CHARIOT
THE CHARIOT STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Laith Hermiz
PUBLICATIONS EDITOR
Henry McBrien
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Jiwoo Park
PUBLIC RELATIONS & BUSINESS EDITOR
Mehereen Kaur
BODY COPY EDITOR
Bushra Mohammed
ADVISER
Morgan Carlson
STAFF REPORTERS
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 uruthel
Shae Howard
Julia Triculescu
Rahaf Kishi
Ameya Vaddamani
Kennedy Mills
Sage Venable
COVER BY
Jiwoo Park
Overworked and Underestimated
A marathon that doesn’t include sleep or a fnish line. Ivana Thuruthel // Staf Reporter
Junior year is often described as the most grueling year of high school, yet it rarely gets the same recognition as senior year’s “senioritis.” With Advanced Placement classes, SATs, extracurricular overloads, and the mounting pressure of college applications, many juniors are fnding themselves exhausted far before they even reach senior year.
For many juniors, the shift from sophomore year to junior year feels less like a transition and more like a plunge into deep waters without a life vest. When asked how he felt about this shift, junior Samrudh Ponniah Maheswari responded with “sophomore year is where you get to know more about the school, but junior year is when you actually step into the hard stuf.” With the sudden spike in expectations and workload, many juniors are beginning to dis cover the hardships of staying up to task and managing time.
“This year feels a lot more rushed and you’re expected to be prepared for everything,” said junior Ridhi Maruneni. Many juniors juggle mul tiple Advanced Placement classes with extracurriculars and outside of school ac tivities. When asked about what she found most dif cult, junior Aarya Bhosale said “The hardest part is combining all your extracurriculars and studying into a short amount of time and get ting everything done.” The ratio of school work to activities is hard to balance because juniors have to jug gle between doing work and running around trying to make practices or events whether it be volunteering, working, sports practices and many other activities.
To add on, when asked what adds to the stress, junior Aneesh Cuddalore Vijais arath responded with “SATs are like an extra class. You have to do extra work outside of school, and that defnitely puts stress on you.”
On the outside, it may seem as if these students are managing well and they are doing just fne but in reality, many juniors report feeling pressure, stress, and time constraints to get their stuf done.
and challenging than adults realize. Maheswari talked about how having immigrant parents has taken a toll on how junior year is perceived in his family,“My parents are Indian, so they think 12th grade is the hardest. I try to explain, but they don’t understand what happens here.”
The struggles and pressure that are placed on the juniors are hard to explain especially when adults have a set mindset on how they think that the school year is structured. Teachers often see juniors as more capable leading to stricter deadlines and much greater responsibilities.
“Teachers believe you become a more well-rounded student, so they expect you to handle harder workloads easier,” said Vijaisarath. By the time second semester rolled around, the exhaustion set in, motivation began to waver, and the juniors found
structure of the other grades, Junior year defnitely has much more to it.
For example, “If counselors and teachers gave us clearer resources for outside opportunities, it would be so much easier to manage,” said Bhosale. Bhosale also advised underclassmen to“start early. I know it sounds stressful, but doing everything early makes it much easier in the long run.” When stress levels are at this all-time high, juniors have to come up with strategies to maintain their mental health amidst the hectic workload during the school year. Students employ various methods to cope with the pressure. For example Maruneni said, “I treat myself whenever I feel like I accomplished something, even if it’s small. It helps me stay sane.” Managing stress is an important aspect of school. Pressuring oneself is never a healthy way to study. Another aspect that is hard for the juniors is to stay motivated
“I think about all the hard work I’ve put in over the years. I don’t want to throw it away because I’m tired for one day,” said Vijaisarath. Staying motivated is key to managing stress. One bad day shouldn’t afect the rest and it is really important to know that everything one achieves is worth being happy about. All the goals that one reaches during this year is a stepping stone brings one closer to the end
Despite the late nights, stress, and seemingly endless workload, the juniors push forward because at the end “Junior year is the hardest, yeah. But it also teaches you more than any Maheswari. Junior year isn’t just another grade level, it is a marathon of managing homework, AP classes, SATs, extracurriculars and the emerging college applications.
While teachers and parents may perceive junior year as a necessity for the future, students argue that the reality is far more overwhelming
Now, if junior year is universally said to be the toughest, then what can be done to help these students cope? Students have suggested some possible solutions to their dilemmas.
A ‘Holi’-day to Remember
A look into the new holidays in the Troy High School calendar. Maria Papalois // Staf Reporter, raphic by Ivana Thuruthel // Staf Reporter
The Troy School istrict Board of ducation’s ollective Bargaining Agreement with the Troy ducation Association was ratifed early last year to be active from Feb. , to April , . In the newly laid out School Year alendar for in Schedule F, two new “student holiday s ” denoted as “S ” were added. The titular holidays are iwali and oli and both holidays are widely celebrated by indus and other South Asian religions, mainly in India.
Looking back to the previous ollective Bargaining Agreement from February to January , this newly ratifed contract is the frst time these holidays have been acknowledged as “student holiday s ” rather than “religious observance s ” in which school would be held as normal.
iwali is a student holiday for all three years of the contract except ov. , as it occurs on a weekend, while oli is a student holiday only in one March , and March , are denoted as “O” for religious observance but school is still held on these dates.
year while Holi lands in the early spring. This year, iwali occurred on ov. , and oli will occur on March , , so students are exempt from school on these days to celebrate.
oli, as explained by Junior Anandi Iyer, is the festival of “colors” in which the celebration is similar to a “water fght” with “colors being thrown” and often involving a “big group of people.” It is similar to iwali in that it is considered a celebration of “good over evil.”
iwali is thought of by Troy igh School Junior Manasvi Mummaneni to be “one of the most popular traditions,” a celebration of “light over darkness” and of “hope over evil.”
Fellow Junior Vandana Rallabandi similarly likened the holiday as “the festival of lights.”
The day of gave Mummaneni a chance to “spend that day with her family at home” and “not have to worry about schoolwork,” allowing her to “let go of all worries” and fully immerse herself in the celebration.
Rallabandi agreed that “now that the district involve s iwali and oli,” her community can “all embrace their culture.”
Iyer also felt that she got to “appreciate her family more” with the freedom of a day of and unite with a “community of her own culture” for the holidays.
ing that this year, according to the contract, the date of ov. , is the day of for iwali but in the calendar, the date is instead Oct. , .
iwali follows the Lunar calendar, and it lands in autumn every
Mummaneni defnes her personal observance of the holiday iwali as “flling her house with a lot of brightness, love and celebration.” She expressed that iwali being represented as “an important day throughout the Troy School istrict” made “ her feel very happy.”
endra Montante, the ommunications irector of the Troy School istrict, explained that the process for determining the school calendar and, in turn, the addition of these holidays, was done through “survey ing the community” in order to determine “what was most important.”
This survey included “religious observances” and reference to year by year variation in holiday dates since during “some years, diferent holidays fall at diferent times.”
For example, both iwali and oli follow the Lunar ycle rather than the regorian calendar mean-
Special conditions, such as early releases were reviewed as well. In the previous contract, early releases, where school is shortened by about an hour and minutes, were commonplace but due to feedback from the survey, the district “work ed really hard to not have late starts or early releases” as parents would prefer either a “full day of or a half day” that would coincide better with work schedules and rides for the students.
Also considered was the fact that not all members of the staf reside in Troy so “consistency with other school districts” was a factor along with the “many hours of professional development” necessary for staf and state and national reuirements like the duration of the school year. The aforementioned re uirement is that there must be ” days in the calendar” which applies to all districts so any shift in the calendar must stay true to that, whether it is an earlier or later summer break/beginning of school year.
Montante confrmed that the new contract received “positive feedback from staf and the community” which makes sense because at Troy igh School, there is a large prevalence of Indian and Indian American students, shown by Troy igh School’s chapter of the Indian American Student Association with many members, and, according to the S ews and World Report, a “ . Asian” student body.
With this widespread presence, it follows that the Troy School istrict would acknowledge holidays that are important and beloved by the community. In the words of Mummaneni, the development is “very beautiful.”
Fashion, Fame and Fallout
An inside scoop on the controversy of Brandy Melville and its lasting in uence on teen fashion. abby Shaya // Staf Reporter, raphic by Ivana Thuruthel // Staf Reporter
The life of a teenage girl is known to be full of spontaneous and unexpected adventures. owever, societal acceptance plays a crucial role in this part of a girl’s lifetime. Brandy Melville, an American Italian women’s clothing brand by Stephan Marsan, was established in the s, originally in Italy, eventually migrating to the nited States. The brand’s popularity exploded on their Instagram platform, as teenage girls all over the world raved over the company’s tank tops, sweatpants or sweatshirts. “It’s kind of the majority of my closet. I buy a lot of their tank tops in the summer, and a lot of their hoodies,” discloses Lyla orny, Troy igh School sophomore and fre uent shopper at Brandy Melville.
In early , BO released “Brandy ellville and the ult of Fast Fashion,” a documentary exposing the many diferent angles and secrets behind the business. ate Taylor, an Investigative Journalist for the Insider shares her opinion on Brandy Melvile during
the flm, “Fashion is identity for teenage girls. Brandy Melville was this whole extended universe, where it felt genuine because it was genuine.” As the demand for Brandy Melville increased with just simple images of women with the company’s merchandise on their Instagram, young girls would photograph themselves wearing the frm’s apparel, hoping they would be selected for a post on Brandy Melville’s social media platform. The organization created this idea where one should desire to be posted on their Instagram. That was until the documentary took a turn.
Marsan had a specifc mindset for the representation his brand portrayed. ltimately, the models and employees all generated the same look. An American, tall, blonde, skinny, white, surfer girl look. Willow, a former photographer for the business who’s also uoted several times throughout the documentary, admits, “It was really hard to fnd models Stephan would like. I was really interested
in girls with really uni ue facial features, but it was very clear the kind of models and aesthetic they wanted.”
Marsan was known for placing a specifc type of girl in the front of his store, welcoming and supporting each customer, all while people of color were found in the stockrooms of each location. ali, a former employee for Brandy Melville on Broadway in ew York ity, ew York confrms on the documentary, “I started of as a ftting room, and then I eventually moved to stock. There were no white people working in the stockroom. We all knew it wasn’t right, that we were all you know pushed in the back out of sight. But it was not something we were necessarily mad about, because I just loved being around my people, like people of color.”
A major diference contrasting Brandy Melville signifcantly from other brands is its one size fts all sizing, limiting who can wear their apparel. Originally, the company began with selling clothing in one
size, but when shoppers began complaining and hate towards them increased, Brandy Melville modifed their sizing from one size fts all to one size fts most. Anonymous former Senior Vice President for Brandy Melville commented on the documentary, “After multiple weeks of complaing, we went from one size fts all, to one size fts most. We still had complaints because they’d go, “So I’m not even most ”” Many customers wondered if this change would decline the brand’s number in sales, but Marsan responded, “We are not losing sales. We are keeping the brand exclusive. Like, oh, I need to ft in these clothes.”
Meghan osters, Troy igh School marketing teacher and former health teacher commented on this marketing strategy, “I think it defnitely takes away business, especially because our society places so many diferent stereotypes on body image and body standards, and with mental health being on the rise, body issues or distortion, a lot of girls may look in the
mirror and not be happy with themselves and then seeing the way that they should look, I think that it puts such a false image in their brains having that one size fts all mentality.”
Today, Brandy Melville has opened locations across the world. At Brandy Melville’s location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, all employees agreed to sign a waiver promising to not comment about the documentary. Although the documentary may have in uenced shoppers in several ways about purchasing from the frm, Brandy Melville thrives today from its popularity among teenage girls. As the legacy lives on, clothing companies such as S I , have been found to have listed merchandise inspired by Brandy Melville’s style, proving its true in uence on society today.
A Period of Reconstruction
For over a decade now, Syrian civilians have been living through a gruesome war against their own government. Once started as a peaceful uprising to a devastating civil war, Syrians are fnally receiving the hope and freedom they were desperately fghting for.
The events that led to the civil war all started during President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, whose family has ruled Syria for over four-decades. Bashar al-Assad received his title as president from his father, Hafez al-Assad, who was known for being a ruthless and tough-minded leader that ruled using authoritarian practices, which would often involve brutal violence and extensive censorship. Bashar al-Assad would continue his father’s autocratic rule, followed by committing human right violations and war crimes against his own citizens.
It wasn’t until March 2011, when Syrian teenagers held a peaceful protest to call for democratic reforms that triggered the cascade of civilian upbringings. However, President Assad had the teenagers arrested and tortured. This incident sparked a movement by Syrians, demanding that the government respect their human rights and put an end to political corruption.
These anti-regime protests later spread to other major cities in Syria. The Syrian army continued to attack unarmed civilians and perform frequent executions. All this provoked an armed response by the Syrian government and later followed in the country to fully declare a civil war by mid-2012.
An overview of the Syrian civil war and their process for reconstruction. Bushra Mohammed // Body Copy Editor
After years of fghting, the Syrian civil war came to an abrupt end on Dec. 8, 2024 when the Assad Regime suddenly collapsed. The rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, entered major cities, like Damascus, and seized control in 11 days. This rapid assault led Assad to resign as president and ee to Russia as the country granted him asylum in Moscow. This resulted in the end of the brutal half-century rule under the Assad family. Not only does this day mark a memorial day for all Syrians, but also symbolizes a new era of freedom and new promised beginnings.
Syrian Emad Kishi expressed that “the end of the war was a dream come true for all Syrians. No one could even dream of ending the dictatorship of Al-Assad that quickly in 11 days.”
After hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of civilians displaced, Syria is now in an era of reformation to rebuild the government to a more democratic one, which many hope will involve the voices of all communities and represent all Syrians. Even so, the biggest step the Syrian opposition must set in stone is drafting the country’s new constitution.
When asked about how Syrian’s should approach creating a new functional government, Justin Nelson, a government teacher at Troy High School, states that “the hope is that the HTS sits down and looks at creating something that resembles western democracy in some way, in the sense that they put forward a version of government that is going to actually provide for the citizens of
Syria and not what they have been coming from.” He continues by stating that, “if they can create a constitution that has opinions from the actual people of Syria, then I think that’s going to go a long way towards getting them viewed by other countries as a legitimate government that can rule fairly.”
It is estimated that the new constitution will take up to three to four years to draft and for the country to ofcially hold any democratic elections. However, in the meantime, the Syrian opposition established a transitional government that will govern until a new constitution is approved. Ahmed al-Sharaa will take over as Syria’s president during the transitional period. As of now, Sharaa has temporarily formed a legislative council, and had rebel groups agree to being dissolved and merged into state institutions.
Even though Syria is in a state of reconstruction, it’s still in a state of poverty. With a large amount of its territories being shared by other foreign powers and the majority of its citizens dealing with the aftermath of the war after being deprived of ba-
sic human necessities.
Kishi explains the hardships his family in Syria had to go through, “They lived through the struggle and managed to survive for almost 14 years of war and fear.” He continued by stating, “They used to have electricity for about one hour a day and everything was super expensive with very limited access to basic needs of life and medicine.”
Likewise, The UN Refugee Agency declared that “Syria is currently the world’s largest refugee crisis.” With more than 14 million Syrians being displaced due to the war forcing them to ee or their homes turning into rubble. Which results in more than 70 percent of the population in the need for humanitarian aid and most of its civilians
being below the poverty line. Syria still has a long way to go, but their next big steps are to continue their reconstruction eforts, which will include dealing with their humanitarian crisis, faltering economy, territorial con icts and rebuilding their government from the bottom-up. Nonetheless, many Syrians are still optimistic about the rebuilding of their country and fnally being free from the Assad Regime. Kishi expresses that “the date and time of Syria liberation on 12/8/2024 at 6:18 was the new chapter and prosperity for all Syrians. This event gave us again the hope and the opportunity to build our new country for all Syrian citizens.”
Catching Z’s or A’s
Students are commonly sleeping in class, suggesting sleep deprivation and inimical outcomes.
The sleeping account known amongst students under the handle of @ths_sleepy2025 on Instagram showcases numerous students slumped over desks, on the carpet oor, sleeping. It appears to occur anywhere, in classes, sports, buses and more.
Psychology teacher Chris Rich says that students sleep in class “fairly regularly,” and that “there’s generally gonna be someone sleeping almost every hour.”
What is making students so fatigued, and why can’t they fx it
Students at Troy High School get varying hours of sleep each night. Junior Olivia Wiseman says that she gets “about fve to seven hours, usually fve or six,”
However, junior Sanjay Murali Babu says he gets “around eight hours.”
Wiseman expresses that the reason leading to the evidently insufcient hours of sleep is “School. Just balancing work and sports and school. There’s not time for everything.”
Similarly, senior Ann Ducas, who gets roughly four hours of sleep every school night, comments, “It’s mainly the AP’s, and also I have pretty awful time management. So I’ll actually start to lock in at an astronomical time at night, like 10p.m. I’ll start getting to work. So I fall asleep at one.” She even adds, “I made my bed and now I have to lay in it. It’s a bed of nails. It’s not comfortable.”
As for the reasons why students are evidently falling asleep in school, it goes beyond simply not getting enough sleep.
“It just depends on the class period, how boring it is, what’s the vibe, or it depends on how late I was up,” Wiseman comments on the specifc times she had fallen asleep before.
Jiwoo Park // Graphics Editor, Graphic by Jiwoo Park // Graphics Editor
Falling asleep in class commonly afects grade reports and academic performance, psychology teacher elly Forshey confrms, but not all the time. “You can defnitely see the kids that are not even trying, not taking notes at all [be afected ,” she says, “the kids that doze of but you can see that they’re trying, they’re usually okay.”
Murali Babu says that he “had much less productivity because [he] wasn’t paying attention, and [he] was sleeping in class,” after getting the least amount of sleep. owever, he conversely expressed that generally falling asleep didn’t have an efect on class performance or grades as he fell asleep during a free day.
Wiseman discusses the “vicious cycle” of staying up late and falling asleep in class. She says, “It’ll help for the test, but overall, it just makes me tired in class, which makes me miss class, so I have to teach it on my own,” describing how going to sleep at three a.m. affected her outcomes at school.
Contrary to what many believe, “teenagers are actually needing more sleep than adults. Younger kids need more sleep than teenagers, but teenagers should be getting nine to 10, [for] adults, more like six or seven is doable,” Forshey details.
The circadian rhythm plays a big role in both causes and efects. It’s described by Forshey as “your natural 24-hour [cycle]. Sleepwake cycle is one of them. So, our natural cycle tells us that when the sun goes down we should sleep, and when the sun comes up we should be awake. When you try to force that, which you do by staying up late with [your] phones, and which we do with jet lag and working nights, that messes people up.”
you’re forced to get up in the morning.” This makes teenagers more likely to nap in the afternoon, making them go to sleep later, leading them to be tired and being more prone to nap, repetitively.
Sleep deprivation afects sleep stages as well; teenagers are “more likely when they do get sleep to go quickly through the non-REM stages, so they can get to REM, [rapid eye movement], which we need for memory formation, and we need for brain development,” Forshey says.
Not getting enough REM leads to R M rebound, where one experiences increased length and intensity of REM after being deprived of it, “so the next time you sleep, you get more REM so you’re not getting enough of those other non-REM stages.”
Normally, “if you’re getting eight hours of sleep, you should have more of that non-REM three in the frst half of the night, which is your deep sleep. And then the last half of the night, you have more REM, which is where the memories and all of that take place,” Forshey states. However, when the hours of sleep get shortened to around four to fve hours for example, “where they get cut short is the amount of REM that they get. They get more of the deep sleep that you needed,” Forshey says, “but you’ll miss out on REM.”
Additionally, getting inadequate sleep places non-REM stage three deep sleep towards the end of one’s sleep cycle, leading to possibly sleeping through alarms as opposed to if REM sleep were to be towards the end.
tend to be more irritable. They’re difcult to be around. They have difculty concentrating. I know test scores go down, alertness overall goes down. They’re more likely to make mistakes, get in car accidents.” As well as these short term efects, long term efects can include “develop[ing] heart disease.”
Immunity and metabolism can alter as well. “[Not getting enough sleep] lowers your immune system, you’re more prone to get sick, slows your metabolism, so you’re more prone to gain weight,” Forshey informs.
Additionally, “sleep is when a lot of our growth hormones are released,” Forshey says, “so when you’re younger and still growing, that can afect it if you’re sleep deprived.” As mentioned earlier, memory reformation and consolidation is a big part of REM sleep, “so sleep absolutely afects your brain and your memory and the way you think about everything.”
iferent teachers have different opinions and responses to seeing their students fall asleep in class. “Some teachers get upset,” Wiseman says, “but a lot of them just let the lesson go on.”
ucas expresses that her teacher was ambiguous toward situations alike, having said something along the lines of “I understand if you fall asleep once or twice. It’s just a problem if it’s every day.”
There are instances where teachers don’t notice students falling asleep. Rich says, “I would love to say that I catch [sleeping students] immediately. But [if] someone’s in the back row and they’re doing the head nods or something like that, I might not notice.”
ules. He comments, “I might come to you personally and say, ‘hey, is there a reason you’re falling asleep all the time ’” if one is in that state all the time.
The question of solutions comes around. While sleep deprivation may seem unresolvable to some because of responsibilities, whether academic or outside of school, students seem to realize the detriments of outcomes if they continue to lack sleep. Ducas mentions that she hasn’t tried to change her sleep schedule, however, she says, “I know I should. [I know] it’s really bad to be staying up late. I know this has to be awful for my health, but I think it’s just my bad habits continuing, and it’s worked pretty well until now.”
Wiseman states that she has been attempting to improve her sleep schedule for approximately a month. “If I eat snacks during the day, it helps me keep my blood sugar up, wake me up a little bit more,” she says, “I still don’t really drink cafeine, but at night, after I get home from school, [I have] Starbucks or something with caffeine to keep me awake from the time I get home till the time I go to sleep.” She mentions that previously she’s had trouble falling asleep as a result of consuming cafeine, but “[she] started taking melatonin, which helped.”
Rich expresses that it seems to be linked closely with the atmosphere of the classroom. A more quiet and calm environment is more prone for students to fall asleep than a rousing one; however, the level of exhaustion of the student also seems to matter. “If we’re doing something exciting, everyone’s gonna pay attention,” Rich says, “but at the same time, almost anything can be [boring] if you’re tired already, whether I’m showing a movie or whether I’m lecturing, whether we’re doing an activity, sometimes people are gonna fall asleep.”
Similarly, Rich comments that sleep “[is] probably the number one thing that’s gonna help set your body clock,” and “[by] not getting the right amount of sleep, you can screw up your body clock and lead to all kinds of problems.”
As well as mentioning phones and homework, Forshey describes her view on why students are going to sleep late, how in teenage years, individuals’ circadian rhythms naturally change. “Your circadian rhythms are kind of shifted, so the teenage brain doesn’t really want you to go to sleep as early as 10 o’clock,” she says, “ so you’re more likely to be night owls, but then
Cortisol levels, or stress hormones, are one of the aspects affected by defciency of sleep they can increase and lead to more branches of problems. “When you don’t get enough sleep, you have higher levels of cortisol,” Forshey explains, “so, you’re more stressed when you’re awake. And then the stress makes you more prone to sickness. And cortisol levels [that are too high] can actually stop your hippocampus from functioning, which afects memory.”
Forshey reveals sympathy and understanding to some students, but not all. She explains, “It depends on the student. I think there are some days and some situations where I just know they’re up late and they have these tests and they’re not a kid that’s usually sleeping.”
Similarly, Rich describes his usual response, saying that he “sometimes just gently wake[s] people up and sometimes just let[s] people sleep” as he understands that “[students] have band, sports, [they’re] getting pulled in all diferent kinds of directions, and sometimes [they] just don’t get enough sleep.”
Additionally, he discerns concern about students or their sched-
While sleeping in school as well as exhaustion has become normalized, there are detrimental efects involving health that goes beyond grades and academic performance. It’s common to experience adversity in getting out of a habit, even one caused inevitably and naturally; however, it’s not impossible especially if starting in minuscule measures.
“You need sleep,” Forshey remarks, “tell them all, sleep.”
Memory, growth and attitude are just some aspects that sleep can afect. While students sacrifce sleep to aim for better outcomes, it may lead to opposite, unwanted results that may afect others around as well. “Irritability,” Rich says, “people that don’t get enough sleep
The Art of the Mosaic
An overview of Troy High School’s Literary Magazine. Sara onzalez // Staf Reporter, raphic by Maya agy // Staf Reporter
Troy High School has not had a Literary Magazine for a long time, and after years the magazine has come back. It’s now known as The Mosa ic.
The magazine’s goal is to be a perfect space for artists who would like to share their art. From visuals, like drawings and paintings, to literature like poems and short stories, the magazine combines all of these pieces in a surprising gallery to show the big reveal at the end of the year.
start with that again.” Ver helle started the magazine at the end of school year and it became a new of fcial club this year. As the advisor, Verhelle has jobs like setting the year schedule and framework for the magazine, but mostly is supporting the student staf along this year long journey. “I really like to give the students the lead with as much as possible of that process and I just try to guide them correctly,” he ex plained.
Joseph Verhelle, current adviser of The Mosaic and nglish teacher at Troy igh School, confessed that the club re started because as he exclaimed, “I know there are a lot of students that would like to publish their creative piec es. So having a publication for artists to show their work it’s really important. That’s why we decided to get a staf and
Among the staf, senior Joshua alang is one of the creative directors in the mag azine. When asked about his position, he guided us through it, “I am in charge of the design and creation of the magazine itself, the layout of the drawings and the poems and just compiling it so that it looks great and shows of all the talent and hard work of
Troy igh Students.” alang believes that besides joining the magazine, there weren’t other opportunities for art ists to get together and ex press themselves with their art. Which senior dward Angers, an editor for The Mosaic, agreed. “I think that LitMag gives a great opportu nity to highlight some of the people who are kind of the same mind as me, who want to write creatively, express themselves, less so than al ways doing something that’s like, very concrete in terms of achievement.” Following this he added that for him this magazine was “kind of an outlet for the whole student body. That’s the idea.” Both members of the magazine showed emotion and excite ment to see the fnal product. ow going back years ago, the Troy School is trict decided to have limited
clubs, so the magazine came to an end because of fnan cial complications. Laura Liamini, ex adviser for The Mosaic and current nglish teacher at Troy igh School, afrmed this, “they weren’t paying sponsors anymore. The club kind of stopped from there.” As an adviser, Liami ni’s biggest challenge in the magazine was the money. “Students always wanted a full color magazine and it was really expensive, so we would do a whole lot of work to try to collect donations, and when it became clear that we would probably be in better shape f nancially speaking, if we were publishing online students were disappointed.”
When asked to give advice to the current Mosaic, Li amini answered saying, “Just think creatively about how to get participation in the maga zine, then also to solicit funds
Quite the Pickle
The Troy igh Film lub wraps up production on their short flm.
Michelle Fedosseev // Staf Reporter, Photo by Laith ermiz // ditor in hief
The Troy High School Film lub has recently fnished their frst big project of the year. Since the departure of club founder, Jefery Wu, the new board took over to make impactful changes to the club’s nature.
Senior Ana Sofa ernan dez omez has taken initiative to lead the club with her role as president, “I’ve always loved flm and movies. I thought I was pretty good at photogra phy. I saw the club at a club fair in freshman year and I de cided to join.” er inspiration to take the initiative of leading the club stemmed from Film lubs’ yearly project of docu menting the fundraising event “Survivor.” “We were working with the Student overnment on survivor and I found it really fun. I also wanted to
incorporate diferent projects into the club”, said omez.
Troy igh School “Sur vivor” is a student take on the original TV show, where contestants are placed through a series of challenges and com pete against the opposing team and between their own team.
The Film lub is responsible for flming and editing these episodes which are aired to the school daily throughout activist week.
omez elaborated on the Film lub’s current project of their short flm. “We just flmed our short flm over winter break. It’s a mystery kind of thing. We are planning to have that premier sometime in February.”
The short flm titled, “ uite the Pickle,” is described as “a frat house murder mystery” by
Secretary Swathi Jeda.
o Vice President Yeriel im reveals that the short flm is a “mystery comedy.” im stated “it’s kind of difcult to explain. In general, the short flms are a club wide project where we walk the members through various stages of pre, post and during production. Things like storyboarding, concept ideas, logistics, flming e uipment, networking, things like that.” The club board has spent an abundance of time on this project. “We began plan ning towards the beginning of the year, it’s been about months.”
Vice President Micheal heng describes the changes made to the club since the graduation of the founder. “It used to be like a lot of other clubs. It was point based,
for the magazine, with the ambition, the goals that you have just keep trying to push past any obstacles.”
After all the pieces are put together, at the end of the year Troy High School will see the fnal product of art. The fnal Mosaic.
it almost had an academic nature. owadays, people who are interested in flm can just come hang out. We still have lecture style club meetings, but a lot of it is ofce hours for answering uestions about assigned projects”.
The club board expressed their hopes for getting the short flm submitted to the
Student mmy Awards, pre sented by the ational Acad emy of Television Arts. These awards are given to students for outstanding work in video production and journalism. You can watch Film lub’s short flm “ uite the Pickle” on YouTube on February th, .
Gen Z vs Gen Alpha: Who’s The Main Character Now?
A look into what Generation Z and Generation Alpha truly think about each other. Simar aur hudda // Staf Reporter, raphic by Fajr Ahsan // Staf Reporter
ach generation has something to say about the one that came before and the one that will come after. Whether it be good or bad, we are all entitled to our own opinions. This debate, when considering en and en Alpha is heightened with neither group being hesitant to share their true thoughts on the other.
For many individuals, the biggest diference between the two generations concerns their access and use of technology, as well as how that has shaped them as people. en , those born from to , have grown up alongside technology as it gained traction. en Alpha, those born from 2010 and onwards, have been fully immersed in all things technology since they were born. Junior Aarya Bhosale agrees with this as she states, “ en got access to technology around the right time when we needed to use it for studying and all that. For en Alpha, it was like entertainment purely right when they were born.”
Gen Alpha are often referred to as “iPad kids” and known to have grown up with unrestricted ac-
cess to technology. Bhosale elaborates, saying, “the term brain rot’ is specifcally coined for their generation.”
Brain rot, a trending term used to describe the negative mental impact of mindlessly consuming low uality content, is the word associated with the content en Alpha is typically perceived to be consuming. Many en ers consider en Al pha’s unrestricted access to social media and tech nology to have harmful and regressive efects, however, Freshman eyaan han argues that it is a split between the group. han says, “I think it’s a / for en Alpha where some parents like mine, they enforce it as you have this technology and you are going to use it to be better while others, they give their kids technology and use it for whatever they want.”
han also adds that he feels en were exposed to this technology at a far more appropriate age when compared to Gen Alpha.
Additionally, when en Alpha was asked about en ers, they talked about feeling crit icized and put down by
the older group. Freshman ivedha Suresh says, “Sometimes, I feel like they put us down a little bit. I’m born in , so I’m so close to en , so sometimes I feel like I ft more into en , but my generation is en Alpha, and they’re criticizing my generation.”
han adds to this, “I feel like en can be really cocky.”
e also believes the eneration Alpha is much more mature than eneration . , “I don’t really have a lot of opinions about them, but I feel like they tend to be a lot less mature. There’s some seniors in our room, and a lot of those
er hand, only slightly agrees, saying, “I don’t think that’s not true at all. Based on where someone is and how they are brought up, I feel like that afects more than what generation you are brought up in. The way that you are exposed to technology matters more than your generation itself. I think it’s an outlier situation with some outliers. Overall, I feel like the intelligence has decreased because everyone is not as competitive anymore.”
espite all this, Suresh still appreciates en ’s language and way of thinking. She discusses their strong opinions,
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logical pattern of thinking and how they speak formally, giving respect to all. Suresh says, “I was volunteering somewhere and I had to babysit ffth graders, and these ffth graders were really really hyper and kind of disrespectful. But, if I’m talking to someone in college who’s en , they’re speaking more formally to me even though I’m someone younger than them.”
She attests to their good nature, as well, saying, “They’re really kind. I know a bunch of juniors and seniors and they’re all really sweet to me.”
Moreover, these comments do not only go
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one-way. Although both generations have their ualms, they do compliment each other after all. Junior ristin Prakash says, “They’re really carefree and don’t get worked up on the details. They just enjoy their life.”
In the end, however, it doesn’t seem as though either will ever admit to liking the other. Bhosale concludes by saying, “There’s a lot of hate for en , but ever since en Alpha came onto TikTok and Instagram, people have started to see that en was actually bearable.”
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The Trade-ofs of Being the City of Tomorrow
Troy’s small but valuable role in fghting the climate crisis.
Shae oward // Staf Reporter, raphic by Jiwoo Park // raphics ditor
Troy Michigan is known for its high uality school district and being home to Somerset Mall, one of the most popular shopping locations in the state. Because of this, its natural landscape, and how the city’s expan sion has afected it in recent years, is more of an afterthought.
Robert ynda, an environmental science teacher at Troy igh School, described what happened to the land that ended up being useful to the high school. e said that they viewed it as undeveloped, unused property, rath er than green space that can beneft both students and the natural world.
“I don’t think they purposely go out to do it, but I think they view progress for, let’s say, students and opportuni ty, is going to be more important than maintaining green space,” he com ments.
e uickly clarifed that, “ the de cision to remove green space was all about making opportunities better for students, it’s not like they were look ing at it as a oh let’s cut these down.’” Malicious intent or not, land around Troy igh School is regularly reno vated and artifcialized for everything from softball to baseball felds, and it may add value to the property, but it’s also removing green space that is al ready so little in Troy.
As junior Sanjana Prabhu says, “there’s a certain limit that you can go to, and I think we might have crossed that limit by a bit, because of how much we’re losing.”
As a Youth Ambassador for the limate Initiative, an internation al program that encourages young people to fght for their planet’s sur vival, Prabhu knows a thing or two about how humans have impacted the environment, even in the small city of Troy. Referring to the severe weather changes the city has experi enced over the last few years, she says,
“we’re experiencing climate change right now, with the lack of snow and how heat is just taking over.” ven though Troy doesn’t necessarily im pact the rest of the world, the millions of towns just like it add up to create the issue that the planet and all of its inhabitants face today. It’s estimated that of carbon dioxide emissions are from urban areas, which includes cities like Troy.
“ ot just Troy, but our country as a whole has been steering away from preserving nature to more of this race to catch up with every other continent and country out there, to really be come this developed society, and I feel like what we kind of fall behind on is focusing on preserving the nature that we have currently,” says Prabhu, not ing the way Troy is always working to ward being a more advanced, modern place, at the expense of the natural world and wildlife around us.
The ity of Troy contains over acres of parkland, not to mention Stage ature enter’s acre par cel, home to many uncommon plants and wildlife, including a butter y gar den, maintained by Oakland ounty’s division of Master ardeners. It also has a sanctuary for injured owls that can’t be rehabilitated into the wild. In , the nature center had over , visitors, and they are always welcome to more. owever, Stage ature enter isn’t the only preserved land in the city.
Turtle Woods is a plot of acres previously owned by the Troy School istrict, who used it for educational feld trips and was originally intended as the site of a third high school in the district. In ecember of , it was ofcially sold to Six Rivers Land on servancy, who are working to make it a public area where people can hike and learn about the rare species living there. Six Rivers Land onservancy is
a non proft organization that works tirelessly to preserve the natural eco systems in not only Oakland ounty, but also Macomb, enesee, Lapeer and St. lair ounties. “As we move forward with the renaissance of e troit and its surrounding metro area, we need to invest e ually in our sur rounding natural landscape. Restor ing and preserving our natural lands is just as important as restoring our iconic cultural, historic, and economic institutions,” they state on their of cial website.
In a Oakland ounty Parks ews Release, Melissa Prowse, Oak land ounty Parks Manager of Plan ning and evelopment, says that, “we’ve had our eye on this beautiful piece of land for a long time, and we’re thrilled to fnally be able to make Tur tle Woods an Oakland ounty Parks nature preserve for all county resi dents to enjoy.”
She adds that although there has been some discussion of adding trails and restroom facilities to the proper ty, “our intent is to keep the nature preserve as natural as possible.” veryday citizens of Troy are able to see for themselves the natural beauty Turtle Woods has to ofer, with the beneft of knowing that the preserve is here to stay. One of sev eral reasons Six Rivers Land onser vancy wanted the land was that Tur tle Woods gives a home to the native species of Michigan whose habitats are being destroyed by deforestation, including spotted turtles, coyotes and white tailed deer.
One student is highly encouraged by what the conservancy and other organizations are doing. “I think that there’s still a lot of hope in the future, and there’s a lot of solutions that peo ple can look into to combat climate change ,” says Manasvi Mummaneni, a junior at Troy igh School. Mum
maneni is a member of the nviron mental Activist lub, whose very presence in the school provides hope that things can begin to change for the better. Most of the nvironmental Ac tivist lub’s current activities involve recycling and cleaning up around the school, which has defnitely had a positive impact.
As Mummaneni says, there is hope in the future, but it’s important to stay informed about what everyday citizens, like those in Troy, can real istically do. Prabhu, however, proves that people can fnd organizations to work with, if they look around their community. She gives a message to the city of Troy itself “it’s necessary that we create a balance between how much impact we have and how much we take away from the environ ment.” And Troy has the ability to be gin changing that balance for the bet ter. Instead of chasing after other big cities’ achievements, Troy could be working towards truly being the ity of Tomorrow, Today.
Troy is Flyover Country
ow helicopter parenting, a lack of free play, and neighborly mistrust has afected Troy’s children and teens.
Opinion
by Laith ermiz // ditor in hief, raphic by Jiwoo Park // raphics
Troy is overrun by children, teens and even young adults, who struggle to prop erly socialize.
This is due to a myriad of things, such as a lack of well utilized third spaces, anti social infrastructure and internet usage. These things, however, are all caused by helicopter parenting, which discourages independent learning in children. This sort of parenting has its roots in mistrust and poor communi ty cooperation. This all starts in Troy’s neighborhoods.
According to Pew Research enter, of Americans report only knowing some of their neighbors. In contrast, in , of neighbors had weekly gath erings with their neighbors. That statistic is also very much the case in Troy today.
Junior Michael Molenda says that he does not know any of his neighbors very well. e went on to say that if his family knew their neighbors, they would be more comfortable allowing him to be more independent.
In terms of why you should actually try to speak with your neighbors, a study from the niversity of Michigan found that being nice to your neighbors could reduce your risk of stroke and heart at tack. The diference in trust between neighbors now and years ago is as tounding. This change can be attributed to a few things.
A very common fear of parents’ is their child being kidnapped. While it is true that , kidnappings occur annually, according to Let row, an or ganization that advocates for childhood independence, only of them were stereotypical kidnappings.
xamples of children going missing include just about anything where their whereabouts were unknown for over an hour. Most missing children are found, and found very fast. In addition to this, of those traditional kidnappings, they mostly involved teens, who aren’t being given the same attention as young er children.
So, parents fears of their child be ing kidnapped by a stranger outside are largely unfounded. of kidnapping victims make it home safe.
When parents weigh the pros and cons of, say, their six to eight year old riding their bike to a local park, getting ice cream or taking a walk, they can see it as less of a hazard and as their child ex ercising their right to interact with their community.
The benefts include all of those in volved with free play, which is described as play without adult supervision in the book “The Anxious eneration” by Jonathan aidt. It states that children psychologically beneft from time spent away from supervision. A child will come out of a situation where they have to be independent, smarter, more social and more comfortable with just about any thing.
A drawback to this obviously still in cludes the chance that your child might be kidnapped, which happens to . of children. And traditional kidnappings happen to . of those kidnapped. In addition to this, when it comes to violent crime, the rate is for every , people. In Troy, this number is closer to for every , people. In fact, by keeping your children indoors, you might be introducing them to strang ers who can say whatever they’d like be hind a screen, with a good chance of hav ing zero repercussions. In fact, of teens meet new friends online according to Pew research center.
Parents, think about why you live in Troy. There’s a very good chance it is to improve the uality of schooling, safety and opportunity for your child. There is a very good chance strangers online, regardless of their immediate danger, aren’t going to hold the same values you moved to Troy for. So why wouldn’t you put some trust into the community you selected to live in Let your kids explore the community you picked for them. By encouraging your kids to go out side, interact and socialize with neigh borhood kids, and go on adventures, it contributes majorly to their mental de velopment. Parents are keeping them in the safe environment they chose. There is a much higher likelihood a child will beneft from more independence than a child will be kidnapped or attacked. In addition to community mistrust, many
third spaces, or places of recreation out side the home or work, have physical barriers that make them inaccessible. These barriers can prevent those without the necessary means to use them. The primary barrier is Troy’s near inability to be traversed without a motor vehicle makes it very difcult for Troy’s kids and teens to socialize in a third space. This can lead to an increased reliance on tech nology for socialization as children are forced inside, which has many negative efects on childhood development. It’s what leads to just of teens saying they’re learning good social skills accord ing to the Pew Research enter.
The ity of Troy can be understood very well by this motor reliant layout. This layout is very easy to traverse in a car, but many pedestrians may fnd that sidewalks end abruptly and drivers think of pedestrians as a rare obstacle. This, however, isn’t much of a problem for the majority of Troy’s adult population. That creates a reliance from children on their parents to drive them around. ot only does this make parents have anoth er myriad of things on their plate, it dis courages children from exploration.
ids can’t walk or bike to see their friends and face problems alone if they need to be driven everywhere. It is claimed by “The Anxious eneration” that free play encourages learning in ways that cannot be fostered with par ents or at school.
As it pertains to where teens currently choose to hang out in Troy, senior Josie Lido said that they’ll usually go to baker ies, shops or even parking lots to loiter. She was asked about a parking ga rage and popular hangout spot on the northeast intersection of crooks and big beaver, which has been dubbed “Red f fect” or even “ ookieee Boy’s” Tower by Troy’s teenage population. Lido said that although she’s been “up there”, referring to the top oor, she said “maybe we don’t hang out there.”
If Troy featured third spaces that were more than concrete hosts to teen age tomfoolery, maybe more of the city’s teens would feel welcome hanging out in them.
One way Troy could improve its third
ditor
spaces is to incorporate more green space. Although Troy has more than parks, much of the space in them is ded icated to sports felds and courts, which are often used for more organized activ ity. These parks tend to lack the sort of green space that is truly natural.
Lido even mentioned that “they Troy’s parks don’t have very nice sitting areas. You can fnd a picnic table, but it’s not nice to sit and study there”, criticiz ing the park’s infrastructure.
Like many of Troy’s resources for so cialization, its parks do not allow room for children to grow without supervision from some kind of authority.
Molenda said that “even if you’re so cializing in some parent monitored envi ronment, free play is what really develops children because you’re dealing with in juries and unexpected what have yous.” e went on to say that “even if you’re so cializing within your parent monitored soccer team, free play is gonna be what really develops children.”
When asked how more independence could’ve given him a step up, Molenda responded “When you shelter children’s experiences they’re not gonna be as comfortable with those things when they’re mature adults.” For example, “I never used power tools when I was younger and every once in a while, my dad and I will do something re uiring one and I’m not as comfortable with it as it’s a new thing to me.” e stated that he would have beneftted from a childhood with more of an emphasis on explora tion.
So, when it comes to parenting that allows for childhood independence, neighborly trust, and childhood social development, Troy is not doing as good as it should be. owever, the obstacles Troy faces are all very much preventable. ive your neighbors a knock. Ask them how they are. Maybe even throw a block party. Once you know your local commu nity, it will be much easier to trust them.
Three Decades of Rom-Coms
An overview of three movie reviews of romantic comedies.
Mehereen Kaur // Business Editor & Public Relations Editor
Things ate out ou
This classic 1990’s rom-com stars Julia Stiles, eath Ledger, Joseph ordon Levitt and many more astonishing actors. This movie is probably one of the best things to come out of the 90’s. This story is about two sisters where the youngest sister can’t date until her ill tempered older sister does. This movie is loosely based on Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew.” If you love the aesthetics of the 90’s mixed in with some laughs and hate, then this is the movie for you. If I lost my memory, I would be so glad, just because I get to watch this movie for the frst time again. If I am in a bad mood, this is one of the movies that I would watch. The pacing was very nice, the romance factor is high and the whole vibe of the movie is just immaculate. There are so many obvious reasons why this movie is a 10/10 for a romantic comedy.
How to ose a uy in ays
This classic romantic comedy tells the tale of Andie Anderson the “ ow To” girl and Ben Barry, both people who have a task by their bosses. Andie is to write an article, “ ow to Lose a uy in ays,” and Ben is to make a girl fall in love with diamonds. While both of them have a goal to meet, they end up falling in love with each other. This movie is a good laugh, there are several moments where I was laughing my heart out. The story line is just amazing for this plot. The way both of the characters are play- ing and falling for each other is just pure bliss. One of the best rom-coms ever made. They are true soul- mates, like they just complement each other so well that sometimes I forget that they need some- thing from the other person. This movie is perfect in every way, and gets a per- fect 10/10.
To all the Boys ve oved Before
It was frst a book trilogy, which has now become one of the biggest romantic comedies in the 2010’s. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was released on Aug. 17, on et ix. The movie is about Lara Jean whose fve secret love letters get sent out and are wreaking havoc for her. The movie has since become what I feel like is the best et ix original trilogy. This movie is an easy / . The plot, romance factor and how there are so many parallels in the book make this movie so good. After a minor inconvenience, this is one of the movies I will be watching, which makes it very comforting in a way that shows people that there are things as happy mistakes. I would watch this movie over and over again just because I can. The fake dating into lovers troupe in this movie is just outstanding.
hotos ourtesy of
Flying of the helves
Troy High School’s thoughts on book bans. Ameya Vaddamani // Staf Reporter
In 2023, the American Library Association’s Ofce for Intellectual Freedom documented 4,240 unique books that were targeted for censorship, reaching the highest level recorded by the association. While that number slightly decreased in the frst eight months of 2024, it is still signifcantly higher than it was before 2020. While some states have passed legislation outlawing book bans, Michigan is not one of them.
Jodie Duda, an English teacher at Troy High School, states that she has not personally had anybody object to the books taught in her classroom. She adds that the community is very supportive and “trusting that the books that we use in classrooms have been vetted and are of literary merit.” She also
says that there are alternatives for any student that objects to reading certain books. While these alternatives vary, Duda reiterates that students are provided with a choice.
Toni Isaac, the library media specialist at Troy igh School, lists some reasons people try to ban books. She states that in addition to politically motivated bans, some others have “mature content, books make people feel sad [and] books deal with social issues that make people feel uncomfortable.” While this certainly is not a comprehensive list, these are some of the biggest reasons for bans.
If someone wants to ban a book at Troy High School, Isaac describes the process. The current process involves an ofcial review by a committee
composed of administrators, teachers, at least one parent and at least one student. The committee’s decision is given to the school superintendent, who makes the fnal decision about whether the book stays on the shelves.
As it mainly afects them, many students have opinions on book bans. Zahra Husain, an Advanced Placement English Literature and omposition student, provides her take on book bans. She believes that “books are a really good opportunity for people to learn about themselves and the rest of the world,” adding that banning books essentially robs people of this knowledge. Husain shared that many of her classmates also disapprove of book bans, with eforts to ban specifc titles often resulting in
confusion amongst her peers.
However, these students’ opinions aren’t just recent.
Laura Liamini, an Advanced Placement English Literature and omposition teacher, recalls a conversation she had with a student when book banning started to become more prevalent. She recalls a private conversation from years ago with a student, who asked “ Ms. Liamini, what’s happening Why are they taking away our books ’”
While book banning is a divisive issue, when asked for any titles that should be banned, Liamini states that “it’s about
an individual reader’s discretion. Researching books, deciding what is something that’s a good ft for their values, their worldviews [and] what’s the right level of maturity.”
Disney: A Live Action Failure
Disney loses its charm and audience due to growing problems within, namely money. Sage Venable // Staf Reporter
“Mufasa,” a live action adaptation of a pre uel to “The Lion King,” released on Dec. 9, 2024, has become that last straw for a lot of Disney fans. Not only has live action become old, it’s become grossly overused. The recent releases and the upcoming lineup have really pushed fans away from the franchise.
“Mufasa” is often criticized by its rushed storyline, poor computer-generated imagery and its unnecessary play on nostalgia. Not only does it stray from what makes “The Lion ing” great, but it also fails at most of what makes a good movie. An example is the songs, composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are often criticized for being choppy and not musically aligned with the visuals. They tried to cre-
ate another Circle of Life, which did not stick with fans.
“Snow White,” the upcoming live action recreation was supposed to be released on March 22, 2024; however, after receiving much backlash from fans about casting, the subsequent Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike and the need for reshoots, the release was pushed back to March 21, 2025, a full year later.
Even now, the trailer posted on YouTube has a massive amount of dislikes, with a ratio of 1.5 million to only 101 thousand likes. Most of the comments are either criticizing the trailer for the poor computer-generated imagery of the animals and dwarves, pointing out that live action movies are
supposed to be more realistic, or they’re criticizing casting choices. A lot of people found that the main lead, Rachel egler, was not the right ft for the role and did not represent “Snow White,” with her backlash coming mostly from what she has said about the movie in interviews.
Now, these movies are mostly quick cash grabs on Disney’s part, playing on people’s love for the originals without adding virtually anything to them. They are also trading better ideas for more marketable toys. For example, in “Wish,” the storyboard ideas had a star boy instead of the small star that is actually present. The reason for this change is that the small star can be turned into a plush, and then sold to fans.
Disney is also under a lot of controversy because of how they deal with their movie screenings. In ec. of , “Sonic ” and “Mufasa” released at about the same time. When “Sonic ” started to beat out “Mufasa” in earnings, Disney stepped in and pressed their movie into more cinemas and more screens. Though this did result in “Mufasa” earning more by the end of the month, people are seeing this action as the lengths that Disney is going through to stay on top. With so many changes in how Disney is run, fans are moving away all together. The future for Disney is now up in the air, and it is only a matter of time before they either recover or fail.
The Rise and Fall of Marvel
From comic books to cinematic dominance. Leah dwards // Staf Reporter
From comic book pages to the big screen, Marvel has evolved into an entertainment juggernaut that has captivated audiences worldwide. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) continues to thrive by exploring themes like politics, social issues and the multiverse. While its visuals and battles grab attention, Marvel’s ability to stay relevant comes from addressing relatable topics, keeping audiences engaged and invested.
Due to this, the movie resonates deeply with viewers. Instead of introducing superheroes as invincible characters, the flms highlight relatable challenges such as responsibility, identity and struggles. These personal dilemmas are woven into stories that, despite their elements, feel grounded and human. Audiences connect with these characters, seeing their own experiences re ected.
However, the expansion of the Marvel universe has led to an overwhelming amount of content with the introduction of Disney+ shows. Fans have voiced frustration with the amount of material required to stay up-to-date. Troy High senior Yael Ramirez says, “For new fans, it’s going to be overwhelming. They’ve got to not only watch the movies, but they also have to
watch the TV shows.”
The multiverse has opened up fresh possibilities for Marvel, introducing new characters and bringing back old favorites. Ali Ali-Ahmed, a counselor at Troy High School, sees this as one of the franchise’s greatest strengths.
“Without the multiverse, Marvel wouldn’t have as many options as they have now. I love it because it keeps your imagination open.”
The introduction of alternate realities has allowed Marvel to explore endless timelines and revive old faces. For long time fans, the return of characters like Gambit from The Uncanny X-Men from 1990 is an exciting experience.
“Bringing in older characters and seeing them on the big screen as a surprise, I couldn’t help but be one of the frst in the audience to start clapping,” Ali-Ahmed shares. The multiverse into nostalgia, giving long-time fans those special moments that make them feel like they are a part of something bigger.
Jacqueline Ciolek, a teacher at Troy High School, speaks on the excitement surrounding the multiverse, particularly in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ It shows how powerful nostalgia and devotion to the characters can be. The moment
when diferent versions of Spider-Man appear on screen creates an emotional connection among fans, showing how deeply these characters connect with audiences.
Although with all the twists and turns, the multiverse can become overwhelming. While some people love the unpredictability, not everyone is a fan of change. Some longing for the more familiar, easy-to-follow Marvel stories from before.
“Spider Man was uni ue because it followed a similar path as previous ones, but now with the multiverse, you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” says Ali-Ahmed.
Marvel isn’t just about the storylines, the way they look has changed a lot as well. Thanks to computer-generated images, the studio can create unique worlds that used to be impossible. Movies like Jurassic Park and Spider-Man have pushed the limits of what computer-generated images can do, and fans have been blown away by the improvements.
“It’s crazy to see how much things have changed,” says Ciolek. “ I makes everything feel so real, from dinosaurs to the multiverse, and it makes the story even more exciting.” Ciolek also admires how
far comics have come over the years. “To me, it’s so cool to see the evolution of comics over time.”
Despite its many achievements, Marvel still has room for progress, such as the representation of female characters and cultural diversity. Ali Ahmed says, “I think whenever they can add more culture or diversity, it gives my students an opportunity where they can watch a movie and relate to themselves. I’m all for it. I think that’s awesome that they’re looking to branch out and diversify their semantic universe. I admire that.”
As Marvel continues to explore new worlds and bring back old favorites, there’s one thing that remains clear: the franchise is constantly evolving and engaging fans in ways that only Marvel can. Whether through creative storytelling, visual efects, or nostalgic character returns, Marvel’s reign in entertainment shows no signs of slowing down.
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rish upta is a Troy igh School lass of graduate and a sophomore at the niversity of Michigan. e has medaled in races across the country and competed in the nder World hampionship in Peru for Team SA. upta considers his time in high school to be “fantastic.” Apart from his obvious athletic involvement, he was an active member of the A and Model teams. upta’s Advanced Placement Literature and omposition teacher Amy Feldkamp recalls that he was “always very thoughtful and curious, and one of those students that you could shoot the breeze with.” Looking back, he believes that Troy igh School’s balance between academics, athletics and social life culminates into “a very happy image of Troy igh School .” ifcult to believe as it may be, upta was not always a track star. In fact, like many other track athletes, he began as a soccer player. e acknowledges that he was always a very active kid on top of soccer, he also played ag football, baseball and tennis growing up. e frst joined track in sixth grade at Boulan Park Middle School to build physical stamina for the soccer season and continued until eighth grade while playing for Liverpool Football lub International Academy team. e says that he “loved the sport before he even knew it well,” because of its focus on numbers. nfortunately, the OVI pandemic and a broken ankle took him out of his freshman and sophomore years of track. That all changed in his junior year. Since he hadn’t run since eighth grade, he didn’t expect much at the pre season time trial “I just wanted to run my hardest and see how fast I was .” e sprinted meters, one lap around the track, in seconds. Already able to run that competitive of a time without any training, upta realized his potential future in the sport. Senior year, upta refocused his attention from soccer
Run it Back
omegrown talent on the world track and feld stage and beyond.
Julia Triculescu // Staf Reporter
to track, with the dream to be recruited by colleges for track, not soccer as he had believed for over a decade. In his two seasons on Troy igh School’s Track and Field team, rish upta was a fve time All State athlete, competing as a “complete sprinter” in the m, m, m and by relay.
One of upta’s coaches, Michael Reimann, Troy Athens igh School math teacher and former Troy igh School cross country and track and feld coach, remarks “ rish was a born leader who poured his heart and soul into the Troy igh Track and Field program. Your leaders of your team need to be your hardest workers, and that’s exactly who he was for our team.”
upta’s mentee, now senior Jason harlie amilton remembers him as helpful, encouraging and “in control of everything.” amilton asserts “ e really helped me become a better track athlete.”
One of upta’s fondest high school track memories is com peting in the by state fnal in rand Rapids just hours after his graduation ceremony, which he described as “disorganized,” “crazy,” but “so cool.” is most exciting experiences were, and still are, anchoring by rac es since “everyone’s watching it, there’s crazy comebacks and all the stands are cheering for you coming down on the home stretch.” Overall, he believes that being at meets with his high school team was a “really special experience. ”
After high school, when it came to choosing a university, upta clarifed that, although he wanted to go to a school with a good track program, he didn’t want to sacrifce his education for one. upta knew if he took a gap year and reapplied the next application cycle, he could go on an athletic scholarship to a number of big colleges. is other option was to enroll in a college where he wouldn’t be a part of their team which he had narrowed down to Indiana ni
versity and niversity of alifornia Santa Barbara. Following much personal re ection, he concluded that taking a gap year was too big of a paradigm shift and he decided to enroll at Indiana niversity. uring his year there, he continued to train himself, sneaking onto the track when the varsity team wasn’t there.
In track and feld, an athlete can enter and compete in most collegiate meets as “unattached.” very weekend of his freshman year, upta drove himself around the country to compete in collegiate meets and further improve his times. After racing very well that May, the sprints coach at the niversity of Michigan extended upta an ofer for a spot on their team if he transferred. upta knew that Michigan was a perfect ft culturally, and the university had been on the top of his list. “It was, mentally, a really hard year
that he was one hundredth of a second too slow to ualify for the SA race that would determine Team SA’s roster, but because of a teammate’s last minute injury, he made it to the fnals “by the skin of his teeth” and medaled. e went to Lima as an alternate for the m dash and the third leg for the by relay. nfortunately, although Team SA was the gold medal favorite, a missed baton handof from frst to second leg dis ualifed the team. evertheless, upta considers it a wonderful experience and “a full circle moment” that “still feels like a fever dream.” upta is now in his sophomore year at the niversity of Michigan, double majoring in PP Politics, Philosophy, and conomics and ata Science. “I’m living the dream here. It cultivates everything I would want out of a school academics, athletics, social life . Life’s
asked how he balances his academics, athletics and social life, upta said that he thinks about his time management as always resting a part of his body. For example, when he’s in the gym, he uses it as an opportunity to give himself a mental break, or when he is in class, he’s taking a physical break. e encourages Troy igh School student athletes to employ the same mindset since “it can really help with burnout.”
upta’s motivation and ambition stems from a deeper place of re ection than the constancy of athletics throughout his lifetime “There aren’t many people of an Indian or South Asian ethnic background in sprints, in track and feld, especially, but also just American athletics. I never really had that type of role model to look up to so I could say wow, that guy could be me one day.’” e went on to say that he believes that there is a subtle racism associated with that, having been commented on by those of other races and his own, alike, that South Asians “ aren’t built for high level athletics.” To him, it seems like “people can’t believe someone with an Indian ethnic background could accomplish what he’s accomplished.” As such, he wants to be a role model “I want to show people who look like me that they can achieve just as much in the athletic world as anyone else.”
upta’s main advice to Troy igh School students is to set their goals high and not believe anyone who tells them they’re crazy for doing so. Speaking from experience, he explains that high goals keep people accountable and provide motivation “If you stick with it, and you really put a lot of efort and you’re intentional with how you go about things, it will work out, and you’ll get more from it than you could ever have imagined. ream big.”
Photo courtesy of Krish Gupta
Serve up Some Competition
Troy High School and Troy Athens High School badminton clubs working together on a badminton tournament. Fajr Ahsan // Staf Reporter
On Jan. , , the two badminton clubs from Troy High School and Troy Athens igh School came together, competing between themselves in a friendly competition.
Toro iang, a junior and the secretary of the badminton club at Troy igh school, mentioned how the “appreciation for bad minton between the board members” in both of the clubs was what led to the two clubs to work together to coordinate the frst ever badminton com petition between the schools.
Months prior to the event taking place, board members from both clubs came together in order to discuss and work to learn the rules of how reg ular badminton tournaments worked as well as how to ad vertise the event to students at both of the high schools.
Toro Giang recalled how the board members working on the project from both the schools were stressed, as it was the group’s frst time organizing and running such a large event. For the event there were two
diferent tournament games that participants could enter themselves in. They could enter to play in the singles tourna ment, or pair up with another student from either school and play in the doubles tournament. Participants were not restrict ed to only being able to sign up for one of the tournaments.
Phuong iang, a senior and the president of the Troy Athens igh School badminton club, explained the rounds for each match were pretty simple. Par ticipants had to get the shuttle cock on the other side without letting it go out of bounds, each match lasting until points were scored on either side.
The tournaments also had cash prizes for the frst, second and third place win ners as a way to encourage more participation from both schools. The clubs were able
to set the prize money at dollars for frst place, dol lars for second place and dollars for third place. Phuong Giang commented that the amount for each place was “decided based on the num ber of participants” they had.
Phuong iang mentioned that unlike an actual badminton tournament, the club’s version would be “only one set instead of three” and also set each game to play by doubles boundaries regardless if it was a singles or doubles match being played.
The two clubs were able to come together and hold this event in display of their love and passion for badminton. Toro Giang remarked that overall “It had been uite en joyable working with anoth er club to execute this event.”
After months of plan ning and fguring out de
tails for the event, the day of the tournament came and went by without a hitch. The clubs saw a total of 30 participants join and show up on the day of the event at the Troy Athens High School gym. ric Li, a senior at Troy igh School and the frst place win ner of the singles tournament, commented that the event went pretty well as the board mem bers from both clubs tried their best in hosting the tournament. Both board members and participants shared the feel ing of excitement during the event as they watched students from the competing schools come together over their shared passion for badminton.
Slow Start, Steady Climb
The turnaround of Troy High School’s varsity basketball team Roberto icolas Pi a // Staf Reporter
In the season, Troy High School’s varsity basket ball team has been defned by triumphant wins. Including a blowout against rivals Troy Athens High School and shooting guard Mason Parker breaking the all time scoring record of 1300+ that was held since 1999. But the season can also be described by heart breaking losses like the two Lake Orion High School games lost to game winning missed
last second shots. On top of the misfortune the team’s slow start has prevented the team from contending for a league title.
To start the year, the team had gotten of to a slow start, which was in stark contrast to last year’s record break ing season. According to Parker, “We lost a lot of players from last year, a lot of help.” At the start of the season moving past last year’s team was difcult but the narrative
has seemingly changed after a team meeting around the time of the frst game against Troy Athens High School.
The meeting had struck a chord with the team as Parker described it “Players and coaches, we all needed to buy in.” After the team’s meeting their start has turned them into winning fve of the last eight games.
Head Coach Gary Fralick agreed that the meeting was a great contribution to the steady improvement of the team “The players are getting to know each other better and play for each other.” The mixture of improv ing chemistry and knowing the weight of the season has pushed this team far to be steadi ly readying for playof time.
Although the team won’t get a chance to win the league, they still have a chance at a district championship going
into the playofs. early every one on the team is excited for the second Troy Athens High School game and a third one in the playofs sounds even more enticing. One big reason shoot ing guard Jordan Pett gives for wanting to win the district is partly based on last year’s sea son, “We had the best season in history but lost in the dis trict so fnally getting a district championship would be nice.”
As of right now the team aims to get better for the fu ture playof games as oach Fralick comments, “We’re get ting better, and that’s what you’re trying to do because you want to be ready for the playofs.” With the season coming to a close the main concern is continuing to build on the growing momentum of the team. With all the buildup throughout the season Coach Fralick makes it clear “We
want to be at our peak when we start playing district games.” Looking back on the season near its end, oach Fralick de scribes “It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster,” on one hand, “but it’s an interesting, fun team to coach.” With the sea son’s ups and downs this team will give us a chance to see what they can do come playof time.
We all rely on hallways to get around Troy High School. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to use them. However, some have taken notice of the growing congestion within these halls. But what is the cause of this congestion? It’s more than a game of supply and demand, but rather a complicated system of factors. It might be easy to point fngers at people who just look down at their phones or walk worldwide in formation, but there’s more at play here.
Michelle Tedder is a traveling chemistry teacher here at Troy High School. She often needs to travel to diferent classrooms as part of her daily routine. This includes moving around a teaching
Hallway Hotspots
Why are the hallways always so packed? Henry McBrien // Publication Editor
desk and a variety of lab equipment. She agrees that “the worst of the congestion is defnitely in the main atrium near the main ofce” she said that the cause of this is “people just standing around.” Again, it is easy to point fngers at those who simply are in the way. However, there is also a structural aspect. According to Tedder, the issue was less prevalent when “the side area by the attendance ofce was open.” aturally, this would allow for “people to hang out in between classes and not get in the way.” But is this the only reason for buildup?
Matthew Batke is a Junior at Troy High School. Like many, he utilizes Troy High School’s hallway network to get from place to
place. e said that “I defnitely bump into people and need to shove my way through near the main ofce.” When asked about potential causes, he stated “there is simply too many people involved and everyone just wants to push and shove and get on their way.” is opinion on the issue of standing “It’s really not that much of an issue, I think. Again, people just want to get on their way.”
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when in a quick crowded hallway, but what happens when an issue of safety comes up? Brian Jones, the Troy High School Resource Ofcer, explains the potential hazards and remedies to hallway crowding.
He says “In the event of an incident we would have to respond to, crowding could defnitely be an issue” and that “we should defnitely take that into account when thinking about our responses.” When asked how the school plans for emergency responses, he replied, “if an issue were to arise where we would need to quickly get somewhere, we would consider options like minimum security lockdowns or a shelter in place.” When asked about the issue with the main ofcer area, he replied “While I do think it’s an issue, we have options to get places quickly and safely. We have drills, Shield and teacher monitoring. If something were to come up we have op-
tions.”
While it may be tempting to blame busy hallways on a small group of people, one should consider what they are contributing to the situation. Self awareness is paramount, and pushing and shoving won’t help. So next time you think about shoulder checking someone to get to your next class, think about others. But you also shouldn’t have to worry about any danger arising from it. Maybe in the future we’ll have a bigger, better and stronger hallway system. ntil then, just don’t pretend like it’s a zoo.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin: The Winter Drinks Battle
Comparing Dunkin’ and Starbucks’ newly released winter drinks. Isela Mulcahy // Sta Reporter
e rivalry between Starbucks and Dunkin’ is unmatched. e two make up the largest co ee chains in America today. In 1950, Dunkin’ was founded and started the legacy of huge serving sizes and cheap co ee that apparently “America Runs on.” While Starbucks was founded in 1971, building their empire of very ca einated and wildly expensive co ee. Despite the history of either, I’m a bit biased towards Starbucks. However, they’re both known for seasonal drinks and as of right now winter drinks. Recently, I conducted a survey to gure out the top ve winter drinks from either Dunkin’ or Starbucks, and a er receiving over 100 responses from Troy High Students students, it was completed.
Coming in rst place is Sabrina Carpenter’s Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso from Dunkin’, the rst choice for 32.6 percent of responders. is oatmilk delicacy is heavily endorsed by the pop star, yet still picked rst when it isn’t branded with
her name. While I love Sabrina Carpenter I’m not quite sure if I love her drink, as a bare minimum I liked it.
Coming in second place is a Starbucks drink, Customizable Matcha with a whopping 19.6 percent of responders. Bringing more opportunities and options for customers when it comes to the sweetening of matcha, or unsweetened if the customer chooses. Whether hot or iced, it’s either loved or hated, and Starbucks is preying on America’s new obsession. If one thing is for sure I know I’m obsessed, matcha is delicious. If you disagree, talk to a wall. Coming in hot, Starbucks’ Brown Sugar Oat milk Cortado makes third place with 17.4 percent of responders. is powerful, traditional drink from Spain is made with three ristretto shots, blonde espresso and steamed milk that received a warm welcome from the Starbucks co ee drinkers. Added with Starbucks’s brown sugar syrup and cinnamon powder, its advertised to transform
normal co ee shop cortado drinkers to yet another Starbucks addict? Now I already love Starbucks, but I hate this. I nd the brown sugar to be revolting.
Now, back to Dunkin’ in fourth place where 15.3 per cent of responders chose the Lava Cake Latte. can perfectly cover one’s caf feine and chocolate cravings with notes of lava cake and rich espresso. Topped with whipped cream, mocha drizzle and a dusting of choco late powder to cre ate a sugary deluxe. I’m a sucker for anything sweet, and this matches my sweet tooth. All I can say to Dunkin’ is well done, and I’m ashamed Troy High School ranked it so low.
Now nally, com ing in h place is the Brown Sugar Oat Iced Matcha Latte from Dunkin’ with 15.1 per
cent of responders. is drink is a combination of matcha’s earthiness and the sweetness of brown sugar syrup with a hint of vanilla. is drink has a beautiful gradient of green and white, but does it taste as good
still have to say Starbucks’ Customizable Matcha is my favorite. What some call earthy, I call it an acquired taste. I must assure you readers that it isn’t for everyone. Like I said you either love it or hate it, I’ve
A Disgraceful D**tionary
An insight into the Pho ue nifed School istrict’s plan to ban the “Merriam Webster ictionary”. Arya Shah // Staf Reporter, raphic by Fajr Ahsan // Staf Reporter
Last week, the Pho ue nifed School istrict’s Board of ducation an nounced a bold proposal to ban the Merriam Webster ictionary.
“It’s the work of the dev il,” claims Richard “ ick” e Vil, the board’s vice president. “The black text promotes radicalized lib eral propaganda by cover ing nearly every white page throughout the book, literal ly erasing white narratives.”
Like e Vil, parents have expressed concerns about the physically dark content.
“My son missed four days
of school straight after his nglish teacher forced him to use the dictionary. e fell into a state of severe de pression because he felt like his white culture was never seen on the page and instead engulfed in words in distinc tive black font. e now de velops a panic attack at the sight of bolded text,” says Ima Mc oward, a pseud onym for a source who re uested anonymity because they felt the word dictio nary’ was too obscene to be publicly associated with.
Beyond appearance, the district scrutinized the
dictionary for what they deemed as misinformation. They addressed concerns regarding unpatriotic terms such as diet’ and exercise’ that chastise American cul ture and promote standards against the nation’s core values. At their most recent meeting, board members devised a series of “unsea sonable” words, a few of which are detailed below
1. Daddy
2. Moon; according to the board, “the landing wasn’t the only thing unreal.”
3. Women
4. Freedom; because “a land of the free’ is actually the least American thing we could possibly teach our children,” comments e Vil.
5. Salt
6. Healthcare
7. Rainbow; presumably because a mere description of the vile color combina tion indoctrinates kids into ueerness.
nglish teacher Valerie Frizzle touches on the ban ning with a strong disdain towards the board, “When I frst heard this news, I was livid. My classroom is a safe space, and if my kids fnd excitement in scanning over pages to read the word cream’ in size six font, then so be it.” Frizzle ex presses that in a classroom flled with technology, dic
tionaries are the utmost im portant learning tool in her classroom because students need a place to look up dirty words.
The Pho ue nifed School istrict’s board is also looking ahead to re move additional materi als from schools, in cluding the “Thesaurus” by Merriam Webster and all computer keyboards for suggestive symbols like the asterisk. They are also mov ing forward to ban the letter O’ in all classrooms due to its “pornographic connota tions.” indergarten teach ers will be re uired to omit the letter in teaching the alphabet to coming genera tions.
“We’re paving a clean path forward for our kids by re moving this elicit content,” says e Vil.
“ eep our schools clean”, reads e Vil’s new campaign poster, next to a graphic raising a middle fnger to the Merriam Webster ic tionary.
***For legal purposes, our adviser wants us to clarify that this article is satire. No real dictionaries were harmed in the making of this article.***
