The Talon Volume 20 Issue 1 October 2021

Sandra Day O’Connor High School

25250 N. 35th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85083

Volume 20. Issue 1. October 2021

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Change at OHS Rocket Club Page 3

OC Captured Page 7

See pages 10 & 11

ARTWORK BY AAYUSHI DATTA

Girls Volleyball Page 19

Elementary #32 coming soon, near you By GABRIEL SOUZA

Editor-in-Chief

As development and growth skyrockets within boundaries, the district is building a new elementary school to combat enrollment increases. As a future OHS feeder school, Elementary #32, as it is currently being called, had its ground breaking ceremony on Sept. 17 with performances from the choir and band, and a drill performed by AFJROTC cadets. Located on Inspiration Mountain Parkway, in the Stetson Valley community, the long awaited Elementary #32 is situated on approximately 14 acres. Being built by McCarthy

Building Companies and SPS+ Architects LLC, the school is costing the district over 21 million dollars and at full build-out, will be equipped with over 77,000 square feet dispersed amongst 45 classrooms, an administration building, a multi-purpose building, a media center, and a dedicated Maker Space. The school, with a capacity of 965 students, will be built in a similar design to other DVUSD schools, such as Stetson Hills, Sierra Verde, and Sonoran Foothills. “The sustainability and

PHOTO BY GABRIELSOUZA Talon Ted poses for a picture at the Elementary #32 ground breaking ceremony on Sept. 17.

have] taken some lessons learned from the previous campuses and applied them to this campus design], really accounts to continue to make it for great outdoor learning better and better for the and indoor learning,” said students.” Steve Poulin, Senior Vice As the campus is President of McCarthy designed to serve the

future students in the best possible manner, parents and community members anticipate the school to continue DVUSD’s reputation of success. However, many parents have been left frustrated as it has been over 12 years

proposed. was more excited 12 years ago when we lived right across from the school,” said LeAnne Torzala, a parent and member of the community. Jump to Page 4

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October 2021

The ins and outs of an injured athlete By

KAITLYN SMITTEN

Sports Editor

Athletes are almost always subjected to injury. With the high level of strain that they put on their bodies, injuries in sports are very common. Most sports related injuries are due to trauma or overuse of a joint or muscle. As doctors and coaches gain a deeper insight into new preventative measures, there are extra precautions put in place in an attempt to keep athletes as safe as possible. “[Athletes] should be keeping themselves healthy and well on their own so that they are feeling 100 percent during practice and games and performing the correct techniques for their sport to prevent any injuries from happening,” said Kristin Le, senior. Le is a senior sports medicine student at OHS and has seen her fair share of injuries and knows all of the tips and tricks to help keep athletes as healthy as possible. “When [athletes] get injured, we express our

concerns with them and tell them what they can and should be doing to heal and recommend that they come into the athletic training room for more preventative care, if needed,” Le said. Although there usually is not any life threatening injuries, OHS sports medicine likes to ensure the safety of everyone, especially their athletes.

there aren’t too many of those bigger injuries like breaking a bone or tearing something, but there are lots of those more common ones like spraining an ankle or cramping,” Le said. The most common injuries in sports are often muscle cramps or sprains, which are not as severe as a broken bone or a torn ligament, but still need to be taken care of appropriately in order to properly heal. “I don’t think that major injuries happen too frequently because the AIA has put in certain rules to help limit those types of injuries,” said Connor Coleman, junior. Along with athletes and

coaching techniques, the AIA and its rules are trying to ensure the wellbeing of all athletes and want to help everyone avoid injury. “We can’t use the crowns of our helmets to hit, we can’t hit the quarterbacks after they throw the ball, you can’t make high and low blocks on defensive lineman, you can’t drive at offensive lineman’s legs, and you can’t hurdle kids. Those are a few of the more basic rules but they are all there for the player’s safety,” Coleman said. Although some of the rules put in place limit the game, they are all designed to keep everyone as safe as possible. Coaches have also implemented their own rules in practice in order to help prevent any injuries in their players. “We try and keep from tackling to the ground and try and stop from hitting after plays to stop stupid injuries but overall, I think that some measures have been taken to look after our safety,” Coleman said. Many coaches played themselves and want to make

PHOTO BY KAITLYN SMITTEN Emily Smitten, freshman, stretches after playing tennis. sure that they keep their players as safe as possible and protect them from any injuries that they had when they were playing their respected sport. “[Football] is a rigorous, strenuous, high impact sport that puts a lot of stress and pressure on your body. Anatomically, I think when you twerk your body and you combine it with the weight of another person falling on you, you are a little more susceptible to injuries,” said Bradley Garraway, football coach. With the combination

of both a contact sport, and a high pressure sport, football players are almost the most often to get injured. OHS coaches are working diligently to prevent injuries from happening and keep all of their players healthy and game ready. “Obviously you do your best to be healthy, but nicks, bumps, scratches, and bruises happen very easily,” Garraway said. “What we’re looking for is trying to train and elevate some of the more serious injuries in sports by teaching different techniques.”

The potential success for Talon Time By LINDSAY STEINBERG

Copy Chief

Talon Time is new to OHS, replacing the once beloved Eagle Hour, in hopes to focus more on student improvement and to help keep track of where students are present. Students are now packed throughout various buildings, while others are for their missing work. Spaces like the library are being used for study hall time, while the gym is being used as a place similar to how it was during Eagle Hour, with several different activities available for students to participate in. With students being aware of what place offers what, they system, Flex Time Manager (FTM). FTM is the site where students must go to sign up for where they will be during each Talon Time. If a student fails to sign up and spots are automatically assigned to go to the auditorium. Due to the sheer size of the student count at OHS, spots go where they would wish during Talon Time. “I feel like we need to have

more places to do study hall at because the library gets full so fast,” said Cigi McCune, freshman. As the year progresses, there are hopes that there will be guest speakers in the auditorium and for clubs to be able to host meetings during Talon Time, which hopefully can help in cutting down the packed rooms and fast during sign up. “I overpacked my class but that’s because students were like ‘I need to be here’ and that’s ok, we’ll do it,” said Harley McCain, English teacher. “But there’s a limit, how much is too many?” Along with the capacity limit that is reached quickly, for certain places around campus, it seems some are even having trouble with the site working. “I was trying to sign in and the website crashed so I couldn’t [sign up],” said Meghan Delaney, senior. Despite the challenges that Talon Time currently offers, there is opportunity for it to for students. “It gives good opportunities for students to catch up on work when they need it,” Delaney said.

PHOTO BY AAYUSHI DATTA Ray Utter, assistant principal, introduces a Ted Talk to students in the auditorioum during Talon Time. While many have mixed feelings about Talon Time, especially after experiencing something like Eagle Hour, some view it as something that can be really positive in the long run. “It is an amazing tool and has the potential to be an

incredible, organized function of giving teachers the chance students that really need it,” McCain said. Talon Time is still something new to OHS and as the year continues the true value of it for students

and teachers will continue to reveal itself, along with whether or not it is something sustainable at OHS. “I think that Talon Time is going to be a really golden opportunity for us; we just need to work out all the problems,” McCain said.

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E-hall passes: the new normal By MANASI TRIPATHI

School is back to normal; however, one new change is the addition of the e-hall passes. E-hallpasses are used when you need to do anything that is outside of class, like going to the nurse or, most commonly, using the bathroom. Most of the teachers are using the e-hallpass extremely strictly, but some of them believe they are really time consuming. Some a pass convenient. In their opinion, they would much out a pass on paper and go “old school”. The school wanted this e-hall pass so they can track students who are violating any rule that goes against the school expectations. Teachers understand that the school is using the e-hall passes because they are really helpful in order to reach out to students if they are gone for a while and they also have a way to keep everything in place. Jim Burton, Chemistry teacher, has his opinion on whether the school should

By AAYUSHI DATTA

The rocket club is a new edition to the long list of clubs at OHS. It is a student-led club that focuses on building rockets and eventually participating at multiple state and national challenges. The club is an extension of the engineering club; the two clubs collaborated with the STEM club, and now all three clubs work together and help each other out. Although they are under the same supervision, the three clubs have their own individual goals that they work on. The main focus of the rocket club is preparing the students for state and national events. The club is run by its president, Caleb Bautista, junior, who was determined to start a rocket club for a very long time. He has been preparing since last year by that he could successfully start the rocket club. “I always had an interest in rocketry ever since I was maybe 11 or 12, so I have been building rockets since then and there’s a couple of nationwide challenges and state challenges that require teams,” Bautista said. “I was like maybe we can start a rocket club and teach others about rocketry. It’s for the

use e-hall passes. “We have to acknowledge if the kid has made the pass. We have to approve the pass and then we have to make sure we end the pass when the student returns and make sure that the kid tells them to end the pass,” said Jim Burton, chemistry teacher. “The kids that have abused our past system in the past, which is kind of an honor system, now have ruined it for everybody.” The students also feel that they would rather do something that is a little out a pass. Students don’t understand the reason why

PHOTO BY MANASI TRIPATHI

pass in any emergency. “I just think the process is really annoying; there is a practical use for it but I honestly think it’s easier to use the paper [to sign out],” said Nick Felides, junior. Some students think using the QR code is just a little more sensible and faster. This would avoid students interrupting the teacher in the middle of class to approve the pass and then end it after they are back. “I think it’s harder on

A student uses the e-hallpass website to submit a hallpass during class.

same interest I had and maybe even start a team. So that was the main purpose [of] why I wanted to start the club.” The club teaches about the dynamics of rocketry at the beginning so that all the members are familiar with the process of how they work. Eventually, they will start rocket building sessions in mid-October. Once the students start building the rockets, the club is set to host their own monthly launches. They have goals that they want to achieve as a team of rocket builders. “Goals that I have for the club is to try and form a team for the TAR which is The American Rocketry Challenge and that’s a team of around eight [people],” Bautista said. “Apart from building rockets in the rocketry club, we will go over the history of NASA and SpaceX and rocket history in general.” The rocket club requires students to be very careful as it works with materials that can be dangerous, which was the main concern that the club came across while starting out. “Rockets can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. They involve explosives,” said Johnathan Wylie, physics teacher. “You have to be careful. You have to know what you are doing.” The club holds a variety

of student participants who are at different levels when it comes to their knowledge about rockets. Some students know how to build rockets while there are others who have no idea at all. This puts the club in a state of advantage as it promotes that the club welcomes anyone no matter their knowledge. “I am taking approaches [as] if no one were to know anything [about rockets] because even if people do know stuff it is always nice to have a refresher,” Bautista said. The new club is hopeful towards a brighter future. They are excited to start the club and carry it forward for the future students of the school. “I think it’s going to be pretty easy with the foundation that Caleb builds to just continue that on. So that the younger members that are in the club right now, they are going to be like this is the way the club should be run,” Wylie said. “They are going to take that torch and go with it.” As the rocket club merged with the engineering club, changes occurred in the original club as well. They now have to adapt to another club while keeping theirs separated. The engineering club wholeheartedly welcomed the new club. “When I heard that the engineering club will be

the students and harder on [pass] and bring that up. It makes going to the bathroom kind of a big process when it doesn’t need to be, like QR codes last year would work better,” said Samantha Warner, junior . “I liked that [QR code ] was still a way to get permission and kind of knowing people went to the bathroom, but it is still easier and less of a big deal.”

The statistics obtained from the e-hall pass system includes vital information that administration can analyze. “It gives us data and information we never had before like how many passes kids have or how long they are out of class and how much instructional time is being taken out,” said Ray Utter, assistant principal. There are innumerable

passes used in a week, which might have always been the case but there wasn’t a way to accurately report the data. “On average just over 3000 hall passes are given every week. On an average day a little over 900 passes are given out per day on-campus, which is something we had no idea before and it sounds like a lot but maybe that’s how it’s always been. We just didn’t know,” Utter said.

PHOTO BY AAYUSHI DATTA Students from Rocketry Club pose with paper airplanes during a friendly competition amongst themselves. merging with the rocketry, it was nice to hear because I thought it would open more opportunities and open more doors for what we can do and bring in more members,” said Kevin Chang, senior, president of the Engineering Club. “There’s been [a] change in dynamics like the clubs are ‘split in two’ in a way. We just have to manage two different sections of the out the scheduling of that.”

The rocket club is an open space which allows anyone to join in. It also gives them the opportunity to choose whether they want to be a part of the engineering section, STEM section, or rocketry section. “It’s open to anyone that wants to come. Don’t be scared if it’s like a nerd club. There’s a lot of different types of people in there. It’s just really enjoyable, you can learn a lot,” said Bautista.

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October 2021

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COVID-19 numbers put a hindrance on Halloween By

KAITLYN SMITTEN

Sports Editor

As Halloween quickly approaches, so does all of the buzz and excitement that comes with it. The only issue is, what will Halloween look like this year with the COVID-19 pandemic? As the numbers rise and the delta variant emerges, so do parents’ concern for their children this Halloween. Although vaccines are readily available, not every parent or person has made the decision to vaccinate themselves and their children. “My kids are young, and healthy, and for one they are vaccinated, but they’re kids and we should let them be kids,” said Kelly Simon, English teacher. Although the vaccine does prevent people from getting COVID-19, it does not eliminate the possibility of contracting the disease. “With any kind of get together there is going to be a little bit of a spike,” Simon said. “They’re interacting with each other already, they’re getting together on weekends already, so how is halloween going to be any different? They are already working, they’re already getting together with their

friends, they’re already hanging out together. I just don’t see a big change.” With all of the recommended precautions and CDC guidelines that have been in place for months, everyone is trying to be as responsible as possible and in doing so, have put their lives on pause. “[Kids have] had enough limitations and [COVID-19 is] not going away; we’re going to have to learn to live with it,” Simon said. “I don’t think COVID is going to go away. I think it’s going to to be something that as a society we’re going to have to live with and move forward.” COVID-19 has consumed everyone’s lives for over a year now, and there is no telling when it will end. “I am not as worried because I know with the vaccine, COVID would most likely not land me in the hospital and rather act like a bad cold, and if I feel the need, I can always just leave a bowl of candy outside the door for trick or treaters so there is no contact,” said Emma Nelson, junior. Although many people are vaccinated, there are still exceptions that put people at risk, like those who are

unvaccinated, but Halloween is a predominantly outside holiday, as trick or treaters do not often go inside. “There might be an uptick in cases for young adults as they are the ones most likely to go to large gatherings inside. Other than that, I think that people being outside for the majority of the night will be a good way to stay safe,” Nelson said. People do not always follow

the CDC guidelines, which may cost many lives. “The worst part of COVID is over, and the restrictions are relaxed, I think it would be easier for [COVID] to spread around again, especially on a holiday like Halloween. Hopefully those who are at the highest risk will take more caution this year, and those [who are] unvaccinated will not act thoughtlessly,” Nelson said.

Although mass gatherings are super spreaders, one would hope that society as a whole has enough common sense to avoid at-risk situations, and take as many precautions as needed so we can all go back to normal. Halloween genrelly involves mass gatherings and parties, which puts people at a risk. “I think that if we use common sense to drive our actions, we will be okay,” Nelson said.

Divided opinions on vaccine mandates By MANASI TRIPATHI

The U.S. Food And Drug Administration has approved the COVID-19 vaccine; anyone who is 12 or older is approved to get the COVID-19 vaccine. People are willing to get their shot to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but there are still individuals who do not want to get vaccinated for many different reasons. Over 54.8% of the US population has been fully vaccinated, and they have different thoughts on vaccines compared to the people who have not gotten the vaccine. At OHS, teachers and students have their opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Some people think that vaccines should not be enforced by the government but should be an individual choice. It is something that everyone should have control over and make decisions according to them, and what would be better for them in future. “I don’t think the country itself should tell you whether you have to or not have to get it because I think it’s an individual right,” said Patricia DeVito, English teacher. “I don’t think mandating a shot to tell you that you have to do it should

be left to the government, I think it is an individual right that should be discussed with your doctors if there are concerns.” Younger generations also have thoughts about COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Some people believe the vaccine mandates should be mandated and can help stop the spread, and if people are not vaccinated it will hurt young people severely, and cause an increase in the number of cases. “Even though the vaccine

isn’t for sure, it’s still better than nothing, it is still better than not knowing if you are gonna die just because of sickness or an illness,” said Olivia Falgione, senior. With students having a variety of opinions about vaccines, some think that vaccines should not be mandated and that they need to be something that people are comfortable with to get. They understand the concerns people have towards those who are not vaccinated, but in the end, it is all about

personal choice. “People should have the choice as to what they put in their body, especially given the fact that it is something new,” said Samantha Sharlot, junior. “I think people should have time to see, in like years, to see the side effects and make their own decisions.” Vaccine mandates are not just going to be about reducing cases but something that can make everyone go back to their normal lives, such as going to populated places, like football games,

PHOTO BY GABRIEL SOUZA

travelling etc. Being vaccinated just reduces the chance of getting COVID-19. decreases the amount of COVID spread that goes around, especially in schools, a lot of people aren’t vaccinated. I think if you are vaccinated, and we don’t wear masks either, I think it role,” said Sydney Goldfarb, junior. They think not mandating vaccines would just make the situation worse. There are a lot of vaccines that are mandated for nonlethal diseases, but not for COVID-19, it is a lethal disease, it is dangerously life threatening, very contagious and can be devastating for people with critical medical issues, especially related to the immune system. Vaccine mandate can help alot of people, who have some serious medical issues. “We mandate other vaccines for diseases that are less lethal and less wide is possibility lethal, it’s very easy to spread and I think that if we don’t mandate the vaccine, then it can get a lot worse than it already is, and we are already seeing some states with low vaccine rates, spike up in cases again,” said Blake Lockwood, sophomore.

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October 2021

Mr. Cilone restores pride to marching band By ANANYA THEKKEMELEPATT Social Media Manager

themselves here in the band program and that if they do that they’re gonna come out

Over the past few years, marching band has been at the core of the school pride and hype OHS feels during each pep rally and football game, and Austin Cilone, band director, plans to bring that same energy for the

One area that he wants to continue to grow and strengthen is the band’s sense a connection amongst the students so that everyone is going to want to come to practice and rehearsals, not just for the sake of the class, but to be able to make music

wants the campus to feel united, and bring a beautiful Back in 2020, Cilone joined the OHS music department as the marching

“The love that is extending for the students, from parent down to student and from student to the band program

band stemmed from his introduction to the trumpet in the sixth grade, which also led him to get involved with

well and I think that is our biggest strength right now,”

“I actually didn’t think that I was ever going to

Another goal is that he wants the band to be travelling, so that this band is

switched really late into my almost third year of college; I switched to music education and so I’ve been there ever

He wants the band to branch out so that the students are able to get the opportunities they are itching for, in order

Previously, Cilone was involved with the Arizona based professional marching band, The Academy Drum

Bands of America events so that this band can be seen at a national level not just at an

drum corps, he was able to compete nationally and educate as a staff member, which allowed him to gain teaching experience for marching band even outside

“To branch out farther than that, to make it to Chicago at some of these big band association events so that people know our name and know who we are, that’s the

“If it wasn’t for that group, I would have never switched to music education,” Cilone taught me made me want to help somebody else in the Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his visions for adapting rehearsal schedules regulations, to not being able a normal marching season,

PHOTO BY GABRIEL SOUZA Austin Cilone, band teacher, smiling after an OHS marching band performance. the 2020-2021 maching band last year was being able to faced an incredible amount take adversity and run with from the word ‘pride,’ Cilone of roadblocks while trying to created a motto for his Everytime the band takes students saying, “The way “My job would’ve been way we do anything is the way we harder if it wasn’t for these students here that were able wants his students to truly “My goal is that they’re understand what it means to able to take that motto and “One of the things that we do everything with pride and live their lives in the future took pride with ourselves in reach the standards they set with that way that they held Editors-in-Chief:

Gabriel Souza Copy Chief:

like Cilone, the OHS marching band and the OHS campus truly seems to be pushing forward through hardships out that we’re trying to work together to build each other up and not tear each other down, that’s really gonna help out this campus, it’s really gonna help out all of

Kaitlyn Smitten Michael Brown Editorial Chief:

Heaven Parson

News Editor:

Manasi Tripathi*

Lindsay Steinberg Jackson Morgan*

The Talon is published as a forum for student opinion at Sandra Day O’Connor High School: part of the Deer Valley

top online publication and one of the top or libelous statements print publications in

the editor must be are of those of The signed and dropped off Talon staff and do not The Talon is an award in Room 508, e-mailed winning publication Visit The Talon online with dozens of awards for it’s staff members may be edited for as well as ranked the content and/or space

Adviser:

Cindy Garraway Social Media Manager:

Ananya Thekkemelepatt*

Staff Writers:

Sports Editor:

Aayushi Datta Features Editor:

Victoria Kirova* Photography Editor: Abby Mills*

*Denotes member of editorial board.

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STUGO welcomes back Homecoming By AAYUSHI DATTA

News Editor

Homecoming 2021 is the most awaited event of this school year. After a year of absolute nothing, OHS’s student government is bringing back the popular high school event. Although student safety is still their priority, STUGO plans to provide the students with a fun homecoming while keeping proper COVID-19 restrictions in mind. One of the most important events of homecoming is the homecoming dance. The hype around this event is a well known fact amongst all students and teachers. To make it more special, STUGO has decided to host the event at Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. The dance this year is going to be admired because of its location and a few other changes. “We are going to have a dance for outside and inside in hopes to separate people basically,” said Lauren Fetkenhier, STUGO Advisor. “I think they are going to like the outside area along

PHOTO BY MANASI TRIPATHI Hagar Pingitore, freshman, preparing a poster for STUGO. with the inside area and then there’s like a small seating area too. So, all of that is going to be enjoyable...but I think just being able to get a little bit of normalcy back.” Amid COVID-19, it was hard for STUGO to organize the homecoming dance. However, it was very important to them, as bringing homecoming back is something they really looked forward to. After not being

able to organize homecoming last year, STUGO was the plans this year. “I think everybody is really excited. I think the STUGO kids are super excited and I think the student body is also excited to have a dance again. everyone’s favor,” Fetkenhier said. The main target for homecoming this year is

to attract students to join the homecoming events. Student government has taken measures to make sure that the number of student participants is very high. “We want to have a high amount of students coming to the event,” said Clinton Stevenson, junior. “Our goal is for more students to attend the dance so we wanted to lower the price and not raise the price.” The theme for this year’s homecoming is Mt. Fuji and the Olympics. Looking at the Olympics held in Japan previously this year, STUGO was inspired by it to come up with this theme. “A night on Mt. Fuji ties into our spirit week because of the Olympics. The Olympics are taking place in Tokyo so it’s going to be really nice,” Stevenson said. “So we are going to have stars, red to have cherry blossoms. It is going to look really pretty.” The homecoming was planned keeping COVID-19 in mind. Precautions were taken while planning the event as student safety was

the biggest priority. “We really want homecoming to be safe but also really fun, more like a regular year for all our students,” said John Zeng, sophomore. “We do want to limit how many people are inside and because our venue this year is pretty huge, we are going to have a lot more space and we are going to have a lot more outdoor space too.” The homecoming week multiple events that are going to happen throughout the week. It is going to be a very busy week for everyone at OHS. It is going to be very enjoyable for OHS students. The homecoming comeback of 2021 is going to be the one to remember. “We have Powderpuff on Monday, parade’s on Wednesday, the assembly is Friday, and then Friday night we have a fan festival which will be held before the football game from 4-6. We are going to have a game starting at 7, and Saturday will be the homecoming dance,” Fetkenhier said.

Jumped from page 1: Elementary #32 coming soon, near you Due to the Great Recession in 2008, enrollment growth stopped completely and the district started to therefore, the district postponed the project. “We’ve owned this site for a couple decades now and we originally started to design the school back in 2008 but then what happened with the recession, the need didn’t exist to build the school,” said Jim Migliorino, Deputy Superintendent of Fiscal and Business Services of District. As the economy has bounced back and the Phoenix Metropolitan Area sees historic growth, DVUSD has seen enrollment increase, and projects it to continue increasing. Just north of the future school on 43rd Avenue and Loop 303, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has started construction on a massive computer chip factory, bringing hundreds of construction workers, and eventually over 2,000 highly-skilled engineers and technical specialists. “They’re just in the construction phase of that particular project and we’re already seeing the need for additional [capacity] to be able to handle the [enrollment increases caused by the] construction [workers] without even talking about the production staff that will be needed for them to produce

the chips at that plant, so we’re already seeing some growth,” Migliorino said. “What ends up happening at that big of a development, we’re talking about 30 billion dollars, there’s going to be people needed to necesitate whatever the output of that is, and they have to live somewhere and this is a very beautiful area, a very desirable area that people are attracted to. So yes, the TSMC semiconductor plant is actually causing some of the growth that we are seeing in this area.” Despite all of the growth the district is experiencing, and requests of many parents, the school will still in the district since Legend Springs Elementary was built in 2000. “We’ve been waiting a long time and I know the kids are excited. I really want it to turn into a K-8, so we are anxious for that,” said Kelly Kunzweiler, a community member. Every elementary school in the school district built after 2000 has been built as a K-8, and parents especially like how their middle schooler(s) could still be at the same school as their younger sibling(s). But now, the district is facing obstacles preventing them from continuing the trend. “The number one reason for the building to be built was actually approved in 2013, and obviously construction

costs have exponentially rose [since then], and so the dollars that we have there, for this project, is only enough to do a K-6 at this time,” said Dr. Curtis Finch, Superintendent District. DVUSD is still planning on expanding the school to encompass seventh and eighth grade, but only when there is more student growth and funds. As it is built now, they will prepare the site for when the expansion is necessary. “Across the canal here, there is TSMC and they’re going to be growing and so we expect that this will eventually be a K-8, but we won’t know probably for said. The student enrollment growth is not just impacting elementary school grades. In 2020, DVUSD adjusted its high school attendance boundaries due to growth and uneven enrollment schools. OHS was one of the schools most affected by the boundary change, yet enrollment has only dropped from 2,702 students at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, to 2,562 students in the latest report at the Sept. 14 Governing Board meeting. “We predict that a high school will be needed, I think it’s probably outside of three years from now, but it really is going to be dependent on what the state land

PHOTO BY GABRIEL SOUZA OHS students pose for a picture at the ground breaking ceremony on Sept. 17. department does with all the land that’s north of here. If it gets sold for residential developments that develop quicker than our projections, then that could accelerate that timeline,” said Jim Migliorino. As the certainty of a new high school is still unknown, OHS and the DVUSD community are still highly anticipating and focused on the new Elementary #32. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the school, OHS students from different programs gave performances and student body president Nathan Eddlebeck, senior, gave a speech. “It became more apparent than ever during online school that teacher to student, face to face, in-person learning is so crucial to the growth, mental health, and education of our students, so when I informed that Deer Valley was to build

a new school, and this school was to become an O’Connor feeder school, I was beyond thrilled,” Eddlebeck said in his speech. “Now there is going to be yet another place in which Deer Valley will continue to dominate public that Elementary School #32 will continue following through on DVUSD’s goal of graduating lifelong learners who will successfully compete, lead, and positively impact the world.” With a similar attitude to Eddlebeck, Deer Valley Governing Board Vice President, Ann Ordway, feels similarly optimistic #32’s future success. “I always think exciting when we have opportunity to serve students that live within district,” Ordway said.

it’s the the our

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Fletcher Griffin

senior

“

It sucks recovering recovering and not being able to be out there playing for my team. But it kind of taught me you’re not going to have everything go right in life. You’re going to have things that you just can’t control. So you have to push through those times.

“ Phoenix Wilcox

sophomore

aptured

“

It’s more so just understanding people’s perspectives is what I like to know because it gives you a view into their own world than your own. Understand how they think, what they do, and why they do it, what they’re doing it for.

@OC_CAPTURED

“

@OC_CAPTURED

8

thetalonohs.com

is my third year. I love to be here. I love “ This my students. They are amazing; they are very respectful, and I love that because in my culture respect is huge. So for me that part is very important.

”

Sonia Velez Spanish Teacher

“

Payton Kedley junior

Kaitlyn Kirberg freshman

“

My favorite part is honestly leading the team and making everyone successful, and just being able to play and be happy at the same time, because a lot of us are struggling at the moment. It’s good to bring energy and make them happy.

I may not be happy all the time but I have joy and that comes from Him [God]. Even though I may have a bad day or two—like this morning was not a great morning—but if I’m happy, healthy,

9

“

October 2021

“

10 October 2021

New grading system creates contro By VICTORIA KIROVA

Features Editor

With the new school year, an abundance of changes greeted the students and staff of OHS. One of the most prominent differences this year is the establishment of a brand new grading system. This never before used system grades students in a non-traditional way because it eliminates letter grades that were based on a 100-point scale. Instead, students are evaluated on

other. We don’t want to punish a kid for not grasping it quicker,” Brazell said. While this change in the late work policy is helping students who need extra time to complete assignments, some believe it also has the possibility of hurting them in the future. They are worried that if work can be turned in at any time, with no penalty, students’ willpower to complete it may decrease. “It works really well for the motivated students, but if you're not a motivated student, there’s no incentive. They don’t see

colleges will be unfamiliar with this different way of recording grades, and as a result not have an accurate idea of the actual grade that a student received; however, this is not the case.

COVID was not the greatest time to implement a new grading system because everyone’s still trying to go back to normal after a bunch of changes, and they just keep throwing change at us,” Shah said. to do this. Universities are With the grading system accepting children from not being put into place, people only all over the country, are also able to compare but all over the world. it to the one that was used There’s different countries in years prior. While some

Teachers have also seen that some ambitious students are struggling to keep their grades where they want them. It is seemingly more challenging for these students, while for others they are content with their results. “Just from what I’ve seen from my grades personally, it seems like the students who score lower are doing

that don’t use the 100-point grading scale, so universities are pretty adept at handling all that,” Brazell said. Some people are also wondering why the decision to reconstruct the grading system was made at the time that it was. With the other major changes that have occurred, they feel like it should have been withheld until life was completely back to normal. “I feel like a year after

better, and it’s harder for the them, others feel like it higher achieving students to would be ideal to simply maintain a higher grade. It go back to the old way of grading. fours, from what I've been “It makes things more experiencing,” Hubbard confusing. Last year you said. could see that your grade On the other hand, some was lower and you would individuals feel like the new want to put in the effort to grading system shows great get it back up, so now that promise. They feel that you don’t even know what they are able to prosper in your grade is, it's harder to school, because this change feel the motivation,” said Dylan Taylor, junior. students.

concepts being taught and then given a number between zero and four. With this unfamiliar necessarily, so you can turn in an assignment any distinction in the responses time and it’s not going to that were received. Some affect the grade book. Then individuals believe this there’s not that urgency to change will positively turn something in,” said impact them, while Diane Hubbard, chemistry others do not understand teacher. the reason behind its Other policies are also implementation. The root proving to be mostly cause of this contrast is the helpful for people who did confusion that surrounds not have perfect grades in this topic, since almost the past. These new rules everyone has lingering are allowing students to questions regarding many raise their GPA or keep it aspects of this shift in the at the point that will show way students’ knowledge is their understanding of the assessed. knowledge. “[The new grading system] “It is helpful for people was a process that has been who don’t do that well going on for like 3-4 years. in school because it’s a There was a committee lot harder to fail a class, that had teachers, parents, especially with the new administrators,” said Brad retake policy, which is better Brazell, administrator. “The for some people,” said Maya Shah, senior. are the grades accurate, While individuals are and then moving towards something that would become more accurate, if there was a problem.” With this new practice, students wondered how the different policies regarding late work would change. In the past, if an assignment was turned in late, regardless if the reason was due to a student’s inability to complete it or their choice, they would lose points on their work. As a result, this year it was decided that teachers would be more lenient about this, and look at the reason the work was not turned in on time. “Different children progress at different rates, and it doesn’t mean one is more intelligent than the

grading system, the goal of it seems to be one that has the potential to help students succeed. However, the process of executing this new policy is something that might not have been done in the most ideal way. “The intention is good. You want kids to master a standard and learn, and that’s the intent, but we’re phasing into it, and the phasing in process I don’t think does any justice. I think you’re either all in, or you’re not in at all,” Hubbard said. With this seemingly very different grading system, students that are hoping to attend college in the future are wondering if their chances will become slimmer. They believe that

thetalonohs.com

11

oversy “I think that there are a lot of different ways to raise [your grade], but I think it rewards people that don’t do their homework, but do good on tests,” said Jacob Gardner, junior. Overall, the new grading system is giving students a new perspective on the efforts necessary in order to achieve the academic goals that an individual strives

A sample transcript provided by DVUSD shows what a potential OHS transcript could look like with the new grading policies.

OHS goes back to normal online. Many students have expressed that online school has affected their education With the start of the and how well they are doing new school year, many this year. changes have come to OHS that students my education because I have not experienced remember a lot of freshman in almost two years. year catching up and having OHS students have to relearn stuff because we adapted to the daily didn't do much online,” said life of living in a Georgia Healey, junior. When students are pandemic to the point learning online there is no that it became the new normal. As COVID-19 real way for teachers to spread worldwide and make sure they are doing slowly took the lives their work. It is very of millions, there common for kids to not do were some unexpected work and not pay attention. “Everything is based changes. on interaction and In March of 2020, OHS students and communication and when staff were sent home you're online it's easy for for spring break not students to disappear. It knowing the short vacation from school Candela, French teacher. The lack of interaction would last for eight months. Later that built a barrier between and teachers year, in October, students students were allowed making it harder to to return to school, communicate and interact albeit with many with each other. It took restrictions in place. time for everyone to adapt While at home, to a school with limited students were on Zoom socialization. Contact was for the beginning controlled by strict seating of the 2020-2021 assignments for contact school year, switching tracing, two hour block throughout the year periods, one-way hallways, between in-person and and six feet of social By HEAVEN PARSON

ARTWORK BY AAYUSHI DATTA

for. It has both positives and negatives, and the only way to determine a clear opinion is by waiting to see what the future will hold for this system. “Anything new takes time for it to resonate and I think there’s a lot of confusion and I think a lot of people are doing things differently, and there's not a lot of unity. I think we just need we’re doing,” Hubbard said.

distancing. “I'm glad that I started school when everything is normal because the thought of this school under COVID restrictions is scary,” said Amanda McCormick, freshman. “At my old school it was like this, but OC is much larger, so it sounds stressful.” There have been many changes within the new school year, having all six periods in one day being one of them. Last year, a typical day was either an ‘A’ day or a ‘B’ day which consisted of three classes that were each two hours long. This limited the amount of contact between students making it harder for COVID-19 to spread during school. “The two hour block schedule was super hard to end of the year I ended up liking it because I had time to do all my work and I got to spend more time with friends in classes that I had with them,” Healey said. Many students feel like one of the positives about the block schedule was the ability to talk to friends for longer periods of time and having more to talk about. “Making friends was

easier last year because I was with the person for so long and [having] that day [inbetween] would always give us something to talk about,” said Hailey Edlebeck, sophomore. “I feel like it's harder having all my classes in one day because everything is so fast paced.” The pandemic not only affected the students, but also the teachers. The sudden changes forced teachers to accommodate their classrooms to make sure their students were safe. Social distancing was enforced into the learning environment also resulting in less group-work and interaction. Although limitations have eased up amongst the school, it has not stopped some teachers from still abiding by the CDC COVID-19 guidelines. “I do it because it’s not over yet. There are still people dying every day,” Candela said. “It doesn't stop us from doing group activities, but the CDC does recommend that we don’t stay together for more than 15 minutes.”

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Opinions Page 12

October 2021

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Editorial: Vaccine mandates are necessary President Joseph Biden had his largest push for vaccine mandates in recent weeks. He is making an effort for all federal employees to be vaccinated as well as employees of companies that employ over 100 people, and there is also the option to be tested weekly. Biden’s push has met resistance, however, as 40% of Americans disapprove of his proposed vaccine mandates, while 52% approve and the remaining 8% unsure, according to a poll from The Economist. The mandated COVID-19 vaccines will have loopholes, which will most likely be exploited by people opposing the COVID-19 vaccine. These loopholes will be a problem for the Biden administration to take care of, yet they will be manageable. this pandemic is noble, there is much outrage over the way it is being dealt with. The frustration that is occurring is due to individuals and groups believing that there is government overreach.

The concerns are valid as the government does seem to be doing as much as they can to get the virus under control. On the contrary, people’s lives are at stake when this virus is not being dealt with, and if there is no action from the government in order to resolve problems caused by the virus, more people will die as a result. 49% of Arizona has not been vaccinated even though it has been proven effective and is preventing cases. Since close to half of America is so careless, there must be government interference to protect the majority of the population and get closer to herd immunity. Without Biden’s vaccine mandates it is very likely that large amounts of unvaccinated individuals will go to school, work, or even concerts and spread the virus to many more people, further raising the already high COVID-19 numbers. However many groups are pleading that these vaccine mandates are infringing upon

PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY.COM of freedom of religion. This will be a commonly used reason against receiving the vaccine; however, there is weekly COVID-19 testing that is able to be received in place of the vaccine where a negative test every week replaces the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine works, when the vaccination rate increases, the COVID-19 rates decrease. There are no severe side effects that

have been observed from the vaccine. The vaccine is safe and effective and if these mandates are put in place it will only be to help Americans. However, one alternative to the vaccine mandates could be to create more incentives to vaccination, as well as attempt to further educate the general population on the positives of taking the vaccine. This would be a more

gradual push than jumping directly to vaccine mandates for all social activities. Biden’s vaccine mandates will ultimately serve the nation well and will protect the nation not only from the virus, but from ourselves. There will be a decline in COVID-19 numbers and there will be an overall healthier society. If the country is vaccinated then there will be less deaths from this virus.

OHS students deserve longer lunches their academics like studying for tests, work on missing assignments or homework, and more. Although not all, most students work very hard inside and outside of school; longer lunches are vital for them to have fun and relax. The efforts that each student puts into the school goes unrewarded as they do not get enough time to enjoy their lives as normal high school students. Having longer lunches is

By AAYUSHI DATTA

News Editor

Longer lunches are an ongoing debate between the administration and students. As students want lunches to be longer than 30 minutes, the school faculty disagrees with them. To support their students, parents have started an online petition to make the lunches from this action as they got aspiration and inspiration to further continue to be hopeful. Longer lunches are something that students deserve after being held into academics and extracurriculars for more than 6 hours each school day. Students are working extremely hard to survive in high school because of the tremendous pressure. A lot of students take really hard classes and hence have to deal with a lot of work. While other students are working really hard to maintain a successful academic curriculum in general. To ease this pressure, students should be given an hour lunch so that they get

PHOTO BY AAYUSHI DATTA Students at OHS eating lunch outside. time to relax themselves, and their brains. Students are surrounded with academics wherever they travel around the campus. Some students also do extracurricular activities like sports, band, choir, clubs, etc. These students require a break because of their active involvement before, during, and after school. Longer lunches would give students opportunities to socialize and have fun at school, which is generally restricted.

The biggest irony is that OHS had a system of having longer lunches twice a week. This system was popularly known as Eagle Hour. It was a part of the school and played a huge part in making students happy and keeping them motivated. Eagle Hour provided students with choices and chances to work on anything they want. While some students were called in for academic purposes, others enjoyed their free time with friends.

Eagle Hour was cancelled last year because of COVID-19 concerns which is a viable reason to terminate this. However, this year, there are not any other major changes with the school rules and activities, which makes the termination of Eagle Hour very biased and a way for the school to take away the fun element from the school. Longer lunches are not just fun, but it can also be used for students to work on

students, but also for the teachers. Having an hour lunch also gives the teachers a chance to relax and prepare for the rest of the school day. It will also give them the opportunity to help students who are interested in getting help from them. Overall, it acts as a fun element in the monotonous lives of students. It gives good memories to think about in the future, and also remember about the wonderful time they spent with their friends. It adds onto the high school experience and makes it more memorable. Longer lunches are essential for students so that they can have fun and can achieve an enjoyable high school experience.

The Talon

13 October 2021

By VICTORIA KIROVA

Features Editor

FOR: With the development of COVID-19 vaccines, many states have eased up on mask restrictions and even abolished the need for them completely. For people that received the a step in the direction of life going back to normal. However with Delta variant cases soaring, and individuals being unable to get vaccinated due to personal or outside reasons, mask mandates should be reimplemented. The decision to remove mask mandates occurred due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) update stating that people who are fully vaccinated are safe to go in most public places without the protection of a mask. While the guidance of the scientists working for this organization should be trusted, there are too many exceptions when it comes to this regulation. According to the CDC, it is encouraged to still wear a mask when in crowded outdoor settings, areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, and for those who are at risk of contracting the disease, These exceptions make sense, but it is impossible to know when you are in a room with high transmission rates, so the only way to undoubtedly lessen the spread is to bring back the requirement of wearing masks. Some states, and on a more local scale, counties in

Arizona, are making their own decisions on what to make of the termination of mask mandates. This is leading to a diverse array of rules that citizens have to follow, regarding masks. Certain states still require people to wear their masks, in most public places, whether or not they have received the vaccine. They have also kept the demand for masks to be worn in schools. On the other hand, some places have taken executive actions to prevent the need for masks to be worn in most places, including in schools. Since masks are still mandated in busy places, such as on public transportation and in airports, it only makes sense that they should be necessary in schools, where hundreds of people are closely packed together. The issue regarding the mask mandate is a challenging one, but it is simply a matter of asking, what can be done in order to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic is fully resolved? The global pandemic’s effects are palpable to people all around the world, and getting the vaccine is an effective solution. However, recent statistics show that only 57.4% of the U.S. population is vaccinated, so more people need to receive it before restrictions are lifted. The removal of masks is a step that individuals everywhere have long awaited, but with the discovery of the Delta variant, keeping mask mandates in place is the best answer at this moment in time.

By MICHAEL BROWN

AGAINST: In the past couple years, COVID-19 has changed our lives drastically with many things such as lockdowns, mask mandates, and different opinions amongst many people about

thetalonohs.com

many different subjects. For quite a while now, it almost has seemed like COVID-19 does not exist due to the fact that we do not have to wear masks, people do not social distance, and everything has opened up. Although it is nice that we do not have to wear masks and stand six feet apart, COVID-19 cases

PHOTO BY GABRIEL SOUZA Students at OHS wearing masks despite not being mandated.

are rising due to new variants and strains. We still should not have to wear masks. A lot of people do not wear masks today and COVID-19 cases are rising just like when we had to wear masks. When we were aware of COVID-19 we went on lockdown, had to social distance, and wear masks. Now that there are multiple strains of COVID-19 and things are almost back to normal, cases are rising at the same rate as when we were on lockdown. If people do not want to wear masks when cases are still rising, why make them? When we forced people to wear masks and forced them to stay inside their houses, people were unhappy and cases were still rising. Now that things have opened and we are back in schools and not forced to wear masks people are a lot happier but but covid 19 cases are still rising. We have grown up without masks and when COVID-19 hit it was a very shocking thing that happened and many people did not know how to react to the masks. A lot of people hated the masks because they felt restricted and people just did not like them. If you give those people the opportunity to not wear a mask, they will not wear the mask. If you lift the mandate, people likely will not wear a mask; so what is the point of enforcing it again? In the end COVID-19 is here to stay, whether we wear the masks or not, so if we do not want to wear them, we should not have to.

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE - THETALONOHS.COM

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Arts & Entertainment October 2021

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Page 14

Ted Lasso scores a goal with the audience By JACKSON MORGAN

Editorial Chief

DISCLAIMER: This show is rated TV-MA. The Talon does NOT encourage students to watch this show without parent approval. “Ted Lasso” is a new series by Apple TV that has quickly become an award winning T.V. show with phenomenal acting and a great storyline. Ted Lasso has won four Emmys, a Golden Globe, and countless other awards. It is truly one of the greatest masterpieces from Apple TV. “Ted Lasso” follows the story of an American football coach who is hired to coach a British premier league soccer team, AFC Richmond. Unbeknownst to him, the owner of the club has hired him to make the team fail. She is doing this to target her ex-husband as the soccer team was the only thing he truly loved. The TV series is not only about soccer and the hilarious challenges that Ted Lasso faces, but the show also addresses serious personal and societal problems in a lighthearted manner. The show deals with many challenges such as PTSD and depression. The show starts off with Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, arriving in England with his assistant coach, Coach Beard, played by Brendan Hunt. It is evident he knows nothing about the game of soccer by the manner

PHOTO COURTESY OF NBC.COM in which he conducts himself during the press conference. This is a hilarious comedic punchline throughout the whole series. The journalists in the room start to harass him, yet one journalist, Trent Crimm, played by James Lance, is the most noticeable and will reappear countless times throughout the series.

Lasso is then introduced to the team which is a melting pot. There are people from diverse cultures and many different countries. They are led by soccer legend Roy Kent, played by Brett Goldstein, who is going into his last season before retirement. There is also one other noticeable athlete: the

star athlete, Jamie Tartt, played by Phil Dunster. Tartt is a young stud that is fairly new to the premier league and has a massive ego. Lasso makes it his mission to mold Tartt into a team player. Going into the season, virtually nobody has faith in Lasso, not even the players on the team. Ted

Lasso had to prove himself to everyone that cheered for AFC Richmond. Over the course of the season, he does not have much success on the pitch, yet off the pitch he brings unity to the team that before was so divided. Although their star player, Jamie Tartt gets kicked off the team which will prove to be a questionable decision. Closer to the end of season, the owner of the club has a change of heart for her attitude towards the team after she realizes the colossal mistake she has made of sabotaging her team. However, it is too late into the season when she starts to make an effort to win and AFC Richmond is relegated to the championship league. Although AFC Richmond is relegated, not all hope is lost as in the next season they have a chance for promotion back to the premier league. Joining the coaching staff is retired soccer player, Roy Kent, as well as promoted towel boy, Nathan Shelly, played by Nick Mohammed. The team is going into the season not only as a team, but as a family. This sends a great message to the viewers and gives us a new perspective on how sports teams really are. Ted Lasso has proved itself to be a phenomenal show that has sports, comedy, and drama all in one. It seems as if it will be a long living series as the ratings are great and it is the perfect show to either binge watch or casually watch.

TikTok spikes interest of OHS students and staff By VICTORIA KIROVA

Features Editor

TikTok has long been a source of entertainment for thousands of people at OHS. It allows individuals to develop creative videos that appeal to them, while that direct their content to their passions. The is that it permits people of all backgrounds to gain popularity on a worldwide scale, or simply express their interests for fun. At OHS, both students and staff all over campus are allows them to be themselves, develop their creativity, and even gain new friendships. Through the app, they are also able to customize their

feeds in order for them to see videos that they are interested in. “I base a lot of my workouts on what I see on TikTok, and then just like life hacks and stuff. But I spend a lot of time on it,” said Kayla Hindi, senior. TikTok has on people is palpable because it provides something for everyone. Its rising popularity, however, is due to the fact that people were encouraged to download TikTok after it became a trend. “It wasn’t really a thing that I wanted to do until I saw other people doing it and then just the effect that it has on people,” Hindi said. The growing popularity of TikTok also led to an increase in the amount of teachers utilizing the platform. This gives students the opportunity to understand

the perspective that teachers have in their careers, in order to correct the misjudgments that were made by some members of society. “Sometimes I think people have a negative view of teachers. Where we don’t know how to have any fun or we don’t know how to connect with the students. That we’re very old school, that we don’t embrace contemporary things like pop culture,” said Darrell Hudson, history teacher. One of the predominant bonuses of TikTok is the fact that it can be easily utilized by everyone. Teachers are using this in order to reveal a side of themselves that is not always perceived by students.

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PHOTO BY VICTORIA KIROVA Darrell Hudson, history teacher, creates a TikTok for his fans.

The Talon

thetalonohs.com

consent form stating three rules; the most noticeable is the third clause where they can vote to terminate the game if the majority of players agree. After this they proceed to the game hall for

be ‘eliminated’. If it was not sickening enough for them to watch people die, it is their best friend and in one person’s instance, he must watch his wife die. The host later invites the

“Squid Game” is a new

very simple game. The game

players that are invited to participate in a competition

out ahead and gets caught, they hear a loud bang. In a twisted dark humor he starts coughing up blood and people see that and instantly start running. Since it is still a red light, those players are also shot down while scrambling for the exit. The game ends

parts of the series. The V.I.P.s also mysteriously all wear masks just like the workers, soldiers, managers, and frontman in the series. The masks add a sense of mystery to the series, so much that it is disturbing. Since the only time any worker takes off his mask in the series we see that they’re a kid no older than

By JACKSON MORGAN

Editorial Chief

DISCLAIMER: This show is rated TV-MA. The Talon does NOT encourage students to watch this show without the sixth game, which is by parent approval. play red light, green light, a far one of the most interesting

won, or approximately 38 million dollars. The whole series is extremely warped During the series whatever can go wrong for the players will go wrong. “Squid Game” starts out with Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, struggling all his extra money on horse racing. He meets a mysterious man who gives him his business card, and tells him to call for extra money. Unbeknownst to him, other people. The players who decide to play are kidnapped and knocked unconscious, and then taken to an undisclosed location. That, however, is the least freaky part of the series. All the players are given a number ranging wake up, and are greeted by masked individuals in pink jumpsuits. The players sign a player

‘eliminated.’ Even though the players voted to terminate the game after red light, green light, by using clause three, 93% of the players returned. The trend follows throughout the

October 2021

killed by the frontman. This raises the question of why are masks so important? They but there must be a hidden reason. The reason might be that they wear the mask to make the players feel isolated and to make the players perceive them as less human. At the end of the series, Seong Gi-hun, who is more commonly referred to as to play his childhood friend in a match of squid game. During the game, his friend kills himself so that the prize money would go to player Even though he won the

games. Each game seems to be increasingly more brutal, yet the most cruel is in episode six. Throughout the competition players create friendships and bond with one another. In game four everyone picks a partner so naturally they all pick the person they are closest with. Then in a sickening turn of events by the game makers they are told they will be competing against one another in a game of marbles, and the loser will

prize money, he does not spend any of it. Almost a year goes by and we see that the games have messed with his mental state to the point of joy in anything, the money does not make him happy, or give him a better life. This is most likely due to the way he earned the money since over him to have this money. “Squid Game” not only had people dying for money, but also a very subtle underlying message that money will not give you your friends back and will not make you happy. “Squid Game” is possibly television series ever.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NETFLIX.COM

“It’s a good way to show the students that teachers are normal people too. That we can have a funny side, that’s not always the serious follow the rules [type of teacher], like in the classroom,” Hudson said. With the creation of a TikTok video comes a process that varies from person to

much, but she has such a big platform right now, whereas other TikTok platforms aren’t as strong, but they are doing so much more,” Hindi said. However, with the rise in fame also comes the inevitable hate that is received. On the internet, people feel much more comfortable saying disrespectful and extremely malicious things, and TikTok is no exception. “I’m openly queer on my page. I have gotten threats from people to have my parents kick me out of the house, I’ve had people misgender me on purpose, I have had people send me photos and pictures of the

content that will be created. “Usually I just try and the TikTok app that I think are kind of fun, that are appropriate. Then I think of different things that we do here at school and what things I think might be funny,” Hudson said. While TikTok is used by people for all sorts of purposes, some have acquired Darrell Hudson, history teacher, poses for a TikTok. a sizable following by making putting stuff out into the friends that reside in distant videos about topics that they world and making my mark, places. are fond of. However, not all of and if people like what they “I have a friend who lives these creators are concerned see then they are welcome to in South Carolina. I text her with this newfound esteem, follow me for more, if they regularly now and I met her and instead make videos for don’t, I don’t really care,” through TikTok. I have a personal reasons. said Sam Kennan, junior. friend who lives in Alabama “I try not to expand to Through the app, people who I text occasionally. So I reach different audiences. are also able to connect with have met people from around This is for me. This is because their followers. This leads to the world,” Kennan said. I like making jokes, I like the possible creation of new While the TikTok algorithm

15

PHOTO BY VICTORIA KIROVA allows some smaller creators to gain popularity on the app, the well-known people on the platform are commonly said to be undeserving of their followers, and the opportunities they have received as a result. “I’m going to use Charli D’Amelio [as an example]. To me she didn’t really do

Kennan said. The reality of gaining followers is one that nobody should have to deal with. In order to continue making videos on TikTok, it is vital to have a genuine love for the content that is being produced. huge part of TikTok. If you don’t put in any effort into a TikTok account, it will never go anywhere,” Kennan said.

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The Talon

October 2021

thetalonohs.com

Dear Evan Hansen, you are a mess By ABBY MILLS

ghoulish face, he can sing. Where most movie musicals fail, “Dear Evan Hansen” Opening in late 2016, the succeeds. Undoubtedly, the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” music is the most engaging dazzled audiences grossing over $226 million. Yet, the vibrant, funny, dark, and charm of the musical did not heartwarming all at the same time. Where the movie fails in Evan Hansen” is just another plot and visual storytelling, mediocre musical that will be the music shines. The song, forgotten. The stage lights “Requiem,” showcases “Dear on Broadway hid the many Evan Hansen” at its prime. It displays the Murphy perfectly showcases. There is one glaring Coincidentally this is one of should not be in this movie. the only scenes in the movie Many fans of the original that the unsettling Evan musical may be happy that not in. winning performance, but While the music is the best him being cast as the lead part of this movie; the plot is one of its biggest grievances. worse. He looks laughably The entire plot of this movie bad, it is distracting to the is morally murky at best. viewer. When he sings in Evan Hansen lies to a grieving his school, he looks more family about his connection like a ghost reminiscent of to their dead son for personal the past instead of a high gain. One of the only things that makes Evan Hansen already naturally too old to sympathetic to audiences is play a high schooler but the how young he is. The movie hair and makeup he wears to tries to use this excuse to Photography Editor

and distracting. Wearing a fails to work because Evan Hansen looks more like a downs and caked with yellow teacher than a teenager. Evan makeup that is not blended, hurts the Murphy family in an unimaginably cruel way and gets no punishment. than a teenager struggling Characters facing no with mental illness. repercussions for their actions

PHOTO COURTESEY OF TIME.COM is a trend in this movie. Alana, played by Amandla Stenberg, creates the Conner project, named in memory of Connor Murphy, to spread mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Yet, she goes against all of her established ideals and publishes what she suicide note to gain online traction. Simply put, the movie is boring. It drags on for too long and there is nothing interesting about the supporting cast. The entire

Murphy family, played by Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Colton Ryan, and compelling characters in this movie but are not explored thoroughly enough. The Hansen. The conversion from musical to stage has made its charm get lost in translation. The problems in the musical had become clear through and constant singing, it is much easier for audiences

to suspend disbelief at actors and a weak Without question, the disappointing part of

older plot. most this

message buried under the a heartwarming message for teenagers who struggle with and anxiety. This message will be forgotten due to the Evan Hansen,” will be lost in time by most as just another bad movie musical.

On My Block season four; hit or miss? By

KAITLYN

SMITTEN

Sports Editor

“On My Block” may be one of the most popular and anticipated shows of the year. With a unique mixture of teen drama and real world problems, it is a phenomenal demonstration of friendship and betrayal between teens. Although the show has a lot of hype around it, there are many plot holes in the new follow the storyline. Season four starts off two years after season three ends, leaving fans lost and confused by the abrupt change in the storyline. The show takes place in called Freeridge, which is in Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood was written to be sketchy and not your traditional suburban neighborhood setting that most teen dramas are set in. While exploring problems within themselves, the teens also have to handle problems which arise in their neighborhood, which include gun violence, gang activity, unsafe spaces, and broken friendships. “On My Block” has always been known for its humorous,

yet heart wrenching scenes. Season four explores the changes and how they have drifted apart over time. Although the group of friends have not spent quality time together since a core member of the group, Monse Finnie, played by Sierra Capri, moves away to go to a new, all girls boarding school. Another main character, César Díaz, played by Diego Tinoco, is more deeply explored this season. With César having a complicated family history, he is the perfect candidate for a moody teenager, mixed with a little bit of family drama. Díaz, played by Julio Macias, decides to leave the Santos, a

PHOTO COURTESEY OF DIGITALSPY.COM gang that the series is centered causes their relationship to around, César is forced to fall apart. With the two year fast forward, many of characters changed friendships and even more the drastically, but the character Monse and César were in that probably had the most an on and off relationship visible of a change was Jamal through the previous Turner, played by Brett Gray. seasons, this caused drama Jamal was an awkward and within the friendship, but imaginative teen who spent the two characters had truly most of his time chasing after exceptional chemistry. When buried treasure and solving César became the new leader mysteries; however, in season of the Santos, everything four, he has become a jock and seemed to change as he was your typical football playing forced into a more violent lifestyle, which put Monse whole dynamic of a character at risk. If you truly love is a poor decision on the someone and care about writers part, as it makes a them, you should never put once loveable character a their life on the line. Cesars shallow and hated person. Due to the two year time promotion in the gang puts Monse at a higher risk, which jump, one would only expect

the characters to be different, but there was not very much context for how they changed. The reasoning behind their transformations was not as deeply explored as it could have been and the amount of plot holes and events that did not make sense is astounding. Out of the core four main characters, Ruby Martinez, played by Jason Genao, seems to have remained the most similar to his original character. Ruby is an awkward teenage boy, who is experiencing not only normal teenage problems, but also issues that arise in his neighborhood. information, it is hard for fans to truly understand what is going on with the characters and why. Viewers are left from the last season, with no ability for further closure. “On My Block” has

be no further episodes, so it is almost an understatement that fans are disappointed and confused by the lack of plot development within the season, as well as the amount of missing pieces which the series does not address. It would be safe to say that “On My Block” will be off of the

Sports 4

thetalonohs.com

October 2021

By JACKSON MORGAN

Editorial Chief

Varsity: The OHS football team is where the team had a strong

The team still has their goals high despite the setbacks. The players believe they have the ability to be the best team in the state. “The goal is to win a state championship. Nothing else.

High School. Now OHS’s varsity football team is returning for the 2021

With the new coaching

staff and massive changes being made. OHS has played two teams returning from the state championship game. OHS football has a challenging schedule this

offense. This new offense has proven successful averaging 25 points per game.

changes and improvements every week to win games. The team’s biggest struggle currently is playing in the second half. “We have to work on

now so it’s a lot of running. Last year we ran a spread. Spread is mainly a lot of passing and throwing and

JV: The JV football team is off with wins against Sunnyslope

right now we’re only playing half of football games which you can’t win games doing senior.

Varsity team is one of the sports that yet very dedicated athletes. Determination to beat their own records and develop as a team is something every runner has been displaying throughout the season. “We have a couple of really exceptional runners who are going to be competitive at coach.

Running something be done practiced in

“They’re

in general is that has to regularly and order to display

entire process worth it once the athletes beat their times and goals. “It’s not instant “It’s

a

rewarding

the

biggest

sport.

Running is a very unique sport because of how it is

and the chemistry between teammates. The athletes are able to use this to their advantage. “This is pretty much the same team from last year we a tight bond and after every practice we still pray and said. The offense for the JV team has also changed drastically with the new coaching staff. With a new playbook they still manage to put points on the scoreboard. “Obviously our whole an offense last year but this year we have a whole new

High School. The team still has big goals for the rest of the season. The most important part of being a student athlete has put a large emphasis on getting good grades and as possible. “[The] biggest challenge for me is balancing school with

Gardiner said. is something you can be even after high school. With immense improvement can be records. “It's still an outlet for improve every single year that you [run]. Just gotta PHOTO BY GABRIEL SOUZA Connor Holm, freshman, competes at an Oct. 8 cross country meet. but this year we’re hoping to bonds develop within the long lasting bonds between students. It helps kids open

practices

Long said. “Last year three

outs

the athletes but also help everyone improve their speed further. “It helps to have a brother

allowed to go to meets and events they weren't able to attend last season. “We’ve had a couple good

consistent no matter what. “Our girls team wants to

needs to put in the effort in practice and give one hundred percent effort every play and

similar to sibling rivalries also

Now that the season is

with more growth comes more goals. The team all

the athletes believe they can accomplish that. “I think we have the team

Because all the runners

young. Less social distancing and mask restrictions have made the athletes feel more free and less constrained within the sport. “It feels like it’s back to its

[Woodbridge Invitational] and raced which was really

In order for the team to achieve their goal of winning every game for the rest of

the best they possibly can be. “It’s unique because we are

already been able to do things they were not able to do last

but also on the teamwork amongst the athletes on the team. Each athlete is responsible for their own work

One of the team’s strengths

PHOTO BY JACKSON MORGAN Varsity lines up against Shadow Ridge’s defense before a play. football. It’s a lot to manage school work and make sure you’re not behind and your Freshman: The freshman team has have actually mattered so

a fun sport for me because it’s personal but at the same time because it’s such a hard sport you go with the team and that team can help you

senior.

and

challenges for the team is to put games on their schedule. This affects how much experience the team will have. This year JV has multiple weeks without games (bye weeks). “The other teams only have a freshman and senior team and all the sophomores

involve interacting with and encouraging your teammates.

By ANANYA THEKKEMELEPATT Social Media Manager

assistant

High School. One of

Page 17

learn how to get along with people and encourage each other.

contributes to how the connections between the runners develop. Friendly competition is exercised as well as pushing each other to

Continue reading at thetalonohs.com

18

The Talon

October 2021

thetalonohs.com

OHS swim returning to its former legacy By

KAITLYN SMITTEN

Sports Editor

As the 2021-2022 OHS swim season goes underway, fans and athletes are more than thrilled with their performance. Although they had a somewhat limited season last year having to deal with COVID-19 restrictions and safety precautions, this year, OHS is even more excited to see how well they can do. OHS swim is battling to defend their reputation of being a prestigious teammates and fun coaches, but sometimes upholding to such a high standard can be “I think our biggest struggle has been having to mix club swimmers vs. non club swimmers because we all have to adapt to the environment of high school swim,” said Rilee Vargas, sophomore. Vargas herself is a club swimmer and loves the competitive nature of swim, but also enjoys having fun and showing her wild side while with the team. “The chemistry is great on our team. We have so much fun at meets and our goal is honestly just to have a good time,” Vargas said. Swim may be one of the most rigorous and physically straining sports there is,

which is why it is often taken very seriously but Vargas and her team want to take away that stereotype and introduce more people to the sport for enjoyment, rather than strictly competition. “Swim is a very small sport that doesn’t get much attention so I hope for it to become more popular,” Vargas said. Seeing as so many opportunities were taken from athletes last year due to the strict COVID-19 guidelines, OHS swim and its athletes are more than excited to have such opportunities

back. “With not having an invite since my freshman year, I’m more than ready for them to be back,” said Anden McKinney, junior. As McKinney enters his junior year, he plans to continue swimming to the best of his abilities, but also take advantage of all of his opportunities and still enjoy himself. “This year I’m ready to show off what I couldn’t last year as in relays and my individual races,” McKinney said. “Have fun, do as much and best as you can because you don’t know what the future holds.” Although swimming is a smaller sport, the team and the athletes still strive to perform their best and

PHOTO BY AAYUSHI DATTA OHS swimmers working hard at practice. compete at the highest level Knowing that you may possible. not ever have the chance “We have tons of new to compete again drives an talent as well as dedicated athlete to be as successful swimmers that have been on as they can, Edlebeck has this team for four years,” said accepted that this is his last Nathan Edlebeck, senior. year swimming competitively, With it being Edlebeck’s but knows he can leave a senior year, he is eager to mark on the school, as well as strive to do his best this a name for himself. season, knowing it is his last. “Looking back on my “Now knowing that there is freshman year goals, I’m so no next season pushes me in excited to have such a strong, practice and during my races. fast and dedicated group of It also makes me appreciative kids who can bring home the of everything and I try to title to OC,” Edlebeck said. soak up as much of the high Playing a sport and being school experiences as I can,” part of a team requires you Edlebeck said. “I’m now one of the seniors I remember exactly how Edlebeck has thinking so highly of.” approached this season.

“With the combination of all of this, we’re set up for not only a great season, but also great seasons to follow,” Edlebeck said. Although this is Edlebecks last year at OHS, he is still excited to see how the team plays out and how they perform in the future. High school goes by in the blink of an eye and for athletes, almost faster. Learning to cherish every moment on the is crucial for an athlete’s success. “Just enjoy every moment, the highs and the lows, the good and the bad,” Edlebeck said.

Golf sees remarkable success amidst 2021 season By GABRIEL SOUZA

Editor-in-Chief & MICHAEL BROWN

Girls As the 2021 OHS golf season progresses, the girls golf team looks on to a potential state championship. With admirable leadership and talented players, the team is striving for a successful and productive season. The team has done well so far, while still ensuring that they’re having fun. At a recent tournament, the team was challenged with skilled opponents, yet they still played their best. “It was actually a two day was more fun; it wasn’t as serious as the second day. We played 18 holes and we came in fourth place out of 25 teams,” said Kyra Allen, junior. “I think we did pretty good.” Thus far, the team has outperformed last year’s results. “This year has been going really well for us,” Allen said. “Normally we’re around 11th or 12th in the state, but right now we’re actually fourth in

the state, so I think we’re doing a lot better this year.” With the help of their existing knowledge of the course being used for the state championship, the team achieve success. “I think we’ll do pretty good,” said Sydney-Resse Harris, senior. “It’s down in Tucson. We’ve played this course [before]; most of the played this course for the past couple of years.” With some years going to the state championship, and some years not, the team is excited to see if they will make it to state this year. “My freshman year we made it to state as a team, so that was really fun. I think we did pretty good that year,” Allen said. “Last year, we missed the cut off for state individually so we still got to go up.” Beyond this season and the state championship, senior players are excited and hopeful to see a future winning team. “It’s kind of nerve racking because we do have some really good juniors and a freshman that’s really good,” Harris said. “I’m anxious to

see what the team could do but I know that I’m leaving the team in good hands. I’m excited to see what they can do without the seniors there.” Every new year comes the opportunity for the team to that will take the team to the next level and to an even brighter future. “We do have three seniors leaving this year so it’ll be exciting to see some new players come in,” Allen said. Boys Over the years, the OHS boys golf team has been an ordinary team, but with the addition of Uriah Cross as the coach, the team is having never before seen success. Winning tournaments is a common occurrence under the strong leadership of Coach Cross. “Under [Coach] Cross we’ve been great,” said Clayton Johnson, junior. “Before [Coach] Cross was here, I don’t think we made it to state, any year, and we surely didn’t win the DV Cup.” Under Coach Cross’ guidance, the team has garnered many accomplishments and victories, like winning the DV Cup — several years in a row.

“Since [Coach] Cross has been here it’s been like an Xfactor,” Johnson said. “We’ve won the DV Cup every single year [Coach] Cross has been here. We had a couple second threes; top fours. We’re still going strong, Cross is a great leader.” The team attributes their success to the hard work and honest feedback given to them by Coach Cross.

“I think [Coach Cross] is a very honest person, he’s very open with us, and he really does care about winning,” Johnson said. “He’s not going to sugarcoat anything or give everybody playing time. He’s always going to play his best make sure we’re working hard and he’s not going to take anything from us. He’s going to give us [an] honest opinion.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF IVY LO OHS girls golf celebrates with smiles at a tournament.

The Talon

thetalonohs.com

October 2021

19

Record breaking streak for girls’ volleyball By LINDSAY STEINBERG

Copy Chief

Varsity A new coaching staff coupled with talent and skill gave way for great success for the OHS girls volleyball team. No matter how much adversity they face, the team proves time and time again they are worth receiving attention . With the arrival of a new coaching staff, the team looks towards the possibility of greatness and winning state. This greatness is being seen as the team holds the title of having the best start in program history, as they are currently ranked #1 in their conference, as of Oct. 13. “The new coaching staff did a really good job of making us feel heard and to go from here so it’s been a good start,” said Maisie Jesse, junior. “Our head coach does a really good job of reminding us of our goals and what it takes for us to

so it’s been a bit of a culture shift,” said Jesse. Like any other team though, there is always the possibility of roadblocks and challenges, but the team hopes this isn’t in their future and will do whatever it takes to avoid this possibility. “You just hit a wall where you feel like you can’t go anymore and hope we don’t hit that wall as hard and just push through and understand what needs to be done,” Jesse said. With their current record of 11-0, Maya Kitna, senior, and her team, looks towards the rest of the season with hope and wants to show the hard work the team is dedicating to the game. “We’re undefeated, I feel like we’ve been working good as a team,” Kitna said. “I have a good feeling about [the rest of the season], especially after the last couple games we’ve made some changes.” JV Similar to the Varsity team, the JV team looks towards a

PHOTO BY LINDSAY STEINBERG Girls varsity volleyball dominates against Boulder Creek. bright future with the new achieve those goals.” As imagined with any team atmosphere the coaching that adopts a new coaching staff is providing them with staff, it took time for the Carrying good chemistry team to adjust to the new with them, the JV team way of thinking and culture hopes to see that connection the staff brought with them. transfer over to their games “It was an adjustment and help them each end one in the beginning with an with a win. “It’s not any different, no entirely new coaching staff one treats anyone different with different philosophies

By ANANYA THEKKEMELEPATT Social Media Manager

Varsity Badminton is one of the sports at OHS that begins soon after the school year starts. This season, being pandemic began, has been throughout. “We survived it, we did real well, we got to play the whole season,” said Paula Cappelletti, coach. “Badminton wasn’t affected that much; we were fortunate.” The team has been able to reach and accomplish many goals throughout the season, allowing the girls to continue to develop their skills in the sport and proudly represent OHS in each match. “I think that we’ve done a lot of things that we didn’t expect to be able to do,” said Tristan Hanrath, senior. “We won every single portion of the doubles tournament for the DVUSD [tournament].” This year, all six players on the varsity team are seniors, most of them having played the sport since their freshman or sophomore year. All of the players are extremely committed to the sport and have taken extra measures to improve themselves as athletes. “Several of them have taken lessons all summer long over in Mesa and they have gone to camps to get better,” Cappelletti said. “Just from the beginning of this season to now I’ve seen a big improvement in their play.”

PHOTO BY ANANYA THEKKEMELEPATT Alexa Lewis, senior, hits a shot to the opponent. The team made it to state last year, but unfortunately lost. One of the main motivations for the girls this season is trying to make it back to state and redeem themselves. “My goal for this season would be to make it to state,” said Bria Riggan, senior. matches and trying to do the best I can during my games. I think that’s like a goal I have for myself, just winning as much as I can.” For most sports, sportsmanship and friendships amongst teammates is is needed to bring the team closer and OHS badminton has easily accomplished that, making the team more united. “It’s just like a really good place I think for a sport; everyone on the team is just amazing. I love all of them,”

Riggan said. The friendships and love within the team has created a very open and encouraging environment, making it a very healthy place for a sport. “I love how close we’ve gotten this year especially with everything we’ve overcome,” said Tristan Hanrath. JV This year, the JV team has all the same people who were on JV last year. Because of this, the players have gotten a lot of playing experience over the last couple seasons and they’re preparing to move up to the varsity team next year. “I’ve seen a lot of progress because of that experience,” Cappelletti said. “They’ve done well, they’ve stepped up and done well.” Since all the varsity players will be graduating this year, JV will be moving up to

varsity, making this their last year to prepare themselves and their skills for the varsity team. “I think my goals are to have fun and get better and to, hopefully, be ready for next season and varsity,” said Arpana Sripathi, junior. Due to the senior athletes graduating, next season JV will be getting a new start as the new varsity. “We’re losing all our seniors next year so all of the JV will move up next year,” Cappelletti said. The entire team practices together, despite varying skill levels, so oftentimes the players will practice against someone who is at a higher skill level so that they get better and improve. in myself and my ability to play because before I would just get nervous,” Sripathi said. As practices with multiple levels help people develop skills, they have also helped the girls become very close. Connections between the players have also helped them develop life skills, like getting along with teammates and working together. “We’re just able to create great friends and that’s one of the great things about badminton,” Sripathi said. Exhibition All the new players who joined this year are on the exhibition team. Since they are new, they were given the option to attend a badminton camp before the season started. “They were very nervous

because of their age,” said Devyn Wiest, freshman. Looking towards the rest of the season, the JV team hopes to have a bright future and continue to win most of their games as they have up until now, all to add to the bright future of the team. “I think we’ll do a lot of good things,” Wiest said.

because they said ‘we don’t know how to play,” Cappelletti said. “No one knows how to play whenever Exhibition has practiced often with JV to improve themselves as well as prepare some girls to be the next six girls who will get to move up to JV next year. “We try to put people with the same skill level but then we also have them move up, like exhibition players will play the JV,” Cappelletti said. Practices together have helped all the players learn the routines and drills. The higher level players have helped train them, especially in the practices at the beginning of the season. “I hope to learn the techniques they use to beat others,” said Arushi Gupta, sophomore. “They’re really Exhibition has looked up to JV and Varsity and sees them as role models in the sport and in sportsmanship. They have all been encouraged by the JV and Varsity athletes in badminton. “I really love the experience because the entire team is so kind and we all work very well with each other,” Gupta said. As everyone is polishing their skills, the exhibition team is preparing themselves to see which six girls will get to be part of the JV team next year, as well as just becoming better athletes. “A lot of them were at the bottom and now they’re right below JV,” Cappelletti said. “They’re gonna be ready.”