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By Esha Peer (‘21) The Marvel universe is immensely popular on an international scale as its movies hit box office records year after year due to their creations of entertaining adaptations of the original comics. Even though Marvel Studios has released films with more diverse casts, it still is not enough in terms of proper representation of minorities in America. In 1939, a comic book company about superheroes was started in New York City. A man known as Timely created two superheroes in his debut, the Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner. The company grew to become one of the largest platforms for superhero comics evolved into a production company in 1993 known as Marvel Studios. The first few movies released by the company was almost exclusively, if not fully, a Caucasian cast. Watching movies today about superheroes are not as diverse as they should be in the 21th century. As of 2017, the U.S Census Bureau estimated about 23.9% of America are made up of racial minorities. As per research from the William’s Institute in UCLA, people who identify as part of the LGBT community make up 3.8% of the population. A few weeks ago, Marvel released the first trailer for Captain Marvel; the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the first female superhero in Marvel to have her own film. Marvel Comics features over 50 female characters, yet the studios seem to have transitioned into making the live-action movies by excluding many. The prominent female characters of marvel include Gamora, Storm, Black Widow, Wanda Maximoff, the Wasp, and recently, Captain Marvel. Excitement is rising in students for the upcoming project. After Infinity War, Captain Marvel is foreshadowed to be the hope for the future of the marvel universe. “It’s pretty cool [because] she’s a strong female character,” said sophomore Shreya Narsingani. The release of this project came after the major success of Marvel’s release of Black Panther as it featured an almost all-black cast. On top of that, the two love interests of Peter Parker in Spiderman Homecoming were half African-American, half-white, Zendaya and Laura Harrier. However, compared to the overall releases in the Marvel timeline, these achievements are less noteworthy. Only in its 25th year has the company even released a movie without major Caucasian characters. On top of that, 26 years of being a production company, there has been neither a Latino, Asian, female, or LGBTQ character with a movie centered around him or her, although there are characters from the comics which could be adapted. Some examples include White Tiger, Anya Corazon, and America Chavez. It seems of interest that the first woman with a marvel movie will be a character who is yet to be introduced into the movie universe. Meanwhile, Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson in the Avengers trilogy since 2012, is a female superhero that fans have been anticipating a film from the character since the beginning of her introduction. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, bits of her story were revealed. But after 6 years, Black Widow has been beaten by the introduction of Captain Marvel to the movie screens. “Black Widow definitely should have gotten [a movie] first. I’m surprised they still haven’t done it,” said Sophomore Ira Dixit. As females are slowly being integrated into the MCU, so are African-Americans. For example, the largest Marvel superhero series, The Avengers, is working slow at the process. The latest movie had three out of the four of the black characters are from Black Panther, highlighting the small amount of diversity in the other blockbusters. Another fact to consider is the diversity in other parts of the media. Today, America is made up of not only African-Americans and females as minorities, but Hispanics, Asians, the LGBTQ+ community, and so many others. The integration of black people in MCU films is a step, but Americans need superheroes today to represent these parts of the country as well for viewers to able to relate more. “There’s an obvious need for more diversity, considering the fact that a movie like Black Panther did so well,” said race, class, and gender teacher Mrs. Marisa Carlisi. The trouble with integrating minorities into the superhero universes is not just a problem in the Marvel Cinemas, but other superhero franchises as well. The Detective Comic (DC) Comic studios, arguably the biggest competitor of Marvel, released blockbuster movie Wonder Woman featuring Gal Gadot, an Israeli-origin actress and model in 2017. Another diverse cast was in Suicide Squad as it had a wide range of actors, such as Will Smith, Viola Davis, and Adam Beach, all African-American. It is important to note that most of their hit series movies, Batman and Superman, include an almost entirely white cast. The two series are the most known superheroes in DC universe, if not by audiences. While the smaller projects have consolidated minorities, the larger audience watches the popular movies. The movies with a larger audience are more noticeable in their changes in cast. Representation in the media is needed for people who make up such a large portion of the country, and it starts with superhero studios being able to represent the population, giving hope for the future as well.

By Indira Walsh (‘19) and Erin Walsh (‘21) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to reveal the full extent of what his aides are calling the Saudi-directed murder and attempted cover-up of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The Saudi Arabian government has been accused of torturing and later cutting Khashoggi’s body to pieces inside Istanbul's Saudi consulate. The Crown Prince, known as MBS, has been found by the CIA to have given the order for Khashoggi to be killed. According to The Washington Post, there is conclusive evidence that “at least 12 members of the Saudi team are connected to Saudi security services, and several have links to [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman], according to a review of passport records, social media, local media reports and other material.” These 12 members were all traveling on planes and entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul before Khashoggi arrived. Though President Erdoğan stated that he had provided alleged recordings of Khashoggi’s death to the United States, to Germany, to France, to Britain and to other countries, only Canada recognized that they had both received and listened to the tape. Many people believe that changing United States policy towards Saudi Arabia would weaken financial interests. Vox reported that “A good sign that Trump’s argument on this score doesn’t make sense is that he keeps making factually inaccurate assertions about it. In Tuesday’s statement, for example, he repeated an earlier reference to a nonexistent $450 billion deal he supposedly struck with the Saudi government. In his October version of this fake deal, it was going to produce a million jobs. But as Alexia Fernández Campbell has written several times for Vox, Trump is massively overstating the jobs impact of Saudi arms sales. The entire US defense production industry employs fewer than 400,000 people, so there can’t possibly be a million jobs tied up specifically in Saudi-related production.” In other words, Saudi Arabia receives access to advanced military technology for their war in Yemen, but in terms of the American economy, these transactions are completed at a cost to the United States because the people and equipment employed could be building things for Americans to use instead. Matthew Yglesias noted that “‘Don’t murder our people’ and ‘Don’t use embassies located in allied countries as killing zones’ are not airy values. They are interests too. The United States is a major global power, and Saudi Arabia is a midsize country at best. We have an interest in not being pushed around by our client state, and it’s ridiculous to accept the framing that us giving them access to advanced military technology is a favor they do for us. The global economy has changed enormously since the 1980s, and the United States no longer relies on Saudi oil production to keep prices moderate; the American defense industry is not a major source of jobs, anyway.” According to Patrick Wintour of The Guardian, though there have been limited efforts on the part of other nations to place pressure on Saudi Arabia, “Canada has taken a tough line on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record for months, provoking reprisals from Riyadh, including the withdrawal of investment. The dispute over the tape is important as it concerns Erdoğan’s credibility. He has been pushing for the west to demand that Saudi Arabia hand over the alleged culprits behind the admitted killing. He has also implied that Prince Mohammed was aware of the plot to kill Khashoggi and that it was not a rogue operation undertaken by Saudi intelligence without his knowledge or permission.” Jamal Khashoggi is not the only journalist to have suffered this fate. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) noted that between 2006 and 2017, over 1,000 journalists were killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. During 2006-2017, a journalist was killed every four days. In nine out of ten cases, the perpetrators are unpunished. UNESCO reported, “Impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems. UNESCO is concerned that impunity damages whole societies by covering up serious human rights abuses, corruption, and crime. Governments, civil society, the media, and everyone concerned to uphold the rule of law are being asked to join in the global efforts to end impunity.” These deaths exemplify an apparent failure of the international community to implement actual measures of accountability. Samira Mohamed, public relations officer for SBHS’s Amnesty International chapter, said “I feel like the Saudi Arabian government really gets away with anything, especially when it comes to human rights injustices. The only time they maybe get penalized is when it directly affects America’s image. Amnesty has a Write for Rights event every year where people can write letters for prisoners of conscience and/or human rights defenders. Khashoggi’s case is an example of someone Amnesty would act for.” Here are accounts of some of the journalists who have recently gone missing: On June 14, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said “Serbian journalist Stefan Cvetkovic, known for criticizing local authorities, was reported missing Wednesday evening from the Vojvodina town of Bela Crkva in Serbia”. In May, Cvetkovic told Beta, a Serbian news agency, that he was forcibly detained for six hours at the Jarinje administrative crossing point in northern Kosovo. After he was freed, Cvetkovic received a document confirming he was detained for his investigation into the murder of a Oliver Ivanovic, a Kosovo political. Reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists, “Reda Helal, an editor with Egypt's semiofficial daily Al-Ahram, has been missing since August 11, 2003”. Helal was considered controversial for his outspoken support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Many human rights activists have also disappeared in similar fashions to journalists. Critics say that Saudi Arabia is a particular contributor to detention, torture, and killing of activists. According to Amnesty International, human rights activist and prisoner of conscience Husham Ali Mohammad Ali was “arrested by the Saudi Arabian authorities in November 2017 and held in solitary confinement until January 2018, when he was moved to shared cell. In March 2018, he was moved from Dhaban prison to Al Shumaisi detention centre, an immigration centre outside Jeddah”. Ali took to online platforms in 2013 to expose government corruption in Saudi Arabia. He also published on torture in detention centers by the Sudanese authorities and expressed his support for acts of civil disobedience. For these reasons, Husam Ali Mohammad Ali was arrested by the Saudi Arabian government. Also covered by Amnesty International in June, a number of prominent women’s rights activists including Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Youssef were arrested and they remain detained without charge and have no access to their families or to their lawyers. Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian-American journalist and commentator, summed up the impact of how Khashoggi’s death has been approached by the United States government as “not only a US-Saudi matter. It will have an impact on every country in the Middle East. This incident will affect how America’s allies and foes… are going to treat journalism and dissent in the future.” The Saudi Arabian government’s reaction to criticism demonstrates the poor relationship many authorities maintain with the press and with anyone who attempts to criticize government actions. Jamal Khashoggi’s death was one of many journalists’ fate - it just so happened that his death was one of few that have captivated international outrage. Even so, Khashoggi’s death has nearly disappeared from media coverage. This is unsurprising, as many crimes committed against journalists lose attention quickly or go unreported in society’s fast news cycle. Newspaper advisor and journalism teacher, Mr. Andrew Loh said, “I find it extremely ironic that journalists wouldn’t stay right on top of the murder of other journalists! It makes the conspiracy theorist in me wonder if something larger isn’t happening here.”

By Ishani Chettri (‘20) It’s that time of year for anxious juniors to take the dreaded nationwide standardized test: the SAT. Hundreds of thousands of students across the country, specifically juniors and seniors, will register to take the SAT on one of its scheduled dates. However, the main issue that arises is the concern of getting the best possible score by trying to improve in a matter of months. But, there is a solution: SAT prep courses or the inexpensive route of self-studying. While one offers teachers, similar scoring, and a classroom environment, the other can provide a work-efficient environment without the expensive costs and demands of a person’s personal schedule. SAT prep courses are increasingly becoming popular as an option to help study for the SAT. They are advertised through various medias such as radio stations, suggested posts on social media, or by family or friends. These courses claim to ensure both students and their parents that the student will be able to do their absolute best during the actual SAT by providing the necessary materials to do so at a certain cost. However, a commonality between many SAT prep courses is that they happen to be expensive and time-consuming, especially during the school year where students are constantly bombarded with homework, extracurriculars, and barely squeezing in sleep. While SAT courses do have their benefits and guarantees, they also have disadvantages that may frustrate students and possibly demotivate them in the process of preparation. The three most popular SAT prep courses that have been circulating among most juniors since the summer of 2017 are Y2 Academy at Princeton, The Princeton Review, and Kaplan. All of the aforementioned programs offer SAT prep courses during the summer or over the course of the school year and are available in the South Brunswick area. For starters, Y2 Academy is held in three different locations - Princeton, Edison, and West Windsor; which all have prep courses that are aimed specifically for the SAT. They offer a guarantee of a 320 point increase from one’s diagnostic test they take at the center or a minimum score of 1520. And if students fail to meet the guarantee, they are able to take free classes until they retake the SAT. The average price for a session is $4,800 but can vary depending on the type and duration of the program. Early bird and second child/ sibling discounts are offered but are only available from time to time. Statistically, the company says that 85% of their students who take the SAT the first time improve their score as guaranteed. Senior Ishan Mehta, who took the program in the summer of 2017 and the SAT in October of 2017, said, “I was able to use some of the techniques I learned at Y2 on the real SAT like reading the first line of a paragraph or eliminating absurd answers right away. The program wasn’t bad in terms of relearning and clearing up any questions I had on some areas.” The summer programs are divided into two sessions and normally, begin in end of June/July for the October test. But if the average student spends over 200 hours in one of these sessions during his/her summer, will it really make a difference? Mehta said, “My score did improve but not as fast as I wanted it to and in my opinion, the program itself was overpriced since I learned way more after taking the free classes and studying on my own.” Meanwhile, The Princeton Review is more of a company as they rent out rooms in the Marriott hotel or high school classrooms. Their class hours are significantly lower than Y2’s as well as their frequency of classes per week in the various summer sessions they offer. Additionally, one of their guarantees is a score up to 1400 from a starting baseline of 1160 on a past practice test from the year prior to one’s session. In order to fulfill the guarantee, students must do various tasks such as attending every session and taking certain tests. The regular 25 hours of instructional prep costs around $999, but various discounts and promo codes can get the price down as low as $699. Materials such as prep books are provided along with practice tests that are administered throughout the course. Overall, The Princeton Review has numerous options of prep such as private one-on-one tutoring or in-class instructional prep which are also available online for lower, discounted prices. However, junior Vedha Subramanian said, “The course helped me in familiarizing myself with the format of the test and learning some tips and tricks about the sections. But it was still too expensive and time-consuming in my case.” Kaplan is yet another program that hosts its courses in various locations and not in designated centers. Similar to The Princeton Review’s schedule, Kaplan administers various types of prep such as in-class, private tutoring, and live online sessions. The prices can range from $899 to $2599 depending on the type of course, but Kaplan alsos provides discount codes for lower prices. One program they offer is an ‘unlimited’ prep course which entails classes and sessions up to December of one’s senior year in high school for the price of $1399. Within each program, textbooks, practice tests, and quizzes are included as well. While Kaplan may prove beneficial to some, junior Aisha Alkilani said, “I didn’t like the overall course because it didn’t help improve my test scores at all and just confused me more with the tips and tricks that were taught.” Unlike Y2, both Kaplan and The Princeton Review have fewer hours but teach the same type of information and provide materials and prep textbooks at a fraction of the cost. Yet, Y2 is still regarded as one of the best prep courses to go to due to its reputation of boosting students’ scores with its rigorous study schedule. It’s the debate between inexpensive versus expensive, but also the quality of how much a student can improve despite the price of a program. SAT prep courses can prove to be beneficial, but the reality is that not every student can afford them as these aforementioned programs aren’t considered cheap. The students who aren’t given the opportunity to go to professional prep courses are put at a disadvantage. Students would have to utilize materials from the library or buying their own textbooks to study from as well as using online resources like Khan Academy. Khan Academy is a free online resource that is utilized for SAT, ACT, and many more other types of prep. A student can make an account and start prep whenever they want as well as take diagnostic quizzes to determine where their progress is at the moment. But the race is even harder for those who aren’t able to have internet access 24/7, let alone online resources. In the long run, the SATs are a standardized test that students don’t necessarily have to take as there are other formats of tests that students can submit to some colleges as well. The overrated standardized test are meant to be taken seriously, yet over the years it have evolved into more of a business with programs such as SAT prep courses. The Princeton Review, Y2, and Kaplan aren’t cheap and require both time and effort from the students. But overall, it seems as if each program is teaching the same tricks and techniques just in different styles at certain price points. Taking an SAT prep course or any type of prep course depends on the student’s goals and intentions as in the end, they will be the ones taking the test. But if the opportunities aren’t available in the first place for some students, should the SATs still be used in terms of analyzing students’ academic intelligence?

By Tanisha Bhat ('20) The satisfaction of putting things off to the last minute has become an essential part of human nature that seems unavoidable at some times. By increasing the amount of stress people experience on a daily basis, procrastination is something that affects students and adults alike. Procrastination is the act of delaying the completion of a task in hopes of finishing it in the future. A student or adult may do a series of other activities just to avoid finishing their work and then, end up having to complete it last minute under huge amounts of stress. Some even try to justify their actions by claiming that they work better under pressure, which may only be true for a small number of people. But, why exactly do people procrastinate when they are given an ample amount of time to complete their work? According to psychology.com, procrastination is an accurate display of how the chronic struggle with self-control and the preference for being in a good state of mind takes precedence over actually completing the task at hand. The excuses often heard to delay an assignment include “I just don’t feel like it” or “Not right now.” Tasks are delayed with the thinking that one’s current mood is not right and will change in the near future. People are often aware that their actions will be detrimental to them in the near future and yet continue to postpone. Another common practice is to justify actions by saying “If I sleep now, I will be able to focus later on.” Psychology teacher Mrs. Beth McGinley said, “Often people underestimate the time that a task will take and they think that they would be better served doing it at another time. Other times, if the tasks are uncomfortable or unpleasant, anxiety and hesitation can perpetuate the feelings that they cannot do it right then and will be best served doing the task at another time. It become a vicious cycle, the anxiety then increases with the tension that occurs due to the task hanging over their heads.” People often think that their future self will be better at completing tasks than their current self. This creates what TheAtlantic.com calls as the “doom loop”. The doom loop starts off with a person saying that they will do their work later, and then slowly realize they are being unproductive and decide to start thinking of the task at hand. But unfortunately, the person will come to think that they are not in the right mood and go back to delaying their work. According to the same article, within the average procrastinators there are many different subtypes. Thrill-seeker procrastinators typically leave things off to the last minute in order to get an adrenaline rush to help them complete their work. Perfectionists are usually too scared of failing that they don’t even attempt to try to finish their work. They would rather not take up a task than face the fact that they may not deliver. Additionally, avoiders delay their work due to their fear of failure mostly because they are too concerned with what others will think of them. Indecisive procrastinators are those who cannot make important decisions and wait until the absolute last minute to do their work. Junior Alex Donlon said, “ I personally feel like I am a perfectionist procrastinator since I usually put off hard assignments until the absolute last second because I feel like I am going to mess up big time.” Although procrastination may seem inescapable, there are methods to help those who suffer in extreme cases. According to Forbes.com, one method is to write down a goal that is to be accomplished and create a deadline for it. By making a general plan as well as devising a specific step-by-step plan, the goal appears less intimidating and easier to complete. Additionally, students can try to be accountable for finishing the goals on time by setting up personal check-ins. Tackling the desire to postpone assignments for present gratification is no easy task, but it can be curbed by using a series of methods over a period of time to break the habit of procrastination.

By Anvi Joshi (‘21) America in the 1980s was the mark of a changing culture, full of bold fashion choices, powerful social movements, and brilliant works of art, literature, and film. However, recent controversy has risen concerning popular films, from Back to the Future to Grease. Many think now is the time to look a little closer at the beloved classics our parents generation grew up with. Molly Ringwald, the star of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and other noteworthy films recently addressed this in an op-ed New Yorker article. She stated in reference to her role in The Breakfast Club, “If attitudes toward female subjugation are systemic, and I believe that they are, it stands to reason that the art we consume and sanction plays some part in reinforcing those same attitudes… lately I have felt the need to examine the role that these movies have played in our cultural life: where they came from, and what they might mean now.” Director John Hughes and his movies made Ringwald a household name. However, the actress still realized the problematic nature of some scenes. Ringwald felt uncomfortable with certain scenarios her character was put in during the film. For example, while the bad-boy character in the movie was hiding from a teacher, he slips under the table where Ringwald’s character is. During this tense but humorous scene, it is inferred by the audience that the boy inappropriately touches Ringwald. Especially in this #MeToo era, this scene is a bit discomfiting. In addition to references to sex, and a scene in which the gang sneaks weed into the library, there are many things in the movie that would be frowned upon now. And yet, it is still hailed as a classic. Sophomore Alexandria Bayes said, “Some people don’t focus on [negatives], rather they focus on the storyline, and the character development, and the settings… Sometimes people overlook the bad stuff and focus on what’s good. [But] when you don’t recognize these things, you forget that they exist today, and when you forget they exist today, you can’t really change things.” In Grease, released in 1978, good girl Sandy falls in love with a troublemaker named Danny during the summer, and they unexpectedly meet again in their high school. From two very different social cliques, they must navigate their romance while dealing with social pressures from both sides. However, the conclusion to the movie ends with Sandy giving up her respectable persona donning leather to, in many opinions, to please Danny. Not only does this undermine the message that a women does not need a man to be happy or successful, arguably promoting misogyny, it also changes the view most schools and parents try to give teens; that you should stay true to yourself. Along with much loved teen and drama genres, sci-fi in the 80s had its share of questionable scenes. Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future addressed coarse or dangerous topics like how “George is a peeping tom who spies on Lorraine undressing; Libyan terrorists shoot the Doc for stealing plutonium they wanted to make into a bomb. The DVD extras show a deleted scene of Doc unpacking a suitcase of essentials he would have taken with him to the future: spare underwear, various types of cash, a hairdryer, and a copy of Playboy” according to Catherine Shoard of The Guardian. Though many kids at the time would not have understood the movie’s implications, looking back, Back to the Future might not have deserved the PG rating it has today. While the PG-13 rating did not exist until 1984, Back to the Future was made a year afterwards. Despite its occasional scandal, the movie addressed important topics, and held a progressive view on many issues that still plague society. Mr. Peter Honig, an English teacher said in reference to undertones in 80s media that “I definitely do [notice them] now. I don’t think I did growing up. And that’s part of what’s interesting about this sort of reevaluating of our culture…a lot of it is in the context. If you’re watching a movie that’s a comedy and it’s being presented as something funny, it’s easy to just passively accept that and not really think critically about it, especially if you’re younger. Certainly, when I was growing up where we didn’t have this type of public conversation about consent. It normalizes it.” Often, what people watch is dismissed as implausible or irrelevant to real life, and therefore the true underlying meanings of cinema are missed. Sexist scenes, questionable morals, and expletives are skipped over by children and parents alike as the content is attributed to being “normal”, especially for an era like the 80s. Scenes, situations, and stereotypes in a romance or drama movie could be mistaken for harmless, though they could fit the description of rape or sexual assault. Sixteen Candles also reinforced harmful stereotypes introduced in the movie Revenge of the Nerds, which celebrated geeks getting back at those more popular than them, the cruel high school jock and prom queen stereotypes, by implementing cameras in the girls dorms, stealing their underwear, and even tricking one girl into having sex according to IMDb. The worst part is that the viewer is supposed to root for these boys, as they do not embody the same behavior as the jock stereotype, and are the underdogs of the film. However, the movie and the boys’ behavior highlights the fact that sexism can come in many different forms, and from many different types of people. Sixteen Candles own nerd stereotype, Ted, and Samantha’s love interest, Jake Ryan, the supposed “perfect guy”, engage in, or as accessories to sexual assault. According to a Vox article, “In the 1980s, ‘rape’ meant an attack from a stranger in a dark alley, not something that acquaintances did to each other at house parties where everyone knows each other…In 1984, you could be a perfect dream boy and also be an accessory to date rape. They were not mutually exclusive ideas. In fact, they reinforced each other. In Sixteen Candles, Caroline’s rape is presented as her fault — and as funny. In the moral universe of Sixteen Candles, Jake is allowed to be callous to Caroline without losing his dream boy status because, Sixteen Candles briskly assures us, Caroline is not the right kind of girl.” In 2018, people know better than that. America has learned over the years that blaming the victim is wrong, but in the 80s, and especially Sixteen Candles, it was easy and expected to look to the type of women the victim was, rather than what had happened to her. Jake’s callous words, “I could violate her 10 different ways if I wanted to” and his handling of the unconscious Caroline to Ted so Ted could drive he home and take pictures with her, no longer convey to this generation his dreamlike qualities. Some people have begun to call out about the retiring of such films. However, others say it is important to remember the meaning behind their media. Sophomore Abitha Viswanathan says “It’s the 80s. Can you go back in time and tell them no? The only thing you can do is make sure it’s better in the future… It happened, you can’t change that. The important thing is we learn from it. If we censored everything, we would not learn from anything.” Can we erase entire sections of our history books? Can we pretend parts of our lives never happened? The answer is, simply, that we cannot. Not because we are trying to glorify all the terrible things, but learn from them. Not because we are trying to ignore the bad, but rather see how we can improve. We cannot really understand how to progress, how we have progressed, without looking at where we were before, and maybe appreciating the good, too. As Molly Ringwald said in her original piece, “John wanted people to take teens seriously, and people did. The films are still taught in schools because good teachers want their students to know that what they feel and say is important; that if they talk, adults and peers will listen.” Whether or not the sexism in 80s media was prevalent enough to make an impact on mindsets, culture, and life, one thing it did impact was the way kids and teenagers were viewed, and that’s something we’re still seeing, thankfully, decades later.

By Priyanka Sarkhel (‘20) On the morning of October 5, 2018, gynecologist Denis Mukwege and human rights activist Nadia Murad won the Nobel Peace Prize. Mukwege is a gynecologist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he treats victims of sexual assault and abuse. Murad is an Iraqi Yazidi who was captured and used as a sex slave in 2014 by Islamic extremists (ISIS) until she escaped. Mukwege and Murad have both raised awareness specifically as to how rape is a prominent war crime towards minority groups. Their work for the fight against sexual violence precedes movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up, and their influence brought light to the silencing of sexual harassment and assault survivors, which is a main goal of #MeToo and Time’s Up as well. Junior Rujuta Sawant said, “I believe Murad and Mukwege’s victory highlights that no matter how messed up the world is, there are still people out there working 25/8 to combat the exact things (rape, racism, etc.) that make this world so messed up. There’s still hope of a better world because of the people who work so hard towards change. I hope that Murad and Mukwege being recognized for their efforts inspires other people to also speak out and be a part of the road to a better world. Change cannot be brought on by one person, but by a group of people who believe wholeheartedly in a single outcome.” Murad, 25, knows firsthand about the assault against religious and racial minority groups because she is Yazidi. Encyclopedia Britannica defines Yazidi as “a Kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, the Caucasus region, and parts of Iran. The Yazīdī religion includes elements of ancient Iranian religions as well as elements of Judaism, Nestorian Christianity, and Islam.” In 2014, war crimes against the Yazidis committed by the extremist Islamic State grew. Extremists terrorized captured women with threats of death if they did not convert to Islam. Murad is the victim of slavery, human trafficking, multiple sexual assaults, and torture. In her autobiography The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State, Murad recounted her personal experience during her time in captivity. Despite having to relive her trauma every time she re-tells her story, Murad is willing to raise her voice so that other Yazidi women, as well as women in other war-stricken countries, can be saved. Three months after her capture, Murad was able to escape extremists. In 2016, she joined the U.N. as a goodwill ambassador. Mukwege, 63, works at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Congo. He has treated sexual assault victims ever since the Second Congo War. The sights he had seen and the patients he had treated during the war motivated him to turn to activism. Mukwege’s cause is protesting against the inefficiency of the Congolese government. While condemning the impunity of committing war crimes against women and children, his activism has additionally put his life in danger. Although not physically present to accept the award, Mukwege released a statement where he said, “To all the survivors from all over the world, I would like to tell you that through this prize, the world is listening to you and refusing to remain indifferent. The world refuses to sit idly in the face of your suffering.” Activists claim that Mukwege’s contributions and activism towards the fight for justice against sexual violence show how a man’s voice can be influential and necessary. Global studies teacher Mr. Marc Babich said, “I think that it is one of the most prominent points, that [Mukwege] is a male, and that there is a male standing up for the fight against sexual abuse and assault. I think that it’s very important that the males be a part of the solution. He demonstrates not only what one person is capable of doing and how one person can make a difference and can help so many people, but shows what men can do as well.” The Peace Prize can be seen as a first step towards awareness, but in conflict-ridden areas like Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Somalia, mass rape is still met with inaction from the United Nations and no justice for the victims. Mr. Babich said, “The problem is trying to get a collective will through the United Nations in order to stop and punish those countries that do it [war crimes]. In most cases, we have been unable to come to a consensus in order to do that: the acknowledgement that we’ve agreed a long time ago that people just can’t exterminate [people] or do this to their citizens.”

By Ishani Chettri (‘20) NCT 127 is back again with their new hit “Regular” and they released their first full album Regular-Irregular on October 12. The English and the Korean music videos of “Regular” were respectively released on October 6 and 9. Fans can purchase the album digitally or order a physical copy that includes a photobook, photocards, and more. The album includes 11 tracks that include 39 minutes of melodious content that ranges from genres like Latin trap to ballads to hardcore hip-hop as NCT 127 explores the concept of reality and dreams. The included tracks are as follows: “City 127,” “Regular - Korean Version,” “Replay (PM 01:27),” “Knock On,” “No Longer,” “Interlude: Regular to Irregular,” “My Van,” “Come Back,” “Fly Away With Me,” “Regular - English Version,” and a bonus track “Run Back 2 U.” Personally, my favorites happen to be “Regular” (both the Korean and English versions), “Replay (PM 1:27),” “Interlude: Regular to Irregular,” and “My Van.” To start off, both versions of “Regular” are so different, yet so alike in the way that they both exude the same type of swagger vibe. The English version was released first, and I had listened to it so much that the Korean version seemed foreign to me, despite being hyped for the Korean version. It is a fusion of Latin trap with English and Korean, and these elements flow together to form a catchy track which inspires confidence within the listener. Similarly, “Replay (PM 1:27)” seems to be a ballad from its preview, but upon hearing, the listener will be blown away. In reality, it is a groovy, yet comforting track that can easily erase a bad mood as it is perfect for party music or for listening alone. My favorite part of the entire track is whenever the lyrics “I just want to be loved” are repeated by Johnny, because it’s simultaneously catchy and meaningful. Additionally, “Replay (PM 1:27)” is supposed to be a sort of continuation of one of NCT 127’s track, “Back 2 U (AM 1:27),” from their previous mini-album Limitless. Likewise, “Interlude: Regular to Irregular” is a vocal masterpiece. It is extremely soothing to hear as the first two minutes are various members talking in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English about personal dreams. All of a sudden, the light background of piano keys fade away and discordance is introduced as it turns the track into a twisted, melodic mess. The beats hit instantaneously and swallow the listener into its syncopathic rhythms as a new aura of darkness takes over from the serenity seconds before. As a lover of Korean hip-hop and rap, “My Van” is where things go down first in this world of irregularity. It’s mainly the two rappers, Taeyong and Mark, showcasing their tantalizing ability to draw the listener into their words. For the entirety of the track, the two go back and forth with each other’s verses as the listener is ping-ponged between the alluring vibes of the pair. They are able to deliver similar emotions and create their presences with just their voices despite not being able to express this track visually. In order to achieve the full experience of Regular-Irregular, one has to listen to the entire album in one go. Let all of the songs play after one another as the shift from reality into a dreamlike state becomes prominent. The melodies, vocalists, rappers, and overall tones are able to transport the listener to a destination of irregularity. So close your eyes, give it a listen, and soak into the voices of ten talented men in this fall weather. Check out NCT 127’s album Regular-Irregular on Youtube, iTunes, Spotify, and more!

By Nina Claudia Soukhanovskii (‘20) As teens enter high school and take one step closer towards the adult world, they begin to encounter many ideas and activities that they may not have considered in middle school. One of these more controversial ideas is drugs, and whether drug use can be considered “good” or “bad”. On one hand, teens know that many drugs are used medicinally and can help cure diseases. But on the other hand, some drugs are addictive and can be easily abused by teens who do not know how certain drugs can have negative effects on their bodies. School nurse Ms. Donna Moreen said, “Drugs affect the brain. Especially at this age, teens’ brains are not developed yet and drugs can put teens at risk later in life. Drugs especially affect teens’ mental health, including the lowering of IQs. There is also a higher chance of development of anxiety and/or depression, as well as risky behavior such as unsafe sex and accidents.” An article by The Recovery Village, an organization aiding in rehabilitation, discusses why teens entering high school question would feel the need to use drugs in their lives. The reasons are many depending on the situation, and many of these reasons are things parents often miss or cannot help with. “Many [teens] are reacting to peer pressure and believe turning to drugs is how to become popular in high school,” the article stated. Additionally, the article mentioned that painful feelings caused by repeated bullying, emotional instability, and/or peer pressure can cause teens to look for a relief in drugs. Study-aid drugs like Adderall and/or Ritalin are also used because of the belief that they help students raise their grades. Finally, simple curiosity can lead teens to get into these situations because they may not know the effects of drugs yet. “Different drugs react differently in everyone's body. If taken properly, they can be beneficial. If they are abused, they take control of a person's brain,” said junior Isha Patel, “Teens [must be careful not to] get lured into drugs they are unaware of to always stay safe.” Patel is also an officer in the Students for Public Health Club, which helps educate the community about various health issues, primarily focusing on mental health. The most important thing that teens need to understand is that drugs are not the answer most of the time, and there is often a better way to fix a situation than to allow a substance to create an illusion that only makes things worse in the end. And as for curiosity, experts say it’s better to stay safe than sorry. “[At SBHS], there are many things that we offer that help teens who have any questions or who are struggling with an addiction. If a teen goes on their own to our student assistance counselor, then it’s completely confidential. However, teachers are educated for signs of teens that are under the influence, and they can refer students to the administration to be tested.” Nurse Moreen said. SBHS also believes in equity for all students, meaning that every student has a right to seek the help and information that they deserve. Since teens are still learning about the real world, it’s the right thing for them to do to seek help now than to be sorry later. “It’s important for SBHS to raise drug awareness because if students are more aware of the consequences, they will be more inclined to stay away from drugs,” said junior Jyotsna Suresh. Finally, SBHS offers mandatory health classes in which students are taught a few important facts about common drugs through notes, textbook work, presentations, and other activities. This class is beneficial because it introduces teens to the subject so that they are at least aware of it. As Patel said, “[teens today] have been exposed to many drugs” and being careful and knowledgeable is one’s best protection.