Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Who Do We Belong Madisen Dubose Volume 4 Issue 3 March 13, 2024 Image Provided by love our age “I am you; you are me. We are one. We have existed here for as long as we can remember. Do not forget what is given.” A voice echoed out into the darkness. It was cold and unfamiliar, yet warm... What was given? I didn’t know. I was floating, like a dream. Who... Am I? What are we? A question left unasked as eyes hazily open to a sea of black nothingness. This place was void of life. My body was heavy yet consciously, I was light like a feather. It didn’t make sense but was perfectly articulate. This is the birthplace ... I’m not sure how I knew, but the thoughts flooded in with profound knowledge I’ve never known of but lived all the same. The accident, on that day... I remember it. What made me, me. It was only bits and pieces, but... As my body’s matter soon began to materialize in this dark realm, I could understand my form again. It was all wrong. My arms stretched harshly with a crackle from my stressed bones, knees that can barely hold themselves up buckling in, long beast-like claws attached to my now ugly form. I tried to look at my face, but it was no longer there. The only thing to stare back were the large razor-sharp teeth that jutted from the deep void I now call a face. A true and pure monster I’ve become. All I could do was tear at my empty sockets, my sunken nose, my bladed teeth in rage and fear. For I've seen what I truly am now. No longer human. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Hutchinson Makes Three By Samantha Altieri Volume 3 Issue 4 May 18, 2023 Image provided by The Arkansas Democrat Gazette On Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, former Arkansas Governor, Asa Hutchinson, announced his presidential bid for the 2024 Election. Former Governor Hutchinson becomes the third candidate on the Republican side to announce their candidacy for the president of the United States in the 2024 election cycle, with President Donald Trump and former Governor Nikki Hayley announcing previously.  Hutchinson’s announcement comes with a dig at the former president he runs against, declaring Trump should drop out of the race immediately. Hutchinson’s remarks come at a tense time for Trump, who will now face charges in Manhattan for an alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential election campaign.  Hutchinson has been critical of the case against Trump but expresses his respect for the criminal justice system. The former Governor shared a desire to respect the process taking place through the courts, while also respecting the office of the presidency.  BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections The Written Prophecy Prologue By Catherine Duong Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Image provided by Katie Drummond “It’s all going too fast...” Amber says as she looks at the city of Araevia. She is now ruler of the main city, after the city of Gahenna, better known as “Hell,” has attacked once again days ago. The previous king, King Lucas, offered her and little friend group Flare, Darlene, Joaquin, and Pink, some currency worth a fortune until he noticed a strange mark Amber’s face at the right-hand side. Astonished, he claimed to make her the next ruler after when he retires, which made a huge turning point of the city’s next generation. But that wasn’t his decision, it was the god/goddess who made the decision using a special book made by the first three gods/goddess (Irae, Sune, and Phaedra) called the book of prophecy. Once written down of the event, it cannot be erased and everyone from the myth realm will be affected whether it will be good or bad, but this event causing Amber to be next ruler was a mistake since a god named of Kalen wrote it down for himself and it wasn’t approved of by his partner, Selene, another goddess. The two of them always argue about their ideas for the living and mostly about Kalen’s ideas. As Selene always says, “Your ideas aren't going to impact the living as much as mine.” Enraged, Kalen went to the book of prophecy and edited the event without Selene’s permission. Once Selene figured out that Kalen edited the event, she was in a rage, but she knows that now it’s already been done, and Kalen says to her, “All we can do is observe.” Now once the event was finished, Amber’s job is to keep the city safe with the help of her friends alongside her journey. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Lillian Dolan - Prism By Lillian Dolan November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections What is Anime/What is “Fruits Basket”? By Liliana Ossa Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by Amazon.com You may ask: what is anime? If you didn't already know, anime is a type of cartoon show; it's a form of animation from Japan. It is characterized by vibrant colors, characters, and overall energy illustrated through the art style. These elements contribute to the emotion of the story and the characters too. Anime is not just a youth cartoon; it has many subtypes of plots, including psychological, romantic, and action plots. Fruits Basket is a Shojo anime (romance animation) that teaches subtle life lessons, like Shigure (a Sohma family member) teaching Tohru (the main character) how to balance her duties, and includes romantic features in its plot, like Tohru and Kyo's (a Sohma family member) blossoming romance. “Fruits Basket” is a story about Tohru Honda, an orphan. After she meets Yuki and Kyo, members of the Sohma family, her life changes drastically because of learning about the Sohma family secret! She learns when a Sohma family member is under a high amount of stress, when they're weak or when they're embraced by a human who isn't a member of the Chinese zodiac, the Sohma family member turns into their animal form. When Tohru found out about the Sohma family's secret, she promised to keep it, so Yuki and Kyo allowed her to live with them. Once Tohru learns about the hardships and pain that they have gone through, she wants to help them heal their emotional wounds because she is a kind-hearted and generous soul. Why I Like “Fruits Basket” In my opinion, Fruits Basket is a spectacular anime! The characters especially make the anime intriguing. It's fascinating how Yuki is hiding his traumatic past. However, he's still the "prince" of his school because of his charismatic nature. It's very interesting how all the girls that like Yuki think he's this perfect prince, but when he expresses to people he can trust that he's not perfect and has many insecurities. On the other hand, Kyo is considered a stereotypical "bad boy" due to his inability to open up to others and because of his aggressiveness. Whenever someone asks Kyo how he's doing or a question relating to his feelings, he always feels the need to attack them. Kyo doesn't like to feel vulnerable around others at all! Tohru is a very kind and generous character that wants to help the Sohma family treat their emotional wounds. She is the main character of the story and a mother figure to Yuki because she cooks for some of the Sohma's, cleans the house, and is very kind to them as well. The supernatural elements of Fruits Basket, like how Tohru's friend, Hanajima, had the electromagnetic power to see the right and wrong in people, also helped make me love the anime. You can't forget about the supernatural ability that the Sohma's had to transform into their animal form, either! It was the most crucial supernatural element in Fruits Basket, in my opinion. Overall, “Fruits Basket” is a wonderful Shojo (romance) anime that expresses romantic elements, like Tohru and Kyo's blossoming romance. Throughout the story, Tohru falls in love with Kyo because of the little things about him and their interactions since the beginning of the story. Kyo fell in love with Tohru's selflessness, loyalty, and how she always found a way to smile and laugh. Kyo and Tohru's romance was an essential part of the “Fruits Basket” story. I recommend you all tune in on this anime, as the story is impressive, the art style is eye-catching, and the characters are relatable and enjoyable. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Jodi Viason - Prism By Jodi Viason November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections What is Climate Change? By Rachel Ezeadichie Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by The NOAA Have you ever found yourself wondering why the winters are getting colder and colder? Or why there are more storms and hurricanes, and oceans seem warmer every summer? Well, all these are the effects of climate change and global warming. Climate change is the long-term change in the temperature and weather on Earth. These changes to the Earth’s temperature are caused by the burning of fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide and methane. These gases get trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that reflects off the Earth’s surface. As the heat accumulates in the atmosphere, temperatures rise. And though climate change is naturally occurring, human actions have been accelerating the rate of the phenomenon, causing irreversible damage to the environment, ecosystems, and the Earth as a whole. Over the past century, the Earth’s temperature has increased by 2°F, which may not seem like much, but it has severely impacted the environment. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass through widespread melting; Greenland has lost about 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019. The global sea level has risen about 8 inches in the past 100 years, and the rate of sea level rising in last two decades has doubled and continues to increase. If it continues at this rate, coastal cities and towns will be flooded. Furthermore, the number of elevated temperature events in the U.S. are rising, as well as the number of intense rainfalls in the U.S. These are only a few of the effects of global warming and they will continue to become more severe over time. Though climate change will still affect our lives, we can still make efforts to reduce its effects on the Earth. Switching to LED lights bulbs and energy efficient electrical appliances can help conserve energy and fossil fuels. Walking or taking a bike to commute could also conserve energy. Just taking shorter showers and not throwing away as much food could help the environment. These may seem like small actions, but if enough people contribute, they will go a long way. So, see what you can do to help and save our planet! Sources: NASA: Climate Change and Global Warming Global Warming 101 - Definition, Facts, Causes and Effects of Global Warming | NRDC Burning of fossil fuels - Understanding Global Change (berkeley.edu) ClimateChange | United Nations BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Women Who Have Dominated the Grammys By Isabella Menjivar Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Original artwork by Isabella Menjivar Alison Krauss - She currently holds the record for female artist with the most Grammy awards. Her astounding number of awards comes from her work in Country music. In 2019, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts. Some of her well-known songs include “When You Say Nothing at All”, “Gone Gone Gone”, and “Paper Airplane”. Beyonce - After becoming a solo artist, she’s gone on to win 22 Grammy awards. Her 2017 Grammy performance sent an inspiring message of honoring women was a showstopper. Aside from the breathtaking visuals, at the performance she balanced on a floating chair while pregnant. Beyonce also holds the Grammy record for most nominations. Whitney Houston - With 6 Grammy awards and 25 nominations, the legendary singer’s most famous win was her song “I Will Always Love You” being awarded record of the year. Whitney’s powerhouse voice is unforgettable, and her performance at the 36th Grammy Awards featured fireworks, and her vocals were astounding. Taylor Swift - Her Grammy performances that feature incredible music, scenery, and background dancers are what makes her on the list to perform at the 2021 Grammys. Taylor’s 10 Grammy awards and 41 nominations are all products of her relatable music. Many different people make up her fan base because she has written country, pop, and indie music. Taylor is currently re-recording old music to officially hold rights to her records, all written by herself. BACK TO TOP

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Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections The Price of Wealth By Sumaiya Ramsaroop Volume 1 Issue 3 December 16, 2020 Original image provided by Getty Images Visualizing $1 Billion The human brain, though highly advanced, cannot fully grasp the magnitude of one billion dollars, let alone one trillion dollars. Through the lens of time, however, we can better visualize these large sums of wealth. One million seconds equals about 11.5 days. One billion seconds equals about 32 years. One trillion seconds equals about 31,710 years. Our ability to comprehend the expanse of one billion (or one trillion) dollars has never been more relevant than it is today. Today’s Billionaire Climate In the wake of COVID-19 and its ravaging effects on the country, markets have continued to grow, garnering an additional $406 billion for American billionaires between March 18 and April 29––a period when 30 million Americans filed for unemployment (McKeever). By the end of November, U.S. billionaires’ gains since the beginning of the pandemic have surpassed $1 trillion, all while debates over a second stimulus check have droned on in Congress (Collins). While 2020 marks one of the worst global economic crises, wealth trends between the top 1% and the bottom 50% have diverged against each other, with billionaires growing exponentially more wealthy, as middle and lower-class families choose between their safety and returning to the workforce, amidst a worsening pandemic. “How the Other Half Lives,” starkly contrasts with how the other 1% lives. As the wealth gap continues to widen, the U.S. houses more billionaires today than ever before. These trends beg the question––how are billionaires making their money? Billionaires ultimately acquire their heaps of wealth by two means: inheritance and/or the exploitation of the working class. On a global scale, nearly 42% of billionaires have either inherited their wealth entirely, or to a degree (Imberg & Shaban 16). The other 58% of billionaires are labeled by WealthX’s 2020 Billionaire Census as “self-made;” however, in understanding the expansive nature of a billion dollars—or tens of billions of dollars—no amount of individual effort can possibly achieve that amount of wealth. A moral implication of billionaires, particularly those “self-made,” lies in how they obtain their wealth—through the direct exploitation of the domestic and foreign working class. Exploiter & Exploited Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest individual, exploits his employees by the threat of termination for taking breaks and/or going to the bathroom while working. The salary of an Amazon employee reflects a $15 minimum wage which results in a median annual worker pay of about $28,466; in contrast, Bezos makes more than $8,961,187 in just one hour alone (Hoffower). While the employees who maintain Bezos’s wealth qualify for food stamps and receive punishment for protesting the cutting of their $2 COVID-19 hazard pay, Bezos has only grown more wealthy, and by the billions. Now spearheaded by billionaire Tim Cook, the case of Apple brings another facet of worker exploitation to the table, as the first company to achieve a market value of $1 trillion relies heavily on outsourcing for its wealth. China Labor Watch, a nonprofit group working to ensure the fair treatment of Chinese laborers, shed light upon the company's rollback of safety training, withholding of bonus payments, as well as the employment of more temporary workers than permitted by Chinese labor laws (Albergotti). The nonprofit labelled this exploitation as a political and economic move on the behalf of Apple and their manufacturer, Foxconn, to absorb the cost of tariffs by maximizing their worker’s output. This isn’t the first time the Chinese industrial park, Foxconn City, has made the news. Beginning in 2010, a chain of suicides arose amongst laborers at the factory. Exploitative and torturesome working conditions in the Apple factory catalyzed the tens of suicides attempted by these laborers. Foxconn CEO, billionaire Terry Gou, responded to the deaths and continued attempts by installing “suicide nets” outside of the factory’s buildings and forcing workers to sign pledges stating they would not attempt suicide (Merchant). Gou’s immediate response lacked any reform to the exploitative nature of working conditions in his factory. A System of Billionaires “Self-made” billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs have undoubtedly revolutionized society with their ideas, but there comes a point when their wealth overwhelmingly depends on the productivity of their workers. And at this point, a billion dollars does not come from being self-made, it comes from being exploitative. This is merely the system––a system that leaves poor, undocumented immigrants, foreign workers, and minorities at a disproportionate likelihood of being exploited and overlooked by the government, and at the mercy of businesses whose harmful capitalistic efforts remain supported by national policy. So why don’t billion-dollar companies give back to those who made them a billion-dollars? Critics will say it’s not that simple. I have no interest in blatantly arguing that every billionaire lives with the cruel intention to exploit; however, I do acknowledge and remain firm in the belief that the system in which billionaires arise and operate is inherently cruel and exploitative. No individual person will ever require a wealth so magnitudinous that the human brain cannot comprehend its expanse. But every individual person deserves basic human rights and a simple sense of security. How we get there? That is for you and me to decide. Here’s to constructing a new system founded upon compassion and armored with integrity––where giving back is that simple. Albergotti, Reed. "Apple accused of worker violations in Chinese factories." The Washington Post , Sept. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/09/apple-accused-worker-violations-chinese-factories-by-labor-rights-group/. Collins, Chuck. "US Billionaire Wealth Surges Past $1 Trillion Since Beginning of Pandemic." Inequality.org , 25 Nov. 2020, inequality.org/great-divide/u-s-billionaire-wealth-surges-past-1-trillion-since-beginning-of-pandemic/. Hoffower, Hillary. "We did the math to calculate how much money Jeff Bezos makes in a year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and second." Business Insider , 9 Jan. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-makes-every-day-hour-minute-2018-10. Imberg, Maya, and Maeen Shaban. Billionaire Census 2020 . WealthX, June 2020. WealthX , www.wealthx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Wealth-X_Billionaire-Census_2020.pdf. McKeever, Vicky. "US billionaires boost collective wealth by $406 billion as markets rebound in the coronavirus pandemic, report finds." CNBC , 1 May 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/us-billionaires-boost-wealth-by-406-billion-as-markets-rebound.html#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20now%20has,American%20households%2C%20the%20report%20highlighted. Merchant, Brian. "Life and Death in Apple's Forbidden City." The Guardian , 18 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract. BACK TO TOP