ACROSS

 1 First ever laureate of two Nobel Prizes

 6 French heroine (of Arc)

10 Radiates

11 Hermione actress

12 Former Nigerian capital

13 January 6th occurrence

14 “If you ask me,” in text

15 Physics prefix

16 What TV advertisers buy

19 Second Caliphate after Muhammud’s death

23 English football

26 π + WNW

27 Hindu festival in Kerala

28 First Japanese woman to win U.S. Open

30 It’s a long story

31 More scarce

32 Simile words

33 Alternative to stocks



DOWN 

 1 Queen of Salsa 

 2 Miso soup taste

 3 Opposite of leniency

 4 First female skater to land a triple axel

 5 Start to “start”

 6 English Channel Isle with a U.S. state named after it

 7 Leave out

 8 Love, in Lima

 9 Western alliance, briefly

15 M.D.’s org.

17 “Conductor” of Underground Railroad

18 “Am _ _ brother’s keeper?”

20 Long (for)

21 Queried

22 Sweeties

23 Parks at a bus station

24 Some, in Spain

25 Lady with a “Bad Romance”

28 Poet’s eye

29 ___ Paulo, Brazil



Solution



Women’s History Month Crossword


Ingredients:

Crumble:

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

2 sticks butter

Filling:

5 apples

Sugar to taste

Cinnamon to taste 



Directions:

Add the sugar, the flour, and the butter to a large bowl. Using your hands, knead the dough to form the crumble. The dough should stick to itself without being overly greasy, so if necessary, add more butter or flour. Set aside. 
Peel and thinly slice five apples (you can adjust the amount depending on the size of your tray). 
Preheat the oven to 360°F. 
Cover the bottom of your tray with a layer of apple slices. Coat them with a sprinkle of cinnamon, followed by sugar. Flip the slices over and repeat on the other side. 
Continue layering the remaining apple slices, coating both sides of them in sugar and cinnamon.
Crumble the dough on top of the filling. 
Bake for about 50 minutes or until the dough turns golden brown.
Enjoy!

Apple Pie Recipe



Culinary arts:

On March 8, the official Twitter of Burger King tweeted: “Women belong in the kitchen.” Aimed to be clickbait, the tweet received immense backlash from the Internet, drowning out Burger King’s follow up tweet. It reads: “If they want to, of course. Yet only 20% of chefs are women.” Regardless of Burger King’s controversial course of action, the disparity between the number of male and females in the professional culinary world is incredibly disturbing. 

Female chefs had been fighting their battles for quite some time, even when the issue was not exposed to the spotlight. There are many female chefs who fought to have a voice and a place in a profession too often dominated by men: the Queen of Creole Cuisine Leah Chase whose restaurant in New Orleans hosted gatherings for Civil Rights Movement activists; Filipino-American legend Cristeta Comerford who currently holds the position as the first female White House executive chef of Asian descent; legendary Julia Child who was the first woman to have a cooking show and who turned traditional home-cooking on its head into the spotlight. Unfortunately, they still face that same disparity. Like their predecessors, women chefs today are proving everyday that they can, and will, excel in the culinary field. On the forefront is Clare Smyth. Formerly a head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Smyth stepped out of the shadow of the notorious Scottish chef in 2017 and opened her own French cooking-style restaurant Core, which received its own three Michelin stars in just under three years. 

But the rating system invented by the French tire company of the same name does not apply only to restaurants of French cuisine, though critics have debated that there is bias in favor of the cooking style. A few hours train ride away from Paris lies the legendary restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain, where Elena Arzak works alongside her father as the head chef making and experimenting with modernized Basque cuisine. Traveling east we arrived at Slovenia, where Ana Roš earned the first ever Michelin star for her home country, practicing gastronomy and using only local produce in her restaurant Hiša Franko. 

Stepping out of Europe, we see women carving out a place for themselves and the cuisine of their culture as well. In Bangkok, Thailand, the first Indian woman chef to earn a Michelin star, Garima Arora, is combining traditional Indian cooking techniques and local Thai produce to create an eclectic menu for her restaurant Gaa. And across the Atlantic in Santiago, Chile, Carolina Bazan is fusing her education in European cuisines and her Chilean roots to create a New Chilean Cuisine in her restaurants Ambrosía and Ambrosía Bistro, co-running the definitive culinary destination with her partner, Rosario Onetto. 

Besides the gender disparity in the food industry, there also exists a bias in favor of mostly Western European cuisines. As a result, many others are underrepresented. Therefore, many women chefs fight multiple battles, putting forward the cuisines of their culture in an eurocentric field while also announcing to the world that their potential is as immense as those of male chefs’.



Film: 

Ever since the 19th century when film was created, filmmaking has been utilized practically as a method of recording history as well as a medium of expressing emotion through art. 

Filmmaking has certainly evolved evidently in terms of technology. The evolution of the community and industry of filmmaking, however, has struggled over the years. Throughout history, film has been a male-dominated industry, where the leadership position as director of the film was not seen suitable for women. The lack of females in filmmaking in the past created a stigma of film being meant solely for men, preventing other women from having role models for inspiration or spark of passion. Still, here have been notable individuals who through these centuries have pushed through and became female pioneers of film.

Alice Guy-Laché was essentially the first female director releasing “La Fée aux Choux” in 1896, just as the film industry was gaining popularity. Alice Guy went on to make over one thousand films, yet she was never truly recognized for the full scope of her life’s work. Her name and story were often stolen by men who worked in film, claiming Alice’s films as their own. As a result, the astounding female director was not given credit for her work for years to come. Today, she is officially recognized as the first female director, and a true pioneer.

Hollywood, America’s largest film entity, is notorious for being male-dominated. Scarce in the beginning of Hollywood, the number of female directors increased throughout the 2000s. Notable filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow is an influential figure of the film industry, becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award for directing. “The Loveless,” released in 1981, was the debut of Bigelow’s work and was co-directed with Monty Montgomery. Continuing past this film, the director created countless films in varying genres, from dramas to horror and even action, giving herself an impressive and wide range. Still active nowadays, Kathryn Bigelow is a name to remember.

After directing “The Rider” from 2015, Chloé Zhao has taken on many more directing positions. “Nomadland,” Zhao’s 2020 film that recently won a Golden Globe for Best Director, is a calm yet unique film on nomads in the modern time. Zhao’s precise execution of the film was enjoyed by many. With such a successful beginning, Chloe Zhao is a director who will undoubtedly be appearing with many new film titles. 

Greta Gerwig is also another female filmmaker and has directed numerous prominent films in the past decade. Some of her well-known films include “Ladybird,” “20th Century Women,” “Frances Ha,” “Little Women,” and “Isle of Dogs.” Her distinctive work has already made a significant impact on the next generation, inspiring women to pursue a career in the film industry. Greta Gerwig is not specifically considered new and upcoming, but has certainly made her mark in the world of film. 



Dance: 

Dancing has often been viewed in correlation with femininity, but means more than what seems like the effortless flow of movement. Both male and female dancers are incredibly strong as this art requires the physical and mental compensation of a sport. Dancing was labeled the most physically demanding job by the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration last year. 

The history of women in dance is broad; there have been many remarkable individuals who paved the way. Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham were two dancers as well as choreographers that influenced the art to the extent that they created their own technique. Marth Graham, born in 1894, completely changed how America viewed dance and inspired hundreds of souls. She created ballets with her evolving personal dance technique which is now taught as the Graham technique. During this same era of dance evolvement, Katherine Dunham was a student in anthropology when she was learning the importance of dance in culture, which pushed her to pursue her ideas. Dunham tied in cultural African and Caribbean dances with traditional ballet which she was able to bring in a new way of movement into this artform. She was the creator of the Dunham technique, thoroughly individual to Katherine Dunham.

Kathryn Morgan is a 31-year-old ballet dancer whose career as a soloist in the prestigious New York City Ballet was cut short due to her autoimmune disease. Recently, she has undergone a major career change by leaving her previous ballet company, Miami City Ballet. Morgan has created a community through her YouTube channel, full of various dancers that look up to her. She uploaded a 30-minute long video discussing her experience and treatment in the company, exposing Miami City Ballet for body shaming, a harsh reality of the dance industry. Kathryn Morgan described how this took a toll on her mental health, and her video emphasized how self-care should always come first. The dancer has also spoken up about body image issues relating to the ballet industry on The Today Show, continuing her mental health advocacy in the strict world of ballet. After spending years on the stage, she has taken to instructing, where she teaches both dance and life lessons. The dance community is always changing, with young, new dancers consistently on the rise from all over the world. 



Fiction:

Women have come a long way in the field of writing from having to publish anonymously, like Jane Austen, or under a male pen name, such as George Eliot. To trace back the female writer pioneers, we have to go all the way back to the ancient Mesopotamia, to sing the hymns and texts of Sumerian priestess Enhedunna, then travel to Japan at the Heian period to read Murasaki Shikibu’s “The Tale of Genji.” We might then turn to “Le Livre de la cité des dames” (The Book of the City of Ladies), in which a mythical city for women is created by the medieval French-Italian writer Christine de Pizan. This is among the first novels which advocates for women’s rights and education, followed by the distinct commentary that is “A Vindication on the Rights of Women” by Mary Wollstonecraft. 

From then on, women began to express themselves through ink. Riding the first wave of feminism were English writers including Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Benger, and Anna Laetitia Barbauld. But changes were not only happening in western Europe: In Trinidad, Emile Maresse-Paul was writing about racial prejudices in the British West Indies; in Cuba, Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda was speaking out against slavery; in Poland, Eliza Orzeszkowa was telling stories amid the Positivism movement in her occupied country.

Then came the 20th century, when the gap between male and female authors started to close. Women began to tackle genres that were previously dominated by men, as Octavia E. Butler rose to success in the science fiction field and Agatha Christie earned her title of the Queen of Crime. From racial discrimination to the immigrant experience, to environmental justice, diversity grew among the authors as well as the topics they covered. 

Although female writers today are free to write whatever their hearts desire and books by female authors are bought as much as those by male authors in the United States, there is still progress to be made. There is still gender bias in the publishing industry, literary journals and their reviews, and there is grave imbalance in literary awards and prizes as they largely skew male. During Women’s History Month, writers and readers alike ought to look at the progress they have made and prepare to continue fighting the battle for equality.

Celebrating Women’s History Month: women in the four disciplines of art


I’ve never had a good answer when people asked me what music I liked. Usually, I would default to an evasive response, like “oh, everything” or even better, “anything but country.” Sometimes, I found myself trying to give answers that aligned with the other person’s taste or, worse, with what I thought they expected me to listen to. But in truth, none of these answers were completely accurate. My music taste has always been hard to define. I love kicking back to Kendrick Lamar albums, but can also jam to hits from the 70s and 80s at the same time. And perhaps most jarring of all, I love Taylor Swift.

Revealing this fact would almost always precipitate some level of surprise. When you think of Swifties, you probably don’t envision 16-year-old boys. Gut-reactions like these are fundamentally built upon perceptual categorizations of others into what they “should” be. Teenage boys should be interested in trap or rock, not Taylor Swift. Likewise, the traditional Swiftie should be a teenage girl who became infatuated with Taylor’s definition of music and femininity at a young age. Few of these characteristics are mine.

A problem arises when we stereotype and label others at first glance, even if it’s on an implicit level, because they fuel specious and misleading societal norms. These norms are what end up dictating our music tastes, boxing people into what tunes they ought to be drawn to and ultimately controlling our enjoyment. The stigma surrounding boys like myself listening to and liking Taylor Swift songs isn’t just one isolated instance but is endemic to the entire music industry. In the K-pop world, non-Asian people enjoying groups like BTS or EXO bears a similar shock-factor. 

The issue isn’t whether these stereotypes are true or not — most Taylor Swift fans are indeed teenage girls — but that the narrative such stereotypes push is almost always incomplete and thus dangerous. It is this incomplete and exclusionary narrative that becomes problematic for everyone, especially those purposefully steering clear of specific artists because of it.

More often than not, this self-imposed handicap of blindly adhering to such societal norms causes people to internalize stigmas and shy away from their favorite artists. For men who avoid Taylor Swift despite knowingly enjoying her music, the root of their non-participation is often a deep subscription to toxic masculinity. They brush off her music because it’s “too feminine” or “too emotional” and her lyrics don’t align with the traditional male predisposition of being “strong” or “courageous.” In reality, we should be asking ourselves how enjoying metaphorical and emotional songwriting takes away from our masculinity. How do figurative lyrics threaten our manliness? How do sentimental chords threaten our strength?

The simple answer is that it doesn’t. Gender norms like these coax us into a false chauvinistic perception of the world around us, prioritizing a societal expectation at the expense of our own self-image. Over time, predisposed philosophies like toxic masculinity make us more fragile. Men end up endorsing a “tough it out” mindset, making them unable to ask for help, realize trauma, or accept failures. This is inherently contradictory. You can chop wood for a fireplace “like a man” while dancing to “Shake it Off” or backpack across the Alps “like a man” while screaming the lyrics to “All Too Well.” Enjoying Taylor Swift isn’t mutually exclusive with being masculine. Toxic masculinity is innately flawed because it creates a false binary between masculine and feminine traits in a world where overlap between the two is ubiquitous. Listening to Taylor Swift doesn’t make you any less of a man, and ultimately, listening to any other artist that deviates from what you’re societally expected to listen to doesn’t reduce your worth either.

Backward cultural norms act as an engine for problematic mentalities like toxic masculinity and, crucially, defeat the purpose of music itself. We listen to music for ourselves and for our own enjoyment, not to fulfill and satisfy some de facto societal expectation or to validate others’ perceptions of us. The incomplete narratives of people painted by these cultural norms don't help anyone, and certainly not the listener.

Next time you hit play on your device, don’t let your decision be maneuvered by social expectations. Listen to what you like, even if it turns a few heads. My top recommendation would be any “1989” or “evermore” Taylor Swift song, but I’ll let you make that discovery on your own. 

What liking Taylor Swift taught me about deviating from societal norms


When the pandemic first hit in mid-March of 2020, students and teachers panicked as they scrambled to move school online. All classes were adjusting to the new norm as best as possible and band classes were no exception — lessons, rehearsals, and performances were now virtual. This presented many difficulties to the band directors since it was challenging to capture each instrument’s individual sound while also having a cohesive performance piece. Students were urged to practice more on their own and were tested on their skills using recording apps and one-on-one playing sessions. The young musicians no longer had time to stay back and chit-chat, which took away the community feel within the bands. When the band directors, Mr. Grimaldi and Mr. Bongiovi, decided to bring in-person rehearsals back this month, teachers and students were relieved for this small step back to normality. 

The return of in-person rehearsals has been difficult: there are strict protocols that must be adhered to in order to keep everyone healthy and safe. This poses some extra challenges to the musicians whose instruments require a steady airstream and uncovered mouth, thus enabling the spread of germs.

 “We also have to account for COVID procedures while in person, with 15 minute breaks every 30 minutes of playing and we have to use special musician’s masks and bags at the end of our instruments to catch aerosol, making it difficult to play,” said flautist Delaney McCarty ’22.

 Although strict COVID-19 protocols help keep everyone safe, it can make playing more difficult. Similarly to how we must cover our face with a mask, bags are placed on the end of their instruments to ensure that no virus may be transmitted. Strict social distancing guidelines are also being enforced to ensure everyone stays safe. Students now stand six feet apart, which has also been a strange adjustment since musicians normally play very close together. 

“I’ve also had to get used to the distancing. The distancing while we're playing and during breaks is much different from normal rehearsals where we’d be very very close to each other,” said Layla Mobin-Uddin ’22, a flautist in the PHS Jazz Ensemble. 

Overall, students seem to be happy with the switch to in-person rehearsals. Being able to interact with their fellow band members has made a significant impact on their progress, both musically and mentally. 

“I believe that hanging out with and having good rapport with other band members is crucial to a successful band, which we can’t get online,” said Connor Stewart ’23, a percussionist for Studio Band. 

There has also been an increase in rehearsal time after going in person, as students can play together and have more interaction with their directors. This also makes the conductor’s job much easier. Online, it was difficult to get playing time in due to latency and difficulties with technology. Consequently, students found themselves to be more productive when learning from in-class discussions and videos rather than when attempting to play together with Zoom delays.

Many students feel that they have made more improvements when in-person than when online. 

“I think switching has improved my performance. If anything, it has encouraged me to practice more and practice playing louder with a more full sound since there aren’t a ton of people at in person rehearsal,” Mobin-Uddin said.

Even though in-person rehearsals have allowed students to be surrounded by other musicians which creates a more encouraging and positive environment, some still think it is not nearly the same as pre-COVID rehearsals. 

“While in-person rehearsals do provide more accountability for practicing than virtual ones, they’re not nearly as impactful as a pre-COVID rehearsal. We can’t work within sectional groups, and we can’t hear the band play as one — I can only really hear myself and maybe a few others — both of which were major advantages to pre-COVID rehearsals,” McCarty said.

Students hope that these protocols will help rehearsals go back to normal soon. 

“I do feel like the protocols are difficult to follow at times, but ultimately I know it’s for the best,” said Sara Carson ’23, a guitarist for Studio Band. “I hope everyone continues to follow these guidelines so that we can return to rehearsals full on next school year.”





Band returns to in-person rehearsal


As children, we would devour book after book, racing to the bookshelves after class and look for books like “Harry Potter,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “Percy Jackson.” When the librarian would tell us to stop running, we’d speed walk to our favorite sections, not-so-subtly pushing each other out of the way, hoping to get there first. The first book in the series would never be there — then we’d have to beg a friend or pester our parents to buy it for us. But for those first few minutes after you got the book, you were the coolest kid. Classmates would go up to you asking to borrow it next, and you’d have to tell them no because two kids were already in line. And when they kept begging, you’d say they could be added to your “list.” What a time to be alive! 

However, kids grew up and lost their love for these fascinating worlds, for the characters that felt like friends. We migrated away from written words to videos on a screen; many spectacular movies today are based off of our favorite books (except the Percy Jackson movies — those were the worst adaptations I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot). We started trading TV show recommendations instead of book titles. We lost touch with the things that many of us felt closest to as elementary and middle schoolers and forgot how much and how often they helped us. Instead of hiding a flashlight under our comforter as we finished that “one last chapter” before bed, we’re up until the early hours of the morning, mindlessly scrolling through TikTok and Instagram, fantasizing about what our lives would be like if we were allowed to go to concerts, to go out and have fun with our friends without having to worry about catching a virus. 

So much of the desire to lose ourselves in movies and music can be attributed to escapism. A little bit of escapism is healthy for everyone, especially now when the most adventure many of us are getting is sitting on our friend’s back porch at 9 p.m. in 35 degree weather. We like to forget our own lives for a while, even if it is only for the duration of a 45-minute album, or a two-hour film. But then those 45 minutes or two hours end, and we drift back to our bedrooms, or our living rooms, or our backyards, and remember where we really are. We’ll never be able to experience that impatient feeling of reading 300 pages to finally see the hero defeat the villain. What if it didn’t have to end so quickly? What if our favorite stories could last us a little bit longer? Maybe a week or even a month. Whatever it is, I think it is better than the fleeting high we get from those films.

As a kid, reading was always something I loved. The first series I remember loving, like so many other kids, was “Harry Potter,” and my connection to the characters and storyline bordered on unhealthy. I loved “The Secret Garden” and “The Phantom Tollbooth,” and as I matured, so did my taste in books. Up until freshman year, I would devour story after story, living vicariously through characters who lived exciting lives, the ones I could only ever dream of. While I knew I would never be whisked away to another land to save their people, or make my way through society in the regency era, or help pull off an epic heist to keep a crime-ridden city protected from the tyrannical government, I still found myself envious of these characters’ lives. I fell in love with these stories and their characters, and when these stories ended, I wished, more than anything, that I could experience them again for the first time. I read everything: historical fiction, fantasy, contemporary — anything I could get my hands on, really. Even a little poetry, but only if it was Pablo Neruda. Anything else bores me, or maybe I just haven’t found the right poet yet.

But come freshman year, I just stopped for reasons I couldn’t even begin to describe. Maybe it was because I just hadn’t found the right book in a while, or I was so caught up in what I thought was important that I found myself overlooking the things that made me so happy for so long. 

Then, roughly a year ago we went into lockdown, and, like so many others, I found myself incredibly bored. My parents, noticing how much time I spent watching old romantic comedies, suggested that I return to my reading. After much resistance, I conceded and reread a favorite from middle school — a book that I knew I could read in one sitting and would leave me smiling. 

I’ll never tell them this, but I am so glad they forced me to pick that up again. At a time when so much of what I was doing wasn’t distinguishable on a day-to-day basis, these stories broke the uniformity and let me enjoy a time that was so prosaic. 

I found myself completely invested in eight-book fantasy series, or 800-page epics, or a classic story of love and betrayal that people have loved for over 150 years. As my collection of novels grew, so did my parent’s book-buying bans, which I did not align with, of course. 

These books have enabled me to live through so many peoples’ eyes, see the world in the ways that they do, and appreciate so much more because of them. 

During a time when we aren’t able to live the lives we have envisioned for ourselves in our teenage years, living and loving those years of a character you relate to can give you an escape that is more meaningful than you can perceive. While it doesn’t make up for our lost time, it certainly can put us in search of something more. 



Some great books, categorized by genre

* = look up trigger warnings before reading



FANTASY

-“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo, and the entirety of her Grishaverse (comparable to the intertwining stories of the Percy Jackson universe, to a lesser degree): Young Adult 

-“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V. E. Schwab: Adult

-“The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renee Ahdieh (duology): Young Adult

-“These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong: Young Adult

-“Furyborn by Claire Legrand”: Young Adult

-“The Princess Bride” by S. Morgenstern/William Goldman: appreciated differently at all ages



CONTEMPORARY

-“Frankly in Love” by David Yoon: Young Adult

-“Red, White, and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston: Adult

-“A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki: Adult*

-“In Paris with You” by Clementine Beauvais: Adult*

-“Words in Deep Blue” by Cath Crowley: Young Adult*



HISTORICAL FICTION

-“Lovely War” by Julie Berry: Young Adult

-“The Fountains of Silence” by Ruta Sepetys: Young Adult

-“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr: Adult



MYTHOLOGY

-“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller: Adult

-“Circe” by Madeline Miller: Adult

-“Ariadne” by Jennifer Saint: Adult

-“Lore” by Alexandra Bracken: Young Adult

-“Mythology” by Edith Hamilton: suitable for everyone



MAGICAL REALISM

-“The Starless Sea” by Erin Morgenstern: Adult

-“The 10,000 Doors of January” by Alix E. Harrow: Adult



CLASSICS AND POETRY

-“The Poetry of Pablo Neruda” by Pablo Neruda: Adult, for some of the poems’ content

-“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte: can be read at any age, content-wise

-“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson: Adult

-“The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett: children’s, but can be read at all ages

-“A Little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett: children’s, but can be read at all ages



Reading as an escape from reality


“The Help”: 2011

At the height of segregation in the Jim Crow south, 11 African maids need convincing to come forward and tell their unheard stories to the public. Aspiring journalist “Skeeter,” portrayed by Emma Stone, is deeply disturbed by the mistreatment of “the help” by their white employers, who are in her circle of childhood friends. The difference that sets Skeeter apart from them is the fact that she does not prioritize social status. Instead, she is determined to take a dangerous risk in society: exposing the harsh reality of working for white families in Mississippi. This film is inspiring because it demonstrates the strong will and courage of women to confront the blatant cruelty of the socialites toward their maids. Seeing them protect each other to ensure that their narratives remained anonymous instilled a sense of warmth and admiration inside me. The character I respected most was undoubtedly Aibileen, who had suffered the most yet still acted with dignity and kindness towards everyone. The one questionable aspect brought out in the story was that the maids were too meek to stand up for themselves on their own and relied on Skeeter to help save the day. It had an element of “white saviorism,” where the development of the white character was the main focus of the movie. However, their strength and fearlessness did come to light when they admitted the extent of hardship they had to endure. The movie did a brilliant job of showing the varying points of view of the different women. Minny Jackson, Aibileen’s best friend, sought revenge as often as she could and had a much more audacious personality than the brave yet reserved Aibileen. Both the heroines and villains in the tale were portrayed by inspiring actresses, weaving humor and sadness together to craft a powerful story teaching lessons of resistance and assertion. Watch this film, and witness how exposing the truth makes a difference in society.

“Radioactive”: 2019

One of the most remarkable scientists in our history, Marie Curie has not only become the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, but the first person in history to win two of these prestigious awards. “Radioactive” follows Marie Curie who, driven by her obsession with science and fierce determination, makes pioneering discoveries in both chemistry and physics, forever changing the worlds of medicine and warfare. The film begins with an elderly Curie being wheeled into the hospital where she reminisces about her journey that led to her becoming the trailblazer she is today. Her journey starts in 1893 when she crosses paths with future lab partner and husband Pierre Curie. The two end up conducting research together despite her insisting that she came to Paris from Poland to study. After their famous discovery of radium and polonium, a montage of mysterious scenes from the future foreshadow the dangers of radioactivity, and a dancer who wishes to use radium for special effects is given a particular focus. The director clearly tries to marry the science with a more artistic kind of creativity, but at some points it seems as if the story goes off in different directions aimlessly. I would have liked to see more of the positive impacts of Curie’s work as opposed to the overarching cynical perspective: A major focus was on the development of the atomic bomb and how her discovery led to events such as the Chernobyl disaster in the 80s. While the film offered insight into her life’s tragedies, such as the graphic death of Pierre, and her imperfections as a person, the sequence made the story feel too dark rather than uplifting. At the end of the day, it was an engaging account of Curie’s life and showed what it meant to be a female genius at that point in history. The theme I took away from the film was that science can either be glorious or disastrous, depending on whose hands it is in. 

“Million Dollar Baby”: 2004

This poignant and tragic film is a must-watch if you’re looking for a simple yet touching experience. I am generally not one for boxing movies, but this one far exceeded my expectations. Frankie Dunn, a cantankerous old man with a painful past, is initially reluctant to train Maggie Fitzgerald, rejecting her because of her gender, race, and lack of experience. In spite of his repeated refusals, Maggie persists, showing up at the gym every day from dawn to dusk until his best friend convinces him to take her on. It is here that the story begins — and where Frankie and Maggie’s father-daughter bond starts to form. As she trains, the story continues to be told through the eyes of Frankie’s best friend “Scrap,” who sheds light on Frankie and Maggie’s own sorrows. Morgan Freeman tenderly narrates the film as it develops each of the characters, showing me the true nature of life without any sugar coating. Frankie Dunn has a tough exterior but conceals his sadness from being separated from his daughter. For 23 years he goes to church and sends her letters, praying that some miracle will arrive. Clint Eastwood brings real soul to his character Dunn who seems rough around the edges but is truly devoted to the things he loves. Maggie Fitzgerald, who is said to be from “somewhere between nowhere and goodbye” in Missouri, had spent the last fifteen years waitressing to look after her dysfunctional family. Boxing gives her life direction and purpose, and with Frankie at her side, she rises to stardom. Watching Maggie emerge victorious time and time again and hearing the crowd chant her nickname macushla made it seem as if I was sharing her success. Her matches around the world built up to her fight against the most formidable opponent she would ever face, Billie “The Blue Bear,” notorious for playing dirty. The scene ended with a fatal blow to Maggie’s head when she wasn’t looking, sending her straight to the hospital. It was heartbreaking to watch Maggie regress until finally, she asked Frankie to end her life. This tragic ending made many question the movie’s feminist themes and whether it was hinting that Maggie really should have steered away from boxing. My view is that Maggie was strong and passionate enough to fulfill her dreams and make life worthwhile.

“Bend it like Beckham”: 2002

In contrast to the more serious dramas included on this list, this is the ultimate “feel-good” movie whose relatable characters and humorous dialogue will, without a doubt, put you in a good mood. Set in West London, “Bend it like Beckham” follows an Indian-American teenager deprived of her dream to play professional soccer by her strict parents. Being a girl, she is told that her transition to maturity should just be towards marriage— when in fact, she outshines the boys in her neighborhood as an athlete when she sneaks out to practice. While this is a recurrent storyline in several films, I, along with my family, consider it to be refreshingly unique and well rounded in the ways that it incorporates all of the elements of life during a girl’s impressionable years. As a member of the Indian community myself, I found the demands forced onto Jess, the protagonist, to learn how to cook traditional dishes hilarious, and I was able to closely connect with the overall setting of the movie for similar reasons. However, the movie is something to be enjoyed by all, as it deals with what everyone goes through at some point in their lives, whether it be friendship, cultural identity, romance, or future aspirations. Personally, the charm and appeal from this movie lay in the characters’ quirks: how Jess’s confidant was her massive David Beckham poster on the ceiling, how her best friend, Jules, tried hard to disguise herself as a tomboy, and how Pinky, despite her superficial tendencies, constantly supported her sister. Jess’s resolve and athletic prowess as a woman is a real inspiration for young girls around the world who are interested in sports but are under the impression that the role of an athlete is not meant for them. Some may say that the ending is too dreamy and unrealistic, but it effectively conveys that gender and background should never prevent the fulfillment of someone’s true potential. 

Explore female representation in films during Women’s History Month


All displayed photos are provided by Elias Gitterman

Theater is much more than just memorizing a script. For Elias Gitterman ’21, it’s a transformative experience, starting with the nerve-wracking auditions all the way to production day. After participating in musicals throughout middle school, Gitterman continued his acting journey in PHS by starring in drama department productions including “Theory of Relativity” and “Clue.” This year, he is excited to play Gomez Addams in PHS’ very own production of “The Addams Family.” Gitterman demonstrates his versatility as a student actor by taking on roles of all types of genres including comedy, mystery, and romance. When embodying a character, he emphasizes the importance of being original on stage. With his distinctive understanding of theater and his love for all roles, Gitterman looks forward to many more amazing on-stage experiences in the future, as he plans to attend New York University this fall. 

What influenced your interest in acting?

The first show I ever did was in fourth grade, and it was a Shakespeare play called “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” That sort of instilled in me a love of being on stage and having the attention of the audience. Then when I got to middle school, I just started auditioning for plays and taking drama classes; I auditioned for the musical when I was in eighth grade. I would also see plays and musicals, specifically on Broadway. By the time I got to high school, I very much considered myself an actor.

Is this your first time starring in a PHS musical production? If not, can you give an overview of past experiences? 

Yes, this is my first time having a leading role in the musical at PHS. I was in a musical last year called “Theory of Relativity.” That was an ensemble show that was just a series of individual musical numbers: some pieces were solos, some were duos, and others were large ensemble pieces. That was a big moment for me, getting to be in that show. There was a lot of emotion, and overall it was very deep and touching to a lot of people. My favorite role I’ve ever played was probably Mr. Green in “Clue,” because it was so much fun to play. I got to live out a lot of my theater dreams by playing a secret FBI agent; getting to play that character was such an over the top, ridiculous situation. And being able to play those characters in those types of scenes is fun. After this tremendous experience, I auditioned for Addams Family this year and got the role of Gomez. I’m just so happy to have the role. 

Can you guide us through the overall process of a production, starting with auditions?

The first thing you do is go to the informational meeting, where you learn what the show is about and you get your audition materials. Once you have your audition materials, you have to practice memorizing your lines and start thinking about which characters you might want to be cast as. Then you go to the audition, which can be nerve-wracking because there’s lots of new people.

You start to gauge what the production, in a broader sense, is going to look like. Every actor will also tell you that the audition goes by very quickly, you’re walking out of the audition room, and you’re thinking “wait, did that just happen?” But if you’ve practiced enough, it becomes second nature, and then you don't need to focus too much. So that’s the audition, but callbacks can be equally nerve wracking. Sometimes, directors and auditors will put you in a scene where they know that you’re going to flub your lines just to see how you roll with it. Actually, that is a great way for the people in the audition room to get to know you as a person and an actor. It does require a lot of devotion, but once you’re in production, you’re performing, and you never get tired of it. It’s always fun and so exciting to walk out on stage and be in a scene.

Auditions for musicals can get competitive. How do you feel about the environment of the musical industry? 

Whenever there’s some sort of aspect of performance, whether it’s instrumental or athletic, there’s always a lot of pressure following it, which can lead to a high pressure environment. There can be competitiveness when you're involved in a theatrical production. Though, in every show that I’ve been in, the environment has been very welcoming and positive. There’s always an understanding that there’s a level of pressure and weight that come with that. You’re doing something that’s important and you want to do it well. The theater community almost always is super supportive, which helps take some of the weight off of your shoulders when putting together such a large production.

Do you ever feel yourself getting personally attached to your role, or even becoming somewhat like the role you play?

I definitely bring a lot of myself in my roles, and I’m never the same person coming out of a show as I am going into it. It’s always a transformative experience, but outside of rehearsal I don’t really become my character. Like I said before, it’s fun to watch your characters come to life and bring them to the stage in a way that’s original and effective. You come to love your role, and you make the most of it no matter how many scenes you’re in or how big of a role it is. This is something that you'll definitely hear a lot as an actor, but bigger roles do not always mean better roles. It’s natural for different roles to have varying amounts of stage time and types of preparation. For the supporting and leading roles, your character is already written out. The type of character that you’re supposed to play already exists. However, as an ensemble member, you often get to create your own character, but at the same time, I always say that aspect of inventing is very important, no matter what role you get. You always have to bring something original to your role. To circle back around to your question, I’ve never gotten attached to my roles, but very often I find the characters that I’m playing are somewhat similar to me.

Gomez Addams is known for his extraordinary love for Morticia. When acting, is it ever difficult to portray feelings like love?

With something as complex as showing love, regret, or contempt, abstract emotions are obviously more difficult to convey because they have to come from an authentic place. A very common technique that's used by actors is emotional recall, and it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. If you’re trying to convey an emotion, just think of a time in your life when you experienced that emotion, try to reflect on that in your brain, and recreate it through acting. Portraying an emotion like love can be difficult because people interpret love in lots of different ways, and there are many different types of love. It’s not always easy to be an effective actor. Something that I live by is that good acting is when the audience feels whatever the actor is trying to portray. That may seem obvious, but if there's a disconnect between what you’re trying to create and how the audience is perceiving it that means you are doing something wrong. I know I’ve stressed this so many times, but it’s something that I live by, and that’s being original with your role. You have to create something that’s never been seen before. So once again, to revisit your original question, portraying love can be challenging, but if you do it right, it can be very compelling and very moving. 

Any advice for students beginning in theater?

My advice would be that you have to form a community by getting to know the other people in your class because you are going to stick with them, and they're going to be people who sustain you. Once you do a show with them, you get to know them really well. You form this really strong bond that is so important to being not only a high schooler but also an actor. Shows should be fun, and they shouldn’t be too much work. You definitely have to work hard as an actor and have to put in those hours. You have to really be able to invent in a way that's honest, effective, and self sustaining. You need to be the type of actor who enjoys the work.

Elias Gitterman ’21 brings his character to life on stage



PHS students Mitalee Pasricha ’23, Emily Wu ’23, Katherine Monroe ’23, and Nicole Vassilev ’22 stand in solidarity with the Asian American community at the rally on March 27 Photo courtesy of Katherine Chang
On March 27, members of the Princeton community including PHS students, staff, and alumni held a rally calling for solidarity with Asian American communities in the wake of the Atlanta mass shootings that resulted in the deaths of eight individuals,  six of whom were Asian women. Over 3,000 individuals attended the event at Hinds Plaza while abiding by the mandatory mask and social distancing guidelines.

The rally followed a roughly two-hour schedule, beginning with a brief welcoming speech by Reverend Robert Moore of the Coalition for Peace Action followed by a vigil in honor of the eight victims in the Atlanta shooting, which included a name-reading and a minute of silence. Following the keynote speakers, pre-selected community members were allotted three minutes each to deliver their messages.

Each speaker supplied their own perspective and voice during their allotted time, speaking about personal and historical experiences of discrimination, their racial identity, and the importance of taking action and demanding change. The speakers at the vigil included citizen leaders from the community, professors from Princeton University, and even current students, teachers, and alumni in the Princeton Public Schools, including Yingying Zhao ’20,  Zoey Nuland ’25, PHS teacher Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson, and PHS Assistant Principal Cecilia Birge.

“It is our dream // That we can live in a world // Without fuss // Where everyone is us, and no one is ‘them,’” recited Nuland, a student at Princeton Unified Middle School, from a self-written poem.

The speeches elicited emotional reactions from the audience and the speakers alike.

“It's just so touching when you see tears rolling down their faces as Zoey Nuland and Yingying [Zhao] read their points, you know that you touched emotion that's so raw, something that has been silenced for too long,” said  Birge.

Xiaobing Li, another community organizer of the event and a PHS parent, echoed Birge’s sentiments, recognizing the universal nature of the lessons that could be taken from the speeches.

“I am Asian American myself, and I learned so much from the speakers. I think that is true for all community members, regardless of their ethnic groups,” Li said.

Birge contacted local organizations and associations in order to plan the event, but she initially had not anticipated how large it would become.

“Frankly, I did not expect to organize a 3,000 [person] rally. It was just going to be a small vigil at Tiger Park, and then once we began to get more and more people asking us about it, we ended up relocating after talking to the police department… it started from a small thought that was supposed to be comforting and healing and evolved into a vigil with the entire community and a rally supported by 18 community organizations,” Birge said.

After news of the rally spread through social media and word of mouth, PHS student turnout was high.

“It spread pretty widely amongst the student body from what I saw. I know some people were able to get some of their friends on board. And I did see some people who I knew at the rally as well… I do know that social media helped spread it amongst the student body significantly,” said Han Li ’23.

Beyond just attending the event, many PHS students and alumni volunteered in various positions. Michaela Guo ’20 and Emily Choi ’22 volunteered as emcees, and Julia Zhang ’21 served as a demonstration marshal.

Although the rally’s aim was to support the Asian American community, many of the attendees and even speakers belonged to different racial and ethnic groups. The concept of “solidarity” was brought up in many speeches as a necessity for meaningful action, which can be defined as a feeling of unity in feeling and action between groups with shared interests.

“We [tried] to get as diversified speakers as possible from different organizations and different ethnic groups to really show that everybody's in this fight, not just Asians, and not just minority groups, but it's really everybody… we have to be one voice to stop the hate,” Xiaobing Li said.

Many PHS students who attended the event also shared similar sentiments emphasizing the importance of uniting various groups together in efforts to tackle racially unjust structures and situations.

“Especially in recent times, I think we've seen a lot of activism from all different racial groups and I think it's really nice to see how all of these movements come together because we're all fighting for the same purpose — we're all fighting for equality… It's really easy to show consistency in your activism by not only supporting one movement but then also showing solidarity with all of the other movements,” said Ayo Lin Ince ’22, who has both Black and Asian heritage and attended the rally.

Organizers like Birge and Xiaobing Li have been involved in the Princeton community even before the recent rally. In early March 2020, they led an effort to gather personal protective equipment and funds for local businesses struck by COVID.

“I believe in homebrew, community participation in community affairs. [The fundraising] was what the community needed during COVID time. And during this time, I've witnessed that pain and suffering in my students in particular. So that's the need that I saw,” Birge said.

Ince believes the rally provided proper grieving and important education for PHS students who attended.

“I think everyone coming together is a learning experience in itself. Seeing how so many students from Princeton High School came to stand in solidarity with the movement was very beneficial and I think it's important to see that showing up and being active is impactful because it's important to use your voice and to remember that your actions have a real impact,” Ince said.

The tragedy in Atlanta kickstarted national outrage over anti-Asian sentiments, providing an opportunity for new voices to speak out against racism. Birge recognizes this shift in attitude, believing it to be a step forward.

“We were trained to be quiet….[to not] stick our heads out when there's an issue. You want to be doing what everybody else is doing, you don't want to be standing out. And I think that we tried that [and] it didn't work. It worked really badly against us. So now is the time to stand up and rise up and own that responsibility,” Birge said.

Princeton community  holds vigil honoring Atlanta shooting victims


In March, the Board of Education announced their decision to create a new cohort that merges existing in-person cohorts A and B into cohort D. Starting in late March, students will have the choice of attending school in person every week as a member of cohort D.

In October 2020, the board agreed upon hybrid learning which allowed students a chance to choose between attending school in-person or remotely. Due to concerns over social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the district created separate cohorts. All students attending school remotely are in cohort C, while students who signed up for in-person learning were initially separated into cohorts A and B, taking turns weekly to go to school physically. 

As the district gained better control over the pandemic environment, a reimagined cohort D began development. This new, in-person cohort provides a chance for students to go to school every week instead of once every other week.

The separate cohort D was first introduced as an entirely in-person option.

“Cohort D started in November, and the first part of cohort D was [to] identify students who were struggling academically, socially, [or] emotionally and to bring them back into person [quickly],” said Jared Warren, Acting Principal of PHS. 

While the initial purpose of cohort D being entirely in-person was to help struggling students, more students expressed their willingness to go to school more consistently in a February survey sent out by the school. The merging of cohorts A and B into cohort D was announced in a recent board meeting, giving students the freedom to attend school in person every day while reserving the choice of going in person once every other week. 

“This will create some form of normalcy for kids to hopefully get into a routine coming back to school, seeing their friends face to face,” Warren said.

The district hopes that bringing more students back to school will have a positive effect on mental health and improve academic performances as well as the ability to focus for some students.

“I'm more inclined to do the work because [when] I get home, I get distracted a lot by [things] around me,” said Anika Simons ’23, who has signed up to be placed in cohort D.

Chiara Lavino ’23, a current member of cohort D, believes this will be beneficial to the school’s learning and teaching systems during COVID-19.

“If there [are] more people in the class, there [are] more in-person discussions that come easier,” said Lavino. “On Zoom whenever we [have] breakout rooms, most of the time people just turn off their cameras. But in-person can force people to actually discuss and do the work all together,” Lavino said.

Despite the improvements to students’ school experience that the merge will provide, safety risks also arise as more students will come to school at the same time. However, students expressed confidence in the school’s COVID-prevention protocol. 

“Everyone does a good job of keeping their masks on, only going outside to eat or drink, and trying to keep six feet distance,” Simons said.

In order to provide a safe environment for students and staff, the school is trying to coordinate more supervision to ensure all protocol is being followed.

“The number one thing you can do in school for safety is obviously [to] have protocols and guidelines and rules, but then we also need … adult supervision. Teachers are going to be instructed in the building … if they see students in the hallways who are [not] social distancing to give them a friendly reminder,” Warren said.

The cohort merge is the next step in the district’s goal to fully reopen schools by September.

PHS expands cohort D to provide more in-person education


Ever since he can recall, Mark Eastburn has always enjoyed being immersed in nature. In kindergarten, Eastburn was given the opportunity to take home the class pet turtle, kickstarting his passion for reptiles and science. Now a science teacher at PHS, Eastburn has succeeded in passing this interest on to countless students over his 20 years of teaching.

Prior to PHS, Eastburn taught science at Riverside Elementary School for seven years and Spanish for 10 years at Johnson Park. Although his father was a teacher, Eastburn’s first taste of teaching came unexpectedly. In 1998, fresh out of college, Eastburn decided to apply for the Peace Corps. He was assigned to a community in central Panama where he worked in agroforestry. As Eastburn sought solutions for poor land management practices in Panama, he found himself drawn to the schools.

“I saw [that] my most effective response … was to start teaching the younger students who weren’t set in their ways,” Eastburn said. “The adult farmers, some of them were … just like, ‘That’s the way I’ve always done it and that’s the way it’s always going to be for me.’”

Through educating children on sustainable agricultural practices, Eastburn realized he enjoyed giving back to the community. As a result, Eastburn decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in education. While his first job was based solely on foreign language — teaching Spanish at Johnson Park — Eastburn never lost his love for science.

“Science has always been my passion,” Eastburn said. “Even when I was a Spanish teacher, I was trying to work as many science themes as I could into the Spanish language curriculum.”

Now a teacher at Princeton High School, Eastburn is one of three teachers who oversee the three-year Research Program. The goal of this class is to teach students how to read scientific papers and how to analyze complicated data sets in preparation for their own research projects, which are executed in the later years of the program. 

“We’ve had several students present at the American Society of Plant Biologists, the Anthropological Society, and the American Physics Society,” Eastburn said. “That’s where students really get the opportunity to make connections with people in their field.” 

Eastburn’s creativity and love for science transcend the school environment. Aside from being a teacher at the high school, Eastburn is also an author of science fiction and dystopian novels. 

“I started getting ideas and stories in my head, and I was like, ‘No one’s ever going to know about these stories unless I write them down,’” Eastburn said. 

Transferring his ideas onto paper, Eastburn initially self-published books. After joining the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and gaining more experience as a writer, Eastburn published his first children’s chapter book, “Earning My Spots,” in 2016. His story features two boys who can shape-shift into animals as they pursue adventures together. As of now, Eastburn is in the process of writing two young adult novels that he hopes to publish soon.

  Outside of school and writing, Eastburn enjoys photography and exploring nature with his family. During his excursions, Eastburn looks under cracks and crevices in hopes of finding new species of isopods to bring back to his classroom. 

Although he has been able to pursue his passions, there have been setbacks along his journey. In 2016, Eastburn lost virtually everything after his house burned down in a fire. Without any hesitation, the Riverside community came together and supported him in any way they could. Later in 2020, when he lost his father, the Princeton community united again to support him.

“I really feel that … what’s gotten me through was the support from the Princeton community parents and students,” Eastburn said. “I definitely feel like a member of a community that appreciates me and I appreciate it.”

Eastburn hopes that, after PHS, his students will continue to explore their passions and use the skills taught in the Research program.

“My biggest reward [is] if they [can] carry those tools forward with them into their careers and into lives in general,” Eastburn said. “If they can do that, I’ve been successful, they ... instead of being just actors, they’re creators.”

PHS Profile: Mark Eastburn leads the classroom with passion and experience


After participating in a 10-week English teaching program with K–8 students at the Diwan Languages School in Egypt, 54 Ideas Center volunteers bid farewell to their fellow students over their last Friday Zoom session. Dr. Andrea Dinan, director of the Ideas Center, organized the program with the intention of teaching English in an unconventional yet engaging style. 

While looking for virtual volunteering opportunities for the Ideas Center amidst the lockdown, Dinan learned that the Diwan School wanted a few teachers to help with reading groups. Dinan contacted the school and offered her Ideas Center tutors’ help. Her offer kickstarted a series of meetings with the director of their English Department, Islam Allosh, to coordinate the partnership. 

Towards the end of 2020, Allosh showed the Diwan School’s parents a video to introduce the program. Their reaction was of immense excitement.

“When they watched the video, they got more excited, and then I sent them a Google Form, and they started flooding the form, and we got almost 800 students [to] sign up for the program,” Allosh said.

The program was over Zoom from 8–9 a.m. EST every Friday. It included eight activities catered to enhance English proficiency for grades K–8. These activities were then categorized based on different grade levels in order to appeal to the student’s interest. Some activities included Storytime, Phonics, Craft and Connect, and All Around Me. Volunteers would read and discuss English books with students during Storytime, practice reading and writing skills during Phonics, make drawing and paintings during Craft and Connect, and teach new English vocabulary in All Around Me.  

The overall goals of these activities were to build up the students’ knowledge, as well as their linguistic skills. 

Staikos ’22, a tutor in the Storytime group, described a few fun activities she conducted to engage her first through third graders.

“We would read a picture book to the kids and then have them read [it] out loud. Then we would do little activities with the words from the story [such as] unscrambling words from the story, and they were actually really good at it. I remember [it] being … just a lot of fun,” Staikos said.

In addition to helping with English proficiency, Allosh said the Diwan students believed the program helped make the pandemic more “livable.” 

“The overall experience, part of it being a new experience, made it enjoyable [for] students to participate,” Allosh said. “[It] ultimately led to alleviating the [pain of] being [stuck] in one place [and] not being able to go out as they used to.”

In fact, both the tutors and the students want the program to reboot in the future because they enjoyed the experience so much. They believe that the connection established, although in an online environment, was an unforgettable one.

“We’re only spending an hour with [them] every week, but we have a lot of fun together and I think that contributes to the relationships that we [built] ... I think that would be great [if] we can do this again,” Staikos said. 

PHS students partner with Egypt school to give virtual English lessons


Nearly a thousand students, faculty, and community members of the Princeton Public Schools district attended the Board of Education meeting held via Zoom on February 23. The meeting discussed the plan to incorporate more in-person learning into PPS and presented an amended bell schedule for the high school. 

On February 22, the BOE sent out a proposal for a new bell schedule which would extend each hour-long class period by 15 minutes and end the school day at 2:30 p.m. rather than 1:00 p.m. Many students immediately voiced outrage at this development by posting on social media and urging others to attend the BOE meeting.

At the board meeting the following evening, the administrators adjusted the schedule to retain the original 60-minute classes but with the addition of another period, for a total of five 60-minute classes per day and a 2:35 p.m. end. 

“We [will] incorporate more instructional time, but we will have a 40-minute break …The last period of the day, which is 2:35–3:21, [will be] our targeted instruction period, and [on] Thursdays, we will have our Tiger Time, [during which] students can collaborate with each other on projects [and] students can play basketball in the Old Gym,” said Jared Warren, Acting Principal of PHS.

Around 60 individuals chose to speak for an allotted two minutes during the public forum section of the meeting. 

Yash Roy ’21, a student liaison to the board, was the first to voice his thoughts. 

“Yesterday, when the administration at Princeton High School presented the [new schedule with] 75 minute periods, the student body showed up. We said, ‘This is not a good idea, we don’t support this, and we want to have a voice and a seat at the table when schedules are made going forward.’ What do we get in return? We got [a revised schedule] without any real, meaningful, discussion with students. I think that’s just disrespecting us at this point,” Roy said.

Malachi Wood, PHS French Teacher and parent with two students enrolled in Princeton Public Schools, also spoke out during the public forum. He detailed his concerns about how the new schedule will affect students who come from lower-income families. 

“The extended schedule will be an equity disaster. Going forward with this will [expand] the equity gap that already exists at PHS. The more time students spend in class, the more time they need outside of class to do the inevitably increased workload. This is doubly true for our vulnerable and challenged students,” Wood said.

Another individual from the student body also voiced their frustration. Oliver Huang ’24 compared the board’s behavior to “Ted Cruz in a winter storm,” referring to the Texas senator who took a trip to Cancún while many of his constituents were left to brave the recent Texas blizzard.

“[We] probably could have been a bit nicer,” said Huang.

In a comment about what may have caused the anger during the public forum, Huang said, “Not being heard. We kind of got ignored.”

Maya Khan ’21, the other student liaison to the board, brought up the survey conducted on behalf of the board which asked about students’ mental health and their thoughts on the current schedule. Khan and Roy noted that of the 645 PHS students who responded, 85 percent replied that they were overly stressed in the last month because of school, 72 percent agreed that the current schedule and the allotted class times were “just right,” and only one percent asked for more instructional time.

Those who spoke echoed the results of the survey and continued to voice their concerns as the night went on. Due to the growing number of individuals who still wished to participate, the board voted to extend the meeting until midnight.

“I think we need more time to listen to more people, but I do think anyone who’s on the call who wants to speak tonight, I think we need to let them speak. I want to hear them,” said board member Betsy Baglio when asked about shortening the speaking time for students and citizens to less than one minute.

Fellow board member Michele Tuck-Ponder echoed her sentiment. Tuck-Ponder served as the time-keeper for the public forum, reminding speakers of the two-minute time limit.

“Yeah, we’re going to be here late. But people want to be heard. We should forge on until we have heard from everybody,” Tuck-Ponder said.

As a result of the meeting and public forum, the board chose to delay all proposed changes pending recommendations to be made by a new committee of students and teachers created by Dr. Galasso, the superintendent. Two days after the board meeting, the weekend of March 6–7 was designated a “no-homework time zone” to promote student well-being after many students spoke about their stress levels during the forum.

Galasso was optimistic that the board and the student body could come to an agreement that benefited students and faculty alike by working together. Through an application process organized by the student liaisons, they selected a group of 15 students that would help Galasso devise a mutually beneficial schedule change.

“So far we’ve had three hours worth of meetings with students [during which] we’ve talked about the high school schedule specifically. We’ve come together on about 80 percent of what students’ concerns were,” Galasso said.

Galasso hopes that this student group can help avoid future confrontations as well and provide a foundation for future collaboration.

“I would like to think that we would begin to do this once a month. This [superintendent council] will be an opportunity, ongoing, where students will have a forum to express what they like and what they would like to see improved, and a whole host of other issues,” said Galasso.

New schedule proposal stirs controversy at Board of Education meeting

In 2018, Republican Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh called contraceptives an “abortion-inducing drug.” Since then, Kavanaugh’s words and beliefs have received support from right-leaning voters across the nation. Statements like these reflect the GOP’s latest attack on women’s bodies as the party continues to illogically dismantle access to contraceptives, the very medications that can prevent abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies. This rhetoric perpetuates the many fallacies regarding contraceptives caused by the lack of education and promotion of political beliefs over science. Change within our society regarding contraceptive use is crucial in order to ensure a woman’s constitutional right over her own reproductive rights while allowing for more safe sex. Contraceptives will reduce the amount of both unwanted pregnancies and, as a result, abortions. This would make the lives of many women significantly more simple — however, some people disapprove of giving women power over their own bodies, turning contraceptives into an argument. It is baffling how something that would simply benefit women and not hurt anyone else has turned into a political debate. 

It is important to recognize that women of color and women of lower income are disproportionately affected by access to contraceptives because they are less likely to get abortions and generally have less education on contraceptives’ usage. These women have higher unintended birth rates and are more likely to be less prepared to have a baby. They may not be financially stable and could be putting themselves and their babies at risk (Planned Parenthood Action). Since prescription contraceptives are pricier but much more effective, if contraceptives were more affordable for these women, unintended pregnancies would decrease. According to a 2012 Brookings Institution report, “more than 90 percent of abortions occur due to unintended pregnancy,” so cutting birth control costs could reduce unintended pregnancies and prevent health risks. Of course, contraceptives will never be completely effective, but the rates of unintended pregnancies will decline and women of color and low income women can have a better future. Most of these women barely have enough resources to keep themselves afloat, let alone a child. Mitigating these unwanted pregnancies will allow these women to strengthen themselves financially. Most importantly, contraceptives give women the choice on when to have children and give women the power to make decisions about their bodies. There are so many contraceptives available, and although it can be overwhelming, women need the freedom to choose what’s best for them without having cost as an obstacle. Birth control can also be used for health purposes by preventing transmission of sexually transmitted infections). It doesn’t make sense that many Republicans won’t support a government providing free or affordable healthcare when they themselves want fewer abortions. If they truly were as anti-abortion as they claim, then they would support the resouces, like affordable healthcare, which would decrease abortions nationwide. There’s a clear reason for this: Some Republicans feel they can control women’s lives.

Contraceptives need to be more affordable, and we also need to strengthen awareness and advocacy about them, especially at schools. Many times, schools focus on preventing STIs, but educators rarely talk about preventing pregnancies, which is another key aspect of sexual health. As a whole, we need to work on limiting the inaccurate statements made about contraceptives. This, coupled with reproductive policies that focus on educating about instead of stigmatizing sex, will ensure that our generation stays healthy. The current proposal to ship birth control pills to a patient’s house makes contraceptives more accessible to the people who need them the most. If the stress of buying these pills is gone, they are more likely to actually use contraceptives. A large percentage of unplanned pregnancies are teenage pregnancies, situations that could have been easily avoided if these teenagers had had access to safe and effective birth control in the first place (National Center for Biotechnology Information). For most teenage girls looking to get put on birth control, that process looks like doctors visits, OB-GYN visits, occasionally blood tests, and a trip to the pharmacy — all to get some pills that make you dizzy. 

Many Republican politicians portray contraceptives as “abortion-inducing pills” when in actuality they work to prevent pregnancy. Newspapers also play a big role in spreading misinformation, as many say that emergency contraceptives can cause defects to an “existing pregnancy.” In reality, the stage in which the emergency contraceptive begins to work isn’t anywhere near an actual pregnancy — emergency contraceptives exist to prevent ovulation, not to kill a baby. When sex education is thorough, students are more likely to make safer and healthier choices rather than learning about misconceptions. Most unintended pregnancies involve couples who use contraceptives incorrectly or don’t use contraception at all, emphasizing the importance of sex education starting at an early age to prevent unwanted consequences.

Fortunately, progress is on the horizon as Biden pledges that his federal court nominees support the right of privacy, meaning it is women’s right to decide what they do with their bodies. Biden will repeal the Trump administration’s Title X gag rule, which will protect birth control for four million people and ensure all people have access to all health care options. Additionally, Biden wants to build on the progress made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which covers access to preventive care and contraceptives. He stated, “The public option will cover contraception and a woman’s constitutional right to choose” (Joe Biden Campaign). Ultimately, there is hope to secure women’s access to contraceptives, though it is imperative to increase education and awareness on its usage and to continue the fight in protecting women’s rights. 

 

The Fight for Accessible Contraceptives

As summer approaches, the temptation to hit the road is greater than ever, especially after a year of staying indoors. Travel seems like the perfect getaway from the absolute migraine that is COVID-19 era school and work. But given the current circumstances, travel is neither safe nor the only way to blow off steam. 

By every measure, this virus isn’t over. According to a WSBT article published on April 13th, 2021, spring break travel has triggered a spike in hospitalizations in several states. Even worse, highly contagious COVID-19 variants are on the rise across the world, and according to a Forbes article from 2021, with each mutation, they become more resistant against vaccines that can end the crisis. The B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered months ago in the United Kingdom, accounts for tens of thousands of new cases in the United States. This new variant is especially dangerous as it is even more contagious and deadly than previous variants according to a BBC article from May 23, 2021. A study from the University of Exeter, published in 2021, found that the strain had a 64 percent higher death rate than other circulating strains and is already dominant in countries such as Germany, Italy, and France. These deadly variants were brought to the United States from abroad. For these reasons, the CDC strongly advises against non-essential travel. If we don’t want to continue to be in hiding for the next two years, we should refrain from globe-hopping. It isn’t worth risking the lives of you and your loved ones to fly to Orlando to meet Mickey Mouse, nor is it worth getting hospitalized to go get a tan on the beach.

The disease itself won’t be the end of your problems. If you venture out of the United States, you will have to test negative at your destination before flying home. In the case that you test positive, you and your family will probably have to quarantine there for two weeks or more. Quarantine accommodations may not be free or convenient. If the illness is serious, you’ll be hospitalized, and the medical bills probably won’t be covered by health insurance. Additionally, testing negative for COVID-19 doesn’t guarantee that you don’t have the virus. Some tests, according to an article posted on the Harvard Health Blog from 2020, have a false negative rate of more than 20 percent even days after symptoms have begun. This uncertainty is part of the reason COVID-19 variants have managed to spread across the world. What is meant to be a short trip to Bora Bora can quickly turn into quite the nightmare.

Even if these are all risks you are willing to take, you are responsible not only for your family’s health and safety but also for those of others. If you get sick overseas, you may end up using hospital resources originally meant for the residents of that country, contributing to healthcare congestion. You could also be spreading deadlier COVID-19 variants to places in the world which have previously been unaffected by them. 

Instead of disrupting the communities abroad, we should be supporting the community here at home. Businesses have been suffering around the world, and Princeton, for all its wealth, isn’t exempt, with local restaurants, stores, and attractions seeing a heavy decrease in traffic since March of last year.

Yet these places are also what make Princeton such a vibrant town, a mixing pot brimming with cuisines of every kind and a host to some of the best ice cream places around. Businesses have done all they can to adapt to these bizarre circumstances, continuing to offer us their services despite a global pandemic. We should return the favor by staying in town and keeping their doors open. For one of these invaluable places to close would be unaffordable for the community. Rather than pouring savings into a plane ticket, we should give the local economy a booster by enjoying the top tier products offered right here. Be sure to follow guidelines by wearing a mask and social distancing. Adhere to the rules of the businesses you decide to support.

A staycation can be just as rewarding as a trip overseas, especially if you live near Princeton. A beautiful campus, countless trails to travel, and Hoagie Haven: What more can you ask for?

The Attractive (and Ethical) Alternative to Your Vacation

Out of all of the things threatening humanity — more pandemics, artificial intelligence, or a nuclear war — by far the most plausible and scary future is the Earth becoming uninhabitable due to climate change. An article from DailyStar in 2019 shows that, terrifyingly, we have a 19 percent chance of going extinct as soon as 2100 due to a climate crisis. We’re already seeing the disastrous impacts of climate change: Intelligencer writes in 2017 that cities like Miami and even the entire country of Bangladesh don’t have a chance of staying inhabitable for more than the next couple of decades, and that wouldn’t change even if we stopped all carbon emissions today. In New Jersey specifically, the tides will rise quickly in the next 20 to 30 years, threatening infrastructure and lives along our shoreline. Even though the sea level rising gets the most attention from news outlets, we have much, much more to worry about as a result of rising temperatures. 

The most disconcerting and scary part about climate change, however, is that despite all of the catastrophes that await us, no one with the authority to fix the problem, or holds respo

nsibility for causing the most carbon emissions in the first place, is doing anything. The biggest obstacle towards a greener world is rich people themselves, from the corporations they control to the politicians they sway.

Although influential politicians often talk about fixing climate change, perplexingly, they either can’t or won’t take significant action. All too often, they bend to rich peoples’ will, as the wealthy donate to campaigns so that they can keep their carbon emitting privileges. Environmental non-profits try to combat this with fundraising and activism, but they can’t match the amount of money corporation owners pour into stopping climate reforms. Many businesses, from Walmart to Amazon, rely on fossil fuels to make and ship their products. The upcoming 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be about stopping climate change, but without the support of the wealthy, there isn’t much they will be able to do.

People who are wealthy have the biggest carbon footprint of anyone else on earth. They pull off this impressive but unfortunate feat with all of their first class seating, private travel, huge mansions, and costly cars. In fact, The Washington Post reported in 2020 if we want to even slow climate change, the richest one percent of the global population need to make their carbon footprint 30 times smaller than it is now. Stopping global warming altogether would require even bigger changes to wealthy people’s lifestyles, and more importantly, investment into alternative energy sources and other projects that help stop global warming, which don’t have enough funding right now.

The problem is, even though they have incredible amounts of money, not much of it is going to the goal of stopping climate change. Take Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world, a

nd his “Earth Fund,” which is supposedly dedicated to stopping climate change. He has pledged 10 billion dollars to be spent towards that goal by 2030, which at first glance seems like a substantial amount. But when you look at his actual net worth, which is almost 200 billion dollars, it’s a very small fraction of what he could actually offer. No one needs a billion dollars in the first place, but if someone does become a multi-billionaire, there should be a huge chunk of that money going towards fixing society’s biggest problem. Buying your seventh beach house won’t give you as much satisfaction as saving the planet in the long run. Not to mention that acquiring more property is worthless if they’re drowned by rising ocean levels in the next few decades.

This is also true with the upper-middle class. Many well-off people are not donating to help stop climate change, nor are they making substantial changes to their own lifestyles. The problem of climate change is often cast aside, as if it’ll go away if we just don’t think about it, or if we simply use metal straws (before this becomes too much of a hassle, of course). With that mindset, society as a whole starts to push the notion of rising temperatures and sea levels away into the future, to be dealt with another day. If anyone gets into the position where they have hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars of disposable income, a much bigger percentage of that income should be used to fix climate change. 

Princeton, of course, is an affluent town. Almost everyone who lives in the Princeton School district has enough income to shop at organic stores or donate money to organizations fixated on ending global warming. People in this region are usually in the top few percentiles of earners in the nation — we should be able to switch to electric cars and build solar panels for our houses. We have the luxury of being able to live more sustainably, and we owe it to the planet to do it. You don’t have to be a billionaire to help save the planet.

Still, extremely rich people aren’t going to do that on their own, especially when their corporations are more profitable than ever. So, what’s the solution here? Looking very broadly, a few simple answers pop out. A carbon tax on private planes and other carbon emitters already exists, but it could be raised a lot. This tax would make it a lot more expensive every time they want to use fossil fuels in their factories. If it really is cheaper to switch to green energy, you can be sure rich people will do it. Additionally, raising taxes in general for the rich would help. Millionaires and billionaires are not going to become homeless if more of their income is put towards combating global warming. Unfortunately, students at PHS aren’t members of Congress or other high-ranking politicians — at least, not yet. But we can do much more to 

help force wealthy people to expend more money and effort into fighting climate change. We can pressure Congress to pass those carbon taxes and raise taxes as a whole. We can let wealthy people know we will no longer tolerate them standing by, watching the Earth slowly fall apart, and only doing the bare minimum to stop it. At the end of the day, rich people will benefit from using fossil fuels and other climate destroyers and, for a while, will be immune to the effects those actions cause. We need to make sure wealthy people, whether they are Princeton residents or billionaires, are standing up to climate change, especially when there are some who don’t have the luxury of doing so.

Too Much Money to Spend? Consider Helping Fight Climate Change


97 percent is a big percentage, and when you hear it in the context of sexual assault, coercion, and harassment, you’re bound to be baffled. Yet data collected by UN Women UK for 2021 show that 97 percent of women aged 18–24 are sexually harassed, catcalled, assaulted, coerced, or made uncomfortable by men and that over 70 percent of women of all ages have endured such behavior. The results shocked the Internet and, as always, the study’s critics came running. But for the women who live in this world, surprise wasn’t our first reaction — it was disappointment. This is the terrifying reality we face every day. Being a woman in such a warped society is so difficult and unsafe that statistics like these are heartbreaking but not surprising. We live in a society that constantly devalues our basic existence and belittles our lived experiences, one that cannot afford us the same basic human dignity that it affords everyone else. The rules that we live by aren’t the rules that anyone else has to live by. If it were all the same, then 97 percent of us wouldn’t live in fear. 

Critics of the study often combat the numbers by pointing out how unrealistic the percentage is, yet one thing that needs to be made clear is that this statistic does not just cover sexual assault and rape: It covers every aspect of coercion and unwanted advances on women. Yet whether it was two percent or 97 percent reported, that statistic was still too high — it should be zero percent. But regardless of what the number is, attempts to diminish the statistic (without evidence) are just a thinly veiled version of normalizing toxic masculinity and serve as erasure of very real experiences for women. Another argument that the study’s opposers tend to present is that the portion of women surveyed is too small, and it’s impossible for it to represent the billions of women living on the planet. If you really think about it, 97 percent of 1,089 women in a first world country have gone through these terrifying experiences, so if anything, it’s more likely that the percentage may be even higher globally. Trying to debunk this statistic and remaining unwilling to listen to survivors reflect a societal disbelief that discourages and scares women from sharing their stories; because instead of believing the victims, the public will slut-shame and gaslight instead of accepting the truth and taking action. Our society would rather degrade a woman for the clothes she wears or the way she acts rather than directing that energy and anger towards her abuser — someone whose sexual desires overtook their senses and who dangerously took advantage of a defenseless woman.

We live in a society that over-sexualizes women, where women are seen as sex toys before they are seen as fellow people, where they are reduced down to lingerie lovers, where the value of their lives is downplayed because the male gender’s fragility means men cannot fathom the idea of a woman being more successful than them. Women are constantly forced into a role that the majority of them do not want to be in. Women are also living, breathing human beings who are not here to satisfy the sexual pleasures of the men around them. We are living in a world where young women are constantly forced to modify their behavior and clothing just so they can walk peacefully throughout town. We live in a world where we gaslight female victims instead of reprimanding the abusers, and we live in a world where women face larger consequences for wearing a tube top at school than men do for publicly harassing their female classmates. Instead of blaming women and trying to change them, we must teach the abusers in the room how to control themselves and accept the grim consequences for their unwelcomed behavior. Abusers need to stop using random and feeble justifications such as having a difficult family life, receiving poor education, or lacking emotional maturity. These excuses do not erase the fact that an abuser is an abuser no matter who that person is. From a young age we are taught to respect each other, no matter who that person is, so using sad living conditions to save oneself will never make up for the trauma and pain that is inflicted upon a victim. 

To the adults in the room and those in power: Do better. Young girls live in constant fear of becoming the next victim, survivor, or data point. When only three percent of a population hasn’t experienced violation, there’s an issue. Young girls come to school to learn, not to be assaulted, but it seems like even this is too much to ask. Women of all ages are targeted whether they show their skin or not, whether they’re flirting or standing off, whether they’re drunk or sober; female victims are not at fault here and will never be at fault. Abusers and perpetrators need to learn that no means no. They need to learn to respect boundaries and accept the consequences of their actions. When women share their stories, the bare minimum is respecting them. The only way that we can progress past these events is by doing a better job of educating the upcoming generations. The fact of the matter is that most abusers are raised with an abuser mentality. That abuser mentality is dangerous and reeks of toxic masculinity, and it entails the ideas of male dominance and using force to achieve desires. All women deserve your respect. All women deserve safety. All women deserve humanity. So let them have it.

Debunking the debunking of the 97 percent

The Board of Education and the Princeton Public Schools administration are two bodies meant to represent the needs of PHS. Given this, it’s appalling to recall the events of the board meeting held on February 23 — two hours of presentations meandering around the controversial proposed schedule changes followed by three hours spent by students and members of the community lambasting the panelists. The meeting resulted in a simple resolution to not move forward with the schedule changes, a situation that could have been avoided altogether if students were given more input. This controversy and result highlighted that good-faith discussion between administrators, the board, and the community is severely lacking and that our few opportunities to give feedback as students need to be taken more seriously.

Prior to the meeting, Interim Superintendent Dr. Barry Galasso, on behalf of the board and PPS administrators, released a proposed spring schedule which would have extended targeted learning to 75 minutes per period. He and the board aimed to provide more class time for students, but additional time spent on Zoom is the last thing that we need. After receiving feedback from students at a stakeholder meeting, the board and administration released a new schedule with five 60-minute blocks for five days a week, an “alteration” that didn’t reduce the time spent on Zoom at all. This solution was essentially a Band-Aid on a broken bone that did nothing for students’ mental health. Unsurprisingly, the reluctance to enact meaningful or wanted change became the  community meeting’s main controversy.

This frustration was especially evident during the public forum section, arguably the most important part of the meeting because participants could give feedback to representatives. Parents, teachers and students were exasperated with not only the proposed schedule but also the strictly enforced two-minute time restriction, which was not nearly enough for anybody to fully articulate meaningful thoughts.

As members of the community voiced outrage at the board and Galasso alike, several panelists became dismissive, occasionally not paying attention altogether. For instance, Michael Volpe, Assistant Superintendent for Human Services, and Matthew Bouldin, Board Secretary, were at times visibly scrolling on their phones. However, some members of the board genuinely wanted to hear out community voices, even though the meeting had already run for hours. After a quick vote, the meeting was permitted to run almost into midnight.

With all of the chaos, outrage, and miscommunication surrounding the district’s handling of remote learning, it’s no wonder students are feeling spiteful. This is the latest instance of being talked over by administrators and Board members during the pandemic, a problem that was also demonstrated with the removal of Friday reading days and the addition of a mandatory cameras-on policy. However, despite the negative feelings, we also need to realize that this meeting did something new. The district finally acknowledged the anger that was demonstrated by the 100 or so speakers and around 1,000 attendees at the meeting, and we need to take advantage of the credence that is now being lent to our opinions.

We already know what happens when students don’t get proper input regarding learning changes: No one wins. Board members and administrators are tone-deaf to the actual needs of students and then have to deal with the subsequent backlash when we rightfully express anger at being talked over. How many parents have needed to send emails to Valley Road on behalf of their children?

In order to continue forward with greater emphasis on students, Galasso is currently meeting with a group of 15 student representatives to help formulate a new schedule. This is a move in the right direction on the part of the administrators and board, but students need to have the same maturity and respect as we turn the page for a more democratic district. Youtube compilations of “funny” moments from the meeting and speeches insulting BOE members only show our immaturity and make the district less likely to consider our viewpoints. Instead, we must remain respectful and mature in our disagreements.

Ultimately, the district decided to move forward with a mostly unchanged schedule, the main difference being that Fridays would begin at 8:20 a.m. and are in-person like all the other weekdays. Yet many students, resentful of the policies at the meeting, were caught unaware of the new schedule. We need to move past the phase of blind outrage at the board and pay attention to the real effects of our feedback instead of becoming complacent or angry at the board’s actions, which will only deepen the divide between them and the students, we must hold both the board and the administration accountable while being mature about our role in future discourse if we want to have a high school that better serves its students and teachers.

We were given a voice — let’s make the most of it


In extremely competitive schools like PHS, students often prioritize their academics at the expense of everything else. For the most part, this sounds completely rational. In fact, it sounds like a good thing that most students here care about getting good grades. But we cross the line when we value academic success over our physical health. In a regular school year, many of us are all too familiar with going to school even when we’re sick. Despite runny noses and dry coughs, we force our exhausted bodies from class to class because we fear an absence, or worse, missing out on an entire day of classwork. The thought of returning from a sick day to the pile of work awaiting us on teachers’ desks is a fear so paralyzing that students subject themselves to long school days, even when this means that they are hurting themselves and everyone around them.

Now, school goes on as usual, but it seems as though a PHS student gets COVID every week. And whether or not we have gotten sick ourselves or have just been affected by the mental and physical strain of online learning, every student has felt the impact of our new lives on our bodies. From the migraines we get by staring at our screens all day to the mental fatigue of the monotony of jumping from Zoom call to Zoom call, the once-familiar physical exhaustion of a common cold has been joined by a variety of new illnesses reflective of our new reality. And just because our problems may look different doesn’t make them any less valid. With the even greater blurring of our school and home lives, we have to be more careful with our bodies. Too many overly tired students choose to attend class, and it’s a trend that’s made much easier when all we have to do is log into class and turn our screens off. Yet what do we gain from doing these things? We’re only making ourselves sicker in hopes of keeping up with schoolwork, but it’s far easier to rest first and then make up late work, especially during a time when most teachers record their classes and post materials on their class pages. Though it’s tempting to stay up and complete the work, we end up setting ourselves up for long-term failure.

We need to care more about ourselves and our health. In such volatile and ever-changing times, we must prioritize our own well-being before we get swept up in the chaos. This all begins with dismantling our fear of missing a day of school and our fear of that dreaded pile of make-up work, a lesson that we need to remember even once life returns to normal. It really isn’t that deep. Missing one day of school won’t kill you, but what could harm you is continually neglecting your health. Ironically, in this situation, the smartest kids make the dumbest decisions.

In sickness or in health


On Saturday, February 13, close to 200 protesters gathered outside of Nassau Hall. On banners and picket signs, they wrote their grievances and demands to Princeton University in regard to its lack of aid to residents during the coronavirus pandemic. Undergraduates, graduates, and residents all braved the afternoon cold to call for Princeton University to share its contact-tracing, testing, and vaccination resources with the residents of the larger Princeton area and to demand that the wider community have greater say in the university’s COVID-related decisions. In response to the protest, a Princeton spokesperson told the Daily Princetonian (2021) that “Princeton can — and is — making a difference during this pandemic through its research and teaching, not by becoming a healthcare provider.” Yet the latter is precisely what the university needs to be to help the townspeople in the best manner.

Princeton University is inextricably tied to Princeton. The town has provided restaurants, gathering places, libraries, and grocery stores for college students to use, thus playing a vital role in sculpting the culture and social life of Princeton University. The university has been essential to the town as well. Teens often go to the campus to hang out after school. The student body of the university drives the local economy. Princeton University would not be the institution that it is without Princeton, and vice versa. By providing COVID-related resources to only students and faculty members and excluding the wider town, the university fails to protect its community.

Given that the university is also endowed with tens of billions of dollars and has recently built its own state-of-the-art testing facility, it has an obligation to lend a helping hand to the people of Princeton. It wouldn’t be the first institution to help its neighborhood either; both the University of California, Davis and Tufts University have partnered with their local governments to do so. UC Davis has provided thousands of tests weekly to its community. Graduate students were trained in contact tracing, and free quarantine housing was provided for citizens who were exposed to the virus. Tufts has provided widespread testing resources to the public school systems of multiple surrounding counties. Princeton University must follow suit. The resources provided by Mercer County aren’t enough to keep the people of Princeton or any town completely safe. Backlogs at clinics due to high demands for testing can make the wait for test results as long as a week, preventing people from going to work and increasing the risk of further spreading. Individuals with full work schedules and members of socioeconomically disadvantaged groups may not be able to access available testing locations. For undocumented and underinsured people who have the hardest time accessing public COVID resources, tests and extra vaccines from the university could be especially valuable. Princeton University is one of the wealthiest schools in the country; it should be actively seeking out ways to help the surrounding areas through the worst health crisis seen so far in this century. In doing so, the university would save local businesses, help community school districts reopen safely, and keep people safe.


Graphic by [credit name="Karen Qiu"]
The new testing laboratory built by Princeton University is capable of handling 10,000 samples a week, but instead handles around 2,000 samples weekly. By building a high-capacity testing laboratory, Princeton University has already become a capable healthcare provider. It is only a matter of whom the university decides to protect. Right now, it has decided not to protect the rest of the community, and it must change this by getting a permit to share its testing capacity. A step like that would be the right direction toward helping others and wouldn’t affect the school’s mission.

The spokesperson also said that Princeton University has already done things to help the town such as “storing [vaccines] in [its] specialized cold storage facilities, hosting community clinics on campus… and assisting with the staffing of these clinics.”

Yet its past collaborations with Princeton officials in storing vaccines and staffing clinics don’t prove that the university has done enough for the surrounding community. Instead, they prove that it has the moral and financial capacity to assist the others despite it not being of any relation to teaching and research. If Princeton University has the capacity to lend its facilities and staff to the community, it should also share testing, contact tracing abilities, and vaccines when they arrive.

If the university truly believed in collaborating closely with the wider community on COVID-related issues, it would have acted on the grievances of the Nassau Hall protesters. Residents are very clearly angry with the university’s pandemic policies, and rather than dismissing the discontent, Princeton University should seriously consider their demands.

Princeton University’s responsibility


Just over a month after inauguration day, on February 25, President Biden called for airstrikes in Syria, which he claimed were a response to attacks against the United States facilities in Iraq. Yet the United States was not in immediate or direct danger, and the attacks shouldn’t be used as an excuse to pretend Biden was trying to “de-escalate” the situation by dropping bombs, especially without the approval of Congress. However, there seems to be little outrage from this action, with notable silence from the Democrats.

When Trump bombed Syria in 2017, progressive citizens and politicians were furious and actively portrayed their disapproval. In 2018, Kamala Harris tweeted that while she supported Trump’s cause, she was “deeply concerned about the legal rationale of [the] strike” and “the president [needed] to lay out a comprehensive strategy in Syria in consultation with Congress.” However, with such similar attacks made under her administration, Harris has defended the actions. When it is a Democratic president commanding the strikes, Democrats are quick to overlook and justify them. Similarly, when a Republican president commands the strikes, Republicans are equally as quick to defend them. But while each party turns a blind eye to the actions of their peers, they virtually never apply this to their opposing party.  This extreme hypocrisy occurs on both sides, but this doesn’t make it acceptable. .  Both presidents’ airstrikes were similar, but the responses from liberals were incredibly different.

Many people, especially younger generations, became more involved in politics because of Trump, but now that he is gone from office, they are ready to return to ignorance. It is irresponsible to elect Biden into office and then ignore him when he commits the very same immoral actions Trump did. For instance, the media was quick to criticize everything Trump did wrong when he was president, but the lack of noise currently from the left-leaning media is not coincidental. People’s true colors are now being revealed: They aren’t willing to call out someone from their own party. Supporters should not feel safe with Biden’s power and let him take control without the nation’s eye on him. He will make mistakes, and they should not be swept under the mat.

Around one year ago, when the Trump administration bombed the Middle East, Americans were convinced that World War III would break out.  But now, in a similar situation, these concerns are not being brought up. In fact, the Democratic party seems void of the same sense of panic that they felt a year ago. Regardless of the party, people should be holding the administration accountable, yet there is more silence than ever. Liberal voters think everything done by Trump will be reversed now that Biden’s been elected and have stopped actively fighting for their values. They’re less motivated to be informed. This is no excuse. Voters who cared about Trump’s wrongful actions should care just as much about Biden’s wrongful actions. Trump would be getting much more backlash than Biden from progressives; idolizing Democratic politicians helps no one — just because they share a party does not mean they share all beliefs. Progressives need to continue working for significant reform in the same way they did under the Trump administration.

Most students at PHS are not old enough to vote, but this does not mean they can not be politically active. There are clubs, protests and online activities available to students so their opinions can be heard. Now, just as much as ever, it is important to not let our voices die down. Not only are we all affected by the actions of politicians elected by us, making their actions crucial concerns, we also need to develop advocacy skills so we can help lead a more responsible generation of political leaders. Getting Trump out of office was a triumph, but the work is nowhere close to done.

The dangers of a blank check president

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Over the years, some of America’s favorite influencers and celebrities have fallen victim to social media’s cancel culture, which is an internet phenomenon that aims to destroy the careers of public figures, all because of one offensive statement or action from their past. James Charles, Nikita Dragun, J.K. Rowling, and Lana Del Rey are just some who have been negatively affected by this system. This practice, though revealing the true colors of many high-profile public figures, is ineffective in promoting substantive change. Of course, people should be held accountable for insensitive offenses and remarks, both past and present, but attempting to end their careers and livelihoods is not the way to go about it.

When “called to action,” an army of “cancelers” often comes forward with full strength and speed, and offenders find themselves receiving everything from nasty comments


Graphic by [credit name="Caroline Xie"]
to death threats.  Whether they have meant to say something offensive or have made an unintentionally offensive joke, the offenders receive no mercy from the online community. The thing is, you don’t have to be an A-list celebrity or influencer to be canceled because the practice is ruthless and demonizing and doesn’t care who or what is its next victim. Regular high school students can be victims of cancel culture as well because if a student has controversial ideals, most of his or her peers take that as an open invitation to what they see as “constructive criticism,” though their criticism lacks the constructive aspect.

For example, if someone at PHS were to share ideals considered offensive by most liberal students at PHS, many who consider themselves “progressive activists” would immediately hop onto social media to post videos and insult the offender in any way possible. These past months, with the rise of Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate protests, various students who voiced objections to these movements were called out and cancelled by their peers. Though it may seem to be an easy way of teaching somebody with different beliefs that their ideas can be offensive, it’s important to realize that if cancel culture doesn’t work on celebrities and public figures, there’s a high chance that it won’t work on high school kids either. Attacking people with full force isn’t going to change anyone’s mind, and you can’t have healthy conversations with people who don’t want to converse. Either way, if you want someone to learn from a situation, “canceling” is simply not the way to go about it.

The method is mainly ineffective because being ostracized by classmates and peers causes one to be isolated from those with differing beliefs. It’s hard to want to learn from people who openly hate and look down on you. When someone says or posts something offensive, it is important to hold that person accountable while still having empathy and recognizing his or her humanity. Though one's actions may be offensive, this doesn’t mean that the offender is inherently bad — a person’s views can change with education. It’s crucial to remember that high school is a time to learn. Teenagers have their entire lives to change their views and grow as people, but when they are pushed into isolation, crucial learning opportunities are lost. If students ostracize one of their peers who has different views, that student will only seek out those who have the same opinions as them, and offensive behavior will be reinforced. Especially in the age of social media, people live in filtered bubbles where online they only see ideas that correspond with theirs. “Canceling” people you know from school, work, or your own family allows this filtered bubble to extend to the real world.

Admittedly, the idea behind cancel culture can be beneficial, but its execution is almost never productive. It has turned into a game, with people finding entertainment in digging up dirt on celebrities and posting it on social media. Those rising to popularity become fearful of their words being taken out of context or their past mistakes resurfacing and being misconstrued, which can cause some to avoid online attention in general. Even when something does come up, the offender’s immediate reaction isn’t to acknowledge where they went wrong and learn from it, it’s to craft an acceptable apology to the public and do some damage control, sometimes effectively, sometimes not. They don’t want to learn; they want to move on and leave it all behind. This reaction will often bring more attention to the person, negative or positive. When the scandal blows over, they are left with a larger platform than they initially had because it’s likely that their supporters never cared about malicious behavior from the start.

Next time you disagree with someone’s beliefs, think carefully before you take action. Attempt to educate them or have a conversation about why they think what they do, but if they are not willing to listen or if you do not have the capacity for a civil and productive conversation, it may be best for you to simply ignore them. You do not owe anyone your time, and you are not obligated to teach someone or try to change their beliefs. Yet even just trying to have a conversation with someone, though it can be hard, is far more constructive than spending your time making an angry post to further cancel culture and create deep divides between people.

The Toxicity of Cancel Culture



It’s been over a year since that first “two-week” break in March of 2020, and almost everything has changed. Our everyday lives have been flipped upside down; we now rarely have snow days! There’s a flickering sign of hope as our nation stockpiles vaccines, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor, estimates things won’t be back to “normal” until 2022, according to an ABC news article from earlier this year.


Graphic by [credit name="Caroline Xie"]
COVID-19 has made seeing friends in person difficult and, at times, irresponsible. Sure, there’s texting and speaking through FaceTime, but most people only feel comfortable talking to a tiny group of people online. What's worse, talking over the internet can be confusing and boring. This discomfort is especially true in school Zooms — although teachers are trying their best, instructions can often be unclear. This means that work piles up and that students have to exert unnecessary effort on small assignments just to avoid bad grades. After talking to many of my peers, one commonality was clear: many students are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and socially isolated. Yet too many kids seem to be ignoring one simple solution: going to school in person.

If you or a family member is particularly at risk, the best option for you is to stay home. But for many students at PHS, going to school isn’t that dangerous. The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote in early 2021 that as long as social distancing, outdoor spaces, masks, and hand sanitizer are implemented, it is safe to return to school for most groups of people. PHS uses all four.

Coming to school in person can aid learning in multiple ways. The National Education Association reported in early 2020 that students retain information better when learning in person. Asking questions and chatting in person helps strengthen relationships with teachers and improves retention of the material. In order to even understand the material, a student has to be paying attention in the first place. At home, it’s much easier to get sidetracked: Texts, a loud sibling, or social media can all distract a student from the task at hand. Even after refocusing, the teacher has often moved so far into the lesson that it’s virtually unintelligible.

Perhaps the biggest argument against going to school is that in most in-person classes, students sit on Zoom instead of doing a separate activity or engaging with a lesson unmediated by a screen. On the first day I came back, I was stunned when our teacher cheerfully told us to log onto Zoom. But getting to actually bond with teachers on the walk in or out of the classroom and asking questions during or after class is far better than sitting on the couch, even if it does mean staying on the screen.

A couple weeks ago, I was walking down the hallway on my way to Spanish when I heard someone say hi from behind me. I wheeled around, confused, and recognized one of my castmates from the musical, with whom I had been rehearsing almost every day but never actually had a conversation. We talked for a second, and then two or three more kids from the musical walked up. They told me that they had been meeting up in the yard outside the school during breaks. I couldn’t believe it: It was like meeting new kids backstage, which I hadn’t been able to do for over a year.

They dispersed, and I resumed the walk to Spanish when I spotted the debate coach walking down the same hallway, carrying a box of trophies. She stopped and waved, and then I followed her down the hallway to the table outside of the tower, discussing how the year had gone. Suddenly, worried that I would be late for Spanish, I turned to head back down the hallway, only to run into one of my close friends and subsequently one of my teammates from Euro Challenge. Of course, I stopped to talk to them, even though it meant I was a minute late for class.

Interactions like these are what make in-person school special. Having the opportunity to build a community at high school is important, especially for people like me: freshmen who haven’t had the chance to connect with many people. After months at home, the concept of in-person school can feel frightening and stressful at first, but in reality, it’s much better than the alternative. If you cannot go because of circumstances like serious health issues, such as someone in your family having a pre-existing condition, then don’t go. But if you aren’t going because you feel like school will be “easier” at home, you’re only making this year harder for yourself.

In-person school is better than you think

From managing a shorter preseason to racing opponents over Zoom, the PHS swim team has definitely had an unusual year. Unlike the other land-based sports, swimmers cannot wear a mask in the water, so naturally, the swim team had to make adjustments to ensure COVID-19 safety guidelines were followed. With the support of coaches and their efforts to provide an opportunity for the athletes to practice and compete, the PHS swim season was able to safely start in February and eventually end with an undefeated season for the first time since 2014 and 2016.

While the season was extremely different from what the athletes were used to, the team’s focus remained unchanged. Emily Bauser ’21, one of the team captains, reflects on the team’s work ethic.

“We went out there, did our best, and tried to work through this weird season we were having,” Bauser said. “We had our normal [two-hour] practices Monday through Saturday, either after school or in the morning.”

By pushing through uncertain times, the team was able to finish the season undefeated for the first time since 2016. In order to reach the level that they could, each swimmer had to adapt to the smaller practice time. While the team was successful in being versatile, Bauser accounts that the swim season might not have happened at all. She accredits the coaches for making it possible.

“There was a lot of talk like is it even safe to have these practices and have these meets. So it was the coaches reaching out and making sure teams wanted to do it,” Bauser said. “Coaches were reaching out and making sure that a season actually happened for us, that was instrumental.” 

In addition to making the season possible, the team attributes the hard work and guidance of Head Coach Misiewicz in defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro North, who had always been close rivals of the PHS swim team and beat PHS on multiple occasions last year. The girls team swept North 121–49, and the boys team won by two points. Through this big victory of the season, the PHS swim team realized they might actually go undefeated for the first time since 2014 and 2016. Alavro Lopez ’21, a captain of the boys team, comments on this victory.

“We [thought] we could actually finish off with a good season and be undefeated,” Lopez said. “The nerves kicking in and the adrenaline [kept us forward] so we swam our best for both of the races and throughout the season.”

With the thought of the season being undefeated, the team kept practicing. Even in such an extreme circumstance, Misiewicz accommodated safe locations for practices and competitions and prepared the team for an undefeated season. Her efforts, along with the PHS swim teams’ hard work, paid off by the end of the season as both the boys and girls team were named “the teams of the year” by the Trenton Times. Misiewicz praises the team’s achievements.

“Being an athlete, the biggest thing is to have [an] opportunity to compete and showcase everything that you've been training for,” Misiewicz said. “I was grateful and thankful that we were able to have a season together.”

While COVID-19 initially had a negative impact on the team dynamic and season, it eventually contributed to the team’s undefeated season. As most club swimming was cancelled, the PHS team became stacked with many strong club athletes. Andy Liu ’21, a captain this year, discusses how the lack of organized sports during quarantine increased the quality of relationships on the PHS swim team this year.

“I think this year, because of the pandemic, a lot of our club swimmers started coming to our practices more, and that has made the whole team connect more and allowed us to work together better. We developed stronger bonds, we’re all cheering each other on, and we got to know each other better, even though we all have our masks on most of the time,” Liu said.

During this especially difficult season, the captains of the PHS swim team worked to make the team united and focused on inclusion. The captains worked on building collaboration between the members of the team and Liu accounts for the help that it offered on race days.

“I definitely think having good leaders and being motivated all the time [helped], because it could feel weird not having someone next to you swimming to try to beat,” Liu said. “But we've really gotten better at racing each other during the meets and cheering each other on no matter if it's the guy swimming and the girls are cheering or the other way around. Just having a good bond.”

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the PHS swim team completed the season with new achievements and broke its records with excellent performances. To continue the legacy, the PHS swim teams are confident with their strong underclassmen. Tracey Liu ’22, who is currently a junior, expresses her spirit and excitement towards next year’s season.

“We’ll continue the legacy by always working our best, supporting each other, having a good attitude in the pool, [and] building and bonding as a team,” Liu said.

Feature: PHS swim teams find success during novel season

Upon first glance, the golf course seems like a peaceful place. Rolling green hills surround a series of flags, the gentle arc of iron clubs striking golf balls and sending them far into the air. However, Adam Macmillan ’21 knows better. He is acutely aware of the many distractions from eager parents and friends to the watchful eyes of competition from other schools. Turning his head to focus, he suddenly hears a sound blares from the megaphone. 

“First on the tee from Cranbury, New Jersey is Adam Macmillan!”

Taking a deep breath, he steps up to the tee and takes his stance. Taking a few deep breaths he tries to block out any external distractions until it is just him, the ball and the course. Thwack! Iron club meets a small rubber ball and sends it flying through the air. 

Getting to the point where Adam can compete without outside distractions has taken countless hours of practice. During the high-school season, Adam practices with the PHS team during the school week and most weekends. During the rest of the year, he competes in independent tournaments and spends countless hours in the weight room working on improving his strength.  Macmillan attributes much of his success to not only his dedication to the sport but the golf role models he had growing up. One especially influential role model was his father who is not only his coach but also played golf in college. Another influential role model is Rick Yrosh, a veteran and someone Adam used to play golf with.

“He was badly hurt in Iraq in 2008, and his story and quest for his life purpose and being able to accomplish [despite] the hardships he went through inspired me a lot. It really applies to golf. Like if I have a bad setback and feel down and out of it, I think about him. He persevered and now has a family and is living a great life. His story is very inspirational for me,” Macmillan said.

Macmillan also spends his free time teaching a new generation of golfers. Since they are so young, ranging from elementary to middle school, his teaching focuses on getting the kids to learn the beauty of the sport, before heavily focusing on rules and technique. While some see having kids who are new to the sport as a weakness, Macmillan sees it as an opportunity to get people who love the sport into healthy competition. As captain of the team this year, Macmillan does recognize that they are at a disadvantage against more experienced teams but at the end of the day he is very confident in his team's ability. 

As captain, Adam takes a primary role in managing the team, assisting with managing the games themselves and teaching others about course management. Adam also maintains a good relationship with his assistant coach Noone. Having led the team during such unprecedented times, Noone praises him for his diligence. 

“He's got a great mind for the game. And most importantly, he's a really, really good person. I enjoyed being around him. So easy to coach. He's a great leader, you know, helps out our younger guys, always encouraging, you know, just a very class act,” said Noone. “He's competitive, I'm competitive, and you know, talking golf that's been the most fun and seeing him interact with some of the younger guys like our freshmen, we have a lot of freshmen and so engaging and welcoming to them.”

Macmillan, while assuming his role as captain, has maintained his work ethic and good attitude during his practices and tournaments. He was able to make state championships his first two years of golfing at PHS, unfortunately due to COVID-19 he wasn’t able to last year. Still he and his team continue to put in the work to help others understand the sport as well as improve their ability as a team. His coaches and teammates believe he will go far in his upcoming season at West Chester University in the fall.

Athlete of the Month: Adam Macmillan

Pivoting towards her opponent, Chloe Ayres ’21 stretches her arms away from her body. Staying light on her toes, she contemplates which technique to use to score the next critical point. Filled with anticipation, she awaits the whistle. Although she may be nervous, Ayres knows that she’s wrestling for much more than herself. She is fighting for all of women’s wrestling.

Despite beginning to wrestle at a late age, Ayres’ experience with wrestling goes back to when she was a little girl. Her father, Chris Ayres, is the head wrestling coach at Princeton University. Watching matches and videos of elite college wrestlers and seeing them succeed firsthand from a young age, Ayres learned what it took to succeed as an elite wrestler. Not only does her father help her refine her wrestling skills, but he also takes on the job of helping her balance her wrestling life and school activities. Through their relationship, Ayres learned the values of self-accountability and leadership.

Ayres has taken the values she learned from wrestling professionals and applied them to her own high school team. Taking on the role of captain this year, she has made sure to guide her team so that they can improve as a group.

“I think that there's a lot of extra responsibility that goes into being a captain, and I try to lead by example. … But I'm really proud of my team this year; they’ve done a lot of great things. We’ve grown a lot together,” Ayres said. 

Although trying to be inclusive in her role as captain, Ayres herself was initially nervous about fitting in in such a male-dominated sport. Women’s wrestling has trailed behind men’s wrestling ever since its founding. Even now, there are few options on a middle school or high school level for women to get involved with the sport. Despite this, women’s wrestling has gained popularity in the past few years, and because of wrestlers like Ayres, women wrestlers are able to show what they are capable of. For Ayres specifically, credit must be given to Princeton High School Head Wrestling Coach Jess Monzo, who has been instrumental in supporting her journey as a female in wrestling. 

“We try to keep it fun in practice. [I] let them know that it’s a safe place for them to talk. If something’s bothering them, they come to me with what it is because at the end of the day, we'll figure it out. And we’ll get to put it behind us and move forward,” Monzo said. 

Not only does he take the time to check in on wrestlers, Ayres believes Monzo also creates a protective community for wrestlers to share any struggles. Creating a safe environment is something unique to Princeton High School wrestling that Ayres believes is not easily achieved anywhere else. 

“I think that as a woman in a male dominated sport, at times, it can be hard to feel accepted into a room... He’s done a great job at creating a line of communication with me to make sure that all my needs are met. And I think that that is something that I’m really grateful for,” Ayres said.

Despite previous years of success, this year has been especially challenging for Ayres. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the wrestling season has been shortened, and announcements of continuation were made surprisingly late. 

“Usually, I have about a two-month transition period… but with COVID, I wasn't sure if we were having a season. … By the time that they announced that we would be wrestling, I only had two weeks to transition. So that was definitely difficult,” Ayres said. 

Facing numerous pressures outside of wrestling, Ayres has learned to be strong both on and off the mat. Sometimes this even meant compromising academic, social, and leisure time for training. Although some may see this as too much of a sacrifice, her willingness to put wrestling first only displays her commitment for the sport she loves. 

“When you love something you make time for it and it's something that I enjoy. So it's not really a chore. It’s something that I look forward to each day. But [by] just giving a positive attitude to the sport and embracing the fact that I'm doing it because I love to wrestle has helped me mentally devote more time to it,” Ayres said.

More than loving the sport, Ayres’ hard work has earned her numerous accomplishments in the world of women’s wrestling. Going back to 2018, some of Ayres’ accomplishments include winning the NJSIAA Girls State Championship three years consecutively, becoming an All-American at Fargo (National Freestyle Tournament), triumphing at the Super 32 tournament, and placing in many more out of school tournaments. 

Planning on wrestling for Princeton University in the fall, Ayres is filled with immense appreciation for the sport that she has admired for so long. Remembering her initial apprehension to try out women’s wrestling, she encourages others to see the beauty of the sport and the wrestling community.

“Wrestling has a lot to offer, whether you’re new to the sport or you’ve been around it before. It’s a very positive community of people that are going to be there to lift you up and help you grow to your full potential. It’s definitely worth a try,” Ayres said. 

Athlete of The Month: Chloe Ayres


Before the race, Yana Medvedeva ’21 is all jokes as she runs a pre-race mile jog. She laughs about the unicorn socks she is wearing, mentions the lucky recorder she’s brought to all her meets since sophomore year, and details her last adventure thrifting at Plato’s closet. But as she approaches the starting line, she’s all business. Eyes forward, Medvedeva remembers her race plan and gauges the competitors around her. She knows she has to go fast, but it’s a long distance race so she also has to pace herself. “On your mark... Get set... BOOM!” Medvedeva smashes her silver spikes against the tartan track at the sound of the gun. Leaning forward from her drive, she makes sure to stay calm while simultaneously moving up to the front of the pack. She swings her arms back and forth to increase momentum and steadies her breath. She sets her eyes on the back of the girl in front of her to straighten her posture. From the outside, she is graceful, but her mind is already strategizing.

Medvedeva first began distance running in seventh grade, and within two years, she was qualifying for sectionals. While she found winning enjoyable, Medvedeva’s passion for running stems from being able to form close relationships with her teammates and the unique team dynamic.


Photo courtesy of [credit name="Katherine Monroe"]
“I really liked the team environment and I really loved the team,” said Medvedeva. “I most enjoyed that it's both an individual sport but also a team sport. When you race, you're doing it for the team, but also for yourself.”

Though she was interested in the sport, Medvedeva was still unsure about which distance she wanted to race at. While experimenting, she was able to become adept in middle distance and long distance running, two very different categories. While proving herself a versatile athlete, Medvedeva demonstrated her exceptional talent by qualifying for sectionals as a young member of the team.

“It was super cool, because we qualified out to sectionals and I was a freshman. Big meets were cool; we got medals and it was super fun to race with the big dogs [or] the seniors on the team, Medvedeva said.

Even though she has already achieved great success, Medvedeva consistently continues to improve her game. Eventually, her skills as a runner complemented her love for the team, earning her the spot as co-captain of the girls track team. Head Coach James Smirk attests to Medvedeva’s aptitude for leadership.

“She’s a co-captain this year and there are a lot of responsibilities associated with that. Being a role model is one of them and she’s also there to have those individual conversations with me which makes her unique. Building that one on one relationship, she’s a master at that,” Smirk said.

Despite earning praise for her skills, Medvedeva stays modest and admits to looking up to all of her teammates for their ability to work off each other’s skills. She accredits her teammates for her strategies and success in her high school running career.

“The day before a race on the run, we'll talk about what our goals are and what strategies we might use. And the day after the race we do race debriefs to go over what we did good and bad and how we can improve for the next race,” Medvedeva said.

Along with her teammates, Medvedeva admires Head Coach Smirk for helping her stay motivated.

“I don't know if I've ever had a feeling that I wanted to quit the team because Coach Smirk is always super accommodating with that. If you're just stressed out, and you talk to him about it, he'll be totally understanding and he'll give you that time so you can be back to enjoying running,” Medvedeva said.

Medvedeva’s modesty is a result of her bright personality, immediately making an impression on teammate and co-captain Charlotte Gilmore ’21.

“Yana absolutely encapsulates the personality of the team. She always manages to make people feel welcome and hypes them up for their races. I can’t imagine the team without her level headed and cheery leadership,” Gilmore said.

But even the most optimistic athletes have times when they lack motivation. Returning back to the team this winter, Medvedva admits to struggling with maintaining the drive from the fall. During the competition season, the team would meet outside most Fridays after practice to hang out, fuel up on pasta before weekend races, and watch the bachelor. However, due to lack of competition and the cold weather preventing safe outside meetings during COVID, Yana and the team found themselves missing running and each other. Medvedeva is now working on reinstilling that motivation and camaraderie in her teammates.

“Right now, I think we're working on implementing the kind of motivation that we had in the fall, back in the spring because that's something we've been struggling with in the winter,” said Medvedeva. “We're working on seeing each other more often and getting everyone excited to come to practice again.”

With the lessons that she’s learned from her time as a competitive runner, Medvedeva reflects on her freshman self and offers advice to the incoming freshman.

“[I advise] not to be so nervous all the time about racing because when you're not nervous, you think of it as more of a fun opportunity. Just give it your best. It's so much more fun,” Medvedeva said.

Athlete of the Month: Yana Medvedeva


At 6 a.m. every morning, Colm Trainor ’21 laces up his skates and takes a lap around the ice rink. Feeling the cold air on his skin, he shivers a little and takes a deep breath. To warm up, he begins to juggle the puck in front of him. He pulls back his stick to slap the puck to his older brother Aidan Trainor ’20, with whom he has been practicing everyday.


Photo courtesy of [credit name="John Zammit"]
Trainor started skating at the age of three; he has been on the ice for more than four-fifths of his life. Trainor’s passion for hockey, which started to grow at the age of five, was heavily influenced by his family. His grandfather, a huge hockey fan, convinced Trainor’s parents to sign Trainor up. His three older brothers, who are also hockey players, have greatly influenced Trainor’s passion for the sport. Specifically, Trainor claims to have turned towards his role model Aidan for guidance.

“Growing up, my brothers have always helped me through and I've always had them here to help. They've always been supportive no matter what happens. Usually like Aidan, my older brother, he's always with me. So no matter what happens, we're experiencing it together. And we play on different teams, but even if someone doesn't understand the sport, I could always talk to Aidan about it. I would say he's my role model,” Trainor said.

Coming from an athletic family, hockey isn’t the only sport he has played, but it is the one he has stuck with most passionately. Since being introduced to the sport, Trainor’s love of playing hockey has continued to grow. With this motivation complementing his athletic ability and experience, Trainor eventually earned a spot as the captain of the boys hockey team.

Assuming responsibility as a captain, Trainor shares strategies, holds practices, and keeps the team motivated. Along with these roles, Trainor also maintains a good relationship with his coaches, both of whom are new this year. Assistant Head Coach Charles Gallagher praises Trainor for helping him get accustomed to the new environment.

“He has keen insight on hockey and the dynamics of hockey, and you can always see him either talking to myself or to our new head coach,” said Gallagher. “Both of us, me coming on the team for the first time and the head coach being brand new, needed to kind of get the lay of the land, to understand what's going on here in school. There are assistant captains who are helpful, but really he's the man.”

While putting the team first, Trainor still consistently works to improve his own game. Playing on a travel team, Trainor had to manage his time well. With the new virtual schedule due to COVID-19, Trainor took the opportunity to skate on the ice all day.

“I basically do my classes from the rink, and then I will, if I have a free period, put my skates on and I'll hop on the ice or I'll do a workout. I'm usually leaving at six in the morning and getting back at five or six at night. It's a big lifestyle,” Trainor said.

Trainor’s dedication as an athlete and ability to maintain strong relationships complemented his strong leadership when he led his team to success at the Mercer County Finals last year. Trainor accredits the firm relationship between him and his teammates for the win.

“I think we're brothers. We've been through it all. Like we're all there for each other like, you see each other in the hallway. You say hi. It's not like a group of guys that are just there for the hockey season,” Trainor said.

After all of the time and effort he has put towards growing the boys hockey team, Trainor plans to take a gap year next year and attend a few junior camps over the summer to see where hockey takes him. But for now, he is hopeful about this season. “My season's still going for travel so I have that to look forward to and districts and hopefully nationals if they work it out,” Trainor said.

Athlete of the Month: Colm Trainor


Nutrition is one of the most important aspects of sports, but it is not emphasized nearly enough in high school athletics. The reality is that the majority of high school athletes do not know how to properly fuel themselves. This problem has dangerous effects like injury, burnout, and deficiencies which can later hurt their college careers.

In high school athletics, nutrition can be a major factor in performance. Ashley Chen ’23 attests to this, saying the quantity, quality, and timing of eating food can dictate the quality of her performance.

“Sometimes when I eat right before practice I feel really sick. Also, if I skip breakfast or eat [a] quick, light [breakfast], I definitely notice it impacting how I feel during my [tennis] matches,” Chen said.

But with a lack of information regarding nutrition, these instances are unfortunately the norm for many athletes at PHS. With the new schedule, student-athletes have to get home when school finishes at 1:00 p.m. to prepare lunch and eat before practice starts two hours later. Two hours is not nearly enough time to digest food and can result in feeling sick during practice.

Athletic performance requires two main aspects: energy for movement and muscle growth to repair body tissues broken down by exercise. Carbohydrates and proteins are respectively responsible for these aspects. As such, it is of paramount importance that athletes eat not only before practices and matches to give them energy but after to help their muscles recover.

But, what is “enough food?” This varies from athlete to athlete. While some may feel full after two apples, others need a full meal to feel prepared. As a guideline, in an article published by childrens.com in 2021, doctors suggest that “athletes should eat a balanced meal containing carbohydrates, protein, and fruit or vegetables.” Athletes should also try to eat three to four hours before playing in order for proper digestion to occur. Snacks can also be a good way to get some nutrition in before big games.

The effects of improper nutrition are traumatic. They can lead to injuries and deficiencies, which prevent people from doing the sport they love the most. These consequences were experienced by runner Audrey Peel ’22, who has been suffering an iron deficiency for the past couple of years.

“Having an iron deficiency made my muscles feel really weak while running, which was especially noticeable in my races. I think that the hardest part was when I didn’t know I was iron deficient and saw my times going up; it made me really second guess my athletic ability,” Peel said.

If a student consumes too little iron, over time, their body can become iron deficient. Examples of iron-rich foods include meat, eggs, leafy green vegetables and other iron-fortified foods. If Peel and other athletes who have these deficiencies were aware of the consequences, they could have gotten tested for it earlier and had the problem resolved earlier.

However, fueling is not all that makes up sports. Although it is important to eat healthy and enough food, athletes should remember not to go overboard. Eating ice cream three days before your game will have negative effects on your performance.

The confusion around eating and athletics is largely because the “correct” foods that maximize athletic performance varies among the different athletes and sports. But, general guidelines and awareness of the issue can be spread to ensure that athletes know how their fueling impacts their athletic performance and prevents dangerous consequences. However, it is encouraged that all athletes remember that nutrition, although important, is not the end-all be-all to athletic success. Attitude, mindset, and other factors play an equally important role.

The problem with nutrition and high school athletics


As the end of the year approaches, senior athletes, who have either been recruited or are thinking about playing sports in the future, are excited to begin their athletic careers in college. However, high school and college sports differ in aspects such as intensity, competitiveness, teamwork, and coach relationships. To prepare the student athletes graduating this year, PHS alumni athletes offered their perspective on the differences between the high school and college.

Most high school athletes are excited to play sports in college because they are entering a new stage of their lives. As a college athlete, they are offered a chance to play with skilled players from all over the world. However, this opportunity comes with more responsibility and engagement. As a former captain of the PHS girls tennis team and a current player at Swarthmore, Spencer Watts ’20 attests that college sports are more intense.

“Practices definitely do feel more serious. We have quite a bit of practice. We had six [practices a week] during our offseason last semester, so basically practicing every day, except for Sunday. So I definitely had a lot more training, which was different from high school,” Watts said.

This difference in intensity most likely stems from both the variation in skill and difference in importance of sports. High school teams are made up of athletes with different ability levels, some athletes who simply follow their friends, while others who have played for 10 years. Contrastingly, college teams consist entirely of athletes who have a great deal of experience and have worked hard to reach the level they are currently at. In addition to the contrast in skill, colleges focus heavily on their sports teams, which mostly likely accounts for the increase in engagement. With their reputation reflecting on the success of their sports teams, colleges pay great attention to the state of their athletes. Amelia Whaley ’13, a former PHS and Lock Haven University cross country athlete, said that she was startled by the attention that sports received from the college.

“My university put a lot of funding into cross country. They would send out a bus with the name of the University on it. They would pay for us to get to the hotel the night before, we would have to dress up for the dinner before and when we got there, we did quite a post race. That, of course, makes it more serious because there's a greater chance of [you] becoming a pro athlete afterwards,” Whaley said.

As a representation of the school, athletes have to stay focused and motivated. Colleges emphasize the importance of creating a balance between academics and sports.

“You're put under slightly different pressures than you were in high school,” said Whaley. “If you're not doing great in college with balancing academics and sports, then [colleges are going to] have a more serious discussion with you than they would if you were in high school. Because [in] their eyes, you're representing the university.”

While the distinction in intensity and commitment are expected, the difference between the team dynamics is often overlooked. Having a strong team dynamic in sports is crucial since it allows team members to collaborate and work towards a common goal. Graduating student athletes often feel unprepared for the difference of team dynamics. According to Watts, the interaction within the team is different.

“I would say that in my experience, college sports just have more of a team dynamic, like people there have worked for the last 15 years or so to get themselves into college, to play the sport that they want to play. Whereas like high school, it's definitely still super fun,” said Watts. “Specifically regarding practices, the way that we play is a little bit different. We're much more competitive in the way that we play in college than we were in high school.”

While moving on to a new stage in their lives, former PHS athletes often reflect back on the unforgettable memories they made during their high school careers.

“[In high school] we had so many different types of players, especially for tennis. You had this range of people: from people who just picked up the sport last year to people have been playing for like 12 years. Everyone would have a lot of fun just seeing each person improve in their own way,” said Watts. “I also definitely miss having the court in the center so your friends walked by when you were playing matches and you would shout out to each other at the same time.”

Other students agree with Watts and confirm that they miss having fun in high school. Caroline Tan ’19, a former girls tennis captain, reflects back on the enjoyable times she’s had.

“I remember the bus rides, to whichever school we were playing, were always super fun. Just music blasting and we were distributing snacks to everyone,” said Tan. “A lot of really good memories there.”

The former PHS athletes also acknowledged the struggles of current students during COVID-19. Though PHS has been working on getting athletes to return by putting safety rules in place, there are still limitations. In order to help the current PHS athletes reach their dreams of playing sports in college, Tan advises that they stay motivated.

“My biggest advice would be, even though... teams aren't playing together anymore or practicing together anymore [because of COVID], definitely don't stop with your passion for your sport,” said Tan. “Keep playing [and] keep practicing.”

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