November 2023

NORTH HARFORD HIGH SCHOOL 211 PYLESVILLE RD, PYLESVILLE, MD 21132

410-638-3650

VOLUME 45 ISSUE 3

November 28, 2023

FFA comes home from successful Nationals; Indianapolis welcomes Hawks to competition MASON CLARK LILA PARRY Reporters North Harford’s FFA went to their national competition in Indianapolis, Indiana, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 4. The purpose of the national convention is to grow and support the future generations of farmers.

“Throughout the National FFA Convention, students compete in various career development events, participate in leadership workshops, volunteer for service learning activities, tour the career show, and view the official business sessions,” wrote Maryland FFA. Junior Johnathan VanBuskirk says his experience was “great; my team got sixth nationally, and I got eighth individually.” He continues, “I got to meet a bunch of new people and got to make friends with people at the competition.” People from all around the country were at the convention. This experience was an opportunity to meet new people and have a fun experience in the area. “The location - I mean the rodeos, the concerts, just going to get food, even just talking to people, it was great,” said VanBuskirk. But, the group wasn’t just there for a great time and to meet new people. They were also there

to compete against students in networking and looking at plan- Harford’s FFA is back home and ship meeting is all the FFA memFFA from throughout the coun- ning your future bright.” DeLucia planning new events and meet- bers coming together to discuss try. “The competition was more says he is “planning on looking ings and continuing to grow their the new leadership and incoming challenging than we expected, into combining math and forest- knowledge. The FFA is planning students,” said freshman Abigail but I think it turned out well,” described VanBuskirk.

Fellow junior Frank DeLucia also went to the convention.

“I’m on the forestry team, and we came sixth overall...I came in fourth individually,” he said.

The process of the competition was long. “So, they bus us out to the state forest outside of Indianapolis, and we did like a bunch of tree identification,” described DeLucia. “We did compass and the digital knowledge test, and then they bused us back,” he continued.

Nationals is meant to help students grow their knowledge of agriculture and show their knowledge as well.

They do more than just compete at the convention. “So, the expo is just a bunch of different agricultural stands and companies set up, and The FFA team is now home from Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. The members all you could just go around and agreed that the experience was very enjoyable and educational. the people there would tell you about stuff. They’ll [also] PHOTO CREDIT: NHHS Agriculture hand out free things,” said DeLucia. He continues, “then ry” in the future. He says that this on meeting soon for a leadership Simms. The current members of there’s also colleges, which pro- trip helped reinforce those ideas meeting, primarily for the incom- the freshman class will be moving vide a really good opportunity for and motivate him. Now, North ing freshman class. “This leader- into leadership positions.

Influx of hate-based incidents troubles students, staff KRIS GRAY News Editor According to the U.S. News & World Report, North Harford High School has an 8.9 percent student minority enrollment. While the school has no control over this, students and staff continue to raise awareness about the differences that exist in and out of the classroom.

Senior Deola Bamidele says that as a minority, “it took some time to get used to [North Harford] and it was intimidating to be in a predominantly white school, but as [she] became a Hawk, [she got] used to it and just had to deal with it.”

Even in becoming a Hawk, the student still feels somewhat unsafe. This instability stems from “the things [she] hears students doing and saying which makes [her] uncomfortable.” For instance, some

people would “use the n-word randomly, like it means nothing to them but it just makes me uncomfortable and unsafe.”

English teacher Mr. Michael James reports that “for the past month, [he feels] that there might be an uptick in things that are happening [and] what people are saying” around minority students.

The teacher stresses that “this is a public school, which means anyone is welcome to come here to learn, and just like you go to Wal-Mart, it is a public place. You can’t say things that are full of hate, and I think we have to help teach that in school. There are certain things you cannot say. It doesn’t matter what is said at home.

There are just certain things you cannot say in school.”

tiple times [she has] had slurs thrown at [her], been told [that she’s] ‘going to hell.’” Siegel also thinks that the staff finds “it hard to sometimes to see all the things that happen in their classes.” She believes that “a lot of the time, this is because teachers might not pick on the subtle ways of being mean there are.”

This is why James urges that “we still have to figure out how to address [hate speech].”

James recognizes the “cultural shift where some students in the school feel ‘it’s okay’ to [verbally attack other students], and I think that we have to come up with a way that faculty and students can say ‘Hey, this is what’s happening to me,’ and I don’t

“There are certain things you cannot say. It doesn’t matter what is said at home. There are just certain things you cannot say in school.” ~ Michael James, Teacher

Sophomore Mia Siegel has also experienced many incidents related to her sexual orientation. She explains that “mul-

think we’re there yet.”

The sophomore agrees with this, saying, “the system is so flawed it has no effect.” Yet, the student is hopeful that “the new system of reporting these aggressions [show] different teachers and administration...patterns in the behavior of students.”

Special educator Ms. Thandiwe Tembo is trying to “get teachers more comfortable with reporting and using the micro-aggression survey.”

The sophomore seconds this solution saying “if you see something, say something.

Every member of NHHS staff has access to this form, which means any member or staff could take action.”

Still, Siegel emphasizes that “North Harford is mostly positive, but no matter where you are, there will be people who are going through something.”

Cry of the Hawk

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November 28, 2023

Sizes are just numbers A f f i r m a t i v e A c t i o n u p r o o t e d ; VIEWPOINT

Wandering around aimlessly in American Eagle to find your right size of jeans has got to be the most annoying thing ever.

Especially when a very annoyed and exhausted dad - who is trying to race the clock in order to get home in time for Sunday football - is waiting very impatiently at the front of the store for you to complete your adventures.

And, of course, while all of this is happening, you get to jump between the jeans section and the fitting rooms (and stand for what seems to be hours in the fitting room line) with around three pairs of denim, all in different sizes, lying over your arm.

All of it is because your sizing varies depending on the brand of clothes being bought. A lot of customers are (maybe) a two in Old Navy jeans, but a four in jeans from American Eagle.

Why is this?

Well, vanity sizing is why.

Vanity sizing, as defined by Size Charter, is “the practice of labeling clothing with sizes smaller than the item’s measurements and industry standards would indicate.” Basically, it’s when clothing brands label their clothes to be smaller than they actually are, with the intention that customers would buy their clothing since it’s “smaller.”

This affects more people than some may think. “We measured ten brands of women's pants, all labeled size ten, and found that the waists ranged from just over 30 inches to nearly 33 inches.

Tailored shirts, also labeled size ten, ranged from nearly 39 to

nearly 43 inches in the bust. We saw no correlation between price and measurements,” according to Consumer Reports.

It’s “found that smaller size labels increased the self-esteem of their customers,” Forbes reports.

It’s a genius concept, and it’s meant to leave a positive effect... but it doesn’t.

First of all, it’s a lie. Although the print on the back of jeans may say “eight” it could very well be a “ten.” And vanity sizing goes for all clothing, by the way. Not just jeans. It all depends on what brand someone is buying from.

Brands that are notorious for vanity sizing are Brandy Melville, Free People, Zara, H&M, Forever 21, and Loft.

Secondly, it makes finding clothing that fits practically impossible. In one brand, a customer is a ten, in another brand, they’re a 12, and in another, they could be an eight.

These numbers can get mixed up, and can start to get into your head. It's just a number, but it doesn’t feel like it.

It’s more than that to some people. Not being able to fit into a size in general has a psychological effect on people. But, with vanity sizing, it just makes that all the more confusing. Because the customer feels good about themselves when they can fit into a two from Brandy Melville, but bad about themselves when they can’t fit into even a four in Old Navy.

It just adds another unnecessary “side effect” to being a person in this world. Instead, brands could just make everything a lot easier and stick to standard sizing like they’re supposed to.

A woman reveals the various sizes of clothes from different brands that all fit her perfectly. These clothes came from different stores in the same mall.

PHOTO CREDIT: Allure Magazine

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Cry of the Hawk 211 Pylesville Road Pylesville, MD 21132 (410) 638-3650

Supreme Court pushes colorblindness

KRIS GRAY News Editor Anyone who says that they treat everyone the same is either lying or inconsiderate. The color of one’s skin is not simply for vanity; it is a key part of that individual. Many Americans get the words equal and identical confused. Each person is equal to the other no matter their gender, ethnicity, race, or beliefs. But, we are not the same; we have differences that shouldn’t be ignored, but acknowledged and respected.

Ending Affirmative Action is nothing more than the U.S. saying, “We’re colorblind and don’t care about your heritage, your

history, or identity.” Chief Justice John Roberts’ reasoning for this declaration is that students should be evaluated based on their experiences “as an individual - not on the basis of race.” Still, my race doesn’t change when I’m evaluated as an individual.

Growing up in a black household has defined me and will continue to contribute to my values, my goals, and my character. So, to say that I should be portrayed the same as my white peers is insane.

For years, I’ve walked the halls of North Harford Middle and High School knowing that we are not the same. I was the black girl from the city who had to earn the same respect that other students were born with.

This may not apply to someone who is in the majority, because ascribed status doesn’t reflect hard work on a resume. Being a white male may not put you at an advantage for a scholarship.

But, why should it? For American ethnic minorities, our identity cannot be defined by the group because we don’t blend. We stick

out, and that ought to be recognized.

If you don’t believe that black and brown people have been systematically discriminated against since slavery, pick up a newspaper. Look at history. We’ve only had one black president, and 45 white ones. In almost every book read in high school, there has been at least one mention of the n-word. Whenever Americans think of poverty, they immediately imagine African kids staring through the lens of a foreign reporter’s camera.

This stereotype that we have stems all the way from the beginning of the slave trade in the 1500’s. A couple hundred years ago, we weren’t even considered to be fully human.

The ones before me wore shackles and chains on their wrists and ankles. Now, I’m trying to remove them from my soul and self-worth. But, the justice system is tightening the locks.

Let me know when the scale finally balances, because I’m tired of waiting.

British Museum act as hypocrites EDITORIAL

By now, everyone knows that the British empire used to be one of the greatest in the world, in both sheer size and population. They colonized countries all over the world and looted others. Many of the stolen artifacts now reside in The British Museum in London, which has recently been broken into. According to CNN, over 2000 Greco-Roman gems and riches were stolen or damaged, and the Museum has since asked the public for help in locating the precious gems and treasures.

Ironic, isn’t it?

There are so many artifacts in the British Museum that have been sitting there for decades (and for some, centuries), while their countries of origin have been pleading for their returns.

One of the most well-known Moai statues in the museum, Hoa Hakananai’a (which, ironically enough, roughly translates to “lost or stolen friend”) has sat in Room 24 of the building since 1869. According to the Guardian, the Moai comes from Easter Island in Chile, where British explorers excavated it and shipped it to England as a gift for Queen Victoria. The Queen then donated it to the Museum for safe keeping.

Here’s the thing, though; that statue was not hers to donate. It is an integral part of Easter Is-

News Editors: Kris Gray, Lexi Gott Opinion/Editorial Editors: Mackenzie Scott, Noel Bailey Features Editor: Isabel Kropkowski IDR Editor: Emily Johnson Society, Students & Culture Editor: Gabby Moxham Video Editor: TBD Copy Editor: Lily Corcoran Social media Coordinator: Noel Bailey

lander culture that was wrongly stolen without any understanding, and refusing to give it back is just selfish.

Another extremely important artifact stolen by the Museum is the Koh-i-Noor from India, mined from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, which is most known for being the biggest diamond of the British crown jewels.

India has repeatedly asked for the Royal Family to return the gems, according to Insider, but do you want to know how they responded? They just limited how many times the diamond made a public appearance.

What kind of a solution is that?

It’s also important to highlight how the British got their hands on the gem in the first place. After having their eyes on the jewel so they could gain “colonial supremacy,” they had to wait through an era of violence in the Indian throne. When the last two people in line for the throne remained – those being a woman, Rani Jindan, and her ten-year-old son Duleep Singh - “the British forced Duleep to sign a legal document...that required Duleep to give away the Koh-i-Noor and all claim to sovereignty,” after his mother had been imprisoned, according to the Smithsonian.

Guilting a child into signing away a sacred diamond to release his imprisoned mother is an in-

Health and Science Editor: Mekenzie McCann Entertainment Editor: Riley Herold Sports Editor: Stella Manns Events Coordinator & Business Manager: Bella Arist Reporters: Mason Clark, Lila Parry, Brookelyn Priebe, Katie Vanarsdale, Kendall Walter Announcements Tech: Riley Herold, Gabby Moxham

credibly low blow. Refusing to return said diamond and trying to quell its (rightful) controversy by not showing it in public often is even lower.

Remember: these are only two things that were put into the museum.

Other extremely important things in the institution include the Rosetta Stone, Chinese cultural relics, the Benin bronzes, the Parthenon sculptures, the Maqdala collection, the Gweagal Shield, and literal human remains.

Now, that’s not to say that the institute is not preserving the artifacts well. However, the countries of origin in which these artifacts come from are perfectly capable of preserving them, too. The Gweagal Shield comes from Australia. The Parthenon sculptures are Greek.

Some cultural relics come from China. All of these countries would have no issue in taking care of cultural artifacts, so why not just give them back?

The situation of artifacts being stolen from the British Museum is wholly ironic considering the Museum’s dark history.

Perhaps, instead of hoarding the looted goods like that one dragon from The Hobbit (its name is Smaug, by the way), the Museum could return the goods to their rightful owners and honor their cultural importance.

The Cry of the Hawk newspaper is published 10 times a year by North Harford’s Journalism II/III class. All editorials and viewpoints express the feelings of those on the staff and not necessarily those of fellow students, administrators, or teachers. Please do not hesitate to submit letters to Advisor Jen Chandler in room D207.

Letters should be no longer than 300 words, must be signed, and may not contain vulgarity.

Cry of the Hawk

November 28, 2023

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Keeping bias out of classrooms; Allowing students to express opinions without anxiety VIEWPOINT Imagine a student is faced with writing an answer to a prompt, and they bring up ideas that their teacher would never even have thought of, and they write a well-written, accurate response to the question.

But then they get their grade back. It’s not what they were hoping for. They get a worse grade because the points they brought up didn’t align with their teachers’ views. This hap-

pens to many students all the time as a result of bias.

Bias occurs all the time, and this is not the only form of bias that teachers display to their students. According to learninga-z. com, “In general, teacher bias, also known as educational bias, refers to prejudice against certain groups on the basis of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or economic standing that causes educators to treat their students unfairly.”

According to an experiment

Part time job, full time stress

EDITORIAL

Many teens hold part-time jobs because of the benefits they can provide. They can demonstrate the balance of responsibility, and contribute income for things like gas money or college funds. But do they really offer more perks than downsides?

According to The College Board, “Students who work are more confident and possess better time-management skills” than others. These jobs also “provide both training and experience” that may be beneficial to a teenager's future endeavors.

However, challenges may arise, as “students who work more than 15 to 20 hours per week often experience decreased school success,” which can later lead to “dropping out entirely.” Another aspect to mention is that students may lack free time, which can “limit opportunities to build friendships and explore interests” in their personal life.

According to waldenu.edu, “Nearly 30% of high school students are employed in a job for at least a portion of the school year.” There are numerous pros and cons of having a part-time job while still in school. While pros include “teach[ing] the

relationship between earnings and education,” teaching the value of money, and even “help[ing] teenagers stay out of trouble,” the cons list is just as long.

Cons include “instill[ing] negative views about work”, “lead[ing] to fatigue,” and ultimately “hurt[ing] academic achievement.” So, what’s the answer to this dilemma? Both sources claim that balance is key.

According to bellevue.edu, it’s important for students to “Keep a detailed schedule,” to avoid conflicts between school assignments, extracurricular events, and work shifts. It’s also crucial to “carve out dedicated time for school,” to avoid dropping grades or missing assignments.

When in doubt, “ask for help when you need it.” There's no shame in asking for help if assignments become overwhelming, or asking for less hours at your workplace.

Professors, teachers, and employers can also follow a few guidelines to help working students succeed. Being understanding about each student's circumstances and showing that you care about their success (not only in school, but at their job as well) is appreciated.

done by marcolearning.com, “researchers had classroom teachers, as well as external teachers, grade the same set of math tests completed by both girls and boys; they found that classroom teachers systematically gave their female students lower grades than the external teachers did.

The only difference between the classroom teachers and the external teachers was that the external teachers graded blindly with respect to gender.” The article continues to state, “It’s an un-

conscious bias that caused them to treat their female students unfairly when it came to math and science—perhaps the same way their own teachers treated them.”

“When we act based on overgeneralized social stereotypes (most of the time without realizing it), this is implicit bias. The gap in thinking caused when our brain tries to categorize or generalize can have significant impacts on our personal teaching practice and on our learners,” says greenteacher.com.

When teachers are acting with any kind of discrimination, it causes students to be afraid to express their opinions and write their essays based on their teachers beliefs. It could even cause them to try to reach the standards of other students, only to be shot down because their answers could have differed from what the teacher wanted from them. Educators, don’t subject your students to bias; grade fairly, and allow them to express themselves without fear.

Bad timing, overwhelming circumstances; Situation made more difficult than it had to be

RILEY HEROLD Entertainment editor A couple weeks ago, my friend and I put in a request to the main office asking for a form that says she would be allowed to ride the bus home with me in order to work on a school project that was assigned. Both of our parents wrote notes confirming it was okay for her to come home with me.

No big deal, right?But it was.

We proceeded to go about our day like normal. We heard nothing all day regarding whether or not the request for her to ride my bus was approved. Eventu-

ally, two minutes before dismissal, my friend was called up to the office.

The request was denied with no explanation given. She was stranded. There was no other way for her to get home unless she waited, so she tried to get on my bus anyway.

The bus driver told us we had to leave, even after I gave him a note personally from my mother; but, it didn’t matter. We had to wait half an hour before someone could get us. I don’t understand.

Certainly it makes sense that there is a system, and I understand needing a request to ride another's bus for safety purposes and so that parents know where their kid is heading at all times.

But I don’t understand why THIS request was not approved.

It’s not like we were scheming to do something bad. We were issued a school project that needed to be completed outside of school. The easiest way to do it was to ride the bus home because of distance and parents' jobs.

These seem reasonable reasons to authorize a pass.

And if it was not going to be approved, why wait so long to approve or deny a request. That leaves NO time for the student to react, communicate, or make alternative plans. I wouldn’t be happy if it had been denied earlier in the day, because it's whatever at that point. But, it was denied two minutes before we had to leave.

What if it was my friend's only source of transportation for hours? What would happen then?

It’s all really about timing.

Better timing could have made everything fine, but time was lost.

I do understand the whole system; it was just really bad timing and circumstances.

I think that overall, if we were told earlier during the day that my friend could not ride the bus home with me, things could have ended much better and a lot less complicated.

Da yli ght sa ving t ime p re vails EDITORIAL

org, the public opinion about the clock changes and DST found in a recent poll is that “over 60% Starting in 1918, the Unitof people want to end biannual ed States started the tradition clock changes. Most polls suggest of daylight-saving time (DST), that permanent daylight-saving where the clocks are turned one time is more popular than permahour forward, which “starts on nent standard time.” the second Sunday in March and “The U.S. is not We have to stop falling back ends on the first Sunday in Noending daylight saving any and springing forward, as it is a vember,” according to reuters. greater risk than we think for com. time soon, though there is an our attention span and our The U.S. adopted this ideeffort in the federal government alertness as shown with the ology from Germany, who to pass the so-called Sunshine sleep cycle.

Standard time started this in 1916 during has the sunset in Baltimore World War I as “an energy Protection Act, which would in 2023 around 4:50-5 which saving measure,” states colomake daylight saving time is way before some people are rado.edu. As of now, the Uniteven leave school activities and ed States is one of 70 countries permanent.” work when they are used to leavto participate in DST. Usatoday. ing in daylight. This poses a risk com claims that the United States DST; it is lighter for many people who have to be signed the Standard Time Act in the morning and darker earlioutside using public transportainto law “as a measure to save on er in the night, when people will tion, walking to classes, or more, fuel costs during the First World be lacking in motivation from where it can be more dangerous War by adding an extra hour of thinking it's later than it actually to be out at night.

With the earsunlight to the day.”When DST is and causing people to wake up lier sunset, they have less time to is in effect, “the one-hour time earlier. be out if they want to avoid this. shift during daylight saving time This constant change can afAccording to reuters.com, “The results in less exposure to light in fect people’s mental health and U.S. is not ending daylight saving The time change is something that affects many people’s mental schedules, as people become any time soon, though there is an clocks, better known as a circa- used to one way of the clocks, but effort in the federal government dian rhythm. the morning and then only a few months later, the to pass the so-called Sunshine greater exposure to evening light clocks get changed again, throw- Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time perrelative to typical sleep and work ing off their entire body again.

According to sleepfoundation. manent.” schedules. As a result, we tend to go to bed and fall asleep later, resulting in chronic sleep loss,” states sleepeducation.org. This horrible sleep cycle that some may fall into can also be affected at t h e end of

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Cry of the Hawk

November 28, 2023

Letting opportunities to change pass by; Working against men’s mental health stigma EDITORIAL ‘Man up.’; ‘Be strong.’; ‘Men don’t cry.’ Those are just some of the things men are told when they even think about sharing their emotions.

According to nimh.nih.gov, the “prevalence of any mental illness was higher among females than males.”

However, healthline.com makes the claim that the data may reflect a higher percentage of women experiencing mental illness as higher “because men aren’t opening up and reaching out.”

Healthline.com also added that in 2021, “51.7% of women” and “40% of men” received support from mental health services. Now, consider this data from cdc.gov: In

2021, deaths by suicide for males reached 38,358, and the number of female deaths by suicide was 9,825.

According to ncbi.mnl.nih. gov, “depression and suicide are ranked as a leading cause of death among men.” A stigma surrounding men's mental health is a tug of war battle that grows and shrinks every day.

After being told that emotions make them weak, men then neglect to reach out and ask for help.

Anyone can have an opinion on this topic, because in the end, the mental health of every single person affects everyone equally.

So why should a person's gender affect the help they are allowed to receive?

Simple answer is that it shouldn't. Yes, the resources for everyone to get help are always there and are broadcasted as available for men. That is not the issue. What can be fixed is the stigma that is stopping men from using these resources.

Men are stereotypically expected to behave as “strong, quiet, resilient, and tough,” according to sageclinic.org.

These traits that have been generalized as the way men should act, and they stand in the way of men seeking out help.

Traditional masculine norms in society are the culprit that can lead men down a path of never seeking out help. According to ncbi.mnl.nih.gov, men following society's masculine norms can lead

to, “worsening depression and anxiety” and “discouragement in seeking help.”

Anyone can fear weakness, most likely everyone fears being viewed as weak if they talk about emotions. But, making conclusions from the various statistics about deaths by suicide and how many men and women receive mental health support services, paints a clear picture.

Cultural pressures from society are the blockades that stop them from reaching out and getting the help they deserve.

Sure, go spend more money on billboards, and directing 30-second ads to spread awareness for the topic; but what is this really doing? How can this issue truly be changed? How can this stigma fall

away to clear a path that allows men to not feel weak when they experience non-stereotypical “manly” emotions?

A quick search online asking, “How to combat men’s mental health stigma?” leads to solutions that seem so simple, yet are so far off from working.

Answers appear such as, ‘encourage men to talk about mental health,’ and ‘talking openly’ about issues. These are easier said than done, and that is where the issue is.

For years, these have been the solutions to mental health issues among people of all genders.

Letting these simple solutions live as the answer will not be sufficient enough as time goes on, there has to be a change.

TikTok shop: place your order Corrupt congressman remains in office; Think before you

EDITORIAL

Some people get scammed from online websites, and then proceed to blame the site; in reality, it is their fault, not the database.

TikTok is one of the most entertaining, influential, and educational apps created for all ages.

This program is targeted to kids, teens, adults, artists, entrepreneurs, fashionistas, athletes, and many more. While TikTok has grown its followers over the past couple years, it now has the feature where users can buy items of all sorts from the app. Many people say it’s a scam, but doing the correct background checks takes five minutes and prevents the scams from happening.

NBC Chicago published an article discussing the positives and negatives of buying an item from TikTok Shop. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) offered some tips for users that want to get involved with purchases online. First, “research the seller before you buy, and check the seller’s website.”

When you see a product on the app, it doesn’t mean that TikTok is the provider. Before putting in your information, make sure to thoroughly go through the website.

Another good piece of advice is to read the comments and reviews. BBB claims, “User comments and reviews are a great way to get a pulse check on new sellers. Check for any negative ex-

periences. You can also use TikTok’s search bar to see if previous customers have uploaded videos of their purchased products.”

Additionally, users should know the return policy if you are going to purchase something you may not like. For TikTok, “customers have 30 calendar days after a package is delivered to request a return or refund.”

You should also check to see if the seller is verified by an official.

BBB states, “It might be a scam if someone sells brand-name items at outrageously low prices. Check brand accounts to ensure they have a blue check mark symbol – this means TikTok has verified that the account owner is who they say they are. Remember that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Lastly, it is more beneficial to shop with a credit card so it is easier to dispute a transaction.

Don’t rush when you see something you want, think before you buy. BBB recommends, “It’s great that the TikTok shop is so convenient, but if you rush to buy something cool from a video, you might not stop to notice red flags.

Pause before you buy and follow the above tips to ensure the seller and product are legitimate.”

This shop is great for people who are looking for affordable and cheap things.

Making sure you have a reliable and valid source is key to not getting yourself in a situation you can’t take back.

House of Representatives is doing nothing

KENDALL WALTER Reporter George Santos, a republican New York representative, has been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud. However, he is still in office and voting on laws that will affect people for years. This is absurd, a person on bail awaiting to be charged should not hold power over citizens.

An article by the United States Attorney Office reports that.

George Santos has been charged with over 23 different issues including “wire fraud, money laundering or even materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).”

The most surprising thing was that in 2010, he confessed to tax

Policy about phones proves pointless for most students VIEWPOINT

TikTok shop has been installed in the app for only a couple months. Recently, this program has grown and more people have been involved in using the feature.

PHOTO CREDIT: Channelengine.com

Many schools are banning phones in an attempt to benefit students and help their grades.

But, will this truly have positive long term effects for them in the long run?

The answer is no.

Many schools have been trying new methods to keep students from using their phones.

“Schools across the United States are increasingly adopting a no-phone policy, requiring students to lock away their

fraud in Brazil in 2008, according to House.gov, but still was able to be elected in 2022 despite those charges.

A man with 23 counts of different charges anywhere else would (most likey) be shunned from their community and removed of all power, but not in this case. Instead, Santos is actually going to be running to be re-elected into the House of Representatives.

Why is this allowed?

This is painting the US government in a terrible light, and rightfully so. The country lets corrupt and criminal people run our government. These people are swayed by money and power, they want control and to feel in charge. It feels as if the Government doesn't work as it should, in a fair and honest manner.. If you pay enough money to the right people you can have any position of power, that is what's wrong with our government.

Mrs. Melissa Winter, the school’s AP psych and American government teacher, feels that “having a person who is supposed to be a representative as a criminal is lowering the standards down to just any common person.”

If anyone can make it into of-

fice, no matter the background, what is stopping the worst of the worst from deciding laws and guidelines for the peoples of the United States? Winter adds that corruption has “no place in the US government. However, [she knows] it still happens.” She continues, “you can never know if they're being paid by someone, or working behind the backs of people to make certain laws that only benefit a certain group of people.”

Santos survived a “bipartisan effort to expel him from the House of Representatives on Wednesday,” according to NBC News.

You also need to take into account the fact that he has not been convicted of these charges.

However, we must also question who holds the power in the House of Representatives: Republicans.

Winter believes “a lot of people a mistrusting the government and losing trust in them, and that's the reality; the corruptness connecting to the power that the government holds.”

If a man with over 23 different accusations of crimes can still hold power in the U.S., where do we draw the line?

devices for the entire school day,” writes CBS News.

Also, according to District Administration, “Administrators at Orange County Schools, which is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, intend to expand the district’s cellphone ban from during class time to recess and lunch.” But, this won’t be a policy at their future jobs.

Although this may help them get better grades and focus in class, this prevents them from learning how to control themselves from using their phones.

The truth is, phones are going to be with students the rest of their lives. When students graduate college, go out into the real world, and get a job, their phones aren’t going to be taken away to make sure their work is getting done.

Instead, if people use their phones at a job and can’t separate themselves from their phones to get

their work done, they will get fired. So, while in school, this is the time for students to learn how to control how much they use their phones.

“According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2020, cellphone bans were in place in 76% of U.S. schools,” says The National Education Association.

This means that students in 76% of schools across the United States aren’t learning how to control when they should use their phones and when they shouldn’t.

If teens don’t learn this now, then when will they learn how to work while having a phone around them? They certainly won’t be able to figure this out easily while they are working a job.

Not knowing this valuable skill could certainly be detrimental in the future.

November 28, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

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Wedding season: Floral design students create bouquets MACKENZIE SCOTT Op/Ed Editor Ag teacher Mr. Todd Stewart’s floral design classes were recently tasked with creating the bouquets and other floral arrangements for a recent wedding.

Floral design is a class completely focused on learning about how to create an arrangement and how to create other pieces with flowers such as corsages, boutonnieres, senior flowers, wreaths, pocket squares and many more.

For this particular wedding, which was themed ‘Boho Chic,’ students were tasked with making pocket squares for the groom and groomsmen instead of boutonnieres. According to brides. com, a pocket square is “a petite arrangement of flowers that pokes out from the external breast pocket of a groom’s suit or tuxedo jacket.” Senior Emily Watt explains she used a rose as the main flower. Surrounding it were stalks of thistle, waxflowers, chrysanthemums, and a few other things. Junior Lilly Heath helped with the creation of the corsage. Heath explains how for this, she used “spray roses, wax flowers, eucalyptus, and pampas grass.”

Some of the floral design II students were involved in the creation of the wedding arbor.

According to weddingmaps.com,

a wedding arbor is a “decorative structure that [is] often used as focal points in weddings and other outdoor events.” Senior Dev Griffith explained the process of creating the arbor by saying that they “took a block of floral foam and set it on the surface of the water in a bucket to let it soak.

Afterwards, I put the foam in a little basket and filled the sides with silver dollar eucalyptus and seeded eucalyptus to give the base of the arbor shape before moving on to the mass flowers.”

According to ecisd.net, “Mass flowers consist of a single stem with one solid, rounded head at the top of the stem. They function to add mass or visual weight to an arrangement.”

Senior Natalie Ling explained the process of the arbor by explaining “you must use floral foam and put it into a cage that holds it, and you basically use filler flowers and the actual flowers to fill all the space up. You want to cover up all the floral foam and the cage so that no one can see it.” A filler flower is “perfect for creating the floral foundation and color palette of your wedding floral designs” according to flowermoxie.com.

Griffith continued explaining the process of creating the arbor.

“Once there was enough eucalyptus shaping the arrangement,

I moved onto the mass flowers.

I put the dahlias in the center, leaving room so I could incorporate the roses without making it look like the two flowers were separated. Lastly, I found places in the center of the arbor that were either empty or needed extra color or texture and put in the orange waxflowers and berries, making sure the berries weren’t

the ‘Flower of the Month’ club.

Griffith explains “Flower of the Month club is a subscription that you can pay for to get a floral arrangement every month that fits the respective month.” For October, students made fall arrangements. Heath explains that “the flowers I used in the Flower of the Month club last month were daisies, sunflowers, seeded euca-

Griffith states, “We tend to use flowers that are typically associated with the season or month, like tulips for spring months, winter berries and pine for winter months, and sunflowers for fall [sunflowers are associated with both summer and fall at the same time].” Griffith highly encourages people to sign up for Flower of the Month club, as “it

The bride’s bouquet (left) can be seen alongside one of the pocket squares, the inside of the pocket of the suit jacket (center). The arbor (right) had f owers hang-ing alongside it for the bride and groom to stand underneath.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lukas Smithson extremely clumped together.”

In the past month, students also created arrangements for

lyptus, and solidago.”

For November, the students made a cornucopia arrangement.

helps fund our future arrangements, and you get an epic arrangement in return.”

Bathroom guidelines changed Contest showcases talents, artistic abilities; Competition of creativity draws attention LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor

On Thursday, Oct. 26, it was announced on the morning announcements that there would be some changes made to the current bathroom policy in an effort to curb poor student behaviors.

Behaviors that prompted this change include, “primarily, vandalism,” says principal Mr. Brian Pawlicki. “There’s been things such as broken toilet seats, broken sinks, broken pipes, [and] broken doors in the bathroom.

There’s also vaping, and along with the vaping, students are vaping things they also shouldn’t be vaping - things that are more illegal.”

He continues, “Most of that is happening [during] that first time in the morning; that’s a long period of time. Some students walk in the door at 7 am, so they have about 25 minutes just in the halls that they’re using to hang out in the bathrooms. We’ve only had a couple of fights this year, and by chance, they were in bathrooms because of the people that hang out there.” The aim of the new policy is to, “crack down on [poor behavior] so that people are not loitering in the bathrooms.”

According to Pawlicki, the change in policy has seen some success. However, not everyone is a fan. “I didn’t mind it during class time, but in the morning, it’s just inconvenient,” says sophomore Mia Siegel. “Before, I used to go to the bathroom on the way to homeroom, but now I have to go to homeroom first, and it

sucks because my homeroom is so far away from everything else.

I can see where they were coming from with the rules, but now it’s annoying.”

Fellow sophomore Aiden Miranda agrees with Siegel, noting that he feels that the new policy is “really dumb,” and junior Corinne Hunter adds that she feels that the policy is “not indicative” of some members of the student body. “As a disabled person, [I think] this policy is terrible. If I had to go to the bathroom, I would have to walk an even more unnecessary amount and wear myself out in order to simply go to the bathroom,” she says.

According to administration, there has been a large amount of money that has been put into repairing damaged objects in the bathrooms. There is “specific money set aside” for the building, since things can be damaged “naturally,” but there is “only so much.”

Pawlicki mentions that “we could do other things besides replacing pipes, or doors, or toilet seats. We could do things like paint a classroom, or make the building look nicer.”

He continues, “If it goes beyond our budget, we have to find money in other places at the end of the year to compensate for that, so it could be that we have to use money from other accounts to pay for repairs to the building.

We only get so much for that, and if we go beyond that, we’ve got to find it in some of our other school funds.”

KATIE VANARSDALE Reporter

know about ten days after the deadline,” Kahl explains. The different levels of awards that can The Reflections Art contest has be won are the “Merit award, the been around for over fifty years. award of excellence, and the out“The Reflections program was standing interpretation award.” founded by Mary Lou Anderson The prizes that are won for in 1969 and provides students an each level increase, the higher the opportunity for reclevel, “Merit Award ognition and access [gets a] Bronze Medto the arts which al; Certificate of Merboosts student conit; Work featured in fidence and success the virtual exhibition. in the arts and in Award of Excellence life,” says PTA.org. [gets a] $200 Young Consisting of Artist Scholarship; dance choreograSilver Medal; Certifphy, film producicate of Excellence; tion, literature, Work featured in music composition, the virtual exhibiphotography, visual tion. Outstanding Inarts and special artterpretation Award ists; this is a compe[gets a] $800 Young tition to showcase Artist Scholarship; student talents.

Gold Medal; Certifi“Nation PTA sponcate of Outstanding sors this event yearInterpretation; Work ly. Each school has Joining this competition has the potential to featured in the virtual the opportunity to share this event send students to nationals. Winning pieces get exhibition; $200 Prize for Local PTA Unit,” with their school in displayed throughout the school year.

Kahl explains. each county,” says PHOTO CREDIT: Reflections The prizes for each Mrs. Tracey Kah, level vary. “They are who is the Reflecdifferent for each local school. cal deadline is Dec. 1, 2023. This tions contest organizer.

NHHS gives a certificate and a The amount of participation gives us time to judge the artgift card.

The county also has an varies year to year. “In years past work and submit it to the county award ceremony; they too give there were as many as 100 plus level by Dec. 15 ,2023.” After placentries. Now, we are lucky to ing at the local level, contestants certificates and gift cards,” says get three entries. I would love to can go to county level, or “maybe Kahl. Regarding advice for people looking to enter this contest see more students express them- even Nationals!” Kahl says.

Contestants will find out if Kahl says, “Good luck! Enjoy selves in a positive way using the arts programs,” Kahl states. “The they placed. “Locally, we will [and] express yourself.” most entries are in literature, visual arts, and photography.”

The contest starts early in the year, with different deadlines that must be met. “Most years, it starts the first part of October and entries are due sometime in early December. This year, the lo-

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Cry of the Hawk

November 28, 2023

Students inducted into National Honors Society; Mass shooting occurs in Maine

New, old members unite for event STELLA MANNS Sports Editor

by Calland, while the other officers prepared to have the new inductees sign the NHS book, and receive a cord and a candle.

Junior and inductee Brooke

Sims was stationed to help the inductees sign the NHS book, so she enjoyed “watching everyOn Nov. 1, members of the one sign their names,” and also classes of 2024 and 2025 were in“watching [Manns] try and light ducted into the National Honors the candles” Society (NHS). in between Senior officers the officers’ Kaitlyn Calland, speeches.

Kent Holcombe, Calland’s Stella Manns, favorite part and Korynn Sims of the cerespoke at the inmony was duction ceremo“when the ny. names were Calland is the read recogpresident of the nizing each club, and to preof the inductpare for the cerees.”

Since emony she “re“becoming a viewed and made member of adjustments to NHS takes the script used a lot of hard for the ceremowork,” Calny” to ensure land “was “the four pillars very glad of NHS: Scholto see each arship, Service, student inLeadership, and The inductees are wearing their cords and lighting their d i v i d u a l l y Character,” were candles to signify their induction into the club. They then recognized for emphasized. the dedication Beginning “with spoke an oath to the club in order to be inducted. they have put a procession of the PHOTO CREDIT: STAFF in to become NHS inductees,” according to Calland, the cere- McElwain enjoyed “being able a member of the highly regarded to be inducted with a lot of [her] society.” mony began promptly.

Not only does the NHS “offer Principal Mr. Brian Pawlicki friends” in the same year. As a new “gave a speech about the role and member of the club, she is “most an opportunity to recognize the importance of the NHS and its looking forward to being more highly gifted and hardworking values at North Harford,” Cal- involved in the school.”Agreeing students at [NH], but it gives an with her fellow inductee, junior opportunity to these students to land added.

“The officers then each dis- Lilly Heath is “looking forward to use their knowledge,” Calland cussed the four pillars, lighting helping the other people in [the] added.

Through an after-school tucandles to signify each one, with community” through the NHS. Tutoring coordinator Sims toring program, offered weekly, knowledge encompassing all four,” says Calland. Finally, the expressed she had two favorite students are able to have “oneon-one assistance” she said. inductees were then announced parts of the ceremony.

NH cook wins county Employee of the Year;

Morrison shares excitement GABRIELLE MOXHAM SSC Editor/Studio Manager

to feed everyone.” Morrison considers that “the first person to walk into the cafeteria Staff member Mrs. Shenand the last person to walk in na Morrison has worked at should have all of the same opNorth Harford High School tions to choose from and some for 29 and a half years as a days that is hard to do.” cook in the cafeteria.

The final thing that the After spanning alrecipient finds stressmost three decades ful sometimes are “cerof devotion to this tain ones[students].” school, she said she She mentioned she has noticed improvewouldn’t work in this ments made in herpath if she didn’t like self and the cafeteria the people. as a whole.

Some of the special She states, “I have traits Morrison bebecome better at lieved helped her to leading and working, earn this award inas well as directing a clude, “thinking outlarge group.” side the box; I don’t Morrison has come panic under pressure a long way since the or when a problem beginning of her arises, and an overall career here, startpositive attitude.” ing with two hours If Morrison could spent in the dish Morrison has been working at NH for 29 and a half nominate someone for room washing stu- years. She was presented with the county award. the award next year, dents’ trays. As with PHOTO CREDIT: GABERIELLE MOXHAM she would nominate a most jobs, there are fellow member of the ups and downs to her kitchen staff, Lisa Gayler beyes,” about whether there are work. Morrison states that cause “I’ve seen her grow and stressful parts to her job. her favorite part of the enviovercome so many obstacles According to her, these inronment around here is “the and she learned to think outclude “deliveries, getting what students, the farming area side the box to solve probyou need, and making sure that and culture here, the people lems.” there is enough food every day I get to meet, and the staff I work with.”

However, she adds may be a bit biased, because the Employee of the Year is actually a Hawk graduate.

The award winner said “oh,

BROOKLYN PREIBE Reporter On Oct. 25, 2023, there was a mass shooting in Maine. According to apnews.com, “Authorities say a U.S. Army reservist fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night.” CBS News adds that 13 people were injured. The shooting in Maine’s second largest city is the 36th mass killing in the United States this year.

A massive search for 40-yearold Robert Card of Bowdoin was launched, until he was found dead on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. The New York Times states that officials said that he appeared to have shot himself, and that they believe he acted alone in carrying out the attack.

AP News says the police found Card’s body at a recycling facility where he worked.

The New York Times also quotes, “The man who killed 18 people and wounded 13 more in Lewiston, Maine, the deadliest mass shooting in America this year, had paranoid beliefs that people were talking about him, and he may have been hearing voices.”

The source continues to state, “Maine lawmakers have resisted efforts to tighten gun laws in part because of it’s large hunting community, but

the authorities can restrict gun ownership for people who are suffering mental challenges and are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.”

History teacher Mr. Charles Selfe addressed the idea of changing gun control laws in Maine.

He says, “Could it? Yes. Would it ever happen in Maine? No. They’re extremely individualistic. They’re very much ‘leave us alone, we do our own thing.’ They’re very libertarian.”

He continues, “My opinion versus what they would actually do in Maine. I think that if somebody was diagnosed with a mental illness, then there should be extra steps at least to get a firearm - it should be more difficult to get one.”

Beyond that statement, the history teacher doesn’t believe that there is “any need for a civilian to own a weapon that has been made specifically to kill people.”

One anonymous senior comments, “the freedom to own a gun is paramount in a truly free society; if the people of America didn’t have guns, then there would be little to nothing to stop some government officials from seizing power.”

The senior then continues, “to put it simply, people have too much faith in the government.”

Hawks determine innocence or guilt RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor

On Oct. 27, English teacher Mrs. Joanna Dallam’s AP English literature and composition class held a mock trial in the lecture hall for the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

In the trial, the B2 class was ultimately deciding the main character, Victor Frankinstein’s, fate, and whether he was guilty or innocent involving the charges of murder that his creature committed against his family.

As decided by the jury - consisting of freshmen Madilyn Coyle, Lucy Carbonell, Sara Summerfield, and Adrianna Ebberts Victor Frankinstien was charged as guilty.

Senior Haley Borns played Elizabeth, Victor’s wife and Caroline, Victor’s mother. Borns stated, “In preparation I took quotes out of the novel and looked at a deeper view on the relationships and dialogue between the two. “ Borns continued, “With portraying Elizabeth, I wanted to go more in depth on how Victor kind of led her to her death, so I tried to embody that super sad person.

But for the mother, I think I did some good acting with that.”

Senior Kris Gray played the author, Mary Shelley, even though she was not even in the book.

Gray stated, “To prepare for this role, I did a lot of research on Mary Shelley about her past trauma, and her reasons for writing Frankenstein, which really allowed me to get some back-

ground on how to portray her.”

Gray continued, “What I talked about in the trial was that she started writing the novel based on the idea of bringing something back to life from the dead and galvanism [the idea that scientists could use electricity to stimulate or restart life]. My claim was that Mary Shelley wanted to warn against playing God and just encourage people to stay content with their situation.”

Senior Blake Carberry was the defense attorney for Victor Frankenstein.

Carberry stated, “For the trial, I prepared opening and closing arguments with evidence from the book, as well as prepared questions to ask each witness. I would say the creature [being] on the stand was a really hard point for me.

He contined, “that’s the moment I thought I was going to lose. I know he is really good with textual evidence and asking questions, so the outcome did kind of shock me a little bit.”

Other students involved in the B2 trial included senior Isabelle Hendricks, who played Professor Krempe; senior Grant Peterson, who played Victor Frankenstein; senior Kent Holcombe, who played the creature; senior Aubrey Heise, who played Robert Walton; senior Allison Mitchell, who played Justine, a housemaid that lived with the Frankenstein’s; and senior Madalyn Caiazzo, who played Henry Clerval, Victor’s best friend.

Cry of the Hawk

November 28, 2023

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Group of French students fly into Hawk Country Foreigners introduced to American culture, traditions BELLA ARIST Business Manager In October, a group of French exchange students came from their country to visit the United States. This was sponsored by John Carroll, but two North Harford students also hosted people.

Senior Aiden Jablon hosted two girls his age for a week. He said, “My experience was fun, and I got to learn a lot about French culture. While most of the time was fun, it was also hard because of the language barrier.”

Jablon explained they had a lot of similarities because “they were his age.” Although they could connect, there were issues because of the translation between two languages. The student shared, “There were issues with food, because one of the girls was vegetarian so we had to communicate to work that out.”

The most interesting thing he learned about French culture was the difference in fashion.

Jablon claimed, “in the United States, it is much more relaxed, but in France they are very stylish and they dress up even just for school.”

The funniest moment the senior remembered was when the

French students tried to teach him “how to say the word 'blanket' in French.”

His favorite thing they did was

Along with Jablon, French teacher Mrs. Larissa Arist also hosted two girls and “had a fantastic experience.” This wasn’t

North Harford students with four french exchange students wandering the Towson Mall.

New girls from France were able to see the difference between their malls where they live and American malls.

PHOTO CREDIT: STAFF hiking with the other host families. He said, “having more people in my house wasn’t anything different, because I am already used to having a lot of people in my house with my big family.”

her first time hosting; she also hosted students from Japan and Ukraine in the past.

Arist said, “overall, I loved having students in our home to teach them our culture in America and

Recently two new clubs have been added to the school: fishing club and the GIS club.

Both clubs are run by teachers; the fishing club is ran by technology teacher Mr. Jacob Birchfield, and the GIS club’s advisor is computer science teacher Mr. Greg Murrell.

Two new clubs added to school MEKENZIE MCCANN H/S Editor

Birchfield states that the club does and learns “instructional casting, how to make a lure, what type of species to catch and when to catch them during the year, and where around the county we can fish.”

The club fishes in the pond located behind the school and will travel around 15 minutes to other locations. “We will go to Deer Creek and fishing communities and clubs that [the members] want to join,” adds Birchfield.

Sophomore Ryan Chaney asked Birchfield to help him create the club. He states that he knows “a lot of people that enjoy fishing who do not have anyone to take them, and I have

been fortunate that my dad and my parents do a lot of outdoor stuff and I want to get more people interested.”

“You do not have to have experience; anyone can join, whether you are a freshman or a senior. It is for everyone,” says Birchfield.

The GIS club “was started by students because they had the interest to do it, so there is a group of students that have taken [GIS] for a couple of years, and they wanted to get like minded students together. So, they went to [principal] Mr. [Brian] Pawlicki and proposed the club,” states Murrel.

Senior Timothy Morrow states that “we started the club to give everyone in the school a chance to learn about GIS and

its capabilities.”

The student then goes on to state that the “goal of the club is community service, so it has a focus that everyone that joins that club has to do a GIS project that is going to benefit the North Harford or Harford County community with a project that they are going to produce.”

Murrel says that “you can pick a purpose and GIS can find a way to help. It includes also being able to use your phone and going out to the field and collect data. So, it is really a tool to help you solve problems or analyze projects that you have.”

Murrel comments that the new GIS club meets “during Hawks Soar.”

Each week has four to five new flavors, and the sixth is always their famous chocolate chip cookie.

Senior Emma Gast was hired at the bakery before it opened.

She stated that the application process was “super easy,” and explained how it worked. “[She] just did an application online, and then they sent [her] a whole thing that [she] had to fill out for an interview.” After an in-person interview, applicants would have orientation two weeks later if they got the job. Training days also occurred a few days before

the store opened. Gast also added that the environment is “super fun, everybody is always really happy. It’s always easy-going and everybody just does their own thing.” One benefit she enjoys is always knowing the cookie flavors for the following week, and receiving 50% off cookies as well.

She would recommend working there, because “everybody is super sweet, and funny.”

Former student Lili Laricci worked at the White Marsh location, before being hired at the Bel Air location. She would recommend working here.

opens in Bel Air; Crumbl Cookie: Shop Business employs NH students EMILY JOHNSON IDR Editor

Bel Air has gained a new food spot: Crumbl Cookie. The store is located in the Bel Air Plaza Shopping Center, and is open from 8AM to 10PM Monday-Thursday, 8AM- 12AM Friday-Saturday, and is closed on Sundays.

The franchise has over 800 stores across the U.S., and now has expanded into Canada, according to their website. The bakery is well known not only for their pink boxes, but for the menu that rotates weekly.

allow them to have experiences they haven’t had before.” She also explained, “their personalities made it so easy and comfortable

to get along. The conversations flowed, and being fluent in the language made everything go over smoothly.”

The teacher shared, “one of our girls specifically had a good mas-

tery of English already, so she did just fine everyday communicating and understanding. I saw the other student’s language grow so much even in just a week.”

She said her favorite memory was when she offered them to try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Arist shared, “their eyes were the widest I had ever seen, and they were very hesitant to try the sandwich. In the end, they were not a fan and ended up having carrots and fruit for lunch.”

Arist hosted students Raphaelle Couly and Marie Havart.

Both of them shared that their favorite activity they did throughout the whole week was “doing a bonfire in the backyard.”

Couly explained, “the biggest culture change I saw was the school system being different with every aspect, and also the fact that everything is so big, like houses, food, malls, and more.”

Havart shared, “understanding people varied because sometimes, Americans talk really fast and it is very hard to keep track of what they say.” They both truly enjoyed seeing “the New York City buildings and environment because it was so incredible and different.”

Chronically absent students;

Focus of school initiative KENDALL WALTER Reporter

NHHS has been working to reduce the number of chronically absent students. School principal Mr. Brian Pawlicki says, “Students who are considered chronically absent miss 18 days of school, or more. That’s ten percent of the school year.” He added that this number does not include excused absences.

The school has put in place new attendance incentives to keep students interested in going to school. Government teacher Mrs. Jessica Siegel says, “last school year, we had a chronic absence rate of 21%.

21% of students missed 18 days or more. So, this year, we are creating ways to get students to come to school. This could include small raffle prizes, up to larger class size rewards.”

Overall, the school has 95.25% average attendance rate for the whole quarter. The daily attendance rate for grades this quar-

ter were as follows: 92.95 % for freshmen, 93.53% for sophomores, 93.51% for juniors, and 92.89% for seniors.

Pawlicki said that, “attendance affects the availability of a senior to do part time or do college classes at HCC, and even having tuition paid.” Pawlicki also mentions how for seniors, attendance matters the most; it can help with college and tuition. However, out of every grade level, they have the worst attendance.

One of the main problems the school has are half-day seniors not coming to school on halfdays or Hawk Soar days.

Therefore, half-day seniors will only be at school for about 50 minutes. The government teacher also adds that seniors and juniors are the main motivation, since they are more likely to skip or miss out on classes due to the resources they have at hand, or senior-itis. to leave school.”

You can find the store nestled in between Kirklands and sweetFrog. The bakery opened on October 26th, 2023.

PHOTO CREDIT: Patch.com

November 28, 2023

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TikTok takes toll on young users;

Quick laughs lead to long-term consequences KRIS GRAY News Editor

TikTok is available in over 160 countries, has over 1.1 billion users, and has the largest audience of 143.4 million people in the United States according to Statista. The app was created in 2016 and allows users to create and share short videos.

In the app’s early days as Musical. ly, it was mainly used for lip-syncing and dancing. But, since its creation, Tiktok has developed into one of the most popular social media platforms ever. From cooking videos to monologues to comedy, the app has evolved to be more than what was intended.

While there are some benefits to this development, issues have increased as well.

For example, after ByteDance purchased the platform in 2018 came the name change and content evolution. One of the most appealing factors of the app is the For You page (FYP). Accord-

ing to Wired, this is “an endless stream of videos uniquely tailored to each user.” Just like the home page on other social media platforms, the FYP recommends videos that they think the user will want to see.

Senior Carly Dryer is an avid Tiktok user who spends at least “five hours a day” on the app. She explains that this occurs “before bed, in the morning, at school, all the time.”

On her For You page, she mostly watches short videos including “animals, dances and food mukbangs.” According to the student’s testimony, in none of the five hours spent on the app does she learn anything of importance. There is no educational or uplifting content being displayed to Dryer and other TikTok users alike.

Senior Thomas Stolz is not on TikTok and believes that constant use of the software “destroys your attention span.”

Stolz is also a straight-A student, which may be correlated to his focus on his own reality rather than the fictions that are presented on social media.

Another concern with the app is that because the parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing, China and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, there may be political foul play. Due to this opinion, the American government engaged in a hearing investigating the platform in an attempt to ban the app in the United States. Things have been quiet in Congress regarding the app since the hearing.

Still, Wired reports that “ByteDance says that 60 percent of its shares are owned by non-Chinese investors such as U.S. investment firms Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan’s SoftBank Group. Employees own 20 percent and its founders the remaining 20 percent.”

Winter concert coming soon; Alumni plan to return to play Sleigh Ride RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor

Famous “tiktokers” are called “microcelebrities” by CNN “either because they are very famous for a short time, or well-known for something very specific to a very specific group of people.” TikTok has been known for enabling anyone with a cell phone the ability to reach a large audience.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Groskopf

NH’s band and orchestra will have their annual winter concert Tuesday, Dec. 19, in the auditorium at 7 pm.

This year’s winter concert will feature 63 band students and 39 orchestra students with a possibility of past alumni returning to play “Sleigh Ride” alongside present day members Band teacher Mr. John Wojciechowski stated, “This year, I tried to pick a different variety of music, but also while staying with the winter concert theme; this includes the song “Sleigh Ride” that we play every year, but this year, there is going to be a fun little twist.”

Wojciechowski continued, “The plan is to use “Sleigh Ride” for the band, and another song for orchestra, [but] we haven’t fully decided which one for orchestra yet. We are going to invite alumni to come back and sing and play with us, creating a little interactive piece.”

Junior Harley Weisman has been playing the French horn for about a year and a half. Weisman stated, “I’m pretty excited about the alumni possibly making a return. I think it’s going to be really fun and a good way to get new people to meet people that graduated, so if [band students] have questions on what it ‘s like, they can ask them.”

Senior Peter Lein has been playing percussion since fourth grade. Lien stated, “It’s going to be really fun. We did “Sleigh Ride’’ last year, so it’s going to

be very fun to be able to play with the alumni; plus, it’s overall a very fun song to play, and to have people we haven’t seen in a while is going to be super sick.”

While getting ready for a performance, the students do many different things.

Junior Arie Howell has been playing percussion for three years. According to Howell, “To prepare for a performance, I usually warm up with the band, then I do some stretching so my arms don’t cramp up.”

Junior Jonathan Sappington also plays percussion, and has been playing since fourth grade.

Sappington stated, “For getting ready for a performance, we usually do some basic warm-ups, and then we will practice the most difficult piece we are doing a couple of times, and then the one we are the least familiar with.”

Lien stated, “To get ready for a performance I honestly just like to hang out with friends of mine that are also performing, just to kind of have a chill calm environment, so not any of us are freaking out before we go on stage.”

For others, this is their first year performing. Freshman Daniel Wood has been playing the euphonium for about six years.

Wood stated, “I’m a little excited for the concert, but it’s kind of a lot of pressure definitely being in my first year of high school and being around people who have been playing a lot longer than I have. So, I kind of have to live up to what they have been doing.”

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Mourning loss of Hollywood star; 1989: Taylor’s Version out now Honoring legacy of Matthew Perry RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor

BROOKELYN PRIEBE Reporter TV star Matthew Perry passed away Oct. 28, 2023 at age 54. According to latimes.com, he was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his L.A home by an assistant.

The cause of death is still unknown as of now.

Police are retracing Perry’s steps, but ultimately determined that the answer will “most likely” come from a team of physicians and investigators working out of the L.A. County coroner’s office.

Government teacher Mrs. Jessica Siegel says, “he was in a bunch of things like comedies, but Friends was his real breakout role for people to know who he was.”

Parent Educator Mrs. Shari Bowers says, “I remember him being on a show called Growing Pains; that’s when I really first knew who he was back in the ‘80s.”

Perry’s passing has affected many people. Siegel says, “it’s just very surreal for me because Matthew Perry is not that much older than I am, so that’s a very surreal feeling when people your

wanted to be known for much more than just being on the TV show Friends. In his book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, he wrote, “When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I am glad of that, [but] as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if friends “When I die, were listed far behind the things I did to try I know people will help other peotalk about Friends, Friends, tople.”

Friends.And I am glad of that, As a former addict himself, [but] as far as my so-called acPerry said he felt complishments go, it would be strongly about providing renice if friends were listed far sources for people behind the things I did to try to like him. help other people.”

He also opened a sober living house -Matthew Perry called The Perry House.

He said, “I’ve had a lot of ups every and downs in my life. I’m still day.”

Bowers adds, “I t h i n k working through it personally, he was a good guy because he but the best thing about me is was trying to help other people, that if an alcoholic or drug addict too, and he opened a sober living comes up to me and says ‘Will called the Perry House. I think you help me?’ I will always say, just deep down, he was a good ‘Yes, I know how to do that. I will do that for you, even if I can’t alguy trying to help people.”

In interviews, Perry said he ways do it for myself.’ age start to pass away.”

She continues, “the best thing is that he made addiction something to talkabout, and it’s a real struggle. It’s not something you can kind of just get over; it’s something people learn to live with and deal with

Mikayla Fiedel: Deer Creek Choir What has made you want to sing in a choir and how long have you been singing?

“I’ve been singing since second grade. My drive for choir and singing is feeling like that’s the only thing I’m good at. So I work towards solidifying both memorization on notes and working on my voice is what drives me to keep going. So I feel like I have a purpose.”

What kinds of performances and concerts does the choir do and how often are they?

“We are like a chamber choir. We do a lot of joyful praising songs. We are having a concert on November 19. That is our first concert.”

What are the different kinds of style you sing and different songs?

“A lot of church kind of songs. A lot of songs in different languages. We have our own piece that someone wrote for this choir that we are going to perform that is about being thankful and stuff like that.”

What kinds of fundraising does the choir do that you’re a part of?

“We have a project called the LASOS project and it is a program that helps new immigrants come over.

We help them financially, and we give them clothes and donate other helpful things to them. We have people that help them learn English and how it works in America. We also have a fundraisers to help raise money for that project.”

Compiled by: Noel Bailey

Connecting with someone through tunes BROOKELYN PRIEBE Reporter According to udiscovermusic.com, “numerous scientific and psychological studies have shown that music can lift our moods, combat depression, improve blood flow in ways similar to statins, lower levels of stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and ease pain.”

Alumnus Gavin Moxley adds that, “I listen to it in class, because it helps me focus. It helps me block out the background noise and feel less stressed about everything going on.” Pfizer.com says, “listening to (or making) music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling

memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music.”

The source continues to say, “The chills you feel when you hear a particularly moving piece of music may be the result of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that triggers sensations of pleasure and well-being.”

Psychology teacher Mrs. Melissa Winter says, “I know music deals a lot with your memories and your feelings, so that would be a part of the limbic system, which is the emotional part which includes the hippocampus, which is your long term memory part of your brain.”

She continues that that reason “is why when we listen to songs, it jogs back memories and has such an emotional tie to it.”

Moxley comments, “I think that each type of music affects the

brain differently. I think there are types of music that can calm you down, get you happy, and there are kinds that can make you reminisce of when you were younger, and that is comforting.”

According to npr.com, “Neurons in the brain even fire with the beat of the music, which helps people feel connected to one another by literally synchronizing their brain waves when they listen to the same song.”

Winter states, “I think that if both people are connected to the song, then you would bond over that and that is how you could be tied to the other person but I don’t know how that all happens... [brain waves] are just kind of the energy that goes around in your brain, it’s hard to describe. But it’s kind of the energy that is put out by your brain.”

a lot better than the original version, but I think some of it was a little too different.”

Ford continued, “I know ‘Style’ 1989: Taylor’s Version by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was changed, and I really like that officially released. The re-record- song, so it’s a little different. But, ed version of Swift’s fifth studio it’s whatever, because I’ll get album dropped at midnight Fri- used to that version. I really liked day, Oct. 27, exactly nine years to the vault tracks.”

Junior Natalie Thomas statthe day after the original version ed, “When I first listened to of 1989 was released in 2014.

The album includes 21 songs 1989: Taylor’s Version, my initial with five newly released vault thoughts were that it was so good that I literally cried. I dressed in songs. The all blue for vault songs the release include and stayed “Sl*t!” , “Say up all night Don’t Go,” till it came “Now That out.”

We Don’t Junior Talk,” “SubP o p p y urban LegSmith adds, ends,” and “For the al“Is It Over bum release, Now?” A I hung out new verwith my sion of “Bad sisters beBlood” feacause we’re turing Kenall really big drick Lamar fans, so we was includlistened toed in the regether. But lease.

I absolutely Junior loved the alHannah bum. I loved A r n o l d how older said, “Right and mature when I first she soundlistened to “1989: Taylor’s Version” is Swift’s ed, and even 1989: Tayfourth re-recorded album. The LP thought it lor’s Vermarked her first full-fledged pop was better sion, I loved album, as she transitioned from counthan the it. It soundoriginal.” ed so good try music in 2014.

Smith and I really loved the vault tracks. Especially continued, “I felt a little sad while “Is It Over Now?” because it has listening because most of her a really cool intro. But definitely songs are sad, but they also repin comparison to the other vault resent new beginnings, so I really tracks, I think that these ones tried to embody that, too.”

Ford stated, “I did not do were my favorites so far.”

Arnold continued, “I just love anything special for the release “Is it Over Now?” because I like because we had school, and I the main beat behind it, and the decided to get my rest, but I did lyrics in general were just pure listen to it in the morning on my nostalgia and excitement. Plus, drive to school, which was a little hearing her more mature voice nostalgic because I remember lismakes every song better than it tening to it when it first came out in my mom’s car, but now I can was before.”

Senior Sara Ford says she “re- drive my own car and listen to it.”

Smith stated, “I would say I ally liked it, because I really liked that album, so I was very excited was definitely most excited for to be able to listen to [Swift’s] the vault tracks, and to hear version. I liked that the produc- [Swift’s] and [singer] Jack Antion of some of the songs looked tonoff’s songwriting.”

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Delta Christmas Parade

November 28, 2023

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9-ball tournament @ The New Green Room Billiards

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Taylor Swift’s Brunch and Bubbly @ Jimmy’s Famous Seafood

Passionate student partakes in hobby;

Crawford works on car GABRIELLE MOXHAM SSC Editor/Studio Manager always know what it is and then Junior Chase Crawford participates in quite expensive hobbies: drag racing and working on cars.

The junior works on his soupedup 1991 Ford Mustang with the help of his dad. He finds the time to put work into his vehicle any time he can, usually weekdays after school or weekends all year

I have to fully go in so that I can find out what is wrong with it which can be a pain sometimes, but it is worth it in the end.”

Even though the sport of drag racing is more of an individual concept, Crawford says that he has “definitely” made some friends and connections through it whether that means events or

Students attempt to hit targets with homemade gadgets KENDALL WALTER Reporter

The fully restored ‘91 Ford Mustang is pictured above. Chase Crawford enjoys participating in local car shows.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chase Crawford round. He has put three years worth of work into this car.

With all of his hard work, Crawford has seen some results, stating, “we have spent around twenty-thousand dollars on the car in the years that we have been working on it, but if we were to sell it now, it would probably be worth around thirty-thousand dollars.”

In terms of the car’s original worth, it wasn’t much, considering Crawford originally bought a “roller” for five thousand dollars.

For those who do not already know, a roller, in the junior’s words, is “basically a car without an engine, transmission, or drive shaft.” He continues, “it is really just the body and the suspension making the framework of the car.”

In Crawford’s eyes, the hobby is very time consuming because, “if one thing goes wrong, I don’t

car shows.

Crawford has not started racing yet but is planning to enter in a few races next year. Some people may be scared to take part in drag racing however he is not nervous, “the risk is definitely worth the reward because the track takes things very seriously, and they have a lot of safety features and protocols you have to follow if you want to race.”

The most dangerous part of the sport he claims is working on the car itself, he has had a few instances where things fell on him.

The car guy believes that his father is the one who inspired him to get into this business, and in pursuing it with his dad he found love for the car industry.

He likes this pastime because “I think it is really interesting and fun and I have a love for driving and messing around with new things on the car.”

niors Jackson Armiger and Cael Sims. Their first idea for the catapult was to “have the arm of the catapult be stopped at different points by a moving bar, moving it either up or down.” For Jacob one of the challenges with the catapult was that you mainly used

design process, not every first design will work according to plan.

Jacob said they had a problem The AP physics catapult projthat “our PVC bends too much so ect is underway. Students had to we needed a stronger piece, the create a catapult that can launch arm kept moving the piece that a projectile. However, It must be stopped it, so we had to attach adjustable to fire at multiple ansupports and ropes to keep evgles and land in the same erything in place.” This place In groups of three design ended up being people Mrs. Christine Jacobs team’s final design Jestel’s class is underfor the catapult. standing the physics of Gorschboth says that catapults. the physics is “using the Junior, Regan angles to find the initial Gorschboth worked velocity of the catapult.” with fellow juniors RiTo further explain that, ley Herold and Abby Jacob says “in order to Podowski. Gorschboth calculate the velocity and and her team first got distance the students their idea from “pictures used equations that were we saw online.” A lot of taught to them previousstudents last year in Mrs. ly before the project. The Jestel’s class used rubber AP Physics completes the catapult project data the student needed bands,lacrosse sticks, were the length that the plastic spoons, bungee every year in November. Mrs. Christine Jes- projectile flew, how long cords, or even medical tel makes sure to make slight adjustments it was in the air and then tubing. The main compo- on how she helps the students understand calculate for initial velocnents that the team used the process every year. ity and distance.” were “pipes and a bungee The students catapult PHOTO CREDIT: STAFF cord. We decided what worked by changing the to use from the pictures angle; the higher the anonline and tested everything out” things that you could find around gle, the higher it goes. However, and that’s how they got the final the house to avoid having to buy this means it might not go as fast design. a lot of extra things. Jacob’s first or far as you want it too.

Junior Jacob Jestel, who also catapult is “mostly wood with a Students needed to adjust the happens to be Mrs. Jestel’s son PVC arm and a bungee that gives degree of the angle for their catparticipated in the class and got it power, we decided based on apult to make sure that they hit to build his own catapult in the based on what items we found in the castle they were trying to class. Jacob’s team included ju- Cael’s shed.” However, like the knock down.

Cry of the Hawk

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Holiday Market @ Checkerspot Brewing Co.

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Hairspray The Musical @ The Senator Theatre

The Nutcracker Showing @ The Lyric

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Happenings

Student surfer Bosley-Smith conquers tides;

Surfing through memory lane GABRIELLE MOXHAM SSC Editor/Studio Manager list goes on.”

Part-time senior Haley Bosley-Smith is a competitive athlete in a sport that isn’t often seen around this area due to the lack of ocean yet it is one of the oldest sports in the world according to surfholidays.com, surfing.

The first major surfing contest was held in California back in 1928, also according to surfholidays.com. Bosley-Smith has been surfing for 7 years and loves it because, “the people that I get to meet out in the water, the friends that have become family and the experiences that wouldn’t have been possible without surfing.”

She continues, “the moments I’m in the water where I feel truly happy, the looks on peoples faces when they stand up for the first time on the surfboard” and her

The senior states she started surfing because, “When my family bought a beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware my dad bought us our first surfboard. At first, I watched my dad learn to surf but eventually after watching him and others in the water I wanted to give it a try too.”

She still remembers the feelings of her first ride, “Whenever I got on my surfboard, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face the entire session in the water. I realized that I had found something special that wasn’t worth giving up on.”

She did not do competitions as a kid but over time she worked up the confidence. She states “after attending many

competitions to watch my friends compete it is now my goal to compete in at least one surfing competition before I go off to

“The people that I get to meet out in the water, the friends that have become family and the experiences that wouldn’t have been possible without surfing.” ~ Haley Bosley-Smith college.” She adds that knowing that she has “friends around [her] to cheer [her] on out in the

Dog sitting, grooming: Taking care of dogs in Harford County KENDALL WALTER Reporter

get cared for.”

However, if anyone’s furry friend is in need of grooming, leave it to North Harford’s small animal science class to get pups looking fresh in a new cut. Ju-

excited when she “found out that part of the class could include grooming for the small Fuzzy friends can now be animals.” According to Coakley, dog-sat by senior Brooke Simms the small animal science proor groomed by agriculture gram makes sure the dogs that teacher Mrs. Aimee Densmore are brought in the small into NHHS get animal science properly takclass. If you en care of by are in need making sure of some help they are put in with fourtheir respeclegged friends, tive crates and then look no then during further than each class peNorth Harriod they are ford. taken out into Simms the courtyard dog-sitting to be walked service operand played ates all year with. long but gets They are also most of her taught how to clients during properly hansummer or dle dogs, such holidays. For as how to reonly $25- $30 per job, anyone One of the dogs that NHHS welcomed in to be groomed tain a dog for such can have your after school. The school brings in over 50 dogs to be groomed things as getting its played with and cleaned. nail trimmed and fed with or ear cleaned. care given by PHOTO CREDIT: Meredith Coakley If there is an Simms.

She incident where a dog nips or found her interest in pet-sitting nior Meredith Coakley helps growls, they will take the safety because animals “have always groom dogs and she says her procedure of muzzling the dog been my thing and the thing that inspiration for caring for dogs or using a cone or extra hands interests me; for me, pet sitting is that she “always had dogs and to restrain the dog for the safety is useful and fun.” Simms’ favor- cats in the house when growing of the student and the animal. ite dogs to pet-sit are corgis and up, so that induced chores like Coakley added that her favorite labs. She also added that her fa- cleaning up after them and feedbreeds to work with are Gervorite thing about pet-sitting is ing them.”

Coakley added that she was man shepherds. to “see the animals be happy and

water has made me realize that I should at least give it a try.”

There are many different types of surfboards out there, much like snowboards. Haley has 12 surfboards consisting of, “different CJ Nelson Boards, a Stewart Hydro Glide Board, a Congo Board, and different boards that my dad and I made.”

“She explains that the length of the board has a major impact on how the board feels. “The smallest surfboard we have is a 7’1” surfboard that we madeit’s a Hybrid (Fun) Surfboard which is generally used for small to medium waves. And the largest surfboard we have is a 10’0” CJ Nelson board- it’s a Long Board which is generally easier to paddle and catch waves on.”

She believes that a career in

this sport for her is not in her plans because “I do not want to be a professional surfer for a career. I love surfing but I’m afraid that if I become serious about it the pressure that professional surfers face will make me hate the sport.” The surfers plans for the future include “attending medical school to become a physician.

I love helping others and this job would allow me to help people in the water that get hurt surfing.”

The young athlete has recognized recent equality in terms of pay deficit for this sport with gender, “in the past I know that men and women surfers did not receive the same pay until September 2019 when the World Surf League (WSL) decided that men and women competitors would be paid equally in all WSL events.”

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Family Ties

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Celebrating November National Health Observances: Diabetes, COPD, Antibiotic awareness MEKENZIE MCCANN H/S Editor November is a month which has many national health observances including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and antibiotic awareness.

“Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar is too high,” states the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“It affects about 27 million Americans, including adults and youth. Diabetes can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart, it is linked to some types of cancer,” according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

School nurse, Ms. Melissa Wilson states that “there are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. The key difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes is that type 1 is an autoimmune response and develops early in life. It is often referred to as childhood diabetes. It can be brought on by illness, genetics, or other factors. It occurs suddenly.”

She continues, “type 2 diabetes develops over the course of many years and is related to lifestyle factors such as being inactive and carrying excess weight.

It’s usually diagnosed in adults but can also be seen in teens.”

Wilson also states that type 1 “diabetes is controlled by insulin injections or infusion with a pump. Type 1 diabetics will need insulin for the rest of their lives.

Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled by lifestyle changes such as weight loss, exercise and eating a healthy diet.”

Wilson says, “sometimes oral medication or insulin injections are needed for type 2 diabetes.”

According to Wilson, signs of Type 1 diabetes include “excessive thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, irritability and other mood changes, fatigue and weakness, blurred vision,” and more.

Ways to possibly prevent diabetes health problems include managing “your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.” You can also “take small steps towards healthy habits, [which includes] planning healthy meals, being physically active, and getting enough sleep,” states the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

COPD is another national awareness in November. According to Mayo Clinic, “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.”

“Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing.

It is typically caused by longterm exposure to irritating gasses or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoking,” says Mayo Clinic.

According to Mayo Clinic, “emphysema [“a condition in which the alveoli at the end of the smallest air passages (bronchioles) of the lungs are destroyed as a result of damaging exposure”] and chronic bronchitis [“inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the air sacs (a;veoli) of the lungs”] are the two most common conditions that contribute to COPD. These two conditions usually occur together and can vary in severity among individuals.

“COPD is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, COPD is treatable. With proper management, most people with COPD can achieve good symptom control and quality of life, as well as reduced risk of other associated conditions,” states Mayo Clinic.

The U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is Nov. 18-24.

This week has a purpose of raising “awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic and anti fungal use and the threat of antimicrobial resistance across the One Health spectrum,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Information, prevention keys to staying healthy

MEKENZIE MCCANN H/S Editor

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC continues to state that “one person dies every 33 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.”

According to NHS Inform, cardiovascular disease is “a disease of the heart or blood vessels.” Cardiovascular diseases include “coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, aortic disease,” states the NHS Inform.

According to the CDC, “coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing 375,476 in 2021.” The CDC continues to state that “about 1 in 20 adults the age 20 and older have CAD (about 5%).”

Coronary heart disease “ocwhen your heart muscle’s “Heart disease is the curs blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries,” states NHS Inform. leading cause of death There are a few ways that you can reduce your risk for men, women, and of developing coronary heart disease, by lowering people of most racial your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Other ways, according to the NHS, you can “eat a healthy, and ethnic groups in the balanced diet,” “be more physically active,” “give up United States.” smoking,” “keep to a healthy weight,” and there are many other ways to reduce your risk. ~Centers for Disease School nurse, Ms. Melissa Wilson states that “a heartControl and Prevention vegetables and fruits, beans or healthy eating plan includes: other legumes, lean meats and fish, low-fat or fat-free dairy foods, (CDC) whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado.”

She continues to state that you should avoid the following foods, “salt or high-sodium meals, sugar or sweetened beverages, highly refined carbohydrates, alcohol, highly processed food, such as processed meats, saturated fat, which is found in red meat, full-fat dairy products, palm oil and coconut oil, and trans fat, which is found in some friend fast food, chips and baked goods.”

Another example of a heart disease is a stroke. “A stroke is a serious medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disturbed,” states the NHS Inform. A stroke is a medical emergency and medical treatment is needed.

Similar ways to prevent coronary heart disease are the same as a stroke, which includes “choose healthy foods and drinks, keep a healthy weight, get regular physical activity,” and more preventions according to the CDC. Wilson also states that it is important to “get quality sleep, manage stress, and get regular health screening tests.”

“Most deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are premature and could easily be prevented by making lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet and stopping smoking,” according to NHS Inform.

creates soap Terrific treatments: Teen for skin cancer KATIE VANARSDALE Reporter

Cancer: A disease that kills millions of people each year.

Cancercenter.com reports that “One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.” Most people who get this type of cancer have been excessively exposed to harmful rays from the Sun. This was the inspiration for Heman Bekele, a 14--year-old boy from Virginia who created a soap that can be used to treat Melanoma.

Bekele was born in Ethiopia, before moving to the United States when he was four; during his time in Ethiopia, he saw many people being exposed to the sun for long periods of time, and the heightened risk they were at for skin cancer. “I think it’s crazy that one in five people can develop skin cancer. It’s honestly scary.” says Julianna Chaney, senior.

Bekele decided to do something about this problem.

“Health CostHelper⁶ estimates the total cost of treating skin cancer to range from $400– $50,000 if you do not have health insurance. With health insurance, you can expect to pay copayments of anything from 10%–50% of the cost, depending on your health insurance policy.” says health match. io.

This was the inspiration for Bekele’s project. He wanted to create an affordable treatment for Melanoma that everyone could access. His solution was to make the treatment into a bar of soap, which he calls MTS [Melanoma Treatment Soap].

While this soap isn’t FDA-certified yet, Bekele said in an interview with NPR he plans to have it ready to distribute by 2028.

He plans to start a non-profit organization so that he can reach as many people as possible. “That’s pretty remarkable.

One considering how young he is. And two, to be that selfless and create something to help others who are suffering,” says Mrs. Phillips, English teacher.

At the start of the experimentation process, Bekele started off making soap in his kitchen and basement, but soon realized he needed more help. He reached out to a couple different colleges for assistance in further testing of his MTS. He credits Deborah Isabelle as his biggest helper.

Isabelle eventually became Bekele’s mentor when he entered the 3M Young Scientists challenge, a contest dedicated to encouraging kids to pursue unique solutions to everyday problems. According to and interview with NPR, Bekele said, “I was so shocked and so happy.

It was honestly an incredible experience, and there were stages to it as well. I found out I was a finalist and even being in that top 10 was the greatest feeling ever. Every single finalist is so smart and in their own ways.

More than competitors, to me they were really close friends.”

But he achieved even more when he came out on top as the winner of the competition, and was named “America’s Top Young Scientist.” The prize for winning first place is $25,000, which Bekele plans to use to continue his career in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] and save some of it for college. “I think it’s incredible that someone of such a young age was able to develop an easy, affordable way to treat cancer when people 2 to 3 times his age could not.” states Faith Perrone, sophomore.

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Cry of the Hawk

Senior chosen for statewide competition; Reifsnyder finds place in field hockey team LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor At the Nest, there are many girls who play field hockey, whether it be on the school team, or on a recreational team. However, one senior was recently given the chance to play in a large competition after being chosen for a statewide field hockey team.

Senior Sarah McKee-Hurley Reifsnyder was “speechless and caught off-guard” after finding out she was selected by English teacher and field hockey coach Mrs. Carla Harward in the middle of her yearbook class. The email “brought tiny tears to [her] eyes because [she] was honored that coaches chose [her] to represent our school.”

According to Reifsnyder, was selected for “attitude, [and] field

hockey accomplishments that that she listens to a lot of Kobe so that she can succeed. She also I have achieved since I started Bryant’s and Michael Jordan’s adds that she eats a lot of protein and drinks a lot of playing field hockey,” water the night prias well as team spirit or to her games so and leadership. The that she is hydrated senior played her first and “ready to play game on Wednesday, [her] best.”

Nov. 15 with girls from The player states other high schools. that there are both She adds that while pros and cons for she is nervous, it is being chosen for a “good nervous, besuch a big event. cause I just want evSenior Sarah McKee-Hurley Reifsnyder defends “The best thing is eryone to know why I was picked and that the goal from the rivaling team’s offense. She was cho- that you get to repmy coaches picked a sen for the statewide team because of the “leadership” resent your school and show why you good [player].” To pre- and “team spirit” she often displays. were chosen,” she pare for her big game, PHOTO CREDIT: Greer Strine says, “and also you Reifsnyder says she get to be a part of is, “getting good sleep and just listening to the sports speeches, “talking about how you something so fun and also see speeches that I listen to before [have to] dig deep and push your- friends that you have played I play.” She continues saying self to do your best” while playing against in the regular season and

Freshman masters form of martial arts LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor According to Olympics, karate is a Japanese martial art that “uses striking techniques with hands, feet, elbows, and knees, as well as blocking and grappling, to develop physical and mental discipline.” Recently, freshman Jack Shields attended a karate competition in New York, and ended it with success.

According to Shields, “I heard there was this annual tournament that goes on every year. It was around mid-summer when I heard I was able to go up to New York if I wanted to go compete in this [tournament]. I was like, ‘Heck yeah, I’ve wanted to do this forever.’” The freshman continues, “It was definitely difficult; there were a lot more fight classes, and a lot more conditioning.

Besides that, I didn’t really do as much to prepare for it as you see in the movies, like the montages.

[It was] just normal training, just more often.”

To train, Shields, “would just [do] sparring - just getting better at the things I’m already good at.

With the amount of time I had, I didn’t have the time to learn any

brand-new stuff, and get it down to the point where I could throw it in a competitive fight. I only had the time to just get better at the things I was already good at.”

Regarding his high placement, Shields says, “I wasn’t disappointed at all. I walked in there ready to come out in the bottom 100.

I came out second in the actual [fighting], and then I came out second in another event; the best way I could describe it is like a drill, but it looks cool.”

Shields said he first got into karate when he was “four-years-old” after watching The Karate Kid. He adds that “there’s only really one negative about [karate], which is that it takes a lot of time. There is a lot of wanting to give up. But, overall, it’s good for your mental health and for your physical health, and for your confidence.

Without karate, I’d be a completely different person.”

The freshman finishes that he would “definitely recommend” karate, “if you’re someone who has a lot of energy or stress issues.

You come home, and your brain won’t shut up?”

“You get to go to karate and just let everything out,” he says.

be on a team with them.”

Reifsnyder continues, “The cons of it are the amount of stress that you have on yourself because you just want to do good and perform well. Also, I have created a big name for myself the past two years for high school field hockey, so I still have a lot to live up to this year. I'm stressing about that part, for sure.”

Reifsnyder finishes saying, “I would love to thank my parents and family for sticking with me through my whole field hockey journey and helping me play Division II field hockey.” She adds, “I also want to thank my coaches at the high school, because they have also helped me tremendously and just gave me that confidence that I could do anything with their help.”

Cheer team closes competition; Hawks sum up experience in Havre de Grace MASON CLARK Reporter North Harford’s competition cheer team went to a county competition at Havre de Grace High School on Oct. 25. Unfortunately, they did not place; however, they received no deductions during the event.

Junior Amanda Walker explains that, “The higher the difficulty, the more points you will get. Since we had people doing it for the first time, there were some things we couldn't do.”

She added, “But we hit everything.”

Junior Ariel Steinbaugh said, “there's like 12 different schools there; almost every school in the county went from the county, we all competed and we cheered each other on. We warmed up individually, and then we all watched each other.

It was really cool.” According to the junior. The team got “a new coach last year, so it's a lot different like we are more like competition stuff, rather than sideline

cheer and it's refreshing.”

Freshman Olivia Beattie is new to the team. “The teams are really like nice and supportive, and they cheer you on when you cheer, and it's nice to see everyone come together like that.” The cheerleader think that the new coaches are, “very supportive, and they made a big impact on me. I can just look up to

“The teams are really like nice and supportive, and they cheer you on when you cheer, and it’s nice to see everyone come together like that.” ~Olivia Beattie

them a n d talk to them whenever I need them.” She adds that she does cheer “because it's something that my sister did for a really long time, and I was

like looked up to her and just saw her do it and thought it was really cool, and I just wanted to follow after her.”

Freshman Kayla Wagner says that the experience “was stressful, because we didn't have that much time to get a routine together. We only had about a month.”

She goes on to add that “we got it done in the end.” The freshman thinks that the new coaches are “super understanding, and they are fun to learn from.” She adds that she is “definitely going to do [cheer] my whole high school career. I'm already doing it for the winter season.”

Finally, junior Grace Mueller says that the other teams “were really nice. They would cheer you on; [they were] just a great group.” Mueller adds, “this year's coaching is definitely more improved than the last. They are so supportive and understanding if one of us falls short.” All being said, the sport is full of support and love for the competition and coaches, according to the team.

Page 20/ Sports

November 28, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

Cross county, golf travel to states

Coming back to Nest with many successes STELLA MANNS Sports Editor

while running.” Overall he thinks he “still competed” and “finished well.” He expressed that the “team did very good at states” because they were able to “put up good times from the girls and guys teams.” Ortt’s favorite thing “about states was seeing runners

Two teams from the Nest traveled to state championship events with many other teams from Maryland.

The golf and cross country teams traveled to state competitions where either the whole team or majority of the team competed.

Hereford High School hosts the MPSSAA State Championship every year for cross country. This course, known as Bull Run is the “most difficult course” in Maryland according to baltimoresun.com.

The girls cross country team came in 8th place out of 14 teams, The girls cross county team poses with with junior Eden their Regional champions plaque. They Hussing placing 33rd brought the title home last year as well.

(21:41.09), freshmen Brooklyn Eagan plac- PHOTO CREDIT: James Ortt ing 35th (21:46.34), freshman Madilyn Coyle placing from all different counties again” 40th (22:08.59), junior Natalie and being able to “make one last Barndt placing 42nd (22:34.20), good attempt at such a difficult senior Valentina Angulo placed course.”

Golf had athletes also travel 50th (22:55.93), senior Ava Carberry placed 57th (23:23.49), to the MPSSAA State Championand freshman Mallory McCart- ship. Oct. 23-25 at University of ney placed 61st (23:39.31). There Maryland Golf Course was when were 108 runners in the MPSSAA the tournament took place.

The State semifinal round for 2A State Championship for the 1A/2A took place on Tuesday girls race.

Oct. 24, then qualifiers from the semifinals competed in the finals the next day, Wednesday Oct 25., according to mpssaa.org. South Carroll High School won the team championship with a combined two day score of 633.

Senior, Cooper Honig made it to the state semi finals and qualGolf members huddle around Coach ified for the finals on Panos on a golf cart. This tournament day 2. He ended shoottook place at Geneva Farms Golf Course ing with a combined score of 168. With an PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Johnson 85 on day 1, and an 83 on day 2.

Honig had a “good” experience Barndt feels that she “performed extremely well at states” at states, as he “qualified for the as she was able to knock “ a min- second day.” This was his “first ute off” her “previous record at time” at the state championship.

He felt as though he “played the course.” Her favorite thing was “getting excited and hyper mediocre” and that he “could’ve played better” but still had a before the race.”.

Coming in 12th place out of “good experience to go both 19 schools the boys cross coun- days.” Being at the course “with try team also competed at states. the team” and “spending time There were 148 runners in the with everybody” was Honig’s MPSSAA 2A State Champion- favorite part of the state’s expeship for the boys race. Senior rience. He thinks he did “pretty James Ortt placed 38th (17:52.12), well” as an overall look at the fall senior Austin Parry placed 52nd season.

Sophomore Ashley Picha was (18:18.30), junior Justin Collins placed 60th (18:33.46), se- “upset that” she “didn’t make it to nior Blake Carberry placed 75th the second day” but “still happy (18:53.01), sophomore Reese with what [she] shot.” The “team Conklin placed 95th (19:37.06), dinners” were her favorite thing and sophomore Trent O’Laughlin about being at states in October.

This has been Picha’s second seaplaced 132nd (20:57.24).

Ortt believes he “performed son on the team and “overall [she] fairly well at states”considering did better than last year” and she he was “dehydrated” causing him is “happy with how much” she to experience “some problems “has improved.”

Playoffs finish as fall season ends STELLA MANNS Sports Editor

nior. Heise thinks the girls “came together as a team and fought for what [they] wanted.” She added that the major win against Fallston in the quarterfinals “was a

Fall playoffs have finished and the teams in the Nest have all performed in different ways.

Girls soccer finished the season with a loss to C. Milton Wright in the regional semi-finals. Boys soccer finished as regional champions and then ended with a loss to Damascus in the state semi-finals. Girls volleyball finished their seasons with a loss to C. Milton Wright in the first round of playoffs. Football, record (6-5) Losing to the Huskies, the boys good closing” for the team “because of the tough season.” Girls soccer finished the season with four wins, nine losses and one tie.

Winning the regional champion title for a second year in a row the boys soccer team held a 1-0 win over the Mustangs in the finals. Having a first round bye, they then played Elkton in the reBoys soccer, record (11-7) gional semifinals where they won volleyball team was knocked out 6-0. Playing the Mustangs (1-0) in their first playoff game as well. Field Hockey lost to Hereford in a regional game. Football also suffered a first round loss to Hereford.

The girls soccer teams playoff run consisted of a quarterfinals game at Fallston, where the Hawks came out on top Field Hockey, record (9-5) with a score of 2-1. This was the first time the girl’s beat Fallthen at the state quarterfinals the team faced Huntington High School, and left with another 1-0 win. Their season ended with a 2-3 loss against Damascus High School in the state semi-finals.

During the playoffs this year the team was able to “come together at the right time” according to seGirls volleyball , record (0-16) nior captain Matthew Siedlecki.

Boys soccer finished the season ston all season, as this was the with 11 wins, and seven losses. fourth game where the Cougars Girls volleyball faced a tough and Hawks went head to head season, “everyone grew individthis fall. The team then traveled ually as players” according to to C. Milton Wright where they senior captain Dyllan Dinbokowfell 1-0 to the Mustangs in the itz. While their first round playregional semifinals. Senior cap- off game ended in a 3-0 loss to tain Aubrey Heise said that the C. Milton Wright, Dinbokowitz girls performed “really amaz- added that the girls “played very ing during the playoffs” beating well the first set” having “a lot of “Fallston for the first time in a communication.” She expressed really long time.” This was a “re- that the girls “had fun and played ally exciting moment” for the se- together” in their final game.

Girls volleyball finished the season with 16 losses.

Junior Jackson Armiger said that “playoffs did not go like [the team] wanted,” “the team did not play “up to the level” they are “capable of” in their first round playoff game against Patterson Mill. Winning the first set “by a really close margin” the team then “barely” lost the second set and “from there the momentum shifted towards Patterson Mill” according to Armiger. The game ended in a 3-1 score, with the Huskies on top. Boys vol-

Girls soccer, record (4-9) leyball finished the season with eight wins and seven losses.

With a 6-1 first round playoff win against Eastern Tech, field hockey’s season came to a close with a 1-0 loss to Hereford. After losing to Hereford 2-1 earlier in the season, the girls had to face the Bulls one final time in order to advance. Field hockey finished the season with nine wins and five losses.

Boys volleyball , record (8-7) Football left Hereford with a score of 9-35 after the first round of playoffs. While this was an earlier than expected close to the football team’s season, many other good games occurred this fall.

Senior captain Kent Holcombe said that their playoff game against Hereford was a “rough game” where the Hawks played a “good team” with a “good coach.”

Football finished the season with six wins and five losses.