Harbord Tigertalk Edition Four March 2023

HARBORD

TIGERTALK

The March 22, 2023 Edition

4 FEATURE

A Foreign Paradise

External News

6 ON THE OUTSIDE

The Current Netflix’s New Anti-Password Sharing Rules

The Alarming Rise of Violence on the TTC Politics

Mayor John Tory’s Resignation Economics

Internal News

Advice

A FOREIGN PARADISE

An article about true stories and unearthed strength.

BY ARYA BARI

Thebitter,unforgivingCanadian winters are a shared struggle. One day we are trudging through packed snow or shielding ourselves from biting hail, and the next, avoiding puddles and basking in the glowering sun. Here, one can never truly stow away winter clothing. As the temperature fluctuates, some choose to endureandenjoyit,andothers that can afford to, seek an escape.

Uncoincidentally, the all-inclusive season in tropical countries falls between DecemberandApril.Vacationers swaptheirsnowbootswithflip flops, boarding the plane with littlemorethanasweater.Palm trees replace pines. And frostbitten skin tingles in anticipation of becoming sunburnt.Paradiseawaits.

However, as resorts prepare themselvesfortheannualinflux of tourists, at Dreams, a charmingresortalongthepearly shores of Punta Cana, this seasonmarksitslast.

Dahiana Arnaud, the resort’s entertainment manager, sits at thetowelkiosknearitsnetwork of pools, absorbing the scene beforeher.Arnaudcontemplates where she will work after the resort is bought out. I lean against the counter, making conversationwithher.Thestraw roof shelters us from the scorchingDominicansun,aswe talk about everything and nothing at all, bridged by our mothertongue:Spanish.

Arnaud reminisces, looking idly at the horizon. Her family was lasttogethersixmonthsago,she tells me. Like many of the workers, the paycheck that Arnaudearnsworkingatthe

resortissenttohermotherwho takes care of her daughters living in a different city. Hundredsofkilometresfrom home,itisironicthatsheworks incessantly surrounded by joyous families: lounging at the pool’s edge united, savouring their coco locos and cocktails, whileshelivescitiesawayfrom her own—a harsh, but not uncommonreality.

With the buzz of an incoming notification, she pauses to glance at the screen of her cell phone. Her nine-year-old twin daughterssmilebackatherfrom the home screen, to which she reciprocates with a melancholic smile. Yet another reminder of thevastdistancebetweenthem. “My daughters have more opportunities there,” Arnaud echoesasifshehastoldherself thisverysentencebefore.

“Iwenttouniversityat15years old,youknow?Aroundyourage. I studied hospitality, and had a passion for human connection,” Arnaud says. “I had to start schoolreallyearly,whenIwas2, becausemymotherhadtowork andcouldn’ttakecareofme.At that time, those who couldn’t payfordaycarehadtosendtheir kidstoschoolearlier.”Sheturns backtofaceme.“Doyouplanon going to university?” I only nod affirmatively. Privilege can be a brittlesubject,andthisisabout her.

The ascending sound of pattering flip-flops against the wooden planks near the kiosk interrupts our conversation. InstinctivelyArnaudreachesfor atowel.Hiddenbehindapairof glasses, a boy in swim trunks, not nearly tall enough to reach the counter, asks for a towel.

“CanyousaytowelinSpanish?”

Arnaud says amused, holding the towel just out of reach. “To-a-ja. To-aja. Toalla,” she says, instructing his pronunciation. He attempts to mimic each phoneme, unintentionally slaughtering the word. His heavy Portuguese accent elicits a grin from us both.Iwouldlatercometoknow him as Eduardo, the resort’s worstconnect-fourplayer.

As the day goes on, salt continuestohanginthehumid air, whispering against both tanned skin and uninvited sunburns. The tropical wind billows, making the palm trees dance to the familiar merengue that echoes from the resort’s speaker system. This is the so-called hallmarkofparadise.

The poverty-stricken realities behind all-inclusive resorts and their workers have long since been known to the media and thepatrons.Infact,considering the average wage of $9.00 US perday,aftertax,mosttravelers bring dollar bills to tip the hardworkingstaff.

A simple step past the curated barrier, forged by the luxurious resorts, divulges roadside poverty,exposingthebarebones of corruption and, perhaps, a legacy of colonialism; the Dominican Republic, a country withover10millionpeople,has a 40.4% poverty rate, and a 10.4%extremepovertyrate.

The adjacent towns to resorts are often bus rides away. Dirt roads pave the streets. Among thetin-roofedhouses,andother basic amenities, signs embellished with religious messages, like ‘Christ will save us’ are hung throughout. In the midst of poverty, religion is oftenthestrongest.Itisseento ease the burden, providing stability within a reality in constantfluctuation.

In the circumstances in which theylive,despiteworkdaysthat can last over 15 hours, poor wages, and the socially demandingnatureoftheservice industry, even a mere job workingataresortisextremely

desirable. At Dreams, workers feartheinevitablebuyout.Their jobswillsoonbecomeobsolete. Theywillbereplaced.

Melvin Amrin finishes tying his shoes before rolling back the glittery pants of his costume down to his ankles. Within the hierarchy of resort workers, dancersandentertainmentstaff are often paid the highest salaries. After all, to many tourists, they are the face that presentsDominicanCultureand makes the experience memorable.Paintingonasmile, Melvinwalksacrossthestageas Donna Summer’s Last Dance rollsthroughthespeakers.

Working tirelessly to arrange entertainment, the dancers put on a show, with theatrics and numbers upon numbers of new choreography every night. Duringtheday,theypractice.At night, they dance. Vibrant costumes, and tasteful ensembles. Music that transports you throughout the continent, and across decades. We all hide behind smiles sometimes, but for resort entertainment staff, a faltered smile or a dampened mood holds their next meal and wage onbalance.Attimes,itcanfeel likeorchestratingafacade.

Itis12o’clock.Lunchisserved. Near the pool, an immense, steaming pot of arroz con pollo hasbeenfreshlypreparedbythe resort chefs, and by the mouth of the beach, burgers and fries shrivelwithagesincetheywere cooked two hours ago. The lineup for overcooked burgers and greasy fries is winding, as usual. Few tourists opt to deviate from their rudimentary dietstotrythe arrozconpollo.

TheCocoCafeisalsoopen,Ana Ramon, the barista sits at the counter, although the caffeine-starved vacationers have already had their morning coffees. She is studying to become a teacher, with few coursesleft.Ifshelosesherjob here, she will take on a less demandingjobinordertofinish herschooling.“Iplanonbeinga teacher,” she tells me. dayIcanbetheclientat

someoneelse’sresort.”

The sweltering heat has subsided. Waves crash rhythmically against the shores. Therearenoemptylawnchairs in sight. Arnaud continues to hand out towels, working to provideherdaughterswith

opportunities she never had. With talent and calculated precision, Melvin dances. Ana plansherfuture,anescapefrom the life she currently lives. Peoplelivinginspiteoftheodds stacked against them. This is paradise. ★

policyinCanada.

According to Netflix's Help Center,youcanonlyshareyour Netflix account with people “who live together in a single household."

This causes many problems for divorced families and families with relatives in post-secondary institutions, the army, abroad, etc.andhascausedanoutrage, with people saying that it is discriminatory toward split households.

One user called and asked Netflixifhewasgoingtohaveto pay doublefortwoaccountsbecause hisfamilyisdivorcedandlivesin separatehomes. Accordingtoa NewZealandnewsoutlet,Stuff, Netflixresponded,

[account],”saysAlexandraBlake, aHarbordstudent.

Irecentlyreadanarticleonbig mediacompaniesandtheirview on the term ‘family’ by The Atlantic,andthemainthemeisif your family doesn’t fit in their ‘standard’ definition, “Computer saysno.”Thispieceexpandson how these companies pay more attention to getting more subscribersthanimprovingtheir service. “If you were a child, [switching houses weekly because of your parents’ divorce],youwouldhavetokeep calling up a media company to getyourTVaccessunblocked.”

“People have consistently complainedaboutNetflixhaving many other issues like cancelling/gettingridofshows, … [this] rule is going to be a tippingpointforalotofpeople andthey’llmostlikelyjusttake

their money elsewhere. Passwordsharingisalsosortof embeddedinNetflix’sbrandina way.…Whenyoutakethataway, you’re also taking away the identityofthebrandinasense,” says Harbord student Celine Tran.

Many students agree with Celine.Inasmallpoll,76%think thatthisnewpolicyisn’tagood idea either. 78% share or know someone who currently shares theiraccountand30%ofpeople knowsomeonewhohasalready cancelledtheiraccount.

Butonerespondentasked,“Why do you want to share your [account] with someone else in thefirstplace?”

This opens the perspective of the other 24% of people who thinkthispolicyisagoodidea.

“...Netflix loses lots of money every month from people not paying for their own accounts,” Maddy Horner explains, as to whyit’sagoodidea.

Netflix has 250 million customers and of those users, 100millionsharetheirpassword with someone else. This results inthestreamingplatformlosing morethan9billiondollarsayear and it reduces their, “ability to invest in great new TV and films,”Netflixsays.

“[But] some households may be struggling financially and sometimesborrowingafriendor family member's account would be a cheaper way for [them] to watch movies or shows,” Vailea Huynhargues.

Regardless, this new rule is a littleconfusing,soletmetryand breakitdown.

Sinceearlylastyear,Netflixhas been testing their new “pay-per-user” system in Latin America. Recently they have planned on adding Canada, Spain, Portugal, and New Zealandtotheirsystem.

Currently, Canadian Netflix users have until February 21 to add a primary location, preferablyaTVtotheiraccount.

ARRANGED BY ARYA BARI

If you haven’t by the deadline, Netflix said they will do it for you using your account activity anddeviceIDs.

How you may ask? Netflix has stated that by using your IP address, they can determine if another person is using your account “outside of its associated household,” as the Globe and Mail says. They will start verifying accounts by making users enter a four-digit code sent to the account owner’semailaddresswhichhas tobeenteredwithin15minutes afterthepromptpopsup.

There was a previous version whichcausespeopletoconnect to their principal device’s wifi every 31 days, but it is only currently enabled in Peru and CostaRica.

Another thing Netflix has thoughtofwere7-daycodesfor unlimitedusewhileyou’reoutof town.

Of course, even after this announcement, people are still going to want to share their passwords,sohere’showitwill soonwork.

Netflixhasmadeitsouserswho want to continue sharing their accounts may do so, this new addition is only for users who have either the Standard plan, whocanaddanextrauser(one device) or the Premium plan users, who can add two users (two devices) for an extra 8 dollarsamonthperuser.

Yougetthesamebenefitsasthe person you share with (either standard or premium) and only payadiscountedprice.

“Netflix is a million-dollar company that already overcharges people. They don't needtighterrestrictionssothen more people buy more subscriptions. If anything it's off-putting,” Isabella Keats explains.

On the other hand, many users havefoundapotentialloophole. Yes, this new policy prevents you from using accounts from peopleyoubarelytalkto,but

people have been questioning whether they can share their accounts with friends and family. All they have to do is enter the verification codes before the fifteen-minute timer ends. But, they may not sign in ontheirTVs.

Do you think that these rules will reduce the amount of password-sharing? ★

The Alarming Rise of Violence on the TTC

BY CELINE TRAN

It comes as a shock to find out thatyourdailycommutetoand from school may no longer be safe. There has been a large increase in instances of assault on the TTC, the widely used public transportation service in Toronto.ManyHarbordstudents and staff use the TTC as their main source of transportation, and even though it’s accessible, the rise in violence can be concerning. Considering the circumstances, it’s hard not to ask the questions, “Is the TTC safe?” and “What can we do aboutit?”

The TTC is an integral part of Toronto culture and is an essential service. Established in 1921, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has continuedtoconnectpeopleall overToronto.It’sestimatedthat over 2 million people ride the TTC every day during the weekdays.

For the past few months, there hasbeenanoticeableamountof assaults on the TTC being reported on the news, and it’s only becoming more frequent. Themostrecentcase,asofearly 2023,wasonFebruary8th,when a man assaulted a 12-year-old girl on a TTC bus in a hate-motivated attack. There havebeenmanyotherdisturbing cases that have come out prior totheFebruary8thattack,such as passengers being pushed on tracks,assaulted,andkilled.This is worrying for students who take the TTC to school as they couldbe

potentiallyatrisktoo.

An independent investigation conductedreportsthatoutofa group of 31 Harbord students, only 26% of students surveyed said they felt safe while the remaining74%saidtheopposite. Someparticipantsreportedthat hearingaboutcasesofassaulton the TTC contributed to feelings offearanduncertaintytowards public transit, a few even mentioning how they experienced some form of harassmentthemselves.

Ananonymousgrade10student writes, “Every day the news is filled with brutal tragedies, and considering I have experienced harassment on the TTC, I am alwaysontheedgewhenIhave to travel using the subway or streetcartoschoolinfearthatI mightbethenextvictim.”

So,what’sbeingdonetocombat this issue? TTC chief executive RickLearystatesthatthereare plans in the works to put more staff in stations to ensure passengersafety.Torontopolice will also be increasing police presence on transit, rotating stationsduringpeakhours.The TTC encourages commuters to takeadvantageofthedesignated waiting areas placed in subway stations as they have security camerasandintercoms.

Staying vigilant, leaving conflict before it escalates, and taking extra precautions are all ways we can stay a little bit safer on the TTC. If you’re traveling late at night, the Request Stop Program lets commuters riding between9p.mand5a.mrequest to be dropped off between regularTTCstops.Forexample, if you live between two stops youcanrequestinadvancetobe dropped off in between the stops instead of either one. However, this program is not availableonstreetcars.Thereis also a SafeTTC app commuters can use in order to report incidents in real-time. This is definitelyanextremelycomplex issue that doesn’t have one solution, so it’s important to ensure our own safety for the timebeing. ★

POLITICS

Mayor John Tory’s Resignation

BY LILY CANETE-GOODINE

Onlyafewmonthsintothenew year, one of the most shocking news stories to hit the city has been the scandalizing discovery ofMayorJohnTory’sillicitaffair andsubsequentresignation.

OnFebruary10th,2023,Toronto MayorJohnToryannouncedhis resignation to the residents of thecityafterrevealingthetruth of an inappropriate relationship with one of his former staff members. Tory revealed the relationship began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while he remained marriedtohiswifeofoverforty years,BarbaraHackett.

At sixty-eight years old, this resignation marks the end of Tory’s eight-year tenure as mayor after he was elected in 2014 and won two re-elections in2018and2022.Beforethat,he workedinradio,law,andsports. He also led the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party between2004and2009.

With Tory’s decision to leave office, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie has temporarily stepped in to take his place. Tory’s official resignation came into effect on February 17th as he made his last public announcement to the city. All thisnewscameasquiteashock for Torontonians, including thoseofushereatHarbord.

Whenaskedaboutheropinions onTory’slegacyasmayorbefore learning of his inappropriate relationship, Harbord grade 10, GiselleSchillingsaid,“Ilikehow he advocated for funding for transit and [got] rid of some Airbnbsthatarehelpingtocause thehousingcrisis,buthehasn’t reallydealtwiththedeepissues facingTorontorightnow.”

In general, this opinion appears to be echoed by many voters across the city. In the most recentmunicipalelectionfrom

October 2022, Tory won in a landslidevictory,takingroughly 62% of the vote. Despite that, some of his biggest complaints from voters were about his transit, housing, and homelessnesspolicies.

InresponsetoTory’sdecisionto resign, Harbord student KimberlyWustated,“Ithinkit’s good for him to resign. By that action already, he lost the responsibilities he should be carrying as a mayor of the city. He does not have the qualificationstoleadthepeople [and]thecityofToronto.”

However, in contrast, Harbord student Claire Wilson stated, “I thinkitwasthewrongdecision. Yes, I agree that the affair was completelyunjustforamayoror any person. However, I fear Toronto will give power to anotherRobFordtype…Ithink Tory’sratherneutralstancewas agoodthingforkeepingthecity together.I’mquitedisappointed byhischoice.”

Regardless of their opinions, Toryhasmadehisdecisionfinal, releasing a tweet on February 17thsaying,“ThankyouToronto. It has been the honour of a lifetimetoserveyou.”Givenhis resignation, a new municipal electionwilloccurinthecoming weeks. Already, some people haveannouncedtheirintentions to run, including former candidates from the October 2022 election, Gil Penalosa and BlakeActon.

Asofnow,itremainstobeseen who will end up permanently taking Tory’s place. With luck, the next mayor will pick up where Tory left off and work even harder to improve all the issuesthatcurrentlyimpactthe peopleofToronto. ★

ECONOMICS

Loblaws Backlash On Prices

BY SOFIA GOUVEIA

While Loblaws, a continuously successfulgrocer,denieshaving anycontrolovertheirincrease

While Loblaws, a continuously successfulgrocer,denieshaving anycontrolovertheirincrease in prices, it’s important to understand what they did have control over during their price freeze.FromOctober2022until the end of January, Loblaws froze the prices of their no-nameproducts.Loblawssaid this freeze was done with good intentions of helping their shoppers. It was said that they were price-freezing approximately 1,500 of their no-name products. But when the price freeze ended in late January,Loblawsshopperswere leftinthesamepredicamentas they found themselves a few monthsearlier:stilldealingwith inflationratesbutevenmoreso now. The public took to social media to voice their concerns but Loblaws came back every time with an answer to their questions.

Looking back, when the pandemicwasatitsheight,one of the only services that were accessible to the public was grocerystores.Manybusinesses were in crisis and some didn’t even make it out of the pandemic, but grocery stores stood strong making more money than ever. Especially sincethedesperationofleaving your house only grew stronger eachday,thegrocerystorewas the place to be. With people stocking up on toilet paper and Lysol wipes, business was booming.

So it's understandable how the public fought back, because of how short Loblaws’ ‘good gesture’ lasted. Not to mention whatLoblawsprice-frozeduring those four months was their no-name products, which are already priced lower than the average item. Not that Loblaws would think to lower their averagefruitsandvegetablesor any healthy options. Was this good gesture in an attempt to support their loyal shoppers through a difficult time, or was thisjustapublicitystunt? ★

Semi Formal

Q: "Miss Know It All, I’m having a really hard time with my friends. I don’t have any I like but am part of a large friend group. I recently started talking to this guy but my friend has a crush on him. I don’t like this friend but she’s pressuring me to be loyal to her and I feel like I have no one to talk to. No one understands me. What should I do?"

- LonelyGirl07

A: Dear LonelyGirl07, I would like to start this message by just saying, I understand. Friendships can be very messy, especially in bigger friend groups. I was in one myself and let me just say, it was not easy. As to your problem, here is my opinion. If you genuinely like this guy, like not just a stupid little crush, then I say go for it. But don’t use the guy as an excuse for leaving the friend group. It sounds like you’ve thought about this for a while, and have been waiting for someone to give you a reason to leave. If you want to be loyal to your friend, then be loyal. But it sounds like you don’t like any of your friends and I think you’re only being loyal because of guilt. You may feel a sense of guilt or that you have to stay with the group. Realistically speaking, this is high school. Chances are, you won’t be friends with half the people you are with now. This may seem like a really big problem, but the truth is, it’s simple. It all depends on how you do it. If you just up and leave the friendship for the guy and give no explanation to your friends, then they’ll just assume the worst and make you out to be some horrible crush-stealing jerk. But if you had a civil conversation with your friends about how you feel, and try to find a solution, it would end much better for all parties involved.

Thank you for submitting your question. Hope this helps, Miss Know It All

MISS KNOW IT IT ALL . MISS KNOW IT ALL ALL. MISS KNOW KNOW IT ALL. ALL. MISS KNOW KNOW IT ALL.

EditionFour MISS KNOW IT ALL

The Best Friend You Could Ever Have.

Q: "Hi there, I feel like my question is kinda lame but how can I focus while studying. I’ll start off perfectly and be super focused by then 15 minutes in and I’m on my phone watching TikTok. How can I stay focus????”

- How To Focus

A: Dear How to Focus, I completely get the focus while studying thing: the super intense focus, but then getting distracted, and suddenly two hours have passed and you haven’t even studied a page. Been there, done that. I have gathered some helpful tips/methods you can use. The first thing you can try is doing your work in sections. Plan out all the studying for each week. Write down how much you’re going to study, what you’re going to study, all of it. Then schedule breaks in between studying, get a snack, go on your phone, for twenty minutes. Then get back to work. It’s like a reward system. You could also try getting a screen time app for your time which would block you from using apps at a certain time. I recommend ScreenZen. But honestly, I don’t have the actual answer because I’m still figuring that out myself.

Thanks for writing to me. Hope this helps, Miss Know It All

IT ALL. MISS KNOW MISS KNOW IT ALL. ALL . MISS KNOW KNOW IT ALL. MISS ALL. MISS KNOW KNOW IT ALL. MISS ALL. MISS KNOW

LES ARTS LES ARTS

Little Miss Perfect has an older brother, Mr. Letdown. He was bornfirst,neverthebest,andis alwayscriticizedbyhisparents. LittleMissPerfectlearnedfrom a young age that in order to receiveloveyouhavetobethe best,andthat’sexactlywhatshe did. There are photos on the fridge displaying her every achievement since kindergarten while her brother’s high school diplomagetstuckedaway.With her being nothing less than perfect, you can see how detrimental a D on a chemistry quizcanbe.

“You know your sister is top of her class again?” nagged mom. “You couldn’t even get into college yet she has dozens of scholarships.” Mr. Letdown smiledandcontinuedeatinghis unseasonedpotatoes.LittleMiss Perfect took a deep breath and heldbackthebilebuildingupin her throat. She used to love beingparaded,butlookingatthe fridgeshefeelslikeafraud.

“Seventeen and already more successful than you. I can’t believe we saved that much money when we should have been saving for her. If we had known-”

“I failed my chemistry quiz.” LittleMissPerfect’sworldfroze. Shewasexpectinghermother's voice to break the silence but wasshockedtohearherown.

“I’vebeenperfectsincedayone, an absolute scholar but where hasthatgottenme?Soscaredof failure that I don’t allow myself topause.Nooneshouldgotheir wholelifedyingtobeperfect.I deserve your love and affection unconditionally,notbecauseofa grade,” she took a breath and plowed forward. “So, while you bothsitthereandgapeatme,

SHORT STORY

FOREVER YOUNG

A tale drawn from a dream.

BY SOFIE KAGAN

Standing together, Betty and Frankopenthedoor.

“You’re here!” Betty shouts and smiles widely, her wrinkled hands grasping for bothgirlsatonce.

“My amazing, brilliant, grandbabies,intheflesh,”Betty fawns. “Can you believe this, Frank?”

“Why yes, I can my dear…neverdoubtedthemfora minute, given my genes,” Frank chuckles under his breath. “Come,let’sallgotothesitting roomforacupoftea.”

“Really nice to see you two as well,” the girls say in unison, following them downstairs and dropping into theirusualspots,theTVbuzzing faintlyinthebackground.

Betty scans the two girls moreclosely.Theydon’tlookso good. Phoebe’s shirt is half unbuttoned and loosely untucked at her waist, and Alora’s black hair is oily and disheveled.

“So girls, what’s up… what’d you wanna talk to us about?

Alora starts to cry, “Our work,ourlife’swork.Welostit. Allofit.It’s…it’satotaldisaster. We’reprobablygoingtoloseour jobs.”

“What! What do you mean,lost?”Franksaysshocked.

“Wedon’tknow…noneof it makes any sense…someone musthavesomehowhackedinto our lab server,” Phoebe says tryingtocontrolthecracklingin her voice, “and now it’s gone. Yearsofwork.Gonewithouta

trace.”

“Oh my word, that's horrific!”Bettycries.

“Sure is,” Phoebe says dejectedly.“Itsureis.”

“Jeez…I don’t even know whattosay.Wishwecouldhelp out. Unfortunately, we barely know how to google a pizza to thehouse,”Franktriestolighten themood.

“Well,certainlyhopeyou somehowfindtheculprit,”Betty adds. “Whoever did this to you surely deserves what’s coming forthem.”

“I guess… it’s just so unfair how much work we lost…and we had literally just stumbledonto…somethingquite bigactually.”

“Anyway…unfortunately, we might need some help with our rent this month,” Phoebe asks sheepishly for them both, keenly aware of how generous they’d already been over the years helping them get through theirpost-graduatework.

“How are you both doing?” Alora quickly interjects, changingthesubject.

“Us? We’re…uh…well, we’re doing quite well actually,” Betty says somewhat hesitantly, feeling a bit guilty about doing betterthanhergranddaughters.

Betty’s thick brown hair was back and her makeup was no longer gathering awkwardly in her deep wrinkles. Both of them were sporting brighter cheeksandmoreslenderfigures.

“Youguyslookgreat!”

Alorasaysaloud.“Isthat justanewhaircolouror-”

“Why thank you for noticing dear!” Betty beams, cutting her off. “Well, we’ve started taking some new vitamins and have been playing lotsofpickleballlately.”

“Grandpa, you know you can’t do that waiting on double kneereplacements!”

“Phoebe darling, calm down,”Franksmiles.“Thedoctor called a few days ago…they misdiagnosedme.Mykneesare good…it’snoproblem.”

“Yousureitwastheright doctor on the phone?” Phoebe asks.

“Maybe vivid dreams fromyourmedsorsomething-” Alorasuggests.

“No, no, no girls, he’s doing great!” Betty interrupts. “He’s not even taking any medicationsanymore.Now,stop with all these silly questions. You’re wearing us out! We’re old.”

“Well, let’s all go have some supper,” Frank says abruptlystandingup.

━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━

Headedhomelater,Alora says,“YouknowPhoebe,Idon’t thinkI’veeverseenthemlookso good. Did you see how fast Grandpawaswalking?”

“I know, but not just Grandpa,Grandmatoo…shehad noproblemwhatsoeverkeeping upwithhim.”

“Remind me to ask them thenameofthosenewvitamins willyou?”Phoebesayslaughing.

“Right? I want some of that too!” Alora agrees before returningtotheirrealproblems, “Phoebe,Ijustdon’tunderstand it…that server password was uncrackable…impossible to guess.”

“I agree,” Phoebe says. “That'swhywechoseit.Thereis

absolutelynowayanyonecould have figured out that ancient cryptocodingweused.”

“So,whatthen?Ihonestly can’t think of a person in the world who knows enough to havepulledoffahacklikethis.”

“I’mafraidso.”

“Oh my god! I guess we ━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━

“I’m scared,” Alora whispers, squeezing Phoebe’s

“I get it, Lor, same, believe me. Try to be brave. Honestly, we have no choice. Last house. We gotta find out,” Phoebetriestoreassureher.

Lifting up the mat they find the emergency front door key right there as expected. Tiptoeing inside they shut the doorbehindthemassoundlessly as possible. On the wall, that familiar Kanye poster stares at

Splitting up, Phoebe heads upstairs to the home officeandAloratothebasement

Rounding the corner, Alora sees an eerie blue flickering light and bravely opens the workroom door. Inside she sees an incredibly complex-looking lab with dozens of specialized computers, beakers, chemicals, and other highly experimental equipment. Stunned, she searches around as silently as possible.Miraculously,shefinds and then somehow manages to successfully open up a small biohazardsafewithherhairpin. Inside are two familiar-looking purple syringes she quickly stuffsintoherjacketpocket.

Heading back upstairs, shereuniteswithPhoebewhois carryingagiantstackofpapers.

“Oh my god!” Alora whispers, “I can’t believe this is

“I know!” Phoebe says quietly. “Don’t even say it. Was thereanythingdownstairs?”

Alora proudly offers a peekintothedarknessofher jacket pocket, “You tell

ARRANGED BY ARYA BARI

“HolyBatman!Robin,how isthatevenpossible,that’sway fartherthanwegotwithit!”

Suddenly, there’s a faint creak followed by a far more definite thump from the bedroom. A light upstairs turns onandPhoebeandAlorarunfor the door. Distantly they hear security camera footage played back of their still-in-progress break-in.

Galloping down the street,neitherofthemdarelook back.ReachingtheirHonda,they diveinsideatfullspeed,hearing a car door slam shut not far behind.

Speeding away, Alora takes a quick peek behind and seesaPurpleJeepinhotpursuit.

“Hitit,Phoebe!Youknow I’m always telling you to slow down,well,ifyoudon’tputthat pedal to the metal now, I’m literallygoingtoneedanewpair ofpants!”

“What the heck do you thinkI’mtryingtodo!?”Phoebe screeches back, “I’m trying to savebothourpants!”

“Thisiscrazy…thiswhole thingisjustsodamncrazy!”

“Tell me about it! This is seriouslyscrewedup!”

Around the corner, up ahead, a red light and a busy intersectionsuddenlycomeinto view.

“Oh no! We’re screwed! There’snowheretogo.”

Skidding to a stop, the purple Jeep barrels up quickly from behind and can’t stop in time. The cars collide in a massive crash that sends both vehicles airborne. They land upside down, far apart, on opposite sides of the intersection.

Several passersby wade throughthesmokeandrushto eachcar.

Afterastruggle,the

doors open and two empty syringes fall to the ground followed by two badly bruised and bleeding younger women who are not only fully consciousbutwhosesubstantial wounds seem to somehow miraculouslybealmostinstantly self-healing. People stare at them as if they’re ghosts becausetheyshouldbe.

“Alora?Youok?”

“I need a new pair of pants.”

“Same.”

“But…Phoebe.Itworks.”

“I know…otherwise, I wouldn’tbetalkingtoyouright now.”

“Wait! What about the Jeep!”

Turning around, on the othersideoftheintersection,a large number of emergency vehicles and people were gathered.

Inside were two lifeless bodies,bothpronounceddeadat the scene, and two newish-looking pickleball rackets. The older man and woman,latertobeidentifiedby police as one Betty, and Frank Verlice, both aged eighty, died tragically together after a fatal car crash at the intersection of WellsberryCrescentandWandia Drive.

━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━

Exactly one thousand yearslater…

Onthegloriousoccasion of the one-thousandth anniversary of their revolutionary discovery, Princesses Alora and Phoebe Verlice graciously accept their annual award, and as per tradition, pay special posthumous thanks to their dearly departed grandparents, Betty and Frank, whose love, support, and deceptively narcissistic ingeniousness enabledusalltoremain forever young. ★

CRICKETS & CRITICS

Challenging the Critical Pride

BY REEM BENADADA

The Hollywood hit Titanic celebrated its 25th anniversary on February 8th. To mark the anniversary, for one day only, the blockbuster made a comebackincinemasaroundthe world,justintimeforValentine’s Day on February 14th. The 3D/4Dexperiencebroughtback the tragic story of the 1912 shipwrecktoldthroughthelens of fictional characters Jack and Rose. Despite this remaster not breaking box office records like the original, it brought in an impressive$22.3millionglobally.

Ever since day one, Titanic has been James Cameron's most adored piece and this release goes to show how cherished it still is. It’s won 11 Academy Awards, including the well-deserved Oscars for best cinematography and best visual effects. Despite the visuals and acting, I continue to contemplatehowit’ssocritically acclaimedwhenunderneath,the film lacks a great amount of respect.

Thefilmindustry,justlikemany others,isconstantlyonthelook for what will profit them millions. In this case, human tragedieswereusedastheroad tosuccess.Inreality,thesinking of the Titanic killed over 1500 people. In spite of this, James Cameronusedtheincidentasan excuse to make a fictional romance.Thefilmisthereason some know about the tragedy; wouldn't it have been a good opportunity to educate people onwhatreallyhappenedduring the shipwreck? Using controversial topics on purpose is a way we've seen James Cameron gain attention in the past,suchas,in Avatar.Thefilm revolves around the topic of colonialism,presentingitina

mocking way of the real life conflictbetweenEuropeansand IndigenousPeoples.

In both the Titanic and Avatar weseeexamplesoffilmstrying to gain attention from real-life events in disrespectful ways to get people talking. All this is to say even the most critically acclaimedfilmscanhavehurtful flaws--sobeforefollowingthe next megahit, challenge the praiseanddigdeeperintowhat’s behindthecriticalpride.★

BEHIND THE SCENES| OUR TEAM

Layout:

ARYA BARI

Cover Artist Photographers

OLIVIA WINTERS

ARYA BARI

LILLIAN SCHULTHIES

Teacher Supervisors

ELIZABETH MCNEELY CATHERINE WILLIAMS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY LILLIAN SCHULTHIES