December 2022 U-Times

STEAM expo returns in-person after three years

by Kamarra Williams | Staff Writer

Over 400 attendees visited the U. City STEAM expo held at Brittany Woods Middle School the evening of Nov. 15. Forty organizations prepared booths exhibiting various specialities and skills, such as game design, elementary school engineering clubs, and environmental topics.

“In simplest terms, the event provides a public, community place to showcase some of the authentic STEAM experiences that are happening throughout the district from PreK-12th grade both in the classroom and through our community partnerships,” Beverly Velloff, math and science curriculum and instruction director and event organizer, said.

This was the 5th year of the STEAM expo, but the first time since 2019 the event was held in person. The expo was organized by Velloff, the operations department, curriculum and instruction, and the communications department. The event also changed from STEM to STEAM last year. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Adding the element of art gives creativity and artistic creation more credence and appreciation.

“This event provides an opportunity to bring people together and empower all to see themselves as ‘STEAM capable,’” Velloff said. “Creating a community of critical thinkers, problem solvers and overall positive growth mindset.

Sherry Wibben, science teacher, had a booth at the STEAM expo.

“I had the PLTW [Project Lead the Way] booth that showcased student work in PBS and HBS,” Wibben said. “All I did at the fair was bring materi-

als; my students did the rest of the work.”

Lucy Rhoades, senior, takes a human body systems class and was able to help with the exhibit.

“I’m in the human body systems class where we learn about the brain and different parts of it,” Rhoades said. “We brought a lamb brain. We also had diagrams of all the parts and explained them to people who visited our booth. Some even put on gloves to touch the brain. We wanted to try and bring science to life.”

Andrew Holahan, senior, helped with the robotics booth at the STEAM expo.

“We brought our robot from our lab and drove it around,” Holahan said. “We also told a bunch of kids some of the stuff we use for the engineering design process to come up with our robot design.”

Even when there were technical issues with the robot, the team was able to workshop it on the spot.

“We had a robot that made a ball into the basketball hoop,” Joshua Grove, freshman, said. “We had to try and line up the robot by eye, because the camera on the robot wasn’t working at the time, which was tough but we got it to work eventually.”

Colonel Robert Jakcsy, J-ROTC teacher, had a booth to introduce kids to drones at U. City.

“I thought participation went really well this year; there were plenty of attendees,” Jakcsy said. “I really enjoyed watching cadet Deshun Keys instructing the young students on how to properly fly a drone. It was awesome to watch him share his knowledge.”

James Wright, science and PLTW teacher, enjoyed the variety of STEM fields that were represented at the STEAM Expo. “I thought it was really cool to see a lot of the younger kids coming in with their parents,” Wright said. “We had anything from nursing school to robotics to the programs that we have at the high school.”

Maryville University represented the nursing field by taking vitals and showing off how to take care of a newborn baby.

PHOTOS BY KIYA KING

Lucy Rhoades, senior, sat with the human body systems table and used a lamb brain to explain different parts of the neurological system. “I felt like I learned more by trying to teach other people,” Rhoades said. “Trying to explain information makes you really have to have a solid understanding of the material yourself.”

Gavin O’Leary and Josh Grove, freshman, along with Andrew Holahan, junior, show off the robotics display. Each year, the team creates a robot to complete specific challenges. “It was pretty nice being able to realize that we could actually shoot the ball into the basketball hoop; we’ve never done that before,” O’Leary said.

The safety of our schools and community are once again being threatened by gun violence. Although gun violence has become such a big part of American society and even affiliated with our culture, it’s still shocking and horrifying when we hear about a school shooting that has happened within our city. The American “hoorah” and dominance of nationalism is quite honestly ironic when thought about because not only are we celebrating America for our freedom of speech and so called democracy, but we’re also celebrating and promoting the sales of firearms to teenagers and people that are ill intended.

Let’s not cover up America’s problems with our abundant freedoms when in reality they’ve proven to be harmful and deadly. This is not a debate between political parties, this is not a matter of personal freedoms, this is about the lives that have been lost to gun violence, and how we as a society must solve this issue at its root; gun control and mental health.

As of right now, any person at the age of 18 years or older is allowed to purchase a gun in Missouri with-

STAFF EDITORIAL

out a background check or a permit. The question is, why are the legal age restrictions to drink, smoke, or purchase and handle marijuana 21, but a teenager has the right to buy a deadly weapon? This argument is also used when discussing the age at which a person can join the U.S. Military, because it seems awfully contradicting if we’re more concerned about the recreational use of drugs and alcohol compared to the possibility of immediate death and trauma that is inflicted by firearms and violence.

With the recent school shooting that took place at Central VPA High School, student Alexzandria Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka were killed and several others injured. Orlando Harris, a 19 year old graduate of CVPA was found carrying about 30 round rifle magazines and an AR-15 rifle, a semiautomatic gun that is used in sporting events and hunting. These guns are designed to shoot fast bullets, about three times as fast as a handgun, so that the shooter can hit its target while being less accurate. The ammunition speed is so fast that it sends shock waves through the body and either kills

or damages tissue; this is called cavitation effect. AR-15 rifles are frequently used in mass shootings and cause a significant more amount of damage than the average handgun. Banning this gun would be a more feasible and achievable first step in dismantling the sale of dangerous guns to dangerous people.

In some states a background check is required. Although Missouri doesn’t require it, these background checks don’t do nearly enough to prevent sales to harmful people as they primarily ask whether the person has been convicted of a felony, been in possession of illegal substances or have been committed to a mental hospital/diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Even if this background check was required in Missouri the only thing it would prevent is the purchase of firearms to felons and people with obvious mental health issues. A majority of the time, people go undiagnosed with mental health disorders due to a lack of resources or just the stigma surrounding mental health. It’s impossible to ban the usage of all guns to the general public when we live in

such a divided country; however, it is possible to increase restrictions like mandating background checks in every state and mental health evaluations that are administered by professionals, increasing the age restrictions to 21 years or older and requiring permits to carry a gun out in public. All of which will ignite controversy but protect the lives of children in schools, people shopping at local grocery stores or people living their day to day lives that have been plagued by gun violence.

There is no excuse, regardless of the shooter’s mental state, well being or intention; that person should have never been in possession of a gun and should be allowed access to proper mental health facilities and resources.

By stigmatizing mental health and increasing healthcare costs as if healthcare is not a necessity, America is creating a dangerous society. If the government was to enforce stricter gun laws, background checks and make mental health services more accessible, then America could say that they’re in fact dismantling gun violence.

True crime is not your entertainment

by Ariyanna Wilkes Staff Writer

The media is a great source of entertainment and is easily accessible to everyone, regardless of their intentions. “Dahmer,” one of Netflix’s most recent true crime television programs, has received 701.37 million hours of viewing, placing it second among English-language programs. What could possibly motivate people to watch this one so much when there are so many other television shows available on Netflix? People enjoy getting a peek inside a murderer’s head because it shocks their impressionable minds and increases their dopamine levels. Due to the attention and sensationalism that major media outlets have given to the true crime genre over the past few years, it has experienced an increase of viewership. True crime culture has desensitized many individuals to all the current and older crimes that have occurred in the world. People no longer feel empathy for the victims, but instead like to envision themselves in that place.

True crime is a genre of nonfiction where the author explores a real crime and describes the behaviors of the people involved in and impacted by criminal events. Through sites like

Tiktok, YouTube, and others, it has become diluted and commercialized in recent times. It is no longer about disseminating accurate information but rather entertaining an audience while falsifying facts to do so.

“I feel that the broadcasting of violent crimes in the form of true crime documentaries, podcasts, movies etc has definitely desensitized most people to more violent crimes,” Samantha Young, senior, said. “Seeing how often things like this take place makes it a normal occurrence and less of a big deal to most people.”

There has definitely been a decline in the quality of true crime writing and presentation over time. The audience is no longer horrified by what they are hearing, instead they are more interested in what the next person will do, how far they will go, and whether it will surpass the original. It is acceptable to listen to true crime for informational purposes and even if you want to understand why people act in certain ways. However, it becomes problematic when you start to desire it; when you consider what you might have done differently if you had been in the same circumstances, and when you would prefer a true crime show

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The newspaper’s primary obligation is to inform its readers about events in the school and community and of the issues of national or international importance which directly or indirectly affect the school population. The newspaper, while serving as a training ground for future journalists as part of the school curriculum, recognizes all rights and responsibilities under the First Amendment. While establishing U-Times as a public forum, student editors will apply professional standards and ethics for decisionmaking as they take on the respon

High school and middle school align to ease student transitions

by Nasra Artan Staff Writer

Throughout the years, middle schoolers have been sent to high school with very little knowledge of the courses, class schedule and high school expectations, which has made it difficult to adjust. As of recently U-City and Brittany Woods will be aligning to better create a smoother transition for U. City’s upcoming freshmen.

“Prior to this year, there was a building leader there that wasn’t interested in collaborating with me,” Dr. Michael Peoples, principal and director of secondary education, said. “We have a new principal at Brittany Woods middle school, who I’ve met with extensively in the lead up to this school year. And we’ve engaged in a great deal of planning around aligning certain things between our buildings. One being that now Brittany Woods is on a similar bell schedule to ours where they have A, B, and U days.”

A pattern seen a lot in freshman is the struggle for them to arrive on time to classes. With the schools finally having similar block schedules, upcoming freshman will be able to grasp the concept prior to their enrollment to the high school making the transition easier and the halls less crowded.

“They’ve also changed their class length to 90 minute blocks, the same way ours is situated,” Peoples said. “They also changed their grading practices too so that their grade weighting closer reflected ours.”

“Middle school didn’t really prepare me as much as would’ve liked,” Zofia Reed, senior, said. “They

[freshmen] are taught that this is the big leagues and now they have to take their academics seriously but the pressure is too much; we weren’t taught all the resources given to us.”

A common struggle among many middle schoolers is their lack of accountability, with many seeing middle school as a waste of time. Peoples and the board are working to make sure they see positive changes come to the middle school.

“In years prior, students have been able to behave in ways that didn’t carry any accountability. Whereas now, the expectations and the accountability around student behavior are similar,” Peoples said.

The main objective of the alignment is to ensure the success of incoming freshmen, but in order to do that they need to be given the needed tools to help themselves. With all the new resources and changes, the principals are doing their best to provide the students with as much assistance necessary to smoothly transition to the high school.

“When students come to us from middle school, that 9th grade year is a challenge,” Kimberly Austin, associate principal, said. “You are going from a system where you are just earning grades without credit to earning grades with credit.”

For many years, the middle school didn’t have a system where middle school students could get high school credit but they do now. With that, we even have high school teachers who go to the middle school to better assist with high school level learning.

“I think it prepares the students mentally and physically for high school,” Amelia Fowler, sophomore, said. “I think the transition from middle school into highschool is going to be much better, with the recent changes that were made at the middle school.”

Nasir Austin, freshman, thinks that adding more class variety might help with the transition.

“If Brittany Woods would offer students the chance to take more advanced classes then that would be a great change,” Austin said.

Beginning to condition students early to a rigorous curriculum and similar routines that will stay with them throughout their high school life will increase their chances in adapting to their new environment and leave less room for struggling to adjust to a new norm.

“I had a big transition, because it was nothing like high school,” Makayla Stewart, junior, said. “I thought they were preparing me a little more, but when I came here I was shocked. I was not ready for this. I like high school much more than middle school. Our teachers make sure to get us extra help.”

In addition to support from teachers and the school district, it’s reassuring to know that fellow classmates and upperclassman are being supportive.

“I would like to see the seniors encourage and uplift the freshmen and treat the like a little brother or sister,” Austin said.

with more gore over a sitcom. Even if you can’t process it straight away, your brain will eventually get desensitized to violence the more you see it and indulge in it. As a result, your feelings won’t be the same. The world will appear greyer to you, and no matter how shiny and fresh anything may be, all you’ll perceive is a grey shadow over everything. You won’t feel bad for the people you see on screen, you won’t even feel bad for someone you see in person begging for help.

According to the National Library of Medicine, a study concluded that, “Those with medium levels of exposure to TV/movie violence experienced lower elevations of blood pressure when viewing violent videos compared to those with low exposure, and those with higher levels of exposure evidenced rapid increase in blood pressure that quickly declined over time. The results point to diminished empathy and reduced emotional reactivity to violence.”

These big platforms often claim to produce such content just for educational purposes, but, in reality, they only do so to capitalize on it and profit while affecting real people. Serious moral and ethical questions were

Policies

raised by the fact that the victims’ families were never informed that “Dahmer” would be released. The families were forced to go through the agony and heartache all over again so that Netflix could profit immensely.

Larger companies are free from dealing with the emotional turmoil that can be caused by their acts, and the only time they would ever discuss the issue is if it adversely impacted the revenue they brought in. They would only make amends if it damaged their reputation.

We need to stop giving money to these corporations. When they continue to profit from it, they believe it is acceptable and that people like the content, despite the fact that the majority of those who watch it despise it.

We have the ability as individuals to refuse to watch this content and to stop giving it the attention it craves. Every day, new content is released without such heinous backgrounds, so instead of investing all of your money into the latest serial killer story, start putting in something that will truly make a difference, such as funds for the victims’ families.

sibility for content and production of the newspaper. Inasmuch as the student staff encourages constructive criticism of any part of the newspaper, authority for content rests in the hands of the student members of the newspaper staff. Students will not publish material considered to be legally unprotected speech, or libel, obscenity, material disruption of the educational process, copyright infringement, or unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Opinions expressed on the editorial page do not reflect the viewpoints of the school administration. All editorials (unsigned) represent a majority opinion of the Editorial Board. Signed editorials, columns, editorial cartoons, and reviews reflect the views of the author and not necessarily those of the U-Times Editorial Board. The U-Times reserves the right to reject, edit, or shorten letters. Submit letters to Ms. Olivia Steely in Room L306, or to any UTimes staff member, or to osteely@ ucityschools.org.

Tips to ace finals this year

by Madelaine Province Staff Writer

Final exams are right around the corner, and so are the challenges that come with them. Finals can be a significant source of stress for students but knowing some tips for studying can help alleviate that burden. One of the most important things to do during this time is to try to eliminate unproductive habits and focus instead on the studying methods that work for you.

Many students psych themselves out worrying about the exams instead of focusing on studying for them. Take a step back and focus on what you can control, which is how you study. The following strategies have been proved to increase the outcome of higher test scores.

First, make the most of class time. If you finish your class work and have free time left over, use that time as an opportunity for studying rather than recreation. This way, you get extra study time and also don’t need to spend as much time at home studying. Continuing to study in small increments of time that you normally wouldn’t be helps your brain to retain the information and have it ready the day of your exam.

“[Studying] needs to happen not just a couple days before finals, but frequently throughout the semester,” Christina Grove, CLR facilitator, said. “Quizlet is a very helpful tool because you can make your own quizzes based on your needs. If you don’t have access to Quizlet, you can go to the Dollar Tree and get index cards to be able to continuously review your notes. The other part of being able to read and review your notes is using something that helps to solidify that knowledge in your mind and make sure you can get plenty of exposure to it.”

Take breaks. While studying is important, doing it for too long can start to burn you out and cause your studying to be less effective. If you’ve been spending a lot of time on one subject, switch to another to prevent “learning fatigue.” It is recommended to switch topics or take short breaks every 30 minutes. After sufficient time away from studying, you can go back and revisit the more challenging topics now that your brain has been recharged.

Rewrite your notes. Oftentimes, when a student is taking notes in class, they’re more focused on just getting all the information down rather than actually understanding and retaining the material. Rewriting your notes helps to reinforce the information you learned, helping your brain to remember and understand it better. When rewriting your notes, read over them two or three times before you start writing. This way, you have a relative grasp of what the topic is before you start rewriting them. Rereading and rewriting your notes is an effective way to help your brain better remember and reserve information needed for your finals.

“If you have taken notes throughout the semester, go back and look at all of the learning targets that have been covered in the class and create a few test questions connected to those targets,” Christina Sneed, ELA curriculum and instruction director, said. “Try to see; do you understand them? Can you speak to them? Can you analyze whatever it is that it’s asking you to do? One, do you know what it’s asking you to do, and then two, can you do it?”

Find a good study spot. Whether it be a room in your home, a cafe, or a library, having a designated place to study can help a lot. Make sure it’s an area you can focus well and won’t be easily distracted. It is recommended to stay away from studying in places like a bed or comfortable chair because it can be tempting to stop working and just relax or sleep instead. If you study at your house, you should find a desk or table to do your studying at. Cafes can be distracting because of the loud noises, but some people prefer having noise around them to study. If you’re a person who doesn’t like lots of sound near you, try a library instead.

“Setting the environment for where you study is very important,” Grove said. “Students often like to study with rap music, but research shows that when there’s words to your music it actually distracts you from what you’re trying to do. Make sure you’re in spaces that are conducive to your learning as best you can. I know that’s not always possible, but try to be in a place free of distractions that allows you to focus.”

STUDY TIPS

Make the most of class time. Find free time in between instruction or utilize your free time.

Take breaks while studying for the most effective comprehension and recall. You may not realize it but your brain can burn out fairly quickly so take it slow.

Rewrite your notes to recall the information your teacher was lecturing on because you were probably more focused on writing it down than taking it in.

Find a good study spot. Depending on the type of person you are, you might be more succesful in a quiet environment or maybe you like background noise so study at a cafe.

Editor: Alara Stewart

Web Editor: Xavier Thomas

Staff Writers/Photographers: Nasra Artan Shayonna Burgess Nikia Clark Mekhai Gover Madelaine Province Erin Standish

Ariyanna Wilkes

Kamarra Williams

U. City needs more Jewish representation

by Addie Lander | Guest Writer

With the upcoming holiday of Hanukkah and the recent High Holidays, one can’t help but notice the lack of Jewish representation in the University City School District. Throughout the month of December and in the weeks leading up to winter break, everything seems to be about Christmas. But when was the last time you saw Hanukkah decorations in the school hallways? Lily Scharff, freshman, feels that in comparison to other schools, U. City is lacking in Jewish representation.

“It’s interesting, I notice how other schools have a lot of Jewish holidays off, but we don’t because our school’s mostly Christian,” Scharff said, “I feel like some people don’t even know about the religion at all.”

However, Judaism is not an unknown religion, more than 7 million Jewish people reside in America alone. Yet, it sometimes feels as if few people understand or truly know about the culture. In fact, many people are misinformed about it, including in our own school. Gabrielle Yudovich, junior, has experienced this in her time at U. City.

“On the High Holidays, people are always asking me things like, why do you miss so much school?” Yudovich said, “One time, someone said that the reason we don’t have Good Friday off is because there’s too many Jews here. But, even though a lot of Jewish people live in U. City, barely any go to our school.”

Historically, the high school had a substantial Jewish population. Yet Jewish students at the time may have taken that for granted. They were just so used to it that they didn’t even start to discuss religion. Alumni Jerry and Harriet Lander, class of 1960, were never aware of the Jewish representation at U. City.

“At the time, I can’t say that either of us really felt any different, I don’t think we really knew how Jewish it was,” Jerry Lander said, “We certainly knew the kids we hung around with were Jewish, but I don’t think we ever really talked about religion.”

Although Anti-Semitism seems like a big issue today, at the time it wasn’t seen as prominent in society like it is in 2022.

“I’m sure it would be different today; it’s just so hard to imagine it,” Harriet Lander said, “We were so unaware of Anti-Semitism. It’s very strange, you would think there would be some conversation but no.”

While a lot of Jewish families still reside in University City, few send their kids to the schools. A lot of Jewish families tend to send their children to private schools, causing the high school to lack in Jewish population.

“I feel like the community used to be very Jewish,” Scharff said, “But, throughout the years it’s become less and less so. Which results in us not having many Jewish students.”

The issue of Jewish representation in our schools runs as deep as the curriculum that is taught. For instance, several students expressed that during their time at Brittany Woods, they rarely were taught about the Holocaust in class. Clementine Huck, freshman, hasn’t heard anything in relation to the topic all school year.

“U. City isn’t very inclusive to Jewish people,” Huck said, “I think teachers, specifically history teachers, should teach more about things such as the Holocaust. We haven’t really talked about it in the curriculum and I feel like that’s something that could really help represent us as Jewish people.”

Winter Wonderland

JEWISH HOLIDAY

TRADITIONS

When the Maccabees fought against their oppression and reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, they lit a menorah with enough oil for one day in order to take back the Temple. However the menorah stayed lit for eight days. Lighting the menorah commemorates this historical miracle, and Jewish families begin to light the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah.

Food is significant during holidays, because people are celebrating something collectively. Jewish dishes hold a lot of historical meaning similar to other culture and marks the celebration of the holiday whether it be Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Passover, etc.

Some popular Jewish dishes include latkes, a potato pancake or fritter, matzo ball soup, a chicken based broth with Jewish soup dumplings and challah bread that is braided before it’s baked with a slightly sweet taste.

THINGS TO DO IN ST. LOUIS

Holiday lights sparkle in Tilles Park

Wild

Lights at the Zoo

Scan the Spotify QR code by opening the Spotify app, selecting the camera option at the top of the page to listen to

The park lights take visitors in a circle with the show beginning and ending in the same location. The best view of the “Let it Snow” sign is at the end, especially when looking at the detailed snowglobes on both sides.

Seasonal depression grows during holidays

by Alara Stewart | Editor

As the holiday season intensifies with Christmas music, light shows, family gatherings and last minute gift shopping, it’s easy to get swept away by the energetic commotion. Although it can be invigorating to some, others experience the holidays as lonely and may feel an overall numbness to their surroundings. This can be classified as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or more commonly known as seasonal depression. With the rise of mental health awareness it’s important to acknowledge that during these spirited times a lot of people may be struggling with their own internal battles.

“It’s cyclical, and people’s mood tends to dip in the winter months in response to both the weather and the isolation that is a response to the weather, since we are indoors more often,” Nathan Pipes, psychology teacher, said. “Summertime in St. Louis, everybody is outside of their house, but in the winter time everybody’s inside for four months.” A correlation can be found between teenage mental health and seasonal depression as teenagers are experiencing drastic changes in emotions, navigating through liminal levels of

independence and beginning to identify who they are or want to be. According to a survey that received responses from 10% of the U. City student body, 81.6% of students responded “Yes,” when asked “Is it difficult navigating through changes as a teenager,” and 18.4% responded “Somewhat.”

“As a teenager you don’t know what independence looks like or feels like, but here it is and you have to take that step in just a few months,” Pipes said. “It produces a lot of anxiety. We also know that anxiety can be a mask for depression, and it’s unconscious. It’s not intentional but it’s like the anxiety is the person trying to fight depression. There’s all kinds of case studies on people who have had anxiety symptoms for years and once they get past that then they’ve got to deal with depression.”

Having to adapt to these new concepts during a pivotal age in life is challenging by itself, however the addition of seasonal depression makes it more challenging for teens to have a positive holiday experience. In most cases, seasonal depression is just a trigger for the emotions that teenagers already feel, bringing them to the surface and intensifying them.

From a survey that received responses from 10% of the U. City student population, students describe their experiences as withdrawal from any interaction due to the loneliness, pressure from family members to put on a fake smile, stress and a lack of motivation.

In addition to the increase of depressive feelings, people are often bombarded with financial stress and family dynamics because of the expectation to buy gifts. There’s an underlying societal norm that for any holiday a person may celebrate throughout the season, it’s all about gift giving, despite its true meaning of spending time with family and friends. This pressure to spend money increases stress levels, especially those in the working and lower economic classes, where there may not be enough money to spend leading to longer work days and potential feelings of disappointment. Even so, the monetary stress may not be an issue for some, instead the stress of being surrounded by family when there could be inherent issues or tensions. Regardless of whatever negativity a person may be facing, it’s crucial to take all of these factors into consideration in order to understand and help loved ones out during this deceptive time.

Near the beginning is a brightly lit, large archway that alternated the red and green lights. Right after this exhibit, several tall trees are decorated with a variety of colored lights. “Going through the light tunnel while the festive music was playing in the background really got us all into the Christmas spirit,” Reilley Farrar, senior, said.

One section centered on snow, with all blue lights and snowmen to simulate a snowy Christmas. Viewers could turn to a specific radio station to hear music that matches each lights location. “Looking at all the decorations along with the music around us reminded me of why the holiday season is my favorite part of the year,” Isabelle Braeske, junior, said.

Midway through, the exhibit showcases a gingerbread theme with multiple small gingerbread men and a woman. Tilles Park even decorated the restrooms to match. “My favorite part of the light exhibit was the gingerbread village with all of the different characters,” Ella Martin, senior, said. “I’ve always loved how each one has their own personality.”

PHOTOS BY ERIN STANDISH

Ted Drewes Christmas Tree Farm

Anheuser Busch Brew-

Botanical Garden Lights

New characters shine in Black Panther sequel

by Xavier Thomas Web Editor

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” a long awaited movie, brings fans together to celebrate the second installation of the series and has exceeded many fans expectations. With the main character’s actor, Chadwick Boseman’s, sudden and shocking passing on Aug. 28, 2020, fans were unsure what direction the Black Panther series would go. But Marvel found a solution.

The movie begins with all characters in a panic as King T’Challa is dying from an illness. Shuri (Letita Wright) is trying her hardest to try to save him as she’s trying to create a heart shaped herb since Erik Killmonger (Micheal B. Jordan) destroyed all of them by burning them. But the herb Shuri was making was not ready in time and King T’Challa passed. The movie jumps to a year later where different countries believe Wakanda is defenseless now without a Black Panther. Because of this Wakanda is blamed for attacks on the American government to get more Vibranium. In actuality it was Namor

(Tenoch Huerta), a sub-mariner with an agenda to keep his people safe and his vibranium, and his people that were responsible for the attack on the U.S government.

In this movie Namor was more of an anti-hero than an actual villain. The audience is introduced to Namor with him trying to make a deal with Shuri and Queen Romanda (Angela Bassett) to join him and keep the vibranium safe. They decide not to join him, leading to animosity and tension between the three characters. The actors in general did a fantastic job in the movie considering their original main character was absent. With Boseman gone, side characters who didn’t have much screen time in the first film had a chance to shine even more in this one. Bassett had the most remarkable performance in the film showing raw emotions that the audience might’ve related to in the movie. She even felt like the main character in the first half of the movie before Wright took over, showing she can take on the role of playing black panther.

However the movie’s pace was slowed down as it added few unnecessary filler scenes. These scenes consisted of returning characters Agent Ross (Martin Freeman) and Valentina (Julia Louis Dreyfus). The scenes were good at first but then began to feel out of place with the direction of the movie. Actress Dominique Thornes (IronHeart) performance was remarkable and somehow the main reason why the government was going after Wakanda. Not only was IronHeart there to stir up chaos but also to make her first appearance in a marvel movie to set up her new TV series ‘IronHeart’ in 2023.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” exceeded expectations with the cast stepping up and making it an enjoyable watch for the audience. With the introduction of new characters, it proves fans had nothing to worry about. The movie left audience members emotional with relatable real life situations, but was still an enjoyable watch.

4/5 stars

by Ariyanna Wilkes Staff Writer

Fans have been waiting for the release of “Her Loss” since Drake & 21 Savage’s first date dropped in their Jimmy Cooks video at the 1:25 mark. This video was released Oct. 22, 2022, and the album was released on Oct. 28, 2022. Mixed with the hype of TikTok and his illegally released fake Vogue cover, Drake was able to get everyone pumped up for it. Not only was his huge fanbase pushing the numbers up but so were 21 Savage’s fans that helped them get their No. 1 on Billboard.

The two’s collaboration on this album was undeniably organic and easy

flowing. They complemented each other’s sounds with Drake bringing a smoother sound while implementing his newer rap flow and 21 Savage maintaining a more hardcore sound. That worked out nicely for both of them since they were able to incorporate diverse sounds and give us a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the album.

“Major Distribution” is one of the songs where you can hear this in action. Drake’s verse has a refreshing melody that transitions into a simple beat before introducing the more complex bass closer to 21 Savage’s verse. Their voices collaborated to

master a mashup of the two genres, which resulted in their successful feature hits.

Separately, they both were able to hold their own as well. However, since Drake had a lot of song time, more was expected from him; his songs were, at best, tolerable. Drake’s music and lyrics used to be more relatable and consistent with his character, but his most recent songs have a distinctly different vibe. When I was listening to some of the tracks, I didn’t feel Drake. His songs used to be about love and making it out of the hood while uplifting other people. Now, he sounds like just another conventional rapper,

especially with his petty jabs at other celebrities, most notably “This b**** lie ‘bout gettin’ shots, but she still a stallion,” (Circo Loco) about Megan Thee Stallion. Given where he is in his career, it reinforces his reputation of being a sore winner and leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth.

Although this album wasn’t anywhere close to being my favorite one by Drake, the tracks I enjoy lead me to think that they should partner again, this time giving 21 Savage a little more song time.

3/5 stars

U-TIMES

Boys basketball regains players after seniors leave

“We have a better team than last year,” center Jayden Creighton, sophomore, said. “Obviously those seniors were a very important part of the team and scoring, but we have a better team than last year. We have a chance to not only win districts and but also a state title.”

Writer

Staff

by Kai Gover

Dennis Sims, sophomore, practices his shot during practice Dec. 8. “When I’m taking a shot, I’m thinking about making it, the mechanics of it, everything that I’ve learned,” Sims said. “We encourage each other.”

PHOTO BY XAVIER THOMAS

Basketball is always more than a sport and it takes more than just a player; it takes a student athlete and a respectful young man to become a basketball player. The players have a coach that ensures nothing less than honor. “You always miss the seniors, but building the chemistry and morale of the team is the biggest goal to achieve a great season,” Kelvin Lee, basketball coach, said. “It starts with the ‘total person’ concept: be a good person, good student, good player. And I want these boys to learn the meaning of what it means to have honor, to be humble and to maintain discipline all while playing basketball.”

With the close of fall sports, we now welcome our boys basketball team into another hopeful season. As we begin to prepare for the season, our boys team works hard to reconstruct themselves with the loss of some key players who recently graduated. From scoring to leadership, we now witness the beginning of a new team. “Even though we lost some of our seniors it’s been great to start the season with new guys,” guard Michael Rucks, sophomore, said. “[It’s] tough but fun. Plus we’ve been working hard all off season, and I have a group of guys behind me who do nothing but support and uplift one another.” After a brutal loss in the first round of the district playoffs last year, the Lions look to get back on course and make a deep run in the playoffs, including a district championship and a chance to play in the state championship game.

Wrestling team wins first meet of the season

by Rosie Puckett Guest Writer

Winter sports have just begun, with meets finally gaining momentum. The first wrestling meet was Nov. 30 at McCluer South. Coach Eric Morgan trains the boys wrestling team, and he takes much pride in the work that he does.

“All three boys won their match; that’s all that matters,” Morgan said.

Jared Martin, junior and captain, has a simple motto for how to win.

“In order to win, you have to be better than them,” Martin said. “You have to have a lot of mental strength to do it.” Morgan has been coaching for over 30 years and prioritizes mental strength just as much as physical strength.

“You have to add your mind to the action,” Morgan said. Although the conditioning and level of dedication for players is rough, many find it worth the work. “I wrestled to get out of the house so I wouldn’t have to work,” Morgan said. “But whatever the reason, it’s a chance for everyone to come together for the same purpose.”

Roman Thomas and Jared Martin, juniors, are drilling during practice. This move is called a double leg take-down.

“It’s really technique,” Thomas said. “All you need is to keep focusing on the technique. Just trying to execute the move as perfectly as you can.”

PHOTO BY INDIA FOOTE

In the second swim meet of the season Dec. 7, Snorena Dethrow, sophomore, finishes her lap. The team took home the win.

PHOTO BY LUCY RHOADES JUST KEEP SWIMMING