Two weeks ago, a rumor of a name change for the social media company Facebook was spreading fast among internet users. Facebook has been around since February 2004, and it has developed and changed quite a bit. The name, however, has remained the same. Back in 2003, the original intention of the social media app was a “hot or not” style website, originally called Facemash, where students at Harvard University could rate the faces of their classmates. While it got shut down two days later, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg aimed to redesign the website, giving it its new purpose – connecting people. In early 2004, it was re-released as the Facebook we know today.

On Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, Facebook announced the new company name as Meta Platforms, in reference to the metaverse (a fictional future vision of the internet.) According to CNBC, the change comes after the company faced scrutiny over the spread of “hate speech” and “misinformation” earlier this year.

In relation to the name change, the company will still remain in control of the other social media platforms such as Instagram, Oculus, Whatsapp, etc. and they will become what is known as subsidiaries, which means they will be less of a focus for the company but still important nonetheless.

“The best way to understand the metaverse is to experience it yourself,” Zuckerberg said in his announcement. “It doesn’t fully exist yet.” He hopes this name change will give a fresh face for the embattled company. 

Story by Anna Hardin

The 2021-2022 school year has brought many changes for Greater Clark County Schools(GCCS). The largest change has been the elimination of the My School Online virtual learning option and the creation of an alternative online option referred to as the Virtual Academy. Unlike last year, parents were required to enroll students in the new online option during the summer break. Also, this year, in-person students are no longer permitted to switch over to the virtual learning option as they were last year with My School Online.

Senior Shay Graziano, aMy School Online student last year who returned to in-person school this year, states “Honestly I switched back to normal school [this year] because I found that I was unmotivated to do work and procrastinated a lot. Literally almost failed my art class because of it. Something about me being at school instead of at home makes me work differently.”

Last year, the online option created many challenges for teachers and students alike. My School Online required teachers to design and teach lessons simultaneously for both in-person students and online only students, and online only students were often required to attend virtual Google Meets to interact with teachers. Although there were some students and families who benefited from My School Onlinelast year because of concerns over COVID-19, some online only students struggled and fell behind in their learning.

Whereas the elimination of My School Online has helped some students who struggled with virtual learning last year return to in-person school, some students who actually did better with virtual learning have been forced to return to in-person school without any available online option. The elimination of My School Online for in-person students has also created some confusion for students who have been quarantined during the school year dueto Covid and forced to work from home without a virtual learning option to connect them to their classes.

Additionally, students who have enrolled in theVirtual Academy option for this school year are not allowed to participate in sports or extracurricular activities unlike students enrolled in My School Online last year. For some students, being able to play sports and participate in extracurricular activities was the primary reason that they chose to return to in-person school. “The reason I’m not going online is because I play volleyball, and if I go online, I can’t do sports anymore,“ says Junior Bella Hall.

The return to in-person school has been a shock to many students who spent last year online only. For many returning students, the hallways have never seemed so jammed packed with people and it’s been hard to adjust. “The hardest thing about being back at school is probably the fact that you are around so many different people at once and our school does not have the capacity to distance everyone. It is not their fault, but you never know who is sick and who isn’t until it’s too late and you’re already exposed,” says Hall.

Story by Raquel Lopez

Like many other issues in theUnited States, COVID-19 vaccines have become divisive and politicized. Additionally, with the Pfizer vaccine being fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the possibility of vaccine mandates in public spaces is increasingly becoming a reality.

Currently, all evidence points to the conclusion that the vaccines are both safe and effective. Studies by the CDC show that all approved vaccines provide strong protection against COVID, including the delta variant of the virus. According to theCDC, unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than their fully vaccinated peers.

At JeffersonvilleHigh School, while vaccines are not required, they are recommended. At the time of this publication, the policy has recently changed. When school initially started, vaccinated students were not required to quarantine if they were asymptomatic and had proof of vaccination on record; on the other hand, unvaccinated students would have to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of whether they tested positive or negative. On Aug. 24, Greater Clark County Schools announced that the quarantine time could be decreased to eight days if the student had proof of a negative test result. On Aug. 31, following the Indiana Department of Health guidelines, schools were no longer required to contact trace if a student were to test positive regardless of vaccination status.

Meanwhile, views on COVID vaccines vary among Jeff High students. While there are students who are clearly for or against vaccination, some students are undecided. Senior Claire Storz is pro-vaccination. “I always hear or see the numbers of deaths due to COVID and I want people to get vaccinated so we don’t have to lose loved ones. Or so I don’t have to hear people complaining about the mask mandate. I highly encourage it [getting theCOVID vaccine], especially if someone they know is immunocompromised. It can help protect them as well”

On the other hand, Senior Vaughndez Banes is against the COVID-19 vaccine. “I feel like theCOVID vaccine was rushed and I personally had COVID and I was sick like a lot of other people but it never got too bad,” Banes said, before adding, “and knowing the COVID vaccine won’t prevent COVID, only help with symptoms just isn’t enough to push me over the edge.”

In California, students attending Los Angeles Unified Public Schools are now required to be vaccinated by the end of the calendar year, according to CNN. Banes says that if vaccinations were to be mandated in Greater Clark County schools, he would transfer schools. “The way I see it is, if your mask works so well, why are you worried about mine. Same thing with the vaccine,” Banes explains.

Freshman Savannah Monroe is in the middle of the debate, supporting them in certain circumstances. Monroe explains that she feels as if maybe they were developed too fast. However, she also said, “But I definitely think a vaccine was needed due to the rising cases. But overall, I’m for the vaccines but I think they [scientists and the government] should prove the effectiveness and safety to convince the public to get them”

Story by Max Fisher

Last year, as protests swept the country, advocating for an end to police brutality and racial equity in America, Instagram was plastered with political content created by young people. Content posted contained everything from informational messages about current events to fiery opinions from both sides of the political spectrum. Now it seems that you can’t spend longer than a minute on Instagram without encountering some political content. We all know the posts. Often it’s a post with multiple pages, providing facts and commentary about a controversial topic or political issue ranging from defunding thepoliceto abortion rights, all with a perfectly curated aesthetic design.

According to a 2021 Harvard Youth Poll, political participation is up among young Americans compared to past generations. Today 36%of Americans aged 18-29 years old are politically active compared to 24%from 12 years ago. The same poll reports that one-third of respondents said that politics had gotten in the way of a friendship for them. Ultimately, politics is increasingly seeping into the personal lives of young people and social media is one of the most significant ways to track this increase in political participation among young people.

An issue that has arisen following the increase of political content on social media is whether these posts should be considered “performative activism”. Performative activism is when a person posts something with the intention of increasing popularity or follower-ship rather than engaging in genuine political action. In other words, many critics have accused Instagram activists of posting political content to appear politically active rather than actually participating in politics in real life.

Jeff High students have many different opinions on Instagram political activism. Sophomore Elle Marble says she doesn’t post political content on her story, and she feels most of the time posting is more about virtue signaling, or superficially displaying moral character, rather than changing minds, “That [posting political information] doesn’t lead to people changing their mindsets or views. So the only goal you end up achieving is showing people where you stand.”

Senior Justus Bowman says she will post on Instagram whenever something is important and needs to be shared, but she also expressed some criticism about using Instagram for political activism. “It allows people to post and share content but it can sometimes lead to activism stopping at the post,” Bowman said.

Mirroring the current political climate in America, there is no consensus among users on how to appropriately post political content on social media. However, as political participation continues to trend younger and social media continues to impact politics, the debate over how to use Instagram for political activism will certainly continue to be an issue.