Issuu

HARBINGER February 2021

A Year(book) to Remember Read about the challenging creation of the Aerie yearbook during the pandemic

Left and Right No More Find out about the myths surrounding the left brain and right brain

Horror Stories: Work Edition See what horror stories students have from their time on the job

Zionsville Community High School

TABLE OF CONTENTS 14-15 Future Fashion Trends

News 4-5 A Bigger Building Begins

Feature

16-17 Sibling Bonds

Opinion

6-7 A Year(book) to Remember

18 Say Cheese

8-9 Left and Right No More

19 Never Again Valentine’s Day

10-11 Daniel Toluhi is

Sports 20-21 Swimming to the Top

Mr. Zionsville

Student Life 12-13 Horror Stories: Work Edition

Cover illustration by Josh Nieman

STAFF Print Editor Rachel Shultz Media Editor Riya Patel Web Editor Logan Seiler Video Project Editor Josh Nieman Student Life Editor Becka Bash

News & Sports Editor Kailey Wallenius Opinion Editor Mary Demarco Feature Editor Lucy Robinson Copy Editor Henry Holloway

Staff Members Brooklyn Brown Gretchen Drews John Farrar Dax Lara Sarah Maniscalo Elizabeth Rexing Jake Young

@zchsharb

The Harbinger

@ZCHSNews

zchsharbinger@gmail.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

elcome to second semester! We’re one month in, and surprisingly, this January didn’t seem to last quite as long as past years. As a second semester senior now, I’m growing more and more aware of how little time I have left here. I’m anticipating great things in my last few months with you all, and I have a feeling that this is going to be the best semester yet! I’m so excited to present to you the first Harbinger of 2021. The stories in this issue are an interesting combination of looking forward and reflecting back. We look forward to the upcoming construction of our school, predictions for what student fashion may look like in the upcoming year, and our 2021 yearbook. We also look back on and celebrate the successes of students such as Daniel Toluhi, winner of Mr. Zionsville, athletes like Devon Kitchel, state swim champion, and Will Modglin, who earned an Olympic Trial cut in swimming. It is always exciting to see what our student body will do next. I’m always so impressed by the creativity of the Harbinger staff.

I’d like to give a special shoutout to two members of the staff. Our two resident artists, Josh Nieman and Brooklyn Brown, have various drawings and designs throughout this issue. Josh’s drawing is featured as our cover art of this issue. They are both quick to create art that supplements our stories so well! This is definitely one of our more light hearted issues, which is what we all need during these long and cold months. A positive start to our semester will hopefully set the tone for the rest of the year. Take the chance to get outside and enjoy the snow. Stay safe and stay warm! Rachel Shultz, Print Editor

EDITORIAL

Adapting to Construction O

ver the past year, the students of Zionsville have shown their incredible ability to adapt to change, with the implementation of online and hybrid based learning. Changes continue to happen at ZCHS as construction will begin in the school. The staff of the Harbinger asks students to continue their flexibility as this new constructions begins. Ultimately, this will benefit students, as the new changes will make hallways and classrooms less crowded when full time in-person school is reestablished. But for now, we acknowledge that attending a school that is under renovation will be tricky at times. Some classrooms may find themselves hearing construction noises and students may be temporarily displaced from certain areas around the school. We ask you to remain patient and go with the flow as new challenges and problems arise. Keep showing our community how adaptable Zionsville students can be. If you are interested in learning more about what exact changes will be happening around our school, check out the story “A Bigger Building Begins” on pages 4-5.

The mission of the Harbinger is to provide both the student body of Zionsville Community High School and the local community with the unbiased truth. The staff strives to handle every topic they take on with respect and objectivity, while also providing a source of entertainment and intriguing content for the reader. The Harbinger aims to reflect the true atmosphere of ZCHS by including students of all walks of life in the publication.

R E G G I B A G N I D L I BU

BEGINS

By Lucy Robinson, Feature Editor

ith the steady increase of ZCS students, the need for more classes and expansions to the high school are quickly approaching. A new construction project starting next month will add 35 classrooms, a replacement for the main cafeteria, move the main entrance of the school and more. The construction is projected to continue all the way through August of 2023 with changes big and small. The first changes affecting students will be with parking and traffic this Spring. “There’s a lot of stuff in this construction project that’s not very glamorous,” principal Tim East said. “We’re all excited about the walk through and the classrooms, but to make all that work, we have to have things like sewer and water in place.” The first work will start in March with rerouting the water. During mid-March or the beginning of April the drive along the south side of the Freshman center will be closed. After that the work will move to the east side

Design for the academic commons. Photo provided by Chuck Tyler

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of the building. “So there’ll be a while, probably in April, when the Mulberry Street entrance will be inaccessible and want to make some rerouting and then starting in May, June, all this across the front of the school. They’ll finish it up there once we’re all gone.” Anyone who gets dropped off at door 23 will have to change to door 27 while the water is being rerouted. “Their plan right now is to build here in the middle of the campus first and continue to work west as they do the addition, and then once that’s done, we would move the cafeteria into the new dining commons,” East said. “Then they would start the renovation of those spaces as the last step.” The new dining commons are planned to provide a space for students to not only eat, but socialize and provide space for activities. “The new dining commons is designed to be the ‘heart’ or the ‘great room’ for the high school,” Chuck Tyler, the Project Executive for the construction, said. “It extends all the way from the PAC entrance to the Freshman Center entrance. It has multiple levels and will provide a large flexible space to support activities in the PAC, the SAC (Student Academic Commons), the main gym as well as student dining. It includes two remote serving stations in addition

to the main serving court. The tables will provide a lot of different seating options for the students. Some will incorporate charging stations for your devices.” There are some small additions to the new dining areas that make the place even more functional and welcoming. “The dining commons also includes two special areas. On the east end, we’ve incorporated a gathering stair by the Freshman Center entrance. It will be a great space to eat, catch up with friends, or just relax,” Tyler said. “It will have technology so that it can also be used for presentations and large group instruction. Your administrators also wanted us to include some outdoor eating space. On the north side of the commons by the large windows are doors which open up to a dining patio with tables and a landscaped courtyard.” Along with this a new east to west hallway will be added with the expansion. “This will take some of the pressure off of the current hallway during passing periods. It connects all the way from the new dining commons to the science hallway,” Tyler said. There will be a new Student Academic Commons on the west side of the building, which will be a smaller version of the dining commons. “This space is more focused on providing opportunities for student socialization and collaboration,” Tyler said. “It will include small group rooms, large marker walls, and monitors to support teaming and group projects.” Another change coming sooner is to the main office area, where the staff in the counseling office and main office will be relocated. “So our plan for next year is that all counseling services are going to be in the freshmen center. All of the admin services are going to be here in the library,” East said. “So we’re

Design for the new dining commons. Photo provided by Chuck Tyler.

going to take over that little group of offices right there at room 510. And that will be where the administration is for a year while this is all being built.” Once the new administration and counseling offices are built, the previous offices will be turned into classrooms including new Special Education rooms. “When we are done, we will have added enough new classroom and lab spaces to accommodate an additional 600 students on the campus,” Tyler said. Students will start to notice big changes at the start of next school year. For starters, Door 11, the main door in the freshman center, will be the main entry, replacing Door 1. “So, we’ll have a reception and attendance there. The nurse will be in the freshman center clinic, counseling will be in the freshman center offices, and administration will be in here,” East said. Along with that, the work across the front of the school will not allow buses to drop off at the circle drive, so buses will be relocated as well. “[Where] there’s currently the senior parking and teacher parking will be where buses drop off and pickup next year outside of door 41,” East said. “So that’ll reroute all of our traffic patterns and move senior parking and staff parking to new locations during construction.” The track and turf at the stadium will also be replaced in June after graduation, which will interfere with parking. “Over the summer, there’ll be areas around the stadium that are closed for park-

ing,” East said. The goal is to have as little disruption to classrooms and the learning environment as possible, but some of it will be unavoidable. For rooms E107, E109, E111, and the three rooms above them, there will be construction right up against them. “So we’re going to have to board over the windows and put insulation over those windows, to protect them and to try and mitigate the sound. But I anticipate they won’t be ideal,” East said. “You’ll hear Mr. Fowler’s room when that connection is going on right here. I anticipate that it won’t be the quietest place in the school. One of the things that’s fortunate is that it is not going to close our

main corridor.” The classes of 2023 and 2024 should get the full benefits of this expansion. There is also a possible chance that the new dining commons will open in 2022 during the spring semester. These improvements will enhance the environment of the school for future classes. “I think there are three main improvements that students will most enjoy,” East said. “The improved food service and social setting of the dining commons, the better traffic flow across the campus, and the central access to health, counseling, and administrative supports of the centralized office complex.”

Design for the gathering stair. Photo provided by Chuck Tyler

news 5

Seniors Ruth Cronin and Kailee Rockers take senior Laurel Masterson’s portrait. photos by Rachel Shultz

a Year(book) to Remember By Henry Holloway, Copy Editor

espite canceled events, limited access to students, and the ongoing pandemic, the Aerie staff managed to carry on, delivering what is likely to be one of the most memorable ZCHS yearbooks of all time. The staff had to get creative in order to produce a yearbook filled with more substance than past books, despite having less to work with. “This year is going to be the biggest yearbook I think we’ve ever done,” Aerie co-editor-in-chief and senior Ruth Cronin said. “Usually the book is 300 pages and we thought we wouldn’t have enough content to fill it. So we were scared that we’d have to cut pages. But as it turned out we ended up adding pages. We added 16 pages because we added a profile section and then we’ve also sold a lot of senior ads, which was awesome.” This task didn’t come without challenges. The yearbook staff relied heavily on Zoom and Facetime to collaborate. “It was kind of tough at first because so much of yearbook you do as a team and you work together on designing pages and writing stories,” Cronin said. The year has been rife with challenges to

“We had to reach outside of our bubble of friends and find new students with interesting stories,” -Kailee Rockers, 12 6 feature

covering student life and activities, everything from finding ideas to interviewing to photography. “Things have been a little more challenging and slower-paced especially because its harder to get into classrooms this year for all of our academic coverage,” Cronin said. “Getting photos of students within the school has been a lot harder and then obviously not being able to go into classrooms to interview students has been a challenge.” The yearbook staff now primarily interviews through dming people on Instagram and tracking down phone numbers. The editors also planned new ways to find interesting stories and collect photos. “Without the opportunity to pull students out of class for interviews, we had to reach outside of our bubble of friends and find new students with interesting stories,” co-editor-inchief and senior Kailee Rockers said. The staff explored other medias as a way of communicating with the student body. “We made an Instagram account and asked students to submit photos from class, clubs, sports, and hanging out with their friends,” Rockers said. Cronin is quick to applaud the persistence of the yearbook staff. “I’m really proud of how the staff has been working despite these challenges,” Cronin said. Planning for the yearbook started during the spring and summer months under a cloud of uncertainty. “Kailee and I actually went to a virtual IU camp over the summer where we planned out the yearbook theme and all of that kind

of stuff to get ready for the year,” Cronin said. “So, going into this year where we didn’t really know how anything was going to be running, we were able to have a lot of stuff planned out beforehand that has helped us stay on track this year.” During those summer months, the editors anticipated the worst. “Back in July when we met for our first editor work night, we expected the “I’m realbook to be much ly proud smaller than in the past, 200 pages of how if we were lucky,” the staff Rockers said. “We has been expected each spread to rely priworking marily on design despite and text with few these photos, as most events would be challengcanceled.” The editors be- es.” gan taking pictures - Ruth much earlier than Cronin, usual. 12 “In precautions of canceled seasons, the staff went to all available photo assignments in the summer,” Rockers said. The planning of the book during the rest

of the year looked different than in the past as well. “As Editors-in-Chief, Ruth and I had to recognize that we couldn’t plan out the book like usual and had to plan week by week,” Rockers said. The organization of the book is unique, according to Rockers. “The book is organized monthly like in the past, but this year for a different reason,” Rockers said. “We wanted to have the opportunity to document significant moments on the calendar for people to recognize, whether that’s the day we all reunited at school without cohorts or the day the county entered the red zone.” The yearbook staff also expanded on existing features of the yearbook, like student profiles and theme pages. “We added a special profile section which highlights 16 students’ passions and shares their stories,” Rockers said. “Also, we always have opening and closing pages in the book, but we added two middle pages between where first semester ends, and second semester begins to document the transitions within the community.” The yearbook is set for completion in

early March. While it is being printed, the staff will start work on the spring supplement, typically covering spring sports, and events like prom and graduation. “Every yearbook has its own unique look, and feel, and message,” Aerie adviser Lauren Wagner said. “This book acknowledges the challenges [of the school year] but it also celebrates the things that did get to happen and the ways that we did get to connect.” Rockers agrees that the theme of the book accurately summarizes the year. “This year’s book is very timely,” Rockers said. “The theme specifically captures this school year. I think it helps capture the uncertainty of the year and ultimately the emotions the students feel.” The year has certainly been strange, but the yearbook staff is excited for everyone to see the result of all of their hard work. “Although this year isn’t what everyone hoped, the yearbook staff has tried to highlight the good moments for the community to reflect back on in May,” Rockers said.

Get Your 2021 Yearbook Here feature 7

rown

B rooklyn on by B ti ra st u ll I

By Mary Demarco, Opinion Editor

icture this: It’s 10 pm on a Wednesday. You’re sitting at the kitchen table, notebook in hand with way too many eraser marks on it to be legible. Beside you with a chair pulled up at the corner of the table, your frustrated dad explains to you how to solve question 16 on your unit 7 math checkpoint quiz. At this point in the night, you just want to curl up under your covers and fall asleep hoping to avoid third period math class for as long as possible. But it’s no use. How could someone ever understand math? It just seems to come so easily to some people. You wonder if maybe

8 feature

the answer to this problem is just that some people are more right brain oriented, and you’re, well, not. Now, this may be a disappointment to hear but, this introduction was very misleading. If you find yourself thinking that you’re more left brained or right brained, you would be mistaken. The theory of left brain vs. right brain was disproven almost a decade ago. Many people believe there are two hemispheres of your brain split into two different sides: one side being analytical, the other being creative. The original study was done by two scien-

tists, Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga. According to PBS, Sperry discovered there are two sides of the brain which specialize in certain functions. Through the years, both Gazzaniga and Sperry conducted experiments to discover more about the brain. “They had hy-

“We are whole brain creatures.” -Amanda Harmon, psychology teacher

pothesized that one thing that happens with people who have epilepsy is that one side of the brain communicates to the other side of the brain to have a seizure,” AP psychology teacher Amanda Harmon said, “And when the communication occurs a seizure is experienced.” The two scientists were hoping to find some sort of cure or way to lessen the experience of a seizure. “They hypothesized that if they sever the connection between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere of the brain and they can’t speak with one another it could reduce the experience of seizures for people whose seizures were life threatening,” Harmon said. Luckily, they found that people who had severed the two hemispheres had positive outcomes. Other than this, they made the discovery of what sides of the brain control certain functions. According to Harmon, they came to the conclusion that the right brain specialized in recognition of distance and shapes while the other side works more with mathematics. When they published their findings, the results were greatly exaggerated. “It was exaggerated to the extent that people who are good at math are right brained,” Harmon said. People often like to categorize themselves. It’s easy to put people into certain groups or titles and run with it. It can almost be compared to the Harry Potter house categories. If someone is brash and brave, they’re a Gryffindor while if someone is smart, they’re a Ravenclaw. Luckily for us, humans are diverse and have many layers. There isn’t one way to categorize someone such as left or right brained. This also explains how our brains work. While certain sides of the brain deal with certain functions of the body, there isn’t a

dominant side of the brain. No one can be categorized as left or right brained. “So that early study where they did this brain split, they exaggerated the results of that by saying, ‘Oh these certain structures who are storing certain memories are on either side of the brain and so we must be using these sides exclusively,’” Harmon said. No conclusions had ever been made to prove that someone received their dominant traits based on what side of the brain was stronger. It was just a way to put people into certain groups like type A or type B. Humans must just love categorization. “[People are] using both sides of their brain in concert with one another,” Harmon said, “We are whole brain creatures.” The two hemispheres work together to help a person function properly. As far as what brings out dominant traits in one’s personality, scientists are still unsure. “We still don’t know a lot about what determines individual personality; but it seems unlikely that it’s the dominance of one side of the brain or the other that matters,” Harvard associate professor of medicine, Robert H. Shmerling, MD said. But what has been discovered is that a lot of what makes up a human being’s personality relies on the statement nature vs. nurture. This is basically just your biology added up with your upbringing. “So, by nature, there are certain characteristics that we are given by virtue of our biology: certain things

that tend to be our natural inclinations,” Harmon said. “But how we’re formed by those people who raise us who are often our biological parents or the people that shape us as far as caregivers at an early age.” Imagine a quiet and shy child. Although they were born with a very shy personality, maybe their parents are both extroverts. If so, the child may be encouraged more to talk to strangers and meet new people as they tag alongside their parents. This may open them up to meeting new people. Although the child may have a shy personality, they’re encouraged and opened up to meeting new people and making friends. This allows them to go through life with necessary skills to make friends and keep up a conversation. “Certain aspects of our personality can be encouraged, and certain aspects of our personality can be discouraged. So, it’s a combination of how our environment and how our biology interacts with one another. So, it comes from a multitude of places,” Harmon said. It’s these kinds of influences that shape us into the people we are today and the people we will grow to be. And although there are certain traits that we show more strongly than others, our experiences in life are what drive us towards discovering those new experiences and passions. Illustration by Josh Nieman

feature 9

Daniel Toluhi is

Mr.

Zionsville 2021

Although there weren’t tons of screaming audience members or friends to run onstage after crowning, senior Daniel Toluhi knew thousands were watching online as he was crowned Mr. Zionsville.

10 student life

photo by Laurel Masterson

By Rachel Shultz, Print Editor

“I felt like I made history as the first black Mr. Zionsville.” -Daniel Toluhi, 12

“I was elated to say the least,” Toluhi said. “I felt like I made history as the first black Mr. Zionsville. I felt like I made my family proud.” Toluhi, who was awarded both Mr. Z and Mr. Spirit, was joined onstage by seniors Austin Conrad, Ben Weber, Billy Busse, Cooper Davenport, Evan Emsley, Griffin Burke, Jack Schrepferman, Luke Nolan, Reilly White, Ryan Rude, Stuart Buttars, and Will Varner. Schrepferman won Mr. Talent and Weber won People’s Choice. “To win in a competition with guys I feel are some of the coolest and most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of working with gave me a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” Toluhi said. Toluhi was inspired to get involved by past Mr. Z contestants. “Everyone involved in it last year that I knew told me it was the best experience they’d had in high school. They were not lying,” Toluhi said. Watching the talents are a favorite part for the audience and contestants alike.

“This year’s group was insanely talented and hilarious,” Toluhi said, “From cracking up watching Luke lip sync and dance to almost bawling every time Cooper sang. Every single talent was unforgettable.” Toluhi enjoyed the preparation for the event just as much as the actual performance. “On one of the first days of winter break we had to start recording videos for our opening skit,” Toluhi said. “The guys met up at Mulberry hill in freezing, hailing weather. The dedication the guys showed and the countless laughs we had that day will forever be one of my favorite memories.” The experience was an unforgettable one, despite the many changes due to the pandemic. “We walked in knowing that it was a blessing to even have a chance to put on a show,” Toluhi said. “To get to perform in front of an audience of any kind and to have basically thousands streaming and donating made the experience incredible in spite of COVID.”

Morgan Browne, senior, interviews Daniel Toluhi, senior, who is portraying Kanye West. photo by Ruth Cronin Seniors Griffin Burke, Ben Weber, Jack Schrepferman, and Daniel Toluhi, dance in the opening of Mr. Z. photo by Ruth Cronin Mr. Zionsville contestants awaiting results. photo by Laurel Masterson

Horror Work Edition Stories A

By Elizabeth Rexing, Staff

nyone who works will tell you that their job isn’t perfect and neither are they. Mistakes are made, customers are cruel, and bosses are weird. Some would say it’s all “part of the job.”

Accidents happen. It’s true but that doesn’t make them any less humiliating. Fortunately, everyone makes mistakes so don’t worry, everyone’s in the same boat.

Being a teacher is no walk in the park. Ann Bender shares some of her own horror stories from her time at Zionsville and from previous schools. “I had a student who I had the first period of the day… and she had this shoebox and another student came in and they were looking at it. I was like, ‘what do you have in that

12 student life

“I’m a hostess at LA Cafe and I started working this past summer right after things started to [open] up. It wasn’t my training day, but it was the first day that I worked alone. We used to have 2-for-1 shrimp cocktails on Tuesdays and so it would really bring people in and so we were completely slammed and it was absolutely crazy. I went to go help one of our servers who

shoebox?’ and she said, ‘I have a dragon.’ I didn’t believe her and I walked back there… she starts to lift the lid off the shoebox slowly and it starts to reveal this giant [lizard]... It’s almost in slow motion in my head where she [opens it] and I’m looking at it and my brain is processing. I didn’t realize that I was terrified of these creatures… and I screamed and got out of my room in two leaps— that’s how terrified I was of this… What was so unusual about it was why, in an English class, there was a lizard in a shoebox.”

had a table of eight who ordered four of these shrimp cocktails… And so I had one on my arm and one in my other hand because I needed to open the door. I went to set it down on the table when we got outside and I just dropped it and it was mortifying;… Being new to the job made it ten times more horrifying.” - Kailyn Seeser, Sophomore, LA Cafe

“My first year [of teaching], I had a lot of [horror] stories. I had a kid asked to borrow scissors— now I don’t loan out scissors because of this…— so I let him borrow my scissors. I’m looking around the room and he’s carving his name into his forearm. He got three letters in before I grabbed the scissors and ran for help.”

illustrations by Josh Nieman

Customers, like Karens,

berated by this lady in the Subway because the register won’t let me ring it up... By now there are other customers in the Subway, too, and there’s a whole line... Finally, by some grace of God, I get through to the lady.” - Kylie Heagy, Senior, Subway

are disliked for a reason and the infamous “can I speak to the manager” cut is dreaded by anyone in a customer service position. Other customers are just odd. “The most vivid memory I have of a customer was not of them being mean but it was so weird. It was my third day working there and it was 8:40 [pm], only 20 minutes from closing and this dude comes in in a full business suit… probably just came from his accounting job in downtown Indianapolis and he comes in and asks for a 6-inch flatbread and double toasted… I heat up the bread twice and I bring it back to the meats and he said, ‘Oh, no meats,’ and I assume, ‘oh, okay, it’s a veggie.’ And I bring it over and he says, ‘Just mayo please,’ and so I put the mayo on it and I looked at him and he said, ‘looks good.’ And so I closed it up and he went over to pay.” - Griffin Burke, Senior, Subway “There was a couple that came up— and we had a clearance rack of clothes and a stupid rule that Old Navy had was if someone argued with you on the price, you were just supposed to give them it at the price they said— and so they came up, and they had figured out the system for sure, and they said, ‘these are all five dollars.’ And you can look at the price tag, and even on clearance, it was obvious that they were not five dollars but we had to give it to them for that price.” - Iris Bailey, Junior, Old Navy

Bosses. Not everyone has a boss like the lovable Michael Scott; some are mean, some are overbearing and some are just plain creepy.

“One Sunday afternoon I was working with one other person and because it was slow, he wanted to go on break… So my coworker leaves and goes on break and I’m kind of just chilling… then this lady comes in. I can’t see her face at all; she has massive sunglasses on and a mask on and she has three different ‘buy one get one free footlong coupons that she wants to use... I’m making six different footlongs- each one is a different kind of sandwich and she’s adding bacon and all these different types of cheeses and some of them are toasted… She’s being super quiet— I can’t hear her and she won’t point or nod or anything; I’m trying to get physical cues or verbal cues and she’s just standing there… I finish this lady’s six subs and go to ring her up and register will not let me use the three coupons in one transaction… I’m trying to explain to her, ‘the register won’t let me do this coupon three different times; I have to ring it up three separate times but it’ll be the same amount of money, it’s just three different transactions.’ But she does not get it and she gets so angry at me; I’m getting

“We have some interesting stories of customers there... but there’s one customer that I constantly remember: it was an older lady and she came to the register and she was not in a good mood… She immediately told me that everything I was doing was wrong right off the bat... She continued this throughout the transaction while constantly going on about how I was doing my entire job wrong. Eventually it came time to give her the receipt… we have to be careful about Covid-19 so instead of handing her the receipt directly, I slid it on the table to her so she could pick it up herself and there would be no contact. She was enraged by this and said I should not have my own job and that I should be fired and she demanded to speak to the manager... She goes on for a few minutes rambling about how I shouldn’t have this job, how I was unfit because I wasn’t giving her her receipt directly… our manager eventually comes over to have a talk with her… He tries to help me but she doesn’t listen to him. She ends up storming out of the store and yells to everyone in the store that we had terrible service and that we should not be open.” - Hailey Nichols, Junior, Hobby Lobby

family and I’m looking at the cameras right now and I see you aren’t doing anything.’ So he’s just sitting there, on the beach, with his laptop, just watching us.” - Griffin Burke, Senior, Subway

“[My boss] watches the cameras in the store 24/7. There was one point during the summer where he was on vacation with his family in South Carolina and he randomly calls the store and says, ‘I’m on the beach with my

student life 13

FUTURE

fashion

trends

By Gretchen Drews, Staff

“I

haven’t seen anyone since March, but from what I’ve seen everyone’s style in Zionsville has changed drastically,” Meredith Barber said. This is how one junior Meredith Barber feels about fashion during the pandemic. With everyone bound to their homes, fashion may not be at the top of your list, but that doesn’t mean fashion trends have come to a halt. In fact, just the opposite is true. While everyone has been inside these past few months, the lack of interaction has caused some to feel uninspired to go back outside. With all this extra time on teens’ hands, the usage of social media has increased. One of the best ways fashion trends, and pretty much anything else, spread is online. The ways these trends spread so fast is typically through specific influencers, and any teen who has social media and follows them is consuming this data all the time. “I think Zionsville students’ changes in style are due to a lot of social media influence because when you’re inside

Audrey Eskonen, junior, poses in her outfit. photo by Gretchen Drews

all day what else are you going to do as a member of Gen Z,” Barber said. Barber went on to talk about how that with the rise of certain influencers, the popularity of thrifting has also risen as it is not only a fun activity to do with friends, but it also is a great way to give back to the environment and to communities. If the problem of COVID-19 begins to die-down and people are more comfortable going back out in public, it could be a great way to regain sociability and to become more charitable. “When people like Emma Chamberlin started doing it, I felt like thrifting really skyrocketed in popularity and I think more people are being more encouraged to buy second hand or from ethical brands,” Barber said. One other student, Megan East, sophomore, thinks thrifting is also a great way to find unique pieces. Both students can agree and understand that most of the clothing items in thrift or secondhand stores are one-of-a-kind, and that many of these items are no longer produced.

Through thrifting, East feels she has found a terrific way to enhance her wardrobe. “I have this really cool 80s jacket with these cool patterns, but they don’t really make those anymore because they’re not in style. You get way more unique stuff in thrift shops,” East said. On the other hand, if social distancing and quarantine continue into 2021, another option is the giant that is online shopping. With an easy click of the mouse, students are able to find specific items that they may not be able to find what they are looking for at thrift stores or even at their favorite in-person stores. There are endless options and especially during this time, it may be more convenient to purchase there. “I like it because you can find exactly what you want because there’s all these categories for different colors and styles,” East said. Junior Audrey Eskonen is also a fan of online shopping. She said that most sites usually come with sizing charts built into clothing items posted. She mentioned that the pinpoint accuracy of the sizing charts has allowed her to become more satisfied with the online purchases she makes. Additionally, Eskonen described how trying on clothes in person tends to make her uncomfortable, especially in thrift stores as she doesn’t like the idea of not knowing who’s tried on the clothes beforehand, if it is clean, etc. On the rare occasion she does go in person to shop, she finds it helpful to hold the item up to her and from there roughly measure it to make her decision. “I like online Meredith Barber, junior, shows off her jeans. photo by Gretchen Drews

“I think Zionsville students’ changes in style are due to a lot of social media influence because when you’re inside all day what else are you going to do as a member as Gen Z.” -Meredith Barber, 11 shopping because it has exact measurements and I also don’t like going in store to try on stuff,” Eskonen said. Along with the rise of online shops and fashion influencers, smaller creators, including students here at ZCHS have taken a liking to a variety of different places to do the same and sell their clothing and other accessories. Apps like Etsy and Depop are especially perfect outlets to sell handmade or other custom items that wouldn’t be found anywhere else. Students are able to find something they really love all while supporting and helping those who create to make some extra cash. “A lot of people over quarantine feel like ‘I’m bored and I’m broke’ so they ask themselves why not?,” Barber said. Regarding specific items, students also have their own ideas about what will become more popular. Personally, Eskonen believes that the color brown is trending currently and thinks that a lot more people have and will continue to incorporate it into their own styles. Students with a more earthy or neutral look may take a liking to this and hop onto the trend. “I feel like anything with the color brown is starting to become more popular,” Eskonen said. Another trend suggested by East is that especially during the pandemic, articles of clothing such as comfy sweaters and sweater shirts, sweatpants, fuzzy socks, and more are and will continue to be popular. East expressed during the pandemic, dressing up is ultimately trivial. “I feel like the idea of less is more is already and will continue to become a trend among students,” East said.

Megan East, sophomore, smiles in her outfit. photo by Gretchen Drews

student life 15

Sibling Bonds

oud noises coming from all parts of the house, a long list of available companions, and constant chaos. Throughout quarantine, and for the rest of their lives, these students have had the unique experience of having more siblings than most others, giving them an interesting perspective. By Becka Bash, Student Life Editor

photo provided by Alakina Stockwell

Alakina Stockwell “It’s never boring around [my house], there’s always stuff going on. Usually that stuff is just fighting over electronics but what can I say? It takes your mind off of the global pandemic.” senior Alakina Stockwell said. Stockwell has nine siblings, Ross (15), Theron (13), Chase (11), Lucien (8), Jaeger (7), Eiver (5), Avett (4), Everett (3), and Aramina (1). “Growing up with a lot of siblings can get chaotic. There’s plenty of fighting, drama, and entertainment. You learn how to sneak, how to prank, and how to tease. You also have plenty of company, whether you like it or not,” Stockwell said. Stockwell says that having a large amount of siblings definitely makes her house noisy. “It’s always pretty loud. The only times when you get moments of quiet here are if you’re home alone, it’s nighttime and everyone is asleep, or if everyone goes outside,” Stockwell said. Stockwell has found that having a lot of siblings has impacted her sleep schedule. “The worst part is that it’s hard to get

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moments of peace and quiet unless you stay up late until the point where everyone finally goes to bed and you can enjoy some silence,” Stockwell said. “I’ll admit I did that a lot, I am a huge night owl and the temptation of the night time peace and quiet only made it easier to stay up late.” During The best part quarantine, all is knowing how of Stockwell’s siblings were much love and present in her support you house. Stockwell says that during have in your the beginning of life.” - Alakina Stockwell quarantine her life was fairly normal despite some problems. “School made things stressful though especially for the younger kids, which made my mom go crazy. Luckily whenever things got hectic I was able to just put in my earbuds and tune the noise out up in my room,” Stockwell said. “As quarantine went on through summer though we did try and find stuff to do together, like my mom went out and bought a bunch of board games and Ross would bring down his Xbox so we could play

Rockband, stuff like that. It wasn’t too bad.” During the quarantine times where Stockwell did not have work or school, she managed life with the chaos. “I slept in a lot, usually until early afternoon, but it was common to be woken up to the sounds of little boys yelling and running through the house playing and messing around,” she said. Stockwell found ways to make time for herself during quarantine periods as well in her room where she did “random stuff like art, playing video games, cleaning, etc. either keeping myself busy or lounging around” Stockwell said. “Occasionally I would hear chaos break out downstairs and there wouldn’t go one day without a fight over something.” Overall, Stockwell has a lot of fun with her siblings and enjoys having them around. “The best part is knowing how much love and support you have in your life,” Stockwell said. “Siblings can be a hit and miss sometimes but with me, I love my siblings very much and they love me even if we don’t always show it.”

Carson Sampson “I have nine siblings,” junior Carson Sampson said. “Growing up with a lot of siblings has always been fun. There’s always someone to talk to if you’re bored.” Sampson says that having many siblings definitely keeps her life interesting. “Depending on the time of day, it’s usually pretty noisy around my house except when my younger brothers are at school.” Sampson said. During quarantine, the Sampsons spent a lot of time together in their house. “Quarantining with my siblings has surprisingly been pretty fun. We enjoyed having each other’s company during the difficult times and were able to still do fun things to make memories, like movie marathons while being home,” Sampson said. “The best parts of quarantining together for me are being able to build stronger bonds with each other. By spending a lot of time together we get to learn a lot more about each other and grow even closer than before,” In Sampson’s opinion, there is not much of a downside to quarantining with her siblings because there is always someone to keep her entertained. Her siblings are Courtney (25), Cally (23), Cassidy (22), Alex (20), Jack (18), Caroline (14), Addy (12), Cooper (9), and Logan (7). Of those

photo provided by Carson Sampson

siblings, all of them but two were at her house with her over quarantine. “In quarantine with my siblings, we hangout together a lot and enjoy watching movies, tv shows, and playing board games together,” Sampson said. Outside of movie marathons, Sampson’s family vacations with her siblings are some of her favorite moments with them. “Family vacations are my favorite because we always do fun things together,

Bennett Decoursey Bennett Decoursey, senior, has five siblings, Kyle (24), Gretta (21), Joel (20), Charlotte (13), and Gwen (12). He says that having a lot of siblings makes it so that there is always something happening, especially since If one sibling they all participated in is busy you sports and had to go just move on to practices and games to the next.” frequently. - Bennett “The best part is just always having Decoursey something to do and someone to do something with,” Decoursey said. Decoursey shares Sampson’s sentiment about family vacations making great memories, specifically citing a trip to South Carolina with his siblings and cousins. That does not mean that Decoursey thinks there are no downsides to being surrounded

even if it’s just sitting on the beach it’s just fun to be together.” Sampson said. Sampson enjoys being surrounded by her siblings and says there are not many drawbacks to having a large family. “If I had to choose one, I would say the worst part of having a lot of siblings is that there’s not as much alone time as others may have, but it’s always fun to be around a lot of people,” Sampson said.

photo provided by Bennett Decoursey

by siblings. “The worst part about having a lot of siblings is lack of space,” Decoursey said. “Until my oldest brother left for college in 2014, I shared a room with him and my other brother. And I only had my own room when

Gretta left for college in 2016,” Despite those downsides, Decoursey says that it is nice that there is always company around because of his siblings. “If one sibling was busy you just move on to the next,” Decoursey said.

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SayCheese! Well this isn’t a specific subject that I am rating, but the delivery was super fast for Hot Box. The crust was pretty thick and fluffy but tasted plain and was pretty bland, like they did not add any kind of seasoning to the dough before baking it. The cheese was okay, nothing super special about it though. It was baked perfectly however, with just enough chewiness on the handle part but crispiness on the bottom. I think there was some kind of seasoning that I couldn’t place on the entire thing, sort of earthy, it might have been Italian seasoning but there is no way for me to be sure. It wasn’t necessarily horrible but I probably would have liked it better overall if it wasn’t there. Nice sauce, tastes authentic like I was walking down the streets of Rome sightseeing with a piece of genuine Italian pizza sauce, probably my favorite thing from the piece of pizza. Looked good, even ratio of sauce to cheese to crust. I give this pizza a 72%.

Greeks

Marcos, Marcos, Marcos, what can I say about you. Honestly the presentation wasn’t bad, and I did like the nice thick crust. There wasn’t enough cheese compared to the sauce, and it definitely tasted artificial, I do not think it was fresh cheese, might have been the cheese spray that comes from the can,because it was not stringy at all- yes I noticed that. Sauce was hearty, tasted pretty fresh and complemented the crust well. I think it could have used about 5 minutes more in the oven, just to get that perfectly crispy crust but that is of course my opinion. There was not an insane amount of grease, but it just made the cheese worse and gave everything a weird aftertaste. I’m going to go ahead and give this pizza a 64%.

Now I try to remain unbiased, but ever since I came to Zionsville Greeks has been a favorite of mine, and the pizzeria is definitely a staple of the town. The appearance of the cheese pizza is slightly deformed, as there seems to be some cheese missing from the center of the pizza, but it is not very noticeable. Quite a bit of grease, I used up two napkins dabbing it off, but let’s be honest we don’t care about that. There’s some sort of ingredient in this sauce, maybe love or garlic that makes it so scrumptious. Crust has a flavoring that tastes good but it is not overpowering. Cheese has just the right amount of “melt” factor, where it was stringing but not too much. Overall, a 95%.

Amore

I have never had pizza from here before, and a lot of people said that this was amazing pizzaeven better than Greeks. This was loaded with grease, just gobs of it. You can also see quite a bit of oregano just in the picture, and I can confirm that I tasted quite a bit of oregano as well. I did like the cheese, it had a nice aroma to it as well, but it all slid off when I took a bite which sort of ruined the experience, so most of it was just crust and sauce. Sauce was pretty average, mostly just got some tomato on my palette and then some oregano. The crust was nicely cooked and crispy which is what I prefer, but there wasn’t a good ratio of crust to the rest of the pizza. I think altogether the sauce, cheese, and crust nicely complimented each other however, which is why I am giving this pizza a 81%.

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By Kailey Wallenius, News & Sports Editor

Marcos

Hot Box

Which local pizza place has the best pizza? From Hot Box to Greeks, Zionsville and Whitestown offer many different pizzerias and it is time to rate a few of them.

Never Again, Valentine’s Day F

illustration by Brooklyn Brown

By Brooklyn Brown, Staff

eb. 14th once again filled the United States with an aroma of sweet chocolate, heart shaped treats, bouquets of crimson flowers, commercialism, cash registers, and sad sulking single people. However, the most romantic holiday of the year is under annual fire, as many people question its true intentions and origins each year. It seems that the sugary celebration that produces billions of dollars from lovers’ pockets might have a not-so-sweet beginning. The Valentine’s Day that we know today is a combination of ancient Pagan and Roman festivals that were conquered by the Christians, romanticized by Shakespearean poets, and then finally commercialized by the Americans. In an old Roman tradition, “The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.” according to NPR. Although these old traditions oddly observed the primitive idea of matchmaking and fertility, they hardly align with today’s view of love. According to NPR, “Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them...They believed this would make them fertile.” It’s safe to say that modern women much prefer roses over Roman rituals like those. Now, Valentine’s Day has become a more modern staple of pop culture rather than a celebration of tradition, and most would agree this change is for the best. However, this is largely thanks to the United States emphasizing Shakespeare’s romantic view of the holiday strictly for marketing purposes. “I think Valentine’s Day is highly overrated...it leads to a lot of unnecessary gifts,” sophomore Claire Shank said. She thinks that spending money on “stuffed animals” and “chocolates” is a poor investment, especially so soon after a holiday gift-giving season. She also questions big companies’ true intentions on a holiday that’s supposedly about love. “I also think that it’s very much a marketing strategy just for companies and chocolate businesses to sell more stuff,”

Shank said. The numbers back her up on this theory. According to the National Retail Federation, US consumers plan to spend a record breaking average of $196.31 on Valentine’s Day this year. Spending is predicted to total $20.7 billion, which is 21% higher than last year’s total. “I think it’s insane, even if you have someone you’re spending your Valentine’s Day with, I think it’s just crazy to spend that much money on it,” Shank said. Affirmations of love can be made without breaking the bank for it, and hopefully still without beating your ancient Roman wife either. Shank would rather receive “a nice hand written note” before any materialistic gifts. “I’m always the one that’s more of an ‘experience’ person...I’d rather go do something with you instead of you just give me a gift, because I think those memories will last longer than an item will.” Shank said. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans chose candies that last a day over memories that last a lifetime. In 2020 52% of people planned to spend their money on candy and just 34% planned to spend it on an evening out according to the National Retail Federation. It’s hard for people to escape the heart shaped chocolate boxes and abundance of flower arrangements while shopping pretty much anywhere in late January. “That commercialism has spoiled the day for many.” according to NPR. Peoples’ distaste for commercialism is quickly overpowered by their taste for rich chocolate and sparkly jewelry though. It’s no surprise people fall into the marketing schemes, the big flashy “Valentine’s Day Sale” signs are extremely tempting. Social pressures encourage this yearly spending frenzy the same way that there is a societal expectancy to be in a relationship on this day. “I think that it should be more normal

to just be like, ‘I’m spending Valentine’s Day alone,’ or ‘I’m spending Valentine’s Day with my friends because those are the people that I love,’’ Shank said. Luckily for the sad sulking single people mentioned earlier, Palentine’s day is on the rise. According to the National Retail Federation, the amount spent on Valentine’s Day gifts for friends has about tripled since 2010, and is expected to reach $2.1 billion this year. Furry friends are just as important to US consumers as they are expected to spend $1.7 billion on their pets for Valentine’s Day this year according to the National Retail Federation. Yes, this still benefits those big scheming companies, but the look on the puppy’s face when they receive their heart shaped treats is worth every penny. “You might not be in a romantic relationship but you do still have people that you love, and I think that should be normalized,” Shank said. She thinks that despite suspicion of its capitalist intentions, Valentine’s day is “probably sweet for some people” and is “something to look forward to with (loved ones),”. “[Valentine’s Day] is a good time to spend with someone you do love or you are in a relationship with,” Shank said. So, is Valentine’s Day truly about love? Or, has it just become a day to make everyone spend too much money and feel bad about themselves? Does its violent and uncertain origins prove that we as Americans will blindly ignore history for a good box of chocolates? Well, your answer to that probably depends on the status of your relationship and the status of your wallet.

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to the top By Rachel Shultz, Print Editor

Record Breaking Relay

Modglin spends a lot of time in preparation for championship meets, practicing nine times a week. He has four early morning practices, four afternoon practices, and practice on Saturday. “My plans moving forward would be to keep working hard, especially right now, as we are coming towards the last couple of months of swim season, it is important so we can set ourselves up for a couple of good champion-

Alone in the pool, sophomores Will Modglin and Will Raches, and juniors Charlie Krone and Jack Donovan prepare for their relay, knowing that this would be their last chance at breaking the boys 15-16 national age group record for the 400 freestyle relay. “Going into the relay after missing it that morning by .09, it was all a mental game at that point and I think we all knew that The relay team of sophomore Will Modglin, junior Jack Donovan, junior Charlie we had to go into the race confident in our Krone, and junior Will Raches stand together. photo by Rachel Shultz ability to get the record,” Raches said. thing,” Krone said. Because the event was a time trial, the ship meets.” four boys were not racing against other swimIn addition to his Olympic Trial cut, mers, but only the clock. Modglin also broke two Indiana Swimming “There was a lot more pressure,” Krone 15-16 state records at the same meet. He broke said. “It was a big meet and there were a lot Arm stretched out at the end of his 100 records in the 100 yard butterfly and 200 of people there to cheer us on, but no one to meter backstroke, sophomore Will Modglin yard Individual Medley. He looks forward swim against.” hits the touchpad. Looking up at the scoreto continuing to work hard and see what the The relay swam their record-breaking board Modglin sees his time, 56.42 seconds. future holds. swim at the OLY Winter Invite in Elkhart That is .17 seconds under the Olympic Trial “I imagine my future swimming career to Indiana on Dec. 13. cut for swimming. be full of great experiences, something I defi“We had been talking about the chance “To get an Olympic Trial cut felt almost nitely would want to happen would be to get of it happening for almost a year but didn’t unreal at the time and still feels like that the chance to swim in college,” Modglin said. know if we were going to get the chance to try today,” Modglin said. Modglin’s brother Coleman, ZCHS to get it because of Covid,” Raches said. The trials will take place in Omaha, Neclass of 2020 and current Purdue swimmer, While Modglin, Krone, and Donovan had braska during June of this summer. individual successes at the same meet, the “I wouldn’t say I have any expectations for also has trial cuts in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke. relay was different for them. Omaha besides to go and perform well and “It will be nice that I get to have someone “You rely on others just as much as yourjust enjoy the experience,” Modglin said. I know to be there with me,” Modglin said. self,” Donovan said. Despite the cancellation of the Olympics This year has been different in many ways, The group was proud of their hard work, in 2020, athletes all across the country have but successes continue to happen. and looks forward to their swims at the been preparing for this summer’s trials. “Getting a trial cut to me means a lot, it sectionals meet on Feb. 18 and 20, and state “I think the part I am most excited about makes all of the work over quarantine, which meet the following weekend on Feb. 26-27. is going and being around all of these great I dreaded a lot of days, 100% worth it,” “I really wanted us to get this and have athletes who I have looked up to and I get to Modglin said. our names on these record boards as evidence swim in the same meet as them,” Modglin that we worked hard and achieved somesaid.

Omaha Bound

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Sixteen Sectional Titles Boarding the bus on the way to sectionals, the excitement is evident in the air. The girls prepare to swim best times and bring home another sectional title for Zionsville. Although it is their first time traveling for a sectional meet, and they can’t help but miss the boys team cheering them on, the team knows it’s time to win. “Even with the boys and girls being separate, we still cheered for each other and had our team cheers at the beginning and end of each meet,” Reagan Mattice, junior, said. “We also had a lot more ‘inspirational talks’ and pep talks given by the seniors.” The girls swim team won their sixteenth consecutive sectional title on Feb. 6. “Winning sectionals is always a good feeling to know that we contributed to another year of wins. We have a very fun sectional and it’s cool to have fun with the other teams as well,” senior Elyse Heiser said. The team had first place winners in each of the 11 events, earning the first clean sweep the team has had in several seasons. “We overcame all the negatives and had fun on the bus and during the meet,” Heiser said. Junior Devon Kitchel swims butterfly at the sectional meet on Feb. 6. photo by Rachel Shultz

Two-Time State Champion Her teammates cheer as the announcers call out the name “Devon Kitchel” to take her place at the top of the podium. Kitchel, a junior, won both the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly at state on Feb. 13. Kitchel is the only swimmer in the state to win both of her individual events this year. “To be honest I had really no expectations, because this year and training has been so crazy. I went in pretty open minded and everything worked out,” Kitchel said. The expectations for Kitchel were high after she won both events in 2020, and was seeded first in both after the preliminary races. “When I race I think about all the little parts of my races: breathing pattern, underwaters, stroke count,” Kitchel said. Kitchel had two personal best times, going 1:57.69 in the 200IM and 52.93 in the 100 butterfly. “I was super excited after my races, we haven’t really been able to race like we have in past years so it was really exciting to see how fast we could all go,” Kitchel said.

School Record Swims For a swimmers, having their names up on the school record board, is a physical sign of their legacy in Zionsville Swimming. During the state finals on Feb. 13, school records were broken as the girls swim team swam their way to fourth place. “No spectators were allowed, so the overall energy in general was super different,” junior Devon Kitchel said. Junior Devon Kitchel broke her own records from last year in both the 200 yard IM and 100 yard butterfly. Senior Elyse Heiser broke school records in both her individual events as well, swimming a 1:47.55 in the 200 yard freestyle and a 4:49.69 in the 500 yard freestyle. “After finishing my races, I always have a rush of relief to know it’s over and I left it all in the pool,” Heiser said. The relay team of Heiser, Kitchel, senior Carlin Barksdale, and junior Reagan Mattice also broke a 7-year-old school record in the 200 medley relay, going a 1:42.88. “Watching everyone swim so fast and come together is always so much fun,” Kitchel said.

ZCHS Moments

Girls Swimming Sectionals

Devon Kitchel, junior, celebrates with teammates Claire McAfee and Annabelle Hermacinski, freshmen, after the 100 yard Butterfly at the team’s sectional Feb. 6. “Even though some of the parties and team activities were canceled, I still felt really close to all the girls on the swim team,” Hermacinski said. photo by Rachel Shultz

Indoor Percussion

Snare drummer, Tyler Barnett, junior, practices with the Zionsville Indoor Percussion team. The group’s first competition took place on Feb. 13 and they received first place in their division with a score of 76.4. “We play music including ‘Blackbird’ by the Beatles and ‘If I Only Had a Brain’ from the Wizard of Oz,” senior Amelia Winkelman said. photo by Kailee Rockers

Robotics Club

Freshman Jake Schwaderer, works during a meeting of Robotics Club. The group meets every Wednesday and Thursday with their teams and have competitions almost every Saturday. photo by Kaylynn Simpson

Boys Wrestling

Junior Vincent McDonald wrestles a Westfield wrestler at a meet on Jan. 6. The wrestling team went on to win their sectional later in the season. photo by Kailee Rockers

Mr. Z

The annual Mr. Z competition took place on Jan. 21. The competition was live streamed to the general public. “I had a great experience with these guys,” senior Griffin Burke said. photo by Ruth Cronin