Column

Column: Winter weather requires early communication with community

by Liddia Waterbury

Snow days are supposed to keep students safe, but late cancellations could do the opposite. When schools wait until the last minute to cancel classes, students are forced to wake up early and prepare to travel on icy, dangerous roads. This delay can create unnecessary stress and put safety at risk, especially for students who walk, bike, or ride buses to school.

According to the National Weather Service and local weather stations, winter storms and icy road conditions in southern Indiana are often predicted at least a day in advance. This raises questions about why school cancellations are sometimes delayed until early morning.

We’ve had snow days with asynchronous learning this school year. This is because the night before, there was snow. It was under 32 degrees, and that caused the snow to freeze and the roads to be icy. But Greater Clark County Schools didn’t call off school until the next morning.

This caused students to wake up early and could have caused stress for them, their parents, and people like bus drivers.

As well as stress, situations like this can also cause major safety concerns. According to Zipdo, there are an average of 10,800 winter weather-related crashes per month in the U.S.

Then the National Weather Service says that 24% of weather-related crashes occur on snowy/icy roads, and about 15% occur during active snowfall.

With this safety risk, driving in bad weather can cause fear and anxiety about accidents, especially for parents and teachers who commute. If the decision comes very late, students and teachers might not get enough rest. Sleep loss can make people more irritable, tired, and less focused.

If people feel the decision could have been made earlier, it may lead to frustration or the feeling that their well-being isn’t being considered. With the loss of sleep, people can also lose focus on homework, grading, or preparing lessons if they are unsure if school will be in session.

When people lose trust in an organization, like Greater Clark County Schools, it creates more frustration and uncertainty. Without trust, communication suffers, and problems worsen.

Late snow day decisions can increase safety risks, stress, and sleep loss for many students, staff, and families. Making earlier, well-communicated decisions can help protect well-being and maintain trust within the school community.

10 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: ICE actions damage ‘Land of the Free’

by Kaylee Borelli

ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enforces immigration laws and conducts investigations into undocumented immigration and arrests and deports undocumented immigrants. Their mission is to protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety, but recently, this doesn’t seem like the case.

In January, ICE agents shot and killed two American citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One of them was a 37-year-old mother of three, Renee Nicole Good. She was shot when ICE ordered her out of her car and briefly reversed before moving forward. The second victim was 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. He was shot while he was both protecting a woman who was pushed to the ground by an agent, during a protest, and filming law enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that he was in possession of a weapon and “violently resisted.” But video analysis and witnesses say otherwise, ICE agents removed his pistol from his holster while he was pinned to the ground, before shooting him in the back. These two people weren’t shot in self-defense; they were murdered.

ICE hasn’t just been responsible for murdering two American citizens, but they have also detained and deported people with legal documents and no criminal record, even though they claim they are targeting criminals.

According to Brookings, since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, more than 540,000 people have been deported. Along with this, one-third of people who have been arrested by ICE have no criminal record. If they really cared about targeting criminals, they would actually target criminals and not allegedly bust out car windows just to justify arrests. On top of this, a total of 32 people have died while in ICE custody in 2025. This isn’t about making America a “safer place.” This is racism and a complete abuse of power by Trump.

Along with the over 540,000 that have been deported, according to WLRN, as of December 2025, 74% of around 70,000 immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention have zero criminal convictions. And yet Trump is still saying he is only targeting criminals when ¾ of the people in detention centers aren’t even criminals.

On Jan. 20, according to CNN, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained along with his father in Minnesota while arriving home from his preschool. They were then flown more than 1,300 miles to a family detention facility in Texas. Liam and his family are originally from Ecuador, and in December 2024, they presented themselves to border officers and applied for asylum, but still, the DHS labels them as “illegal aliens.” Also, according to CNN, the Trump Administration has repeatedly said that they are targeting people who are “violent criminals” and the “worst of the worst.” So why are they arresting a 5-year-old boy and a father who were in the process of becoming American citizens? Luckily, on Jan. 30, Liam and his father were released and returned home to Minnesota, but they shouldn’t have ever been detained in the first place.

ICE isn’t just detaining people for no reason, but they are also violating the amendments of the United States.

The Fourth Amendment states that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. This means that people are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. According to the National Immigration Justice Center, ICE officers will knock on people’s doors and claim they have a warrant to enter and search your house. These “warrants,” though, are not signed by judges; they are forms signed by ICE officers, so they do not allow agents to enter your home without consent. But still, agents are entering homes illegally and detaining people even if they have legal documents or are in the process of obtaining legal documents.

Not only is ICE violating the rights of people to detain them, but once they are detained, the facilities they send them to are disgusting and deadly.

The ICE detention centers are now notorious for both violating the rights of immigrants and for the harsh conditions. According to the ACLU, Fernando Vieira Reyes, who was held in one of these detention centers, faced many problems while there. He tried to get proper treatment for his prostate cancer, which he discovered he had while in the center. He had requested to see a urologist but was constantly ignored, and when he reported pain, they just prescribed him some Vitamin C and Tylenol. The conditions in the facility were also horrible. They were held in small concrete cells that were the size of a parking space, along with being without adequate food, water, and clothing for hours on end.

Even though it is repeatedly said that ICE only targets undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or those who are deemed as threats to public safety and national security, it has been very clear that this is not how it is. From arresting a 5-year-old who had done nothing wrong to the 74% of immigrants who have no criminal record, it is very clear that this is racism and an assessment of power.

Hopefully, soon this will change, because innocent immigrants and people who have done nothing wrong shouldn’t be getting arrested, being put in centers that neglect their basic needs, and even being murdered in the so-called “Land of the Free.”

10 Mar 202610 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: Modern schools should focus on real learning

by Sanae Ittu

High school is a place of education for teenagers. A place filled with opportunities. A place that provides time for self-discovery. And a place to become more marketable for college. However, there are mixed opinions if high school is slowly losing its purpose or not.

Students are focused more on passing classes than actually taking the time to learn. It’s absurd how normalized it is for students to cheat to escape failure instead of using failure as a chance to grow. The real question is “Why do students feel the need to cheat?”

According to story in edutopia, students feel the need to cheat because either they don’t find any value in certain assignments, they have the fear of losing social status, or just finding comfort with being rebellious.

So how can we fix this problem?

We are living in a society that tells us that how we perform in school can determine our whole future. But aren’t we forgetting that there are successful people living among us that didn’t do well in school academically?

Like Richard Branson, who dropped out of school at the age of 16 but is now a billionaire entrepreneur. Or one of the most famous scientists in human history, Albert Einstein. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 and trained himself for the following year.

We would assume that this can be an easy fix. Like increasing strict punishments and surveillance, focus more on grades and testing, and assigning group works. These so-called solutions may sound promising but it will not work in the long run.

Harsh punishments and intense surveillance can make students feel mistrust, leading to secretive cheating.

Harvard University’s website explains,“Students assigned to high-suspension schools are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated later, and less likely to attend a four-year college.”

Focusing more on grades and testing can limit sutdent’s creativity and critical thinking and increase stress and anxiety, leading to more cheating.

According to Queens University, “When students are mainly motivated by getting good grades, they tend to focus on memorizing information instead of deeply understanding new concepts…”

Assigning group work does not address why students cheat or lack passion, students can use it to rely on others to do all the work.

High school senior Yun F. Zheng shared on the Education Week website, “Assigning only individual work outside the classroom removes the risk of group members being overly reliant on others.”

To avoid any of these consequences, administrators should focus more on restorative practice, formative assessment and mastery learning, and structured collaborative learning with individual accountability.

According to PowerSchool, formative assessment and mastery learning have benefits, including defined learning goals, increased rigor, and improved academic achievement.

So take this as a suggestion that education should focus more on genuine learning rather than just passing tests or chasing grades. Success can come in many forms. Creativity, emotional intelligence, and practical skills that matter just much as a test score.

6 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: Teens must be protected from unsafe online behavior

by Rain Gresham

On April 21st 2000, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 or COPPA became effective, due to parents fearing the growing internet and lack of online safety. That law should have laid many parents’ fears to rest but today over 25 years later we still struggle with children’s guaranteed protection on the big wide web.

If you were to scroll on TikTok or Instagram for more than a few minutes past the feel good quotes and useless commentary you would likely find someone talking about a personal experience of theirs; it’s not likely anyone dangerous is going see it, so who cares if someone opens up about their personal life?

Except a dangerous person might.

One third of missing children in 2024 were enticed or lured online. Maybe the creeps aren’t in white vans with “Free Candy” painted on the front, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. They are the ones liking and saving your videos. The ones complimenting you and asking to be online friends. The ones you trust, posing as innocent.

Other governments outside of America are taking a more headfirst approach to online safety. In Australia children under 16 can’t even access certain social media platforms like TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads, but is this the right way to go? Young teens aren’t babies and are capable of finding work arounds, often by simply changing their age or not listing it at all on these websites.

So if we can’t take the internet from them, then should we just change it for them? However, even if you were to bubble wrap the entire internet, it would never be a totally safe place — it’s simply too big for that. The real major issue is that in the last few years people have stopped seeing it as what it is – full of strangers.

If I had a penny for the amount of times I’ve heard, “You guys are like my best friends” from an influencer, I’d be rich enough to pay someone to give them online safety lessons. They have fostered an environment where parasocial relationships are the norm. Anything outside of that is seen as strange or overtly paranoid.

This mindset didn’t always used to be the case. The world witnessed a great shift during COVID where anything and everything that could inherently be done online would be done online.

Even when the world did start to open up again, those third spaces that were there previously didn’t. So people both young and old were forced to turn to the only available and free one they had, the internet.

So, how should we ensure online safety for teens?

Well, throughout my life I have seen that the simplest ideas work the best. A simple conversation about the dangers of the internet and all the bad situations that can happen there. Check in on your kids and just who‘s following them if they happen to have public accounts and who is following you on yours as well. You never know. The world is full of creeps.

I find that there are very few problems with children that can’t be fixed with a simple sit down and present parenting.

6 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: America was built by immigrants

by Gabriella Kraft

America was built by immigrants. They have built it up from the ground, and then others decided that they had founded the land, even if Native Americans had been there years before them. They were colonizers who decided they could take what they wanted and have no repercussions.

“Nobody is illegal on stolen land.”

It’s becoming a common saying, sadly, to get people to understand that nobody is illegal here, and no one should be getting arrested and killed for their skin color or their accents.

“Nobody is illegal on stolen land.” It is a way of telling most people who are in support of the current administration that nobody is after their jobs. Nobody wants to harm them. Nobody wants to take away their position in life. Just as they are trying to get by in life, so is everybody else.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “Since returning to office in 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken major steps to reshape immigration policy and enforcement in pursuit of his campaign promise to execute ‘the largest domestic deportation operation’ in U.S. history. As part of this effort, his administration has carried out deportation flights, sometimes to third countries where migrants have no existing ties; ramped up nationwide immigration raids; and granted expanded or new powers to various federal, state, and local officials to enforce domestic immigration laws.”

His whole point in doing this is to do what the rich politicians in the U.S. want right now. He is simply a poorly strung puppet who needs to be held accountable for the lives he has helped ruin and take.

More from Council of Foreign Relations: “In January 2026, the administration’s enforcement push reached a controversial new phase after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in separate incidents in Minneapolis.”

There have been more unaccounted-for deaths and families this administration has ripped apart. Is it so hard to let people live in peace? Most, if not all, of these people just wanted to be here and live their lives when it was ripped from them.

It has turned into such a serious cause that whole schools are having walkouts in support of stopping them, including Hoosier schools.

According to WFYI in early February, “Hundreds of students across Indianapolis and in nearby suburbs walked out of class Monday, bundled in winter coats and carrying handmade signs to join a growing national movement of young people protesting federal immigration enforcement.”

Students have gone through the effort of skipping class, missing a test, and possibly getting arrested for a cause they believe in. Not only does this put pressure on the school system, but also on government officials.

Young adolescent teens understand what’s going on in the country better than most adults. We see what’s happening and want to help stop our country from turning into a warzone, simply because some people don’t like others’ ethnicities or accents.

The impact immigrants have had on America is incomparable; without them, our economy would plummet.

As stated by the Migration Policy Institute,“Immigrants were involved in the development of 30 percent of patents in strategic industries in recent years, and more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants.”

Immigrants are embedded in all types of American culture and food. For example, according to the Food Timeline, nearly all of today’s popular American foods originated in other countries.

This country is so much more than different skin colors and different views, but we can only grow and build on what we have if it has a good foundation. What’s happening in the country right now is destroying that foundation as we know it. So I encourage you to do what you can to help the cause and fight for what’s right.

5 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: NBA drop-off means new talent must emerge

by Kaiden Middleton

The dominant stretch of the NBA is coming to end.

Lebron James, the face of NBA for over 15 years, is the all-time leading scorer with 42,947 points; 11,826 assists (which is fourth all time), and 11,930 rebounds (which is 24th all time), but his career is coming to an end because he is in Year 23 of his career.

Stephen Curry enters year 17 in the NBA known as the greatest shooter of all time – 4,233 points, which is ranked number one, as he has shot over 40% from three-point range in his career. Curry is also a four-time NBA champion and a one-time NBA finals MVP. In 2014-15 Curry was the first and only unanimous MVP.

Kevin Durant enters his 19th year in the NBA and is known as one of the greatest scorers to play the game. Durant is a two-time NBA champion and a two-time NBA finals MVP. He has scored 31,862 points, which ranks at sixth-place all-time in scoring.

Russell Westbrook is in his 18th year in the NBA. Known as the king of the triple-double, Westbrook was the NBA MVP in 2016-17.

With these players’ careers coming to an end, NBA viewership has decreased over 50% The game has changed — it used to have fewer 3-point attempts. Now teams are taking almost 40% of 3s and it is not as enjoyable for the because every game is a high scoring shootout.

The All Star game for the NBA is dying as well. The game used to feature some of the best players in the NBA all coming together on two teams. The players would leave it all on the line, but it does not have that same feeling anymore because the players don’t seem to care as much as they have in the past.

The NBA is still in good shape with many rising stars in the league, including Cooper Flagg, Victor Wembanyama, and Anthony Edwards. In addition, the incoming draft class is reported to be one of greatest draft classes since 2003 when Lebron James,D Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony came into the league.

2 Mar 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: Americans live in a state of propaganda

by Ayianna Maddox

Being a civilian in America can be exhausting — constant propaganda, death, and injustice. America is portrayed as a “haven” for all who enter. The “Pledge of Allegiance” is known as a symbol of integrity, loyalty, and respect for America. Still, the shimmering mirage of our Pledge is fading, revealing that the words and their meanings are untrue.

Throughout the U.S. at the beginning of the school day, students are expected to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with their heads held high, standing tall, and their right hands over their hearts. Then, we carry it with us throughout our lives, because we have been conditioned to do so from an early age. We know the words, but have we comprehended the meaning?

The first line states, “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.” As we recite this line, we are making a promise to ourselves and our country to uphold important documents, such as the Constitution.

The second line states, “…to the Republic for which it stands.” The Republic is a form of government where supreme power is held by the people and exercised through elected representatives, rather than by a hereditary ruler or dictator. However, currently in our country, our executive and judicial branches of government have forgotten this important detail. The people elected those in power, yes, but those in power are not listening to the people’s cries.

The third line states, “…one Nation under God, indivisible…” This could be interpreted as we’re all equal as a people beneath the “protection of God,” but how I wish in my core that this were true. If we’re all “One Nation under God, indivisible…” then why is oppression still active today despite our history?

The last line states, “…with liberty and justice for all.” Once an eternal promise, that line is now a plea for help. Inside the “land of the free,” the civilians of America are pleading for justice for their loved ones, a rescue through liberation. Citizens of a “justified nation” should not have to beg for something that should have been given beforehand; that’s not what was taught.

With the never ending unlawful acts of President Donald Trump and his administration, the number of nationwide protests against their policies increases.

According to The Guardian News, “There were more than 10,700 protests in 2025, a 133% increase from the 4,588 recorded in 2017, the first year of President Donald Trump’s first term.”

The significant leap in protest participation from 2017 to 2025 justifies America’s cries. The combined protests of 2017-2025 (15,288) are for different reasons, but they are all aimed at the same variables: justice, peace, and hope. The population affected by injustice and constant conflict is rallying together and using their voices to strive for a better outcome.

Recently and more frequently, ICE agents are wreaking havoc to no end – targeting and assaulting defenseless protesters, bystanders, and families. Not only that, but they are attacking schools. Women, men, and children are being taken away, harassed, and attacked with no explanation. No one is safe. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, ICE agents have not only terrorized but also killed people.

On Jan. 7, 2026, ICE agents stormed Roosevelt High, a school in Minneapolis. Reports from MPR News states, “Armed U.S. Border Patrol officers came on school property during dismissal Wednesday and began tackling people, handcuffed two staff members, and released chemical weapons on bystanders.” This incident occurred just a few hours after Renee Good was killed, approximately three miles away from Roosevelt High School.

Seventeen days later, on Jan. 24, 2026, ICE fatally shot an ICU nurse named Alex Pretti. The New York Times breaks down video footage from a witness at the scene.

The United States of America has become inverted: Rights are being constantly violated, humanity is a myth, and safety is no longer a luxury.

As a teenager in America, I’m watching the colors of my home turn red with bloodshed and the skies grow dark with despair, blocking the hopeful light.

People of America, we are our own light; bendable, but not breakable.

Source: New York Times, Jan. 25, 2026. Graphic by Ayianna Maddox.

25 Feb 2026 by jhshyphen

Column: Listening to music provides healthy benefits

by Brooklynn Stevenson

Music has long been a part of human culture for centuries, serving both as a form of expression and a way to communicate. Music plays a significant role in enhancing our mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. Engaging with music can foster personal growth and improve our overall quality of life.

One of the most notable benefits of music is its impact on mood. According to Right As Rain, listening to music can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. This is why many people turn to music during times of stress or sadness. Playing a favorite song can uplift spirits and provide a deep sense of comfort.

Music allows individuals to process their feelings and experiences in a healthy way.

In addition to the emotional benefits it provides, music has been shown to have several advantages as well. According to PMC, engaging with music can enhance memory and boost focus. Learning to play an instrument requires multitasking and commitment, all of which are skills that can bring good academic performance and problem-solving abilities. APA states that students involved in music education often score better in math, science, and English than their nonmusical peers.

A significant part of music is the social aspect. Music often brings people together, bringing connections. Whether through concerts or just listening with friends, the communal experience of music can enhance social bonds. Collaborating in music also encourages teamwork and communication skills, which are essential in personal and professional environments

Music can have therapeutic effects as well. Music therapy is recognized for its effectiveness in treating mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It can help individuals express emotions that may be difficult to express or articulate. Additionally, music is often used in rehab programs to aid in physical recovery. Overall, the benefits of music highlight its importance as a huge aspect of human experience.

18 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Column: Education system should do more to relieve neverending pressure

by Jilliann Denbo

As a kid, I’ve always thought I would be a teacher, or maybe do something with ocean animals. And I always thought I could just change my job whenever and it wouldn’t affect me. I used to have so many goals and different career paths I had wanted. But now all that is just a fantasy.

Kids like me didn’t even know there were many options for careers only because I was never opened up to the idea of ‘different jobs’.

Now that I’m a sophomore, the next two years really impact my career. I’ve always been indecisive on what I want to do or how I want to do things. And knowing I have to make the right choices sometime this year really scares me even though I know exactly what I want to be, I just don’t know where to start.

I never really thought about how much money I’m going to make, or how confusing it would be to pick the right paths for my career. There are always little Google forms about picking classes to help with a career choice , I never know which ones to pick. It always makes me nervous because I don’t have any idea if I chose the right thing or how it will affect me.

Many people like me feel this way too. There is just a never ending pressure about picking our career. Maybe it’s all too soon?

Teachers don’t give us enough opportunities to explore their career, yes we get to move paths only once maybe twice. But what if that isn’t even enough?

Education should focus on more than making us pick a path early, it should equip us with a broad knowledge base, and explore many different possibilities open to us.

Some students mix up degrees and careers, leading them to pick the wrong classes. I feel us students should have a little more of an understanding about exactly what classes to choose for each career.

Yes, picking a wrong career will not ruin anything. But pressure from friends, family, and society make it feel like it will. Even if we know exactly what they want to be, people can push us to pick classes that have nothing to do with our career.

Feeling stressed about a career can affect our mind and body, as well as, a lot of students overthinking options before making a decision.

Teachers can start giving kids more options at a young age by opening our minds to different ideas and pathways.

In all, students shouldn’t have to stress out as badly as they do just because they have zero idea where to start. Education should have more openings into teaching students where to start.

18 Dec 202518 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Column: Using cell phones in school requires a balanced approach

by Mikail Cetiner

Whether we like it or not, phones are everywhere at school. We see them in pockets, peeking from under desks, or being used to text someone who’s just a few seats away. As much as teachers try to control it, smartphones are part of our daily lives now. So, the question is, should they be allowed in school?

Honestly, I think phones can be really useful, like if we need to look up something for a project, want to record notes, or take a picture of the homework on the board. There’s an app for almost anything school related. There’s no question that in today’s world, we use technology for everything from work to communication, so learning how to use it responsibly seems important.

“With the right balance, smartphones could help us learn more and not distract us from learning at all.”

But let’s be real. Phones can also ruin focus faster than anything else. One message, one notification, and suddenly we are scrolling through TikTok for just a minute, that turns into ten. It’s not just distraction, either; phones can cause drama, make cheating easier, or create pressure to look perfect online. School should be a place to learn, and not a place to compare who has the newest iPhone or the most followers.

So, what’s the solution? Completely banning phones doesn’t seem realistic, and letting everyone use them freely definitely doesn’t work. The best option is somewhere in the middle. Use them only when they’re actually needed for schoolwork or let students have them during breaks. And more importantly, teach students how to use technology responsibly instead of just taking it away.

In the end, phones aren’t a bad thing, they’re just tools. How they affect school depends on how we use them. With the right balance, smartphones could help us learn more and not distract us from learning at all.

Solutions:

Make free phone zones.

Bigger consequences if we use your phones in class.

The school can give us phones with no games on so they can use it as a tool.

18 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Column: ‘The stories we read shape us just as much as the events we experience’

by Rain Gresham

In 1637 New English Canaan by Thomas Morton was officially the first book to be banned in the USA.

It was banned because it was seen as “a too harsh critique of puritan customs.” Of course the ban was just a sign of times. This wouldn’t happen now, would it?

One of the most recent books to be banned in American public schools was Sold by Patricia McCormick. This book is about a young girl who was sold into prostitution but finds strength within herself to go on.

Why would a book like this be banned? If not for control? Why would we shade things like this from a 13-year-old girl when someone the exact same age is living the story. César A. Cru once said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

So should we allow just any books in schools? All for the sake of reality? Should adult fiction novels like A Court Of Thorns And Roses be allowed in school because “No book should be banned.” Where is the line drawn?

The line is drawn for the sake of intent. A book that shows cruelty and explicitly for the sake of story telling is a lot different than one that shows it for entertainment.

What is this “intent” ? Sure we can use the concept of the word “meaningful and telling” but what does it mean? I could say that it has intent because it makes me feel happy, right?

No, because the intent is literary intent. It’s about the purpose of the art and how effectively it is dealt with.

In A Court Of Thorns And Roses there are countless adult topics but they are not handled with care or nuance, the reader both gains and loses nothing from reading it. Compared to say The Handmaid’s Tale where it also shares adult topics but in a way that these topics have meaning. Meaning other than to just entertain; meaning to teach.

This small difference in comparison makes a big difference in impact. I can’t tell you much about the last few romance novels I’ve read over the years but I can tell you how the first time I read Anne Frank’s diary in the sixth grade and how it truly made me realise injustice. How it made me want to look for voices that I might not have heard before.

You can tell children about bad things happening, but unless you show them from their views of those people it’s nothing but a cautionary tale for them. Another reason why they should be thankful for what they have.

But they shouldn’t just be thankful, they should be aware of what children their same age go through in the world no matter how “uncomfortable” that conversation might be.

The stories we read shape us just as much as the events we experience. In today’s world we are so capable of seeing each other so why limit that? Why continue ignorance for the sake of comfortability?

Hate comes from ignorance, so why not open a book?

18 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen

Column: Guitar Hero brings both fun and nostalgia

by Kaylin Bowman

“Easy, medium, hard, and expert.”

These are the choices for what mode you want to play in a famous 2000s game called Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero was a very popular game, with its first release of Guitar Hero 1 in 2005. The game itself was originally designed for the PS2 and PS3. Still, it eventually expanded to other consoles, including the Xbox 360, Wii, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and even mobile devices and handhelds like the Nintendo DS.

There are at least 25 Guitar Hero games. From Guitar Hero (2005) to Guitar Hero Live (2015), and other games based on Guitar Hero like Rock Band, Clone Hero, and DJ Hero as well! I prefer the original, but it’s always fun to try the other games as well. Now I have Guitar Hero for the Xbox 360. Sure, there are some lag spikes here and there, but other than that, it runs smoothly, and I enjoy the game a lot.

There are different ways to play Guitar Hero, too. You can use the Guitars, Drums, Microphone, and even your console controller. I prefer to use the Guitar controller; it makes the experience more immersive and more enjoyable. Guitar Hero even has a practice mode, as well as a learning mode. Practice mode allows players to practice the songs in the game, while learning mode teaches new players how to hit the notes and strum the bar to time it perfectly. It also teaches you cool techniques you can use when playing the songs to help you understand the game’s concept.

Not many people play Guitar Hero anymore. When I’ve talked to my parents, teachers, and even other students, which sucks because, sure, it’s an older game that’s outdated, but it can still be fun to play if you actually try it out.

Should other people play it? Yes, for sure it’s not a violent game, and you battle your opponents with guitar skills instead of guns, chainsaws, knives, etc, and once you beat the game, you’ll have all the songs unlocked so you can practice your skills even more and eventually make your way to expert, which is the highest you can get.

When I’m playing Guitar Hero, I’m fully immersed in the game, from how entertaining it is, and I’ve been playing it for over a year now, and I still love the game. Even though it took me forever, I finally made it to expert, and I’m proud that I made it that far with the game.

“Jump straight to expert. It’ll be difficult at first, but it’ll get easier as you play.”

Those are words that my dad told me when I first started playing, and that’s what I did, and turns out I could do it when I thought that I couldn’t at all, and when I listened to what he told me that day, it all made sense why he said that. When I first tried it, I sucked at it because of how fast the notes were moving, but over time, I learned how to do it, and I got better at it, and that’s how I got to where I am today on Guitar Hero.

Guitar Hero even has a lot of bands in it; some bands even have their own Guitar Hero game dedicated to them. Like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, and more. Some bands that are in the main games are Nirvana, AC/DC, DragonForce, Foo Fighters, Queen, Slipknot, KISS, and so much more. Another game that a lot of rock songs are on is Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which has a lot of rock songs that a majority of people know about.

Sadly, over time, Guitar Hero stopped due to market saturation and declining sales, which is sad, but the games that are out, you can still buy and play them. Another reason why they stopped is that Guitar Hero peripherals often did not work with new game versions, requiring further investment, and Activision officially discontinued the series and disbanded its music game division to refocus on other online and interactive entertainment. Even tho RedOctane is the original publisher of Guitar Hero, and over time they closed Guitar Hero for other new rhythm games. But will there be more games in the future?

So what will it be? “Easy, Medium, Hard, or Expert?”

18 Dec 2025 by jhshyphen