term.
There’s a new roundabout near Northwest. Here’s what you need to know.
Students nationwide are experiencing a downfall in grades, but what’s happening at Northwest?
Learn how the cheer and dance teams are preparing for their upcoming state competitions.
PAGE 5
PAGES 6-7
PAGE 9
PAGE 3
Student Grades
State Contests
OPINION
VIKING SAGA
Harry Styles: Beyond the gender binary
Northwest High School 2710 N. North Rd. Grand Island, NE 68803 308.385.6394 www.ginorthwest.org
By Meghan Pennell
On January 1, musician Harry Styles was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine, making him “There is no society that can survive without strong men” said author Candace Owens in a tweet
Forcing the idea that masculinity is directly tied to traits like aggression, strength and assertiveness, and that all men
Not only is this view of masculinity misogymasculinity, not only demerits is dangerous and creates an irrational standard for
VIKING SAGA
adolescent Photo Courtesy of Vogue Magazine
“male” or “female,” and as much as we’d like to
Editor-in-ChiEf Emelia Richling ContEnt organizEr Gabriel Lorenzo trEasurEr Emily Krupicka distribution ManagEr Danyka Galvan PubliC rElations Meghan Pennell additional staff Molly Day Reagan Kropatsch Lydia Vlcek Audrey Wiseman advisEr Kirsten Gilliland
someone’s gender, what is taken into account? Their Michael Kimmel, a leading scholar and to evaluate what makes someone a “real” man or a “Men who have more rigid views of what
CORRECTION
PAGE 2
take care of their health and the list goes on,” said
In the last issue, article “2020: The year you haven’t processed yet” contained an error. On May 25, George Floyd was not shot, but, instead, died of cardiopulmonary arrest, spurred by neck compression from an officer.
VikingMedia
NEWS
A new presidential era By Emily Krupicka On the morning of Jan. 20, 2021, President Joseph Biden and
is successful, he could raise
than a month after the inauguration, talks of new legislation and bills -
decade (not accounting for stimulus checks) and reduce gross domestic the long term.
topics in an address. “We need to provide more immediate relief for families and -
been a long-time goal
Photo Courtesy of The New York Times
ate shape.” -
-
package and proposed series of new economic policies have caught the the future.
VIKING SAGA
-
administration succeeds.
From president-elect to president-reject By Emelia Richling -
-
enemies. The ensuing pandemic that he mishandled and his condem-
Democrat and Republican support was the greatest it had ever been for continuous denial of the electoral college results, encouragement of a
was met with backlash when he attempted to place restrictions on
PAGE 3
-
FEATURES
Playful plaques By Meghan Pennell Junior Danyka Galvan has been making decorative Spotify plaques ever since she got inspiration online in November. Each plaque
PAGE 4
VIKING SAGA
“I use picture frames from Walmart,” Galvan said. “Then, I cut the vinyl lettering with my mom’s cricket, glue the picture on and make sure to align everything correctly.” The plaques are often given as gifts. Each one is personalized, allowing customers to bring their own meaning to them. They choose a song that has special value to the recipient as friends or as a couple and then choose a picture to match, making it look like the image Spotify displays when users listen to music. One plaque takes around 30 to 45 minutes to make and usually requires some tedious work. Galvan has used a variety of glasses and vinyl to make sure she produces plaques of the highest quality possible. “I got one for my brother for Christmas," said junior Sydney Fisher. "Him and his friend record a weekly podcast called The Creatives." Fisher requested her plaque be made with the podcast cover art “My brother really loved his [plaque], and my best friend loved the one I bought her too," Fisher said. "I kind of want to get one for myself, honestly."
Galvan has made a variety of plaques for every occasion. “Sydney’s is probably my favorite one I’ve made so far," Galvan said. "That was really cool, and an idea I would have never thought of." After making 52 plaques thus far, lining up text and carefully removing the extra space from each letter has become easy work for Galvan Galvan has been hoping to expand her products and business by making personalized photo collages on old records. Although she's still tinkering with the idea, orders for plaques can be Photo by Danyka Galvan placed through the link in her Instagram bio @danyka_galvan. “I’ve made around $400," Galvan said. "I really didn’t think it would ever add up to that much or I’d have as many orders as I do. It’s nice to be able to earn money other than my job, especially since this is more enjoyable.” “I think Danyka is doing a great job,” Fisher said. “I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.”
Meet Señor Sweeney By Gabriel Lorenzo “I graduated Sweeney said. “So a lot of times, the [college] from Aurora High student doesn't really teach.” School, and I'd After a college student completes their always heard of practicum, they have a chance to get more Northwest,” said involved in the classroom. University of “Student teaching is an opportunity for Nebraska-Lincoln seniors to go into a school system to take on Student Teacher their own classes where they will assume the Bryce Sweeney. “I role of the teacher,” Burger said. just thought that Burger has had experience working it'd be interesting with student-teachers and saw a positive effect to see what it was actually like since we were in her classroom from Sweeney. always high school rivals.” “I have never trusted a student-teacher In the fall, Sweeney completed his more than I trust him,” Burger said. “His Spanpracticum in the Spanish department with Janet ish is awesome, and he is passionate about Burger, a foreign language teacher, and is now what he does.” completing his student teaching. Sweeney is currently applying to York “Practicum is basically like student Public Schools to teach Spanish 5-6 and 7-8. teaching, but it's more based on observation,” Besides teaching, he is looking to be a drama
coach and being a Spanish club sponsor. Family was the main reason that Sweeney decided to pursue in Spanish education. er because he loved to travel,” Sweeney said. “When I was younger, he would go to Latin America and he'd always tell me about his travels and his stories.” Years later, Sweeney studied in Spain able to interact with the language and culture. “[I love] the language in general [and] just how beautiful it is —,” Sweeney said. “Being able to gift students the ability to talk with a whole other side of the world that otherwise would remain silent to them to them if they didn't know another language.”
By Reagan Kropatsch
to traffic and once there is a gap, enter the circle and proceed to the exit. If there is no traffic, enter without yielding. “I know that allowing students to exit both north and south has reduced the time to clear the parking lot by five minutes or so,” said principal Tim Krupicka. “In order to stay safe, we have to look both directions [when leaving the parking lot].” A poll posted on the Viking Media Instagram, answered by 80 students, shows that 76% like the new roundabout. “It saves a lot of time, and there’s way less traffic,” said junior Sydney Fisher. The added turning lane makes leaving school easier because traffic is reduced. Students are still getting used to the roundabout but traffic movement is already more efficient.
VIKING SAGA
North Road has been getting updates for a while now. The most recent is the stretch right in front of Northwest High School. The construction started in April 2020, and it recently reopened December 18, the last day of school before winter break. The new road consists of a turning lane along North Road and a roundabout at the intersection of North Road and Capital Avenue. The city of Grand Island decided to add turning lanes and roundabouts along North Road within the next few years. This addition will help speed up traffic as there won’t be a need to stop at every intersection. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the correct way to use a roundabout is to slow down when approaching and look left as the yield sign gets near. Yield
NEWS
Around the roundabout
If you want to prepare for an exciting career, Central Community College is a great place to start. Check out the career and technical education courses that we offer and ask about diploma and degree programs. • Accounting • Agricultural Science • Advanced Manufacturing • Auto Body Technology • Automotive Technology • Business Administration • Business Technology • Chemistry • Construction Technology • Criminal Justice • Dental Assisting • Dental Hygiene • Diesel Technology • Drafting and Design Technology • Early Childhood Education • Electrical Technology • Energy Technology
• Environmental Health and Safety Technician • Health Information Management Services • Health Services and Safety • Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration • Heavy Equipment Operator Technology • Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts • Human Services • Information Technology and Systems • Library and Information Services • Logistics
• Mechatronics • Media Arts • Medical Assisting • Medical Laboratory Technician • Nursing • Occupational Therapy Assistant • Paramedicine • Pharmacy Technology • Quality Technology • Truck Driving • Visual Communications • Welding Technology
Columbus l Grand Island l Hastings Holdrege l Kearney l Lexington
FOLLOW US CentralCommunityCollege
SNAP US cccneb
TAG US cccneb
VISIT US www.cccneb.edu
TWEET US @cccnebedu
WATCH US Central Community College Nebraska
PAGE 5
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution
CALL 877-CCC-0780
NEWS
NEWS
Northwest shows success even throughout COVID-19
Statistics obtaine from NWEA
Photo Courtesy of Danyka Galvan
running the classroom. work anymore after the stress I’ve had this “I have noticed that students year. I think that everybody is so drained from don’t seem to show up as early,” said COVID-19. I have been quarantined a lot and teacher Russ Moerer. “And I notice less I feel like it has been a lot on everybody.” eye contact. Students seem less willing to Many students are in the same answer questions. It’s probably because of the boat as Bailey; however, there are many masks.” different lives and perspectives going on No statistics could be found throughout COVID-19. Everyone has lived on whether or not students’ interaction and through different perspectives throughout the eye contact is because of masks. However, pandemic. the trend in lack of eye contact in class, did Math teacher, Kristen Welch start around the same time the coronavirus states, “It depends on the student, I feel that had appeared. Looking at it through a there’s all different scenarios,” Welch said. psychological perspective, it is shown that “Some kids are less motivated and some facial expressions deal a lot with how we kids are more motivated, it depends on how Photo Courtesyaffected of NWEA perceive others and certain situations. COVID-19 their lives. I would say According to statistics at Northwest, as a it’s probably about the same, everyone is in whole for the 2019 fall semester, there was their own boat and their own motivation.” 2.6% of students that failed at least one class. As a whole we have seen many ups and During the fall semester of 2020 there was downs related to COVID-19. Compared to 4.7% of the student body who failed at least other schools however NW is achieving big one class. things as we row the boat together. “I feel like my motivation has dropped a lot,” said sophomore Ashley Bailey. “It’s because I don’t have motivation to do my
PAGE 7
PAGE 6
Stats for second semester from NWEA
Students around the world are facing a crisis. Across the nation, the situation is getting out of hand. With hybrid learning programs, online school and students missing chunks of their education because of the months schools was closed, the result is an unprecedented number of failing students due to quarantine and COVID-19. According to studies from Northwest Evaluation Association, around the country, 38% of students are failing compared to the past years at 8% failing. However, looking at statistics from Northwest High School, it is apparent that the trend of dropping grades is not affecting every school in the US. Statistics from NW show that 98% of freshman students passed their core classes this past fall semester. “I think students are doing really good,” said counselor Andrew Manhart. “With COVID-19, you would think students would be a little lazier.” A counselor’s perspective however, may differ from the eyes of those
VIKING SAGA
VIKING SAGA
By Danyka Galvan and Molly Day
PAGE 8
VIKING SAGA
AD
By Danyka Galvan Every sport has a goal to get to state. For the Northwest cheer and ness and how hard our choredance team, their goal is to perform well at state. With the pressure to ography is. If we are stunting perfect: pointed toes, nail jumps, and hit stunts, the two teams are hard during the performance then we at work to represent NW to the best of their abilities. This year there will are also judged on if we fall or if be a lot of changes due to COVID-19, and the teams will have to adjust, we hit.” creating a greater challenge. Not only are judging State will be held at the Heartland Events Center in town. The styles different but there are also stadium will be split in two for both cheerleaders and dancers to perform different categories in which at the bottom of the arena as per usual. However, there are many changes teams can be judged in. the performers will face. “There are four different categories in state cheer,” Eickhoff said. “COVID has really changed a lot with the state [Competition] NW’s cheer team will be competing in a performance and game this year,” said dance captain Hannah Fjeldheim. “The whole state event day routine. itself is twice as long as it normally would be to try and spread everyone “I like our hip hop this year,” Fjeldheim said. “It’s upbeat and I out. We aren’t sure what the rules are going to be like for spectators yet think that the judges will really enjoy it.” but I’m sure that will be different as well.” The teams wake up for early practice at 6 A.M. throughout the This year the dance team will be competing on February 18 and week which in past years has shown to pay off. the cheer team will be competing on the 19th. Cheer and dance may “Last year we did really well at state,” Fjeldheim said. “We ended seem similar; however there are a few differences in judging. up winning state champs in the hip-hop category.” Senior cheerleader Faith Eickhoff said, “A huge part of our points This year with COVID-19, the teams are waiting to see if they come from crowd involvement. This means how we are able to use signs will be allowed more than two guests. If more peers are allowed the two and stunting to get the crowd to cheer with us. They also look for sharp- teams would love the support of students and staff in the stands.
By Reagan Kropatsch
“All the money we raise we give to somebody who can use it more than us,” Vyhlidal said, “Last year, we gave it to Mrs. Soto, who was a teacher at Westridge and whose daughter had a lot of seizure complications.” Last year, the group had raised close to $400 and are hoping to raise more. “I think my favorite song to sing is ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’,” said senior Faeryn Tuttle. “I enjoy doing [Singing Valentines] because I love singing and performing.” The day for Goldtones starts out with warm-ups before school starts. Vyhlidal splits the choir into smaller groups, depending on how many “Singing Valentines” were purchased for that period, and gives the group leader a list of everywhere to go. They spend nearly all day going classroom to classroom singing for everyone they are assigned to. “I love seeing our classmates happy and excited about something simple like a song,” said Tuttle, “Seeing them light up with joy really makes all the preparation worth it.”
PAGE 9
For Valentine’s Day, the classrooms of Northwest will be filled with singing for everyone to hear. Goldtones, NW’s acapella group, will be doing their “Singing Valentines” for the second year in a row. “Singing Valentines are when our Goldtones group learns short love songs and you can buy them for somebody else, so then we go and sing to that person in their class,” said vocal music teacher Jeff Vyhlidal. People can send these “Singing Valentines” to friends, teachers and significant others, either seriously or in a joking manner. This year, there are six song options: “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “My Girl,” “Dance With Me Tonight,” “Still Into You,” “One Thing,” and “Little Things.” “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “My Girl” are making another appearance, as they were popular choices last year. As of right now, Goldtones doesn’t have a price for the Singing Valentines, but last year’s price was $5 per song. Once it gets closer to the actual date, the “Singing Valentine’s” will be for sale during lunch outside of the cafeteria. Each year, Goldtones picks the person or a place they think needs the money the most. They try to stay local rather than donating to bigger foundations.
VIKING SAGA
Goldtones sets the tone for V-Day
FEATURES
State dance and cheer
REVIEWS VIKING SAGA PAGE 10
Disney's new Mulan: Worth the wait?
By Lydia Vlcek I wish I could say I enjoyed this movie, but unfortunately, there’s battle scenes really make the movie interesting. The scenic backgrounds nothing truly interesting about this film. It's sad to see that it fell short of were so beautiful, as it was filmed in New Zealand and China. my expectations, considering it was one of my most anticipated films of I’d recommend this to people who enjoy scenes that are easy on the year and I loved the original animated film. the eye and who love action, but not so much to people who expect this The movie begins with a young Mulan running around and using to be identical to the original animated film. her new chi power in her village. This new power gives her the ability to fight well without any training. To some, it might appear to be some kind of talent, but I think it was more meant to be a sort of magical power that helps her in times of trouble. Fast-forwarding into the future, the emperor hears of an attack near the heart of China and sends out soliders to defend the area. After this, it follows the same premise of the animated movie. Mulan fights the bad guy, Bori Kahn, and wins. There were several flaws that made the film hard to follow, such as how the camera moves at very random angles. There were also parts where the scenes changed too quickly, which made it appear incredibly rushed and choppy. I didn’t enjoy the addition of the chi, since it eliminated her training and character development. Overall, the new power was confusing to understand and made Mulan herself hard to relate to. One of its biggest flaws was the amount of bland characters. Everyone was boring, even Mulan was emotionless throughout. It was like watching a rehearsal of what could have been a beautiful acPhoto Courtesy of Disney tion-packed passion project. Even with all of these flaws, the nature and
Freaky: Is it freaky good?
By Audrey Wiseman This past year has been scary. A virus, rioting, and theft of an The movie's hilarious one-liners were delivered with respect for ancient sacrificial dagger that swapped the bodies of a serial killer and the plot. They didn’t feel out of place and added to the flow, which is a teenage girl. In movie form, that is. The R-rated horror/comedy film something not many films can achieve. Freaky showed us that as bad as things are, they could be worse. At least Freaky used the public’s recent obsession with the femme fatale you’re not getting murdered Texas Chainsaw Massacre style by the posaesthetic to its advantage through music, costume, and body language. sessed quiet girl at your school. Props to Newton, she killed it (pun very much intended). In the movie, highschooler Millie Kessler becomes a victim of an My issues with the movie lie in the magic dagger La Dola as infamous local killer. Instead of being killed when stabbed, she wakes means of the body swap and also in the end of the film. La Dola provides up in the body of her attacker. Now the killer inhabits her body and an explanation as to how the pair switched bodies, but not why. her school is his murder playground unless Millie can reverse the dagAbout the end of the film, I ask the writers to freshen up on huger's curse in 24 hours. The film is a spinoff of Freaky Friday, in which a man anatomy. Chasing and fighting after suffering several bullet wounds mother and daughter swap bodies. is nearly impossible. There are still more anatomical inaccuracies. I was disappointed in the film’s tired tropes, particularly the Freaky is worth watching, even if you can’t handle gore. It has underlying romance. Millie chasing her stereotypical dream boy was un- depth beyond all the blood and guts. necessary and took attention away from the A-plot. I think the crew was So grab some popcorn and a pillow to bury your face in while self-aware of the cliches to an extent, concerning how obvious some are. someone onscreen gets sawed in half, and sit down to watch Freaky, The acting was good. I loved the performances of the lead actress available on Prime Video. And if you hear about an ancient dagger being and actor, especially Kathryn Newton’s performance as the killer trapped stolen, avoid highschool campuses at night. in Millie’s body. It felt real and she differentiated her characters well.
SPOTLIGHTS
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT By Molly Day
ELIZABETH TRAUSCH What is the worst part of being a senior?
“Finding out what you wanna do after high school and choosing your senior quote.”
Do you ever feel senioritis? What’s that like? Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
JESSE NISSEN What is the worst part of being a senior?
SYDNI PEARSON What is the worst part of being a senior?
“Leaving all your frends at the end of the year and preparing for college.”
Do you ever feel senioritis? What’s that like?
“Yeah, a little bit but not a lot.”
Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
“Turn your stuff in on time.” What is your best high school memory? “Hanging out with friends.”
What is your best high school mem.ory?
Photo Courtesy of Sarah Wilson
Photo Courtesy of Tally Creative
Do you ever feel senioritis? What’s that like? Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
senior year, and that hurts my feelings.” “Football games.”
What is our best highschool memory?
“Being a part of show choir and being around the people and making 14kg and being a leader.” Photo Courtesy of Savs.Photography
In the news...
VIKING SAGA
regret. If you have the slightest interest in something, go for it or you will miss your opportunity.”
“Yes.”
By Emily Krupicka and Emelia Richling •
On January 20, President Joseph
Biden had already signed numerous executive orders to reverse the previous administration’s policies, including returning to the Paris Climate Agreement and blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline. • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell discussed giving former President Donald Trump’s lawyers two weeks to prepare for an impeachment trial. The announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to move the articles of impeachment to the Senate on January 25.
• At least 32 people were killed and over 100 were wounded in a Baghdad explosion on January 21. ISIS, a terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings that occured. Although the terrorist group has been greatly weakened over the years, with the help of Iraq’s international allies, militant groups still conduct operations. • Angelo Caloia, the former head of the Vatican bank, has been charged with embezzlement and money laundering. He has been sentenced to nine months in prison, becoming the
PAGE 11
• Joe Ricketts, father of Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, announced that he will be creating a news outlet. Despite being a Republican and having close ties with the party, he claims that his news outlet will be an unbiased source of factual information. • COVID-19 cases are still high in Nebraska, but, according to the Central District Health Department’s dashboard, numbers are lowering, citing the effectiveness of masks as one of the reasons numbers have been lowering recently. The CDHD encourages all members of Grand Island to continue taking protective measures against the virus.
AD
o Somewhere! study abroad It’s a dream for many. But at Hastings, you’ll spend part of one semester abroad at no additional cost. Peru, Ireland, France,
VIKING SAGA
Spain, Honduras — where will you go?
$12,000+ for everyone Every Hastings College student receives scholarships worth at least $12,000. Many receive $15,000-20,000 (some even more!) — and all renew each year.
geek out To create the best learning experience, every student receives an iPad and Apple Pencil — making handwritten notes, digital lab annotations and more a reality. Plus we’re providing all required text books, saving you $4,000 or more.
Want to learn more?
PAGE 12
Schedule your in-person or virtual visit today!
HASTINGS.EDU/VISIT
Nebraska’s Premier Private College