Volume 63, Issue 7, May 1, 2023

VOLUME 63, ISSUE 7

Thunderbolt APRIL 28, 2023

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A Night to Remember

By SNicole Lee

aturday, April 15th was a night to remember for Mills’ junior and senior students as the majority gathered together for the highly anticipated event of the year: prom. The dance was held at the Fox Theater down in Redwood City where many dressed according to the theme “A Night to Remember” which was supposed to resemble old Hollywood.

Mills’ ASB Vice President, An Dang (12), coordinated alongside Ms. Dove gave us some insight on how prom preparations went down the week before the big night, “Originally we wanted to form a prom committee like last year to help out [ASB] but with lack of communication and no time we just opted not to.” Additionally, Dang explained how she felt a lot of pressure since it was her own senior prom and she wanted the night to be perfect, “Trying to order catering and finding decorations for the event was something I was used to from planning homecoming and formal, however, prom is a much larger scale than what I was not familiar with.” She wanted the night to be a good experience for everyone to remember before the year ends, and that goes for whether you were someone’s date or a student at Mills. Dang elaborated that she felt prom was supposed to be a last “hoorah” before finals and a great final memory of high school for our seniors’.

At the door, breathalyzers and a quick bag check were conducted in order to maintain the students safety, however, the thoroughness resulted in a line that wrapped around the block. After about an hour everyone was finally in the theater and the doors were closed for entry.

Once in, many were surprised to see a balcony overhanging the entrance and a very retro ambiance. The theater had a vintage look that made it feel as if you walked into an old, decadent opera house. “I didn’t have high expectations for this year’s prom venue especially since last year’s was on a boat,” Bruce Nie (12) admitted, “but even though it was a

lot smaller I had a lot of fun with my friends.” Most seniors that attended last year’s prom were disappointed when the location was announced as they felt nothing could compare to the four story boat that prom was on before but after, many students said they actually enjoyed the smaller rooms. “Since the main room with the dance floor was smaller it felt like the students were actually closer together and more united. I was dancing with people I had never seen at school before,” Nie revealed. Within the venue were separate rooms students could use in order to escape from the dancing and flashing lights. There was an upstairs portion designated for photos where there were two photo booths with props and outside the main room was space to eat and drink. Next to the dance floor were many chairs which students utilized to talk and take a break on once their feet started hurting.

However, no matter where you went you couldn’t escape the blaring bass from ringing in your ears. It was a rare occasion seeing a female dj at prom which ASB prided themselves in hiring but some felt the music wasn’t mainstream enough and resulted in many not knowing the lyrics. Songs such as Boy’s a Liar by Ice Spice and Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus were the most crazed about.

As for dinner, instead of a formal meal, small Mediterranean bites such as individually wrapped shawarmas and hummus with pita chips were offered, however, were not a fan favorite as there were many leftovers. There were also many sweet treats like cronut holes from Happy Donuts and even full sized boba drinks from Teaspoon which were gone almost instantly. Many students wanted a chocolate fountain like previous years but Ms. Dove explained how it wasn’t Covid safe to do so.

All in all ASB and Ms. Dove did a great job bringing us the incredible night.

Whether you enjoy dressing up or dancing, all students should make the most of prom especially if you are a senior. It’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on and this year was as good as ever.

Learning withIntegrity ChatGPT Learning

with ChatGPT

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By Daniel Gao

With the breakthrough of ChatGPT, a generative text ai language model, much of the education system is at risk as students can use the software to cheat on academic essays and other writing assignments. With the newest version of OpenAI’s GPT-4, the language model can now interpret images and complete AP exams with scores higher than most students. Microsoft Bing also integrates GPT-4 into its search engine and is now widely accessible by students.

However, as soon as OpenAI’s chatbot was released to the public, countermeasures were developed to detect written work. After a few months, Turnitin.com added the ability to detect AI written work with its plagiarism software. With the loophole temporarily patched, teachers can rest assured that “take-home paper assignments” can’t be cheated on.

Mr. Hensley teaches English and has already caught students using ChatGPT to write essays. He said, “Without using Turnitin anti-plagiarism software, I would have thought this essay was excellent. However, I was disappointed when most of the essay was flagged as AI.” While tools like ChatGPT may seem helpful for students, the potential for abuse is significant, as demonstrated by Mr. Hensley's experience. Without TurnItIn’s AI plagiarism check, students could pass English without writing a single essay. While this might sound like the ideal high school scenario, the lack of creative writing will haunt students back during AP testing, where they are forced to write an essay under the eyes of a proctor. The result will be lower than expected scores in AP English exams than what teachers have been anticipating of their students.

While students can still use ChatGPT to assist them in learning, they should be aware that the language model is still in its early stages of development, and there are limitations on its information. For example, ChatGPT is only updated on the news before September 2021. Even if it does provide details and sounds convincing, the responses are entirely made up. Because of this, pupils should be encouraged to use AI as a tool, not a crutch. With overreliance on ChatGPT, they could lose their critical thinking and writing skills. Instead, students should use ChatGPT to help them learn, such as letting the chatbot give feedback on their essays and replacing what an online tutor would do. As artificial intelligence develops, we speculate that online tutor sites such as tutor. com will turn to AI chatbots to further students in their educational upbringing. Just like any source, students should still fact-check what ChatGPT provides to their questions.

As for now, AI technology has made significant strides in the field of education, offering new ways to teach and learn. One of the most exciting developments in recent years has been the emergence of personalized learning tools such as Quizlet by leveraging AI to tailor lessons and resources to the individual needs of each student. By analyzing data on a student's learning style, strengths, and weaknesses, these tools can provide customized lesson plans and activities, helping students to progress at their own pace and in their own way. AI can also automate grading and feedback, providing teachers more time to focus on other tasks, such as lesson planning and individual student support. With these and other applications, AI has the potential to transform the way we approach education, making it more effective, efficient, and engaging for students and teachers alike.

Boba Bots Season Overview

By Amelia Naughten

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n April 8th, 2023, the competition season for the Boba Bots was brought to a close. At their first competition of the season in UC Davis, Sacramento, the Boba Bots fell short of last, ultimately placing 41st out of 46 teams by the end of the competition.

While they didn’t win any awards, they were able to use the experience, and improve in the week before their second competition at Silicon Valley. Two weeks later at San Jose State University, the team reached a record high of 12th place before dropping to 39 of 59 teams.

The Boba Bots, numbered team 253, is the Mills FRC (First Robotics Competition) team founded in 1998. The club is composed of four departments that work together to run the team including construction (builds the robot), electronics (wires the robot), programming (codes for the robot), and operations (publicity and business).

Following the release of the new robotics challenge in early January 2023, members in the technical departments engineered a robot that could score cones and inflatable cubes on tiered shelves (the higher shelves being worth more points) and balance on tilting platforms at the end of the match for additional points. In operations, members collaborated on award submissions, merchandise design, and event coordination. By the first competition, attending members had inputted over 40 hours each, with electronics member Ayushi Swami (9) logging the most time at over 120 hours spent active in build season.

For their first competition of 2023, the Boba Bots drove three hours to attend the Sacramento Regional alongside 45 other teams, one team even coming from China to compete. Throughout the qualification matches, the Boba Bots were faced with consecutive losses, finishing with a record of two matches won out of the ten matches played. Operations Captain Katie Ip (12) remarked, “Our robot was functional, but it wasn't as good as we thought it would be...We had no driver practice before our regional, so our practice matches at Sacramento Regional were the first time the drive team actually drove the robot.”

While this competition did not go as the Boba Bots had hoped, the team maintained a positive mindset and focused on ways of improvement and the many team bonding memories made in their time spent together. Newly joined member Yashvi Patel (10) recounts, “I was excited for the Sacramento Regional because it was my first competition, and it was really fun being able to see all the robots…I also just loved

hanging out with the other robotics members outside of the competition.”

After returning from the week-long spring break that followed the Sacramento Regional, the team rejoined to hold a post mortem in which they reflected on their goals for the next competition, Silicon Valley Regional. Main focuses that were generated at the post mortem were to dedicate more time to robot driver practice and to redesign the strategy team to become more efficient. As Ip explained, the main goal targeted in the team's limited time was to get “to a point where we don’t have to worry about the robot breaking and can focus more on the strategy.”

The friday of April 7th at San Jose State University, not only did the Boba Bots achieve these goals, but operation member Jennifer Lo (11) and imagery lead Natalie Luong (11) had crafted a mascot costume and banner for the team to amplify their spirit when cheering on the drive team during matches.

Unlike at Sacramento Regional, the Boba Bots started off strong at Silicon Valley, winning their first two matches. The Boba Bots went on to win three more matches, placing at a high of 12th place out of the 59 attending teams near the end of the first day. The Boba Bots were hopeful that this trend would continue, as Luong remembers, “We ranked the highest we’ve ever been, or at least since I joined in Sophomore

FEATURES

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Job Listings Offered at Mills Teachers on AI Programs Within Education M

By : Samuel Lam

By : Jessica Poon

any students find it difficult to get their first job and need help choosing a job based on factors ranging from location to requirements and interviews.

However, students here at Mills have an easier option.

At Mills, two jobs are offered on campus: tutoring and handing school meals. Both jobs pay over the minimum wage of $15/hr, being $16.25/hr and $16.75/hr for helping serve school meals and being a paid tutor, respectively.

Student workers that help with meals are released roughly 10 minutes before each meal. They are to arrive at the cafeteria as soon as possible to help the adult staff to prep the food before the break period begins. When the doors are open, the student workers serve the food to students in the cafeteria or work at the register. Typically, each student is assigned to a certain section of the cafeteria. After everyone is done getting food, the workers will clean up their station and leave.

Not only is the job simple, it is considerably flexible. As a year long commitment, workers are able to miss a few days. Although a few of the missed days are paid, it’s best to attend daily. The workers will have to let the cafeteria adult staff know before the breaks as a heads-up if they are not attending. It is best to not skip, but it comes in handy when attending their second or fourth period fully is a must, for example, a test.

Other than being able to work in the cafeteria during breaks, the majority of students are able to tutor. The job does not have strong prerequisites, either. Students are scouted through email to become a flex or non-paid tutor.

The job targets sophomores and above, but mostly juniors are scouted. The students only have to fill out a google form through email to be properly recruited. However, if you were not scouted, you can schedule an appointment with Ms. Peng to ask to apply. Ethan Lee (10), a non-paid tutor states, “I help out people who are struggling in a certain category, most of the time being math or history. If they’re struggling to comprehend a certain aspect of the subject I just help them better understand. It’s pretty simple.” Flex tutors are given service hours, but paid tutors are not. Paid tutors are tutors only selected from the pool of flex period tutors. The paid tutors are chosen

by Ms. Peng if they perform exceptionally.

As a paid tutor, you are required to come at least once a week. The days you can be scheduled per week range from one to four, or Monday through Thursday. The job isn’t extremely demanding, similar to the job at the cafeteria, and caters to students that would like experience with teaching or service hours.

To apply for tutoring, you must ask Ms. Peng, the Student Success Coordinator, and to apply for the cafeteria job, you must ask Ms. Langi, the Nutritional Services Lead. You can reach them both through email, provided on the official Mills High School website in the staff section.

Both jobs are both paid well, and applying for either job would be a smart move for the next school year especially as a sophomore and junior.

Additionally, working either job would be beneficial to both the employee and the school as they will be helping their peers.

Jessica Poon/Mills HighSchool

JOB LISTINGS: Ask your counselor for more information on these jobs!

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ithin recent months, one technological innovation has taken the internet by storm: commercial and widespread access to AI. Topping the numerous AI services available, is ChatGPT, a chatbot developed and released in November 2022 by OpenAI. It allows you to input a prompt in a textbox and receive an answer in return.

On top of this, it is an AI that learns and grows and as more people use it, the larger its database gets. Ever since the release and massive growth ChatGPT has seen, many other AIs, from image generation to even more sophisticated chatbots such as GPT4 and GPT3.5 have been released and developed. With these AIs there is an infinite amount of potential and possibilities to utilize them for our own needs and wants; school, being chief among these and relevant to students such as ourselves.

One consensus we all have is that we want to try to make schoolwork and other tedious tasks easier for us.

The faster we get them done, the faster we can enjoy our leisure time away from the stresses of school. ChatGPT gave us the very tool to do so. With ChatGPT, many students were able to get quick solutions to problems. From a student’s perspective, this AI is a gem and a virtual treasure trove, lessening the tedious search through the internet for answers. Despite this, it is only a student’s perspective, how about the staff and faculty?

Upon interviewing our Assistant Principal, Eric Ding, it has been apparent that more students than we have thought have taken advantage of this tool in order to turn in work that was not theirs. From snippets of papers to whole essays, many students have used AI to forge assignments. It has gotten to the point where it has slowly but surely been a topic of discussion within the faculty and staff meetings. Mr. Ding made us aware of certain measures done to combat the use of ChatGPT. One such was the attempt to make all big papers or writing assignments on demand, or in class, as they would not have access to these tools in order to forge their essays.

Another such tool the teachers were made aware of was GPT0. This is a tool made by a college student in order to recognize the tendencies in AI writing, as even though it is constantly evolving and learning, it still has recognizable patterns. However, Mr. Ding brings about a view we should all share about technology. We cannot stifle this technology and thus we are “focusing on more regulating, morphing, and utilizing it. It is here to stay and we can’t fight against it”. So should we look to integrate ChatGPT into our curriculum or should we rather take account of it and try to take measures to prevent students from overutilizing it?

Mr. Wang, our current science department head and biology teacher, strongly defends the stance that we should not be integrating ChatGPT in high school. Wang emphasizes that the six years between middle school and high school are the most vital time for adolescent brain development. A time for the development of reading comprehension, critical thinking, communication, and pattern recognition. All of this is a foundation that high schoolers must make so we can gain and retain information in college. From the standpoint of a neuroscience major, Mr. Wang points out that all of these skills are developed through the creation and nurturing of neuro networks or connections within the brain. However, these take time to develop and are usually created during our time as high school students.

ChatGPT and other tools that allow students to have the work done for them or to cheat rob them of this important and crucial brain development that is required later on in life. In science and in life in general, things such as pressure, water, and the flow of nature all go through the path of least resistance. People are not excluded from this fact. “Students are so focused on getting into a college or getting a stupid number on their resume and will take the path of least resistance to jump through these hoops,” Wang says. However, it is the journey and the process to get through these hoops that are vital and what teachers hope to teach in school. As the famous saying goes, the real treasure is the friends we make along the way.

Even still, Mr. Wang cannot deny that AI and ChatGPT have their uses. Technology, as we progress into the future, is made and exists to optimize our time. However, it is so we can utilize that time on other tasks that we must get done. While it is useful in the career world, for money making, businesses, and problem-solving, we still need the people to ask the right and important questions so AI has these answers. The world still needs people to innovate, and these foundations are built in high school. In summary, “adolescent psychology (taking the path of least resistance) + AI and other tools is dangerous as we become reliant on it”

Arab American Heritage Month: A Feature on the Middle Eastern Club T

By : Noor Abdullah

he month of April marks the arrival of spring, the blooming of flowers, and Arab American Heritage Month. April was first designated as Arab American Heritage Month in 2017 across just a few states but it wasn’t until 2021 that President Biden nationally recognized the month.

Arabs are an ethnic group, originating in the Middle East, who are identified by their shared language, Arabic. With lots of misconceptions about the region and its people, Mills students with Arab heritage wish to share their culture, customs, and values with their peers. Mills’ Middle Eastern Club was founded to complete this purpose; it is open to everyone and strives to be a place for Middle Eastern students to practice different traditions and share them with their friends. From artistic henna to dabka dancing and potlucks, the club has been an enlightening place for all students to gather.

In efforts to introduce Mills students and staff to Arab culture, the Middle Eastern Club has held culture fests, sold regional foods at in-school food fairs, and performed in the Cultural Celebration Assembly. In November, the club co hosted a culture fest in collaboration with the FAA, exchanging different traditions with Filipino students. Students took a shot at dancing Filipino tinikling and dabka, a dance shared across many different ethnic groups in the Middle East. The word dabka means “stamping of the feet” in Levantine Arabic, the dance consists of linking hands and stepping to a pattern in a circle and is seen at all celebrations. Middle Eastern Club members brought popular Arab foods for others at the fest to try including falafel, hummus and kabsa and sweet basbousa for dessert. Sala Alawdi (11) made the kabsa and basbousa. “I really enjoy cooking, especially for other people. I made kabsa, a spiced rice and chicken dish because it’s one of my favorite dinners at home, I wanted everyone to try it.”Sharing food is a way to show respect and hospitality in Arab culture and the Middle Eastern Club has done so on many occasions. At the beginning of the year, the club held a potluck with a variety of different cultural foods, allowing everyone the chance to try something new. During school food fairs, the club has sold different types of shawarmas, which are meat wraps, and baklava, a sugary nut-based dessert.

At the cultural assembly on March 24th, students in the Middle Eastern Club performed dabka and showed off their traditional Arab thobes and keffiyehs. A thobe is a long dress worn by both men and women, women’s are covered in colorful embroidery while men’s are plain. Keffiyehs are scarves with checkered and netted patterns that are usually red and white or black and white and made of thin fabric perfect for fending off the Mediterranean sun. Palestinian club member, Nagham Masarweh (11) participated in the Cultural Celebration Assembly and presented the club in her black and red thobe. She shared, “I got this dress from the Middle East and I just thought this would be a good opportunity to wear it. I enjoy speaking about and showing off my culture, I feel like it’s something that needs to be done so other Arab students feel seen and supported.”

Jordanian student Andrea Rabahat (11) shared similar sentiments. She participated in the dabka performance at the Cultural Celebration Assembly and stated she also felt the need to do so in order to share the culture. “Dabka is just how we celebrate everything, there’s always music and dancing, and when your hands are linked with your friends and family it just feels very fun and sweet.”

Arabs are active participants in the Mills community, and from student-athletes to notable alumni, they have left legacies behind for future Arab students. The Mills’ Middle Eastern Club invites all students and staff to join in future club activities and have a taste of Arab food, dancing, and art.

The Thunderbolt

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Cast Spotlight:

Crew Spotlight

racing the stage, our cast of 30+ students have been rehearsing in and out of the auditorium and music room for the past 4 months. With vocal rehearsals mixed with choreography, the cast has adapted to their busy schedule this spring. As tech week rolls in, tensions run high as opening night comes closer and closer. The purpose of a theater’s Tech Week is to attempt a full run-through of the show as if an audience was watching.

Usually ending around 9:30 pm, Tech Week is tiring but rewarding. This allows the cast to familiarize themselves with the stage set and their scenes.

Adding costumes and makeup only increases the excitement. Taking a peek into the Green Room, our dressing room, you will see racks of labeled costumes, hair and makeup crates, and scripts scattered throughout the room.

On the first day, they eat dinner all together in preparation for the busy schedule ahead. At around 5pm, the cast members migrate to the Green Room to prepare to get mic-ed and dressed. With the curtain opening at 5:45, the cast follows a vocal warm-up led by music director, Mr. G. Then right before curtain, the dance captains conduct a quick physical warm-up.

The house lights dim, and tech week day 1 begins!

ehind the curtain, the stage crew has their own language to run the show. Prior to Tech Week, every Saturday morning they have been working in the theater. There are three aspects to a successful Stage Crew: Run, Lighting, and Sound/Mics Crew. Run Crew is in charge of moving the sets back and forth from the stage to the wings. Stage Left Assistant Stage Manager, Stage Right Assistant Stage Manager, and their respective Run Crew reside in the wings of the stage. Always ready to go on stage during blackouts, the uniform is all black, including shoes. Up in the Control Booth is where you will find the Stage Manager and Lighting Manager/Designer.

The Stage Manager will be in charge of calling all the cues that signal each crew member what to do. With show vocabulary like, “Standby,” and “Cue go,” the crew is well versed in the language. The Light Crew is in charge of the Console Board, blackouts, and all stage lighting. This preparation starts months before Tech Week, having to focus specific fixtures and slip color filters into lamps. Behind the last row of seats on the ground level, is the Sound Booth. The cast’s face mics are all controlled by the Sound Crew. In the case that something goes wrong, a Wrangler is backstage who is responsible for such mishaps. All these crew members communicate with Comm. Headsets to make the show as magical as possible.

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MATILDA By: Elaine Chan

General Spotlight:

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ome every spring, the Mills Drama Department is always buzzing with action. From the cast to the crew to the pit, the spring musical is a big production. The hard work and continuous rehearsals that go into a production begins far before opening night. Rewind to six months ago, our Thanksgiving break was the start of it all. With the announcement that Matilda was coming to the MHS stage, students rushed to sign up for auditions.

Each student has their respective audition preparations like practicing a British accent, and after a monologue or two, the audition process is complete. The director, Mr. Hudelson alongside the music director, Mr. G makes the casting calls. The cast list is pinned to the wall and Matilda begins to come to life. January marks the beginning of dance rehearsals with choreographer, Mr. Gary Stanford Jr. and the production prep is now in full swing.

Behind the scenes, our student-run stage crew is setting their work in motion. Mr. Johnson, the set director, guides them through the process of spiking sets on stage and focusing light fixtures. Saturdays over the course of these past few months have been reserved for Set Build. Desks and chairs have been built by hand are vital to the energized prop choreography and the crew has been dedicated to polishing off the interactive set.

Truly animated, this show, along with quick choreography and witty dialogue, the music for Matilda is magical and nostalgic. Bringing the audience a youthful burst of energy, the talented students from the Mills Music Department are playing the soundtrack live from the auditorium pit. Opening on Friday, April 21st at 7pm, MHS’s Matilda is the result of everyone’s hard work and sincere dedication.

Pit Spotlight: P

laying the Matilda soundtrack live, the talented Mills Music students have been practicing with Mr. G. In late February, the pit ensemble shows up at their first rehearsal. After being introduced to the music, Mr. G discusses the minor theories and themes of the show. The emotional tone of the song translates through the emotion with which each musician plays.

The pit ensemble has focused regularly on capturing the feeling they want to evoke from the audience. “Some songs are happy, mysterious, and sometimes we have to play opposing emotions,” states Kameron Fung (10).

Practicing at home and at school has begun to shape the show. “Sometimes rehearsals get intense, like trying to sync everyone on the exact same beat,” states Fung. Tech Week is when they get to witness the fruits of their hard work. It is essentially one full week of nonstop rehearsal in order to play alongside the cast and crew.

Costume and Set Spotlight: M

atilda’s set design is very nostalgic and reminiscent of our elementary school days. Mr. Johnson alongside the crew have been building school desks from scratch for big numbers like “Bruce” and “Revolting Children”.

Clever uses of projections and off stage tricks create the magic of Matilda.

Of course, the iconic setting in England heavily influenced the costume vision. These desks are used for big numbers like “Bruce” and “Revolting Children,” and they add a sense of authenticity and nostalgia to the production. The attention to detail that has gone into creating these desks is truly impressive, and they are just one example of the many clever touches that make Matilda such a joy to watch. Another key element of the set design is the use of projections and off stage tricks to create the magic of Matilda.

From the clever use of lighting to the intricate stage effects, everything has been designed to transport the audience into the world of the story. This attention to detail is evident throughout the production, The team behind the production has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of the design, and it shows in every detail.

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AP Testing &

The Thunderbolt

By Jamie Wong, Staff Writer

Mental Health As May approaches, many students anxiously await the

end of the school year. However, one more challenge lies ahead for most juniors and seniors: AP tests. While AP tests are optional, the vast majority of students pay the $100 price tag to take each test, seeing the tests as a way to potentially enhance their college resumes, but also assuming the stress that inevitably comes with preparing for the exams. Most students take multiple AP classes, and thus multiple AP tests each year, with some taking as many as three or four tests in one school year.

However, the main stressor for students is knowing that the minimum passing score of a 3 is not very impressive to admissions officers, pressuring them to get at least a 4 on each exam. In short, students feel the need to perform well on multiple AP exams to stay competitive in the college admissions process.

A number of other factors contribute to student stress during the AP testing season. In most AP classes, teachers will schedule finals before AP exams take place in early May. Though AP finals are usually practice AP exams meant to prepare students for the real test, they can still increase pressure on students. AP students know that the real exam won’t impact their grade, but finals will.

Additionally, Mills students went without their teachers for much of the year in two infamously content-heavy courses: AP Biology and AP US History. When you also consider the fatigue that comes at the end of every school year, it isn’t hard to see why AP tests are so stressful for students.

While no big exam will ever be stress-free, there are ways to prepare for AP exams while keeping stress at manageable levels. For example, to reduce the stress caused by cramming, try making a study schedule. AP Classroom breaks all AP courses into different units with review videos and practice problems for each concept within the unit. It might be too late to try this

method this year, but for students who are planning on taking an AP exam next year, it’s worth a try, especially for more content heavy courses. Other resources to consider are AP prep books, such as the Barron’s AP test prep series, and released AP tests from previous years.

There are also a few things that students should keep in mind before taking their tests which are often forgotten or overlooked, one being that AP scores are not everything. Ultimately, your grades are more important than your AP scores. If you perform poorly on an AP exam, you do not need to report your score to colleges. Colleges generally allow students to choose which scores they would like to send, meaning that no school will ever have to see your 2 in AP Chemistry. Also, many, though not all, colleges will award credit for scores as low as a 3.

If that doesn’t put your worries to rest, know that earning a 5 on an AP exam is generally much easier than getting an A on a normal test. For the AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB exams, answering about 70% of the questions correctly will allow a student to earn a 5. Nevertheless, some AP exams are exceptionally difficult, with some exams having more failing scores than passing scores.

For instance, in 2022, 51.8% of students who took the AP US History exam failed. Only 10.8% earned a 5 on the exam. While these statistics may seem alarming, they demonstrate the regularity with which students earn less than a 5 or even a 4 on certain AP tests – in other words, there is nothing to be ashamed about if you don’t end up scoring as well as you expected. AP exams can feel like a big deal while in high school, but in the long run, they won’t be of much significance. In the meantime, take steps to manage your stress during the testing season can be one of the best ways to prepare for an AP exam.

The Benefits of

The Thunderbolt

Going to

Therapy

By Michael Lin, Staff Writer

Find more resources on the back of your Student ID! Suicide Prevention Phone Number: 1-800 273-8255, or 988 Crisis Text Line text home to 741741 Star Vista Crisis Hotline 1-650-579-0350 Anonymous Alert https://www. anonymousalerts. com/SANMATEOUHSD/

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ccording to the CDC, approximately 47.2% of adults received some form of mental health treatment since 2021. For children aged 12 to 17, that number is 16%. Mental health is an insidious condition that affects approximately 57 million individuals in the USA. At Mills, approximately 18 students visit a wellness counselor in a week. In my opinion, therapy is a welcoming and rewarding treatment that helps students resolve burdens without the pressuring gaze of judgment.

The idea of modern therapy was introduced by Sigmund Freud, and even existed back in ancient Greece, but it has since evolved. Nowadays, many other approaches seek to alleviate mental illnesses. Two therapy styles that can greatly benefit the students at Mills High School are behavioral therapy and humanistic therapy. Behavioral therapy aims at changing people’s behavior. It can also teach coping behaviors and mechanisms that teens can use to overcome stressful situations. Humanistic therapy aims at providing students with a sense of wholeness, which can be helpful for students who are suffering from depression.

Be it a problem with yourself or amongst peers and families, there is an abundance of options to choose from. The Peninsula Healthcare District provides free services for all teens in the San Mateo county. One such place is Allcove, a space for youth to find community, support, advice or even just a moment of pause. Allcove provides mental health support for youths aged 12-25. Located in Palo Alto, the center offers the support of mental health specialists.

The San Mateo Samaritan House also provides assistance with mental health to need-based individuals. The Star Vista Counseling Center located in San Mateo is a closer alternative that provides counseling, case, management, skill development, and crisis prevention programs.

A senior student at Mills High School, Alex Malagon (12) expressed the importance of seeking psychological help: “Yeah, I do think people should go to therapy. I feel like it’s good and beneficial, because you can’t rely or handle your emotions alone. It’s harmful for people to suppress their emotions, and I feel like it’s good to be able to reach out to the people you trust like a therapist. I’ve been to therapy and it’s changed me for the better.” The road to making progress in mental wellbeing is a long journey that requires patience and dedication. An individual from Mills High School who wishes to remain anonymous added, “Well, I would only recommend going to the wellness counselor if you are visiting multiple times, because one time won’t do anything.”

However, not everyone finds therapy necessary: “I was talking to a friend who has a lot of mental issues, and she says we don’t want help and that’s the problem with therapy.

Therapy only works when people truly want it to, but a lot of people are forced to do it.”

Another anonymous remarked on a complicated situation which indeed plagued individuals, comparing the mind to an insidious cage that traps its host, or a raging ocean that drowns the outcries for help. Not everyone feels the need to share their problems with others, but if it could not be resolved alone, the door for professional intervention is always open. “The wellness room is a place for students to take a break for a bit, we’d suggest checking in with a therapist when you need more tools, and when you struggle, that’s where we could help.” says Laura Hahn, one of Mills High School’s wellness counselors who is available to provide students safe, and confidential help from Mondays to Fridays.

As we approach the end of another school year, stress undoubtedly lingers among the student body. Keep in mind that you’re not alone. If you are ever in need of help, or just seek a pair of listening ears free from judgment, make an appointment with the Mills Wellness team on the Mills High School website.

TikTok-ing our time

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makes it easier for people to get carried away and end up watching for hours. It’s hard to notice how much time is going by when you’re only watching minute long videos.

TikTok is not without its detractors. One big criticism is that, as stated before, the app’s short format often causes people to lose track of time; and on top of that, consuming only short videos for a long period of time can easily cause people’s attention spans to shorten. In other words, when students get used to receiving a lot of information in only a couple of seconds during school, it becomes much harder for them to then focus on something for a longer period of time. This is bad because with most classes being an hour and thirty minutes, students are finding it more and more difficult to pay attention.

In addition, much like other social media apps, Tiktok also contributes to increased levels of insecurity in teens. The most popular users on TikTok are teenagers, usually 1419 years old. This also happens to be the time when young people are most impressionable. Many videos on the app are “get ready with me’s” or thirst traps.

Seeing people online have such interesting lives and movie star looks can oftentimes have a negative impact on young impressional students since they watch these videos and measure themselves and their lives against them, and more often than not, decide that their lives, looks, or relationships are lacking in some way.

However, TikTok isn’t the only app that has this impact on students, but with its increasing popularity, more and more kids are being affected by it at faster rates. Many users turn to it for comfort or just as a way to keep up with current events, so expecting students to delete it all together is unrealistic. Instead, putting a time limit or simply finding other ways to be entertained are ways to help limit the use of TikTok.

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n 2019, the lip-syncing app Musical.ly died and was replaced with the app we know and love, TikTok; but is it love we feel, or obsession? When the app first launched, people were captivated by its short format and well-designed algorithm. It was seen as a place for people to express themselves and their opinions while also being entertained during the pandemic. Now, in 2023, the app is still extremely popular with students all over Mills using it all the time, but has this extensive use of the app had a negative impact on students and their overall mental health?

The app is designed to be fast-paced and attention grabbing, causing users to stay on it longer. “Now that I have a lot of free time, I find myself turning to my phone and using TikTok because there just isn’t anything else to do,” a junior with an average of 40 hours a week on the app comments. This student’s struggles are not a unique experience; students all over Mills turn to their phones and Tik Tok as a way to pass the time. When they go home, it’s easier to relax with fun videos rather than immediately do homework. Students are always on their phones between classes, during lunch and brunch, and even during their classes.

The excessive time spent on the app can cause a plethora of problems in students. Many studies have shown that using TikTok for multiple hours straight caused students and users in general to have shorter attention spans and just have trouble focusing all together. Students who use the app a lot commented on how that because they used the app so much they now have trouble staying engaged in school.

So what is so appealing about the app? The app’s algorithm is one of the reasons for the app’s popularity. One thing many people are quick to point out is that Tiktok’s algorithm is very good at showing users what they want to see; it is always updating based on user data and, because of this, every “for-you page” is perfectly catered to the enjoyer. Many users are also drawn to the app because of the versatility it offers. From simple dancing videos to small businesses, so many different categories of content are being promoted to viewers. Any interest a user could conceivably have is most likely a subcategory on the app. It’s this diversity that gets people to stay on it for long periods of time.

Not only are there millions of different types of content, but the rate at which the content is shown is also considerably faster than competing apps such as YouTube. TikTok is known for its short format; the vast majority of videos being no longer than three minutes. The short length

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O P I N I

Should Mills High School Have a Prom King and Queen?

Rachel Cheng, Staff Writer In many cliché high school movies, there’s typically a scene where the main character battles with the popular girl for the role of prom queen. Take the iconic scene from Mean Girls, where Cady wins prom queen, then tears up the tiara and hands pieces out to the crowd as a way of dismantling their high school social hierarchy. This tradition of having a prom queen or king is often a popularized concept within the media, such as in movies, books, shows, etc. In this tradition, students usually vote for their peer of choice to nominate them, and nominees will often have campaigns and posters to rally votes for themselves. Most of the time, votes cast by student peers are often based on factors such as popularity, personality, and looks, and essentially acts as a popularity contest amongst students. However, contrary to the high school movie cliché, the student body of Mills High School does not participate in this tradition. This contradicts the common perception of what prom is supposed to be, and gives rise to the question: Should Mills High School bring back the tradition of prom king and queen? Prom court is a widely known western concept and is considered, by some, to be an essential part of prom tradition.

However, many students believe that this practice is damaging to the self esteem of student participants, as instead of enjoying themselves at prom, students are concerned about “winning” the competition and are pit against each other as competitors rather than fellow classmates. In addition, prom court is often exclusive against minority groups and portrays a disregard towards the LGBTQ+ community, since it is a heteronormative tradition that only allows for one queen and one king.

While the winners of prom court may feel accomplished and appreciated by their peers, students who are not voted will feel shameful and disappointed. Their anxiety and stress concerning prom court will cause them to spend their time worrying about a social “ranking” rather than enjoying themselves at what could be their last high school dance of their lives. This exclusive high school tradition induces a sense of hostility amongst students, as each peer is now competing with each other to win over other students’ votes and support.

Contrary to the beliefs of many students, others think that the idea of prom court would be an interesting concept to see, since the students of Mills High School have never seen it happen before at any previous dances. Senior Magdalene Ko believes that prom court could add an extra layer of fun to prom, and it gives students a chance to Many Mills students are unsure about the idea, as they are curious and eager to see it happen, but would not want the event to induce hostility and competition amongst their peers. Senior Erika Kita remarks, “I’ve never seen a prom court throughout my high school experience, so I think it would be interesting to see one, but adding stress and shame to a dance that is supposed to be lighthearted and fun is unnecessary”.

Erika, along with many others, argues that prom is already stressful enough with many factors to worry about, such as getting dresses or suits, ordering corsages and boutonnières, finding shoes, researching picture locations, organizing rides, and much more. Adding the pressure of winning prom king or queen would only add to the preexisting stress that students deal with leading up to prom. The tradition of prom court, though iconic and interesting, would ultimately pose as another stress factor and would cause student body hostility if implemented in Mills’ proms.

O N S

Are Promposals Unnecessarily Stressfull For All? Riley Alcantara, Staff Writer Promposals are creative and fun ways of asking your potential date to your next school dance. But, are these huge gestures forcing too much pressure on students to say yes?

Many students recall agreeing to be someone’s prom date solely because they felt pressured. Should the promposal trend be reevaluated to acknowledge the peer pressure that these promposals bring? Sure, some promposals can be thoughtful, charming, and heartwarming. They can teach teens to take healthy risks and express their romantic side. But, as with anything, it’s all about intention.

“As promposals have become more elaborate and public, so, too, does the potential for increased humiliation and social pressure,” said Jarrod Chin, director of training and curriculum of Northern Eastern Sport in Society, a nationwide youth mentoring program. “As promposal clips go viral, more and more young people think that you need to create these elaborate schemes to ask someone to prom and the reality is that it should be just a fun event for young people to dance and celebrate.”

From an awkward phone call or hallway conversation school’s have transitioned into much more public and intense proposals. For some people, not getting a promposal would be their worst fear. On the other hand, thinking of the pressure behind being asked to prom in public can be overwhelming to others. Which is when students may agree to go only to not seem “stuck up”. Articles have stated that more teens who identify as women nationwide wish for a chance to decide who they would like to go to prom with rather than saying yes to avoid public rejection and humiliation. Desai, freshmen of the University of Pennsylvania claims “Turning him down marks her as a ‘huge bitch,’ a label she doesn’t deserve in any way.

Yes, rejecting him will hurt his feelings, but doesn’t every girl deserve the chance to make the decision that she wants to make?”. Many more examples relating to this topic can be read in the “‘Promposal’ pressure is intense for teens” article with CNN. Rejection would also mean turning down someone on camera. Interviewees explain that they feel more obligated to cater to someone’s feelings when they notice they are being recorded on camera.

The fear of being rejected can also cause high amounts of stress on one person. The public defeat can be emotionally damaging to all teens that have spent time and effort into their promposal. Interviewee Julian Ikemoto, senior from Mills highschool explains “I prefer not to attract that much attention when asking someone to prom because it is unneeded stress and bothers the person asking and being asked”. Many other students have backed his claim by saying asking someone privately can come off more genuine. As compared to a grand gesture that would potentially be posted on social media for even more attention.

Through these examples and analysis, it can be said the pressure hidden behind promposals can be damaging. Large numbers of students every year either have to attend their prom unsatisfied with their date or deal with surge amounts of embarrassment from rejection. A much more sincere and safe option of asking someone to prom would be to ask in private.

Privacy would allow students to have a safe space to decide whether or not they would want to go to prom with the person asking. Even if the person asking did not hear the answer they hoped for, they would at least be able to go home without feeling humiliated.

9

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0/#("(1%2(34"%2$&(5*##"2/6" A fter 2 years of long waiting, the field has finally been constructed, with many new baseball, softball, and tennis facilities opening up for the use of Mills athletes. The highlight of these facilities is without a doubt the new baseball field. Compared to the old grass field which was usually unkept and downtrodden, the new turf field is much more well kept, with the overall field being more modern and easier to play on.

The new field that opened on Thursday March 16 has gotten a positive response by the Mills varsity baseball team, as stated by Nicolas Andalon (12). Andalon is a member of the baseball team with their current record being 4-8. He plays outfielder and second baseman, and is really enjoying his last senior season of baseball.

He explained that “the cleats have a much better grip on the turf field compared to the dirt field.”

Now that the team has had a month of practice on the new field, it is fairly conclusive among the players that the turf field is much better to play on than the old grass field. However, the team still utilizes the old field in order to prepare for away games against teams with dirt fields, utilizing the versatility of new resources at Mills to practice for a wide variety of scenarios. The only problem with the new field is that the sun will shine in front of the outfielders faces, making it fairly difficult to catch fly balls. This can lead to many game changing mistakes that would otherwise not happen if the

By eduardo Galindo, Staff Writer

BATTER: Kaden Hary (12) prepares to bat at game against Woodside Priory.

field were facing a different direction. Andalon recounted dropping a high ball he couldn’t see at all. However, even with this drastic setback, many players would rather play on the turf with the bad angle from the sunlight than with the old grass field with the glare not being a factor.

One of the players on the team, Justin Kang (12), is the star player in our baseball team.

Kang has already scored two home runs for the team this season. Kang is making a serious comeback this baseball season, as he fractured his thumb playing football in the fall. He was Mills’ top choice for quarterback this year, with this injury leading him to sit out for most of the football season. However, since he has healed now, he has been able to jump right back into athletics, and lead Mills’ baseball team into its current place. This is a very impressive feat, as jumping back into any sport and showing dominance is hard to do after being sidelined from an injury.

The upcoming games for the baseball team will be up against two other teams before the end of the month. The games will be against El Camino High on the 25th and 27th of April, Terra Nova on the 2nd and 4th of May, and Menlo on the 9th and 11th of May. The team is looking to win their games against Terra Nova, as that is who they will be playing during their senior night. For many senior athletes, this night marks the high point of their season, hoping to carry with them fond memories into college.

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By Brendan Phimsoutham, Staff Writer

W hen people think of star athletes, they often ask how young they were when they entered the sport. William Wallz’s background in swimming shows his long-term dedication. He started to swim when he was just 5 years old.

He got really good by the age of 12, which is when he started swimming competitively. At the age of 12, he was #1 in the US in the 100m free event.

He originally went to Burlingame High School for his freshman and sophomore year, and recently transferred to Mills High School as a junior. Some students and community members wondered if he transferred because of swimming purposes, but that was not the case. He transferred because he lives in Millbrae, and he has many friends already attending Mills.

Even though he’s a Mills student now, he currently swims for a club in Burlingame. When he transferred to Mills, he was not allowed to swim the first half of the meets due to a district rule regarding recruitment. But that didn’t stop him, and since then he has competed in several meets since the halfway ban expired. Wallz’s main events featured were the 200 IM and the 500 free, although he has shown great talent on all the events. He also volunteers a helping hand to fill in for members during competition wherever the team needs help.

He practices around 20 hours per week, sometimes even having two practices a day. He also competes in club meets once a month. One reason Wallz likes Mills better than BHS is the environment, as well as his former friends.

For college, he has been receiving recruiting interest from a number of prestigious schools, such as Brown University, Dartmouth, Cornell University, Boston College, New York University, UC Santa Barbara, and UC San Diego.

Taking a look at the Mills swim season as a whole, the boys varsity swimming team has only lost one meet, and the boys JV team is currently undefeated. Their senior night was supposed to be held on April 14, but the meet was canceled, so it was postponed to Tuesday, April 18. The team captains are Gabriel Ng Solano and Aaron Ngo, both seniors who will unfortunately be living Mills the following year.

Solano states that the team is doing really well this year, with the addition of Wallz having a tremendous effect on the team. Solano has swam with Wallz in the past in club swimming, and is really glad to be able to swim on the same team as him again. Overall, emotions are high as the season is coming to an end, as seniors are leaving a big gap for the underclassmen to fill.

PHOTO CREDITS: Baseball, Kennedy Bauer (12) * Track & swim, Kelly Hensley * Volleyball, Phoebe Zhang (1

By Bruce nie, Staff Writer

W ith April coming to its end, Mills’ 2023 Spring Sports seasons nears their conclusions. Historically, Mills has seen its most success in its Spring Sports, more specifically in

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Badminton and Track & Field. However last year, Mills’ Boys volleyball team had a historic 0) (1 campaign, going 8-0 in league and making CCS. Unfortunately, this 2022 CCS run was cut short in the first round to Mount Madonna, and the team’s future was looking uncertain. Nine out of the twelve from last year’s varsity team were seniors, with the only returning players being libero Andrew Zhang (12), pin hitter Bruce Nie (12), and serving specialist Justin Li (12).

As a result of the huge loss of numbers in the Boys varsity volleyball team, Mills’ 2023 volleyball program could only take on one team, with 15 people making the varsity team. This team was filled with not only last year’s JV members, but also an influx of freshmen who have played club volleyball. Not only that, the 2021 Boys volleyball MVP, Tristan Endo (12), was also rejoining the team after a year spent swimming for Mills’ Swim team. Coach Nilo was also returning for his third year as head coach to make one last playoff push for Mills before retiring at the end of the season, so stakes were high entering the season.

However, expectations going into the 2023 season were honestly pretty low, uncertain about how much talent such a newly formed and young team can really have. Even worse, during the second open (12) o gym for Boys volleyball, Justin Li unfortunately tore his ACL. Losing nL left to riGht: Tristan Endo (12), Gabe Wolfgang (11) one of four players that had any varsity volleyball experience only seemed to make the season look even bleaker, but there were a lot of bright spots.

The previous season’s JV team looked like they had improved a lot, many also joining clubs during the fall season for more training and reps. And most surprisingly, the five incoming freshmen who made Varsity were incredibly talented for their age and short time playing volleyball, with Jalen Zhu (9), Collin Chen (9), Jayden Jiang (9), and Ian Lin (9) all playing big roles throughout the season.

Now with only three more games left in the season, Mills’ 2023 ) Boys volleyball season is going better than anyone could have antici (10 las ipated. With an overall record of 14-6 and a league record 6-0, the a Kh 2023 Boys Volleyball season even has a higher winning percentage than last year’s 18-15 record. Even playing against SF teams, something Mills struggled with last season. The 2023 Boys volleyball team was able to either make the games competitive or even win some, really showcasing the amount of talent this roster truly has. Many would even say this roster is more talented than the previous year’s. However, the 2023 Boys volleyball team does have many shortcomings, mostly on the mental side of the game from the young age and lack of experience on the team. A lot of games lost were really close, losing in the final set when they could’ve been closed out earlier with a left to riGht: Justing Garcia (11), Noah Ung (10) greater focus on winning and closing games out. Coach Nilo has been trying to instill this winning mentality into the team but so far it hasn’t really been sticking yet. However, to truly make a deep playoff push in CCS this season, this is one of the 2), Antonio S io (1 acc h c biggest obstacles for the 2023 team to overcome. o( er s i 12 So far, the 2023 Boys volleyball season has shocked evP ) h eryone. Entering the season with a lot of uncertainty of the talent level of the team to currently having a better record than last year’s historic season, the 2023 Boys Volleyball team has worked incredibly hard to make Coach Nilo’s last season at Mills a great one. Freshman like Zhu and Lin really stepped up throughout this season to help the team win, both playing extremely well as outside hitter and setter respectively. Last year’s JV players such as Gabe Wolfgang (11) also improved at an unprecedented level and is undisputedly the best middle to play for Mills, ever. The returning seniors, even beside their on court play, provide the team with veteran leadership and experience in an otherwise inexperienced roster. Overall, the 2023 Boys volleyball season has gone better than anyone ensley (11), Lucas could have imagined and now it’s time to wish them ki H De u z a Pa K luck for a serious playoff push. Go Vikings! left to riGht: Andrew Zhang (12), Tristan Endo (12) u ), h

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By Erika Kita, Staff writer

ifestyle content youtuber, and photographer Phoebe Zhang who is a senior at Mills High School has made herself known throughout the Mills community. Zhang creates content about her interests such as volleyball, school events, photography, and anything that happens in her life. “It feels like a video diary for me and even if the events in my life are big or small, I like to look back on it and rewatch the moments in my life,” she states. Zhang is also a photographer and takes pictures of school events such as the dances, rallies, volleyball games, concerts, and so on. Recently, her channel has been taking a small break, but she will start posting more content once prom starts. The video she is most likely going to post next is a “Get Ready With Me for Prom”. Her photography content is also going to rise once prom and graduation starts. She has done two official paid gigs for photography in the past and is planning to do more gigs in the future.

Her favorite videos to make are the ones with friends since she likes to film the fun times she has with them. “Looking back at them is the best part where I can see myself improve and it motivates me to keep creating content.” Throughout her working on her YouTube videos, she finds the videos of her talking by herself the most awkward to look back on, but ultimately motivates her to work harder.

One of her biggest milestones throughout her YouTube journey was going through the entire process of a Vlog-mas. In a Vlog-mas, it essentially consists of one video per day for 25 days of December until it is Christmas. This time-consuming and gruesome work took a lot of her day to create videos daily and made it difficult to do while also completing school and other activities. Zhang states that, “the hardest part of the Vlog-mas series was trying not to repeat content and make a boring day look interesting for the viewers. Making everything entertaining was one thing but recording and editing all in one day just to do it again the next day was very difficult.” Slacking off was not an option for her, and she says that “the creative juices” will just flow as you get into the cycle of making new videos.

Not only does Zhang love making videos for her YouTube channel, but she gains inspiration from watching other content creators as well. Her favorite YouTubers to watch are Nicole Laeno, who also does school vlogs but also dances, Emily Paulichi, who does lifestyle vlogs, Sara Joy, who posts lifestyle and fashion vlogs, and Caroline Manning, who gives advice about life and also get ready with me videos. She likes to watch these YouTubers and calls them her “comfort youtubers” to watch and relax just like any other viewer. She finds inspiration for her photography work as well. Her favorite photographer is Brandon Woelfel who is based in New York City. He is also a Youtuber and content creator who makes videos and tutorials on how to improve one’s photography. Zhang has made herself known as a future influencer and she hopes her channel will continue to thrive. She is passionate about doing YouTube as a hobby and she hopes that people will continue to support her channel.

NEW what can we expect of

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

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podcast episode Listen to our newest Thunderbolt Records episode, where we chat about up and coming movies!

ith the release of a new trailer, the Spider-Man Across: the Spider-Verse movie countdown becomes closer and closer. The highly anticipated movie will broadcast in theaters on June 2, 2023. The movie will also sequel the award-winning animated film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In 2018, Columbia Pictures and Sony Animation Studios released Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a computer animated superhero hero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales. It was the first animated Spider-Man franchise film and instantly saw huge success saleswise and critically. It towered over its $90 million dollar budget, hitting a gross income of $384.3 million dollars worldwide. Also, its Rotten Tomatoes score of 97% made it one of the top rated movies for both studios.

The first movie focused on our protagonist Miles Morales, who was bitten by a radioactive spider, struggling to live up to the expectations of his father. The story features multiple versions of Spider-Man, each from different multiverses. Miles struggles with his new identity and responsibilities until he meets Peter Parker. Throughout the movie, Parker mentors Miles as they both embark on an intricate journey of self-reflection and how to live up to the expectations as Spiderman. As Miles gains a strong sense for his newfound powers, the most notable scene in the movie is when he jumps off the building indicating his “leap of faith”. From then on, Miles becomes increasingly comfortable with his powers and ultimately collaborates with Spider-Gwen and the other versions of Spider-Man to stop the villain, Kingpin, and his goal to open up new dimensions to get his family back.

By Kyle Wong, Staff Writer Based on the trailers for the second movie, it seems that the film will not disappoint with the stellar animation style and quality. Similar to the first movie, the sequel incorporates a slew of new rendering techniques mixed in with hand-drawn elements. With the vast and complex array of distinctive Spider-Mans, fans can expect many diverse art styles blended into the film. The movie can be seen as an action-packed and comical film based on the clips chosen into the trailer. From the earliest trailer released back in December 2021, Miles is shown receiving guidance from his mother, which is nice to see as he needed advice from his father in the first movie. There is also a defined relationship between Miles and Gwen Stacy, who often travel together to different dimensions. Based on the second trailer, there is an introduction to the presumed main villain of the movie, The Spot. However, it quickly jumps into the multiverse, where the Spider-Mans from different verses meetup. Notable characters include Migule O’Hara (Spiderman 2099), Spider-Woman, and the Amazing Spider-Monkey. Watchers can see another battle unfold, one that is between the different Spider-Mans. It will probably include two factions, each representing different ideals for the responsibility of being Spider-Man. Although it is not clear what pits Miles against Miguel, it looks like it will be a devastating battle for the heroes across the Spider-verse. There will likely be a Spider-Man that meets their doom from the consequences of the bloodshed. Within the character of Miles Morales, the film illustrates the transitions from self-discovery and upholding your ideals to dealing with pain and conflicts.