April 2024

AI has the potential to revolutionalize learning, but at what cost?

world

AI

Volume 54 Edition 3

PORTAGE NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOL

March 2024

From the Editors Dear Readers, After snow days interrupted our January edition and made it go virtual (check it out on ISSUU at the QR code below!), we are more excited than ever to share our March edition with the community.

As we are working towards the end of the school year our staff has continued to perfect our journalistic techniques. This edition’s theme is how AI is quickly becoming a larger and larger part of today’s world, even right here at PN. A poll done by our very own staff showed that approximately 39% of students have used AI for some sort of school assignment, and that number has continued to grow as AI becomes more normalized.

That being said, grab your favorite (hopefully non-caffeinated after last month’s edition) drink and snack of choice, get comfy, live right, and read the light!

Happy Reading, Brie and Ella

On the cover

Whether students and teachers are using it or not, it’s hard to argue that the use of AI doesn’t have a significant impact on education today. From using it to help brainstorm ideas for a paper (which is generally considered okay) to using it to write an entire paper (which is universally considered to not be okay) teens today have figured out all the ways to make school easier with the help of technology. Pictured above, senior NL co-editors in chief Brie Quick and Ella Morofsky work together to design the official cover from the concept that Morofsky won the journalism class cover concept challenge with. As teammates and friends, Quick converted Morofsky’s idea into a template to help speed her design process. “I’ve never designed a cover before, so having a template I can plug and play with to finalize the idea and bring it to life was helpful,” said Morofsky. “I thought it was important to center the coverage on AI because it’s a big deal in today’s world.” Photo by Brayden Schimp.

Policies

The Northern Light in print and online is the student-produced newspaper for Portage Northern HS. It is an open, designated, public forum for student expression, and the newspaper provides staff members with independent reporting opportunities and individual evaluation. Writing is based on a wide variety of research for a broad and diverse audience and topics of coverage are decided by the staff and editorial board with consideration to what is timely, relevant, compelling, educational, and important to the student body.

In accordance with best practice for student media, the Northern Light is not prior reviewed by administration. Building and district administration do, however, reserve the right to oversee the paper if necessary to ensure that the mission and vision of Portage Public Schools and the safety of students and staff are maintained.

As a MIPA, JEA, and NSPA publication, the Northern Light adheres to the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Photos,

art, and other visual elements are created

by Northern Light staff, formally designated for free use or part of public domain. In rare circumstances, we may use other media with the owner’s written permission.

It is our desire that our readers join the discussion on our published work. We welcome letters to the editors and guest contributors, and the Northern Light will publish online all pieces received provided that they include the author’s full name and are appropriate for publication in a school setting. Letters to the editor are limited to 150 words in length and guest contributions are limited to 350 words in length. Pieces can be delivered to Amanda Thorpe’s room, 3.129, emailed to pnhsnorternlight@gmail.com, or mailed ATTN: Portage Northern Light to Portage Northern High School, 1000 Idaho Avenue, Portage, MI 49024.

Visit us online at www.portagenorthernlight.com 1

Northern Light

About

Volume 54

In this edition…

20232024 Staff Editorial Leadership

News

Page 3 Communiteen Read Page 4 E-Sports team

Feature

Page 7 A World Run by AI

Editor in Chief Bryana Quick Editor in Chief Ella Morofsky Creative Editor Annabelle Bartz Digital Media Manager Ashton Hall Journalism 1 Manager Abby Hosler

Opinion

Sports

Page 6 The Issue with Body Image Page 9 Mitten on a Misson Page 5 Harnessing the Power of AI Page 10 Skateboarding 101

Entertainment

Page 11 Marley: One Love Page 12 Bookish

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If you want to receive the NL at home, visit this page to subscribe for the year!

Table of Contents

Veteran Staff Writers Mitchell Barnard Avery Bogemann Trevor Anderson Chase Vanderwalle Staff Writers Drew Collin Asher Carpenter Brayden Schimp Caroline Knight Jaiviana Heath Matthew Lekosiotis Ryan Kaliati Ryan Mauwa Sarah Leasure

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Huskie Headlines Designed by Ella Morofsky

Designed by Ella Morofsky

Student Senate visits local elementary classrooms to celebrate March is Reading Month

By Brie Quick

Many students forget the importance of reading in a world heavily run by technology.

During March, Portage Northern student Senate members senior Lydia Hinga, senior Haley Downey, freshman Reese Meyer, and freshman Carys Zemlick organized a “March is Reading Month” event with two of the Portage elementary schools - Haverhill and Woodland.

“We wanted to find a way all the books collected in various book drives were able to be beneficial to the elementaries and build a connection with other schools in the district,” said Hinga. “After thinking of this idea, it was pretty easy to

make the jump to plan it as we all love being able to reach the younger kids.” 18 total senators volunteered their time to teach about the importance of reading and then share a book with the class at the end of the elementary school day.

The senate also donated anywhere from three to seven books to every classroom they visited at this time.

“The kids loved it! It’s so important for them to see older kids that enjoy reading,” shared Woodland Elementary first-grade teacher Sonya Ratliff. “I also love that a lot of the high schoolers went to their former elementary! We love seeing you all!”

Seniors Brie Quick (L) and Lydia Hinga (R) read to Sonya Ratliff ’s first grade class at Woodland Elementary on Wednesday March 6th 2024. Photo courtesy of Sonya Ratliff.

Communiteen Read brings author Ruta Sepetys to PNHS

By Ella Morofsky

Author Ruta Sepetys shares why she wrote with 230 students during the 3rd hour Communiteen Read presentation in the auditorium. Photo by Brie Quick.

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Established in 2015, Commu- tee, this year’s Communiteen Read niteen Read is a collaboration be- is a historical fiction called tween Portage

by Ruta Public Schools, Sepetys.

“We “I was personally very the Portage Pubwanted something excited to meet a real public Library, Bookto tie in not just lished author. Experienced bug and This is a writers are sometimes hard our English classBookstore. “It’s a to come by and, as a personal es but carry over program that en- writer myself, I loved to have to our social studcourages teens the experience of learning her ies classes as well,” and members of [Ruta Sepetys] own history explained Miller. the community and have that experience to Many English to read and talk hopefully draw for myself.” classes have spent about one book the past few weeks -Thomas Mann, senior together,” said lireading brarian Lisa Mill in preparation er. After debating for Ruta Sepetys and voting between the commit- herself to come visit PN.

News Brief

Volume 54

Leveling Up

Northern joins ever growing number of schools with its own Esports team CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER

Article by Trevor Anderson, Drew Collins, Ryan Mauwa; design by Annabelle Bartz The Portage Northern Esports Team is one of the most recent clubs added for students to join.

Hosting games such as Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Valorant, and Smash Bros. This gives students the opportunity to play video games, build friendships, and take a break from school to enjoy doing the things they love.

Math teacher, Patrick Greeley is the leader of the club, organizing and bringing students together to play multiple games with new people in a competitive and fun environment. “I hope to bring these students together in something that they all love doing. It’s been talked about for a while and I was just the one to take initiative on it.”

Overwatch 2 is just one of the games they play on Thursday afternoons. Patrick Greeley is the coach for the team, leading practices and hosting games. Carson Anderson is the team captain during the games, making plans, thinking fast in high-stress situations, and has plenty of knowledge to share about the game. Trevor Anderson is the shot caller, controlling the team during the battles in the game. Oli Matthew and Shane Salmon both help the team in high-stress situations and keep the team’s morale positive when the future may be looking down.

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Player 1

Player 2

Player 3

Player 4

News

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Harnessing AI Schools and students alike have the power to use AI for good, but both have to commit to it.

By the staff; designed by Caroline Knight and Sarah Leasure

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Editorial

Volume 54

The issues with Body image Avoiding mirrors: Students navigate through highscool and their body image

Story by Caroline Knight and Sarah Leasure; designed by Caroline Knight Many students are weighed down with expectations as they go through high school, whether it is expectations to do well in sports, to have certain grades or to be friends with certain people. One expectation that seems to be a bigger and bigger problem for students is to look a certain way.

Senior Jasmine Keene has been cheering for 7 years. Keene identified one reason why cheerleaders specifically face body image issues is the uniform: “When you are put out on a mat with a tight uniform you start to notice all of the details that you want to fix, you look in the mirror and you don’t look like a cheerleader.”

She expressed that issues with body image have sometimes taken the joy out of her cheering, sharing, “You look at the size you were a year ago and realize that you have to go up in size or it doesn’t look right on you anymore. I know whenever I have body issues it goes through my head and I feel like I’m ready to just go home or I don’t perform as good.”

Sophomore Joshua Cavalli, who has been in drama for almost 10 years, explains that casting directors often have a certain expectation of how a character should look.

“Whether or not you get a lead often depends on how well you fit that character,” he said. “It can really vary from director to director though.”

Cavalli explained that social media can cause a lot of problems with body image, “Especially among theater kids, because we are very social, we post a lot. other people, even if those comparisons are unrealistic, and I don’t think that’s a good thing.” Keene agreed.

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Opinion

“I think Social Media is part of the reason because going through apps with people who are fit and skinny you start to compare and contrast yourself with them,” she said.

“That just brings down your whole self esteem,” she said. There are as many different ways to cope with body image insecurities as there are students. Cavalli explained that acting also improves his confidence. “Normally I wouldn’t care how I look, but because I know what roles are up in the beginning, it forces me to strive towards having a better body image,” he said. Keene said that she deals with her problems with body image by trying not think about it. “I focus on the positive and know that it is only in my head, because just because I feel fat doesn’t mean I actually am” she said. Her advice to underclassmen is, “Don’t compare yourself to others because not everyone is the same, not everyone has the same body types.

There are probably people out there wishing they could be in your body instead of their own, so you have to talk to yourself positively not negatively.”

Now more than ever, in the age of social media and manufactured perfection, it is more important to help students establish skills so they can form their own sense of body confidence. Students cannot achieve the best version of themselves if they do not see themselves in the best way.

Photo of Senoir Jasmine Keene in the second floor hallway. Photo taken by Caroline Knight.

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Academic Influence

How AI is Affecting Students and Teachers

By Abby Hosler, Avery Bogemann, Brayden Schimp, Jaiviana Heath, Sarah Leasure, Mariah McCollough Design by Avery Bogemann What is AI? Oftentimes when people think of AI, it’s misconstrued as an epic evil of science fiction. The practical uses of the technology are tossed away in favor of a grand tale of robots taking over the world as we know it. However, AI is the study of creating machines that can process information in the same ways that humans do, but in contrast to humans, AI technology can process vast amounts of data very quickly. While that is perhaps a valid fear, it’s not the whole truth. While it might still seem scary to some, at the end of the day, AI is a very powerful tool that is changing the course of the world day by day as technology continuously evolves.

the tool together, side by side, to rewrite the thesis statements using AI’s suggestions,” said Wendland.

What is the role of AI in schools?

As a tool, AI has endless possibilities, however people can abuse AI and use it inappropriately. “AI has made it easier to learn and create some great responses; however, some have taken advantage of this feature and misuse it quite often,” said Principal Nate Ledlow. “[AI] could be bad number one because [students] are not really putting forth any effort to get better at anything and number two [access to AI] would probably result in a lot of cheating type of activities.”

Artificial intelligence also stirs a deep cauldron of different views and fears, especially when considering what its future holds for current high schoolers. Artistic talents have always flowed through past and modern youth, but with the rise of AI, artists fear for their chances at the future they dream of.

One of these artists is senior Aspen Floyd, who says that AI “deeply scares” them, claiming that, “it’s going to be the cheap, shady, fast option for people who just don’t care.” Not only does artificial intelligence have a detrimental effect on the art and design world, but it leeches on the writing industry as well. Ultimately, AI and humans use virtually the same method to write, finding internet sources and using the information for their piece, but comparing human work to AI work is far beside the primary focus. While they may use similar methods, artificial intelligence is just that: artificial.

A truly original piece must be credited to a human, and that cannot be done if it was concocted by a robot.

AI has made it to the point where teachers must go in on their own time and check for AI-generated responses. There have been more and more cases of students using AI to cheat on assignments and submitting it as their own work. Despite this, it is not all bad. “AI can be a great tool for teachers and students when it is being used appropriately,” said English teacher Aimee Wendland.

During the senior research paper Wendland used AI to help generate nuanced and original thesis statements. “Some of their topics I had limited knowledge about and we used

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What is the role of AI in the future?

In the same way as with education, AI can be used for both good and bad. For good, in healthcare Artificial intelligence analyzes and processes data, such as medical history, potential health risks, and x-rays, at a rate humans cannot. This capability has revolutionized the accuracy of diagnosing diseases in the medical field. Along with the positive improvements AI has on other parts of our society, such as Agriculture, Automation, and finance.

Feature

Volume 54

What percentage of students use their Snapchat AI? Statistics Design by Avery Bogemann

Hmm, around 59.2% of Portage Northern students never use their Snapchat AI, 19.4% use it very rarely, and 11.7% use it once in a while.

What Percentage of Students use Snapchat AI for school?

Out of 103 responses, 88.3% of Portage Northern students have not used Snapchat AI for school, and 8.7% of students have used Snapchat AI for school.

How many students have used ChatGPT?

When asked, 103 students responded to this question. 68.9% of students have not used ChatGPT, and 31.1% of students have used ChatGPT.

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Feature

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ITTEN

ONAMIS

ION

Sports in Michigan are thriving, with teams from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and East Lansing finding success in the regular and postseason.

By Chase Vanderwalle, Matt Lekosiotis, and Asher Carpenter; design by Chase Vanderwalle ichigan State women’s soche Detroit Lions played their best ichigan Football has had cer team had a great seaseason since 1991-92. Detroit fina historical season, and ished 12-5 and first in the NFC North. it was definitely one to remem- son. They played in the Big Ten The Lions started off their season with ber. The Michigan Wolverines Conference and were #12 in the a huge win against the Super-Bowl had an undefeated season, cap- overall rankings and they went winning Chiefs, which was an unex- ping it off by becoming nation- 14-5-3 overall and 7-1-2 in their pected and motivating win. Coming al champions. Jim Harbaugh conference. Sophomore Rory off of that win was a game against the believes non of it was possible Morrison says “I think the team Seahawks; this was a terrible loss and without star QB JJ Mcarthy. De- played amazing. They had tons of only motivated the team, which lead to scribing him as one of the best teamwork and communicated very the Lions going on a 4 game winning QB’s in Michigan Football his- good as well. I enjoyed watching streak before finally losing a bad game tory. “Simply what I said was, the game and I really think that to the Ravens. As the Lions continued exactly, was I think J.J. is the they deserved the win!”. Senior their season they only grew stronger: best college quarterback in the Justina Gaynor one of the top prostheir rookies were playing amazingly. history of Michigan football — pects of the MSU soccer team; she “LaPorta, it was good to see him, what college quarterback.” “J.J. has a was in top 100 nationally and had a tough kid. Said Dan Cambell to the long way to go to get to that(lev- a fantastic season with six goals, 12 Big Rapids Daily News “I mean, to be a el of tom brady). But in terms of assists, and also to tie a team high rookie and to do what he was able to do, I think of who the best college 24 points. They ended up falling to was confident enough to get out there quarterback in the 144-year his- the #2 seed BYU by a score of 3-1 in and help us”. The Lions finished their tory of Michigan football. I’m the 3rd round of the NCAA tourseason on a strong victory over the Vi- nominating J.J. McCarthy. I’m nament, but put up a great season kings 30-20, and they were ready for not the maker of that list, but to remember for Michigan State the playoffs. The Lions faced off against that’s my opinion.” - Jim har- athletics. Along with that, coach the Rams, Stafford and his team per- baugh to Michigan wolverine Jeff Hosler won Big Ten coach of formed well but the Lions performed community. Another one of the the year. Hosler succeeded Tom better and outlasted the Rams to move highlights of the regular season Saxton, who was coach for over 30 on to the divisional playoff game where was the defeat of their rivals years. This is just the start to a great they faced the Bucs, and won. Finally, Ohio State (30-24). Ohio St. and team that will be good for years to the ending of the Lions amazing season Michigan have been rivals since come. MSU now has a 5-6 record against an amazing 49ers team, the Li- 1897, this heated game was one in the NCAA tournament. “This ons tried their best but in the end the of the most important and en- is unchartered territory for our 49ers got the best of them and ended tertaining moments of the sea- program, for all the players on our roster,” Hosler said. up winning. son.

Sports Volume 54 9 Northern Light

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Design by Mitchell Barnard

The first part of the kickflip is the foot position. It is very similar to the ollie and a majority of skateboarding tricks just with a tweak in the front foot. The foot position overall should be what feels most comfortable to you and what helps get the best flick. The standard foot positioning for a kickflip is like usual: back foot on the tail, and the front foot about where you would put it for an ollie but, turn your foot slightly to have it more angled to have an easier time flicking off the nose.

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Welcome back everyone! Last edition we went over the process of the ollie, the key to all of skateboarding. Now it is time to talk about the kickflip. The kickflip is arguably the most popular trick in all of skateboarding. There are so many different ways to do this trick and it all comes down to personal preference and what feels most comfortable.

There are 3 important steps to a kickflip: the pop, sliding your foot up the nose, and flicking your ankle off to the side of the nose.

The Second step, is sliding your front foot up and off the side of the nose. Again, just like the ollie, you slide your front foot up, but instead of keeping your foot on the board, you slide it off to the side so you can get the board to flip. Make sure during this step you get all the way up the nose and almost flick off the corner; some people struggle with flicking right off the side of the board, this may help with getting the board to rotate but in the long run it isn’t going to look as stylish and can lead to future problems with learning other tricks.

Sports

Lastly, and what I think is the most important part, is the flicking of your ankle. Some people struggle flicking down and the outcomes are never good. Once you get to the corner of the nose, you flick your ankle up and it will help the board spin faster as well as making the kickflip look more stylish by making the board have a dip instead of spinning flat. This process could take some more time to get comfortable with and master but it is definitely worth it in the end.

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Article by Mariah McCollough and Jaiviana Heath; design by Annabelle Bartz Bob Marley: One Love is a 2024 American biographical drama musical film based on the life of Reggae singer and songwriter Bob Marley, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, from his rise to fame in the mid-1970s up until he died in 1981. The film is directed

by Reinaldo Marcus Green.

In 1976, amidst an armed political conflict that was affecting daily life in Jamaica, Bob Marley announced he would perform at a concert, Smile Jamaica, promoting peace amongst the warring factions. While preparing for the concert, Marley, his wife Rita, and several other members of his band are shot by assailants. Rita and Marley are hospitalized, but survive and recover from their injuries in time for the concert.

“Because everyone else was seeing the movie, I would rate it a solid 7.5/10. Not my

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type of movie. I didn’t have a favourite part, to be honest. The people in the movie theatre were the worst part all the way. People really like him you know, and I also think he left an impact on people’s lives, that’s why people should go watch this movie,” said sophmore Mekhiah Williams.

Junior Zachary Lewis also went to see the Bob Marley movie, he stated that, “It was a great experience because I saw it with friends and the movie was great to watch. The best part was probably when Bob and his crew go to London and they start making music. I would recommend it because it is a very educational and funny movie, and Bob Marley is cool. 10/10 for sure!”.

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Entertainment

Volume 54

Regency Romance as a Sub-Genere When people think of regency romance, oftentimes they imagine an older woman and mass-market paperbacks with shirtless men on the front. It’s a sub-genre often looked down upon, as most romance novels are. I was hesitant at first to dive into the multitude of books set in that time-period, but after watching the first season of Bridgeton, I decided to put my preconceived notions aside and give it a try.

Objectively I know that the Bridgeton novels are not fine literature, but they also are still books I think about even years later. The plot is something I found to be endearing, all the books kept me engaged and invested. The romance’s were something I could find comfort in, like a warm blanket on a cold day. I remember vividly when I started the series, it was summertime and it had been rainy outside for the entire week. I would sit on my porch and fly through each book while listening to the sound of water splashing on the ground.

To me, the books are more than just silly romances, they’re memories immortalized on my bookshelf.

Season 3 of Bridgerton: May 16th With the third season of Bridgerton hitting T.V. Edition 3

screens this May, I found myself revisiting the books. I realized that everytime I mentioned it to people, they wouldn’t regard those books the same as the other ones I’ve read. It was more of a silly read to them, while to me it was important. It’s important to give women a voice in a time when they often didn’t have one. It’s such an interesting time period to me, to delve in for hours on end as the sentences fly by. I believe that if romance is a genre that you enjoy, and you’re on the lookout for a new favorite, I would suggest the Bridgerton series. You might just find your new obsession.

Extra Facts About Bridgerton Based on the Novels by Julia Quinn Released from 2000-2006 Bridgerton is not Historically Accurate Bridgerton and The Crown share filming locations Julie Andrews is the narrator

Entertainment

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Expires May 2024

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Photo by Annabelle Bartz

The “Three Little Words” project is a way to showcase the writing of PN student authors who may not be on the Northern Light Staff. Email athorpe@ portageps.org to find out more information.

@pnlight @PN.light @PNHSnorthernlight @portage.northern.light

Abdolla Hegazy, class of 2024 Guest contributor From bloom to bloom, they gracefully danced, Each bee, a flicker of love, a fleeting trance.

My mother’s hive, a vibrant throng, Nourished my spirit, where I belonged.

But seasons change, and wings grow old, Some stings remain, a story told.

The hive, once full, must let them go, Embracing the sting, to watch new life flow.

For love, like bees, transcends the years, Ever-evolving, dispelling fears.

Though wounds may linger, hearts will mend, And love, like honey, knows no end.