The Orb- September 2017-18

orb the

September 2017 | Volume 29 | Issue 1

STUDENT PASSIONS 4 - Royal Invitational 6 - Applying to College 8 - SoundCloud Musicians 12 - New Clubs 14 - Caught in Chaos

Contents

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Royal Invitational Royal Command and Guard endured an unprecedented surprise this season; after months of practice, the annual Royal Invitational was cancelled, raising concerns about practicing for its first competition.

Applying to College Director of Guidance Nancy Herndon highlights the process of applying to college and the importance of senior meetings. Alumni discuss the application process and experience.

SoundCloud Music The music app SoundCloud allows people to experiment with making and posting their own songs to share. Students explain how they express their talent on SoundCloud.

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Musician Spotlight.

Student SoundCloud musicians also highlight their style, inspiration and collaborations with other artists.

The Struggle, Reward, Glory of Starting a New Club Students who have started their own club in the school explain the difficulty and the process of creating it, as well as the reward of finally succeeding.

Caught in Chaos While terrorist attacks are seemingly common knowledge, it is not often that oneconnects to HSE. Junior Ana Marie Johnson experienced the France attack on Bastille Day during a school trip and recounts the fear she felt.

The Orb - Sta

Advisers:

Copy Editor:

Jordan Klobusnik David Young

Eliana Bucklin

Editor in Chief:

Grace Barclay Laurel Black Lilian Connely Evelyn Eggers Katelyn Hartman Kersti Hash Skylar Hettenbach Lauren Kilburn Evelyn Lahr Hayden Sisemore Olivia Smith Kiara Thomas-Powell Sarah Woodward

Makenna Sisemore

Editors: MacKenzie Barclay Andrea Bautista Marissa Hubbard Ilene Marzke Britta Seland Laura Stancato Jenny Turock Lily Wray

Website: Demrie Hasey Christina Poetz

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Staffers:

Itching For More?

Visit hsenews.com for daily stories by the students that bring you The Orb. Topics can range from sports, to world news, to student profiles. If you can not wait for the next issue of The Orb to come out, visit hsenews.com today.

New Year, New Crew Blue Crew creates new goals

Blue Crew members turn over leadership at the start of each school year. This year the new leaders are attempting to create a more social environment and make HSE become “Royal Nation.” The club is led this year by seniors Max Kibble, Caroline Grethencord and Brant Boram, who hope to incorporate student support at sporting events.

The Blue Crew this year is already trying to make a difference within the school by trying to involve all of the classes to create a more engaging environment for players and fans.

The Blue Crew leaders will be leading the top two sections of the bleachers this year, standing by them and helping them with cheers.

“It doesn’t matter where you live, what you do, or who you hang out with,” Boram said. “[All HSE students] bleed blue when we stand together in those bleachers.”

Members of Blue Crew are also creating a larger social media presence

in order to let everyone know details about the game, such as location and theme. Leaders started posting promotional videos on Instagram and Twitter to spread the word about events. “[Social media] is a fantastic way to spread the word about the theme, and where the games will be,” Kibble said.

“We’ve had fantastic turnouts at these games and I am very happy with how this is coming together.”

Members of the Blue Crew also plan to attend more athletic events, compared to last year.

“We are making sure to go to multiple sporting events so that everyone feels more involved,” Gretencord said.

Regardless of the event, the Blue Crew stresses the importance of student attendance and involvement during Royals games.

“A crowd can make or break a game,” Boram said. “It doesn’t matter if it is an NFL game or HSE against Fishers.” Story

“It doesn’t matter where you live, what you do, or who you hang out with. we all bleed blue when we stand together in those bleachers.”

by Skylar Hettenbach

Why travel so far for football games?

“I travel to away football games because I love supporting my school and showing spirit. I definitely encourage other people to travel to football games because when a lot of people show out it makes it a much more fun environment. I think when people show school spirit it makes your high school experience way better and builds your friendships with your classmates.”

Dagny Gladwell, 12

“I traveled to the [Kokomo] game to support the Royals. It is a way to meet other people from your class and feel included with your school. You’re only in high school for so long and one day you might regret not going to the games and you might miss out.”

Ashtyn Buergelin, 11

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Starting the Season Royal Command and Guard moves toward first competition If students have attended an HSE football game, odds are they have witnessed the Royal Command and Guard (RCG)perform sections of their show. Even before the 2017-2018 school year began, RCG was practicing during the months of June and July. This year their show is titled Both Sides, which can be taken both literally and metaphorically.

“Throughout the show, we divide the field in half as we begin in opposite end zones and as each group begins to enter the field, we set up a dividing line with the platforms straight down the 50-yard line,” Band Director Audrey Torres said.

“Metaphorically, our concept is about perspective and how that perspective changes as one gets older, viewing life

4 student life

from multiple viewpoints and with the wisdom that comes with age and experience versus the naïveté of youth.”

Normally, RCG would host a contest known as the Royal Invitational and perform as the last band of the evening.

However, this year the contest was cancelled. The band directors are actively moving past this and are scheduled to perform their first contest Sept. 23 in Greenfield, Ind. “We are always competing against ourselves, trying to improve drastically from one performance to the next,” Torres said. “We aspire to become a family that promotes trust, respect, and positivity, in order to inspire others and leave a legacy for generations to follow.”Story and photos by Eliana Bucklin.

YoungLife

Students gather to celebrate faith Every Monday, a variety of HSE students, ranging from grades 9-12, fill the YoungLife barn in Fortville to come together to celebrate unity and their faith. Some are familiar faces, while others come with friends or for a new, unique experience.

“I started going in the seventh grade because my sister was the one who talked me into going,” sophomore Cameron Fowler said. “The love of God and the love for others keeps having me come back.”

For the first three Mondays of the month, they hold campaigners, which involve a bible study where members can have conversations and ask questions about the reading. The last Monday of the month, they wrap everything else with a party called a club.

“I’ve created so many friendships and bonds just going to clubs and campaigners,” freshman Hailey Howard said. “YoungLife is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

At these, they hold talks that wraps up everything they talked about over the course of the month, and how it all relates to the gospel. Each club has a theme as well, such as America club, Bring Your Dad to YoungLife, 90’s Club, and Love Tanks.

“My favorite memory of a YoungLife event would probably have to be when we did Love Tanks,” sophomore Meredith Card said. “Participants would receive anonymous love tips from people you would least expect it and see how much you truly are loved and how much you are valued in this life.”

Another major part of the YoungLife experience comes from the various camps that they offer, such as Camp Michindoh or Lake Timberwolf in Michigan, Castaway Camp in Minnesota, or Wilderness in Colorado.

“Castaway is so much fun. It’s a lot more independent than most summer camps,” senior Cassidy Ogan said.

“You have specific activities with your cabin and you go to club talks every night but in the afternoon you have a lot of free time to hang out and go on zip lines and play in the lake and other activities.”

The ultimate goal of YoungLife is to provide teens a place to speak about their faith without judgement, while simultaneously bonding with their peers over a common passion.

I started going to YoungLife because some friends invited me,” Card said. “But after I started going weekly and I felt the love that comes from all of the people there, it became something bigger.” Story by Jennifer Turock. Photos by

Laurel Black.

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College Applications Director of Guidance Nancy Herndon discusses college application process

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Get Letters of Recommendation Students can email the teacher or ask them in person and give them a deadline [to have it submitted]. I suggest two weeks. Then, students have to request for a letter of recommendation in Naviance. However, there are going to be colleges that don’t require letters of recommendation. That is not unusual.

Start the Application First, [students] need their list [of desired colleges]. They should have narrowed down, done their research and taken their visits in their junior year. Once they have that list, they should visit that college’s website and find out what kind of application they need to complete.

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Apply Early I always advise [students] to apply early.

They should be two weeks ahead of any deadline so the materials can [be sent] in a timely manner. Some students may have more tests to take or they want to send better grades in by January, but there are deadlines out there. If there is a deficiency in your transcript or in your test scores, you can always send them more information and update them.

Know Application Deadlines Students have to look at certain college’s deadlines. There may be some [schools] that don’t have deadlines, which is called rolling admission, and goes on throughout the academic year. However, if students apply after a deadline, they are not going to be considered [for admission].

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Benefit from Senior Meetings I walk them through the process.

[Guidance counselors] pull up each student’s file and analyze that [information]. We talk about coming up with a college list [and] I answer any questions they have. We [also] look at testing, grades and activities.

Back Up Plan

HSE alum Max Carlson discusses application process, experiences

Applying to colleges is a time-consuming task that the majority of high school seniors experience. While going through the application process, most students have a “safe school” in mind, a school that serves as a back-up and usually has a high acceptance rate in relation to other colleges. However, 2017 alumn Max Carlson was not accepted by his back up school, which left him with sparse opportunities.

“I applied to 10 different schools,” Carlson said. “I learned a lot about ‘marketing myself’ throughout the process and working with what you have rather than what you wish you had.” Carlson claims to not have applied himself well enough in high school, and blames this for only being accepted into a fraction of the schools he applied to.

“I was only accepted into four schools that I applied to which was extremely disheartening,” Carlson said.

“I doubted myself a lot during the process. Writing different essays for different colleges was very draining.”

Carlson ultimately attended Xavier University and is glad he extended himself past Indiana’s horizons. The daunting task of leaving the state can sometimes work in a person’s favor, as it did for Carlson.

“I chose to attend Xavier University, a school that I hadn’t even considered until my senior year,” Carlson said. “Apply to a lot of different schools, especially the ones you think are unrealistic, you might be surprised.” Story by Lilian Connelly. Photo contributed.

Statisically Speaking

Important dates, statistics about Indiana colleges, schools according to HSE alumni TUITION:

IMPORTANT DATES:

$10,388

ACCEPTANCE RATE: 78% 26

TUITION:

IMPORTANT DATES:

ACCEPTANCE RATE: 68.5%

GPA: 3.83

ACT: 27

SAT: 1227 (single) 1205 (combined)

$38,405

TUITION:

IMPORTANT DATES:

ACCEPTANCE RATE:

GPA: 3.30

59.9%

ACT: 23

Early Application - Nov. 15 Regular Application - March 1

SAT: 1133 (single) 1086 (combined)

TUITION:

IMPORTANT DATES:

ACCEPTANCE RATE:

GPA: 3.76

$10,002

55.8%

ACT:

27

SAT: 1251 (single) 1200 (combined) IMPORTANT DATES:

ACCEPTANCE RATE:

GPA: 2.93

$8,916

ACT: 21 Statistics are averages taken from Naviance and usnews.com Pictures contributed from https://commons.wikimedia.org/

“Ball State is a great school for elementary education. The campus is not too big and not too small. It’s just right. The application process was easy.”

Makenzie Pinkerton, BSU freshman

Early Application - Nov. 1 Regular Application - Jan. 15

TUITION:

82.5%

“IU was the only school I applied to. [I chose to go to IU because it is] in-state, [I wanted to go to] the Kelley School of Business and for the scholarships.”

Max Savin, IU freshman

Early Application - Nov. 1 Regular Application - March 1

$9,654

“I chose [Purdue University] because it is one of the best colleges in the country and it offers the widest variety of different engineering majors.”

Gunnar Rich, PU freshman

GPA: 3.73 SAT: 1263 (single) 1202 (combined)

ACT:

“Personally, I fell in love with Butler’s campus and they have one of the best pharmacy schools in Indiana. I want to be a pharmacist so it was a perfect fit.”

Sarah Salih, BU freshman

Early Application - Nov. 1 Regular Application - Feb. 1

Apply before July 1

SAT: 1048 (single) 997 (combined)

“I chose Indiana State University because it is relatively close to home, it’s not too big or small and there’s an excellent athletic training program. Plus it’s a nice and safe campus.”

Alexis Karner, ISU freshman

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Students Show Ambition, Passion Through

I just put on some of my favorite artists that I knew would get people going crazy. I could care less about putting my songs on, I just wanted people to have so much fun.

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To many, music has been a powerful part of the human experience, going as far back as prehistoric China. Every culture leading up to today has had their own style, sound, and interpretation of collections of sound they would create. And now, society has entered a new age.

It is an age where technology meets sound, and based on the sudden spikes in streaming from Apple Music, Youtube Red, and Spotify, it is completely revolutionizing the way music is produced.

SoundCloud, an app that started as a handy tool for artists to share their music with each other, has exploded into a fully-fledged business tool, bringing the next gernertations of musicians into the spotlight at a faster rate than ever. Created by two artists from Berlin, Eric Wahlforss

“

SoundCloud “

and Alexander Ljung, the hope was to make musical collaborations easier to pass back and forth amongst musicians. “[Eric Wahlforss and I] came from backgrounds connected to music, and it was really, really annoying for us to collaborate with people on music,” Ljung said. “In the same way that we’d use Flickr for our photos, and Vimeo for our videos, we didn’t have that kind of platform for music.”

While it was not what they expected when they first created it, SoundCloud has become a tool for artists trying to make their craft heard. Miles McCollum, more commonly, known as the redhaired rapper Lil Yachty, became on overnight star with his hit “One Night”, which he posted on SoundCloud in 2015, gaining over

Soundcloud Timeline:

2007

SoundCloud was founded in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden.

It was created by sound designer Alexander Ljung and artist Eic Wahlforss.

seven hundred likes. Austin Post, also known as Post Malone, gained fame quickly from his song “White Iverson” which he posted in the summer of 2015. Rounding out over eight hundred and fifty thousand likes, one could consider him one of the most successful artists on the app. Later he was invited to open shows on Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour.

There are people at every phase of their SoundCloud career, from people who are just beginning to people who have surpassed the app and moved onto bigger prospects, such as concerts, record deals, and partnerships with other artists.

Three students out of HSE are working to make it to that level.

Dillon Greene, known as DadSaucy, is a junior and has been posting his beats on SoundCloud for about a

2008

SoudCloud was officially established in 2008. Its headquarters are located in Berlin, Germany and New York City, New York.

year, and has begun to take his music to the next level. While his fanbase may be smaller than most, he is confident in his talent as a producer to be able to follow the path of other successful SoundCloud artists.

“With what I am doing now and what people have been syaing,” Greene said. “We’re gonna be big.”

He has become almost obessive over perfecting his style and experimenting with new sounds. His style, a mixture of different kinds of genres, is developing a kind of sound not often heard in modern hip=hop and rap songs of today, which stems from his positive and confident attitude. One of his most popular beats, which got attention when it was bought and used by another artist, Brody, used a flute and piano melody crossed with a basic base and snare beat to create a softer spin

2013

R&B singer Kehlani, posted a song called, “ANTISUMMERLUV.” She posted this in 2013 and rose to fame in 2015.

on a typically harsh genre.

“I try to focus on what I like,” Greene said. “I focus on what the people like obviously, but you have to enjoy [music] for yourself. That’s the whole point of music.”

The promise of fame can be enticing, but it can also have its tolls.

Grene, who has only just become popular, arguably has more creative freedom than artists who are constantly in the limelight.

“Music, when I have a small fanbase, is cool,” Greene said.

“It’s not too controlling like how mainstream ]artists] typically are.”

Alongside Green, a fellow classmate and friend has also been rising into the spotlight. Senior, Arbra Ross, also known as Lil Arb, exudes an air of relaxation and confidence. (Story continues on next page)

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2013

Producer Kygo posted his remixes on SoundCloud and his remix of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” in 2013 brought him to fame.

2014

Rapper, Bryson Tiller posted his song “Don’t” in 2014 . The song rose him to fame and now tours with Metro Boomin.

Ross has been passionate about music all his life, starting at the age of seven. Ever since he found his love for rhythm, and began taking inspiration from his childhood in City Park, what started to him as a way to pass time became a legitimate career path.

“I have 479 full songs, it’s all I do,” Ross said. “I will be in class, I finish my work and then I write.”

Ross began posting in 2016 and has grown in popularity since, getting up to 3,000 plays per song and obtaining listeners from people across the globe. With this kind of fame, there can be consequences and drawbacks, while he may still be growing, there can stil be pressure to produce.

“Everyone that listens to me wants more and more,” Ross said. “I love putting [music] out but if it’s not

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2015

Rapper Post Malone posted his song “White Iverson” in 2015. This was his hit song and ended up elevating his career.

produced right it will not sound right.”

It can be difficult to grasp the concept of a high school student having a full time job making music, but Senior Will Samuels is doing that and more. In Sept. 2016, Samuels released his first song and collaboration with a friend from Indianapolis, Samron. The song, “Breakfast Club”, caught attention from music lovers, over twenty thousand to be precise. Since then, he has been aproached by other musicians asking to work with him and has been doing shows. Samuels has fond memories regarding his first show.

“I just put on songs of Samron’s or my favorite artists that get people going crazy,” Samuels said. “I could care less about putting my songs on, I just want people to have fun.”

In 2017, SoundCloud announced that it only had 50 days worth of money to stay in business. Chance the Rapper donated money to keep the company open.

2017

His most recent show was featuring Kyle Massey, known for his role in “Corey in the House” on Disney Channel. While it may seem overwhelming, Samuels has a positive outlook on his rise to fame.

“I feel like I’m early into things,” Samuels said. “I feel like everything I do is a step towards my goals.”

Each of these artists are on different levels of fame, each rising with their own styles and talents .

SoundCloud has revolutionized the music industry as a whole, making it easier to become visible, but harder to stand out.

Seemingly against all odds, these three students are making themselves known.

Arba Ross stats it in a much simpler way, “We’re going to be making millions before we’re twenty.” Story by Evelyn Lahr.

Popular Music Genres at HSE

Results in an online survey including 334 students Alternative - 23.5% Country - 8.1% Pop - 21.7% Rap - 46.7%

Why listen to SoundCloud?

“I like SoundCloud because it gives young artists a platform to display their ideas and talents through music and it’s cool for leaked/ unreleased music.”

Brian Oren, 12

“I started to find artists who I’d never heard of and really started to get into their styles and music. I recommend it because it’s a great way to discover new artists and its music you can listen to for free.”

Emily Babb, 10

“I have been using Soundcloud for around five years now. At the time I could never find unreleased mixtapes and EDM music so I searched apps and heard the name of SoundCloud a few times on YouTube.”

Tommy Stegmann, 12

“I first found it by seeing other people us it. On SoundCloud there are a lot of newer artists that you can’t listen to on bigger music apps like Apple Music and Spotify.”

Jarren French, 11

“There’s a lot more songs on SoundCloud than there are on Spotify.

Anyone can make music and post it on SoundCloud, so I like to listen to a lot of underground rappers.”

Drake Roberts, 11

“I like SoundCloud because artists on the come up have somewhere to put their work. This helps them get well known and hopefully they can get their work to the mainstream apps.”

Mitchell Kennedy, 12

Student Playlists

Helen Zhang, 11

Brooklyn Seagrave, 10

Jacob Sonntag, 12

Maddie Cole, 10

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Passion Behind the Process

Students explain process of starting organization Behind every club started at HSE, there is a high school student with a passion and a teacher willing to facilitate that passion. Hanging from the bulletin boards, students can consider the flyers that spread the word about clubs around the school. Despite the numerous opportunities already offered at HSE, many students still have clubs they wish to create. Since there is not an existing club for all passions, some students have the option to create a club for others who share similar interests.

“My friend and I want to start a club we believe will really help our community,” junior Taylor Kuklish said. “The club will be service-based and focus on cleaning local parks and spreading awareness on the importance of keeping our earth clean.”

Students who want to start a club work to take their passions and often attempt to create them into a place for other students who share their interests to connect with each other.

“I started [Royal Eco] club because I’m incredibly passionate about the environment,” president, Haeli Juthani said. “I realized that [HSE] didn’t really have many environmental activism groups at school.”

In starting a club, there are different struggles that high school students face. A struggle such as finding a faculty sponsor, and approval from the Administration.

“One of the main struggles I had forming this club was criticism from climate change skeptics who mocked the club as a ‘liberal only group’,” Juthani said.

What was the hardest part about starting a club?

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“[However], it was actually a pretty quick process. I just had to find a teacher sponsor and then send a proposal to Administration for approval.”

Time management becomes a factor when starting a club as students have to coordinate the process of starting a club with their existing extracurricular activities. Sports, homework, and other clubs already take up time outside of school for students.

“I set aside specific times to work on school work and then for the clubs I’m involved with,” Junthai said. “That way, I can devote certain hours for whatever needs to be done.”

New skills and characteristics can also be developed while having responsibilities leading a club.

“From [Royal Eco Club], I learned so much,” Juthani said.

“I gained leadership skills and responsibility. I also got to meet some incredible new people. I found it interesting how everyone had different political beliefs, but had same strong opinions on why environmental protection is vital.”

Despite the challenges that creating a new club can bring, students who were successful believe the work is worth the end product. Students gain the reward of being able to publicize their passion and share it with other students.

“For anyone trying to start a new club, channel your passion. It might be frustrating at first, but remember to look at the big picture,” Juthani said. “Know that you can make a difference in and out of the HSE community and that someone will share your interest.” Story by Kersti Hash. Photo

by Britta Seland.

X2 “I think getting the courage to think that people will actually join or even finding people and making them want to stay after school.” Cassandra Barnhill, 12

Royal Yogis “Getting the word out I feel was the hardest part.” Riya Desai, 12.

“Getting a diverse group of people to [participate]. It is a lot of girls.” Sarah Jane Bryant, 12

Business Benefits

Mama Bear’s owner shares benefit of fundraisers, events Mama Bears is a local bakery and café near Geist known for its “lodge” like appearance and hope to create an atmosphere full of community and fellowship. With long tables and a dining room, a space for events was created.

With this atmosphere, Mama Bear’s has the opportunity to host events such as fundraisers and meeting, which in turn brings them with the opportunity to promote their business. When current owner Christy Watson took over Mama Bear’s, she wanted to make sure it was a place where events and activities could be held.

“In [Fishers], they were really looking for a place to hold events and a place to have community and fellowship,” Watson said. “So pretty much we do these events to be more a part of the community.”

Senior Cassidy Ogan raised $400 in May at an event that she organized in which students showcased their talents, such as singing and spoken poetry, Ogan saw the potential of a welcoming atmosphere and chose Mama Bear’s as the location for her fundraiser.

“I knew Mama Bear’s hosted events before and they had a really good layout for it,” Ogan said. “I could have a stage up front and table and chairs lined up so they could see everything.”

Not only do they provide a space for these events, but Mama Bear’s also invested in the events themselves. Mama Bears takes pride in being involved in the community and supporting the people within it. “[Hosting events], in my opinion is promotes community spirit,” Watson said. “It also gives the kids and people from church organizations and school kids a fun place to come where they can get coffee.”

The amount of clubs and organizations that utilize the space helps Mama Bear’s create the image of its bakery and café. Since these events bring younger customers in to the café, Watson hopes that teenagers will begin to see Mama Bear’s as a place to hang out with friends, also while giving back to the community. “[The events] give people the idea that we are involved in our community and support our community,” Watson said. “As you know I am independent, I appreciate the patrons and I think that when you come here your friends know about it, your business associates know about it [and] a lot of the time you run into people you know here.” Story by Lauren Kilburn and Marissa Hubbard.

Greek’s Pizzeria

Chick-fil-a

Sunrise Cafe

Businesses that support fundraising

Mama Bear’s

Dairy Queen

The Well

Photos by Hayden Sisemore and Google Images.

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Caught in

Chaos

Student recounts terrorist attack Almost every week, news outlets report on acts of terorism, whether it’s through television, social media or print. However, it is nearly impossible to understand the severity of an attack without experiencing one first hand. Nevertheless, what is revealed on screens is nothing compared to the numbing emotions felt by someone who has been through an act of terrorism. Junior Ana Marie Johnson was caught in the middle of a major terrorist attack in Nice, France last summer while on a school trip to Europe.

Standing with her classmates in a crowd of people, Johnson and other participants of the trip took part in the celebration of France’s Bastille Day. In the middle of the festivities, a white van drove into the center of the crowd and a shooter emerged. In a matter of seconds what was once a celebration became a scene of chaos.

“There were people who came up to me and asked me what was going on and asking why all the people were screaming and running,” Johnson said. “I was honestly confused [when the attack occurred].”

With no immediate feelings but confusion, Johnson and her friends found all they could do was run away from the madness, and later discovered they were in the midst of a terror attack.

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“When there’s a [huge event] going on there’s always someone just standing there confused and just looking around,” Johnson said. “That’s so accurate and it’s exactly how I felt.”

Reaching safety was each student’s primary concern.

Athough the school group was in the center of the attack, knowledge of what truly occurred was unclear. Any outside source, such as a family member back in the United States, was their best way of retrieving information.

Johnson turned to her mom as a way of discovering what just happened. “[My mom] looked online and said it was probably something like a firecracker,” Johnson said. “But five minutes later, the Washington Post wrote an article about [a terror attack].”

Once the reality set in and Johnson realized what she had just escaped from, shock flooded her mind. The label “terrorist attack” increased her understanding of what occurred around her. This sense of uneasiness still remains in Johnson’s mind, as she often finds it difficult to discuss terrorist attacks without the resurfacing of unwanted memories.

“When I hear anything [about terrorist attacks], it stresses me out,” Johnson said. “It brings back bad memories and seeing a terrorist attack makes me stressed.”

This event opened Johnson’s eyes to the realization that terrorism comes in many forms, not just the typical bombings and mass shootings seen on television. Acts of terrorism occur around the world almost every day, although only a handful are publicized. Johnson’s experience shows that terrorist attacks are prevalent and happen when least expected. Story by Laurel Black and Laura Stancato. Photo by Laura Stancato.

Terrorist Attacks Around the World

Percentage according to region, continent

35%

3%

0.5%

45%

0.9%

15% 0.005%

Data from Global Terrorism Database Percentages are rounded, not exact

Has society become numb to terrorist attacks?

“I think our society hasn’t become numb to terrorist attacks because we still send support to those affected. However it has become something very common in today’s society.

The more society becomes accustomed to hearing about terrorist attacks, the more numb we become.”

Samuel Huston, 11

“I think society still cares about terror attacks but, sadly, there is not as much fear as experienced in the past since it seems to be more common.”

Daniel Hendricks, 10

“I think society has become numb to terrorist attacks because they occur so often and are frequently covered on news network.”

Mallory Bell, 9

“Society has not become numb to terrorist attacks, because each time one occurs, it is crucified through the media. It’s replayed over and over to create a more graphic scare factor to intrigue people to consume that media source.”

Nikko Rocha, 12

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Students on Soundcloud

Musical passions explored through popular app Throughout the school, our student body is composed of a multitude of students with a diverse range of unique talents. With such a large student body, it can be easy to get caught up in the craziness and lose touch of each other’s individuality. For this issue of the Orb, we decided to take a deeper look specifically at musically-minded students who utilize Soundcloud as a way of showing their talents to the world. Students who have found success through Soundcloud continue to utilize the app to promote more of their music and generate a larger fanbase.

In the history of music, Soundcloud is one of the social media and musical-based apps that has helped artists achieve fame. Soundclous is a way for young artists to express their musical talents and find their voice.

Some of our very own Royals could climb the same ladder that so many have, simply starting with publishing music on an app and earning the support of their peers. We, as a student body, need to come together for each of our Royals and support them, regardless of the passion. With the help of our fellow students, we can achieve success.

As a newsroom, we staff members were impressed by the amount of talent right in front of our eyes, aching to reveal itself. We took on the challenge of tracking down these talented students and showcasing their stories to the rest of the student body.

The talent inside each one of us adds together to make our school unique. Story by Laura Stancato.