THE ROYAL NEWS MAY 2024

MAY 2024

THE ROYAL NEWS

FOR STUDENTS, BY STUDENTS

KIRA CHEREN

ANTHONY FARREN

JULIA KINDEL

ANNA MAIBORODA

AEDAN MILLER

NYAH PALMER

NEERJA SHAH

AVA WEATHERBIE

MOLLY WILLIAMS

EDITOR’S COMMENTS

ROYALTON CELEBRATES IN THE DARK

UNNECESSARY BURDENS

BROADCASTING WITH THE PROS

ART SHOW IS ALL TANGLED UP

RESURGENCE OF AN ANCIENT ART

LITERARY MAGAZINE RELEASES 2024 ISSUE

OPINION: A YEAR AWAY FROM HOME

COVER PHOTO: AEDAN MILLER

INSIDE PHOTO: AEDAN MILLER

THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS. THEY DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OR VIEWS OF THE ROYAL NEWS, ITS ADVISOR OR NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL.

PHOTO

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

The last. That’s a phrase that is tossed around frequently this time of the year in high school. Seniors are making note of their last pep rally, their last full week of classes, and their last steps down the halls they’ve called home for the past four years. It’s a strange juxtaposition, as the spring blooms flourish outside, inside, we’re tracking endings. Conclusions. Final times.

Here at The Royal News it’s no different. Our final issue marks not only the ending of the school year, but a goodbye to the senior writers, several of whom have been writing their entire high school careers. It saddens me that their words will no longer grace these pages. Their perspectives will go silent with only the faint echo of past issues as a memory of their time here.

Yet, despite this somber feeling, the joy of this gig is knowing that this particular ending is actually a beginning for all of them. These fine students are starting something new and fresh. They will enter a new world with new experiences and new accomplishments. The future is forever, for them. And that time, undoubtedly, is rich with hope

So, as we say farewell to the senior staff of The Royal News, I simply wish them all the best and hope that they will continue to use their voices for good. To change the world. And make every ending a new, important beginning.

Thanks, as always, for reading, -Mr.

Hemery The Royal News Advisor

ROYALTON TAKES A GLIMPSE AT THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

BY NYAH PALMER

April 8, 2024 - people all over the world stepped outside to witness the solar eclipse, whether total or partial. It’s the kind of event that brings people together. I like to imagine millions of tiny figures standing and looking up at the sky with their silly eclipse glasses on in every corner of the world - all seeing the same sun and moon. Online, we shared stories and photos: blurry phone pictures and stunning professional ones. The next day, we all returned to school or work and chatted about our eclipse-viewing experience. But what is a solar eclipse? We’ve all heard plenty

about them in the past couple of months, from teachers and friends and social media. To sum it all up, a solar eclipse happens when the moon is aligned in front of the sun from our perspective down here on Earth. Because of the uncommonly large size of our moon in comparison to the distance of the sun, we get what's called a total solar eclipse - enough of the sun’s light blocked that the sky appears dark in the middle of the afternoon. This is actually an incredibly unlikely event; not all planets in our solar system have a moon large enough to create such a phenomenon. In other words, the stars (quite literally) aligned

Here in North Royalton we were especially lucky: we didn't have to go farther than our own backyards to see the total eclipse. While people from all over the U.S. flocked to the diagonal path of totality, subject to gridlocked traffic and massive crowds, North Royalton remained a peaceful haven to roast hotdogs on the grill or head up the football stadium for a viewing event hosted by the city.

The North Royalton Watch Party took place on the day of the eclipse from 1-4 pm at the Serpentini Chevrolet stadium. It included activities such as

bounce houses and music from a DJ, who played songs such as the appropriate Total Eclipse of the Heart. While watching, guests enjoyed pizza from the concession stand and sweets from Kona Ice and Lemon Shack food trucks. It was a festive event for North Royalton residents to come together and celebrate what will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many. For those of us current NRHS students, we might be around to wit -

ness the next one from our retirement homes in 2099. In the meantime, be sure to drop off your glasses at any nearby donation bin, such as at the Cuyahoga County Public Library. This way, your glasses can be reused by people in other parts of the world who will get to see the eclipse in upcoming years. Unless you’re like me, and you chose instead to keep them as a memento in a scrapbook or memory box under the bed.

WHY ARE EOCS IMPORTANT?

End-of-course testing has always been one of the final obstacles on the last lap of the year, continuously sneaking up on students and causing them irritation more than anything else. However, despite a majority of students and teachers complaining about their uselessness, they still come around every year, and we still have the same complaints every year. The integrity of the actual test comes into question, as well as the true necessity of them. Many teachers have shown the students in my classes the statistics of what is considered passing one of these tests, which seem shockingly low considering the time and effort it takes to take them. End-of-course tests totally destroy the normal school week and drain both stu -

dents and teachers, which causes a total ruination of anything important getting done or being learned during the week of the assessments. This becomes particularly evident when students start to take AP and honors classes, forcing their teachers to pile on and cram valuable information and learning materials before the AP test or finals, which is around a month later.

Recently, there have been incentives added at our school. If a student scores a specific number out of 5 on the test, they can choose to opt out of the final. For example, if a student receives a 4 or 5 they get an automatic A on the final, and if they get a 3, they get a B on the final. This is definitely an alluring prospect, and encourages students to actually try on the EOCs for once, as some students failed to give it their all, especially on the ones

where they did not have to pass the exam to graduate high school.

A handful of EOCs are required of high school students to pass to allow them to meet graduation requirements.

EOCs add an extra burden to an already-busy student schedule

However, do these tests truly display student capability and learning when the percentage needed to pass them is extremely low and the content is monotonous and fatuous? These graduation standards then beg the question: why do graduation rates matter more to the Ohio Board of Education than student learning? EOCs have never been a quality learning experience for me and for many other students. It only causes significant time loss and makes teachers rush through content that they could have taught more thoroughly if that week of testing was not there. What I find laughable is that the majority of the time I hear students talking about how they only needed thirty minutes to take an EOC, in a time slot where they were given three hours. Furthermore, these tests completely screw up students mentally and add even more fatigue and stress to the burnout they have probably been dealing with since school started.

Abi Midgley, an honors and AP student, said that “the downsides of EOC testing heavily outweigh the upsides of taking these tests.” She continued to explain her perspective, stating that “these standardized tests cause a significant mental drain on students only in exchange for not taking some

of their finals. All in all, I believe these tests are more of a resource for a public ranking of schools and an assessment of teachers than anything else.”

Additionally, Dahlia George, another student taking advanced classes, said, “EOC testing has never been a beneficial experience for me. The content on them is tedious and repetitive without being truly challenging in any way. It requires students to sacrifice a large part of their day for very little purpose.”

There is a large consensus amongst students who agree with this same ideology. I don’t believe the tests are even that helpful for teachers. In fact, since the teachers are not allowed to look at the tests when proctoring them, and they cannot be completely sure what will be on it ahead of time, it truly is not an accurate assessment of how well they covered the state’s requirements for that course that year. All things considered, EOC testing is redundant and only brings one more burden upon students and teachers. Those who argue in favor of EOC testing believe that the tests can help gauge academic quality and help evaluate teaching quality in school systems. However, all these points can be quickly refuted and replaced by more invigorating options, such as taking data from a larger scope of educational statistics throughout the school year. EOC testing is a heavily criticized method of evaluation that has long since passed its expiration date as an effective and quality learning assessment.

FOX 8 WELCOMES NRHS

BY MOLLY WILLIAMS

North Royalton High School’s broadcasting class is all about learning the basics of what it’s like to work in the industry. Students are taught skills such as how to write news stories and make the videos to go along with them. The famous NRHS broadcasting studio is there for students to produce the schools' daily announcements, working both in the backroom and the spotlight as talent. To further the experience, this year the class was given the opportunity to visit Cleveland's own Fox 8 News and was guided through for a tour of their studio. Although the Fox 8 station is a more professional space,

Further along the tour, students got a taste of what it’s like to work in a real recording studio. We were met by those who worked in specific areas such as au-

it was also familiar because our studio mimics their technology and basic setup. It was also so comfortable because the entire staff at Fox 8 was beyond welcoming. The famous talents (such as Stefani Schafer, Wayne Dawson, Kristi Capel, and Todd Meany) chatted with the class whenever they weren’t on air and even invited the entire class to be on-air with them.

dio, graphics, producing, editing, etc. The process of each individual job was broken down into different specifics of how their jobs work and what their daily routine is like. This unique experience was shared amongst multiple present and former broadcasting students. Many of these students who take part in this course also express great interest in broadcasting as a future career. Lily Purtee, sophomore at North Royalton, said, “I would love to pursue this as a career path when I graduate high school.”

Dexter Wu agreed that this was a rewarding experience: “The trip helped me understand how much goes on behind the scenes. They work just as hard as the talents in front of the camera.”

Thanks to the entire staff at Fox 8, another generation of aspiring broadcasters has been inspired to venture into this profession.

TANGLED UP IN ART

BY: JULIA KINDEL

The Art Show opened to the public after much preparation by NAHS (National Art Honor Society) members on Thursday, May 2. The Art Show’s theme this year was Tangled, represented by lanterns and fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, flowery vines placed around the room, purple pieces of cloth hung from the walls, and cardboard photo cutouts of Rapunzel’s tower and of Shorty, a small flying man who makes an appearance in the film. Displayed on the TVs around the room were wanted posters of NAHS students, referencing Flynn Rider’s wanted posters from the movie. The event was a chance to display the amazing work of NRHS students.

Preparation for the Art Show took around a month, with NAHS meetings held every Tuesday in April. In these meetings, students debated the best ways to represent the theme and how to decorate the Community Room. Painting the cardboard cutouts took the most time because of their large scale, so students worked together in their free time to complete the cutouts. During the school day on Thursday, NAHS members came during their study halls and open campuses to set up the Art Show. NAHS president Savannah Pratt and vice presidents Gabriella Lascu and Gillian Shultz helped direct their fellow members in hanging decorations and transforming the room.

On Thursday night, families of junior and senior art stu-

dents arrived at the school to support them and their art. Snacks were provided as people roamed throughout the room, admiring their student’s hours of hard work both at school and home. Furthermore, some students recently won Scholastic Art Awards for their works, so their impressive paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography were displayed for all to see. Each year, the Scholastic Art Awards recognize thousands of student artworks and allow them to be presented to the community. The students who won Silver Keys (Dominic Bogielski, Emma Hill, Milana Revitska, and Anastasiya Shalamay) will present their work in an exhibition at the Cleveland Institute of Art from May 18 to June 1.

On Friday, hundreds of students and teachers stopped by during their class periods and study halls to peruse the aisles of art. A new addition to the Art Show was a four-man band that performed in the back of the community room, gathering a considerable crowd during each class period. The band played a variety of rock and indie tunes, providing an upbeat atmosphere to the event. Overall, the 2024 Art Show proved to be a success. Mr. Speers, the art teacher in charge of this year’s Art Show, acknowledged that the event “was very well received by the school, and we had tons of people in [the community room] at different times.”

BY AEDAN MILLER

WPROCESS THIS: FILM PHOTOGRAPHY MAKES A COMBACK

hat’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word film? Most likely a movie. Although you would be correct, the word film has another meaning, which describes a thin plastic strip which is coated in light-sensitive emulsion. Simply put, it is how pictures were taken before the era of digital cameras. Film photography has recently been gaining more traction among photographers. Producers, distributors, and sellers of film have reported the highest earnings they have had in years. But why? In this modern world we live in, do we need anything other than a digital format? The resurgence of film photography is a slightly confusing, but an overall warm welcome.

Social media is seen as the biggest factor in nearly all fads and trends. All it takes is one person to take a picture or video of something before hundreds of thousands of people do the same thing, in turn, creating a trend. Many photographers, myself included, have noticed a recent spike on platforms such as Instagram of photos with the captions “taken on film.” People even ask about the model of the camera and film stock that were used to take images.

Leo Crook, a filmmaker and photographer states, “Social media has definitely created a lot of interest in film. I think it's what got me into it. It's been a big part for film companies such as Harman creating new stock.”

Social media has spiked the popularity of film so much that Harman, as stated by Crook, has created an entirely new type of film stock. This means Harman has tweaked the way light enters into, and stays in the emulsion layer of the film, which creates a new look for the photos. Ever since the first digital camera began to hit the market, film companies such as Kodak, Fujifilm, and Harman have been afraid of creating new types of film, scared that it would not sell well. This spike in demand for film is all Harman needed to take the first step into making new film stock, Pheonix, and they saw huge success. Many stores sold out very quickly of this new stock and many still have it on backorder. This re-popularizing of film is great, but why do people like it so much; what is the appeal?

There is no exact pinpoint of what makes film photography so appealing, but there are three big factors that guide us in the right direction. The first is how film photos are even loaded into a camera,

shot, developed, and finally printed. It is a long and, some agree, tedious process. When loading a roll of film into a camera, you must be very careful not to expose too much of the film to surrounding light sources, otherwise, it can overexpose, and ruin the entire roll. While shooting the film you have to adjust your iso, aperture, and shutter speed all perfectly since you are unable to see the shots immediately after taking the picture. Finally, after all that, you take that roll of film to the camera shop, where they use multiple different chemical mixtures to remove the light-sensitive layer on the film in order for you to get the pictures back perfectly, all while in a pitch-black room.

While the process is rigorous, that is something people love about film. Aleksa Mazic, a film photographer, agrees by saying, “It’s a special feeling knowing what chemical processes have taken place to hold the negative in your hand.” Sometimes it is hard to realize the amount of care that goes into taking photos, but with film it makes that care more known.

The second key factor is the feeling that film gives people. Each film stock has its own specific colorway and grain, giving people lots of choices over how they want people to perceive their photos. Giving the picture grain combined with the ability to over/under wash the image, all just with the exposure, gives the photos, a lot of the time, a dreamy and nostalgic feeling.

“I think film has a sense of nostalgia. For me, the look of film is timeless,” said Crook. While many people today grew up using film before digital cameras were common, many of the newer generation are describing film as nostalgic. Film gives off a feeling of life or existence that is hard to describe. It brings a sense of joy to be able to express this feeling through something you love. Photography is a form of art that anyone can easily get into and can be used in so many creative ways.

“Using a film camera feels so much more tactile, from loading the film, to metering, and then taking the shot. There is something just much more satisfying than digital… it looks much more authentic,” said Crook. This feeling that film brings people is hard to suppress. Although, many people are unable to partake in shooting film because of budget restraints and prefer to use applications such as Adobe Lightroom to make their digital photos look like film. And that is okay because photography is a form of art and expression, which you can bend the rules of to fit your style.

The final factor that plays a role in the popularity is that you own your photos physically. With the constant increase in converting everything to a digital format, such as state AIR, EOC, and SAT testing, many people feel overwhelmed. We as humans love owning our belongings physically rather than digitally. We get a greater sense of joy buying something that we can physically touch, play with, and display, rather than something we can only look at through a screen. With film all the pictures you have ever taken are stored right on the film strip you took those photos on. Physically owning creates a sense of security for people as well. The word stealing has a different meaning depending on where you use it. If something is stolen from you in real life, that implies someone has most likely broken into your property and taken something of high value. And if something were stolen from you digitally, then maybe someone saw your picture, thought it was cool, and took a screenshot to repost as their own. A digital landscape can stress many people who have businesses and try to make a living off selling their photos.

“I think physically owning works, in fact, is a great safety measure,” said Mazic. “Digital media on the internet is accessible to everyone and anyone can use it even without permission.”

In the future, this could become a common solution to online theft of photography. Being able to hold your negatives in hand is similar to holding a painting you painted or a picture

you drew; you are holding your own accomplishment knowing it is safe with you.

Film photography has been around for decades and is still alive and kicking. Film is not leaving us anytime soon, and it can even be called a new standard among photographers. Delving into film myself, I can say it becomes addicting. The feeling that you get from being able to have full control and physical ownership over your pictures is amazing! Even if this is only a temporary trend that, like all trends, slowly fades into obscurity, many will still see the greatness that is in film and continue its legacy. Modern movies are still being shot on film, such as Oppenheimer! Film photography’s legacy will forever be an unforgettable one, with its resurgence only solidifying its superiority.

Photo taken on Kodak Gold 200 film

Photo taken on Kodak Portra 400 film

INKWELL: A CELEBRATION OF STUDENTS' VOICES

On May 2, 2024, North Royalton High School released its nineteenth edition of Inkwell, the school’s literary and art magazine. For those nineteen years Ms. Leatherman has been inspiring students to write poetry and short stories and giving them a space to showcase their talents. Their words are accompanied by the art and photography of some of Royalton’s most gifted artists.

After a year of work, the magazine was revealed at the release party, which was kicked off with music from the school’s jazz band in the PAC. The images included in this year’s edition were projected during this performance. After, the students read their work and then celebrated with refreshments.

Although the party is the culmination of their work, the students enjoyed the creative process the entire year. Bogdan Averin said, “Inkwell is a very welcoming and fun place to be, where we can show our works and get feedback for it too.”

Despite the seeming seamlessness of the event, there is ample work that goes on behind the scenes, including many meetings, laying out the magazine, and working with the printer. One of the biggest obstacles lately has been funding. During her opening remarks, Ms. Leatherman acknowledged that it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce the actual magazine, as costs continue to increase, and there is no official funding source for the magazine. But, Leatherman announced that “this year five Royalton families contributed the funds to help offset the printing costs of the magazine.” She thanked the generous gifts from Nancy Noeth, the Brihn family, Mike and Julie Laub, Nick and Kristina Randjelovic, and the Farren family. “Their belief,” she said, “in the students and their creative endeavors was beyond moving and inspiring.”

Leatherman is looking forward to the twentieth anniversary of Inkwell next year, which will be fueled by a very large creative writing class.

Cassidy Woodmancy agreed, stating, “Inkwell is an amazing opportunity for everyone to express their creativity and show off their passion for writing.”

The magazine is a testament to the importance of highlighting the voices and visions of tomorrow’s leaders.

OPINION: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE IT ALL

BY ANNA MAIBORODA

Being an international student is one of the most uncomfortable and difficult experiences of my life. My first year in the US was even more stressful than the start of the war and living there during that time. People will never understand how it feels to really leave everything in your home country with no possibility to come back. Although the US really gave me a lot of possibilities and choices, the main choice of my home was stolen from me and my family.

For the fact that I could not get good scores because of the language barrier. And even for my story of war.

One of the most difficult parts of this move was leaving beyond those who I love. My whole family is still in the Ukraine, including my dad. It is scary thinking what can happen at any moment with them. Because the scariest thing is to lose your family. But, while I’m worrying about their safety, I’m also trying to adjust to a new culture. There were times when I felt I was constantly judged. For my accent. For my nationality. For the fact that I was scared.

But I know I’m not the only one who had to endure these stresses. Many Ukrainians who came here because of the war have similar experiences. A friend overheard some girls speaking about how Ukrainians were taking spots of other students in clubs and on sports teams. It is so difficult to not feel wanted and not be able to go home. Obviously not everyone treated us this way, but those moments are difficult and hurt. Remember, we had a choice to stay in Ukraine and be killed or leave our homes to stay safe.

Ultimately, we appreciate all kindness and support, but that doesn’t change the fact that this has been an extremely difficult time for many of us. The war isn’t in the news as much, so now we’re just in this new place trying to navigate what to do. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to get to know us, and we are always willing to tell you our story and get to know you as well. For now, here are some images of home.

PHOTO BY NYAH PALMER