2020-21 NS Times 5th Edition by NS Times

Cheer takes state Drill takes region -- see stories pages 8-9

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

2 February 2021 www.nstimes.org Volume 13 Issue 5

WELL SAID “You look at what’s happening, and you wonder if we are still the beacon of democracy and hope.”

The. Friendship. Connection.

-- Tyler Bailey, NS history teacher on the current political state of America

BY THE NUMBERS

67%

Of students that use Spotify as their music streaming service according to a recent NS Times survey

2 /3 nd

Places boys swim and girls swim teams took at the region meet last Saturday

12%

Number of failing grades at NS 1st semester

NS EVENTS Wednesday, Feb 3 Boys Basketball @ Union 3:30pm-8:30pm Thursday, Feb 4 Girls Basketball @ Juab 3:30pm-8:30pm Friday, Feb 5 Boys Basketball vs Juab @ NS 3:30pm-8:30pm 3A Wrestling Divisional Tournament @ SVC Friday-Saturday Tuesday, Feb 9 State Drill @ UVU Wednesday, Feb 10 Boys Basketball @ Delta 3:30pm-8:30pm

CONTENTS Opinion..................4 Features.................5 Sports....................7 Arts......................10 Crossword...........12

NS friends talk about what brought them together and what keeps them going BY HOPE SHELLY AND MICHELLE LEE

Whether it’s formed by replying to a wafﬂes Snapchat story, going to preschool together, or living next door, whether it’s newly developed, over a lifetime or even only a few years—it makes no difference when it comes to ﬁnding your best friend. “It’s how you survive high school,” said junior Iven Cox. High school can be dull without friends. Any friends are great to have, but when it comes to your best friend, everything just becomes so much better. “It just makes it all worth it,” said junior Jada Bailey.

Being able to ﬁnd someone that connects with you enough to put up with your personality is something that not many people are able to ﬁnd that so naturally evolves together in the friendship. “All of our different personalities just compliment each other so well when we’re together,” said freshman Mari Briggs. “It just makes it fun.” While friends are there to mess around and be weird with, the best ones are also there for those deeper conversations that most wouldn’t feel all that comfortable talking about to just anyone. “We can have fun together, but we also can talk to each

NS sees spike in failing grades due to COVID BY

KAYLEE ANDERSON

A world-wide pandemic. Something that teachers and students could never have prepared for. Many new avenues of teaching and learning had to be explored when in-person instruction was no longer available after the risk of illness reached the doors of NS. Technology became the new medium for instruction, and because both teachers and students struggled with adjusting to online learning, expectations as well as eligibility requirements were changed. “It’s way bad,” said Credit Recovery Facilitator Jane Tucker. “Usually at the end of the quarter we get down to around 200. Our current enrollment is like 750.” The expectations set at the end of the last school year set an unfortunate precedent for the academic expectations of the current school year. “Fourth quarter last year, people had this idea that they don’t have to do anything,” said counselor Heather Allred. We left for two weeks and thought we were only going to be closed for two weeks, but we ended up staying closed for the rest of the quarter. We went from the teachers doing what they would do in their classroom to having to modify that because we weren’t super prepared for that. So the expectation was fairly low and a lot of people didn’t do anything until the very end when they realized: ‘Oh, this is going to impact me.’” See Grades, page 2

other about the harder things,” said junior Natalya Benson. When other friends may not always be there in those hard times, it is always nice to have at least the one person you feel most comfortable with to be there for you. “There’s lots of things I couldn’t do without Madolyn being there for me,” said sophomore Alexis Bradley. Not only do friends work so well with one another, they are able to understand your sense of humor, your feelings and the random things that only the two of you would be able to understand. “Family doesn’t always get it, but with best friends, they

always get what you’re talking about,” said senior Adam Cox. Time plays a big role in the connection between two friends. Although it is possible, it’s rare to comment on one thing and automatically become best friends. Time is a big factor in getting to where the friendship is undeniable. “I don’t even question it anymore,” said sophomore Landon Milsap. “I’ve just known him for a long time and we’re just good friends.” To have a best friend there to be around, makes a huge difference in the lives of others. No matter how or when that friendship was created, in the end, it all means the same. watch video at nstimes.org

NS alumnus Spencer Cox elected governor of Utah BY

photo provided by Deseret News

Gov. Spencer Cox (right) with his wife, Abby Cox (left).

MARLEE CROZIER

Recently elected Governor Spencer Cox was a small-town Sanpete kid, but that didn’t stop him from getting where he is today, making history as the ﬁrst NS alumnus Utah Governor. “We don’t have governors that come from towns like Fairview or schools like NS, so I never thought that that was something that I could do,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox, “but I think that is what has impacted [my wife and I]: the things we have learned from growing up here, it See Cox, page 2

Violent protests in DC leave students, teachers uneasy BY

BRADLEY POWER

At the end of the taxing year of 2020, Americans everywhere yearned for respite from the chaos of the world around them. Denizens of this planet looked upward, hoping that 2021 would be a better year. Unfortunately, the year is not off to a great start here in the United States.

On Jan. 6, during the ofﬁciating process for the electoral votes by Congress, then-President Trump held a rally at the Ellipse park in Washington D.C. Trump addressed his supporters, who numbered among the thousands, repeating claims about the falseness of the results of the election, and reportedly calling for the crowd See Capitol, page 3

News

Cox, continued from page 1 taught us how to work really hard, how to ﬁgure things out. It taught us not to be scared of anything.” Many tend to see being from a small high school as a disadvantage, but Spencer and his wife Abby Cox, also an alumna of NS, instead see it as an opportunity that helped shape them into who they are today. “In a smaller [high school], you have the opportunity to do more diverse things,” said First Lady Abby Cox. “I had the opportunity to be in choir, play on the basketball team, be on seminary council, things like that that played a role in my life going forward.” Not only did the diversity of activities impact their lives but so did the friendships they gained that are still present today. “The best part of being an NS student was the relationships that we had,” Spencer Cox said. “Everyone knows everyone in a smaller class; we all got to know each other and be friends, and many of those friendships are still there twenty-ﬁve years later, which is just awesome.” Deciding to run for Governor, Spencer and Abby Cox knew it meant they would have to leave the small town and people in it that had shaped their lives for years. “There was a moment when we knew that we were supposed to run

for governor,” Spencer Cox said. “We love living in Sanpete and have no desire to move or to disrupt our lives, yet there was a moment we knew we had to make the decision.” The journey leading up to the decision of running for governor was one that carried many possibilities. “It’s just been a remarkable journey,” Spencer Cox said. “We have had the opportunity to do so many different things and to meet so many amazing people.” While they have met many important ﬁgures such as the Dalai Lama and former President Obama, it was the everyday citizens that inspired Spencer Cox and his family the most. “We traveled the entire state as we campaigned and got to know everyday people,” Abby Cox said. “The heroes in our communities that nobody knows about that we were able to see in action. That, to me, getting proximate with other people that are different from us and to really see the best of Utah through its people was the most rewarding part of the journey.” One of the most crucial stepping stones for Spencer Cox on his journey was the opportunity to be Lt. Governor. “I am grateful for Governor Herbert and his trust in me as a kid he didn’t know very well to be his Lt. Governor,” Spencer Cox said. “It was the

best preparation, I don’t know how anyone would be Governor without having had the opportunity that I had to be Lt. Governor. It has all been enormously difﬁcult, but a thousand times easier because I’ve been right there in the middle of it, watching and learning.” Though there were many opportunities there were also many hardships along the way as well. “[Spencer’s] been commuting two hundred miles round trip almost every single day,” Abby Cox said. “The distance and being gone, missing recitals, plays and ballgames, has certainly been a hardship.” Being who everyone wants you to be is often seen as a roadblock, but Spencer Cox persevered and turned it alternatively into a strength. “People want you to ﬁt in neatly in a box, but people struggle to put Spencer in a box because he surprises them,” Abby Cox said. “He reaches out to people who traditionally have not had a voice in government. That is a strength that I feel has been lacking in politics today.” Spencer Cox found inspiration to carry on through the hardships in the people in Utah and how they are persevering. “Through the darkest times is when we have seen the best of people,” Spencer Cox said. “All the dif-

ﬁcult things that people have done to change their lives and get through this pandemic have inspired me.” Spencer Cox gives credit for his achievements not only to the inspiration of those around him, but also to the support of his family. “[My support] is and has always been my family,” Cox said. “My wife, Abby, and my kids have been a true inspiration for me. I would come home late at night and have my kids and my wife there, they were my rock and my support.” Spencer Cox didn’t let anything stop him, especially the ‘you are just a small-town kid’ stigma and hopes that rural students such as himself don’t let it stop them either. “My advice [to rural town students] is that you can do anything, you are every bit as smart and capable as your peers anywhere else in this state and country. Never sell yourself short or think less of yourself because of where you are born or raised,” Spencer Cox said. “In fact, it is the exact opposite, because of where you are going to school right now you have something special. You have something that the rest of the world desperately needs right now, you have that ability to connect with people around you, you know how to work and how to care about others. And that is the secret to success.”

TERREL’S 1/8 Ad Grades, continued from page 1

Graph showing the percent of failing grades given at NS for the past three years

Under the circumstances, even those typically known as high-achieving students struggled to maintain higher grades. “When we know what the low bar is, our natural tendency is to just meet that,” said Principal Cristy Straatman. “We have to work hard to get the A, or to get the B, and so even the really good students struggled [during] fourth quarter.”

With no control over outside factors many students carry the stress they experience with them to school impacting their ability to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. “There is kind of this unconscious weight that I think people carry around,” Straatman said. “We have this idea that if we push it away, then I’m going to feel better, but over time, you feel worse because you just

never resolve anything. The backpack just keeps getting fuller and fuller, so I just think there are a lot of environmental factors. They’re all these things outside of us that we don’t have any control over.” Out of all the classes in the high school, the sophomore class in particular has been struggling with failing grades the most. “We have more Fs

with the sophomores than any other grade,” Tucker said. “Since we don’t have school on Fridays we have invited a small group of kids to come in. Anywhere from 25-40 kids come into the library and get help with their work.” More help is offered to those students in need of one on one support, but Tucker worries that they aren’t taking full advantage of those opportunities. “I think they would get more work done if they would utilize the tutors and our TAs that are here available,” Tucker said. “We have people walking around making sure they are not needing anything. Their famous words are “I’m ﬁne.” The students don’t always realize the consequences until it is too late. If they would just pay attention it’s important because that’s just going to come around to bite you in the rear.

Remote learners are also a contributing factor to the increase in failing grades. “I think that’s a huge problem,” Tucker said. “The remote kids are not getting what you would normally get when you are here at school; they don’t have that support. Nobody is really making them do what they need to do.” Another way that the district has tried to combat the increase in failing grades is by bringing NCs back. “I think by doing the NCs we had less Fs because kids were here more and because kids were here more, they did more work,” Straatman said. In another attempt to help struggling students, support groups and classes have been put in place for emotional help. “We have just added on a couple more support classes moving into third quarter, which we

hope will help,” Straatman said. “We have added some support groups at this school that are led by our social worker psychologist and her counselors. It’s helping kids with the emotional struggles and the stress that they are feeling here. It’s not a COVID support but it is for kids who are needing support for whatever reasons and COVID might be part of contributing to why they would like to join that support group. Adding additional support classes but also adding some social and emotional opportunities to support kids.” When students are failing it impacts the school on all levels. Many people step up to help struggling students. “We are in the business to help kids so I hate to see any kids struggling,” Straatman said. “Anytime we have anyone failing any classes I feel like there’s always think so we can try.”

News

Capitol, continued from page 1 to march down to the United States Capitol to protest the counting of the votes. “From my understanding, President Trump was giving a speech to his constituency,” said FACS teacher Sterling Whipple, “and he was calling for them to march peacefully down to the Capitol building to protest the electoral college… the group did go down to the capitol building, and became violent.” In just a few hours, the rioters breached the Capitol and caused extensive damage to both the interior and the exterior of the building. Five people also died in the riot. The rioters called their protest the “March to Save America,” but unfortunately that is not what it was. One of the most shocking outcomes of this event was the subsequent second impeachment of Donald Trump by the House, and the many allegations made against him for “inciting insurrection.” Hundreds of politicians and world leaders criticized Trump for his actions that day, although the inﬂuence he had on the violence in the protest is still unclear. “President Trump addressed [the rioters] early on,” said NS history teacher Tyler Bailey. “People are saying he egged them on. I’m not sure if he egged them on, but he certainly didn’t tell them to stop.” Others take a more deﬁnite point

of view, condemning Trump for inciting the riots intentionally and maliciously. “Our democracy currently is in really great jeopardy,” said senior Adam Cox. “Trump has managed to convince a lot of his voter base that the only reliable source of information is himself, and anything that agrees with what he’s saying, which is very dangerous, because then you can manipulate them whatever way you want…it’s no longer a statement, it’s a symbol for a group… it feels like they’re not even ﬁghting for anything, they’re just following blindly.” Some argue that the supporters became violent on their own, and all Trump was doing was trying to prove that the election was false. “People, the American people,” said sophomore Darld Swapp, “there’s a lot of mad ones out there. And I could see a riot just going right in front of the White House. I’m just getting tired of it, I don’t know… in school now, they say politics isn’t part of life, but it is. Like these masks.” The equation of politics with anger and riots is an unfortunate one, but an astute observation as well. So much of politics in America are fueled by powerful emotions like fear, anger, and selﬁshness. That is not necessarily a good thing. “My general reaction to this is my

same reaction to the summer BLM riots,” Whipple said. “I love and promote the right granted in the Constitution to peaceably assemble and be heard by our government. We need that. We need people to stand up to the government and tell them no more, in whatever it is that needs to be done away with. “However, my other reaction is, you can stand up for what is right and be nice about it. I don’t believe in rioting. I don’t. I think it is wrong to riot, and I think the Constitution makes that pretty clear when it says to peaceably assemble. To burn down buildings or smash in windows, to attack police ofﬁcers… is not peaceful. And that transitions out of being what I believe is Constitutionally protected, and into being criminal.” Indeed, in recent months, protests and expression of opinions by the people have been too often made violent and become riots. It leaves one to wonder, where will it stop? “We’ve seen a lot of protests over the years,” Bailey said. “For whatever reason people are protesting, they are not allowed to damage property. Regardless of what you’re protesting, regardless of how passionate you are, you are breaking the law if you are damaging property.” Joseph de Maistre, an 18th-century philosopher and politician, knew what

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he was talking about when he said: “Every nation gets the government it deserves.” Regrettably, America does not seem to deserve a very good government right now. “The riot was absolutely his [Trump’s] fault,” said Cox, “but it’s also the fault of his colleagues for being complicit with it… it’s too late now. They should’ve come out and said something sooner, before all this happened.” Over 80 separate countries and world leaders condemned the events of Jan. 6, largely blaming Trump for what happened, but also expressing shock and distaste for an event such as this occurring in the heart of the greatest democracy of the world. “The United States, we’ve always kind of carried this ﬂag of freedom and democracy,” said Bailey. “We don’t need fences and chains and guns; as Americans, we do the right thing and we hold things sacred, and other countries don’t… You look at what’s happening, and you wonder if we are still the beacon of democracy and hope.” So, with Joe Biden inaugurated as the new 46th President, the world is watching the United States closely, for what happens next will determine if this great nation does, in fact, deserve a democracy just as great.

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Opinion

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

2 February 2021 www.nstimes.org Volume 13 Issue 5

Concerned student calls for unity, reflects on biased news

HARRY COOK

The news today has biases. This is especially true in large news companies such as Fox News, CNN, ABC, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. As Americans, we need to be aware of and work to remove these biases. I want to take a look at a few things, first, what caused these biases, second, what impact are biases having on the world, and third, what can we do about it. So, first things first, I think that the way that the biases came into existence is pretty simple. It wasn’t something that I believe was intended when the news sources were created, but it was a creeping progression towards bias. I think that what happened is that someone in charge with prejudices conducted interviews, and when they met someone who thought in a similar way to them, they were more inclined to hire them. As more and more people who thought in that way were hired for the

company, there were fewer and fewer people who would point out the growing biases. This is a slippery slope; the further down you get, the harder it is to make it out. Now that companies are known for their biases, they are less likely to attract people who think differently, which allows for further drift away from neutrality. It is important to note that this is just a theory, but I believe that it is a good one. If you look back, even just a few years, you can see that the news was much more unified in the things that were reported. Coverage was more even, and news sources would not praise or criticize things. Instead, they would simply report on them. Another aspect that allows for more bias in the news is the for-profit model of the American news system. News sources are looking for a way to make a profit, that is the ultimate goal of those sources, and so they cater to certain audiences. Often, the audience that they cater to is biased in one way or another. According to gallup.com, in 1984, 42 percent of Americans believed that “Most news media don’t do a good job of letting people know what is fact and what is opinion,” while in 2017, that number had skyrocketed to 66 percent, an increase of 24 percent. Another interesting point

is that Republicans are much more likely to believe that news sources are biased, with 67 percent perceiving a large amount of political bias in coverage, whereas only 26 percent of Democrats believed the same. Something that may be even more shocking is the seemingly exponential increase in the perception of news biases in the last few years. In 1989, 25 percent of Americans believed there were significant biases, in 2012, 37 percent of Americans believed that there were significant biases. Today, 45 percent of Americans believe that the news is significantly biased. From 1989 to 2012, every year, approximately 0.5 percent of Americans changed their mind and decided that there were biases in the news. From 2012 to 2017, there was an average increase of 1.6 percent. Here at NS, only 10 percent of students who responded to our survey believed that “Most news media are careful to separate fact from opinion,” while the other 90 percent believed that “Most news media don’t do a good job of letting people know what is fact and what is opinion.” Additionally, only 15 percent of students trust mainstream media. The second issue that needs to be addressed is what impact this is having

on the world. One example of this is the overall threat of COVID-19. At the current time, this is a controversial topic, but I believe that if it were not for the biases in the news, it would be viewed in a much more unified light. However, to fully understand this, we need to look at how the news’s biases caused the controversy we are now seeing. When the threat initially emerged, there wasn’t a lot known about it. At first, many news sources thought that the virus was much more deadly than it was, which was only discovered later. When we found out that the virus was less deadly, people who already distrusted media sources because of their skewed reporting were now skeptical of the virus itself. Put simply, when there is already a lack of trust, any error breaks that trust even further and causes skepticism. This is only worsened when organizations like Fox News actively sow distrust in their viewers about other news sources. However, this is not the only consequence of bias in the news. In addition to making scientific facts seem like opinions, it polarizes audiences. The American people are growing farther and farther apart, with those who look to cross the aisle or to compromise with opposing parties being slammed by the news as

traitors. In the end, however, the only significant question is what we are going to do to fix these biases. I believe that the answer is simple. We need to make ourselves aware of our own biases, especially those involved in writing in this paper, and who are interested in becoming involved with the news in the future. We need to identify how we might personally want to sweep some things under the carpet or justify something, and instead simply tell readers and viewers what happened. That is our job, as journalists, and as honest Americans: to tell the truth and to tell the whole truth, not leaving out details or any parts of the story. It is crucial to our nation’s future to create a network in which we can believe in giving unbiased, fair, and accurate information. This is my plea, to you, the reader. Identify the biases in news sources you listen to. Report honestly. Do your research and find news sources that are unbiased. Make your own opinions. Most importantly, remember that if we do not find some way to stop biases in the news, they will continue to drift until we have no reliable sources anymore.

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Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

Features

1 February 2021 www.nstimes.org

Making memorable moments -

Photo Provided by: Sadie Church

Sophomore Sadie Church designs a variety of homemade cards for the business she founded during quarantine.

Creative student makes money doing what she loves by

A bby bench

Students share their positive outlooks on difficulties, challenges of the past year

A delheide JohAnsen

Features

Trainer, teacher reflects on enjoyable career working with student athletes by

siri huntington

photo by Siri Huntington

Trainer Jamie Withers tapes the ankle of an injured student. Withers, who has been at NS for four years, says the worst part of her job is working with stinky feet.

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Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

Sports

2 February 21 www.nstimes.org

Cheer takes State despite COVID related challenges petition is run through the Utah Cheer Club Sports by the state rep, who works for the Utah High School Sports Association (UHSAA). The team competed in two different divisions. A smaller division called then the main division, Co-Ed Show Cheer. Among the three that Grantsville, Emery, and NS for the Co-Ed division and then Union and Morgan for the Time “It was really good. We had to step up a lot,” said senior Competition Captain Lexi Welch. “Personally, I became photo by Michelle Lee

NS cheer team performs competion routine during half time show at a recent boys basketball game against Maser Prep. by

Maren bench

Quarantines, injuries, grades and hardships have bombarded the NS cheer team throughout the season, but especially right around their region and state competitions. “We had so many quarantines and some grade issues--it was a bit of a scramble. We basically had to redo everything in two days,” said Cheer Coach, Syndi Wilkey. “But for how much time they had, and the fact that their head coach was on quarantine… the seniors just pretty awesome.” Between all

the

quarantines and injuries, the stunt groups had to get used to being rear-

petition, the team took second in the Co-Ed Show Cheer category

that week’s challenges. “It gets really hard because we don’t have a ton of alternate people

Cheer category, which earned them a second place title overall. “It actually went pretty good, all things considered. That was the

other people’s spots that way they do,” said junior cheerleader Shaylee Wilkey. “Every stunt group was affected or impacted in some way, which is hard because those are the groups we’ve been working with all year long. Then, to have those dismantled and then be performing just throw something together.” At their region com-

full out of the routine,” said senior Male Stunt Captain Ben Anderson. “Even though we didn’t as badly as we thought we did, which is always believe that our experience at region will help us prepare better for state.” And indeed, they were more than pre-

pared for state. Despite having two of their members quarantined the week before the state competition and the toll that it took on the team, they brought home the state title. “As far as I know, it’s

was really rough, especially after just coming

before we got out there, I was more proud of how we all stepped up because we went through a lot. I’m just really proud of us for how we overcame it.” With each of the punches thrown their way, the team had to learn how to roll with it competing. “It was so much fun. We took state! And I feel like we all really put in our best work. We all had a good reason to be there and we all did it for the people who weren’t there.” said senior cheerleader Ady Hafen. “For Sharlee and Halle. For me that was my reason. And we all did it for each other. We put all of it on the mat.”

though we won, I feel like

done it in cheer. I think for us it was huge, especially with so much that we had overcome,” coach Wilkey said. “They needed this win and they got it. Looking at the score sheets, before deductions even came into play for anyone, we beat them stunting alone. That was huge, that’s a huge gap in the cheer world.” The state cheer com-

photo provided by Syndi Wilky

Team photo at state competion at Hillcrest High School.

UHSAA makes change allowing greater fan capacity by

Jared Strait

The score is 47-47, with 0.6 seconds left on the clock. Landon Bowles passes the ball to Trevin Morley. From the foul line, Morley catches the ball in the air, shoots, and scores! The student section goes wild! Except, this year there is no student section. Due to challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic, few students were allowed to watch

the thrilling 49-47 victory over region rival Juab on Jan. 13. But that is about to change. The UHSAA has just approved to allow roughly 25% capacity at games for the remainder of the Boys Basketball season. This new policy has already made many students happy as well as the players. “It’s just been different this year without the student section. They bring

a lot of hype to the games and this season that hype just isn’t there,” said senior Zach Allred. Though the boys basketball team has had an excellent season, they have faced their set of obstacles as they have progressed throughout this season. this year, but the boy’s basketball team has battled against it the most, with at least one of their varsity lineup being out of the games for a week while they are quarantined because of the This hasn’t stopped the boys from bringing all they have to each and every game that they have competed in this season. “With some of the starters being quarantined it has allowed some of the players to step up to roles in different ways and it’s been exciting the whole time to see this level of improvement,” said head coach, Cris Hoopes. The team is now 3rd in region with a 11-6 record and they are currently ranked 9th in the state.

photo by Carson Hadley

Brady Jacobson goes up for a layup in recent game against Manti at Manti.

with this outstanding record is the free throw shooting percentages that have increased the lead NS has had in numerous games, including shooting 18 for 21 at the free throw line against Union on January 8th.

NS has had some amazing victorys and some crushing defeats throughout the season so far, losing to Manti on January 22nd by a small margin of two is depth. While some teams may have seven or eight players that are able to play on the varsity level, NS has nearly twice that many who are able to step in for varsity. “As coaches we have 15 good, solid players that are able to play on the varsity level and most teams just can’t say that this year,” Hoopes said. The depth of the team has allowed them to excel. A large roster has always helped in sports especially in ones that require the amount of physical activity that basketball does and with a team that has enough people to switch out the entire starting lineup at any time is always appreciated. The next big thing that has allowed the team to excel is the team unity that can be felt whenever they step on the court together. “We play together as a team and we have learned to look at the weaknesses of teammates and make them strengths and it has united us to play the court,” Allred said.

Sports

Drill team takes Region title second consecutive year by

JeSSica bLacKhaM

Despite facing many challenges this season, the NS Drill team became back-to-back region champions. The team placed first in both military and dance, and third in show at the competition in Delta. “After each routine was done, I knew that we had done our personal best,” said junior drill team member Jordan Hilton. “We of course wanted to win, but even if we hadn’t won, we had given it our all and hadn’t held back and that is what’s most important to us. When it was announced that Juab placed second overall, everyone’s eyes lit up and we all smiled, cried, and cheered because we knew that we had just won.” All of this success is not without hard work and dedication, as the team has faced many drawbacks throughout the season. Naturally, many problems have come about as a result of COVID-19. Additionally, both coaches have been pregnant during the season, leading to a few setbacks. The team has also faced struggles with some last-minute changes to some of the aspects of the routine. “This year has definitely been super crazy because of everything and I’d say it’s been pretty stressful at times,” said senior and Drill Mistress Shalyce Cook. “COVID has a lot of the stress because it’s affected our practices and our competitions, but as a team, we just have to deal with it.” With no control over what happens, it becomes important for them to adapt and still try their best every single day, no matter what.

For example, Cook was once quarantined during a competition and was prevented from performing. As a solution to the problem, a girl who wasn’t previously in the routine had to learn the dance within a week to fill Cook’s spot. “We have no control over what happens because of COVID, and sometimes it can be really frustrating,” Hilton said. “It was tough not to have Shalyce for that competition but there was nothing we could do about it. Instead, we just had to adjust and keep moving forward.” Not only was it hard not knowing when girls might get quarantined, but having both coaches be pregnant added extra stress. The head coach, Kiersten Wheeler, ended up having her baby during Christmas break. Whereas, assistant coach Brittany Dyches hasn’t had her baby yet, but she ended up in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 around the very same time as Wheeler. Now both coaches have returned home and are recovered. However, due to these drawbacks, the team missed one week of practice, which was hard with competition season approaching quickly. In spite of it all, Wheeler decides to look at the whole experience as a positive. “In some sense, we actually got kinda lucky,” said Wheeler. “We knew at the beginning of the season that it was a real possibility that we could have our babies in the middle of the competition season. If it would have happened at a different time we might not have had practice for a couple of weeks, but instead, Christmas break

photo by Michelle Lee

Drill team performs character routine at region competition at Delta.

saved us.” Nevertheless, the team had to come back ready to make up for the lost time. The week of practice that they missed was meant to be time for them to polish and master their props for their show routine. “Our show routine can sometimes be difficult because of the props we have to use,” said senior Brooklyn Burgess. “They are these big wooden stands that look like crystal balls. They’re really heavy and awkward to carry. It’s sometimes hard for the girls to get comfortable with them because they’re just so big.” At their first competition back from Christmas break, the NS Drill team received several penalties due to issues with some of the props that caused them not to place as high in the show category. In an effort to improve, the coaches decided to change the crystal ball

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props to make them much smaller and lighter. “Just like any other sport, we had an idea in our head,” said Wheeler, “but once we put it on the floor we realized that it wasn’t going to work. So our job as coaches was to recognize the problem and then take action to change it. We just had to adapt.” Regardless of the challenges they’ve faced this season, NS Drill looks forward to State. This year the state competition will be held on the 9th and 10th of February at Utah Valley University. “We’re really happy about winning region, but now we don’t want it to be our peak,” Burgess said. “Our goal is to continue to work hard so we can do our best at state. For a long time, we weren’t even sure if we were gonna get a state competition, but now that we do have it we’re going to make the very most of it.”

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Sports

USHAA realignment downsizes Region 14

carSOn hadLey

North Sanpete, Manti, Juab, Delta and Union. Though only five schools, they make up the entire 3A Region 14, or at least they will, starting next fall, after the changes made in this year’s realignment by the UHSAA. Realignment happens every two years as a way to keep athletic classifications and regions balanced. It is the process that determines whether a school should move up or down in classification and what changes the regions to match it. In Utah, schools are sorted into six classifications based on enrollment numbers. The classifications are 1A-6A, with 1A being the smallest and 6A being the largest. Following this year’s realignment there are 26 schools in 6A, 34 in 5A, 14 in 4A, 22 in 3A, 28 in 2A, and 31 in 1A, for a total of 155 schools divided into 22 different regions. This process is difficult and time-consuming, generally taking several weeks to complete. However, there is protocol already in place to help begin the decision making process.

“Their first objective in that protocol is to put them into classifications, they don’t even look at regions, they just look at classifications,” said Jim Langford, Region 14 representative on the USHAA Executive Committee. “They go by enrollment size first and for the bigger schools they only look at sophomore and junior year enrollment, just two grades worth of kids to get that number. When they get to a certain point, and I want to say it’s about when they get to 3A… ...they shift from doing the top two grades down to the top three grades” After schools are sorted into classifications, it then falls to the Executive Committee to put them into regions. The Executive Committee is a group of representatives, usually an Athletic Director or a principal from each region, that is part of the governing body of the USHAA. Regions are groups of schools from the same classification that compete against each other in athletic competitions. “Once they get them into classifications, it’s a whole nother step to step back and go ‘now we’ll put them into regions,’”

Langford said. “When you get to different regions, you don’t look at enrollment numbers, you look at geographical areas to put [schools] in the same region.” The committee makes decisions regarding regions based on geographical locations and natural rivalries. Once the committee decides on regions, the proposal goes to the Board of Trustees to get approval. “The Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee are two separate bodies,” Langford said. “The Executive Committee is one principal or Athletic Director from each region, but the Board of Trustees has only one principal or [school] board member from each classification.” It’s only after the proposal has been approved by both the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees that the changes are made. This year’s realignment made a couple of changes for NS’s region. For the past two years, American Leadership Academy and Maeser Prep have been in Region 14. Now, with the changes made in realignment, ALA is part of Region 15, a region made

up of 3A private schools. Losing these two schools will bring Region 14 down to only 5 schools, meaning that teams will have to schedule more non-region games to make up for the four missing region games. “It makes it harder because then you have to schedule more games,” said Tyler Bailey, Assistant Athletic Director at NS. “It really makes it more difficult for finding younger division games.” Another change that realignment brought was the movement of Canyon View, Ogden and Ben

Lomond High Schools down to 3A from 4A and San Juan and South Sevier High Schools down to 2A from 3A. But none of these changes are a surprise to Bailey. “I wasn’t surprised by anything at all, to be honest,” Bailey said. “I figured there wouldn’t be a ton of movement, especially in the 3A ranks.” While these classification changes didn’t have a huge impact on most sports and activities at NS, football was more heavily affected. Football regions and classifications are differ-

ent from other sports. For the past two years, NS’s football region consisted of NS, Manti, Juab, Union, ALA and Delta. However, following this year’s realignment, ALA and Delta moved down to 2A in football and Union was moved to the northern region. “So we added Richfield and Canyon View to the new realignment, and we lost Delta,” said NS football coach Rhett Bird. “We were hoping that we would have more teams in 3A, but it’s only the two region, north and south, and we’re happy with who’s in our

Swim takes 2nd & 3rd

photo by Jared Strait

Senior Hope Christensen dives in at the region swim meet helped her team take third at region. The NS boys took second.

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

Arts

2 February 21 www.nstimes.org

Musical production to continue despite covid BY

MARY JONES

precautions being taken. “Working with Mr. Barlow… of all he’s been the most careful,” Cook said. “He makes sure people are wearing their masks correctly, he makes sure people are being careful, he makes sure people are staying far away from each other.” Barlow and the cast members are excited that they will be able to have a real performance, and they see important reasons for that. According to senior Kaje Nielsen, who is playing Gaston, the musical teaches students a lot more than how to out the rest of your life.

Toward the beginning of April, the NS drama department will be putting on the musical Beauty and the Beast. were doubts that a musical could even be performed in the traditional way. At one point, plans were made to create a video production rather than a live show. Currently, the department is hoping they will be able to perform live. Practicing with a large group of people may pose some concerns for those distance learning due to the risk Harrison Cook (playing the Beast), who has been learning remotely due to health concerns for his family members, practicing in-person presents less

really profound impact on people in ways that maybe some other activities can’t,” Nielsen said. “The good thing about drama especially...is that you really learn social skills there more than get up and sing a solo in front of an auditorium full of people, then things like applying for a job and talking to a boss isn’t nearly as scary as it used to be.” Though preparing and produca challenge. Putting together a musical in a year affected by a pandemic is increasingly complicated. unique challenge, ” said NS drama teacher Alex Barlow. “This musical would be enough to do on its own,

to perform and try to persist past the challenges.” For Kylee Davis, who earned the lead role of Belle, one of the differences between this year’s musical and the ones she has been in before is the nature of her character. Playing Belle, a Disney Princess, is a much different task than playing the more gender-neuhaving to play this Disney Princess

Despite the challenge, she is excited to have been assigned the role. “Beauty and the Beast is like one of my favorite movies as a kid, ” Davis able to get like the leading role was really exciting for me because like it’s like: Though there is a lot of hard work involved in creating a musical, all of the work and time put into it can be well worth it when it comes time to perform. tion in the sense that you have to work pretty hard to go on a vacation, ” Nielsen said. “You’ve got to save up your money, you’ve got to book your rooms and all that, and it probably takes months of work to go somewhere like Disney World. But when you get there, you’re like, alright, that was all worth it.” Producing a spectacle as complex as a musical is no simple feat. Learning the music, dances, and fabricating other elements such as costumes, props

and sets, takes a lot of time. Rehearsals occur multiple times a week and can run between two and three hours each. To Davis, the time spent on the musical is worth it because of everything gained and learned during the process. especially this show because it’s been tle kid, ” Davis said. “When everybody comes together to learn the music and the dance, it’s just a lot of fun, and when you walk away from it, you kind of look back, and you think, ‘man, that was a really fun time in my life.’ Even though it was a lot of hard work and time consuming, it’s totally worth it.” The relationships formed through the musical because of all the time that is spent together are one of the things that make people do theater. A common problem for remote learners is, however, because there is less interaction with people, it is easy to fall out of contact. “They’re a little bit less fun than they normally are, but they are still really fun, people are still friendly, it’s still just like talking to one of the teachers from elementary school or something, seems like they were huge in your life, but to them, you were kind of just another student, maybe you were more than that, but, it’s that kind of thing where you feel like there should be some connection and they kind of just don’t. So the rehearsal part, learning the lines, singing the songs, all that is still, it’s not any harder or easier, but, you know, it’s different.”

New pixar movie comments on what gives life meaning BY

AUDREY INGLISH

Joe Gardner sits on a conveyor belt with all the other passing souls. But it isn’t his time yet--he has to get back to the life he had before. Telling of an adventure that stretches from New York City to the Great Beyond, Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” is critically acclaimed for its artfully animated environments, captivating soundtrack, and heartwarming commentary on what makes life meaningful. Released in time for Christmas of 2020, the movie tells the story of jazz musician Joe Gardner and his journey Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) starts out

as a middle school band teacher with aspirations of becoming a professional jazz pianist. Early on, the movie introduces complex topics like purpose and passion, which will be further explored the beginning of the movie, Joe sees jazz as both his purpose and his passion in life. He fears that if he does not reach his goal of being a professional musician, his life will have been meaningless. comes close to achieving his dream, a drastic event occurs that gives him perspective on what truly gives life meaning. As he and a newfound companion embark on a journey to return Joe’s

life back to normal, they discover the small joys in life: sights, smells, and relationships with others. Joe starts to understand that joy isn’t always found in success; sometimes it’s found in “regular, old living.” “Soul” explores these concepts in a way that the audience can relate to. Complex, realistic relationships between reach viewers emotionally and in a relatable way. more deeply explored Joe’s relationship with

movie showcase an exciting balance between whimsy and realism by incorporating abstract shapes, concepts, and dimensions into their character designs and backgrounds. While in awe of the balance between the detailed realism of New York’s streets and the experimental colors and textures of the Great Beyond. Although the abstract elements can be off-putting for some viewers, it is undeniable

to feel a connection with him as a character. Prior to seeing the meaningful connections Joe made

colors and lighting make for breathtaking, immersive environments and backgrounds. A diverse cast and the contributions of wellknown jazz musicians like Jon Batiste make the

attached to his character. However, as he formed more complex relationships with those around him, his thoughts, feelings, and ambitions became more rewarding to invest in. Aside from the contemplative theme

authentic and inspiring. All viewers, regardless of musical experience, can appreciate the authentic jazz-centered soundtrack. As someone with a passion for creating

“Soul” is a stunning display of the high-quality animation and attention to detail that Pixar Animation Studios is known for. Designers of the

myself engaged in the movie’s soundtrack and music-driven premise. However, after watching the whole movie and slightly disappointed

that music didn’t play a more active role in carrying the plot forward. Although my musician’s heart was left slightly producers chose to go less in-depth with musical technicalities, considering that many viewers to. Receiving a rating

of 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, “Soul’s” production quality and thoughtful premise is commended by many. While immersing viewers in beautifully animated environments and authentic jazz music, Pixar succeeds in delivering a profound message: life doesn’t need to go the way you expect for it to be worth living.

Arts

A breakdown of the most popular music streaming services BY

ATHENA DE GROFF

Access to millions of songs instantly. The ability to play any song you and age, streaming services open a window of possibilities in the music world. to determine which music streaming table features of the most popular services below, in hopes that it will make your decision easier. Spotify The obvious favorite at NS is Spotify, used by about 68 percent of the students surveyed. Spotify is also the most popular streaming service worldwide with 320 million users and a market share of 32 percent. that it has a great selection of songs, podcasts, and unique playlists. Another thing that sets Spotify apart is that it allows you to see “Your 2020 Wrapped,”

which is a collection of songs and artists you listened to the most throughout the year. Spotify also allows you to do collaborative playlists with your friends, which is another great bonus. Spotify is $9.99 a month, but only $4.99 for college students. You can also get a family plan for $14.99 a month, which can have up to six people on it. $2.50 per person. Spotify is probably the best music streaming service available. However, if you don’t want to pay for it, Spotify can be a nightmare. With the free version of Spotify on a phone, you are only allowed 6 skips

for music streaming, YouTube music is free version of Spotify, and isn’t always control over what you’re playing. Unlike the free version of Spotify, YouTube music has unlimited skips, songs without any issues. Like Spotify, YouTube music has a great selection of playlists, curated by both everyday listeners and the professionals at YouTube Music. My favorite thing about YouTube everything to listen to. Since the app music videos and really any song you

on playlists and individual songs. This

paying for a premium account. YouTube Music

songs scattered throughout my YouTube Music playlists (All 46 Hamilton Songs Played By One Band Kid in Under 5 Minutes, anyone?) account, it gives you the option of switching between video and audio while playing a song (if the song has a video option). YouTube Music for anyone who doesn’t want to pay for a music streaming sersign and features of Spotify more, making it my recommendation for anyone who wants to pay for their music. Apple Music According to the survey, Apple Music is the second most popular muoption for many people since it comes with Apple devices. Apple Music is great if you previously purchased music on iTunes, since it is easy to transfer your songs to the terface, and it’s pretty easy to navigate the app. The lyric features on Apple Music may very well be the best out there. While listening to a song, the app will scroll through the lyrics for you, and

you also can click on a certain lyric to go to that part of the song. You can also search for a song with its lyrics, if you can’t remember the title. The negatives of Apple Music include that the song selection isn’t as great as YouTube or Spotify when it comes to more niche genres. The radio feature is also lacking: it is not very diverse and the songs it recommends are usually inaccurate compared to your music tastes. Amazon Music With four out of 103 students choosing Amazon Music as their music service of choice, it is one of the least popular at NS. Amazon Music comes with Amazon Prime...kinda. Unlike Spotify and YouTube Music, it is completely adfree without upgrading to “Unlimited.” The fact that there are no ads is great, but the music selection really is limited. songs on Amazon Music, they are almost always unavailable without an Unlimited account. There is no “New England” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers without Unlimited. “Chopin Polonaises?” Upgrade to Unlimited.

sonal experience with the Unlimited seems like if you want to pay for a music service, there are better choices than Amazon Music. Owning records, CDs, cassette tapes, and even downloading songs onto your device has become less to choose a music service, and stream songs for free or pay a subscription for better features. There are many options out there, but ultimately it is up to the individual to decide which music streaming ser-

Karate-based series explores complex characters, relationships BY

PHAEDRA LAMB

Back in 1984, Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka, was the ‘bad guy’ of the “Karate Kid” movie starring Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, the assumed protagonist of the show. The new sethat are insanely accurate in average everyday life. movie, LaRusso moves to a new highschool and gets bulassuming Karate master by the name of Mr. Miyagi takes pity on him and teaches LaRusso karate, focusing solely on the defensive side. Lawrence was the one who bullied LaRusso, though as the new series shows, things were not as cut and dried as they seemed. LaRusso was a threat to Lawrence’s girl, so of course Lawrence was going to lash out. Lawrence also knew karate, learned from a local dojo by the name of Cobra Kai. The Sensei of Cobra Kai was a ruthless man by the name of John Kreese, played by Martin Kove. Kreese was obsessed with aggression and the theme of “No Mercy.” At the end of the movie, Lawrence and LaRusso face

off in the All Valley tournament, and LaRusso wins. Fast forward 35 years, and this is where the new series begins. “Cobra Kai” takes place Kid” movie, where Lawrence and LaRusso are now in their early 50’s. LaRusso is a successful man and owns a car dealership, with a lovely wife and two kids. One of those kids is in junior high, and not a sigso LaRusso has one more thing than Lawrence. His other child is a teenage girl by the name of Samantha. On the other hand, Lawrence turned out to be one of those people who peaked in highschool. Lawrence is now a poor drunk whose wife left him, and who has a horrible relationship with his teenage son named Robby. LaRusso and Lawrence haven’t spoken in years, never quite forgiving each other, and the karate drive inside them still exists. Wanting to get his life together, Lawrence rents a building and starts up the Cobra Kai dojo again, but this time he is the sensei, not Kreese. At the beginning, he had one student, a teenage boy named Miguel Diaz who was being

bullied and wanted to learn karate. LaRusso sees this new dojo and is reminded of his awful past associated with the place, and wants to get it shut down. Overall, the TV show “Cobra Kai” is one of the most well written shows of the hero is because both LaRusso and Lawrence make mistakes and are terrible at making decisions. For example, when LaRusso is so against the revival of Cobra Kai, he fails to see that Lawrence is trying to teach them the right way, without the students being traumatized like he was when Kreese was the sensei. By being stubborn and pigheaded, LaRusso starts up his own dojo in the memory of his old sensei, Mr. Miyagi. The new dojo is called MiyagiDo, and his two star students are Samantha and Robby. While teaching his students, LaRusso constantly degrades Cobra Kai, giving his pupils the mindset that Cobra Kai is pure evil. Throughout the whole series, both LaRussso and Lawrence make major mistakes, leading their students to repeatedly getting hurt. Some of these injuries include paralysis,

broken bones and severe mental trauma. All of this could have been avoided by using communication skills. Just like any other show, they switch back and forth everyone’s perspective. This is what makes it different: from everyone’s point of view, the other side is always wrong. For example, all Lawrence sees is the man who screwed his life over by showing up out of nowhere and stealing his girl. He sees a man who won’t leave him alone. Someone who word. Whereas all LaRusso sees of Lawrence is a controlling bully, so he simply tried to help LaRusso doesn’t see him as an equal. Here’s the truth to the situation, LaRusso is a man who can’t get over the past. He sees

himself as some humble being who knows everything, and the proper way to do everything. Basically he thinks he’s the ‘Humble Hero.’ What he lacks is true humility. He thinks all his mistakes were in the past, and not now. Then Lawrence is trying to right many of the wrongs of his past, but he is also a simple, confused old man who can barely understand how to run Facebook, who is still trying to live life in the 80’s. Lawrence is just trying to live his life like a normal human would. Everyone makes mistakes, and “Cobra Kai” is the perfect representation of that. The example of how our actions affect everyone around us. Season four has yet to have a release date, but my theory is that it will center around the concept of “the enemy of your enemy is your friend.”

Arts

Countries by Josh Cox

Heard in the

Halls -“Forget the turtles, save the bananas!” -“I like to kill the trees.” -“Just because I’m arguing, doesn’t mean I actually care.” -“Sheesh, I hand out donuts one day and miss velocity!” -“Haha, I just don’t wear pants.” on me.” -“Dolly Parton sounds like a really endearing chipmunk.” -“She said John Lennon is the sexiest man alive...he’s not even alive!” -“Stop being so cute, it’s kind of grossing me out.” -“I do not approve of the way he touches my soul. I do not consent.” -“Alcoholic scents taste good.” -Person one: “Stop using men as Person two: “NO.”

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2020-21 NS Times 5th Edition

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