Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Glicked: Which Movie is Better? Mya Hans Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 Image Provided by Max Ching “Glicked” is a portmanteau fans are using to describe the coincidence of the movies Gladiator II and Wicked, debuting on the same day in theaters, on November 22, 2024. This unique term brings attention to both movies, increasing viewership. “Glicked” is doing exceptionally well in box office, both movies receiving multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, but which movie is better? Gladiator II is a continuation of the classic 2000’s movie Gladiator with an audience rating of 3.1/5 stars. People were at first hesitant to see it, considering the universal opinion that sequels are usually nowhere near as good as the original movie. There are mixed reviews about this movie, some claiming the acting is great, but not accurate to the time period, or that it was an unnecessary sequel, or even that the characters in Gladiator II don’t live up to the iconic characters in the first movie. Erik Kain, a writer for Forbes magazine states that, “ Gladiator II is a truly terrible film in almost every way imaginable, making even its wildly bombastic combat dull and trite.” Inversely, Kristy Puchko, a top critic on the Rotten Tomatoes website says, “For all its faults, Gladiator II is an extraordinary film, the kind that demands to be seen in theaters.” Overall, the feedback from Gladiator II has been a mix of positive and negative. Wicked on the other hand, has been receiving a lot of love and positive reviews, with an audience rating of 4.1/5 stars. Wicked is an on-screen adaptation of the well-known Broadway hit. It is the first part of the story, representing Act 1 of the musical. The second movie will come out next year, to finish the story, representing Act 2 of the musical. The two main characters are one of the most influential pop stars of the century, Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda and talented Oscar-winning actress and singer Cynthia Erivo who plays Elphaba. Top Critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website called it “Wickedly magical” and “a thrill, at times wildly funny, heart-soaring, and ultimately inspirational.” I agree with all the positive reviews of Wicked . Although I did not see the original show on Broadway, this movie convinced me to. The singing, choreography, costume designs, and all the actors in the movie are incredible. The movie was very long (2 hours and 40 minutes); however, it certainly did not feel that long. I may be biased because I have not seen Gladiator II but based on reviews, clearly the consensus would agree. If I had to recommend a movie, I would recommend Wicked . You don’t have to be a musical theater lover, or even a fan of the story to enjoy a 10/10 movie! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Jensen McRae: An Unsung Lyricist Noa Cordova Volume 5 Issue 4 April 8, 2025 “I read your fortune… I saw the mother-wound.” I happened to scroll to Jensen McRae singing about her third date with someone: my introduction to her profound lyricism and my favorite artist.  Instantly impressed, I turned to Spotify to find her only official album, Are You Happy Now? released in 2022. Naturally, I deemed it my favorite album. I would consider the album a sung story about maturing and personal discovery through her perspective as a woman of color. One House Down From the Girl Next Door Following her across media platforms, I’ve learned about her journey as a musician and as a person as she openly shares her experiences through social media and most notably, her music. Born in Los Angeles, she cherishes her Californian roots and currently uses her platform to bring awareness to the wildfires through song. She shared that although accepted to Harvard University, she chose to pursue music at the University of Southern California’s Thorton School of Music. The twenty-seven-year-old songwriter nicknames herself the girl one house down from the girl next door, highlighting her disconnection to the American female archetype. This Love Letter Begins: Are You Happy Now? Top 5 Tracks Are You Happy Now? rightfully earns the title of a “no-skip” album, with each track telling a compelling story independently of the others. Her two debut singles included in the album, “Wolves” and “White Boy” powerfully showcase her experiences as a woman of color. “Wolves” metaphorically describes losing your innocent worldview and keeping your guard up as a woman after threatening experiences with seemingly friendly men. “Wolves” precisely details an experience that women too frequently face and can fully appreciate through her song without McRae explicitly stating it. “White Boy” encapsulates her self-given nickname and her tacit competition with “white” girls in romantic relationships as a woman of color as she writes, “white girl arrives, I turn invisible.”   With a strong identity crisis theme, “My Ego Dies At The End” remains her top song on Spotify. Singing about a dream, she illustrates the surreal feeling of losing soul-searching and desperately trying to define yourself; we can all relate to thinking we’ve lost ourselves, explaining the nineteen million Spotify streams. “Machines” flows like a poem with a simple but pivotal moment in each stanza working together to tell a coming-of-age narrative. Her lyricism sticks with you as she opens her poetic mind and shares that she outgrew superpowers, met God, drank for the first time, and learned the cost of growing up. Lastly, inspiring the subheading, I consider “Adam’s Ribs” a masterpiece. Written as a biblical allusion, “Adam’s Ribs” McRae sings from Eve’s perspective, “to Adam, from your ribs.” While it speaks keenly to Christians as a novel, religious take on a love song, anyone familiar with Genesis can appreciate her artistic approach to highlighting her experience as a female in relationships. Beyond the Album: Are You Happy Now? While McRae only released one album in 2022, she continues posting her songwriting across social media platforms for her followers and recently announced her sophomore album I Don’t Know How but They Found Me coming out in April. Unsurprisingly, her unreleased songs astound me as much as her released album tracks. I would consider Jensen McRae a growing, but critically underrated artist worthy of recognition. Her masterful songwriting, pure voice, and fitting background instrumentals make her songs wise additions to a playlist. I encourage you to listen to the tracks I nominated top five, but know you have another ten album tracks to add to the ranking or you could pick from her entire discography. I hope you’re happy now. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Turkey and Syria’s Earthquakes By Sahar Ali Volume 3 Issue 4 May 18, 2023 Image provided by Al Jazeera TURKEY & SYRIA – On February 6th, 2023, a tragedy occurred that changed the lives of millions. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and the border of Syria, causing more than 48,000 deaths. Days later on February 20th, 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes the Hatay province in southern Turkey. As people slept, the earthquakes caused apartment buildings to collapse, resulting in many to be stuck underneath rubble for hours or even days. Rescuers were sent in to help and seek out those trapped underneath collapsed buildings. The earthquakes caused more than 45,000 deaths and millions of people were left displaced or homeless in Turkey. The damage caused in Turkey is estimated to cost around $34 billion. Across 11 provinces in Turkey, at least 230,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed. In northwest Syria, about 10,600 buildings were partially or completely destroyed. The mental toll these earthquakes have caused on Turks and Syrians are unimaginable. Hundreds of people lost their loved ones in less than a few minutes, people lost their homes and their prized possessions, and their dreams have been crushed. All of this happened in a period of just a few hours. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Is War Coming? By Raj Singh Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Image provided by BBC As you might have heard, Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. There have been estimates of 100,000 soldiers at the Russo-Ukrainian border amassed for a potential invasion. Western powers have since acted with no more than warnings to stop this. What is happening, and why is it happening? Context: Ukraine is a nation in Eastern Europe that has historically been either an independent nation fighting for survival or under Russian control. In 2013, the current situation began; Ukraine had considered joining the European Union (EU) and made landmark political and trade deals. Though they had a Pro-Russia president who suspended talks to keep Ukraine away from the West, the citizens in Kiev, the capital city, started protesting this action in the streets. This began hostilities between Pro-Russians against Anti-Russians in Ukraine. Russia then invaded Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, a strategic port next to the Black Sea. Russia, a primarily cold country, has many ports that freeze over the winter; due to this issue, Russia wanted this territory as the peninsula is much warmer. In addition to the favorable Mediterranean climate, millions of Russians reside in Crimea. Russia's casus belli - a reason a nation claims it goes to war, often a lie to war without seeming like an aggressor - was to protect the rights of the millions of Russians living in Crimea. In response to Russia's declaration, Eastern regions in Ukraine then promptly rebelled, causing a brief war which a ceasefire halted. Now the ceasefire is being threatened by Russia invading Ukraine again. INFORMATION – Russia's troops comprise of self-propelled guns, tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles. With this buildup, Russia could launch an invasion in early 2022. The troops are located 186 miles from the Ukrainian-Russian border in a training facility and could attack at any moment. Russia said the troops were there for military drills only, but there is doubt amongst the West. Russian Opinion: The Kremlin states the military buildup and training are being done to curb Western aggression against them. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an alliance of primarily Western countries created decades ago to stop Soviet expansion in Europe, has sold weapons and stationed NATO troops in Ukraine since the ceasefire. Due to this expansion by the West, which is viewed as an aggressive encroachment on Russian security, the Kremlin claims they are the victim and believe they can act on their own security risks. Ukrainian Opinion: Ukraine states that Russia cannot control whether Ukraine gets closer with NATO. The government says that Russia is trying to maintain Ukrainian independence and its future. Citizens of Ukraine fear that a coup d’état, the seizure of a government and its power by an independent group, could happen as a precursor to invasion. In addition, Ukraine is currently going through an energy crisis and believes that its cause is Russia, which is attempting to destabilize the country. NATO Opinion: NATO says if Russia were to invade Ukraine, a NATO partner, they could start economic sanctions and political restrictions on Russia. NATO has prepared the members of the alliance who reside in the Baltic region and the Black Sea for the worst. NATO cannot protect Ukraine with a military force since Ukraine is not a member of the organization. However, NATO will allow Ukraine to become a member, should it choose to, and encourages the country to defy Russia. On January 12th, 2022, a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, occurred to discuss a solution. The situation remains tense, and as I write this, world peace is at stake. American Opinion: America is reviewing multiple options. American officials like President Biden met in Geneva to discuss peace. However, simultaneously, America was armed and continued to supply military assistance to Eastern Europe in preparation for the worst. Fiscally, America delivered 450 million dollars in assistance to Ukraine in 2021 and considered the possibility of launching economic sanctions on Russia. Other factors: Separate from this situation, another former Soviet state has had trouble. Kazakhstan had massive unrest in its capital and in other locations, leading to a Russian-led coalition of troops sent into the state to stop the unrest. There is plenty of doubt that Russian forces will leave Kazakhstan soon. The pipe that leads to Germany, Nord Stream 2, allegedly threatens Ukraine. It uses pipes through the Baltic Sea to pass around Eastern Europe instead of an overland route. Traditionally, the pipes would go through Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, which was a bargaining tool for the country and a source of money through tariffs. These pipes are vital to the Russian gas industry, so if Russia were ever to step out of line, Eastern Europe could cut the lines to damage the industry. However, with the new Baltic pipes, Ukraine loses, in addition to the extra income, its bargaining chip, and leverage over Russia. The U.S. used to have sanctions on the company that built the Baltic pipes but waved them to fix its relationship with Germany depending on those lines. However, in November, America added new sanctions to the company, with growing support from U.S. senators and politicians in Ukraine. Both sides are somewhat to blame; NATO has been encroaching closer to Russia, an aggressive action, but Russia should not have backed the separatists nor have invaded. PRIMARY SOURCE: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/03/europe/ukraine-russia-2021-tensions-explainer-cmd-intl/index.html BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections Border Crisis: The Reasons Behind the Surge By Everton Prospere Volume 2 Issue 1 October 8, 2021 Image provided by BBC News In recent months, a series of migrant waves have swept the United States southern border, particularly affecting the state of Texas. Most recently, a large number of immigrants have come to Del Rio, a town located in southwestern corner of the state. As per CNN, over 14,000 migrants arrived at Del Rio, forming a temporary encampment under a bridge. The arrival of such a significant number of migrants marked an added border crisis which the government scrambles to control. However, while the Biden administration attempts to tackle this crisis, The Washington Post describes it as the biggest surge in over twenty years. In order to comprehend this rush of immigrants, several social, economic, and political reasons require evaluation. The country of origin must first be taken into account when assessing migrant surges. These immigrants have mostly come from the country of Haiti. Haiti, officially known as the Republic of Haiti, is a small country sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. In modern times, Haiti is known for its political and environmental issues. The country’s president, Jovenel Moïse, was recently assassinated in his own residence by an armed group of mercenaries. This threw the already fragile and impoverished country into more political unrest, with the government unable to control most of the country. Following this political instability, the country was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, killing over 2,200 people and crippling the already-poor infrastructure, according to The Guardian. These two examples show the type of instability Haiti suffers, in turn explaining the recent migrant surge. However, most immigrants did not come directly from Haiti; rather, the majority already resided in Latin America and South America. The Associated Press reports many Haitians fled to the United States because of an extension granted during the spring to the protections of Haitian migrants already residing in the United States; despite this, online posts communicating the extension often left out the portion of the policy that announced only migrants in the United States were eligible. This misinformation created an effect in which thousands of migrants crossed the Mexican border to Del Rio, seeking refuge. A final cause to this crisis is the stability and opportunity in the United States. One Haitian migrant, interviewed by CNN, specifically stated that “[he] wanted a better life,” which continues to demonstrate the assets the United States has to offer. To immigrants, the United States is primarily a land of freedom - a privilege that many countries do not offer their citizens. With the Biden administration attempting to handle the border crisis through court cases and deportations, the rest of the country continues to follow the headlines. With recent reports of border patrol agents whipping migrants on horseback, as well as widespread disease affecting the migrants (according to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, about twenty percent of migrants at the border are ill), the country watches the unstable scenes occurring at the border. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Beauty in Nature Back to Sections Matthew Scatturo - Beauty in Nature By Matthew Scatturo February 10, 2022 Photography Volume 2 Issue 4

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Disney Characters Ariana Hack Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 Image Provided by Elaine Ching From a Blonde princess who was forced to clean and cook To mysterious mustache pirates such as Captain Hook From a mermaid curious as can be Who spent most of her time trapped under the sea From a space astronaut “To Infinity and Beyond” To “Best friends forever” that will never break their bond To a little clownfish that almost ends up as bait Up to his father to decide his fate To a one-eyed monster aspiring to be scary To a jealous attitude filled pixie dust fairy What do these characters all have in common you see? Well, my dear they are friends of Walt Disney. Please dream whether you are near or far Because magic happens when you wish upon a star. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Book Review: IT by Stephen Hawking By Isabel Barrett Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by Elaine Ching Summer, 1958 – a group of children in the town of Derry, Maine, have just stumbled upon the horrific truth behind the disappearance of multiple kids in the past year: a demonic clown-creature known as Pennywise weaponizes fear and devastates their town every generation. Brought together by this discovery, these seven kids become The Losers and are what may be the only hope of stopping Pennywise and its rampage. Through a summer of growing up and learning to face their fears, The Losers can bring peace back to their bloodied town—but not forever. Twenty-eight years later, the only member of this group that remained in Derry sends out a call to every other member, who have all long-forgotten that summer. The message? Pennywise is back. I would say I enjoyed reading IT by Stephen King. I loved getting to know every member of The Losers, and the themes of growing up, facing fears, and friendship resonated with me. However, it is a very dragged-out novel. At over 1,100 pages, chapters seem to go on forever, and there are many slow moments. But when faster scenes occur, it’s something amazing—the action that occurs during encounters with Pennywise kept me on my toes. Even though I never thought I would be spooked by a horror novel, since they did not usually have the graphic imagery to match what is described, you could say I was a little scared in some parts. But even then, the action does not start for a good while in this novel (if you are not counting the prologue, which is still a creepy and promising way to start off this story, but it is lighter compared to later scenes and getting thrown into hundreds of pages of exposition right after may squash any enjoyment), and I am willing to bet that a more reluctant reader, and maybe even some considered more avid readers, might not stick around for that. As much as I did enjoy The Losers and empathized with them when learning about their issues when the chapters seem to go on forever, you just want these kids to get their personal problems solved so you can get back to the action. I feel like I blanked out during scenes that were not as major because there was too much information to keep my interest in them. Usually, I love stories with a lot of exposition—I want to learn about the characters and settings I am being introduced to, of course—but in this book, I feel like there was too much meat and not enough bread to keep the sandwich together. Despite my problems with how this book presented information, I still think readers up to the challenge will enjoy this story. The seven main characters, from Richie Tozier and his comedic relief to Ben Hanscom and his one-sided crush on another group member, are all charming in their own ways, and readers will love to root for them. The tale of Pennywise has been a staple in the horror genre for decades, and I can see why. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections "Flowers" Elaine Ching Volume 4 Issue 3 March 13, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections New Year Traditions Around The World Machai Augustine Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 Image Provided by Max Ching Each year, January comes around and surprises us with another new year for new hopes, dreams, and wishes. We all enjoy having some sort of tradition to celebrate. Nearly every culture has different customs and traditions that determine how our new year will go. So, let’s learn about how various cultures and regions celebrate the new year. Ireland is known for celebrating with drinks on New Year’s, but they have other traditions. For example, one popular tradition is banging bread on the walls and doors in your house. If bread isn’t available, you can also use pots, pans, or spoons. This superstition-based practice is done to ward off any evil spirits in the area that could haunt and ruin the celebrations and bring good luck and protection for you and your family in the coming year. Another Irish tradition is putting berries and ivy under their pillows, which is supposed to bring you good luck when it comes to romance. Unlike citizens in most other nations, South Africans celebrate the new year on both the first and second of January. This is because historically, slaves in Cape Town were given a day off on January 2nd. Because of this, they use this day to not only celebrate the new year but also remember the mistreatment of their people in the past. Despite this solemn aspect of the holiday, South African traditions are overall like American ones, involving lots of partying and going out into nature to celebrate. One of Greece’s quirky traditions is hanging onions on the doors of houses. In some cultures, onions symbolize rebirth due to their fertility and how they seem to grow even when neglected. This tradition is meant to help household members thrive and become a new person in the new year. There is also a traditional dish that the Greeks have for the new year: vasilopita , a special sweet bread. Vasilopita honors Saint Basil the Great, a saint beloved by Greeks because of his passion to help those in need. The reason why this sweet bread is so special is because of a coin planted within the bread, meant to symbolize the wealth and treasures that Saint Basil gave away. Now that you know a little bit more about new year traditions around the world, what will you try to implement into your New Year celebration? Sources: New Year's Eve Irish Traditions - Twinkl Greek New Year Traditions Celebrating New Years Day in Africa | Africa Imports New Year's Day 2025 in South Africa How to do Christmas & New Year the Greek way - Greek from Greece BACK TO TOP