Back to Articles News, Feature Back to Sections Snowball Dance Max Ching Volume 4 Issue 3 March 13, 2024 Image Provided by Christmas for the City The second-ever Snowball Dance took place at North High School on January 19th, and many students ranging from 7-9 graders arrived at this event. This dance had the theme of, “A Night in Paris,” and the cafetorium was decorated with Paris-themed decorations that made it feel like you really were in France. So, because this event was incredibly magical, I’ve decided to go over this event, such as the music, food and refreshments, decorations, along with student opinions, and what they thought about this event. One particularly important detail for dances is music, right? Well, what songs were played you ask? Well, the DJ made sure that the songs he played were good, and they sure were. Songs like “Flashing Lights,” and “Runaway” by Kanye West were played. Some other songs that played were “Shut Up and Dance,” “Macarena,” “Call Me Maybe,” and many, many more. The DJ made sure that everyone had a fun and wondrous time. Another especially important detail for a dance is food and refreshments, and the district made sure that students had plenty to eat. The Crave Shack provided many delicious foods that students enjoyed. Some of the foods served were burgers, chicken tenders, French fries, and more. Along with the Crave Shack, pizzas were also served in the latter half of the dance. There were also many snacks, like pretzels, and chips, along with many desserts like cookies and brownies near the end of the wonderful event. Foods were all served by staff members and PTA members. Since the theme for this dance was “A Night in Paris,” there were sure a lot of Paris-themed decorations at this event. There were dark-colored Paris-themed decorations on the walls, there were decorations on the stage, decorations on the tables, and there were multiple Paris-themed decorations all over the cafetorium. Another big hit for decorations was the photo booth, right near the stage, where students could take photos, along with accessories that matched the theme of this occasion. Like I previously mentioned at the beginning of this article, I promised that I would state what multiple students thought of this occasion, like what they enjoyed, and what they wanted to be improved, because what is the point of covering something, without people’s opinions? Anyway, the first opinion I have is from a student named Kyle Cooper. Kyle says “It was a crazy but fun experience. I have no complaints.” Another student named Rachael Marto says, “The music was good, the activities were fun, and it was fun, but the downside was that we had to wait a while for the food.” A third student named Anthony Disalvio says, “I wanted more food, and more details like lights.” The fourth student is someone who didn’t want their name in the article. This anonymous person states, “I think the dance was fun; it was very good but also, I think there was a bit of a crowd in my opinion. Overall, it was very fun and had a lot of music, food, and everything in general was well done so the dance in my opinion was good.” So, it appears that while those students enjoyed the dance, they wanted the food to be served a little bit sooner and that they also wanted more details, like lights and decorations, and more food. Overall, that was the Snowball Dance. That was my report on the songs, food, decorations, and student opinions. Overall, the Snowball Dance was a very, very wondrous occasion, and I hope that there are more events like this in the future. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections The History of Valentine's Day By Sahar Ali Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by National Geographic Kids Celebrated every year on February 14th, Valentine’s Day is when loved ones show their affection and receive flowers, candies, and gifts. Valentine’s Day is also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. Thousands of people worldwide celebrate Valentine’s Day, but have you ever wondered about the history behind this Day full of love? Valentine’s Day is assumed to have originated from the Roman festival of Lupercalia (which is celebrated during mid-February) due to the similarities of both celebrations. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I had forbidden Lupercalia and is thought to have replaced it with St. Valentine’s Day. However, until the 14th century, Valentine’s Day was not celebrated as a day of romance. In the past, there have been many Christian martyrs named Valentine, but Valentine’s Day has most likely gotten its name from a priest who had been martyred by emperor Claudius II Gothicus around 270 CE. There are many legends about who Saint Valentine actually was and his backstory, which is why people cannot pinpoint the holiday’s true history. In the 1500s, formal messages known as valentines started to appear. Commercially printed cards then started to show up by the late 1700s. During the mid-1800s, the first commercial valentines were printed in the United States. These valentines mostly portray the Roman god of love, known as Cupid. Additionally, hearts are depicted in valentines since they show emotion. Birds are also a huge symbol of Valentine’s Day because their mating season starts mid-February. On Valentine’s Day, people will gift the people they love candy and flowers to show their affection. The most traditional Valentine’s Day gift are red roses since the y symbolize beauty and love. Refrences: Valentine’s Day | Definition, History, & Traditions | Britannica BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Black American Artists Back to Sections New York in Transit II By Jacob Lawrence February 12, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 5 Medium: Color Screenprint, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections A Comparison of Mean Girls (2004) and Mean Girls (2024) Mya Hans Volume 4 Issue 4 May 29, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching Mean Girls is a 2000s classic that has been turned into a modern musical movie. The original is loved by many; there’s an entire fandom behind it. But regarding the new version, people have had some positive and negative opinions. As someone who has seen both more than once, I picked up on a few things that distinguish the productions from each other. One major change I noticed was the fashion. The fashion in the newer Mean Girls isn’t true to the characters’ personalities or even to what they would normally wear. Especially near the end of the movie, the girls started to wear blue which is something that is extremely out of character because they always wear pink. In fact, one of the movie’s most popular lines is, “On Wednesdays we wear pink.” Also, the outfits were very ordinary in the new movie, similar to outfits people would wear today. But the whole idea of the movie is that the “mean girls”—Regina, Gretchen, and Karen are “better” than everyone else. Therefore, I think that the girls should stand out fashion-wise and wear more expensive and luxury brands. I personally prefer the vintage, girly 2000s fashion from the original, but some may appreciate that the newer version encapsulates today’s fashion trends. Another obvious difference between the 2004 and 2024 versions is the musical aspect. The original Mean Girls movie is not a musical while the other one is; this is a key element to the story. The new version of Mean Girls tells the story through the songs, so there are a lot of songs in the movie, specifically 14 tracks in only 1 hour and 52 minutes. I personally thought the music was an interesting addition to the movie, but when I was in the theaters and a song came on, everyone seemed annoyed. If you aren’t someone who enjoys movie musicals like Grease , Mamma Mia , or La La Land , you may not like this version of Mean Girls . Overall, the plot was pretty much the same. The actors playing the characters in the new version are also obviously very different (although some from the original made appearances in the new movie). The actors in the original version at the time were well-known compared to the actors in the new version. In the original, the most popular actors in that movie during the time were Tina Fey, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, and Rachel McAdams. But in the new movie, the only actors with familiar faces would probably be Reneé Rapp for her music, and Christopher Briney from The Summer I Turned Pretty . Besides them, all the actors are not too well known which might cause hesitation amongst people to see the movie. I think both movies are worth seeing. One is a classic, and the other is a newer and modified take on the characters, fashion, and more. I think the new movie is proof that nothing is better than the original. Despite this, I still like the new movie, but the original takes the cake in my opinion. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections If Aldous Huxley Were a Mathematician By Lucy Wu Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by High Times *Note: This article contains minor plot spoilers for Brave New World , the satirical novel by Aldous Huxley. If you would like to preserve your initial reaction to this novel, please refrain from reading this article. During quarter 2, the AP Literature classes, were tasked with reading and analyzing Brave New World, one of the most notable (and existentially terrifying) works of Aldous Huxley. Unlike most dystopian books, the society is not inherently horrifying for its post-apocalyptic citizens or war-torn landscapes, but for their docile complacency and unwavering happiness (for the most part, at least). Certainly, ideas abnormal and even taboo to our modern world including a vehement aversion to literature and maintaining non-nuclear family households were plentiful throughout the novel. But while reading, something else was amiss. The thing that bothered me the most was not the artificial duplication of humans or depriving them of flowers when born. It was not even John’s secretive pursuit of Lenina (which was mildly uncomfortable to say the least). Rather, when introducing the social classes, the basis of the World-State and major source of character tension in the book, Huxley utilized Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons to delineate between the social classes. Alphas are the highest class, followed by the Betas, and continuing until Epsilons, who are the slaves of the society as they are deprived of the most oxygen in the Bokanovsky process (don’t try that at home). Each class has distinguishing characteristics from their cloned appearances to the color uniform they wear, but it is made abundantly clear that being an Alpha is most desirable. Thus, the novel fixates on just a few of the lucid Alpha or Beta men and women of the society. The book piqued my interest because of Huxley’s immaculate attention to detail, unparalleled intention, and hidden meanings peppered throughout the novel. I admired his wittiness like his play on words: instead of “Lord,” the citizens say “Ford” (like the Model T Ford) because technology and automation prevail as their God. Thus, I had anticipated a greater analysis of the classes from Huxley, and not just a quick utilization of Greek alphabet letters. So when he didn’t spend paragraphs and pages rambling on about the ornate class structure, or even scrutinize the viewpoints of each class member closely, I was truthfully, disappointed. For the rest of the novel, this perturbed me: my thoughts ran rampant and my psyche was heightened with unease. I wish I was being hyperbolic (pun definitely intended: get it? hyperbola/hyperbole?) but I’m 100% serious. Ford, the missed potential! What do these symbols really mean? How could these interpretations contribute to the themes present in the overall work? (Sorry, I stole that one from Q3 of the AP Lit exam). Thus, it begged the question: what if Aldous Huxley were a mathematician? But always, permutation matters. In our case, Huxley will still maintain all of his skill as a novelist and philosopher, but his literary choices will be laden with his newfound mathematical skill. peripheral Alphas - Grey Betas - Mulberry Gammas - Green Deltas – Khaki Conveniently enough, in mathematics, there are two forms of the delta symbol: Delta (with a capital D) is the triangle shape, one that symbolizes change over time delta (with a lowercase d) is like a snake, and generally symbolizes a tiny quantity Thus if Huxley were a true mathematician, Deltas would be the instigators for change in the society, as opposed to his fixation on solely Alphas and Betas. He could focus on the plight of the lower classes, Epsilons - Black In my opinion, out of all the social classes, epsilon is perfectly named. In the novel, the epsilons are the bottom of the barrel in society. Trust me when I say you do not want to be an epsilon. They cannot form coherent, independent thoughts, and we repeatedly witness Alphas and Betas mocking them, expressing their gratuity that they were not conditioned to be an epsilon. If that wasn’t enough, they’re even purposely short in stature. But Paul Erdos, the notoriously eccentric mathematician, fondly refers to the small children in his life as epsilons. Thus, epsilons in the novel perfectly match their definition, since they both denote infinitesimal quantities the closest you can approach zero without having absolutely nothing numerically and socially. For the majority of the novel, the classes have minimal intermingling and most do not even talk to each other. But I think Roof deserves a friend, so in terms of proofs, it would have made perfect sense to pair him with a delta, since they are both small forces in an oppressive society. Moreso, -------------------------- As a bonus, I’ll resolve one of our heated debates from class. John, our protagonist in the second half of the novel, is described by Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, as merely an experiment because he enters the World-State as an outsider from the Reservation. This led to the seeds for an analogy; if the society is the overall experiment, is John the independent or dependent variable in the trials that are the different colonies? As a result, John represents Keep in mind, in order to truly quantify the accuracy and magnitude of the effect, there must be a large sample size or n tested. To avoid erroneous conclusions and implications of causation rather than correlation, Mond must repeatedly test John’s presence in nearly identical societies, always checking for confounding variables. Control variable? Control group?? Existential negation In technical writing, we call this proof by contradiction. For instance, (There are many other methods to discuss, but we’d go through the entirety of mathematics before we finished.) I understand my demands are great, given the parameters. After all, Huxley is a philosopher, a constant in his writing, and not a mathematician (but one can dream, can’t they?). And to give credit where credit is due, he certainly gets some things right, such as the epsilons (roof!). However, by happenstance or intention, we may never know. Certainly, I believe peering into the lives of the other caste classes would prove illuminating, but alas, where is the political commentary in that? But my initial question lends itself to asking: what if Huxley were an economist? Or a priest? Or even a genetic engineer? How drastically would his social classes change if so? What does it all mean in the context of the novel? But after exploring the intricacies of mathematical social classes, I think such questions are best not pondered. Instead I suggest, “don’t give a damn, take a gramme” of soma. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Lexi Sowerby - Prism By Lexi Sowerby November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Ms. Byrne and Importance By Jeselys Vazquez Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Original photography by Eva Grace Martinez Hello, loyal readers of North Star! For Women's History Month, we usually discuss women who've impacted history and changed women's lives for the better with the power of their voices and bravery. I want to share with you all the passion and impact Ms. Byrne has on her students and the people around her. If you do not know her yet, she is the lovely and kind lady in 113 on the first floor near the computer lab or dean's office. Ms. Byrne has been my Resource Room teacher since September, and she has impacted and pushed me forward to reaching my goals and dreams, even though she has been through a lot this year. Yet, she still is there for us in even the good and bad times. She has kept her students up to date, keeping them on top of upcoming test/quizzes/exam/projects dates to make sure they get what they need to get done with enough time. Also, she informs her students about activities and clubs outside of school they can participate in, enjoy, and make friends as time goes on. I always wanted to join a club and do something to help and have fun, but I had never been on top of it as much until Ms. Byrne suggested it to try it. If it wasn't for her, I would not be where I am right now. Now, I am a writer for North Star Magazine and a member of the Ecology Club. I enjoy participating and have fun helping our environment. That's only a little piece of her magic of what she has done for only one student; imagine what she has done for the rest. I've never met someone so caring, genuine, and strong as she is. I am so grateful to Ms. Byrne for what she has done and what she has to offer for both the rest of her students and me. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Immam- Marissa Nardone Marissa Nardone February 24, 2023 Volume 3 Issue 3

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections St. Basil's Cathedral Entry 10 April 14, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 6

Back to Artwork Nostalgic Musings Back to Sections Jackson Zaiden - Nostalgic Musings By Jackson Zaiden February 10, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 4