The Harbinger March 2021

HARBINGER March 2021

Women’s Work Read about how the Women in Business Club is empowering female students

From Quarantine to Vaccine Find out about COVID-19 vaccination plans for staff and students

Baskets and Brackets See what March Madness fans have to say about the Indy-based tournament

Zionsville Community High School

TABLE OF CONTENTS News

Student Life

4-5 From Quarantine to Vaccine

14-15 Under the Same Roof

6-7 Caring through Crisis

16-17-18 Zoom

Feature

19 Spring Break Staycation

Opinion

8-9 Switching it Up 10 Changing Curriculum

20 Tuning In?

11 Gotcha!

21 Half-Baked Holidays

Sports

12-13 Women’s Work

22-23 Baskets and Brackets Cover photos submitted by pictured teachers or students

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

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@ZCHSNews

zchsharbinger@gmail.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

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t’s finally fourth quarter! We’re down to the last few months of school, and I’m down to the last few months of my high school career. With spring break literally just around the corner, I wanted to congratulate you all for making it this far. This has been one wild ride of a year. It’s hard to believe that this time last year, we were all stuck at home. It really doesn’t feel real. This has definitely been a year to remember. We’re finally back to full in-person school four days a week, and although I miss going to class in my bed, it’s been so nice to see you all nearly every day.

We’ve got a lot going on in our second issue of the 2021 year. I noticed that this issue focuses a lot on our school itself. From new classes and the many changes teachers have made to accommodate this year, to students whose parents work in the school, there are always interesting stories to find in our school community. This issue also features a lot of celebrations. There are stories celebrating essential workers, women in business, March Madness, and even a list of not so

necessary celebrations. It’s nice that we can always find things to celebrate, no matter how difficult the year. I encourage you to find small things to celebrate every day. Keeping a positive outlook is important, especially during the middle of second semester.

I hope you all are keeping up your hard work. I know that second semester can be difficult. I’m currently battling a tough case of senioritis. We’ve almost made it to our much needed break, and will hopefully come back refreshed and thankful that we are here and not in lock-down. I want to remind you all to stay safe and mask up.

Have a wonderful spring break; you deserve Rachel Shultz, it!

Print Editor

EDITORIAL

Safe Spring Break I

t is important to remember that even though next week is spring break, there is still an ongoing global pandemic. Whether you are traveling or staying home, remember to follow safety protocols. Wear masks when out in public and avoid large gatherings of unvaccinated or maskless people. Although vaccines are becoming more readily available, the majority of our student body is not yet eligible for vaccination. We urge you to remember that keeping yourself safe also helps keep others at our school safe. If we want to continue our current system of in-person learning four days a week, it will require all of us taking proper precautions during our time away from school.

This is not to say that you cannot have fun during your spring break. We encourage you to enjoy your time away from school, but do so in a cautious and mindful way. Abide by CDC guidelines. The best way to keep our numbers down in Boone County is if everyone does their part. We hope you all have a fabulous spring break. Stay safe!

If you are interested in learning more about the current discussion surrounding our school and the vaccine, check out “Quarantine Vaccine” on pages 4-5.

Vaccines are prepared for use. photo by Rachel Shultz

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.

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Quarantine Vaccine

Starting on March 31, the COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone in Indiana who is 16 and older. This Q&A addresses concerns about the vaccine and its affect on ZCS students and staff.

1. How has ZCS been making their COVID-19 related decisions?

Coffman: We have a specific COVID task force that [encompasses] several of our school administrators, Dr. Robison, Kris Devereaux, myself, and other key members of our administrative team… This also includes individuals whose background is immunology, whose background is in public health. We are constantly monitoring the metrics of the county [cases per 100,000 and positivity rate], keeping track of our number of quarantined individuals and how many students and staff are positive. We talk about these numbers with the local health department to determine what we think is in everyone’s best interest moving forward.

2. How is ZCS handling the vaccine situation?

Coffman: We’re trying to keep our ear to the ground and making sure we’re informing our employees and our community as quickly as possible. Yesterday [March 2] morning, I saw a press release at about 8:50 with the

Why I GoT THE VACCINE 4 news

Harbinger staff member, Elizabeth Rexing, sat down with Rebecca Coffman, ZCS Assistant Superintendent of Operations on March 3 and also interviewed Claire Haughton, Health Educator and Public Information Officer for the Boone County Health Department, on March 2. *Quotes have been edited for clarity, but not content. change in [vaccine] eligibility opening to 55 and older. So immediately, we pulled up all our employee data and pulled everyone’s birthday. Anyone who was in that 55-60 range, who hadn’t been eligible in the last few weeks, received a text message [on how to register]. On the very far end of the campus, we have our employee campus and we have had an employee clinic since 2009. Ascension St. Vincent is our health partner and they have submitted the appropriate forms and paperwork to say that we would be ready and able to accept any vaccines because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine doesn’t require the ultra-low cold storage. So we’ve submitted that we could accept a vaccine allotment for distribution.

Sarah Ludwig

English teacher, vaccinated March 5 at Meijer, Pfizer “Being able to get the vaccine means more to me than I think I can put into words.

After I scheduled my appointment, I was feeling very emotional! All good emotions: relief, excitement, and gratitude. I choose to get vaccinated to protect myself and those around me.”

3. Can ZCS make the vaccine mandatory?

Coffman: There are mandatory vaccines that are required to be enrolled in a public school and that [are] set by state law. So in order for something to be mandatory, it would need to go through that process. To my knowledge, those conversations aren’t happening because I think there is still a lot to be accomplished before we start talking about students and children receiving the vaccine at different ages... There’ll be a lot of new information that comes forward before there’s ever a conversation for a requirement for the vaccine.

Haughton: It’s a possibility. Schools do have the right to mandate certain vaccinations.

We’ll also have to focus on making sure the English teacher Sarah Ludwig receives her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Photo submitted by Ludwig

vaccine is safe and effective for students of all ages before we talk about making them mandatory. That’s the number one priority.

4. How will the vaccine affect current mitigation practices?

Haughton: The vaccines and other mitigation strategies are all parts of a puzzle. They’re not stand-alone weapons; they all need to be used together to really kick COVID to the curb for good. But when we reach that point of herd immunity, I hope we can go back to life as normal!

Coffman: It’s premature to be discussing any loosening of our strategies; we will certainly be keeping all the strategies in place for now.

5. How will ZCS handle teachers and students who get the vaccines?

With anything change for them?

Coffman: We will probably recommend that individuals keep a picture on their phone of their vaccination card so that they have it at all times. If they are identified as a close contact, right now, the information is that they would not have to quarantine [within] 90 days of their vaccination. We are anticipating some recommendations in the next couple of weeks. They [the CDC] said that they believe there will be updated restriction guidelines very soon.

6. What do you anticipate as the timeline for vaccinating high school students?

Haughton: It’s hard to say. Right now, people 16 and older can receive the Pfizer vaccine and people 18 and older can receive Moderna, so not all high school students can even get the vaccines right now. Both companies are currently working on figuring out safety and efficacy in younger ages. I’ve seen supply and manufacturing issues that affect these estimates as well.

7. How do you think schools should handle students who aren’t old enough to receive the vaccine or who won’t be vaccinated by choice?

A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine.

Photo by Rachel Shultz

Haughton: For students that don’t/can’t get vaccinated, we would ask them to keep doing what you all have been doing for the last year or so- wear masks, social distance, wash hands, and stay home if they feel sick.

This has been our strongest weapon against COVID before we got the vaccine. There aren’t too many medical reasons why a person shouldn’t get the vaccine. So far, the vaccine has proven to still be very safe even for people with a number of different health issues.

8. What effect will an increased number of vaccinated individuals have? (ie. lower positivity rate) When will we see these effects?

Haughton: When we start to see large groups of the population get vaccinated, we’ll start to see herd immunity develop. That means that enough people have been vaccinated in a population that the overall risk of infection to the vaccinated and unvaccinated group will be very low. We’re not 100% sure what herd immunity for COVID looks like, but we know we need the majority of the population to be vaccinated. However, we’re really concerned about COVID variants... We’re worried that new mutations will outsmart the vaccines we have and we may be stuck in pandemic life for a little bit longer. Only time will tell.

9. What do you anticipate the Fall 202 semester looking like? What hopes do you have?

Coffman: Some of the things [mitigation strategies] that have been here because of COVID, will continue. I hope that when we come back in the Fall it is a happy and appreciative environment. I think that we have to recognize that there are going to be new opportunities and we have to have patience and be responsive to what’s going on at that point in time… I hope everyone is looking forward and not looking too much in the rear-view mirror about the way things always were because maybe there’s a different way that’s even better.”

Eric harrington

Michael warner

“It was honestly such a feeling of relief. This entire past year during the pandemic has been stressful, and especially because teachers had not been prioritized for vaccinations in the state up until the week I got mine. I would say that, before anything can get back to normal, those of us that are able to need to get the vaccine and prevent the spread of the virus. Getting the vaccine is doing your part for everybody to get back to normal.”

“I wasn’t worried about getting COVID before but with the vaccine I can be even less concerned about getting it and hopefully inspire others to get it so we can get past this and back to ‘normal.’ [To those who are eligible to get the vaccine but haven’t yet,] I understand your concern about its safety, I have the same concern about the flu vaccine, but this disease has closed down the country and caused too many deaths so please get the vaccine so we can all get back to ‘normal.’” news 5

English teacher; vaccinated March 5 at Meijer; Pfizer

Business teacher; vaccinated March 2 at Veterans Admin Medical Center; Moderna

Caring Through Through Crisis

Zionsville’s essential workers don’t let a pandemic stop them from helping others

By Sarah Maniscalo, Staff

photo by Kailey Wallenius

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rika Poynter, junior, works at Kroger as a customer service representative. Even at sixteen, Poynter was an essential worker throughout the pandemic.

“I wasn’t necessarily worried about the virus because there are precautions put in place to prevent the spread of the virus within the store,” Poynter

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said. “I’ve never worried about potentially spreading COVID because I always wear at least one mask and wash my hands before starting a new task.

I take the virus very seriously and am extremely cautious with how I prevent the potential spread of the virus.”

But through all of the stress and sorrow, COVID-19 brought some light

to new areas, like a notable appreciation for essential workers. Poynter was touched by a thoughtful gift basket from Zionsville Middle School to Kroger employees with candy, snacks, and thank you notes.

“It caught me off guard and made my day,” Poynter said.

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year ago, the world practically shut down as COVID-19 spread to the United States and frontline workers put their personal safety aside to keep the world moving forward. The pandemic may be different in 2021, but essential workers are still on the frontlines as they continue to conduct their jobs.

Dr. Gabriel Bosslet works as a medical educator alongside his job as a pulmonologist, which entails work at University Hospital and Eskenazi Hospital as an intensive care unit doctor. There he cares for critically ill patients.

A year ago, hospitals were just beginning to prepare for the spread of COVID-19 to the United States and Indiana.

“We knew from experience in China, and experiences, especially in Italy, that things could get super bad and so we were gearing up for it at that point,” Bosslet said. “We were putting contingency plans in place to stop.”

As the disease spread to Indiana hospitals, it became the medical world’s top priority.

“We basically pulled back everything else that we were doing in order to care for COVID-19 patients,” Bosslet said.

As an intensive care doctor, Bosslet says it can be incredibly emotionally draining to care for patients. With COVID-19 in hospitals, it puts a greater toll on health care providers than in normal circumstances.

“You’re caring for more patients at one photo provided by Gabriel Bosslet

“We basically pulled back everything else that we were doing in order to care for COVID-19 patients.”

-Dr. Gabriel Bosslet time and you were also doing it for more of the time,” Bosslet said. “This is the worst disease I’ve ever seen or cared for my entire life.

This disease makes you feel like a bad doctor because there is very little that you can do to care. There are very little levers for us to pull.”

While doctors are accustomed to a variety of care options to treat patients, this situation is different than other medical conditions.

“We just take as best care of people as we can. They either live, or they die, and very few of the things that we have tried to affect that have worked,” Bosslet said.

Knowledge of COVID-19 has greatly increased in the past year.

This has subsequently changed how frontline workers view their personal safety and the safety of others as they conduct their jobs. “[Health care workers] were scared to death of taking the virus home to our families [at the beginning of the pandemic] …

There were a lot of us who were spending our nights in hotels,” Bosslet said.

Now that more information is known about the disease and how it spreads, frontline workers feel more comfortable in their workplace. “[I don’t worry about] the emotional toll of worrying about my own health and safety and that of my family,” Bosslet said.

To follow COVID-19 safety precautions and prevent exposure

in the hospitals, family members are excluded from patient care. Hospital staff has to create the bridge between care inside the hospital and transmission of information.

“When you don’t see what’s happening, it’s hard to understand, number one, what their loved one is going through,” Bosslet said. “And number two, how really how hard the bedside nurses and techs, and everyone else is working to try and get their loved one through that illness.”

Family members are limited in the degree to which they can participate in the care of their loved ones. “[There are] a lot of very difficult phone calls, or very difficult conversations, over the phone, that are far better held in person,” Bosslet said.“It is gut-wrenching to care for patients in this way; It’s not something that I ever want to go back to ever again.”

This pandemic has brought tragic loss and will leave lasting effects on all frontline workers.

“I think COVID will leave an indelible scar on all of us who have done this, an emotional scar,” Bosslet said. “I will never forget this time; I hope to never live through anything like this again.”

“[Health care workers] were scared to death of taking the virus home to our families [at the beginning of the pandemic] …

There were a lot of us who were spending our nights in hotels.”

-Dr. Gabriel Bosslet news 7

g n i h c t i w s p u it Ambassadors program revamped as a new class for mentors

By Lucy Robinson, Feature Editor he Ambassadors Program has existed for a while, however it is being revamped next school year to be credit bearing class for juniors and seniors with a redesigned curriculum.

“Ideally, after at least the first nine weeks, once we give the freshmen and sophomores a little time to get adjusted, a junior or senior would be paired with a freshman or sophomore,” Kaylee Miller, counselor, said.

Currently ambassadors do most of their work within the counseling office, but also help other students.

“As an ambassador I help the counselors with whatever they need. We run passes for them, organize things, answer phones, or whatever else they ask,” Gillian Louiso, ambassador, said. “My favorite part is showing around new students coming into Zionsville.

It’s so nice to be able to help someone who is in such a new situation learn the ins and outs of the school to make them more comfortable.”

The eventual goal for the class is to have each student in the class matched with a mentee, to have a one-on-one mentorship.

“In the meantime, we’re going to utilize those students to kind of act as mentors to maybe even the grade levels as a whole like doing things like making studying tips in

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Canvas or something that will still be mentoring underclassmen, even if it’s not a one-onone match,” Brooke O’Mara, counselor, said.

For the upperclassmen, this provides a chance to help underclassmen and explore the helping field.

“So a lot of the applications we’ve seen have been students say like, this is a gap that was present for me and freshmen and sophomore year, so I want to make sure to help other kids, and so I think that a lot of our seniors will have that sense of self fulfillment,” O’Mara said. “It obviously looks good on their college application. It’s a chance for them to kind of look into the helping field and see if that’s something they want to do as a career choice.”

The class will provide help to underclassmen in navigating their first years of high school.

“For the underclassmen, it’s going to be that relationship component, some help with some skill building, whether it be organization or accountability, or even if it’s content that they’re struggling with in their classes that they don’t understand,” O’Mara said.

“Algebra I, we’ll put them with an upperclassman, who’s a strong math student. So I think it’ll just be that guidance and somebody to kind of check in on them and make sure that

“It’s so nice to be able to help someone who is in such a new situation learn the ins and outs of the school to make them more comfortable.”

-Gillian Louiso, 12 they’re progressing.”

The class is self-driven with a goal to help both upperclassmen and underclassmen develop important skills.

“We will train them, but then after that, it’s your relationship with your mentee.

So it really helps them with independence, leadership, self discipline, and then kind of shows the underclassmen those same things,” Miller said.

The qualities of a good ambassador won’t change much with the new curriculum from what they are now.

Gillian Louiso, ambassador, and Brooke O’Mara, counselor, talk in the counseling office. photo by Kailee Rockers.

“Some good qualities of ambassadors include being helpful and kind to people, being easy to work with, supportive, and also generous with your time,” Louiso said. “It’s not a hard job by any means but being able to help others and receive help all at the same time has been something I’ve loved.”

Though this class is for juniors and seniors, underclassmen can be thinking about how it may fit into their future plans.

“I would want our current freshmen and sophomores to think about what are some key aspects of your high school experience that you feel like, could allow you to help others?”

Miller said, “Or what are some key aspects that you’re like, ‘wow, I really wish somebody would have helped me with this,’ because that’s things they’ll use in peer ambassadors, and things that they can share with us any time and that we can help to grow that program year after year after year.”

The goal of this class is for the mentors to build that relationship and be committed to the course.

“If you went out of your way to see them during lunch, or to help them get from class to class or to take them to a basketball game, that’s not going to be part of your grade,”

Miller said. “But we’re looking for people, who given the flexibility and their schedule and the opportunity to do that, would be open to building that relationship a little bit more with kids.”

As the class is new, the next year will involve a lot of learning.

“That’s what I’m really excited about with this year, because it’s brand new, it gives kids the opportunity to make it what they want it to be,” Miller said.

“We’re going to utilize those students to kind of act as mentors to maybe even the grade levels as a whole.”

-Brooke O’Mara, counselor

Want to Get Involved?

Here’s How! Though the scheduling period for next year has formally ended, to find the application for the class you can go to the high school website, then to the Academics and Scheduling section under the Counseling tab. Under the Service and Exploration tab you will find the Peer Ambassadors class. The counselors in charge of the class are Brooke O’Mara and Kaylee Miller.

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Photo provided by Jessica Sterling

Changing

By Becka Bash, Student Life Editor

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emember when we all thought we would come back to school after spring break last year? That did not happen. The COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting effects that continue to impact this school year. Some classes are especially impacted by the pandemic and have taken many steps to adapt their curriculum.

“I think our students have adjusted to the changes pretty quickly. We’re still exploring new materials, making art, and having fun along the way, even if it is because my face has frozen in the worst possible expression on Zoom,” art teacher Grace Fletcher said.

Art classes, which require a lot of visual work, have certainly had to make some changes as a result of the pandemic.

“The biggest changes are the set up of my room and how I have students turn in their artwork. Usually my desks are in groups of four, now they are in rows spaced far apart. Students in the past would turn in their work physically, now they photograph it and submit it on Canvas,” art teacher Jessica Sterling said.

Art

Walking in the engineering room last year, you would see groups of students working together on projects. The work would all be very collaborative and interactive. This year, that has changed.

“We have had to eliminate all the hands on and group work for social distancing and sharing of equipment. For example we don’t have enough of the cortex’s for VEX robotics to allow for individual or pairs to work. We had to shift that all to a virtual robot setting,” Jason Donkersloot, PLTW teacher, said.

Because of COVID-19, the learning process for the engineering classes has changed to a more individualized situation and has certainly affected the class curriculum.

“The hardest changes have been taking a curriculum and class that is based on PBL (project based learning) and rewrite to fit the hybrid model,” Donkersloot said. “Learning the hands on skills

Engineering

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For Fletcher’s 3D art class she had to make a 3D art kit for virtual students including things like clay, wire, and foam.

“I think the most difficult thing has been navigating how to plan for only one day of studio time. 3D classes cannot be taught synchronously so there was a lot of planning how they can do all the project planning, sketching, writing, and art history outside of class so in class can be a 100% studio time. Students have had to adjust because even simple questions have a wait time. If they’re on zoom, I may be teaching wheel throwing to in-class students, so they must wait until I get back to my computer to answer or figure it out on their own,” Fletcher said. and problem solving that come with PBL is the greatest asset to the class. Trying to still gain those skills in a virtual or hybrid model have been challenging. Also giving feedback to students usually came through conversation and watching them as they worked; now I have to wait for them to turn in the work and give feedback through canvas. It’s not the same.”

These curriculum changes have certainly affected the way students learn in these classes.

“I feel we have done the best we can. I don’t like it because I know the classes can be so much more and I feel as a teacher I am not providing the education I know we can. It’s still going well and students seem to be enjoying it but I miss seeing those light bulb moments they normally have when working through a problem,” Donkersloot said. “They are still happening just not always in the classroom.”

Gotcha!

The totally and completely true story about the origin of April Fool’s Day

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he year was 1506. King Alfonso IV of Spain died suddenly and unexpectedly due to an unexplained illness.

The royal advisors were at a loss of what to do. King Alfonso IV had died before getting married or producing heirs. The throne would have gone to his younger brother, José. However, just two weeks earlier, José along with much of the royal family had died in a tragic church fire at the wedding of their cousin, Juana of Trastamára. The only surviving member of the royal family was the son of King Alfonso’s third cousin, Carlos. Carlos worked as a court jester for King Alfonso, a notably odd profession for a man of his standing. Carlos was crowned king just three weeks after the death of King Alfonso, on April 1, 1506.

The newly crowned King Carlos made some unorthodox decisions. One of these was the implementation of a new celebration, known as the Festival of Fools. Carlos chose the day April 1, as a reminder of the profession he left behind when he took on the role of king. The celebration included several parades throughout the Spanish empire. Court jesters were held in the highest

regard on this day, carried around on thrones with feasts thrown in their honor.

On this day, members of the empire tried to make the jesters laugh by playing pranks and jokes on one another. Eventually, the presence of jesters in the court diminished, but the tradition of making others laugh through pranks and jokes continued and spread as the Spanish empire grew.

Gotcha! None of that is even the slightest bit true.

Historians aren’t certain of the real start of April Fool’s Day, but there are several theories as to the origin of this day of pranks.

According to Dictionary.com, one theory is that April Fool’s Day began in 1594 with the Edict of Roussillon in France, which shifted the New Year from Easter to Jan 1. Those who continued to celebrate the new year on Easter rather than Jan. 1 were known as April fools.

Another theory is that the origin lies in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer referenced a made up March 32 in one of his stories. The story was “The Nun’s Priest Tale,” and was meant to be hilarious

Successful Student Pranks “My friend and I did a prank where we convinced our friends that my friend had a boyfriend. We had photos and came up with like small details and told them all of it and they believed it. After a while we told them it was a prank.” - Kendyl Eber, 10

“In December of 2019 during finals week, me and my friend decided to prank our forensics teacher Mrs. Harrison by going into her classroom earlier in the morning before she got there, and [we] hung up around 200 photos of Steve Buscemi. We got entrance through Cooley leaving her room unlocked for us and went through

the door that connected the classrooms.

We as well gave every student a photo to turn in with their test, so as she graded each test she had to take out and throw away another photo of Steve Buscemi. The reason for it being Steve Buscemi was we were talking about “Spy Kids 2” earlier in the year and she said he creeped her out. Our masterpiece of it was when we went outside and taped one on the outside looking in that stayed up all the way until the end of summer 2020.”

- Griffin Burke, 12

Illustration by Rachel Shultz

By Rachel Shultz, Print Editor

and foolish. This may have been his attempt at the first April Fools prank, but some historians believe it was a simple misprint.

Regardless of the origin, April Fool’s Day is a time for good fun and laughter. A good prank doesn’t harm others, but rather makes them laugh. Remember the phrase “confuse don’t abuse.” Now get out and start planning ways to prank your friends!

Plan Your Own Successful Prank!

Bake oatmeal raisin cookies and tell everyone they’re chocolate chip cookies.

This one will only work if your friends hate raisins as much as I do!

Sign your friends up for daily email or text lists. There are a variety of daily newsletters that range from animal facts to useless trivia. Sign them up for as many as you can find and watch as their inbox overflows.

Pick two of your friend’s things and hide them. Then tell them you hid three. Watch the chaos ensue when they only find two.

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Women’s work

By Kailey Wallenius, News and Sports Editor

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Women in Business and Technology Club brings new STEM opportunities to female students

nly 28% of computer-related jobs are held by women, and 40% of U.S businesses are owned by women, according to builtin.com. Motivated to change these statistics, Business and Computer Science teacher Taundra Miles-Cranor created the Women in Business and Technology club.

“In my classes, I noticed that I had almost no girls. It is not just an issue in computer science, but also in the business world,” Miles-Cranor said. “I was in the business world before I went into the classroom, and you rarely saw a lot of women as you went up the ladder. I felt like this was something that needed to be addressed, and that women needed to be empowered to learn about these types of careers and possibly pursue them in

the future.”

The Women in Business and Technology Club is all about encouraging women to enter in the STEM fields. While learning about business and technology is the main goal, empowering women is another goal of the club according to Miles-Cranor.

“I liked how this club empowers girls to pursue careers and change the gender stereotype about women in business and technology,” senior Marissa Roundtree said.

Miles-Cranor encourages the young women in the club to start believing that they are powerful and to gain the confidence to go against societal norms.

“I always address my young ladies as young women of power because it is import-

The members of the Women in Business Club pose together following their meeting. photo provided by Camille Sidebottom

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ant to me that they understand that they hold power and one way to do that is to call it out. I’ve seen some of my girls do that as well, when they address the membership they also say young women of power as well,” Miles-Cranor said.

The club has many plans for the new year, working around the guidelines for Covid through the school. Club activities are still able to happen on Zoom.

“We coded a program to play tic-tac-toe, and I really enjoyed doing that,” senior Lilia Arrizabalaga said.

The Women in Business and Technology club also received a special grant that will allow them to do a project around the school to promote the club.

“I am really looking forward to our mural that is going to go up in the spring,” senior Emma Kremp said. “We were fortunate enough to receive a McDonald’s grant to fund this project and I can’t wait to see the final product.”

The club recently hosted a Zoom meeting for Women’s History Month, featuring strong female figures in Zionsville, to give advice to young women of power looking for advice on entering the business and technology field.

“It was really challenging to have my voice be heard. I had to really dig deep into my confidence, and I had to speak up,” guest speaker Lynette McBride Hyde said during the panel. “If there’s not a seat at the table, then I can bring my own chair.”

The women spoke of past experiences in their fields and described ways in which they learned to flourish in those fields.

“If I’m underrepresented, then I’m going to strive to make it “I’ve done better for the womsome research en that come after financial in the lack me,” advisor Lee Irwin of females in said. “I hope you STEM, and one know that you can of the reasons make it better for the women after is they don’t re- you.” ally have female The club also has plans for guest role models.” speakers on Zoom.

-Lilia “We did have a Arrizabalaga, panel to start the senior year and we plan to have a speaker circuit next year. It will all be done via Zoom and we won’t be able to have the type of experience out in the industry that we thought we would have before,” Miles-Cranor said.

While the panel was all virtual and being on Zoom makes it difficult to communicate, the information that the women give to the

members of the The members of the club pose in the hallway. photo provided by Camille club is valuable, Sidebottom according to Roundtree.

“I learned a lot from their experiences of being the only woman in the room, and I gained valuable advice on how to face challenges one may encounter when working in a male-dominated environment,” Roundtree said.

To join the club, no experience is needed, women in the business and technology fields. but an interest in one of the fields is a great “I’ve done some research in the lack of way to make the club a fun place. females in STEM, and one of the reasons is “I really like technology and coding. I they don’t really have female role models, know there’s a lot of problems with the perso they sort of get dejected or give up their centage of women in STEM fields especially STEM education,” Arrizabalaga said. in technology and coding. It seemed like a The information taught from the Womgood way to meet with people who are also en in Business and Technology Club can interested in coding,” Arrizabalaga said. also give the young women information Roundtree said she hopes the Women in about starting a career in either business or Business and Technology Club will lead to technology. other clubs that strive to encourage young “This club has definitely made me women into doing more activities and events consider a career in business,” Kremp said. that are seen as male-dominated.

“We bring in guest speakers who are well “This club uplifts the message that women accomplished in their own fields of work and are just as capable as men. In the past, the this has been really inspiring and helped me medical field was male dominated, but since narrow down my career path.” more women are now entering the medical While it may seem unnecessary to some, field, the disparity is decreasing,” Roundtree simply creating a club empowering women said. “I hope to see the same in other fields is the first step to creating an environment as well.” where everyone feels welcome.

The guidance of the club has begun “It is a small thing that is empowering,” leading the members to look into why there Miles-Cranor said. “It just helps remind the are such disparagements between men and young ladies of the power they hold.”

Engineering and Business and Business Classes Intro to Business, Intro to Technology Classes Technology Accounting, Personal Finance, AP Computer Science JAVA, AP Entrepreneurship, Principles classes Computer Science Principles, of Business Management, Principles of Engineering, Intro offered at Preparing for College and to Engineering and Design, CivCareers, Sports and EntertainZionsville il Engineering and Architecture ment Marketing feature 13

Under the

By Mary Demarco, Opinion Editor

By high school most teens are ready for some time away from home to spend with friends. But what happens when your parent sticks with you all the way through school?

Imagine mom or dad teaching two doors down, finding out about high school drama before you do. Here is how students and staff feel about their family members working at the same school.

Lindsey and Tyler Alessandrini

photos by Riya “It honestly has its pros and cons. Like if I’mPatel ever in trouble, she’s literally like less than a mile away. So that’s a con, but it’s great to have my mom there. I get a little bit of special privileges. I’ve been in the teacher work rooms and I’ve been in weird places that people haven’t been because my mom’s a teacher.” - Tyler Alessandrini, sophomore

14 student life

Same Roof Matt and Maddy Mulholland

“Sophomore year I was supposed to take Physics and the first day of school I dropped his class and then never showed up to class and then I didn’t tell him that I’d dropped his class. And so, when I didn’t show up and I wasn’t there for attendance he was confused and like ‘where’s my daughter?’ He thought I was skipping his class.

And I was sitting safe and sound in Study Hall because I dropped Physics.” - Maddy Mulholland, senior

Greg and Braden Hall

“It’s a unique experience to have the opportunity to connect with him, not only on a personal level but also on a professional level. That’s the fun part. As parents we all want to connect with your kids on a personal level and be involved with the things they’re involved with. To have the opportunity to connect with him on a professional level has been enjoyable so far this year.”

- Greg Hall, Assistant Principal

student life 15

ZOOM

the good, the bad, the ugly

By Elizabeth Rexing, Staff

Zoom is a part of our school lives, like it or not. And some students most certainly do not.

“Zoom is a tragic display of endless hypocrisies. It is a mirror unbroken showing shattered reflection among a pristine surface.”

-Jack Keller, senior “Learning on Zoom is like trying to understand a poem. There’s the teacher’s way of doing it, and then there’s the students’ way of doing it. Sometimes they match up, and other times the teacher, the poem, and the student do not work with each other.”

-Reilly White, senior “Inefficient, brain-frying, but maybe better than nothing. No one can stay fully focused day in and day out in the normal classroom and without any in person interaction in between periods and other things like that, my attention does not hold.”

-Jack Weaver, junior “Well, it’s definitely interesting. It was weird to get used to at first, but I understand it’s a necessary precaution with everything that’s going on. I will say though, I do prefer inperson learning over Zoom. There’s something about physically being in the classroom that makes it better. To add to that, I also understand things better when I’m in the classroom.”

-Samantha James, sophomore “I would describe it as, ‘Irritable, but beneficial.’ Just like how some evils must be committed in order to stop an even greater evil.”

-Vincent Zhao, sophomore

16 student life

Awkward With a year of remote leaning under our belts, you’d think that we’d be Zoom experts. Welp, we’re not and our mishaps have resulted in some funny stories.

“My cat, Henry, always likes to walk in front of my computer screen and knock my pencils off my desk. One day he was so bad that my English teacher called me out about him.”

-Anonymous junior

“I was trying to chat privately with my friend and we went into breakout rooms [and] the way my camera was set up you could see a Lego castle behind me and we talked about that in the break[out] room. I wanted to tell just my friend when we came back from separate breakout rooms but accidentally sent it to the whole class [because] I wasn’t aware the chat reset to everyone when you came back.”

-Anonymous junior “I was in Chamber Choir, and I wasn’t really singing one day, so I just decided to lip sync to the lyrics of a song… Then someone said in the chat to me ‘Lilly your mic is unmuted,’ and I was so nervous [that] Mr. Chenoweth was going to see that I was lip syncing to the song.”

-Lilly Bass, sophomore

“During one of the class breaks, in between lessons, a friend started playing their ukulele because they were bored. Unfortunately, they hadn’t realized that they were unmuted, so they accidentally gave a concert to their entire science class.”

-Anonymous sophomore “One time I was in my Geometry class and I was kinda stressed so I started singing. But I didn’t realize I was not muted and everyone could hear me. I only figured it out when my teacher let me know I was unmuted. It’s not horribly embarrassing but in [that] moment I was absolutely horrified that everyone could hear my awful singing.”

-Anonymous sophomore

“Mrs. Alessandrini [is the best] because she always talks to the Zoom kids and is always making sure that everyone is okay.”

-Felicity Ruth, sophomore

“I was drinking chocolate milk during AP Bio and accidentally had my notebook on the space bar which then unmuted myself...

I tend to exhale very loudly after drinking anything and my whole class heard me.”

-Avery Gill, junior “I was in one of my classes and as many of us do on a daily basis, I was on my phone while on the Zoom call. My bedroom was kind of dimly lit and my phone screen was definitely the brightest light source in my room. I was scrolling through Instagram and the next thing I heard from the teacher is ‘I know you’re on your phone, your screen is reflecting off your glasses’ and it took me a moment to realize he was talking to me. I just awkwardly laughed it off, and I haven’t worn my glasses on Zoom since!”

-Anonymous senior

Not only has the pandemic changed the way students are learning, it was changed the way teachers teach.

We all know what students have to say about Zoom, so what do teachers think?

Huge, huge shoutout to every single one of our teachers. You made this year infinitely better and we can’t thank you enough. We asked ZCHS students which teachers are the best at Zoom classes and here are some responses:

“Mr. Welch is most undoubtedly the maestro of Zoom. Which shouldn’t be a surprise because if you’ve ever met the guy, he’s a literal genius. He radiates, or rather glows, with intelligence and confidence… Ever since the second day, he’s been untouchable in his mastermind capabilities of the online video call service.”

-Jack Keller, senior “Carter’s awesome because even when we’re on Zoom she still makes it feel like a regular class. She’s always considerate and flexible when it comes to what students on Zoom and [students] in person need.”

-Isabel Westin, junior

“Mr. Schurger is great at Zoom. Orchestra is the only class where I really feel like everyone online is engaged, and it’s the only class where we have full-on conversations on Zoom, which really helps keep a sense of normalcy during virtual learning.”

-Kylie Heagy, senior “Ms. Lipscomb [is the best] because she is a really good teacher and I feel like I get the same experience online as I do in person in her class. She also always asks how everyone’s day is [and] tells everyone to have a good day when they leave the Zoom.”

-Anonymous “Mrs. Harmon [is the best because] her backgrounds of her at the beach crack me up.”

-Daysun Brown, junior “Ms. Shaner [is the best] because she has us play Zoom games and involves her online students in her real class in fun ways.”

- Anonymous “Mrs. Glass [is the best] because she interacts with us and still shows her personality through the screen.”

-Anonymous “[The best is] definitely Doug Showley, He brings so much energy every day to class, and I feel the same at home and in class when I’m in AP Lit.” -Jack Weaver, junior Continued on next page

“Although it’s nice to teach live, the problems that it creates: internet issues, audio problems, screen sharing, etc., make it extremely frustrating.”

-Dwight Moser, math teacher “I don’t like it. It’s an invention that allows us to teach during a time period that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to but the split focus and accommodating students in two different ways has made it a very challenging to be a teacher.

- Ann Bender, English teacher

Dwight Moser sits at his desk teaching Algebra II over Zoom. photo by Riya Patel

student life 17

Some of us have had our Zoom classes bombarded by hackers and I’m not going to lie, when my class was hacked, it was both surprising and hilarious.

[In] US History [with] Mrs. Boutilier, the kid changed their name to someone in the class and then started yelling at kids in the class to do their work and that they were dumb. It made us all jump because we were in the middle of a lesson. We all thought it was more funny than anything else. They tried to join later on with another name of someone in our class...they weren’t let in.”

-Daysun Brown, junior “Some guy came into my science class. He was on the toilet and talking about pooping. My teacher didn’t notice, the kid then turned his camera off. When he turned it back on, he was standing at the top of the stairs and the camera was at the bottom, and he jumped onto the camera. The whole class was cracking up and we didn’t even know who it was.”

-Anonymous “My chemistry teacher Mrs. Harrison had someone scream some profanity that is not school appropriate.”

-Anonymous

Do you like breakout rooms?

In a survey of 117 ZCHS students

77% No 23% Yes

It seems like Zoom classes might be a “staple” going forward, so here are some tips to make our classes go a little smoother.

“Don’t sit on your bed; you’re less likely to focus. Sit in an area where your WiFi is good so you don’t get kicked out as much (it’s not fun). Stay calm, everyone’s frustrated by Zoom but freaking out won’t help.”

-Kacy Russell, freshman

“Put all of your classes’ Zoom links on one doc so you don’t have to click through Canvas before every period.”

-Anonymous “I don’t have any tips or tricks to use Zoom. I guess just log into class on time?”

-Anonymous “If you miss the environment of a real classroom, turn on your camera and microphone during tests to recapture that feeling that all students are constantly watching, listening, and judging you. It works like a charm.”

-Jack Keller, senior “Make sure you’re muted when you get on class, it’s never a great time when you are told that your mic has been on for the last 3 minutes.”

-Caleb Girvan, sophomore “Keep your camera on if you can! Not only does it help you stay engaged in class because your teacher and classmates can see you, but it also helps your teachers out because I’m sure none of them feel motivated to teach when they’re staring at a bunch of blank screens on Zoom.”

-Kylie Heagy, senior “Get off Tik Tok.” -Andrew R., freshman “Find a work space outside of your room with natural light, it helps me focus and I actually get to see what’s going on in the outside world. After your Zoom class or in a break go on a walk and get some fresh air.”

-Daysun Brown, junior “I don’t have any [tips] because Zoom conquered me this semester.”

-Anonymous

Should students have their cameras on during Zoom classes?

Read on to hear students and teachers share their thoughts on the topic in “Tuning in?” on page 20 18 student life

Spring Break Staycation

By Gretchen Drews, Staff

W

ith spring break quickly approaching and new circumstances arising, things may not be going your way. Plans to travel might have been cancelled, friends might seem far away, but never fear! With these three tips, you can find inspiration to make this year’s spring break as entertaining and productive as possible.

Go Local!

Over spring break, you may not be able to go somewhere far away, but just because plans get canceled doesn’t mean you are bound to your house for all eternity.

There are plenty of boutiques, shops, restaurants, and more open in downtown Zionsville. One sophomore Kyle Curran said that despite his plans to Florida being cancelled due to his

Log Online

For students who aren’t allowed to see friends or others outside, things can begin to feel lonely, but never fear! There is another way.

Technology is a wonderful way to stay connected to others while so far apart.

Curran is someone who was always interested in playing video games, specifically sporting games. He also spoke about how he is able to play the popular game, Call of Duty with his friends as well.

“Inside I’ll probably be playing video games most of the time because I already

Do Self-Care

If you’re feeling down about spring break plans getting canceled, not seeing friends, or anything else that may be bothering you, self-care might be the way to go as it can help better yourself in any aspect.

Rumbaoa talked about how they are going to have a “low-key spring break” and that because of this they will have a lot of free time.

“Ive decided to work on some selfcare and do skin care and work outs,” Rumbaoa said. “I’m going to focus on

obligations on his baseball team, he is still able to go out to eat.

“I’ll probably do dinner with my sister and her fiancé because she’s out of the house now and is going to visit,” Curran said.

Sophomore Jada Rumbaoa said during spring break they will be staying home for the most part, but that they hope

they can go out to eat as well, specifically at Greek’s Pizzeria in downtown Zionsville. They think going out to eat will be a good idea since they will be able to get out of the house and have fun while visiting with others.

“I have plans with my friends to go down to Greek’s in the village because we always used to go there before,” Rumbaoa said.

do that a lot and I can spend time with my friends that way too,” Curran said.

Rumbaoa is able to play the videogames with their friends as well. During their spring break, they plan to play Minecraft over FaceTime with friends.

While most of their friends use pocket edition on their phones, they are all able to play together through a server called The Hive.

“It’s really fun and easy to use,” Rumbaoa said, “Personally my favorite game is Deathrun because it’s got a lot of

parkour, however, we typically play PVP games together.”

Video chat apps allow students like Grace Noble, sophomore, to hold movie nights online with friends. She noted it’s very relaxing because she doesn’t have to talk the entire time and she can just unwind and enjoy the company of her friends.

“I’ve been having Zoom movie nights with my friends on Saturday, and we’ll watch movies or a couple episodes of a tv show,” Noble said.

myself a bit more now especially after this really weird school year”.

Artwork as well has been a very fun and liberating activity for Rumbaoa. They described that most of the time, art has been able to help them vent and express themself in a healthy way and for this reason, they consider it an act of selfcare.

“For me art is often is an escape from reality whether I’m happy sad or angry,”

Rumbaoa said, “Art helps me cope.”

Noble also is able to find an escape, specifically through reading stories.

While Noble doesn’t have the time to read now with schoolwork and other responsibilities, she is hopeful to start reading “Chain of Iron” by Casandra Clare, a book that she had preordered a while back.

“I have a few books I’ve been meaning to read so I might finally find time to read for leisure,” Noble said

student life 19

Tuning In?

By Brooklyn Brown, Staff

H

igh Schoolers all over America are virtually attending class, and with this new way of learning comes the power of invisibility. No, teens don’t have superhuman abilities, but now they can turn off their cameras on Zoom.

The “camera off” button is especially tempting on a bad hair day or during a boring lesson.

Because this student superpower is pretty new, it’s difficult to pinpoint when turning off cameras should be a privilege, and when it can actually be beneficial.

“I love it when I see faces,” French Teacher Jenna Engelhardt said.

She stares into an abyss of black boxes all day, so students’ smiling faces brighten her mood. When cameras are off, she forgets about the faces behind the screen, and feels like she’s “yelling into space,” just to get a student response. Many teachers face this problem daily.

“I think sometimes the camera being off is just a way to escape and kind of just sit there and watch TikTok,” Geometry teacher Nate Underwood said.

He fears students having cameras off encourages disengagement from class discussions.

“The thing with Zoom is, it brought us together during a global pandemic but it’s also separating us now because we can kind of tune out to what people

20 opinion

Should students be required to turn their cameras on during Zoom calls?

graphics by Brooklyn Brown

are saying,” Underwood said.

Most students remain adamant on keeping their cameras off though, and it may be for more reasons than bed head or scrolling through TikTok. A Buffalo 7 study found that 73% of Zoom users have suffered from Zoom anxiety in the past year. The study also found that the most common Zoom anxiety trigger was the fear of technical difficulties.

Almost half of Zoom users reported anxiety from being put on a call without time to prepare their appearance, according to Buffalo 7. Until 2020, students didn’t have to worry about so many other classmates seeing them in such a personal environment as their home.

Dealing with these stressors on a daily basis can be damaging for many teens who learn online.

“Most students report that Zoom is awkward...I understand that people who may be self- conscious are probably more so when they feel like they are always on display,” Engelhardt said.

However, she also thinks that when the cameras are off it can be easy to “walk away, look at your phone, or not pay attention at all.” Phone distractions are killing students’ grades, but Zoom cameras are killing students’ mental health. A middle ground can be met though if it’s understood that both of these things are killing the environment, too.

A person video conferencing for just

one hour gives off 150 to 1,000 grams of carbon dioxide, uses two to 12 liters of water, and uses a land space about the size of an iPad Mini, according to Purdue. Leaving cameras off during calls reduces those environmental footprints by 96%.

Studious learners who use their camera leave quite a large footprint on the environment everyday without even thinking about it. Students who try to tune out the lesson with Netflix or TikTok are leaving just as bad of a footprint.

“No one tells you the benefit of turning off your camera or reducing your streaming quality. So without your consent, these platforms are increasing your environmental footprint,” said Kaveh Madani to singlecare.com, who led and directed an environmental study as a visiting fellow at the Yale MacMillan Center.

It might take time to find the right compromise, but a happy medium is possible.

“If we are in a lesson and we’re trying to have people engaged and active I think cameras are needed...if it’s practice time, when you’re able to kind of work at your own pace I don’t think cameras should be on,” Underwood said.

Online learning has come with a number of new obstacles for everyone involved. It’s up to students and teachers to work together to make the best decision for their education and the environment.

“Having a camera on or having a camera off doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, the main thing is just being actively engaged...you could have your camera off the entire time, but if you’re listening, you’re asking questions, you’re answering questions, I think that’s the big thing,” Underwood said.

Half Baked Holidays

A look into some of the more pointless American holidays

By Kailey Wallenius, News and Sports Editor

The first pointless holiday is Flag Day. Wow, we have a flag! So does literally every other country in the world. What makes ours so special? There are a lot more better looking flags out there. Have you seen Bhutan’s flag? It is so creative and designed with such detail, it is a true work of art. I know this holiday is more about American pride, but we have 4th of July for that and considering America’s history I do not think we need anymore days for that.

Columbus Day is another day that is completely unnecessary.

Sure, he was the first European to “discover” the Americas, but do we really need a whole day to celebrate him? Christopher Columbus also spread a lot of diseases to the indigenous people living in the United States, and claimed the land for his even though they were already living there and he had no right whatsoever to claim it as his own.

There were many people here before he came, and he thought he was entitled to an entire continent because he accidentally found it, and incorrectly thought it was India?

Also, only some people get this day off, so it is already barely a real holiday. Many people call this day Indigenous People Day, and I say we follow in these footsteps to honor those who truly lived in the United States first.

Next, the strange holiday of Groundhogs Day. No, I am not talking about that movie where Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again, I am talking about the day that an animal emerges from the ground and tells us how many days of winter are left.

The tradition actually stems from Christians using the length of a candle to determine how long winter will last.

Germans took this idea a step further, by selecting an animal, the hedgehog at first, and then a groundhog when they came to America. Is there any actual facts behind what the groundhog’s shadow does? No. Have the predictions been wrong before? Yes, many times in fact.

Now I know that daylight savings is not technically a holiday, I still consider it an important event in America. This idea was first implemented during World War II, in order to try and conserve energy by having more hours of daylight, therefore using less in the dark.

We didn’t start using the March and November system, losing an hour the second Sunday in March and gaining it back the second Sunday of November, until 2007. Personally I get very discombobulated when we lose an hour in the spring, and I always wonder why. It would make more sense to me if everyone did it, and while some other countries do, not even all the United States do. The majority of Arizona and Hawaii do not participate in the losing and gaining of hours, which seems unfair and makes me want to move to the Aloha state.

opinion 21

Photo by Rachel Schultz

baskets and

BRACKETS All you need to know about March Madness in Indiana

22 sports

By Henry Holloway, Copy Editor

W

ith last year’s cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, college basketball fans missed out on the joy and excitement of March Madness that fills the air of early spring. As the coronavirus pandemic still continues into 2021, the NCAA(National Collegiate Basketball Association) announced in January that the entirety of the tournament will be held in Indiana. It seems the Hoosier state may be hogging all the glory.

“It’s great for the city,” senior Jack Raborn said. “Indiana’s a basketball state, especially Central Indiana.”

As the tournament commenced on Mar. 18 at Indiana University’s Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the NCAA announced that maximum capacity for each venue can not exceed 25%. Of the two first games of the tournament one will be held at Assembly Hall, with a maximum of 500 people as imposed by the university. The other was held at Purdue’s Mackey Arena, where 1213% is the capacity mandated by the university, thus permitting about 1,850 spectators.

“The atmosphere’s always electric at these college games so to be able to have a lot of people go will be a lot of fun for the players,” Raborn said.

The Indiana Farmers Coliseum at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) hosted the NCAA men’s and women’s semifinals and finals for the first and second rounds.

These games were hosted by the

Horizon League. The first and second rounds of the sweet sixteen were split between Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Lucas Oil Stadium is hosting The Elite Night, The Final Four, and the NCAA National Championship.

“It’s just cool because March Madness is always so big, so to be able to see all the teams here and watch the games myself, it’s a lot of fun,” Raborn said.

In addition to the Covid-19 protocols implemented with regard to games, teams are separated from each other in a “bubble,” as they will dine in hotel rooms and each player will have a hotel room to themselves. Additionally, each team will have their own floor of the hotel in which they stay.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” senior Ryan Carr said.

“We saw it with the NBA Bubble like a couple months ago, but for there to be 68 different schools in Central Indiana for an extended period of time is pretty remarkable and I think it’s gonna be a great opportunity for the state to prosper in this difficult time.”

Before the players travel to Indianapolis for the tournament, they must undergo multiple Covid-19 tests. After arriving, players must have consecutive negative tests in order to play, as during this period they will be confined to their hotel rooms, as mandated by the Marion County Health Department.

“Even though it’ll kind of be a

difficult month for all the teams being in a hotel exclusively for an extended period of time, I think it’ll be fun for the fans and for all the people in Indiana,” Carr said.

Amidst the devastation to various industries amidst the economic downturn as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, many hope that March Madness may be able to relieve the ills befallen on the hospitality and restaurant industries. In addition to boosting Downtown’s hotel industry, the restaurant industry may also be getting a boost by being able to cater to players in their hotel rooms. Currently, the organization Visit Indy is identifying restaurants that could be potential contenders for delivery, permitting them a key opportunity to bring in revenue amidst the economic downturn.

“It’s really great basketball, so it’s good to be able to have the tournament here,” Raborn said.

Some fans hope that this year’s March Madness setup could become an annual occurrence.

“I mean it’s the first time it’s ever happened for the tournament, being held in one city,” Carr said. “It’s very prestigious for us to be able to hold a tournament at this scale. I feel like this could be something that could be done for years to come. This could be a format that the NCAA goes to if there’s any extreme circumstances like there are today.”

sports 23

ZCHS Moments

Winter Guard

Members of the Zionsville Winter Guard work together to neatly fold their tarp after a rehearsal on Mar. 20. After rehearsals, the team headed to a competition in Greenwood, where they placed third in the open class division.

Almost, Maine

Practicing their scene, Grace Noble, sophomore and Griffin Burke, senior, point toward the sky. The spring play, “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani, will take place on April 15, 16, and 17. “The show is nine scenes that all take place in the same town at the same time, and it explores themes of couples falling in and out of love,” Noble said.

Indoor Percussion

Riley Tague, sophomore, plays the marimba after Indoor Percussion State Prelims on March 20. The team scored a 93.700 and placed first in the Scholastic A division.

Varsity Softball

Preparing to hit the ball, junior Ella Carriere positions her bat. The Varsity Eagles battled Hamilton Heights on Mar. 22, winning 14-5.

Girls Lacrosse

Lacrosse coach Dave Elefante gives the varsity lacrosse team a pep talk during their final timeout of their game on March 20. photos by Rachel Shultz