Mercer Island High School 9100 SE 42nd St. Mercer Island, WA 98040
The
Islander
Islander Girl Breaks Tradition
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit #19 Mercer Island, WA MERCER IS SCHOOL DIST 400
In This Issue: page
3:
culinary
arts
Asha Woerner
Editor in Chief
Mercer Island High School is home to three loud and proud flag without a title,” Newcomer said. spirit groups: Islander Girls, Snail Pound and Flag Dudes. For Newcomer is now looking for prospects in the Class of 2024 to many years, spirit groups have been a part of the MIHS culture, be the first ever official Flag Dudette. especially when it comes to getting students excited for sporting “Personally I do not want to be a Flag Dude, because I already events. have an Islander Girl letter,” Newcomer said. “In terms of the flag One of Islander Girl Caley Newcomer’s goals is to try to make I hope to hand it down to a girl.” it known that spirit groups Of the two unofficial spirit aren’t for just ‘that one groups, the female students have group’ but a place for all always had Islander Girls and students. Newcomer aims Snail Pound has always been to do this by establishing for male students. However, the the first ever Flag Dudette. Flag Dudes are the only school “I diversify [spirit affiliated group, so there is more groups] from the culture incentive to change the restrictive that it has always been,” tradition. Newcomer said. “It means “As soon as I realized that there that for everyone who is not were other spirit groups besides in ‘that group’ it gives them Flag Dudes and that one is guys a chance to have a letter at and one is girls and then the Flag some point too.” Dudes are also all guys, I felt like While Newcomer was there should be a little bit of a always familiar with cultural shift,” Newcomer said. Islander Girls, the Flag Flag Dudes were created in Dudes were not always on 1991 and the main job was to act Islander Girl Caley Newcomer waves flag in spirit. Photo courtesy Caley Newcomer her radar. as counterparts to cheerleaders “Because of COVID, I really had no real memory of the Flag during football games and to be an alternative way to hype up the Dudes until basically my junior year,” Newcomer said. “I think crowd. But now, over 30 years later, students are looking to see that it is fun and you get a bunch of spirit gear and have a bunch of more diversity. flags to run at the assemblies, so overall I think that it is really fun “So I am hoping that after what, 30 years or so, that we can besides the fact that it’s all guys.” finally get a girl in there,” Newcomer said. While Newcomer is focused on her role as an Islander Girl, she As Newcomer works to create change, the Class of 2024 and also hopes to cultivate a position for a girl Flag Dude. beyond should keep their eyes peeled for the first (of potentially “I asked [the current flag dudes] for a flag and they gave me a many) Flag Dudettes.
New Parking Procedures Stump Students
Page 4: MI summer hot spots
Page
5:
new
principal
page 6: Masks & metaphors
page 7: the school is ugly
Brooks Kahsai
Photography Editor
The 2022-23 school year has finally arrived, and with Tibbs went into detail about his experience in prea new year comes new challenges–particularly for student COVID school years and provided some insight into the parking. As MIHS transitions out of its reserved-parking decision to push for first-come, first-serve parking. “My system for seniors in the C-lot, students are confused and first year here, it was even more different. Each senior had frustrated, leaving many to wonder if this shift is worth the an individual spot, and that became more of a problem trouble and what can be improved upon in the future. because somebody would get their car parked into the spot Mercer Island High School’s history of experimenting next to theirs, and then so on and so on, and then we’d have with its parking system goes back to 2020, since the at least 20 people displaced.” pandemic’s start. Until then, the high school had reserved Even during the transition period in the 2021-22 school parking spots in C-lot for seniors only, at a rate of $150 year, there were challenges because “a lot of seniors didn’t for two semesters. After the pandemic hit, that system was want to park in Northwood. Now it’s like, what can we do, scrapped during the remote learning period, and a new obviously without a building parking garage, that would system was implemented in the give them the opportunity to park 2021-22 school year. almost wherever without getting a “Over the years, there has parking ticket? Because getting a been this feeling of ‘okay, we parking ticket is not fun, at the end need to do some changes,’” Hill of the day.” said. “Parking’s always been an The 200+ juniors and seniors issue, and I think we wanted to who purchased a parking pass come from a place of equity that were given their respective all students had the opportunity privileges, though the lack of a to find parking.” hold over a specific spot and lack The new system for our first of spots in general in C-lot has left year back in person still allowed many students, namely seniors, reserved parking but also immensely frustrated by these provided parking for juniors in Cars parked in C-lot amidst the new parking procedures. changes. C-lot via lottery. Since a smaller Photo by Brooks Kahsai Seniors are still waking up hours number of seniors bought parking in C-lot that year, selling before school starts to get a decent parking spot in C-lot, empty parking spots to the Juniors made more sense. which only holds around 120 vehicles at best, or Northwood, However, for the 2022-23 school year, the MIHS except now they are paying to fight for their spot. Moreover, administration created an entirely new parking system to everyday, 40th and 42nd are traffic-jammed with student promote carpooling to save gas and help the environment. drivers between 7-8 a.m., and in the case of lack of parking, Reserved carpool parking in the front parking lot was sold students have opted for parking in fire lanes in C-lot or at $100 per car, so long as the driver had a minimum of blocking walkways to save time. These issues are not too three passengers signed on to their parking contract. The distinct from the systemic issues with The Strip. staff, who previously held that parking lot, were moved to The state of MIHS’ parking system, despite its respectable the band lot as a result. intentions, has irritated the student body more than it has Hill stated, “The big thing is we were really wanting to resolved its inequity issues, but, once again, seniors can encourage carpooling for so many different reasons. One, take comfort in knowing that the first-come-first-serve it’s good for the environment, two, creating community, system is a work in progress; a trial run. Tibbs and Hill and then obviously, it allows for more spots if we’re have ensured the student body that they have our best carpooling.” intentions in mind, and they work diligently to improve this As for the seniors who drive alone, their rate remained system to accommodate all student drivers. Improving the at $150 with added parking privileges in Northwood MIHS parking system is an ongoing project, and will be for Elementary’s parking lot, though their reserved parking a while, but in the meantime, we must be patient and learn was revoked, and the parking in Northwood was to be to adjust as MIHS enters a transitional period to improve shared with the Juniors. the student driver experience.
page 8: junior ava yeh
page
9:
Purple
Hearts
page 10: marvel universe
page 11: junior piper enge