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by Harivallabhi Ganapathy ('24) When many people think of extracurriculars that are good for colleges, many people think of sports and community service. Both look great on applications individually, but what if they were combined? Sports Trinity, a 501c3 non-profit organization, was started and founded by senior Rohan Rao. He began this organization this summer, using all three months to spread awareness and fundraise for his organization. The other three founding members, all of whom describe themselves as very close friends are: Shreya Nanda, a senior at JP Stevens, SBHS senior Alwaz Saeed, and Bryan Yan, a senior at UPenn. They planned all of it out and decided on their mission,“ to bridge the economic disparity within sports by allocating sports equipment to under-resourced communities.” Rao was inspired by news articles about the lack of sports equipment in communities he read about, especially for young athletes who don’t perform well due to the lack of access to proper equipment. So, they collect equipment that is in working condition from the community and local school districts who are interested in contributing. “I'm motivated to bring these opportunities to kids and teenagers with these constraints and help them to pursue a sport of their interest,” said Rao. Their first equipment drive was held right here at SBHS on August 25 during the home football game versus Hillsborough. The crowd was full and many knew about this event so a lot of people were prepared with donations in hand. “When Rohan approached me about putting something like this together, I thought it was such a great opportunity to continue the acts of service that many of our students at SBHS do in a variety of ways,” said athletics director, Mr. CJ Hendricks. To spread the word, Mr. Hendricks and Superintendent Mr. Scott Feder spread the word by sending flyers to the district and posting them on all of SB Athletics' social media pages. Mr. Hendricks suggested that they should have free entry for anyone who donated to the organization since it was a great way for people to come to the school football games while doing a good deed on the side. In return, they received 30 donations of various pieces of sports equipment. The donations will not only go to youth programs in under-resourced schools and communities but also to clubs and programs that have recently been established in other schools. They have done other fundraising events that have resulted in receiving cricket equipment from an Edison cricket ground and collecting equipment from the South Amboy school district, where they received a similar amount of donations. If they can get more people to support them, they would love to expand to other communities outside of New Jersey. Rao added, “We believe that every kid, regardless of their background, should be given an equal opportunity to play a sport,” and that “it isn't just about spreading awareness, but incentivizing younger generations to chase their ambitions of being an athlete.”

by Juliana Scannelli ('23) Traditional journalism has been on the proverbial ropes for quite some time as short-form media on TikTok and Instagram continue to grow. Traditional journalism consisted of major news companies (newspaper, radio, or television) hiring trained and educated journalists to be the world’s ‘watch dogs’. Traditional journalists were tasked with the job of reporting and ‘exposing the truth’ of public institutions in a neutral and balanced way. The new form of journalism that seems to be changing the industry is known as citizen journalism, meaning podcasts, blogs, and social media. Citizen journalism is a less prestigious form of journalism as most people posting to their blogs are not required to be schooled in the protocols of traditional journalism. English teacher, Mr. Peter Honig wrote for the ‘Times Community Newspaper’ in Northern Virginia from 2001-’03. His first position was covering sports (primarily high school level) but later, he moved up the job ladder to become the editor of the entertainment section titled the “Weekender”. He said, “The social media environment tends to favor more sensationalist stories, and many writers will seek the quick benefits of clickbait or superficial reporting to more sustained and thorough acts of journalism. Since budgets are small, many writers lack the resources they need to fully report a story. And even if they do, the use of freelance writers often means that young journalists don’t get the mentoring that they used to get when there were larger staffs and more publications.” With STEM classes at SBHS becoming more prevalent, the career path for journalism students is becoming narrower. And in the eyes of Generation Z, traditional journalism might be a thing of the past, especially since everything can be within reach of news in seconds due to platforms like TikTok. This platform provides content as short as fifteen seconds or as long as three minutes, fitting perfectly within the short attention span of many people. Senior and Viking Minute videographer, Matthew Nelson said, “I think that the majority of teenagers have an interest in the world around them. It’s just that they may not be interested in traditional media outlets. In my opinion, the reason that short-form journalism is so popular is due to the lowered attention spans in terms of content. This is not always by choice for students though. Many teenagers are wrapped up in schoolwork, SATs, college applications and so much more. It’s hard to devote a lot of time to content when attention needs to be focused elsewhere.” Nelson is not far off as research shows that in 2015 people had an average attention span of eight seconds. Humans lose their attention faster than goldfish do! With COVID being a major factor in the amount of media intake students had, it is not hard to understand why Gen. Z might be struggling with reading the traditional journalism of the New York Times and the Washington Post. And with the popular phrase of ‘fake news’ arising in the last six years, it is understandable why some might be turning the traditional evening 5 o’clock news off to look to their phones for information. Reuters Institute conducted a series of studies, in 2020, to develop an understanding of where short-form journalism stands in the world. Even with the decline of interest in news and selective avoidance, “TikTok has become the fastest growing network in this year’s survey, reaching 40% of 18-24s, with 15% using the platform for news.” TikTok news is on an upward trend and major news companies are starting to recognize the site for its power. News platforms are creating TikTok accounts of their own to spread their news while other creators give their take or provide more information on certain topics. According to The Guardian, “Nearly twice as many users say they get information from other people they follow on the app as opposed to news organizations.” So what does that mean? It is fairly easy for anyone to get trapped in a loop of information and short-form journalism because of advertisement targeting. You like a picture or an ad and the advertisement continues to pop up on your feed, hence your ‘For You Page’. Former journalism student, Isabella Kenyon (‘24) said, “I think teenagers are interested in news that aligns with their beliefs. That’s why receiving news through social media is so popular. It provides a biased perspective on current events.” There seems to be a disconnect between news nowadays and news before social media especially since some fake news still perseveres. Journalism teacher and Advisor Andrew Loh said, “Social Media has censors, so they only put in what they want you to read. They are not objective sources because by their nature they are controlling what you read and how you interpret it. So I would say that no social media is a good source of news.” There are many great factors of new form journalism because it is easy to access and people can get a lot of information in a brief amount of time, which in our fast-paced world is good. However, as seen from the interviewees, there is some skepticism about whether or not short-form journalism is actually safe. There is no physical harm to short-form journalism or news on TikTok but everyone should just be aware that there could be some false advertising of that news and it is up to the reader to try and distinguish right from wrong. Within SBHS, the traditional journalism classes where students write articles about anything they are passionate about are starting to have fewer and fewer kids as the years' progress, thinning out only those who enjoy writing. Most kids in SBHS do not even know that the school has a newspaper that allows for passion-based, yet objective writing. As STEM classes take over in South Brunswick, it will be interesting to see what will happen to the class. It will also then become interesting to see how traditional journalism finally plays out and what the victorious form of journalism will be.

by Rishita Nossam ('26) On Friday, February 23, South Brunswick High School's Asian Cultural Club held its annual TemptAsian showcase—a recital in which various dance, acting, and singing teams perform for a large audience. The teams included: Acting, Singing, Freshmen, Bollywood, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Garba, Marathi, South Indian, Bhangra, and Guy/Girl. Auditions for TemptAsian were held in October and since then, participants worked endlessly to perfect choreography, songs, and lines. The show sold out within a day as a result of high demand and anticipation. The show commenced with introductions from the Asian Cultural Club's executive board and all of the TemptAsian team captains. The senior team captains included Jay Jethva, Anisha Senapati, Nicole Liu, Ananya Ravi, Simrahn Bidaye, Pragnya Madiraju, and Sanchita Dighe. The junior captains were Rhea Krishnan, Khushi Rameteke, Krish Shah, and Anna Pham. Additionally, one of the acting captains was sophomore Nidhi Ravinutala. TemptAsian is extremely significant for the South Asian community at SBHS as it represents the various cultures that make up a majority of the student body. Dance genres such as Garba and Bhangra derive from Northern parts of India and involve energetic dances. During TemptAsian, these dances were met with booming applause. Asian Cultural Club President and senior dance captain Jethva said, “Since high school, I’ve started doing Bhangra. I love Bhangra the most because it’s so energetic. Garba, I started doing [last] year as captain and I’m [Gujarati] so I’m drawn to Garba. I love all of them, but I think I like to do Bhangra the most because it’s so exciting.” South Indian dance is danced to Telugu and Tamil music. TemptAsian also has groups for Classical Dance—Bharatnatyam and Kathak. These dances originated from various states across the country and developed into a few of the largest Indian dance forms today. Other dance teams in TemptAsian include Bollywood, which comes from various parts of North India, and Marathi, which derives from Maharashtra. As for Marathi, the beautiful dance style can involve both graceful or spirited dances, which were exhibited by the team. Senior dance captain Simrahn Bidaye said, “I really like choreographing Kathak and Marathi. I’ve been learning Kathak for 11 years now, so it was fun to see myself being able to create something. For Marathi, I speak Marathi at home, so it was nice to connect my culture.” The last two dance groups in TemptAsian are Freshmen Dance and Guy/Girl. The Freshmen Dances are a series of dances performed by freshmen. Additionally, the Guy/Girl dance team, made up of a Guys and Girls dance group, performs hip-hop dance. Junior dance captain Krish Shah said, “I’ve always liked to dance. The fact that TemptAsian was offered in high school was pretty cool because otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve danced in high school at all.” The final two groups offered in TemptAsian are Acting and Singing. This year, the Acting group performed High School Musical (Desi Twist). The play featured various High School Musical characters that were spun off into Desi characters. The Singing groups performed songs such as “Kesariya” by Arijit Singh and “Location” by Khalid. Costumes were a very important part of TemptAsian as they exemplified the different meanings behind the dance styles. Bhangra (pictured above) and Garba both wore colorful costumes. South Indian was performed by girls in shimmery skirts along with guys in black shirts and white dhotis (pictured below). Classical dancers wore traditional half saris, and male Bollywood and Marathi dancers wore black kurtas while the girls wore crop tops—both in flowy pants. Freshmen Dance had one group with colorful outfits and another with completely blue ones. The Guy/Girl Dance group’s stylish red costumes consisted of the guys’ team crewnecks and the girls’ tight-fitting tops. Lastly, the Singing team’s attire was made up of lehenga cholis for the girls and kurtas for the guys while the play’s actors wore casual high school outfits. At the end of the night, the executive board gave a few more quick speeches to close off the event. Board members thanked their friends, families, and advisors Mrs. Grishma Patel and Ms. Maninder Gill before introducing the senior dance, a TemptAsian tradition. This dance involved all of TemptAsian’s senior members coming onto the stage for one last performance. SBHS math teacher and new TemptAsian advisor, Ms. Gill, said, “I knew [being advisor] was a lot of responsibility, but I’m glad I took it because I would’ve regretted not taking it.” With the show coming to a close, TemptAsian members and families were met with rushes of emotion and sadness. Especially for the seniors, this show was extremely meaningful, yet sad. The eventful night ended with all of TemptAsian’s participants coming onto the stage for a final “mosh,” which was a thrilling and crowded rush between teammates. Jethva said, “This club has become a family to me. [Since] freshman year, meeting the same people again and again, and just working and giving it all with all of these people made us so close, and honestly, for anything in life, I could rely on these guys.” Congratulations to all of TemptAsian on an extravagant showcase. TemptAsian 2023 will remain in the memories of participants and viewers forever as they reminisce and await the shows to come.

by Saesha Bhat ('24) Spring at SBHS is a time of celebration with one of the most beloved traditions starting the season right: Mr. SBHS. On March 10, 16 contestants took to the stage to compete for the title of Mr. SBHS 2023. Through a series of opportunities for contestants to show off their talents, the contestants can convince the audience that they are the best fit for the title in hopes of winning. This year’s roundup of participants included seniors Grayson Manzi, Tejas Chaudhari, Chris Ortega, Adam Bougrayne, Harshith Ramapuram, Ayush Sawnani, Kunal Shukla, Akshay Iyer, Shrey Parikh, Akshay Kamat, Samuel Yeboah-Manson, Nicholas Shuchman, Ibrahim Savage, Johnny Rappoccio, Francis Karanja, and Nicholas Kamath. This year’s theme was Broadway, with show posters decorating the auditorium and the faint playing of popular Broadway musical numbers in the background. As the audience sat down, they were presented with a stage background of other big Broadway productions like Wicked and The Lion King. The show started with group dances of all the contestants, dancing to Broadway hits such as “Dancing Queen” from Mamma Mia!, “It's the Hard-Knock Life” from Annie, and “Popular” from Wicked. This led to the opening of the show hosted by SBHS teachers Dr. Justin Negraval, Mr. Stephen Dentler, and Mr. Jeff Tuliszewski, who performed a parody of “Tradition” from Fiddler on The Roof as a way to make fun of the contestants and the SBHS staff. Dr. Negraval shared that Mr. SBHS is an important event not only for the students but the staff as well as it encourages fun and relaxation. “We spend a good deal of time writing jokes and creating our opening skit. This year we did a musical tribute to the seniors. We wrote all the lyrics for that opening and performed it live…It's a fun tradition, and it's really one of the only events that is edgy. Our jokes often go right up to "the line". We get to poke fun at ourselves... the administration... the Board of Education and other teachers. It's important to realize that at the end of the day we don't take ourselves too seriously,” he said. The show was divided into five rounds that all gave the contestants chance to introduce and show off themselves to the audience. The first round was rhyming speeches where the participants had to memorize rhymes that talked them up and proved themselves worthy. The second round focused on student bios where the hosts gave a little background into the contestants’ personal lives. The third round consisted of “talent” videos where contestants showed their best talents. Whether it was doing dances from all over the world, changing tires, or producing songs, this was the crowd’s favorite part of the show. The fourth round was “dress to impress” where contestants dressed as “best” as they could and were escorted by a student council member. And the last round was the interviews, giving the contestants a last chance to prove themselves through funny questions and answers. The process of getting this show together was not an easy one as Underclassman Representative of the Student Council and Sophomore Niharika Chandra explained. “The entire process of planning and getting ready for Mr. SBHS was a lot but also really exciting. Having dance rehearsals with all the boys every day after school was something I really started looking forward to because they are all so fun to work with,” she said. Contestant Ortega, one of the participants for Mr. SBHS, had similar thoughts as he shared that even though it looked like they were all best friends on stage, it wasn’t all like that since the beginning of rehearsals. As time went on and the show gave them time to hang out, they were able to connect and bond with each other, whether it was during practices or after-practice meetups. He thanked Bougrayne, his “partner in crime,” for making the experience even better in and out of rehearsals. How does one even get onto a show like this? Student Advisory Board Co-Chair Anvi Nair said that contestants signed up through a google form that included their information, which was later reviewed and approved by their assistant principal’s office. Contestant Sawnani, like others, had to go through this process, which caused newfound confidence to emerge. “When I signed up, I was pretty scared at first because I was scared of what people thought of me, but I wanted to put myself out there; the more and more I became involved with Mr. SBHS, the more I enjoyed working with the other contestants and putting on a beautiful show. I knew I would’ve regretted not doing Mr. SBHS because it made me feel proud of myself,” he said. Putting yourself out there, especially during pageants, is not always the easiest thing, especially in front of your classmates and family members. Anxiety and the fear of being judged can hold you back from doing the things you want to accomplish; however, remembering the outcome and experience you may gain from putting yourself out there can outweigh the temporary fears. This year’s Mr. SBHS winner was senior Johnny Rappoccio who joined to fulfill his dreams of being on stage and showcase his love for dance. He had worked on the 2021 show and was inspired to try it out, even if he knew he would be embarrassing himself. With this experience and the relief of winning the competition, putting himself out there was worth it. “My whole self-esteem was boosted. My spirit is just lifted. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal I’m king, but it’s still a confidence booster in myself. My attitude shifts when I think about it. I can always be happy with the work I put into the competition,” he said. Why should future seniors join this beloved tradition? Well, contestant Chaudhari explained that Mr. SBHS is a commitment for those willing to do the work but a one-time experience that can leave the high-school experience a bit brighter. He said, “Mr. SBHS was an absolute blast! Going into it I didn’t think I’d become really close with everyone, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. Throughout the daily practices, countless mistakes, getting yelled at, and just having genuine fun, I grew to love the experience and get close with all the contestants… All together Mr. SBHS is really an experience that I wish everyone could experience, but it’s only up for grabs for the people willing to do what it takes to be a Mr. SBHS contestant.” Here are the winners for all the categories: Best Talent: Akshay Iyer; Best Legs: Tejas Chaudhari; Best Dressed; Ibrahim Savage; Best Rhyme: Ayush Sawnani; Spirit of the Viking: Samuel Yeboah-Manson; Fan favorite: Johnny Rappoccio; Mr. SBHS: Johnny Rappoccio.

by Harivallabhi Ganapathy ('24) Most 16-year-olds have already accomplished a lot by the time they reach their senior year including getting a driver's license, a job, and starting to apply for colleges. These are some critical goals for the year, but publishing a book is not usually on most people’s lists. However, for Areeb Mahamood, it is. Even when he was a kid, Areeb loved to read and write. His love for reading grew when his middle school librarian, Ms. Kim Zito, fueled his passion for reading by giving many book recommendations and inspiring him to start writing seriously. “It's not surprising to me that Areeb has written a book. He spent a fair amount of time in the library. I recommended Nyxia, by Scott Reintgen, to him--and it's a fantastic book, so that's undoubtedly true--and that was one of the many books that he's used as inspiration to writing his own book. It's great that he persisted in writing his own work, and at Crossroads we wish him a great future career, “ said Ms. Zito. The writing process for A Sky of Flowers began back in 2017. After a brief hiatus, Areeb began to finalize his project during quarantine and finished writing his book in January of 2023. During the aforementioned hiatus, Areeb felt like his writing was not where he wanted it to be, explaining his writing process as wanting “something [that] people would probably not expect”. Throughout this, Areeb’s mother was one of his biggest supporters - the book is dedicated to her as a ‘thank you’ for all of her support. “She’s been my number one supporter, encouraging me to keep experimenting with new ideas when I couldn’t find the one that felt true to me,” said Mahamood. His inspiration for A Sky of Flowers came from the Marvel Universe as well as other action movies. Mahamood tends to incorporate stronger emotions as well as more complex ones. Mahamood added that he used “the fantastical elements of the dystopian and superhero stories to better convey my themes.” Mahamood said the publishing process was a “breeze.” He reached out to Amazon to publish his book. Amazon required that the book be reformatted, which took dozens of hours of nonstop work. Once that was finished, the book was uploaded to Amazon along with the cover art. The book follows the main protagonists' Carmen Miller and Alissa Morgan. Upon falling into a sinkhole that develops in the United Kingdom, Carmen Miller awakens in a different dimension filled with flowers. The magical flowers have the ability to bring people back from the dead but the government requires those who want access to the flowers to be interviewed in order to determine who can use them. Somehow, interviewees have recently been disappearing and have been found murdered. On the other side, Alissa Morgan has lived her entire life in this second dimension. Recently, her brother died, and Alissa tries to convince her newfound ‘friend’, Carmen, to interview for the usage of the flowers, without risking herself. Through all the ups and downs of the story, Alissa and Carmen become close and eventually, Alissa is dealt with the life-or-death decision to save herself or her newfound friend. Mahamood thinks this book will have a significant impact on teenagers' lives all around the world. He said, “The book has a lot to do with mental health issues in teenagers, especially self-blame and depression. I didn’t want to depict these emotions as easily-conquerable, though, as some stories do. I also didn’t want to cover anything up—I wanted to show these issues in their raw state,” he also added, “The book doesn’t seek to show a resolution for any of the emotions I depict. Rather, it’s meant to show readers the true nature and severity of these feelings. Additionally, for those currently struggling with issues like these, it’s meant to serve as a way for them to understand that they’re perfectly normal for feeling the way they do and that they aren’t alone.” Mahamood’s goal is to show teenagers that they are not alone and that there is always someone out there who can relate to them. When asked what word would best describe the book, Areeb said the word “understanding” as it goes with the book’s themes as well as its morals. A quote that Mahamood thinks summarizes the book well but also didn’t give too much away was the opening line of the book. "A girl awakened in a bed of flowers, in a body unbeknownst to her. Her body was spread flat on the grass, facing up, as if someone had carefully laid her down.” A Sky of Flowers is now available on Amazon and other booksellers all around the world!

by Juliana Scannelli ('23) Growing up, everybody always says, “If you get famous, don’t forget the little people like me!” However, the chances of someone becoming widely known are very slim. This is not the case for the Class of 2003 with their own famous Animation Director, Kirsten Lepore! Since graduation, Lepore has been a part of the LA animating community. During her high school years, Lepore was interested in all things art. She was a part of the growing music department as a Percussion musician, performed in SBHS’s very own marching band, and played in the Jazz bands. The time she spent out of the band room was spent in the art rooms. Kirsten was interested in any art classes she could take and even made a mural for SBHS halls with one of her classmates. In an exclusive interview with The Viking Vibe Lepore said, “I pirated some 2D animation software around [my] sophomore year at SBHS and spent all my free time outside of school bringing in inside jokes purely for the amusement of my friends. I think that was the first time I got really serious about animation as my potential career.” Listed on her website as her first published 2D video is “Story from North America” which was created in May of 2007. Her three renditions of animation are the first to come up when Google Searched. Lepore then graduated from the Maryland Institute of College of Art with her Bachelor's in Fine Arts. Lepore then graduated with her Master’s degree from the California Institution of the Fine Arts. After she flew out to LA to join their animation community, she met her husband, filmmaker, and animator Daniel Kwan, who directed Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Currently, she and Kwan have one son, Gio, who will be turning four in 2023. As an animator, Lepore struggled to get a job right out of college, seeing as most jobs required ‘prior experience’, which, when fresh out of college, was something Lepore did not have enough of. got her first job by networking, attending film festivals, and keeping a strong website presence where all of her work is showcased. After some freelance jobs, and when her short films started to bring in awards, people began to reach out to her with job positions. “Some of those early jobs I got from doing web contests helped me build my portfolio early on. I also tried to stay true to my specific style, which attracted employers in the ad world because my style is sort of unique,” she said. Currently, Lepore is hired by production companies for her many other talents including music videos, shorts, and ads. When more well-known, companies like Marvel have reached out to have her work on the “I am Groot Series” on Disney+. Her famous five animated shorts include, “I am Groot, Groot’s First Steps”, “I am Groot, Groot Takes a Bath”, “I am Groot, The Little Guy”, “I am Groot, Magnum Oplis”, and “I am Groot, Groot’s Pursuit”, follow little Groot on his many mini adventures. The trailer for the shorts reached a high of over 19 million views on YouTube. The idea for the beloved character, according to Lepore in an interview with Marvel.com, was to illustrate “stories that everyone had experienced growing up”. The original pitch to Marvel Studios was much longer than the five shows listed above, but eventually, the list was limited and the idea for “I am Groot” mini shorts series was underway. However, the “I am Groot” series is not Lepore’s favorite work. Lepore affirmed, “I think my proudest work is still ‘Hi Stranger’ even though it’s a short film. It feels the most ‘me’ and it was very gratifying to see that it resonated with so many people online as well.” “Hi Stranger” has over 5 million views on YouTube and was published in May 2017. The video also has several reaction videos made by other YouTubers including REACT; the title of the video is “TEENS REACT TO HI STRANGER”. The claymation character in the video provides a zen feeling and the watchers can obtain a feeling of appreciation for the video. For a little less than 3 minutes, watchers can meditate and relax, as according to the bio under the video, “the film is made especially for you”. Not only has the claymation made an impact on YouTube, but the short was featured in several publications and on The Late Show with Steven Colbert. In response, Colbert said, “Some people find it really comforting, and others want to know if you can take out a restraining order on a cartoon. In fact, some people have said, this is the most disturbing cartoon they’ve ever seen.” The show then goes on to show another cartoon made to spook the audience even more. Some might feel too much intimacy from the video, while others might find comfort and feel relief seeing as ‘Hi Stranger’ seems different from the ‘often abrasive internet’. The work behind creating each video changes daily. The day-to-day job of an animator is constantly changing as it depends on the budgeting of the production. If Lepore is designing her project, then her days are spent designing and working in coffee shops or outside in nature. Then she has to build her design to make it come true, and during that time she says she will “jam out” to her “bops” or listen to podcasts. However, if Lepore is directing an animation, she will visit each stop-motion studio to give tips about “puppet performances” as well as hopping to other studios to sign notices or notes. Some days are lowkey, using the “I am Groot” mini-series as an example, Lepore said that some days she attends meetings over Zoom, and sometimes the day of an animator does not even include animating! On days like this, she has to tend to the producer side of things like budgeting and scheduling. Lepore added, “I built my career by being able to fulfill all the roles in productions though, from writer & animator to camera & lighting person, VFX artist, sound person, etc. I think it's great to have a working knowledge of all the roles as it makes for a more educated and prepared director.” Lepore started her career by entering her projects into festivals, and the list of awards listed on her website is no small feat. Most of the listed awards are for ‘Bottle’ another one of her shorts from 2010. The stop-motion short illustrates a ‘transoceanic conversation between two characters via a bottle’, and has won 37 awards, and accumulated over 10 million views on YouTube. In addition to the many awards won for “Bottle,” Lepore went to the 95th Oscars to represent Everything Everywhere All At Once and ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’. Lepore’s husband, Daniel Kwan, co-directed ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ and the film was up for 11 awards. The movie ended up winning ‘Best Picture”, “Best Original Screenplay”, and “Best Film Editing”. Kwan won “Best Director”, while some of the actors took “Best Actress”, and “Best Supporting Actress/Actor”. A24’s stop-motion animation, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, was nominated for best-animated feature, a team of which Lepore was also a big part. While a part of the A24 team, Lepore met director Dean Fleischer-Camp, who mainly has only directed Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and ‘Fraud’ so far according to NJ.com. Meeting Fleischer-Camp and promoting the 2010 ‘Bottle’ stop-motion, allowed her the opportunity for Lepore to partake in a Marcel feature film. She said it was an instance of being in the right place at the right time. Lepore commented, “Marcel is definitely up there as one of my favs - it’s the only feature I’ve ever worked on that intensely and I was involved from as early as the storyboard phase. It was such a meaningful experience to work with so many wonderful crew members [whom] each brought so much to the film both on the live-action shoot and the stop-motion shoot.” Lepore has become a big part of the animation community, it has not come easy but there is certainly a lot that has been done since her time in college and time at SBHS. Her artwork still has real estate in SBHS on the first floor near the auditorium/VTN announcements room. And her collection of movies/short stories will only continue to grow as she takes on more jobs and projects. As a final note, Lepore said, “[This career is] definitely rewarding– mostly after you've put all the grueling work in, though, and someone sees your work and is touched in some way by your film.”

by Karim Salahie ('26) Chess is one of the most iconic board games, having been popular for over a thousand years; though a simple game, it is often associated with intellect. Over the past few months, the popularity of chess has been substantially increasing and has reached an all time high through more interest being shown—especially here at SBHS. With this spike in interest, junior Om Janamanchi, along with his friends Ishaan Sinha and Aryan Kashyap, has plans to start a chess club in the 2023-24 school year with science teacher Mr. Michael Poot and math teacher Mr. Stephen Trainor as advisors. Janamanchi wants to create more interest in chess and expand its audience, as the game encourages partnership and entertainment for everyone. His plan to “enrich students in finding an enjoyable pastime” have become widespread in SBHS, with over 130 students mentioning their interest in his Google form. As an activity that brings many together, more students will meet and interact with each other. The last time a chess club ran in SBHS was over ten years ago with running competitive tournaments and learning opportunities. The plans to bring back the club have been ongoing, with Sinha mentioning that “the efforts have been six years of filling out forms to have the club approved.” With today’s easy accessibility in playing through online means and inexpensive chess boards, it will be much easier for all people to learn or expand their knowledge of chess in this club. If needed, English teacher Mr. James Noebels volunteered to donate boards to help the club save money, as he mentioned there is a small supply of chess boards at hand. Having survived more than one thousand years, chess is an important part of history, and continuing the tradition of playing at SBHS will allow the game to be passed on. Over the course of chess history, humans have significantly improved. Today more than ever, people have been able to learn more and learn faster through easy accessibility to guides and computer engines. Not only is chess an enjoyable pastime, but studies have proven that it decreases chances of brain diseases and helps people recover from brain damage. Through a fun game, players stimulate many cognitive skills and subconsciously improve their memory, reaction time, and ability to solve problems. Chess also brings competition, not only through club games, but also with state and nationwide tournaments, possibly allowing members at SBHS to compete. Janamanchi says he has “hopes to be able to get students who enjoy the competition at the SBHS chess club to participate in such tournaments, while also allowing low-pressure tournaments to go on within the club.” Mr. Poot says “If all is approved, the chess club will run in the 2023-2024 school year. Anyone interested in playing or learning chess with peers is welcome to join.”

By Harshini Dinesh(‘23) For many students and staff, Mr. Ben Diggs’s presence was comforting because he could be found throughout South Brunswick High School, helping students, talking to staff, and doing his job as a security officer and hall monitor. According to English teacher Mrs. Asmaa Kabel, “Mr. Diggs could always be found with a smile on his face and often a dictionary in his hands. He loved word puzzles and as an English teacher I admired that hobby.” Mr. Diggs served South Brunswick High School for over 23 years and during his time he brightened many people’s lives with his positive attitude, comforting smile, and kindness. Assistant Principal for Class of 2025 Mrs. Yoshi Donato, who has gotten to know Mr. Diggs through the years, said, “I met Mr. Diggs when I started out here at SBHS in September 2002. My first impression of him was that he had a very kind disposition about him. He was very helpful and knowledgeable about what happens here at SBHS. Also, Mr. Diggs was super involved in our athletic department events, he tracked the bus arrivals and had a huge rapport with many staff and students over the years.” Mr. Diggs’s friendly personality and dedication to athletics meant that he got to build strong relationships with many students, staff, faculty, and athletes at SBHS. He helped individuals who were new to the school navigate the building, and he helped all major sporting events at SBHS run smoothly by maintaining transportation logistics. Additionally, Mr. Diggs has impacted the history department, specifically Mr. Nicholas Gazzale’s class, The Vietnam Era, by providing Mr. Gazzale and his students with a firsthand account of his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War. Mr. Gazzale worked with Mr. Diggs for 13 years. He said,“I met Ben when I was a student here back in 2001 and as a 15-year-old freshman my original thought was that he was pretty intimidating (but who isn’t when you’re a freshman?) but soon you learn how kind, funny, and caring Ben is. When I was fortunate enough to come back to the building as a teacher, I realized that Ben is all of those things and more. As a Vietnam Veteran, Ben has been kind enough over the last five years to come and share his experience every year with my class. Hearing firsthand accounts is invaluable to studying history and Ben has been a major part of this.” Moreover, Mr. Gazzale appreciates how, “Ben has always been real. For both teachers and students, Ben will tell you exactly what you need to hear even if that isn’t what you want to hear at that moment. He is not going to sugarcoat anything and it is hard to find people like that.” Since Mr. Diggs was always genuine and kind, many students spent time with him. According to Mrs. Donato, “Ben’s strength is that he is friendly to everyone. However, sometimes he was too friendly to students who should have been in classes, but who instead sat near his post in the hallways because they loved Ben. Ben loved students and was definitely a crucial part of our day to day successes here. He often gave his wisdom to kids who struggled with being in classrooms; therefore, the weakness in the eyes of some could definitely be a blessing for those students who were struggling.” Those who know him say that by being there for these students with different backgrounds, Mr. Diggs gave them a voice, helped them feel heard, and gave them advice that positively impacted their lives. During his service at South Brunswick High School, Mr. Diggs has been a major contributor to our school’s success and students’ happiness, so the Viking Vibe would like to thank him and wish him all the best in his retirement.

By Lujan Asturias (‘23) At the beginning of March, the Amnesty Club held a silent protest against the death of Tyre Nichols. Tyre Nichols was another victim of police brutality and was beaten to death in Memphis. The protest happened after the bell dismissed students at the end of the day, and was held in the Hands Hallway. The club stood silent and handed out informational flyers for their cause as students walked by. They hung posters and the Amnesty Club flag on the walls and windows as well. According to the New York Times,, “[He] was beaten by Memphis police officers for roughly three minutes on the evening of Jan. 7, after he was stopped for what the police initially said was reckless driving.””. It ended with intense violence, and he ended up passing away three days later. The officers were soon fired and charged with counts including second-degree murder. This case sparked many protests, like the Amnesty Club’s silent protest,against the intense and unnecessary violence police sometimes use against suspects, specifically black males. This murder shone a light on police brutality in the United States, and the Amnesty club, which focuses on addressing a variety of societal and political issues, wanted to bring attention to that. The Amnesty Club also wanted to bring light to the George Floyd Justice And Policing Act. Co-president of the Amnesty Club, Senior Swathi Pulipati described the act as an act that “bans things like chokeholds, the intense beatings like the one that Tyre Nichols went through before he passed away, and those types of things.” The act is seen as a solution for unnecessary deaths at the hands of police that easily could have been avoided According to Congress.gov, “The bill enhances existing enforcement mechanisms to remedy violations by law enforcement. Among other things, it does the following:lowers the criminal intent standard—from willful to knowing or reckless—to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution, limits qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer, and grants administrative subpoena power to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in pattern-or-practice investigations.” It also has strategies to avoid racial profiling and enforces training to specifically focus on racial prejudices. If passed, this bill can possibly be a solution to end or at least decrease the number of people that die every year from police brutality. To pass the bill, people must contact senators and ask them to vote for it. The Amnesty Club’s goal for this event was to contribute to the goal of stopping police violence as much as possible. If the Amnesty Club continues to do things like this, members say it can impact society in a positive way.

By Lujan Asturias (‘23) Earlier this year, in the Intro to Psychology class, there was a guest speaker who introduced the program known as Heartful School. This program’s main focus was empathy, and presenters demonstrated meditation and allowed students to write Christmas letters to the homeless which would then be enveloped in a blanket to be given to them. Ms. Priya Shriram said of the organization “Our mission is to take heartfulness tools and techniques to the whole of school communities, to the classroom, to the staff, and parents included; and our mission is to make sure that every heart, every student heart, and every educator’s heart is touched with these tools and techniques so that we can be better educators, better students, better administrators in our schools”. This program can be beneficial for students in promoting healthy psychological habits and also connects to psychology courses. Meditation plays a big part in the mini-lesson that was given. The students were asked to close their eyes and clear their minds simply. The college student that assisted walked the students through the meditation. This can be a simple way for anyone, students or staff, to take a breather throughout the day. When it comes to lessons like this, promoting psychology courses can be a good thing for students. According to an article from the APA, “High school psychology can help students achieve scientific literacy and acquire the skills they need to assess information—and misinformation—about the pandemic, climate change, or other topics affecting their lives”. It allows students to see the world they live in from a different perspective and also brightens their view on human behavior and mindsets. Psychology courses have many benefits, and groups like Heartful School have a major role when it comes to learning about psychology.

By Adam Khan (‘23) In the midst of the post-war economic and capitalist golden age, the image of a traditional father and husband breadwinner alongside his children and typically a homemaker wife was the staple family across the United States. Known as the nuclear family, it was a group of people united by ties of partnership and parenthood and consisting of a pair of opposite-sex adults and their socially recognized children. Decades later, society has seen a significant decline in this once-normative structure. A once 3.7 fertility rate in 1960 for example has now declined to around 1.6 births per woman. In a country like Japan, the median population has aged incredibly to the point where more than a quarter of Japanese were 65 years and older in 2021. By the end of the century, it is expected for the country to lose more than half of its population. With much of the world following Japan’s footsteps, in an aged world, trends of difficulties in paying for healthcare for the elderly, more elderly people being put in senior citizen centers, and a lack of a needed workforce population will be at the forefront of modern “first-world” issues. Recognizing these concerns, nations such as Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Italy, and Australia began incentivizing their citizens to have more children through money and campaigning. Another method for nations to increase their population is through immigration, as seen in the United Kingdom. But what’s the context behind this collapse? What can one expect for what’s to come next long term? Well foremost, the social and economic landscape of the U.S. has drastically shifted, making it harder for young individuals to get married, settle down, and start a family. Significant examples of these changes, but not limited to them, are the introduction of cohabitation, urbanization, childfree couples, birth control, “hook-up” culture, high divorce rates, and the introduction of LGBT and other non-traditional families. What was not even socially acceptable 50 or 60 years prior, is now today’s norm. The cultural shift of the 1960s is a clear milestone as to when these changes appeared mainstream such as with the sexual liberation or feminist movements. The statistics reveal one out of four of today's 50-year-olds will have been single their whole lives. The rates seemingly are only trending to rise, as in 2019, 35% of men and 30% of women had never been married. Just about 30 years prior in 1990, 30% of men and 23% of women had never been married. Associated with these changes is the disproportionate amount of minorities being affected. With the statistics mentioned above, it was noted that in 1990, 43% of black men had never been married. In 2019, it was 51%. During that period, the percentage of black women who were unmarried increased from 37% to 47%. For Hispanic women, it increased from 27% to 37%; the percentage of Hispanic men who are unmarried increased from 37% to 45%. These types of environments also negatively affect the children being born into resulting single-parent households. A whopping 64% of black chil­dren in 2019 data were found to live in single-parent families. White, Asian, and Pacif­ic Islander children were found least like­ly to live in a sin­gle-par­ent house­hold, with 24% of white chil­dren and 15% of Asian and Pacif­ic Islander chil­dren fitting this demographic. If this isn’t alarming yet, sin­gle par­ents are more like­ly to live in pover­ty when com­pared to cohab­it­ing cou­ples, and sin­gle moth­ers are much more like­ly to be poor when com­pared to sin­gle fathers. According to research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a charitable foundation focused on improving the well-being of American children and youth, tran­si­tion­ing to a sin­gle-par­ent house­hold can dis­rupt a child’s rou­tines, edu­ca­tion, hous­ing arrange­ment, and fam­i­ly income. Along with traumatic experiences for children, it can also inten­si­fy the inci­dence of parental con­flict and stress. The research continued: “Kids from sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­lies are more like­ly to face emo­tion­al and behav­ioral health chal­lenges — like aggres­sion or engag­ing in high-risk behav­iors — when com­pared to peers raised by mar­ried par­ents. Research has linked these health chal­lenges with fac­tors often asso­ci­at­ed with sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­lies, such as parental stress, lost social net­works, wit­ness­ing con­flict, mov­ing homes, and socioe­co­nom­ic hurdles.” With a laissez-faire approach to the upbringing of many children, topped with the polarization and shifting ideas of today's world, undoubtedly awareness has to be brought to these topics for the well-being of society as a whole. While schools of thought between those who lean liberal and those who lean conservative differ in their ideas of how they wish to shape the economic and social landscape, most can agree that the trends above offer uncertainty about the state of the generations after. Academics speculate how this in turn negatively impacts society and the future. As for the solution to these issues, one may ask, is modern Liberalism as seen now, or is traditional thought the way forward? Only the future will tell.

By Adam Khan ('23) Since the construction of South Brunswick’s Taco Bell off Route 1 in late 2019, most residents of South Brunswick have bought at least a meal or two from the restaurant as the newest craze. Many are familiar with the lines of cars on the drive-through that spill over to the highway, with employees rushing to take each order but many may not know that some of these employees are full-time students at South Brunswick High School. Senior Raheem Ahmad has been a Taco Bell employee for nearly two years and regularly works as a cook and occasionally in other side positions. Being behind the counter at a busy fast-paced restaurant compared to working at Five Guys initially was an overwhelming thought for Ahmad though, he would find himself used to the back-to-back orders and other tasks. Ahmad said, “You clock in before working on the line/taking orders, you prep any ingredients that need to be on the line or close the registers from the previous shift’s cashier and compare the amount from their register to the actual sales.” Aside from the physical work, working at Taco Bell has proven to be an enjoyable high school career experience. Senior Jazmin Lazo-Sanchez, a cashier at Taco Bell said, “The most enjoyable aspect of working for me personally, is socializing with my co-workers. The food is also great. ” People may have a common question about fast food restaurants: what sort of shortcuts or lesser-known things occur in the kitchen? Ahmad said, “Some things that people might not know about Taco Bell is that most food comes in bags. All the hot ingredients (beef, steak, chicken, and potatoes) are frozen. Another thing is that the cinnamon twist actually starts out as dehydrated twists, and the Doritos Locos tacos seasoning is fry seasoning.” After Ahmad’s nearly two years working for Taco Bell, there are bound to be some unconventional events occurring in the restaurant. Ahmad listed some of those events. He said, “Once a drunk person tried getting on top of the counter. [Another time] there was a fight in the back by the garbage around 2 AM. One time a customer got her order messed up so she jumped over the counter and fought one of the managers and one time an employee threw ice in the fryer which made a horrible sound. I also remember someone ordered around 300 tacos! When I was new, on my second Saturday working there, I had a mobile order of 500 cheesy bean and rice burritos and he came to the drive-thru to ask for 60 more. In the Milltown location, someone tried to offer weed as a payment. There’s more, but that’s enough for now.” Working for Taco Bell has benefits and drawbacks. Sophomore Bladimir Robles, a cashier at the fast food chain said, “Some pros are the free food and good hours they give, and some employees are fun to work with. The cons are that it's too busy sometimes. You have to do work that you don’t want to do, and it’s very very rushed and gets tiring. Some managers aren’t the best.” Usually, working long shifts, Robles, a sophomore at SBHS had to find alternatives to balance work and school. Robles said, “Personally it’s not that difficult, whenever I have time at home I finish my work.” Not only is the Taco Bell of South Brunswick in a convenient location for the town, but an opportunity for those who are looking for some job experience. Lazo-Sanchez said, “Come 5-10 minutes early for every shift, follow the rules, stay out of any drama, try to get along with coworkers, after several months ask for a bonus, and do your best!” Robles added, “Choose service when asked what job you could do!” Being one of the most popular and arguably most tasty fast-food restaurants, these SBHS students gave us an insider look at what occurs behind the counter. With an expansive menu, virtually everyone has an item that they will enjoy or already do. So pull up to South Brunswick’s taco bell and support your hard-working local expertise of your fellow peers!