Editors-in-Chief
Emma Hummer
Marissa Villarrubia
Editorial Staff
Print Editor
Ellie Vanderbur
Copy Editor
Brody Brown
Photo Editor
Josie Brackett
Social Media Editor
Grace Adlong
Sports & News Editor
Lilly Steele
Feature Editor
Emmy Lucas
Perspectives Editor
Srinithya Basireddy
Staff
Lucy Bean
Ant Farrar
Jonah Hunter
Abby Keck
Sammie Kulwicki
Luke Kouns
The mission of the Harbinger is to provide timely, relevant, and interesting content, while handling topics with respect and objectively. Harbinger aims to reflect the diverse nature of the student body of ZCHS by including those of all walks of life in the publication. The Harbinger serves as a public forum and invites letters to the editor and communication from others. The Harbinger is student-run and opinions in the magazine do not necessarily represent those of ZCHS or Zionsville Community Schools.
Prepare for the 2024 election with research and respectful conversations
Theclass of 2025 will have the extraordinary opportunity to vote in the upcoming historical election on Nov. 5.
With this opportunity comes the responsibility to be an informed voter by researching all the candidates, not just the ones running for president but also those in other races on the ballot.
Many voters stepping up to the ballot for the first time may feel confused about who the candidates are. In such cases, voters tend to default to voting for the party they more closely identify with politically. But this important choice deserves more of your time and effort.
The candidates elected to office will represent the needs and interests of their constituents, including teenagers and young adults, which is why it's essential to vote for someone who supports the policies you stand behind.
When researching a candidate, it’s important to review their biography, including their past experiences. For instance, have they run before? Have they held leadership roles government in previous years?
Additionally, voters should examine the issues the politician is focused on. Are they addressing problems they can influence in the office they are running for? Ask yourself, "Why do I want this person in office, and how will they benefit our country, state, or local community?"
We are electing individuals who
will make decisions on these issues for the next four years. What issues do you want them to tackle in their first months?
Finally, while having an opinion is important, there’s a time, place, and manner for sharing it to ensure conversations remain respectful.
Even if you are not voting, remember voting etiquette. This includes refraining from asking others who they voted for and maintaining polite and respectful conversations with peers, even if you disagree.
This election is historic in many ways. We will either see a former president return to the White House for the first time in 131 years or witness the first African American woman serve as president. After the ballots are counted and the winner is announced, some are concerned about ensuring a peaceful transition of power to avoid repeating the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Given the significance of this election, it is essential that voters are well-educated both about the candidates and about the election results. Go to reliable journalism sources for information before and after the election and don't believe everything you hear and read on social media or in campaign advertising without fact checking it first.
We encourage all seniors eligible to vote to enter the ballot box fully informed and confident in your choices.
Cover: Senior Nolan Adams, one of the Eagle Studios team members, shows his photos to athletic director Josh Larsh at the football game on Oct. 4 against Brownsburg. Photo by Lilly Steele
Choosing Our Future
Understanding voting as a first time voter in the upcoming election
By Brody Brown, Copy Editor
After putting time and attention aside to research, after school on Tuesday, Nov. 5 senior Audrey Mast will cast her vote in the 2024 election.
Part of becoming an adult in America is shouldering the responsibility of being a citizen that participates in democracy, which Mast plans to take full advantage of.
“It matters who’s in office,” Mast said. “I have to live with these decisions we’re making and I think a lot of people are in the same situation as me.”
Though the presidential election only comes around every four years, interest in elections among seniors has dwindled, according to Mast.
“I don’t know if interest in the election is translating to those people who are eligible to vote,” Mast said. “I know a lot of my friends who I would assume are educated, aren’t necessarily.”
In 2024 Indiana is having a general election, meaning the senate, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, lieutenant governor as well as state representatives will be on the ballot.
For seniors, walking into a voting booth and seeing names they don’t recognize may be confusing, but the local officials found on a ballot could be more important than the familiar faces of the presidency.
The people that actually affect residents of Indiana are more often the state representatives and government officials than members of the federal government like the president.
Candidates running for representative like Becky Cash and Tiffany Stoner have stakes in the communities they are representing and the lives of their constituents.
“A lot of times those state races are more significant to our day to day lives in terms of things we care about,” AP Government teacher Allison Tripolitis said. “Education, health care, safety, all of those issues… are really dealt with more at the state level than at the federal level.”
Tripolitis remembers her first election was the 2008 race.
“It was my sophomore year of college and I was excited to hopefully vote for a candidate that I felt was going to shape my pivotal years,” Tripolitis said. “I took that decision very seriously because I knew the economic decisions, the social decisions that were made, would impact how I lived my life.”
Being informed is one part of voting, but casting that first vote is what many seniors are excited about. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day and votes need to bring a photo id. Mast is already planning ahead and wants other seniors to do the same.
“A lot of people may not have cars to be able to make it to their polling place,” Mast said. “If I go right when it opens at six, depending on the line, I don’t know if I’m going to be [on-time] for school.”
Getting to school on time could be a deciding factor for some students on whether
they’ll be voting in the morning.
According to Principal Karen McDaniel, students who return to ZCHS with an ‘I Voted’ sticker or some form of verification they voted, will be marked excused.
“It’s an exciting time in a person’s life to vote in a presidential election for the first time,” McDaniel said. “I still remember my dad taking me to vote the year I turned 18.”
If voting on Election Day is not possible, other options are available.
“Maybe you really cannot vote on Election Day, you need to make a plan for the week before to go with a buddy, go with a parent and cast your ballot early,” Tripolitis said. Votes can find early voting polling locations by contacting the County Clerk’s office or looking online.
“We are so lucky that we get this opportunity to choose our representatives… and I really [hope] none of our students take that for granted,” Tripolitis said.
Presidential Candidates
Democrat
Kamala Harris is the current vice president and candidate for the Democratic Party. According to her campaign website, Harris is in favor of reproductive freedoms, border security reform and creating economic opportunities for the middle class.
Libertarian
Chase Oliver is a libertarian activist and nominee for the Libertarian Party. According to his campaign website, Oliver seeks to cut back government spending, avoid interfering in foreign affairs, reduce government involvement in economics and is against the death penalty.
Republican
Donald Trump is a former president and candidate for the Republican Party. Trump wants to expand American energy production, seal the Mexico-United States border, and maintain the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency, according to his campaign website.
Green Party
Jill Stein is a physician, activist and the presidential candidate representing the Green Party. According to the Green Party’s website, Stein’s platform is in support of universal healthcare, the Green New Deal and has a pro-worker, anti-war agenda.
NATIONAL AND STATE CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT
Graphic by Marissa Villarrubia
Indiana Attorney General
Hall of Famer Leads the Lady Eagles
Former Carmel coach Jennifer Drudge brings new views, passion to the girls basketball team
By Sammie Kulwicki, Staff
IIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame player
Jennifer Drudge is set to take on the Zionsville girls basketball team as head coach.
The former Carmel coach brings new perspectives and passion to the program. Drudge assumed the head coach position after Andy Maguire, the previous coach, retired following 37 seasons.
“I’ve always had this feeling of wanting to get back in as a varsity coach, and when the job opened up here, I knew it was a great program,” Drudge said. “I also knew that Coach Maguire had already established a really great culture here, and the school was going to be a good fit for me.”
Drudge has an extensive basketball background. She was an Indiana All-State selection during her senior season at Rushville High School and earned first-team All-Conference and All-Defensive honors during her time at Butler University.
“I was really good offensively, so when I struggled defensively, I still had opportu-
nities to get in games,” Drudge said. “I was able to learn defense throughout my four years at Butler, and I’m most proud of going from being yelled at every day my freshman year to becoming an all-conference defensive player by my senior year.”
After graduating, Drudge coached the Carmel Greyhounds from 2001 to 2004 and was an assistant coach for several more years.
“I took a step away from high school basketball for a while when I coached my niece’s travel team, and I also got involved with youth basketball at Carmel, so my coaching background has been really diverse,” Drudge said.
Drudge hopes to bring new ideas to the Zionsville team this year, especially after losing four starting seniors. Her focus is on communication and passing.
“This year will be a rebuilding year for the girls basketball team,” Drudge said.
The team has a new transfer from Carmel High School, junior Ellie Frobig,
and a new assistant coach, Allison Edgar. The schedule has also seen slight changes, with the addition of a few new teams and doubleheaders, such as the game against Noblesville on Jan. 17 and the matchup against Lebanon on Jan. 28. These matchups could lead to larger crowds and more support for the team.
“I want to bring a growth mindset to the team this year,” Drudge said. “We have strong senior leadership, and we also have young players without much varsity experience. It’s going to be a year of development from our first game until sectionals.”
Since taking over as head coach, Drudge has implemented new strategies. She aims to be more aggressive on defense and apply more pressure on opposing teams.
“I want to instill confidence in this program and make the players believe that we are good enough to compete with the teams in our conference and sectional,” Drudge said.
New girls basketball head coach Jennifer Drudge instructs the team at practice on Oct. 2. Photo by Lilly Steele
From Sidelines to Spotlight
First year of Zionsville’s competitive cheer team
By Ellie Vanderbur, Print Editor, and Lucy Bean, Staff
It’s 6 a.m. on a cold Thursday morning. The cheerleaders enter the fieldhouse and roll their mats out across the gym floor. They unload and set up their flags, cones and signs while wiping the sleep from their eyes. Once the music starts, they must pretend it’s Saturday with the spotlight shining on them and the judges eyes on their every move.
2024 marks the first season of our school's new competitive cheerleading team. While many see cheerleading as a way to rally up the crowd, competitive cheerleading takes it to a new level with high-energy performances judged on skill and precision. The team’s routine combines and enhances the cheers and stunts performed at sporting events and “involves specialized choreography and props that aim to engage the crowd,” according to Coach Emily Etter.
Zionsville competes in a type of competitive cheer called Game Day Cheer. This style of cheer aims to replicate and enhance the cheers and atmosphere of sporting events onto the mat.
Within the three-minute block given to perform, there is “a dance, a chant, a cheer, and the fight song,” according to junior Claire Combs.
Combs has been doing competitive cheer for 13 years outside of school and is in her third year of high school sideline cheer. Because of her experience, she was interested to see the school develop a competitive cheer team.
“There was a large amount of competitive cheerleaders who were encouraging [the creation of a competitive cheer team], because all the other schools around Indianapolis compete except for us,” Combs said.
But a lot of preparation was necessary to get the group up and running.
“[A group of rising seniors] brought it to all the coaches’ attention, and we started doing research into how to make it happen,” Etter said. “It’s not as easy as just signing up for a competition. It takes significant funding, new props, and a lot more time.”
It also requires extreme athleticism and commitment from all of the athletes.
The sport takes a lot of “energy, execution of skill and ability to engage the crowd,” according to Etter.
It can be draining both physically and mentally.
“[It] kind of takes me out,” Combs said. “It’s a lot of voices, you have to yell, you have to scream.”
Because of the difficulty, practice is vital to make sure every movement is perfect. The journey to perfection in cheerleading is never ending. Even once routines seem flawless, the team cannot afford to stop practicing.
Their practices consist of going over the different parts of the routine repeatedly, with the coaches giving edits and advice where needed. Then they put all of the segments together and practice their full three-minute routine.
“Once the athletes reach a certain level, you cannot be satisfied,” Coach MacKenzie Luse said. “You must continually raise the bar to make the routine better and better.”
“It’s not as easy as just signing up for a competition. It takes significant funding, new props, and a lot more time.”
- Emily Etter, cheer coach
Practice is especially important because of the wide range of experience on the team. Because the program is so new and is still in its developmental phase, only athletes that are currently on the school sideline cheer team were able to try out for the competition team. This ensures that the team is composed of members who are already dedicated to the cheer program. But this also means that not all of the girls have cheered competitively before, and a positive environment is important to keep everyone motivated and ready to learn.
“The girls are working incredibly hard and supporting each other to become the strongest team possible,” Luse said. “They challenge one another to push their limits and uphold high expectations. This is what makes all the difference in their progress.”
Flying and cheering with Zionsville green, sophomore Ella Kate Motgomery, practices in the fieldhouse on Sept. 26. Photo by Ellie Vanderbur
Students Call the Shots on Athletics Social Media Team
By Logan Sumner, Guest Reporter
Eagle Studios, a new student-led team, aims to unify school sports media to promote athletics and engage the school community. The athletic department official @zcseagles1 Instagram page was given over to a group of five students who are making strides in increasing viewership for all things sports.
Athletic director Josh Larsh supervises the team with senior James Stokely leading it. The team consists of seniors Stokley, Nolan Adams and Emma Hummer, junior Lilly Steele, and sophomore Joey Acquaviva. According to Larsh, before Eagle Studios started, the department’s social media was “inconsistent” in reporting scores and schedules.
The new student media team plans to solve that issue by posting before and after athletic events.
According to Larsh, after the account was taken over by the Eagle Studios media team in August, their Instagram page has “gotten over 275,000 views.”
These eagles want to fly higher. Although they have been posting mainly about football, the team plans to extend their reach to
every sport in the future.
“We’re going to cover more for the upcoming senior nights that are still left, and then we’re going to make end-of-season posts for every single sport that’s going on in the fall right now,” Stokely said. “That way, we can highlight each sport individually.”
Another goal, according to Larsh, is to unify the Eagles brand.
“Ideally, we would have a brand, and that brand would have the same logo, it would have the same hashtags and the same colors,” Larsh said.
Zionsville is not the first high school to have a student-led group like this. Carmel has a similar team that they call “Hounds HQ” and they have served as a model for the development of Eagle Studios.
Larsh said that Hounds HQ has “given us a lot of ideas,” especially about “some of the obstacles that they ran into and the lessons that they learned.”
This team plans on adding more members to accomplish their goals for future years. Since three of those five members will graduate after this year, Larsh is looking to
recruit younger students who can help for multiple years.
Larsh said the team’s efforts add “to the overall success of the athletic department, the athletic teams and the athletes themselves.”
Stokely spends three periods a day as an assistant in the athletic office working on social media.
“I find it rewarding that I just get to be with people I like all day,” Stokely said. “I’m close with all the athletic department and people we work with.”
Stokely said that organization is the most difficult part of his job. Organizing the people to work on posts can be challenging.
The most important thing for Stokely, though, is that the program persists for years to come.
“I want to be able to set up this team for the future,” Stokely said. “So that way, maybe when I come back around after college and look at how Zionsville social media is doing, I will see that they’re doing strong and they’re advanced compared to other schools.”
Seniors James Stokley and Nolan Adams disscuss designs for an upcoming post in the Eagle Studios work space on Oct. 11.
Photo by Lilly Steele
Teacher By Day Witch By Night
English teacher Mica Wilson spends spooky season volunteering at Children’s Museum haunted house
By Srinithya Basireddy, Perspectives Editor
As you walk through Zionsville in October, pumpkins, ghosts, and skeletons are common sights, as are activities like trick-or-treating, attending parties, and watching horror movies. But October looks a little different for AP Language and Composition and Speech teacher Mica Wilson.
enjoys working behind the scenes to choose the theme, create a floor plan, and begin building the set, starting as early as August.
“It’s a true team effort,” Wilson said. “We even have giveaways for each room to enhance the experience. Seeing everything come together is really magical.”
The event, organized entirely by 100 women, began at a time when women’s organizations were popular because they couldn’t work outside the home, according to Wilson.
“Finding a way to serve the community while getting to have fun is a great thing for all of us,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s community service started when she was president of the Junior League of Indianapolis, a women’s philanthropic organization.
“I heard about the opportunity through friends who were already involved,” Wilson said.
“I felt honored to join such a talented group.”
This year, the haunted house’s theme is “Road Trip,” which excites Wilson. While she won’t be dressing up this year due to her behind-the-scenes role in her sixth year of involvement, she hosted an arcade for the museum’s middle school party and worked at the boutique.
One of her favorite memories was designing costumes, including bear suits, witches, and zombie dolls. In the past, she’s dressed as a witch and worked inside the haunted house. “I love it because it’s so fun,”
Wilson said. “A few years ago, we had beekeepers, and I made two different beekeeper suits—one friendly, and one a beekeeper who had been murdered by the bees.”
Wilson also celebrates Halloween in classic ways, like decorating her house and classroom, wearing costumes to school, and making special treats for neighborhood kids instead of just giving out candy.
“My outfits leading up to Halloween are always incredible, if I do say so myself,” Wilson said. “I like jumping out at people in the hallway, so look out!”
She has also dressed as a witch for both the haunted house and her own celebrations, a favorite costume of hers. Above all, Wilson loves the concept of being “booed.”
“You get something fun, and you don’t know where it came from? That’s the best kind of treat,” Wilson said.
The Children’s Museum’s haunted house event raises nearly $1 million to fund local preschool programs, providing high-quality education for kids in the neighborhood. The museum also partners with Riley Children’s Hospital to bring Halloween to patients who otherwise wouldn’t be able to celebrate.
“The Child Life robot goes in, and the kids at Riley watch it on TV, then they get the trick-or-treat bag,” Wilson said.
In her busiest year, Wilson dedicated 40 hours a week to planning and organizing. She believes volunteering is a great way to be involved and make friends.
“People just need to find something they’re passionate about and plug in,” Wilson said.
Photo by Marissa Villarrubia
Graphic by Srinithya Basireddy
By Ant Farrar, Staff
Imagine playing music with your friends, the first few tracks are pretty slow, and now people are checking their phones instead of listening to the music. This makes you realize the perfect playlist can bring everyone together and set the mood for an event.
Bella Smith, a sophomore, has a passion for music and loves curating her idea of a perfect playlist. “A perfect playlist tells a story,” Smith said. “It’s about taking listeners on a journey, mixing different moods while maintaining a flow.”
This understanding of storytelling is important in making a playlist that resonates with more people.
Thomas Ivey, a senior, has been in the DJ scene for a year and a half, mainly in underground rap shows. For him, creating a playlist is really dependent on the event.
Ivey typically spends the hour leading up to a show at the venue, feeling out the energy, and making sure he selects tracks that will keep the momentum alive.
“I usually start with hype tracks, and adjust based on the crowd’s vibe,” Ivey said. “Like I’m doing a fashion show soon, and if the vibe is mainly laid back, I’ll play laid back music.”
Crafting the Perfect Playlist; DJs and Music Enthusiasts Share Tips To Set the Mood
For transitions, Ivey uses techniques with his mixer, using “stems”, which are isolated parts of a song like vocals and instruments, to blend different parts from different tracks.
“I prefer mash-ups and flows rather than simple fades,” Ivey said. “I like when all my music is just flowing together, rather than just a drop.”
However, some challenges can arise when doing a set, like when his original “laid-back” playlist wasn’t right for the crowd at a bike race.
“They told me to play a bunch of Taylor Swift for the youth girls race, and I’ve never really played Taylor Swift,” Ivey said. “I was scrambling to get things together.”
This adaptability is really crucial for every DJ, in making sure the audience stays engaged in the music.
For Colin Walrond, another senior DJ, creating a playlist means thinking about what will make people want to dance at an event, no matter the genre.
“I don’t think there will ever be such a thing as the perfect playlist just because everyone’s opinion is different,” Walrond said. Walrond tries to read the crowd, to mash up different tracks that keep the spirit high. This allows him to make an atmosphere that
feels unplanned and almost spontaneous. To balance the energy during a set, similar to Ivey, he usually just starts slow before introducing the more hype songs, going from energetic tracks to more calming ones to let the crowd take a break.
He tries to feed off that energy and build momentum, continuing with high energy tracks before slowing the vibe down.
“At homecoming, the crowd went so crazy that the gates broke when I played ‘FE!N,’” Walrond said.
Feedback from the audience has a huge impact on both Ivey and Walrond.
“Usually people will hit me up, like the people that hired me, or people in the crowd,” Ivey said. “I usually get some type of feedback or props.”
Ivey and Walrond connect with the audience, and it shows that making the perfect playlist is more than just choosing songs, but it’s about knowing the atmosphere and adapting to everyone.
“There’s always going to be people that are upset, but there’s also going to be people that like it,” Walrond said. “So do what you think is best. That’s all that matters.”
Graphic by Jonah Hunter
Cruising where ‘Anything Goes’
Musical cast rocks the boat for their show debuting Nov. 14
By Aleyna Salas, Guest Reporter
The classic musical “Anything Goes,” featuring a large cast, tap-dancing and an intricate set, premieres on Nov. 14 in the PAC.
The musical includes large dance numbers and takes place on a ship, embodying a “Golden Age” love story where characters swap love interests and eventually marry.
Senior Claire Kauffman plays one of the leads, Hope Harcourt.
“It’s very different from past years because we usually do more modern shows,” Kauffman said. “It’s a love story mixed with a lot of tap dancing. It’s a show within a show.”
Sam Chenoweth, the musical’s director, has been at Zionsville for six years and wanted to break the trend of modern musicals by featuring a more classic show.
“I want them to have four very different titles they’ve done in high school,” Chenoweth said. “We have not done a more classic musical like this, so this was checking a new box for us.”
Unlike previous musicals, this production will feature tap dancing, which requires more coordination and attention to rhythm than other styles.
“Tap dancing is a whole new style of dance, and it’s really hard to pick up on, so learning it has definitely been difficult,”
Kauffman said. “If you do hip-hop or ballet, you can kind of get the hang of that, but tap dancing is specific to your feet. You have tap shoes on, which makes so much noise, so if you mess up one sound, it makes a huge difference.”
The show will be set on a large boat modeled after the S.S. American luxury ocean liner, immersing the audience in the ambiance of the 1930s.
Kauffman said that the front section of the stage will be blocked off and extended in front of the audience. The set will also be much larger and feature new lighting, setting it apart from previous productions.
What many audience members may not realize is the amount of individual work that goes into preparing for the final performance.
“There are so many details, and the show won’t happen without even one person,” Kauffman said. “It requires a lot of self-discipline. You have to know that if you came to rehearsal and weren’t prepared or didn’t know your song well enough, you go home, practice, and come back even more prepared.”
Chenoweth looks for these qualities during casting, placing high value on responsibility to ensure preparedness.
Chenoweth said he values work ethic
Meet the Leads
above all else, believing that hard work is crucial to the performers’ success.
In addition to individual efforts, the technical aspects and behind-the-scenes work are essential to bringing the production together. This year, Chenoweth hired a professional orchestra to accompany the performance, adding an extra layer to the production.
“The most stressful day is the first time we play with the orchestra,” Chenoweth said. “The cast has been working for two months, and then suddenly, these nine people come in who haven’t played it before. The cast just has to be ready to roll with the punches, but that’s a big day to try to put everything together.”
“Anything Goes” will be Kauffman’s last performance at the high school before she graduates. She plans to pursue acting in college and beyond.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because it’s my last school musical, but I’m doing it with the people I’ve grown up doing theater with, so it’s a happy moment,” she said. “But since I know I am going to do this for the rest of my life, I have so much to look forward to.”
The cast will perform four shows from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17. Tickets start at $12 and can be purchased at zionsvillepac.org.
Anne Nooning playing Reno Sweeney
Claire Kauffman playing Hope Harcourt
Austin Lizama playing Moonface Martin
Cole Sullivan playing Billy Crocker
Photos by Marissa Villarubia and Josie Brackett
Barstool Beef
Anonymous Instagram accounts used to insult athletes and spread negativity
By Emmy Lucas, Feature Editor
The anonymous trash-talk Instagram accounts that started as a funny, playful rivalry are now the talk of the hallways. From mocking the players’ athletic abilities to their appearances and personal lives, the posts cross the line from friendly competition to attempts to humiliate and hurt people.
Instagram accounts, like @zcseagles1 and @the_eagle_nation are used to promote Zionsville sports and show love to the teams and athletes. However, there has been a rise in anonymous accounts that are doing the exact opposite.
A lot of these Instagram pages are called “barstool accounts”, which is an Instagram account run by an anonymous person. The accounts are in charge of covering current information regarding sports and athletics. Unlike the other sports Instagram accounts, these aren’t affiliated with the school, so its harder to monitor what’s being posted.
Athletic director Greg Schelhase said he doesn’t think the initial intention behind the fake accounts was to put people down, but to create funny and friendly banter between athletes.
“It can certainly cross the line pretty easily though,” Schellhase said. “It can get ugly and personal…and that really has negative implications.”
Something I’ve noticed about the trashtalking, is that it’s started to veer further away from athletics, and turned into personal attacks on the players. At that point, it’s no longer funny or relevant.
Senior football team captain Dieter Hartwig says that sometimes the little jokes are funny and everyone can get behind them, but there comes a point where it gets blown out of proportion.
“It crosses the line when it’s personal attacks… when they come at your family or your friends,” Hartwig said.
According to senior Nolan Tiesing, the football players have gotten good at ignoring
these posts. However, he’s noticed that it creates more tension between the players during the games, and the posts even motivate them to play better.
“It just makes us want to win the game against them more,” Tiesing said.
Schelhase agrees that the posts leading up to gameday can cause more tension out on the field.
“With the build up of the game… it gets people fired up,” Shellhase said. “It’s just an added layer of negative sportsmanship.”
Since social media has been around, coaches have made a point to educate their athletes on how to handle negativity online and the implications of what players post.
“Our coaches have done a good job of encouraging our athletes to keep everything positive,” Shelhase said. “They’ve really done a good job of trying to emphasize those life skills such as character and sportsmanship.”
Hartwig said his coach is always encouraging them to stay off of their phones leading up to a game.
“My coach says, right after school on Fridays, just don’t look at social media anymore,” Hartwig said. “It’ll just mess with your train of thought.”
As the team captain, Hartwig feels somewhat responsible for making sure his teammates are always in the right headspace, especially after seeing all of the online negativity. For players that have gotten targeted online the most, he’s always making sure that what they see is not affecting their energy, or how they’re preparing for the game.
“I don’t let them dig too deep into it,” Hartwig says. “I try to be there for them and not let it ruin their mood. I try to keep them positive.”
Hartwig says that while the majority of his teammates don’t think twice about the
negativity, there’s others that get more angry about it.
“There are certain guys on the team that it fuels a little bit more,” Hartwig said.
Even though it’s considered a joke among a lot of the athletes, no one wants to see themselves being shamed and made fun of for everyone to see.
Being a fan of Zionsville sports myself, what confused me the most was the amount of Zionsville students who follow the accounts and like the posts that are attacking our very own players.
If you claim to support our football team and are cheering them on at the games, how can you also support the people trying to humiliate them and jeopardize their football career? What happened to school spirit and supporting our athletes?
I’ve noticed that it’s rarely the athletes themselves creating these fake accounts, but other students at the school.
“No one on the Zionsville football team runs any barstool accounts or fake accounts,” senior football player Zachary Trent said. “That’s just stupid.”
It’s a shame that social media has turned high school athletics into such a hateful and negative environment, and I would love to see social media become a more positive space to talk about sports.
Graphic by Marissa Villarrubia
Pumpkins to Parties
By Abby Keck, Staff
Halloween is around the corner, but now that high school students are teenagers, it seems like no one has noticed. People don’t talk as much about their costumes or parties or candy, rather they’re often carrying on as if there’s no holiday. What’s really going on here?
Harbinger conducted a survey to see how the ways we celebrate Halloween change as students go from being children to adults. While traditional activities like trick or treating, dressing up, watching scary movies, or going to scream parks are still popular, the difference between how individual teens celebrate Halloween and how that differs from their childhood celebrations is intriguing.
This is partially because teens’ maturity offers them more freedom. Children might watch more family-friendly scary movies like “Coraline”, but teenagers might watch more gory and intense R-rated movies. For instance, one student responded that one of the things they do for the holiday is watch the “Halloween” slasher movies.
But many students grow out of traditional celebrations entirely, instead simply hanging out with friends and family in more low-key ways like movie nights or passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. A few respondents from a survey mentioned playing with friends on the gaming platform
Teens celebrate Halloween in unique ways with friends, family
Roblox instead of going out. These more laid back ways of celebrating seem to be the more common outcome among high school students, but some students go all the way.
Senior Hannah Kitts’ family decorates her house with music, LED lights, fog machines, and all sorts of other Halloween decorations, leaving it open for trick or treaters to come and check it out.
“We used to live in a condo and didn’t have the space, but once we moved to Zionsville we went all out,” Kitts said.
Although her house decorations can be expensive, use a lot of electricity, and some may think it’s too much, Kitts said it’s still worth it.
“It’s so much fun to just do, and people really enjoy it,” Kitts said. “People who leave to go to college and come back for Halloween come by specifically our house to see what’s up with it this year. When we’re setting up, people who walk by say things like ‘oh, this is sick’, and ‘I love that you guys do this.’”
Several students still celebrate Halloween in the same ways. Many students responded that they still do trick or treating, dress up, or their other traditions because they still love their old Halloween traditions.
Sophomore Emerson Mitchell said that she “doesn’t intend to stop dressing up for Halloween anytime soon.”
“Putting on fun costumes is one of the reasons why Halloween is one of my favorite holidays,” Mitchell said.
Although her costumes have gotten a little more involved since she was a kid, now that she does her own makeup, styles her own wigs, and uses her own resources, she still loves dressing up as the characters from her favorite movies, shows, books and games.
“One of my favorites was a costume of Madeline Hatter from ‘Ever After High’,” Mitchell said. “I also did Hermione one year, and I had a Beanie Boo I carried with me of an orange cat.”
Mitchell has gotten a lot of compliments from people impressed with her costumes. She shared some details about her costume last year that got a lot of attention.
“I thrifted a lot of my stuff, so a lot of people were impressed at how accurate it was,” Mitchell said. “But I did a really good job with the makeup, and I customized the hat myself.”
Ultimately, no matter how you celebrate Halloween, the most important thing is that you’re enjoying yourself. If that way of having fun is trick or treating like you did when you were eight, watching the newest horror movies, wearing a crazy costume, or doing something totally unique to you, then keep doing you.
Black Student Union members painted pumpkins as part of a decorating competition at their meeting on Oct. 2. Twelve pumpkins in total were painted by over 50 members. Photos by Ellie Vanderbur
Fright Night Favorites
By Lilly Steele, Sports Editor
Beetlejuice
Description: After a tragic accident, couple Barbra and Adam Maitland find themselves in the afterlife. Struggling to adjust, they turn to other spirits, only to discover that they are stuck for over 100 years. Things take a turn for the worse when an unbearable family with eccentric tastes moves into their home. In desperation, the Maitlands strike a deal with a malevolent spirit named Betelgeuse as they join forces to fight him.
Review: This movie has gained popularity recently with the release of a sequel, and that popularity is warranted. The film is filled with funny moments, largely thanks to Betelgeuse and his quirky personality. Throughout the movie, it’s difficult to tell whether he’s a protagonist or antagonist, which adds intrigue. The various story elements weave together seamlessly, creating a narrative with depth. The production quality is better than expected and enhances the film’s Halloween atmosphere. My only critique is that some parts of the story aren’t fully explained, making it occasionally hard to follow.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%, IMDB: 7.5/10, Personal rating: 9/10
Description: After moving to a new home, 11-year-old Coraline’s life is disrupted when she discovers a hidden world. This world is an idealized, dreamlike version of her life, complete with an “other” family. However, things take a dark turn when Coraline’s other mother tries to sew buttons into her eyes to keep her in the dream world and later kidnaps her real parents. Coraline must face various challenges, confront the other mother, save her family, and return to her own world.
Review: This movie doesn’t fit the “children’s movie” label it’s been given. Some scenes feel uncomfortable, and the scary moments are almost too frightening, such as when the other mother transforms into a spider-like figure. There’s an ominous undertone from the moment Coraline discovers the hidden door. The movie maintains a fast pace, with plenty of small details, Easter eggs, and fan theories. The world they create is fun and interesting. Unlike some early 2000s movies, this one is high-quality, with a great visual style, not to mention the appetizing food scenes.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%, IMDB: 7.8/10, Personal review: 10/10
Coraline
Description: Two sisters from a family of witches face a curse that prevents them from finding love, all while dealing with a town that refuses to accept them. The main characters, Sally and Gillian Owens, must battle an undead boyfriend while evading the police, ultimately finding resolution with both themselves and the town.
Review: This fast-paced movie was nothing like I expected. It has the production quality typical of a 1990s film, with some odd angles and awkward moments of dialogue, especially during the sisters’ interactions with the town. The movie takes dark and violent turns that often left me confused—for example, I wasn’t prepared for Gillian’s boyfriend’s murder to be a central plot point. Some parts feel rushed, like when Sally’s husband, the father of her children, dies in an accident with little explanation. There are many sinister undertones throughout the film, with romance taking a back seat. This is definitely not your average rom-com.
Rotten Tomatoes: 24%, IMDB: 6.3/10, Personal review: 5/10
Photo from Laika Studios
Photo from Warner Bros.
Photo from Warner Bros.
Farewell Farms
Rapid development means the loss of beloved fields, farms
By Luke Kouns, Staff
How might one define Zionsville’s character? Does it lie in the heart of old Zionsville, on the brick street perhaps? Or maybe it’s the nationally ranked schools minutes away from a park? For me, it’s both of those being only 10 minutes away from vast fields, woods, and prairies. But this is slowly fading.
More and more, once rural Zionsville land is being bought, churned and built upon. In previous years, these have mostly been the standard suburban subdivisions, but recently, thanks to a few notable developments, a new pattern can be noticed that illustrates not only a divide in Zionsville residents, but an unhealthy and unsustainable practice.
Zionsville, small scale townhomes and apartments. This distinction can be made through pricing. The Town at Appaloosa by Pulte Homes, for example, starts prices for townhomes at $350,990. But these two types of developments are more significantly differentiated by population density.
The Town at Appaloosa and The Farm at Zionsville by Scannell Properties and Pittman Partners are primarily composed of tightly packed and dense housing. Having these different developments is helpful for people with different wants and economic backgrounds. With the cheaper and denser developments helping to bring more people to Zionsville’s quality schools during a housing cost crisis.
“The Indiana State Department of Agriculture determined through the inventory of lost farmland that there has been an overall reduction of farmland acres of approximately 1.5-2% from 2010-2022. This represents a loss of approximately 350,000 acres.”
The most well known and recognizable of these landmark developments is Holliday Farms. Holliday Farms is a luxury subdivision featuring custom housing, an 18 hole golf course, and recreational facilities. Luxury is definitely emphasized in Holliday Farms. IndyHomes lists the median listing price of a plot and a custom home at $2.7 million; 640% more than the national average of $433,229, according to RedFin.
This significantly differs from the other main new type of development in rural
Yet both types of development show a critical flaw for Zionsville; an overdevelopment of quality land. The 350 acre plot of land advertised by Henke Development’s Bradley Ridge, for instance, wasn’t an empty expanse waiting for someone to come in, pave roads and build homes. It was farmland, a declining resource in the U.S. that has lost 11 million acres between 2001 to 2016, according to the American Farmland Trust. Not to mention that Indiana is in the nation’s seventh largest agricultural exporting state as of 2022, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Along with this, the nature left in many of these higher end developments is desig-
nated as recreational areas where established amenities are to be put, making any nature still present more contained and slightly less natural.
An irony can be seen in these developments, such as The Farm at Zionsville. Despite what the name may imply, this development has nothing to do with a farm other than the fact that it usurped what was once farm-land, and is putting in what resembles a city block instead. And yet, on the development’s website, they are keen to state their development’s authentic Zionsville character, a character which happens to include farms.
Zionsville falls under a unique umbrella. Its “character” combines a suburbia that boasts a decently developed center and renowned schools with a nature filled rural outside teeming with woods and fields.
It’s the kind of place where you can drive by multi-million dollar mansions, and then get stuck behind a cyber truck hauling hay-bales.
While I can’t blame developers in any way for wanting to advertise this beauty, I must ask if they realize that by advertising the ruralness of the areas that are being developed, they are advertising the very beauty and wonder that is being taken away.
The woods, fields, and clear sky only last so long. When this cycle of churning up the earth, cutting trees to build houses, and usurping fields for subdivisions and condos can cycle no more, there will be no more of the beautiful Zionsville that was once advertised.
Appaloosa Crossing, off of US 421, is a development project featuring The Towns at Appaloosa (right) and a shopping center (advertised on the left). Photo by Josie Brackett
Harb Highlights
Congrats to the varsity golf team for winning state and to freshman Taylor Snively for winning the individual state champion title.
Unscramble the headlines, follow and DM the @zchsharb Instagram with your answers to win a prize, winner announced on 11/1!
wlfaerle
helps
Taking a shot, sophomore
“Whenever the student section is packed or the stadium is packed, that means we do good. We know there’s people around us that would be loud and that’s the great energy we need.”
Left:
Kaitlyn Adler
the team to victory on Oct. 5.
Photos by Avery Krieble
Above: Celebrating her Individual State Champion win, freshman Taylor Snivley poses with her trophy on Oct. 5.
Right: Coach Brian Nobbe, Paige Henney (10), Taylor Snivley (9), w Wade (11), Kaitlyn Adler (10), Avery Lewis (9), Hensley Krieble (12), and coach Maggie Nobbe celebrate their state championship win on Oct. 5.