Oct 2023

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

410-638-3650

VOLUME 45 ISSUE 1

October 31, 2023

Homecoming week wraps up in early October; Dance, football game, pep rally break records EMILY JOHNSON IDR Editor The 2023 Homecoming festivities have concluded after a week of spirit, a 28-20 win against the Fallston Cougars, and the Saturday night dance. The festivities ran from Oct. 2-7, much later compared to the 2022 events.

This year, varsity club, SGA, the journalism staff, and the Booster club assisted in creating a fun and festive environment.

Beginning on Sunday night, students, parents, and staff covered the atrium, hallways, and stairwells with green and gold decorations. The following morning began Spirit Week, including Disney day, Farmers vs farm animals day, twin day, Teen Beach Movie day (bikers vs. surfers), and class colors to close out the week. There were a multitude of costumes throughout the week, including students dressed in inflatable chicken costumes.

A recent poll surveyed 168 NH students, asking if they liked the spirit week dress-up days. The votes were very close; however, slightly more than 50% of the votes did not favor the themes.

On Friday afternoon, students were dismissed from the class around 12:45 for the pep rally.

The fall sports teams gathered on the track, while the grade levels piled into the stands, separated by their colors; white for freshmen, gold for sophomores, green for juniors, and black for seniors.

The event lasted approximate-

ly one hour, and included five different challenges.

The fall sports teams competed in a game involving a yoga ball, and football came out on top with the win. There was also an obstacle course, a field-goal kicking competition, a challenge involving putting on a frozen t-shirt, the hula hoop relay, and a performance by the cheer team.

Finally, a student vote resulted in assistant principal Ms. Erin Mock kissing a baby goat, provided by senior James Ortt.

Later that night, the stands were packed again, this time with students, parents, alumni and staff, all decked out in their green and gold attire. The JV football team merely lost by one point, while varsity came away with an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, and ultimately a 28-20 win against the school rivals. After the game, fireworks lit up the sky as game attendees covered the turf and watched.

The final event of the week was the Homecoming dance, which was held on Saturday night. The dance ran from 7PM- 10PM, however students began lining up at the doors as early as 6:45 PM. According to the main office staff, the number of dance tickets was capped at 800, and all 800 tickets sold out.

Around 9 PM, the homecoming court of 20 seniors took the stage.

Korynn Sims and Harold Davis took home the 2023 Homecoming Queen and King crowns. Sims explained that she “signed up with a bunch of friends as something

fun” that they could do together. She believes that being on court was a good bonding experience. When Sims’ name was called, she “didn’t even hear [it] at first,” but was surprised once it had processed. Davis added that he signed up after a friend convinced him to, but “[he] knew [he] was going to win.”

Principal Mr. Bryan Pawlicki commented that “everybody came to the dance ready to have a good time and made good decisions.” The students’ behavior met their expectations, and they had no issues.

Pawlicki thought “the music was great, the decorations were beautiful,” and that the weather cooperated in Hawks’ favor.

He added that this dance was “probably one of the best The 2023 King and Queen pose together before sharing a slow ones [he has] ever attended or been a dance. The pair danced to the song “Die for You” by The Weeknd. part of.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Lifetouch He doesn’t believe new ticketing system worked rethere should be any changes made next year, as “[the] ally well,” and there were no is- sues with Kona Ice, either.

Food for America brings in second grade students MACKENZIE SCOTT Op/Ed Editor The agricultural program taught second graders where their food comes from during Food for America. Magnet program students and the FFA helped out to have a learning-filled event for all the young students that came to our school to learn about agriculture.

“Food for America is an educational program focusing on agricultural literacy in elementary schools and communities,” wrote the FFA. Members of FFA, the magnet program, and any students who want to help

out teach young children about agriculture yearly during Food For America. “People in the magnet program, and the FFA, and really anyone who wants to volunteer,” said sophomore Sophia Reinert when asked about who helps with Food for America.

During Food for America, they teach young kids about where their food comes from, NHHS, and the magnet program that some young students could eventually be involved in when they are older.

Many second grade students from all across the county came to our school to learn new things. “Ten to 15 schools came; we are doing another one in the spring, but 500 kids came to this one,” said Reinert. Multiple schools came to learn more about our school and more will come in spring. “I know Jarrettsville comes - since that’s where I went to - North Bend, and Ring Factory,” replied Reinert.

When helping with Food for America students teach young children. Many of the children

“It is a program developed to assist FFA members and all agricultural education students in leadership skill development,” ~Future Farmers of America (FFA)

had lots of questions about the school, magnet program, and agriculture. “They have a lot of questions and it’s really fun to talk with them,” said Reinert. The students help all the second graders to expand their knowledge and learn new things. “It is a program developed to assist FFA members and all agricultural education students in leadership skill development,” wrote the FFA. So not just the elementary students are learning. The students who volunteered learned to be leaders and communicate with the second graders.

“I loved teaching the kids and showing them our school,” re-

Cry of the Hawk

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Killers live among us;

Trying to increase murders solved VIEWPOINT The United States is one of the worst countries in the world at solving murders. “Over the past four decades, homicide clearance rates – the metric used to determine how many homicides police solve – have decreased from about 71% in 1980 to an all-time low of about 50% in 2020... according to analyses of FBI data by the non-profits the Marshall Project and Murder Accountability Project,” says Guardian.com. The question is, why are so many murders being left unsolved?

On Aug. 6, Rachel Morin, a single mother, was killed on the Ma & Pa hiking trail in Maryland and the murderer still hasn’t been found, despite the sheriff’s office having the suspected killer's DNA. Two months later, there still hasn’t been any definite answers.

Pava LaPere was murdered on September 22, in Baltimore. She was a rising businesswoman who was the founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies, and her murderer was found a day after he killed her. LaPere’s killer, Jason Billingsley, has a criminal record dating back to 2009, but was released due to good behavior in October of 2022.

Two different murders. Two different killers. But only one was caught.

And that’s only the beginning of the story.

Across the country, 51% of murders went unsolved in 2021.

The founder of the Murder Accountability Project, Thomas Hagrove, says, “The reason for the low clearance rate is simple: there aren’t enough people to solve them.

We have given inadequate resources to properly fund local police departments. There are not enough homicide detectives, not enough trained detectives, not enough forensic technicians to go to crime scenes, not enough laboratory capacities, we simply lack the necessary resources to properly investigate major crimes.”

With all the people in the country, The police departments across the country are still critically understaffed. This is concerning because a murderer could get away without any consequences merely because of not enough people working.

Another reason the clearance rate is so low is the type of weapons often used in murders.

“Today, almost 80 percent of murders are committed with guns. And the share of murders committed by firearms has crept up at a nearly identical rate to the steady decline of murder clearances. Correlation does not equal causation, but if you plot the two together, you see a very strong correlation in the last 40 years. And the reason is that firearm murders are much harder to solve.

They take place from farther away. You often have fewer witnesses. There’s less physical evidence,” says crime analyst Jeff Asher. This is beyond concerning. If the style of killings has changed, then the training the detectives go through needs to change to reflect that.

Another thing that negatively impacts the crime clearance rate is the general public.

The public is the first to condemn the police for not solving these murders, but they are also the first to not help the police.

Many witnesses refuse to go to the police because they don’t trust the police. This creates a double standard that is only hurting everyone in the process.

Considering the fact that the murder clearance rate has been on a steady decline for the past 60 years, chances are they’re just going to continue heading downwards.

The number of crimes keeps rising and the number of clearances keeps going down. People should watch their backs, because we can’t always rely on the police to catch the criminals living amongst us.

This is unacceptable. The police need to step up and find these killers, whether it’s by hiring more detectives or going through more intensive training.

It’s their job to find these killers so that families are given justice and killers are held accountable.

Affairs, disloyalty, infidelity:

Cheating is not worth breaking morals VIEWPOINT Infidelity. A normalized concept amongst many different age groups. It’s strange though, how something so immoral can be so prevalent in life.

A study published in 1999 found that in college students, 75% of men cheat while 68% of women cheat on their significant others. Based on married couples, 25% of men and 15% of women have admitted to the same.

So obviously, disloyalty is not tied to just one age group.

Which honestly, is even more uncomfortable to think about considering that humans tend to make more mistakes when they’re young. But, married cou-

ples- who are most commonly older, more developed people- are making the same mistakes as adolescents?

The topic discussion of “I got cheated on,” in a room full of people will almost always be followed by a “me too.” It is so normalized to be someone's victim of disloyalty. And the problem is not the ones who got cheated on, but the ones who are doing it.

Infidelity in itself is already bad enough. But what makes it worse is priding it around or making up excuses for your own actions.

And those two things are exactly what makes cheating so normal to anyone else.

So many people boast about cheating. Like it’s something to be proud of- and it’s not. It’s em-

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

barrassing and just goes to show how immature someone could be. And making up excuses for cheating- seriously, how low can you go?

There is never an excuse for being disloyal. There may be an explanation, but never will there be an excuse.

It does not matter if you’re unhappy, if there’s no “spark” anymore, regardless in a relationship that should be communicated so you can either work it out, or leave.

Not leaving through illicit affairs, but instead leaving by having a mature conversation.

It’s not that hard to be a decent person and communicate rather than breaking hearts and morals to get out of a relationship.

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

October 31, 2023

Respect is earned, not given EDITORIAL Respect is earned, not given.

That's a common thing everyone hears and knows, but do people actually hear what the saying is saying? Respect is earned; in any age that you are, respect is earned. It is not something that can be demanded.

People say “younger people do need to respect their elders,” but that's only if they deserve it.

Respect is first given, but can be taken away so quickly. If you are treated poorly, you do not need to fill in that space with respect that is missing from the person.

In work spaces, adults and elders need not to take advantage of the teen population that is working.

According to canr.msu.edu, “adults commonly treat young people as though they are less valuable than their adult counterparts,” and with that happening, younger people feel less of a need to respect those who don’t respect them.

Adults and elders need to understand that it is not right in any way to raise your voice at anyone, let alone teens who are only doing their job. Respect is always given first to older people by the younger generation, but there should be respect from the elderly to us as well, or there won’t be any respect coming from either

side at all.

Just because you are older does not mean you can treat people poorly and get away with it.

There is a big difference between giving respect and giving trust, but one affects the other always. With the lack of respect between a parent and their child, the relationship won't be as good as it could be and there will be a lack of trust as well.

Respect is giving the child some sort of privacy, like not going through their technology for no given reason or yelling at them because they made a simple mistake.

According to anchorlighttherapy.com, other ways to show and teach respect to your kids is by “listening to them, validating their opinion, giving them space, and acknowledging their experience.”

Anchorlighttherapy.com also says, “disrespectful kids learn disrespect in the home or classroom. They are emulating the behavior and responses that are modeled for them. Raising a child who is respectful starts in their own home.”

Parents who treat their kids with no respect are only teaching them to hide things and to lie and to get angry and raise their voice at loved ones when they make a mistake. They are only teaching the kid to show no respect.

Changing to 4-day school week VIEWPOINT Reducing the number of school days from five to four is an idea that is gaining popularity rapidly. Schools in rural areas are often facing budgeting problems - problems which can be reduced, if not completely fixed, if the school systems go to a four-day week. ”Proponents of a four-day school week argue that it offers several benefits, including cost savings, improved student attendance and increased teacher morale. By reducing the number of school days, schools can save money on transportation, food and energy costs,” says The National Conference of State Legislatures. “Research Shows that the maximum possible cost savings for districts on a four-day week is 5.43%, but average savings range from 0.4% to 2.5%.”

But it isn’t just the saved money that makes a four-day school week the best course of action.

“Some studies have shown that student attendance improves under a four-day school week.

With a longer weekend, students have more time to rest and engage in extracurricular activi-

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

ties, which can lead to better attendance during the week. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic performance,” reports The National Conference of State Legislatures.

But there are some challenges that come with converting to a four-day school week. According to The National Conference of State Legislatures, “four-day school weeks can also pose a challenge to families who are unable to find affordable, enriching care arrangements on the fifth weekday. Further, students who are food insecure may not have access to sufficient meals during the off day.” This causes a major downside to four-day school weeks. To combat this, some schools offer daycare on the off day, in order to provide parents with a way to still work and a way for kids to have access to food.

While there will be some kinks to work out, just like any change, the money saved and the better attendance prove that a four day week is a necessary course of action in order to improve the school system. This school system is ready for a positive change.

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

October 31, 2023

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Humans cause environmental loss related to global warming;

How homosapiens affect their environment VIEWPOINT In rural areas, there is a lot of farmland, where you can see the natural resources and the natural environment.

This view is one that needs to be saved and preserved. According to the European Wilderness Society, due to excessive human activity, Only 35% of the natural environment is left; only five percent is untouched.

It is even visible in everyday life: a new development is being built, a new Dunkin Donuts being placed, apartments behind a gas station, the list goes on.

Human development is happening at an alarming rate.

Some sources report that there is an increasing number of people in the world.

According to Eurekalert, there are currently eight billion people in the world, and that number is increasing by 200,000 people per day. The result of human development is human activity which includes defor-

ronment get left with nothing; the deer and foxes and other huntable animals are left and might run to find new space to hide and feel safe, being completely thrown out of their home and potentially running across a road in the m i d dle of a forest or into territory of a predator.

However, all of this land use still finds a way to make its way back to humans.

In order to cut down and clear land, people must use machines and tools that give off carbon dioxide, a harmful green-

estation, ocean pollution, removing vegetation, or drilling for oil or natural resources.

All of these benefit the human race but damage the natural ecosystem, and add to the damaging effects of global warming.

Human activity is normally for the benefit of humans only. However, there is limited care for the ecosystem they are using to develop.

Take a forest and cut down almost all the trees in it; humans get the wood and the space. The species in the envi-

house gas that gets trapped in the atmosphere and keeps in heat from the sun, producing the effect of global warming.

If it's necessary to build a new road, or a new house, these machines will release some type of byproduct that will most likely contribute to the ongoing problem of the Earth's heating.

The ocean is one of the greatest contributors to the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere. According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, ocean pollution causes the ocean to slowly degrade over many years; it uses oxygen to do so, resulting in less oxygen in the ocean and less oxygen to be released into the atmosphere.

It is imperative that we stop damaging ourselves and the ecosystem that was here before us. The human race has to find a better way to deal with these devastating problems.

If we don’t, it will affect everyone and all the species on this planet in the worst possible ways.

Policing in need of change; High expectations lead to major ramifications

Calling for action

MASON CLARK Reporter On April 23 of last year, the Harford County Sheriff's office was called around 4pm to respond to a suicidal person with access to firearms.

Per wbal.tv, after the whole ordeal was over, John Fauver, 53, unarmed, was fatally shot and killed.

While this was a tragedy for Forest Hill and Harford County as a whole.

It was a sobering reminder that police’s mistreatment of situations is a systemic epidemic that continues to spread throughout the country, including Harford County.

According to the Department of Justice, the training that goes into crisis intervention is known as CIT, and it is a universal practice for police departments in the United States.

It is taught not by the government, but by a third party.

The third party, known as CIT International, is a nonprofit company working with law enforcement agencies around the world.

The training program is a 40-

hour course taught throughout one week that is eight hours a day for five days.

The CIT is not required in order to become a police officer.

The only thing the police department requires is a yearly meeting to give those trained or not in crisis intervention tips on how to handle people in mental health crises, per School Resource Officer Deputy Amy Caviston.

This is interesting for multiple reasons; one being, as the people that are tasked with helping those who need it and are often in crisis are not required to take the Department of Justice’s training course on how to help those who are in crisis.

Rather, they only need one day where tips are shared in order to help those who harm themselves or others, at least in the minds of the DOJ. Maybe it is time to consider the whole system getting scrapped.

A whole new system backed by the federal government could be formed from the ground up, as the issue runs to the very core of the American police system.

The only answer is extreme action.

This article is not anti-cop; it is an effort to bring to light the fact that there are major flaws in the American policing system, and many things need to be changed in order to save more lives like John Fauver’s.

His situation did not have to end in the death of a human being, and the loss of a loved member in the community.

GABRIELLE MOXHAM Studio Manager/ Reporter According to The National Library of Medicine, in the United States, among ages 16-19, 35.2% of youth are involved in the workforce.

They also state, “youth employment has been associated with low academic achievement, misconduct, and suicidal thoughts.”

Working as a senior is too hard. I know that sounds whiny, and some adults will go on their rants of “Well, back in my day...” but it isn’t your day anymore.

The fact of the matter is that expectations for teens are insane; we are supposed to have hope for our futures and provide for the

world as we grow up, but at the same time, we are told with the way things are going, we may soon not have a world to look after.

Working a part-time job with either four or 24 hours a week is not helpful. The inconsistency throws off schedules, leads to irregular income and spending habits, along with an insane amount of stress because you don’t know where to focus your energy for the week.

And that is only in regards to working. Seniors also have a lot of additional pressure.

I think a huge contribution to the mental distress high school seniors have partially stems from the fact that being a senior, you are entirely focused on your future.

What got you here? What do you want to do after high school that will inevitably determine the next fifty years of your life? What career do you want for the rest of your life?

Four years is nowhere near enough time as a growing adolescent to determine what you want to do as a career. Our brains don’t fully develop until we are in our

mid to late twenties, according to https://www.nimh.nih.gov, so why are we being asked our entire course of action in life as 17 or 18 year olds?

I don’t think that adults really understand the amount of stress on a teen in school, applying to college while doing classes, and working. That alone is enough to cause a lot of mental distress while trying to keep up with a social life, doing things you like, simple eating and exercising.

Imagine the people that already struggle with mental health.

Too high of expectations can lead to disaster. The National Library of Medicine conducted a study on causes for suicidal ideations and found, “In multivariate regressions controlling for depression, suicidal ideation, and negative-expectation hopelessness, positive-expectation hopelessness was the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior.”

In this case, the risk is not worth the reward. Expectations need to be lowered in order to prevent the amount of pressure on teens that can ultimately lead to tragedy.

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Cry of the Hawk

October 31, 2023

Teachers face mistreatment from student, parents; Horror movies don’t justify crime Educator’s suicide sparks talk of harassment, violence EDITORIAL and driving.”

EDITORIAL

Late in July of 2023, protests came in waves in South Korea after the sudden death of a 23-yearold elementary school teacher.

According to the country’s Education Ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the teacher was found dead in her first-grade classroom on July 18. The cause of her death was ruled as unknown, until it was revealed that the teacher “had been bombarded by complaints from parents,” according to the BBC, which eventually led to severe depression and her untimely death.

Unfortunately, deaths like hers are all too common - 100 more Korean teachers have died under the same circumstances. Teachers are being mistreated left and right, and nobody is doing anything about it.

According to The National Education Association, violence and harassment towards teachers has gone up exponentially since the pandemic. “One-third of teachers experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the first full pandemic school year, and 14 percent were physically attacked.” This statistic definitely

has not gone unnoticed by teachers; the source continues that in a survey, 43 percent of teachers said they wanted to quit their jobs.

It’s not even just students teachers are subject to verbal threats and harassment from parents and guardians. Edweek.org reports that twenty-nine percent of teachers and 42 percent of administrators were the victims of this bullying, and it is not okay in the slightest.

As a parent, what makes you think that you have the right to talk down to teachers for things that aren’t their faults? Does your child have an ‘E’ in geometry? Ask them if they’re doing their homework. Did your child somehow get detention? Then ask the administration why.

Don’t just assume your kid is being attacked by some sort of monster - believe it or not, your precious angels are capable of acting up and misbehaving. Edweek.org says that physical violence towards teachers occurred most commonly in PreK through sixth grade, whereas we’d probably assume it occurs in high school.

And, although this is a huge

problem throughout the world, there really isn’t anything being done about this. According to the president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, "While the sources and motivations behind violence in schools vary greatly, the solutions are clear as day—more staff, more training, and more attention to mental health needs. And yet, schools are not given the funding needed to hire, train, and retain necessary staff at their schools like counselors and social workers."

So, what can we do about this issue? Pringle adds, “We need to address the mental health needs of students and educators, as well as school staff shortages – both of which undermine the learning and growth of our students and the safety of our educators.”

Teachers should not have to be hypervigilant while trying to do their jobs, nor should they have to be yelled at by parents for things they aren’t to blame for.

Educators deserve basic respect, and when they are not given that courtesy, another class has lost their teacher for good, exchanging their role as an educator for that of a nauseating statistic.

The Big Three dominate global economy VIEWPOINT Abraham Lincoln, one of the four faces present on the colossal Mount Rushmore National Memorial said, “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country.”

“Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic destroyed.” This foreshadowing was not only valid in the 1860’s but is also true of modern day society.

Many people would say that money is power and the more money one has, the more power that person or group has. Three examples of this idea stand in the formation of BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.

If you don’t know what these names are, keep reading.

Columbia Law School states, “The Big Three—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street— collectively constitute the largest shareholder in nearly 90% of S&P 500 firms.” According to Innovation & Tech Today, BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with ten trillion dollars currently in its portfolio. Now, the world only has about 40 trillion dollars in circulation. This means that this singular corporation you’ve never heard of owns a quarter of the entire planet’s money. See why I told you to keep reading?

That’s more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of ev-

ery single country outside of the United States and China. The company attains this income by having huge equity holdings in information technology, healthcare, consumer discretionary, communications, finance, consumer staples, and energy.

These sectors are vital to the American economy, yet they are in the palm of one man’s hands, Larry Fink.

shareholders? Yes. Still, this is just BlackRock. With all three of these companies combined, there is no doubt that they own too much of the global economy. Vanguard manages eight trillion dollars and State Street has four trillion.

This is a modern-day oligopoly and it's scary.

America has seen the effects of this level of market domina-

Halloween is a holiday that can be celebrated by all, through trick-or-treating, partying, having a night in watching scary movies, handing out candy, etc.

But, just like the movies, that picture perfect ending does not always happen.

On Halloween night itself, there is the increased risk of never knowing who’s around you. Everyone is dressed up; some people even wear masks.

According to emcsecurity.com, “Any increase in crime could also be explained by the hours when people are out and about.

Statistically, most violent crimes occur between 7 pm and 1 am, peaking at 10 pm—the times also favored by trick-ortreaters on Halloween.” The article continues saying, “According to data acquired by Travelers Insurance in 2016, crime-related insurance claims spiked by 24% on October 31st.”

The most increase is in crimes such as “property crime.

And while vandalism is indeed common, 60% of these claims involved theft from the home, including breaking and entering, whether you’re there or not,” according to emcsecurity.com. And, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “40% of car accident fatalities on Halloween night are due to drinking

Buying in:

Brainwashing; repetitive tactics on teenage mind

STELLA MANNS Sports Editor

Featured above are Mortimer J. Buckley (Vangaurd CEO), Ron O’Hanley (State Street CEO), and Larry Fink (BlackRock CEO). Combined, these three men have the most shares in 88 percent of the S&P 500 firms.

Is the CEO of the largest company ever purposely destroying the economy?

No. But, is this corporation thriving directly through the wealth transfer from workers to

tion with steel manufacturing, oil, and railroads.

The only question is will the Big Three prove themselves to be robber barons or captains of industry?

While you should always be aware of your home, there is also more to Halloween violence than just the scary night.

The idea of copycat killers has existed for ages.

According to merriam-webster.com, a copycat is “one who imitates or adopts the behavior or practices of another.” There have been many cases of this, but one case that happened on Oct. 4, 2012, was taken by inspiration by fictional killer Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise.

Jake Evans, who at the time was 17-years-old, “had been inspired, he wrote, by Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween, particularly the part where a ten-year-old Michael Myers calmly kills several people. He watched it three times,” according to dallasobserver. com. The article continues that Evans wrote, "While watching it, I was amazed at how at ease the boy was during the murders and how little remorse he had," according to NBC 5. "Afterward, I was thinking to myself it would be the same for me when I kill someone."

While the range of acts can be as little as property damage to major life-altering acts like murder, Halloween night and the scary stories don’t give you reason to make reckless decisions.

Brainwashing is the act of implanting ideas that normally would not be present in one’s mind. The teenage mind is susceptible to many distractions that can change the way we think. Brains of high schoolers everyday are fed different opinions and told to remember them as facts.

What does mind manipulating even do? It creates a space for every opinion that is taught as ‘fact’ to live in your mind. These opinions sit there, and when combined with other attempts at brainwashing, they begin to fight inside your head, tearing apart what we all know of ourselves.

This is not okay; why should we all be subjected to other individuals' opinions as ‘facts’?

Every day, I question the authority of individuals that really have no weight in my life, but I still let them take away from who I am. Being told to ‘buy in’ is a helpful term, when used in moderation. At this age, we are all told to think for ourselves and discover our personal identities and beliefs.

Yet, this is countered by being told to open your mind, but only to what a random adult that controls your life for three months wants your mind open to. This is where the roads meet; do we forge our own path and communicate in the presence of neglect, or do we stick to buying in and believing that everything is going to be okay?

I do commend the other teenagers who are not affected by this mental game presented by buying in, because they notice the detrimental effects of ‘sticking with it.’

Buying in means to see a future with a tactic and enabling the tactic to progress towards that future. But, the light of that future becomes dimmer, and when it dimmers, it gets harder and harder to keep cashing that buy in check. Why do we subject ourselves to these mental games year after year in high school?

It leads us to feed into an internal battle that places a heavy mental strain on ourselves.

This battle draws us closer away from who we were before being told to ‘buy in.’ You can find yourself wondering what your opinion even is about buying in, and you fight conflicting emotions.

This is a way we all can get broken down, day after day of being told that the future is waiting for you, when it seems like it is never coming.

Yes, I bought in, and for what?

That’s what I’m not really sure about.

October 31, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

Page 5/ News

Students take educational trip to Longwood Gardens MACKENZIE SCOTT Op/Ed Editor

Mr. Todd Stewart’s floral design and plant science students recently had the opportunity to travel down to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania to visit Longwood Gardens’ display of the art of horticulture.

Horticulture is a “branch of agriculture concerned with growing plants that are used by people for food, for medicinal purposes, and for aesthetic gratification,” according to nifa. usda.gov. Senior Liora Tolliver explained how the groups saw a “ton of chrysanthemums and begonias. There was a whole room where the walls were lined with different types of orchids, that was fantastic and some of them had entirely absurd names.” Senior Emily Watt agreed saying she saw “a lot of Mums, wax flowers, [and] orchids.” Junior Toluwanise Oje said her group had seen “a surplus of flowers, some orchids, chrysanthemums, asters, sage, snapdragons, daisies, etc.”

Currently, Longwood is doing their Chrysanthemum festival. It started on September 30 and will last until November 12. According to longwood-

gardens.org “chrysanthemums are divided into 13 classifications, each featuring a distinct flower form, from the tiny pompon to the great irregular incurve—all on full, radiant display.” Many of those who went agreed that the chrysanthemums were their favorite Oje explained “they had some huge, round yellow mums that looked so pretty.” Sophomore Autumn Ferguson agreed saying “it’s their mum festival so they had these really cool hanging [baskets] of mums.”

Many of the students explored all over Longwood’s extensive property. According to longwood.com they have “1,100 acres of dazzling gardens, woodlands, [and] meadows.” Watt explains how her group had “[gotten] to go to several of the tree houses, the observatory, the museum that showed the history of the place, the water gardens and the place with all of the bushes and pathways.” Watt explains how they “looked like a good lace out of Ancient Greece or Rome.” Tolliver explains how her group got to see just about everything but “it was a ton of walking” but she’s glad they saw so much.

Currently Longwood is “Adding new plantings and buildings across 17 acres, Longwood Re-

imagined: A New Garden Ex- like landscaping ways that you in throwback baubles to shimperience will expand the public can do with plants, and it’s defi- mering tinsel to childhood-favorspaces of the renowned central nitely different depending on the ite toys’’ according to longwoodgrounds and connect them from different seasons, because theirs gardens.org. east to west, offering a newly uni- different plants that you can use.”

Longwood’s garden hours are fied but continually varied jour- Longwood Christmas lasts from Sunday, Monday and Wednesney from lush formal gardens to November 17 until January 7, day from 10:00 am till 6:00pm. views over the open meadows,” 2024. You can experience a “riot Thursday, Friday and Saturday according to longw o o d gardens. org. Longwood reimagined construction is slated to be finished around fall of 2024 says chestercounty. com.

Longw o o d changes things up Longwood’s display of fountains can be viewed from all around the seasonally and conservatory. The construction for Longwood Reimagined can be seen, as the class they continue for completion in fall 2024. plans to PHOTO CREDIT: Mackenzie Scott trip back during the winter and spring seasons. Fer- of retro, a bevy of bright, and nu- is 10:00 am till 9:00pm, And they guson said, “it think it’s really merous nostalgic moments with are closed on Tuesday according cool to see the different thing, us. Marvel at playful trees draped to longwoodgardens.org.

NH opens, continues to support Care Closet; ‘Drama Fright Night’premieres Provides available necessities for students BROOKELYN PRIEBE Reporter

EMILY JOHNSON IDR Editor

giene items. It has received loads of clothing donations from places like North Harford Middle North Harford’s newest addiSchool. tion is now open Stevens origfor students; the inally had the Care Closet. Locatidea in 2019, and ed across from the after a tragedy library, the closet is struck a NH stocked with clothfamily, a bunch ing, school supplies, of staff memand personal care bers “met up at items. schools with English teachitems for the er Mrs. Kathleen family right beLemke is in charge fore Christmas.” of the closet, and Stevens then deexplained how it cided to speak works.

Students with Magnolia who are in need can Middle School, “see [her] directas they already ly and [she] will had a closet, and open the closet for got the ball rollthe student.” There ing. He and Idis also a QR code dings got school outside of her room supplies from (E301) and the Mason Dixon, closet, that can be and after Covid scanned to request hit, they started items. After the QR receiving clothcode is used, “[she ing donations. receives] an email He is “hopenotification and will ful that Mrs. gather items needed Lemke is still This poster has listed the supplies that the closet and discreetly delivs p e a r h e ading er [them] to the stu- holds. The closet opened back in 2019. the closet and dents homeroom.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Johnson [they] can get The closet has been the word out so around for some more people know what is availtime, and many teachers and staff closet are donated, Iddings is the members have helped to “get it one who has purchased things, able.”

While Patterson Mill does not off of the ground,” according to such as shelves and bins, to put have a closet as of right now, SteEnglish and journalism teacher items in. vens would “love to see if there The closet takes donations of Mrs. Jennifer Chandler. Secreis a space where [they] could set tary Mrs. Kim Iddings explained clothes, school supplies, and hysomething up.” that former vice principal Mr. Ed Stevens originally had the idea to open the closet about three years ago. While the actual items in the

The school’s first ever “Drama Fright Night” happened on Oct. 26 at 7 PM in the drama’s black box. Fright Night is a night full of scary skits performed for family and friends. Drama teacher Mrs. Nancy Green says, “drama two and drama three classes have written original scary stories inspired by known pieces - so, sort of twists and adaptations of things that are well-known with scary stories for the stage.”

The tickets were presale only since there was limited seating, so people couldn’t walk up to the door to buy them; they had to scan the QR code on gofans.com and buy them from there.

Green says, “It’s seasonal fun, and drama people always love the Halloween season so the idea was pretty simple.”

She continues on with,”We’ve done something like this before, to take some scary stories and adapt them to the stage in time for the spooky season.” Senior Mariah Imes says that it hasn’t always been an occurring event, considering ‘Fright Night’ is a new thing this year. She believes that in following years, it could become a bigger thing than just being in the black box with only a few seats. Imes is in a group with juniors Jameson Selby and Adelia Windle, and seniors Alex Wakefield and Emma Gorrera.

Their skit is about a family feud between werewolves and vampires. Green says she “loves it.”

She also says she loves, junior Kira Holt’s group’s skit which was a “really great” mystery.

As rehearsals went on, the students stayed in the blackbox.

Green says, “It’s pretty noisy and crazy in [there], especially when we add the screams of scary stories.” Even through the noisy rehearsals, Imes was most excited to “see everyone’s reaction” to the performances. Although it is a limited sized crowd, the nerves are still there, Imes says, “you’re always nervous, you just kind of have to take deep breaths and focus on what you’re doing.”

Wakefield says they didn’t get to start rehearsing right away because they had to write their story before they got to rehearse. He also says they were choosing between the Family Feud or spooky campfire stories.

Audience was entertained by the students performing in Drama Fright Night on Oct. 26. Performers are down to their last minute of rehearsing.

PHOTO CREDIT: STAFF

Page 6/ NEWS

Cry of the Hawk

Zoology class takes trip to Harford Glen;

Learning process of bird banding MACKENZIE SCOTT Op/Ed Editor On Tuesday, September 26, a few of science teacher Mr. Brady Green’s zoology classes took a trip to Harford Glen in Bel Air to observe the process of bird banding and bird watching.

Harford Glen, founded in 1948, has approximately 340 acres, according to birdersguidemddc. org. When students arrived on the campus, they were divided into two groups. One group was placed with a staff member who provided them with binoculars and had the group go on a nature walk to observe and count all the birds they saw.

The first group had seen over 50 Canadian geese. Junior Madison Spangler said they observed “cardinals, blue jays, turkey vultures, belted kingfishers, and multiple other species.” The group was also shown the Merlin Bird ID app. Apple.com states if, “you're curious about a bird you've seen once or you're hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot.”

After some time, the groups switched; the other things they had groups do while there was watch bird banding.

The groups were placed with a different staff member, where they labeled a diagram of bird’s wings and then watched junior Frank De Lucia band birds. De Lucia explained that bird banding is quite a straightforward process. “The first step is to capture the bird in a mist net, which is invisible to them, but nonetheless effective in capturing them.” He continues by explaining how the birds are then placed in breathable paper bags.

“After this, they are brought to the banding station where we take each bird out of the bag and place a band with a unique code on it that identifies the individual. Once we band the bird, we affirm the species identification and then take various measurements, including the bird's wing length, tail length, weight, age, and sex.

The bird is then released and returns to the wild completely unscathed,” explained De Lucia.

While watching the bird banding, Spangler learned that “you have to hold birds by their neck with your two fingers. It [kind of] looks like you’re strangling them, but they aren't hurt at all.”

Spangler said they preferred watching the bird banding, “as I enjoy collecting data and interacting with species, which is something bird banding brings

to the table.” Spangler said their favorite part was,“seeing how to band birds and how they are caught. It was a lot of fun. I might try to volunteer in the future.”

De Lucia said that bird banding is a “really great experience,” as “it is a really unique thing to get to do and most people interested in banding don’t get to bird band until college, but I have the opportunity right here in high school, which is really cool.” The junior explains how this opportunity gives him the ability to do lots of research. Along with bird banding, he is currently working on a project with the help of Mrs. Amanda Subolefsky, an educator and certified Master Bird Bander at Harford Glen. De Lucia says his project is focused on figuring out what is causing the decline in bird populations over the past few decades. He explains how he “download[s] datasets with bird banding data from across the country dating back to 1960.

Obviously, these datasets are extremely large, so rather than manually compiling the data, I write a Python code that simplifies the dataset, allowing me to graph the bird populations over time.”

Bird banding is a process that happens at Harford Glen every Tuesday and Thursday, Sept. through Dec., and again through March through June.

Birds are banded and placed with their individual band. After all measurements and data is collected, they are released.

PHOTO CREDIT: Frank De Lucia

October 31, 2023

Friends, fellowship at FCA meetings

RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor

played with plates.

A song was played, and then when it stopped, everyone had to stand behind a plate. Arist stated, “We basically try to do fun and interactive games. A lot of teenagers love competition so we gear towards that factor in order to get everyone involved.”

As for people in the club, junior Kimberly Sawyer and sophomore Kelly Gale really enjoy the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes, also known as FCA, is a club all about diving deeper into each other and yourself in order to better as humans, according to the club coordinators senior Bella Arist and junior Poppy Smith.

Arist stated, “It feels really good running FCA. When I run each meeting, I really feel like I'm touching people and making a difference, which is my whole goal.

I can see a lot of people enjoying it, which makes me feel really good.”

She continued, “My dad is the one that got me into this. He is the FCA leader at Patterson Mill. I saw how [he is] such a strong, and powerful force at his school, and very influential to the people. I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps because I can see the impact he has on people.”

Smith stated, “I wanted to help run FCA because I wanted to join a FCA holds fun competitive competitions meaningful club in order to bring others together. Games and help teach like musical chairs with plates are involved. people new things, PHOTO CREDIT: BELLA ARIST while also learning new things myself.”

Meetings are held every Tues- club. Sawyer stated, “I joined the day before homeroom in English FCA because I want to meet othand journalism teacher Mrs. er people who also believe in God Jennifer Chandler's room, D207, and get to know them. I would and during third lunch on Hawks definitely recommend it to others because everyone is welcoming Soar days.

The club is open to everyone and the activities are super fun.”

Gale stated, “I joined FCA bewho is interested. So far there is no official events in the works cause I have been a Christian for except for meeting, but Arist as long as I could remember, and definitely is thinking about it for when I heard about Fellowship the future. During FCA, lots of of Christian Athletes, I was immediately intrigued. I am a very activities are done.

The club starts by everyone competitive person, so I loved getting snacks, followed by a that I could have some good felwelcome before diving into the lowship with other believers.” word or phrase of the day. Arist She continued, “I would 100% stated, “I always have different recommend FCA. I just invited a lesson each meeting. [Oct. 19’s] friend who isn't a Christian and lesson was about being who you she seemed to have a great time. want to be and not what others FCA is really inviting, and even if say you are.” Lots of games are you aren't a Christian or an athalso played in FCA. In the Oct. lete, you can still come, have fun, 19 meeting during Hawk Soar, and learn about how loved you a game of musical chairs was are!”

Speech and Debate team competes KRIS GRAY News Editor

Last Thursday, the Speech and Debate Team participated in their first Meet at Havre de Grace High School.

The team put on a successful performance, with senior Peter Lein earning first place in children’s literature.

Sophomore Keegan Huss winning the declamation event.

Junior Onix Joyner earned first

place in prose in her first ever meet.

Senior Peter Lein personally does “children’s literature, so [he] reads about a chapter of any children’s literature book [he wants] to do.”

For the previous debate, the member did “The Last Olympian from [the] Percy Jackson [series].”

There is also actual team debate, declamation, “and a bunch of other events.”

Each participant can choose which category they want.

For example, in one category, a student gets 15 minutes to prepare a speech for a topic that changes bi-weekly.

There is also prose, which are non-children themed books and poetry.

They also have dramatic interpretations, where someone can do a scene or short excerpt of a play.

Lein affirms that “it’s speech

and debate for a reason,” due to the various speaking exercises available.

The students meet every Thursday and usually every two weeks, they have an actual meet. Weekly, the team meets from 2-4 pm in science teacher Mrs. Kimberly Dawe’s room, and they go over things that they need to work on and help each other pick out new things to do.

The senior describes that, “it’s a lot of working back and forth

with each other, working out the kinks that you have yourself.”

The student “just likes the vibes and the environment of having people that also enjoy performing in a sense is very fun.”

Dawe adds, “If you are interested in getting in on the fun, everyone is still welcome to join the Speech & Debate team!

Swing by E208 to talk to Mrs. Kim Dawe, or come to our practice on Thursday’s right after school!”

October 31, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

SGA begins work for year;

Class council correlates with club LEXI GOTT News Editor

The Student Government Association (SGA) and our Class Council at the Hawks Nest are ready and continuously preparing for this upcoming school year.

SGA, advised by Biology teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, shares her plans and ideas that the club and class council are considering to better our schools community, atmosphere, and our environment.

The two clubs, as explained by Martin, are “separate, but work together.”

Each class, meaning freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, have their own council. Each council is run by different advisers.

The officers from the class councils “participate on the SGA executive board,” according to Martin.

“Each class runs individually, but then as a whole, SGA runs all the events for our whole school.”

One of the class council's goals is to fundraise to make prom and senior events more affordable . “It’s important to begin fundraising a bit each year starting at freshman year to make these events cheaper.”

As far as SGA goes, Martin shared that the club is “the voice of our school.” The club “supports our school, our community, our county, and our state.”

SGA organizes school events like homecoming, the pep rally, spirit week, and more.

Maryland has new dairy princess;

Student earns state title NOEL BAILEY OP/ED Editor

of a connection with the dairy industry.” She also spreads “facts and clears up any misconcep-

Maryland Dairy Princess program is a program of girls who “travel the state promoting the dairy industry and the healthfulness of milk and dairy products,” according to marylanddairyprincess.org.

Junior Katie Jones is the dairy princess for the state of Maryland this year.

Dairy princess is an “opportunity for girls who are 16-22 who are involved in the dairy industry to promote the industry and be given different opportuniOn the left is Selina Horst, who was the ties,” according to 2022-2023 PA dairy princess. The middle is Jones. junior Katie Jones, who is the current MD Jones learned dairy princess.

On the right is Layla Shepherd about the opporwho is the alternative MD dairy princess. tunity through PHOTO CREDIT: Staff agriculture teacher Mrs. Hannah Shantz last year.

Jones chose to pursue the dairy tions,” about the dairy industry, princess because she is “proud to Jones says.

Jones has the title until next have lived on a dairy farm [her] whole life and want[s] to pur- year's competition, which is Sept. sue a career in agriculture,” said 1 at the state fair. The “next year will hold many opportunities for Jones.

Attending fairs is one of the [her] and the people in the dairy responsibilities that Jones has community to continue promotto attend to. She will attend ing the amazing product milk is different “promotional events, and the care that is put into the presenting speeches, and other industry,” according to Jones.

The dairy princess organizamajor events such as Holstein Futurity.” Jones will be “invited tion also has roles called ‘milk to other events such as banquets maids,’ who can be between the and getting to meet higher ups ages of nine through 15, who also like the governor,” according to help Jones with promoting. Jones works alongside Layla Shepherd, the junior.

Th point of having a dairy who is the alternative dairy prinprincess is for Jones to “reach out cess. Jones said Shepherd is “a to consumers [because] they de- great partner and friend [she] serve to understand where their love[s] having her on [Jones’] food comes from and have more side.”

Assemblies celebrating honor students are also arranged by the organization, as well as community blood drives involving both students, faculty and community members- which are ran twice a year. Elections for the government are beginning in November.

To be a part of this club, students can either involve themselves via a government position, or help with planning or be an additional voice to the school.

The overall purpose and goal of this club is to “provide safe and fun activities here at North Harford, and to vote on things that affect and are important to our student body.” To make sure the school's student body is being properly represented, it’s required to have two homeroom

reps for each homeroom.

This ensures a certain percentage of representation to vote on important issues and ideas involving our school’s community.

Martin explains that joining SGA is a great way to get involved, and “looks good on college applications,” students can join by seeing Martin or by scanning QR codes posted throughout the school.

The biology teacher finished by sharing that SGA is preparing to bring back the Sadie Hawkins dance, which was an old event our school had in the past.

“We voted for the theme to be neon, there will be lots of glow in the dark visuals,” she adds. There are more event plans in the works for this school year, according to Martin.

Voices of Equity updates displays LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor

discriminate against people whose beliefs don’t align with ours.

There are various display We simply educate people, cases in the cafeteria and which is one of the main goals hallways, many of that have of the club,” Siegel continues. been empty for years or are “Somewhere in there is the changed by club members and pin that has the logo for VOE, advisors. and we also have the poster However, this changed that lists our different beliefs during the first week of Ocand goals.” tober; Voices of Equity (also According to English teachknown as VOE) have made er and long-time club sponsor their presence known in both Mr. Michael James, it had been spaces by updating their dismany years since the displays plays, sharing resources for had been updated; the display the students of The Nest. in the hallway did not even A few key differences to have anything in it, so the club note in the displays are, “the “claimed” it. senior batons, which During a meetare things every ing during senior makes “This club does so much for Hawks Soar, before they club leave Voices this school. I’ve been in a the b r a i n of Equity,” lot of clubs, but I’ve never stormed sophomore many ideas Mia Siegel been in a club that does as for the says. much as VOE does. ” displays, “They have including little quotes ~Corbin Peacock, senior a suggestion and stuff on box, a t-shirt, them, and then and even glitter they’re rolled up which was very much into little scrolls.” contested against, according Before the club started to Siegel. making their changes, the Peacock adds, “This club only thing in the case was a does so much for this school. single string.

I’ve been in a lot of clubs, but Senior Corbin Peacock said, I’ve never been in a club that “They were blank spaces bedoes as much as VOE does.” ing wasted in our lunchroom, Peacock continues to state and we thought we could rethat “we are constantly putting purpose it to be a Voices of forward projects, and it’s unEquity display.” fortunate how misrepresented Peacock continues, “It has the club is.” a calendar that is going to be “It’s really awesome; we’ve updated; it has all of our plans done presentations to the and current events and activischool board, we’ve arranged ties, we’re planning on that so school events with other that people can stay updated schools and VOE programs,” with something other than comments Peacock. the announcements, since we Finally, Peacock states that know that people don’t al“it’s an amazing club, and it’s ways pay attention to the ana great opportunity for peonouncements.” ple, so we think more people “We also have ‘Don’t hate, should be in it and be a part of educate’ in our lunch display, what we do. It’s equity - everywhich is the VOE motto; it one should be a part of it.” basically means we never

Page 7/News

Best Buddies;

Making memories,

Building bonds MEKENZIE MCCANN H/S and SSC Editor “Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD),” according to Best Buddies International.

The club at the school is “an established national organization, and there are chapters all over Maryland and the U.S. When [former special education teacher] Ms. [Monica] Pattinson left, Ms. [Thandiwe] Tembo and I took over the club,” states special education teacher Mrs. Kolbi Stahl.

“Best Buddies is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD),” states Best Buddies International.

The club is all “about forming relationships between disabled and non disabled students so that they can get to know each other and interact, because they do not get to do that all the time in classes.

We do fun things and form relationships,” states Stahl.

Senior Katrina Winkler, states that she became a member of the club because of her friend.

“Leah has down syndrome was in [the club] and I knew her and got to know all the kids in her class. I want to be a special education teacher, it is always something that has interested me.”

According to Stahl, the club is “a student led organization, so our board gets to pick our activities, so it is any type of games or crafts or anything that gets people talking and moving.”

The club gets together “and hangs out,” at the lunch bunch on October 19, “it is Halloween themed” so the members of the club will be making “toilet paper mummies, painting pumpkins, and have a snack.

Everyone can just hang out and talk,” comments Stahl.

Senior, Madison Hedges-Bailey, states that she wants to “make sure that everyone is included and make sure that everyone has a good high school experience.” She joined the club to make new friends and get to know other people.

Winkler hopes to show the students with special needs “that there are people who are looking out for them and helping them through school, and just to be there to be their friends. Also, to help them to feel included and not feel like they are a separate group and they can do everything that we can do.”

October 31, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

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October 31, 2023

Cry of the Hawk

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October 31, 2023

Cry of th

OUT TH WOR

he Hawk

T OF HIS RLD

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Cry of the Hawk

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October 31, 2023

Love Is Bl i n d season five released Pippitt speaks about her experience Tuning in to All Things Go music festival; BROOKELYN PRIEBE Reporter

wanted.” The big headliners for the day they went were Maggie Rogers, Carly Rae Jepson, Lana Del Rey, and Boygenius.

The All Things Go music festiAlthough Pippitt val this year was was at the festival for held at Merrithe full 12 hour expeweather Post rience, she says that Pavilion.

AcLana Del Ray, Alex G cording to washand Boygenius were ingtonian.com, the “definitely” the best festival started performances she in 2006 with a saw.

“Lana brought group of childout her produchood friends er [Jack Antonoff], who were inwhich was pretty terested in liscool. [She] looked tening and also amazing, and everywriting about one in the crowd was new music so hype and knew all mainly indie, her lyrics.” electronic and According to herrock groups.

Boygenius singing “Ketchum, ID.” For the rest campus.com, concertThe festival is a of their time on stage, they sang multiple songs like goer Kim Goldman DC-based music says she would confestival with 32 “true blue”, “Cool about it” and “$20.” sider her trek from acts in the span PHOTO CREDITS: Noel Bailey Connecticut to Maryof two days. land to be “entirely The acts on worth” being able to see her faly all female and non-binary artSaturday, Sept. 30 included Magvorite artists live. ists, and according to NPR’S Lilly gie Rodgers, Carly Rae Jepsen, She continues, “even beyond MT. Joy, Lizzy Mcalpine, Day- Quiroz, that one fact changed the just the performers on this list, entire experience. glow, FLETCHER, Suki Waterthe entire festival was marked by Senior Ava Pippitt says she house, Peach Pit, RAYE, Tegan good vibes, good people, and even went to the festival for the full 12 and Sara, The Wombats, Sudan better music.” hours on the second day.

“It was a Archives, Last Dinosaurs, VacaPippitt says that at the festival, tions, Jensen Mcrae, and Hem- super long day and it was hot out, they were giving out free monster but it was worth it,” she says. lock Springs. energy drinks and that they had She continues that she and The acts on Sunday, Oct. 1 different sponsors setting up givher boyfriend “switched between included Lana Del Ray, Boygening out free stuff like “Conair and both the different stages so that ius, MUNA, Arlo Parks, Alex G, Cotopaxi,” [they] could see the people [they] Alvvays, Ethel Cain, Vundabar, Tommy Lefroy, Meet Me @ The Altar, Ella Jane, Juliana Madrid, and Free Range.

This year’s headliners were main-

Olivia Rodrigo releases new album “Guts”;

Death of girlhood, transitioning into adulthood KENALL WALTER Reporter

album, while 56% people said that they didn’t listen to the album.

Rodrigo’s third track is the song that was released before the album was fully released, “Vampire.” This song was the performer’s release and helped her “sort through her feelings of regret, anger and heartache of an ex,” ac-

Rodrigo says this song is about “exploring the conflicting emotions and desires that arise after a Singer Olivia Rodrigo’s sophfailed romantic relationship.” omore album, Guts, adds to her Sophomore Cooper Schaefer’s first album, Sour, with a “more opinion on the new album is that mature type of thinking. A female “It’s pretty good, but I need to be rage about adulthood growing in the mood for it. The variety is pains and figuring out who you really good though, like having are at this point in life,” says Rofast songs while having slow ones drigo. too. It gives a song for The first every occasion.” Schatrack on the fer first listened to the album is an album on the day of reopener “about lease. Compared to her repressed anprevious album, Sour, ger and feelSchaefer says, “Overall ings of confuI would say I like Sour sion, or feeling better, but my favorput into a box ite song is from Guts.” to fit in with Shaefer listens to muthe ideas of sic frequently and can what a girl be found with one Airshould be,” pod often around the “Guts” was released on Sept. 8 with a length of According to school.

Rodrigo. This 39 minutes and 12 seconds. This album was released These songs reflect track starts off two years after Rodrigo’s debut single, “driver’s anger and frustration talking about license.” in general, with relathow sweet and able topics such as exes caring girls can or society. However, be on the outcording to the singer. It is a “song these are not the only feelings side, then dramatically switch- about someone being manipu- in the new album. Rodrigo also es to intense anger inside about lative and sucking someone dry, talks about the depressive strugfitting into what everyone wants using them for all their worth.” gles of growing up in an emotionyou to be.

The track “Get Him Back!” is a al way. The eleventh song on this In a survey of 200 students at back-and-forth between wanting album, “Pretty Isn’t Pretty” is a NH, 39% of people said that they an ex back and hating their guts. track about the biggest inseculistened to and liked the album, The title could play on the double rities and self-confidence issues, fWive percent of people said that meaning of getting him, it could keeping up with appearance, rethey listened and didn’t like the be in a loving or hating way. flecting on self-positivity.

BELLA ARIST Business Manager

The Netflix reality show Love is Blind released a new season for viewers to watch. This series is about men and women being put in pods and forming connections through a wall. The end result is projected to be couples falling in

friend’s] chance of finding love, it made it entertaining for people watching.” She said, “Season One was my favorite because it was a new concept and it didn’t seem dragged on from the start.”

Along with Averella, junior Maggie Dawson claimed her “favorite season was the first one because it was new.” She explained,

Most recent season covers are displayed to make viewers aware another season is being shown to the public. These two people knew each other; viewers later found out they weren’t there together by mistake. love without seeing each other before.

Freshman Maddy Averella watched the new season and she “wasn’t disappointed at all.” She claimed, “there were a lot of unexpected things that happened. I didn’t expect how many couples didn’t last. In the end there are usually more than two couples that last.”

In this season, there were two characters who had already known each other in the outside world. They had dated and ended on good terms, but the ex-girlfriend being there wasn’t a coincidence.

She went through her ex-boyfriend’s computer and found the email of him applying, then later applied.

Averella explained, “having the exes there caused a lot of drama and many people to be upset.

Although it ruined [ the ex-boy-

“I always knew from the start that some people would be more controversial just by what they were talking about, and their background shared in the pods.”

Dawson also explained “the whole layout of the show has been the same through every season, so it is very easy to follow since viewers know what to expect.” Dawson mentioned there were some people she didn’t like from the beginning, just because of “the sound of their voice.”

Senior Lily Potter “liked the new season because the other seasons after the first were bad, because it felt very forced and there were never two people who stayed together the whole time.”

Unlike the other seasons, “in this recent one, there were a lot more people who stayed together and formed genuine connections with the other people in the experiment.”

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Spooky season is upon us; American Horror Story’s twelfth season returns to screens LEXI GOTT News Editor American Horror Story: Delicate made its season debut on Sept 20.

The classic horror anthology series takes on their twelfth installment of horror.

The new season follows a rising actress, Anna Alcott (Emma Roberts) as she attempts to become pregnant with her husband, Dexter Harding (Matt Czurchy).

As she’s receiving IVF treatment, the star begins to grow more paranoid that an ‘outside force’ is trying to stop her from becoming a mother.

Series creator Ryan Murphy admitted that this season was based on a novel, Delicate Condition, by Danielle Valentine.

The series is famously known for the new storylines and recurring actors in each season.

Roberts has previously starred in seasons such as Coven as Madison Montgomery, 1984 as Brooke Thompson, and Maggie Esmerelda in Freak Show.

Actresses Billie Lourd and Leslie Grossman are joining alongside Roberts this season.

The two are familiar faces to the series, as they have also been casted in previous seasons.

Although actors and actresses continuously rejoin the cast of American Horror Story, other stars join this twelfth season for their first time.

Kim Karadashian takes on the role of Siobhan Corbyn, best friend of Anna Alcott and her publicist with a strange obses-

Chilling thriller attracts readers; Action-packed text draws interest KATIE VANARSDALE Reporter Looking for a book that will hook readers from the getgo? Check out The Girl in the White Van by April Henry.

The novel follows a kidnapped young woman who is left to fight for her life as she navi-

think it was nice because I usually don’t like those kinds of books because I get confused, but yes, I actually loved it because it was easy to understand how the characters felt,” reports Reifsynder.

The novel has appeal to a teenage audience. While this book is a fast paced, ac-

sion with spiders.

Matt Czurchy, playing Alcott’s husband, is also a newcomer to this season. Czurchy has starred in the 2000’s TV series Gilmore Girls as Logan Huntzeberger.

Junior Corrin Turner shares that she hasn’t watched the new season “yet,” as the last two seasons made her “disappointed.”

She plans to watch the season soon though, as she feels that “Emma Roberts’ comeback will save the show.”

American Horror Story: Delicate, premieres each new episode every Wednesday on FX, and is available to stream on Hulu the day after.

It’s unclear how many episodes this season will have, as it’s airing in two parts.

The first part consists of five episodes, but the next part, airing sometime in 2024, does not have a confirmed episode count.

The series’ new season, Delicate, aired in late September. The season is set to continue its next part early next year.

Drawing, painting, crocheting, more;

Exploring art students at The Nest LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor At the Nest, there are many students who create pieces of art both in and outside of school, with various mediums and techniques - whether it be painting, drawing, sewing, or something else.

Sophomore Mia Seigel does various types of art in her free time, including painting and jewelry-making. “I make things that I generally would wear. So, when I’m making a new pair of earrings, I always have a trial round where I make the design for the first time and decide if I like it or not.”

Recently, Seigel participated in the Bel Air Festival for the Arts, where she sold earrings, rings, and more. For a short time, she

also had a guest; Seigel recently designed tattoos for her father’s friend, Mr. Jay Buchman. The sophomore shares that the tattoos are both inspired by album covers from the band Incubus.

“It’s completely crazy watching something you drew get put on someone else permanently,” she adds.

Fellow sophomore Alex Manzari also does art in her spare time. The sophomore explains that she mostly does “graphic design - specifically for classes like drama and chorus and all of that - but I also crochet and do that sort of stuff.” She also works with a material called resin to make all sorts of products, such as daggers. “There’s basically these two parts that you have to mix together, and it;s really frustrating because if it’s slightly off, it does

not cure correctly. Basically, you pour this solution into silicone molds, and you add some powder and glitter. I sell them on my Etsy shop.”

Along with Seigel, Manzari was a vendor at the Bel Air Festival for the Arts, where she sold crochet and resin products. The sophomore shares, “I totally recommend it. Booths are free for anyone 16 and under, so it’s a really good opportunity to sell your stuff. It was definitely very successful for me; I sold a ton of crochet stuff, and I almost sold out of my resin daggers.

I also did another festival a couple of weekends ago during Homecoming, which was really fun. I think it’s a really good opportunity for young artists to make money and get their stuff out there.”

Author April Henry creates many thrilling teenage books. The Girl in the White Van was published in 2020.

PHOTO CREDIT: Amazon gates through a series of dangerous and scary situations as the clock ticks down.

“It was a great book and I usually don’t read, so when I like a book, it must mean that it’s really good. And I just loved it,” said senior Sarah McKee-Hurley Reifsnyder. “I would definitely recommend it to so many people that love crime books or shows.” It was also a quicker read for Reifsnyder.

“For me, who is someone who takes months to finish a book, I finished it in a week and a half,” Reifsynder continues.

Fans of the text say its alternating points of view keep things interesting, while still being easy to understand.”I

tion-packed thriller, it also serves as a warning for people, including Reifsynder. ”I check my surroundings a lot and look over my shoulder all the time, and I pay attention to people’s body language.”

Once readers start reading, they won’t be able to put this book down. “The plot twist and the words that were used to describe things.” Reifsynder states, are two of the reasons she kept turning the page. This book also made Reifsynder ”very anxious,” and her “heart raced a lot.”

So, if students are looking for a thriller to read, they may want to add The Girl in the White Van to their list.

Both Siegel’s and Manzari’s booths at the Bel Air Festival for the Arts. The sophomores were each highly successful in their sales.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mia Siegel and Alex Manzari

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Happenings

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Fall Fest at Hopkins farm Brewery and Fall Fest at Eden Mill

Quarter One Ends

11/10

3-Hour Early Dismissal

Night of fun hosted by soccer team Ice hockey player shoots for stars; KATIE VANARSDALE Reporter Supporting the girl’s varsity soccer team. Getting into the fall spirit. These were both great reasons to go to the North Harford Family Fun Night, hosted by the soccer team at Stone View farm, on Friday, September 15.

“We decided to host this event as we were looking for a fundraiser that could also be used as a team bonding event,” says Aidan Riordan, coach of the girls varsity soccer team.

He added, “ This is a great opportunity to participate in some fall activities, while raising money for our program to purchase new uniforms in the next year or two.”

Hosting fundraisers comes with its own set of challenges, and this fundraiser is no exception according to the coach. “The hardest part about planning fundraisers is finding a day everyone can attend. People are very busy with their personal lives and other things like high school sports, school, jobs, and club sports.” said Riordan. “We were able to schedule it on a scheduled day off school, which makes it easier for everyone to attend,” the coach

commented.

While these are some of the harder parts about planning fundraisers, there are also the enjoyable parts according to the head coach. “One of my favorite parts was contacting the local soccer clubs to promote our event and explaining the benefits of attending. I also enjoyed sharing the flyers on social media,” He added that “most of the high school teams in Harford County have very professional social media pages, so we’ve been working to create and promote our Instagram page.”

Coach Riordan wanted to make this event something that was fun for all ages. He said that he “ invited local club soccer teams, elementary and middle school aged, to attend as well, so I’m excited to introduce them to our players and let them see what high school soccer is all about.”

The coach believes that high school sports “should be an enjoyable and memorable experience, so I want these future players to look forward to high school soccer as we focus on building a strong culture on and off the field.”

Freshman pursues her passion

BELLA ARIST Business Manager Skating freshman Mallory McCartney has been playing ice hockey for four to five years. She is also involved with track and cross country while playing ice hockey.

McCartney shares, “The type of training we focus on is cardio, strength, skating, and shooting skills.” During her practices, the athlete feels they are “well-rounded and challenging.”

Her season is from late August to March, which is longer than most sports seasons.

One of her biggest accomplishments as a team is “winning a championship with [her] team.” McCartney’s position on the team is forward-wing, which allows her the ability to score goals. She feels “a sense of accomplishment” when she scores.

The freshman says, “the hardest part is having confidence. Players have to have a certain mentality and things can get in your head.

Hockey is a hard sport within itself, so it is very easy to compare yourself to others, then perform worse because of the pressure. It is super competitive, and when you get down on yourself, it affects your game.”

During the game, she is “very locked in” when she plays with “no distractions.” She claims, “I am very focused and I know what I need to do; my head is nowhere else besides the game.” The student hasn’t gotten hurt to a serious extent since she has started playing, “because [she] knows her limits.”

McCartney’s team is called the Baltimore Stars, and they are located in Baltimore, right outside of the city.

She shared, “it is hard to get ice time because the boys teams get prioritized over girls, so usually our practices are later at night.”

With their rink being over an hour away, it “gets tiring traveling so much.”

She has made “so many connections and friends” through her sport. McCartney’s parents are “very supportive.” The athlete says, “I am very good at balancing good grades with sports and having a social life.”

McCartney got into hockey by always skating during the free-skate time when she was younger. One day while leaving the rink, her “dad randomly picked up a flier for ice hockey,” and she stuck with it from there.

She is “very happy with [her] sport choice and satisfied that ice hockey is the sport [she] is pursuing.”

North Harford student Mallory McCartney playing in a game as a forward-wing.

She has played for many years and still maintained a life outside of sports.

PHOTO CREDIT: Baltimore Stars Photography

Teacher Spotlight

Mr. Jake Birchfield Many North Harford students have Mr. Jacob Birchfield as a teacher for the first time this year. But many don’t know that he’s not only a teacher, he’s also a boat captain.

“I teach during the school year, then during the summer I move down to Chincoteague, Virginia and captain for several months,” replied Birchfield. He said there are so many different things he can do as a boat captain. “I gave scenic tours of wildlife such as whales, dolphins, sea turtles and the wild horses on Assateague,” said Birchfield.

This is one of his favorite things. “My favorite part is seeing the wildlife and being up close and personal with nature. I also love meeting new people,” he said.

Wonder how to get into this job? Birchfield said he made many different connections and ended up getting introduced to it. “While going to college at Salisbury, I made a lot of connections while working a summer job as a kayak instructor,” says Birchfield. “I worked in Chincoteague, Va where I eventually acquired my captain’s license,” he continued. This was in 2021 when he started and now has been doing it for almost 4 years.

Complied by: Lila Parry

October 31, 2023

11/10-11/13 49th Annual Maryland Irish Festival

Sophomore singer becomes intern for choir KATIE VANARSDALE Reporter Sophomore Peyten Ivy used to sing with the Deer Creek Youth Choir, or the DCYC. It is a choir that takes singers from second grade to ninth grade. Grades two through five practice together and are called Jubilate, and grades six through nine practice together and are called Vivace.

“Once a month, we have combined rehearsals. [Teacher] Julie Culotta started it eight years ago. We perform with the Deer Creek Chorale,” says Ivy. Ivy loves singing with the choir because “it teaches a healthy and fun first relationship with music”, states Ivy. Ivy continues to state “a lot of the kids in Jubilate have never sung before. There’s a lot to learn, but this is the perfect place for it, since [Culotta] is such a wonderful conductor and knows what to focus on with the kids to make sure they learn and grow,” she adds.

Ivy doesn’t just sing with the choir anymore; she interns, which means she helps the younger kids in the Jubilate choir.

Ivy says she “started interning as soon as I found out it was an option. In June of this year, I was invited to sing with the alumni of DCYC who were now in high school.

I learned high schoolers could come sing with the younger children and intern, so I signed up to sing with them this year.”

While interning, Ivy is “still learning how to help the directors, connect with the kids, all while learning the songs myself.”

Ivy also says, “I can already see so much growth within the kids because of [Culotta’s] teaching, and we’ve only been working for over a month now. I haven’t had the chance to work with Stacy [ the fellow director] much, but she’s also amazing. Both directors are used to working with kids and are amazing and effective teachers.”

This experience has helped Ivy decide that she wants to go into the teaching field. “I love the idea of being a high school choir teacher and this is definitely helping me figure out how it is rounding up a bunch of kids to produce an end product one day,” says Ivy.

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School closed for Thanksgiving break

Hawks

Happenings

Art Guild continues previous work; Club shares plans, expectations for new year LILY CORCORAN Copy Editor Last school year, the NHHS Art Guild started working on their first two murals in the school.

Now, the club is starting right back up from where they ended and will be continuing their work throughout the school.

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the club elected its officers; junior Lily Corcoran was chosen as president, sophomore Mia Siegel was selected as vice president, and sophomore Lee Kress was appointed as treasurer.

artistic abilities in other ways instead of just by [themself].”

Thompson mentioned that they did not really know what to expect from the Art Guild, but as the club starts getting down to business, they said, “I’m excited to start more murals around the school, as I think they’re really cool.”

Many members of the club are also returning from last year. Junior Liz O’Brien rejoined because they “wanted to finish [their] part in the mural because [they] had worked

The members of Art Guild work on their paintings every Tuesday after school. New members of the club have begun drawing out designs for the library and the Ag department.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lily Corcoran According to art teacher and club advisor Mr. Jason Blevins, the club is starting the year off strong with continuing work from last year. The first mural the club started working on, located across from the art rooms, is still being worked on by the same artists from last year aside from the graduated seniors.

A mural created for the government hallway, created by 2023 alumna Isabella Singh and senior Emma Cornman, is currently sitting in one of the galleries in the atrium, closest to the stairs. However, the club is currently making plans as to what to work on next.

There are many newcomers to the club this year. Junior Sage Thompson joined this year because they “wanted to have a chance to use [their]

very hard on it last year and wanted to continue to watch the mural come together.”

O’Brien adds that they’re “excited” to see the mural in the art wing be completed and for another one to get started.

Both juniors would recommend joining Art Guild.

Thompson explains, “it’s a nice community; even if you aren’t super confident in your abilities, there’s people to support you.”

O’Brien adds, “it’s a lot of fun to see so many talented artists come up with new ideas and share their skills with their peers. Everyone is always welcoming, and there’s something for everyone to participate in.”

If students would like to join the club, they can swing by Blevins’ room (D212) on Tuesdays from 2:10-3.

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Under the Sea

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Physical, mental effects of vaping on body; Long term effects beginning to be displayed LILA PARRY Reporter In health class, students are taught the physical and mental harms of vaping. But why are people still vaping?

“Peer pressure, or they think it is a ‘safer’ method of smoking,” says health teacher Mrs. Jacquelyn Williams. However, vapes have been found to be just as addictive and harmful as traditional cigarettes.

There are many studies that show vaping has a major impact on physical health that can lead to long-term effects. “Vaping links to chronic lung disease and asthma,” wrote Johns Hopkins Medicine.

There are also still many unknown facts about vaping because it is fairly new. “There has

been an outbreak of lung injuries Williams. and deaths associated with vapAlong with negative physiing,” reported Johns Hopkins Med- cal health effects, there are also icine. many menVaping has tal health become more effects popular, which that lead “Vaping links to means more to anxichronic lung disease people are sufety, stress, fering from the and deand asthma.” effects of it. pression. ~Johns Hopkins “2.55 million “Nicotine U.S. middle and increases Medicine high school stusensitivity dents reported to stress current e-cigand alters arette use in the coping 2022,” said U.S. mechaCenters for Disease Control and nism in the brain,” writes Baylor Prevention. Vaping can also open College of Medicine. Stress makes it resources and appeal to different hard to balance things in life so kinds of drugs. “Vaping can be that could lead to struggle with considered a gateway drug,” adds school and extracurricular activ-

Blurring lines between reality

RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor

Lucid dreaming has been going on for centuries now, but more recently has become more prevalent. According to Verywellmind.com, “Around 23% of people have one lucid dream per month.”

A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming. Dreamers might experience intense emotions, start being aware that they are actually dreaming, and start to gain control of the dreams scenario or environment.

Junior Kimberly Allen states, “I think that lucid dreams are cool but kind of scary. It’s blurring the lines of reality and the dream world, which is scary when it’s thought of that way.”

Allen continued “ I believe that people can have lucid dreams. I personally don’t remember my dreams too well, but I’m sure I’ve lucid dreamed at least once before.”

Lucid dreaming does include some benefits. According to Verywellmind.com, Dreamers tend to have less anxiety because of the sense of control they feel during the dream that carries on into real life. These dreams also serve as a therapy for people who have nightmares, by teaching them how to control their dreams in order to stop shy awry from fear.

Dreamers also tend to have better motor skills because of the part of their brain that turns active, turns on when they imagine the movements while awake or running through a lucid dream. Dreamers also

Lucid dreams can even improve motor skills. Doing simple things like tapping fingers more quickly during a lucid dream will turn on the same part of the brain that controls these aspects.

PHOTO CREDIT: PsyPost gain more creativity within the dream because of the new ideas and insights of the characters within the dream that they create.

Senior Madison Maccentelli shares, “I’m not totally sure I believe in lucid dreams. I know some people do believe in them, but I feel like they aren’t as common as they are made out to be.”

One problem with lucid dreaming, according to Verywellmind.com, is that the dreamer’s sleep quality declines. Because these dreams can become vivid, they can tend to wake the dreamer up, making it hard to get back to sleep, making the dreamer lose sleep. Confusion, delirium, and hallucinations also may occur in people who have certain mental health disorders, because lucid dreams may blur the line between what’s real and what’s imagined.

According to Verywellmind.com, “The results of one study suggested that lucid dreaming tends to be more common in women and may decrease in frequency as people age.”

ities.

“Dependence on nicotine has been associated with mood disorders, anxiety, suicidality, and depression,” said Baylor College of Medicine.

“Vapers were more likely to report anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidal thoughts,” wrote The American Heart Association.

“Depression has been found to be associated with e-cigarette use, and vaping,” said The National Institute of Health.

Anxiety and depression can affect many aspects of a person’s life including school, sports, and everyday activities. “Anxiety and depression symptoms may leave children at risk for lower academic scores,” states The National Institute of Health.

In the state of Maryland, the meningitis vaccine is required for students to attend any public school. However, in neighboring states such as Virginia, this is not a requirement.

Lack of trust in vaccination,

Meningococcal outbreak in area GABRIELLE MOXHAM Studio Manager/Reporter As such, this has caused many students to get very sick in the eastern, southwest, and central Virginia areas. The spread of this disease is so serious that the Virginia Department of Health had announced a statewide outbreak as of Aug. 30.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, there have already been five cases where death has occurred in response to this disease (as of Aug. 30).

There are two types of meningitis: viral and bacterial. One is more common and less serious, which is viral, and bacterial is more serious and less common; however, the outbreak in Virginia happens to obtain the bacterial version of this virus, which is more often called meningococcal disease.

Symptoms are very common and can resemble the flu or other illnesses, which leads to many misdiagnoses. Common symptoms include headaches, fever, bruising easily, sensitivity to light, rashes, stiff neck and confusion.

The spread of this illness happens through close or lengthy contact, and mostly through any kind of respiratory interaction. Kissing, coughing, sneezing, and sharing objects that are placed in the mouth can spread this illness.

Health teacher Mrs. Jacquelyn Williams shares on the subject, “bacterial meningitis is more difficult to get rid of’.”

Williams believes there are ways that the intensity of the ailment could be reduced. “I think these areas could require

vaccines in their schools considering it is the age bracket that is currently being targeted.”

According to the Virginia Department of Health, meningitis creates inflammation on the lining of the spinal cord and brain and/or septicemia which is an infection of the bloodstream.

While vaccines cannot always prevent a person from coming in contact with this sickness it can help modify the aggressive nature and severity of its effect on the patient’s body. It is not recommended to wait seeking medical care if one suspects they may have meningitis, as treating it early on in its development with antibiotics are the key to a patient’s recovery.

Meningococcal symptoms can include rashes, stiff neck, fever, headaches and more. If you believe you have this disease, please seek medical attention and do not wait.

PHOTO CREDIT: ABC News

Classification may change for common drug ALEXIS GOTT News Editor In over 40 U.S. states, marijuana has been legalized. Following these legalizations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently recommended loosening restrictions.

Currently, marijuana is classified as a schedule One drug.

Drugs under this category are described as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA.) HHS is highly recommending a federal change to the DEA since the law has established that marijuana has no “accepted medical use” and “high potential for abuse,” but HHS wants the drug to be moved to a lower category.

Schedule One drugs, where marijuana currently is placed, includes drugs like heroin, LDS, Psilocybin (‘Mushrooms’), Mescaline and more.

These drugs all have a high risk of severe abuse by users, and in general, are not acceptable for clinical use according to the DEA. HHS wants to move marijuana from this category as the risk for the drug is not as severe as the other Schedule One drugs. If successful, the drug would be moved from Schedule One to Schedule Three.

Schedule Three drugs, as defined by the DEA as “drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” “Either way, I feel that marijuana is a drug that should not be used by the average person,” junior Bianca Baker starts. She states that some people smoke for reasons like “they cannot sleep, and then they have the constant urge to smoke.” The junior then goes on to explain that, “while drugs in the schedule one category with marijuana like heroin are more extreme, abuse is abuse.”

HHS is being described as “persuadable” by reporting news sites to support the move.

Marijuana will become exceedingly easier to research.

Due to marijuana’s current category, it’s deemed as too dangerous to research by doctors and healthcare professionals.

With research, scientists and researchers may be able to understand how the drug affects and works with the mind and body. It is “very likely” that this can be followed with “development of additional marijuana-based drugs, which will require a prescription for use,” according to research site McGlinchey.

Although rescheduling Marijuna will have many impacts, it will not be the same as legalizing marijuana across the entire U.S. That law remains to state decisions.

October 31, 2023

Girls Cross Country receives first place; Swinging into states;

Big meets take place as season ends Golf wins county, ISABEL KROPKOWSKI Aiming for top spot Features Editor

This year, the girls cross country team has taken first place in the Bull Run Invitational. A huge meet and win for the team.

Shortly after Bull Run, the runners and their performances got recognized by the Baltimore Sun, the “Hawks won the title in the girls medium race at Hereford High School”. According to the Baltimore Sun, the team earned a total of sixty points, they beat out Century who had a score of seventy and beat Atholton who scored eighty seven.

The top five scores were run by sophomore Kendall Chandler (21:33), junior Eden Hussung (21:37), freshman Brooklyn Eagan (22:31), freshman Mallory McCartney (22:59) and freshman Madilyn Coyle (23:12) according to the Baltimore Sun. Their scores combined (60) earned them the first place title.

Chandler (8th place), Hussung (12th place), Eagan (13th place) and Coyle (14th place) have scores in the top 20 spots in

Hawk’s history for the women's three mile, as well as Austin Parry in 15th place for the three mile for men according to Athletic.net.

The team headed to the Chesapeake Divisional on October 10th. Girls varsity placed first out of eight schools. Top scores for girls were run by Kendall Chandler (6th place), Madilyn Coyle (11th place), Ava Carberry (12th place). The boys varsity team received fourth place with top scores run by James Ortt (5th place), Austin Parry (7th place) and Justin Collins (27th place).

Girls team had a combined score of 53 and the boys had a score of 105 (Athletic.net).

At the Chesapeake Divisional, many runners had personal records including Austin Parry, Reese Conklin, Chandler, Ava Carberry, Natalie Barndt and Valentina Angulo.

The team then heads to the UCBAC championships on October 24. With their final meet of the season on November 2 for the 2A East Region Championships, according to County Sports Zone.

Gliding into competition,

Skaters: synchronized on ice ISABEL KROPKOWSKI Features Editor

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Cry of the Hawk

Sophomore Isabella Duda has been doing synchronized skating since she was in fourth grade. Skating has become a part of her life for the past five years and practices weekly. Duda was drawn to the sport after she went skating one day. “... I saw someone who was practicing in the center of a public session and was interested so I started taking lessons.” She enjoyed it so much she continued for years.

The sophomore was also drawn to synchronized skating because of a friend who had done it so she joined and stated she “fell in love with that aspect of the sport.”

She is a part of the Chesapeake Synchronized Skating team and a part of the Baltimore Figure Skating Club to test. Syncro is when skaters perform together as a team, they move together at a high speed and look like one unit when they move. She mainly practices at Ice World, practicing on ice allows her team to move

like one unit.

The sophomore loves the sport as she has been doing it for years, she states she loves everything about the sport except “for having to do moves in the field now called skating skills as well as dancing”.

Duda stated that synchronized skating “wasn’t hard to pick up but I also have been doing this for years so I do not remember clearly.” There are many levels that have evolved throughout the years, these levels are sorted by difficulty and completing certain requirements.

Next year, Duda is aiming to be on the intermediate level, which requires pre silver skating skills in order to join. It is a struggle to

get used to skating with others, she says. But, starting at a lower level and working your way up helps you to adjust and prepare for higher levels. A difficulty she had was doing a triangle intersection which is when you're turning both ways and backwards going to each other. But, she has learned to trust the flow of things and your teammates.

She has a new competition this year in DC in early November, as well as Easterns in which she competes against all of the teams along the east coast, which lasts a week. Duda practices with the team once a week and does a lot of individual work outside of practice to get ready for the competitions coming up.

RILEY HEROLD Entertainment Editor The golf team is scheduled to head to the state championships on Tuesday, Oct. 24, following their second place county win in the previous tournament held on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

The team has competed in my tournaments against several schools. These schools include Rising Sun, C. Milton Wright, Bel Air, Fallston, Perryville, Harford Tech, and Edgewood.

Freshman Abigayle Smith will be playing in the upcoming state championship. She stated, “I think this season has been going really well. I think a lot of people are doing good, and I’m happy we have made it really far this year.”

A tournament works by combining the lowest scores of the five participants participating in the tournament.

Then, whoever has the lowest score from each school wins.

Participants also can place individually. Men and women are separated when placed individually.

Sophomore Autumn Ferguson is not going to states, but has played golf ever since she was six. She stated, “I think we have done pretty good this season. We have placed generally high in all the competitions we have had.”

Ferguson continued, “My favorite thing about playing is when I get a low score. It just feels really really good, and plus it’s just cool to just try and be better than the last time you played.”

Practices are held at Geneva Farms Golf Course. Ferguson stated, “Practices are pretty laid back. We go out in groups to the golf course and do a lot of different things.”

She continued, “Sometimes we play scramble, which is where everyone hits and you take the best ball or you can play your own ball and see who wins. You can also play with teams but it’s mostly fun to go out and play with friends and try and improve.”

Smith stated, “I definitely have had a great experience so far, and can’t wait for next year.”

The golf team placed second in the county tournaments. They took place on Oct. 17, 2023 at Geneva Farms Golf Course.

PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Johnson

Girls soccer pushing for Regionals MEKENZIE MCCANN H/S and SSC Editor The girls soccer team is currently 2-8-1, gaining wins against Edgewood and Bohemia Manor.

Senior captain Ella Appleby (striker) states that the team has had “fun” and have been able to “really get to know each other.”

Fellow senior captain Aubrey Heise (left wing) comments that the team has “fought for every game we have played in.”

“My favorite game was against Harford Tech, because we tied that game and we actually played the game like we wanted to win,” states Appleby. Heise agrees with Appleby, with Harford Tech being her favorite game, she states that it was her favorite because she “thought it was a really good game.”

Junior Katie Jones (center-back) comments that the team has “done well with building out of the back and trying to build with the defense and the midfield.” She continues to state that her favorite game was also against Harford Tech because the team “played really passionately in that game, and we all played really well, and I think that I had a really good game, too.”

Junior Sydney Stoneback (center-back, striker, centermidfield, and wing) states that her favorite game was against Perryville because she feels like the team was “playing up and everyone was putting in a bunch of effort, and it was a really good game.”

Stoneback states that the team has “all gotten to know each oth-

Sophomore Savannah Picha punted the ball out of the Hawks goal box. The team is heading into regional play.

PHOTO CREDIT: Terri Quick er and stayed positive, even though we have not had that great of a season.” She continues to say that the team has done well with “the amount of effort overall that everyone is putting in and staying positive.”

Sophomore Savannah Picha (goalie) comments that the team “has done really well on our defense - we just let little mistakes happen on offense, and defense has been able to slow them down really well.”

Picha states that her favorite game was against Patterson Mill because she thinks the team “played so well at the end, and I think it was good that we started

coming together and playing as a team.”

Appleby comments that if the team starts “to have fun and work as a team” they “will go farther into playoffs.” Heise states that if the team “keeps playing together and working hard that we will go far into the postseason.”

Jones comments that if the team builds “enough momentum, we can do well. I think that we can still win some games leading up to Regionals.”

Picha says that she is “hoping that the team can do well in the postseason play, but I think it just depends on what team shows up and who wants it more.”

Page 20/ Sports

October 31 2023

Cry of the Hawk

Field hockey rises to top spot in divsion NOEL BAILEY Op/Ed Editor

This year's field hockey squads season is coming to an end soon, but the team has had a big winning season. The team is back to back UCBAC champions with a 8-1 standing, also taking first in the county this year.

The team of 22 girls have been practicing since August to make it to where they are now. Senior Sara Ford (center midfield,) is “really proud of our team,” for

how they are doing so far in the season.

The Hawks game against C. Milton Wright had a winning score of 2-1, which was Ford's favorite game. Senior captain Mekenzie McCann (center back) said that game “was the one we all came together and started to play as a team.”

The game the team had against Mercy High was the rec night for the girls; they had Jarrettsville recreational field hockey teams

come out to support the Hawks with a win of 2-1. Ford said, “it was really fun to see all the little kids come out to the game.”

The Hawks had their senior night game to show spotlight to their eight seniors on the team: Ford, McCann, Sarah Reifsnyder, Korynn Sims, Amber Kozlowski, Izzy Hendricks, Grace Conklin, and Natalie Sturgil. The team played Fallston High and won 2-1 for their seniors. “People were crying happy tears” that night,

according to Ford.

“As a team, we work together on the field super well,” said Sims. The team has a positive outlook of all games. “The team doesn’t give up after being scored on, and that's huge in games that can be so close,” said Sims.

This season is sophomore Olivia Bloom’s first year on varsity and says the team has “worked hard” to get to the top. The reason the team has been doing well, Bloom says, is because “the team

likes each other,” which has had a positive impact on the field. She's hoping that the team “will get far” with their regional games.

The “Bel Air, C. Milton, and Mercy games,” were Bloom's favorite games because “they were really tight games,” but the team pulled through and won all three of them. The Mercy game was a good night game, according to Bloom, because “it was a game not many people expected us to win.”

volleyball racking up wins Heading into postseason play; Dig it: Boys Ending sucessful season EMILY JOHNSON IDR Editor The boys volleyball teams have had a long season so far, with a 3-7 JV record, and a 7-6 varsity record, as of Oct. 11. The teams are led by coaches Mr. Jason Selby and Mr. Jac Carll.

Varsity captains include juniors Jacob Jestel (setter) and Jackson Armiger (setter and hitter), and sophomore Ryan Chaney is the JV captain.

Jestel has been playing for three years, two of which were on the JV team. He explained that his favorite thing about the team is how everybody “hypes each other up.” His favorite game so far was played against Bel Air High School.

Armiger has been playing for three years, all of which were on varsity. Armiger explained that his favorite thing about being a captain is “being able to lead the team, and getting them excited to play.”

He added that he also likes how it’s a good balance of wanting to win but also being easy-going. His favorite game was played against Fallston High School, when they won 3-1.

Senior Ethan Hartlaub (middle blocker) has been playing on varsity volleyball for the past three years. Hartlaub's favorite thing about playing is how close

the team is, as they “enjoy playing together.” His favorite game they have played was against Patterson Mill on Sept. 13, where they won 3-0, after losing to them previously. The middle blocker explained that practices usually begin with running laps around the gym, followed by blocking drills and stretching. They also work with hitting lines, and “practice whatever [they] need to work on from the last game.”

Chaney has been playing volleyball for one year, and plays nearly every position. His favorite game was played against Fallston. One goal he has for the team is to “work harder at working together”, and his personal goal is simply to improve. The captain explained that he is motivated by “[his] parents and [his] teammates.”

This is freshman Jedd Carll’s first year playing, and he would like for the team to “win the rest of [their] games, because [they] started off pretty slow.” His coach (and brother,) Jac, motivates the whole team everyday, according to Carl.

As of Oct. 11, the varsity team has three games left, including games against Aberdeen, Edgewood, and C. Milton Wright.

The JV team has two games left, including games against C. Milton Wright and Bel Air.

The varsity players celebrate after winning a point. The team won this game against Aberdeen 3-0, on Oct. 11.

PHOTO CREDIT: Emily Johnson

Boys soccer looking for back of net STELLA MANNS Sports Editor With a season record of 4-6, the boys soccer team is about to enter post-season play. Games the team has won include Aberdeen High School (5-0), North East High School (4-1), Fallston High School (3-1), and Havre De Grace High School (5-0).

Senior captain Benny Wardle’s (center midfield) favorite game of the season was Fallston, “because it’s Fallston,” and the team came out on top. He adds that if everyone “stays focused,” the team will do good. Scoring two goals in the Fallston game, junior Cole Schultz (center midfield) said it was his favorite game. Starting off “poor,” and “losing five or six games straight,” the team is “starting to pick it up now” and showing that they can “bounce back” and change their style of play, according to Schultz. He added that the team can improve on how they “talk to each other.”

“Taking responsibility” of the team is how senior captain Matthew Siedlecki (center back) sees his role. Siedlecki thinks that before the end of the season, to improve the team could “stay calm.”

Junior Jack Worden (right defense) added that this season, the team has done really well “with coming back from losses” and having “more wins.” Worden wants “to keep winning before playoffs to build” the team's confidence.

Senior Sean Babiak (right back, right wing) thinks that one thing the team could improve on is “everybody working hard together. Fellow senior Mikey Lawry (goalie, center mid) added that the team needs to work on their

The Hawks huddled on the turf at The Nest during a game. Doing this can bring teams closer together.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rachael Sims scoring aspect of the game.

Babiak added that the team has done well at “adapting” and “coming up with different ways to try to win,” because what they were doing “wasn’t working well for a while, but now” the team “is trying to fix it.”

Lawry expressed that he is happy the team is “winning games now,” considering they were “26, but now [the team] is 4-6,” so they are “getting better.”

Senior LB Salamone (right defense) said that the team could improve upon their “work rate.”

His favorite season memory is meeting sophomore Santiago Garcia, “because it is nice to have an exchange student for the team.”

Fallston was senior Tony Fuggitti’s (goalie, center back) favorite game, because the team was “able to show that they can beat” Fallston “four years in a row.”

The team has been “able to improve” getting together and bond

a lot more than at the beginning of the season “because [the team] thought the season was going to be better, and then when it wasn’t. But [the team] fixed it, and now it is good,” Fuggitti added.

The JV boys soccer team finished their season on Oct 18 with a 2-0 win against Rising Sun High School. Freshman Lucas Hale’s (striker) favorite game was against North East High School because he “had 20 minutes” of playing time in that game and “scored a goal.” The team won that game on Sept 14, 3-0. Hale added that he thinks he has “been a good teammate overall” by “helping” his teammates get back up if they are down and “cheering them on.” He went on to say that even though he “did not get a lot of minutes” when he did go on he “passed the ball and made sure to help out others.” Hale thinks the team has “really good chemistry” this season.