Central High Times - Volume 110, Issue 1 - Fall 2023

C H T

Volume 110

Issue 1

Fall 2023

NEW

BEGINNINGS

IN THIS ISSUE . . .

Letter from the Editor

Maui Fires

N. Pickett

Advertisers Sylvan Learning Evangel University MSU’s LCR Dept.

School Policies

Advertisers

N. Hunter

E. Logan M. Taylor

Cash Family Orthodontics Jostens

2-3

4-5

6-7

8-9

10 - 11

Hello Day N. Hunter

Advertisers

SDC Fire in the Hole Revamp

Cox College

J. Wegrzyn

Plaza Jam R. Wood

Book to Movie Adaptions

New Cabinet

Spring Recap

New Softball Coaches

R. Wood

M. Martens

E. Logan

E. Lewis

20 - 21

22 - 23

24 - 25

26 - 27

Advertisers

Winter Intro

New Kilties Coaches

Jostens

N. Pickett

S. Greene

C H T

Volume 110

Issue 1

Fall 2023

NEW

BEGINNINGS COVER Photos ordered from left to right, top to bottom.

Photo 1 by Ollie Francis.

Photos 2, 3, & 4 by Meghan Grone.

Photo 5 by Gentry Goode.

Photo 6 by Emily Hernandez.

Photo 7 by Evan Cornelius-White

ADVISER Kori Chrismer PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ned Pickett ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emmarie Logan DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Allison Loughary COPY EDITORS Madi Taylor, Tyler VanLaningham SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Chloe Cunniff SENIOR REPORTERS Nina Malega, Morgan Martens

RETURNING REPORTER Nathaniel Hunter REPORTERS Lucy Caplinger, Sarah Greene, Jack Herr, Emma Lewis, Jack Wegrzyn, Reese Wood THE CHT Volume 110 Issue 1 CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 423 E. Central St., Springfield, MO 65802 CONTACT kechrismer@spsmail.org FONT FAMILIES Function, Century PUBLISHER Jostens Publishing

EDITORIAL POLICY The Central High Times is a student-produced publication of the Central High School journalism department. The staff and advisor strive to create an open forum for students and teachers. We take resposibility for accuracy and fairness and for work to be unbiased and responsive to the needs of readers in order to encourage the submission of readers’ ideas. We promise to practice honesty, to run the paper as a business and to avoid printing material that is legally considered obscene, libelous or private.

Gateway Nominees

New J2 Staff

Eras Economics

New Central Staff

L. Caplinger

S. Greene

N. Malega

T. VanLaningham

12 - 13

14 - 15

16 - 17

18 - 19

CHT & RÉSUMÉ

Club Highlight: Mountain Biking Club

Pomdogs & Prizes

Connect, Compete, Control

E. Lewis

Best of the Fest

Who does pumpkin spice right?

Pitts Fits

M. Taylor

N. Malega

34 - 35

36

J. Wegrzyn

J. Herr

N. Pickett T. VanLaningham

28 - 29

30 - 31

32 - 33

One Team, One Sound

Movies of Summer

Where can you get the most bang for your buck?

Advertisers

J. Herr

T. VanLaningham

M. Martens.

Drury University

LETTER TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Central High Times encourages the submission of ideas or comments from readers. Letters to the Editor must contain no more than 150 words. Letter to the Editor submissions should be typed, printed, signed and delivered to Central High School’s journalism office (room 024) or sent to kechrismer@spsmail. org with the subject line “Letter to the CHT Editor.” The Central High Times reserves the right to edit submissions for grammatical and spelling errors and for space limitations limitations.

ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP POLICY The Central High Times has the right to accept, reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. Advertising will no contain any statements, illustrations or implications offensive to good taste or public decency based on the opinion of the Central High Times staff (i.e. any content containing anything racist, sexist or illegal for high school students or violates journalistic principles). Advertisements accepted by the Central High Times staff are not an endorsement from the staff, advisor, administration or Springfield Public Schools District. Advertisements should refrain from attacking competitors unfairly or disparaging their products, services or methods of doing business. If your organization would like to advertise in the Central High Times, or if you would like to provide a financial sponsorship for the Central High Times, please contact the advisor, Kori Chrismer, at kechrismer@spsmail.org. Sponsorships begins at $25 per year, advertising pricing begins at $50 per issue, and all money raised goes toward our printing budget.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • CONTENTS • 1

LETTER A few months ago, maybe March, I overheard a friend of mine mention that he had read a book called The Most Good You Can Do, which suggested that owning anything more than the most basic and necessary material possessions was unethical. I must admit, I was largely invested in watching Star Trek on my phone, and only half listened to him as this incident was on a bus trip, but this conversation caught my attention. The hypothetical that sticks with me was one that presented the situation in that if someone wearing an expensive suit saw a person drowning, the ethical choice would be to jump in and save that person, and pay the cleaning fee later.

I’m not entirely sure if that sticks to the main point, but it has been a while since this conversation, and although I really ought to do so, I have not read that book yet.

I have no idea whether this book is right or realistic, as my only knowledge of it comes from its Wikipedia page and the secondhand references to it through that friend. I’m certainly no more of a philosopher than anyone else is--I simply lie awake at night in bed and reflect, or think about these ideas while in the bathroom. I have not followed that advice, and as much as I would love to be able to say that I have sold my possessions and helped the poor, I cannot. In any case, I don’t want to spend too long talking about the Most Good You Can Do until I’ve read the book. What I do want to spend some time discussing is finding purpose. I don’t intend to make this yet another angsty teenage letter from the editor worrying about life after college, but I do want to address the concept of finding some meaning in life after having very simple objectives for the entirety of my life so far, which may stray into a direction which is frankly angstier than I’d like.

Up to a certain point, I did not need much of a motivation to do any sort of work.

I simply did what I was told, and I did it, no questions asked--I probably would have made a fantastic hitman, had I not been

2 • OPINION • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

from the

around 10 at the time. This style of thinking continued up until around my sixth grade year, at which point I had a very minor burnout. My work ethic recovered the next year, however, and in seventh and eighth grade, I worked because I enjoyed it and because I was typically interested in what I was doing. Then COVID hit and I was back to doing flat work, no questions asked with little to no investment in what I was doing. I came back, and it finally clicked that college was something on the near horizon. I didn’t do much research on it at that point and I still have not done enough, but it certainly became this vaguely ominous threat that meant that I had to do well. Along with that, however, I think I finally managed to be able to incorporate personal interest into the knowledge that I actually have to deal with my responsibilities. Perhaps that’s the right way to deal with work. Maybe that old adage about how if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life is true, but that’s not the point I’m going towards.

What I am trying to say is that effectively, my entire life has had some form of simple purpose or objective I’ve been working towards. It’s really just how I assume everyone functions, working towards small goals with the eventual hope that these smaller goals lead to the ability to tackle a larger goal. It’s even how I break down smaller goals, such as designing something LEGO--make smaller sub-models and put it together into a bigger model. The problem is that now, I have finally nearly gotten to the larger goal, which is to say college, and I suppose I’m having a minor existential crisis about what goes on beyond that.

No one wants or needs to read another inexperienced senior discuss the stress of decision making and the actual application process, so I’m just going to skip that here and assume that that process will run smoothly and theoretically without a hitch, although I wouldn’t be surprised if that ends up being rather tedious. What I’m more concerned about is finding a structure in my

EDITOR life beyond school years, and perhaps more ominously, finding a purpose or meaning.

When you live in a family whose collective interests are largely centered around classical music, you start to hear that art is what gives life meaning. I like that a lot, actually, but I do wonder where that leaves the people who aren’t artists. I also feel like the truth is reversed--we create art to make some sort of meaning out of life, or perhaps it is simply a reaction to emotions and ideas. Despite this, the idea of art being the meaning of life is alluring. It certainly seems like a simple objective, and I like the idea that all we have to do to have fulfilled an ultimate purpose is to create something anyone can appreciate. It’s an appealing philosophy, but I do fear that it leaves out the political power that art has, as its ability to make change cannot be understated. I also have never considered myself the most creative person--I have many ideas, but a large percentage of them are completely deranged, and creating art is not something I can just naturally do the way some others do. As such, despite my appreciation of this philosophy, I cannot help but think that if art is the true meaning of life, then I have been excluded from tasting its full potential.

That overheard conversation about The Most Good You Can Do largely sticks with me because I began wondering if an actually good purpose to have in life is perhaps to go out and help people. What exactly that constitutes, I have no clue, but the idea is just as appealing as creating art, with the added benefit of finding meaning in uplifting others. I certainly wish I had the strength to sell my possessions and try to work towards some sort of utopian society, but I also feel like this could be as deranged as some of my other ideas. It also got me thinking that if truly giving up all mortal possessions and using the money to help humanity is what humans are meant to do, then people already poor would be unable to see that themselves. Honestly, I don’t have a ton of possessions myself--certainly not

enough to sell for any meaningful amount of money. I also ask myself questions about this such as whether I’d be truly doing this for other people, or to find meaning of my own. I suppose this idea is extremely logistically fallible, not to mention flawed methodologically, but I also still hope I can say in the future I have the means to do this in some form or another.

Other than death, loss, and the most evil of God’s creatures, the goat, I suppose one of my biggest fears is the idea that I will personally not be able to find any sort of meaning in my post college life. It is times like these that I wish I had a slightly stronger faith, as I feel perhaps I could rest a little easier knowing that there is a true just force guiding the universe, instead of simply wondering if that just force exists at night. I suppose that maybe the existence of different religions is evidence enough of the fact that there is no one proper path to follow. I know this, but even though I can recognize the fact that the world often exists in shades of gray, sometimes those gray areas really bother me. I guess maybe I’ll simply have to find some sort of objective in my life, and maybe I can live a few years without working towards some larger goal.

I do apologize to those still reading that I meandered on this long to state the most obvious solution to an unsolvable problem.

In any case, this has been moderately therapeutic for me, but I have no real thesis or takeaway to leave.

Cheers,

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • OPINION • 3

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HELLO DAY NATHANIEL HUNTER REPORTER

It can be difficult for some people to come back to school at the start of the year, from students who have spent the entirety of their summer doing whatever they pleased, to teachers who have to get everything organized and ready for the year ahead.

The difficulty of adjusting to the school year is also amplified for the many new students who have to adapt to a new environment.

It can be a very hard experience for a lot of the people involved. Hello Day, however, seems to be a bright spot in this new start.

The Hello Day assembly has been a staple of the beginning of the school year

Photo by Ainsley Daccache.

Photo by Ainsley Daccache.

This year, students attending the annual Plaza Jam were blasted back to 1996. The theme was Space Jam, a classic movie about Michael Jordan getting transported to the Looney Toons world to play basketball.

Plaza Jam 2023 was an experience for all, many claiming it to be indeed out of this world. ¨I think [Plaza Jam] was good,¨ Cabinet Spirit Commissioner Aidan Gray, 12, said.

There are many parts that go into planning Plaza Jam every year. It starts with an idea, which is then given to the art committee. The art committee then comes up with what the ideal decorations will be, buying them through Cabinet. After the foundational information is laid, they then reach out to caterers and set up food for the night. ¨The whole process was just a lot of organization,¨ Cabinet President Elana Hadi, 12, said. ¨We had to figure out decor, spirit wars, the assembly, and all the little details like the pineapple whip.¨ While the process of planning school events can be stressful, the main goal is for everyone to have fun. Even the people involved in planning the events. ¨Doing the assembly and working with

for multiple years. Performances by the band, cheerleading team, dance team, and various other organizations energize the people watching without fail. Between performances, leaders introduce their clubs, hoping to inform anyone interested and grow their numbers.

“I would like to make Hello Day where we just introduce all the clubs and all the athletics to new and incoming freshmen, and then also hyping up all the other grades for the incoming school year,” assembly commissioner Matias Bedell, 12, said.

Students screamed from their seats as their friends showed off their talents, which was a sign that the goals of getting returning students excited and showing off the talents of Central students were accomplished. The clubs also got time in the spotlight to get their message out and attract interest.

“I think it was (successful),” Bedell said.

“I had a good time planning it out, and a lot of people told me they enjoyed it, so I would definitely say it was successful.”

Photo by Ainsley Daccache.

the cabinet was fun,¨ Gray said.

Gray has been to all 4 of the plaza jams he could attend and believes the original intent was to help freshmen get involved at Central, but Gray hopes that eventually, Plaza Jam will be a social event that all students look forward to attending every year. ¨The whole experience was a blast, it had a great turnout and was super fun, “Hadi said ¨I felt great about Plaza Jam, and I am sad it was my last.¨

PLAZA JAM REESE WOOD REPORTER

Photo by Gentry Goode.

Photo by Lucy Caplinger.

Photo by Gentry Goode.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • NEWS • 5

MAUI FIRES In early August, a series of wildfires ravaged the island of Maui and Maui County.

At least 115 people were killed, 3,000 people were initially reported missing, although that number has decreased to just 66, and over 5,000 acres of land were caught in the blaze. Over 2,000 buildings were destroyed and over 5.5 billion dollars in damage was done overall. While the lives lost are more tragic than the monetary cost, it does carry a potentially devastating consequence for many of the people affected.

NATHANIEL HUNTER REPORTER

sparked the surrounding grassland. Maui County officials claimed in a lawsuit that Hawaiian Electric, the company in charge of Maui’s powerlines, were complicit in the fires for not installing their power lines more safely, and lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the victims against the company as well.

Hawaiian Electric has responded claiming that the first fire was caused by a powerline, but that the current had been cut off by the time the more damaging second fire had erupted, meaning the company is largely

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The town of Lahaina was affected by the fires the most. Of the four fires that occurred, two were in Lahaina, which suffered the brunt of the damage and the casualties. The fires were so damaging that a 2.6 million dollar plan approved by the government of Hawaii to encourage tourism to Maui had a proclamation added by the governor specifically discouraging nonessential travel to Lahaina. As much of Maui’s economy is reliant on tourism, this is a huge blow to the island as a whole. The idea of providing money to help rebuild the damaged town is one that the government is hesitant about supporting, considering how much damage was done and the fact that any tourism money the town provided Maui’s economy is gone makes the immediate future of the town seem bleak. Paired with the fact that many residents lost their homes and loved ones, Lahaina’s path to reconstruction will be troubled at best.

While some quickly blamed the disaster on climate change, the issue of what caused the fires is much more complicated. One of the main theories is that the fires were caused by a faulty powerline that broke and 6 • NEWS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

innocent. There seems to be more than one possible explanation for the fires, such as the weather or failures in infrastructure, but climate change is still one of the biggest contributing factors.

“Climate change in many parts of the world is increasing vegetation dryness, in large part because temperatures are

hotter,” says Erica Fleishman, who is the director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institution. “Even if you have the same amount of precipitation, if you have higher temperatures, things dry out faster.”

“These grasslands accumulate fuels very rapidly,” Says Clay Trauernicht, another expert who is a fire scientist at the University of Hawaii. “In hotter conditions and drier conditions, with variable rainfall, it’s only going to exacerbate the problem.”

The wildfires in Maui were both a unique disaster that was the worst Hawaii has seen in over a century, and one of the many results of climate change that the public conscience has only become aware of fairly recently. While climate change cannot be blamed as the sole cause of the fires, as it is a much more complicated issue than that, climate change still contributed a large amount. It would be best to remember this as one of the many tragedies that climate change has caused. Climate change has also been contributing to an increase of hurricanes around the world, and the rising of sea levels. As the issues compound on one another, they become more difficult to handle.

“These kinds of climate change-related disasters are really beyond the scope of things that we’re used to dealing with,” according to Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, a researcher at University of British Columbia.

“It’s these kind of multiple, interactive challenges that really lead to a disaster.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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SCHOOL POLICIES EMMARIE LOGAN

Everything you need to know going into 2023-2024 at CHS

ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MADI TAYLOR COPY EDITOR

Disclaimer: It is one of the first standard school years since the Covid-19 Epidemic and along with that comes a new normal. There have been many changes made district-wide and to Central High School specifically. It’s important that all students are aware of these changes.

All information regarding these changes can be found in the District-wide Student Handbook.

90% Attendance Students must meet several attendance requirements in order to attend any SPS dance, with the exception of Prom. They must have an overall attendance of 90% prior to the dance, and must be in full attendance at school on the day of the dance. Students cannot attend a dance if they are serving ISS or OSS on the day of the dance. Major discipline infractions, such as OSS, may result in a student being unable to attend a school dance.

8 • NEWS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

A-B Final Skip 2027 Grading Scale Two new district-wide academic policies were introduced this school year. In certain classes, and under specific circumstances, students can be excused from taking semester finals. This policy does not apply to dual credit, AP, IB, or virtual classes.

Students must have an overall attendance of 90% and no ISS or OSS referrals for the semester. They must have at least an 80% in the class prior to the final exam and are required to attend the class during the final exam block. Exempt students may still take the exam to improve their grade in the class, and the final grade will not harm the student’s class grade.

In addition, the grading system will now be following that of colleges and universities, meaning that pluses and minuses are no longer included. Percentage and letter grades are as follows: A: 90-100%; B: 8089%; C:70-79%; D: 65-69%; F: 0-64%. This policy takes effect for the graduating class of 2027 and all graduating classes after them.

ID Badge Update All students, when on school property, are required to have their ID badge on their person and visible at all times.

Students without a visible ID badge will be asked to put one on. If a student needs an ID replacement, they must complete the Student ID Replacement Form, under Bulldog Bytes on Canvas. This must be done within the first 15 minutes of their first or second block. The student’s ID will be delivered to the student in class. The first ID replacement is free, while every replacement afterwards is a five dollar fee. If a student does not have their ID for the third time, and subsequent times, a call will be made to their guardian(s).

1. Open the SmartPass app on your student-issued device.

Smart Pass: One of the most important changes that has been made this year is the use of the technological system called SmartPass.

SmartPass is an app available to all studentissued devices that is being used for any and all passes that students might need.

While this system can make writing passes easier for all students and staff, it’s essential that students know how to use SmartPass.

The steps to creating or accepting a pass through SmartPass are as follows:

2. Select the green “ + Create Pass” button.

3. From the drop-down menu, either scroll to find the room you are in or use the search bar to find the room you are in then select that room.

4. Once you have selected where you are, you will then select where you want to go and how much time you need. Depending on the location of your pass, you may need teacher approval before the pass is able to be issued.

5. Once you have returned from your active pass, don’t forget to end the pass!

This step is crucial as it confirms where you are and eliminates any misunderstandings.

sportsYou: Central High School has many opportunities for organizations, clubs, and extracurricular activities available to students. Within all of those activities, there were many communication systems used. Group Me, Band, and Remind were among some of the more commonly used communication apps. However, there has been a district-wide change to this idea.

This year, there is one universal app being

used–sportsYou. All athletic programs, extracurriculars, clubs, and organizations within the school are now using this app. You can join these groups by using a sportsYou code, which will typically be available to find through either a sponsor or club leadership.

If you’re interested in receiving information from any of the following groups, there are sportsYou codes available on Instagram and with the group advisors themselves.

The DogPound (Cabinet’s Code): Mr. Hardwicke or any member of Cabinet

Senior Info: Ms. Smith Room 223

Central Key Club: Mr. Vaughn or Katie Su

Bulldog Buddies 23-24: Mr. Kensinger

Crochet Club: Ms. Chrismer 024

FCA: Mr. Desha Room 150

Archery: Mrs. Uzzell

DECA: Mr. Buening

Soccer: Coach Nathan Cardoza

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • NEWS • 9

YEARBOO

Central High School yearbooks are $50 until March 1.

Payment plans are available online!

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SILVER DOLLAR CITY’S FIRE IN THE HOLE RIDE: REVAMP HIGHLIGHTS THE RICH HISTORY REPRESENTED BY THE THEME PARK JACK WEGRZYN REPORTER

Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City.

The Silver Dollar City Theme Park’s historic ride Fire in the Hole comes to its final year, and the new record-breaking Fire in the Hole edition is scheduled to debut in the spring season of 2024.

After over 50 years and 25 million visitors aboard, the current indoor Fire in the Hole roller coaster is being replaced by a new and improved edition of the ride.

The new attraction is anticipated to take the spot for largest indoor roller coaster in the Midwest region, with Silver Dollar City pouring a 30 million dollar investment into the project. This is the greatest sum of money the Branson theme park has ever poured into a single attraction to make the riding experience true to the park’s 1880s heritage and storyline.

“My favorite ride at Silver Dollar City is definitely Outlaw Run,” Chase Brodeur said.

Brodeur is an avid Silver Dollar City goer and has enough experience with the park to form opinions on the rides. “I like wooden coasters, and this is an example of a great one.”

According to Brodeur, there are certain circumstances that create the best possible Silver Dollar City experience for those that want to get one last Fire in the Hole ride in before it closes at the end of 2023.

“Early fall is the best time of year to go, it’s not too hot and not too cold,” Brodeur said. “I always go with a large group of eight people at bare minimum.”

Since Brodeur is primarily an enjoyer of the thriller coasters at Silver Dollar City, including Time Traveller, Wildfire, Powderkeg, Thunderation, and others, Fire in the Hole is not among his favorites.

“I do like indoor roller coasters, and I think the theming is actually very good,” Brodeur said. “The highlight of Fire in the Hole for me is how incredibly nostalgic it is.”

Despite these nostalgic feelings, Brodeur also feels somewhat tired of the current Fire in the Hole ride and supports the revamp.

“I do think it is getting old and we need something new,” Brodeur said. “I am pretty excited because the old one is not thrilling

enough for me.”

Brodeur is a fan of the tone that Silver Dollar City sets and favors certain aspects of the park over others.

“The food there is great,” Brodeur said.

“I also really like the old-timey theme and it is executed really well.”

Silver Dollar City provides an abundance of food options and restaurants for visitors to snack on in between thrills, Brodeur taking advantage of this feature.

“My favorite food to eat there is definitely the skillets,” Brodeur said. “There’s also the tater twists and kettle chips.”

Silver Dollar City gives visitors a unique experience that keeps Brodeur coming back year after year along with the busy crowds.

“Silver Dollar City has a really good staff that always stays in character,” Brodeur said. “They are always adding new elements to make it great.”

Brodeur and many others are looking forward to the new and improved Fire in the Hole coming in the spring of 2024.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • NEWS • 11

G A T E W A Y A story of family and loss, Jack has to choose between losing his brother or making the ultimate moral sacrifice.

In this Young Adult novel, Briseis Greene explores her magical connection to greenery and gods.

We all have our secrets - a thrilling YA (Young Adult) story following Phoenix as she digs up the skeletons hiding in her mothers closet.

One minute, Vivian Ellenshaw is at Fat Camp on a mission to reveal its long-hidden secrets, and the next, she is at the heart of a zombie apocalypse. In the midst of fighting for her life, she is accompanied by her ex-best friend and the camp owners’ stuck up son.

Coming of age and coming out. High school sophomore Spencer Harris is doing both, all while juggling a new school, soccer, and a budding romance.

In this Young Adult novel, Briseis Greene explores her magical connection to greenery and gods.

Emory knew her brother Joey had drug problems--everyone did. No one realized how bad it was until the siblings were in the car that killed Candy MontClaire. It’s the beginning of her junior year, and the whole town is telling her who she is; but maybe it’s time she stopped listening.

Two people, two worlds, The Right Side of Reckless. Not every romance follows the rules; but this ones for the books.

12 • NEWS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

N O M I N E E S LUCY CAPLINGER Ziva is a talented welder- So talented it might get her killed.

She is tasked with the creation of a blade that could end the world as she knows it. So, she flees to find a way to find a worthy wielder or destroy the blade in its entirety.

REPORTER

A story of grief, friendship, and revenge. Two friends stricken by the loss of their bestfriend, and brought back together by the hope of avenging her murder and getting her ghost the closure she needs.

Tress’s family broke to pieces the day her parents disappeared while taking home her life-long best friend. This is a story of revenge, fear and the tests of friendship.

An unlikely alliance- and a surprising romance. Two high school seniors, Oscar and Lou, are not best friends, let alone allies. But when Lou needs help fighting for what she believes in (or what her parents tell her she does,) she recruits aspiring chef Oscar.

In this prequel to The Hate You Give, Maverick is battling the woes of teen parenthood, providing for his family and just being a teenager.

Jake, a baseball legend in the making, just played the first game that will take his career to the hall of fame.

Missing, imagine that? Told from the point of view of those closest to him, trying to figure out his disappearance.

A story of loss, life and love. A small town boy who’s lost everything, but gained the girl who could be the love of his life. Will leaving his home make or break him?

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • NEWS • 13

New J2 Staff SARAH GREEN REPORTER

ME E T T H E M AG A Z INE S TAFF: TYLER VANLANINGHAM / COPY EDITOR “I really like the community that Central has here, it’s really easy to make friends and to have good relationships with the staff and teachers…

I like to be creative and make stuff with people.”

SARAH GREENE / REPORTER “I’m slowly attempting to get better at not procrastinating and letting everything fall apart before me. (this story was a nice example)”

LUCY CAPLINGER / REPORTER “I love the staff, and I like to write and I like to take pictures at the same time. … I like to read, and my name is Lucy.”

JACK HERR / REPORTER “Join J2, if you want to, Journalism’s a lot of fun, and it gives you credits. So… I’m just saying.”

JACK WEGRZYN / REPORTER “[My favorite part of Central is] the general acceptance of doing clubs and doing extracurriculars and sports, and the communities that come from them. Oh, and [at the time of writing], I’m running for president. Yeah, and I’m 6’2.”

14 • FEATURE • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

EMMA LEWIS / REPORTER “I want people to know that I try my best to be nice to everyone now and promote a positive sort of vibe for people … And, if they need support, they can come to Emma Lewis.”

REESE WOOD / REPORTER “I like history and I play video games and that’s about it.”

MEET TH E Y E ARBOOK S TAFF: GENTRY GOODE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR “I really enjoyed J1 and I felt like I was good at it, so I just wanted to expand on that and get to do bigger and better things… Everyone around me is so different from me, and I acknowledge that I have something to learn from them and the way they live. I’m doing my best.”

EDEN OLSON / ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR “[My favorite part of Central is] all the clubs here. You can choose anything, or make a club that you want to do.

LILY WILLIAMS / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR “I haven’t loved English in the past, but, something about Journalism, I just really loved. I’m really excited to be on J2 this year and write stories.”

PAIGE BODNAR / REPORTER “I just found [J2] interesting, and I really enjoy being a part of something that like so many people can use and look back on.”

ELSEYA LIGON / REPORTER “I really like journalism, and telling stories and sharing other people’s stories, and Journalism 1 was just such a great experience.”

EMILY HERNANDEZ / REPORTER “I’m quiet, and I keep to myself.”

HAMPTON RICHARDS / REPORTER “I enjoy journalism, and I like writing, and I liked the J1 class.”

BEE COMBEST / REPORTER “Because my friends were in [J2] and I wanted to work on the yearbook. …

I’m nice.”

CHLOE WOOTTON / REPORTER [Central’s] really beautiful and we have a lot of great opportunities, from the clubs to our teachers, and I’m really grateful to be here… I love Debate.”

IVY HYDE / REPORTER IN TRAINING “I think my favorite aspect of going here is my friends, I have a lot of friends who go here and I feel like I know most people.”

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • FEATURE • 15

ERAS

NINA MALEGA SENIOR REPORTER Started on March 17, 2023, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour took the nation by storm.

Announced on November 1, following the release of her tenth studio album entitled “Midnights”, Swift disclosed that she would be performing twenty-seven shows on the North American leg of her tour. Following the announcement, hundreds of thousands of fans from every corner of the world signed up for the Ticketmaster verified fan presale. Because of the influx of fans who signed up, Swift added an additional show to each city in an attempt to accommodate every fan who wanted to attend. Given that Swift had to cancel her album tour for her seventh studio album “Lover” in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, fans were desperate to buy tickets. Though Swift added an additional show to every city she was attending, Ticketmaster malfunctioned because of the massive amount of fans who were in the queue at the same time.

Throughout the following months leading up to the first concert on March 17, Taylor Swift fans (Swifities) spent thousands of dollars on hotel rooms, outfits, flights, and even resell tickets.

ECONOMIC$ Because of the immense amount of money spent by fans on tickets alone for the North American leg of the tour, it is predicted to gross about 2.2 billion dollars according to survey data from the research firm QuestionPro. Entertainment events have recently been cultivating a boost for the economy because of how high demand they have become post-pandemic. The tour had about 72,459 attendants per show and the average ticket cost was $455.78 according to QuestionPro’s data. Fans are not only attending the concert, but they are making an entire trip out of it. Between flights, hotel rooms, outfits, and more, Swifities have been spending an average of $1,300 to attend the tour.

According to an article written by Fortune, the amount of fans that booked hotel rooms for Swift’s three-day run broke records within the city. There was an average of 44,383 hotel rooms booked for that Friday and Saturday. Fans’ desire for tickets caused an extreme positive boost in local economies all throughout North America.

Las Vegas particularly saw a positive spike in tourism and reported that tourist traffic

Photo by Nina Malega.

Photo courtesy of Julie Nguyen.

Photo by Nina Malega.

16 • FEATURE • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

went back to pre-covid levels. Larger cities like Boston and Atlanta have also seen an increase in hotel and restaurant bookings because of Swift’s arrival. QuestionPro data states that the tour could generate $4.6 billion in consumer spending from Swift’s shows.

Swift has some of the highest ticket prices yet. According to a Bloomberg article, Swift is making upwards of $10 million a night per show on the North American leg, generating $11-$12 million in ticket sales.

Because of these incredibly high numbers, Swift is set to break the record for highest grossing tour, which currently belongs to Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road tour that is on its ninth leg.

After 53 shows over the span of five months, Swift has broken numerous records both post and pre pandemic with the amount of money Eras has been generating.

Her empire will only continue to build with her picking up where she left off in August in Mexico City to begin her international dates. The tour will be continued through the rest of 2023 and carried well into 2024.

MOUNTAIN

BIKING CLUB

Students from Central have been participating and excelling in mountain biking races, despite the fact that the sport is not affiliated with the school.

These races, organized under the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), give youth an opportunity to be a part of a dedicated cycling community, improving their skills of hard work, perseverance and camaraderie.

“The most basic explanation is that the NICA is like a pyramid,” Max Brown, 10, said. “On top, you have National Mountain Biking (MTB), then under that you have Missouri MTB. Under that, you have the teams - Springfield Youth Cycling Club in our case - and under that you have the divisions which are separated by high schools.”

Brown, who has been mountain biking for five years, joined the competitive team in his freshman year.

EMMA LEWIS REPORTER

“There are no try-outs,” Brown said.

“NICA’s website says that nobody rides the bench, everyone participates. You can take the competition as far or as chill as you want.”

Regardless of the commitment level at which they choose to race, bikers must prepare both independently and with the rest of the group.

“For preparation, we have our own parent coaches and coaches who are members of the cycling community,” Eli Kromery, 11, said. “Formal practices are in the summer. We pre-ride the course on a Saturday, do a team dinner and camp out together. On Sunday morning, we race and then do clean up and awards.”

Races, which begin every year on the last weekend of August, are divided into categories depending on speed and grade.

These competitions and the preparation associated with them last the duration of a weekend.

“Competitions vary on how they look depending on who you are,” Brown said.

“For me, I leave sometime on Saturday and go to the race zone to pre-ride the course.

Then, we all go to a team dinner which is

usually located at the same place we camp.

Camping is just messing around and having fun. Then, I wake up in the morning to go to my race. After that, I hang around with friends, cheer other racers on and wait for all races to be done for podiums.”

Despite the fact that Central does not organize the sport, bikers from the school still maintain Bulldog Pride and camaraderie.

“We care for each other, and we race while wearing Central colors,” Kromrey said. “We eat together, sleep in tents next to each other and race with each other, shoulder to shoulder.”

Mountain biking requires a balance between individual performance and considering the rest of the team. Regardless of wins or losses, team members work to maintain high spirits and enjoy the fun of competition.

“It’s both an individual activity and a team activity,” Brown said. “Some people care about the competition aspect and some don’t. It’s great to have a couple of wins as a team, but as long as I have put in work and done my best, I’m happy. I think we will all have fun, and enjoy ourselves.”

Photos courtesy of Eli Kromery.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • FEATURE • 17

NEW CENTRAL STAFF

Ashley Felton Assistant Principal

Michael Sharp At-Risk Coordinator

Brent Beattie Business

Karissa Talty Communication Arts / Debate

Emily Bass Counselor

Kristina Proctor CSI

Pamela Flemming Math

Joshua Goeke Math

Aiden Martin Math

18 • FEATURE • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

TYLER VANLANINGHAM COPY EDITOR

Brooke Tadlock Math

Jordan Burkholder P.E.

Cynthia Jefferson P.E.

Elicia Ligon Scholars

Mara Rydland Science

Seth Bossi Social Studies

Madison Platko Social Studies

Shelia Perryman Special Education

Sara Schall World Language

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • FEATURE • 19

Photo by Allison Loughary.

Book to Movie Adaptions

What do The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and The Hobbit, have in common? They are all books that were made into movies! The differences between books and movies can leave fans of the book heartbroken or make better additions to the overall story. Each of these books has good things and bad things about them and they transition to movies.

REESE WOOD REPORTER

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games takes place in the dystopian world of Panam which is divided into 13 districts. Each district produces its product to give to the Capital, the oppressive and authoritarian government in the story.

The Hunger Games is a punishment for the 13 districts after they tried to overthrow the Capital. We follow the main character Katniss Everdeen and her experience with the games and the events that follow as a consequence of the games.

The Hunger Games movies consist of four different films, representing books one, two, and two movies for the third book. The book does a fantastic job of establishing the connections between characters. In general, action translates better to a movie than a book which is also true in this case.

Harry Potter is a story about a young boy with the same name as the books. He lives with his cruel Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin.

When one day he discovers something unusual. He’s a wizard, and he’s a famous one, without knowing why. He attends the magical school of Hogwarts where he encounters many strange and eccentric people.

All book to movie photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

20 • FEATURE • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

Harry Potter

Harry Potter consists of eight movies, which are books one through six and the two movies for the seventh book. The books in general are better at fleshing out characters because they can explicitly tell the character’s background, while movies have to use visuals to display the same information.

This is true for most books and movies.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Charlie Buckets is an average boy from as Willy Wonka, and one was made in 2005 a poor family, in a city where the world of candy is dominated by the chocolatier Willy Wonka. Charlie wins a competition and gains access to the mysterious man’s factory along with other children. As they go through the factory, things only get more weird and abstract. From the Oompa Loompas to the everlasting gobstopper things are wacky.

There are two different takes on Charlie and The Chocolate Factory in movie form.

One was made in 1971 with Gene Wilder

When a book is turned into a movie it is common for there to be some difference between the two. In all of these books, there are minor differences. Sometimes they are for reasons such as making a shot better or making it easier. Some make the scene more energetic and entertaining, such as in Harry

with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. A movie’s main advantage over a book is the setting and visuals. It is much easier to show where a movie takes place than to have to describe it. Describing an abstract story such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is easier to represent in a movie than in a book.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit is one of the most acclaimed books in the world, only overshadowed by its bigger cousin, The Lord of The Rings.

It follows Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, who is a carefree and relaxed person who enjoys a first, second, and third breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He goes on a quest with Gandalf and his merry band of Dwarves, aiming to reclaim Erebor, one of their ancestral homes, meeting new people and groups along the way. This is the precursor to one of the greatest fictional stories of all time,

The Lord of The Rings.

There are three movies for the Hobbit, all of which depict a different part of the book, from the leaving of the shire to the battle of Erebor. The graphics are very good and stay true to the descriptions in the book. There are minor changes in the story, mainly with characters being on screen when in the book they should not be in the scene. Other than that the movies stay very on point with the book.

Potter. In The Goblet of Fire book, one of the characters asks Harry Potter an important question calmly as the book says, but in the movie, he yells the question.

It is also common for the movie to have an area in the story that depends more on environmental storytelling. It is easier to have to

rely on environmental storytelling using visuals than to have to go into great descriptions. When talking about books being turned into movies there are a lot of creativities that movies take. Whether for better or for worse you have to accept that there will always be differences.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • FEATURE • 21

NEW CABINET

SENIOR REPORTER MORGAN MARTENS

Elana Hadi President

Laramie Hill Vice President

Megan McNeilis Secretary

Addie Harris Art

Matias Bedell Assemblies

Tiffany Lu Campus

Lilly Williams Community Service

Czarina Tela Dance

Nina Malega Elections

Sam Dancey Finance

Darla Bauer Media

Krisha Patel Social Media

Aidan Gray Spirit

Rowen Hart Student Relations

Jack Butler Public Relations

“Our Cabinet aims to represent and serve the student body and community with events such as assemblies, dances, and blood drives.

We strive to create a sense of school spirit and community by acting as leaders of our student body. We're excited to represent this year's Cabinet and organize all the activities at Central to keep our unique, welcoming environment.”

-- Elana Hadi, 12 22 • FEATURE • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

SPRING RECAP While many bulldogs are looking ahead to what’s coming next, you can’t forget about the strides of success that got the Central High student-athletes to where they are today.

addition, they competed at the MCCA State Championship where they placed 8th overall in the competition.

BOYS BASEBALL

It was a record-setting season for the lady bulldogs last spring. They competed with a new coach, Nathan Cardoza, who led them to victory in more ways than one.

Players Cate Casanova and Laramie Hill led the team to a record of 5-2 throughout the middle of the season–something Central High School Girl’s Soccer had never done before. With both Casanova and Hill returning alongside Cardoza and a strong opening lineup of starting athletes, the team is looking forward to playing strong as a team.

The boys baseball team is coming off of a season filled with hard work and growth.

While the team may not have taken home a win every game, these bulldog boys rebranded what it means to win within their team, creating a strong connection of family and communication on the field. The efforts they made last season have laid down the foundation for what they hope will be an even more successful 2023-2024 season.

TRACK AND FIELD The Track & Field Team at Central is still feeling the excitement of a record-breaking season last spring. Jake Burch, the new record-breaking cross country coach, took the position as the new distance coach with only medals in mind. Alex Li was among the record-breaking bulldogs, as she was one of four lady bulldogs to qualify for state since 2001 and ran the fastest 5k in school history at The Chile Pepper Festival. She also broke school records in the 3200 meters, ran the 2nd fastest girls 800 meter run and the 3rd fastest 1600 meter in Central history. In addition, many other athletes on the Track & Field team met goals and broke records.

They expect to keep this dynamic going this upcoming season.

GIRLS SOCCER

BOYS GOLF The Boys Golf team is continuing to strengthen their bonds from last season, as they celebrate the growing number of members on the team. Many of the returning players have seen days where the team consisted of only four boys and were excited last season when they saw growing numbers. They hope to continue that this year.

CHEER There is never a dull moment for the Central High Cheer Squad and the cheerleaders look forward to every minute of it. Last year, they practiced and performed year-round at assemblies, and football and basketball games. In

24 • SPORTS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

EMMARIE LOGAN ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOYS TENNIS The Central Boys Tennis team took the first-ever trip to the State Final Four last year, bringing home the 4th place trophy and medals. The Doubles Team medalists included Raghav Bansal and Saahil Verma, Joshua Kim and John Park, and Pranav Mandava and Cole Brodeur. The single medalists included Joshua Kim, Raghav Bansal, Pranav Mandava, Saahil Verma, John Park, Shyam Rama, and Zack Murray.

KILTIES The Kilties had a fulfilling season last year competing in many parades and performing around the community.

Although, all fun times must come to an end. The Kilties and student body of Central felt bittersweet as they said goodbye to Majorette Zoë Malega and Assistant Majorette Maggie Geer while saying hello to this year’s Majorette Callum Grayson and Assistant Majorette Morning Beattie.

WINTER INTRO BOYS BASKETBALL

NED PICKETT PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Coach Epps

Coach Lamberth

“Kids trying out should come ready to work hard and get after it from day 1.”

“Students athletes trying out will need to bring a tshirt, shorts, and basketball shoes to be ready for tryouts. They will also need an up-to-date physical (no more than two years old).”

Tryouts will be held on October 30, 31, and November 1. Anyone interested should contact Coach Epps prior to October 30 as they are currently in preseason workouts.

Tryouts will be held on October 30 and 31 from 3:30 to 5:30 in the Pit. The first game will take place on November 20.

WRESTLING Coach Dalangin “Wrestling is a great sport to join! No, you do not have to wear the singlets when you compete if you do not want to. We have two piece suits as well. We go on many weekend tournament, and if you are varsity, wrestlers have the opportunity to go on an overnight tournament in Hickman. Boys wrestling has been established, but girls wrestling continues to grow each year. If you put in the time and effort, there could easily be a college scholarship waiting for you senior year. This sport truly helps you in so many ways. Once you have wrestled, it makes other things in life easier!”

Wrestling does not have official tryouts. Preseason completed on October 12.

ARCHERY Coach Uzzell “They (students) need to read the ENTIRE archery handbook and be well informed for where all archery information can be found.

Archery is a flexible sport because it is a WINTER sport, practices can get postponed and so can tournaments. Archery practices are in the evening, not after school so that people may participate in other clubs.”

All paperwork is due by November 17.

GIRLS SWIMMING Coach Price “Central swim is becoming an exciting sport to join now because it’s growing. We are the only school with a pool right next to our school, we practice immediately after school. Our team is really tight, we’ve got a lot of people who care about each other and I think that’s probably our biggest strength. On top of that, we’re competitive most years, especially this year--I think it’s gonna be interesting just because we have some new faces, some of our old swimmers have gone so there’s a lot of opportunity for new swimmers.”

There will be a meetup held on November 6, the first day of the official season, which will be across the street from Central at the pool.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • SPORTS • 25

NEW SOFTBALL COACHES Alongside the additions to Central’s staff, coach Allison Tate and assistant coach Jordan Burkholder have taken over the softball team. Since the start of practices, the two have witnessed tremendous growth in the players skills--both on and off the field.

“There were no tryouts,” Tate said.

“This is the most girls that we’ve had in a while, but there wasn’t enough for a full varsity and JV team, so we kept everyone.

It has served as an opportunity for our JV girls to learn, be exposed to the sport and improve.”

The JV team members are able to seek guidance from more experienced players.

Throughout the season, upperclassmen have been able to take the JV players under their wing in order to aid their improvement.

“I think we have about half underclassmen and half seniors,” Burkholder said. “The seniors are great. The underclassmen feel really comfortable asking them questions, during practice, during a game.”

These thirteen players began their offseason practices in the spring. The drills that the coaches implemented encourage players to experiment with a variety of roles in-game, such as pitching and hitting.

“We started practicing in March,” Tate said. “If we don’t have a game, we have practice everyday except Fridays, their day off. What that looks like is we start warming up, throwing and then we’ll do some hitting in the cage working on mechanics. Then, we do fielding practice and take fly balls and grounders.”

The players have been practicing since the spring in order to prepare for the games, beginning as the school year started.

“We had a softball jamboree on August 23rd, but our first official game was on August 28th,” Autumn Wuench, 12, said.

“Basically, a jamboree is a bunch of different teams coming together to practice playing in a real game situation for the first time that year. A lot of the new players are still getting used to the rules of how to play the game, so usually people seem a lot more nervous and there’s usually more errors made. Overall, it’s just where all the teams are testing where they are skill-wise and

EMMA LEWIS REPORTER

learning what the game is and what they need to work on.”

One issue the team has faced is that Tate is a staff member at Pleasant View, not Central. As a result, the players have had to find alternate methods to communicate with their coach.

“It can be challenging at times,” Tate said. “But, thankfully, we have resources like SportsYou that I use to communicate with my team. And my assistant coach, Coach B, is here at Central, so that’s a big plus.”

Despite this challenge, the coaches have made effective changes in the team.

The players themselves have noticed such developments, regarding both their softball abilities and teamwork skills.

“I feel that the new coaches have a fresh take on our team and our players,” Wuench said. “They hold us to high standards so we can become better ball players and people.

My time with the new coaches has helped to give me a different perspective on softball in terms of working with one another as a team.”

This progress has been especially apparent in the underclassmen players. For many freshmen, this season is their first time playing softball.

“Half of our team has never played before,” Burkholder said. “In a recent game, a couple of players that had never played softball before this year got hits.”

Beyond their skills in softball, the players have improved significantly in their confidence, dedication and interpersonal skills.

“The girls are way more outgoing than when I first met them,” Burkholder said.

“The practices are fun, the games are fun - for them to just show up everyday, give it their best, it’s been really good.”

The administration of the new coaches has culminated in a positive experience for the girls to evolve, collaborate and persevere.

“I appreciate how my teammates never seem to give up,” Wuench said.

“I can constantly hear everyone lifting their teammates’ spirits up, on and off

26 • SPORTS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

the field. We are always cheering each other on and congratulating each other on the small accomplishments we get, which is really nice to experience.”

Photo by Emily Hernandez.

Coach Tate

Photo courtesy of Allison Tate.

Coach Burkholder

NEW KILTIES COACHES

SARAH GREENE REPORTER

The Central Kilties have two new sponsors this year.

Sunday Wildschuetz and Morgan Steadman have joined the Kilties, with Wildschuetz returning after previous sponsorships and Morgan being a brand new sponsor.

Wildschuetz, a Central alumna, was a Kiltie for 3 years. She has been coaching at Central for 11 years, and was a previous Kiltie sponsor for 10. Steadman is the sponsor alongside Wildschuetz, and is new to the Kilties.

“My coaching style is one that is more, I want to be strict but not be too constricting,” Wildschuetz said. “I want others to have their input and ideas and see if we can all work together and come up with what works best for this Corps. Because every Corps is a little bit different.”

Wildschuetz has planned out the next few years around Kiltie traditions, and has been implementing more organization into the Corps.

“I love the Corps, I love the history of the Corps,” Wildschuetz said. “This is our 98th year, and for the 100th we want to make it a spectacular year of celebration, and I enjoy our traditions, and I want to help the Kilties become wonderful, strong, independent citizens.”

The Corps has started collecting and preserving their previous data, and both sponsors have been aiming to set a professional mindset.

“We do a lot more fundraising now than we did,” said Callum Grayson, a senior and the Kiltie majorette. “We’re really on top of our funds and making sure everybody has paid for everything and everybody’s on track. We keep a lot more data now than we did, like we have binders full of information

Sponsor Wildschuetz

Co-Sponsor Steadman

Photo courtesy of Sunday Wildschuetz.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Steadman.

that we didn’t really have before, so it’s kinda great to just have that organization.

I really like the way that they approach things, like their attitude towards our group as a whole, cause they really treat it like a tradition, which is what it is, it’s very traditional, and they really respect that about us, which is really great.”

With the 100th anniversary coming up quickly, the coaches have many celebrations planned. “We have a lot planned for the 100th.” Wildschuetz said. “We have mini reunions, we have a huge performance, we have a thing downtown at the history museum, we have found our founder’s gravesite, we’re going to clean-up his headstone, and do a memorial there, plus much more. We have a lot.”

Wildschuetz plans on solidifying Kiltie traditions into the state and Central, and keeping the Kilties going strong for a long time. “My end goal is for this to continue on,” Wildschuetz said. “For, even though we’re 100 years old, that we can conform and shape to the future. And still have ladies another 100 years into the future. That it’s something that we can continue for multiple reasons, not only just our traditions, but for how it shapes who they become. We have so many wonderful alumni that have, does everything, from owners of companies to, you know, all around the world and doctors and lawyers, and moms. Everything.”

Central has been previously said to be losing its awareness of the Kilties, and Wildschuetz plans on changing that..

“We’re trying to figure out how to do a PR renovation for the Kilties,” Wildschuetz said. “I don’t think people understand the history that we have, and how important we

are to the community, the fact that we are an organization that is almost 100 years old, we have marched for the president, we have marched for the queen, we have marched all over the United States, and we’re so well-received. People beg us to come. And the community just loves us. So, we need to figure out how to let our own community know that we are loved.”

The Corps’ goals have changed with the new sponsors, and the Kilties are adjusting to the new environment.

“There have been a couple rules that have changed,” said Danny Beattie, a senior and the Kiltie assistant majorette. “But I think the environment has slightly changed as well, a lot more people are more serious, and we’re taking a lot more things rigorously than we would before, with Groven we would goof off a lot, and with Sunday we’re kind of serious and everyone knows that it’s time to work.”

The coaches are changing the Kiltie’s direction, and hope to keep them as involved as they have been in the culture of Springfield.

“The current plan is to, make sure we’re involved in the community as much as possible,” said Wildshuetz. “We do lots, lots and lots of performances, we’re throughout the state all the time, and so our current plan is to keep performing and be seen as much as possible, and put the awareness out for Central and the Kilties… Central Kilties is such an important part of Central’s history but also Springfield’s history, and we wanted to continue to grow, and we love what we do and we want other people to come and enjoy what we do as well.”

Photo by Ollie Francis.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • SPORTS • 27

[POMDOGS & PRIZES] JACK WEGRZYN REPORTER Central Dance Team “PomDogs” event performances have begun, and this year’s roster has proved to be competitive with surrounding high schools at the Summer Universal Dance Association (UDA) Camp.

UDA Camp is the first competitive opportunity of the year for the dance teams to showcase their skills among other high schools, and PomDogs have already received many awards of excellence at the event this summer. Every PomDog dancer received the highest distinction level blue ribbon in each of their performed routines.

Coach Riley, an English teacher at Central, Assistant Coach Cloud, in the attendance office, Captain Ainsley Daccache and Co-Captain Megan McNeilis have all taken leadership positions this season.

Dance Team Captain Ainsley Daccache, 12, began dancing competitively at a very young age which has allowed her to assume such a role on PomDogs. “I started dancing in preschool, skipped the kindergarten year, and came back in first grade,” Daccache said. “I then started the sport competitively and I have been for twelve years now.”

Apart from the competitive UDA Camp and Central events, the PomDogs are involved with team building and community driven activities over the summer. “Over the summer, we did a car washing fundraiser and the back to school bash,” Sophia Brown, 10, said. “Usually we have a Christmas parade, we perform at certain other SPS events and some college basketball games.”

This year’s UDA Camp was an overnight endeavor during mid July that brought together the dance teams of several schools from a wide range of locations to Branson’s Hilton Convention Center. “We stayed in the smaller of two Hilton hotels for the four days that it lasted total,” Brown said.

“There were so many schools, including many middle schools, Kickapoo, Willard,

Republic, and Ozark were there, not to mention many that traveled from far away.”

Before UDA began, Daccache along with help from the coaches and McNeilis worked hard beforehand to make it the best experience possible for the PomDogs. “We were in charge of assigning hotel rooms and assigning the dancers to each level that I thought they would be most successful in,” Daccache said. “Everyone had to be made aware of the busy schedule as well.”

Dancers at UDA learn an A and B routine which are learned at different times depending on the day, with seven different difficulty and genre routines in both of the A and B categories. “On the first day, we learn our respective A routines for a one hour forty-five minute session, and we do the same with the B routines on the second day,” Brown said. “On the second day everyone also learned the All American extra routine, on the third we reviewed and had a ‘crazy night’, then we performed for judges on the fourth where we received awards.”

Although the first dance routine of each school year is choreographed by Coach Riley, Daccache has many unique duties to be responsible for throughout the year. “As captain, I lead stretches and warmups at practice, have to communicate with everyone and make choreography,” Daccache said. “The hardest part is trying to please and making sure that everyone is enjoying it while not being left out or getting behind.”

The PomDogs are committed to a consistent weekly practice schedule that they have to put in extra time for. “We practice on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:15 after school,” Brown said.

“Before football games, we practice on the turf the day of or day before the game is scheduled.”

Photo by Kevin Myers.

28 • SPORTS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

Photo by Meghan Grone.

As a result of clashing sports seasons and limited practicing spaces, the Pomdogs have to move around and adapt to different practicing environments depending on the time of year. “Normally we practice in the wrestling gym,” Brown said. “During the wrestling season we might find an open room, like the drama room or the auditorium, and sometimes even hallways.”

To make motivational milestones for the dance team’s efforts, there are certain school occasions where Central High students can expect the PomDogs to make an appearance. “We perform at school assemblies, football games, and basketball games,” Brown said. “This year we also have two soccer games and we perform our routines during halftimes.”

Daccache, Brown and Carolina Kessinger, 10, all agree that the communities of friends that they have made through Central is a highlight of their time in high school so far. “The dance team is definitely one for me,” Kessinger said, after being asked her favorite part of Central. “The community I have built at Central wouldn’t be the same without PomDogs.”

Photo by Gentry Goode.

One Team, One Sound JACK HERR REPORTER Step Team is one of the many activities that students can participate in. It is a rhythmic percussive dance team with a focus on community. The team currently has twelve members, and was recently reestablished in 2021, following a period of dormancy after its founding in 2002. “[Step] has kind of ebbed and flowed because they did not always have a sponsor who knew anything about step,” Dr. Ashley Felton, the team’s co-sponsor said.

Erica Fernandez, 9, has been participating in Central’s Step Team since, “May of last year, when it started”.

Fernandez feels that she has already found a home as a member of the team.

“I’ve made new friends, and hopefully I’ll become close with them over highschool.

It’s given me more upperclassmen that I can trust with questions about stuff, and having Dr. Felton as a trusted adult also helps in case anything happens,” Fernandez said.

As such, community is a very important aspect of Step.

“Our team motto is ‘One family, One sound,’” Fernandez said.

Practice makes perfect, and it’s essential that every member of step is able to come to each practice and put effort towards the routine.

“Practice is on the second floor, in front of the library. We do conditioning and are actually working on adding more conditioning

because a ten minute performance takes a lot out of them, and they need to be in shape. We will work on steps, strolls that include music, intros and outros that also include music, and we will work to put together shows. On Wednesdays, we begin practice by having a study hall because we always tell them that step is important, but they are more important, so their grades matter,” Felton said.

“Of course Step isn’t going to be for everybody, if it piques your interest you should totally try it. It takes an ability to follow a beat and a bit of flexibility. But it’s a fun thing to learn,” Fernandez said.

The step team has welcomed new students in the past, anybody who finds step interesting is encouraged to join.

“It is such an adrenaline release to be able to stomp the ground and be loud,” Felton said.

There are multiple pathways to get involved as somebody interested in step.

“They should definitely try out and talk to Dr. Felton, Coach Marshall, our step captains, or me. We’re all really fun people to be around, our Hello day performance was so fun. We’ll help you if you need help with anything,” Fernandez said.

Step has a rich history and culture to accompany its large community.

“Step evolved from African American culture which communicated their stories through rhythm,” Step Captain Bella Ramirez, 10, said.

Although it is described as a fun activity outright, numerous skills can be built in the process of creation.

“Discipline, listening skills, teamwork, rhythm, choreography skills, synchronization skills, creativity, organization, the list goes

Photos by Ainsley Daccache.

on honestly. This is such a great program that can build so much capacity in them to also be leaders amongst their peers as well,” Felton said.

The skills built in step can also be applied in other contexts, a productive member of the workforce would also need to know many of these skills.

“To me, Step is about working hard and coming together as a team,” Ramirez said.

All of the work put in by the team culminates in a series of performances over the course of the year.

“They are busy. They practice three days a week, prepare for competitions, perform at assemblies, volleyball and basketball games, and we try to get into our feeder schools,” Felton said.

“Before a performance, the captains will sometimes give a pep talk. But for the most part they just run over the show.”

Step is a unique and special way for students to express themselves.

“My favorite thing about step is the creative process where we get to make steps, strolls, and performances,” Ramirez said. “I have always been interested in dancing and general physical activities; also, I have a particular love for cultures. When I discovered step, I figured it would be a good way to fuse the two interests. It also looked like a good way to get out of my shell.”

Like anything else, Step team has its share of challenges.

“It can be frustrating when you don’t know a step,” Fernandez said.

Step is an involved team, and the logistics of everything can also be difficult to navigate.

“For me, challenges have been time because I am busy,” Felton said.

Difficulties within the vein of logistics are nearly always present within the team’s schedule.

“Transportation is always hard, because sometimes we can’t always get to or from events,” Fernandez said.

Through these challenges, the team comes together to perform a piece of their own creation.

“I would tell them [interested students] to have confidence and try out in May!” Ramirez said.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • SPORTS • 29

Connect, Compete, Control

eSports Starts Another Year as an Official SPS Sport

The Central eSports team is a competitive organization of gamers who compete against other teams of gamers in Overwatch and Rocket League in the fall, as well as Valorant and League of Legends in the winter. eSports is co-sponsored by Eric Grate and Dalton Sly, and currently consists of over thirty members. The team meets in Room 222 after school every day from 3:15 to 5:30 to practice.

“This is my eighth year at Central, if I don’t count my student teaching; since I studenttaught at Central as well,” Grate said.“We started to see kind of an expansion of high school eSports in general. I think MOSEF (Missouri Scholastic eSports Federation) was really the beginning of it. They started out as a very small organization, and Central was in their second season of play. We got involved. So now they have been going for five or six years but we got in on the ground floor. Me and Coach Sly really pushed for Central to get a program, and kind of caused the district to see the need for it to become a team and not just something we were doing on the side,” Grate said. eSports has grown in popularity over the years, a development that is encouraged by the greater community.

“I think people should know that eSports is becoming more relevant, you can get scholarships for eSports and it will be a part of the next Olympics,” Kai Aberle, 10, said. eSports has a variety of games for students to choose from, depending on their interests and experience.

“Our four most popular games are Rocket League and Overwatch, which we play in the fall, and then we have League of Legends and Valorant that we play in the spring,” Grate said. eSports has evolved both in terms of games and in terms of the organization of the sport.

“As of last year, eSports became an official SPS sport,” Grate said. This comes with a whole array of new possibilities for the team. “We actually got a budget from the district and it’s actually a paid stipend.

So we moved club to sport with everything that comes with that, so we’re now beholden to a lot of district expectations for athletics. We’re also beholden to some

aspects of MSHSAA, on top of the eSports organization that we work with, which is MOSEF.” Like anything else, eSports requires training.

“We have ten dedicated computers that we have from the district, and we’ve bought a bunch of peripherals so we provide a really strong gaming space,” Grate said.

Once everything is set up, the real practice begins.

“We’re making sure people are refining their skills and getting the opportunity to play against people who are going to challenge them,” Grate said.

Practices include competition between the JV and Varsity teams, just like a traditional sport. Due to the differences in each game’s style of competition, each one of the games has a slightly dissimilar practice methods.

“Practicing for eSports looks different depending on the game that you are playing.

For the Rocket League team, we practice by getting together with our coach and playing custom games against each other to find out our strengths and areas to improve on,” Ben Loughary, 10, said.

Aberle is one of the members who plays on the Varsity Overwatch team “We go to the eSports room after school, we get into our teams and we will either just play normal online games or we will play scrims against other teams in our school,” Aberle said.

Not everybody can play all of the time.

Players will often spectate the match while it is going on.

“Making sure they pick up skills, especially JV watching Varsity. If it’s a day where you are not playing a match then you are still working on your skills,” Grate said.

There are many skills that can be learned and improved through participating in eSports.

“I think the most important [aspect] is communication. Many people play video games on their own. So when you transition into the competitive scape, the most important thing is that you are communicating with your team. People have to communicate in eSports,” Grate said.

“When you look at an okay eSports team versus a very good eSports team, the most

30 • SPORTS • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

JACK HERR REPORTER important thing is communication.” eSports can be a non-judgmental, fun, and competitive environment for students.

“My favorite part about participating in eSports is having a space to just play games,” Loughary said.

One of the challenges associated with joining eSports is prior proficiency with any given game.

“I think if you already enjoy playing the games on the list it would be a great way to make friends and get better at the games you want to play,” Aberle said.

Kai Aberle

Ben Loughary

Movies of the Summer TYLER VANLANINGHAM COPY EDITOR

As the long summer days fade into fall, it’s time to reflect on the cinematic highlights that lit up the big screen. While many films were released, there were several that stood out -- and for good reason. With the release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the two movies gained massive online popularity that spawned jokes, memes and general interest in the films themselves. In addition to these two, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was another notable film we were met with in the summer.

OPPENHEIMER Christopher Nolan, the mastermind behind such engaging and mind-bending films like Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014) returned to the world of film with a movie that was both dramatic and thrilling.

The film followed the life and career of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his pivotal role in the creation of the atomic bomb. Personally, I thought this was an excellent but admittedly heavy movie. Nolan outdid himself with a film that I was able to appreciate from both a narrative and historical perspective, all while learning about a major event in the world of science, technology and humanity.

Photo courtesy of Variety Magazine.

Photo courtesy of The Verge.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 This movie was, in my opinion, one of the best superhero movies in a while. It was a refreshing extension to the Guardians of the Galaxy storyline amidst a slew of other mediocre Marvel films. The film had a

variety of comedic and heartfelt moments.

In my opinion, director James Gunn did a great job with this film. It’s a great movie to see with friends or family, and I recommend it, even if you’re not a Marvel fan.

Photo courtesy of BBC News.

Photo courtesy of Forbes.

Photo courtesy of Forbes.

BARBIE Barbie was a film that provided contrast to the darker themes of Oppenheimer with a whimsical and colorful world we’re all familiar with. The cast was fantastic, starring many well-known and loved actors, while also incorporating a lot of great humor, as well as important messages about diversity, empowerment and self-acceptance. Overall I thought it was a great movie that anyone could enjoy.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • SPORTS • 31

Best of the Fest In late August, a group of Central students went to the Telluride Film Festival, an opportunity provided by the IB Film Program and its teacher, Mr. Cantrell. As part of this trip, they saw several films yet to be released, and met with several creators to discuss film, including Ethan Hawke, Ken Burns, and several others.

All photos by Tyler VanLaningham.

THE HOLDOVERS

RUSTIN

THE FALLING STAR

Alexander Payne’s The Holdover features an unlikeable ancient history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), angsty student Angus (Dominic Sessa), and a chef, Mary (DaVine Joy Randolph), who has recently lost her son in the Vietnam War. The film begins with the three stuck at a private New England academy over the Christmas break. As the story progresses, they set aside their differences and learn to love each other as if they were family. A heartwarming story in the same vein as films such as Dead Poets Society, The Holdovers is certainly worth checking out for a bittersweet but optimistic movie that would make a great winter viewing.

The original architect of the March on Washington, Bayard Rustin, finally gets his due in George C. Wolfe’s Rustin. Ostracized from the Civil Rights movement due to his past political affiliation and sexuality, the film chronicles how the charismatic Rustin (Colman Domingo) fought his way back into the movement and organized what became the largest peaceful protest in the history of America. Several key performances uplift the film from being good into great, including Domingo, Chris Rock as NAACP head Roy Wilikins, and Aml Ameen as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The last place I would have looked for a slapstick comedy would be a Belgian made neo-noir film, and yet The Falling Star is just that Directors Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon have created a hilarious absurdist story of mistaken identity and revenge, borrowing elements from both silent film and crime comedies.

Abel stars as Boris, a bartender with a shady past trailing him, and as Dom, a doppelganger whom the protagonists swap with Boris, allowing him to lie low and wait until the heat passes. Gordon stars as Dom’s wife, a private detective who smells a rat. Shenanigans ensue.

The Holdovers -

Premiered at Telluride Directed by Alexander Payne Releases 27 October Rated R

Rustin - Premiered at Telluride - Directed by George C Wolfe - Releases in theaters on 3 November and on the 17 on Netflix - Rated PG-13

32 • OPINION • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

The Falling Star - Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival - Directed by Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon - Releases TBA - Rated PG-13

NED PICKETT

TYLER VANLANINGHAM

PRINT EDITOR -IN-CHIEF

COPY EDITOR

PERFECT DAYS Renowned German filmmaker Wim Wenders returned to the world of film for the second time this year, with a beautiful film about a Japanese toilet cleaner named Hirayama (played by Takuma Takasaki).

It was amazing how accurate to Japanese cinema this film by a German man was,

but it’s clear how much effort Wenders put in when it came to learning about Japanese culture. The film was unexpectedly engaging, raising questions about how we can and should view happiness in our lives.

AMERICAN SYMPHONY We saw several documentaries while at the festival, but this was by far the best. It followed 5 time Grammy awardwinning musical artist Jon Batiste and his journey writing a full symphony to be played at Carnegie Hall all while his wife Suleika struggles with a leukemia relapse. The progression of this film

was incredible, and it became one of my favorite documentaries very early on in the screening. The great music and the processes that Jon goes through to make it, alongside how he and Suleika deal with her relapse created a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and exciting masterpiece.

WILDCAT Written and directed by Ethan Hawke, Wildcat is a unique film following the life of writer Flannery O’Connor (Maya Hawke) as she struggles to get her stories published.

Throughout the movie, we get to see O’Connor’s own writing perspective as well as her interactions with her mother Regina (Laura Linney), but also the perspectives

Perfect Days - Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival - Directed by Wim Wenders - Releases in Germany on 21 December. US release date is currently unknown - Unrated

of her characters. As O’Connor writes her stories we get to see them play out for us.

Interestingly enough, the main characters of the three stories that we see play out on screen are also played by Maya Hawke and Laura Linney. Overall I really liked the film and especially how uniquely structured it was compared to many others that we saw.

American Symphony - Premiered Worldwide at Telluride - Directed by Matthew Heineman - Releases TBA - Unrated

Wildcat -

Premiered at Telluride Directed by Ethan Hawke Releases TBA Unrated

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • OPINION • 33

Who does

PUMPK IN SPICE

right?

MADI TAYLOR COPY EDITOR

The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down and the days are getting shorter. That can only mean one thing … pumpkin spice.

The fan-favorite fall flavor has returned and is here to stay until the holiday flavors take their place. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, and it’s brought some new friends with it. The Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte made its debut, along with the new Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. We’re not here to talk about drinks though. This time, it’s all about the pumpkin spice-flavored bites. Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Scooter’s Coffee will be put to the test as they celebrate this season with this classic flavor to determine who does pumpkin spice right.

STARBUCKS

KRISPY KREME

SCOOTER’S

Starbucks presents the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, along with their Pumpkin and Pepita loaf, which is available yearround. Let’s start with them.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin: The cream cheese is a little strong, with a rich flavor and smooth texture. It adds a good contrast to the spice of the muffin.

The pepita seeds around the edge are a nice touch and give a small crunch which combines well with the softness of the muffin. Final verdict, 4/5.

Next up is Krispy Kreme’s Pumpkin Spice Collection. This collection provides two new flavored doughnuts and two returners: Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Swirl, Pumpkin Spice Maple Pecan, Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed and Pumpkin Spice Cake doughnut.

I tried the new Cheesecake Swirl and Maple Pecan doughnuts.

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Swirl: Krispy Kreme sure knows how to make a doughnut. The dough itself was fluffy and melts on the tongue and it’s presented well.

The cheesecake flavor was good, if a little weak. Similarly, I could barely taste the pumpkin spice. It’s an enjoyable doughnut, but where’s the spice? Final verdict, 3/5.

Last, but certainly not least, is Scooter’s Coffee. Scooter’s is a drive-through only shop located on South Campbell. There’s only one location in Springfield. They had two options: Pumpkin Spice Cake Bite and Pumpkin Caramelicious Muffin.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Bite: I think this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. The first bite is perfect. The frosting gives a perfect crunch, it’s sweet and rich. The cake is soft and fluffy and the pumpkin spice is strong in a good way. The sprinkles are fun and the texture is great. Final verdict, 5/5.

Pumpkin and Pepita Loaf: The spice of the loaf is a highlight of this treat. It’s sweet and flavorful. The loaf comes apart nicely and is very soft and buttery. The nutty taste of the pepita seeds pairs well with the spice of the rest of the loaf. I believe Starbuck’s loaves are the ideal size for a sweet snack. Final verdict, 4/5.

Pumpkin Spice Maple Pecan: Once again, a good doughnut. It smells amazing, but it mostly just tastes like maple. The pecans on top are a great addition and provide a new texture for the soft dough. There’s very little pumpkin spice. A delicious doughnut overall, but I need my spice. Final verdict, 3/5.

Pumpkin Caramelicious Muffin: The muffin melts on the tongue. It’s warm and buttery because of the caramel mixed in.

It’s soft but not overly crumbly or flaky.

The pumpkin spice is sweet. The flavors combine amazingly and leave a delicious taste in your mouth. Final verdict, 4/5.

Almost every store, coffee and doughnut shop offer pumpkin spice-flavored treats, but do they do pumpkin spice justice? Krispy Kreme, Scooters, and Starbucks have their seasonal delicacies, and they’re each good in their own right. Only one can truly do pumpkin spice right, though. Looking at these ratings, I think it’s safe to say Scooter’s Coffee is the winner. If you’re looking for a tasty pumpkin spice treat, go check out Scooter’s! Their drinks are just as good as their food.

33 • OPINION • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

Where can you get the most BANG for your BUCK? When looking around Springfield there are a lot of fast food places, but which one offers the best prices for a meal deal? When conducting research on different fast food places and what they offer for cheap or what deals they carry, I found three fast food places that all carry five-dollar meals. These meals could include any combination of different items such as chicken nuggets or tacos.

MORGAN MARTENS SENIOR REPORTER

ARBY’S

WENDY’S

TACO BELL

The first place I visited was Arby’s.

Currently, they have a promotional deal for a five-dollar wing box. This box includes boneless wings, crinkle fries or curly fries, and your choice of sauce. The sauces include hot honey barbeque and buffalo. This box does not include a drink, but if you would like to add one it is a dollar extra. I thought the wings were small and didn’t come with much. Fortunately, the fries were warm and came with quite a few to eat. I chose the crinkle fries which were good to use to pick up the sauce at the bottom of the box. One thing I would recommend is eating this meal with a fork as the sauce can make it messy.

Overall the meal was pretty satisfying but definitely could have benefitted from a drink included with it. My rating is 7/10.

The next stop I made was to Wendy’s.

Wendy’s currently offers the five-dollar biggie bag, a meal which includes a cheeseburger or chicken sandwich, a fourpiece chicken nuggets, a small fries, and a medium-sized drink of choice. An add-on you could do is upgrade your sandwich choice for a dollar extra. I chose to get the crispy chicken sandwich. Everything was fresh and hot when they handed it to me at the drive through. The sandwich was flavorful, but I did not personally like the mayonnaise on it. This meal came with a lot of food and completely filled my stomach. Overall this meal was big and included multiple different foods that gave a variety to eat. I would definitely get this meal again. I rate this meal a 9/10.

My last stop was Taco Bell. While there, I purchased the classic meal combo. This meal includes a large drink, a beefy 5 layer burrito, a beef taco, and cinnamon twists. You also get the choice of a hard or soft shell for the beef taco. Everything was fast and hot. The hard taco shell was very crunchy so if you don’t like a hard shell I would recommend the soft shell instead. The burrito is very messy so I recommend anyone getting this to have napkins handy. Overall this meal was very tasty and included both dinner and dessert. I rate this meal a solid 9/10.

Based on my experiences, I think that the most value comes from Taco Bell. To me, Taco Bell’s classic combo was the best as it included a large drink as well as cinnamon twists for dessert. The least amount of value for me was the Arby’s wing box. If it was a lunch menu item I would see it being filling, but with it being a dinner item and not including a drink I think that that for me was the biggest negative from the wing box With that said, if you need a cheap, filling meal, any of these items are a good choice.

CENTRAL HIGH TIMES • FALL 2023 • OPINION • 35

PITTS FITS

NINA MALEGA SENIOR REPORTER

She doesn’t chase the trends, the trends chase her! The most fashion forward English teacher, Mrs. Jodi Pitts, is iconically known for her stunning and trend setting outfits.

Both predicting and following the latest fashion fads, Mrs. Pitts stuns everyone with her daily looks.

“I get inspiration from lots of people and places. Instagram and Pinterest are two platforms I use for creative style ideas.

I also have some very trendy friends who provide good style inspo - shoutout Ms. Gugliotta,” Pitts said.

When eyeing what Mrs. Pitts wears everyday, she gravitates toward what is currently on trend. This summer she sported the famous Free People Movement quilted Carryall, which had been growing in popularity across various social media platforms. Though she has numerous trendy pieces, she does not fail to place her own personal influence onto what she wears.

“I love turning to social media for fashion advice. Lately I have been looking for ideas on how to use the items I already have in my closet and make them cute for fall. There are a couple people I follow who definitely #influence me. @bresheppard and @this_ lovely_life_of_mine are two I turn to often,” Pitts said.

Social media has proven to be a rising outlet for fashion inspiration and where society’s current fashion culture has been cultivating. Now that social media platforms play a significant role in what is on trend versus what is not, fashion has been becoming more inclusive and anyone can be considered “on trend”. Mrs. Pitts is an excellent example of someone who can pull influence from current fashion trends while still staying true to her own personal style.

Every outfit Pitts puts together has a touch that is exclusively her own.

“Apparently, the color red is going to be on trend, which I love. Red looks good on almost everyone! But also bows are going to be big this season, which I am less sure about. (Preppy is not my personal style.) But I’m down with all the 90s throwback - wide leg jeans / pants, baby tees, chunky loafers and boots, etc. (I used to have an amazing collection of Doc Marten shoes and boots and am so sad I ever got rid of them!),” Pitts said.

This upcoming fall and winter season will be able to showcase some of Pitts’ best looks.

The colder months will be a fantastic time for Pitts to show off her love for boots and fun sweaters.

Between her English expertise and style savviness, Pitts has proven she can really do it all! She shows her students that fashion is an excellent form of self expression and that no matter who you are, you can have fun with what you wear.

Photo by Nina Malega.

Photo by Lilly Williams.

Photo by Nina Malega.

36 • OPINION • FALL 2023 • CENTRAL HIGH TIMES

relevant

hands-on

Drury and Central already share Benton Avenue and Harrison Stadium, but we could share you as an alum as well!

At Drury we make everything personalized to YOU. With Your Drury Fusion, every student will earn three or more credentials in the same time those at other schools only earn one. This will set you apart for desirable first jobs or graduate school right after graduation.

GRANT PICKETT J1 REPORTER