Issuu

TECH

TURNOVER

THE

TRI NGLE

Columbus North High School • 1400 25th Street, Columbus, IN 47201 • Volume 105 Issue 1 • Sept. 18, 2026

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Colin Amini Bella Herbert Cassie Osburn

IN-DEPTH 12-15 TECH TURNOVER

WEBSITE EDITORS Levi Tobias Maddie Williams

Analyzing Indiana Senate Bill 78 and the impact on high school students’ communication

IN-DEPTH TEAM Lou Briand Vivian Munger Indi Meshberger BACK PAGE Gabe Marsh STAFF Maria Benavente Torres Brook Butler Jay Challatur Cayden Chandler Christian Cordova Landero Violet Dornfeld Chloe Feliciano Jaycee Hardesty Kylie Hartwell Charlotte Hummer Madison McCarver Hallie Mudd Coralie Newell Bella Nickerson Rue Payne Aldo Ramos-Soto Claire Rawlings Macey Rees Nick Sharpe Nolan Sparkman Mikah Staples Xavier Torres Noah Weidman ADVISERS Roth Lovins Rachel McCarver

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ONLINE PREVIEW

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VISIT CNHSMEDIA.COM TO READ MORE FROM THE STORIES IN THIS ISSUE

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.

LATINO CULTURE IN COLUMBUS

Members of the LOVE Club and individuals involved in Fiesta Latina speak on what makes their culture special to the community.

4-7

NEWS

STELLA JOINS ADMINISTRATION

BCPL HOST MARVEL COMIC ARTIST

LATINO CULTURE IN COLUMBUS

NHS IS CHANGING MANAGEMENT

Principal Dominick Stella discusses his past and his plans for the future

Panelist Jerry DeCaire presents program at BCPL

Members of the LOVE Club and individuals involved in Fiesta Latina speak on what makes their culture special to the community. NHS’ policies are changing, affecting students and the program

SETTING THE STAGE

A new spin is put on Homecoming with this year’s Broadway theme

8-10 STUDENT LIFE SETTING THE STAGE 8

A new spin is on Homecoming with this year’s Broadway theme

SMILES FOR MILES

FAR FROM HOME

Freshman Oliver Ortiz-Gonzalez demonstrates kindness and the trait of being outgoing to others Senior Maximo Lopez-Wong shares his experience studying abroad in Germany

XC ON THE ROAD

Cross country takes talent outside the state

16-17

OPINION A NEW ERA

A NEW ERA

THE GOSPEL CODE

AI is taking over every aspect of our lives, and it’s doing so poorly

The somewhat controversial casting of the X-Men 2028 Reboot

Modern adaptations of Greek myth aren’t accurate, and that’s okay…to an extent

CORRECT BIG THREE

Rap’s most accurate big three

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

As the fall athletic season begins, athletes meet, head to head, with cross town rivals in a week of competition

19-23

SPORTS

FRESH START 19

Meet the new faces of the athletic department

A SWING AND A HIT 20

An introduction into our girls golfing team

XC ON THE ROAD 21

Cross country takes talent outside the state

LET THE GAMES BEGIN 22-

As the fall athletic season begins, athletes meet, head to head, with cross town rivals in a week of competition

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STELLA JOINS ADMINISTRATION Principal Dominick Stella discusses his past and his plans for the future

efore becoming the person students know as “The Principal,” Dominick Stella was a student, athlete, teacher and coach. Now he brings his experiences to help North grow. “I was a principal at a middle school in Bloomington for a while, but my whole background in education was being a high school teacher and coach,” Stella said. “So the opportunity came up for me to move up to the high school level, and it was something I wanted to pursue.” After stepping into his new role, he has quickly noticed something special about North and our community, according to Stella. “The people are just super nice around here, and I feel that way about everybody, from teachers, guidance counselors to students and parents,” Stella said. “Along those lines of everyone being so nice, it’s not like that in a lot of places, so I don’t take that for granted. I think that’s really special.” According to Stella, the welcoming environment

is just one part of what makes North’s community unique. “The history here is great. Like we have a Bull Dog Alumni Association,” Stella said. “I often meet people in the community, and they tell me what graduating class they were and whatnot, and that’s not something that you get in a lot of other places. So it’s pretty unique.” As he continues getting to know North’s community, Stella hopes to learn from the people around him. “I’ve been telling everybody around here that I just want to learn as much about the school, the community, and our students,” Stella said. According to Stella, building connections with North’s community starts with getting to know the people around him. “Staff and students are humans first, so I’m always really big into just understanding people and their interests,” Stella said. “I always start meetings with what’s

by Mikah Staples design by Hallie Mudd

called ‘The good stuff,’ and we just talk about great things happening in our lives as humans.” According to Stella, with his focus on learning about the school, he also wants to preserve some things that already take place. “I really want to put “I want to students and staff on a sustain a lot of the positive pedestal. I want to brag things that about them as much happen here as possible to in Columbus North, so I don’t the community.” want to change principal Dominick Stella things erratically,” Stella said. Looking back on his time as a student, Stella remembers taking both academics and sports earnestly. “I was a strong student,” Stella said. “I took school very seriously. I would say I was not necessarily naturally the best student, but I graduated as valedictorian, I played football, and I ran track and field.” Outside of academics and athletics, Stella also has a passion for creativity and the arts.

“I became a [high school] art teacher… for so long because I absolutely love painting and drawing,” Stella said. According to Stella, his experiences have given him a piece of advice he hopes to share with everyone. “One piece of advice that I would give is to be present in the moment,” Stella said. “I think far too often we concern ourselves with what happened in the past or we’re worried about the future, causing unnecessary anxiety, and I wish people would just be present.” Even though Stella now leads the school, he has also thought about what his life would have looked like if he had taken a different path. “I’d probably be doing some type of graphic design,” Stella said. No matter the career path he could have taken, Stella’s goal at North remains focused on the people. “I really want to put students and staff on a pedestal. I want to brag about them as much as possible to the community,” Stella said.

photo by Nolan Sparkman

TIMELINE OF DR. STELLA’S CAREER PATH

2011-2012

2014-2017

Teacher and coach at Wawasee High School

Teacher and coach at Martinsville High School

NEWS

2017-2019 High School STEM, and fine arts teacher at Renaissance Academy

2019-2023 Assistant Principal at Jackson Creek Middle school

2023-2026 Principal at Jackson Creek Middle School

2026 Principal at Columbus North

BCPL HOSTS MARVEL COMIC ARTIST Panelist Jerry DeCaire presents program at BCPL

by Christian Landero design by Cayden Chandler he Bartholomew County Public Library hosts a large variety of events due to the population of the county. On Aug. 26, the BCPL hosted a program presented by MARVEL comic book artist Jerry DeCaire, which included live drawing, giving out signed sketches and a general description of how his line of work is done. “I’ve worked on ‘X-Men’, ‘Wolverine’, ‘Thor’, ‘Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D’, ‘Hawkeye’, [...] cameos of Iron Man, Dr. Strange, [...] there’s a lot of stuff,” DeCaire said. “I kind of like to raise appreciation for the arts a little bit. I think it doesn’t get enough appreciation for how much it can be cerebral.” Children’s programming librarian Annemarie Wallace, who played an active role in communicating with DeCaire to have him present at the library, thinks events like these are important for a community like Columbus. “We have such a diverse community and people of different interests, people of different ages, all sorts of differences,” Wallace said. “Well, [...] we say a lot [that] to every book their reader or to every reader their book. And that’s the same with programs.” Communications employee at the library Liz Cleland agrees with Wallace on the importance of events such as DeCaire’s. “When I was younger, the things that were happening at the library [were] our entertainment, and that was the way that we could see the world beyond [...] our small community,” Cleland said. “I think it really is inspiring to younger people, and [...] you can start a new career when you’re 40, or maybe it’s inspired an adult to start a new career or to just illustrate on the side.” Seymour native and prospective Columbus resident Connor Perry,

who wants to be a more active patron of the library, thinks that the diversity of events and people at the library is an important part of the community. “I think having diversity in your community is very important.” Perry said. “You’re not going to learn just by being surrounded by people who are the exact same as you. I think Columbus is very much on its way to be very open when it comes to diversity and events like this, which is incredible.” Library shelver Lee Chestnut speaks on how the library is more than just a hub of information for the community. “It’s wonderful that these places can exist,” Chestnut said. “I feel like it’s more than just a place where you can get really important information, movies, media players and important stuff for free [...]. We also offer that sense of community, because Columbus doesn’t have a community center, and so I feel like we kind of fit that bill pretty well.”

DECAIRE’S BEST COMIC SERIES DEADPOOL

X-MEN

WOLVERINE

Jerry DeCaire presents the design of some of his most known comics at the Bartholomew County Public Library

photo by Christian Landero NEWS

LATINO CULTURE IN COLUMBUS Members of the LOVE Club and individuals involved in Fiesta Latina speak on what makes their culture special to the community. by Charlotte Hummer design by Rue Payne

Figurines wearing sombreros at Fiesta Latina two years ago

photo for The Triangle

ext month, Columbus will be celebrating Latino Culture at Fiesta Latina in downtown. Individuals involved in the LOVE Club and Fiesta Latina explain why Latino culture is important to Columbus. Adviser of the LOVE Club (Latino American Organization of Volunteers in Education) Miah Nickerson explains why she chose to host the club. “I work with a lot of different students and many of my students are learning English,are native Spanish speakers, are both or are very connected to the Latino culture,” Nickerson said. “I knew the kids well, I could speak the language, so it just kind of worked out.” Nickerson explains how the club has an impact on the community here. “I think there’s a lot of kids who maybe otherwise would not join a club,” Nickerson said. “As far as I know, it’s one of the only clubs, maybe the only club, that holds its meetings in Spanish.” Nickerson also spoke on importance of diversity here. “I think the importance of diversity at North is huge. I think diversity is North to a degree,” Nickerson said. “I don’t think that we would have nearly half the excitement or good things going on here if we didn’t have as diverse of students as we do. I mean, it’s really awesome to me to walk in every day and see the flags of the world, hear people speaking a variety of languages, and everyone feels like that’s something that’s totally normal to do here.” Another way that Columbus celebrates diversity in the community is Fiesta Latina. Luz Elena Michel, founder of the festival,

NEWS

WHAT IS IT?

Saturday, Oct. 24 A lively day filled with music, dance, and flavors including: • Live performances including authentic • Mariachi and traditional dance • Delicious food from Latino vendors • Educational Booths • Children’s Activities, etc.

explains what the festival is and how it started. “Fiesta Latina started in 2015 as a way to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. The first event was held at the Columbus Learning Center, and it was a smaller celebration,” Michel said. “Over the years, it has grown into a festival that celebrates the diversity of the Latino community in Columbus.” Michel explains numerous reasons why people should attend Fiesta Latina. “It’s just a really fun event,” Michel said. “You can eat great food, listen to music, dance, meet people and experience different parts of Latino culture. And it’s completely okay if you come just because you want to have a good time—you’re going to learn something along the way.” Michel explains what it means to her to see the community involved in her culture. “Culture is such an important part of who we are, and seeing other people interested in it and wanting to celebrate with us is really special,” Michel said. “I especially love seeing young people involved because they’re the ones who will carry these traditions forward.” Some of the young people involved in the festival are also in the LOVE Club. President of the LOVE Club, Melissa Chavez, speaks on why the festival is important to Columbus. “I think it’s important to Columbus because we have so much culture in this town, and I like that people are interested and getting to know good people, good cultures and new traditions,” Chavez said. Chavez also explained why people should attend Fiesta Latina. “It’s just the fact that you can learn about other cultures. You can learn about so many cultures,” Chavez

said. “You can taste different foods, talk to different people and have fun.” Chavez also spoke on why high school students and teenagers would enjoy the festival. “This year, we’re gonna have a mechanical bull, live music, tacos and Mexican food,” Chavez said. Culture and diversity are vital parts of the community of Columbus. Fiesta Latina is a prime example of just that. While the festival has been postponed to Oct. 24, it is still shaping up to be an event full of life and culture. Luz Elena Michel explained how the event will take place. “After thoughtful feedback from our vendors, volunteers, and community partners, the Fiesta Latina Committee made the decision to reschedule the event with consideration for safety concerns and recent circumstances affecting our local Latino and immigrant community,” Michel said. “We wanted to make sure Fiesta Latina could be a welcoming and comfortable space where everyone feels encouraged to come together and celebrate. Moving the event to Oct. 24 also gives us a wonderful opportunity to bring Fiesta Latina together with our Día de los Muertos celebrations.” Luz Elena Michel explains how the festival will be important to the community. “We see this as a chance for the entire Columbus community to come together, celebrate, learn, and experience a little more of the beautiful cultures and traditions that make our community so special,” Michel said.

NHS IS CHANGING LEADERSHIP

NHS’ leadership changes, affecting students and the program

by Nick Sharpe design by Violet Dornfeld

ational Honor Society, also known as NHS, is a program offered at North to “upstanding students.” This year, it’s under new management, with teachers who are changing the philosophy of NHS with new requirements and roles. “We are a group open to upperclassmen who qualify,” Stahl said. “The first qualification NHS members at their first meeting is to have a 10.0 on a photo by Nolan Sparkman 12-point scale for your on our grades a lot, so you have to have a GPA. Students are good GPA, and it’s mostly focusing on who typically invited at the beginning of junior you are as a person academically and serving year.” the community.” New biology teacher Heather Trandal Carothers explains the reason she joined discusses what goes on within the club. NHS. “This year, Ms. Stahl and I are taking “What made me interested is that I think the reins, and we want to make NHS as it’s a really good group of people; every one student-centered as possible,” Trandal said. of my peers said ‘you should do it, it looks “We’ve already had our first meeting and good on college transcripts, you get to meet introduced that we will be running for office, new people,’” Carothers said. “It inspired me so we’re going to have officers that will then to put myself out in the community more and be taking more of the lead on what projects get community service hours.” we do. We’re looking to have NHS be more According to the new leaders, there are reflective of the students at North and not the changes to the requirements for NHS. teachers.” “Sometimes the spring semester will be Senior Andi Carothers explains NHS from pretty busy for you, and you’ll have more time a student perspective. in the fall for volunteer hours,” Trandal said. “NHS is a bunch of people who work “We have said you have only a minimum of on volunteer hours and get to help the two hours per semester, to alleviate that and community out,” Carothers said. “We focus

WHAT DOES IT TAKE? The requirements to be a part of the National Honor’s Society

give them a little bit of flexibility.” Stahl explains the schedule changes, as the meetings are now once a month during advisory. “You’ll see more regular meetings and things like that are probably the biggest thing,” Stahl said. Carothers expresses her opinion on the changes. “I like that we’re meeting more,” Carothers said. “I think it’s really good for people to be involved in stuff, and with more meetings, we can talk more about what we’re up to.” Trandal expressed her excitement for leading NHS this year. “I transferred here from Seymour, and in Seymour I was the academic team coach,” Trandal said. “I loved getting time to spend with other students I wouldn’t normally see based off the classes that I teach, so it gives me a bigger picture of the students, and helps me meet kids I wouldn’t normally see.” According to Stahl, she shares this opinion. “It’s a wonderful organization, and it has a very different reputation nationally, and it’s a thing students can take an opportunity to become involved in,” Stahl said. “It’s kind of whatever you make of it. I’m excited to help students make their mark with the NHS and get involved.”

Maintain academic excellence Complete service hours Attend mandatory meetings Demonstrate leadership & character Submit application and agreement form Pay chapter dues

NEWS

SETTING THE STAGE A new spin is put on Homecoming with this year’s Broadway theming

by Maria Benavente design by Madison McCarver

his week has been filled with Homecoming activities and will end tomorrow night with the Homecoming dance. Throughout the years, North’s Homecoming week has gone through many different versions, some of which include parades, trike races and last-minute flips. This school year’s new and improved version of Homecoming week is almost finalized. Student Assembly advisor Kelley Culp gives insight on student leadership in what goes into Homecoming. “For student leaders, this is a great opportunity,” Culp said. “We have three different groups that they can work with, one for the dance itself, Friday night activities and activities during the week leading up to Homecoming. Students can get involved in any of those activities, and there’s leadership opportunities in all of these places, in planning and execution, and there’s lots of leadership during the lead-up.” According to Culp, planning for Homecoming with a large group such as Assembly has its constraints. “It’s difficult finding time to actually meet to plan, our students are busy with lots of other things,” Culp said. “It’s tricky to find time to get everything done when there’s so many things to get done.” In Culp’s eyes, planning involves a lot of trial and error, but also allows room for experimentation from student representatives. With the evolution of Homecoming, Culp is “always surprised at something new.” “The creativity, the students come up with some of the most fun ideas,” Culp said. “Sometimes we can’t do the things that they

think of, and that’s okay too, but getting to do iterations of that is what makes a good leader in the future.” In the opinion of Culp, being a good Assembly adviser comes down to lending an open ear and mind. “It’s a lot about listening. It’s truly about being a good listener. I don’t want to squash students’ ideas,” Culp said. As an Assembly overseer, Culp directs students in their leadership roles. See Sophomore Aiden Le, an Assembly member who helped to plan Homecoming events that are new to this generation of students. “We’ve been planning a lot about the pep rallies and what we’re doing games and timewise,” Le said. “We’ve been planning our Homecoming float, the football game, and weekly activities leading up to the big weekend.” This year’s Homecoming lead-up features never before seen events, including the Pep Rally, which Le has been helping out with. “My favorite part of Homecoming has been planning the Pep Rally. It has been so fun and the energy was so cool,” Le said. According to Le, Assembly has to take a logistic perspective to make sure everything runs smoothly because there are “lots of parts” to planning a successful Homecoming week. “The most challenging part of organizing was definitely working on the Pep Rally and the floats,” Le said. Despite all of the moving parts, Assembly’s efforts have ended up rounding out the Homecoming season, with, according to Culp, lots of positive feelings. “It’s exciting, tiring, but fun,” Culp said.

HOMECOMING PLAYBILL Everything you need to know about HOCO celebrations

PROP HUNT

Every day musical themed props will be hidden around the school for prizes.

MUSICAL LUNCHES

In the cafeteria, everyday, a musical will shown. Including Wicked and Hamilton.

BULL DOG CUP

A trophy awarded to the cohort with the most PBIS tickets, as well as best dressed for spirit days.

HOCO PEP RALLY

There will be a pep rally featuring a variety of games in Gym 1 today during advisory.

HOCO DANCE

photo by Nolan Sparkman

Student Assembly films an Instagram Reel to promote Homecoming Spirit days.

STUDENT LIFE

The Homecoming dance is on Saturday, with tickets needing to be bought by today. If you are buying a ticket, you must bring $15 and your Student ID.

SMILES FOR MILES Freshman Oliver Ortiz-Gonzalez demonstrates kindness and the trait of being outgoing

by Claire Rawlings design by Coralie Newell ntering high school as a freshman can be terrifying; the long, crowded hallways seem to stretch longer than the eye can see, and many loud students push through the crowds daily. Instead of viewing the halls as a traumatic journey, Freshman Oliver Ortiz-Gonzalez uses the six minutes of passing period to be as friendly as he can to his fellow students. He explains his dedication to recognizing every student. “[I interact with others by] just saying kind words to them,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said. In addition to speaking with positive language, he uses hand gestures. “I wave at them and greet them and give them fistbumps and give them high fives,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said. Ortiz-Gonzalez explains his feelings of pride toward his character, and hopes to inspire others to act the same way. “Being yourself is going to be good,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said, “Everyone likes me. They say everyone likes me.” He explicates the significance of brightening others’ days; a smile can travel a long way. “Greet them and make them smile,” Ortiz-Gonzalez “Yeah, I would like to inspire other people.” During his interview, Ortiz-Gonzalez demonstrated his strategy by speaking to another student. “Hi,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said, “I like your outfit. What’s your name? I’m Oliver. Nice to meet you. Want to be friends forever?”

He demonstrated that his goal isn’t difficult to achieve; other students just need to take initiative and recognize that everyone can be friends. “Just say hi to boys and girls and make them smile,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said, “[Other students should do this too] because they’re good friends.” Ortiz-Gonzalez describes his opinions about being a freshman in high school. “[Entering high school, I was] excited,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said, “[My favorite part of high school is] having friends.” Ortiz-Gonzalez recognizes that being an introverted person can make this goal harder; however, he has advice for this barrier. “Do you get shy sometimes?” OrtizGonzalez said, “Me too. Move past that sometimes.” He has a go-to topic when he can’t think of anything to say. “I’ll talk about friendship,” OrtizGonzalez said, “How our friends belong to each other.” Ortiz-Gonzalez reflects on his journey of making new friends. “I would like to say everyone likes me,” Ortiz-Gonzalez said, “I’m awesome and I’m amazing. Goodness is in my mind.” Ortiz-Gonzalez encourages others to reach out to fellow classmates in the hallways. “We can do a handshake,” OrtizGonzalez said, “And can I have a high five? And a fistbump?”

Q+A

A little about Oliver from his friends Q: What is it like to have Oliver in your room?

A: “He kind and just brings a lot

of light into the classroom. He is not afraid to talk to anybody, and he loves to make friends.” science teacher Raven Sanchez

Q: Do you have a

memorable moment with Oliver? A: “On the first day of school he came up to me and asked if I wanted to be his best friend. I said yes of course.” junior Araia Holt

Oliver waving at a friend in hallway

photo by Coralie Newell

STUDENT LIFE

FAR FROM HOME A Senior Maximo Lopez-Wong share his experience studying abroad in Germany by Brook Butler design by Jaycee Hardesty

fter a long day of sweet goodbyes and reminiscing on a good year, Maximo LopezWong is back in Columbus. Lopez-Wong spent his junior year as an exchange student in Germany. He explained that he’d wanted to do an exchange year when he was younger, but he began to lean away from the idea as he got older. “The thing that really triggered my decision was that an exchange student came to North, and I became really good friends with him,” Lopez-Wong said. According to Lopez-Wong, his friend suggested that he would enjoy doing an exchange year, so he decided to sign up for the program. “He was like... ‘You ask so many questions about this, you’re so interested in this, I think you’d be a good applicant, and you’d learn a lot from experience.’ So I decided, yeah, I should try it out,” Lopez-Wong said. Before joining the program, Lopez-Wong said he didn’t often branch out to peers outside his classes. “Here, I feel like I hadn’t been really talking to people outside of my classes, and people I didn’t really think I was gonna be friends with,” Lopez-Wong said. Lopez-Wong said that shortly after he joined, he was put in a group with other American exchange students like himself. Regardless of the different backgrounds of the people around him, he easily connected with them and keeps in touch with many of them today.

“I got to talking with them because they were the people that were American like me, so they were the ones I thought would become friends with,” Lopez-Wong said. “Despite them being so different Maximo Lopez-Wong in Germany from what I during his time there thought, so different from photo for the Triangle me, I think it helped me learn a lot, and Not only did the exchange programs I still keep in touch with a lot of them today.” expose Lopez-Wong to a new culture and Lopez-Wong described school life in learning styles, but it also helped him create Germany as very different than school life in a close bond with those around him. the United States for multiple reasons. “Over there, I would say my best friend “I would say it’s a lot more standardized,” from over there would be my exchange Lopez-Wong said. “They pretty much all have brother,” Lopez-Wong said. “My host brother. to take the same courses.” I mean, he.. Well, he was my host brother; I Lopez-Wong said that unlike in the United saw him pretty much every day and he.. He States, where students have a bit more was just so fun to talk to.” flexibility over the classes they want to take, Lopez-Wong said he and his host family Germany is more experience-based. grew very close, and despite it being hard to “We have a lot of career-based classes, and be separated from his family back home, he things like that,” Lopez-Wong said. “You don’t still felt the warmth across. really have a bunch of those in Germany; you “There are definitely positives that help you have more internships.” say ‘Yeah, it’s hard, but I can get through it,’”

HOW TO GET SIGNED UP FOR A FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROGRAM

1. 2. Do research on what country you might want to study in for the following school year.

Find a program within the country that you want to study in.

After finding the program that you want to study, reach out to your COHORT counselor about the program that you found.

Enjoy your studies next year.

3. 4. 10

STUDENT LIFE

Lopez-Wong said. Of course, being so far from home isn’t always fun. There are always those bittersweet homesick moments. “It was definitely hard. It was,” Lopez-Wong said. “It was definitely harder in the winter, where you have those holiday months, and you’re like, ‘I miss my family. I wish I could celebrate with them.” Overall, Lopez-Wong said he enjoyed his exchange year and was so thankful for all the friends, travel, and opportunities he had through it, and would definitely recommend it. “I feel personally, individually, it’s important because you learn a lot about yourself,” Lopez-Wong said. “You learn many skills. Language, independence, and just so many things about being in a new place and just learning how to, like, survive honestly.”

TOO MUCH?

Triangle staff discuss overconsumption ast year, a classroom could be full of people and still feel strangely empty. Heads tilted downward. Fingers scrolling beneath desks. Phones buzzing on the edges of desks. The culprit has become a kind of villain to many: “The Phone.” This year though, something feels different. Classrooms are louder. Kids are reading. They’re working. They’re simply paying attention. It is undeniable that the state’s sweeping new phone ban has changed the atmosphere of the school day. The ban itself is far from perfect. Its execution has created legitimate frustrations, and the policy deserves to be refined. But its benefits outweigh its consequences, not just because kids are more focused, but because we are, in some small way, more present with each other. Our phones have become remarkably skilled at pulling us away from the people directly in front of us. Oftentimes, we don’t even realize we’re doing it. Reaching for a phone is muscle memory. Recent research from the University of North Carolina finds that a statistically

significant portion of students used their phones every single hour of the school day. That time totaled to almost a third of the school day being spent on a cell phone. Students now are finding ways to fill that void. Some go to the library. Some talk to their friends. Some actually sit with boredom. Others, admittedly, have found ways to play games and watch videos on their Chromebooks. But even those workarounds reveal something: our attention has become something we’re constantly trying to escape from. The ban has also made communication less instant. In a survey of the Triangle staff members, 100% said that they had found other ways to communicate, most commonly through email. It is objectively less convenient than texting, but perhaps not everything meaningful needs to happen instantly. And for many students, removing phones has made focusing easier. Fifty-six percent of the Triangle staff said that they find it easier to concentrate without their phones. Whether that be through the elimination of notifications designed to feast on your

attention or simply the idea of instant gratification, there is now less pulling us away from whatever, or whoever, is in front of us. Of course, the policy has its flaws. Music can help students focus, communication with parents is often needed, and phones can and often were used for legitimate academic purposes. But we should be careful about judging a policy only by what it takes away, because sometimes, what matters most is what it gives back. It gives us conversations that might otherwise have never happened. It gives us the chance to notice the person sitting behind us. It gives us a reason to walk to the library instead of endlessly scrolling. It gives us moments of boredom, awkwardness and quiet. Perhaps most importantly, it gives us moments where we can discover something about ourselves, or someone else. We spend so much of our lives connected to everyone everywhere that we can forget to be connected to the people right here. For once, the most important thing on our screen is not there at all. It’s sitting right next to us.

COMICS BY CLAIRE

Senior Claire Rawlings doodles about Senate Bill 78

IN-DEPTH

TECH

TURNOVER

Analyzing Indiana Senate Bill 78 and the impact on high school students’ communication by Lou Briand and Vivian Munger design by Indi Meshberger

IN-DEPTH

LICK! A teacher hangs up a desk phone into its receiver. Another student, sent to the office for having their phone out, rises from their desk. Phone usage for any purpose --entertainment, communication, or functional--was banned this year due to Indiana Senate Bill 78. The bill, signed into law on March 5 and effective July 1, was voted in favor by 36 senators and 12 in opposition. The “bell-to-bell” ban requires students to keep all personal devices powered off and put away for the duration of the school day, including lunch and passing periods. Personal devices include cellphones, non-school issued laptops, smartwatches, gaming devices, wireless headphones or earbuds. Republican Indiana State Senator Greg Walker serves Bartholomew County and parts of Johnson County, and will end his fifth consecutive term on Nov. 4. Walker voted in favor of Senate Bill 78 and highlighted his concern with various

photo by Levi Tobias technology control approaches previously used in schools across Indiana. “I saw no reason to enforce a singular policy across the whole state, but I do think it requires each school system to come up with what’s workable,” Walker said. The bill was not initially supported by Walker but underwent major changes before a final vote. “I didn’t hear the early testimony on the bill, but by the time the bill arrived on the floor -- that is, for a full Senate vote -- it had transformed into a format that I was comfortable with supporting,” Walker said. German teacher Amelia Shaw shares her concerns about Bill 78, focusing on legislators’ experience in a school setting. “When I first heard about the proposed bill, I was skeptical [of] government overreach, and I don’t think that a lot of politicians understand what it actually looks like day-to-day inside of a school and how things actually operate,” Shaw said. Shaw expresses concern about the possible stress the enforcement places on

her connection to students. “I had misgivings at first because I didn’t want it to hurt my relationships with students,” Shaw said. Senior Sebastian Hartwell discusses the possibility of an alternative policy. “I think anything else wouldn’t have necessarily worked that well,” Hartwell said. “There would have been some teachers that would have been more lax on it and others that would be a lot more strict, and it would be very confusing from a student perspective.” Wireless Communication device committee member Meagan Hearne similarly explained her perspective on her classroom environment. “It’s a work in progress on both ends where I’m doing my best to trust my students and hopefully they’re giving me a level of trust as well,” Hearne said. “I’m providing an environment where they don’t feel the need to reach for that.” Concerns have also risen about situations where phones are tools for safety. According

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE We asked students how they feel about the long-term effects of Senate Bill 78. Fifty-six percent of students feel the harm outweighs the good, with twenty-four percent agreeing with the benefits of the bill. survey of 434 students

NEUTRAL

BENEFICIAL

20%

HARMFUL

Do you feel the statewide phone ban will be beneficial or harmful in the long term?

24%

56%

IN-DEPTH

to Shaw, parents and guardians have often been concerned for all my work in resource.” their students and found comfort in being able to contact them The applications of the ban have led students to get creative, and through their devices quickly. many will go off campus or stand in front of the school to access “A lot of parents are so hypersensitive to independence and their phones. danger that we never let our kids do anything,” Shaw said. “And that “I also think during lunch, you could sit out on the courtyard, but is so debilitating.” they had to have teachers come out there and tell kids to get off their According to Walker, schools are already obligated to have safety phones because it’s still school property, which surprised me,” Hurst measures put in place, and any dangerous situations should be said. “I just think it’s very excessive.” handled by the school. According to Hartwell, discourse surrounding the bill has “That, to me, doesn’t mean that each parent needs to be calling generally subsided since the beginning of the school year. a child immediately to see what’s going on and allowing the, you “My phone got taken at lunch one day, and I was very mad about know, the school to address the problem and regroup or whatever it,” Hartwell said. “But also, since then, I’ve realized, like, ‘oh, well, I needs to happen,” Walker said. mean, it is the law.’ Of course it got taken.” According to Shaw, the ban is a reinforcement for Shaw shares her concerns with this level of student responsibility. enforcement. “I think that another thing that the phone ban does “Are we going to have staff members posted outside is it reclaims independence for young people, which is the building watching for phones?” Shaw said. “That, to really important,” Shaw said. me, sounds George Orwell-ian and absurd,” referencing Sophomore Sylvie Hurst has experienced both the author of the dystopian novel 1984. technology policies during her time in high school. “I think you have to pick your battles,” Shaw said. “When I got to high school, they gave me my phone “And I think the administration is doing a really good privileges, and I was able to use those. And I kind of job of that.” is spent on didn’t have to think of [other ways to communicate],” According to Shaw, students have been benefiting Linewize by Hurst said. “It made things easier, but then they took it from the ban in ways that they may not realize. BCSC per year away.” “At the end, the last five minutes [of class], instead of Students are required to keep their devices put away, people getting out their phones and scrolling, they just powered off and inaccessible. sit there and talk,” Shaw said. “And that’s not something “If I get done with all my homework, I’m like that they were doing three years ago.” STATES thinking, ‘I wish I had my phone’ because that would According to Bill 78, students will keep personal have implemented make time go by a little faster,” Hurst said. devices away at all times, with these exceptions: during bell-to-bell device bans According to Shaw, the restrictions on devices bellemergencies approved by their school district, if the during the school day to-bell raise the question of whether or not students device is approved under a student’s Individualized should be allowed to have their devices during lunch, Education Program or 504 plan, for health and medical resource and passing periods. purposes, and language translation for multilingual “I think the reason that’s so complicated here is because our students. school is open campus,” Shaw said. Science teacher Josh Stacy has experience with such exemptions While opinions vary, some students believe it is not productive to and medical devices concerning diabetes. enforce this during these times. “I’m a Type 1 diabetic, so I use [my phone] as my glucose monitor, “[I believe in] allowing students to have them at lunch because and I’ve had students in the past who’ve used it as a glucose monitor that is a free period and that’s not something where you’re expected as well,” Stacy said. “And I think that works out fine, as long as that to do your work -- that’s a break for us,” Hurst said. “I think [in] student’s trustworthy enough to just use it for that purpose.” resource, if you get all your work done [it should be allowed].” According to Hartwell, some students are able to work more Hartwell recognizes a shift in productivity at school since the ban efficiently by playing music. The prohibition of non-cellular devices has taken effect. that can serve this purpose was established days into the current “Last year I didn’t necessarily do much of my work in resource school year. because I had access to my phone,” Hartwell said. “And this year I “I think specifically at North and [within] BCSC, the idea that have had very minimal work at home at all because I’ve been doing they’re blocking things that don’t connect to the Internet is weird,”

BY THE NUMBERS

$35K 22

Florida is the first state to implement a ban on devices in school.

IN-DEPTH

Sen. Greg Goode

2025

Indiana Senate Bill 185 is passed on March 11th, setting new device restrictions for students during instructional time.

2024

2023

TECH TIMELINE

New wireless communication device law is authored by Senators Raatz and Goode.

Sen. Jeff Raatz

“I can only think of the issue that phones are a downside from, again, creating a lot of social drama that goes on in the course of a school day.” Sen. Greg Walker Hartwell said, referencing devices such as Walkmans and CD players. “I think at that point you’re just restricting things to restrict them.” According to Stacy, phones were used as tools to record and time experiments and labs in class. “The video part was very difficult to adjust to, but for the timers, we have some stopwatches,” Stacy said. The public school funding formula has not been adjusted since the ban to fit possible information technology or general needs, according to Walker. “I think it’s more of a general overhead that’s going to be a certain cost per student, and the schools decide how much of that [amount] spent is going to be laptops, tablets, IT support, media itself,” Walker said.

Despite concerns and complaints surrounding the ban, Shaw notes positive changes. “The moment I knew that it was going to be positive is when a girl [was] talking to me like last week sometime, and she said, ‘you know, I thought the phone thing was gonna be bad but I just feel like my anxiety is so much lower because I’m not constantly, like, worrying about stuff going on on my phone’,” Shaw said. Shaw details past experience with the mental shift that occurs when students redirect their attention to technology. “While everyone’s getting [a] paper out, five kids would be down here checking their phones real quick,” Shaw said. “And that just mentally draws them away from the lesson, and it’s, you know, it’s shortening their attention span.” According to Stacy, the ban resulted in a sense of community and closeness that had not been experienced in the past. “There is, and I think a lot of students already picked up on the fact that this community we have here is stronger when we don’t have our phones because we talk to each other,” Stacy said. Walker addresses the discourse prompted by the ban. “And it probably, the bill probably satisfied none of them 100%, but it was a compromise to, I think, hopefully to allow schools to come up with what works best for their students and their parents,” Walker said. Hearne stated that in the past, students would often isolate themselves from their peers by putting headphones in and closing themselves off from conversations with others. “Now that they don’t have that opportunity to isolate themselves, we’re starting to see those connections being made,” Hearne said, “Even within the last month, everybody’s like, ‘you will not believe the number of conversations that kids are having.”

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE Could the ban lead to more issues, and what might those be? WALKER

“I don’t think there’s

going to be any downside that can outweigh the problems that phone has caused as far as distraction, and a more of a cultural problem.” Have you heard any feedback from the policy? WALKER

“I don’t think I’ve

received any specific feedback from anyone on the ban because I think a lot of schools were already addressing in pieces and parts some of this language and some of them were more strict than Indiana law and some of them were more lax.” How was social drama and psychological effects of phone usage involved in the bill? WALKER

2026

“So those aren’t being

Senate Bill 78 is signed by Gov. Mike Braun on March 5th, prohibiting phones during school hours.

addressed, I don’t think, by this bill. There’s a much broader concern there, and I think that’s a parental issue to try to address.”

photos for The Triangle

IN-DEPTH

OPINION BRIDGERS, UNFILTERED

A NEW ERA

The somewhat controversial casting of the X-Men 2028 Reboot by Brook Butler

Album review for Phoebe Bridgers Album, Lost Weekend by Jaycee Hardesty

hen someone asks me, “What’s your favorite song from Phoebe’s new album?” I will probably end up listing the whole tracklist, because simply, it’s just that good. Phoebe’s new album, Lost Weekend, has to be some of her best work that she has put out. Starting off strong with her single that she put out on June 25, 2026, “Lost Boys.” I really enjoyed “Lost Boys.” The song is maybe shying away from her normal “slow-paced” songs, but I think that they are a perfect balance. Next up on the album is Track #1, “The Outside.” The Outside is a great opener for the album. I think that it sets the mood for the album and the next songs perfectly. Jumping to Track #3, “Kill me.” Sorry this might be a hot take, but I think this is one of the most underrated songs on the album. I think it is a perfect representation of what her music is like and just overall fits the mood of the album and even her as an artist to a tee. Track #4 is “The Governor’s Waltz”. Best song on the album, sorry. The bridge on the song is one of the best she has put out. Next is Track #5, “Bobby.” This song did not amaze me. It’s an okay song but definitely not one of the top songs in the album for sure. The album title song, “Lost Weekend,” is track #6. Usually track album titles are not always the best songs, however I thought this one is pretty

OPINION

good. Track #7 on the album is “Haunted.” I really like this song. Other people might disagree with me on this one, but I thoroughly enjoy listening to this song. “Panoroma” is the worst song on the album. Simply, it’s just boring. Tracks 9 and 10, “Still Standing” and “Liberty Tree” are both amazing songs off the album. They both have their own vibe but it works very well. Track #11, “Never Going Back!” is PHOENOMAL. For it to only be under 2 minutes, it has a deep meaning with her father and I think she just executed this song very well. Tracks 12,13, and 14 are “Other Plans,” “Lost Parade,” and “I Can’t Wait.” These three songs honestly just blended together for me. They just didn’t stand out to me like the other songs. The second to last track on the album is, “As Above.” This song is very interesting. It probably is not everyone’s cup of tea considering she just starts screaming in the middle of it. I personally thought the beginning and end made up for it. The last track #16, “Lost Weekend (Reprise)” This is the type of song to leave you speechless. I think that is what exactly Phoebe was trying to get across with this whole album personally. Being the last track of the album, this is the perfect song to wrap up the album. After 6 years of waiting patiently (not really) for Phoebe to release new music, she sure did not disappoint. Overall, I would say this album was well worth the wait and she put out some of her best work she has put out to date. Whatever is next in store for Phoebe, I know that it is only as good as the last.

s Marvel Studios continues to drag out its franchise, new castings are in the works. From reusing actors to finding completely new ones, we may be in a new age of Marvel movies. After the reveal of Sadie Sink as Jean Grey in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” fans like myself were overall pleased with the casting. Look-wise, Sink and Jean Grey are very similar, from the ginger hair to the facial features. Shortly after the movie’s release, speculation about the casting of Scott Summers (Cyclops) began floating around, sparking debate over who fans thought would be a good fit. Many said OBX star Drew Starkey; others said Monster’s Nicolas Chavez. I thought both would be a great fit, with both bearing the looks and the talent to portray the character. When it was revealed that it was Kit Connor playing the role of Cyclops, fans online began debating whether he was a great fit or not. I was skeptical at first, but after being reminded of the skill he possesses, I was completely on board with this casting. Many people’s reason for not wanting him to be cast as Cyclops was that Cyclops is canonically very attractive, and they believed Connor is not “chiseled” enough to portray that. Of course, it makes sense to want an actor who looks similar to the character to a degree. The original casting for Rogue, or Anna Marie LeBeau, was going

to be “Priscilla” actress Cailee Spaeny. Spaeny is one of my favorite actresses, and Rogue is my favorite X-Men member, so I was thrilled about this. Spaeny was very similar to Rogue in terms of physical attributes, the only difference being the height. Rogue is canonically around 5’9”, and Spaeny is 5’1”, but the thing that matters the most is her acting skills. I was insanely excited about this casting, posting about it constantly. However, it was announced on Aug. 14, 2026, at Disney’s D23 that the upcoming actress Inde Navarrette was to play Rogue. I do believe that Navarrette has the skill to play Rogue. I’m confident she’ll do well portraying Rogue’s strong-willed character and her quirks. Navarrette is a quirky person herself, being very bubbly and loud. I believe that Marvel made a good choice casting her. Everybody knows the MCU is one of the largest franchises in the modern day, and they aren’t strangers to popularity. While many of the actors cast are new to being so famous, they’re not Tom Cruise-level famous. It may be a stretch, but part of me thinks the casting of Navarrette as Rogue may be Marvel trying to continue the “Obsession” hype. Navarrette does deserve every ounce of fame from both movies, as she is a very talented actress. I think this movie will end up being one of my favorites, as I love the X-Men with everything in my heart. I’m highly anticipating seeing the way this talented cast portrays some of my favorite characters and the way they will bring them to life. I’m hoping we get multiple more MCU movies with this casting.

THE GOSPEL TRUTH

DISNEY DRAMA

Modern adaptations of Greek myth aren’t accurate, and that’s okay …to an extent by Christian Landero

hether it’s Disney, Broadway, or various independent authors, seemingly everyone wants to get a piece of the Greek mythology pie. Despite this newfound focus on these stories though, many creatives have taken liberties as it relates to sticking to the original mythology. While that’s fine, storytellers should toe the line on how they present their adaptations. For example, Disney’s “Hercules” is filled with inconsistencies with the original 12 Labors of Heracles, such as the fact that they use Heracles’ Roman name instead of his Greek name. Even the very event of Heracles’ birth is polished, making him the son of Zeus and Hera instead of being a result of yet another one of Zeus’ affairs. This change in particular completely uproots the story, making Hades the cause of Heracles’ misfortune instead of Hera’s wrath over Zeus having cheated on her. In terms of the Broadway musical “Hadestown,” it completely transforms the original tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, a fated tale about unexpected loss and the doubt that comes from scenarios that sound too good to be true, into a tale of hubris and the consequences of neglect as it relates to regret. What Hadestown also does is overlap the story of Hades and Persephone with that of Orpheus and Eurydice, which, in the modern interpretation of both myths, seems fair enough. However, what modern audiences fail to understand is the uncertainty of Persephone’s consent of going into the Underworld and marrying Hades, making the tale much less a love story than it is a kidnapping. Regardless, the one theme that’s consistent across modern retellings of Greek myth is that storytellers make these tales fit the palettes of modern audiences, which often sands down the original impact of said stories. It removes that authenticity and that original philosophical commentary

that was held uniquely by the ancient Greeks. Though, what the other snobs won’t say is that this is perfectly fine and is simply a consequence of the evolution of society and literature. Retellings of mythology, at their core, are another continuity of sorts from original tellings. Their role is to introduce the themes of these stories to audiences that may not have actively looked for them before, and due to a change in palette, audiences are more open to learning from these themes. What storytellers must toe the line on, though, is their representation of these stories. Storytellers should not claim that their continuity is one-toone with the themes present in ancient Greece, as that would (in most cases) be completely false. Outside of just storytellers, though, audiences will often independently apply the more palette-friendly version of these myths as consistent with the original text, such as with the marriage of Hades and Persephone. What should be kept in mind, though, is that the cultures which these stories come from are important and valuable. Even if accuracy shouldn’t be a primary concern, people should keep in mind that the original text matters. However uncomfortable or disturbing the original myths are in their depictions, people cared about these stories, they worshiped these gods, and they used these lessons in their everyday lives. While we may adapt these stories into entertainment for us to consume, that doesn’t mean that we should ignore their roots. If anything, these adaptations should be your door into the original mythology. That is where a better literary analysis can and should be done with critical thinking applied, as it makes everyone better audience members but also more developed consumers.

by Chloe Feliciano isneyland was made as a land of fun for children to go and enjoy the whimsy of their favorite worlds and characters. Mickey Mouse! Rapunzel! Peter Pan! Children go every year to see those characters, but they aren’t the only ones who do. Adults who have been fans of the franchise also go to Disneyland to go see those characters. These adults have gained the nickname “Disney Adults” by the general population. People tend to have a negative opinion of Disney adults, however I will argue that they aren’t as big of a problem as people make them out to be. Some of the grievances people have against Disney Adults are that they take up space and attention from the children attending. They argue that they take up space on rides, meeting the characters, and overall attractions. It should be noted, however, that most people realistically only go to Disney once in their life, or more if they have the money and are devoted. They don’t actually have the power

Disney adults have been getting backlash for behavior, but they aren’t as big of an issue as people make them.

to completely overshadow the children, even if they wanted to. We should also realize that it is also up to the staff members to not give all the attention to adults, and focus more on the children. They are trained for that. A situation that has come up with a Disney Adult is with a woman who essentially stalked and harassed a Peter Pan lookalike. This is obviously horrible and she should not have done that, however we can’t blame Disney Adults for that. She was clearly mentally ill and her actions came because of that, not because she liked Disney. Her liking of Disney had nothing to do with her actions, and only was related by who she was doing her stalking to. Blaming an entire group of people for the actions of one is not something we should normalize. Now, I do agree that Disney Adults are a little weird, but that doesn’t mean they are bad! We are all a little weird in one way or another and we can’t hate or shame people because of something like that. If we do, then the world will be a much more boring place than it is now.

OPINION

FRESH START Meet the new faces of the athletic department

Coach Davis

by Kylie Hartwell design by Bella Nickerson

Coach Jobe

Coach Judd

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

photo by Rue Payne What made you want to be a coach?

“My dad was my first coach growing up, so I knew eventually that when I got done playing, I wanted to really give back to the people who gave back to me, which is, you know, helping young people grow and become what they want to become, because the people who did that for me was such an impact growing up for me.”

What do you want your athletes to learn from you?

“How important the world is of accountability because many young people struggle to understand that accountability is always there. And no matter if you’re playing football or you’re working for, you know, Google one day, accountability is always going to show itself. And because it’s important for us to understand that we all have an opportunity to be who we want to be or and become better. But it’s going to take us to be accountable for all our actions. So that is really one of the biggest things I want my kids understanding the right programs, how to be accountable young people and to go to the real world. Impact people in the world.”

I am from Kentucky, right outside Fort Knox. My family and I moved here about two months ago to take this position. I have a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cumberland and coaching. I also spent some time at Western Kentucky University where I swam a little bit. My wife teaches over at Parkside Elementary, and both my children go there as well.

What do you want your athletes to learn from you?

“I think the important thing is that we develop athletes to be good people and not just athletes. So if they can leave with anything, it’s that they have the work capacity to accomplish whatever they want to do.“

How would you describe your coaching style?

“The thing that I really care about is having relationships with my athletes. So, coaching style probably comes from that point of reference for every interaction and every coaching, that interview coaching that I get.”

What made you want to move from Kentucky and take the coaching position at CNHS?

“We felt like Columbus served our family best and this is a place that our family could grow up in.”

How would you describe your coaching style?

“I’m a firm and fair teacher on the field. I think teaching and motivating kind of create the word coaching because you want to teach your kids what you can teach them but motivated both past where they think they can go.”

photo by Rue Payne

photo by Rue Payne What made you interested in taking on the head coaching position at CNHS?

“I spent a lot of time considering going for the job myself. But I got a lot of encouragement from players and people in the community. And that’s what ultimately drove me and convinced me to give it a shot and take this on this year.”

What do you hope to bring to the basketball team this season?

“The culture here is really strong. We’ve had a lot of success. I’m just hoping that most of my job is just to continue what he’s built, but also just bring my natural demeanor. I’m a relational coach. I love working with players. Some modern concepts offensive and defensively that I think will be good for us. But yeah, just looking to continue a lot of good things and then add some new ideas as we go.”

What are some of the goals for the team this season?

“The number one goal is to potentially repeat and win another sectional this year. I think overall it’s just kind of learning more about our personnel, learning what our potential ceiling is, and getting as close to our potential as we can. Whatever record that means. However, whatever that means in terms of postseason, we know there’s a lot of good teams in this area, but we’re just focused on ourselves, trying to reach our potential.”

SPORTS

A SWING AND A HIT An introduction into our girls golfing team by Xavier Torres design by Jay Challatur

GOLF FACT BOX The Girls Golf coach, Alexandria Weisheit, has been coaching for 10 years. She was originally the assistant coach.

Last year, sophomore Keya Goon walks up to the teebox

photo by Madison McCarver

n the course, the girls’ golf team lined up their irons. This is the winning round. They pull back, and the ball goes flying. The girls head coach is Alexandria Weisheit. According to Weisheit, she started young and taught during the summer. “I started playing when I was 13, and I coached middle school and high school for five years,” Weisheit said. “But prior to that, I coached in the summer too, I’ve coached golf for 10 years.” Sophomore Bryn Emmitt is also on the girls’ golf team; she started playing young like Weisheit, according to Emmitt. “When I was in seventh grade, my brother got me into golfing,” Emmitt said. Emmitt also believes that she is great, but she also thinks she could improve in some way. “I expect myself to do everything I know and practice,” Emmitt said. Another player is freshman Alice Castrogiovanni. “I started playing in eighth grade at Northside,” Castrogiovanni said. “I heard about [golf] from my coaches and my parents.” Like Emmitt and Weisheit, Castrogiovanni started playing in middle school. “I think there is always room for

SPORTS

improvement, but I feel comfortable where I am” Castrogiovanni said. Just like Emmit, Castrogiovanni also believes that there is always room for improvement, but is fine with her current skill level. Another person on the golf team and another player on the girls golf team is junior Caroline Crawford. She started during middle school and has been golfing for almost five years now. “I’ve been golfing for four or five years now,” Crawford said. “I golfed on the middle school team and [took] a few lessons.” Crawford found out about the girls golfing team at the open house at North. Like the others she wants to improve her golfing skills. “I could probably doing a little better, but I’ve been doing pretty good these past few matches,” Crawford said. Just like the other two golfers, Crawford feels comfortable where she is at, but prefers to leave some room for improvement. Weisheit explains what she appreciates the most about teaching golf. “Watching them grow as humans,” Weisheit said, “I love watching them grow from freshman to senior year, there is a lot that changes, and there is a lot of growth, so it’s really fun to watch them grow as athletes and as people.”

The Girls Golf team record is improving their first 18 hole match from last year compared to the first 18 hole match this year was 40+ strokes better.

The Girls Golf coach, Alexandria Weisheit, is also the counselor for the class of 2029 at East High School.

XC ON THE ROAD T Cross country takes talent outside the state by Mikah Staples design by Aldo Ramos-Soto he men’s crosscountry team just traveled to St. Louis for a race called The Forrest Park XC Festival. The team spent months building mileage and getting their bodies ready for the challenge. Junior Zaid Warsi explains how he and the team prepared throughout the week. “We train a lot; we have morning runs two times a week and one on the weekend, and then we just run every day to get high mileage,” Warsi said. According to Warsi, he discovered that cross-country could help him grow both physically and socially. “I honestly joined the crosscountry team for my own fitness, and I was actually really slow in middle school, but I got to make relationships with a lot of people,” Warsi said. “I got to meet a lot of new people, and now I’m running for a national team in the U.S.” While some joined the crosscountry team for their physical health, senior Justin Reckers said his big brother inspired him to join the sport. “I first joined cross-country because of my brother. When I was younger, I was a pretty big follower, but I’ve gotten better

about that,” Reckers said. “I saw him doing cross-country, and I was like, ‘That looks like a lot of fun. I should try it.’” According to Warsi, the relationships he has built are one reason traveling for races has become an important part of the experience. Competing in different places gives the team a chance to grow closer while experiencing something outside their normal routine. “I do like traveling because it makes me more connected to my team, and I also want to visit other states in the U.S. and I want to race against other people,” Warsi said. Senior Justin Reckers runs against East during Rivalry Week According to Reckers, photo by Aldo Ramos-Soto spending an entire day together allows teammates to build relationships away from their usual practice environment. “We get to spend a whole day together, just living our lives instead of just one and race teams that we don’t negative impact because we perspective of practice,” Reckers usually get to race,” Reckers said. performed pretty poorly,” said. Even when the team doesn’t Reckers said. “I also think it Reckers says the team saw the do their best, Reckers states that helped us because it gave us race as an opportunity for them he thinks it still helps improve something to prove.” to improve. the team. According to Warsi, traveling “I think it’s just an “Last year, at Southern to different states for crossopportunity for us to get better Showcase, it had a bit of a country is something he never expected when he first started running. “I did not think that I’d get to other states for a sport,” Warsi said. According to Reckers, this trip mainly focused on the race itself. The boys' cross-country team travels to St. Louis to put their training to the test “We don’t usually do much sightseeing, but we’ve only traveled far like two or three Sep 26 Sep 19 Sep 12 times,” Reckers said. “I doubt Oct 17 Jasper Columbus we’ll do any sightseeing. It’s Forest Park IHSAA probably just gonna be the race.” Invitational North XC Festival Sectional According to Reckers, he at Jasper Invitational Championships at Forest Park likes spending time with High School at North his teammates across all levels of the team. “I love spending time with varsity, JV, all of them,” Reckers said. “It’s great.”

ROAD TO VICTORY

SPORTS

RIVALRY WEEK WRAP-UP

Fall season is in full swing, athletes met with East in a week of competition

by Claire Rawlings designed by Macey Rees and Nolan Sparkman

alking in the main doors can be a bit of a surprise during Rivalry Week; students participate in themes to get hyped for the meets, matches and games. From barbecue dads to college merch to all-out camouflage,

RIVALRY THROUGH THE YEAR

Even though Rivalry Week is over, there are more games against East coming up Girls JV Soccer Sept. 21

Volleyball Oct. 1

Swim and Dive Dec. 15

Girls Basketball Dec. 17

Girls Wrestling Dec. 16

Boys Basketball Dec. 18 Gymnastics Jan. 11 Girls Softball April 19 Boys Volleyball April 30 Baseball May 7

SPORTS

Girls Tennis April 12 Track April 22 Boys Golf May 6 JV Baseball May 13

students and athletes join together to prove they are ready to compete against our crosstown rivals, a tradition we have upheld for over 50 years. Sophomore Pietra de Souza accounts for why she plays the game; while surface elements are existent, other parts of training may be unnoticed by others. “I play soccer and I really like it because not only is it running and cardio but there’s also passing and the other dynamics of a team sport,” de Souza said. Freshman Kay Payne describes her favorite part; she appreciates the team dynamic. “I do cheer and my favorite part of it is the family bond that we have as a team,” Payne said., “It’s really nice to have people older and younger that you know.” Junior Pia Mantooth is on the girls’ golf team, and she recognizes the rivalry as one to enforce strong ties with the opposing team. “I have some friends on the East team so I’m looking forward to playing with them but also getting our shot at beating them,” Mantooth said. “We have good relationships with them.” Due to the collaborative relationship, Mantooth describes the situation in a positive light. “I think it’s kind of a fun rivalry,” Mantooth said. “We get to have a little bit of competition, friendly competition.” De Souza accounts for the boundaries that are held when competing against East. “I think that although we’re very passionate about [the rivalry], it’s also very respectful,” de Souza said. While excitement for the game still lingers, Payne states that the week of preparation will make it all the more exciting. “It’s gonna be really fun to get hyped,” Payne said. “All the dress up days during the week are going to be fun.” Mantooth seconds the notion that dress up days are a beneficial way to get hyped for the week. She recognizes the emotions that surface with uniting the student body. “It’s just a fun rivalry, a fun time to feel pride in your school and to dress up with

the themes and get excited,” Mantooth said. De Souza underlines the sole purpose of supporting the rivalry. “I think it shows a lot of North pride and why you chose to come to this high school,” de Souza said. In addition to demonstrating loyalty to one’s school, De Souza finds personal gains from the rivalry. “We’re looking forward to more team bonding and getting to know each other a little better,” de Souza said Mantooth also recognizes the team bonding that is demonstrated during a match. “We encourage each other, maybe do bulldogs on three types of things, and say leave it all out there,” Mantooth said. Senior Jobey Lovins refers to his teammates as his “brothers,” confirming the beneficial intensity of a team bond. “I am a football player and my favorite part is the relationships I’ve made over the years and overcoming adversity with my brothers,” Lovins said. Alongside her teammates, de Souza participates in a pre-game routine in the locker room. “We usually blast music in the locker room and just in general braid each other’s hair,” de Souza said. “We talk to each other and just have conversations about how we think the games are gonna go.” Lovins recounts all the preparation that goes into the rivalry game; training isn’t the sole factor to success. “We have been preparing ourselves mentally and physically all week to ensure that we’re locked in,” Lovins said. When a match doesn’t go as planned, Mantooth has a coping strategy to remain calm. “I have to take a step back and remind myself that this isn’t the end of the world and if one shot goes bad, I’ve still got the next one to keep going,” Mantooth said. “Take it one shot at a time.” Lovins explains his strategy for coping when his game doesn’t go as planned. “Don’t get discouraged when things go sideways,” Lovins said. “Remain positive and attack things head on.”

2 3

4 1. Senior Davonte Degraffenreid faces off against a East player and the North East football game 2. Freshmen Charlie O’Brien and Garrett Donner run side by side at the North East cross country match 3. The girls soccer team prepares in a huddle before the girls soccer North East game 4. Junior Luccas Peda jumps toward the student section at the North East boys soccer game 5. Ricardo Prata gets ready for a serve at the North East tennis match

photos by Aldo Ramos-Soto, Nolan Sparkman, Levi Tobias, and Maddie Williams SPORTS

NOR TH 5.8%

TH NOR

freshman Zoey Robinson

US UMB COL

“I am looking most forward to this year is the homecoming dance. I’m super excited to experience this because as a freshman, I haven’t gotten to experience this event yet. I’ve heard from upperclassman that it’s super fun.”

COLU MBU S

NEW TO THE BUILDING

“I’m excited to have A and B Days, because then I have something in my schedule. I can wait, so I have more time to do it.” freshman Blake Schneider

26.8%

Welcoming the class of 2030 to Columbus North by Gabe Marsh

“I’m most excited about meeting new people, because meeting new people comes with new opportunities, and new opportunities come with, if it’s getting a scholarship, or if it’s meeting other people, that can give you better jobs, or just new opportunities to explore.”

freshman CJ Frasier

8% 11.6%

“I’m really excited to get better at cross country, and I’m really excited for Hoco because it’s my first, like, real dance, and it’s my first high school dance.”

freshman Ainsley Russell

11.6% 23.9%

12.3%

North vs. East “I’m excited to run cross country, because that’s where all my friends are, and it’s a good community because everybody’s really uplifting, and, you know, there’s just, a group of people you can fall back on if you’re ever struggling.” freshman Noah Riley

HOCO

Prom

Graduation

American Pie

FNL

Other

“I am excited about learning new music, possibly meeting new people, and just showing people it’s hard but fun. For the marching band, however, that’s where the behind the scenes come in. The drills we take to the music we learn.” freshman Gabriel Black