Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Why Calming Music Can Heal Your Soul By Isabella Menjivar Volume 1 Issue 7 April 22, 2021 Original artwork by Isabella Menjivar How many times a day do you exhaustedly sigh and feel unmotivated, tired, or say “I can’t do this?” Stress is more harmful than most expect. Finding yourself consumed with stressful emotions can lead to heart disease, premature aging, weight gain, high blood pressure, and overall a weakened immune system, which is the last thing you want during a global pandemic. In the moment, we only feel the stress, but we need to keep in mind the long-term effects are yet to come. Therefore, it’s extremely important to find ways to battle the pressure of everyday life. During stressful times we need to remember, “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” -Lou Holtz Here are four soothing songs recommended by my classmates and family that may help boost relaxing feelings during your day. Westworld: Runaway - Kanye West [Piano Cover] - YouTube Twilight Soundtrack- Bella’s Lullaby Mia and Sebastian’s Theme- La La Land Soundtrack Yellow- Coldplay BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections North’s Sparnettes: A Performance to Remember! By Christina Ossa Volume 3 Issue 4 May 18, 2023 Image provided by Emily Seitz On February 28th, North’s own Spartanettes Kickline Team performed at Memorial Junior High School. Along with North’s Senior High team, our Junior High team also performed. The senior and junior high performers from our district from Memorial Junior High, South High School, and Central High School performed as well. However, this performance was special in that it was the senior members of the Sparnettes’ last time performing with their team. The performance was enchanting, with a well-rounded mix of kicks, cheers, dances, and (of course) fun. The show had three components: Lyrical, Pom, and Hip-Hop dances. Each dance was clearly well-coordinated, diligently thought out, smooth, and enjoyable, as each performance from the Sparnettes generally is. This year, there are six graduating seniors on the team who deserve praise and a warm goodbye. Emily Seitz, Sophia Mura, Kayla Marshall Pierce, Sofia Barry, Carmela Krsulic, and Michele Leon will leave North for greater opportunities this June. They have worked incredibly hard to rehears and perform in each show and performance they have put forward each year they’ve been on the Spartanettes. Here is a warm goodbye from co-captain and graduating senior Emily Seitz: “The past three years on this team have been an absolute rollercoaster, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. When I first tried out in 10th grade because I forgot to sign up in 9th grade, I convinced myself I had no chance of making the team. Then when I did make it, I cried after the first practice and considered quitting that week because I didn’t really know anyone and didn’t know how to break out of my comfort zone. I remember talking to captains and my lovely Sophia (Sophia Mura) and deciding to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I made the right choice! If you had told me then that I would be a captain the following year and somehow get my sister to join the team, I would’ve said you were completely and utterly insane. This team has brought so much joy into my life and helped me grow into the person I am today. Although it gets stressful sometimes with five-hour practices and ripples that get messed up time and time again, driving Ava Strojan and me crazy, we somehow always come back and kill it anyway. I have loved all of our practices that turned into gossip hour, holiday parties, performances with the music messed up every single time, impromptu senior practice bonding accompanied by pizza, intradistricts, and so, so much more. I could go on and on about what this team means to me, but I think you get the gist! It’s been an honor being a Spartanette. I love you guys.” Overall, the Spartanettes deserve a grand applause for their hard work each year to put on amazing shows and performances for our school and others. The team’s efforts always pay off, as seen in their performances. They deserve praise for their hard work and diligence, and it’s no doubt they will continue to shine here at North. Congratulations to an amazing performance, Spartanettes, and to the graduating seniors for an amazing experience on the team! Spartanettes perform opening number with the other VSCHSD schools to kick off the showcase From February 2023 VSCHSD Instradistrict Showcase The Spartanettes perform HipHop to Gasolina by Daddy Yankee (remix) before the senior routine BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Nightmare on Main Street Back to Sections Nightmare on Main Street- Elaine Ching Elaine Ching November 6, 2023 Digital Art Volume 4 Issue 1

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Red Ribbon Week! Jeselys Vazquez Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 Image provided by www.redribbon.org The SADD Club proudly presented Red Ribbon Week starting March 24th, 2023 and continued the celebration till March 31st. This was one of the major events for the SADD club where we decorate, develop a theme week of activities and what we wear, and make morning announcements on statistics about alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, and violence. Monday’s theme was “Don’t Be a Statistic Day.” Tranquil Tuesday’s theme was “Meditate, Don’t Intoxicate.” Wednesday was ‘’Stomp Out Drugs’’ Day by wearing boots. “Lei” off drugs was Thursday where we supported the idea that we should not rely on drugs as a decompress to our stress or anxiety but focus on more reliance on ourselves to be active and do what is best for mind and body as a whole. Lastly, on Friday we all wore red to support the drug and violence prevention awareness campaign. Volunteer members in the SADD club dressed all black and wore a paper on the front and back of their shirt represented a person who died from a certain abuse, such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and smoking abuse at a young age. According to research, “An estimated 79,117 Americans died from drug overdoses between January and September 2022” (The Commonwealth Fund). According to the National Institute of Health, “Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes.” The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states that there are “more than 480,000 deaths annually from cigarette smoking, including deaths from secondhand smoke.” Throughout the day, a volunteer could not interact with friends and had to remain silent until the end of the school day to bring awareness and getting people’s attention just by reading and seeing how many people just die each year from overdoses and abuse in consumption. Friday is when we all wore Red to finish it off and participate together in saying no to drugs, making better decisions when come across these things, and helping others not fall into the dangerous habit of being dependent on substances because they feel it is their only solution. Society now has many ways of getting information out there - whether with a good purpose or not, people become informed much more quickly and can affect someone deeply where they know how to manage and cope, so they lean on to others’ advice or suggestions. We should always lean on to what is more wise and beneficial advice and recommendations to others to go on the right path and not make those mistakes without having a friend look out for them or correct them. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Lights On for Education Back to Sections Chelsea Ramdyal - Lights On for Education By Chelsea Ramdyal April 22, 2021 Marker Volume 1 Issue 7

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections A Rich Evolution of The Addams Family By Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by Caitlyn Taylor “ They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious, and spooky, they're all together ooky. They’re the Addams Family!” This haunting family has been around since 1938 and has gone through many adaptations and revisions since. This family includes a married couple, Gomez and Morticia, and their children, Pugsley and Wednesday. It also includes their extended family, Uncle Fester, Grandma, and their giant butler, Lurch. From the first Addams Family comic strips published in 1938 to Netflix’s new show Wednesday , the Addams Family has lasted as a comical slice of life franchise for many years. Although the Addams Family is most famous for its movies and TV shows, it originally was a cartoon published in the New York Times in 1938 by Charles Addams. The family wasn’t the family we know and love today. All characters went by different names, and it wasn’t until the television series that their characters formed. The Addams Family series first aired in 1964 and truly established the franchise. This was when we first got a glimpse of the Addams Family house, and the macabre inner workings of the characters. This show shaped the characters because their actors were allowed different freedoms when acting them out. The actors used a lot of their own personalities when playing their roles. These inclusions from the actors are what made the Addams Family what we know today. The show lasted two seasons and ended in 1966 but made its mark as the start of the Addams Family legacy. The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values were the first films made about the family in 1991 and 1993 respectively. These movies gave back stories to characters and even introduced new ones. The Addams Family focuses on the Addamses getting their Uncle Fester back after a falling out between himself and Gomez. The Addams Family Values gave Wednesday and Pugsley a sibling named Pubert and showed the children navigating life with their new sibling. Other Addams Family movies were released in 2019 and 2021. They were the first computer-animated versions of the Addams Family and gave the family a different plot to follow throughout the films. All films that were made about The Addams Family have changed their image and made them more known throughout the years. The latest addition to The Addams Family franchise is Netflix’s Wednesday . The show primarily focuses on Wednesday and her personal life instead of the collective family. We meet many new characters audiences have never seen before and gain a different perspective on Wednesday’s parents and their backstories. Wednesday needs to navigate the paranormal events happening at her new school while figuring out more about her family’s past and her own interpersonal relationships. In short, the newest addition to The Addams Family legacy is living up to its name. The Addams Family has had many different adaptations throughout the years. From comic to movie to television series and even a musical (which is being performed here at North on March 31st and April 1st), the Addams Family has made its mark for its sometimes dark but always funny storytelling and characters. As it grows, we can look back fondly at its past and await its future. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections The Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan: What Led Up to It and What Is Happening Now By Sahar Ali Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 No Image available at this time AFGHANISTAN- On Saturday, May 1st, 2021, the Taliban started to take over Afghanistan, a country located in Central Asia. On Sunday, August 15th, 2021, the Taliban took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The country was finally taken over by the Taliban after twenty years of war with the United States. What Is the Taliban? The Taliban is a group of predominantly Pashtuns that are an Islamic fundamentalist group. They ruled Afghanistan previously from 1996 to 2001 until the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. In 2021, when the U.S. started to remove its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban once again started to take over. The Afghani people have been trying to flee their home country ever since the Taliban took control because they do not want to experience the harsh rules the Taliban enforced when they previously had power. What Led Up to The Takeover After the attacks that occurred on 9/11, the United States went to war with Afghanistan to eradicate al-Qaeda, the group responsible for committing the horrendous acts on September 11th, 2001. The U.S. troops stayed in Afghanistan for 20 years (2001-2021) until President Biden announced the full withdrawal of troops. Then slowly, the Taliban started to take over parts of Afghanistan, trying to get closer and closer to the capital, Kabul. The U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) trained the Afghan security forces for two decades and spent billions of dollars to equip them with weapons. Even then, the Afghan security forces could not prevent the Taliban from taking over. To make it worse, as the U.S. troops were pulling out of Afghanistan, the security forces started to weaken without support. Another factor that led up to the Taliban takeover was the corruption that took place in the Afghani government. The government did not provide the Afghani troops with enough supplies, food, or ammunition. As the Taliban started to take control over cities, there would be small battles between the Afghani forces and Taliban until the security forces surrendered. However, most cities were taken over by the Taliban without a fight. News About the President Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, did not appear to take action to stop the Taliban from taking over more parts of Afghanistan. Instead, he released a few public statements regarding the Taliban and then fled the country. According to Ghani, he fled to prevent any further bloodshed. Ashraf Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and he is currently there. Afghani Citizens Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the citizens have been trying to flee the country because they are worried that the Taliban will enforce the same harshly interpreted Islamic laws that they enforced in 1996. Afghanis have been fleeing to nearby countries such as Pakistan and Iran. In addition, some people have fled to Turkey, the U.S., Germany, the UAE, and Qatar. There have also been some evacuations that took place. The women of Afghanistan are also concerned that the Taliban have taken over. When the Taliban was in power from 1996-2001, they enforced strict laws that greatly affected women. Women were not allowed to have jobs and girls were not allowed to go to school and get an education. If women wanted to leave the house, they would have to cover themselves up and go to the outside world. Sometimes we do not realize how lucky we are to be able to do certain things like going to school every day. What Is Happening Now When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, they also created a new government and now are currently ruling the country. Not only that, but the Taliban also went as far as changing the flag of Afghanistan. In addition, the U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, however, the new rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban, will not receive any political recognition from the United States. What Could Happen Next It is not clear what is going to happen next in Afghanistan, but the future does not look very bright. But there are some things that can be done. Currently, Afghanistan is in a very desperate situation, and they require a lot of foreign aid. The European Union (EU), which is a political and economic group that consists of 27 European nations, and the U.S. could give Afghanistan more foreign aid and loans to stabilize the economy of Afghanistan. Without aid, it could also cause more problems of illegal immigration to nearby countries. The United States and the European Union could act to prevent these problems from occurring. Afghanistan was a beautiful country before the fighting started. Let us hope that this conflict ends so that the Afghanistan that people used to know is restored to its original beauty. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Contemplation Back to Sections Wasif Ahmed - Contemplation By Wasif Ahmed June 8, 2021 Marker Volume 1 Issue 8

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 Nostalgic Musings Back to Sections Sophia Song - Nostalgic Musings - 3 By Sophia Song February 10, 2022 Photography Volume 2 Issue 4