The Little Hawk by The Little Hawk

LITTLE HAWK THE

2025-2026 STUDENT SENATE PRESIDENTS ELECTED

By Ramy Makawi

After a tight race between three tickets—Toe Collins and Alma Bhandary-Narayanan, Claire Locher and Amal Eltayib, and Jesse Varner and Mercy Ngugi—City High has elected its next Student Senate Co-Presidents for the 2025–2026 school year: Collins and Bhandary-Narayanan.

“I’m just really excited to be able to represent this school,” Bhandary-Narayanan said. “[It’s really cool] that we had so much support.”

Polls were open from fourth period on Tuesday, May 20 through noon on Wednesday, May 21. Though results were originally scheduled to be announced during the fifth period, they were delayed until after school due to fraudulent votes from ineligible students. Despite the unexpected twist, Collins and Bhandary-Narayanan came out on top.

Their campaign focused on connection, affordability, and tradition. They plan to revive senior events that have lost traction or were disrupted by the pandemic, including a School of the Wild-style experience for the Class of 2026.

“COVID kind of screwed us out of a lot of really fun traditions,” Collins said. “We want to bring some of that back.”

They’ve also set their sights on lowering the price of prom and Senior Assassin—two events they say should be more accessible for all students.

“That’s something we’ll need to fundraise for throughout the year,” Collins said. “But we want to start early.”

On top of affordability, the co-presidents-elect are pushing for stronger student voice and involvement. They plan to open up the last five minutes of each Student Senate meeting for any student to drop in and share concerns or ideas.

“We want people to be able to contribute

without needing to join Student Senate,” Bhandary-Narayanan said.

Their campaign style was as much about tone as it was about policy. Both Collins and Bhandary-Narayanan said their humor, approachability, and authenticity helped them connect with voters.

“We didn’t take ourselves too seriously, but we took the role seriously,” Collins said.

As the school year wraps up, the pair plans to use summer to brainstorm, build timelines, and prepare for a high-energy start in the fall. With events like Homecoming, Senior Sunrise, and the senior paint fight on their radar, they hope to kick off the year with momentum—and keep it going.

“If people feel like they had a fun and memorable senior year, that’s how we’ll measure our success,” Bhandary-Narayanan said.

They wanted to leave one last message to the incoming senior class.

“We want to hear from you,” Collins and Bhandary-Narayanan said. “And we want to have the most fun senior year possible.”

STUDENT BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTS

Baking with Hawa Omari

By Claire Hartwig

Q: What inspired you to start your own baking business while still in high school?

Grade inflation is on the rise

By Martha Willard

CONTINUED ON PG 7

STAFF EDITORIAL

BIKES ARE THE FUTURE

By Nicolas Vergara-Vanegas

Transportation contributes to 28% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions. That means that one of the most impactful things you can do to help the planet is to switch from a conventional car to an electric car. At least, that’s what companies like Tesla and Ford will tell you. While compared to conventional cars, electrical cars are better, it’s bicycles that are really the future.

When considering switching from a conventional car to an EV, it’s important to understand how an electric car works. . .

CONTINUED ON PG 10

Crocheting

with Amari Castro

By Martha Willard

Q: How did you first start crocheting?

A: My grandma taught me how to crochet in 2021, and it took me about a year or so to start to enjoy it once I’d learned all the basics

Q: What inspired you to start selling your stuffed animals?

A: I’d been considering selling my artwork for a while since both my parents sold their artwork and told me it was a good idea.

ABOVE: As part of their campaign, Bhandary-Narayanan and Collins took photos in North Market Square Park.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALMA BHANDARYNARAYANAN AND TOE COLLINS In addition to Student Senate, Bhandary-Narayanan and Collins also take part in Math Club, Mock Trial, Cross Country, and Debate. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALMA BHANDARY-NARAYANAN AND TOE COLLINS

Letter From The Editors

Hey, Little Hawks!

It’s already the end of the year! We hope you had an amazing 20242025 school year! In this June issue, we have lots of great stories for you to read; we have Culture Day content on page 4, Martha’s grade inflation feature on page 7, and previews for baseball and softball on pages 15 and 19, respectively! We’re winding down here at The Little Hawk and look forward to passing the torch to next year’s editors. You are absolutely in good hands with next year’s staff; their passion for The Little Hawk has been incredible, and we are so excited for the content they will create starting this fall.

It’s been such a wild ride, and we can’t believe our journey with you is ending! We’re off to Boston University and Yale University (Go Dogs!), and while we are so excited for what’s next out east, we’ll always cherish the memories of all our time here at City High and in room 3108. We’ve loved the time we have spent creating, writing, designing, and leading this publication, and a huge part of that is our readers. Thank you for continuing to support the work of us and all our fellow seniors on The Little Hawk; all of us are incredibly grateful! As we think about the next stages of our journeys, we should take a moment to remember our peers who won’t be there to take their next steps alongside us.

Again, and as always, thank you so much for reading!! We hope you have the most wonderful of summers!

Signing off with love,

Your executives, Kate and Tai

LH Games: CHS Crossword and Sudoku

This themed mini crossword will test your knowledge of the school!

Carson Tuttle to Become Quiz Bowl Coach at City

The Southeast Middle School coach will be working with some of his former students

By Jethro Michaelson

Spanish teacher Dolores Silva, who led City High Quiz Bowl to two state championships, has decided to step down as coach.

Carson Tuttle, the Southeast Middle School Quiz Bowl coach, has decided to take Silva’s spot at City High in addition to coaching at Southeast.

“I’m really excited,” said Nico Vergara-Vanegas ‘28, a player on the 2025 state championship-winning team. “He made Quiz Bowl a ton of fun. Ms Silva was a really great coach, don’t get me wrong, but Mr. Tuttle is a legend.” Tuttle coached many of the current City High players during their time at Southeast. He led the middle school to four tournament wins, one state championship, and three trips to the Middle School National Championship in Chicago.

“I’m [excited] to work with him again, and I think he can really take our teams to the next level.”

“Tuttle is awesome,” said Daniel Drollette ‘27. Drollette was the leading player in bringing Quiz Bowl to City High. “We’ve had Ms. Silva for the past two years, and she’s been great, but she doesn’t have a lot of hands-on

experience with Quiz Bowl.”

Drollette said that he hopes Tuttle’s practice routines will lead City Quiz Bowl to a higher level.

Samuel Richman ‘27, who has been a player at City since the start of the program in 2023, hopes that coaching at City will benefit Tuttle as well as the students.

“I think [that having Tuttle coach] could be a really good opportunity for both us as a team and Mr. Tuttle because it will give him an opportunity to coach at a higher level,” Richman said. “It’s going to be great having a coach who is very involved with Quiz Bowl itself.”

The students also expressed that they will be looking for a City High teacher to serve as a sponsor and assistant coach in the future.

“Currently, Ms. Silva is planning on continuing to be our sponsor, letting us use her room and resources while Tuttle takes over the coaching duties,” Drollette said. The team will likely be looking for an assistant coach to serve in the future, but Drollette is not concerned about the situation at the moment.

“I definitely think having one of the City teachers be an assistant coach or sponsor would be very

beneficial,” said Richman. “Mr. Tuttle likely wouldn’t be able to be at City most mornings, so it would be great to have someone else to help and who’s more consistently available.”

Vergara-Vanegas said that Tuttle’s additional duties will likely be taxing and that having an assistant coach would be vital.

“Mr. Tuttle’s going to need all the help he can get,” Verga-

ra-Vanegas said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m really excited for him to come over here. I hope he can bring something new to the table and that we can continue to be competitive.”

Carson Tuttle and one of his former students, Vivian Adams ‘28, after the 2024 Western Dubuque Open, a victory for Southeast PHOTO BY JETHRO MICHAELSON

Culture Day Celebrates Diversity at City

The third annual Culture Day event included a fashion show, dances, and various foods

By Liyan Egliseer

As the school year starts to wind down, one of the most anticipated events at TSTL brings students together in the most unique way. Sharing diversity through traditional attire, music, dances, and many more things, Culture Day, which is organized by the International Club, Latino Hawk Club, and many other clubs, is a day for the remembrance of students’ backgrounds.

“Culture plays a big part in how someone acts and what is seen as the norm,” Miamen Elawad ‘25 said.

Culture Day not only represents students, but it also guides them on what kind of people they should be or become. For students like Elawad, culture guides her on how she should treat others and is a big part of how she lives. Culture is not just her heritage, but it also frames her everyday life. It shapes her values, such as leadership, kindness, and respect, and it takes a role in how she lives her life. This event highlights the

importance of diversity, but also the sense of guidance we foster from our cultures.

“My culture is a guide on how I should treat others and what to do in different situations. As a person, my culture is what shapes kindness and leadership,” Elawad said. Culture shapes how each person

reacts to situations, and there is no right or wrong way. Culture day is a day to showcase everyone’s differences and also find similarities between communities..

“You can embrace and learn about different cultures/traditions that may include their own,” Jeanica Mbuyi ‘25 said.

ABOVE: Jessica Sosa ‘27 represents Colombia in the fashion show. TOP LEFT: Delilah Valencia ‘27 and Jayla Sanchez ‘27 participate in the fashion show.. PHOTOS BY STELLA DEMAREST

BELOW: Poi Borchardt ‘26 and Kaitie Nguyen ‘26 represent Laos and Vietnam in the fashion show. MIDDLE: Da’Miyah Thompson ‘28 dances as part of Sisters in Strength. BOTTOM: Yomi Hemley ‘25 dances in Asian dance. PHOTOS BY STELLA DEMAREST

Student Business Spotlight: Q&A with Hawa Omari

Hawa Omari ‘25 shares about her baking business

By Claire Hartwig

Q: What inspired you to start your own baking business while still in high school?

A: Growing up, I’ve always just loved baking. I’ve always baked cakes for my family for birthdays and other events. Something that inspired me to start a business was my mom. My mom always wanted to start a business, and I thought, why don’t I just try it out and see how it goes? One of my former friends used to always ask me to bake him tres leches cakes, and different desserts, and I never made them before, so I just thought, let me try, and they were good.

Q: How did you manage balancing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and running a business?

A: I only bake on the weekends, and that’s because I work Monday through Friday, and then my Saturdays and Sundays are always free, so I just use it as my time to bake. I promote my cakes and stuff the week of, and then I bake on the weekend, so people know it’s coming.

Q: What challenges did you face in managing your time, and how did you overcome them?

A: I love to procrastinate, I love

to just tell myself I’ll do it later. I’ll get it done later, and then I’m always rushing to make orders because people are on their way to pick them up.

Q: Were there any unexpected obstacles when starting your businesses?

A: Some unexpected obstacles that I came across were that I never expected to sell out, but I would sell out so fast, and then I would feel so bad for people who didn’t get to try some of it.

Q: What role has social media played in promoting your business?

A: Social media played a huge role and promoting my business. I started with just posting on Instagram, and I have a decent following, so they were all very supportive. I was getting customers from like 30 minutes away, 45 minutes away, and people were doing the drive just to get my cakes. Also, when people would buy my desserts, they would repost them too and tag my account so which brought in more customers

Q: What’s your signature baked good or product?

A: My signature baked good for my family is definitely ice cream cakes. But I haven’t accepted any ice cream cake orders from any customers yet, so my signature baked good for my customers is my Biscoff tres leche, Dubai cookies, and my red velvet Oreo cookies.

Q: How did you figure out the pricing of your products?

A: The first day I sold my cookies, I underpriced them, and my customers told me to raise my price. When raising prices, it’s kind of scary because you don’t think that people are gonna continue wanting to order from you because you put your prices up. Surprisingly, I got just as many orders, if not more.

Q: What are your future plans for the business after graduation?

A: My future plans for my business after graduation, I won’t lie, I haven’t thought much about it. I always really did this as a hobby, but baking is something that I truly do enjoy, and I have so much passion for so down the line I could see myself opening up a small business! I really do love nursing as well, so I probably will be pursuing that career cause I’m already a nurse at my job right now, but I do love baking, and when I have time, I’ll still be doing baking, business or not!

Q: What has been the most memorable moment in your baking business so far?

A: My most memorable story for my business is when I first started selling my baked goods. I went over to my friend’s house, the one who got me into baking in the first place, and I surprised him with a cake, and his little brother tried the cake, and he loved it so much he started to eat it with his hands and licked his fingers. It made me feel really good to know people enjoyed my baking, and it made me feel more confident in my skills. Another memorable baking story from when I was selling my cakes was this boy, his name is Ramy, he’s a junior, he came to pick up cakes during the storm, and it was just so funny because we were both just running around outside getting completely drenched.

Student Business Spotlight

Q&A with Amari Casto

Amari Casto ‘27 shares about her crochet business

By Martha Willard

Q: How did you first start crocheting?

A: My grandma taught me how to crochet in 2021, and it took me about a year or so to start to enjoy it once I’d learned all the basics

Q: What inspired you to start selling your stuffed animals?

A: I’d been considering selling my artwork for a while since both my parents sold their artwork and told me it was a good idea, and I finally felt like I was at a point where I could crochet fast enough and well enough to sell it.

Q: Were there any unexpected

obstacles when starting your business?

A: Unfortunately, right around the time I opened my Instagram, Instagram implemented the under-18 rules… which, if you don’t know, prohibit people from messaging you things if you don’t follow them. So when I did my first drop, which was purely on Instagram, I told the DM to purchase it but I wasn’t following anyone, so I couldn’t receive any of the messages. Luckily, a family member reached out right away and let me know there was a problem so that I could quickly follow everyone back, but I’ve yet to find a better solution.

Q: How do you sell most things?

A: When I started, I mostly just sold things over instagram or in person, but I recently expanded and opened an etsy shop as well!

Q: What’s your favorite thing to make?

A:It’s really hard to choose a favorite but probably jellyfish or squid just cause the tentacles are so fun to do.

How did you manage balancing Q: schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and running a business?

A: It’s definitely a challenge but just making sure I prioritize what ever I need to do most really helps and also making sure I’m manag ing my time well.

Q:What role has social media played in promoting your busi ness?

A: A lot of my customers are fami ly or friends, so social media hasn’t done a lot other than giving me a ‘center’ of sorts for my platform, although it has attracted some cus tomers! I think that finding ways to stay consistent with posting and such helps draw in a bigger audience.

Amari Casto ‘27 poses with her stuffed animal.

PHOTO COURTESY AMARI CASTO

Hawa Omari ‘25’s baked goods. PHOTO COURTESY HAWA OMARI

Legends of The Little Hawk: Mira Bohannan Kumar

Q&A With the Former Executive Editor

By Ethan Lalumiere

Former Little Hawk Journalism executive editor Mira Bohannan Kumar ‘20 published more stories on the website than anyone else. She wrote about topics from Student Senate, to local and national politics, and even biking. Nowadays, she’s more interested in exploring philosophy and law.

Bohannan-Kumar poses for a photo at Harvard Law School. (Mira Bohannan Kumar)

Now a student at Harvard Law School, she got her B.A. in Philosophy, and Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences from Wellesley College, just outside Boston. Her research interest in philosophy focuses on the constructs of space, time, and the constraints society puts on people, as well as the treatment of incarcerated people in the United States.

Q: What did Little Hawk Journalism mean to you in high school?

A: [Journalism] was my number one thing, I used to read every article that went up on the website and copy edit everything that went into the newspaper myself. There’s something really special about getting the opportunity as a student to produce a product that embodies values that you think are important, and to have people really read it and actually care what you say. The Little Hawk and student government were big parts of my life. People really read our newspaper. I wrote an op-ed criticizing the school dress code and it was substantially changed. It’s so easy for young people who don’t feel heard, and being on the newspaper and having people actually see what you believe is a really important form of power.

Q: What was your favorite thing you did with Little Hawk Journalism?

A: I really enjoyed an article that I wrote my senior year about a fellow classmate and her family who had immigrated from Sudan, we got to talk about her family’s story and that was a really interesting experience that helps you see how just one person can be so important to a global dynamic, and we see that in the law too. There can be one representative whose story transcends and we can see a broad injustice. I just really enjoyed the process of the newspaper, I liked working with other students developing their skills and the team aspect of it.

Q: What are you doing now?

A: I graduated from college in May of 2024, I was doing a lot of pretrial and post conviction and compassionate release and clemency work. Now I just study, but I’m in Harvard Defenders, a public defense oriented organization, focusing on especially low income clients in the Massachusetts courts at the show cause stage. Our clients have been arrested and there’s a report, we go before a clerk magistrate to defend them from potential charges. That work helps to stop entrapment and helps people maintain their lives and not to lose resources because of something that may or may not have happened. I really love learning from older students and getting to observe lawyers & what they’re

doing and seeing how people can work together to stop encroachment.

Q: What actually is the clemency process?

A: There are not a lot of ways if you’re in prison to exit before the end of the sentence, but a lot of people look for ways to end it on just sentence or exit because of other circumstances. Some have medical needs or illnesses and that’s called compassionate release. Iowa is one of a few states that doesn’t have compassionate release. A lot of people are elderly, and even though they have good reason to be released, they can’t be.

Clemency functions to allow those who are terminally ill or not getting health care that they need in prison (prison health care is bad) to exit and rejoin the community or get medical care that they need. Clemency goes right to the president federally, or governors at the state level. Kim Reynolds has never granted clemency in Iowa, she gets many applications and denies them all. Many are for people with a long sentence with families and other medical needs. Even when the Iowa Parole Board recommends release, she doesn’t do it. There are many circumstances where we can see that the justice system wasn’t working when someone was convicted. Accelerating the death penalty without further review is just wrong, regardless of what you believe about the death penalty in general.

Q: I saw that you’re interested in going beyond the prison state? Can you describe that to me?

A: I think there are a few things here, there are a lot of strong arguments for incarceration, but also a lot of real systemic problems with the way we run the criminal justice system. We need appropriate resources and dignity. A lot of what we call crime stems from people not having what they need and real systemic problems in society. The US has a much higher crime rate than other comparable countries, and that’s not random, it has to do with the way that we run our society and how we choose to handle interpersonal harm. There’s harm in incarceration and harm in people hurting each other. We have by far the highest incarceration rate in the world. The idea that we need to be providing resources

AN A+ FOR C STUDENTS

Grade inflation is on the rise

Years ago, a City High teacher felt pressured by students, parents and administrators to curve subjective tests–these are tests that couldn’t be auto-graded–more harshly. In response, their grading policy changed to reflect the increasing demands of students who wanted higher grades for the same quality of work. This is an example of grade inflation, a phenomenon where average letter grades go up without an increase in student understanding.

Over the past ten years, grades have increased without a notable change in standardized test scores. This is evidence of grade inflation, a phenomenon where average letter grades go up without an increase in student understanding.

Grade inflation is when the letters grades given do not match with students’ knowledge and mastery of content. Evidence of whether or not students have mastered content usually comes from standardized test scores like the ACT or ISASPS. The SAT is not as helpful because it is graded on a curve.

From 2010 to 2022, the average high school GPA has risen in all subjects, but the growth is most pronounced in math. In 2010 it was 3.02 and in 2022 it was 3.32. As well as average GPA, the average percentage of A’s has increased with a decline in the amount of B’s and C’s.

Though the grades have increased, ACT scores from 2010 to 2022 have remained mostly the same, with a .6 decrease from 21.3 to 20.7. The biggest deficit was in math with 1.2 points lost. The increase in average GPA paired with the steadiness of ACT scores shows how though letter grades have increased, student proficiency of national standards have not.

High school standardized test scores in math have also decreased, according to the

the percentage of grade 12 students below basic level of achievement in math went from 35 to 40. The percentage of students below basic achievement for reading across the same time frame also went up, goingfrom 25 to 30.

College admissions

As the average high school GPA has increased, it’s also, of course, meant there has been an increase in GPA among undergraduate applications.

“We have certainly seen an increase in GPA,” Kirk Kluver, the director of admissions at Iowa said. “In 2016, the average high school GPA of our entering first year students at the University of Iowa was 3.64 and it’s increased every year since then.”

Iowa, UNI, and Iowa State are all Regent Universities in Iowa, which means they have to follow the Regent Admissions Index when admitting Iowa high school students. The RAI is a score calculated based on GPA, the types of classes a student takes, and ACT results. When a student earns a score of 245, they have to be accepted to the regent universities. However, if students do not submit an ACT score they cannot be automatically admitted.

“We’re also seeing now, a little less than half of our students are applying without a test score. In those cases, we can’t calculate a regent admission index school and we’re then looking at that student holistically,” Kluver said. “The students that are apply ing without a score, we’re really looking at grades, GPA, courses a student has taken. It has made things a little bit more competitive as average GPAs have increased.”

Overall increases in GPA

have also raised the amount of students eligible for certain scholarships, changing how they are awarded.

“I think it probably affects scholarships more than it affects admissions, the GPA changes,” Terri Crumley, the UNI admissions officer said. “As you get more and more and more students that have higher GPAs, then you have to give out more scholarships.”

At Iowa, Kluver has also noticed that with GPA increases scholarships are more competitive, and says that submitting test scores can better set students apart.

“It has become a little trickier with awarding merit scholarships as average GPAs have really increased significantly,” Kluver said. “I think we’re pretty up front and telling students that while we do have some scholarships for students that are applying without a test score, our highest scholarships [go to] students that have a good college curriculum, have done well in those classes, and also have a test score that’s usually above our averages.”

Crumley also mentioned how as GPAs rise, they continue to reevaluate the GPA threshold for scholarships and whether or not to add test scores to eligibility requirements. On the opposite side of the GPA spectrum, the lowest GPA that UNI students had in highschool but are still successful in college has gone up.

“We’re going to continue to study that trend, and as long as you know we’re seeing good success rates, we’re a little less concerned. But when you start seeing you know that students have, for example, generally, we know that students with a 3.0 or higher at you and I do pretty well, and they graduate at high rates,” Crumley said. “Let’s say that all of a sudden we see that anybody below a 3.2 isn’t graduating at a certain rate, right? Well, maybe we need another measure. Maybe we need to add the test scores back to help us better, assist students when they come to the school.”

City High Teachers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several grading policies were changed at City High. There was a period where the base grade for any assignment, regardless of submission, was 50%. New retake and late work policies were also introduced during COVID.

“The more you can retake, the more chances you get for the A so obviously it’s gonna affect it this way. So it has, both [retake

and missing work policies] have increased the amount of A’s plus the few years where a student would get a 50% even though they didn’t turn in anything,” French teacher Tony Balcaen said. “So obviously that’s kind of skewing the scales a little bit in one direction.”

Though Balcaen acknowledges that changing grading policies has led to grade inflation, he still feels that his grading reflects student learning. However, over time, his personal standards have become more lenient over his teaching career.

“Earlier in my career, I was probably a lot stricter, for sure, because I had those ideals of what it should be, you know, for an A, etc,” Balcaen said. “I think recently, yeah, it has changed. It has increased, especially A’s and B’s. And I think there’s a bit of a pressure for that from the community and from the students themselves.”

In AP classes, keeping grading consistent is different, and not as challenging. At the end of each year, AP teachers can compare the letter grades to AP test scores and see if those line up.

“Students that get an A in my class, I’d like to see them getting fours and fives in the AP test. If they’re getting a B, it’s more of a three or four kind of range. If it’s a C, it’s more of a like two or three range,” AP World teacher Jason Schumann said. “So I do that every year. I reflect back, and if I’m seeing student scores not reflective of what their grades were throughout the course of the year, I go back and think about how I revise my policies.”

Read the rest of the story on thelittlehawk.com

Orchestra Performs For The Last Time

City High Orchestras performed and held Senior Recognition Night

By Lily Rantanen

The City High orchestra program performed for the last time in the 2024-2025 school year on Wednesday evening.

Symphony Orchestra, City High’s top string group, played classics like Antonio Vivaldi’s Winter concerto from The Four Seasons and themes from Holst’s The Planets, as well as Rhosymedre by Vaughn Williams.

“I really enjoyed the Vivaldi,” Tai Caputo ‘25 said. “We ran it a number of times in

various different places and under different circumstances in order to have both the stability and flexibility to convey the idea of Winter.”

Caputo performed the solo violin part of the first and third movement of Antonio Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto from the Four Seasons. Next year, she plans to attend Yale, where she will continue to play violin while studying a mix of liberal arts subjects.

“When I look back on my four years in the City High orchestra program, I think about how interesting it is to observe how the orchestra has evolved over time,” Caputo said.

In addition to performances by Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, and Concert Orchestra, graduating seniors were also recognized and awards were presented to some members of Symphony Orchestra.

Nina and Nicole Peterson ‘25 were awarded the Conductor’s Award, and Molly Savage ‘25 and Tai Caputo were selected for the Key Award. Joanna Galluzzo, Sam Glass, Sylvia Plank, were all recognized for their work as teaching assistants.

“I think it went well. Sylvia [Plank ‘25] is really talented and I’ll be sorry to see her leave,” Celeste Miller ‘27, a cellist in Symphony Orchestra, said. “She’s worked really

hard with everybody and I think it’s really paid off, especially in the Vivaldi.”

As the red curtains of Opstad Auditorium closed for the last time this year, seniors reflected on the years they spent as part of the City High performing arts programs.

“Being on the Opstad stage for the last time in my high school career was very bittersweet,” Brody Clarke ‘25, who played percussion on The Planets, said. “When I thought back to all of the performances I’ve done in Opstad, I realized that I’ve contributed a lot to the City High performing arts department and I felt like I did my part. It’s kind of my time to go, as sad as it is.”

New City High Performing Arts Wing Proposed by Degner

Additions to all district performing arts wings were proposed to the ICCSD School Board

By Avery O’brien

After completing a study with OPN Architects, superintendent Matt Degner and deputy superintendent

Chace Ramey suggested new additions and changes to the performing arts centers at all high schools in the district.

According to the documents presented at the April 22nd school board meeting, longterm and short-term improvements are rec-

ommended for the performing arts wing at City. These improvements range from minor updates to full-scale construction projects.

“I support all projects that are good for City High,” Principal John Bacon said, approving the proposed addition.

Short-term improvements include lighting and technology upgrades, stage and curtain upgrades, making the facilities fully accessible, refurbishing the little theater, and adding all-around improvements.

Long-term improvements include adding another band room and a room for music education, more space for instrument storage, enlarging the stage and wings, adding

restrooms for public use, enlarging the balcony space, and making improvements to the practice spaces.

“It would just provide more opportunities for new programs and for improvements in our current programs,” Ev Mozena, ‘28, a participant of the choir, show choir, and theater departments at City, said.

The proposal also mentions adding new black box theaters to all high schools in the district. The benefits include a more “flexible layout,” the ability for smaller performances, creating availability for community members, and easy scene switches. The disadvantages mentioned are an overwhelming

demand, actor intimidation, and overhead lighting.

Amelie Bechtel, ‘28, is a member of the City High choir, show choir, and theater programs. Bechtel agrees that this addition would be very beneficial, but that not all of the proposed additions are necessary.

“I think some of it is needed. We already have a really strong and great music and theater department at City High, and with some of it, like the black box theater and the bathrooms, it would be so helpful, but I don’t think we need everything that is proposed,”Bechtel said.

Director Megan Stucky Swanson conducts Concert Orchestra. PHOTO BY LILY RANTANEN

Nora Cole Leaves Her (Bench)Mark

Nora Cole ‘26 has been selected as a 2025 Downtown Iowa City BenchMarks Artist. Her bench design incorporates themes of family and nature, and is based off of a piece of art she created in AP Art and Design at City High.

By Rayan Ahmed

Nora Cole ‘26 was only four years old when she first noticed the painted benches outside Iowa City’s public library. Years later, she’s painting one herself. Her design isn’t just public art–it’s a portrait directly related to her mother.

“It ended up kind of being my Mother’s Day gift for her,” Cole said about the bench she painted of her sleeping mother.

Cole, a City High artist, was one of ten people selected for the Iowa City Downtown District annual bench painting project this year. Her design, a heartfelt portrait of her mother, was inspired by a lifelong connection to art and a childhood spent admiring the benches downtown.

Cole’s bench design was adapted from a

painting of her mother she originally made for her AP art class.

“She’s sleeping in the painting under her favorite blanket,” she said. “I overlaid it with red lines that look like veins and two tree branches intersecting. One is a tree she planted before I was born, and the other is a tree we planted together,” Cole said.

As Cole describes the submission that was chosen for the bench, it’s clear that her mom has been a consistent supporter and inspiration for her art.

“I’ve always been very influenced by my mom because she has been an artist and a professional graphic designer,” Cole said, describing her relationship with her mom, who shaped her love for art from the very beginning. “It really represents how close we are, since it’s just me and her.”

When she starts a new piece, Cole begins by collecting reference photos, which are sometimes strange or abstract, like a ceiling corner or close-up of a mouth.

“The photos help me come up with ideas,” she said. She usually works with acrylic paint but also experiments with fabric, paper, and even silk. “I like picking a color palette that fits the mood.”

For this piece, the mood was “red, blue, and dark yellow.” To Cole, the hardest challenge she faced when painting her bench was squatting.

“Squatting and working outside in the sun has been the toughest part,” Cole said with a laugh. “It’s definitely uncomfortable, but still a very fun experience.”

Cole has always admired and dreamt of being one of the artists that painted

benches.

“I remember seeing all the colorful benches for the first time and asking my mom about it,” Cole said. Now, Cole’s dream has come true and other kids get to admire her artwork.

the

Cole’s bench in the “underpainting” step, a stage where a base layer of paint is applied before the final colors of a painting are added. The bench is still in progress. PHOTO COURTESY OF NORA COLE

Cole’s original design submitted to the BenchMarks contest. PHOTO COURTESY OF NORA COLE

The Little Hawk Little Hawk Journalism Staff

Executive Editor

Lily Rantanen

News

Sports

Rito Perez

Jack Rogers

Ben Klitgaard

Tessa Driscoll

Opinion

Nicolas Vergara-Vanegas

A&E Editor

Broadcast

Melody Ross Avery O’Brien

Feature

Lily Rantanen

Assistant Editors

Alex Norman

Liyan Elgiseer

Coden Kurtz

Caden Beard

Rayan Ahmed

Social Media

Ramy Makawi

Staff

Bobby Bacon, Hattie Conover, Charlie Conover, Jack Lampe, Floris Roorda, Ruby Schulz, Henry Birt, Benjamin Clifton, Liz Degner, Stella Demarest, Alex Donovan, Alex Kihibilo, LaDavion Luckett-Matthews, Talina Morgan, Yo Pierpont, Megan Swartzendruber, Audrey VandeBerg, Micah Hartwig, Jacob Hills, William Meis, Melvin Murimi, Jethro Michaelson, Olivia Clabaugh-Kroemer, Kaeding Eland, Fisher Fitzpatrick, Owen Raefield

Mission Statement

The Little Hawk, student journalism newspaper and website of City High School, aims to inform, educate, and entertain readers. LH journalists follow the code of the journalist by seeking truth, doing no harm, being independent, and working toward balance in all news stories. All student voices are enouraged to be part of an LH journalism class. To join the class talk to your guidance counselor today.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to: LittleHawkPage@gmail.com

ICCSD Equity Statement

It is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity,veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in itseducational programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you have(or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the Equity

Director at:

509 S. Dubuque Street (319) 688-1000

Electric Cars have Nothing on Bikes

Bicycles are the key to a healthier future, not EVs

LEAD WRITER: Nicolas Vergara-Vanegas “ALL

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, an electric car produces less emissions than conventional cars. In fact, the Department of Energy claims that electric cars produce zero direct emissions. But if that’s true, then why is it a problem to use electric cars instead of gas-powered ones?

When considering switching from a conventional car to an EV, it’s important to understand how an electric car works. According to the Department of Energy, electric cars plug into a power source and store that energy in their battery, which means that no fluids or gases are emitted when driving. Simply speaking, an electric car uses electricity to power itself instead of gasoline, so that the car itself doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases. But that doesn’t mean that the car isn’t contributing to emissions. It also doesn’t mean that electric cars produce the same amount of emissions as conventional ones.

To answer that, consider these facts. As of 2025, 60.8% of the United States’ energy comes from fossil fuels (Energy Information Administration). To power an electric car, you need to charge it with energy that probably comes from your local power grid, which has a 60% chance of being reliant on fossil fuels. So all we’ve done is switch from gasoline powered cars to natural gas powered ones, even if the indirect emissions given by electric cars are still less than the direct emissions by gas-powered cars. Of course, this isn’t a given. In the state of Iowa, 59% of energy comes from

- Nicolas Vergara-Vanegas

wind turbines(EIA, 2023). In Iowa City, it isn’t uncommon to see a house with solar panels on its roof. In fact, it might be uncommon to not see at least one house in a neighborhood with solar panels.So chances are that if an Iowan drives an electric car, it’s powered by some kind of renewable energy source. So switching from gas to electric is probably going to be contributing less to the greenhouse gas problem. And while an improvemnt, it is not the best thing you can do.

Here in Iowa City, we’re very lucky. Even in the downtown area, it would be remarkable to not see a single tree or patch of grass. Iowa City is beautiful. And if we’d like to keep it that way, the

step forward is not to switch from gas to electric, but to lessen car use altogether. This might sound ludicrous, but there’s no shortage of ways to get that done. Iowa City has a public bus system, and in fact, it’s currently free. Using public transportation instead of your own car lowers your carbon footprint significantly. And that’s not all.

Iowa City is very bike-friendly. On a good day, it’s odd not to see a biker or two on the sidewalk. Big Grove Brewery often has bikes parked on its bike racks. Iowa City is also relatively small; only around 26 square miles in area. Almost every building is accessible by bicycle. Iowa City is even making new bike lanes around the city, making it even more accessible for riders. Even here, at The School That Leads, more bike racks are being built, making it easier for students to use bicycles to go to and from school.

Instead of making the switch to an electric car, do yourself, and the world, a favor and take the advantages that Iowa City offers, whether that be biking or taking the bus, and help make our beautiful city healthier, greener, and even more beautiful.

Teacher Appreciation

IDirector Darby’s Constant Encouragement Makes her INCREDIBLE!

had my first interaction with Mrs. Darby in my sophomore year when auditioning for the fall play “Peter and the Starcatcher.” I had never been in a play before and didn’t prepare for my audition as much as I should have. As I stepped into the audition room, my knees shook and I tried my best to seem confident. As I performed the unprepared scene, I relaxed as she laughed hard at every line I said. I left the audition feeling much more relaxed, and ended up getting the role.

Mrs. Darby’s constant belief in and encouragement of every student is what makes

Wher an incredible teacher. Many people rave about how theater is a safe space where people can be themselves and have some fun, but the reason theater is that way is because of the culture Mrs. Darby has created. Her belief in my performance abilities as a sophomore quite literally changed my trajectory, because she helped me gain the confidence I needed to audition for college and pursue theater.

Rehearsals can be stressful and boring, especially during tech week. But even when someone messes up or misses a cue, she never yells or gets upset, because she knows how

to make a positive environment. I’ve never had a negative tech week with Mrs. Darby, because she somehow manages to use her positivity to energize all the students. She makes an effort to understand and sympathize with her students, especially in nerve-wracking settings like an audition. This is what makes theater such a welcoming space. She is always laughing or smiling and she has been so helpful to me, whether it be reading and revising my college essays, or teaching me all I know about performing. I am forever grateful for the three years in theater I had with Mrs. Darby.

If

You Want Boring History, Don’t Take Mr. Schumann

hen I think of history, many people would believe that it’s boring, or at least have boring teachers for it. However, that’s not what I believe, nor do I think that’s what Mr. Schumann believes, because he makes his classes very fun to be in, as he talks about the different notes and things we learn about. He also makes the class fun when we play games like the most recent which was, a cold war game where you either play as a neutral country or Nato and the Warsaw pact, trying to get people on your side, which is a fun way to learn about history, because in between you get little lessons about what

Ehappened, and which countries became part of the groups.

One of the things that happened in our class that I found fun in the first month or second, was that when we were in period one still, and learning about buddhism and other religions of asia, we had a cool game that we played where we got a card if we won, and the game was about Buddhism and reaching Nirvana and the card was a picture of the band and it said you reached it, so I think that was very fun.

He also does an excellent job of making the class interactive by asking questions every few slides or something like that to keep attention on the subject that we’re learning that day. I also think that he’s very good at

teaching an APUSH class, which is very hard to do as there are many things to get through and to learn about during the class, for example there are four periods of history we have to get through in only a year, which are from 1200 through to modern day, the first period being 1200-1450, and the second 1450-1750 and the third period 1750-1900 and then the last is from 1900-modern day. I also think that he’s very good at making the class fun. I feel like if I had a different teacher who didn’t have as much humor or wasn’t able to keep the class moving and everything on track and good, it wouldn’t be as good, so thanks, Mr. Schuman, for having a positive attitude and impact on each student. It’s very appreciated.

Ms. Dickson is my AP World Mom and I will Always Appreciate Her!

very day, I’d come rushing into Ms. Dickson’s class with Lucas, Jack, and Mo—always running a little behind. She’d already be in full lecture mode, probably mid-sentence about the Silk Road or Genghis Khan, and she’d pause just long enough to hit us with the loudest “Be quiet!” and a look that said, really, again? But she never held it against us. She kept pushing us, every single day.

Ms. Dickson wasn’t just our AP World teacher—she was like our school mom. She always called herself that, and it was true. We asked the dumbest questions, complained constantly, and somehow still learned more than we realized at the time. Even when looking back, how much I hated AP World History, with Ms. Dickson, it wasn’t just

about the class material. She made the class feel like a family, but also made sure we knew we had to take things seriously.

We spent so much time taking notes— pages and pages—and even though I hated it at the time, I look back now and realize how much it helped me. I actually learned how to listen, stay focused, and study just by doing that. And then there were the LEQs. Man, those long essays had me so frustrated. But she wouldn’t let us just turn something in and move on. We’d break them down in class, talk about what made a good thesis, how to structure everything, and really understand how to write them. Same thing with SAQs—those annoying little short answer questions. We all hated them, but she set aside time outside of class just so kids from different periods could come in and get help. She didn’t have to do that, but she did because she wanted us to actually get it.

She even made us get binders to keep ev-

erything organized. And when people didn’t have them, she’d yell and tell us we needed those binders because there was so much material. And when I’d mess around in class, she’d give me that classic disappointed mom look—the one that wasn’t mad, just expected better.

AP World was my first AP class, and I was honestly nervous. But Ms. Dickson showed me I could handle it. She helped me improve, made me believe in myself, and because of her, I signed up for four AP classes the next year. Even if the only things I really remember from the class are the Silk Road and the Mongols, I’ll always remember what she taught me about myself. She didn’t just make me a better student—she made me better, period.

Thank you, Ms. Dickson—for the yelling, the binders, the Silk Road, the LEQs, and for always being our AP World mom. I’ll always appreciate you.

New Phone Policy Helps But Social Media is Still a Problem

Streaming on Paramount Plus or for rent on Amazon

By Floris Roorda

One day in my US Lit class, shortly after the new phone policy had been implemented, one of my friends got his phone taken away. He was so stressed out that his immediate reaction was to go home because he needed to keep his Snapchat streaks. Use of social media by teens, especially in school, is a topic that is often discussed. It has pros and cons. For example, it can be used to spread positivity and help people, but it is also very easily addictive and can be dangerous to a student’s physical and mental health.

The effects on mental health can be catastrophic. Since social media started becoming more common, so have mental health problems like anxiety and depression. According to a study by National Institute of Health, increased social media use goes hand in hand with internalized problems such as anxiety and depression, and while social media use in general isn’t always bad, the length of use is important because sitting there doom scrolling for hours at a time can be really harmful to one’s attention span too, which directly affects how students learn.

Another thing is that increased use of

social media can greatly affect the sleep students get, which thus affects the other aspects of their life, like school, work, and sports.

Social media can be directly tied in with the amount of students being tired in school, a study by the CDC shows that students who

used social media for two plus hours per day were tired 12 percent of the time, while students who used it less than two only reported being tired in school 6.5 percent of the time, sleep is one of the most important things for a high school student, and this makes it even

TIPS FROM A SENIOR: SAT Math Section

Everything you need to know for the math section of the SAT

By Tai Caputo

Juniors (and perhaps sophomores), it is time to think about taking the SAT. If you want a high score, plan to take the test more than once. Few schools require sharing all your scores–just your highest ones–so taking it early, even if you don’t end up liking your score, can’t hurt. Set aside time to study for the SAT every week before your test date.

Why am I in any way qualified to write on this subject? Well, after taking the SAT more times than I’d like to admit, I’ve reached the point where my score is higher than I’d ever dreamed, and I know a lot about the test now. I did not study very much for English, but I did study a lot for math, so I have thoughts about that.

Some basic information: SAT math covers pre-algebra, algebra I, algebra II, and geometry. It does not cover pre-calculus or calculus. This means that if you are a sophomore or junior, you probably already know all of the content required for SAT math. Some of the easiest concepts are even from late elementary school, such as simple linear graphing and “mean, median, and mode.” You should review all of these concepts.

Tips to prepare

• SAT math looks different than most math taught in school. The concepts are not actually harder; they’re just presented in a way that is intended to confuse you.

• SAT questions can look pretty weird. I used to freak out when I was confronted by these problems. But SAT math is more elegant than your average math. Solving problems is often about simplifying, and the numbers are usually easy to work with, so the answers are often clean.

• To prepare, use Khan Academy’s free SAT prep program, especially if you are scoring below 700 in either subject. There

are explanations of every single concept and question in written and video form.

• Take practice tests in Bluebook, which should already be downloaded on your school Chromebook. It’s important to take tests made by the College Board because they are the most similar to real questions.

• After you take a test, don’t look only at your score, but also at the problems you got wrong, and the ones that confused you. Wrong answers provide important data. Your ability to improve on the SAT (and maybe also in life) hinges on your willingness to confront your own mistakes. Read the answer’s explanation and keep practicing similar types of questions until you consistently get them right.

• If you keep making mistakes on easy questions, you can also practice taking the PSAT (Pre-SAT) practice tests in Bluebook, since the PSAT is slightly easier but the content and format are still the same.

Tips for testing

• Within each module, you don’t have to answer the questions in order. (In English, the comprehension questions were hardest for me, so I did vocabulary first, skipped all of the comprehension questions, did grammar and punctuation, did the notes questions, and then went back and worked on the comprehension questions.)

• On the test, you are allowed to use Desmos Graphing Calculator! Desmos is intuitive and user-friendly, so make sure you feel familiar with it, because it will be your best friend. If the test gives you an equation in any form, you can plug it in to find x. Desmos Test Mode is smaller and more annoying than the regular application, but it’s essentially still the same. You’re also allowed to bring a hand-held graphing calculator if you prefer.

• Math has two modules. The test is adap-

worse, City high students describe the effects of this directly on their learning.

“Usually after a long day, I stay up late on my phone, but I feel the effects the next day,” Trevon Herman, ‘26 said.

Even with the new phone policy, social media can still affect how students perform in school, especially because of the sleep problems it can create. This leads to even more stress because students will be anxious to answer messages or talk to certain people during the day and won’t be able to as much.

“Usually at the start of class, I want to check Instagram or messages to see if I got anything, but sometimes this leads to my phone getting taken away,” Ramiro Batres, ‘26, said.

Social media also creates feelings of jealousy and feelings like you aren’t enough. This is because there will always be people showing off their fancy lifestyle or body and it can make people, especially teens, feel bad about themselves which is a huge con, also, not everything on social media is real anyway. People can fabricate lavish lifestyles or routines that they don’t actually live, which can make the stigma of feeling bad about yourself worse.

tive, so if you do well on the first module, you get the harder second module. If you don’t do as well on the first module, you get the easier second module. Getting about six problems wrong on the first module will give you the easy second module. The highest score possible with the easy second module is approximately 600. The SAT’s digitalization was supposed to make the test shorter, but it has caused a lot of anxiety among students who aren’t sure which second module they got. Try not to worry about whether you got the easier or harder second module.

• If you have a 504 or an IEP for extra time, definitely make use of the extra time. If you finish early, don’t second-guess yourself. Beware of changing too many of your answers. It is the pitfall of having extra time.

• Scratch paper is provided. Sometimes you’ll be in a room where your desk is too small to fit both a computer and a piece of paper. One strategy is to fold the piece of paper in half and put the computer on the other half of the table; another is to hold the computer in the air with one arm while you do calculations with your other hand. It’s all up to you.

• If there is a question that is super weird or unusual, it’s possible that it is a trial question. Two questions per module are only for test writers’ calibration. These don’t affect your final score.

• There are proportionally more hard questions than there were before on the math section. Don’t get discouraged! Take comfort in the idea that in math, there is always a right answer. (In English, who knows!)

• Figure out how long it takes for you to need to go to the bathroom after drinking water. You are allowed to leave the testing room during the test, but this takes away from your testing time, and you can also get lost trying to find the bathroom. Locate restrooms before and plan accordingly.

Tips for thinking about your score

• Sometimes you score high in one subject but not in the other. This is okay. You are allowed to submit your highest scores in both categories, from two tests, as a “superscore.” (Keep in mind that not all colleges accept superscores.)

• This score is one snapshot of a moment in time. On another day, you probably would have scored differently.

• Although test center closures and general disruption led to test-optional policies in many colleges during the pandemic, scores are now being required again by a lot of them. This is because a number of colleges realized that without standardized tests, they were less able to tell which students were academically prepared. It also hurt students from disadvantaged backgrounds who scored relatively well on the tests but did not think they were high enough to submit.

• Remember that “score averages” on college websites are inflated because of recent test-optional policies.

• Ultimately, you are the one who decides what a “good” score is. Colleges usually consider you within your context, so the higher your classmates and the people in your state are scoring, the higher you have to score to differentiate yourself; likewise, the lower your classmates and the people in your state are scoring, the more likely you’ll stand out with a high score. It all depends on where you want to go to college.

After all of that, if you still don’t like the SAT, it’s not the end of the world! Many colleges are still test-optional and would rather that you send no score than one that is below their official averages. Good luck!

Do Yourself a Favor, and Watch “Better Man”

Streaming on Paramount Plus or for rent on Amazon

By Ben Haines

2024 was not a bad year for movies, but there were more than a few things I felt deeply disappointed by. One of those was the musicals. The musicals 2024 had to offer weren’t just bad, many of them simply failed to function as musicals. Both Emelia Perez as well as Moana 2 sadly fall into this category. Heck, as anybody who’s talked to me at all in the last four months knows, I’m loath to shout the praises of Wicked, but at least that film has musical numbers that don’t feel wildly out of place (even if I do feel the majority of them are quite lifeless). Considering all of that, it was a welcome surprise for me to find that Michael Gracey’s latest musical biopic about the life of Robbie Williams, Better Man, is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the film having a massive budget, its theatrical distribution was deeply flawed across the US, and that also meant it wasn’t playing anywhere in Iowa City. So, to watch it I had to either drive to Des Moines or wait for the film’s digital release. I, unfortunately, chose the latter. I say “unfortunately” because after finally buying it on Prime (worth every penny), I can say with some conviction: Folks–this thing is electric. Watch it with the biggest crowd on the biggest screen possible.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you might be saying right now. “Ben. Hold your horses. Who even is this Robbie Williams fella you claim this movie is about?”

This may be hard for Americans to grasp, but he’s one of the biggest pop stars in the world. In fact, the soundtrack for this film has become his fifteenth #1 album in the UK. Making him tied with The Beatles for most #1 albums in that category. Heard of them? “Whoa, whoa whoa,” you might be saying right now. “Ben. Hold your horses. If this movie is about this huge pop star then why is he a monkey on the poster?” Well, as he explains in the trailer for the film, he’s always seen himself as “a little less evolved.” So…this is a long way of saying that Robbie Williams is played by a monkey for the entire film. Obviously not a real monkey (although you know that’s something Williams probably pitched to the filmmakers at one point), 32-year-old Jonno Davies plays mon-

key-Robbie in a mocap suit, and Williams himself narrates it (and sings most of the songs). While this may sound like a bit that the movie would be better off not committing to, it flippin’ works. In this cinephile’s opinion, no other film has ever managed to have a full CGI lead this successful. After a while, you completely forget about it, partly because of the stunning visual effects work, but also because it feels weirdly fitting for Robbie. The monkey may not look like Robbie Williams more than any other actor they might’ve gotten to play him, but he certainly has the essence of Robbie more than any other actor they might’ve gotten to play him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you might be saying right now. “Ben. Hold your horses. I may not know much about movies, but I do know that a musical is only as good as its plot.”

Incorrect. In truth, a musical is only as good as its musical numbers. For instance, Grease’s plot is a bunch of convoluted, outdated nonsense, but man, when Travolta is singing and dancing in front of (and about) a car in a not-quite t-shirt-not-quite-tank-top, you don’t really care. In the greatest musical ever, Singin’ in the Rain, there’s a part where Don Lockwood is pitching a scene that will close the picture they’re working on. What follows is an entire dream ballet

that seemingly takes place in Don’s mind. It has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Nothing that happens in that scene involves any of the other characters besides Don. It feels like it’s from a different movie. And yet–it’s the best. It’s all vibes and incredible dancing. That’s what matters. Aside from just rocking, it also tells you something about Don Lockwood by showing you what’s going on inside his head at any given moment. It’s a funny realization. The plot of Better Man may not be anything revolutionary–in fact, it follows many of the tropes that people often bemoan in reference to music biopics–but with everything else going on in the film, it’s hard to think about that. I don’t care about how quick Robbie’s third act realization and redemption is, because it’s shown over the course of an incredible and emotional ballad. This is the case when talking about the rest of the musical numbers as well. Better Man takes all of those lessons about its musical numbers to heart by prioritizing glorious imagery and emotion rather than prioritizing the plot.

In an early scene, after Robbie’s boyband signs a record deal, they burst out of the executive’s office (hitting a stranger’s face with the doors as they do) and break out into the best musical number I’ve seen in years: ‘Rock DJ’. The entire sequence plays out in a “oner” (one shot), showing Robbie, his boyband, and hundreds of extras dancing about

Regent Street. Shot on location in England, even though the sequence is digitally aided (it’s not really a oner), there’s always a practical element going on. When Robbie and his boyband hop onto pogo sticks and bounce down the street on them in synchronization with the music–that’s real. It took months of training. Just before the final act of the song, all the music cuts out except for the percussion and vocals, and you wonder if this is the most exhilarating the film will get before it immediately proves you wrong in the final 40 seconds, in which Robbie jumps on top of a bus before dancing in front of hundreds of extras on the street. It’s more energetic and electric than pretty much any action scene from 2024, let alone a musical sequence (I’m listening to it as I write this right now and I’m getting excited).

“Whoa, whoa whoa,” you might be saying right now. “Ben. Hold your horses. A big exciting dance number is all fun and good, but what of the slower songs?”

Never fear. The ballads are done with incredible confidence and energy as well. In a scene soon after, in which Robbie is kicked out of the boyband, he drives away in the pouring rain and belts ‘Come Undone’. As stated above, Better Man’s plot is hardly reinventing the wheel, but the film gets around this by focusing more on raw emotions and Robbie’s character. As Robbie speeds down the highway in the rain, you feel him coming undone and reckoning with himself. There have been plenty of music biopics over the last two decades, but few seem to have a take on the artist as a character. Unlike some other big-budget, new release films whose only given reason for why you should care about the characters is that “Hey–you saw Bucky Barnes in another movie, so you should care about him here”, Better Man has a real take on the character that might seem over the top and goofy at first, but it takes less than five minutes to empathize and feel with Robbie as a protagonist. Not many Americans know who Robbie Williams is, which makes it all the more impressive when the movie convinces you that you should care.

So folks, please experience this thing for yourself. The film is currently streaming on Paramount+ and rentable anywhere you rent movies.

GRAPHIC CREATED WITH CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGES BY BEN HAINES

Little Hawks Take Flight as Softball Season Begins

By Rito Perez & Jack Rogers

After going 8-14 last season and losing in the first round of sub-state, the Little Hawks are coming into the season with a strong senior class.

Led by seniors Avyana Lindsey, McKenzie Brown, and Lianna Hull, the team is chock-full of veteran players. Hull is committed to North Texas and had a .489 batting average and a 1.261 OPS last season. Lindsey is committed to Iowa Western to play, she boasted seven home runs last year. All three are five-year seniors. Junior Molly Carlson also led the team in home runs with 10.

“This season is to just have fun and enjoy my last season here at City High, but I also want to have a good stat line for my last season. I think for the team we can try to win more games than we did last season and just try to succeed the best we can, and it is going to take everyone to be successful this season, and everyone trying their hardest,”

Avy Lindsey ‘25 said. Defense is where the team struggled the most last season, with opposing teams averaging 11 runs on them, while the Little Hawks only averaged 9.18 runs.

“I hope to make the all-state team. I’m most excited to play a tough schedule and play Marion on the Iowa softball field,”

Molly Carlson ‘26 said. Some underclassmen have been making a difference on the team, like Eve Vitense ‘28, who had the third highest batting average (.351) in her first year on the team. Maeve Obermueller ‘27 also had 17 RBIs and had the second-most walks on the team with 14.

“The most important factor that will lead to our success this season is being mentally tough and prepared, being able to

bounce back after mistakes and limiting errors will bring success this season. The most important factor that will lead to our success this season is being mentally tough and prepared, being able to bounce back after mistakes and limiting errors will bring success this season,” Maeve Obermueller ‘27 said.

The program has had multiple high-quality teams in recent years. In the 2021 season, the team made it to the 5A state quarterfinals. In that season, current seniors were playing their first high school season.

“I’m excited to see our younger players step up and be more dominant now that they have varsity experience. I want to have a winning record for my last season,” McKenzie Brown ‘25 said.

The team’s first game is on May 26 against Davenport West, then a doubleheader the next day against Cedar Rapids Washington, and the first home game is on May 30 against Xavier in a doubleheader.

ABOVE:

Avyana Lindsey ‘25 launching the ball towards first base in a game against West Liberty. The team went on to win 12-4.

Eve Vitense making a check swing in the same game against West Liberty.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMBER SEATON

ABOVE: Maeve Obermueller ‘27 stealing second to third base in the West Liberty game last season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMBER SEATON

BOYS SOCCER

Dancer Breaks Single Season Goal Record

By Jack Rogers

After a regular season with only one loss, the Little Hawk soccer team finds themselves ranked third in the state headed into the postseason. Drake commit Jack Dancer ‘25 led the team with 21 goals in the regular season, breaking the school record for goals in a season.

“Excited, I’m excited. I want to be like Lamine Yemal, because he’s the same age, and it’s like I’m competing against someone. As long as I have my pre-game song, The

Boys Are Back in Town, I’m feeling good. But anyway, there is a lot of weight on our shoulders, with some expectations coming in. But if we work as a team during the postseason, I think anything is possible,” Dancer said.

The team boasts a record of 13-1-3, leading the MVC and securing a top spot in substate. Other stat leaders for the team include Alex Chappell ‘25, leading the team in assists with 12 on the season. Other goal leaders for the team are Jackson Nichols-Lindsey ‘25 and Jonah Bowen-Burt ‘25, each having six goals. Goalkeeper Ben Borger-Germann has had 32 saves on the season, on a 74.4% save percentage. Borger-Germann has also held 11 clean sheets this season.

“I’m excited, you know, I know we have a lot of pressure on us and a lot of expectations for seniors to perform, but I think we can go far. It’s been a good season so far,”

Ben Borger-Germann ‘26 said.

In the teams’ sub-state semifinal, they will face off against Davenport Central. The team beat Davenport Central, 8-0, during the regular season. If they beat Davenport Central, they will play against either Bettendorf or Dubuque Senior in the sub-state final.

I feel great going into the postseason after an overall strong season. We completed one of our goals, which was winning the conference, and also, individually, I feel like I am performing at a high level. Now that we are

Grant Wins State for High Jump

Both girls and boys track teams qualified for the state tournament each having high placers in different events

By Jack Rogers & Rito Perez

Bernard Grant ‘25 has been dominant in the high jump field all season long. Grant hasn’t placed lower than third in any meet all season and has only placed third twice. One of his highlighted wins came in the Forwald meet at City High. Grant was ranked third in the state heading into the state tournament, with his highest jump being 6-05.25. Before the meet started, Grant was dealing with a little bit of nervousness.

“I was definitely a little nervous going into it. I was frustrated because I lost my wallet earlier in the day, but I found it, no worries,”

Grant said.

After arriving at the meet and settling in, he registered that this was similar to everything he had done in the regular season.

“As the event went on, I realized this was exactly like a regular meet, and I had a feeling that the state championship was mine,” Grant said.

After jumping a height of 6-05 at the state meet, that was enough for Grant to be crowned the state champion of high jump.

Both teams also had high places in other events, with Rachel Haack ‘26 placing 4th in discus with a throw of 137-05. Along with that, Nina Peterson ‘25 placed tenth in the 3000m event with a time of 10:22.15. Peterson is now number six all-time at City High in the event.

in sub-state, the whole team knows our goal is to win state, but we just have to take it game by game,” Chappell said.

Last season, the team lost in the state quarterfinals against Johnston 2-3 in extra time. In the game, the team was led by Gabriel Egeland ‘25, who had a goal and an assist, keeping the Little Hawks in the game. It was the first state appearance for the Little Hawks in more than five years. After only losing two seniors following the 2023-24 season, the team has continued to build on a solid core.

“I’m feeling great. I feel as if our team is at the strongest point it’s been all season, and I feel as if we can make a deep run in the playoffs,” Egeland said.

ABOVE: Jack Dancer ‘25 dribbles the ball up the field in game against Wahlert Catholic. Dancer broke the record for goals in a season with 21. PHOTO BY OWEN RAEFIELD

ABOVE: Taylor Salinas ‘27 celabrates a goal scored in game against Wahlert Catholic. Salinas led the team in goals last season as a freshman. PHOTO BY OWEN RAEFIELD

TOP: Bernard Grant ‘25 jumps over height of 6-05 to win the state tournament. Grant didn’t finish below third place all season. PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN MURKEN

BOTTOM: Bernard Grant ‘25 shows emotion after his jump that earned him the state title. Grant was ranked third in the state heading into the meet. PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN MURKEN

BOTTOM: Piper Sweeting ‘25 runs first leg of relay race. Sweeting qualified for state. PHOTO BY AUDREY VANDE BERG

TOP: Rachel Haack ‘26 conversates with Hannah Braun ‘26 in between events. Both qualified for state this year. PHOTO BY AUDREY VANDE BERG

ESPORTS

ESPORTS TEAM WINS STATE TITLE IN FIRST SEASON

By Jack Rogers

In the inaugural season of City High Esports, the Little Hawk League of Legends team came away with the state championship. With this win, the Little Hawks earned an undefeated season, and the school brought in their 59th sports state championship. The team beat Waukee in the state championship.

“It went amazingly well,” Robert Crawford, one of the Esports coaches at City, said. “Our League of Legends team was undefeated this entire season. We finished the regular season in first place with no losses and swept all four matches at state.”

League of Legends is a game developed by Riot Games, which combines strategy, teamwork, and fast-paced action. League

is a five versus five game that has complex rules. It’s similar to Valorant, which is another esports team that City High offers. It has one of the most competitive esports scenes in the world, with over 150 million monthly active users.

“It went well. We had no problems. [The League of Legends team] didn’t lose a single round,” Ziggy Alvarez ‘25 said.

The team consists of all seniors, with Ziggy Alvarez, Zakai Kriener, Elijah Wyatt, David Martinez-Ortez, and class president Nick Tran leading the team.

“It was a great season, we learned a lot. I think our players were very confident with the League of Legends because we hadn’t lost, we were undefeated all season, and we beat everybody that we were going to play at state, so they did not feel any pressure,” Head Coach Gerry Coleman said.

LITTLE HAWK ATHLETE OF THE SPRING VOTING:

ABOVE: The League of Legends esports team poses with state championship trophy after beating Waukee in the finals. The entire team is made up of seniors. PHOTO BY ROBERT CRAWFORD

ABOVE: League of Legends esports team prepares for championship match. The team went onto win and take home the schools 59th state championship. PHOTO BY ROBERT CRAWFORD

UNBREAKABLE PROFILE: HATTIE CONOVER

By Tessa Driscoll & Amelie Donovan

Hattie Conover ‘25 has played tennis all four years she has been at City High. This season she played consistently at the #3 and occasionally #2 spot. Last season she went undefeated in the regular season, playing in 12 games across the #3-6 spots.

Conover began playing tennis as a freshman, drawing inspiration and interest from her uncle Drew. Conover watched her uncle play and coach tennis consistently throughout her childhood.

“He knows so much about it and he’s been playing my whole life. He’s always hap-

py for me, always wants to know how I’m doing, what I’m doing, how I’m playing, all that kind of stuff,” Conover said.

Her teammate, and doubles partner Sydney Geisen ‘26 praises Hattie on and off the court for her mindset.

“She is very mature and selfless and a joy to be around on and off the court, she is an older player I look up to.” Geisen said.

When it comes to being an Unbreakable Female Athlete, Conover believes it comes down to one’s attitude.

“I think it’s really easy to have a constant bad attitude and to be tough, because tough players win. And I think that’s very true, but

also you still have to realize that there is a time and place for being nice to people, and that being kind to people will get you a lot further than being tough and unbreakable on the surface,” Conover said.

Although kindness is important to Conover, she has seen that a different side of her comes out on the court.

“I think tennis has brought out more of a rage-ful side in me, and I think it’s also brought out a really competitive side of me, which is not necessarily the best thing, but I think it’s also really helpful when I really need to lock in. I’ve noticed that competitiveness and that fight that I have in me is

really useful in other parts of my life too,” Hattie said.

Conover has experienced the struggle of being a female athlete throughout her career.

“We get a lot less coverage because we’re women. I’m just gonna be blunt about it.” Said Conover. “In regards to specifically girl’s tennis, it’s understandable, because it is not really one of the big three sports [at City High]: baseball, football and basketball, those are the big three.”

In order to get the coverage she believes women’s tennis deserves, Conover says that “it’s gonna take just a lot of hard work.”

“We’re gonna have to be

unbreakable female athletes, every single one of us, if we want the attention that we deserve.” said Conover.

As Conover’s final tennis season comes to an end, her advice to girls starting to play tennis, or any sport, is to “practice, practice, practice, practice.” Conover herself spent every single day of the summer hitting against the backboard at City Park. She also spent time at North Dodge Athletic Club and at HTRC just hitting or in a group lesson.

“Just keep practicing. The more that you play tennis and the more that you enjoy it, the better you’re gonna be.” says Conover.

ABOVE: Hattie Conover ‘25 returning a serve in a singles match in the girls tennis meet against West High.

PHOTO BY TESSA DRISCOLL

Feagler and Anil Advance to Individual State Tournament

By Jack Rogers

In the boys’ individual and doubles district meet held at City High School, Abhay Anil ‘25 and Will Feagler ‘28 swept all other competition before meeting in the district championship. Earlier in the season, Anil defeated Feagler when doing their inter-squad matches to decide who would play what position for the team. Each player ranked in the top ten in the state, and both are already qualified for state. Feagler ended up defeating Anil in two sets, 6-4, 6-4.

“I was just trying to be great friends with him, we both wanted to get a high seed at state, so I was just trying to win, but off the court, still be friends,” Feagler said.

Both Feagler and Anil finished the regular season with a record of 14-1, which led the team and maintained their top ten ranking.

“Watching both of them play every day at practice is crazy to watch. Feagler is all in, he travels the entire country playing tennis tournaments, it’s insane. It’s no surprise the success he is having on the court,” Brendan Lestina ‘25 said.

The team, on the other hand, went 8-7 on the season and defeated Indianola in the first substate 5-0. Unfortunately, they lost a close match to Johnston in their second sub-state match-up to go to state. With the team’s season being over, the only two left are Feagler and Anil for the individual state. Feagler will be the higher seed because he won the district meet.

“I didn’t have many expectations going into the year as a team being a freshman, but I am happy with how we finished, even though we didn’t make it to state. I’m feeling good going into individual state, especially with it being in Iowa City,” Feagler said.

Out of the 11 players that contributed to the varsity team this year, nine of them were seniors. Since they were freshman, the team has progressively improved over the years.

“I’m happy with how the season went. Although we wanted to beat Johnston and advance to state, we put up a good fight. Playing tennis for City High has brought some of the best memories of my life, and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity,” Lestina said.

ABOVE: Abhay Anil ‘25 does shush celebration during his match in meet against West High at the HTRC. Anil went on to win his match. PHOTO BY RAMY MAKAWI

LEFT: Brendan Lestina ‘25 throws the ball into the air for his serve in his match against West High at the HTRC. Lestina played most of his matches at the four position and leads the team in position four wins.

RIGHT: Kyle Evans ‘25 returns a backhand in his match against West High. Evans plays most of his matches in the six position. PHOTOS BY RAMY MAKAWI

FEATURED PHOTO

ACE IN THE MAKING: Will Feagler ‘28 celebrating a match win at City High’s home tennis courts. Feagler qualified for state this year after defeating City’s own Ahbay Anil ‘25. He is currently ranked #10 in the state.

PHOTO BY RAMY MAKAWI