BI Word - November 2022

NOVEMBER 2022

The BI-Word “BE WHO YOU ARE AND BE THAT WELL”

WINTER MOVIE PREVIEW

JUST WHAT IS “HACK BI?”

INFLATION!

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PLUS: HEAR FROM SOME OF THE NEW TEACHERS THIS YEAR!

A NEW YEAR BEGINS Welcome to the Bishop Ireton Word, a student-run paper reporting on all the hottest topics, ranging from Ireton activities and events to fresh political stories and arts and culture!

We hope you enjoy!

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Baltic State Crisis

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Queen Elizabeth

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Serena Williams Leaves Tennis

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Pakistan Flooding

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BI Boys’ Soccer

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Ireton Cell Phone Rule

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Winter Movie Preview

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Inflation

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Migrants Sent to Martha’s VIneyard

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Brian Robinson

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The Harms of Social Media

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Stranger Things 5

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Into the Spider-Verse Revisited

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Midterms

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Hack BI

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Ms. McGraw Interview

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CoryxKeshin

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NCAA NIL Deals

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Stepping Away From the Game

By Michael Avery

We’ve watched her for so long, she’s always being talked about, she’s always on the news and we’ve always thought that she was going to play forever. After 27 long years, Serena Williams has announced her retirement from the game of tennis. Serena Williams announced on August 9th that she would be retiring in order to focus on her family, prepare for a second child, and to take time away from the game of tennis to explore a different version of herself. Before she could officially retire, she still had one final event that she wanted to play in: The U.S Open.

Serena Williams played in both singles and doubles with her sister Venus Williams. Serena and Venus lost in the first round of doubles to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic in two sets. In singles, Serena defeated Danka Kovinic of Spain in 2 sets and then pulled off an upset against the number 2 ranked player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, in three sets. Unfortunately, Serena could not keep up the momentum in her thirdround matchup against Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia and lost in 3 sets.

Although Serena Williams is walking away from the game of tennis without a Grand Slam title win this year, she still has one of the greatest sports resumes of all time including 23 Grand Slam titles, 4 gold medals, 14 major doubles titles, retaining a number 1 rank for a record 319 weeks, and many more accomplishments.

Serena Williams is truly one of the greatest athletes and winners of all time and her impact on and off the tennis court has inspired tons of people across the world.

How is This Year’s BI Varsity Soccer Team Looking?

By Jacob Middel

The Bishop Ireton boys soccer team have begun their season after a ton of off-season work. The players and the new varsity soccer head, Coach Harvey, have been making sure this team is going to be better than before with workouts over the summer and two-hour practices every day after school. This team is led by captains Adam Clark, Tyreek Fairclough, and Santiago Rivera.

Regarding their season Santiago said, “I like everybody’s drive and effort to become one, and our plan is to improve on last year’s results.” This is an older team with nine seniors that want to win. He also said, “With having nine seniors, there is a lot of leadership and experience to help out and teach the younger players.”

The varsity team went over to play their first game against close rival Episcopal High School. The Cardinals came out on top attaining a 2-1 victory.

Santiago said this about the big win and his game winning goal: “We were down in the half but stuck to the game plan and formation that the coach drew up and were rewarded with 2 goals to win it”.

Unfortunately, after that the Cardinals have gone 0-2 after that losing 2 close games to WCAC opponents Bishop O’Connell and St. John’s, both 3-1. The Seniors on this team said, “We are going to not worry about the past because we know that all the teams in the WCAC are very tough opponents but are going to keep fixing the little hiccups and errors”.

Overall, with Coach Harvey’s help, this team seems to be different from previous teams, and everyone has high hopes that this team will mark the beginning of a culture change among the senior leadership.

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Winter Movie Preview

By Emilie Buchanan This coming November and December we have been blessed with tons of new movie releases. Coming out on streaming and in theaters, there will be everything from fantasy to thriller movies. Keep your eyes peeled for these exciting new releases.

The highly anticipated sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar is prepared to release in theaters on December 16, 2022. The first film earned over $2.847 billion dollars in the box office and has taken the place of highest grossing film in cinema history. To say fans are excited is an understatement. The plot takes place nearly a decade after the events of the first film, Jake Sully and Ney’tiri have started a family. Though when their land begins to be torn apart, they must journey to the water world of Metkayina.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has people hyped. After the tragic passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, fans have been wondering what will happen to Wakanda. In the new trailer, we see the nation grieving over King T’challa. We don’t know much about the antagonist just yet but what we do know is that his name is Namor the Submariner played by Charles Murphy.

Marvel fans are excited to see how the legacy of Wakanda unfolds. This movie comes out November 11, 2022.

After the success of Knives Out, a sequel is in the works. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery centers around a billionaire tech guru in Greece having a party with his friends. When someone is found dead, they call in the expertise of Detective Benoit Blanc. Unlike the first movie, this one is written in Benoit Blanc’s perspective which will keep the audience questioning everything. This exciting thriller is set to release December 23, 2022 on Netflix.

Most of us grew up watching The Santa Clause movies around Christmas time. This November, The Santa Clause is getting a new TV show. Tim Allen is back and reprising his role as Scott Calvin. In the new series, Scott Calvin is about to turn 65. He comes to the realization that he can’t be Santa forever.

Scott is set on finding a worthy replacement to fill the role of Santa while the rest of his family gets ready to move to the South Pole. He begins to audition people to fulfill the role of Santa Claus, but the task proves to be difficult.

This will air on Disney+ November 16.

The Japanese anime Attack on Titan will be returning with the final part of season 4 in 2023. This will end the whole series. The plot will center around the Paradis and Marley regions putting an end to the conflict, while Eren Yeager gains access to a massive army of titans. These episodes will range from 8-10 in number but they might combine them into a movie.

Either way, everything will be wrapped up and finished off. You can watch the final part on Hulu, Disney +, and Crunchy Roll.

See you in the theaters!

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Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

By Quinn Melley

48 migrants from Venezuela arrived at the resort island Martha’s Vineyard unannounced on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 22.

Republican-led states have been transporting migrants to highly populated liberal cities, like New York and Washington D.C., in an effort to protest federal security on the border and criticize the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Governor Gregg Abbott of Texas and Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona have been participating in this action since April of 2022.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took this political stunt to the next level. DeSantis authorized two chartered planeloads of undocumented migrants to depart from a San Antonio shelter in Texas. The funding came from a Florida state program to send immigrants to “sanctuary states”, i.e., New York. Florida legislature has designated $12 million for the program, using taxpayer dollars to relocate migrants. The migrants say they were coerced to board the planes by a woman with no other information but the name Perla.

These migrants were also given misleading brochures promising jobs and assistance with housing, among other benefits, if they boarded the planes to Boston, Massachusetts. The resettlement benefits outlined in the brochure that are only available to refugees who have already been identified and have formally become residents of the US. These asylum-seeking migrants are legally allowed to stay in the United States while their cases are being reviewed by immigration courts. This process can take years and requires them to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement regularly. However, some migrants are thousands of miles away from the city where their check-in is scheduled. A missed appointment can lead to an ordered deportation by the immigration judge.

Martha’s Vineyard is a small island community south of Massachusetts, known as a wealthy vacation spot for liberal celebrities and former presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The residents of Martha’s Vineyard were taken by surprise when 48 Venezuelan men, women, and children, showed up at their doorsteps. DeSantis had not arranged any plans to receive the immigrants in Martha’s Vineyard, putting extra pressure on Massachusetts officials to organize aid.

The community quickly sprang into action to provide food, temporary housing, and other assistance.

The migrants were received at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Edgartown in Martha’s Vineyard after arriving.

The migrants were moved to Joint Base Cape Cod for temporary housing in dormitory style rooms, where families will be kept together. They will have access to legal services, health care, food, and crisis counseling.

The next step for these migrants is unknown at the time, but currently they are getting the help and support they need.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Revisited

BY CHLOE HOPKINS

SOCIAL MEDIA AND WHY IT MAY BE WORSE THAN YOU THINK

BY OWEN LOESCH

More than ever the lives of people in America and around the world have become dependent on phones and social media. For many, social media is a fun and efficient way to communicate with friends and family from afar and merely entertain themselves. But what are the effects of prolonged and unrestrained use of social media? Although not easy to see, the damage social media can do to your brain and your mental state may be too high.

“There’s growing evidence to suggest that some individuals can develop a dependency on social media that’s not unlike an addiction to alcohol or drugs,” says Paul G. Simeone, Ph.D., vice president, and medical director of behavioral health at Lee Health.

At its creation, social media was not meant to be addicting, it was simply a new way to stay connected. But gradually overtime researchers have made them more addicting to increase income for different social media companies. “The algorithms used by major social media programs are made to keep you hooked and keep watching,” says Michael Loesch, a local D.C lawyer.

Social media sites figure out what you like and then send you more content and in-application rewards, such as likes, to keep you engaged. This results in something called the “dopamine loop.” The dopamine loop is the triggering and release of dopamine in your brain while you are on social media, which makes it so addicting.

Social media can cause changes in your brain in addition to mental health issues. “Heavy social media use is linked to memory deficits, especially in your transactive memory,” Lizzie Lewis, B.A in Psychology, comments.

Unfortunately, with excessive use, social media and phones use can cause a change in the brain called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity shrinks the part of the brain associated with attention and can impair cognitive function.

Mental health now more than ever is a big issue for young adults and deserves more attention so that it is treated just seriously as physical health issues. Social media has been proven in many people, and particularly the minds of adolescents, to increase the risks of mental issues. “I believe it can cause depression and other mental health issues,” Michael Loesch states.

Many children, and adults as well, have developed body image disorders and depression from seeing how lavish everybody looks online. Also, addiction to anything can cause depression or withdrawals when the addictive activity, such as social media, is removed.

Social media has many cons, but it is also a great way to connect with friends, family, and new people. If used correctly, in moderation, social media can help educate users about the world around them and help people stay connected with what is happening with the world. With social media and life in general, it is always important to find a balance, which is healthy and fun.

I challenge anyone who thinks they excessively use their phone to set a limit on your apps and try new things in your free time. I promise the effects will be more beneficial than you would think.

With the recent release of the Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse trailer, now is a good time to take a look back at its predecessor.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse follows 15-yearold Miles Morales, a Brooklyn teenager, who gets bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, and the adventure that follows. He quickly starts to notice changes in how tall he is, a heightened sense of hearing (later found out to be his spider-sense), and finally sticking to everything around him like glue. He pieces everything together by looking through a Spider-Man comic book and understanding his destiny. He’s confused at first, because there’s already a SpiderMan in his world, but a rogue science demonstration by a huge technology company opens up seven other dimensions that all begin collapsing on top of each other, resulting in multiple spidermen variants in the same New York. Throughout the movie the audience learns more about Miles’ background and life, and the struggle of finding a balance of his two roles. He offers a fresh and relatable take on a story that’s been told countless times before, a unique and greatly appreciated feature.

This movie is done incredibly well. The use of visual storytelling, and creative imagery entirely blows this project out of the water. Perhaps my favorite feature of the film was its unique animation style. It masterfully combines 3D animation and comic book influences into the perfect balance. Miles’ character arc weaves together tales of coming of age and the new responsibilities he’s facing into a relatable yet fresh look at adolescence. The use of optic tricks and a colorful, exciting palette breathes life into the characters and story, and puts the audience into a trance. This movie was absolutely a ten out of ten in every regard, and one can only hope the second installment will be just as first-rate.

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Hack BI

By Lily Ripley

As a Bishop Ireton student you’ve seen the Hack BI posters and you’ve heard about it in classes, but do you really know what it is? Well, I’m here to tell you, it’s actually pretty cool.

Hack BI is a computer science centered event that consumes Ireton’s first floor for 24 hours. Students compete for various prizes throughout the workshops and minigames hosted throughout the night. It’s run primarily by student leaders Molly Johnson (‘24) and cross-country star Sergio Bruneo (‘23). They get a little help from our resident computer experts here at Ireton: Ms. Briody, Ms. Powell, and Ms. Slaton, as well as a couple other of our best and brightest students. I am sure this all sounds lovely if you’re interested in computer science, but for the rest of you reading this article you’re probably wondering “Okay, but why should I waste my weekend at school?” My answer to you: you will have fun.

During your time at school, you and your team will be able to create your own custom programming project through collaboration, various workshops, and mentored help. Aside from the program itself you’ll have the opportunity to participate in fun games, raffles, and take advantage of the free food offered throughout the night. Although the team will be excited to hear if you have some computer science experience, none is required! You are more than welcome to come and better your skills, or learn them, it’s all one in the same. However, if computer science is a hobby of yours, or piques your interest at all, you should keep in mind the grand prize is a paid internship at Decipher Technology Studios!

Remember, this is supposed to be a fun experience for you, and the Hack BI team plans on helping you accomplish just that. Getting to stay overnight at the school with friends is not an opportunity you would get otherwise, and the prizes are an added bonus. While interviewing Molly Johnson, she remarked they would have “super cool prizes like mini fridges and echo dots… some of these prizes are worth $500”. Not to mention what an opportunity the grand prize internship would be.

Registration is open now and completely free, I’ll see you there!

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Baltic State Crisis

By Hunter Michel

In September of 2022, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland announced a ban on Russian tourists from entering their countries. However, this was probably not the right move for the countries’ economies and social efforts. All four countries announced that this ban on Russian tourists would begin on September 19. They all stated that the ban was important to their own national security. This was accomplished by statements by leaders of the countries including but not limited to Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, Urmas Reinsalu, the Estonian foreign affairs minister, and Krišjānis Kariņš, the Latvian prime minister.

Because of these acts of Russian aggression, most European countries have had their relations with Russia get much worse in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine, and the Russian response to this has been to bite back at Europe with policies such as restricting Russian oil entering Europe. Although these countries have a reason to fear Russia and all of them have had a very poor relationship with Russia throughout history, in my opinion these countries are making a misguided decision. They are making a common mistake that many people can make relating to many different countries, which is that they are equating the Russian people with the Russian government. Although the Russian government is making one hostile decision after another following their invasion of Ukraine, the Russian people have in many cases seen their quality of life significantly reduce after Putin came to power a second time in 2012, and although the Russian government has attempted to keep public support for the war, the reality is that a large amount of Russians do not support their government or the war in Ukraine at all, and many of them may be visiting other nations to escape their increasingly authoritarian government.

By banning Russian tourists, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are not doing anything to stop the greater problem of Putin’s government and are only hurting ordinary citizens. A Russian citizen who is extremely pro-war and heavily supports Putin would likely never want to visit the historically anti-Russian Baltic countries, and so this new law likely only serves to hurt those who pose no real threat to the safety of anyone in the Baltic countries or the rest of Europe.

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CODE: LONDON BRIDGE IS DOWN

BY CATHERINE FORD

The Queen of England was the longest reigning monarch, holding the crown for seven decades; she made history. Queen Elizabeth II passed away September 8th, 2022.

Long before Queen Elizabeth was ever sick, there was a code for when she died. The code was “London Bridge is Down” and it held the announcement of her death and the start of the official mourning period along with the details for her state funeral. When Elizabeth’s predecessor, King George VI, passed away due to a lung condition, England followed the same mourning period that they are following now due to Queen Elizabeth’s passing.

With Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth passing, her funeral commencement was held in Westminster Abbey where she will be laid to rest with her late husband Prince Phillip. The reason behind this choice was because she did not want to take the spotlight from other monarchs (including Princess Diana) such as her father by having her ceremony in the same chapel.

When Buckingham Palace announced her death to the general public, the twelveday mourning period started. During these twelve days, the queen was being transported from Scotland to London, where her funeral was held in Westminster Abbey. The public in England was limited to certain activities and outings, as many stores and public buildings were closed. “From the moment the queen became monarch, Whitehall started the planning process about what would happen when she died,” said Philip Murphy, a professor of British and Commonwealth history at the University of London.

King George VI, like Elizabeth, had a code word for what happens in the event of him passing. King George VI used “Hyde Park Corner.” Like Elizabeth’s code, his code told Buckingham palace to send the news from the Foreign Office’s Global Response Centre to the 15 governments outside the UK where the Queen is the head of state, and the 36 other nations of the commonwealth. This meticulous plan had been placed since before Elizabeth because Queen. Now King Charles will be getting his own code for his passing, like his mother and his grandfather had.

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PAKISTAN FLOOD CRISIS

BY MIA HOOPER

The devastating flooding in Pakistan has displaced millions and will take months to recede, increasing the risk of contracting waterborne diseases. There are multiple reasons which can be related to the cause of this destructive occurrence. Many speculate that due to rising temperatures, the melting glaciers and rain have become more intense. Others believe it is just the monsoon season coming and going. The most important aspect of this devastating event is that more than 33 million people have been forcefully relocated, with many even killed.

Hundreds of villages across much of Pakistan’s fertile land have been inundated. It has become so severe where what was once farmland, has become two large lakes in Sindh Province in the southern region. If these villages were not completely submerged, they were turned into fragile islands. This intense amount of water will take months to recede and the damage that has been done will take triple that to repair. Due to the abnormal amount of water, swarms of mosquitos have become attracted to the stagnant water. The damage done to power lines has caused them to dangle close to the surface of the water.

The Pakistani people have been repeatedly told to vacate the isolated villages, but the villagers are persistent. They must stay to protect their livestock as well as their refrigerators and tin roof from petty thieves. Along with this, the cost to rent a boat and transport one family and their belongings is unreasonably high. Diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and waterborne diseases are uncontrollable and spreading at an alarming rate. Hundreds and thousands of patients are suffering of dengue due to the outbreak where cases this year are fifty percent high than last year.

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The Cellphone Rule of Bishop Ireton

By Will Claeys

Few things are as difficult for everyone in the Bishop Ireton school community as major updates to school rules. Since this fall, the phone policy at the school has seen some significant change from the past two years. With such an update, students and teachers have had to make many adjustments to both class and hallway procedures having to do with the usages of cell phones in school.

Following a preface explaining the reasoning for the new policy, the updated school handbook states: “Cell phone use is not permitted for students during the instructional day (with the exceptions listed below), nor is a student allowed to have a cell phone on their person during the instructional day.”

In effect, this restricts cell phone usage in the classroom, the hallway, study hall, advisory, and anywhere else in the school besides the designated lunch areas during the lunch period. Cell phone usage is prohibited even if it may be for educational purposes. Students have had various reactions to and experiences with this change in rules and its intention “to foster healthy engagement with teachers and classmates.” When asked about the difficulties in adjusting to this change in rules, senior Jacob Middel said, “I’m so used to being able to check simple things such as when I had time in advisory such as the weather or the time, and now it feels weird that I’m not even allowed to have it in my pocket.”

Senior Connor Bourne responded similarly to the same question: “I feel like it has been moderately difficult to adjust to the updated phone policy.” When asked about the academic and social effects of these policies, Jacob said “I have not noticed a big change, I have actually noticed the opposite where most people have that interaction during lunch when we couldn’t have our phones but now we are glued to them during social time.” Connor too emphasized a change during lunchtime: “I feel that because of the phone policy after school kids are just glued to their phones during lunch time in the cafeteria.” However, there was a disagreement between Connor and Jacob over how much computers could replace phones. Although Connor claimed computer use may not be possible to replace most of the usages of cell phones, Jacob instead said that computers could perform most functions phones could, with the exception of turning in assignments. Although there are many differing personal reactions to these rules, the school community is finding new ways to interact with these restrictions that can serve as paths forward from the new technology policy.

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Inflation in the U.S. and How it is Affecting Prices

By Kayla Bernescut Since September of 2021, inflation rates in the US have drastically increased by about 3.7% in June of 2022 and about 2.9% in August of 2022. Price inflation is now at its highest in 40 years and is affecting the retail market for consumers, especially in the gas and food industries. These changes are causing many people to adapt by dining in more often, purchasing cheaper products, and shopping at discount stores.

Inflation is when the prices of everyday goods and services rise, and the money earned and saved by consumers today is less valuable than it once was. The enormous sums of money acquired from the government’s many stimulus packages helped demand return. They helped consumers receive more money to purchase supplies, but unfortunately, it was not enough to help the global supply chain. Combined with preexisting supply chain disruptions, this increase in demand placed a considerable strain on the global supply chain, causing prices to rise beginning in April 2021. The stimulus had a positive effect on the economy, but the Covid-19 pandemic shifted consumers’ spending toward goods rather than services. Experts say that the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 “overheated the economy and ignored signs it was bouncing back” (NBCnews.com). Of course, the Biden administration denies this accusation and instead points its finger toward the supply chain struggles and businesses independently driving up prices.

Although retailers are doing everything they can to keep prices down, many have been forced to raise the prices of their goods to meet the increased costs. They are paying higher energy bills and rent, not to mention rising transportation and wage costs. Apart from products, the prices of most essentials for brick-and-mortar businesses such as hangers, display stands, and promotional items have also skyrocketed, facing serious production and shipping delays.

Taylor Offer, the founder of Feat Clothing, speaks out about the difficulties of opening their first business in the midst of inflation: “Opening up a brick-and-mortar store in this climate has been really challenging,” they say. “There are so many moving pieces that we need to source, from retail racks to couches and hangers, that are all delayed months. We are seeing eight-to-twelve-week delivery times, and significant price increases on basic items that are usually always in stock. It definitely makes you value the global supply chain and how competitively priced things used to be.” According to the bar chart above, the top three areas that have the highest price rate increase percentage are grocery bills (75%), gasoline (74%), and meat (73%).

“Shortages of fertilizer from Ukraine, poor harvests, and livestock illness all contributed to rising grocery prices” (washingtonpost.com). With the enormous demand for goods, Grocery prices have been rising drastically because of the increased consumer, restaurant, and global market demand collided with labor shortages and higher transportation costs. “Energy prices spiked across the world after Russia, a major global supplier of fossil fuels, invaded Ukraine” (washingtonpost.com). This is why gas prices have increased from $2.50 per gallon to $3.87-4.99 per gallon.

With inflation rates exceeding the 40-year high, retailers are in deep waters about their businesses and what they should do to manage them efficiently and effectively. While the confusion about the causes of inflation may seem chaotic and attributable to multiple factors, it’s important to remember that it exists today, and is affecting many retail businesses as well as people. Whatever the cause, the main point to derive from this is how much inflation has taken a toll on the nations’ economies and the retail industry. Andrew Levin, an economics professor at Dartmouth College says: “My guess is that it’s going to be a number of years away… It’s an open question whether it’s possible to get there gradually or painfully with a recession.”

It’s important to acknowledge the fact that inflation will most likely be around for a while until a resolution is reached.

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Is Brian Robinson OK?

By Nicholas Chimera

A DC Police Department said the incident happened on the 1000 block of H Street NE and is near the city’s Ben’s Chili Bowl. Brian Robinson suffered two gunshot wounds and was moved to an area hospital, the police department said.

The Commanders said, “He survived non-life-threatening injuries and is currently being treated at the hospital, where officials are on-site with him.” They asked that at that time could everyone please respect Brian Robinson’s privacy and give him time to heal.

Brian said on Instagram that he was out of surgery, and it went well, and his coach said on Monday the doctors are hopeful and confident about Robinson’s recovery.

For Brian to be participating in practice is a great step towards his return and could possibly have Commanders fans feeling excited about seeing the rookie make his name stand out on the field.

A gun was recovered, but the police are still looking for two suspects who ran from the scene. The Police Department tweeted, “Be on the lookout for two black juvenile males with shoulder length dreads, medium complexion, wearing a black or brown shirt with yellow smiley faces on it.”

Brian Robinson hit the injury list. As a result, Brian is forced to miss the first four games of the season while he recovers from the incident.

He will be able to suit up for a game in Week 5. The Commanders are going to play the Tennessee Titans at home on Oct. 9 in Week 5, so if Brian makes shocking, amazing progress, there’s a high chance he will be ready to be in the game.

If he’s not ready, his next chance to play would be in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears on a Thursday night game on Oct. 13, or in Week 7 on Oct. 23 when the Commanders host the Green Bay Packers.

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Will Hawkins Fall in Stranger Things 5?

By Connor Bourne

Stranger Things 4 is the second to last installment of the critically acclaimed Stranger Things, the Netflix show created by the Duffer Brothers. This season is “the beginning of the end” so to speak, and we will almost get to a climax and then things will start to wrap up. Hawkins might be fighting a losing battle against the upside down and whatever it throws its way. Will Nancy’s visions come true? Season five will be the ultimate showdown.

The plot of Stranger Things season four has advanced tremendously from the first episode of Season four to the ninth and final episode of the season.

SPOILER WARNING It was established at the end of season three that the Byers family and Eleven moved from their hometown of Hawkins and the rest of the gang is left there. We are left on a cliffhanger with us finding out that an “American” is held up in Russia. In season four, Joyce gets a note saying that Hopper is alive.

This is just one of the many plotlines in this action-packed storyline. If you want to find out more you would have to view the show for yourself.

Overall, the season is great, but it is not without its flaws. There are four storylines going on throughout the season: 1.

Eleven and her powers in the secret underground silos which are like a second smaller, tamer Hawkin’s Lab. 2.

Hopper and Joyce finding and rescuing Hopper from the KGB in the Soviet Union 3.

Argyle, Mike, Will and Jonathan are in California and eventually on the road trying to find Eleven.

4.

The rest of the gang (Dustin, Erica, Steve, Eddie, Nancy, Robyn, Max and Lucas, and Jason and his crew) in Hawkins fighting Vecna.

All of the story lines in this season are great, with superb character development, new and old settings, and new vibrant characters. However, the amount of content and sudden transitions are a drawback, along with the lengthy and intense storylines. The creators don’t give the characters and their environments enough breathing room for the audience to spend enough quality time with them.

I have many predictions, being a long-time fan of the show and taken a deep interest into its whole universe, and have listed them below: •

We might get more on the “Nancy-Steve-Jonathan love triangle”

•

Hopefully we see more of the history of the upside down

•

The fall of Vecna

•

With the time frozen in the upside-down plot point, if and when the upside down is destroyed for good, will everybody killed by the upside-down creatures will be resurrected?

Or will the entire timeline of Hawkins go back to November 6th, 1983 when the gate was first opened or a day before?

•

I have a sneaking suspicion that the first moment of the season five, episode one will be right where we left off in the end: the entire gang is looking over the hill at the dark clouds, billowing smoke, and blood red lightning.

Stranger Things 4 is a fantastic season with plenty of plot points for us to enjoy. Some of the episodes can be overstuffed, but that can be both a good and bad thing with new, beloved characters, and new places for us to discover along with those characters. Season four brings on a whole new villain, the most powerful villain from the upside down who, we soon find out, has a much more mysterious and crucial back story than we ever thought. Season four is the beginning of the end and will bring the ultimate showdown in season five. There are many predictions that are floating around the internet for what The Duffer Brothers will cook up in season five and that all remains to be seen.

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The 2022 Midterms

By Thad Worth

With the Congress in a deadlock, the nation’s political battlefield still raging, and an economic downturn, there appears to be no end to the list of woes that our republic seems to be facing. All of this may change after this November’s midterm elections. With inflation raging and a less motivated base, Republicans seem to have a good chance at reclaiming the House of Representatives and the Senate with polls showing them slightly ahead or behind Democrats. This comes as in recent weeks, many prominent media outlets have said that Democrats seem to be faring better than they were earlier this year. While many Republicans may dismiss this as media bias, others have wondered if the recent Dobbs v. Jackson’s ruling, which overturned Roe v.

Wade, has motivated on-the-fence Democrats to vote.

Many people look to Pennsylvania as an example of the outcome of the 2022 election due to it being a battleground state, a state that can vote either Republican or Democrat. These swing states are highly sought after during presidential election cycles as they often determine the final outcome. They are also a good indicator about how the American public feels about one party or the other. Democrats have chosen John Fetterman as their candidate for Senator while Republicans have chosen TV personality Mehmet Oz. John Fetterman has been heralded as a “man of the people” due to the fact that he is often seen in public wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

However, Fetterman has faced scrutiny after having a stroke in mid May, with some questioning his ability to represent Pennsylvania as senator as he has slurred his words during many of his speeches. He also has been criticized for receiving $54,000 each year from his father while he was mayor of Braddock, which has undercut his image as a blue-collar worker. Oz has not escaped criticism either. For decades Oz had lived in his mansion in Cliffside, New Jersey only in 2020 did he move to Pennsylvania. He also has made millions of dollars off of his TV program, The Dr. Oz Show. This has caused Fetterman to attack Oz as “elitist” and “out of touch” with most Pennsylvanians.

As Election Day inches closer, would-be politicians and elected officials everywhere try to convince their constituents that they deserve another term representing them in Congress. Politics is like the moon, it waxes and wanes. When one party becomes dominant, the other loses power, then regains it next season. If Democrats win this season, then Republicans will win the next, and vice versa. No matter the victor, political battles continue to rage and onlookers inevitably get involved.

17 | NWSLTR

An Interview with Ms. McGraw

By Paige Martin There is a constant flux and flow to the Bishop Ireton community. Every year, teachers leave, and new teachers join our school. One new teacher is Ms. Molly McGraw. A part of the English department, Ms. McGraw teaches English 9 and AP Language and Composition. I sat down with Ms. McGraw for an interview to introduce her to the Bishop Ireton community.

P: What part of English do you like the most?

M: You know, I love creative writing, I love reading and teaching poetry and I love creative fiction as well as narrative. I just think that English is a unique way to encourage people to tell their stories. Stories are so important. We just read the Adichie piece [in AP Language and Composition] and stories build empathy and the more stories you read, the wider your perspective is, the more open-minded you are, and the more empathetic you are, and I think that’s why English is so important to me.

P: What inspired you to go into teaching specifically?

M: I wanted to be a lawyer for a really long time. But junior year, I went to a career fair, and I was just wandering around with my friend, and we stumbled by this table, the Alliance for Catholic Education, and I handed them my resume and we chatted a little bit. I remember a semester later, I got an email from the person I talked to at the career fair, and he remembered the smallest details from our conversation and he said he would really love me to apply to this program. I remember thinking to myself, ‘You know, I haven’t really considered teaching before, but that’s the type of person I want to be. I want to be someone who remembers people, is intentional, is joyful, is passionate about what they do. Well, I might as well give it a try.’

So, I applied to the program. I still went in thinking, ‘Okay, I’m gonna teach for two years then I’m gonna apply to law school.’

So, the first full year of teaching, I was teaching, but I was also studying for the LSATS. But then I got through my first year and went back for summer classes and I had a professor tell me, “Hey, you have a talent for this, and I don’t think you should give up on it yet” and I went back my second year and I just fell in love with it. Like everyday I woke up and I was excited to go to work, to see my students and work with them and see how they grew as writers and readers and I couldn’t ignore that because I knew that was a call, you know?

P: What drew you to BI specifically?

M: I think I walked into this school, and I knew that this was where I was supposed to be. The first thing that drew me to it was the Writing Center. I was looking for a school that really prioritized writing instruction and so when I saw that BI had a Writing Center, I immediately put it on my list. Also, I care a lot about teaching at a Catholic school. The Salesian spirituality and the Catholic values are something that drew me to BI. And generally, something I’ve noted, is people just really genuinely enjoy being here. And I could feel that when I visited.

P: How do you see yourself fitting into the community here at Ireton, with clubs and sports, possibly, or other parts of the school?

M: I think it’s going to take me a little bit of time to settle in and find my flow here, but I would love to help with the drama department once I’m more established. I was involved in theater all throughout high school, so I’d love to help with set design or backstage, or anywhere that they’ll take me, I’d love to help.

P: What goals do you have for the upcoming school year?

M: I want to go to at least one sporting event for every sport. I set that goal at the beginning. I’ve gone to a soccer game, a field hockey game, and I stopped into a volleyball game. I’ve still got a lot to go, but that’s more of a personal goal. Professional and academic, I really want to find a balance between preparing you for the AP exam and just finding a joy for reading and writing. I think that’s important. We’re also here to encourage you to be lifelong readers and writers.

P: Do you have any advice for students?

M: It sounds so run of the mill, but I was a lot like many of you in that grades mattered a lot in high school, and I felt that pressure all the time because college was just around the corner, I’ve got to have, you know, perfect grades and test scores and extracurriculars and everything. But I think my piece of advice is that everything that feels big now will feel so small in the future. And I even tell myself that right now, like in my current moment that feels big, I know in five, ten years it’ll feel so small now, and that dose of perspective really gets me through the toughest times.

Ms. McGraw is a strong asset to the Bishop Ireton and the English department. I am confident that her presence will continue to be felt throughout the school year, in many different areas of the school.

18 | NWSLTR

IS YOUTUBE RACIST?

BY MADDEN HOLLOWAY

Popular and long-time YouTuber CoryxKenshin posted a video to YouTube on August 24th, 2022, discussing his thoughts on a situation in which one of his videos of him playing a video game was age restricted, while videos of other non-black YouTubers playing the same game were not.

CoryxKenshin is a Youtuber, primarily focusing on gaming, who has been making videos for the past thirteen years and has amassed over 14 million subscribers. According to his video, he felt that he was being racially discriminated against because his video involving “The Mortuary Assistant,” a game, was flagged for being against age-restriction policies. Cory was one of many people to play that video game and he was the only one whose video was age restricted. At the time the video was flagged, Cory had returned from a four-month break from YouTube.

This was not the first time a situation like this had occurred, similarly in the past he had returned after month-long breaks and YouTube had given one of his past videos some kind of violation without much explanation. Moreover, when Cory’s video was flagged for age restriction, he attempted to appeal the restriction, but he was denied. After some investigating, he realized that he was the only one of many who had been age-restricted for playing this game. When he realized this, he decided to fire back at the YouTube policy team by using this evidence in an email he sent to them and sending a non-restricted video. The YouTuber whose video he sent to the policy team, Markiplier, is around the same stature in terms of viewership and is not black. Following the email Cory sent to the policy team, YouTube decided to remove the age-restriction on his video. However, Cory was dissatisfied with this decision because he expected the video he sent to the policy team to be age restricted as well. He even says in a response video, “They used his (Markiplier’s) video to verify my innocence”.

Subsequently, Cory decided to write a lengthy email expressing his suspicion that the policy team was either favoring other YouTubers over him or were racially discriminating against him. When he sent the email to them, the YouTube policy team finally removed the age restriction on the video and it is now public for everyone to see. After this situation transpired, many other YouTubers shared similar experiences where they felt like they were discriminated against, or there was just no transparency when they received a community guideline strike.

Popular Youtuber and Twitch live streamer YourRage also shared similar experiences in a video reacting to Cory’s video. He goes into detail explaining how YouTube denies him privileges that other YouTubers usually experience. His videos often receive community guideline strikes and he is usually able to appeal them, but it is the principle of receiving a strike and there not being any transparency on why someone received it. YourRage does curse when he talks, contrary to Cory who never curses in his videos and even goes to the lengths of censoring out bad words in the games he plays, but that is not anywhere near a reason to give someone a community guideline strike, based on the actual guidelines. YouTube even has a box that everyone who uploads a video has to check off saying if it is suitable for children or not.

So why are these YouTubers and live streamers receiving age-restrictions and community guideline strikes? Is it because YouTube and other social media platforms are starting to see more black influencers arise and they don’t like it?

Regardless, YouTube definitely has problems that need fixing, and people need to speak up more about similar experiences to solve them.

19 | NWSLTR

NIL DEALS

BY DOMINIC ROJAS

The NIL which stands for name, image, and likeness is a new law passed by the NCAA Board of Governors allowing collegiate athletes to get paid and endorse their names. Athletes during my lifetime have always been asking to get paid because of how much money they bring into their respective schools, but the NCAA never listened. When Covid shut sports down they started talking more and more. Then, in early summer of 2021, deals were finally being finalized and on July 1st, it was officially announced that NIL would be implemented into the college system. Once it was announced, college athletes immediately started booking plane flights to different companies in order to get first dibs on the endorsement contracts.

The first set of college athletes to take advantage of these new deals were Fresno State’s women basketball player’s Haley and Hanna Cavinder who now play for Miami University. They signed a contract with Boost Mobile and even got their own billboard in New York City’s famous Times Square. We have now had NIL for one year, two months and three weeks in counting and will hopefully continue to bring a positive affect towards the student athletes. While the Supreme Court and NCAA passed the deal, specific schools still have specific rules in place for their athletes. These are to help keep athletes in check and make sure they aren’t going overboard with their names and brands.

Some of the rules include they must comply with the state law meaning they can engage in such activities that are consistent with state’s law of where the school is located as long as they represent their name and image. If you go to a school within a state that has no laws you must follow the laws under your name, image, and likeness. Which means don’t receive money from promises you never fulfilled, such as receiving 100,000 dollars for an event you were supposed to go to, but never went. Since it is under your name you have to make sure that your name and identity are clean and well known for the better.

And they are very strict with them too. If the rules are broken it could lead to loss of endorsements, suspensions, and maybe even being asked to leave the program. This may sound harsh but it’s actually very good because if these athletes are disciplined with this strict mentality they will be better suited professionally for later in their life after college wherever they may go. The NIL still is brand new and has many things we still have to learn about. With social media promoting athlete’s endorsements or personal brands, there are so many new and inventive ways for the kids to make good earnings.

THANKS FOR READING!