VOLUME 1 ISSUE 5 February 12, 2021 "FRIENDSHIP 7" ARTICLES 2022 Midterm Elections Not Far Away: Possibility of a Polar Opposite of 2018 Results By Logan Balsan News Read More Blackened Beige & Bleached Beige By Osaiyekemwen Ogbemudia Polaris Read More Creative Writing Review By Noah Gonzalez Feature Read More Double Standards: State Instruction Allows for High-Risk Sports but Not Performance Groups By Craig Papajohn-Shaw and Lucy Wu Editorial Read More Government, Media, and the Pandemic: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly By Lucy Wu Editorial Read More M'oreal By Nora Chery Polaris Read More North Honor Society Inductees Sworn In By Garrick Neuner and Craig Papajohn-Shaw News Read More REVIEW: John P. McCarthy takes a break from editing the Sports Section to watch (and rank) Disney Movies By John McCarthy Entertainment & Media Read More Social Media By Christiana Fredriks Entertainment & Media Read More The Amazing Kayla Santo By John McCarthy Sports Read More The History of the Iceberg A68A By Cody Sung Science & Technology Read More The Sasquatch: Fact or Fake? By Matteo Somma Science & Technology Read More What is Being Done About Mental Health at VSN? By Craig Papajohn-Shaw Editorial Read More Ask Ala: Valentine's Day By Ala Paruch Advice Read More Claudette Colvin, the Girl Who Made History Before Rosa Parks By Shinedip Kundlas Feature Read More Don't act, just be. By Alain Deen Feature Read More Effects of Videogames By Rachel Ezeadichie Science & Technology Read More Just Dance! By Ismaela Andre Entertainment & Media Read More NASA Artemis: We Are Going By Elyas Layachi Science & Technology Read More Painting Seashells By Carolina Figueroa Art & Culture Read More Reflections on I, Too By Sasha Smalls Art & Culture Read More Story Behind the Shot 03 By Eva Grace Martinez Entertainment & Media Read More The Excitement of Twitch Channel Point Predictions By Garrick Neuner Entertainment & Media Read More The Obesity of Squirrels By Manal Layachi Feature Read More Valentines’ Sweets By Christina Ossa Feature Read More BLACK AMERICAN ARTISTS LOAD MORE

Back to Artwork Pop Art Back to Sections Anonymous - Pop Art By Anonymous January 14, 2022 Acrylic Volume 2 Issue 3

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Johnny Depp Court Case By Sahar Ali Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by Marca So, many of us have heard about the now-infamous case between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, right? You might have consumed some information via social media regarding the exes’ lawsuits against each other. You might have even seen memes surrounding the case through apps such as TikTok or Instagram. In this article, I aim to efficiently outline and explain the events that led up to the case, specifically in hopes of providing necessary context. The case revolves around famous actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Depp is best known for playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean . Heard is best known for her roles in Never Back Down , Drive Angry , The Rum Diary and Aquaman . In February 2015, the pair wed; however, their marriage only lasted until January 2017. Later in 2018, Amber Heard wrote an op-ed published in the Washington Post . It was headlined “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” Heard never mentioned Depp’s name in her account, but she makes it abundantly clear that her ex-husband abused her during their short marriage. After the publication of this op-ed, Depp sued Heard in March 2019 for defamation. In short, defamation is a false statement asserted by a third party about an individual in public. This may damage one’s reputation. It may include statements in written or verbal form. In this case, only the written op-ed was considered. In simple terms, Heard’s op-ed is the root of this case, and Depp won the suit. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Mustapha By Gilana Etame March 28, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 5

Back to Articles News Back to Sections 7th Grade Band's Winter Concert By Cael Javier Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by VSCHSD Fine and Preforming Arts I am a 7th grader in Band, and just recently, we had a concert. This is the 2022 7th and 8th Grade Concert as told by a band kid. The 7th and 8th grade Band is directed by Mr. Michael Morris. The concert took place on 13 December 2022. To decide where we would be in Band, we had to do a playing test at the beginning of the year. Basically, we would play sheet music and depending on how we played those pieces, we would be assigned our parts in the songs. For dress code, we had to wear white or a light color on top and black or a dark color on the bottom. That was straightforward, but there were more details to the dress code, including how gentlemen had to wear a tie and ladies could only wear leggings under a skirt. There were also a few more adjustments like, no white socks, no sneakers, and no jeans if they weren’t a dark color. Before each piece, a student gave a speech about what we were about to play. The speakers were Cael Javier (me), Amiya Mohan, Christian Leon, and Andre Llubit. The pieces we performed on stage were: “Caribbean Christmas”, an Afro-Cuban arrangement of the carol “Angels We Have Heard on High”, “The Chipmunk Song”, a novelty song written by Ross Bagdasarian which is also the last Christmas/Holiday song to reach No. 1 on any U.S. singles records chart, “Chanukah: The Festival of Lights Overture”, which is an arrangement of traditional Hanukkah songs which are often sung during the Festival of Lights, “Fireball”, a piece by Brian Beck to challenge the musicians rhythmically, stylistically, and musically. Before we went on stage, we thought they forgot about us because Orchestra and Chorus took at least an hour. Apparently, we were just impatient. We had to wait in different classrooms while the other two ensembles performed. The classroom I was in was wild. It was just kids running around, blasting music from their phones, dancing, and somebody apparently got sick. None of the people in Band looked nervous when we got on stage, so that was a good sign. When we played the music, we sounded good, with few to no mistakes. It was exciting because it was our first concert at North for some of us. That was my point of view of the 2022 7th and 8th Grade Concert. An orchestra or chorus student might have told you a different story, which is why I think it was special to me. I also enjoyed it because performing on stage in front of many people is an opportunity that not many people get. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Hadiza- Elaine Ching Elaine Ching February 24, 2023 Volume 3 Issue 3

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Sports Around the World By Aleeza Dhillon Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Image provided by WLZR-AM In honor of culture week, let’s celebrate with haikus about popular sports all over the world: America Ten seconds remain The ball soars across the field “Touchdown!” yells the crowd Mexico The ball comes to me Looking for an open pass What a perfect pass Japan “Bam!” I hear a hit The ball glides high in the sky My teammate runs home India I hear the loud chants The joy of scoring a run Physical pain gone Canada As my sharp blade glides I focus on the black puck Shooting with great force BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Deltarune: A Game Review By Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 2 Issue 1 October 8, 2021 Image provided by Toby Fox and Temmie Chang Since October 31, 2018, people have been waiting silently for the second chapter of Deltarune . Now it is finally here. Toby Fox has done it again and has created another masterpiece. After Undertale in 2015 and Deltarune: Chapter 1 in 2018, Toby Fox has been working very hard to get the next chapter out to the public. During his live stream on Undertale ’s 6th anniversary, Toby abruptly announced that Deltarune: Chapter 2 would be coming out a mere two days later at 8 pm. This got the fandom up and running again, with people all over the world excited for the release of the game’s latest installment. Deltarune: Chapter 1 is about a young boy named Kris and a monster girl named Susie travelling to another world inside the storage closet of their school discovered while trying to get some chalk for class. Once in the “Dark World”, they meet a goat monster named Ralsei, who says that to leave this world they need to go to the East Castle where a tyrannical king is blocking the dark fountain, which they need to close to go home. Ralsei joins the party and together they venture to the castle. On the way, they meet the king’s son, Lancer, who attempts to stop them but fails. As the group continues, Lancer continuously attempts to rattle their efforts. The game continues with a similar dynamic with Susie joining the villains for some time before returning to Kris and Ralsei, bringing Lancer with her. When they get to the castle, Lancer doesn’t want them to hurt his dad, which Susie promises not to. After defeating the king with some help from Lancer and the kingdom’s subjects, Susie, Kris, and Ralsei go to close the fountain. With a bittersweet goodbye to all the characters you met on the way, Kris and Susie leave the Dark World. When they realized they spent most of the day in the Dark World, they left the school and promised to go back the next day. The story telling in this game is absolutely amazing. There are moments that make you laugh out loud, and others that make you empathize with the characters. The score also aids in this sense of empathy. The music is so amazing that you almost don’t believe that Toby Fox composed it all by himself. Undertale was created by only Toby Fox and Temmie Chang and the same goes for Deltarune. However, they had a little more help with Deltarune considering it’s going to be much longer than Undertale . Additionally, easter eggs are done magnificently in this game. If you are unsure what an easter egg is, they are small and often-time unnoticeable messages that contain lots of meaning. For example, you can find a hidden room or two with an egg in it. There is a very big easter egg that gives a secret boss though. If you talk to the shopkeeper, Seam, after going to the basement in the castle and talking to the prisoner, Seam will talk to you about setting him free and will give you the first part of the key to his cell. If you solve all the riddles leading to the other key pieces, you unlock an incredibly hard boss battle. Deltarune: Chapter 1 is free to play on PC, Switch, and PlayStation and it is definitely worth playing. Deltarune: Chapter 2 is also free to play but is only available on PC for now. This game and the creators are amazing and talented, and I would rate this game an 11/10. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections The Sphere By Alanna Tieschmaker Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by Elaine Ching The fire in the ceremonial brazier crackled, casting a warm glow on the objects in the area. A figure ran into the room, a cloak covering all of the defining features. They looked around for a way out, but the room was a dead end, and they were quickly surrounded by three guards. Their outfits signified their allegiance to the king, a tyrant ruler who scuffed out any magic he would find.  “You have nowhere left to go, thief!” shouted the first guard, hoisting his spear and pointing it at the figure. “Turn to face us! Then lower your hood and put your hands up!” The second guard raised their sword, ready to fight the wretched intruder. The third guard also readied to fight without saying a word.  Knowing they had no choice, the figure turned to face the guards. Their hands reached up to grasp their hood. “You boys have no clue what you’re dealing with.” The smooth voice cut through the air as the hood was lowered, revealing a brunette with medium length hair, dark skin, and hazel eyes. The rest of her features, except her eyes, were still blurred despite being in clear view.  “Your king has stolen something that isn’t his. He needs to return it before something terrible happens.”  “Be silent and surrender!”  ” Return the king’s artifact and we may spare your life!”  She sighed, knowing there was no reasoning with the ignorant men blocking her exit. She reached into her cloak and pulled out a clear glass orb. Seeing it, the guards inched closer, ready to take it away from the thief.  “If you want the artifact so badly, then come and take it” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, then out. Over and over, she inhaled and exhaled, and slowly, something began to respond. The guards, beyond confused by the sudden silence of the intruder, reached out to take the orb from her hands. Yet the moment the first guard touched the orb, her eyes snapped open. Once-hazel eyes glowed with an unnatural orange. The guard suddenly shot backwards, crying out in pain and startling his companions.  “What did you do?!” Spears were thrust dangerously close to the woman's face, who ducked to avoid them. She quickly used the broken circle to put more space between her and her pursuers.  “I did say you have no clue what you’re dealing with.” The orb began to glow a soft orange, and the flame in the middle of the room suddenly grew to thrice its original size. Seeing this, the other guards quickly backed up to where the first guard was.  The woman raised her hand above her head, and the fire seemed to jump out of the brazier to circle her. Then she pointed her hand towards the guards and the fire followed.  Seeing this, the first guard yelled “Scatter” and the three jumped in separate directions. The fire quickly began to spread where they had been previously.  With the time she had brought for herself, the woman began to search for another way out. She couldn’t go back the way she came, that was certain doom. Maybe… Scanning the room, she noticed something she previously had missed. Instead of a wall, an ornamental mural of the king was displayed, depicting the vile man as a kind and caring ruler.   ‘Looks like she found a way out.’ she thought, a smirk appearing on her face.  Looking around, she grabbed the dropped spear of the third guard and broke the window. The shards fell to the bottom of the courtyard. There was another building on the other side of the drop below that looked perfect. She backed up, making sure to check behind her for threats. Once she was far enough, she took a deep breath, took a running leap to the roof of the building.  The landing was far from smooth, and she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Wasting no time, she began to run across the roof. If she could just get to the rendezvous point, everything would be fine. Unfortunately, this is not what happened. Before she could even reach the halfway point, she felt something tear through her shoulder. She went down hard, clutching her shoulder and the orb close to herself.  Footsteps were heard approaching, and she tried to climb to her feet. Before she could do so, she found a spear pointed at her throat. It was the first guard, holding his spear in his other hand. His dominant hand was a rusty iron, signed fingers crumpled painfully. Despite this, he seemed determined. “As I said before, surrender!” The spear almost broke skin. “...and my king may allow you to live.” Her eyes darted around frantically, trying to figure out what to do, but the fire was too far away to be of use, and she was out of tricks. Sighing, she uncurled and raised her hands in surrender. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Kaitlin Barry - Prism By Kaitlin Barry November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2