Vol. 10, Issue 1

THE CHARIOT

THE CHARIOT STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Laith Hermiz

PUBLICATIONS

GRAPHICS

PUBLIC

BODY COPY

Fajr Ahsan Isela Mulcahy

Alexis Benedict Maya Nagy

Dhruti Bhat Roberto Nicolas-Pina

Simar Kaur Chudda Maria Papalois

Leah Edwards Arya Shah

Michelle Fedosseev Gabriella Shaya

Sara Gonzalez Ivana Thuruthel

Shae Howard Julia Triculescu

Rahaf Kishi Ameya Vaddamani Kennedy Mills Sage Venable

COVER

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Chariot is a student-produced news publication that publishes information relevant to the times as well as material that is essential to the overall well-being of its readers.  It is The Chariot’s responsibility to cover school, city, state, national and international events and issues that affect the concerns of the campus, its students and its readers.

The Chariot operates as a designated public forum for student expression. The Editorial Board, consisting of student editors, is the sole decision-making and policy-setting body of The Chariot and has final say over all content decisions.

Opinions expressed in letters to the editors represent those of the author.  Letters to the editors should be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, signature and class or position.  Names of individuals may be withheld upon request, pending a vote of the Editorial Board. Letters may be submitted via email at troychariot@ gmail.com.  All letters are subject to review by the Editorial Board.  Letters will not be edited except to fix space limitations.  Should the Editorial Board deem a letter to be potentially libelous or containing content inappropriate for publication, it will be returned to the author with an opportunity for corrections.  The Editorial Board is solely responsible for these decisions.

The Chariot’s purpose is to be the voice of the school. Its purpose is to shed light on groups and people that are not often discussed while bringing news that is important to the community.

THE VOICE OF TROY HIGH.  WE SEE YOU. WE HEAR YOU. WE GET YOU.

When The Waters Rise

Troy High School adapts to flooding disruptions.

By: Leah Edwards // Staff Reporter, Graphic by Fajr Ahsan // Staff Reporter

When the waters rise in the Troy School District, a sense of worry washes over parents, students and staff. From the Troy High School to Hamilton Elementary, the Troy School District flooding, while often viewed as challenging and a disruption to daily school life, creates unexpected opportunities for both students and staff. In the face of such adversity, teachers and students find new ways to adapt and collaborate with students, and learn.

When flooding strikes the Troy School District, some schools are forced to adapt quickly to ensure safety of the students. For example, when Hamilton Elementary experienced flooding in the classrooms, teachers and students relocated to Troy High School classrooms, transforming the space into a temporary learning environment.

Similarly, at Troy High School, the cafeteria was flooded, requiring students to eat in other alternative spaces. Another flooding incident, this time on the main floor of Troy High School, affected the area near the lockers and flooded surrounding classrooms.

Students in Troy High School have expressed growing concern over the recurring flooding issues that have disrupted their school year. Many students are left questioning why these issues seem to be recurring and increasingly disruptive.

Senior Hannah Dorner, questions, “How do they keep letting it get that bad,” as she reflects on the flooding at both Hamilton Elementary and the cafeteria at Troy High School. Dorner also remarked, “It’s kinda crazy how often it happens,” and went on to wonder if there is something wrong with the school.

Similarly, senior Stella Galbraith voiced her concerns, stating, “it was gross, [and] doesn’t seem very sanitary,” expressing concern over the cleanliness and safety of her school environment.

While some teachers expressed concern, others saw the flooding as an opportunity for creative learning experiences. Justin Nelson, a Troy High School teacher, admitted his first reaction was worrisome, suspecting that students were involved or a structural problem with the building. However, he later recognized the unique opportunities that he could take advantage of. “If anything, it gave opportunities to do some cool kind of crossgrade level stuff with high school students on certain things,” adding that it was “pretty successful.”

Galbraith, reflected on the experience of the younger students visiting, noting how the kids were fun to be around. “I think that it was kind of annoying that we couldn’t use some parts of our school. But they had some good tea when I went to visit them.” Despite the inconveniences, she found the situation to have its bright moments.

When asked about the impact of flooding on the Troy High School, Remo Roncone, Troy High School principle explained how the school adapted to the challenges, noting that while there were some disruptions, it was manageable.

“We had to make some adjustments, and we didn’t have access to a few spaces,” Roncone shared. However, the situation wasn’t as difficult as he initially expected, thanks to the graduation of the 500 Troy High School students. “If anything, it enhanced some of our classes that were looking to partner with the elementary kids,” he said, highlighting the positive side of having 500 new elementary school students.

Regarding the flooding of the Troy High School cafeteria, Roncone provided clarity on what caused the issue and how it was quickly addressed. “A pipe had either come apart or wasn’t properly connected at some point,” he explained.

Water from the roof leaked into the cafe-

teria, pooling underneath instead of draining properly. Thankfully, the flooding was contained to the eating area, and was fixed before school started. The principal also noted that the cafeteria had been expanded approximately 12 to 13 years ago, which was when the break in the pipe likely occurred. However, he expressed that the issue is now fully corrected. Despite this, Roncone was confident that the problem had been fully resolved.

In addition to fixing immediate issues, Roncone shared how the district is taking proactive steps to prevent future flooding. For example, the replacement of Troy High Schools’ roof. “The good news is that in the summer of 2024, the entire roof of Troy High was replaced,” he explained, recognizing that older buildings, particularly those with flat roofs, are more susceptible to water damage. He continues to make an effort to reassure everyone that regular maintenance and inspections are parts of the ongoing efforts to minimize the risk of flooding in the future.

Overall, the flooding incidents in the Troy School District have caused both challenges and opportunities. On the negative side, students have expressed concerns about the impact on their school experience, with some questioning the frequency and severity of the flooding. Issues like the cafeteria flooding and the relocation of Hamilton Elementary students have caused disruptions, affecting the daily routine for many.

However, these challenges have also sparked creative problem-solving and collaboration. The relocation of younger students allowed for cross-grade interactions, and the district’s efforts to repair and maintain the schools, such as replacing the roof at Troy High School, show proactive steps toward preventing further issues. Moving forward, the district’s ability to balance these challenges with solutions will be key in maintaining a stable learning environment.

School Lunch, Supervised with Care

Troy High School kitchen supervisor describes the efforts put into the school lunches

Roberto Nicolas-Piña // Staff Reporter

From starting as a volunteer in school kitchens to being the kitchen supervisor for Troy High School, Robin Coyne proudly tries her best to make school food as enjoyable for students even with their restrictions. Coyne had started her career in school kitchen work because of all the hours of volunteer work she had to do for her kid’s high school. Throughout the 15+ years of experience, she’s been at Divine Child, Notre Dame and Brother Rice, then finally landing in Troy High School. After now being in the high school for four years, Coyne describes, “Food has gotten better and we’re getting better products than we’ve ever gotten,” no matter how much the school’s

food has improved over time, she still does her best to better the food served to the students.

When asked about what is most important to her as a supervisor, she admitted, ”I like to do my best for the kids, to make it a positive experience for them and have them enjoy their lunches and do the most that we can to make it better and make it the best we can.”

Even though the food they can serve is put under health limitations, like how salt is not allowed in the food, Coyne still tries to uphold these ideas.

Coyne even gives an example of her current efforts to make the food as enjoyable for the kids. “I’m negotiating to get us different paninis and strombolis everyday so it’s dif-

ferent.” After the idea of having the same food being served the entire week being proposed to her.

She attempts to better the food from how she relates to the students on their wants or complaints over food. “I can’t imagine eating the same food. So [I’m] very passionate about that kind of stuff.”

Even though Coyne doesn’t interact with students as much because of her hearing prob lems she still had shared a touching story about two stu dents who she had gotten close to after their parents passed. At the end of their time at Troy High School, “They came to say goodbye and that was very touching.” The two’s for mal farewell had been really

important to her because she saw how hard it was on the kids to be living without their parents and as she states, “It

her to see lunch ladies impact as she always hopes that in the future the students can look back on the food fondly for “great experience and that, that was good food and that it was hot and enjoyable” and appreciate the efforts made to make the food the best they can

Coyne looks forward to

can during her fourth year at Troy high School, which she calls “By far one of my miring the school for its friendly people both in dents that she gets

A Modern Take On An Old System

At the start of the 2024 to 2025 school year, the students at Troy Athens High School found themselves adjusting to a new hallway pass system. This new hallway pass system was quite different from what the students were used to from years prior.

The hallway system at Troy Athens High School used to be

The switch from physical hallway passes to a new digital system at Troy Athens High School.

Fajr Ahsan // Staff Reporter

the same as the one currently used at Troy High School: students were allowed to take a physical pass from their classrooms and head out into the hallway. However, at the start of the new school year, students were informed of a change to this system in their first hour classes.

Phuong Giang, a senior at Troy

Athens High School, mentioned how she “honestly thought that it was going to be a disturbance to classes.”

The high school has changed out the traditional physical hallway passes for something more modern. Students are now required to use their Troy School District iPads through an app called Securely Pass in order to leave the classroom during class time.

Securely, the parent company of Securely Pass, markets themselves as leaders in K-12 safety and wellness, providing educators with a tool to form Securely Aware to help keep track of students wellness to Securely Pass ensuring campus safety. According to the Securly website, the CEO Tammy Wincup comments that, “Securly is fiercely dedicated to developing innovative student safety and wellness solutions that help our school leaders and educators keep students safe, secure, and ready to learn.”

It’s through the Securly Pass app that students must send a digital request, which includes

their name, reason for departure from the class and the time. This request is sent to their teachers which is then approved by the teachers on their own iPads, it’s only then the students are allowed to leave the classroom to go to the bathroom. Once the request is accepted by the teacher, the Securly Pass app starts a timer to track how long the students are out until they return and the teacher ends the timer indicating that the student has returned to the classroom.

With this new system, teachers are able to more easily keep track of how long and how many times students go out of their classrooms. This prevents students from meeting up in the bathroom for a variety of activities, such as vaping, bullying and vandalism.

Students at Troy Athens High School feel conflicted about this new change, some of them, while they understand the reason behind the changes, find the new process to be inconvenient. Giang commented, “I don’t like it, it’s very annoying. Frankly I

understand somewhat why they do it, but I feel like a regular hall pass should suffice.”

Another student, Helisa He, a senior at Troy Athens High School, noted that while the new system was initially annoying, her opinion has since changed. She remarks that “It’s definitely better than before”, stating that the more complicated system disincentivizes leaving a classroom at all.

He and Giang both noticed how the implementation of Securely Pass has been effective in discouraging students from skipping classes using the hall pass as the teachers can now properly keep a timer on how long they have left the classroom.

Securely Pass provides Troy Athens High School a new digital way to ensure campus safety at the school as students adapt to these changes.

As per the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act of 2018, “any person under the age of 21” is not authorized “to possess, consume, purchase or otherwise obtain, cultivate, process, transport or sell marihuana.”

However, at Troy High School, an anonymous source referred to as Source A, estimated that “probably like 30 people a day have something on them,” not accounting for the amount of students who share the substance.

One of the most common forms of cannabis used in Troy High School, according to Source A, are “cartridges,” which are vape cartridges

High Times

An insight into the usage of cannabis among Troy High School students.

Maria Papalois // Staff Reporter, Graphic by Fajr Ahsan // Staff Reporter

filled with cannabis oil, an e-liquid of sorts. Another source, Source B, corroborated that students “use a cart.”

In the Drug and Alcohol Review, a peer-reviewed medical journal, Volume 43 Issue three, states that “E-liquids and solid cannabis concentrates commonly contain very high concentrations of THC (40–95%), often exceeding 80% THC,” which is more addictive for users.

A separate source, Source C, asserted that addiction “definitely is common” in Troy High School students.

Source A spoke on addiction in students that addicted kids “are so used to just vaping outside, vaping with

their friends, vaping in any social aspect,” which could become a habit much easier with the use of cartridges given that the concentration is so high.

Cartridges being the most common form of cannabis at Troy High School, makes sense due to their small size and release of vapor instead of smoke, making them easier for students to conceal from teachers in class.

Source A recalls that cartridges can be put “in your shoes if you’re about to be searched” which can make regulation within the school more difficult, if possession cannot be proven even with a search.

In terms of regulation and

police involvement, Source C recalls “fil[ing] a police report” on a “smoke shop that sells to minors” which explains a possible source of marijuana for Troy High students besides other Troy High students.

Source A clarifies that “people bum it” off of each other instead of selling in school.

Locations where students partake, acknowledges Source A, are mostly “in bathroom stalls and in classrooms.”

In classrooms, cartridges are easy to hide physically as previously mentioned but “high” behavior is also hidden, Source A personally remembers “us[ing] eye drops” and not talking to evade suspicion from teachers.

Speaking of teachers, Source C “think[s] teachers are pretty aware” as opposed to Safe Ed’s recent replacement, Shield.

Due to Shield being so new, “they aren’t as aware” as teachers or administration who have seniority in Troy High School. Teachers logically have the most knowledge of cannabis and general drug consumption by students as they have the most interaction with students.

Since marijuana’s effects, the ones that cause one to be “high”, consist of being relaxed and loose, the habit hardly causes class disturbances or incites teachers to report it. As Source A puts it, “it’s easier to deal with a high student than a rambunctious, angry, agitated student” and that “it mellows you.”

The effects of weed may be quite enticing to students

with difficult home lives as it was to Source A, “feeling neglected and hated” was a major contributor to the prevalence of the habit in their lives and those issues can range from “depression” to an “eating disorder.”

This makes sense, marijuana has been legal for medicinal purposes since 2008 to help with symptoms of physical ailments like cancer and human immunodeficiency virus to mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder as per the Cannabis Regulatory Agency website.

Besides physical and mental afflictions that influence students to start consuming marijuana in various forms such as cartridges, joints or edibles, the neurological makeup of a person determines their success in using it. Source A voices that “it actually depends completely on the person” and with the example of someone with extreme anxiety, marijuana “relaxes nerves” and can help immensely.

But the still developing teenage mind can be harmed by frequent usage aside from its benefits for physical and mental illness. Neurologically speaking, students should, according to the American Psychological Association, loosen “repeated exposure to marijuana” as it can “dial down cellular activity” in parts of their “immature” brains that won’t be fully developed until a few years into adulthood, past the legal threshold of 21 years old for recreational usage.

Behind The Screen: A Dangerous Haven for Cyberstalkers

A report of online stalking and how it functions within social media.

Simar

According to the Pew Research Center, 59% of teenagers report having been cyber-stalked or bullied. Cyber-stalking, which is the purposeful use of using social media or an online platform to track and harass an individual, is an often overlooked form of stalking that can leave a person feeling paranoid, unsafe and angry.

Junior Shreya Kulkarni shares her experience with social media stating, “I started getting really weird texts from random people. They had my phone number and a picture of me that I posted on instagram. They knew my name and they sent me inappropriate videos.”

Kaur Chudda // Staff Reporter, Graphics by Jiwoo Park // Graphics Editor

paranoid following these incidents. Altering their behavior, they attempt to deal with this by blocking out the perpetrators. Junior Victoria Beston shares her experience receiving threatening texts from a supposed online friend she had made, “At first, it really scared me because I was like ‘What if he shows up to my house?’ But then I realized that was ridiculous because he doesn’t know where you live. He didn’t threaten to do my house] but en me in general.”

Online stalking can manifest in many ways, some including unwanted texts, spreading of misinformation and threatening the target. No matter the extremity, victims report feeling unsafe and

Evenshe blocked the indi- vidual, however, she still felt shaken and paranoid. A person she believed was her friend had turned out to be someone completely entirely from what they claimed. Her experience made her realize that she needed to be more careful while spending time online.

Similarly, Kulkarni agrees,

An

saying, “I think that anyone who’s handling it knows the trauma that you get within the first month after.” For Kulkarni, her experience did not impact her as much in the long-term, however, it left her reeling in the first few months after.

Online stalking is different from in-person stalking as it often occurs through social media platforms and leaves more lasting evidence. Beston and Kulkarni both express how all forms of stalking are harmful, but online stalking teaches people to distrust social media and information found online.

Kulkarni adds, “It made me realize how easy it was for someone to get information about you, and you might not know that it’s people close to you or people that go to your school that might be giving out this information to other people or using it in inappropriate ways.”

Online stalking is not always taken as seriously as other forms

State of Pink

of stalking, as well, which Beston feels further isolates victims from sharing their experience. She says, “In person-stalking is more dangerous to you, but I’d say online, in some ways, is worse because everything lasts. Once they have something, you really can’t get it back and then they can hold it against you. I feel like people take in-person stalking more seriously, so it’s easier to get help from that.”

Mental health has always been a pressing issue, especially in high school. Students struggle through stress caused by pressure from academics, people and society. According to Thrive Teen, “25% of teens have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.” Additionally, “teen girls were more likely to report feelings of anxiety than teen boys.”

This is why Project Pink was founded in Texas. Nina Caradonna, the advisor of Project Pink at Troy High School, describes it as “a foundation all about bridging this gap between women and their understanding of their mental health.” The foundation carries out a simple yet fundamental mission: raising awareness, normalizing talk about mental health and helping women with mental health.

Project Pink holds passionate founders, young women who have established a helpful and impactful foundation based in Texas.

Sophomore Shohani Sahu took it in her hands to implement this as a chapter at Troy High School.

With the same mission, Sahu, the president of Project Pink, describes how she got the idea to make this a chapter at Troy High School and said, “During the summer, a girl called Isha, [the executive director at Texas,] she texted me on Instagram, and then she was like ‘it would be great if you have a Troy High chapter’. I was like ‘yeah’” Then Sahu “reached out to some of [her] friends to become board members” and created a team.

Board members anticipated jumping into this chapter at the school. “I knew that I wanted to be a part of something here at Troy High,” said sophomore Bhavisha Santhoshkumar, “So I joined, and I became secretary, and now we have club meetings every other week.”

chapter, [so] I wanted to support them in digging into the cause that mattered to them.”

Members have ardent hopes about the impact of Project Pink at Troy High School. Sophomore Nishika Kalyanasundaram, who is the vice president, commented, “I hope to reach out to many people and let them know that mental health is serious, and women’s health is also very important.”

Santhoshkumar shared similar outlooks, saying that she hopes for “making [Project Pink] an official club, to get our message or our mission across, and since we’re not the first club of this kind, since there’s other chapters in other high schools all over the nation that do it, we want to kind of connect to justify their mission and foundation.”

There is no question about all forms of stalking being harmful, however, they each can have differing implications for a victim. With online stalking, many victims believe they will not be taken seriously. This fear can drive them to keep their experience to themself and dissuade them from reaching out for help. Despite this, Beston and Kulkarni state that social media is a good resource when used in the right way. Beston expresses her opinion, saying, “I’ve had some negative experiences with social media, but I don’t think it’s inherently bad.” Social media and the internet have the ability to foster positive relations, but it is important to consider the risks that accompany them.

insight of Project Pink at Troy High School. Jiwoo Park // Graphics Editor

The club meetings are described to be a welcoming and safe place for all, taking place every other Monday in room 230. “Right now,” Santhoshkumar said, “we have about on average 20 people a meeting, and it’s mostly women, and the people that do show up have a lot of fun. We have food at almost every meeting, and we talk about mental health topics and how it affects not only women, like adult women, but also [girls] in high school.”

Given the risks, it is crucial to establish safe communities for victims to share their experiences and seek help. As resources become more attainable, victims do not have to feel isolated in these situations. In fact, Kulkarni’s parting words advise, “If you’re going through it alone, I would recommend talking to trusted friends. If you don’t have any trusted friends that you feel comfortable with, tell a teacher or counselor and have them help you walk through the steps of getting back to a normal place.”

As of this moment, individuals who partake in Project Pink in Troy High School have passionate goals for the future. Board members aim “to try bringing in psychologists and other women doctors to come and give presentations about women and mental health,” Kalyanasundaram said.

Along with members, Caradonna was thrilled to not only take part but see young women want to be in this chapter as well. She said,“I was really pleased that these young girls are passionate enough about this to start up a

Meetings currently hold presentations and workshops about topics pertaining to mental health, especially in women such as “postpartum depression or menopause, just anxiety and depression in general,” as Santhoshkumar stated.

Ultimately, these meetings attempt to not only spread awareness about the effects and importance of mental health and further destigmatize the notions surrounding it, but they create a warm and healthy community at Troy High School as well. “Doing that kind of community organizing but also opening up some safe spaces for people to feel supported in their struggles of mental health as it connects to their identity,” Caradonna said, is something she is excited to see the board members accomplish.

In the especially stress-inducing time of high school, leaders of Project Pink intend to continue to raise awareness and help high schoolers. There are serious “pressures of fitting in,” Caradonna said, “especially students that identify as women, they feel pressured to dress a certain way, to be a certain size, to act a certain way, to outwardly project and express themselves a certain way. But on top of that, there is academic pressure abound.”

For students looking for a place to stop by whether it’s to educate themselves on mental health, help advocate for the prioritization of it or “just to feel supported,” Caradonna encourages, “this is the way to do it.”

Lifted Concerns

Addressing students’ comments, questions and concerns about Troy High School’s 33 year-old elevator and its safety.

Since 1992, Troy High School’s elevator has been reasonably functional, yet some students believe it requires some attention. The school’s elevator is used every day by mostly injured or disabled students and staff. Assistant Principal Kerry Brennan claims that the elevator “is not the nicest…but it is definitely not the worst.”

The elevator’s location, next to the main staircase, has especially raised concerns among students. The area surrounding the main staircase is known for being overly congested and has led to students getting injured or pushed, often making it dangerous for students on crutches and wheelchairs to pass through.

However, students with injuries are given passes to leave their classes five minutes early to avoid the crowd. “It’s not very safe for the kids who do have injuries to use the elevator because it will just be hard for them to get their way through,” senior Sarah Naga articulates.

The times Naga had to use the elevator were “just not a fun experience” and often felt unsafe. “It was just very squeaky and wobbly,” she admits.

Brennan explains that the half-billion-dollar bond proposal that was passed in the Troy School District a few years ago, will contribute to improving the school’s amenities, potentially including the elevator.

“Currently, the plan is to look at re-building the front of our school, including the main office, vestibule and the main staircase. I will be sure to suggest that the elevator gets some love, as well!” she clarifies.

When speaking about the functionality of the elevator, Junior Benjamin Ward expresses that, “It doesn’t work and then people

Dhruti Bhat // Staff Reporter

that can’t walk up and down the stairs just aren’t even able to use it.” Ward injured himself

down and struggled to “get out of the way of traffic.”

while playing during the football season, and claimed that the elevator was often broken

Senior Kareem Rashed believes the elevator isn’t unsafe, but inconvenient, he explains, “Sometimes it didn’t open, so when it’s broken, I couldn’t go upstairs or downstairs.” Rashed recently tore his anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] and was on crutches, consequently forced to use the elevator during passing time.

Despite these conversations about the elevator circulating around the school, Brennan claims she was “unaware of students feeling unsafe in the elevator.” Brennan worked at

Oakland University, where she was paid twice a week to work as maintenance supervisor. “I have been stuck in OU’s old elevators more times than I can count, so the thought of the elevator breaking down at Troy High doesn’t bother me at all,” she compares.

Brennan informs that until any construction and improvement takes place, students should try to keep the crowds moving to the best of their ability in order to avoid a “super congested and inconvenient passing time” for their peers who have to use the elevator.

With the help of the bond money that Troy High School received to refurbish and develop the school Brennan assures an environment that is “more open, free-flowing, and fun for students and teachers.” Students can anticipate a likely upgrade in the elevator, as well, in the near future.

Promises, Paychecks and Planning Periods

How the new teacher contract is affecting extracurricular activities.

Ameya

Vaddamani // Staff Reporter

The new teacher contract, which was approved during the spring, has changed many things for both staff and students, including staff hours, pay scale and religious holidays. With staff hours changed, club operations have

followed suit. Now that the staff workday ends later, clubs have been delayed.

Scott Gibbons, who is the vice president of the teacher union, discussed the contents of the contract as a whole. While the exact details of the process are kept confidential, Gibbons stated that the process of negotiations was “long, it was arduous [and] it was difficult.”

The new contract included resolutions and revisions for many important issues. This includes changes to the length of the staff day, changes to the calendar to be more inclusive for various religious holidays, a different pay scale and new language regarding health and safety for both students

and teachers. This contract is a major change from the previous one, and while it was approved by a majority of the staff, Gibbons described this as a “transition period”, noting that the contract is new, and therefore many staff members are still getting used to some of the changes.

With the new contract, clubs can only begin from 2:33. Joseph Verhelle, the advisor of Troy High School’s literary magazine, The Mosaic, explained the later end time.

“It’s a little bit complicated, but essentially after school [teachers] meet with [their] professional learning community [comprised of their grade level teams] until 2:32, so what that means is essentially

that my club that I run cannot come and meet until that PLC time is finished at 2:32”

This new schedule has a significant impact on clubs. New clubs, specifically, are impacted significantly. Sophia Kaltsounis, the PR representative for The Mosaic, describes how the later start time impacted the club’s ability to get started. The club, which was revived from years ago, struggled to find meeting times as the club’s advisor wasn’t available until after the staff working day ended. Kaltsounis states that this was “kind of a barrier to getting us off the ground and getting started.” She also discussed struggles with club attendance, pointing out that students involved in athletics

or other clubs couldn’t attend meetings because of scheduling conflicts with their other commitments. In the future, because all the meetings are pushed to be later, the club will likely have fewer members at meetings because of the number of people with other commitments that take place later in the day.

The new contract has had many effects on the lives of students and staff alike. As more people adjust to the contract and all the changes that come with it, the effects that it has on clubs will become more normalized, changing the way extracurricular activities operate for the entire school.

On Sept. 11, Michigan lawmakers proposed a bill to the state’s Educational Committee to limit cellphone usage in schools. This piece of legislature is made to combat distractions young students are experiencing in the classroom.

House Bill 5921 of 2024 was first introduced by Michigan Representative Mark Tisdel, who made it his mission to minimize “great harm” students are experiencing long term with increased exposure to cellular devices and access to social media. The bill is not intended to ban these devices in Michigan public schools, but to restrict them during instructional time. However, according to the House Bill 5921 documents, the bill is not only restricted to just cellphones, but to any “wireless communications device,” that includes messaging capabilities, navigation, access to the internet or any sorts of entertainment. Indicating that only devices present in the classroom should be school provided, which have no issue in providing the same access to resources with little to less distractions.

If this piece of legislature were to pass it would require public school boards to set certain cellphone policies by grade: elementary students are prohibited from possessing these devices on school grounds. Middle schoolers are not allowed to have them during instructional time, breaks between classes, lunch nor during recess. And finally, high school students are prohibited from having access to them during instructional time.

Disconnected

Michigan’s proposed bill aims to “unplug” cellphones in public schools.

Bushra Mohammed // Body Copy Editor

cellphones in public school settings. Over 8 states, including California, Florida and Louisiana, have already passed and enacted statewide legislation that either banned or restricted cellphones on school grounds. Following these policies, other states like Oklahoma and Washington, have also introduced similar legislation. Demonstrating how cellphones in school settings are an issue that states country wide are trying to juggle.

How would this proposed bill impact Troy High School and student learning as a whole? Kerry Brennan, Troy High School’s Assistant Principal, ensures that students would benefit from these policies not only educationally, but also mentally. She emphasizes how research shows the negative impacts cellphone usage can have on developing children. “Thinking about having stricter phone policies at Troy High, even if it wasn’t a state law, it’s backed on research. It’s not just adults saying they want control over kids, that’s not what it is at all.” Brennan continues by saying, “During adolescence, as your brain is making neurological connections and forming memories and cementing experiences. The phone, specifically social media, has a huge role in that and can have a very negative impact.”

have on their students. Remo Roncone, Principal of Troy High School, describes the contents of this book by saying, “It [The Anxious Generation] talks about, especially in our younger kids, that earlier access to social media and texting. It really has had a negative impact on them and they don’t even realize what it is doing to them. Taking charge of that and taking it away, while it would be hard for some teenagers, ultimately it helps them.”

Overall, teachers and staff at Troy High School are on the same page when it comes to cellphone restrictions. They believe this bill will provide their students opportunities to prioritize their time and use class time for actual class work. Even if it might be a huge change from what students are used to, it will only benefit them in the long run and teach them skills of self-control. Lisa Danhoff, a health teacher at Troy High School, expressed how fully getting rid of cellphones in classrooms would increase student productivity and overall improve academic performance by minimizing distractions.

High School, is one of a few students who doesn’t bring their phone with them on school grounds. She expresses how not having access to a cell phone has increased her school productivity. “I focus more when I don’t have my cellphone since I leave it at home, but I pay attention more instead of constantly thinking of who’s texting me and etc,” said Uttaradi.

Many parents also share their concerns that taking cellphones away from their children during class time can be a safety concern. This concern has only increased as more school shootings have risen in all schools around the country. Roncone comments on parents’ concerns by arguing that students having their cellphones on them during emergencies wouldn’t benefit them and would not provide them with any sorts of important information. “Parents have gotten very used to and accustomed to a time where they could text their kid real quick. There was a time where students had no phones and we were able to get them what they needed.” He continues by saying, “But as far as safety and security, I am very well versed in all of our ALICE protocols and things of that nature. Nothing is coming to student phones that give you more or less information related to a safety measure.”

The bill on restricting or banning cellphones is only a proposed bill, so it has to go through a long process in order to be signed and put into law. First, the bill must be an idea that is drafted by a member of Congress and then has to be approved by the House and the Senate. Justine Nelson, a government teacher at Troy High School, describes this process more in depth. “The bill will go through the house and it will be referred to the appropriate committee, they will review it, sign if they want to bring it to the House floor. If they decide yes, the bill will go through the House and has to go through the Michigan Senate as well. If they can come to an agreement on a bill that comes the same from both houses then it will be up to the Governor that will ultimately decide whether or not this is something that passes in the state.”

It’s not surprising that Michigan lawmakers have only just now drafted a bill intended to produce a statewide policy on restricting

Adding onto Brennan’s claims regarding social media and the negative impact personal phones have on a student’s developing brain, the book, “The Anxious Generation,” addresses how the rise in social media use is the leading cause in the increase of mental illness shown in young children. The book also provides administrators insight on developmental and mental impacts cellphones

Even though many staff and administrators are in favor of the proposed bill, however, students have many mixed opinions regarding the potential restrictions that would be placed on them. This includes many not in favor, which is not surprising since many students have had access to their phones from a young age and can’t imagine a school day where they are not allowed to access their phones. Despite this, there are still a few students who are expressing their favor on this bill and believe it would increase productivity in school. Rithwika Uttaradi, a senior at Troy

Tisdel also comments on parents’ concerns by stating that providing students with phones during school emergencies would put children more at risk due to the noise and disturbances it causes when students try contacting their parents. He also claims that emergency responders would not want to be bombarded with multiple calls reporting on the same situation.

Although House Bill 5921 is only a proposed piece of legislation, it will take a long time in order for this bill to be approved and become an active law implemented in public schools across the state. In the meantime, the Troy School District is having talks regarding if they want to implement this rule in all schools across the district. As of right now, the four middle schools and all the elementary schools in the Troy School District have an established ban against cellphones during school hours, but nothing has been set in stone at the high school level. However, future and current high school students should expect a transition of these rules shifting into high schools as more and more research regarding cellphones are being conducted.

Let’s Talk About Sex

Exploring the realities of sex and its consequences in Troy High School.

Julia

Michigan law states that the age of consent for any sexual activity is 16, meaning that any individual under the age of 16 cannot legally consent to any form of sexual activity. When asked if high schoolers generally follow that law, Troy High School’s Resource Officer Brian Jones replied, “Absolutely not.”

Source A, one of three anonymous Troy High School students, is 17 and has had 13 penetrative sexual partners. In terms of non penetrative partners: “I don’t even know the number. I honestly wouldn’t know the number of that.” If he’s not in a relationship, it happens about once every three months. However, if he’s in a relationship at the time, it’s “a lot.” For him, most of his expe riences were through friends-with-benefits agreements, which are non-com mital rela tionships based on on-andoff sexual encounters.

ticipating. Two more anonymous sources, Sources B and C, stated that they weren’t even aware that such laws existed while they were having underage sex. Source B added that, “Even if I did know it, I still would have done it.”

Triculescu // Staff Reporter

Source C, 17, lost his virginity at 12 and became sexually active around 14. He has had 10-20 sexual partners and 20-30 non-penetrative partners. He restricts his sexual activity to relationships and has sex once a week. However, before moving to the United States, at a time in his life when he was very sexually active, he would “get f*cked up at a party and end up f*cking someone [he] didn’t know.”

As to whether having sex affects men versus women, sources agreed across the board that it’s more of a source of shame for women than men, with Source B agreeing that “Women try to hide it more. Men tend to brag about it more.”

“Idon’tthinkImade decisiontheconsciousof‘Iwantto starthavingsex,’it justkindahappened.”

Source B is also 17 and has been having sex for about a year. He has had two partners, both of them one night stands.

Source B divulged that around 30% of his daily conversations are about sex. With Source A, it depends on the person and the context, so it could range anywhere from 10-40% of daily conversations: “It just gets brought up a lot.” Despite this, no source believes there is a significant sex culture at Troy High School, nor is it a problem, just “a thing that happens in high-

school,” according to Source A. The measure of whether a school has a significant sex culture or where sex is an issue seems to be the prevalence of teenage pregnancy throughout the school. Because this issue isn’t as widespread at Troy High School, sources agreed that while they don’t think Troy High School has a prevalent sex culture, other high schools in the district, like Troy Athens High School and Troy Career Center, do.

There seems to be a small but palpable sex culture in Troy High School. Although Source A doesn’t think sex is an issue in the school, he does believe that it’s prevalent enough to be considered a culture.

Jones is unsure of the “hard, fast facts,” but, in his opinion, underage sex in Troy High School is “on par with the vaping issues throughout the school and even drinking alcohol.”

At this time, Troy High School assistant principal Dan House declined to give an interview, stating in a message, “I am not aware of a sex addiction/ sex culture at Troy High.”

Source A stated that knowing the laws surrounding underage sex did not discourage him from par-

or drug use tend to be more sexually active. Athletes were named as the most sexually active group between all sources. According to Source C, this could be a result of being “popular and [getting] attention.”

As for what can cause students to disregard the law in favor of having sex, Troy High School health teacher Lindsay Noble blames it partially on young love and the feeling that “there’s the next step [in the relationship], and in order to keep that person [she or he has] to do this for them.”

Students had a different take. Source A attributed it to an adrenaline rush, in part: “[your] dopamine level rises when they’re around you so [your] brain automatically assumes something thrilling is happening.” In his opinion, this feeling can be addictive: “You can get addicted to sex, that feeling, that rush, that connection with a person to the point where it’s nothing and it’s just something that you feel like you need when you really don’t.”

In Source B’s opinion, people’s level of extroversion determines whether they are sexually active: “The people who have personality.” Source C disagrees, although he thinks the question isn’t easy to answer, adding that “quiet kids [will] turn out really freaky.” Source A believes that race and culture are dividing factors, with Caucasians and African Americans as “way more” sexually active than Asians which, in his opinion, is a result of stricter parenting and cultural values. He added that those who are balanced across certain hobbies like listening to music, going out

Source A also acknowledged that most relationships at Troy High School have sex as a component.

All sources answered with varying levels of uncertainty, regarding the question as near-impossible to answer. There is no one factor or combination of them that definitively denotes whether an individual is sexually active or not. As Source C put it, “Everyone’s freaky, I don’t know what to tell you.” Why do teenagers have sex? Apart from the obvious hormonal component, Noble believes that “it’s that mentality of ‘it’s not gonna happen to me’ right like ‘I’m not gonna get pregnant, I’m not gonna get an STD.’” This immortality complex, coupled with the social pressure she says students face to fit in is what primarily drives their actions.

Source A believes that home life and childhood are the main components, stating that those who are sexually active are “attracted to what [they] never had.” He notices that this factor is exemplified through the student body’s cultural makeup, as well.

Source A recalls what influenced him to lose his virginity: “I was at a party and a really hot girl was like ‘hey, let’s go back to my room’ and I was like ‘sh*t, ok.’” He was 13. Source A divulged that certain adult influences during his childhood led him to follow the “f*ck it, I’m gonna f*ck” mentality, something he deeply regrets, along

with how young he began and a few of his partners.

Source C considers losing his virginity, at 12, to be rape. He became sexually active around 14 or 15: “I don’t think I made the conscious de cision of ‘I want to start having sex,’ it just kin da happened.”

Although, cur rently, Source C only has sex when in a rela tionship, when he was more sexually active than he is right now, the discernment between having sex or not “took being sedated and for the girl not to look horrible.”

the Internet, once it’s out there, it is out there for everybody to see,” something

“Everyone’s freaky, I don’t know what to tell you.”

According to Jones, underage individuals who partake in producing child sexually abusive material (CSAM) face a possible 20-year felony. Asking an underage boyfriend or girlfriend for such material is considered a felony and can incur a 20-year sentence. Additionally, distributing CSAM is a 7-year felony while merely pos sessing it is a 4-year felony.

When asked if he had ever sent or received pornograph ic material, or what would be considered CSAM, Source A admitted to both counts, the reason be ing “validation. Honestly, you just want validation of ‘I look good and damn this girl looks so good that she’s willing to put herself in such a vulnerable position.’”

ing that “If you think you’re mature enough and mentally capable of being sexually active, then you need to be able to talk about partners you’ve had, you need to get tested [for STDs], [and] you need to learn how to properly, if you’re not ready for a kid, prevent that.”

that Health 1 is mainly taken by freshmen who, in her opinion, have a lower level of maturity and “they’re not taking it as seriously.”

the only meaningful thing can affect mental health, “guilt-wise, feeling-wise.”

ity when material is leaked. Regarding its effects, Jones discourages students from participating, stating that “It has a pretty terrible effect on those involved. There’s a lot of trauma that comes along with it.”

“It kinda ruined some relationships for me cause all it was was two hypersexual people doing nothing but having sex.”

In regards to pornographic material, Jones warns students that “with

Underage sex doesn’t incur just legal implications, however. Noble cites sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as one of the most detrimental consequences derage sex: “If you’re protecting yourself against [pregnancy], great, but the real worry should be STDs and I don’t think that that has hit yet because a lot of times [students] don’t know they have one until 20 years down the road when they have ovarian cancer, or rectal cancer, or they can’t get pregnant from an STD they had when they were 16.” Noble concluded recommend-

Source A agreed that getting tested for STDs is important, stating his reasons as “just to play safe because STDs can lay dormant before they actually fully show.” He expounded on the deeper effects of getting tested, affirming that he would not want to “pass anything on” to someone he is in a relationship with. Sex education seems to have a differing impact on students. According to Noble, the Health 1 curriculum is abstinence-based, meaning that refraining from participating in indulgent activities, like drugs and sex, is encouraged throughout the class. When asked if taking Health helped discourage him from being sexually active, Source A referenced a middle school health class that was abstinence based and promoted waiting until marriage, “which confused [him] because that’s more of a religious topic.” He went on to say that the class made it seem like no matter what contraceptives or preventative measures were used, sexual consequences like STDs and pregnancy were inevitable, something that he believes “really discouraged a lot of people that [he knows] from ever even thinking about it.”

Regarding whether Health 1 actually discourages students from being sexually active, Noble comments, “I hope so, I think so.” She thinks that one of the main disadvantages is

According to the MiPHY survey, which Troy High School students take in ninth and eleventh grades, Oakland County is seeing a recent decline in highschool STD cases.

Noble believes that a possible improvement would be to offer Health 2 to upperclassmen, where certain topics can be delved into deeper. She thinks that “if it’s ingrained, maybe sophomore, junior year, yes, you’re gonna miss some kids who have already experimented, but you could go into further detail. You get that different level of maturity.”

Being sexually active can incur invisible consequences, as well. Noble emphasized that one’s future relationships can be detri mentally affected by under age sex. The release of the oxytocin hormone during sex, specifically with the first person it’s done with, leads to a unique bio chemical imprint with that person: “If you have sexual relationships with someone and that is the first person you’re having this experience with, you’re automatically in a unique way, attached to them, different than any other person you’ll experience that with.”

He also mentioned that academic performance can be negatively affected, since “you’ll put the school off because for something that feels really good, you’re gonna f*cking put off the sh*t that’s not gonna be really good.”

Source C revealed the more detrimental effects of early sexual activity, explaining that after losing his virginity at 12, sex was a lot of what he was thinking about: “[It] probably f*cked up my initial mental development cause I wanted to have sex all the time.”

pants“Keepyour on,oratleasttryto.”

In Source A’s opinion, although sex is essential to having a relationship, he agrees that it can also destroy one: “It kinda ruined some relationships for me cause all it was was two hypersexual people doing nothing but having sex inside of a relationship.” He expounded by explaining that a relationship in which sex is

Source C doesn’t believe sex is a major part of his life anymore. He doesn’t talk about it excessively throughout the day, except for the occasional mention to his girlfriend, stating, “it’s not invading my life, it’s not making me go crazy.” As for their fi- nal remarks, a range of advice was given. Jones implores students to “save [themselves] the heartache, the headache, the mental anguish and don’t participate, whatever it is.”

Source A advises to “be safe. Be confident in who you’re doing it with for your first time, make sure it’s a comfortable experience.”

Noble’s parting words to students are: “Keep your pants on, or at least try to.”

Bridging Dreams and Achievements

The new advisors of the National Honor Society. Rahaf Kishi // Staff Reporter

The National Honor Society has grown into a bigger organization, inviting new recruits for the many available positions. This year at Troy High School, there are two new advisors who committed to this organization.

For many years, the National Honor Society has been an ongo ing and successful organization, hosted by many schools. One of them being Troy High School. The purpose of this organization is to pro vide community service to those who want to help out and to those who need it. Some services include tutoring and conces sions. In order for someone to take part in this organi zation, new advisor Lisa

Kline says, “getting into this, into the organization has like a lot of different criteria that depends on service, but the other things like your character, your leadership and your grade point.”

What makes this position so interesting is getting to see and work with over 500 students. Kline

Marissa Drake says, “I also was a National Honor Society when I was a student in high school and I just think it’s a really important organization and I think it’s something that values a lot in terms of character and leadership, and I think that’s something I care about”, implying that the National Honor Society can have a good im-

There were also some challenges that came along to when being the advisor of the organization. According to ex-advisor Ryan Werenka, who had worked for two years and says one of the main hardships he faced was “doing a lot of advisory work” and “I do work with the National Constitution Center,” along with many other duties he has, so therefore he couldn’t fit being the advisor into his sched-

Alongside the challenges that came with the position, there were many highlights throughout the years advisors worked in. Werenka says, “Highlights were again getting to work with some really great students and seeing all the cool community service opportunities that students could participate in.”

The president of the National Honor Society has many future plans and current plans as well. Ella McCallister president of the Nation Honor Society states, “Well right now we’re planning the induction ceremony which is like a pretty big undertaking just because there’s lots of things to organize and there’s a lot of information that we have to share with the new inductees this year, so we’re just kind of focusing in getting people like starting to volunteer and things like that.” The induction ceremony consists of speeches from the school administrators, formal in-

New Year, New Deer

A closer look at the mystery of a new deer head at Troy High School.

Sara Gonzalez // Staff Reporter

Imagine being a member of the controversial student section of Troy High School, the TC Line. You are cheering the girls playing soccer against Seaholm High School, you are cheering so passionately and enthusiastically because your school is winning an away game. But, all of a sudden you decide to check next to you. She is gone. Yes, this is another story of Canela or, more recently, her sister Canela 2.0.

Canela is the unofficial mascot of the TC Line. For those who don’t know, Canela consists of a very old taxidermy deer head with a lot of history and years behind it, used at Troy High School games to “bring the spirit up” as the TC Line members stated.

This tradition actually started in 2003, the TC Line was united in one of their members’ houses and found this particular deer head that their parents threw away because it was old and dirty. The TC Line decided to keep it and take it to one of the school games to annoy and poke people with the antlers, which led to the athletic director at the time cutting the antlers off. From then, this deer head became a unique tradition at each of the

Troy High School games. But this year something was different, the TC Line’s dear Canela was stolen and easily replaced for our brand new Canela 2.0.

Senior Leo Penoza, head of the TC Line, guided us through this mystery. When asked who would have committed this, he stated that students from Troy Athens High School did it at the girls soccer game in Seaholm High School. “They took it from the bleachers when our guys weren’t looking and threw it over the fence to their other friends” he stated. “They came to Seaholm when the girls soccer team wasn’t playing Athens, just at a random game.” Penoza added. Later on, seniors Selma Mawazini and Maya Saad, members of the TC Line confirmed it.

Trying to find and see the other perspective of this mystery, the student from Troy Athens High School, who stole Canela was contacted, but we did not get any sources or information from them.

Canela’s location has been a hot topic in the school. From cars to garages, she has been in a lot of different places. According to our previous articles about her, the paper had received information that

the old Canela was for a certain time at the police station after Troy Athens High School students stole her. Currently, it is believed that she is at the Troy School District’s Central Office. We tried to reach out for further information, but nothing was confirmed.

While the original Canela is traveling around the city of Troy. Canela 2.0, her sister, was involved in a lot of conversations to define a place for her to be because of safe ty concerns. ¨How she is stored is a big talking point, whether she is kept with the district or with the TC Line,¨ Justin Nelson, govern ment teacher at Troy High School, declared. When asked for more in formation, he added that, ¨From the district’s perspective, I think they initially wanted Canela to be housed in the school. So like they only for the games outside of any game event they wouldn’t have access to Canela, but that is not the agree ment that was even tually reached.¨ We asked Remo Ron cone, principal of

ductees and officers showing that there is indeed lots to prepare for before the ceremony begins.

When asked what are some pros and cons to being the president of the National Honor Society, McCallister said that some pros are “working with the people that I work with. I know the people on the board, so it’s really fun to like work with them cause I’m like friends with them and then I also really like working with the advisors.”

On the other hand, Mcallister said that some cons are that “it is just kind of a lot to organize, it can be a little bit difficult at times, but I mean we’re all working together so like I’m having a good time.”

McCallister says, “I enjoy it. It’s fun to like you know, get everything together”

Troy High School, to share with us his thoughts about the impacts of this mascot. ¨I think the TC Line uses it to get kids energized or excited. Can they do the same without Canela? Well the answer is yes, and especially with the restrictions at away games things of that nature where Canela does not travel to and I think the student energy can be just as high,¨ he expressed, and when asked if there were negative

and for some others can be scary, but as Roncone stated, Canela is currently ¨adding to the school spirit and thinks there’s a benefit behind her, but there’s also a fine line that could be crossed to make it negative thing again.¨ There’s been times where the TC Line, as Roncone quoted, ¨has really pushed the envelope or line with it¨ referring to conversations about banning this mascot. Later on, he explained that, ¨Before the school year starts, set those boundaries as to what is and is not appropriate and when it crosses that line we intervene.”

After this deer-vious mystery was solved to the best of The Chariot’s ability, the administration of Troy High School is actively finding more ways to keep this new replacement of Canela safe and Troy Athens High School cooties free. Now, the TC Line is taking matters into their own hands to be more careful and alert, just in case there aren’t more hawks around to steal our dear

Photo by Shae Howard.

Removing the ‘Art’ From ‘Smart’

Troy High School’s art program shrinks to a smaller size than ever. Shae Howard // Staff Reporter, Graphics by Sage Venable // Staff Reporter

bow recalls fondly, ”As a musician it was really helpful to me.”

Though she didn’t get a chance to take the class, senior Josie Lido was looking forward to being enrolled in it this year. “[The class] would be very helpful for me to further my musical knowledge besides just the generic music classes that are offered to everyone.” Though Lido is currently taking a psychology

For years, Troy High School has had a wide range of fine arts classes to offer to students. However, for the 2024-25 school year, more than five classes were eliminated from the curriculum, and still more were combined into one all-level class. The reasoning behind this decision is not clear, but the majority of arts-involved students and teachers share an opinion on this matter: these courses should not have been removed.

Jacob Greenwood, Associate Director of Bands, who until this year taught Advanced Placement Music Theory, understands why his class was cut. “Administration had deemed a minimum of 20 students in order to run a class,” he says. “We had 12 students sign up for it.” Although he knows the reasoning, many of his past students don’t agree with the school’s decision.

Two previous students from Advanced Placement Music Theory, senior Cait lyn Jarbow and junior Cal vin Price, agree that the class was both fun and helped them greatly.

“It was my favorite class,” Price reflects.

“It was really fun,” Jar

course, she feels she would have benefited the same amount, if not more, from taking Advanced Placement Music Theory. Thankfully, the class is likely to come back next year as a non-Advanced-Placement course, but for seniors such as Lido,

teaches more English classes and less electives than ever before. He says that although the reason shared with him was the same as Greenwood’s, his English elective has less students and is still being taught.

On the subject of his combined Theater class, he explains, “I have students who have no background at I’ve got very en freshmen, and then I’ve got students who have won the Sutton Foster Award, and are going to pursue this be yond high school.”

One such freshman is Gabriella Richard, who took the class to expand her acting knowledge. She said that Vickers had already taught her a lot, and she preferred her cur rent experience to being in a separated class. “It’s very cool to have the experienc es with the juniors and the seniors who’ve been here a while,” she says, referring to her classmates who would have otherwise been in Theater II or III. In addition to learning from Vickers, freshmen like Richard are

day after her first two hours

in this building, I used to be full time and suddenly I’m down to four classes.” It’s commonly known throughout Troy High School that at the end of the 2023-24 school year, the teachers’ contract expired, and a majority of them started pick-

personal skills have created the perfect recipe for me to be able to serve the community through another very important aspect,” she explains, saying that as she works towards getting her law degree, she is realizing more than ever that her art education has helped her to improve more than just her artistic abilities. She says that what she learned has commuand she transfer that knowledge into her law school classes. She believes that the classes she has taught hold educational value, and hopes to have more students interested in not only art, but the interpersonal skills that will grow with it. Vickers, too, mentions that he knows that theater teaches not only students’ acting abilities. The elective is known for being helpful for developing communication and quick thinking skills, and Advanced Placement Music Theory speaks for itself, helping students not only

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Everything is Romantic” by Charli xcx- To properly review this song, I had to put it on in my car with the volume blasting and my windows down. Brat summer may be over, but we will remember it fondly. This ‘club classic’ makes me appreciate everything more. Driving at night with your friends in the car, with the windows down, even driving to the grocery store.

Troy High, I wish you’d ‘Talk Talk’ more about Charli xcx’s best song. 10/10

“Noid” by Tyler the Creator- What is this supposed to be? What are the foreign vocals? Who is the rock influence supposed to be for? The only

Laith Listens

The Chariot’s Editor-in-Chief rates your favorite music

Laith Hermiz // Editor-in-Chief

part of this that feels like Tyler is when he’s doing his corny edgy rapping. The beat sounds as if Geezer Butler, Central Cee and Marvin Gaye walked into a bar and made the worst amalgamation of their songs possible. The only part I like is that Tyler’s rapping is actually, in fact, original. It’s not good, but it is unique. 1.75/10

“APT.” by Bruno Mars and ROSE- As far as pop music goes, this is very good. I love the nonchalant vocals used up until the chorus. This song is definitely basic, don’t get me wrong, but out of all music that’s in this genre, this is the best. It’s uplifting and refreshing, which is all I ask music to be. 7.5/10

“Dawn Sets Upon Us” by Weezer- This is the quintessential Rivers Cuomo love song. It is all about yearning. His yearning reflects in the chord progression [V vi IV], never landing on the one. By not resolving the chord progression,

he leaves the listener desiring the resolution. And the guitar solo exemplifies exactly what Cuomo does best. The solo has fun with a topic that to Cuomo, is very serious and hurtful. This song shows just what Weezer is made of. Keep it Weezy Troy High. 10/10

“Ganz kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart- Beethoven clears this fraud. Next. 2/10

“Tears Don’t Fall” by Bullet for my Valentine- Sometimes you need a song that always lands. This is that song for me. This is my go to song in the gym, the car or while I’m studying. It’s intense, and

has a screamo vocal that can’t be ignored, it forces you to feel uplifted. This song is capable of pushing me to do something. To keep pushing, keep typing, keep going on. But hon estly, the guitar solo is super annoying. It’s distracting enough to have caused me to drop weights. If this song knew when to shut up, I’d like it even more. 7/10

“Crystal Mountain” by Death- This is the perfect metal song. It does not, can not get better. There are troughs to make the peaks seem higher, and perfect playing throughout. And the best part is that the song is simple. It reminds me of Bach in that it does so much with so little. Then there is buildup to the solo, the riff from the intro comes back and the song loops on forever. Chuck Shuldiner, this is your magnum opus. 10/10

“Please Please Please” by

Sabrina Carpenter- I actually like the verse a little bit. It’s chill and Sabrina Carpenter is a good singer. But the chorus is so overdone. This overproduced vision led to something that can be explained by the term “corporate music.” The clean version of this song was made to be played in grocery stores across America. This song is the future Kroger anthem. 5/10, one extra point because I got to look at Sabrina Carpenter on the album cover.

Images courtesy of Spotify.

Smile 2: Is it Really Something to Smile About?

A review of the new hit horror Smile 2. Sage Venable // Staff Reporter

“Smile 2,” released on October 18, was one of the biggest anticipated releases, just in time for the Halloween season. I liked the first movie’s themes and plot, which made me more excited when I heard the sequel would be released this year. “Smile 2” had a much bigger budget, over $11 million more than the first movie, which kept my expectations high.

Similar to the first movie, “Smile 2” is centered around disorienting the viewer. It starts where the last movie left off, the ex boyfriend of the previous victim, Joel, tries to pass along the curse without killing himself in the process. He succeeds in passing it along, but ultimately dies quickly afterwards. The chain continues until it gets to our main character, the pop star Skye Riley, played by Naomi Scott. We watch as Skye’s sanity spirals as the curse takes a hold of her, causing

her vivid auditory and visual hallucinations over the next few days. In the end, no matter how much she tries, she can’t beat the curse and ends up taking her own life in front of an audience of fans on a concert stage, passing the curse to thousands.

Opinions and reviews of “Smile 2” are mixed, some having said the cinematography and story have outdone its predecessor, while others say it’s nothing but gore and scares with little plot or franchise expansion. Though I agree with both sides, my review leans towards the more negative side. Though I found the movie enjoyable, I do have some critiques. The movie itself was beautiful, its lighting, perspective shots and sound design really made the film eerie and incredibly disorienting. The one area lacking, however, was the plot. My expectations were set in a similar

style to the first movie, where the curse would be passed onto the last character to inherit it, Joel, and we would follow his story as he navigates the curse. Instead, “Smile 2” skipped that plot line in favor of killing off Joel in the beginning with an action sequence.

There were a lot more jump scares in this movie, happening every couple minutes or so. It was a far cry from the first movie, where they relied on cheap and reused scares instead of suspense building or giving the main character a personality that we can sympathize with so it ends up being more scary when something does happen. It made me both love and hate the movie all at once. The jump scares were played out well, and really showed the progress and effort put into this movie, but I think they were overused and got predictable towards the end. The first mov-

ie contrasted with this greatly. Though one of the jump scares was spoiled in the trailer, they were well done and spaced out. The ending sequence of that movie relied a lot on body horror and a feeling of helplessness, which I did feel in the second movie but it wasn’t as powerful.

Like many other sequel movies, this one falls short for me. Even with the increase in budget, I feel like fans, including myself, were looking for something different. Overall I would rate “Smile 2” a three out of five. I didn’t like it as much as the first movie, but the scares and the visuals were better than the first, and artistry is half of what makes a good movie. I would like to see if a third movie does come out, and if it does, hopefully it goes back to its roots and explores more of the story.

Image courtesy of Smile.Movie

Assigned Atrocities

A review on the English literature curriculum. Michelle Fedosseev // Staff Reporter

“Lord of the Flies” -William Golding Firstly, I feel like they at least should’ve given the poor kids a starter pack. I mean, in every dead end icebreaker that goes something like “what three things would you bring with you on a deserted island,” you usually aren’t too worried about your whole “alone on an island” situation due to your infinite supply of food, water and Wi-Fi. I feel like the whole plot of this story could’ve been prevented if they were able to bring some gadgets with them, as the situation they are put in is just as ridiculous as the icebreaker. Either way, I tried so hard to put myself in the character’s shoes, but for some reason my visions never led me to a jungle face to face with an evil fly swarmed pig head. William Golding definitely described himself as artsy and mysterious. I don’t even know how he was able to keep track of all his own symbols because personally, I didn’t enjoy reading between his lines to figure out that the fire on the mountain represented hope and savagery. He could’ve just said that. It would’ve saved me hours of my life and numerous terrible test scores.

4/10

AP Lang Textbook -McDougal Littell

Sometimes as I read this textbook, the words start to melt together until all I can see is “philosophy, ro mantic, analyze, rhetoric, philosophy analyze.” Hon estly, I feel like this book lacks depth and the plot is extremely hard to follow. They keep introducing ran dom characters like Henry David Thoreau. Actually, there are way too many people named David in this book. They could’ve at least chosen a less generic name if they didn’t wanna put in the effort to find new characters. It’s been a couple of months since I dug into this book and I’m on track to finish reading by 2030.

2.5/10

“Romeo and Juliet” -William Shakespeare

This story is a staple in the English curriculum. However, it probably should’ve been taken out at least 30 years ago. While “Romeo and Juliet” shares some sincere lessons about love, trying to decipher Shakespeare’s word choices will take longer than the amount of time those lessons will stay really with you. Reading this story is kind of like watching a horror movie. You are stuck watching all the ridiculous deci-

sions made by the characters that lead them closer to their death, and yelling at the screen to turn around or to stop screaming and the characters just keep moving forward in oblivion. Shakespeare however, did a great job painting Romeo as someone that would definitely be insufferable to talk to in real life. Sure he can be a cutesy lover boy, but I know the second he’s faced with a situation that doesn’t involve him getting some play, he would be a deer in headlights.

No Phones, No Problem

High school teacher implements an Amish classroom to protest technology. Arya Shah // Staff Reporter

Fed up with technology rotting his students’ minds, a local high school teacher turns to an innova tive solution: Amish culture.

“This is the laziest, most useless genera tion I’ve ever seen in my 27 years of living,” says Joseph Verhelle.

On Oct. 3, 2024, Ver helle was navigating through an or dinary day until a student refused to give up his cellphone. The overworked teacher grabbed the phone and tossed it across the room simul taneously shat tering the stu dent’s device and the newly installed school Smart Board.

“I was elat ed. Nothing was comparable to the high of destroy ing a lifetime’s

worth of happiness through a seven ounce device,” said Verhelle.

The following Friday, students were welcomed to an empty classroom. Verhelle had arrived 33 minutes late to class in frustration of being pulled over by the cops for his horse and buggy. Once the officers were informed of the teacher’s pursuit, he was let off with a warning and a generous gift of a haystack before he continued his journey to school.

The next week, Verhelle implemented an entirely new code of conduct including the following:

I. Adhere to the following dress code:

A. Men must wear solid colored shirts, broadbrimmed hats and uniform plain pants.

1. Mandatory beards to maintain a manly reputation

B. Women must wear calf-length dresses, bonnets and aprons in muted colors.

1. Mandatory frown to maintain depression.

II. Advanced technology including but not limited to the following items are banned:

A. Cell phones, laptops, IPads, smartwatches

B. Purified water, advanced

English

C. Solitude

D. Sanity

III. Failure to comply to the rules above will result in one or more of the following:

A. A shunning for the remaining duration of the school year

B. Public humiliation in the form of:

1. Shaving of the beard (stripping away masculinity)

2. Time-out in the corner of the classroom with a dunce cap

3. Churning butter for 72 consecutive hours and then consuming it for an additional 72 consecutive hours

C. Other means deemed appropriate for the circumstance

However, Verhelle failed to consider the implications of Rule III. Weeks into the new Amish classroom and the young teacher still could not grow a beard even though his teenage male students managed to do so in a matter of days. This, in fact, had been the only violation at the time. Students found it difficult to implement a punishment since there was no masculinity beard to remove. In addition to shunning him for the following week, they forced the teacher to contemplate his sinful behaviors by confront-

ing the devil himself: the SmartBoard.

After days of staring straight into the unholy screen, Verhelle was blinded. Over the last month, Verhelle’s revolutionary new style of teaching has proved successful. Students have learned how to churn butter, sew their own clothes, broaden their definition of masculinity beyond facial hair and that technology is the nefarious Beelzebub. Students have become so immersed in the Amish culture that they just stopped attending the school altogether. State testing scores have never been higher.

“I think I might try this again next year. But instead of worshiping hard work, I’ll make them worship me. And instead of collective labor to benefit the class, I’ll make them do mundane tasks that benefit me. Yeah, and instead of humiliation we’ll have sacrifices for punishments. Screw the damn phones, who needs technology when we can have cults instead? I like this trying new cultures thing.”

***For legal purposes, our adviser wants us to clarify that this article is satire. No real students were harmed in the making of this phone policy.

“It’s Another Level”

An examination of underage gambling at Troy High School.

Laith Hermiz // Editor-in-Chief, Graphic by Fajr Ashan // Staff Reporter

When asked what makes sports gambling exciting, an anonymous Troy High School student who will be referred to as source A said, “If Jameson Williams is going to score and you’re going to win 1000 dollars, it’s another level.”

Source A has been gambling for two years, using his mom’s credit card to set up an account on the betting app FanDuel. When asked how he heard about the app, he said, “I saw a lot of ads on TikTok and thought, why not?”

In 2019, the lawful sports betting act was passed

which allowed people to start betting on professional sports. However, the legal gambling age in Michigan was unchanged, and is still 18 today. When this happened, apps like DraftKings and Fanduel opened to the public.

When asked about mobile apps similarities to gambling, Keellia Guevara, a Gambling Prevention Specialist, said on KMTV Omaha “‘“That very, very clearly mirrors that same response that’s going on in a gambler’s mind when they’re at a slot machine. It’s that I want to keep playing be-

cause maybe the next button, maybe the next play, maybe the next bet, maybe the next card is going to be the one that wins.,’””

When asked about what betting habits he currently has, Source A said he now just bets on football and will “only put ten dollars in every week.” However, Source A’s tendency to bet low amounts of money wasn’t always the case, as he used to make a lot of these small bets.

Source A said that to get even, he bet low amounts on a variety of non-mainstream sports. He said he

“was even putting money on Valorant and Overwatch.”

When asked why people begin to bet on more obscure sports, Source A said, “I think those crazy betting things are a testament to show how far people will go to gamble.”

Another anonymous Troy High School student we will refer to as Source B reveals that before he started doing sports gambling that he’d “never watched a women’s golf game in my life, and look at me now,”, showing how far he’d been willing to go to bet. He even went on to admit that he “bet on basement fighting once, my friends go in the basement and yeah.” Source B refused to elaborate on the basement fighting he bets on.

When asked if he thinks he is addicted to sports gambling, Source A made it clear that he is not, stating, “No, I could stop if I need to, but I don’t.”

When asked if he thinks sports gambling is problematic, he responded, “I think that any addiction can lead to problems down the road, and some people are really addicted.”

When asked if he would realistically be able to quit, Source B said, “No, probably not.” However, he stated that he could quit if there was a gun to his mother’s head.

The amount of money he spends on sports betting is “about 400 dollars a month” and he will “usually break even.”

When asked again why he bets, Source B said, “It’s

fun bro, it’s like a high.” Continuing to say that, “We all have a gambling problem inside of us, we just gotta find it.”

In terms of how companies have learned to unlock that problem in minors, specifically boys, the book, “The Anxious Generation,” has stated that, “Games also instituted pay-to-progress options- business decisions that tapped players’ wallets directly- and got kids hooked.” The book even went on to state that, “In the early 2010’s, adolescents with smartphones became available to companies at every waking moment.”

Source B, when asked if there was a culture around gambling with people he knows, he said, “Yyeah, we have a group chat and they say bet on this one, bet on that one.”

According to The National Collegiate Athletics Association, 58% of 18-22 year olds had placed at least one wager in 2023. Source A agreed that the nationwide legalization of gambling nearly six years ago has affected Troy, going on to say “betting apps made it easier for me to do it, and I’m not alone.”

In terms of the effects that social media has on promoting gambling, Source A admitted that, “I don’t think I would’ve started as young as I did if I didn’t see so many people pushing it.”

Chasing Glory

Capturing determination, hard work and unity through Troy High School’s remarkable men’s soccer team on their journey to the regional semifinals.

On the evening of Oct. 22, 2024, hearts were broken and tears were shed. After Troy High School’s boys varsity soccer team’s loss in the Regional Semifinals against Adams High School, players, parents and coaches were shocked and set back by the defeat. The scoreboard portraying two and one in Adams favor, hadn’t mimicked the season Troy High School had been playing prior to this match. Considering that the Troy Colt’s had only lost two games during their 2024 season; Grand Blanc High School and once again Adams, the outcome of the match occurred unexpectedly. Adam Spinks, Troy High School’s head varsity men’s soccer coach disclosed, “Soccer is a brutal sport; you can be the best team in the state and one bounce goes against you into the goal and you lose. I think if we played the same game again, we would get a different result.”

Freshman player Tyler Hayslett deciphered, “It’s soccer, anything can happen. You win some, you lose some. We got a little unlucky with who we played, the referees and just what happened during the game. I think we really deserved to win that game. There were a couple fouls that shouldn’t have been called that lead to better chances for them. Soccer is just like life, stuff happens.” As Hayslett defined, one bad

game doesn’t display a team’s true ability.

The journey towards regionals wasn’t effortless. When asked to recount the team’s training in preparation for the season, Spinks answered, “The boys worked really hard in the off season doing gym work, fitness and soccer training.”

In agreement, multiple captains on the team can confirm the high levels of intensity in practice, but throughout the course of the season instead of prior to; Resulting in several victories. Senior Captain Nahuel Larroquette notes, “They’re very intense. We normally watch the other teams to see how they’re gonna play, and we develop a strategy based upon how they are gonna play.” Studying game film ahead of time has shown to be a common tactic in the boy’s “pre-game” routines.

Additionally, Senior Captain Clay Cusmano adds, “They were pretty intense. We worked pretty hard in practice, that’s how you get to be one of the best teams.”

In fact, Troy High School was the best. Before the district’s tournament, each high school plays their normal season against opponents in their division. Troy High School standing gloriously as a Division One team, consistently hovering near the top of their bracket.

Gabby Shaya // Staff Reporter

Moreover, Spinks proudly states, “Winning us the OAA Red league which is considered the best league in Michigan and gained the number one seed in our district.” As a result, the Colt’s finished with a total of three trophies and District Champions of the Oakland Activities Association Red League also known as OAA. The Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association or MIHSSCA, created a list of the top 15 teams for each division several times during the fall season. Troy High School concluded in the top three leading boy’s soccer team’s in the state of Michigan for Division One soccer. Not just once, but several weeks in a row.

Without any hesitation, captains Senior Johnny Worrell, Cusmano and Senior starter Santiago Coronado admit to the bond of the team portrayed as unbreakable and unmatchable. Worrell confidently claims, “We’re one big family. We play as a team and as a family, we’ve had a lot of success like that.”

Cusmano showed his passion towards the game and friendship built between his teammates when he explained, “We have a strong bond. Everyone’s friends, the group chat is going nonstop all day, everyday. You wanna play for the people who are around you, and you play harder for the people when you like them.”

Santiago Coronado, a starting defender on the team also outlined his version of the team’s relationship, “Everyone that plays has a great passion for the game. We’re all friends, we’re not just teammates.”

Switching back to the day of Regional Semifinals, Coronado had also summarized moments of the match, “Towards the end of the game, everyone gets tired. Mistakes happen, you can’t control everything.” In a nutshell, no matter how much one dwells on the cons pulling the team down from winning, the outcome cannot change. But the mindset prioritized afterwards and how someone moves on from the loss is crucial.

Worrell proposed, “I try to enjoy it as much as I can. You never know when it’s your last game. It was a really good game but unfortunately we couldn’t win. On any other day, we come out up top.”

As of October 2024, the Varsity Men’s Soccer team was titled “Team of the Month” by the Sports Marketing course at Troy High School. The real question many might ask may be if they’d advance farther next year. However, Cusmano immediately replied, “They definitely will. They’re gonna lose a lot of key players this year but I think they have what it takes to step up.”

The boys have demonstrated their true potential and hard work, many have no choice but to expect another season of victories next year for Troy High School and even more.

Falling Into Captainship

An overview on senior captains in the fall athletic season. Mehereen Kaur // Business Editor & Public Relations Editor

As the fall sports season comes to an end, sports captains for sailing, cheer, tennis and cross country share their experiences of captainship this 2024 sports season.

Sailing

Senior Lucia Sharp, one of the captains of the Troy United Sailing Team, has been playing the sport since her sophomore year. When Sharp was awarded with captainship she felt proud, not only for herself, but for the entire team. Sharp joined the club because “all my friends did it and it was cool, like ‘What sport do you do?’ Like I sail boats.”

On her own time, Sharp bought a boat and would sail it out of her normal practice. When asked about what kept her going all these years, Sharp replied, “It was cool. It was fun. I complain, but I’m hav

Cheer

Senior Samantha Danis, co-captain of the cheer team, has been doing cheer for 12 years and all throughout high school.

“I was really happy because I’ve been working hard for it the past four years.

I feel like my leadership skills are really good with it.” Danis states about her feelings when given captainship. Danis shared that “I’ve been in it so long. I really wanted to improve and be better all the time.” What kept Danis going were “my teammates, my friends and my coaches, they all were there for me.”

Her happiest memory from the cheer

Tennis

Senior Dhruv Gupta, first year captain of the Tennis team, first joined the sport when “It was just kind of the one of the sports I started playing with my dad as a child and just kind of watching.”

Gupta has been playing the sport for about eight to 10 years, and received captainship this year. When he got captainship he was happy that he was able to help the team more rather than just being a player, as well as giving motivational pep talks. “I was looked up to by other players,” Gupta added.

One of Gupta’s highlights from the tennis season was winning the quarter final

Cross Country

Senior Madie Miller, captain of the Cross Country team, decided to join the sport when she would run around out on the soccer field, and would never want to come, and discovered her love for running, so she joined the cross country team.

Miller was excited when she got captainship. “I always looked up to the captains being an underclassman, so I thought that it was my chance to help.” This season was pretty great for her, and she was ready to leave everything out of the course.

On Saturday Nov. 2, 2024, Miller along with 2 other runners went to compete in

The Seating Evaluation

A cute little review on Troy High School’s pilot furniture Maya

Nagy // Staff Reporter

The word ‘uncomfortable’ is all too familiar at the battle grounds that are at Troy High School. From the crowded hallways that force students into uncomfortably close proximities for intrusive physical bonding sessions, to the endless boasting of who got the least amount of sleep the previous night in order to land a spot on the “coolest person ever” podium, there’s plenty of discomfort to go around. Even the teachers are far from being spared. If it’s not the freshmen constantly touching each other then it’s getting thrown into a meeting and yelled at by a dude with a thick German accent on how “sitting makes you stupid.” In a move to lift one of these uncomfortable weights off our shoulders, Troy High School has made it their mission to act on behalf of all butts of the students. So while fixing our sleep schedules, having good teacher contacts or learning how to manage the AC isn’t in their agenda, spending a whole lot of moolah to give our ‘tree stump’ the best highschool experience, is.

Realizing how much of our lives we spend sitting is pretty disheartening. Whether it’s riding those fat yellow transportation vehicles, also known as buses, or hunching over homework, sitting has molded its way into becoming a central part of our daily lives. That being said, maybe it’s not the worst thing that the Troy School District decided to focus on increasing the comfort levels. Early this year, some pilot furniture was placed into several classrooms. So, here’s a breakdown of what the potential new seating options have to offer.

Chair #1: The “Seductive” Office Chair with Curves. At first glance Chair #1 already doesn’t look like it has much to offer. The structure and aesthetic of the chair really gets you “excited” to work a 9 to 5. It allows for some slight rocking motion in all directions, but unless you want to look like an insane asylum escapee, I wouldn’t. And for some reason unbeknownst to me, the chair itself is extremely curvy as the name suggests. The seat part dips and the back is bent forwards. I’m not certain about the intention of the curves since it

didn’t do anything for my posture. I think one thing that could’ve saved this chair was if it had wheels. I did attempt to improve this chair but I think I’m better off designing a whole new chair. I give this chair two thumbs down and if I had more hands I would give it more thumbs down.

Chair #2: The Cube. The Cube is exactly what it sounds like. A solid foam rectangle. A good way to describe it is if someone was to condense a mattress into a chair form. It’s extremely comfortable, and I’ve even heard rumors of people taking naps on them. I really enjoyed sitting in this chair. The only big thing is that it’s not very scoliosis friendly with the whole ‘not having a back support’ but other than that, l would love to see this chair in all classrooms. The Cube gets two thumbs.

#3: The Skyscraper. I was a fan of the high-top chairs. Not only are they super comfy to sit in and have back support, I think my superiority complex is what benefits the most. I want to say it’s because you’re so high up and the height gives you a good view of the classroom in general. In addition to that, these chairs have the ability to change the height. It’s pretty much customizable. This chair gets one thumbs up.

#4: The Toad

The

seems like a distant relative of The Seductive Office Chair, but it’s covered in a texture that heavily resembles toad skin. I don’t have sensory issues but the moment I touched that chair I got the sudden urge to crawl out of my skin. The only advantage the Toad Chair has on the Office Chair is the wheels, but even that can’t save it from getting two thumbs down.

chairs. The chair is like if you took a simple stool and gave it a clone-like foundation that has a slight curve upwards that allows for all kinds of movement. These chairs were it, I recall asking my mothers for them as a kid, level it. However, l also recall multiple instances where elementary schoolers would be flung backwards and hitting their head after having too much faith in themselves, but i’m sure the skull breaking wont happen after all, were all very mature highschoolers. I give the Skull Breaker two thumbs up.

As far as the overall analysis goes, all of these chairs could definitely use a pop of color. They’re designed to make it seem like Troy High School kids are too filled with joy and need some form of a happiness suppressor. It’s like each piece of furniture got a makeover by ‘Beige Mom’s’ cousin, ‘Gray Uncle.’

But as much as these chairs try to appeal to us, it’s hard to believe they’re worth a small fortune each. Each one of those gross toad chairs and the many variations of that chair are worth $500 each. Multiply that by 25 chairs per classroom and if math still works suddenly we’re talking about $12,500 in a single room. Just imagine what else the school could have done with that money. For starters, we could get a swindled and less inferior version of dance dance revolution, “A Pump it Up 2024 Phoenix.”

One concern I have about this potential furniture upgrade is what that it means for the fate of the old chairs. Is this going to be a “sibling hand me down” situation with other schools? Or will they all be doomed to end up in a landfill? I really hope that there’s a way to repurpose the chairs otherwise I might start protesting. Troy High School’s efforts to improve our sitting experience is admirable. It’s nice to know that the school, where we spend so much of our time, actually cares about our comfort.

when

was but

Chair

Chair

Chair.

Toad Chair

Chair #5: The Skull Breaker. The wave of nostalgia that hit over me was insane. I remember back

I

a little elementary school lad, we would fight to sit in these