The Respect for Marriage Act passed in Congress and is awaiting President Biden’s signature.
The furniture on the bridge was removed due to students’ disrespect and mess; administration comments.
Nina Bowens ’25 comments on the stigma of female menstration due to the lack of action put towards “Make Me Free.”
Anna Diorio ’23 critiques the equivalence in credit loss between excused and unexcused absences.
Zero Waste Committee and Key Club participate in activities to spread the holiday spirit.
The new automotive club “Wreckers with Wrenches” allows students to repair cars in a safe environment.
Samantha Sandrew ’25 and Ben Buchalter ’25 debate whether Hallmark movies are festive holiday classics or cringey money-makers.
Elle Vail ’23 notes students reactions, both positive and negative, to the highly anticipated Spotify Wrapped.
Front & back cover by Maya Hruskar ’23 & Shivali Kanthan ’25
Photo by Camille Vynerib ’23
Editors-In-Chief
Lucy Dockter, Julia Herlyn Creative Directors
Maya Hruskar, Lily Klau, Lilly Weisz Paper Managing Editors
Mishael Gill, Ella Shi Web Managing Editors
Hannah Conn, Toby Goldfarb Associate Managing Editors
Kiswa Khan, Phoebe Miller Business Directors
Meg Enquist, Allie Gillman, Mia Kirkorsky Photography Director
Camille Vynerib Asst. Creative Director Shivali Kanthan Public Relations Director
Emily Goldstein
Social Media Manager
Alix Glickman
Audience Engagement Manager
Margot Richlin Broadcast Directors
Anna Diorio, Abby Nevin
Executive TV Producers
Zach Brody, Finnegan Courtney Asst. Business Managers
Indie Ahl, Julia Leitner, Michael Pontoriero
Breaking News Editor
Audrey Kercher
Genevieve Frucht, Paige Miller
Mia Bomback, Henry Watson Opinions Editors
Addison Coughlin, Megan Kelly, Ava Cordella, Katherine Phelps Features Editors
Caitlin Jacob, Lily Hultgren, Nina Bowens, Paige Tighe Arts Editors
Ava Chun, Talia Varsano, Alexandra Gaines, Ruby Kantor Sports Editors
Gabi Gerig, Madison Mayr
Demi Sasson, Matthew Stashower Web News Editor
Jolie Gefen Web Opinions Editors
Cici Petrosinelli, Aidan Sprouls Web Features Editors
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Liora Perkins, Matthew Saw Web Sports Editors
Talia Moskowitz, William Murray Web Photostory Editor
Karlie Saed Advisors
Joseph DelGobbo, Mary Elizabeth Fulco
Three students share their unique winter sports: sledding, ice hockey and winter sailing.
The World Cup being held in Qatar raised concern due to their treatment towards migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ community.
Inklings News is uncensored, unedited by administration, and does not allow for prior review.
The Editorial Board determines editorial opinions that are authored by the Editors-in-Chief. Inklings News serves as an open forum for the public and welcomes letters to the editor and other submissions. Send signed letters to inklingsnews@westportps.org. Submissions will not be edited prior to publication.
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The decisions of Inklings News and Westport Public Schools are made without regard to race, color, age, sex,religion, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or any other discriminating basis prohibited by local, state or federal law.
The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has raised concerns about its potential negative impact on the quality of teaching and learning. Critics argue that the reliance on AI technology could lead to a loss of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as students become increasingly reliant on machines to complete their assignments. In this article, we will explore the ways in which AI could uncontrollably destroy education, and discuss the potential consequences of this trend on the future of learning.
Just so you know, the paragraph above wasn’t written by the Editorial Board. It was written by ChatGPT, a free, online AI software created by OpenAI that generates one-ofa-kind written responses to user-inputted prompts. e latest version of ChatGPT launched on Nov. 30, and by Dec. 5, it had already acquired over one million users, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
e AI is able to compile information faster than humans could, and OpenAI describes its creation as “optimized for dialogue,” as it can answer fol-
low-up questions, challenge inaccurate statements and even admit to its own mistakes.
According to Vox, text produced by the AI is untraceable and will not be flagged by Turnitin.com, a popular anti-plagiarism software that is used by many Staples teachers. Members of the Editorial Board reported that they already know of students considering—or already using— ChatGPT to write their assignments. Some anonymous teachers have also been open about utilizing the AI when writing their curricula.
Have an opinion? Write to inklingsnews@gmail.com Scan the QR code above to check out ChatGPT.
So while this poses justified concern that AI technology could mark the end of traditional education and threaten individual thought, the Editorial Board (made up of humans, mind you) believes that teachers must adapt their methods to account for inevitable technological advancements.
Following the COVID-19
pandemic, the Editorial Board has found that students have become far more anxious and overall self-conscious about their writing. As a result, students have generally become far more likely to cheat. According to NPR, academic integrity violations doubled or even tripled at universities such as Virginia Commonwealth University and Ohio State University from the 201920 to 202021 academic years. Quick, easy and seemingly effective tools such as ChatGPT could be exploited by students suffering from heightened levels of anxiety or self-doubt, ultimately serving as a crutch in such scenarios.
Additionally, ChatGPT is not perfect and cannot process every request it receives: it may occasionally “respond to harmful instructions or exhibit biased behavior,” produce “plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers” or write in
an “excessively verbose” manner, as recognized by OpenAI. e Editorial Board also discovered that, when prompted to include quotes for a literary essay, the AI fabricates quotes that never appear in the novel and attributes them to a specific— but inaccurate—page number.
To counter overreliance on technology—and ensure that students maintain academic integrity—the Editorial Board proposes that teachers require students to turn all their written materials online via Google Classroom so that they are able to closely monitor revision history and review students’ writing processes. In addition, teachers could give more frequent handwritten, on-demand, evaluations and assignments to guarantee that students are producing original work. Or, teachers could utilize a secure browser for digital tasks so that students cannot shift between tabs.
Ultimately, the Editorial Board believes AI can be a beneficial tool for students. One member of the Board cited how they used ChatGPT to collect sources for their research paper. Others used the program to edit their work or brainstorm ideas for assignments. And others stated that they simply find enjoyment in using the AI for nonacademic purposes, like writing lyrics to a diss track or harmless, silly narratives about their friends.
ese AI programs can be helpful and sometimes even fun, while still posing an extreme threat to academic integrity, so use with caution and good sense.
e Editorial Board voted unanimously in favor of this opinion.
Graphic by Lilly WeiszAgroup of seniors recently received an email granting them automatic admission into participating Connecticut colleges and universities as part of a new state-wide initiative. e participating Con-
necticut State Universities have a requirement that students must be in the 70th percentile of their class to be eligible for acceptance, while all other participating colleges have requirements based on GPA. Students are noti ed as to which schools they quali ed. Students had to have a certain grade point average, calculated by the College Board’s formula, at the end of their junior year to be eligible for this new program. e deadline to apply for automatic admission for the fall is May 1, 2023 with no application fee. e following schools are participat-
ing in this program: Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Mitchell College, Southern Connecticut State University, University of Bridgeport, University of New Haven, University of St. Joseph, Goodwin University, Connecticut State Community College and Western Connecticut State University.
If students have already applied to one of the schools listed, the school is able to notify the students that they’re eligible for automatic admissions. For all the students who apply, these institutions will waive the application fee given that the student received their letter and used the Connecticut Automatic Admissions Program (CAAP) website.
Director of school counseling, William Plunkett, is excited about this new opportunity for eligible students.
“I think the major bene t is a more streamlined, e cient application process where you don’t have to go through all the challenges that you might if you were applying to schools normally,” Plunkett said. “You can apply very easily and for free, and know that you’re accepted to some wonderful institutions.”
Students who didn’t meet the eligibility criteria for this process are still able to apply to the given schools but are not guaranteed admission. Even though the auto-admit process might not be utilized by all the eligible students, this new process will pose a helpful tool when applying to college.
“[ e email] was a nice surprise, and kind of reassuring throughout this stressful process,” Jaden Mello ’23 said. “I de nitely think it’s a good program to have.”
Graphic by Lily Klau ’23e Terrain Cafe will host a New Year’s Celebration for consumers on Dec. 31 starting at 4 p.m. e menu will consist of culinary highlights from the past year. Customers are advised to reserve tables in advance to participate in the event.
e Westport Farmers’ Market will put on their annual Winter Market at 50 Imperial Avenue on Jan. 5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., where local producers will sell local, fresh and seasonal food.
Saturday Night Live vocalist Christine Ohlman and her band, Rebel Montez, will throw a Winter Dance Party at the Westport Library on Jan. 7 from 6:3010 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase on the Westport Library website.
The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 13. e RFMA was designed to ensure the legality of marriage without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity or race in all 50 states. ough it does not force states themselves to provide marriage licenses to LGBTQ+ or interracial couples, it does require that they legally and medically recognize marriages con rmed in other states. is bill would repeal and replace the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which de ned marriage as the “union of one man and one woman” and allowed states to decline to recognize same-sex marriages, even if the legal ceremony was performed in other states. is bill’s purpose hits close to home for science teacher and Staples PRIDE
co-advisor Kayla Iannetta. “ is allows us to move from state to state, regardless of how we can be treated socially by people. [We will] still be legally and medically treated the same way
as any straight person or couple,” Iannetta said. “It relieves a lot of anxiety and stress about traveling outside of the safety of our North East bubble.”
e RFMA was rst introduced to the House of Representatives by Congressman Jerry Nalder from New York on July 18. After the RFMA passed the House on July 19, Nalder issued a press release commenting on the news.
“ e ght for marriage equality has seen many highs and lows, but perhaps none more frightening than the current threat posed by Clarence omas and this conservative Supreme Court,” Nalder said.
tecting the children and loving families whose whole lives rely on the constitutional guarantee of marriage equality.” e RFMA passed with bipartisan e ort in both chambers of Congress. In the House of Representatives, 47 Republicans joined all 220 voting Democrats; in the Senate, 12 Republicans and 2 Independents joined 47 Democrats. Chris Fray, an openly gay Mandarin teacher at Staples, sees both the bene ts and the drawbacks of the bipartisanship.
“On the one hand, back when gay marriage was made legal during the Obergefell case, a surprising amount of
licans throughout the country,” Fray said. “On the other hand, the MAGA Trump era of antisemitic, racist and gay and transphobic rhetoric is not yet in our collective rearview mirror. e number of Republicans in Congress who cravenly acquiesced to Trump and his base is an important lesson in how fragile congressional bipartisanship truly is.”
In Connecticut, gay marriage was legalized in 2008.
e decision followed a state court decision that found the state’s civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with the proper rights and privileges equivalent to those of marriage between straight couples. Interracial marriage has been legal in Connecticut since 1967.
Sophia Velloti ’23 followed the course of the bill moving through Congress closely, predicting the bill’s passage but celebrating nonetheless as it passed in the Senate.
“Since we live in Connecticut, these rights are already guaranteed to us, which I’ve always really appreciated and loved,” Velloti said. “If I wanted to move outside of Connecticut, though, this bill is important to securing my marriage with whomever I love and marry in the future,
regardless
If I wanted to move outside of Connecticut, this bill is important to securing my marriage with whomever I love and marry in the future, regardless of their gender or race.”
- Sophia Velloti ’23
“Today’s vote was about proa support came from Repub- and “If Connecticut, though, this bill is securing whomever and of their gender or race.”
Poppy Harrington ’25 Staff Writer
Staples administration permanently removed the bridge furniture and temporarily shut down the bathrooms next door in late November due to the misuse of furniture, loud noise levels and a lack of cleanliness.
e "bridge," which overlooks the school's main entrance and is located between the social studies and English hallways, was previously a well-liked gathering place. Students used it during after-school hours, free periods and passing times, but the area is now quiet and not the lively gathering place it once was.
According to Class of ’23 Assistant Principal James Farnen, several boys
dragged every piece of furniture from the bridge, including the heavy walking bikes, into the bathroom.
“It was the most disrespectful thing in my 22 years here,” Farnen said. “After watching our custodial sta work really hard, in not only our cafeteria, but to make the [entire] building look great, to go up at the end of their shift and lug all of that equipment out was disheartening to watch.”
Class of ’25 Assistant Principal Patrick Micinilio further
explained that the disruptions and the messes left were the two main factors in decding to remove the furniture.
“We had numerous complaints about the noise not only from classroom teachers, but the bridge overhangs the main lobby, which is the front entrance to all visitors coming in Staples High School,” Micinilio said. “Noise [was] number one; food cleanliness [was] probably number two.”
An anonymous teacher
who has a duty on the bridge explained that they witnessed students who were abusing the privilege of having furniture.
“It was certainly a high volume area of the building. Students would eat up there and not throw out their trash,” the teacher said. “Without the furniture there, I de nitely noticed that it is more quiet up there and less of a popular destination for students with a free period.”
After the removal, students who previously lounged on the bridge are now forced to explore other spots around the school.
"During my free period, I used to always sit on the couches at the bridge with my friends, but now I sit in the library, which actually helps me be more productive,” Kathyrn Hannon ’25 said. “ e bridge was usually dirty with food and wrappers, so maybe it’s for the best.”
ON THE BRIDGE Staples students lounge on the
“After watching our custodial staff work really hard, to go up at the end of their shift and lug all of that equipment out was disheartening to watch.”
- James Farnen Assistant PrincipalPhoto by Mia Bomback ’25
One of the worst possible situations is getting your period in the middle of gym class. Even worse, is not having access to the “supplies” to deal with it.
Every girl has had a similar incident: it’s life or death and the nurse is much too far away.
e options are slim but clear: ask around in an environment with people you don’t know all that well, where this natural occurrence is looked down upon, or take the risk and run to the nurse, where you get two “one size ts all” choices. Shamefully, most girls leave the bathroom glaring at the empty “50 tampons” box, take the risky trip to the nurse and quietly slip a poorly made tampon up their sleeve.
Last spring, among many other Voice4Change submissions, the Staples Feminists Club promoted “Make Me Free” — which would distribute free products in every bathroom throughout the school. is was widely supported, winning the school’s majority vote. But where are they now?
Staples is not the only school lacking femenine hygiene support. Only ve states require schools to supply their bathrooms with necessary products, and 25% of menstruating students lack access to said products. is is not just an issue regarding embarrassment or hygiene, but education and mental health. Stigmas around menstruation are fed by educational authorities neglecting to support and aid girls.
An NPR article interviewed Damaris Pereda, the national programs director of PERIOD, who did a study which found that 70% of students felt that their school environment made them feel self-conscious about their period. She also discussed the unseen impact of making the trip to the nurse.
“While you can get a period product, you often have to walk across the campus while you’re still bleeding through,” Pereda said. “What happens in that case is that a lot of students feel ashamed and like they’ve lost some of their dignity.”
Providing tampons and pads is one of the rst critical steps in normalizing menstruation in the Staples community. What is with our sta and students not being able to say the words “pads” and “tampons?” In every health class, nurse visit or discussion, the words are always “female hygiene products.” In this school, they feel like a crime or a curse word, something students shouldn’t dare say out loud. Girls feel even more neglected after “Make Me Free” won, but no authoritative concrete actions came from it.
A visible e ort needs to occur to help girls through stressful and painful periods, and to make them feel supported by their school. Making them feel not disgusted by themselves every month is not enough — there should be a sense of power and pride, but most of all, support. e students shared their opinion last spring, and they’ve grown tired of waiting. It’s time to make tampons and pads easily accessible and free. Your move, Staples.
excused and excused absences.
green slip of paper with “EXCUSED” in bold at the top. ere’s nothing more shameful than walking in with a red late pass). But besides the temporary embarrassment that these attenllments save me from, what is the purpose? ough it is not explicitly stated in the Student Handbook, apparently the distinction between the two types of ab-
I know only from experience, but rarely has the school taken the time to clearly and directly inform students of these attendance rules, until it’s too late). But whether unexcused or excused, in my nearly four years at Staples, I’ve found that an extra day doesn’t mean squat when all of your makeup assignments and assessments are simply piled on top of tomorrow’s work.
According to the Staples High School Student Handbook, absences that count as excused include “student illness, death or critical illness in the family, response to a legal process, medical appointment (which cannot be scheduled outside of the school
day), college visit beyond two (juniors and seniors only)” and several other instances. Any absence that does not align with any of the excused absences is considered unexcused. Perhaps, I can see its advantages in how it might compel students to miss school only when they have to. But this lose-lose situation can also cause people who do have good reason to stay home from school to attend anyways— fearing the loss of credit. is is especially concerning when an ill student is contagious and still goes to school, which—coming from a Senior at Staples—is rather common. It’s not fair to the student who must sacri ce time to recover nor is it safe for the rest of the student body and sta ough students who have accumulated more than the allowed number of absences have the right to appeal to have credit reinstated, it seems impractical to have to go through this process—one that requires four teachers and one administrator present.
In a school community that is plagued with constant stress and anxiety, the added stressor of such ambiguous attendance policies and “excused” and “unexcused” labels are just another unnecessary contributor to the fear-backed obsession over numbers and letters that dominates Staples’ hallways.
But this situation can also cause people who do have good reason to stay home from school to attend anyways—fearing the loss of credit.Photo dramatization by Ava Cordella ’24
As the holiday season approaches, the school’s halls are decked with fairy lights and fake snow while hot chocolate is served in the cafeteria. Not only is it the season of cheer, but also giving. While each club has distinct goals, they all share the desire to give back to their communities. iday season provides a primary time for clubs to spread holiday spirit throughout Westport and beyond.
e Zero Waste Committee expands their climate based initiatives by making their activism open to the town and inviting all of Staples to participate. is year, through partnering with the Westport community, they held a sustainability fair. e club gathered clothing donations from students and sold them, along with vendors selling items from pottery to reusable towels. Club advisors Kayla Ianetta and Jennifer Cirino helped to organize the event. “We focused our community initiative around planning our Holiday Green Festival for local vendors and non-pro ts to come and educate or sell sustainable holiday items,” Ianetta said. “It was extremely successful and we can’t wait for next year.”
Key Club allows students to take leadership on various causes throughout the community. goals on supporting the homeless through bake sales. Every few months, the club chooses an initiative to support. ey have raised around $400 so far. President Nia Glin ’23 has been constantly involved in Key Club in her time at Staples, helping to partner the club with the community. “ is holiday season Key Club will be supporting the charity ‘Homes with Hope,’ which is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Fair eld County,” Glin said. “We have decided to help them because the challenges that come with homelessness are only ampli ed in the winter and this charity also works with places like the Gillespie Center to provide both meals and shelter.”
SUSTAINABILITY FAIR
Photo contributed by Jennifer Cirino INKLINGS BROADCAST
BAKE SALE
Photo contributed by Nia Glin ’23
The rattle of torque wrenches, the screech of metal shearing, the pungent stench of oil all t into the natural hum of a professional repair shop. However, this scene can be found within Staples’ own hallways.
e new Wreckers with Wrenches Club, or the Automotive Club, provides a space for students of all grades and expertise in car mechanics to grease their brains and learn about cars and how to repair them. e club began with a conversation between club president Oliver Hallgarten ’24 and building substitute (and current adviser) Dan Ungureanu as they discussed
“
a need for students to learn about automotive repairs.
“We also want to expand, potentially, the Tech Ed room,” Hallgarten said, “creating a space for us to use [...] and a space for all Staples to use to learn and further their understanding about cars.”
ere’s always going to be someone to have to operate these things. I think in our lifetimes we’ll still probably have gas cars. So these basic fundamental things are always going to be important.”
But overall, this is designed to be a space for students to be safe and have fun learning from each other.
We’re
Not only should people learn how to make modi cations to their cars to be cool—like Ungureanu’s 1972 Honda moped which he upgraded to 70 cc as a teen— but these are also life skills.
“ is club is also great because even if cars go electric, [...] you should all have tires to change,” Hallgarten said.
- Tom Honohan Automotive Club AdvisorSince the club is new and there is a big learning curve for all members, the rst few meetings, they worked to try to get all members on the same page.
“Some kids have barely ever even touched a wrench,” Ungureanu said. “So I had the new kids [look at my Jeep]. So I said, injectors, battery, alternator. [...] And I explained how everything goes.”
“ e thing I probably enjoyed most was when we had to jack [Mr. U’s Jeep] up and just grease it because it’s just fun and everyone’s just having a good time laughing,” Rhodes Redd ’26 said.
Tom Honohan, advisor and Tech Ed teacher, prioritizes a safe environment for everyone to learn.
“One of the big things that [...] being a part of this club is, is to respect and learn from each other, sharing of ideas because this is our space,” Honohan said. “I’d like to say it’s a small company, it’s a small family owned company that we’re working on and learning together. We’re not producing cars, but we’re producing knowledge and having a space to share ideas and share information.”
not producing cars, but we’re producing knowledge and having a space to share ideas and share information.”
“
“Wednesday,” the horror comedy television series based on Wednesday Addams from “ e Addams Family” was released on Net ix on Nov. 23. Directed by Tim
Burton, the series revolves around Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) attempting to solve a mystery about students being killed by a creature at her school for monstrous outcasts.
Candace Cameron Bure, an American actress best known for playing D.J. Tanner on “Full
“
House,” left e Hallmark Channel for the new, Great American Family channel and has become a Chief Creative O cer. e two channels are competitors in family friendly television as well as holiday specials. According to Bure, Great American Family will not be featuring LGBTQ+
couples. “I think the Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” Bure said to the Wall Street Journal. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.”
e idea of marriage should be based on how much you love someone,” Ella Harrington ’25 said. “ is idea of promoting ‘good entertainment’ through straight couples doesn’t sit right with me at all.”
“Falling for Christmas,” a holiday romantic comedy, was released Nov. 10 on Net ix.
“It’s the type of show where you never really know what’s going to happen. […] It makes you just want to keep watching,” Romy Gordon ’26 said. “I thought it was a really cool show and it was executed really well.” loses her memory in a skiing accident. She then nds herself in the care of a lodge owner and his daughter. e movie had one of the best opening weekends for a Net ix original in 2022, with 30.5 million viewings.
e lm stars Lindsay Lohan, and it is her rst role in a major production in over a decade. Lohan plays a bratty, newly engaged heiress who
“I felt that this movie lacked the traditional Christmas spirit. I de nitely prefer classic Christmas movies over modern ones. Classic Christmas movies have a warm and spirited feeling but I’ve noticed Christmas movies now are more revolved around social media which deviates from the purpose.”
Cocoa at your lips. Santa tracker beeping. You and your family gather around the screen to watch some holiday classics. Flipping to the Hallmark Channel, you nd yourself interrupting a big city girl inching closer to her country love interest in front of her childhood home in a small town.
Hallmark movies may be cliche, with horrible acting and the same plot line for each, but it’s that same stupidity that makes them the greatest Christmas movies.
Hallmark movies are not meant to be groundbreaking and trailblazing artistic lms that make you question everything. ey provide an excuse for you to shut o your brain and enjoy quality time with loved ones as you mock them.
When I’m relaxing in December, I don’t want to think that hard. I’ll save my brain power for midterms. Hallmark movies are perfect for this. ey have virtually the same plot in every one, where a city girlboss woman goes to a small town, meets a community loved cowboy/ reman/ baker/teacher, falls in love and realizes the true meaning of Christmas. I love this plot. I’d watch it a million times over and I do every December.
It’s their stupidity that also brings the family together. Mocking the bad acting and
making a game of predicting what comes next makes your stomach hurt from laughing. I personally am great at guessing when they have the ‘interrupted kiss:’ where they are so close to locking lips but then something interrupts them and they become ustered.
Not all lm needs to be critical, not everything you do needs to be productive. Sometimes, you need things to be simple and stupid - and with Hallmark, at least we know there’s always a happy holiday ending.
ome people say that Hallmark Christmas movies are a scourge unto mankind, bastions of sin and greed. Others say that their existence proves that we live in the darkest timeline. ose people are right. If you’ve bought a birthday card recently, the Hallmark corporation was likely behind its production. But with paper cards going the way of the dinosaurs, Hallmark realized its ts could soon be in trouble. So in 2000, Hallmark purchased lm studio—a company infamous for its production of stunningly low-budget Christmas movies. An anonymous insider told the Vancouver Magazine that Hallmark lms are produced on a budget typically
under $1 million—unbelievably low for a motion picture. But low-budget doesn’t necessarily mean low-quality, does it?
Unfortunately, Hallmark lms are ino ensive and generic—how could they not be, with how many of them there are? is year alone, Hallmark plans to produce forty lms. e vast majority of them are so utterly indistinguishable that even their posters are nearly identical. A white man and woman holding hands and smiling with Christmas decorations in the background describes nearly every one of these undercooked covers Hallmark kicked out the door raw. e screenwriting is bland. Every movie follows the same plot: A woman refuses to settle down, until she nds a special man who makes her change her mind.
Hallmark prides itself on providing “wholesome movies the whole family can watch together,” but with a plot this basic, even children can see that they are being fooled. Worse still, Hallmark’s distorted view of how a relationship works could have adverse e ects on young, impressionable children who know no better than to take the lm at its word.
If one wanted proof that the holiday spirit died long ago, look no further than the lms that signify its coming. Hallmark movies are greedy, corporate and meaningless—the opposite of the values they pretend to preach.
Samantha Sandrew ‘25 Web Features
Ben Buchalter ‘25
It’s Nov. 30: playlists are exhausted, radio stations ll with Christmas music and the wait for the New Year causes an environment of anticipation. With the noti cation releasing, students grab their AirPods and review their music throughout the year: Spotify has once more released its yearly “Wrapped,” and the ratings are in.
sic listener you ask, their top artist and minutes listened comes with a sense of pride: “My number one was Tyler the Creator, 6000 minutes,” Ben Serfaty ’25 said. However, many others are disappointed with the data this year. Many question its validity.
Spotify Wrapped consistently causes a buzz of curiosity as to who listened to what this year.
Documenting a yearly accumulation of your music taste progression, Spotify Wrapped consistently causes a buzz of curiosity as to who listened to what this year. For many students, it is a nostalgic experience to look forward to.
“I always look forward to when Spotify Wrapped comes out each year,” Matthew Gatto ’23 said. “I love seeing the breakdown of my music listening, as well as learning other people’s taste in music.”
Depending upon the mu-
“ is year I feel like the data was totally o ,” Natalie Rudick ’24 said. “Mine covered basically just January, February, March with Lil Skies.” e pages of posts this rundown creates additionally causes complaints on Instagram and other platforms.
“It’s annoying,” Avery omas ’25 said. “It lls up all of the Instagram stories.” e social media crowding has been the primary complaint. Between the millions of Spotify users and hundreds found in Staples, it is typical for there to be an in ux of posts after Spotify Wrapped’s release.
“No one really cares,” Isabelle Puchert ’24 said. “Although it is interesting to see what your friends listen to.”
Toby Goldfarb ‘23 Web Managing Editor
The sky glistens with thousands of snow akes urrying and covering the ground below in a delicate sheet of white. While some Staples students prefer to curl up with a good book by the replace, others eagerly change into their snow boots, venturing out into the endless possibilities of winter. Among the adventurers are sledders, ice skaters, winter sailors and more.
Eitan Eiger ’24 enjoys the nostalgia of sledding. “I like to sled because I love getting together with my friends and being outside doing sporty things,” Eiger said. Eiger hopes to share laughs with his friends this winter. Most Westport residents sled at Winslow Park, but Staples’ Ginny Field has proven equally as steep and often less populated.
Maya Sherman ’24 is ready to lace up her ice skates with her hockey team and friends. “I’ve always felt that ice skating is an entertaining activity that can work well as a social event while getting great exercise,” Sherman said. Sherman ice skates at the Westport PAL Rink at Longshore, a popular destination for Connecticut residents near and far.
Alan Becker ’23 will continue sailing at Cedar Point Yacht Club even as the seasons turn. Winter sailing di ers from normal sailing as it requires more dedicated participants who can face harsher winds and calmer waves. “Winter sailing for me mainly is an opportunity to keep practicing my skills so that when it comes time for the summer, I have an edge over the rest of the eet,” Becker said. Becker nds that winter sailing is rewarding, as he can enjoy his sport in the o season and hang out with friends.
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Usually, the World Cup sets fans abuzz with discussion of likely winners, favorite teams and the style of the new uniforms. is year, however, the spotlight has been turned on the host country. is World Cup is being held in Qatar, an unlikely host nation considering its lack of soccer culture and restrictive social policies. It is a country with poor worker rights, treatment of women and LGBTQ discrimination. Many have criticized FIFA, soccer’s world governance organization, for allowing Qatar to host the World Cup, but FIFA has argued that the World Cup is an opportunity to expose Qatar to more diverse cultures and perspectives.
“I think the World Cup has done a good job of introducing new communities to the sport and promoting diversity,” Tavan Bhatia ‘23, an avid soccer fan, said.
One big aspect of the controversy is worker rights prob-
lems in Qatar. e majority of Qatar’s population are migrant workers without citizenship; in 2013, Amnesty International reported “serious exploitation” of these workers. Qatar promised to improve working conditions for the World Cup, but in 2019, Amnesty International reported that they were falling short. e Qatar World Cup chief also recently stated that between 400 and 500 migrant workers died in projects related to the tournament.
Source: NPR
“ e footballing associations of each competing nation are responsible for taking a stand if they disagree with the selection ahead of time,” Bhatia said. “If teams didn’t agree with Qatar, it needed to be immediate, not after billions of dollars and thousands of lives were exhausted.”
Bhatia
pointed to previously successful soccer-related protests, such as the widespread action fans and teams took in 2021 against the creation of the European Super League, an exclusive soccer league that would have blocked out smaller teams. is mass protest helped to prevent the super league from forming. “You cannot sit there and ignore what is happening,” Cami Kolek ’23, a girls’ soccer team player said. “I think you still have to acknowledge it no matter what.”
perform and to attend,” Kolek said. “It’s a career advancing opportunity.” LGBTQ issues have also received lots of media attention.
In Qatar, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by seven years in prison. Qatar promised that visiting fans would not be subject to such laws and that rainbow ags would be allowed within stadiums. However FIFA recently banned players from wearing rainbow armbandsthreatening a yellow card to anyone who broke the rule.
-Will
Kolek argued that FIFA should have taken into account the human rights abuses in Qatar and never selected them in the rst place. She also highlighted the di culty individual players would have in choosing to boycott.
“ ere’s a lot of pressure to
“ e protest has nothing to do with the game itself,” Will Vanamee ’25, co-head of the Pride Newsletter from the Staples Pride Coalition, said. “FIFA should not take action nor should they be siding against the expression of culture and identity.”
Vanamee also agreed that FIFA should never have chosen Qatar against bids from other countries.
“Noise has to be made immediately,” Bhatia said, “Action has to be clear and without fear or hesitation.”
FIFA should not take action nor should they be siding against the expression of culture and identity.”
Vanamee ’25
“
99 cents The amount migrant workers made per hourPhoto contributed by Jonny Costello ’25
of Qatar’s population are migrant workers
90%Source: Amnesty International WORKER MISTREATMENT 400-500 migrant workers died from poor working conditions while building the Al Bayt Stadium for the 2022 World Cup.
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