The Triangle, Issue 7, Vol. 102

SOCIALLY SMART A glimpse into the ripple effect of social media use

THE

TRI NGLE

Columbus North High School • 1400 25th Street, Columbus, IN, 47201 • Volume 102 Issue 7• April 17, 2023

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EXECUTIVE BOARD Ananya Adur Kaitlyn Ayers Abinaya Ganesan Ananya Ramanujapuram Addy Rogers INDEPTH EDITOR Abinaya Ganesan COPY EDITOR Alexandra Osburn SECTION EDITORS Natalie Brown Paula Ramos Perez INDEPTH TEAM Alexandra Osburn Ajay Singireddy Jasmine Yang PHOTO EDITORS Novah Ulm Grace Wheatley ART DIRECTOR Carson Embree STAFF Jocelyn Aguilar Aidan Brown Irvin Castaneda Ivy Davidson Ram Gowda Abigail Lovins Izabelle Munn Meghana Penmathsa Alice Pisoni Benjamin Psota Sylvia Sasse Abigail Smith Deshna Venkatachalam Lydia Weed

ADVISERS Roth Lovins Rachel McCarver

Editorial Policy The Triangle is the designated forum for student expression at Columbus North High School. The student staff chooses all content.

Signed columns published in The Triangle express the writer’s personal opinion and not the views of The Triangle, student body, BCSC, administration, board of trustees or faculty of Columbus North.

The Triangle practices ethical journalism by providing balanced and fair coverage as determined by community standards. The Triangle strives to achieve 100 percent accuracy by checking sources, spelling, and quotes and attaining multiple sources.

The Triangle encourages letters to the editor, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Triangle will not edit for content, but reserves the right to edit for grammar and length. Letters should be submitted to room 1507 or sent via e-mail to administrator@cnhsmedia.com. All Letters much be signed by all persons involved in writing the letter, which the staff will check for validation. A letter sent via e-mail must be validated with a signature from the writer before The Triangle will publish it. If responding to a publication, letters must be turned in within one week of that publication’s distribution.

In the event of death, The Triangle will run a standard obituary. Pertaining to work submitted via social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), The Triangle will only accept written submissions from the original poster and owner and will only publish entries with the permission of the original poster and owner.

The Triangle will not edit submissions for content and reserves the right not to publish them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple submissions of the same topic, vulgar or incendiary content. The Triangle will not publish photographs from Facebook. Posts on The Triangle’s social media pages by readers are owned by the readers and do not necessarily express the views or opinions of the staff. The Triangle is not responsible for their content and reserves the right to delete and report any inappropriate and unnecessary posts. By posting on The Triangle’s social media pages, the poster grants The Triangle permission to publish the contents of that post.

In cases when a source’s information may bring ridicule or incrimination upon himself or herself, the editorial board reserves the right to cite the source as anonymous. The Triangle will never use composite sources and pass them off as anonymous sources.

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NEWS

BCSC INTRODUCES A TEAM APPROACH

A new program will be in place for the 202324 school year in hopes of increasing the graduation rater

MUNJULURI WINS STATE POETRY READING CONTEST

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Junior Sreepada Munjuluri will compete in the national Poetry Out Loud competition

OPINION

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ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

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YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN

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THE SHOW CONTINUES

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A film review of a German, Oscar winning film

Triangle columnist Izzy Munn breaks down the celebrity obsession

A review of the third season of the hit television series, Outer Banks

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STUDENT LIFE DRESS TO IMPRESS

Students discuss their experience with prom shopping and what they're looking forward to about this year's BCSC Prom

SWEEPING UP THE COMPETITION

With a creative pitch, junior Sid Jain wins the Regional competition for The Maverick Challenge

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BEEHIVE BUILD 10

Student uses a unique pollinator to increase Columbus biodiversity in a senior project

NEW DR IVER NUISANCE 11

With new drivers getting their licenses, North parking lots are more crowded than ever

SPORTS

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COURT TO SIDELINE 16

Junior Elise Preston shares her experience with trying out for the cheerleading team for the first time

ALL-STAR ATHLETES 17

Outstanding athletes get recognized for their athletic ability and academics

TO THE FINISH 17

The Track team competed in the Brown County Triangular Tuesday, Bull Dogs won both the boys' and girls' divisions against Seymour and Brown County

INDEPTH 12 SOCIALLY SMART

ONLINE PREVIEW

A glimpse into the ripple effect of social media use

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BCSC INTRODUCES A TEAM APPROACH A new program will be in place for the 2023-24 school year in hopes of increasing the graduation rate

by Lydia Weed design by Abby Smith

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n March 6, the BCSC school board decided on implementing a ‘team’ approach for the upcoming school year in response to the declining graduation rate. As of 2022, BCSC reported that 87.9% of high school students graduated. Locally, Brownsburg High School, with a size of 3,013 students, had a graduation rate of 98.5% as of 2021--one of the highest rates in the state.

Statewide, the graduation rate is 86.61%.

The goal of this approach is to make Columbus’ high schools have a smaller feel with more attention from staff dedicated to their assigned grade. Each grade will have a specific counselor, advisor, administrator and assistant principal that will stay with that grade until the students graduate They will be helping with every step of the graduation process and checking in when a student needs help.

Although this program will be brand new to students, students are attuned to the differences between smaller and larger school atmospheres. Junior David Komyama discusses the advantages of going to a bigger school.

“I prefer bigger schools since there’s more diversity from the school being more widely available to students,” Komiyama said. “Overall, you are able to grow more as a person because you encounter many scenarios outside of your comfort zone.”

Similarly, sophomore Syndey Johnson has attended both smaller and larger schools.

She reflects on her time at St. Peter’s to draw comparisons.

“I went to St. Peter’s for eight years before going to North and basically grew up with all my classmates,” Johnson said. “I also felt like I had a better connection with all my teachers because they didn’t have to keep track of many students and they knew my

WHAT’S THE PLAN? The School Board approved an additional appropriation of

$600,000

to fund the new positions.

parents and parts of my personal life.”

The team approach is said to be a solution to students feeling like larger school communities result in forming fewer relationships. Assistant principal Jenn Hester says the most important part of the team approach is building relationships.

“My hope is that kids will get to know each other better, especially the freshmen that come in,” Hester said. “Hopefully this will make everyone feel more comfortable and more accepted.”

Parents and guardians will be given a specific resource to contact when they have concerns.

“They have the same administrative assistant they will be calling for attendance or family emergencies,” Hester said. “They know who is dealing with discipline and who is dealing with grades. It seems like this approach will really build strong relationships between everyone.”

The new 'teams' structure will be implemented in Fall 2023

Teams 2025-2027 will have: 1 Assistant Principal 1 Guidance Councelor 2 Academic Coaches 1 Admistrative Assistant

Team 2024 will have: 1 Assistant Principal 1 Guidance Counselor 1 Academic Coaches 1 Administrative Assistant

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School Board vote

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additional positions

MUNJULURI WINS STATE POETRY READING CONTEST Junior Sreepada Munjuluri will compete in the national Poetry Out Loud competition

by Izzy Munn design by Abby Smith

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oming in first place in the Indiana State Poetry Contest, junior Sreepada Munjuluri won through her interpretation of three poems she hand-picked. Munjuluri went through two rounds in order to compete in the finals, and she was extremely thrilled with herself when she got the results.

“I was so surprised and so happy,” Munjuluri said.

“Before I got the results, I hadn’t been able to see any of the other students’ performances until the finals.

Each and every one of them did phenomenal, and it felt like there was a winner in each student, so finding out I won was just amazing.”

Munjuluri’s love for poems and hunger to learn more stemmed from a young age, starting with her home life and early schooling.

“My mom has been big on reading and literature ever since I was a kid, and that was the main way I learned about poetry,” Munjuluri said.

“It taught me how to speak English, which is a second language to me, so through reading lots of books and poetry I developed a love for the subject.”

AP Literature and Composition teacher Kelley Culp teaches her students poetry in order to allow them to see the deeper meaning of the works, similar to how Munjuluri analyzes poems in order to emotionally connect with the work she recites.

“I want to help students find poetry that they really like,” Culp said. “Once they do that, they are able to better understand what is happening in a poem. From there, it is much easier to explain the deeper meaning of a poem.

Unlocking that process leads to a better understanding of poetry.”

Munjuluri is going to continue her study and understanding of poetry, and she encourages others to find that passion as well.

“People need to first discover if they’re interested in the creative or the interpretive part of the process,” Munjuluri said. “There’s so many opportunities for both, no matter what you like. I think it becomes a true interpretation once you find what resonates with you, so find what you’re passionate about and make poems about that so you can express your true identity.”

photo for The Triangle

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HISTORIANS COULD STUDY YOUR TIKTOKS ONE DAY In this editorial, the Triangle discusses growing enterprise of digital history

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oomers have heard the same phrase from well-meaning adults throughout their lives: “Once it’s on the internet, you can’t take it back.” And generally, that’s solid advice. The last thing you want is for colleges to stumble upon a screenshot of an embarrassing social media post you made and then promptly deleted. Perhaps more interesting, though, is the bigger picture of online preservation.

Over the past 25 years, an everincreasing portion of human activity has moved onto the internet. It has given rise to social movements, political scandals and new ways of relating to the world.

But compared to the traditional ways of keeping records, like newspapers, the internet is fleeting. One leading digital preservation initiative, the Internet Archive, puts it this way: “Most societies place importance on preserving artifacts of their culture and heritage… Our culture now produces more and more artifacts in

digital form. The Archive's mission is to help preserve those artifacts and create an Internet library for researchers, historians, and scholars.”

A great illustration of how this works is the Wayback Machine. Launched in 2001, it allows users to travel back in internet history to visit web pages or websites that have since been deleted or modified. Go back to 2006 to visit the now defunct social media platform MySpace, or see how events were reported in real-time by perusing the records of any online news outlet. It’s a truly fascinating tool, whether used to relive the glory days of mid-2000s web design or to understand contemporary reactions to recent historical events.

While today’s historians are limited in their access to primary sources, written at the time the event in question took place, tomorrow’s historians will be able to access a vast array of sources to any given event. Traditionally, historians have had to wrestle with the limitations of their primary

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sources, because they often represented the views of privileged social groups; after all, widespread literacy regardless of race, class or gender is a relatively recent development. Social media has further lowered the barrier of sharing one’s opinion.

The implications of the rise of digital history are wide-ranging, if not a little humorous to those of us who were raised on technology. It’s not unrealistic to imagine a researcher two hundred years from now writing a scholarly article analyzing the TikTok trends of the 2020s or the impact of memes on the politics of 2016-2020. To the content creators of this today, this might seem absurd, but these posts provide a valuable window into how people living in the year 2023 relate to the events around them. So the next time you go to post something questionable, you might need to be prepared to explain it not only to colleges today, but to your grandchildren fifty years from now.

CLIMATE PROJECT TROUBLES

The approval of the Willow Project is a controversial climate move according to opinion writer Natalie Brown

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n March, the Biden Administration decided to approve the Willow Project.

A venture of ConocoPhillips, the project is a drilling operation on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve. The area holds up to 600 million barrels of oil, which would take years to reach the market. Initially approved by the Trump administration in 2020 for the construction of five drilling pads, the Biden administration reduced it to three– still allowing the company to drill about 90% of the oil they are pursuing while garnering electoral support for reducing the environmental impact, though marginal.

Some argue that the administration had its hands tied in the decision: ConocoPhillips, operating in 14 countries and strengthened by $47.621 billion in profit this past year, is a far stronger enemy than the non-profit

environmental groups currently fighting the approval in Washington.

Some Alaska Native groups support the project, saying it could be a much-needed new source of revenue for the region and fund services. However, other Alaskan Natives living closer to the planned project are deeply concerned about the health and environmental impacts of significant oil development. Millions of people have petitioned the government to cease construction for fear of accelerating climate disaster. By the administration’s estimates, the project would generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planetwarming carbon pollution a year – equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads. This level of pollution is just more pavement on the road to climate disaster.

by Natalie Brown

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

A review of an Oscarwinning German film

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oldiers in WW1 are killing themselves with forks. Meanwhile, “authority” complains that the croissants were not fresh.

“Authority” drinks tea and watches bombings from its balcony while soldiers get run over by enemy tanks and catch fire.

“All Quiet On the Western Front”, released in 2022, was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four of them. The film is in the war genre, but it almost seemed horror-like. With the sound and the shots, if you didn’t have any prior knowledge of the film, you would think it was a sort of postapocalyptic horror movie. My favorite part of the film was that it was a foreign film, from Germany. It is a nice change from all these American films with an American POV, so I really enjoyed that it was from Germany’s

POV, because they are usually the antagonist.

This war film was very realistic, one of the most realistic ones I have ever seen. It really touched on the brutality of war and young soldiers. I read that the director really wanted to make a war film that doesn't portray the main character as a hero, and I think this film accomplished that. The ending was almost anticlimactic, but I think the film wouldn’t be half as good if the ending was different. I liked the aspects in this film that aren’t shown in a lot of other war movies.

This film actually made me think about the gruesome effects of war, and it accomplished more than almost any war film that I have seen. Overall the film was shot and directed well, its cinematography was beautiful and memorable and it is very deserving of all the recognition it received.

by Ivy Davidson

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YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Triangle columnist Izzy Munn breaks down the celebrity obsession

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ever will I ever forget where I was the night of April 6.

Two friends and I were driving home from a baseball game and had just picked up dinner from Jaggers. As I was driving across the overpass, I heard the words that will “Long Live” in my head. “TAYLOR SWIFT AND JOE ALWYN BROKE UP!” My mind was a “Blank Space.”

Never in my “Wildest Dreams” did I ever think that Taylor and Joe would break up. They were meant to be together, “Forever and Always.” He was supposed to be her “London Boy.” I sped home as quickly as I could so I could read the article myself. I put the car in park and immediately pulled out my phone to see I had at least 30 text messages asking me if I had seen the news. My face turned “Red.” I couldn’t believe that in the palm of my hand I was reading the downfall of a relationship I

thought I knew “All Too Well” for the past six years, as I kept track of my favorite singer and her “Lover.”

As I scrolled through each article, and read every reassuring tweet saying it was fake, something felt wrong. I was reading the very public breakup of two prominent celebrities and every “Treacherous” detail of their entire relationship. Despite trying to keep the relationship as private as they could, it was now plastered on every news channel in the country. I couldn’t help but think about how I would feel if this was “ME!” A lot of times we forget that, despite what we may think, celebrities are humans too.

Their relationships and lives are just as sensitive as our own.

Public figures, while knowingly being in the spotlight, still deserve privacy and respect like we do.

Recently, singer Ariana

Grande came out talking about how people had been commenting on hers, as well as other celebrities' body image and weight. She pointed out how fans shouldn’t be this comfortable speaking about the health and bodies of famous people, or anyone for that fact.

Celebrity gossip is “Nothing New.” Respecting the lives of celebrities isn’t really something that we do in society, but maybe it's something that we should work on. Imagine if people were talking about your relationship, or your health, on every social media platform available. The mental toll events like that could have on any person is unimaginable, so we shouldn’t let the famous be where the standard stops. By reading celebrity gossip, none of us are “Innocent” in the matter.

“If This Was A Movie,” Taylor and Joe would still be living their “Love Story” and all would be well in the

world. Alas, I am still trying to mentally process their breakup and how they may “Never Ever Get Back Together.” But now, I can at least gain some “Closure” and “Shake It Off” knowing that I am no longer feeding into the media frenzy that caused problems in their relationship to begin with. In the future, we need to continue to recognize the problem with celebrity media and the damage it can cause to so many people.

“Long Story Short,” it’s time to make a “Change.”

THE SHOW CONTINUES A review of the third season of the hit television series, “Outer Banks”

by Ben Psota

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he hit television series “Outer Banks” has captivated audiences worldwide for three seasons now, but there seems to be no end in sight. The third season has just recently been released, and it was alright, but the show is starting to get very repetitive, and a conclusion to the series should happen soon.

I feel like season after season and episode after episode contain the same events as the last. There is always a treasure that the main characters are after during each season, and during each episode, there is always a point where the group of main characters, who label themselves as the “Pogues”, are on the run from somebody, whether that's the cops

or someone else who wants the treasure as well.

There are some other plot points that do add variety to the show, and it is very interesting and captivating the way the show is written, but it is getting a little repetitive.

In my opinion, the show should end right now because the ending of the third season presented great closure. The Pogues found the fabled “El Dorado” and are now living happily ever after with the fortunes they all received. However, it has already been confirmed that a fourth season is in the making, so there’s no saying when the show will end.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Students discuss their experience with shopping and the upcoming BCSC Prom

by Deshna Venkatachalam design by Sylvia Sasse

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cool, spring breeze fills the air with the street lights illuminating the night sky.

This year, BCSC is hosting Prom 2023: A Cinematic Premiere. Preparation for this night starts

months earlier. A perfect night out on the red carpet calls for the perfect dress.

Representative for XO by Sophia’s senior Micah Dismore explains her experience in the prom world.

“Being a [Faviana] brand ambassador is super fun because you get to try on tons of fun dresses, take pictures in them and you get featured on their Instagram,” Dismore said. “I love representing stuff that I love.”

Shopping for the right dress can be an extensive experience. Dismore describes what her prom shopping experience was like this year.

“Since I work at XO, I just tried on a ton of dresses until I found one that I loved,” Dismore said.

While Dismore struggled to know exactly what dress she wanted for her senior prom, senior Abby Shute explains how she has had an idea in mind since freshman year.

“I had a Pinterest board for four years,” Shute said. “When I was a freshman, I couldn’t wait for prom, so when it came to

actually looking at the dress I kind of knew what I had in mind.”

Having an idea in mind prior to shopping helped Shute be able to find the perfect dress almost immediately.

“I was looking for formal dresses with my friends, and I happened to see the prom dress that I have now,” Shute said. “I tried it on for fun and I instantly fell in love with it.”

While both Dismore and Shute went in-person to find their prom dress, junior Kenzie Pendleton chose the digital route.

“Since I did it online, it wasn’t a huge ordeal,” Pendleton said. “It was nice to be able to do it anytime and look at lots of options.”

Buying dresses is just one step in the right direction for prom. Dismore explains what she is looking most forward to the night of May 6.

“I’m looking forward to getting ready, taking pictures, going out to dinner and the Prom parade,” Dismore said.

SWEEPING UP THE COMPETITION Junior Siddhant Jain won the Regional competition for the Maverick Challenge

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journey that started in Julya has now turned into a successful, award-winning business all started with an idea.

“I met the owner of Tipton Lakes Athletic Club (TLAC), and he seemed like a really cool guy and he was making a lot of money, so I was interested in how he was doing that,” Jain said.

Keeping in touch with his mentor, Jain built up to something greater.

“Eventually in July, [I] started making some content for TLAC and realized I could

market these services for other businesses to make money and expand my business,” Jain said.

Months later, Jain discovered the Maverick Challenge, a business competition for high school students in southern Indiana that aims to introduce participants to basic business principles through entrepreneurship.

“I submitted an application when my business was just a really rough idea," Jain said. "I didn’t know where it was going to be going or how I was going to present [my business] at the time.”

However, as the competition continued, Jain began to

expand this rough sketch into a solidified business model.

“I developed my business into a social media marketing agency,” Jain said. “[It’s] basically a business that creates content, manages content and promotes content for businesses.”

Jain was able to sweep up the competition and placed first in the regional competition for the Maverick Challenge, an experience he is grateful for. “[The Maverick Challenge] provided me with so many great opportunities, more brand awareness and overall just a helping environment for me,” Jain said.

by Paula Ramos design by Sylvia Sasse

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BEEHIVE BUILD

Buzzworthy senior project uses a unique pollinator to increase local biodiversity

by Natalie Brown design by Abbi Lovins photo by Alice Pisoni

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Senior Christian Niekamp p oses with his be ehive.

He made b eehive for his senio s r project.

WHAT’S THE BUZZ? Here’s some more info on Mason bees and why they are important. source United States Department of Agriculture

enior Christian Niekamp has long been conscious of the environment.

A current member of the Conservation Club and a student in AP Environmental Science, he plans to continue his studies in environmental science after graduation. Niekamp’s passion for sustainability and environmentalism led him to consider ways he could contribute positively to the local ecosystem.

“I originally wanted to create a native garden, but then I realized I didn’t have the time or resources to do so. That morphed into using bees, because I’m into sustainability and environmentalism and being eco-friendly. My senior project is an endeavor to build mason bee hives, put them together and place them around Columbus,” Niekamp said. “I chose mason bees because they are far better at pollinating, and European honey bees are

They’re non-aggressive.

Mason Bees are excellent pollinators, 120 times more effective than other bees.

They’re called mason bees because they use mud and clay to construct their homes.

They’re solitary.

an invasive species that can harm our local ecosystem and pollinators. My project intends to increase biodiversity and encourage plant life to flourish.”

Niekamp’s work has led to a variety of collaborations and connections within the community.

“I’ve worked with my mentor Chuck Burkart, a mason bee expert that works with Brown County State Park, and family members to help construct the hives,” Niekamp said.

Amongst fostering new connections, the project has also led to new skills he wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

“This project has introduced me to woodworking; something I never would have pursued on my own. In my planning, I never thought I’d need to do this much work with the wood, but I actually like it. It’s been rewarding,” Niekamp said.

They improve the yield on fruit trees.

Mason Bees emerge in early spring when temperatures are still cold.

They increase the quantity and quality of blooms on flowering plants and herbs.

NEW DRIVERS NUISANCE

by Izzy Munn design by Abbi Lovins

With new drivers getting their licenses, North parking lots are more crowded than ever

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tarting at the beginning of this school year, students have noticed the apparent increase of cars in the parking lots. With sophomores, juniors and seniors having the potential to receive their licenses, the number of cars in the parking lots is getting higher and higher. Noticing the differences in the amount of cars is junior Vanessa Holloway, who got her license in February of this year.

Before getting her license, Holloway was dropped off at school rather than having to deal with the stress of the parking lot.

Despite this, she still prefers driving herself rather than being in the hands of someone else.

“Driving to school is way more appealing than having to be dropped off by another person,” Holloway said. “You don’t have to wait for anyone else to be ready, you only have to worry about getting yourself ready to go.”

Holloway’s need for speed led her to drive to school alone the Monday after she got her license. Immediately, she realized the annoyance and overwhelming amount of traffic that comes with parking in the school lots.

“I think the parking lots are definitely overcrowded,” Holloway said.

“If we had more parking spaces, there would be less traffic traveling in and out of the school.”

Junior Vanessa Holloway pictured with her car. “I think Dean of the parking lots are definitely overcrowded.”

Students, Brelyn photo by Meghana Penmathsa Nolting, says

that an increasing school population is a very possible reality for North. Such a large number of students could warrant a potential size increase for North.

“If space became an issue at North, the school corporation might have to look at adding additional spaces or redistricting,” Nolting said.

With the potential of increasing numbers of students coming into the school, Nolting says the parking situation, as well as other spaces, could be impacted.

“It could potentially impact parking and common spaces such as the library, cafeteria, athletic facilities, etc.” Nolting said. “We are fortunate that we currently have great facilities and staff that are flexible when it comes to accommodating more students.”

While the uncertainty of the growing school population might be a problem for parking, amongst other common areas, North is fully prepared when it comes to handling the educational aspect of our large sized classes.

“Staffing adjustments are made every spring in order to accommodate increasing class sizes,” Nolting said. “We do not have any challenges when it comes to not having enough class room.”

WHAT TO DO Here is a quick guide of what to do if you get into an accident.

1) Check yourself and any passengers for injuries 2) Get yourself to a safe area 3) Call 911 4) Exchange information (insurance, contact info., etc.)

5) Wait for help (cops, paramedics) 6) Document everything (damage, injuries, cops, witnesses, etc.)

7) Contact insurance

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SOCIALLY SMART Socially Smart A glimpse into the ripple effect of social media use

by Alex Osburn, Ajay Singireddy, Jasmine Yang

ixty seconds. Sixty-six thousand Instagram photos.

Five hundred hours of YouTube videos. Upload. Two million, four hundred and thirty thousand Snapchats. Sixteen million texts. Send.

According to data visualization and software company DOMO’s 2022 Data Never Sleeps report, these are just a select few examples of the overwhelming amount of data created on the internet each minute. With digital users constantly putting more content into the online world, the permanence of this data can become grounds for concern. As director of research and strategy at digital design company Simple Focus, Kerry Crawford interacts daily with developing online programs that will eventually become part of some internet users’ digital reputation.

“A digital footprint is a record of a person’s online activity. It’s like a breadcrumb trail of data that you leave every time you do anything online,” Crawford said.

“Your footprint grows the more you share things, or when sites or social networks track your activity. Once that footprint is made, it’s almost impossible to get rid of.”

A possible struggle with figuring out how to maintain a strong, positive digital footprint. Dean Aaron Karrer explains a simple criteria students here can follow.

“Expected behavior is expected behavior,” Karrer said. “What we ask you to do to be a responsible student, to be a responsible citizen for that matter, are things that we’re going to ask you to do online.”

The desire to fit within societal standards can outweigh moral obligations in one’s brain when

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deciding whether to post something or not. Sophomore Eli Psota describes how social media sets the standards for trends and what should be known.

“I do think social media does have an impact on my life because it kind of sets trends for what I do and what other people around me do,” Psota said.

Due to the long-term nature of online actions, it is important for digital citizens to always be aware of the audience their posts, messages and comments could eventually reach.

“Expected behavior is expected behavior. What we ask you to do to be a responsible student, to be a responsible citizen for that matter, are things that we’re going to ask you to do online.”

Dean Aaron Karrer

“Honestly, the less you put out there, the better,” Crawford said. “I think it’s good to assume that if you put it out there, even on a private account, that it could be public.

Screenshots exist, and you can only sometimes tell if someone has taken one.”

A primary concern when it comes to social media is the problem of the unknown. There is no way for anybody to know what actions other people decide to take when looking at somebody’s social media post.

Cari Meng, Director of Housing at Denison University, describes possible consequences of the unknown.

“There’s no telling who recorded something on someone else’s phone

from Snapchat,” Meng said. “And so I think there’s this false sense of ‘oh I’ve got this, I can get rid of this, I can make this go away.’ We see [this] with celebrities all the time, ‘oh so and so tweeted this, the world got a screenshot of it,’ and they deleted it 30 seconds later. A lot of the internet is forever, even if we think we can get rid of it.”

Along with shared screenshots or secret videos, other consequences from one’s actions on social media or other online platforms can ensue in the future. Crawford shares some advice to avoid such repercussions.

“If you post something by accident and you realize it quickly, delete it as fast as possible,” Crawford said.

“Also, remember that you’re human.

Let’s say that you’re in high school or college and you make a joke that you think is funny at the time, but years later, it can be read as insensitive or offensive. If you get called out on it, it’s best to own it and apologize.”

Although users can face harmed reputations for posts considered offensive, uninformed actions can also lead to negative outcomes down the line. Sophomore Allie Long experienced this firsthand as a young internet user.

“I started off on social media when I was really young and I really didn’t know to not post certain things, so there’s probably a lot of stuff about me when I was eight [and] just posting random things,” Long said.

When she was nine, Long posted a video that developed into a frightening lesson about the realities of the online world.

“I had a YouTube channel when I was a little kid and I got death threat comments on my YouTube gamer video, and I was like, ‘woah,’” Long

said. “It made me kind of realize how anybody would just go on social media and say anything, even if they don’t know who you are.”

While issues similar to this persist today, there have been methods enacted in order to combat these issues.

“I like that on YouTube now they block the comments off if it’s a kid posting a video. I think that’s really good,” Long said. “I feel like they’ve added more restrictions on social media for little kids now.”

For students here, any kind of online behavior that poses a risk to the learning environment can lead to disciplinary action. Karrer explains the criteria used to evaluate the need for

“You just have to own it and apologize and so at that point, think about the harmed parties. All you can do is own it and be like ‘yeah, it was in poor taste, but I did that, which is why I deleted it, but yeah, I did put that out there for a moment.”

Director of Housing Cari Meng dean intervention in such instances.

“The biggest thing that I think kids need to understand when it comes to their digital footprint and social media is that any behavior that would be found to be in violation of school policy, then if it affects the school day in any type of way,” Karrer said. “If it affects a safe environment, if it affects a student’s ability to perform their job at school, then we’re required to act.”

The repercussions for irresponsible and harmful digital actions can range from a dean’s conference to more

severe consequences. Ultimately, Karrer believes a main takeaway from the widespread effects of social media presence is to always be cognizant that others can find the origin of harmful or insensitive content.

“Anything you say and do online, given enough information and foresight, we can find what you say,” Karrer said.

Making a mistake online can have larger consequences than a simple trip to a dean’s office. One’s digital footprint can follow them in their future, including when they are further along in their educational career. Meng describes the role social media presence plays in hiring students as residential assistants.

“Our hall of directors, the people who live in residence with students, we do check out their social media as well because the first thing you do as a student is look someone up online,” Meng said.

All students, not just those looking for employment, are subject to disciplinary action or other repercussions if they breach institution policy at any point in their social media career.

“For instance, taking a picture of someone who’s passed out drunk somewhere, or someone who maybe is revealing too much of themselves and can’t consent to that photo being taken, that’s a pretty serious violation of most codes of student conduct,” Meng said. “And yeah, those sorts of things happen on college campuses a lot. I think the main thing to remember is that even if a student, whether it’s a high school student or a college student, even if a student goes back, deletes the post, scrubs their whole social media profile, there’s no telling who got a screenshot of that.”

One effective way to maintain a positive digital footprint is simply thinking before posting. Meng describes a few questions one can ask themselves to properly consider all possible repercussions.

“How would you feel if it was on the front page of the newspaper,” Meng said. “How would you feel if your grandparents saw it? And there will always be people who say ‘I don’t care.

I don’t care what other people think.’

And that’s fine, until it starts to impact your life. So my best suggestion is don’t assume that just because you don’t use your last name on your social media that it can’t be traced back to you. Don’t assume that you and get rid of it. Try to put it through that grandparent test or the front page of the newspaper test before you post it.”

It is possible for negative actions similar to the examples Meng mentioned above to have immediate consequences, no matter what efforts are taken to delete it. Although digital footprints have the potential to bring past errors to light at any time, there are still actions online citizens can take to be proactive about improving the first impression they put forward.

“So, for instance let’s say you post something, someone gets a screenshot of it, there’s no way to pretend like ‘that wasn’t me.’ You just have to own it and apologize and so at that point, think about the harmed parties,” Meng said. “Maybe it’s just yourself, and in that situation, all you can do is own it and be like ‘yeah, it was in poor taste, but I did that, which is why I deleted it, but yeah, I did put that out there for a moment.’”

DIGITAL DATA IS A

?

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you tos pho load up

AT OTP H W FO L ITA

DIG

source @cnhsmedia Instagram poll

0.5 hours

ites webs isit you v

ng i t c ra cial e t n i so on works net

NORTH STUDENTS SPEND...

PER WEEK

5.8 hours

3.3 hours

6

3

0.9 hours

0

PRIVACY PROTECTED? source legaljobs.io

No

IN THE NEWS

67% of internet users are not aware of their country’s privacy and data protection rules

source epic.org

TikTok’s Congress Hearing

On March 23, TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew testified in a hearing g etsafe.or source n before the House Energy and Commerce online bullying or DIGITAL Committee. He was harassment FOOTPRINTS social engineering questioned about CAN RESULT IN TikTok users’ data attacks source netsafe.org privacy and safety sexting or blackmail measures for children harmed reputation using the app. and loss of job

12

9

Yes

of a path digital s umb r c d a e br rnet all inte ve ea users l behind

12.3 hours

44% of people have experienced some form of harassment on the internet

79% of internet users feel they have completely lost control over their personal data

15

COURT TO SIDELINE Junior Elise Preston quits basketball to try out for the varsity cheerleading

by Ivy Davidson design by Aidan Brown

"I was truly excited about trying something new, knowing the risk, and it paying off." junior Elise Preston

G

rowing up always going to her older sister’s cheer practices, and her mother doing it her whole life, cheerleading has always been part of junior Elise Preston’s life. After being on the basketball team throughout high school, Preston will no longer be on the team. Instead, she will be on the cheer team next school year, as a senior.

“There were some personal issues that drove me to quit, but I’m still doing AAU, so I haven’t fully given up basketball. I will miss my basketball teammates the most,” Preston said.

Although cheerleading is new for Preston, she is did all she could to get ready for try-outs.

“I have never cheered for a team; but growing up, I loved to go to my sisters’ practices. I got my back handspring back and I’m working on different jumps to prepare,” Preston said.

With her family’s prior experience with cheerleading, Preston has simply always wanted to take up the sport.

“I know these girls have been in this program since freshman year, so I have doubts. That

photo by Grace Wheatley

being said, I’m excited about this new adventure,” Preston said.

Preston has many things to be excited for if the tryouts work out in the end.

“My favorite thing about cheer is tumbling, I am also looking forward to cheering alongside my best friend,” Preston said.

The choice to leave the basketball team and pursue cheerleading was not an easy one, but she still sees the positives of the situation.

“It was the hardest decision I have ever made deciding that I wanted to pursue cheerleading instead of basketball,” Preston said.

With this change for her, Preston is ready for her path and to start something new.

“Basketball will forever be my favorite sport and I will always somehow be involved, but I’m excited,” Preston said.

Preston found out she made the cheer team and is ready for the season.

"Opening the letter there was a lot of anticipation going through my body, but it ended up all being worth it,” Preston said. "I was truly excited about trying something new, knowing the risk, and it paying off. I was also proud of myself simply because of the courage it took to try out. There's no better way to describe it other than, I was shell shocked."

ALL-STAR AWARDS

M

ultiple fall athletes have been recognized in The Republic as athletes of the year. Anthony Johnson was named for soccer, as well as Cooper Horn for football and Ava Bunker for girls’ golf. Julia Kiesler was not only girls’ cross country runner of the year, but she was also named Miss Cross Country by the Indiana Track and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Flynn Keele also won the IHSAA mental attitude award for boys’ soccer.

During the Indiana Youth State Hockey State Championship, senior and Columbus Icemen member

Outstanding athletes are recognized for their athletic and academic abilities

by Lydia Weed design by Carson Embree

John Merritt was awarded with the Howard Guitard mental attitude award. He was chosen out of all the senior hockey players in Indiana. He stood out among other candidates because of his high GPA, involvement in school activities and his senior project, which raised thousands of dollars for hockey equipment.

“My coaches had a huge impact on me winning this award,” Merritt said. “Coach Koy, Coach Bennet and my dad were all huge influences in my life that taught me the characteristics that led me to winning this award.”

Merritt discusses how his teammates have encouraged him throughout the season.

“They were always supporting me every step of the way, and I knew I could always count on them if I needed their help,” Merritt said.

Senior basketball player Emma Long was named to the All-Conference First Team as well as Academic All-State. She was also awarded the Bulldog Award. She was named to the Academic All-State because she had at least a 3.5 GPA, was in the top 25% of her class and played multiple seasons on varsity.

“The Academic All-State really meant a lot because I have always worked on my academics,” Long said.

Being named to the AllConference team was a big

BASEBALL BEGINNINGS

T

senior Kyler Hashman

he crack of the baseball bat fills the air while spectators are watching the path of the ball in anticipation. As the ball soars over the fence, the crowd rushes to stand up and celebrate a home run. The baseball season here began on April 3 when they played against Roncalli. Having an end goal in mind at the beginning of the season gives the players something to work toward. Individual players are working toward setting and achieving goals to have a successful season as a team.

Junior pitcher Blake Osbourne has his eyes set on

accomplishment for Long.

“Being named AllConference was also good because I’ve been wanting to be named All-Conference for a long time because I’ve been honorable mention for the past three years,” Long said. senior John Merrit

North baseball players describe how they feel about the upcoming season

by Ben Psota design by Ram Gowda

a specific goal he wishes to achieve.

“I have a personal goal of pitching 35 or more innings and posting a sub-3.5 ERA [earned run average],” Osbourne said. “I have been and will continue to keep practicing hard and perfecting some things as the season goes on.”

Even though each player may set their own goals, baseball relies on every player working together and having a strong team environment.

Junior Zach McLean describes the goals that the team has set for this season.

“Our team goal is to win as

many games as possible and grow until the playoffs, then go as far as we can,” McLean said.

In order to get there, senior Kyler Hashman has been reflecting on this season.

“It has been a rough start, but the past few games we’ve seen what it looks like when we play lazy versus when we play as a team and give it our best effort,” Hashman said.

“I think as the season goes on we will keep learning as a team and that will help win more games and show what CN Baseball is capable of this year.”

17

TO THE FINISH

design by Irvin Castaneda photos by Grace Wheatley

Track team competed in the Brown County Triangular Tuesday, Bull Dogs won both the boys’ and girls’ divisions against Seymour and Brown County

1

2

3

4

5 1. The boys’ distance runners compete in the 1600 meter race. “I felt really good about my race because I PR’d by 3 second,” sophomore Johnny Klaus said.

2. Junior Nariah Simpson runs the 100 meter dash during the Brown County Triangular. “I felt good about the race, and I had a lot of confidence when I was running.”

3. Fifty runners competed in the boys 1600 meter run and CNHS topped the event. Sophomore Evan Bense PRd the event. “I went sub 5 for the first time and PRd by 3 seconds. I am really proud, this was a big confidence boost,” Bense said.

4. Pushing in the 100 meter dash, freshman Arhant Awale leads in the event.

5. Sophomore Josiah Davis starts the first leg of the 4 x 100 meter relay.

6. Freshmen Ava La Plante and Dayana Arau-Ortiz sprint in the 100 meter dash.

6

UPCOMING EVENTS April 6 vs. East April 22 Pike Invitational April 25 vs. East Central April 28 vs. Bloomington North May 5 Ben Davis Invitational May 9 vs. Franklin May 16 Girls Sectionals May 18 Boys Sectionals May 23 Girls Regionals May 25 Boys Regionals

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Stress Stats 7/10

13-17 U.S. ( ed e h t in m teens d) have na n as l io o years or depress ong m ty anxie problem a r o a maj ers pe their

106 34 6 2

TIP: Exercise is a good way to relieve stress and take a break!

Student stress levels have reached an all time high - how do we know and what can we do about it

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1

8

11

3

4

6

30

9

5

0 2

5

6

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8

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Stress levels of North students Source: @cnhsmedia Instagram poll

On a 10-point scale, the average adult rated their stress levels at a:

TIP: Make time to just relax

3.8

Students rated their stress levels at:

5.8

Top Sources of Stress for U.S. Students: - Finals and mid-terms (31%) - Class and workload (23%) - Homework (13%)

Source: research.com

75%

of U.S. high school students expressed boredom, anger, sadness, fear, or stress while in school.

TIP: Set up a study group if you feel stressed about a class

TIP: Rec you migh ognize when t ne mental heed more lp

design by Ananya Adur

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