The North Star October 2019

THE NORTH STAR October 2019 | Volume 34 | Issue 2 Blue Valley North High School 12200 Lamar Ave, Overland Park, KS

melissophobia

arachnophobia

Trypophobia

lilapsophobia

necrophobia

arsonphobia

hyelophobia

phobia Diving deeper into students’ fears and their roots — page 16

Finding strength Last March, Sources of Strength was brought to BVN. The group organized activities throughout the school, but what did they hope to achieve? Find out on page 6.

Hey, how many ap classes are you taking?

With the pressure of AP classes, teachers and students question the motivation behind taking on a rigorous workload on page 8.

New in nutrition Nutrition bars have popped up throughout the Johnson County area. Take a peek behind the counter on page 4.

Editors-in-Chief Briley Everhart Megan McConnell Delaina Sanden The North Star is the official high school news publication of Blue Valley North High School, an open forum distributed to all the students six times a year. This is the October issue of volume 34. The North Star is printed by the Sedalia Democrat. This is a student publication and may contain controversial matter. Blue Valley School District No. 229 and its board members, officers and employees disclaim any responsibility for the content of this student publication; it is not an expression of School District Policy. Students and editors are solely responsible for the content of this student publication.

2 | The North Star | october 2019

Online Editor Daniel Park

Staff Writers Maddie Austin Ellianna Cierpiot Ana Curi Lopes Scarlett Jones Aubrey Karns Olivia Miller Emily Mrkvicka Charlotte Raley Yasmeen Saadi Angelica Henson Charitha Lakkireddy

New to bvnnews.com this month Which Club Should You Join at BVN? Take the Quiz

By Charlottle Raley

UN climate SUmmit

By Olivia Miller Opinion: Generations

By Emily Mrkvicka

Table of Contents health and education 4

New in Nutrition

23

Ghoulish Geeks

6

Finding Strength

24

The Culture of Horror

8

Hey, How Many AP Classes are you Taking?

26

Spooky Scary Cinema

11

28

Mostly Ghostly

13

Kids in Cuffs Bathrooms

29

Phobia Phonetics

14

The Intimidation Factor

seasonal 16

Behind the Phobia

20 Super in to Superstitions 22 Editorial Cartoon

community 30

Letter from the Staff

31

Remembering Morgan Hallstrom

32

October Photos

The North Star Social Media

BVN vs. Bishop miege

By Maddie Austin Ransomware

Facebook

By Aubrey Karns

@bvnnews

Homecoming 2019

Twitter

By Charlotte Raley

@bvnnews instagram

@bvnnews Website

www.bvnnews.com

Scan here to go to bvnnews.com october 2019 | The North Star | 3

New In

Nutrition

By Maddie Austin

A closer look into recent trends in nutrition.

Junior Caroline Haines takes orders at the register at the health cafe Enjoy. Photo by Maddie Austin.

T

vegetables combined with an obsession for healthy eating has he percentage of Americans who meet the four vital drawn people to health cafés. In Overland Park, multiple health criteria for a healthy life is only 2.7, according to a cafés have appeared in the past couple of months, including survey conducted by the National Health and Nutrition places like 913 Nutrition and Enjoy Café.

Examination Survey. The four Junior Caroline Haines works at Enjoy criteria are avoiding smoking/drugs, Café. Although only having worked there I love the eating well, exercising and maintaining for about two months, she already loves it. people that healthy body fat levels. However, more At Enjoy, Haines normally works at the cash come in because people are learning about the dangers register, but sometimes makes smoothies and they’re always of malnutrition. This threat is leading to other drinks at the cafe. super positive healthy eating becoming an obsession, “My favorite aspect of working at Enjoy is and determined according to Juiceitup.com, the website the overall atmosphere,” Haines said. “I also to have a healthy for the juice bar Juice It Up that has been love the people that come in because they’re lifestyle.” around since 1965. always super positive and determined to have a -Caroline Haines Nutrition bars have begun to pop up healthy lifestyle.” everywhere in order to meet the demands All of the ingredients in the food and drinks that Enjoy of customers who all have a common goal to better themselves. makes are natural, according to Haines. In addition to Juiceitup.com states that the juicing industry is now worth smoothies, they have many unique food options on the menu 9 billion dollars worldwide. The accessibility of fruits and

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4 | The North Star | OCTOBER 2019 | health and education

that are protein-based and give the consumer lots of energy. Haines said the most popular ingredients Enjoy uses in their smoothies are bananas, spinach, kale and almond butter. Their most popular smoothie has dates, which Haines considers the secret ingredient that ties it all together.

“Our ingredients are all completely organic,” Haines said. “Everything is exactly what it says on the menu and is cooked cleanly. You can trust the food and it tastes awesome.”

Senior Kenadee Carpenter works at Nektar, a juice bar that opened May 2019.

Carpenter has been working at Nektar since it opened.

Similar to Enjoy, Nektar’s menu is free of all preservatives and processed ingredients and is made fresh daily.

Nektar’s menu includes a variety of juice, smoothies, cold-pressed juice cleanses and açai bowls. Carpenter’s job at Nectar primarily consists of making smoothies and açai bowls.

“The most common ingredients we use every day are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as cashew milk and coconut water,” Carpenter said. “The most common fruits we use are strawberries, blueberries and bananas.”

Make Your own Kale SMOOTHIE Honey 1-3 teaspoons Peanut Butter 2 tablespoons Pineapple 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt 1/4 cup Banana 1/2 cup Almond Milk 3/4 cup Kale 2 cups

Nutritionist Point of View Nutritionist Tamara Creighton has had her own practice for 20 years in Overland Park for holistic nutrition and massage therapy and talks with many clients who frequently go to nutrition cafés. She approves of her clients going once or twice a week because many cafés are great for a meal replacement, but she said she doesn’t want going to nutrition bars to turn into an obsession.

Creighton thinks nutrition bars are great for people who are active, either with work or sports, because of the protein-packed products that the majority of the menus consist of. However, Creighton has some concerns about nutrition bars.

“I think people do need to be smart when they go in and really ask what is put into the smoothie or shake just so they know that there can be a lot of processed ingredients, especially with the protein powders,” Creighton said.

Creighton added that while nutrition bars are a healthy, occasional meal replacement, they are not going to be as rich in nutrients as a good, whole food meal would be. Finding a good cafe with organic ingredients and healthy options is extremely important if a person wants to truly better their lifestyle.

A variety of juices are sold ar the front counter at Enjoy. Photo by Maddie Austin.

health and education | OCTOBER 2019 | The North Star | 5

Finding

Strength

By Ana Curi Lopes

o rt

themes through school-wide initiatives.

“My Trusted Adult” was the latest campaign launched by Sources of Strength, where representatives asked their peers to write notes expressing appreciation to their trusted adults.

“We believe having a trusted adult or an adult that they can confide in is important,” Summers said. “We know that there’s a lot of kids out there that talk with their friends but don’t talk to any adults.”

The program consists of 68 BVN students, but some of the members have been involved with mental health

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big, bright-yellow sun outstands in the middle of about 1500 blue pieces of paper. The words “My Trusted Adult” spelled in red attract the eye of many who pass in front of it. The Sources of strength wall was never this colorful.

Sources of Strength is a suicide prevention program that was founded in 1998 by Mark LoMurray, who has more than three decades of experience in the suicide prevention field. According to Sources of Strength’s official website, the program works with students and adults to have a positive impact on both the community and individuals.

The program was brought to BVN in March 2019 by Lisa Summers, BVN’s social worker. Besides recruiting students, Summers helps create new campaigns for the program.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to work for Blue Valley is my children go to Blue Valley High,” Summers said. “I knew that suicide was something that all of Johnson County is dealing with and I wanted to be able to make a difference.”

Sources of Strength is open for anyone to join or find help. The organization, when contacted by a student in need, offers a suicide assessment, calls someone responsible for the person, and can redirect them to a specialized clinic.

In addition to being a safe contact for students, Sources of Strength aims to change the stigma and culture around mental health.

“We live in a world of perfectionism [for] a lot of students, adults and teachers, [and] myself included in that at times,” Summers said.

Sources of Strength focuses on eight pillars: mental health, family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality and medical access. Throughout the year, the program attempts to cover each one of these

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Sources of Strength empowers students to help in the suicide prevention movement

The Sources of Strength pie graph shows the pillars of importantance for strong mental health.

movements before joining Sources of Strength. Senior Rory Swenson has been involved in the mental health movement since August 2018 and saw Sources of Strength as an opportunity to get involved.

“The goal of Sources of Strength is to empower students in the school to become leaders for the mental health movement,” Swenson said. “Making it more student based, instead of the parents teaching you how to talk about feelings, is making it more personable.”

According to Swenson, Sources of Strength aims to emphasize that mental health should be taken as seriously as physical health.

6 | The North Star | october 2019 | health and education

“If you broke your leg you would go to the doctor and get it all fixed up. But if you were having extreme depression right now, [you should do the same because] your mind is part of your body, so there shouldn’t be a barrier between mental health and physical health,” Swenson said.

After previously working with American Servicemembers Assistance Program (ASAP), Summers invited senior Kara Olander to join Sources of Strength. According to Olander, she considers herself a positive person, what is important when working with mental health. “[Sources of Strength] tries to emphasize the positive aspects in your life, rather than focusing on the negative problems,” Olander said. “I think it’s important to have a positive and inspirational message [when talking about mental health].”

According to Olander, Sources of Strength helps students find people that they can trust in a moment of need.

“We just encourage people to really reach out and find [people] in their own life and try to lean on them as support,” Olander said.

Senior Caleb Nelson was also invited

by Summers to join Sources of Strength.

According to him, students can find strength not only in people, but in many other things. “[When you’re feeling stressed, if] your strength is to go work out or go play sports, you can go do that [to] feel more relaxed,” Nelson said.

According to Nelson, being caring and supportive are two important qualities for people who want to be in the program.

“It mobilizes our school, because we’re all a part of it. We’re all showing it on the [trusted adult] wall there and displaying it,” Nelson said. “It’s [also] a reminder for students that they have someone that they can go to.”

The participants of Sources of Strength meet for the first time in March. The program is open to anyone needing or willing to help. “Students can get involved any way they want, [and they can do] as little or as much as they want to,” Swenson said.

The Sources of Strength wall covered with the “Trusted Adult” notes. According to Nelson, it is important to find strengths that people can lean on. “In general, [we try] to make sure that everyone can identify one strength that they have, so that when they are in a time of trouble, they can go towards that strength and alleviate stress,” Nelson said. Photo by Ana Curi Lopes.

health and education | october 2019 | The North Star | 7

Welcome, Student!

Blue Valley North High School

“Hey! How Many AP Classes Are You Taking?”

Motives for AP classes reveal problems in balancing student interest and the status quo of taking harder level classes to succeed in school.

By Daniel Park

B

lue Valley North. It’s ranked identity of pride in its academic success.

397th for top high schools in the However, the identity of the school might nation and second in the state have also set expectations for many of its of Kansas by U.S. News with students to match, or maybe even surpass, a 97 percent graduation rate. It hosts a that precedent of academic success, total of 1,603 students. The Blue Valley even if it means that students lose out on School district is determined to provide education that truly prepares them for “unprecedented academic success and their futures outside of high school. unparalleled personal growth for every “How many AP classes are you student” according to their mission taking?” statement. The Administration page of “What is your GPA?” North’s website has “What are your a brief letter from ACT scores?”

Principal Dr. Tyson Throughout the Ostroski which contains hallways, as students I took AP Chem the words, “We take walk and stop to because I heard it was great pride in our greet each other, in the hardest class in tradition of instilling classrooms, on breaks, school. And I thought, academic excellence senior Micah Roening that sounds awesome. and social well-being asks similar questions Maybe not fun. But that sounds like an for every student who to his peers and is interesting challenge. comes through our reminded of BVN’s doors.” competitive atmosphere.

In descriptions He admits there’s a - Micah Roening and statements related certain level of pride to the school, people from himself and from can find words such students who take AP as “excellence” or and Honors courses or “success,” which point test higher standardized to common focuses of test scores, and he shares BVN. With accolades, high ranks and that information with the people he trusts. test averages that reach beyond state or He says that there’s a safe environment to national averages, BVN has created an share and appreciate achievement within

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8 | The North Star | OCtober 2019 | Health and education

the schools as long as he avoids those that take academics to an extreme obsession or those who are “toxically academic.”

“I’ve compared grades with people, especially with this environment,” Roening said. “The higher you get, even in classes like the gifted program, there’s comparison. There’s comparisons of grades. There’s, ‘Hey, how are we all doing?’ Sometimes this can be not great, but sometimes it’s just fairly relaxed, too.”

Roening has been taking AP and Honors classes alongside some regular classes for his fourth year at North now, and for this year, he takes four AP or honors classes along with choir classes and Gifted Education. He believes that the classes he takes are a balance of what he thinks will benefit him the most — choir classes for his interest in singing and to foster talents beyond simply studying, and AP classes to prepare him for his future.

“It’s going to be the AP curriculum that I think is not only going to benefit me the most in the long term, but also engage me the most,” Roening said. “I imagine that an AP class curriculum builds certain skills like dependability, hard work,

AP

Regular

vs

Students discuss a short story with English teacher Shelly Weir in fifth hour AP Literature. AP Literature students have been taking part of a “bootcamp” where they read short stories and take part in discussions. “Is the class hard?

Yeah. Do we ask you to do a lot? Yeah,” Weir said. “But there’s a huge payoff of making yourself a better humanitarian. A better human.”

effective study habits, things that will be useful in college.”

Students have varying reasons for taking these courses, but the courses may not necessarily fulfill those reasons. For Roening, AP classes enable him to practice what he wishes to do in the future: push his boundaries. By taking classes that have been known among his peers to be difficult, he believes he sets himself with a drive to continue to form a habit of challenging himself in the opportunities he may find in the future.

“I don’t want to boast, but my mind works relatively quickly,” Roening said.

“I think a lot of the AP class schedule is a standardized curriculum that is the next step up. That is what begins to challenge me. There might be someone whose strengths don’t lie in their mind, and they may find the same experience in a regular class. Not everyone’s going to be the same, but we can at least give options. People should take AP classes because they want to.”

However, an interview with Denise Pope, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, on the Stanford Report revealed that there’s no clear research that points to academic success beyond high school as a result of taking AP classes. The number of students who have succeeded after taking AP may simply just be better equipped

English teacher Ryan McCoy explains an assignment to his fifth hour English Language Arts 9 class. Every day, McCoy starts his class off by having them read independent reading books. “Lessons for every particular day are more driven by the building and the school and the district,” McCoy said. “There are also different pieces of the curriculum that my colleagues and I develop.”

with better schools and more dedicated to. teachers. According to an article from “[I take my classes] because I want to “The Atlantic,” more and more students get a good GPA for college and because are taking AP and Honors I’m actually interested classes without necessarily in some of them,” being ready for greater He said. “But for amount of challenge that other [classes], it’s you need to find a is associated with the type kind of just what was balance between of class, dragging down expected of me. I felt pushing yourself the course for students like I could handle the academically to who were prepared. challenges, so I took show that you can Beyond that, there is them.”

Learn, but then also also the perspective that He says that while realize it’s just High students need to cultivate she believes it would School. an identity beyond just be better to take other - Jeff Breedlove scores and numbers. It’s a regular classes that strong reason why colleges she’d be interested ask for essays and resumes in, people who are to prove their candidacy aiming to go to highly for schools. ranked colleges “I think it’s important don’t really have a to be a well-rounded person,” Roening choice. There’s an expectation to take as said. “Honors and AP courses are great. many hard classes as you can, even if it They build certain scholarly skills, but if I doesn’t necessarily benefit students and dedicated my life exclusively to academics, teach students information specifically I think I would lose something of my applicable to what they want to do in personality. I enjoy singing, and I enjoy their future, just because students feel the scouting and I do these things. Without need to keep up with their peers who are them, I’m just a number cruncher.” also taking AP and Honors classes and to Senior Jennifer He, on the other hand, ensure a spot at their future education. is taking six honors and AP classes this “I would definitely like to have more semester for the purpose of raising her fun classes where I can explore some GPA in hopes of attending the colleges of the opportunities offered at North,” and universities she wishes to get accepted He said. “I don’t think there’s a chance

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Health and education | october 2019 | The North Star | 9

though, just because admissions officers do look down on you if you’re taking a study hall or maybe a culinary class or another class like that.”

Because of this expectation, He also says she tries to avoid comparing grades in her conversations and interactions with her fellow students, believing that discussing such things only adds fuel to the competitive atmosphere of the school.

“I try to avoid that. It’s kind of toxic,” He said. “Because then school just seems like a competition of you against other people. It makes it hard when you’re just trying to focus and get a good grade instead of actually learning the content.

Some people are just good test takers. I view it similarly to the SAT and the ACT, if you know how the test scores, then you can get a good score, but you don’t exactly have to be smart to get a good score. I think it provides like a skewed view.”

Jeff Breedlove, social studies department chair, says that although AP provides a faster and in-depth approach to skills needed in college, all classes, AP or not, should be purposed to provide students the skills to succeed in their futures regardless.

“I hope that kids in all classes learn the same skills,” Breedlove said. “The skills are not unique to AP or honors. Hopefully, all kids are getting critical thinking, writing or argumentative analysis. Regardless, I just think that what AP does is it gets sometimes those skills a little bit more in depth, maybe expects them to come a little quicker because there’s a test at the end of the year.”

Breedlove still strongly encourages taking AP classes. Similar to Roening’s and He’s motives for taking such classes, Breedlove explains that AP and Honors classes show that students are willing to take challenges within their classwork but also that there is no need for students to strain tirelessly to succeed and take such classes as if they will make or break student’s futures.

“I think that a lot of kids take AP classes because they believe that the culture of North expects them to take AP classes,” Breedlove said. “That

everybody takes AP classes.That they have to take AP classes to get into college. Did you take some AP classes? I think that’d be great, because I think it shows that you took a challenging curriculum. You stretched yourself academically, but I also think that the extreme of that is ending up with these kids who are completely maxed, and burnt out, and stressed and have anxiety levels flying off the chart because they’re taking way too many AP classes. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

There’s so many opportunities for students in high school, according to Breedlove. He says students don’t have to spend all of their high school experience on academics. If they do, it’s a missed opportunity to try out something new or something they’ll grow excited for.

“You still need to do all the other stuff that makes being a high schooler important,” Breedlove said. “This might be the last chance you may take a photo or do video production or cooking or visit some of these classes that you’re not going to have in college. So why wouldn’t you take those now and broaden your horizons? Maybe you’ll love it.”

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Your polled reasons for taking ap classes @BVNNEWS instagram

10 | The North Star | October 2019 | Health and Education

kids in cuffs What does diversion look like?

By Briley Everhart

According to the Johnson County district attorney office, diversion is a program for juveniles with no prior offenses, who commit less serious offenses and are therefore given a “second chance.� Offenders must be accepted and successfully complete the program in order to have their charges dismissed. Each individual offender is given a contract and is expected to abide by it for four to 12 months, depending on the severity of the case.

If a person under the age of seventeen breaks the law, they are taken into custody and turned over to the family court

While under a diversion contract, offenders must...

Attend School obey parents

17

make amends with the victim Attend an education group Perform community service hours not violate the law

once in custody, fingerprints and detainment may be taken depending on the severity of the crime commited

a family court judge will decide whether the offender will be tried as an adult after reading the charges brought against you

X

32%

Is diversion helpful?

said yes

68%

said no

Statistics provided by an instagram poll @bvnnews health and education | october 2019 | The North Star | 11

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NATIONAL CODE 712 EXPIRES 12/31/2019

athrooms

Opinions on the state of school bathrooms expressed by students

By Aubrey Karns

M

issing a Blackberry phone? Maybe it’s in the pipes. During the first two weeks of the school year, both the male and female bathrooms in the 300 hall were shut down due to malfunctioning pipes from a Blackberry phone being lodged in the piping, according to associate principal Mickey Masterson.

Recently, students and staff have been discussing the conditions of the school bathrooms. Students and teachers that have complaints about the bathrooms and their sanitation are encouraged by Masterson to speak to an administrator or custodian.

Masterson aspires to create clear communication with students and staff about bathroom quality. He said he wants students to feel comfortable discussing complaints involving the bathrooms.

“I think there are some students that are having concerns,” Masterson said. “I would like for [the students to] come down [and] provide me with some context of what the issue is.”

Masterson’s position allows him to communicate information to the district office involving repairs and improvements. Providing the administration with bathroom complaints will make the staff aware of changes that need to be made.

It isn’t uncommon for bathroom floors to be littered with toilet paper, paper towels and water from

sinks, according to Senior National Editor for CNN News Room Dave Schuchter. In addition, Schuchter said hand soap dispensers might be found empty and latches on stall doors might not be functional.

According to Schuchter, students around the country have been known for vandalizing public restrooms, stealing soap and paper towels, even writing on the walls.

“

I would like for [the students to] come down [and] provide me with some context of what the issue is.

— Mickey Masterson

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Freshman Sean Sullivan said that all the bathrooms have their flaws, but it comes down to disrespect, noting that urine is often found on the floor in the boy’s bathrooms in front of the urinals.

“I’m not really sure how, but [students] should get into more trouble in some way [for disrespecting bathrooms],” Sullivan said. “I’m not sure how you would find who actually did it.”

Junior Madison Phillips said she was concerned with the functionality of the toilets in the bathrooms. Phillips said the number of operational toilets has decreased since her freshman year.

“My freshman year, all the bathrooms [and] all the toilets were working,” Phillips said. “Nowadays, it’s hard to find a working toilet or they’re all shooting bubbles because they’re about to overflow.”

Phillips and Sulivan agree that BVN has a bathroom problem while others find little to no issues.

Sophomore Hunter Jackson believes the bathrooms are not too bad.

Jackson said the cleanliness of bathrooms hasn’t kept him from using the school bathrooms because sinks are available for hand washing after use.

Jackson said that if students have a problem with the sanitation of the bathrooms, they should take it into their own hands to improve them.

The student body is recognizing the bathroom’s problems and learning to accept their role and responsibilities as members of the school; cleaning up after themselves in the bathrooms.

Masterson said he encourages students that have complaints to reach out to him or an adult within the building to resolve the issue. By reaching out, students can benefit themselves and others and prevent further complications. It’s all about communication.

health and education | October 2019 | the north star | 13

The intimidation factor

By Scarlett Jones

With the new atmosphere of high school comes the intimidation of upperclassmen. Students from all grades were asked about their experiences coming into high school, and if their experiences had contrasted with any stereotypes they had heard in the past Natalie Blood (Freshman)

Ella Davis (Sophomore)

Q: Can you talk about your thoughts leading up to

Q: Can you talk about your own freshman

freshman year and what you thought high school was going to be like?

A: I thought it was going to be better than middle

experience?

A: It was pretty underwhelming. In middle school

school seniority portrayed in the media?

they would tell you about how you were going to be bullied every day by upperclassmen, and that people are going to hate you and call you freshie, which did happen- I did get called freshie a lot- but it’s not as bad as you’d think it’d be. It’s actually pretty easy, and being in band I got an early introduction to a bunch of upperclassmen.

A: Yeah, there is a big stereotype where they’re

Q: What were your thoughts leading up to your

school. I thought that the people were going to be the same because everyone’s just going through the same thing.

Q: Do you think that there is a stereotype for high

mean to younger kids, or they’re not very welcoming, but they really aren’t like that in real life.

They’re just really friendly, and they welcome you with open arms. If you’re just being friendly to them and nice, or you ask them for help, they’ll most likely help you.

freshman year? What did you think high school would be like?

Q: Is there anything you think that the school

Q: Is there anything you think that the school

A: Nothing really happened on my first day. No

A: The thing that surprised me was how quickly

Q: Do you think upperclassmen push this idea of

Q: Do you think that people take seniority in this

A: I feel like sometimes they do, but I don’t really

A: It depends on the person. I’ve met people who

does or that other students do that is a “tactic” that comes across as intimidating?

one was intimidating on purpose... but when [STUCO] puts the freshmen against the seniors [at assemblies] we know we’re going to lose and it’s just kind of funny, but it’s not really intimidating.

seniority?

think it matters because they are older so they have an advantage over us because they know what’s happening, and we don’t because we’re all new.

14 | The North Star | october 2019 | Health and education

A: I got a lot of bad, negative impressions from

what people have told me, but so far all of them have been proven wrong.

does or that other students do that is a “tactic” that comes across as intimidating to underclassmen?

we got into things and expected to adapt... but it was a huge “Boom! You’re in high school now”, and “Boom, there are all of these legal adults in school with you.”

high school seriously?

know that they are like a role model for younger students, so they do try to be the best that they can be, and I know some other people who don’t care.

Dylan Long (Junior)

Reid Spachman (Senior)

Q: Do you think that there is an idea of seniority

Q: Can you reflect on your first day of senior year

at BVN based on what you have seen the past three years?

A: For sure. I don’t know necessarily think that

seniority is always a bad thing though. I think that in some cases it makes sense, but then there are also other cases where it’s taken to an extreme that does it, that’s not necessary.

Q: Have you ever seen anything that has to do with

and any thoughts leading up to the first day?

A: I don’t feel like anything really changed the first

day of school besides when you’re walking around you can tell that there are so many more people who don’t know what’s going on, so you’re trying to help them.

Q: Do you think that the freshmen are intimidated

this idea of seniority?

by the upperclassmen when they first come to high school?

A: I know some stories that it was when the seniors

A: I feel like it’s a lot to take in all at once, with

Q: When you are a senior, do you think that you will push this idea of seniority?

A: I won’t push it that far. I mean, I can’t see

myself acting on it like in such a way where it’s like extremely noticeable to those around me. I think I would definitely reference it as a joke, like in a sarcastic manner, but I can’t see myself using it as an advantage or holding it over somebody else’s head.

how big the school is. It intimidates a lot of people, especially when [the seniors are] much taller and bigger than most of the freshmen.

Q: Do you think that people in high school take seniority seriously?

A: There are a couple people that I feel like take

it too far. It’s not really meant to be beating up on the little guys, [but] more of showing them what to do and how to do it the right way, instead of just forcing everything upon them all at once. The seniors are meant to be here as a guiding force to the underclassmen.

Yes

and I was a freshman and they were freshmen. I was told this one story over and over again about how they broke a prop over this one kid’s back because he was a freshman. Um, but then also I think there’s like examples of seniority that are just funny, like at football games and they all move back. Freshman like that’s just funny and it’s just trying to make more space on the stands so it’s not a bad thing.

Q: Is there anything you think that the school

against the seniors and stuff like that. School’s always like that. That’s just fun. That’s not serious stuff. It’s not like if the freshmen beat the seniors, the seniors are going to go beat up the freshmen after class. That’s just a fun way to group people into a competition that’s easier. And also that can get people excited for when they’re older so that the school spirit stays in the school and it doesn’t just graduate when a certain class leaves. It keeps the excitement within school.

Do you think seniority exists at bvn?

Data gathered from 112 voters on an Instagram poll conducted on Instagram @BVNnews.

8% No

A: The school assemblies, how they pit freshman

92%

does or that other students do that is a “tactic” that comes across as intimidating to underclassmen?

Health and education | October 2019 | The North Star | 15

BEHIND THE

PHOBIA

Scared of clowns? Frogs? Read about BVN students’ phobias and the psychology behind them.

By Yasmeen Saadi

T

he fright of spotting a spider on a bedroom wall or the brief moment of anxiety while giving a presentation are both examples of fear. Phobias, on the other hand, are “extreme fears.”

A fear is defined as a vital response to physical or emotional danger. Unlike normal fear, a phobia is an anxiety disorder that causes excessive fear unproportional to the actual danger caused by an object or situation, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

According to NIMH, phobias are separated into three groups: social phobia, agoraphobia and specific phobias. Social phobia is defined as the extreme anxiety of public or social situations.

Agoraphobia is the fear of being in public places without a way to escape. Lastly, specific phobias account for all other irrational or excessive fears.

Specific phobias can take on many forms with common examples including acrophobia, the fear of heights, and ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes. On the other hand, some people experience rarer forms of phobias such as alektorophobia, the fear of chickens, or pogonophobia, the fear of beards.

Freshman Brady York has coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. “[I think most phobias are caused by] life experiences and having to witness actual stuff that’s happening,” York said. “...movies could also switch on that phobia.”

For years, the cause of phobias has been studied and debated among psychologists.

16 | The North Star | october 2019 | seasonal

TYPES OF PHOBIAS social phobia

agoraphobia EXIT

specific phobias

In psychology, there are several prominent schools of thought which each have their own theories for mental processes and human behavior.

The main approaches used by psychologists to study phobias are the behaviorist and biological theories.

Behaviorist psychologists study a person’s behavior rather than their thoughts and feelings, whereas biological psychologists study a person’s brain, genetics and other physical qualities. Psychology teacher Ann Salimbene spoke about these two psychological theories for phobias.

“It depends upon which psychological school of thought you follow,” Salimbene said. “So behaviorists would say it’s a learned behavior of a certain reaction... Evolutionarily, it’s adaptive for us to be scared of things like snakes and the dark.”

The behaviorist approach toward phobias is partly based on a study from the 1890s by psychologist, Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov studied the salivation of dogs in response to food. From his experiment, Pavlov realized that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to other things such as the sound of a buzzer or metronome without the presence of food.

This realization demonstrated how animals could be conditioned to respond a certain way to different events.

This same thought process is used for phobias. Behaviorists believe that people learn to connect something they do not fear with something they do fear. For example, a person could connect cats with being scratched. Because of this association, cats would then cause the person fear.

Senior Adriana Cordero said her phobia of frogs lines up with the behaviorist theory.

“A lot of what I don’t like about [frogs] and what irks me the most is their behavior and how we would interact,” Cordero said. “Everything about them, about how I perceive them is uncomfortable for me. So the texture they seem to have, the sounds, the shape of them… so I think it’s more about how I perceive them, rather than something I’m born innately with.”

In addition to how phobias form, behaviorists have a theory for why many phobias last for a long time. Because people avoid their phobias, their tendencies are reinforced. Due to a sense of relief and reduced anxiety, the person continues to avoid and maintain their phobia.

Although he believes that in some cases this may be true, York said he does not fully agree with this theory.

“People say that if you look your phobia in the face and start to cope with it it’ll get a lot easier,” York said. “But sometimes people are too scared to get in front of [their phobia.]”

Junior Natalie Dresdow has a phobia of revolving doors, She echoed York’s opinion, saying it may even be harmful for a person to constantly expose themselves to their phobia.

“I feel like no matter what there will still be a phobia there,” Dresdow said. “Avoiding it is not going to do much about it and doing it all the time, it might help but it also could really make it worse.”

The second psychological theory being studied for phobias is the biological theory, which only applies to a few specific phobias, such as snakes and spiders. The biological theory is that humans are naturally born with some fears, because through evolution they have adapted to certain threats.

According to the National Geographic, psychologists have been doing studies to observe how infants react to seeing pictures of snakes and spiders in comparison to other objects such as flowers and fish. In one study, babies consistently reacted with larger pupils when exposed to pictures of snakes and spiders, which is a stress response. However not all studies came up with the same responses.

Although both the behaviorist and biological theories are being studied, neither of them have been proven and the psychology behind phobias remains unsolved.

PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT

Pavlov’s experiment measured dogs’ saliva to study their reaction to different stimuli.

BIOLOGICAL THEORY

The biological theory says people are born with some phobias such as snakes and spiders.

BIOLOGICAL STUDIES

To test the biological theory, psychologists show infants cards with different images to see how they react to snakes and spiders compared to other objects.

seasonal | october 2019 | The North Star | 17

ROUND AND ROUND Revolving Doors.

Invented in 1888, revolving doors were created to help control foot traffic in busy places. Some people go through them without a second thought, but for junior Natalie Dresdow, that is not the case.

“I’m afraid of revolving doors, which seems very weird until you think about it,” Dresdow said. “[I’m afraid of] the automatic ones. They just go around, and what if they stop working and you’re in the middle?”

Dresdow described the experience of going through a revolving door as similar to feeling claustrophobic.

“It’s this feeling of dread because I don’t want to do it,” Dresdow said. “I’ll see it and I’ll be like ‘Oh boy.’ And it’s just a lot of anxiety in me… I’m scared that I’m going to get stuck and that’s just going to be it.”

Dresdow said that because her phobia is so specific, people often do not understand it.

“They think it’s weird,” Dresdow said. “...I mean [I think it’s because] it’s just so random and out there. Most people have like normal phobias that are very common. Nobody has these uncommon ones.”

Dresdow said that her phobia of revolving doors does not affect her daily life, but when faced with the obstacle, she does everything she can to avoid it.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT With a fear of rubbing bare hands together, senior Niko Cano encounters her phobia several times a day while using face wash or washing her hands after Ceramics class.

These seemingly simple acts give Cano an uneasy feeling because of the friction caused by her hands rubbing together.

“I get chills and I get goosebumps everywhere and I really hate it,” Cano said. “It’s one of my least favorite things.”

Cano’s fear of hands rubbing together extends further from only washing hands. Even in the winter, she avoids rubbing her hands together for warmth because of how uncomfortable it feels.

This phobia has troubled Cano for as long as she could remember, and she said there was no specific incident that sparked her fear.

“I recall having nightmares about it and just the feeling in general freaking me out when I showered as a kid,” Cano said.

Although she has been able to tolerate her phobia, Cano said she doubts it will go away.

“I don’t think it’ll go away because it’s generally just an uncomfortable experience for me that I have to do daily,” Cano said. “And I have adapted to it by learning to not get too bothered, but I still hate when I have to do it.”

18 | The North Star | october 2019 | seasonal

FEELING FROGGY “Dense,” “meaty” and “rude” are all words senior Adriana Cordero used to describe her phobia. Cordero said everything from a frog’s small size, to their sounds, to their slimy texture bother her.

Cordero’s fear of frogs, scientifically known as ranidaphobia, developed early on.

Because she grew up in Puerto Rico and Florida, Cordero was surrounded by frogs as a kid. One of her earliest memories of them occurred when she was around five or six years old, in Puerto Rico.

“I was doing laundry with my mom,” Cordero said. “So we were hanging out clothes outside on the [clothesline] and it was dark, so it was pretty late at night... I was barefoot and I look and see a frog in the distance. And I was like, ‘Okay cool, [a] frog.’ But then, as I was walking, it jumped over to me and stepped on my foot. And

then [as I was] trying to get away from it, I stepped on it back.”

After this experience, Cordero tried her best to avoid frogs when she could.

“I try to stay away from areas where there’s definitely [frogs],” Cordero said. “I don’t linger in grassy areas much, [and] I make sure not to look at pictures of frogs because it stresses me out.”

Although pictures of frogs disgust Cordero, seeing them in person is even worse for her.

“I freeze,” Cordero said. “I start hyperventilating and I get super anxious, and I have started crying before.”

Cordero said she doesn’t think her fear of frogs will ever go away.

“I will sprint away from the area if there’s any mention of a frog,” Cordero said. “So, it’d be cool if I didn’t have that urge, but I know that I’m going to be grossed out forever.”

JUST CLOWNING AROUND...

Dating back to medieval times, clowns have been used to entertain and amuse people, although over the years coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, has become fairly common, according to the Guardian.

Freshman Brady York has remembered having coulrophobia since he was seven years old after an experience at his elementary school carnival sparked his fear.

“In elementary school, we had yearly carnivals and there’s always a clown,” York said. “It was our principal dressed up as a clown, and he touched me on the shoulder. I looked back and I literally screamed my head off and ran.”

Following this experience, the 2016 clown sightings and horror movies such as It reestablished York’s phobia.

“The nose and the costume and all that makes them look so friendly,” York said. “But then, when you see their true colors like I did in It and all that, [my perception of clowns] kind of switched.”

In his life, York tries to avoid clowns and it is difficult for him to look at them.

“They always make the masks look really scary at Party City, and it really freaks me out,” York said. “So I can’t go in that isle ever.”

In the future, York hopes to overcome his phobia of clowns.

He said that through being exposed to clowns with the help of his friends, eventually he may be able to control his fear.

seasonal | october 2019 | The North Star | 19

Super In to Superstitions Centuries have passed since the creation of superstitions, but there are still many active believers today

By Charitha Lakkireddy

T

here’s motivational words floating in the air followed by the sound of palms meeting lockers. Senior Adam Kauphusman is one of the many boys on the swim team crowding the locker room before one of their meets. He gathers around with his teammates to hear his coaches and peers give a speech or two and bang on the lockers before walking through the pool doors to his meet.

He does this with the team before every meet and he thinks it makes him do well, but he doesn’t consider it a superstition.

Before science and logic was used to justify uncommon events, superstitions were used to explain occurrences like natural disasters and illness, or timely coincidence, according to newencylopedia. org.

Today, natural events like thunderstorms and earthquakes are credited to unstable air mass and shifting tectonic plates respectively, and sickness is attributed to bacteria and virus. Sometimes, the things that happen don’t necessarily have explanations, they just do, so they’re coincidences. The explanations provided for these events that are considered normal today were much different in the past.

According to Believing in

Magic by Stuart Vyse, a professor of Psychology at Connecticut University, superstitions are a desire to control events, which goes hand in hand with the brain’s habit of searching for patterns.

Although superstitions were originally attempts to explain the unknown, after they have been so heavily contradicted by science and logic, they don’t have the same value to some students today.

“

20 | The North Star | october 2019 | seasonal

It’s kind of a better safe than sorry thing. I choose to follow [superstitions] because there’s no downside.

- Ashlyn Kennedy

going to get all up in my head about being superstitious about something ... If you don’t believe and you’re not going to be superstitious about something, then it’s going to play out the way it’s going to play out.”

He credits this belief to the idea that it’s difficult to lose a meet. He said that the swim team won most of their home meets, and, unless there was an unexpected mistake that exceeded their margin of error, failure was unlikely.

“Swimming, I mean you can get superstitious about it,” Kauphusman said. “But at the end of the day, unless somebody messes up on a start, or a turn, or they breathe too much, they should beat their fastest time by at least a little bit.”

He admits that the reason the swim team’s pre-meet ritual has been continued for so long isn’t without a historical connection between their ritual and their success on the scoreboard.

“There is some history where [the swim team] has done [the ritual] and they’ve done really well, before I swam here,” Kauphusman said.

Although he doesn’t agree with them, Kauphusman said he could understand the benefits of being superstitious and why those beliefs were attractive to some.

“

Kauphusman has never believed in superstitions. He thinks there’s more of a risk in following them then there is in not.

“I believe that if you believe in superstitions then superstitions will actually happen to you,” Kauphusman said. “If I don’t believe in superstitions then I’m not

“If some people have superstitions, it probably does help them just because since they’re aware of what can happen, they’ll work to prevent that, but that’s just not the way that I work.”

Kauphusman doesn’t see the connection between superstitions and success in sports, but other students do. One student who does is junior Christine O’Brien. As a lifelong tennis player and member of the tennis team since freshman year, O’Brien has developed superstitions of her own. “[My superstition first came about] when I was playing this really good girl at a big tournament for tennis,” O’Brien said. “It was outside of school and I was playing really well and I started winning a lot easier than normal, so I kept using the same ball over and over again for [each] point and serve.”

O’Brien is now a strong believer in superstitions, but was unsure about them before she had an experience that changed her mind.

“I didn’t really think too much of [superstitions] beforehand,” O’Brien said. “I’ve had other superstitions

that have been there for a while, [but] it’s just like one of those things that has grown on me, so I just follow it.”

O’Brien said that she knows the logic behind her belief isn’t there, but that doesn’t change her mind.

Her superstitions have benefitted her in positive ways, even if they aren’t as direct as she had originally thought.

“I follow [the superstition] because sometimes it just gives me something that I can keep my mind on to sidetrack me. It’s so I’m not overwhelming myself if I’m losing or playing awful,” O’Brien said.

“It’s benefitted me by keeping my confidence up and keeping my mindset of ‘you can still play.’”

While O’Brien mentioned the positive effects of superstitious beliefs, they can also turn dangerous if a person feels required to complete a task, opposed to their own personal desire, according to Vyse.

Many superstitions can come about through personal experiences, like O’Brien, but others have been passed down through one’s culture or family.

Senior Ashlyn Kennedy’s superstitions were passed down to her by her family and her culture.

“Some of the superstitions I have are if someone steps on my foot, I have to step on theirs or else we’ll fight,” Kennedy said. “Another is that you can’t whistle in the house or else you won’t make any money, and young people can’t sit at the corner of the table or else they’ll never get married. My Russian family [has] always enforced it growing up.”

Kennedy said her beliefs are in line with those of most Russians today because that’s where her superstitions originated.

“It’s a Russian thing more so than a family thing, lots of Russians follow the same set of superstitions,” Kennedy said.

Whereas Kauphusman said he chose not to believe in superstitions because believing was where the harm began, Kennedy said she saw the risks elsewhere.

“It’s kind of a better safe than sorry thing,” Kennedy said. “I choose to follow [superstitions] because there’s no downside.”

Common Superstitions Explained F r i d ay The superstition of this date originated

13

BAR

with the Last Supper, which was attended

by Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples, the night before his crucification on Good Friday.

The superstition that says to avoid walking under ladders comes from medival times when the ladder was representative of the gallows, which is where people faced ancient forms of torture and death. The spirits were thought to haunt the traingle of the ladder.

Four leaf clovers originated as Celtic charms that were thought to provide magical protection and avoid bad luck.

Each leaf represents faith, love, hope, and luck.

The reason finding a penny is considered good luck is because, in ancient times, metals protected from evil spirits.

BAR

777 BAR

Source: psychiclibrary.com

The belief that the number seven is lucky developed in ancient times, before telescopes, when only seven planets were visible in the sky: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. This could be why many cultures had seven dieties.

The superstition to not open an umbrella indoors is thought to have originated in ancient Egypt. Umbrellas were used to protect people from the heat and bad spirits. Opening them inside, or in the shade, would have offended the god of the sun.

Seasonal | october 2019 | The North Star | 21

Editorial Cartoon | Angelica Henson

22 | The North Star | October 2019 | Seasonal

Ghoulish Geeks BVN students and teachers celebrate their obsessions with Halloween

By Angelica Henson

H

aunting laughter, howling creatures and horrified screams ring through the night.

Those who wear the scariest costumes roam the streets in hopes of treats, while families sit on couches, waiting for the next jumpscare on TV screens every Oct. 31.

Although Halloween began more than 2,000 years ago as a Celtic festival to ward off spirits from the innocent, a once superstitious night turned into a holiday.

At BVN, there are a variety of ways that students celebrate, and three people explained how they came to be possessed by the spirit of Halloween.

When younger, sophomore Avi Silverberg used to spend time with his dad staying up late on Halloween.

“My dad and I used to go all out in making a costume for me,” Silverberg said. “One year, I went as Pac-Man. We did this huge cardboard cutout. Then, another year, there was this band LMFAO and one of their videos had this robot, and I went like that.”

Since he’s gotten older, Silverberg doesn’t dress up as often and has moved on from trick-or-treating to a more eerie way to spend the night — watching his favorite horror movie, along with a variety of fall films. “[My dad and I] like to watch scary movies in the basement,” Silverberg said. “When I was 12, my mom let me buy the Aliens movie on Amazon. I stayed up the whole night [because I was] scared of it. I watched it [again] the next day.”

Silverberg’s obsession with

horror movies has also bled into the school day. Sophomore Geoffrey Abrams and Silverberg started the Cinema Club, which planned to play horror movies throughout October.

However, the Halloween spirit is not limited to students. English teacher Diane Morris integrated a literary study of horror into her sophomore English classes several years ago. Although she no longer continues the annual tradition, Morris used a short story called “The Birds” by Daphne Du Maurier in one of the sophomore texts. A fan of the

“

It’s more of a time to embrace the darker parts of yourself and the world - Lizzy Kniebert

“

movie, Morris thought it would be fun to add the story around October.

During class, Morris would read the short story and discuss characteristics within the horror genre. Then she and her students would watch parts of “The Birds” and talk about other scary movies and stories they liked.

“I bought some fake crows from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and [started] to put them up around the room, then [moved] them

occasionally,” Morris said. “It’s fun to creep kids out when they come in.

It was funny, too, because some of them didn’t even notice until later in the school year.”

Halloween festivities aren’t limited to the screen or to the books.

Senior Lizzy Kniebert has taken Halloween beyond the walls of BVN to the workplace — Halloween Haunt at Worlds of Fun. “I was in Zombie High, which was [set in] the ’80s, and I was a cheerleader,” Kniebert said. “I always went to the big [haunted houses] downtown, so I thought it would be fun to be working [at Haunt]. It taught me a lot about creativity. It was a lot of hard work, but it was so fun, I never got bored.”

Kniebert was a junior when she worked for Worlds of Fun. And after three weeks, unexpectedly found herself in a leadership position.

“Instead of just celebrating [Halloween], I was a part of the holiday,” Kniebert said. “A lot of the newer kids were shy and afraid to be a monster, but I didn’t care much about that. I was very bold and loud.”

Kniebert spent her childhood out trick-or-treating.

“I’ve always been passionate about Halloween, but … now that I’m older I like different parts of it,” Kniebert said. “When I was younger I loved getting to pick out my costume and going to get candy — like who doesn’t love getting candy?

— Now that I’m older, it’s more of a time to embrace the darker parts of yourself and the world.”

seasonal | October 2019 | The North Star | 23

The Culture of

horror

Fans of horror films share their love for the genre and the culture surrounding it

F

By Delaina Sanden

rom paranormal thrillers to slasher flicks, horror is delivered in various ways through film. Over the years, scary movies have evolved from creature features like “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), to supernatural horror films such as “The Exorcist” (1973), to found footage like “The Blair Witch Project” (1999), to thrillers such as “Hereditary” (2018). With all of these changes in horror trends came a fanbase.

One such fan is junior Britzia Candelario. Candelario seeks thrills by watching supernatural thrillers, but finds found footage films to be scarier on a more personal level. “The Blair Witch Project” is based around the premise that a group of people are filming their experiences when going into a forest known for its paranormal activity and the footage they recorded was uncovered after the group had a violent paranormal encounter.

This found footage subgenre of horror hits close to home, instilling more fear in viewers, according to Candelario. “‘The Blair Witch Project,’ me and my best friend, we were really obsessed with it for a long time,” Candelario said. “When we were younger, we would watch… and [we’d] be so intrigued because it’s like, ‘Oh, that probably actually happened.’ It’s the movies I could probably see actually happen that really just have me loving them.”

On the other hand, Candelario feels that slasher films, like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), fail to captivate her as much as paranormal movies because of the thought that she

will never be in that kind of situation.

Nonetheless, the gore and violence frighten her.

“It’s just the fact that I know I probably won’t be in that situation, but what scares me is to think about it,” Candelario said. “It just scares me because of how gruesome it is. But the psychological stuff, that’s what actually gets me.”

Like Candelario, Charlie Huette,

“

I don’t love them because they’re true.

I love them because they’re awesome.

- Charlie Huette

“

broadcast teacher and horror movie fanatic, is captivated by psychological thrillers. One of his first experiences with psychological horror films was when he watched “The Exorcist.” The images of the main character contorting herself both terrified and enthralled him in the movie, fueling his love for this genre of film.

“It’s the psychological thing,” Huette said. “I’m not worried about being possessed, but watching the young girl crab walk backwards down the stairs freaks me out. It’s really unsettling to see someone with their head in the same way that watching someone breaks their leg and you see their knee bend the wrong way, you can feel it.”

24 | The North Star | OCTOBER 2019 | seasonal

While a fan of psychological thrillers, Huette has seen a wide variety of films in different subgenres. Over the years, he has noticed that viewers anticipate different things when going into horror flicks in each subgenre, such as a preconceived notion of gore in slasher films.

“I think you go into a horror movie having certain expectations,” Huette said.

“If you’re going into a slasher film, you’re expecting jump scares. It sounds crazy to say, but you’re expecting really unusual and gruesome kills and blood.”

Huette said these expectations can create boredom and repetition. Since there are a lot of horror movies, directors are constantly trying to find new ways to thrill their audience, according to Huette.

“You can become accustomed to that and you can become sort of desensitized,” Huette said. “They’re always trying to figure out a new way to surprise people and, because so many of the horror films now draw heavily on the cannon, it doesn’t seem scary at all.”

According to Huette, desensitization can be a common theme for horror movie fans, but the supernatural, fictional aspects of the films are what keep him coming back for more.

“I don’t have any illusions about about things being real,” Huette said. “I don’t believe in ghosts, I don’t worry about being possessed by a demon. I love those things, but I don’t love them because I believe that they’re true. I love them because they’re awesome.”

Horror through the ages The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Before this creature feature came out, audiences had never seen a full body costume as detailed as this creature’s.

Because of this, the film was successful, garnering three sequels, according to Den of Geek, a horror fan forum.

Texas chainsaw massacre (1974)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre holds the status of one of the ultimate cult classics according to Mental Floss’ article on the slasher franchise. Director Tobe Hooper wanted to create a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel and took inspiration from the crimes committed by Ed Gein, a serial killer. These concepts morphed into the final product of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a staple in the slasher subgenre of horror.

hereditary

P N

A

(2018)

The exorcist (1973)

This film is known as one of the most iconic films of all time, according to the History Channel’s website. It was the first horror movie to be nominated for an Oscar — 10 Oscars to be exact. This film made cinematic history as well as societal history.

Audiences were so shocked by the film’s gory visuals that some threw up or fainted. Some theaters actually started handing out bags with every ticket sold in order to avoid a mess.

The Blair witch project (1999)

The Blair Witch Project is one of the most successful independent films ever made, according to Mental Floss’ article on the film. The budget for this film was $25,000, but it made almost 10 times as much in box office sales. During the summer it was released, the horror flick made $248,000,000.

I

O

Making its debut at Sundance film festival, Hereditary was an instant success, according to The Washington Post. Director Ari Aster drew inspiration from religion, cult history and horror movies such as The Exorcist, which he felt is an exception to countless stereotypes surrounding the horror genre.

M

Seasonal | OCTOBER 2019 | The North Star | 25

w

S

SPOILERS Contains spoilers for all films mentioned

Spooky Scary Cinema Two horror movie newbies watch and review some of the most iconic and influential horror to date

By Ellianna Cierpiot

F

or as long as there has been film, courageous moviegoers have flocked to theaters to be scared.

Fans of the horror genre appreciate how these movies can be terrifying and, often, mentally taxing. Others prefer to keep away from potentially fear-inducing films.

Self-professed scaredy cats Joshua DeWolfe and Kiera Donovan have put aside their fears and watched some of the most iconic horror movies to be produced since the very first scary movie, “Le Manoir Du Diable,” released in 1896.

The Shining Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” begins with a wide shot of a lush mountainscape, underscored by an eerily dissonant soundtrack. This is just the tip of the more than two-hour iceberg of terror that is “The Shining.” Following the Torrence family as they spend the winter alone in a lavish hotel, this film takes the viewer through the treacherous descent into insanity, a whirlwind ride of psychological horror as the patriarch of the small family turns murderous.

Unlike his counterparts of the same period, Kubrick does not rely on cheap jumpscares or excessive gore. Instead, “The Shining” creates a deep sense of dread in the viewer’s brain that festers and chills down to one’s very bones, hence why the film is both iconic and dangerous for horror newbies.

“There’s so many things going on in my head right now that I can’t even put into words,” junior Joshua DeWolfe said after watching “The Shining” for the first time.

“The ending is messing with my mind.”

The most memorable scene for DeWolfe was the famous shot of the twins. Like most of the film, it’s almost

“

“It’s neverending,” Donovan said.

“You didn’t know what was going to happen or when they were going to meet up. You’re anticipating it.”

you can really see how the Halloween characters develop Often credited by film critics as bringover time and go ing in the “golden age” of the American slasher film, John Carpenter’s “Hallowcrazy... it becomes een” is one of the most famous horror more scary movies today. The movie takes place in - Kiera Donovan

“

disturbingly symmetrical. The jump cuts between the girls as they were and their bloodied corpses was one of the scariest parts of the entire film, according to DeWolfe.

Attention to detail was part of what made “The Shining” so scary for DeWolfe.

“Everything has a purpose,” DeWolfe said. ”Even minute details, like the… mirror motifs [and] the cinematography.”

Senior Kiera Donovan also noted the skill with which the film was made and directed. According to Donovan, she enjoys the artistic merits of a film more than the plot. Donovan spent her time watching “The Shining” commenting on the artistic structure of the film, including the way the plot was created.

“It creates that suspense and a lot of foreshadowing ...you can really see how the characters develop over time and go crazy and how it becomes more scary,” Donovan said.

For Donovan, the scariest part was the ending, specifically the maze scene. As Jack Torrence chases his young son Danny through a frozen hedge maze, Donovan’s anticipation built, making this sequence terrifying.

26 | The North Star | October 2019 | seasonal

the town of Haddonfield, 15 years after 6-year-old Michael Meyers killed his own sister. One halloween night, Michael returns home to wreak horror and havoc on his hometown. Halloween has been remembered since the film’s debut in 1978 for establishing classic horror tropes such as the final girl sequence, and creating the formula for almost every slasher film to follow. As the viewer follows a group

“

if it was made in modern times... that would be scary as hell

- Joshua DeWolfe

“

of high schoolers through the hallways of their homes, trying to evade a masked maniac, the film makes clear the reason it influenced the horror genre in such a tangible way.

Although the movie wasn’t lacking in the horror department, according to DeWolfe, it could have been scarier.

“It wasn’t as spooky, but I’m guessing

that’s just because it’s an old movie,” DeWolfe said.

What makes a horror film spooky? For DeWolfe, the answer is suspense.

“You know something is coming, but you don’t know where or when or what it is,” DeWolfe said.

The part of the movie that was the scariest was created by the audio, according to DeWolfe.

“When Laurie walks into the house, and you hear his footsteps above, it just gives you chills. So scary. So spooky,” DeWolfe said.

While the sound mixing brought ambient horror to the spookiest scenes, DeWolfe said it also detracted from the scare factor of the film as a whole.

“While the music was scary — it made the atmosphere, but there was one point where… there was no music, and that was scary. When the music played you knew [Michael Meyers] was going to be in the scene, it kind of gave it away,” DeWolfe said.

Additionally, DeWolfe thought that the movie was slightly formulaic. While credited with the creation of classic slasher tropes, the plot and characters of Halloween don’t exactly hold up to a modern-day viewer. According to DeWolfe, the biggest reason the movie wasn’t as scary as he’d anticipated was age.

“I feel like if it was made in modern times...that would be scary as hell.”

The Witch Donovan, like many, hadn’t heard of “The Witch” before watching it. She was shocked by the themes of the film, and how blatant it was with its treatment of graphic and disturbing content, one of the hallmarks of modern horror.

“It was just disturbing, [with] the gore and the sadism,” Donovan said.

The imagery of “The Witch” is much more graphic than the previous two films, and one of the reasons for this can be traced back to the era. “The Shining” was released in 1980, while “The Witch” had a 2018 release date, and the disparities between these two films are apparent. “[The horror genre has] become more visually disturbing more than anything,” Donovan said.

Although the movie was grisly, according to Donovan it was eerily compelling.

“It’s like [how] you can’t look away from a trainwreck,” Donovan said. “You should, but you can’t. It’s that kind of thing.”

According to Donovan, “The Witch” was also more formulaic than “The

Horror

Tropes

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“

It was just disturbing

“

“It was a little more predictable than ‘The Shining’... I think it’s going more for that visual disturbance and like a more predictable-but-known kind of scare factor, but it’s still scary,” Donovan said.

Would she recommend “The Witch”?

“If you’re into that, I guess,” Donovan said. “If you’re into goats… and witches”

Seasonal | October 2019 | The North Star | 27

VII MOSTLY Ghostly

Students share their ghost encounters from the local area and around the country

W

By Megan McConnell

hether signing up for a ghost tour or “If you go to a haunted place, [my parents] believe discovering a spirit, people’s experience that the ghost [will] tie itself to you and follow you with ghosts can vary from firsthand wherever you go,” Malahal said. encounters to being ghosted on social However, some students’ experiences with ghosts media. At BVN, 60 percent of 92 student respondents hit closer to home. Senior Anastasia Place grew up in believe in ghosts, according to an Instagram poll. a “haunted” house in Old Overland Park until she was While attending Valley Academy in Arizona, junior 7 years old. The home was handbuilt by a family after Tanisha Malahal’s seventh grade teacher and young World War II with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and adult paranormal author, Ruth Douthitt, shared her a hand dug basement, which was used as a craft space. friend’s experience during a ghost tour in California.

Throughout the years, Place encountered some strange Douthitt revealed that her friend had allegedly seen occurrences, like strange shadows in her room. a ghost during a tour in California, where they were “When I was little, I had a loft bed in my room and instructed to take several pictures during a specific time I remember waking up in the middle of the night and period when the ghosts were most active. looking at the wall and seeing shadows of eyes,” Place “She went back home and plugged it into her said. “I’ve gotten sleep paralysis before, so I’m not sure computer,” Malahal said. “She was going about the legitimacy of that, but...there through the pictures when she [noticed] and was a feeling like someone else was there.” was like, ‘Oh! I think that’s a ghost.’”

Both her mother and some neighbors At first, Douthitt’s friend figured she reported similar sensations. According Realistically, to Place, her neighbors said there was a was hallucinating, but after other tourists found the same figure in their photographs, if you were a teenage boy who died in the basement her suspicions were confirmed. Malahal ghost, there’s in the early ’50s. In the basement, said the ghost was of a boy in third grade, Place said she could pinpoint where the no point in and there were two theories about how tragedy occurred and even noted a shift having people in the air quality. he died. The first was that he was trying to catch a ball and a car slammed into “Whenever I walked in that area, it take pictures him because the driver was drunk. The felt like the air was kind of stiff,” Place of you. second theory was that a crazed man was said. “It was in a little pushed off area — - Anastasia Place searching for his wife, and when he didn’t and maybe it was because I knew and I find her he killed the boy on sight. could see it — but [that area] felt off.”

Some locals are skeptical of the alleged After growing up in an alleged ghost sightings because no boy was ever “haunted” house, Place said she believes reported dying from either of these scenarios by the local that ghosts are real but not physical manifestations, news or coroner’s office. However, others are certain like promoted by movies or ghost tours. Instead, Place that they’ve witnessed the ghost. The controversy over believes in what she experienced herself: a presence. ghost existence has been under debate for centuries and “I think they’re more of a presence than an entity,” continues to persist in the 20th century, as universities Place said. “In movies, when they picture ghosts it’s a and curious individuals study the paranormal through person but they’re see through, and I don’t think that’s programs such as The Penn Ghost project. how it works...I think it’s more like a presence in the air, “I believe in ghosts,” Malahal said. “It’s kind of not a physical thing that you could take a picture of.” ridiculous, but I do… I believe that there’s the essence Place warns against being deceived, especially by of a person left… A person just can’t permanently popular representations in the media. disappear from the world.”

“People really push things to make a point, and if This belief in ghosts has been associated with you wanna see something then you’re probably going cultural beliefs and folklore, according to LiveScience to,” Place said. “Psychologically eyes mess with people and the University of Pennsylvania. Although, Malahal all the time,...like there’s a blindspot in your eyes is curious about ghosts and would participate in a tour and you make up that part. Realistically, I believe in herself, interaction with spirits is superstitiously against ghosts, but I don’t believe that they are invisible people her Hindu religion. walking around.”

“

“

28 | The North Star | October 2019 | Seasonal

Phobia phonetics

Name: Name:

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Seasonal | October 2019 | The North Star | 29

Conversation, Change, Celebration.

The North Star Staff reflects on the loss of teacher Morgan Hallstrom and encourages students to live life unafraid of conversation, change and celebration.

L

ast month, the BVN community lost a selfless, determined and committed staff member due to natural causes. Morgan Hallstrom was the mentor and caregiver for students both within and outside of the LIFT program. In times of distress, Hallstrom was the foundation that supported her students. Those experiencing difficulty connecting with others found kindness in her eyes and love in her arms. Her story and impact at BVN should not be forgotten. As a student-run publication, we have a responsibility to tell the stories of our community. Oftentimes, the stories most deserving of telling are glazed over.

In this issue, we hope to tackle this lack of representation by allowing students and staff to express their passions, phobias and beliefs. Although we explore traditional horror tropes and the retelling of ghost stories, students

30 | The North Star | October 2019 | Community

revisited their fears and faced controversial issues head on to invoke conversation, change and celebration.

Conversation. As teenagers, we often focus on ourselves: our problems, our accomplishments and our needs. However, beyond our stagnant bubbles are opportunities to meet incredible individuals, like Hallstrom, who don’t naturally pass through our normal routines.

Even with the amount of interviews conducted by the newspaper staff, we are only able to highlight the voices of a small portion of our community. So while walking through the Flex Space or working in the library, talk with someone you’ve never met, burst the bubble and explore the world around you.

Change. Through the power of words, a community’s voice has incredible power. By taking responsibility with humility and kindness, we can

invoke positive change and impact the lives of those around us, like Hallstrom did for her students and fellow staff members. Our words influence the world around us: changing the stigma around phobias, tackling opinions about AP classes or finding support for the Special Education programs.

Celebration. Most importantly, life is short and uncertain. Rather than reveling in failure and regret, live with purpose because nothing is guaranteed but the present moment. School isn’t just percentages on Canvas, but the small interactions between peers and staff members. Hallstrom illustrated a love for life that we should strive to meet. She embraced every challenge with a smile and a request for a spa day. Life is so short. Don’t forget to enjoy it.

- The North Star Staff

Remembering Morgan Hallstrom

O

n Friday, Sept. 27, staff members wore red to celebrate the life and legacy of Morgan Hallstrom, an avid fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who passed away on Sept. 22. Hallstrom graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

She graduated with her master’s degree in Education Administration from Emporia State University last spring.

Hallstrom taught special education and was in charge of North’s LIFT program for students with special needs. She was adored by those who knew her, according to Sarah Beren, intervention specialist and friend of Hallstrom. Beren got to know Hallstrom by working alongside her as well as eating lunch together every day.

“Morgan was so fun and funny and kind of a firecracker,” Beren said. “Incredibly compassionate, but particularly about her students.”

The compassion Hallstrom had for each of her students was obvious, according to Beren. Her time spent getting to know each of her students made it possible for her to know how to help them be successful.

“She could predict what kind of day they would each have based on how their day started or a text from one of their parents or what door they were getting dropped off at,” Beren said.

At these doors, Kelli Kurle, activities principal, saw Hallstrom’s passion for meeting her students’ needs in action. Some of her students had to be motivated to start their school day, so Hallstrom did just that.

“I watched her dance and sing with an umbrella for two weeks at the bus because that is what got one of her students off the bus in the morning,” Kurle said. “When that stopped working, I watched her figure out that the bus had to be shut off so that it was less inviting to be on and the student would want to go in the building.”

Through this experience and many others, Hallstrom’s commitment to her students’ success was evident to Kurle, and she was inspired to better herself as an educator because of Hallstrom.

“She has inspired me to be a better educator and is the reason why I push myself to provide a positive impact for

her students,” Kurle said.

This kind of connection she had with her students inspired teachers and administration, according to principal Tyson Ostroski. He said that Hallstrom was an asset to North’s faculty and can be seen as a model teacher.

“She was what every principal would want on your staff in terms of somebody who’s completely student-centered, someone who takes on challenges with grace and humor,” Ostroski said.

Hallstrom’s empathy for her students, her perseverance and her everlasting optimism have left an impact, according to Ostroski. He hopes her legacy of successful special education teaching and acts of selflessness will live on throughout the halls of BVN. “She was just a vital part of how we do business here and, above all else, she was a great person to laugh through some tears and the daily grind of being a teacher,” Ostroki said. “I would have people remember her as being one of the most effective special education teachers, and teachers in general, that we’ve been lucky enough to have in this building and district.”

In the coming months, Hallstrom’s family will be creating a foundation in honor of special education teachers. After a long day, Hallstrom would joke with her mother about needing a spa day. With the money raised, the foundation will provide a spa day package for a nominated special education teacher and a friend.

By Delaina Sanden

community | october 2019 | The North Star | 31

From top left to bottom right: Senior Hanush Bareddy stands with the cross country team after during a meet. Photo by Ava Becker. Senior Caroline Turk leads the marching band at a football game. Senior Bea Crist smiles alongside seniors Ava Becker and Lauren Cassaday after being crowned homecoming queen. Photo by Anna McCartan. Junior Cade Freiermuth speaks to senior Daniel Presley during a performance of BVN’s fall play “Lend Me a Tenor.” Photo by Yasmeen Saadi. Senior Elena Girolametto waves a color guard flag during the homecoming parade. Photo by Delaina Sanden. Freshman Caroline Lieberman awaits her cue to sing during the fall choir concert. Photo by Delaina Sanden.

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