MHS Crier | Issue 7 | 2.23.2024

BECOMING THE CHANGE

BEAUTIFULLY BLACK

BLACK CULTURE CLUB discusses the importance of community and representation

CREATING NEW BEGINNINGS

bcc

lauren hoogeveen editor-in-chief

Sitting in Mrs. Jennifer Dettlo’s classroom as a freshman, Ini Edet, current senior, watched her sister Uyai Edet and her fellow Black Culture Club founders as they ran some of the first meetings ever. Surrounded by only a couple other students, it felt comforting but empty—a majority of the members were seniors, leaving the fate of the club unknown. With the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, discussions brewed within each meeting, leaving her surprised that the club hadn’t been created sooner. Four years later, Ini has watched the club progress into the community it has created today—interactive meetings, an abundance of active members and a strong future of leadership.

CLICK CLICK Dressed in

for BCC’s unity day Feb. 9, Cyia Payne, sophomore, types on her laptop during English class. She hopes to see more community events surrounding BCC. “I feel like everyone in the school would benefit from doing something like that, not just us in BCC,” Cyia said. “We could get black

(photo

(photo

(photo

by john kullerstrand)

STUDY

Standing in the commons, Trista Smith, sophomore, looks at assignments before school starts. For BCC’s second unity day Feb. 9, she dressed in

by josephine zangrilli) CHATTING IT UP Sitting at her desk, Jordin Ford, sophomore, talks to her classmate during Mr. Jordan Mayer’s English class Feb. 9.

by john kullerstrand)

mrs. kristin laflech and ms. leigh ann westland’s doors

ms. abigail brosseau and mr. eric kundich’s doors

mrs. tanya mead and mrs. kathleen laporte’s doors

so, here’s the plan...

the mechanics behind the team’s robot, the elephant

this will angle the ring into the goal.

the inclined conveyor belts will shoot the ring upwards.

getting the gears turning

robotics prepares for district competition march 1-3

emily dywan story editor

Amid the Fab Lab’s whirring drills, the robotics team is gearing up for their first competition on March 1-3 under the FIRST Robotics Competition. This year’s tournament, Crescendo, involves allies between three competitive teams, challenging robots to retrieve and shoot discs into specified targets.

Placing third and second in previous state competition, expectations are set high. If the team is to win state this season, it will potentially qualify them to make it to the world competition.

Avrione Martin, junior and head of pro-

gramming, relays how the team’s been working towards their goal.

”Deadline’s coming up pretty fast now, but it’s a matter of taking it stepby-step,” he said, “Having a system of tasks between the committees makes the process more digestible.”

The team had their kickoff date the first Saturday after the new year. Currently in their assembly phase of their competition’s robot, Veer Jhaveri, senior and president, shares the process behind the collaborative efforts that’ve culminated in their work.

“This year, we broke into small groups and presented our ideas to the team. We’ll jot down ideas and elements we

orchestra prepares for competing jazz ISSMA for the first since 2004

With a performance this past Wednesday at the Jewish Federation, the Symphony Orchestra is preparing for Jazz ISSMA, which is one of the requirements for the Orchestra All State award. Not received since 2003, Miss Levacy Quinn, orchestra director, decided to make reaching all the requirements a priority this year.

“We’re going on a couple performances, and I love going on little Munster vacation trips,” Olivia Doolin, sophomore said. “There are a few people in the orchestra who sound really good on their instruments, so I’m really excited to see what they do with it.”

Miss Quinn has chosen blues and jazz rock for their two jazz music categories.

“We have two pieces we’re performing, Rando in Blue by Robert Longfield and Red Rhythmico by Kurt Moser,” Miss Quinn said. “We’ve already performed one of the pieces for our December concert, so we’ll be ready by March.”

Jazz ISSMA opens up the orchestra to more variety, but Olivia says that people who aren’t in the orchestra should also open up to classical music.

“I think people should definitely look into it,” Olivia said. “It has a great aspect of history, emotions and there’s just a lot involved in music that I think people can appreciate and relate to.”

like from each one,” Veer said. “From there, we begin to refine these ideas and prioritize the elements we want to incorporate in terms of design. It’s a huge interactive process.”

This year, about 20 new members have joined this year. Anastasia Savic, junior and vice president, sheds light on the increase in student voice in this year’s group.

“What really changed this year was we had more students get involved with hands-on experience,” Anastasia said. “Coach influence was more of the build of our club, but this year we really built the foundation off of our student based team and training.”

choir looks forward to their march 6 concert and future events

munster hires new football coach for their fall season

Coach Romison Saint-Louis was among the list of confirmed hires at the Feb. 12 school board meeting. For the next school year, he will be the football coach, as well as a health and gym teacher. He has a lot of fresh ideas for the future of Munster’s football team.

“Right away, we want to make sure that Munster football can be relevant again,” Coach Saint-Louis said. “And we want to climb our way back to the top where we’ve done before.”

He said he values building character as much as physicality, a methodology he’s held through his various prior positions, including Peru High School and Elkhart Memorial. He wants to guide students into making better decisions than the ones he made when he was younger, and sees coaching as the way to do it.

“It’s building an elite program that builds up elite student athletes who become elite men,” Coach Saint-Louis said. “We want in regards to character, in regards to serving our community, whatever it is, we want to do it to the best of our ability.”

Focusing on practicing their sight reading in class, the choir prepares for ISSMA and their March 6 concert. They are also preparing by rehearsing for live audiences as well as completing other preparations.

“When we go to ISMAA as a group, we have to do a lot of sight reading,” Mia Bozic, junior, said. “There’s a portion where they give you stuff to read and you have to sing it as a group. We need to practice our sight reading, so he (Mr. Luke McGinnis, choir director) gives us it a lot.”

“(The songs) rotate, they’re always changing,” Omar Aftab, junior, said.

Usually they sing choral pieces, but they also perform pop songs once in a while, as well as Disney and other varieties of songs.

“This year we get to do a heavier, emotional piece as well as an upbeat spiritual (piece),” Josie Speckhard, junior, said. The choir has added a dance to their piece Tuba, an African spiritual piece. The combination of the choir with a dance performance allows the singers to branch out.

“I’ve always thought about music as another layer of communicating a story or feeling, so having a dance really helps us understand and portray the meaning and vibe of the song,” Josie said.

This comes through the sense of community. Coach Saint-Louis finds the relationship built between the team and coach to be important, claiming to be excited to build Munster’s team into a family unit that can support each other.

“I tell our players that this is not just a four year thing,” he said. “You have me for life, whatever you need, however, I can help, I’ll do the best I can.”

METAL MEETS MILL While using the vertical mill in the Fab Lab, Muaaz Shareef, senior, looks closely at a piece of metal that he surfaces down. The mill is very precise when taking away unwanted material, making the perfect part needed for this year’s robot. “It’s very good about creating and giving you creative freedom and liberties over everything,” Muaaz said.

(photo by lexi villalobos)

WISE WORDS At an assembly after school Feb. 15. held for the football team, the new football head coach, Mr. Romison Saint-Louis, motivates and voices his goals for his upcoming fall season. (photo by marianna young)

DO-RE-MI Seen with their choir books, seniors Elias Sabat, Cristian Silva and Josh Serrano, junior Philip Ossowski and senior Rowan Danis, sing. Last Tuesday, Munster Chorale visited three elementary schools to recruit new members.

(photo by karla aguliar)

gabby van horne page editor

gabby van horne page editor

emma starkey page editor

feed the ring into the underside of the robot.

THE ELEPHANT

illustration by emily dywan

no empty pages staff opinion

Student media is about student’s voices—the publication staff knows this well. The more student voices, the better the publication. The more students work on said media, the more student voices are able to be featured. Unfortunately, this year, Paragon is short-staffed.

The math works out like this: the yearbook has 176 pages in the book, plus a 24 page magazine covering the spring. Each staff member takes a portion of these pages. Paragon currently has only five members, meaning each staff member has a large number of pages to work on each monthly deadline.

why this matters, that’s understandable. Paragon is overlooked more throughout the year compared to Crier’s consistent issue schedule. You think about it when you collect your book in May, and that’s it. There’s no need to think about a book of pictures and words about the school year until the school year is over.

our take

Less staffers have brought several changes to the machine of Paragon: there were once enough staff members to do much more in-person reporting, now its nearly impossible for one student to track down over a dozen students. The staff often have to rely on surveys and Google Forms—and emails have to be sent multiple times for any sort of answer.

The amount of work put into Paragon each year is generally taken for granted.

By that point, it is a tradition that has aged well. You get to see the entire year as it’s been, reminisce on the past, or hunt for pictures of you and your friends for the pride of it. Then you go around with sharpies and pens, and write messages or doodle pictures on the covers of other people’s yearbooks.

Publication’s adviser, Sarah-Anne Lanman, has taken over a part of Paragon’s work to try and take some of the burden off of the staff members. She dislikes this, noting how it’s taking the student out of student media.

If you’re reading and wondering

It’s easy to pretend the yearbook is some magical fantasy book that appears every May from nowhere. But it’s not. Paragon is made by students throughout the year, by students willing to give a class period and time after school to make sure the tradition is maintained each year. The staff members take photos, talk to students, and build pages for the yearbook because they’re passionate and proud about it. It’s the yearly labor of love, a show of devotion.

But if no new people sign up to replace the graduating seniors, this love letter might run out of ink.

getting published the 5 W’s to be published on the yearbook or newspaper why? who? what? when? where?

• You. A current student at MHS

• Join. To get your work published, you need to be part of our staff

• Now. Take photography or journalism I classes, then join student media

• N155. Home to the district’s only Mac lab and where our publications happen knows

• Looks great on college applications

• You can win awards

• It’s a lot of fun!

tea

tomorrow

dimitrijevic guest columnist

“Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream, it is not dying.”

The phrase turns in my head just as the vinyl turns on my record player.

CRIER

Again and again, spinning and spinning in endless loops. I can’t seem to escape it. Even as the needle reaches the end of the record, this opening lyric from the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows,” continues to whirl endlessly.

After taking a moment and reading the lyrics to myself on the back of the vinyl cover, I realized why this song had succeeded in holding such an iron grasp. Rather than the current mundane themes of relationships, breakups or revenge, this song centered on the fundamental questions of life, death, being, knowledge, and existence—questions that all of humanity is faced with. In a world dominated by artificiality and superficiality, the facades created by social media and the insecurities preyed upon by trends and influencers, being exposed

Crier, Munster High School’s official student newspaper, may be reached via mail at 8808 Columbia Ave, Munster, IN 46321; via phone at 219-836-3200, ext. 3443. Crier is published through the Student Media: Newspaper 1-4 classes and extracurricular involvement. Crier’s website is mhsnews.net.

•The newspaper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for the school and community. •Crier is a source of information, entertainment, advertising and opinion for the student body, faculty, administration and community.

•Published material will stress objective reporting except on the editorial page where opinion writing will be featured. All published material will stress accuracy, integrity, honesty, responsibility, objectivity, fairness and independence. Corrections, when necessary, will be published on page 2.

•Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the School Town of Munster, faculty or administration.

•Letters to the editor and reader suggestions are welcomed, but should be limited to 250 words. All letters must be signed

to a piece of music that disregarded all of it was somewhat revolutionary for me. This song embraced the search for knowledge, truth and understanding— things that I found to be lacking in the world around me. With statements like “love is all love is everyone,“ and “ignorance and hate may mourn the dead,” I was able to connect the piece to my own reality of living in a time where violence, misunderstanding and conflict are the issues of import. It reminded me that the solutions to our dilemmas are simple if we could only develop more enlightened perspectives on our lives.

Even if humanity may not reach this state, the song showed me that I can by working towards becoming a more conscious individual. “Tomorrow Never Knows” also embraced the existential

nature of life that I had difficulty facing on my own. By exposing me to the idea that perhaps turning off my mind is not dying, or that “surrendering to the void” is actually only a conduit to finding the “meaning of within.”

Art has power. My experience is a testament to this statement. To some it may sound cliché or typically teenagerish, but music and art have the power to change our perspectives and allow us to live richer, deeper and more meaningful lives. Through art, we are able to experiment with our own perceptions and understandings. We are able to navigate through the vibrant tumult of life. Embrace the art you love and allow it to guide you, for Tomorrow Never Knows.

If you are interested in submitting a column to Crier, email Editor-in-Chief Lauren

Hoogeveen.

Deadline Manager Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy and should be either emailed to the editor (laurenhoogeveen@ outlook.com), given directly to any staff member or delivered to the Publications room, N155. Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and grammatical errors. Crier will accept letters from anyone, provided that the content pertains to school or school issues. Feedback may also be submitted on Twitter or Instagram @munstermedia.

•Mailed subscriptions cost $25 per year. Archived digital issues can be found on issuu.com/mhscrier/. Crier is published 10 times a school year. Ad rates and policies are available to anyone upon request.

Our Staff

Editor-in-Chief Lauren Hoogeveen

Head Photographers Zoe Clark, Marianna Young

Story Editor Emily Dywan

Page Editors Kylee Barnes, Emma Starkey, Gabby Van Horne

Photographers Karla Aguilar, Aaron Alvarez, John Kullerstrand, Lexi Villalobos, Josephine Zangrilli

Cartoonist and Photographer Damien Salahieh

Adviser Ms. Sarah-Anne Lanman

illustration by damien salahieh

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

BHM past, present and future

“

“When it first began, I kind of felt like black issues were pretty mundane and unimportant at MHS, but now it seems that Black Culture Club is able to integrate very nicely with all of the other clubs, with the school itself and with administration,” Ini said. “It’s so important having all these different culture clubs, it really shows that we do make up a part of the population—even if it may not seem like it—and we are able to be represented.”

For people to come together and highlight where we came from, where we are and where we are going to go.”

nneka oniah senior

To promote Black History Month, BCC planned unity days every Friday this month to demonstrate unity in the school. Each color that people wore corresponded to one of the four on the Pan-African flag: black, yellow, red and green.

“Through all these spirit days, even if people don’t participate—sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose— they at least acknowledge that we are making an impact and we’re here to put our voice out there,” Ini said.

On the last day of January, BCC members stayed after school to decorate teachers’ doors with influential black figures for the month, trying to get at least one door in each subject hallway. Kam Hubbard, senior and club president, explained that the door decorating is not only to bring people together, but to shine a light on black influence in our world today.

“It’s not just about black history, what

has happened in the past, but it’s how we’ve moved on from that,” Kam said. “It’s how we’ve developed as a race. We don’t have to constantly live in the past, we have to create new beginnings, a better way of living, a better way of being comfortable in your own skin. I hope people recognize that it’s not just about history, but it’s about today too and what we plan to do moving forward.”

BCC also collaborated with Culture Cuisine Club both Feb. 8 and 22 for meetings educating about Jamaican culture and then trying Jamaican food, ordering from Tropic Island. Junior Ava Adam, co-vice president of both BCC and CCC, hopes to potentially see more collaboration between clubs which both strive to educate students and encourage open-mindedness.

“

“I feel like having clubs work toward the same effort creates a better school environment,” Ava said. “Half of MHS students have a minority background, so I think it’d be great to see more culture clubs collaborate.”

men.

•

•

2018

44% minority students, 10% of which were black

• 56% white students 2021

5% multiracial students

• 7% asian students

• 10% black students

• 26% hispanic students

•

Feb. 28 in club sponsor Mrs. Kristin Laflech’s room, BCC will have a party with pizza and music to recap the month. Looking forward to the rest of the year, they hope to plan a day to visit the middle school to recruit next year’s fresh-

I hope that people recognize that it’s not just about history, but it’s about today, too, and what we plan to do moving forward.”

kam hubbard senior

“I think it’s really important so people can feel represented because when Black Culture Club was founded, there was obviously a much lower black demographic,” Nneka Oniah, senior and covice president, said. “It was really made as a safe space for not only black people, but for people to come together, feel safe and at home, highlight black voices, inventions, black history—everything black—and just appreciate it.”

a look into the flag

what the colors of the pan-african flag symbolize

Recalling a meeting earlier this year where members had an opportunity to research influential black figures, Brandon Walker, sophomore, has seen firsthand how BCC has educated the members about black culture. During the research, he and his friend learned about an enslaved musician named Blind Tom Wiggins who was a musical prodigy in the late 1800s.

“Targeted missions to learn more through Black History Month or spirit days provide students

the opportunity to learn about inspirational figures and stories,” Brandon said. “There is still large amounts of misinformation, misconceptions and ignorance in Munster.

black represents the people of black african ancestry

green represents the natural wealth of africa

yellow represents the treasure of african heritage

red represents the blood of black african ancestry that unites but also that was shed for liberation

However, I have noticed an uptick in discussion of other cultures, as well as spaces for different cultures to convene.”

When reflecting on the progression of BCC and her own high school experience since 2020, Kam believes that the stigma and feelings of discrimination have lessened, and credits the club as the reason why. In addition to the startup of various other culture-based clubs at MHS, she feels they have formed a place for people to be safe and comfortable. Personally, she said she feels she has freed her own mind of any stigmas and worries about others’ opinions in order to unapologetically be herself and reach her own potential.

“People don’t like to bother people who are comfortable and genuinely embrace their authenticity,” Kam said. “It’s not just ignorance anymore, it’s blatantly there. You can say anything you want to me, you can have your opinions, but at the end of the day, I know who I am and I know what I stand for.”

bcc through the year a photo collection of bcc events this year

FULL OF SPIRIT Waving during the Homecoming parade Sept. 29, Nneka Oniah, senior, Arroya Mongerie, sophomore and Leia Maduakolam, senior, sit on the top of the car representing Black Culture Club. (photo by viv rodriguez)

RETURN OF THE FOUNDERS Re-visiting BCC, Aleena Mongerie, Uyai Edet, Jaelyn Williams and Taylor Graham, all class of ‘21, talk about the club’s legacy during the Dec. 20 meeting. (photo by viv rodriguez) CULTURE COLLAB Sitting in the cafeteria during the Feb. 8 Culture Cuisine Club and BCC collaboration meeting, seniors Kam Hubbard, Nneka Oniah and Niah Maduakolam, junior, watch the presentation about Jamaican culture. “We really just want to have fun with both our members and our community, because a lot of our members’ families are also heavily involved,” Kam said. (photo by karla aguilar)

source: bcc’s instagram @bsuofmhs

PASSIN BY Walking to lunch, Chloe Smith, junior dresses in yellow Feb. 9. (photo by john kullerstrand) TABLE TALK Dressed for BCC’s Feb. 16 unity day, seniors Will Hazel and Kylena Torres talk during lunch. (photo by karla aguillar) READY TO GO Standing up at the end of class, Christopher Pala, sophomore, wears red for the unity day. (photo by john kullerstrand)

ADDING UP Sitting in Mrs. Tayna Mead’s classroom, freshmen Lucille Kelly, Damian Beames, Fawwaz Shareef, Gwyneth Cox, Carter Young, Jasmina Hamilton and Elia Moore dress in red. (photo by josephine zangrilli)

source: indiana department of education

paragon prepares for final deadline meeting the deadline

dorothy lakshmanamurthy deadline manager

Looking down at their typed up to-do list, made by Ms. Sarah-Anne Lanman, publication adviser, Paragon discusses and splits up the assignments amongst the staff members to finalize the last 44 pages of this year’s yearbook. These pages, which include the winter sports pages and the index, are to be completed by Paragon’s final deadline March 4. Throughout this year, Paragon has met four other deadlines which breaks up the total 176 pages of the yearbook.

“I would say that this last deadline is probably my favorite, even though it is the most stressful of all of the deadlines,” Viv Rodriguez, senior, said. “I think that this deadline should be smooth sailing if everyone plays their part and is efficient with their work.”

However, this year, Paragon has had to make some adjustments to their process with a small staff of five members. They have sent out more email surveys, relied more on Crier photographers and submitted photos and have received extra help from Ms. Lanman.

“It’s super difficult with the restraint of not having enough hands on deck, especially since most of the time, there is always someone absent amongst us few on staff,” Viv said. “Ms. Lanman always types up what exactly we need to be working on and what we need to have on our spreads, and I feel that really helps me focus on what exactly my task is at hand.”

When Ms. Lanman was a senior in 2005, the Paragon staff was smaller than this year’s. She has observed many similarities between her experience on

that staff to this year’s staff.

“There were the four of us on staff who essentially ran the show,” Ms. Lanman said. “It was difficult at times to get pictures with the few of us, and it was also a very different time with technology and our process. However, it was all about student choice and creativity, and it still is. It’s about serving as a documentation of history for future students to look back at that year and see ‘what was happening’ and ‘what was interesting’ at that time. The yearbook staff has to pay extra attention to what matters most.”

TWO AT A TIME While multitasking her work, Armani Bearden, senior, looks through photos on a desktop while she searches up questions to ask students who are on the girls’ wrestling team. “I usually do research before I go ask students questions,” Armani said. “Since I’m not in any sports, it is good to do the research beforehand so then I know what to ask.”

FORMING QUES-

TIONS Meeting with Ms. Sarah-Anne Lanman, advisor, Jaylyn Fassoth, senior, shares the questions that she has created to ask student athletes for an interview. “We were talking about what questions to ask girls’ swim or dance and what photos and alt-copy ideas to put on the spread,” Jaylyn said.

reflects the year. With many changes, such as a block schedule, and new teachers and staff, they chose the theme “So, what’s your story?” This theme also caters to the small Paragon staff.

As Paragon documents this year, they chose a theme for the book that best

“The problem was because we didn’t have many people on staff, we didn’t know how we would be able to cover everything about all the different lives and changes in the school,” Armani Bearden, senior, said. “We knew we would rely a lot on submitted photos and information so we thought, ‘why don’t we just let everyone tell their own story.”

more media this week is scholastic journalism week, a celebration of high school media. here is a highlight of other media sources in mhs

journalism 1

one semester elective class, pre requiste for publication staff

Origin: “Our class was discussing ways we could increase attendance at school sporting events,” Niki Dimitrijevic, junior, said. “After a meeting with the athletic office, we decided that creating our TikTok, Instagram and YouTube episodes would be a good solution.”

Purpose: “We showcase our sports in hopes of driving attendance and school spirit,” Mrs. Krissy Laflech, business teacher, said. “We know there are errors, but we are still learning and trying our best to show how awesome our school is.”

Upcoming: spring sports coverage

Origin: “It was one of my goals to make this newsletter so GSA can have more recognition in our school,” Piper Voris, GSA president, said. “When the proposal of a newsletter was presented to the rest of the members, they supported the idea.”

Purpose: “Being informed is a vital part of the process of understanding the world around us, and Proudly Informed aims to help readers understand situations that impact the LGBTQ+ community,” Mr. Ben Boruff, GSA sponsor, said.

Upcoming: new newsletter aiming to come out Feb. 26

Origin: “I started the account at my former school thinking it would be a great way to get kids interested in the books I was bringing in,” Miss Megan Mann said. “When I posted a video about banned books, the student loved it and wanted another one. Then, my second one went viral and blew up from there.”

Purpose: “I want to encourage people to read as diversely as possible,” Miss Mann said. “Reading expands your worldview, and helps us really create a more equitable community.”

Upcoming: book recommendation videos for Women’s History Month

Purpose: “I took journalism because I really want to do yearbook and I thought it’d be a really fun class even if I waited to take yearbook later in the year.” Amalia Alvarez, freshman, said.

Upcoming: the students helped with reporting for page 8 and will continue to strive with obtaining more journalistic skills

A SECOND OPINION When choosing photos Sara Gregory, senior, talks with Vivianna Rodriguez, senior, to get an outside opinion on which photo should be put on the page. “It’s good to work with classmates and talk with them because it is helpful to hear their input and it sparks creativity,” Sara said. “It is really easy to talk with them and it helps take the workload off our shoulders.” (photo by aaron alvarez)

(photo by aaron alvarez)

dorothy lakshmanamurthy deadline manager

@mustangmedia sports marketing class’ TikTok, Instagram and YouTube

Proudly Informed GSA’s newsletter

@missmannreads media secretary Miss Mann’s TikTok

(photo by aaron alvarez)

screenshots from tiktok

photo by lexi villalobos

bottom row: janet fonseca, kennedy tarver, amalia alvarez, allison breuker, kenley smith, lexi villalobos. top row: jack sklar, marion ivy, lila borgetti, brennon rommelfanger, vivian petrozza and william arens. not pictured: ioannis tripologos.

barking for biscuits

meet the dogs

highlight of the dog reviewers

Juno

owner: Marianna Young

breed: Great Pyrenees

age: 3

best trick: sit

fun fact: she can’t catch anything

favorite toy: bones from Howard & Sons

nicknames: Uno, Mia, Junster, Sugaree

in honor of national dog biscuit day today, staffers’ dogs review dog treats

dorothy lakshmanamurthy & marianna young deadline manager & head photographer

Method: Crier staffers set out five treats in a lineup for the three dogs (Mia, Juno and Danny) to eat in which ever order they wish. The ranking reflects what the dogs rate the treat; eating it first means the treat came in first place.

minty munch

A peppermint flavored dog-safe Oreo, this treat intrigued the dogs as they chomped through the crisp cookie sandwiches to reveal the minty cream center. As all of the dogs seemed to enjoy this “sweet treat,” we’d say its a safe choice to treat your dog to something different than the usual Milk Bone treat.

Mia ate this 2nd Juno ate this 3rd Danny ate this 1st

tough cookie

Looking past the cookie’s colored frosting and coconut sprinkles, all three dogs were not majorly impressed by the treat’s taste. Mia and Juno were skeptical to the point of retreating from the treat until Crier staffers made it a game for them to jump up for the treat.

Mia ate this 4th

Juno ate this 5th

Danny ate this 3rd

Mia

owner: Marianna Young

breed: American Staffordshire

age: 7

best trick: paw

fun fact: she is weirdly self conscious like the dog from Big Mouth

favorite toy: big red Kong

nicknames: Mia Mikita, Fomo, TSA, Trixie, Reggie, ia, Fire Killer

Danny Zuko

owner: Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy

breed: Border Collie mix

age: 6

best trick: sit pretty

fun fact: he has a T-Birds leather jacket just like Danny Zuko from Grease

favorite toy: blue Kong bone

nicknames: DZ, Zuk-a-Duke, José, Jerk Face

“baby food” for dogs

Save the best for last? That’s what we all say, but who knows how far this saying goes for dogs. The Gogo Squeeze type treat may have seemed a bit odd and unfamiliar to the dogs which may have affected their ratings. Or perhaps it was the color plate it was displayed on that faltered the results.

Mia ate this 5th Juno ate this 4th

Danny ate this 5th

not so cheesy Cheez-It

no hatin’ on bacon

Alluring the dogs with its pungent meaty aroma, this was within the top two treats within the bracket. The marketing team for this brand weren’t kidding with the name as the dogs wear “Beggin ‘’’ for another treat. Although the dogs seemed to favor this treat, it made them rather parched.

Mia ate this 1st

Juno ate this 1st

Danny ate this 2nd

Varying across the board for each dog’s ranking, this small cheesy. Its simplicity and mediocrity seemed to stem from the treat not emitting any scent into the atmosphere. Dogs also falter to acknowledge the color orange, so it’s understanding as to why they didn’t gravitate towards a gray scentless treat first.

Mia ate this 3rd

Juno ate this 2nd

Danny ate this 4th

Wholesomes Rewards Cheezy Bites

Wholehearted Peanut Butter Spread

Petco Donut Cookie

Three Dog Bakery Lick’n Crunch

brand new ball boys’ volleyball begins first season

kylee barnes page

After years of consideration, a new sport has finally been added to MHS: Boys’ Volleyball. The team tryouts will be held next week Feb. 26 and 27 from 5:30-8 p.m. with the request that all players wear a Munster shirt.

Coach Maddie Horin graduated from MHS in 2019 along with playing volleyball at USC. Now, she’s returned to her hometown to help coach. Her and the boys who are conditioning say they are very excited to be a part of this new team.

“I think the most exciting part is Northwest Indiana gaining boys volleyball as a popular and growing sport,” Coach Horin said. “I’m glad that more boys are starting to come out and join as well. They’re super high on energy and excited.”

As tryouts are right around the corner, Coach Horin and the boys have not only been working on building a foundation of well rounded players, but also setting a scene on the court, and in spirit, for the players that come after them.

according to senior Jack MacDonald. Coach Horin coached last season at Highland as a varsity assistant coach, and although she has played volleyball for the last decade, this will be her first year as head coach.

“It’s good to work on the overcommunica tion in practice,” Coach Horin said. “It might seem silly, but we worked on that in the USA gym when I was on the youth and junior nation al team. It’s something that helps to look ahead and gain a better game IQ in general.”

As this is it’s first year being played as an of ficial sport, there are some knots to untie in the netting of the boys’ volleyball team. Not only that, but according to MacDonald, the boys are hit with the challenge of setting up the next gen eration with a welcoming culture.

starting serve

information about first game

March 21 - home game versus Kankakee Valley jv game at 5:30 p.m. varsity game at 6:30 p.m.

“Coach really takes the time to focus on individual people that look like they need help,” Carson Grennan, senior, said. “She’s super helpful and very observant. I think she is a perfect fit for who we need and she’ll definitely create a great team out of us.”

While conditioning, the boys worked on exercises that improve their teamwork abilities, coordination and overall game playing ability. In one event, the boys took partners, standing opposite to each other, yelling the other person’s name as they hit the ball back and forth. The teamwork seen during practices may seem comical, but the boys are determined to “turn some heads”

“It looks like they have some good servers so I’m very excited to start playing,” AJ Horin, soph omore, said. “I want us to make a splash in the volleyball communi ty.”

By helping the boys get to know each other as people and improve working as one, it helps them play better on the court and create that “culture” MacDonald was referring to. Coach Horin takes no slack from the boys, wanting them to be the best they can.

“I feel really honored being able to start that culture because I lived it and played it and I was a part of it on our women’s side,” Coach Horin said. “Excellence is part of all things Munster High School. Being the whole package is a big part of being a Stang, getting it done in the class room and on the court, being the best of both worlds. It’s an honor to play the game, but it’s an even bigger honor to coach it and to pass on all the knowledge I’ve gained to the next gener ation.”

SERVING During a drill, Richie Andrzejewski, junior, prepares to pass the ball back to his partner. At their second practice, the team warms up with the drill to get to know each other’s names. “I’m looking forward to this season because it is our school’s first year having a team and I hope we can win as many games as possible and win Sectionals for our first year,” Andrzejewski said. (photo by marianna young)

GET SET Practicing during their second practice Feb. 14, Aaron Bobb, senior, gets ready to serve the ball to his partner as the team learns each other’s names. (photo by marianna

stepping into comp season

on. “When I won State solo, it was the most unreal feeling ever,” Bleza said. “I was so proud of myself.” (photo by josephine zangrilli)

dance prepares for regionals tomorrow, state and nationals in early march

lauren hoogeveen editor-in-chief

From practices with choreographers to hitting the weight room, the dance team has been practicing even more than usual in preparation for competition season. At Regionals tomorrow at Lake Central, they will perform their jazz and pom routines along with State the following Sunday at the Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum.

“I feel extremely confident that our routines will do well because we just came off of a first place win in both routines,” Emma Jez, senior, said. “Our team has been working harder than ever to make sure that after Nationals we have no regrets. Regionals is the beginning of the championship series in our season and I think we’re prepared to give it our all.”

In preparation for the three consecutive weekends of competitions, the dance team has been practicing Monday, Wednesday and Friday in addition to private strength and stamina sessions. The biggest struggle has been balancing focusing on routines and also performing at basketball games. This year, Coach

Elyse Skalka hired Karl Mundt, a famous choreographer known for working with many college dance teams along with the 2011 Super Bowl halftime show, to help choreograph their jazz routine. Jillian Zagorski, who also works with many college dance teams, assisted in choreographing their pom and game day routines.

“Our coach has done everything possible to make sure we get the best of the best and that is why we work so hard to be successful, because we have someone who believes in our team enough to bring expensive and famous choreographers all the way to Munster,” Gaby Kajmakoski, senior, said.

Leaving March 6 for Orlando, Florida, the dancers will perform their game day routine in addition to jazz and pom at Nationals.

“I am so excited to just perform on the Nationals stage for the first time because I know it will be such a surreal moment,” Gwyneth Cox, freshman, said. “I’m most excited to show everyone how much work and effort we have put into all of our dances this season, as well it being a great time to bond with my teammates on another level before our season is over.”

take the shot

boys’ basketball starts the first round of sectionals against hammond morton tuesday feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at east chicago central

zangrilli)

JUST DANCE Performing at basketball halftime, Sam Bleza, junior, uses facial expressions to contribute to her performance. Bleza was recently crowned 2024 Senior Solo State champi-

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HOT POTATO Passing the ball within a circle of two other teammates and his coach, Carson Poulston, sophomore, keeps his eyes on the ball after he hits it. (photo by marianna young)

in honor of the leap year, crier highlights 29 cool things

backtalk

today is national banana bread day, what is your favorite type of bread?

“Tortillas because you can make tacos or put nutella on it. You can use it for anything.”

name:

name: Katie McDonald, sophomore what’s cool: exclusive 2011 Barbie Doll significance: "It's exclusive to 2011,

name: CJ Pala, freshman

what’s cool: guitar significance: “My dad got it for me. I modified it a lot so it is very unique.”

name: Giana Bartusiak, sophomore what’s cool: light-up bracelet significance: “My boyfriend and I have matching ones that light up.”

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name: Olivia Olivares, junior what’s cool: Dunkin’ spider donut plush significance: “I love Halloween and the Dunkin spider donut is my favorite thing ever its so cute.”

name: Kayley Williams, sophomore what’s cool: a ring signficance: “I got the ring from my grandma for my 14th birthday. It has both October birthstones in it."

name:

name: Jasmina Hamilton, freshman what’s cool: a gold cross necklace significance: "I wear it every day to really show off how proud I am of my religion and how proud I am to be Serbian. The necklace is important in my culture.

name: Miah Fidanque, freshman what’s cool: pink Jordan 3’s significance: “I love how they go with everything.”

name: Goldie Clark, senior what’s cool: grand nationals pin significance: “It’s cool because it came from Lucas oil stadium after we performed at state.”

name: Luna Gutierrez, junior what’s cool: scented highlighters “I got them in Canada from a Japanese store. They smell so good.”

name:

“Probably sourdough it has the perfect texture, and it’s so good as a bread bowl for soup”

Adrian Monroy, freshman Raanya Rai, freshman

“Garlic bread. I love pasta and I always eat garlic bread with pasta.”

Niko Iatrides, sophomore

“French bread because I like how the texture works with sauces when used with sandwiches, especially mayo.”

name: Olivia Witting, freshman what’s cool: a Disney ring significance: “It reminds me of the first time I ever went to Disney.”

name: Irie Prieboy, freshman what’s cool: a cheese hat significance: “I got it at the Packers stadium. I am a Packers fan.”

name: Patrick Sabat, junior what’s cool: keychain that says patrick significance: "It has my name on it. My uncle gave it to me.

freshman what’s cool: defused grenade significance: “Nobody has these and I got it from my grandpa.”

Sam Mellon,

“I like white bread because it’s been something that I grew up with and just got acustomed to.”

Ethan Cosme, senior

“I like banana bread. Last time I made some, I toasted some walnuts and put them in with it—delicious, incredible, life changing, I would say.”

Mr. Dillon Thompson, Science Teacher

“Cheesy Texas Toast Garlic Bread. I have nothing else to say.”

Emilia Larson, sophomore

“French Brioche, because its soft and fluffy but it tastes good and can be used for a lot of things.”

Charlie Ilijevski, junior

“I love baguettes because I love soup and they taste glorious.”

Lily Hestjean, senior

“Zucchini bread is my absolute favorite. With a little butter on top, you can’t really go wrong.”

Mrs.

name: Sergio Magallanes, freshman what’s cool: a gold chain significance: "I got baptized in it, and my grandparents gave it to me.”

name: Haylee Morgan, junior what’s cool: digital camera significance: “I got it sixth grade and I brought it to blue lake with me.”

name: Chyaire Love, freshman what’s cool: pink Nike Jordans from GOAT significance: “I wear a lot of black and thought ‘I need some color in my life, and I like the pink.’”

name: Aiden DeAnda, freshman what’s cool: mini ceramic longhorn skull significance: "Skulls are awesome. My godmother gave it to me as a souvenir from Texas."

name: Greg Siuba, sophomore what’s cool: flashlight clip significance: "It is cool because the flashlight clips to the hat through one of the holes. My father gave it to me in 2016.”

name: Haydee Estrada, junior what’s cool: a keychain significance: "My step-mom got it for me from Mexico"

name: Allan Galuszka, freshman what’s cool: shirt from pizza-eating competition significance: “I won it from eating two of the biggest slices of pizzas in the world in less than 30 minutes.”

name: Judah Rosinski,

Kathleen LaPorte, Social Studies Teacher

name: Savannah Nuetzel, junior what’s cool: pencil pouch significance: “My grandparents got it for me when they went on a trip to Greece. I think it is cute.”

name: Jordan Fefferman, junior what’s cool: strawberry and dinosaur socks significance: "I got both of these on a speech trip to the Mall of America. The strawberry socks are from last year, and the dinosaur socks I got recently.”

name: Jefferey Harle, freshman what’s cool: 20th anniversary version of Digivice toy significance: “It's a virtual pet toy like Tamagotchi. I'm a fan of the series it's from.”

name: Giselle Rivera, senior what’s cool: Stanley cup straw cover significance: “My little brother got it for me, and I like it because it is a bunny.”

name: Abril Guerrero Gay, junior what’s cool: shoulder bag significance: “It’s cute. It goes with outfits and it’s just easy to carry around items.”

name: Niah Maduakolam, junior what’s cool: yin yang necklace significance: “It’s very special to me because my sister has the matching half, and I love her so much.”

staff

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illustration by josephine zangrilli