MV Viewer 2023-24 Issue 5

The Viewer Volume 71

Issue 5

January 24, 2023

Website: mvviewer.org

Instagram: @mvviewer

THE DARK SIDE OF

LOOKSMAXXING

News 02

MV district sees curriculum changes

Features 04 Prince of Peace Church combats chronic homelessness

Good Question 09

Arts & Entertainment 10

Sports 11

Why are fewer people attending college?

‘Wonka’ review

MVGBB and the “ALL 1N” fund

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NEWS

THE VIEWER • MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

MN schools see curriculum changes The Minnesota Department of Education implemented new standards, including personal finance and earth and space benchmarks, which will take effect next school year.

| Matthew Betti STAFF REPORTER he 2023 Minnesota legislative session has brought several new revisions to K-12 education.

These changes aim to give students the skills they need to succeed in the workforce by implementing new educational approaches and shifting course requirements to better suit the needs of students.

Mounds View will see these changes implemented as soon as next year as the ninthgrade physical science requirement is replaced with Earth Science and a personal finance requirement is implemented for the class of 2028 and beyond.

Earth Science, originally an eighth-grade requirement, is being swapped with physical science to become the primary ninth-grade science class. The course was added to high school to promote “cross-cutting relationships,” or connecting the core sciences. “[These changes] tie biology and chemistry and physics and earth science together and make those things more evident for students in their learning process,” said

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PHILLIP SCHUT reviews the concept of risk pooling with his third hour class.

Donna Andren, science teacher.

Science teachers Patrick Crawford and Andren will assume the roles of earth science teachers next year. With that responsibility, they have started to make the new earth science curriculum for next year. Although the state has guidelines for what teachers must teach, the teachers decide how to deliver that material. “[There are] networks of teachers sharing information

and how to design the curriculum, so we’re not designing in a vacuum,” said Andren.

Minnesota has also introduced a massive change for social studies — starting next year, Personal Finance will become a graduation requirement for incoming freshmen and beyond. By mandating personal finance education, Minnesota has joined a growing number of states that have made per-

PHOTO | Michael Wang

sonal finance classes a requirement. In 2015, only five states required students to take a semester-long course in personal finance. In 2024, Minnesota joined 19 other states who have initiated a requirement since.

These changes were implemented to address growing concerns over financial literacy.

A study by Ramsey Education found that 88% of U.S adults believed that high school didn’t

teach them how to handle money properly and 72% percent of them wished that a personal finance program was provided.

According to Phillip Schut, personal finance teacher, trends like credit card and student loan debt are extensive in America.

“Tons of people [have] no retirement savings in their 50s.

That’s an issue,” said Schut.

The personal finance programs aim to address these problems by providing engaging financial literacy lessons and recruiting guest speakers to share more about personal finance.

Further logistics in implementing these changes come from the district level, and Mounds View administration is currently unsure of how many personal finance classes will be taught and who will teach those courses. Associate Principal Gretchen Zahn expects more specifics from the district in the coming months.

New Minnesota laws go into effect Earned sick and safe time

| Christina Lang-Deetz STAFF REPORTER ne notable addition to the new Minnesota state laws that went into effect on Jan. 1 is earned sick and safe time (ESST). This entails paid leave that employers are mandated to provide their employees. To qualify for sick and safe time, individuals must have worked at least 80 hours in a year for a Minnesota employer and not be an independent contractor.

The legislation was enacted based on state reports indicating that individuals with paid sick leave tend to utilize healthcare less. Additionally, their children are likely to do better academically, and they tend to recover faster by attending preventative healthcare appointments. According to state reports, this will impact about 932,000 workers in Minnesota who did not pre-

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Gun safety

After four years of advocating by DFL legislators, a scaled-down gun safety package was included in the public safety and judiciary omnibus bill. The provisions permit family members or law enforcement to request “extreme

viously have access to paid sick leave.

An employee can now earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with a maximum accumulation of 48 hours, unless the employer agrees to a higher number. During sick and safe time, employees must receive the same hourly wage they receive during a regular workday.

For employees of the Mounds View District, these are relatively minor changes.

“In most cases, for employees who already earn time off, the amount of time off that the district provides is greater than required under the law,” said Julie Coffey, executive director of human resources. “In those cases, the only change for employees is the reasons for which they can use ESST and the eligible family members to which it can be applied.” Additionally,

risk protection orders,” which allow judges to temporarily restrict firearm access for up to one year if the individual is deemed a risk. Additionally, background checks are extended to certain private gun transfers.

hourly employees who previously did not earn time off will now receive one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.

While some employers may require advance notice to use safe and sick time, the process for requesting paid leave varies by employer. The employer also may require reasonable documentation if an employee uses more than three days of sick leave. Importantly, employers cannot compel employees on leave to find their own replacement.

Despite many employers already offering paid sick leave, the new sick and safe time law also includes circumstances related to employee safety. Reasons one could take sick and safe time include the employee’s or family member’s mental or physical illness and treatment, absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault

PHOTO VIA Wikimedia Commons

THE MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL hosted the 2023 legislative session.

or stalking, closure of the employee’s workplace or closure of a family member’s school or care facility.

Over the last few months, the district’s Human Resources Department has had to work around the changes. “The biggest challenge right now is that the law requires that time off be allocated and used in hours,”

Menstrual products Schools in Minnesota are now required to provide free menstrual products for students from grades four and up. Students around Minnesota have been pushing for this change for many years.

For example last summer,

some students from South St. Paul High School worked with a nonprofit to get dispensers for period products in the bathrooms at their school.

Now, it has become a requirement for schools across the state.

said Coffey. “Many of our employees received time off in days versus hours so we’ve had to change our time-off system to hours.”

Employers are obligated to include the available sick and safe hours on employees’ earning statements at the end of each pay period.

License plates License plates styled after the state’s six major league sports teams are now available: Vikings, Wild, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx and United.

A portion of the fees paid will go towards each team’s charitable foun-

dations. Other specialty plates are available for Lions Club International as well as Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives with proceeds going to those causes.

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2024 • WWW.MVVIEWER.ORG

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Sharenting is putting kids at risk Some parents are exploiting their children on social media as a means of financial gain.

| Isabel Li SPREAD & ONLINE EDITOR istorically, parents have documented and shared information about their children using scrapbooks, logs and photo albums. However, the rise of social media has introduced a new style of preserving memories: sharenting. Defined as the practice of sharing kids on social media, sharenting includes posting content about a child’s accomplishments, activities or day-to-day life. While sharenting allows parents to stay connected with relatives or join a community of other parents, it quickly becomes problematic when parents post excessively from advocating for them— or even worse — exploit selves, which can have life-long their child for financial gain. consequences.

Parents should not post Such practices are most their child if the child commonly seen in famfeels uncomfortable ily vlogging channels, with them doing so. A where parents docu2021 survey from Sement their family’s curity.org found that lives daily. These vidonly 24% of parents eos range from vlogasked their children for ging mundane activipermission every time ties — such as grocery before posting them shopping — to more on social media, while Isabel Li extreme and personal 29% never asked. In adfamily matters — such as givdition, 32% of parents still posting birth, going “bra shopping” ed their child even when the or showing a child crying and child denied them permission. being disciplined on camera.

The blatant disregard for these Parents also often feature children’s feelings violates their their children in dramatic or trust and discourages children revealing poses for the vlogs’

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“Additionally, the unending culture war is fueling a surge of misinformation about education...”

ILLUSTRATION | Charlotte Krum

thumbnails. For example, the LaBrant Family — a controversial vlogging channel with 13 million subscribers — posted a video in 2018 titled “OUR FIRST PET DIED :(” with a thumbnail of their six year old crying in her mother’s arms.

Unsurprisingly, the video garnered over 33 million views.

This popularity sends a clear but problematic message: pulling out a camera when your child is upset, instead of tending to your child’s needs like a supportive parent, will guarantee financial success.

Children lack the awareness of being constantly filmed or the ability to speak up when they do not want to be shown

on camera. Unlike Hollywood child actors, whose working hours and earnings are protected by the Coogan Law, children of vlogging families currently have no rights to protect them.

This is unsurprising because of the novelty of the digital age but concerning nonetheless. Having no legal consequences makes it too easy for parents to ignore their children’s boundaries and exploit them for profit, especially in families who solely earn their income from vlogging. The children pull in the views, yet more often than not, they do not get any share of the income.

Not only is vlogging exploitative, but it also harms

one of the worst offenders of this trope.

There is an upside to the rise of TikTok as a primary way to market music. That is, the potential revenue of a song that gains traction. Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Harlow and Lil Nas X are just a few examples of how TikTok can launch an artist’s career.

But to achieve success on the app, many artists sacrifice valuable time that could have been spent honing their craft.

The app also rewards artists who broadcast their personal lives for all to see, and the ones who find success typically have the most marketable life. Such users end up having similar lifestyles, which partially explains the similarity in the music that gains traction.

Additionally, labels are using some of the most exploitative marketing stunts ever

seen. For example, in May 2022, Capitol Records held a song recorded by Halsey and wouldn’t let her release it until she faked a viral moment on TikTok. This incident is also another example of labels attempting to exploit the TikTok algorithm to push their music to the top, taking popularity away from independent artists.

The music that achieves popularity on TikTok has become over-reliant on gimmicks, incorporating online vernacular in some half-hearted attempt to connect with the masses. It’s never been easier for artists to promote their music, yet the quality of music popularized today is deteriorating.

The model for success on TikTok isn’t going to change anytime soon, so, as consumers, we have to be conscious of what we deem a hit. Rather than obsessing over a viral hook

TikTok is ruining the quality of music | Will Overbo STAFF REPORTER

hind the music that goes viral on the app, leading to a distinct mong a list of industries, sameness in the style of music the music industry is produced. This phenomenon one of the most difficult called “TikTok music” is a deto break into. Giant labels that rogatory way of describing simple but over-dramatic piano or span back nearly 50 guitar ballads. years have a history Many tracks conof brokering deals that sidered “TikTok muheavily favor managesic” touch on wellment companies over understood themes of the artists who proanger and betrayal and duce the music while cast a wide enough net trend-hopping to the to be considered “relathottest styles every six able” by the app’s algomonths. TikTok has William Overbo rithm. Yet, these songs emerged as a speedy fail to resonate, as none and cheap alternative for artists of the tracks that gain traction looking to promote themselves on the app attempt to explore because of the platform’s algodeep vulnerabilities and inrithm-driven ability to quickly stead focus solely on relatabilmake songs go viral and expose ity. Consequently, this limits users to new music.

Success on TikTok often the type of content determined involves an element of luck. eligible for success. In terms of Nevertheless, many labels have excessively dramatic songwritbeen studying the science be- ing, JVKE’s “Golden Hour” is

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THE VIEWER

Published by journalism students of Mounds View High School.

1900 Lake Valentine Rd, Arden Hills, MN 55112 Email: mvhsviewer@gmail.com Printed by Sauk Centre Web Printing, Sauk Centre, Minnesota

mvviewer.org

mission statement 1. To publish news, information and opinion articles for and about students, faculty and administration activities, interests and policies.

2. To maintain high ethical standards with regard to fairness, personal and legal rights, responsibilities and accuracy.

3. To provide a forum for free and responsible expression of student opinion and present well-balanced, locally researched coverage of issues of broader student interest.

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5. To welcome diversity and increase the scope and depth of our coverage in order to heighten mutual understanding and awareness throughout our entire school community.

Articles and letters to the editor appearing on the opinion page represent solely the opinions of the writers and do not represent in any way the viewpoint of the Viewer, our advertisers, Mounds View High School or its staff.

staff list

PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF - Maya

Gjelhaug, Tyler Quattrin ILLUSTRATORS - Lale Baylar, Charlotte Krum COVER DESIGN - Tyler Quattrin ADVISOR - David Ostrom

section editors

NEWS - Michael Wang OPINION - Lale Baylar FEATURES - Alex Bi, Isabella Kunc SPREAD - Isabella Kunc, Isabel Li

DEBATES - Gloria Liu GOOD QUESTION - Charlotte Krum REVIEWS - David Anton Golridge SPORTS - Gloria Liu

online editors

ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Michael Wang

ONLINE MANAGING COPY EDITOR - Nikhil Kulangaroth ONLINE EDITORS - David Anton Golridge, Isabel Li

children’s mental well-being and their family dynamic. In the subreddit “r/TrueOffMyChest,” a 17 year old who grew up in a vlogging household shared that while being the center of attention was fun at first, it eventually grew to a point where she and her siblings never felt comfortable talking to their mother about mental health issues because they were afraid it would be filmed, and that the only place they felt safe changing was in a dark bathroom. Even though their family eventually stopped vlogging, there is simply no excuse for the damage that will persist from the years of constant documentation.

Although harmless at first, sharenting has grown to a point where regulations are absolutely needed to prevent the exploitation of children. The Quit Clicking Kids campaign has proposed bills to legislators, but none have made it past the House of Representatives since the beginning of 2023, except one protecting children in Illinois. Realistically, we cannot rely on parents of vlogging families to stop shining a camera in their child’s face. Legislators must take this issue more seriously and take action now to pass these bills across the country. Only then can children on social media finally get the treatment they deserve.

that will eventually blow over, we have to shift our focus to the quality of the entire song. This will push musicians to set aside more time for the creative process rather than promotion on TikTok. This will cause their tracks to improve and perform better through the app, and the music that gains traction will be too good to ignore.

Interested in writing a letter to the editor or student submission?

Reach out to mvhsviewer@gmail.com

staff reporters Lale Akkin, Matthew Betti, Sinim Dhuguma, Elijah Easton, Graham Hanson, Barret Homme, Anna Honebrink, Zariyah Howell, Brayden Kopf, Lillian Landberg, Christina Lang-Deetz, Ezra Leonard, Elijah Mattfield, Vincent Meyer, Will Overbo, Mara Peacock, Liliana Peleska, Justin Shao, Suha Sharif, Sidharth Sharma, Cali Sidler, Scarlett Singerhouse, Tonie Torboh, Lauren Vail, Via Yang

4 FEATURES

THE VIEWER • MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Church tiny homes fight homelessness Valerie’s story

| Sinim Dhuguma STAFF REPORTER t 25 years old, Valerie Roy lived in a school bus, relocating to places all around the country in the transportable home she had converted it into. She lived in many states including Florida, Arizona, California and Vermont. “I kept moving and moving and moving,” said Roy. Without any family or community, she was also very alone. “It was very isolating. I was very by myself. I was in my car. I [took] the seats out and I put a bed in. So it’s kind of really uncomfortable. It’s really hard on your body,” said Roy. In 2018, Minnesota held a homeless population of 7,243

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people, including 1,066 cases of chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness describes individuals who have continuously faced homelessness for over a year while struggling with a disability, such as physical or mental disabilities or substance abuse disorders. In contrast, temporary homelessness describes people facing homelessness for short periods, usually less than a month. The number of individuals suffering from chronic homelessness in the U.S. has been increasing since 2018, especially since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which caused an increase of about 30% in America’s chronically homeless population.

At 42 years old, Roy attended Arizona State University,

earning a degree in sustainability and nonprofit management.

However, this degree did not help her find career opportunities. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I never got connected. I never got employment other than the same things I was doing before,” said Roy. When searching for resources for the homeless, many results appear, but very few results show resources specifically for chronically homeless individuals. Even when explicitly searching for resources for chronic homelessness, the results typically only provide temporary solutions that would best support people dealing with temporary homelessness.

“They’ll take care of families first. They’ll take care of chil-

The community-first model

| Maya Gjelhaug PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF here’s a cheesy saying that goes “Home is where the heart is,” and while it may seem like a simple cliche, research by Dr. Gabrielle Clowdus suggests it may be the key to ending chronic homelessness.

For the past 25 years, the U.S. has taken a “housing first” approach to tackling chronic homelessness. While this model, grounded in the idea that housing should be provided before supportive services, may seem intuitive, it fails to account for arguably the most important aspect of home: loving and supportive friends and family. This neglect is reflected in the growing homeless encampments of Minneapolis and St. Paul and increasing chronic homelessness across the U.S.

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Settled, an organization founded by Clowdus, aims to address chronic homelessness with a community-first approach by equipping local churches with resources to construct “sacred settlements” — tiny home villages on church land.

Prince of Peace Church, in partnership with Settled, has built three approximately 200-square-foot tiny home dwellings, each attached to a trailer and fitted with electricity, a kitchenette and a compostable toilet. Each home costs around $35,000 to build, but site grading, electrical wiring and renovations to church common areas add $25,000 to each home’s cost.

Other amenities, such as showers and toilets, can be found inside the church building, which is always open to residents. “Even though we talk

about community, there’s nothing that prevents Valerie from locking herself in her place and not seeing anybody ever. Except she has to come into this building,” said Fred Ogimachi, Settled operations advisor.

Having some amenities inside the church encourages residents to interact with others, such as other residents and church members, which reinforces the community aspect.

All residents pay rent, which is $200 per month. “Everybody pays rent. This is not charity. This is dignified living,” said Ogimachi.

A major difference between Prince of Peace’s Sacred Settlement and other homeless housing options is that Sacred Settlement housing is permanent.

“You can’t heal when you’re being thrown in bed from six at night till six in the morning, or you’ve got 90 days to get it

dren first. They’ll take care of single mothers first. Drug addicts have their own programs.

Everybody’s got a special program — not the chronically homeless,” said Roy. Roy suffered from chronic homelessness for 11-and-a-half years until she found a connection to Settled, an organization that aims to aid chronically homeless individuals by supporting them with community and resources, such as affordable rent.

Beginning in July 2022, Roy lived in a school bus parked on church property at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, a Settled partner, until she eventually moved into a tiny home in December 2023. “First I was in the bus, now I’ve sold the bus, and

then I was going to go back into my car, but they wouldn’t have it. They said no, and they put me in the tiny house instead,” said Roy. This home provides Roy with permanent housing that she did not have before.

Moving into the tiny home completely changed Roy’s life, giving her hope she had long gone without. Now, she plans to go back to school to get a degree in drug and alcohol counseling.

“I’m getting ready probably to go get my master’s degree through vocational rehab,” said Roy. She hopes that going into this specific niche will help her get work that she was unable to find before.

together. You slip right through the cracks,” said Valerie Roy. To reinforce the community-first model, Settled has worked with the state to create legislation that requires 33% to 40% of the homes to be filled with volunteers, or “intentional neighbors.” On the Prince of Peace site, one of the houses is occupied by a church couple and their daughter. “There are two families on the other site that love Valerie. They care about Valerie. And it’s not because it’s their job,” said Ogimachi.

Although there has been some resistance to the sacred settlement from city officials and residents, Roy is glad to have a place to call home. “I go to church every Sunday — and I’m not Christian — because I’m grateful for what these people have done for me,” she said.

Challenges and plans for the future | Vincent Meyer STAFF REPORTER rior to 2024, “tiny homes” did not have an exclusive definition according to Minnesota state law and were previously identified as RVs. Because of the lack of legal structure for tiny homes in Minnesota, communicating with cities about them remained difficult. Initially, officials in Roseville questioned whether the Prince of Peace settlement upheld the dignity of its residents due to the lack of plumbing inside the tiny homes.

Fred Ogmimachi recognized that the city’s questioning of the model was justified. “The city isn’t paid to be compassionate. The city is paid to adhere to rules,” he said.

In 2023, a bi-partisan Minnesota state bill was passed into law addressing the use of tiny

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homes for homeless housing.

Under the law, Sacred Settlements can house homeless people in tiny homes if they provide livable conditions to inhabitants. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, confirmed Prince of Peace’s status as a Sacred Settlement and gave other faith communities the opportunity to adopt the settlement model.

As part of the provisions, 33–40% of tenants in Sacred Settlements are required to be “intentional neighbors” who support the former homeless members of the community.

Additionally, even though tiny homes are not required to have plumbing, they must meet housing code requirements.

Despite the challenges that Sacred Settlements have faced in their development, the model continues to grow.

In Maplewood, the Woodland Hills Church is developing its

own tiny home settlement, and there is ongoing conversation about integrating the model in Duluth’s interfaith homeless organizations.

While Prince of Peace is a Lutheran church, people from different faiths come together to develop the settlements. “The advocates come from different churches, the supportive friends come from different churches,” said Ogimachi.

Innovation is another outcome of the development of the sacred settlements. Larry Ball, a former NASA engineer and volunteer for Settled, is currently building a fully compostable toilet as a potential restroom for tiny homes. With the price point for these toilets currently upward of $6,000, the implementation is still out of reach but demonstrates the innovative model of the Sacred Settlements.

In addition to innovation, Settled has goals of wide-scale development of Sacred Settlements. According to Ogimachi, there are around 700,000 homeless people in the USA and 350,000 faith communities, which means if every faith community housed two homeless individuals they would nearly solve the entire problem of homelessness.

By only taking a few people off the streets and giving them a permanent community to reside in, Sacred Settlements helps the homeless in a way that is realistic for further adoption.

Though this vision still needs time to come to fruition, it demonstrates how the actions of individual Sacred Settlements build hope for a future with no homelessness.

PHOTOS | Isabella Kunc

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5 NASA Ambassador Jacob Hairrell FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2024 • WWW.MVVIEWER.ORG

PHOTO VIA Mounds View High School

HAIRRELL wore his NASA uniform in the yearbook portraits.

| Sidharth Sharma STAFF REPORTER ASA’s Astronomy Activation Ambassadors program, a distinguished initiative for STEM teachers, recently selected Mounds View Teacher Jacob Hairrell, along with 18 other ambassadors, from thousands of applicants for the 2023 cohort. Hairrell, who teaches astronomy and physics, applied to the program in its early years but was unsuccessful. However, on his second attempt, he secured a spot in the program.

The Astronomy Activation Ambassador program aims to, according to NASA, enhance student science learning and STEM engagement in selected schools, districts and colleges.

Through various community ef-

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forts, these ambassadors strive to improve astronomy literacy amongst the public through meetings, presentations and more.

Hairrell presents astronomy lessons at various venues, including the Minnesota Astronomical Society where the audience consists of multiple age groups. “I do my best to kind of appease all parts of that spectrum,” he said. “I’ll certainly have some of the hardcore science built in there, like sprinkled in, but it’s not going to be the primary focus because you’re going to lose those little kids.” Hairrell is dedicated to spreading astronomy literacy across all age groups, utilizing creative methods, such as bringing in items like food, to enhance the enjoyment of the educational experience.

Before embarking on his teaching career, Hairrell, a physics major, partook in a cosmology research group. “I started to get a seed of an interest in just astronomy in general there,” said Hairrell. Since then, Hairrell has maintained his passion for astronomy, with NASA fueling his fascination with the subject.

The Astronomy Activation Ambassadors program is publicly funded, and due to this, Hairrell makes sure that the information they produce is

accessible to all. “We feel that there’s a real need and almost a requirement to get that information out to people,” said Hairrell. Hairrell makes sure to convey the developments of the program and tell people about astronomical research and innovation, such as the various telescopes in space, moon phases and more.

In the ambassador role, conflicts have arisen, primarily concerning the topics discussed.

Despite the program’s aim to promote astronomy literacy, not all community members are supportive of its teachings and initiatives.

“There are some topics that are a little controversial at times, and I have to be careful in how I approach those.”

Jacob Hairrell, science teacher

Hairrell has learned a cautious approach is necessary when addressing controversial topics like the Big Bang Theory. “I don’t get upset with them, though. It’s my job as an educator to listen with intent [and] treat them with the dignity that they inherently deserve while

HAIRRELL poses with one of his telescopes.

attempting to address their misconceptions in a non-confrontational manner,” he said. In addition, Hairrell makes sure to meet the people at their current level of knowledge when explaining complicated and contentious topics.

Since Hairrell’s college years, astronomy has played a large role in his educational

PHOTO | Alex Bi

journey. Hairrell’s continued interest in astronomy is shown in how he teaches, and he looks forward to continuing his passion for astronomy by continuing his role in further improving the program’s astronomy curriculum.

Mounds View startup tackles mental health crisis with award-winning app Gratzi instance when they felt happy.

A typical response could be as simple as spending time with family or going on a hike. Users can randomize the prompts for variety, but they all encourage the user to think about gratitude. After submitting an entry, it is listed under the user’s Today’s Entries category. At the end of the day, all entries disappear and return at the end of the month to remind the user what they appreciate.

PHOTO VIA Zoke Sackih & Sreya Subramanian

SACKIH AND SUBRAMANIAN present Gratzi at JA Pitchfest.

| Lale Akkin STAFF REPORTER ental health issues have risen in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts are rapidly searching for new medications and therapies to treat the surging mental health crisis, but recent research suggests that something as simple as gratitude could be the answer to treating a variety of mental disorders.

Seniors Sreya Subramanian and Zoke Sackih recently won second place in the Junior Achievement Pitchfest for their app, Gratzi, which helps users

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practice gratitude. To help with development, they will receive $350 in prize money and potentially more through external investments. Gratzi has not been released yet in any form, but the developers are planning for a soft launch around February where they will release the app to community members.

Subramanian and Sackih created Gratzi to encourage users to record instances when they feel grateful. Upon opening the app, a prompt appears asking questions such as “What are you grateful for today?” or “What in nature inspires you?” so the user can respond with an

“We remembered Mrs. Heinz practicing gratitude, and we wanted to bring gratitude to our communities and to the greater world.”

Zoke Sackih, ‘24

The main inspiration for Gratzi originated in Subramanian and Sackih’s AP World History class. Their teacher, Kristin Heinz, told them about how she wrote down what she felt gratitude for. They remembered this when brainstorming ideas for Technovation, a competi-

tion encouraging girls to learn computer science and develop an app.

Two psychologists from the University of California Davis and the University of Miami conducted a study testing the impact of writing down moments a person felt grateful for.

After 10 weeks, the group that wrote about gratitude showed more optimism about their lives and began practicing healthier habits like exercising more.

“There’s also a scientific aspect of it because at the end of the month, when you see all your entries, and you see everything that you were grateful for, you feel happy, and you get a boost of dopamine and serotonin,” Sackih said.

Serious mental health issues may need medical attention, so Gratzi includes a resources tab to give users a list of more serious options such as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the Trevor Project.

“Gratzi is not really aimed at curing mental health but rather taking steps towards it. And of course, there are times when users can have a pretty bad day and Gratzi should be a safe place for them to go,” Subramanian said.

As with all app development, the developers have many obstacles to overcome. On the business side, they struggle to find a way to include in-app purchases while keeping Gratzi a free-to-download app. Since mental health resources should be accessible for all, they plan on adding optional features as a way they could still make a profit and sustain the app.

They also want to make their app usable by a wide range of people, not limiting themselves to young adults and English speakers, so they plan on adding more features like color and language options.

With Gratzi, Subramanian and Sackih hope they can help many people maintain good mental health and become mindful of the things they feel gratitude for. “Over time, it’ll become easier to recognize that [you can feel grateful] so it’s not something that you really struggle with or that you have to think long periods of time about, but rather just go throughout your day and be like, ‘This is something that makes me happy and I’m gonna remember that,’” Subramanian said.

6 SPREAD

THE VIEWER • MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

THE

DARK SIDE OF

Looksmaxxing What is looksmaxxing?

| Cali Sidler STAFF REPORTER nyone who has spent time online in the past decade will recognize the impact that the glow up trend has had on popular culture. From 15-second TikTok videos where someone’s childhood photo transitions to a clip of them now to hour-long YouTube videos that provide a stepby-step guide to “glowing up,” people seem obsessed with finding answers to the age-old question of how to be hot.

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The looksmaxxing trend seen on TikTok today is essentially a reiteration of former glow-up trends. The only difference is that looksmaxxing in particular caters to a predominantly male audience and has some not-so-subtle incel undertones. Broadly speaking, looksmaxxing is any attempt to improve one’s appearance, and these methods most commonly include things like going to the gym, getting a haircut or improving one’s style.

Looksmaxxing largely rose

from the concept of lookism, which is the incel theory of objective beauty grounded in both eugenics and racism — more on that later. Looksmaxxing methods have the primary goal of turning one into the “ideal man,” equipped with big muscles, glass skin and a jawline that can cut through stone. In this spread, we will dive into the looksmaxxing rabbit hole to uncover the causes and consequences of this controversial trend.

Ties to incels | Lillian Landberg STAFF REPORTER riginally coined by a queer female student in the late ‘90s, the term “incel” rose to prominence in the 2010s on platforms like 4chan and Reddit. Incel stands for involuntary celibate, and incels tend to be men who feel that their appearance or other uncontrollable factors prevent them from attracting women.

Men involved in the incel community typically express extreme resentment and hostility toward sexually active women and men, and just women in general.

Over the past decade, incels developed an extensive vocabulary, most of which is recorded on the Incel Wiki, to explain their predicament, such as the terms Chads, men who are genetically fortunate enough to participate in the dating world, and Stacys, the female equivalent to Chads.

The “pill universe,” one of the more known aspects of incel culture, shows up in many different incel online chats and groups. Different pills represent ideologies, mindsets and lives that incels choose to live. The two predominant pills, redpill and bluepill, take inspiration from the 1999 film, “The Matrix.”

Redpill describes the manosphere as a whole by representing the choice of accepting the belief that men face more oppression than women.

Bluepill describes the choice of someone who prefers to ignore

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this belief and not change their worldview. Blackpill represents the incel ideology as a whole.

By “taking” a blackpill, incels assert that physical attractiveness decides whether a man experiences romance or not.

Money, social skills and social status distinguish themselves as defining features, but physical attractiveness, determined primarily by uncontrollable factors like genetics, seals the deal.

Different physical traits impact the PSL rating someone receives. PSL, which is an acronym for the PUAhate, SlutHate and Lookism online forums, is a 10-point scale used to rate someone’s physical attractiveness. A weak jaw, for example, makes a man a 2/10 while a negative canthal tilt, or downward slanted eyes, repels universally. Both characteristics, along with many more, are considered unmasculine by the incel community. They signify weakness and low SMV or “sexual market value,” the primary measure of an individual’s worth according to incels.

All of these ideas about attractiveness and individual worth are under the broader umbrella of “Lookism” — the incel theory of objective beauty grounded in both eugenics and racism. Also according to the theory, women are far more likely than men to date “out of their league” in what incels call hypergamy, meaning men who are of average or low attractiveness find little luck in dating.

The idea of hypergamy is what fuels the majority of hate and misogyny prevalent on in-

cel forums, and according to nihilistic, blackpill incel ideology, men who are of average or low attractiveness have three options: surgery, suicide or “going ER” — a reference to Elliot Rodger, who killed six people on the UC Santa Barbara campus in an act of “retribution” against women who had rejected him.

However, not all incels are so cynical, and many promote seemingly less-harmful methods of “ascension” — the incel term for leaving the inceldom.

This is where looksmaxxing comes in.

For one, looksmaxxing terminology is adopted almost exclusively from incel lingo, including the term “looksmaxxing” itself which originated on PSL forums. Also, the beauty standards of the looksmaxxing trend are almost identical to the standards of the PSL rating system, including sharp jawlines and positive canthal tilts.

The main difference between incels and looksmaxxers is that instead of blaming women and society for their lack of romantic experiences like incels do, looksmaxxers aim to better themselves to get women.

Incel culture and looksmaxxing, both social cultures from the internet that influence teenage boys and young men, persist in online spaces. And even though the trends have their differences, it is important to recognize the undertones of incel culture present in the looksmaxxing trend.

Teens tear limb | Brayden Kopf STAFF REPORTER odern-day weightlifting has been around since about the 19th century, with an introduction at the Athens Olympic Games in 1896 in track and field. However, lifting wasn’t recognized as its own event until 1914.

Now, many teens are striving for the perfect build through a practice known as “gymmaxxing,” which is the practice of upgrading one’s physique and attempting to look bigger, stronger and more “aesthetic” by frequenting the gym. Through its spread on social media, many teens try to look more like popular influencers such as Sam Sulek, a bodybuilder who has been lifting for many years and openly admits he has taken steroids, or Alex Eubank, another popular bodybuilder who is shockingly lean, almost to an unhealthy point, and Eubank himself acknowledges the danger of maintaining a physique like his.

“Gymmaxxing” consists of many different aspects, one of which is ego lifting.

Ego lifting is when someone lifts to their maximum capabilities too often to show off their strength, hence the “ego.” Typically, people will ego lift on the bench press, leg press or while doing bicep curls. While ego lifting can boost teens’ confidence every

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faces of the movement

Sam Sulek - TikTok bodybuilder who admits to using steroids.

PHOTO VIA Flickr

Alex Eubank who admits to ‘excessively’ l

PHOTO V

SPREAD

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2023 • WWW.MVVIEWER.ORG

Mewing, bonesmashing and other viral facial enhancements

k - Bodybuilder o being lean.

VIA Instagram/@alex_eubank15

| Elijah Easton STAFF REPORTER n Oct. 2, 2022, popular gaming YouTuber Dream revealed his face to the world. Because Dream hid his identity through a mask for years, many people who idolized him crafted an image in their minds of what they thought he looked like or what they wanted him to look like. After Dream finally posted a video revealing his face, he received heavy backlash, with thousands of people on social media mocking him for his appearance. These comments included memes comparing his face to cartoon characters, such as Lord Farquaad. While some comments carried a lighthearted tone, the atmosphere swiftly transformed into people mocking his jawline and other facial features, leading to the trending hashtag #PutTheMaskBackOn on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the reveal.

Beauty standards on social media or other digital platforms often influence the desire for facial enhancement. For instance, platforms like TikTok showcase short, highly edited videos where users often employ filters and editing techniques that accentuate facial appearance and alter overall appearance. This exposure fuels a desire for perfect facial features, leading to more comparison and a distorted image of beauty. This surge in glow-up culture on social media has played a pivotal role in giving rise to trends like looksmaxxing.

The desire for an individual to enhance their facial appearance forms a crucial component of looksmaxxing. Individuals engage in various practices, from basic facial grooming to advanced procedures to achieve the “ideal” facial aesthetic.

Looksmaxxing branches into two categories: softmaxxing and hardmaxxing. Softmaxxing adopts a gradual, holistic approach to self-improvement through practices

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ILLUSTRATIONS | Charlotte Krum and Lale Baylar

bs at the gym

n a movement, it can teens push past the al limitations and inexample, some videos ns pushing too much s, which causes their and their ligaments, PCL, to tear. er large aspect of the One of the more excarnivore diet, which y animal products. Joe e diet in 2020 when he day of solely meat to his autoimmune disthen, it has gone viral hashtag #carnivorediet lion views. of people have cited roved energy as benpotential consequences meat. For one, the carone’s risk for heart etary fat has received throughout the years, aises LDL (“bad” chole, and many studies althy levels of LDL are e. a touchy subject in “Gymmaxxing” influ-

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encers can sometimes encourage others to consume extreme amounts of creatine, preworkout, protein powder and sometimes even steroids. “New lifters focus too much on the supplements. They really expect them to boost their growth when in reality, they just need to stay dedicated and have a schedule and do the research,” said junior Deshawn Huggar.

Steroids are the most sensitive subject when it comes to “gymmaxxing” because they can be harmful when taken without a physician’s direction. Some common steroids are trenbolone acetate, known as tren, and testosterone, known as TRT or test. Some gym-goers are incentivized to take steroids because it takes a significant amount of effort to develop and maintain a quality physique naturally. However, the misuse of steroids can have devastating side effects, including cardiovascular complications, liver disease and reproductive organ damage, according to the Better Health Channel.

Lifting can be a healthy practice for teens when performed safely and with the correct technique, but once teens begin overtraining, starving to lose a couple of pounds, overdoing supplements and looking to the media for what they should look like, it becomes dangerous.

such as daily skincare routines and consistent exercise. “A few years ago, when I saw a guy, their skincare routine was kind of just like a 13-in-one shampoo, moisturizer and all that, and now I feel like guys and everyone I know have skincare routines,” said junior Olmasaan Ebisso.

One viral technique heavily associated with softmaxxing, mewing, involves tongue posture adjustment to enhance one’s jawline. However, limited scientific evidence supports its effectiveness, and recent widespread adoption has led to a rise in other facial reconstruction methods.

Conversely, hardmaxxing involves more invasive and risky methods, including plastic surgery and extreme workout regimes. These methods focus on specific aesthetic goals with a willingness to undergo significant procedures for rapid results.

Among hardmaxxing trends, bonemashing stands out as a practice where individuals use blunt objects such as hammers or massagers on their faces to fracture their bones in hopes that the bones will heal back stronger, leading to a more defined jawline and overall facial structure. However, few people have actually attempted this trend, as it emerged from people trolling on incel forums.

Orthopedic surgeons also warn that bonesmashing has severe health risks, such as infections and permanent damage to facial tissues.

Similar to incels, many looksmaxxers praise specific jaw structures or eye shapes unattainable through natural methods. One such feature is a positive canthal tilt, where the outer corner of the eye sits

higher than the inner corner.

This results in more expressive and piercing eyes, known as hunter eyes by the looksmaxxing community.

Because people cannot achieve these features naturally, cosmetic surgery represents a more drastic approach to looksmaxxing. Procedures such as rhinoplasty or jawline enhancements aim to alter facial appearance quickly and permanently.

While these surgeries can address certain aesthetic concerns and improve self-confidence, they also carry risks, including nerve damage, infections and scarring, that individuals should carefully consider. “I think for the most part, people should be happy with how they look, and I don’t think people need [plastic surgery],” said senior Parker Bryntesen.

Prolonged exposure to idealized facial images online, especially to messages praising unchangeable features of a person, can contribute to issues such as body image struggles and distorted self-perceptions.

The pursuit of facial perfection through looksmaxxing can lead to heightened self-criticism, where perceived flaws, even minor ones, become magnified.

Looking ahead, uncertainty looms over whether looksmaxxing as a social media trend will fade, but it seems likely that people will continue to strive for perfect appearances for years to come. “South Korea, for example, they have a lot of plastic surgery and stuff like that. We might be heading in that direction; I’m not really sure,” said Bryntesen. “But we’re also heading towards more self-acceptance with how you look, so it’s hard to say.”

Joe Rogan - Podcaster who popularized the carnivore diet.

PHOTO VIA Instagram/@sam_sulek ILLUSTRATION | Lale Baylar

8

DEBATES

THE VIEWER • MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Should advanced and honors classes be removed?

ILLUSTRATION | Lala Baylar

Keep

Remove | Justin Shao STAFF REPORTER n recent years, an increasing number of schools have been advocating for the removal of honors and advanced classes from schools. The Mounds View district joined the bandwagon last school year with the removal of honors English at the high school level and non-math advanced classes entirely at the middle schools. Despite parent and student backlash to these changes, the removal of advanced classes was long overdue.

For one, students from certain backgrounds are far more likely to take advanced classes than others. According to the United Negro College Fund, Black and Latino students have a significantly lower enrollment in AP courses compared to their white counterparts. Black and Latino students constitute 38% of the population in schools offering AP courses, yet only represent 29% of those enrolled in at least one AP course. Additionally, higher-income students are far more likely to enroll in advanced courses than low-income students, typically due to a gap in resources available to these students. Eliminating advanced courses may be the most realistic and inexpensive way to address these disparities.

Advanced classes promote inequity from the moment a student enters elementary school. In elementary to middle school, the majority of the students that enroll in advanced classes have parents that

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advocate for them to be placed in higher-level courses. The issue with this lies in the fact that some parents are more capable of advocating for their children than others.

Some parents work long hours and don’t have the time to invest in their child’s education, while others don’t speak English which prevents them from communicating with teachers and deans entirely. Once a student has been placed in a certain course level, it is difficult to ascend to a higher level. Students at lower levels are more likely to feel less motivated or successful compared to their

“Every student deserves a chance to succeed in challenging courses.” higher-achieving peers.

Many of these students have the ability to succeed in advanced courses, but most feel stuck in the path they “chose” as early as first grade.

Getting rid of honor classes, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t mean that students won’t be able to access advanced or challenging content in their single-level courses.

Eliminating advanced classes ensures that all students have access to the same high-quality education. In the Mounds View district alone, after removing advanced classes in the elementary and middle schools, the grade-level

courses implemented new activities that successfully challenged students who were previously in advanced classes.

Moreover, most schools, including Mounds View, that have removed advanced classes are not actually pushing everyone to grade-level courses, but rather bringing everyone up to a higher-level curriculum.

By removing advanced classes at lower grade levels, schools signal to students that they all have the capability to succeed. This includes encouraging all students to take college credit-earning classes later in high school. In the Oak Park School District in Chicago, tenth-grade enrollment in honors or Advanced Placement rose by 8 percentage points the year after a decision to remove ninth-grade advanced classes. Providing all students with a high-quality, rigorous curriculum gives them the confidence to enroll in difficult classes they may have previously avoided.

Frankly, the growing disparity between students enrolled in advanced classes is unacceptable, and it is time for school districts across the U.S. to follow the example of Mounds View and take action against a burgeoning equity epidemic. Rigorous classes and high-quality education should not be restricted to certain students, and every student deserves a chance to succeed in challenging courses.

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efore my family moved to the Mounds View area, I attended a parochial grade school from kindergarten to eighth grade. Please do not confuse “parochial” with “private” — classrooms at my school were each packed with two grades, teachers taught subjects they held no degree in and there surely weren’t any advanced classes.

I had always received fairly high standardized test scores, along with high grades in school, and I remember feeling bored in most of my core classes — what a cliché “gifted kid” dilemma. The highest math my school offered was pre-algebra, so with the help of my middle school math teacher, I enrolled in math classes at a local high school in sixth grade. But there were no such equivalents for other subjects.

I feel no resentment towards my old school.

With low tuition costs and teacher salaries to match, there simply weren’t enough resources available to offer leveled classes. But for schools like Mounds View that have the capability to offer advanced courses, there are few excuses not to.

Before you mistake me for a disgruntled tiger mom who loses sleep over the lack of honors English on their child’s college application, allow me to explain! GPA boosts and college admissions benefits are some of the most selfish reasons to keep advanced classes, contributing to the toxic stigma surrounding leveled courses. Eliminating advanced courses has

Maya Gjelhaug | PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF far more serious consequences than a deferral from Harvard.

Requiring teachers to manage a classroom of students with a wide range of abilities is simply unrealistic. By having two or three levels for every course, teachers can meet students where they’re at — at least in theory. Of course, there can be issues with this, as students sometimes select classes that are either too difficult or, more often, too easy for them.

Low-income and Black and Hispanic students are often the most likely to end up in classes below their potential. To diversify advanced classes, educators and parents should proactively reach out to high-achieving students who are not self-selecting these courses and encourage them to enroll.

Decisions to cut advanced courses come from a place of genuine concern about inequity.

But these decisions ignore the fact that it’s exhausting to develop a curriculum for and manage a classroom where some kids are reading Tolstoy and others struggle to form coherent sentences, not to mention the impossibility of providing all of those students with individual attention.

This could mean that already-underserved students become even more neglected, and struggling students lose access to individualized support they could previously rely on.

It’s accurate to claim that the institution of advanced classes leads to inherent segregation. But the inverse is also true.

As Mounds View middle and elementary schools cut advanced course of-

ferings, affluent families will begin to seek outside opportunities for their children, such as tutoring, expensive programs or even new schools.

High-achieving students from low-income families have little ability to seek such opportunities and support.

In my case, I was able to attend higherlevel classes at a local high school because my parents were able to drive me there every other morning — thanks Mom and Dad. But not everyone’s parents can drive them to school at 7:00 a.m., three times a week.

By removing advanced classes from schools, educators remove some of the only opportunities available to high-achieving underserved students.

Cutting advanced classes is essentially a quick fix to the deep wounds of academic inequity. And while it does address equity concerns, removing these classes approaches the issue from the wrong end. In reality, we should work towards expanding access to higher-level classes to ensure that all students can excel. But that’s expensive; eliminating classes is not.

It will take work and intentionality to ensure that all students have equal access to a highquality education at any level. The question that remains is whether or not school districts are willing and able to put in the effort to ensure equity from the bottom up.

So, Mounds View — the ball’s in your court.

9 What is MV doing to recruit more teachers of color?

Mounds View participates in state-wide programs GOOD QUESTION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2024 • WWW.MVVIEWER.COM

that aim to increase staff diversity in Minnesota. | Liliana Peleska STAFF REPORTER

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n educational settings, a diverse school staff plays a crucial role in fostering a sense of representation, security, safety and involvement among students of color.

Research published in Scientific American shows a positive correlation between academic achievement and the support provided by teachers who share the same racial or ethnic background as their students.

Despite the benefits, in the United States, and even more so in Minnesota, teachers of color are greatly underrepresented in schools. While 32% of Minnesota students and 33% of Mounds View High School students are non-white, only 5.9% of teachers at public schools in Minnesota are teachers of color, and Mounds View has only two such educators.

According to Education Week, one factor contributing to the lack of diversity is the historical aftermath of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education of

Topeka. This ruling resulted in the loss of jobs for many teachers of color, as many schools formerly for non-white students were closed while formerly allwhite schools remained open, creating a persistent diversity gap.

Location is also a significant factor in the challenge of hiring teachers of color. According to USA Facts, 51% of black teachers work in cities, and 85% work in schools where at least 50% of the student population is non-white. Despite efforts by school administrations, the numbers still present a hurdle to achieving more diversity in teaching staff. “Administration is making more of an effort to hire teachers of color; it’s just harder because of the number differences [of racial makeup],” said Anny Culnane, physical education teacher and one of Mounds View’s few staff members of color.

So, how is the district working to address this challenge? When questioned about efforts to address the lack of diversity among teaching staff, Executive Director of Human

Resources Julie Coffey cites the Grow Your Own program and the district’s participation in the Teach MN program as district efforts towards a more diverse faculty.

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, the Grow Your Own (GYO) approach establishes partnerships between educator preparation programs, school districts and community organizations to recruit and prepare local community members for teaching roles. GYO programs provide support, including stipends and scholarships, to adults interested in pursuing a teaching career.

The Grow Your Own Grant Program, initiated in 2016, offers state funds to districts and charter schools for GYO initiatives.

The program has two pathways: one for adults — supporting teacher preparation programs — and another for secondary students — encouraging them, especially those of color, to pursue teaching careers through various support mechanisms, such as supporting future teacher clubs, and scholarships.

As stated on the website,

and 2021. Major reasons for this include rising tuition costs, the hot labor market — which has incentivized young people to work instead of pursuing an education — and the burden of student debt.

The pandemic was no help with an 8% drop in college attendance from 2019-2022 — the steepest drop in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever recorded. Many of those who had come of age or graduated during the pandemic have turned to working blue-collar jobs or those that do not require a degree. The effects could be dire: With fewer people in the educated workforce, many fields could struggle with labor shortages, including the healthcare and information technology industries. It also has long-term consequences for non-college-educated adults, as lifetime earnings for those with only a high school diploma are on average 75% less than those of college-educated adults according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. They are also more likely to be laid off and lose their livelihood when the economy struggles.

The labor market has also played a role in the declining college enrollment, with many fresh high school graduates jumping into highly lucrative careers that don’t require degrees. This includes trade and vocational careers which have picked up interest after a long decline in consideration by younger generations. Labor shortages have raised salaries in these industries, while wages in industries with an oversaturation of college graduates have declined.

Over the past 40 years, tuition costs in the U.S. have soared. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, accounting for inflation, the average cost of college in 1980 was around $10,000 but nearly $30,000 in 2020 — a nearly 200% increase. Some high school graduates may be straying away from attending college because they worry they will be unable to pay those large amounts.

In addition, many fear long-term student debt. The student debt crisis is at an all-time high, with federal debt making up the majority of the student

Teach Minnesota is a teaching fellow program that allows educators to be trained in an alternative way that is more accelerated and cost-effective.

The program began in 2022, and one of its main purposes is to give more graduates of different backgrounds opportunities to become teachers without having cost as a barrier.

In addition to government funding for Grow Your Own programs, in February 2023, the Minnesota House education panel approved the Increase Teachers of Color Act. According to the Minnesota House of Representatives, this bill aims to increase the percentage of teachers of color or American

ILLUSTRATION | Charlotte Krum

Indian by at least two percentage points per year. The goal of this bill is to develop a teaching workforce that more closely reflects the student population by 2040. The bill will allocate over $60 million per year from the state to recruit and retain teachers of color.

While Mounds View is participating in state-wide diversity initiatives, progress remains to be seen. Mounds View’s faculty diversity gap persists even as the student body becomes more diverse, this begs the question: Should Mounds View do more to close the gap?

Why are fewer people going to college?

PHOTO | Charlotte Krum

| Suha Sharif STAFF REPORTER

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s stated by Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, there has been a slow decline in college enrollment since the Great Recession.

In recent years, many young people have pursued alternative paths in place of college attendance following graduation from secondary institutions.

According to The National Center for Education Statistics, total fall post-secondary school enrollment decreased by three million between the years 2010

debt owed by graduates. The Biden Administration has recently forgiven $132 billion in student loans, even after the Supreme Court overruled Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness program in June. This is still minuscule compared to the $2 trillion debt held by Americans — to put it in perspective, $132 billion is 6.6% of $2 trillion.

So, what can schools do to reverse this trend? They can diversify their options and accommodate students who may be pursuing non-traditional career paths and present these paths neutrally opposed to shaming them. For students who don’t plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree or want to participate in hands-on experiences, nontraditional post-secondary options can offer students an al-

ILLUSTRATIONS | Charlotte Krum

ternative to college, explained Madison Hendrickson, Mounds View’s career and college coordinator.

While alternative postsecondary options may ease some industry shortages, many industries will likely continue to suffer until young people are incentivized to return to school.

DO YOU HAVE A “GOOD QUESTION?” Email it to mvhsviewer@gmail.com to have it answered in the next issue of The Viewer.

10

REVIEWS

THE VIEWER • MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Missed opportunities in Wonka’s chocolate tale

| Barret Homme STAFF REPORTER

Verdict: 3/5

“W

onka” is the prequel to the book and 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” It is directed and co-written by Paul King, a British director. Starring Timothee Chalamet as Willy Wonka and Hugh Grant as an Oompa

“Willy Wonka was detached and unsympathetic towards the people around him.”

Loompa, the movie follows Wonka as he chases his dream of sharing his chocolate with the world, inspired by his late mother, who originally introduced chocolate to him as a child.

Through Willy Wonka’s flashbacks, it is explained that his main motivation for wanting to make and sell chocolate

is because of his late mother, who would first make chocolate for Wonka with a secret ingredient once a year when he was a child. His mother promised him that, once he was older, she would share her secret to delicious chocolate with him. With the promise of sharing once he sold his chocolate, Wonka chases the memory of his mother, selling his chocolate, hoping to one day learn his mother’s secret.

After obtaining the rights to Roald Dahl’s character Willy Wonka, Warner Bros. announced they were producing a new film based on the same

material from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Since the film was still in early production, King announced that instead of creating another direct adaptation of the original story, he wanted to create an origin story of Willy Wonka and explore how the character started the titular chocolate factory.

The two previous adaptations of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” were soft musicals, featuring around 10 songs each. Similarly, Wonka further embodies the musical aspect, containing 11 songs in the soundtrack. Even though there are 11 songs, none of them par-

PHOTO | Warner Bros

ticularly stood out as bad, but only a handful are memorable, such as “Oompa Loompa” and “Sweet Tooth.”

Timothee Chalamet was a

“One of the biggest traits of past portrayals that Chalamet missed, however, was the sociopath aspect of Wonka.” good choice to star in the musical and did a surprisingly good job at portraying Willy Wonka,

bringing a fresh take on the character while also replicating some of the mannerisms of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. One of the bigger traits of past portrayals that Chalamet missed, however, was the sociopath aspect of Willy Wonka.

In both the 1971 and 2005 depictions of the story, Willy Wonka was detached from reality and unsympathetic towards the people around him.

Fully aware of how dangerous the chocolate factory is, Willy Wonka takes the golden ticket winners on a tour of the factory anyway, and he stands idly by while most of the children nearly get killed. This descent into madness could have been an interesting topic to explore throughout the course of the movie, but Paul King ultimately decided to lean away from this part of Willy Wonka’s character.

Overall, Wonka is a decent movie, but it has some missed plot opportunities that could have been interesting to unravel. While the songs are not anything ground-breaking, Wonka would be entertaining for any fans of the musical genre. For anyone who is not receptive to musicals, Wonka would not be a good recommendation, as the characters break into song frequently throughout.

Best Burmese food in St. Paul: Mandalay Kitchen | Mara Peacock STAFF REPORTER

Verdict: 4.5/5

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n Saint Paul, a new Burmese restaurant called Mandalay Kitchen opened in Nov. 2023 at 383 University Ave W. The restaurant’s owner, Chris Tunbaw, ethnically Karen — a minority group from Myanmar — long wanted to open a restaurant in

the Twin Cities with traditional Burmese and Karen food items, according to the Pioneer Press.

Tunbaw lived in Myanmar until he was 10 years old, when he moved to Minnesota due to the dictatorship and conflict in Myanmar. He dedicates Mandalay Kitchen to his grandmother, Daphne Tun Baw, who passed away just before its opening and commissioned a mural outside of the restaurant depicting his grandmother.

I went to Mandalay Kitchen, which is a 20-minute drive from Mounds View High School, on a Saturday afternoon to try a couple of their menu items with some friends.

PHOTOS | Mara Peacock

We started by ordering drinks. I ordered Thai tea and tried the basil lemonade and jasmine tea, which my friends ordered. The Thai tea had a great flavor and a perfect amount of sweetness. The basil lemonade balanced the more savory basil well with the sour taste of the lemonade, creating a refreshing taste. While the Thai tea and the basil lemonade came with ice, the jasmine tea came out in a small teapot, steaming hot and had a very classic and comforting feel.

After we ordered our drinks,we ordered the cream cheese wontons, a familiar appetizer in many restaurants in the U.S. The cream cheese wontons had a crispy texture and delicious flavor, served with a sweet and sour sauce. The plate also came with six wontons, which split perfectly among my group of three.

After appetizers, I decided to take a look at the “Chefs Recommendations” for my entree.

Mandalay Kitchen has a board of “Chef Recommendations” with various popular Burmese dishes. I chose the lahpet thoke, or a tea leaf salad, which comes with fermented tea leaves, peanuts, garlic, sesame seeds and tomatoes. The tea leaves have a strong flavor, and the peanuts and garlic paired nicely with them and added a crunchy texture. I ate the dish in small bites,

as a sharp, unique taste from the tea leaves didn’t allow me to eat it very quickly. Even though I ate the lahpet thoke slowly, I still liked it and enjoyed trying a dish like nothing I’ve had before.

The restaurant had a very calm atmosphere, as it wasn’t too busy when we arrived, and the greenery hanging from the ceilings and the warm lighting gave the restaurant a cozy feel.

The quick and attentive service demonstrated how much Mandalay Kitchen values their customers, as the waiter frequently checked in with us, making sure

food tasted great, and had a very friendly attitude. I also did not have an issue with parking, as a couple small parking lots accompany the restaurant.

I would highly recommend trying Mandalay Kitchen, especially if you’ve never had Burmese food before. This restaurant had a great mix of both authentic Burmese and other Southeastern Asian food, as well as many popular food items you’ll find in Minnesota and across the country. I can definitely see myself going there again.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2024 • WWW.MVVIEWER.ORG

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ALL1N the fight against cancer | Alivia Yang STAFF REPORTER he Mounds View Girls Basketball team faces other schools twice a week. From different outcomes of wins and losses, the players know the feeling of facing challenges and overcoming failures. From getting closer to their own teammates and committing themselves to supporting local cancer patients, the athletes are dedicated to giving back to the community that supports them.

Developed by the coaches, the “ALL 1N” program has characterized the team for three years now. The head coach, Dave Bratland, created the slogan “ALL 1N” to encourage the players to put their all into whatever they do.

While the original goal of the “ALL 1N” phrase encouraged and connected the staff and students, it soon became a fund after the passing of the wife of Dave Bratland and the mother of one of the players, Emma Bratland. After a diagnosis of metastatic colon cancer in 2020, Erica Bratland endured 58 chemo treatments, two radiation procedures and a multitude of surgeries up until this past summer, when she passed after her battle with cancer.

“It’s kind of hard to go back into a sport right after your mom or anyone passed away,” said Emma Bratland, senior.

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But the team was there to support her, leaving hundreds of cards and words of support towards the family. “They were always checking up on me and they were always asking me to hang out with me to get my mind away from what happened,” said Emma Bratland.

While the coaches had always wanted to financially give back to the community, the passing of Erica Bratland pushed them to kickstart a fundraiser to help other families that were struggling with cancer.

Over the summer, the team raised money with donations from multiple sponsors and fundraisers. For instance, the team held a huge t-shirt

sale and bagged groceries at Kowalski’s. In the end, they raised over five thousand dollars before the basketball season began.

On Dec. 9, the money raised was given to the Leiser family, who were close friends of Dave Bratland, after Elyse Leiser was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The team hopes to continue raising money to support other families affected by a health crisis.

Since the season began, the players have nearly doubled their original goal of five thousand dollars, and the team is already searching for more local families to help.

PHOTOS | Gloria Liu

THE MOUNDS VIEW GIRLS BASKETBALL team watches the players from the bleachers.

D1 RECRUIT W QUIN MORGAN’S PATH TO #1

| Elijah Mattfield STAFF REPORTER ith over 70 wins so far this season, four-and-ahalf star wrestling recruit Quin Morgan dominates the Minnesota high school wrestling scene. Ranked number one in the state for his weight class with consistent first-place tournament wins, it seems that the senior wrestler is unstoppable.

Morgan’s success is only part of the story. The wrestling team is one of the best in the state, currently ranked number two in the Class AAA division. Recently, they have dominated their opponents by going 55-12 against Woodbury, 66-3 against Cretin and 57-6 against Faribault.

While these triumphs were a team effort, Morgan plays a large role in the team’s continued success. Morgan recently secured a team win by taking the championship at the Rumble on the Red tournament in Fargo,

North Dakota during win- grade to qualifying for state It’s clear that Morter break. “Winning the his freshman year, it may gan has a deep passion for Christmas Tournament and not seem like adversity has wrestling, and he will conRumble on the Red were characterized Morgan’s tinue to pursue this passion really cool, not only as an wrestling journey. How- in college. Committed to individual champ but as ever, there are times when South Dakota State Uniteam champs as well,” said matches or tournaments versity as a D1 athlete, he Morgan. don’t pan out as planned, looks forward to the higher Stemming from childhood, Morgan’s passion for wrestling has endured for over 15 years. Although Morgan’s own drive and motivation play a large role in his continuation of the sport, his father is the reason he began wrestling in the first place.

“My Dad wrestled in college for the University of Minnesota; he’s the one who got me into it ever PHOTO VIA Quin Morgan since I was a kid,” said QUIN MORGAN proudly raises his trophy at a wrestling Morgan.

Those who know tournament.

Morgan can testify to his near-obsession with wres- and Morgan uses those level of competition. “My tling and his determination mishaps to fuel his motiva- goal at SDSU is to become to be the best. “It takes a tion for growth. “My soph- the best wrestler of my lot of time and energy to omore year at state I got ability,” said Morgan. be a wrestler and spending pinned with short time left hours upon hours a week after being up 10-4. That just to get where I want to started my mental drive to be,” said Morgan. become the best wrestler I From winning 4th could be,” said Morgan. place at Sections in eighth

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Scan QR code to access The Viewer’s website:

Down 1. Denomination of Prince of Peace Church 2. Prequel to the book and 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” 3. App developed by seniors Sreya Subramanian and Zoke Sackih 1/17/24, 2:35 PM Untitled - Crossword Labs 5. Cuisine served at Mandalay Kitchen 6. Jacob Hairrell’s college major Across 7. The English class removed from Mounds View 4. Family with a controversial vlogging channel 8. Capitol Records wouldn’t release a song from this 7. Field struggling with a labor shortage 1 artist song until they faked a viral moment on TikTok 9. Diet Joe Rogan popularized in 2020 10. Concept looksmaxxing largely rose from 2 11. College Quin Morgan was recruited to for 3 wrestling 12. Practice of upgrading one’s physique and 4 5 attempting to look more 6 “aesthetic” by frequenting 7 the gym

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You will improve your writing,3.learn graphic design and receive a App developed by seniors Sreya Subramanian and Zoke Sackih 10. Concept looksmaxxing largely rosesemester from English credit!

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