January 2, 2021
Story by Margaret Mutoke, staff writerDecember 30, 2020
Story by Stephanie Jumper, feature editorDecember 29, 2020
Story by Logan Diggs, managing editor

I’m not a fan of a lot of food; however, I find eating very enjoyable. It has to be the right foods, like perhaps chicken strips. But at most Christmas dinners, I’m not going to find chicken strips, so what am I supposed to eat? Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to solve this problem. I tried every food available to me at a typical Christmas dinner. Ham: 9/10 This is a classic. I actually...

As all of my friends know, I love animals. If I was given a choice to adopt or shop and had the resources and money to do both then I would. I would adopt because I want to be able to help the animals in the shelter and try to give them a nice life after being abandoned. I would also shop for a dog because I want to have a dog that I would train them for what they do best. Unfortunately, as...

Six years ago, I met my best friend, Randi, but back then, we were just two little kids who decided to swim together. Now, we’re roommates. I never really made friends easily as a child due to being so closed off and shy, but Randi was friends with everybody. She was the first person I met in middle school to actually have a conversation with me and attempt to befriend me. We quickly clicked and...

There has been a massive growth in the number of clean beauty products on the market in the last few years and with good reason. According to the Environmental Working Group, "595 cosmetics manufacturers have reported using 88 chemicals, in more than 73,000 products, that have been linked to cancer, congenital disabilities or reproductive harm." Many of these chemicals are hidden in everyday beauty...

Whether it’s your “basic human rights” or “all your guns,” Americans on both sides are told every four years that the future of their freedom and democracy is on the line. Yet, save for a few major exceptions, the quality of life for most Americans will stay relatively the same when our nation shifts leadership. This is because of the nature of the presidential office. Of course, everyone...

As you walk into your favorite Mexican restaurant, you’re met with vivid decorations of sugar skulls, the sound of a Mariachi band blasting trumpets and the aroma of flautas and street tacos. You take pride in that you’ve embraced another culture and find the Hispanic decorations beautiful and the food delectable. However, you don’t realize that these things are mainly Mexican and don’t define...

The other day when I was at school, I was asked how I did on a math test. After studying for hours the night before, I was able to pull off a 100. This was not the case for some of the in-school students. They said things like “Oh, you used notes, right?” “How? (insert “genius” name here) only made a 50!” “That is so unfair. Y’all get more study time.” Ugh. The amount of times...

There’s a saying that a few bad apples ruin the whole bunch. That’s what has happened with students sitting in their vehicles before school starts. For the first ten weeks of school, students who arrived early were allowed to remain in their cars; however, administrators are now in full-throttle to prevent students from staying in the parking lot before the first bell. Students should not...

Without a doubt, this election has many controversies associated with it. Major political events that have been emphasized this year are racial rights, justice issues, tax fraud, more recently, the death of Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg and much more.

Amidst the wonderful COVID-19 pandemic, a common misconception that has been going around is that masks cause health issues. Just the other day, I had a family friend— an adult— try to tell my parents that people would die from masks because “they give you CO2 poisoning.” This is a very false statement. Masks are helping people stay safe. No, doctors aren’t telling you to wear them so they...

Females being subjected to male abuse has always been an all-too-common occurrence in society, so much so that it is sometimes simply seen as an inevitable part of life. Although many advances have been made in gender equality, female inferiority is still an issue in today’s world. One of the ways this inferiority occurs is in abusive relationships. This is often associated with adult life, something...

7,188,071 cases. 205,942 deaths. While these are the numbers, COVID-19 has changed every life in the United States. What started out as a virus affecting just a few people spread to millions, and it’s arguable a large portion of the increase is due to people ignoring science. Science is something that should never be ignored and when it is, bad things happen. For the first few months...

Children rush through neighborhoods decorated with cobwebs, while teens creep through haunted houses scattered with monsters and families huddle up for horror movies filled with jump scares. Halloween is celebrated by people of all ages in many unique ways. Even with all these entertaining events, Halloween is still speculated to be a useless holiday that doesn’t need to be celebrated. However,...

Over the past few months, the “Twilight” books and movies have been regaining traction in light of the announcement and release of the fifth book, “Midnight Sun.” Fans and haters alike have flocked to social media, professing their excitement or contempt, producing memes by the dozens and ridiculing the acting in the movies. But rarely are people bringing attention to the biggest issue. No,...

My parents did everything right. They entered me in the highest quality tournaments, knowing college coaches would be watching. My dad and I began emailing college coaches at age 13 so they would know me when looking at tournament results. They got me a membership to the best country clubs in the area. They did everything right in order to get me to play golf at the collegiate level. The summer...