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Back to Artwork Back to Sections Matteo Somma By Matteo Somma Volume 3 Issue 1

Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Angelina’s College Application Timeline  By Angelina Somma Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Original photo by Angelina Somma Winter and Spring of Junior Year: During the winter and spring of junior year the college search is on. During this time, you should be creating your college list. How do I begin my college list? In order to begin your college list, you need to ask yourself a few questions…. Where do I want to go to school? - Location is a major part of picking a college. In order to decide which location is best for you, you need to ask yourself the following questions: Do you want to go someplace warm or cold? Do you want to commute or live on campus? Do you want to go to college in a big city or a small town? Do you want to stay in New York or go to school in a different state? Do you want to stay on the east coast or go to school on the west coast? What kind of school do I want to attend? - Different colleges have different opportunities to offer students. It’s important you know which opportunities are important to you before selecting a school. In order to do this, you need to ask yourself the following questions: Do I want to attend a big school or a small school? Do I want small class sizes or large lecture halls? Are there any academic programs I want my college to have? Are there any extracurricular activities I want my college to have? Do I want to attend a school with an academic or athletic culture? Do I want a more or less academically rigorous school? What schools can I attend? - Academic requirements range between schools and can be found on the college’s website. You should have safety schools and reach schools!  In order to find which colleges are best for you, you need to ask yourself the following questions: Does (insert college) require standardized test scores? If they do, what scores are required? How does my GPA compare to the GPA of students admitted to the college? Do admissions look for students involved in extracurricular activities? End of Junior Year: A list of potential schools: This list does not have to be finalized!!! I had 10 schools on my list at the end of junior year and I applied to 6. Begin attending virtual tours and information sessions for the schools on your list. The more you learn about a school the easier your decision will be! Create a Common Application account: Once you have created an account, add the schools you are interested into your list. Once you add your schools check out their writing requirements. You should make a list of all of the essays you will need to write. Begin brainstorming for your essays: Procrastination is not your friend! Once you have a list of the essays you need to write you should brainstorm ideas. I made a google doc and bulleted possible topics for each of my essays. Summer Going into Senior Year: College Essay: During the summer you should write a rough draft of your college essay. Your teacher will help you make edits in September, but the more you do over the summer the less work you do in September. Supplemental Essays: During the summer you should write a rough draft for each of your supplemental essays. You will have to edit these on your own so stay organized. Stay Informed: Keep attending information sessions, virtual tours, and if possible visit campuses. The more information you learn about each school the easier your decision will be! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Line Back to Sections Jodi Vaison - What is Line By Jodi Vaison November 1, 2020 Marker Volume 1 Issue 1

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Five Nights at Freddy's Security Breach By Augustine Magapan Volume 2 Issue 3 January 14, 2022 Image provided by Steam It has been two years since Scott Cawthon, an American video game developer and writer, created a new game. He is also well known for his Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. To those who are unfamiliar with the franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a popular horror game that revolves around players monitoring robotic animals known as animatronics until a certain time, specifically from 12AM to 6AM. Although typically most Five Nights at Freddy’s games are about watching animatronics, Scott Cawthon released a new video game that is unlike the rest. Before getting into the actual details of the game, it is reasonable to look at the past of Scott Cawthon. On July 24th, 2014, he released a small project called Five Nights at Freddy’s which was only allowed to be played on the computer before it was on other platforms. Going back to the horror game franchise that revolves around the players monitoring animatronics in a pizza place, players play as a guard working a night shift. While monitoring the animatronics until 6AM, it should be noted that the animatronics are alive and move around in the premise during that time frame. There are four main animatronics: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. The group wishes to murder the security guards and stuff them into animatronic suits. This transforms the game to instead of players focused on the animatronics, they transition to monitoring their own lives until 6AM. The only issue that players must focus on while monitoring themselves and the animatronics is the limited power accessed. The players are allowed to utilize the electrical power to shut doors and turn lights on and off to protect themselves from the animatronics. If either the players fail to monitor the animatronics from coming into the security room, or if all power is drained, an animatronic will pop up on the screen and frighten them. This is known as a jump scare, which implies the players lost…and the security guard is stuffed in a suit. For the next four to five games, the franchise revolved around the same gameplay, but with new environments, characters, and actions implemented. The small project became a whole franchise over the years, leading to Scott Cawthon’s success. Moving forward to late 2021, about 7 years from the first game, Scott Cawthon released a new game called, “Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach.” This game is different compared to the other games that Scott Cawthon developed. The idea still revolves around winning by reaching 6AM; however, instead of playing as a security guard monitoring the animatronics, players play a child called, Gregory. Gregory was not able to leave the pizza place before it closes for the night causing him to be trapped; fortunately, Freddy, who is not an evil animatronic, assists Gregory with his escape from the pizza place. Instead of the game revolving around being stuck in one place, players are able to move freely around the enormous pizza place. While completing the goal of escaping the pizza complex, the other animatronics are on the lookout for finding Gregory. Not only the animatronics are looking for him, but also a security guard; therefore, players are able to utilize hiding spots in order to not be seen by any of them. Old and new ideas were implemented in the game such as new jump scares, old and new characters, and actions (closing and opening doors, using power). One gimmick that has surprised players was that Gregory is allowed to go inside Freddy. Instead of being stuffed into him, Gregory is allowed to utilize Freddy to obtain access to other parts of the pizza place and hide from other animatronics. Today, Scott Cawthon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise has impacted many people. It is astonishing how a small project that was developed years ago led to big ideas. It has peaked multiple times, for famous YouTubers streamed his games in the past and present. While Scott Cawthon developed his games, he left easter eggs, or clues and secrets inside video games, for the players who wanted more than just winning. This led to an abundance of theories and analysis on websites and articles. People were able to put the pieces together where it is not only a game, but also a story. The whole entire franchise is connected to a singular timeline leading up to Security Breach. Additionally, Scott Cawthon has a giant fanbase where some people draw their own characters, speculate about animatronics getting romantically together, making music of their own parodies of the games, and posting a lot on social media platforms like TikTok. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Bridges Cody Sung Volume 4 Issue 4 May 29, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching Bridges exist for one main purpose: to connect the gap between two different spaces separated by an obstacle of lower elevation than the surrounding terrain – whether a body of water such as a river or valley. As they are sometimes essential for connecting two places, bridges have been around for a long time, the oldest one found being from 4000 years ago (The British Museum). As humanity progressed, however, there came a need for bridges that could cover wider distances and hold more weight. This is when bridges began to diversify into different types – the six main types being beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, suspension bridges, cantilever bridges, and cable-stayed bridges (Britannica). The beam bridge is the most common bridge form and is relatively simple. A beam on top of the bridge carries vertical loads by bending. As it bends, it has horizontal compression on the top. Simultaneously, the bottom of the beam has horizontal tension. To prevent the bridge from collapsing due to the weight of what is on it, supports carry the loads from the beam by compression vertically to the foundation of the bridge (Britannica). The truss bridge is somewhat similar to the beam bridge in that it also operates by bending in a certain manner to carry loads. Truss bridges have a beam on the top and a beam on the bottom, with vertical and diagonal support beams between them. When the truss bridge bends from a load, it leads to compression at the top and tension at the bottom. Depending on the configuration of the support beams, they can either experience compression or tension (Britannica). The arch bridge is unique among the bridge types in that it mainly uses compression to carry loads. The foundation, in the shape of an arch, works to prevent both vertical and horizontal sliding since due to the arch shape, the load from the bridge usually exerts both vertical and horizontal force. Despite the more complex design, arch bridges usually require less material than beam bridges of the same span (Britannica). The suspension bridge carries loads by using curved cables that experience tension. Those cables are attached to towers that support the bridge – those towers undergo vertical compression to the ground. The vertical compression leads to the anchorages at the bottom, which resist the inward and vertical pull of the cables. With a suspension bridge, the deck is hung in the air, so ideally, it should be heavy and stiff, so it does not move excessively when carrying a load (Britannica). The cantilever bridge is usually made with three spans, of which the two outer ones are anchored at regular ground and extend out over the area to be crossed. The central span rests on the extensions from the outer spans. Just like supported beams, it carries vertical loads with compression at the top and tension at the bottom due to bending. The two outer spans carry their loads by tension in the upper chords of the spans and compression in the lower ones. Towers inside both spans carry those forces to the foundation by using compression and exterior towers carry the forces by tension to the far foundations (Britannica). The cable-stayed bridge uses nearly straight diagonal cables from the horizontal deck to the vertical towers that carry loads by using tension. The vertical towers transfer the forces from the cables to the foundations through vertical compression. The forces in the cables also work to put the deck into horizontal compression (Britannica). Most modern bridges today are made of steel and concrete (Britannica). However, sometimes this is not enough to avoid collapse. Bridges can collapse for a few reasons. There may be a structural defect or design flaw, as with the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007 due to a weak connection point. An unusually heavy load may have also contributed to the collapse, another potential factor in bridge failures (National Transportation Safety Board). Finally, the bridge may be hit with a force that is too great to handle, such as with the Baltimore bridge collapse recently when a cargo ship hit one of its support beams (CNN). Sources: The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/worlds-oldest-bridge-being-preserved-iraq Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/technology/bridge-engineering National Transportation Safety Board, https://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/pdf/ntsb-report.pdf CNN, https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/baltimore-bridge-collapse-03-26-24-intl-hnk/ BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections A Narrative to the Compliments of Color By Gilana Etame November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Pakistan’s Devastating Floods By Sahar Ali Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by Al Jazeera Pakistan. A country located in South Asia with India to the east, Afghanistan and Iran to the west, and China to the north. The Arabian Sea is to Pakistan’s south. In June of 2022, Pakistan’s monsoon season began; however, it caused unprecedented flooding. The country received 190% more rain this summer. The Pakistani government declared a national emergency after more than 33 million people were affected. At least 1.7 million homes were destroyed, and thousands of people were killed as an effect of the floods. Causes of the Floods Prolonged rainfall: This is where rainfall occurs for a long period of time, causing land around a river to become saturated. This type of rainfall hit Pakistan in a series of monsoonal depressions, which are storms with low pressure. During the summer of 2022, the country experienced 8 monsoonal depressions. Heatwaves: During March and April, Pakistan was hit with heat waves. Climate change made these heatwaves 30% more likely to occur. As an effect of the heatwaves, some of Pakistan’s 7,000 glaciers began to melt rapidly into the Indus River. La Niña: This is an event that causes warmer-than-average temperatures in the ocean. La Niña added more moisture and fueled the monsoon depressions. Dam issues: Pakistan needs to work on its engineering priorities. If the country does this, then irrigation and flood control would improve. Dam issues made the rainwater uncontrollable. Overall, the main cause of these floods is climate change. Pakistan is only responsible for 1% of the total amount of human-produced emissions; however, it is the 18th most vulnerable country to climate change impacts. Effects of the Floods Damages: Pakistan’s floods have caused more than $30 billion in damage. As a result of the floods, 1.7 million houses were destroyed as well as 18,000 schools. Furthermore, 1,460 health facilities were affected. The floods also caused the death of 800,000 livestock and damaged 2.0 million hectares of crops and orchards. The destruction of food crops resulted in $2.3 billion in damages. Many bridges and many kilometers of roads were also destroyed. Effects on Pakistanis: As the amount of rainfall slowly decreased, millions of people were left stranded in the water without food or shelter, making them susceptible to diseases. In the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, there have been outbreaks of cholera, malaria, and some skin infections. 6.4 million Pakistanis needed humanitarian aid by early September. What we can do to help Pakistan Due to the floods, people in Pakistan are in dire need of shelter, food, and clean drinking water. You can donate to Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan , which is a nonprofit organization that will provide the people of Pakistan with medical camps, tarpaulins, tents, and food. For overseas donations, you can donate to Aghosh USA and Aghosh UK which are partners of the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Lillian Dolan - Portrait By Lillian Dolan January 20, 2021 Photography Volume 1 Issue 4

Back to Artwork Lights On for Education Back to Sections Mother Celeste By Macayla McCaffery April 22, 2021 Digital Art Volume 1 Issue 7

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Self Confidence By Manal Layachi Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Original photography by Elyas Layachi You might wonder, what is the meaning of self-confidence? Self-confidence is how someone feels about themselves and their abilities. It involves trusting yourself and your decisions. I play many sports, and they require a lot of self-confidence, especially running. It’s 90% mental and 10% physical. During the cross-country season, I had difficulty keeping up with the more experienced runners. I missed most of the meets because I was scared to compete, and my self-confidence wasn’t there. I kept telling myself, “I can’t do this. It’s impossible and too hard.” I did not perform that well during the races because I wasn’t trying to compete with other people. I ran slower than I wanted to. My self-esteem and confidence were very low. Athletes have a hard time with their self-confidence all the time. There is always a little voice in their head telling them that they can’t do it or it’s too hard. Our thoughts influence our actions. There are many simple ways to boost your self-confidence. First, get away from the people who will tear you down. Another thing you can do is write a list of what makes you unique and different from other people. You should have positive self-affirmations that you can tell yourself every day. My self-affirmation is, “I can do this. I am strong.” A quote by Eleanor Roosevelt says, “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face … we must do that which we think we cannot.” This statement tells us that we shouldn’t be scared to do things. Instead, we should try to do the things that we think we cannot do even though we may feel like we can’t. That is how you build your self-confidence. Once you face many obstacles, you learn from those experiences and feel more confident about yourself and what you can accomplish. So, the day of my last meet, I wasn’t mentally prepared when we arrived, but I was ready after my coach and brother gave me a pep-talk. Even though the race was hard, I got through it with a positive mindset. My proudest moment was when I crossed that finish line with a smile on my face. I competed and regained my self-confidence. I ended up getting fifth place out of twenty-three people! All in all, people gain self-confidence in their own way, and anyone can do it if they just take a leap and never give up. In order to grow, you must embrace the uncomfortable, and use it to improve. BACK TO TOP