With its outstanding visual/sound effects, the war film “1917” transports the audience to the battlefield. The film was recognized for its cinematography at the Oscars where it won Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography. The man behind the film’s success is its director, Sam Mendes, who took many risks with “1917”. He successfully attempted the difficult feat of shooting the film to look as if it was all done in one take. This technique forms a bond between the audience and the soldiers as the audience feels a part of the continuous journey by following the characters’ every step. Although the movie’s visual effects were somewhat limited, they were so seamlessly blended into the film that there seems to be no difference between reality and what the computer generated. The audience’s immersion into the war setting was amplified by the authentic sounds of rifles firing and planes flying overhead. The large scale shots of the handmade trenches also added to the film’s authenticity. With the help of his grandfather’s war stories, Mendes was able to create a realistic portrayal of the battlefield in “1917” successfully. This film is a cinematic masterpiece and a must-watch on a big screen.

It shouldn’t be all that surprising that “Joker” made it into the Oscars. Anyone who watched the film knows that it is undebatably one of a kind. Although it’s yet another spinoff of DC’s most notorious villain, “Joker” goes completely off-script from the usual superhero/villain cinematic formula, adding ambiguity to a character who is often painted black and white. However, it was precisely because of the director Todd Philips’ choice to inject a touch of humanity to the villain that made the movie’s reception heavily polarizing. On the one hand, some praise its great insight into prominent issues such as mental health and social inequality, but there are plenty criticizing the gratuitous violence portrayed. Despite all the controversies, “Joker” was the most nominated film of this year’s Oscars with a total count of 11 nominations. Though it didn’t win Best Picture or Best Director, Joaquin Phoenix did go home with his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor. Phoenix had good competition, clashing against Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Driver, but it’s safe to say that his unparalleled performance as the “Clown Prince of Crime” locked down his Oscar win months before, when the movie debuted. 

“The Irishman” is a Martin Scorsese film about, you guessed it, mobsters. “The Irishman” was one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and for the most part, it lived up to the hype. Deservingly, the movie was nominated for a plethora of awards, but it shockingly did not win a single Oscar. While the movie is enjoyable, it has some glaring issues. The movie’s three hour run time ruins the film’s tempo, and you can’t help but feel that at least 30 minutes of the movie could have been cut. Scorsese took a cinematic risk with the de-aging of the actors, spurring a hot debate among the audience on whether the effect was visually pleasing or not. “The Irishman” had a high chance of winning Best Supporting actor with both Joe Pesci and Al Pacino nominated for the award. Although both actors had excellent performances, Al Pacino stole the show with his portrayal of Jimmy Hoffa, a famous, corrupt union boss. In the end, Pacino lost to Brad Pitt who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”. Despite its lack of awards at the Oscars, “The Irishman” is definitely a film worth watching.

The name may suggest otherwise, but “Marriage Story” tells of a grueling and painful divorce in which a seemingly simple separation quickly escalates into an ugly custody battle. The movie illuminates the convoluted divorce system in America and the somewhat dirty business of divorce lawyers.The film was by far the dark horse in this year‘s Oscar race. It has a star-studded cast with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern, all of whom were nominated for an Oscar. However, only Laura Dern ended up winning her nomination for Best Supporting Actress, while Adam Driver lost to Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlet Johansson to Renée Zellweger. Nonetheless, the movie is beyond doubt worth watching, especially given the praised realistic dialogue written by its director Noah Baumbach. Baumbach’s screenplay, in combination with the phenomenal cast, created the spontaneous flow of the story. Although nominated for Best Director, Baumbach eventually lost to Bong Joon-ho, who directed this year’s ultimate winner “Parasite” The South-Korean film surprised everyone when it won not only Best Screenplay, but also Best Director, Best International Film, and Best Picture. Although “Marriage Story” only managed to win one Oscar, the film unravels the lesser-known aspect of the divorce system, which can be a shock or even appalling to the audience. It provides an accurate portrayal of a marriage—or rather, the aftermath of one.

Justin Bieber has been a household name since his mom first uploaded a video of him singing in 2008 online. For many people growing up in the 2000s, he became an icon that we watched grow physically as well as stylistically. For as long as I can remember, he has always been a symbol of pop culture but also of a new movement. Bieber’s rise to fame marked the beginning of the social media era. As Youtube and other streaming platforms evolved throughout the years, interactions between artists and their fans became a lot more common. As a result, he was one of the first child stars to amass such a large platform and following. Fans of all ages idolized and adored him. They’d show off their Justin Bieber merchandise at school, or put up large posters of him in their rooms. New music was also constantly in demand. Bieber was compliant and released new music relatively often—most of which was groundbreaking. He won award after award, fueling his fans’ passion and appreciation for him.
When he released his latest single “Yummy” after a mental-health-related hiatus of three years, fans anticipated another classic Justin Bieber song. However, what they received shocked them. Much unlike his typical love songs about teenage love and wholesome relationships, “Yummy” is an ode to his wife Hailey Baldwin. The lyrics are overtly sexual and simple - some so cliché it was quite honestly painful to hear. For example, the lyric “you make my toes curl” was quite overdone and unoriginal, but what’s concerning isn’t simply the clichés within “Yummy”. There seems to be no attempts on Bieber’s end to avoid writing these clichés. In comparison to his biggest hit “Baby”, in which Bieber sings: “I’m in pieces, baby fix me and just shake me ’til you wake me from this bad dream,” the lyrics of “Yummy” seem to be virtually the same quality, just no longer PG-13. Bieber was 16 when “Baby” was released; he is currently 25. His lyrics should at least reflect his age and experience.  
One aspect of his new single that is deeply off-putting is his marketing. In an effort to rise to the top of the charts, Bieber released a guide on his Instagram account labeled “How to Get Yummy to #1” in which he essentially told his fans to manipulate the Spotify and iTunes algorithm in order to reach the top spot. Among other things, the list included playing “Yummy” non-stop while you sleep and using a VPN to stream the song for those not in the United States. He has also been promoting it on all of his social media platforms (as most creators do) - but he takes it to a bit of an extreme. On one of his live streams, he discussed his new song with an excited young fan. Rather than thanking her for her support, he persistently? asked how much she had been streaming “Yummy”. He asked her if she had both downloaded and bought the song on iTunes repeatedly. When she said that she had, he replied with “You’re crushing it as a fan.” This sets up the ideal that a “true fan” is someone who obsessively listens to his music only in order to get it to #1.  
The new single “Yummy” was met with mixed reactions from fans. Famous YouTuber David Dobrik collaborated with Bieber in one of his most recent videos, “SURPRISING PEOPLE WITH JUSTIN BIEBER”. In this video, Dobrik interviews strangers on their thoughts on Bieber. All of them were fans or former fans and had gushing reviews for him when asked. While everyone was extremely supportive of the young artist, one fan gave some criticism. When asked about the pop icon, he replied, “Oh my God, love him, but “Yummy” is just like, not it. It's not that good." Bieber popped out from behind and jokingly replied “I’m going to kill you!”. They laughed it off, but it seemed that quite a lot of the public agreed with his opinion; how could someone so talented and iconic produce something that doesn’t show musical growth?

It is also, however, important to remember that Bieber is not the same person he was three years ago. He has grown up and changed into someone different. He was only a child when he became famous—of course, his style and content has changed as he has grown up. If society was never allowed to change, a person would never go anywhere. His lyrics are more sexual because he doesn’t need to write about teenage love and firsts—if he did, it would be quite odd. The R&B style of “Yummy” is definitely different from his old crooning love songs. As his new album “Changes” drops, we’ll be given more insights into the life of the new and married Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber Fans Don’t Find His New Single All Too Yummy

“It sounded like a bird, and I wanted to sound like a bird”  answered Abrielle Scott when asked why she first picked up the flute.
As a child, Abreille Scott was first drawn to the flute as it mimicked the melodic trills of a songbird.
In the following years since then, Scott has developed a great passion for the instrument. She currently plays in the PHS Orchestra and is one of its cabinet members. Besides playing as a part of the wind section in the orchestra, Scott is also an active soloist, having performed with PHSO on its Italy tour and with the Westminster Community Orchestra as the winner of the Choir College’s concerto competition. 
No matter where the results of her college applications might take her, Scott expects music to play an integral role in her post-high school life. Many options await her, whether they be trying out new genres of music, collaborating with fellow musicians, or joining an orchestra at her future college.

Q1: Have you composed any pieces of music?
 The most recent group work I’ve written was probably two years ago with my friend Haley for a flute quartet.We came up with a motive. [which is] the best way to start [writing any piece of music]---approaching it with a really close reading and motive, deciding what [you] want the whole orchestra or ensemble to do. It’s really hard, having one little idea and seeing if you can carry it through.  
[The composition] was called “Pirate’s Life”, a collection of scenes from a pirate’s life. It was supposed to be a suite, but we never really finished it. We got through like two movements but we were supposed to have five. We ended up performing them at my private teacher’s studio recital. That was really cool because it was [my] first time performing something that I wrote. 

Q2: What do you enjoy most about playing the flute?
I’d say [it’s] all of the amazing people I get to work with. The flute community is a huge group of adorable [individuals]. As a flutist, I’d like to think [that] I enjoy the flute because it’s a versatile and diverse instrument, [giving me the chance] to work with a lot of different people and instruments. It’s a really good way to play and to connect with [others]. I’ve [also] had so many good [experiences]...Over the summer, I [attended] the National Flute Association Convention, and it was actually so much fun! That was my first year going, and I saw so many other flutists. You don’t really see them collectively or in one space. There were so many different types of people from literally across the world [who] brought all types of music with them.

Q3:  In a world where musical education is so accessible, and where everyone has the opportunity to learn an instrument, do you ever worry that someone is better than yourself?
 That [feeling] used to be really scary for me, but honestly, that’s just how it is. Maybe last year I kind of came to terms with it. Instead of [viewing the talented] negatively and [as] something that would lower your self-esteem,  I think it's just better to look at them, and try [to] see them as a goal. If someone's technique is better than yours, [then] ask them how they got to where they are. Honestly, the music community is so small, and it’s better to just learn from each other rather than seeing everyone as competition. It's more fun that way too.

Abrielle Scott’s Flute Trills Fulfill Her Dream of Sounding like a Bird

The Berklee Jazz Festival may have come to an abrupt close last year, but the music doesn’t stop for the Princeton High School jazz bands. Launched with the help of PHS’s band director Joe Bongiovi, the National Jazz Festival took its flight on February 15 with an estimated 1200 students attending from 11 states and territories. 
Among the award winners are Jazz Combo, winning third place in its division; Studio Band and Studio Vocals, each winning second place in their categories; Jazz Ensemble and Combo Ensemble, both going home with first place trophies. Individual musicians within these divisions were also recognized with some chosen for Outstanding Musician, including Irina Mukhametzhanova ’20, Matt Cincotta ’20, Charles Kolosvary ’20, Ethan Blazer ’20, Ashley Chen ‘23, and Ko Moulton ’21. Out of the eight winners in the Vocal Jazz Solo section, four are from PHS: Gillian Scott ’20, Molly Frain ’20, Ayah Mahana ’20, and Ashley Chen ’23. Last but not least is Sudhansh Kumar ’20, who won Composition category’s third place with his original piece “Day Break”. Up until last year, the Berklee Jazz Festival was the nation’s biggest festival for jazz education, so the announcement of its discontinuation spurred quite an uproar. Joe Bongiovi, the director of Studio Band, saw a need to create another platform that would allow young musicians to share their passion with their peers from all around the country. 
	“It originated right at the Berklee Jazz Festival when they [made the announcement]. I could see his wheels turning, and he’s going up and down the aisles to the other directors saying: listen, I’m going to start my own thing. … And he didn’t just talk about it — he did it,” said band director Scott Grimaldi, who led Princeton Jazz Ensemble and Combo Ensemble. 
	Although credited by many to be the creator of the National Jazz Festival, Bongiovi says he’s only partially responsible for its creation. The director gives extensive recognition for everyone involved. 

	“We weren’t the only ones who were disappointed. There was no place for everybody to go, especially on the East Coast. So [the other directors and I] decided to try to create a festival to fill that void and get as many of those groups to participate [in it] as possible,” said Bongiovi. “We [also] got a lot of help from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. They helped us line up a bunch of their faculty to [be our judges], and the rest were other college professors or other jazz directors who are performers in the Philadelphia and New York area who came down to volunteer their time.”
	Perhaps one of the most notable differences from the Berklee Jazz Festival was that all the staff members at NJF were volunteers, including past jazz students, parents, and alumni who wanted to see the festival succeed. Nobody was paid, whether it was the organizers, judges, or adjudicators.
	This, however, was not the only way that NJF differed from its predecessor. Although the Berklee Jazz Festival laid a foundation and set an example, there were many aspects of both competitions that were different. The judges had a closer interaction with the participants, giving longer verbal critiques. This way the participants were able to receive more feedback, which potentially paved the way for broader future improvements. The judging of the vocal divisions was also changed. Instead of having the acapella jazz and the rhythm jazz section in the same division,  the two groups were separated. This way, the judges were comparing similar groups and not just everybody at once. A new section was also added to the festival: the Pop Capella division. This addition allowed pop student musicians to compete as well. 
	Grimauldi noted that the venue of the festival — the Pennsylvania Convention Center, stationed in downtown Philadelphia — provided a new environment that enhanced the experience.
“It was huge, and the venue was great. We loved the center — it just seemed more laid back and relaxed. The Hynes [auditorium] in Boston [where Berklee took place] was really great, but this just felt more intimate even though it’s really, really big,” Grimaldi said.
Bongiovi enjoyed envisioning and adding his own touch to the festival. 
“The nice thing about creating your own [festival] was [that] we picked the things that we liked [from the Berklee Jazz Festival], and we emulated them and kept them. And the things we didn't like, we changed. It was sort of fun being creative on how to change some of the divisions and some of the educational opportunities, and if anything, we wanted to make ours more education based, instead of just a performance. We had some fun tweaking,” said Bongiovi. “[The Berklee Jazz Festival] laid the base format, I think, for what a festival should be. They did a lot of things really well. We took … what we learned from them through the years, and applied it to creating something that we hope will exceed the size of Berklee someday, and continue to do great things.”
However, the success of NJF’s maiden voyage lays on top of a colossal amount of effort from band members. Leading up to the festival, rehearsals often extended well into the night. In particular, the Friday before the festival was designated specifically for the setting-up of the 16 rooms in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
“[The preparation for the festival] involves taking apart and labeling over 1000 stands with NJF stickers, and then putting the stands together and carrying them, and putting a certain amount in each designated room in this huge facility. And then after that we had to soundcheck to make sure the sound systems were set up and working properly, which was also very tiring,” said Will Novak ’21, a trumpet and flugel player in Studio Band. “It was very hectic. Everyone was running around trying to get things to flow, but [eventually] we got it done.”
The day of the festival was no less eventful, with back to back performances from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After the award ceremony and loading up the equipment, the band took off and eventually arrived at Princeton at 11:30 p.m. Regardless of the fully-packed schedule, Gillian Scott ’20 felt the experience was a fulfilling one. 
“It’s a very long day but you’re so excited and hyped up on adrenaline, you don’t even notice that you’re exhausted,” Scott said. 
Winning first place in the Vocal Jazz section, Scott performed at the final awards ceremony with the Jazz Ambassadors from the US Army Field Band, singing Ella Fitzgerald’s “A-Tisket-A-Tasket”.
“Performing with the [Jazz Ambassadors] was the best experience. They did everything perfectly — I only had to run through the song literally once and then they were like, yeah, you’re good. That was my favorite moment, just performing with them in front of such a big crowd,” Scott said. 
Although NJF is only in its first year of existence, Grimaldi believes that the festival will continue for a long time.
“I see this going 50 or more years. I really do. He has a dedicated daughter right now that is actually working at Berklee. She's a recording engineer and she’s just like her dad. I can see her taking over down the road. I'm just, you know, assuming all this stuff of course, but knowing the way things are, I think [the festival] is going to snowball. I think it's going to double or triple by next year because word gets out there pretty quickly.”
 	While the NJF is in a way an extension and some may say a replacement of the Berklee Jazz Festival, Connor Stewart ’23, a drummer for Studio Band, thinks otherwise. 
“The reason why [Bongiovi] created National Jazz Fest is not because he wanted to replace Berklee,” said Stewart. “It's because he did not want to get rid of his favorite 20 minutes of the year.”

Princeton fills the podium at the National Jazz Festival

Billie Eilish
	Alternative pop singer Billie Eilish has become a musical sensation with the Grammys, securing her place as the Best New Artist of the Year. Eilish’s introduction into stardom began somewhere around the ages of 13 and 15, when her brother Finneas asked her to record his song. Fast forward three years, Eilish won Song of the Year with her song “bad guy,” which also placed number one on the Billboard’s Hot 100. At age 18, she became an unprecedented phenomenon by winning five of her six Grammy nominations and becoming the first female artist to sweep all four general field categories at the Grammys. With these wins, Eilish has proved that younger artists in the music industry are not necessarily overlooked for success, making her an inspiration for many other young musicians and music-oriented students. While Eilish has encountered some of the typical struggles of stardom such as the immense pressure and high expectations—which had prompt her to state recently in a Vogue interview that she fears an intense public breakdown—Eilish will always have the unwavering support of her family and her army of “eyelashes.”

Lizzo
Rising to fame with her most recent album “Cuz I Love You” is singer, songwriter, rapper, and flutist Lizzo. Lizzo was the most nominated artist of 2020, with a total of eight potential gramophones.  She took the chance to show off her classical flute training in her live Grammy performance, which glamorously combined hip-hop with the classical touch of an orchestra in the background. However, Lizzo’s life was not always filled with glamour. Ten years ago, when her father died, she spent a year living in her car sleeping on her friends’ couches for a period of time. Although Lizzo still struggles with depression, she refuses to let it hold her back. Becoming involved with body positivity projects, Lizzo hit her commercial break in 2016. Her single Truth Hurts sat at the top of Billboard’s Top 100 list for seven weeks and made history when she claimed  the top spot on the Hot 100 as the first black solo female R&B singer since Rihanna in 2012. Lizzo’s songs provide the chance for listeners to enjoy her melodies while for listeners to enjoy her melodies while also hearing positive messages about self love: a powerful concept that has been gradually gaining recognition, especially in recent years.





Tyler, the Creator
	Full of neo-soul melodies while incorporating a wide array of styles, Tyler, the Creator’s most recent album, Igor, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making it his first number one album. As a child, Tyler spent his time imagining covers for his own albums before he could even make music. In school, he never really fit in, as he moved around alot, resulting in him attending 12 different schools throughout his 12 years of schooling. However, things took a turn for Tyler when he founded the alternative hip hop group Odd Future. His fourth album, Flower Boy, received incredible reviews and was nominated for “Best Rap Album” in 2018. However, Tyler would not receive his Grammy until two years later, when he would also be a featured performer in the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Tyler was thrilled with his gilded gramophone, but backstage he spoke about his frustration with his album being categorized as rap, and his distaste for the word “urban” in terms of his and other black musicians’ music. The remark isn’t unfamiliar in the industry, as other black artists—such as Frank Ocean and Kanye West—also raised concerns in regard to racial bias in the music industry. On the bright side, the Recording Academy announces new diversity initiatives as a response to the criticism of the exclusiveness of the ceremony; Tyler’s comments surely rode with the tide for a transformation towards inclusion for all in the industry. 



Lil Nas X
	Pushed into the spotlight by the viral video-sharing app TikTok, singer/songwriter/rapper Lil Nas X recently rose to fame for his single “Old Town Road,” released in December of 2018. Growing up, he struggled with his sexuality.  hoping the “phase” would pass. But he eventually came out as gay and became the only artist ever to do so while having a song at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. The song remained number one for 19 weeks, the longest amount of time for any song since the chart was created over 60 years ago. Lil Nas X was also nominated for six Grammys this year, making him the most highly nominated male at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. “Old Town Road” initially went viral because of TikTok, an app frequently seen being used in the halls of PHS. In July of 2019, he was named one of the top 25 most influential people on the internet, because of an active presence on social media. From all of this, Lil Nas X left the Grammys with two awards, one for Best Music Video, and the other for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. He said that moment was just another part of what felt “like a never-ending dream.”

Grammys

This February, groups such as the Black Student Union, Minority Student Achievement Network, and Pride Unity Leadership Sisterhood Esteem organized events at PHS and the Princeton Public Library to honor Black History Month. Through these events, the student-led groups promote racial and ethnic inclusivity by exhibiting the African American cultures within PHS’s diverse community. … 
“Black History Month is a special time to acknowledge the accomplishments of black people. We don’t always feel like [black people] are celebrated,” said Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson, advisor of the BSU. “This year is special because we have been able to involve a lot of people.”
This year’s events include a screening and panel discussion of the film “True Justice,” the “Museum in Motion” Numina Gallery exhibit, a Spirituals and Gospel Festival, and Ethnic Dress-up Day.
The events will culminate in the evening of Cultural Celebration on February 28, an event meant to acknowledge the excellence of African Americans through honoring their cultures. The evening of Cultural Celebration has been a tradition at PHS for more than 20 years. Lenora Keel, the advisor to the student groups MSAN and PULSE, hopes that this year’s event will have a focus on inclusivity and showcasing diversity. 
“[Many] student groups [and staff] come together and share their differences but [also] some of their similarities in terms of music and talent. [The] fashion show [in the Cultural Celebration shows this] in terms of all [the] ethnic and cultural wear,” said Keel.
Keel believes that these events can offer a safe opportunity for students to freely express themselves and their opinions, without the pressure of any social stigma they may normally face. 
“The message I want to spread throughout my events is that students have a voice. They have talent, especially students of color, who sometimes don’t get involved in things [because] people see them in a certain way,” said Keel.
The focus on inclusivity for the events this month was what inspired the invitation of guest speaker Richard Ray Miles, who shared his story of wrongful incarceration during the BSU meeting on February 5th. Miles believes that educating the community by telling the stories of those who experience extreme injustice is an important stepping stone to combating social injustice and increasing inclusivity.
“[Racial] inequalities occur at much higher rates than we imagine. [However], there’s a lot of information out there [and] great organizations [that] help [address ignorance],” said Miles. 
Miles praises the efforts of the social justice organizations in Princeton High School. He thinks that these events help to solve issues by allowing students to explore and analyze less-exposed aspects of society. 
“I think that what you guys are doing now— creating spaces of empathy— you’re creating a space to where somebody can come in and tell their life [story],” said Miles. 
“We want to elevate the voices of people that aren’t necessarily always positioned highly in our community,” said Barnes-Johnson. “So we brought all kinds of groups together, whether you’re black or white, or biracial, multiracial, able-bodied, queer. We just want everyone to come together.” 
However, the leaders of these events feel that some of the events get neglected, and that sometimes their message doesn’t reach enough of the community. 
“Our school has never really celebrated Black History Month. Even right now, even though we have a bunch of structured events and a lot of other things going on, people just aren’t really aware of it,” said Aba Smith ‘20, the president of the BSU and a member of PULSE. “We need awareness.”

Black History Month

On January 28, the Board of Education proposed a program review focusing on the Princeton Public Schools Special Education program. The program review will begin this March and conclude in the fall of next year. 
The program offers a wide scope of services to the many students it assists and is specialized according to the students’ Individualized Education Programs or 504 plans. The IEP covers students who qualify for special education, while the 504 covers those who don’t but still need some accommodations.
“[Special education services] could look like a teacher in a classroom, it could look like an assistant, it could look like occupational therapy, physical therapy. It could be a lot of things depending on what the needs of the child are,” said Ginny Bryant, co-president of the Special Education Parent Teacher Organization.
The Special Education Program does not only serve K-12 students but extends from ages three to twenty-one, meaning it encompasses pre-school to beyond high school. It offers both services, which focus on speech and/or motor skills, and supports, which help with student learning. Different plans offer different services and support, because the IEP is particular to each student and provides specialized instruction while the 504 provides modifications and accommodations of the curriculum.
Julie Cho, co-president of the Special Education PTO shared,“[In] our district as well as many [other districts], one out of five students receive some form of special education, services or programming. [There] are many other students who have extra support or something else that leans on the program.”
For different perspectives on its programs, PPS works with other districts to find beneficial solutions. As a part of a network of districts among several states, PPS convenes with representatives from other high-performing districts for program evaluation and feedback.
This review somewhat differs from the cycles of reviewing/evaluating that the other programs go through. It does not cover a strict discipline such as the math or science programs due to the variety of students this program affects and it also grew out of discussions between the special education PTO and administrators and teachers. Although this review is also part of a cycle, PPS is changing its approach by also inviting consultants from an outside firm to assist in the process.
The firm that the Board selected for this review, the Public Consulting Group (PCG) offers its operational improvement services across the nation. Their education department is dedicated to helping districts create more efficient learning programs to give students the resources they need to succeed and assist with technology and financial solutions. PPS has already come into contact with representatives from the firm, many of whom have backgrounds in teaching and experience with special education.
Along with special education experience and expertise in finance, the Board was also looking for a firm that shared a similar ideology for the review.
“We were particularly interested in a group of people who were going to be partnering with us to look at our system as a whole, as opposed to...just the special education segment of what we do because...it's all about the continuum of services that we're providing for all kids. And one of the nice things about this company is that they really had that philosophy,” said Steve Cochrane, superintendent of the PPS district.
	The review will be monitored through quantitative and qualitative reports. Quantitative data would include percentages of students enrolled in higher-level courses and graduation rates while qualitative data accounts for classroom walk-throughs and evaluations.
The review will weigh the thoughts of the representative from the selected review firm, and focus on student input as well. Currently, the review plans to include focus groups with students as well as parents and receive student feedback through surveys and conversations.
“I think the student voice is important. And this whole program is of course to support the student experience and their outcome … so we really look forward to hearing their perspective. … They have sort of the biggest lens to look through [so] we're definitely interested in having students weigh in on their experience,” Cho said.
	Cho felt this review also had an importance beyond just realizing what could be done differently, especially in moving our community forward.
“The whole goal of this is to really celebrate what we do well, and then see how we can come together as all stakeholders to make improvements so that the students' experiences every day, and the effectiveness of the programs are at the highest level that they can be,” said Cho. “In a way, reviewing these kinds of programs … is an effort for constant improvement, but also, it serves our district's mission of equity, of making sure that every student is known and gets what they need.”

Special Education Audit

As part of the $26.9 million referendum, the district plans to construct a new cafe in the current location of the school store that will be open to PHS students beginning in the fall of 2020. This transformation is intended to ease the crowding in the cafeteria and provide a new space for students and staff to hang out during break. 
“[Creating this cafe] is something that we've actually been [planning] for the past couple years. One of the concerns was that because we have one lunch break, which we actually like, you [end up having] a large number of students trying to get lunch at the same time. If we had more than one location [that served food,] that would facilitate kids having more time to actually eat lunch, instead of standing in line,” said Principal Jessica Baxter. “We don't have that much space here and the school store is mostly an online business as it is, so we really don't need a [physical] school store.”
The food offered in the cafe will be similar to what is currently served in the cafeteria, but with a greater focus on ready-made snacks, like smoothies and pretzels, so that the cafe can operate in more of a “grab and go” format. The cafe will begin serving food at break, but will stay open longer than the cafeteria. 
Baxter claims that the school store area is conducive to operating a cafe because there is little construction necessary, other than adding an additional door to the room. It is also centrally located in the school in an area with lots of natural light.
“The footprint of the school is not changing,” said Baxter. “We’re not doing too much construction [on the store]; we just have to add the equipment to it, so it’s actually a nice, cheaper option. [The store also] offers a big enough space for kids to gather there.” 
The request-for-proposal to renovate the school store area into a cafe has not been placed out to bid yet, but the goal is to begin construction in June and have the cafe ready for students by this September. Baxter believes that completing construction on the cafe should be a priority for the district among the other referendum projects being worked on at PHS this summer. 
“This project has not been put out to bid. It's not going on until the end of [February] or early next month. But as long as it gets approved, then this would be something that would start after graduation in June,” said Baxter. “[The cafe] is one of those things I really wanted them to do first, so that even while we're under construction and are losing [access to] a few classrooms and part of the fitness center, at least we have a nice new space that people can get excited about.”
Currently, the cafeteria allows students to make food requests that they will cook for them, as long as students provide the recipe for it. Karen Lee Dixon, PPS’ food service director, hopes to continue this process with the new cafe.  
“We're open to food requests at any time, because I understand that what [students] like to eat is very different than what I like to eat,” said Dixon. “We have a very diverse population here, so we want to make sure that we're catering [our food] to everybody. [The cafe] really needs to be student-driven.”
Dixon hopes that the new cafe will make PHS’ food more accessible for students, so that it’s easier for them to buy school meals.
“One of the things that I'm hearing from students is [that they] don't even go down into the cafeteria. Well, if you don't come down to the cafeteria, then you can't eat our food. So we need to find other places to put our food, so it's more convenient,” said Dixon.

The Tiger Cafe

The district held a widely attended community forum on January 25, the first step in a long-term planning process intended to determine how to deal with overcrowding in the schools. The event consisted mainly of a presentation by consultants from the planning firm hired by the district, Milone and Macbroom, with data on the current state of overcrowding in the district’s schools. 
“This first [workshop] was really focused on the findings of the consultants, [who] had researched our schools, walked through our buildings, looked at our capacities, looked at how we use them educationally. They looked at all the past history of demographics,” said Superintendent Steve Cochrane. “This was [them] sharing [their] findings [on] what the current state in [PPS is], and then looking to the future and what the enrollment growth will look like.”
The consultants presented new projections for PPS enrollment growth that took into account the finalized data on student enrollment growth, which was based on the recently approved affordable housing settlement. These new projections estimated that K-12 enrollment would grow between 11.6 and 13.3 percent in the next five years and between 11 and 20 percent in the next ten years, relatively consistent with the previous projections generated by the Sundance Projection Report that the district has been using. PPS’ prekindergarten through 12th grade enrollment, by comparison, has grown 14 percent over the past decade. 
The consultants also noted that 645 of the new housing units from the affordable housing settlement are going to be built in the Littlebrook area, as opposed to 90 units in Community Park and 40 units in Riverside. According to projections, this uneven distribution of units would exacerbate overcrowding at Littlebrook immensely, while Johnson Park would remain slightly under capacity. 
The workshop concluded with an opportunity for community members to leave preliminary written feedback on the current status of PPS’ enrollment and educational programming, and the direction they want the planning process to take.
In anticipation of the forum, the Board appointed over thirty community liaisons, many of whom represent community organizations and interest groups, to spread awareness of and enlist community participation in the planning process. Although the community turnout for the forum surpassed expectations, Cochrane hopes that the turnout for future forums will be more representative of the multiple demographics within the Princeton community.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the turnout. [We] had students; we had community members; we had the parents of current, former, and future students who were [all] there,” said Cochrane. “I do wish we had more of the diversity in our town represented. I think that’s an area where we need to continue to seek out those voices. [It] may be that we have to go to the Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood or to some of the community housing to make sure that we’re actually having conversations with people, [since] not everybody can come to a single event on a Saturday morning.”
Because the previous forum didn’t have as much time for questions from the audience, there was a demographics discussion held on February 27 as an opportunity for community members to ask consultants questions about their projections for future enrollment. The consultants also held a discussion with teachers during their Unconference on February 14. 
In the future, Milone and Macbroom intends to hold at least three more official public forums, focused on generating multiple ideas for ways to address the overcrowding and growing student population. The multiple plans to address overcrowding will then be presented to the community for input on which should be selected as the final PPS long-range plan. The planning process will conclude in June, with Milone and Macbroom presenting a final report to the Board of Education. 
“As a community, we have an opportunity to work together to identify the most educationally sound, economically viable ways to address that growth, both in the near term and over the next decade. The planning process was designed to give us options,” said Cochrane. “As of yet, we do not know what those options will be. [Certainly,] the planning planning process will produce other options for all of us to consider. The important point is this: having carefully vetted data and a range of viable options will position the board to fulfill its responsibility to make the very best decisions on behalf of our community and the children about whom it cares.”

Community Forum

Created this September, weEMPOWER: PHS is a newly formed club that intends to promote confidence among women and other underrepresented students through public speaking training and discussions about current events that impact women in particular. They hosted a seminar on January 27, where they invited Taye Johnson, a coder for Shutterfly, to speak about her experiences as a black woman in the coding industry. 
“I started thinking about forming the club [because] I felt like sometimes, as a girl, I didn't have as much confidence to speak up. I saw that a lot of other girls [and] other minority groups might [feel] that way [too]. I thought that would be a really good idea to bring those people together and have a really open and accepting environment for them to share their ideas,” said Anjali Brunnermeier ’21, co-founder of weEMPOWER. 
The club initially reached out to BUILT BY GIRLS, an organization that prepares females and non-binary students for technology-related careers, to ask for recommendations for speakers with knowledge of the coding industry. They decided to invite Taye Johnson because they felt she would have an interesting perspective as a woman of color in a majority-white, male-dominated field of work. 
weEMPOWER structured the event as an interview with Johnson with the opportunity for audience members to ask questions at the end. Johnson spoke about her journey to become a coder for Shutterfly and the obstacles she overcame. She also addressed some of the misconceptions about the coding industry and gave advice to those who are less comfortable with public speaking. 
Nationally, the number of female computer science majors decreased from 37 percent to 18 percent between 1984 and 2014, despite the fact that the amount of jobs in the computer science industry is triple the national average. 
Abby Lau ’20 mentioned how powerful it was to hear Johnson’s story, as a woman who is interested in going into the STEM field. 
“I was actually really shocked because going into [the event], I thought it would just be like a casual discussion... but I was really blown away [by] the speaker,” said Lau. “[Johnson] didn't go to high school all four years; she dropped out for financial reasons. And she still found her way up into a successful career. Now [she] mentors, other young women who are minorities [who] want to go into STEM. I think that’s so inspiring. I would want to be a mentor like that too.”

weEMPOWER

The son of a policeman, Building Monitor Daniel North developed a security-forward mindset from a young age. 
“I grew up with [a father who was committed to security. He was] in charge of the Atlantic County Police Academy for about 12 years,” said North. “When I was in high school, he kept asking me if I wanted to be a police officer, but [I’d been around the job for so long] that I just didn’t want to [be one].”
North grew up in Atlantic City and has lived in New Jersey his entire life. Before working as a building monitor at PHS, he worked at an airport as a Security Coordinator and served in the military for 15 years. 
 “We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, so there wasn’t really any way for me to go to college. [So,] I decided to join the military [after high school. First of all, it was] to serve my country, [but also] for the steady paycheck, and to be able to [benefit from] their college program,” North said. 
After serving in the military, North began to get more involved with security jobs, eventually starting work at an airport where he managed security operations.
“[As the Security Coordinator], I got to deal with a lot of different people. I handled all the background checks for the IDs. I dealt with the state police, and in some cases the FBI, TSA, Department of Homeland Security, including all the other security workers at the airport,” North said.
After the airport he was working for lost its contract,  North started his own home inspection business, Fair and Square Home Inspections. Its mission statement was “Knowledge, professionalism, integrity.” North now uses this mission statement every day in his job as a building monitor.
“I went with those keywords for my business because that’s the way I’ve always lived my life. I’ve found, from a very young age, that … I don’t ever want to go to bed thinking that I haven’t done the best that I could that day, knowing that I had just kind of phoned it in,” said North. “There [are] a lot of people that are comfortable living that way… but that’s not me.” 
Despite the significant shift from owning an independent company to working under a school administration, North believes that he is able to work well with his co-workers and succeed in his job.
“The most rewarding aspect of operating my own company was exactly that — being able to operate my own company, being responsible for my own stuff, being my own boss ... and here, it’s a little bit different because I’m not in charge of [everything],” said North. “So that speaks to my nature of being a team player, and that is just as, if not more, rewarding [than] being your own boss sometimes. [Being] able to work in a team, where you all have shared goals and expectations, and being able to accomplish all this, [is what I find so rewarding in this job].”
Many challenges come with his current job, especially in maintaining both student freedom and safety at PHS.
“The challenge for us here is trying to foster the open campus [and] good learning environment that we enjoy here, [while also keeping everybody safe. Our learning environment] is so beneficial for the students and faculty members, but we [need to] achieve our goal of keeping everybody safe,” said North. “So we have to find a balance there.”

Daniel North

Natsuko Buurstra has been teaching Japanese at PHS for 18 years. Buurstra taught Japanese Language and Literature at a high school in Japan for three years before moving to the United States in 1984. Before coming to PHS, she worked for six years as a manager at a Japanese cosmetics company and taught Japanese at Rutgers.
Besides teaching different levels of Japanese at PHS, Buurstra also created and teaches the East Asian Studies class. Buurstra started this class because she believed that there was a lack of exposure to the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea at PHS. Buurstra wanted this class to introduce and celebrate these cultures with students.
“In this school, there are several other classes that teach about other cultures, like Russian studies, or the [Latin] America Studies. … But there's nothing about East Asia. And East Asia — China, Korea and Japan — has such a long, rich, culture and history,” said Buurstra. “It seems like in the students' history classes, they don't learn too much about [culture] — they focus on trade [and] economy. Even though all of that is important, I think it's also important to learn more about culture.”
During her time at PHS, Buurstra has not only taught students, but has also learned from them. Buurstra believes that all of the people she has met at PHS have taught her something new.
“[I’ve learned] that I have to be patient with my students, to let them really understand the material and to let them learn at their own pace,” said Buurstra. “I've learned [from] all the other people I work with. I've met so many great students, parents, and also other fellow teachers.”
One reason Buurstra loves teaching Japanese at PHS is her students’ passion for the class. 
“I have really great students who are really interested in the Japanese language and Japanese culture. [They're] very studious — they study hard because they want to do more with the language. And they're very open-minded,” Buurstra said. “I'm very blessed to have great students.”
To help her students’ mental health, Buurstra tries not to give very much homework. She believes that her students can learn Japanese without doing hours of homework each night. 
“Every student has [a] different progress speed — some students will finish everything in a really short time, but some need extra time. The students here have a lot going on, and a lot of them are really stressed. [I] don't really want to add to that stress [by giving them too much homework].”
In her class, Buurstra tries to focus on learning rather than memorization. She maintains a test policy where students are able to retake their assessments until they feel satisfied with their grade, and tries to encourage studying inside and outside the classroom.
“I have my quiz policy because instead of just moving on after each quiz, after each test, I want to teach the students. I don't want to just say ‘that's it’ and move on. I want them to learn,” said Buurstra. “So that's why, as long as they're learning, I want to give as many chances as I can. I want them to be able to keep doing the tests until they've learned the material.”
Outside of school, Buurstra enjoys cooking, going on walks with her dogs, and playing Mahjong with her Japanese friends.
Buurstra hopes that students can see that the classes she teaches are approachable, and encourages students to broaden their horizons.
“Japanese is not as difficult of a language as many people think. … The East Asian class is a really great class, especially if you're interested in East Asian history,” said Buurstra. “I hope that more people will be open to [learning] Japanese and [studying] East Asian cultures.”

Replacement PHS Profile: Natsuko Buurstra

	On June 2, a portion of the PHS student body will gain the ability to exercise the most indispensable right of U.S. citizens — the right to vote. This comes with great responsibility. We will possess a voice to mold our futures. The outcome of the upcoming elections will dictate the road that the United States will take over the next 4 years. There have been various vigorous debates about the future of our country from the deleterious impacts of climate change to the mounting student debt crisis that our generation faces. A debate has also emerged on the integrity of our democratic institutions. However, most importantly a debate on the integrity of our democratic institutions has emerged. We have seen, in broad daylight, foreign nations enter our elections, at the request of a candidate, and now the ball is in our court to decide the fate of our democracy. 
Our democracy has never been perfect, but in today’s world partisanship and party loyalty have replaced the bipartisan dialogue that our country used to hold so dear. It has become a power-struggle, divided more than ever along party lines, in which different spheres of political influence compete with one another for a victory that benefits a singular party, rather than the United States as a whole. American politics have morphed into a competition between red and blue. Rather than allowing individuals to forge their own political opinions, spheres of political influence dominate and decide how their inhabitants will vote. We see this in the “red South” and “blue Northeast.” We even see this in Princeton, a town whose liberal nature seeps down and concentrates the voting habits of fresh voters at PHS. 
We do not need to look far to see evidence of this happening in the world around us. As high schoolers across America are about to gain the right to vote, we have had the unique opportunity of watching live the highly partisan and divisive impeachment of Trump for the election interference crimes he committed with Ukraine and supposed obstruction of Congress. Trump’s aides have confessed that they tried to leverage military aid to Ukraine for dirt on a political rival. People such as Sondland, Ambassador to the European Union, and Bolton, former National Security Advisor, both confessed to these crimes. However, Republicans chose to ignore this and even refused to call witnesses in a formal trial, breaking tradition with all former Impeachment trials. Instead of listening to the evidence presented, Republicans choose to introduce a new constitutional doctrine that is blatantly false and antithetical to everything our founders fought for. They argued under this doctrine that the President could take any action necessary to ensure his re-election if his re-election was in the interest of national security. Essentially, Trump’s defense boiled down to I like being president and therefore can do whatever I want to make sure I stay in power.  
As first-time voters, we should be concerned by this language and we should be even more concerned by the effect this hyper-partisan environment will have on our decisions as voters. Young voters like us are coming of age in a time when our history and constitutional norms have gone out the window and discord and conflict have become normalized. We have gone from a nation that revered its democratic institutions to a nation that stands silently while Trump openly violates the law. These actions are becoming normal and if we do not take meaningful action right now, young voters will think that these actions are okay and will not be fazed if candidates choose to go down Trump’s road in the future. Although one side has decided to traffic in lies and conspiracies, we as first-time voters must decisively choose to reject Trump and Republican party’s actions so that we can return America to her democratic ideals and away from the autocratic regime we are now quickly approaching. 
The United States has many problems that need to be addressed, and that is normal. As the world changes, new problems emerge and we must rise to the task. However, our generation is facing a challenge that our country has never seen before: a wholesale attack on democratic ideals and if we don’t vote to change now, we risk losing our democracy. 

Personal Editorial

	For most freshmen, math at Princeton High School starts with either Geometry or Algebra, depending on what they took in middle school. However, some students skip Geometry over the summer between eighth and ninth grade, granting them the opportunity to finish the math curriculum at PHS by junior year and take a Princeton University math course as a senior. However, at recent school board meetings, the administration has considered taking action to prevent students from taking this path. If they eliminate the option of taking Geometry over the summer, the school would effectively remove the track that allows students to enroll in university math their senior year.
I wholeheartedly support this plan because it will reduce a source of stress on students. A big problem with the system is that many parents (including my own) pressure their kids to put disproportionate focus into math to reach the highest level. This is detrimental, but removing the option to skip Geometry before 9th grade would alleviate this problem. While it is inevitable that some parents will pressure their children, by taking this position, the school can minimize the damage. We certainly need to keep a distinction between different tracks to let people focus on their interests, but that would still be possible without the university math track. 
When the top students are rushing ahead to university level math, we risk making that the new standard. So many people are completely overscheduled with extracurriculars and high-level courses that further inflation in expectations is dangerous. The availability of the college math track propagates a cycle where people are pressured to overwork themselves and feel more pressure because of other people who are doing the same thing. By removing the option for rising 9th graders to take Geometry over the summer, that pressure can be alleviated. 
	Opponents of this new idea might argue that eliminating the option to skip Geometry stops students from reaching their potential in their subject of interest; while this change may be somewhat limiting, any students performing highly enough to take college courses in high school will certainly get the chance to take those courses when they are in college. No one is set back by having to wait one more year to take courses at the college level. Multivariable Calculus, the course taken by most advanced senior math students, is already extremely rigorous—even more so than the AP-level math courses—so making provisions for students to take a class above that level in high school is unnecessary, and in many cases, stress-inducing. On the contrary, the absurdly high pressure caused by the availability of college math courses in high school pushes students to increase their heavy workloads even further, inducing significant harm to students’ wellbeing. We must step back and acknowledge that most ninth graders who skip Geometry do so because of a frenzied race to get into college rather than a passion for math. 
Eliminating the option to skip Geometry over the summer doesn’t do away with the possibility for students to pursue their interest in math. Students can continue to participate in programs outside of school or extracurricular activities that allow them to flourish in a field that they are actually interested in. However, since such things would not be part of a school transcript, the motivation of appealing to colleges would be taken out of the picture, or at least dampened. The school’s decision would, therefore, encourage students to take advanced math courses based on interest in the subject rather than as a way of boosting a college resume. As a result, students would have less of a motive to take on work beyond their capacity. To help reduce stress without significant drawbacks, I highly recommend that the school proceeds with this change and implement it as soon as possible.

We love women in politics until they ask for more power; the newest victim of this trend is Elizabeth Warren.  Warren went from being a favorite for the nomination to campaigning in Bernie’s shadow. Now she's polling in 3rd place, but 33 percent of voters say that she’s their second choice. The divide between supporting Warren wholeheartedly, and skeptically claiming her as a second choice isn’t a result of a campaign shortcoming or strategic malpractice, but within the minds of the voter. America is still uncomfortable with women running for president.
At the beginning of this election cycle, Elizabeth Warren was the progressive favorite. She handled the Native American identity scandal with expertise, and then was swept under the rug as voters realized that her supposed good outweighed her evil. Warren continually championed “big structural change”, especially in the midwest, and emphasized the need to reform education. She famously has a plan for everything. Critics paradoxically labeled her as a new Hillary, and as a new Bernie — a woman in the same position as she was in and a man whose policy she made better.  Regardless, she was still Elizabeth Warren. 
After Bernie entered the race Warren still retained a large part of her voter base, but as time went on, her supporters began to leave. Bernie and Warren’s platforms do differ and each candidate has their own interpretations of certain issues, but they are still two sides on the same progressive coin. They support almost the same issues in the same manner, with little deviation. Fixating on the differences is just a feeble way to ignore the glaring fact that America hasn’t, and in the foreseeable future will never, want a woman to be president. Even in a party of acceptance and inclusion, microaggressions are still pervasive. Just look at the current Democratic field, the party started with a historic number of six women running for president and now there are only two left in the __while white men claim front runner status. Recently, Biden said that he wouldn’t be angry and aggressive like Warren if he were president while he completely overlooked the campaigning style of Bernie: yelling and wildly gesticulating. 
Furthermore, Warren and Klobuchar face the never-ending question of electability even though they are just as qualified as the other candidates in the race.  Whenever I think about situations like this, where I feel as though criticism is unduly placed upon a female politician, I pose this hypothetical: what if we were talking about a man? If two progressive male candidates ran against each other with almost identical platforms, how would America react? Obviously division would exist, however, I doubt that this level of scrutiny would be applied.
I’ve heard several people profess their ardent devotion to Elizabeth Warren, only to turn towards Bernie and say, “I don’t know, I just like him more”. Especially in Princeton, where we value progressive viewpoints and the politicians who champion them. We love to support women in politics, except when it really matters. If a progressive town can’t get behind a female candidate who is quite literally the same or better than the male candidate, how can the rest of America? The democratic party isn’t as progressive as we had hoped or assumed, especially if progressive ideals can’t pan out in a liberal bubble. PHS is filled with motivated and politically aware students, and we are beginning to understand our place in the political sphere. Young voters are the ones who have the biggest stake in this election; we’re the ones who have to live with this policy the longest. So it is our responsibility to diversify the Democratic party. Through our civic engagement, we should rethink the way in which we view certain candidates. It is our job to minimize the number of microaggressions that we apply to females running for office, as ultimately, we’re the main ones who will benefit from diversity in our government. It is in our best interest as the future of America to have a government that reflects us; a government filled with as many varying viewpoints as young voters themselves have. 
Admittedly, I know that in this instance my hatred equates disappointment. It hurts to watch this happen again —a woman gets so close to the presidency when suddenly the tides turn at the last moment. It’s even more frustrating that this is a candidate that has no pernicious flaw. There are no emails, no trashy husband, no classic “Democratic elitism”. There is only a fierce-minded woman with an elaborate plan for every setback steered her way. I will always see Bernie as a progressive revolutionary because ultimately, that’s what he is. He is the reason why the party has its current outlook and why we’re talking about the issues that matter. But we should look at this as a model situation of how the student surpasses the master.  Elizabeth Warren does everything that Bernie does, but better.

Elizabeth Warren

In a world where anyone’s ideas can be shared instantly, falsehoods spread like fire. With the modern media, people are more educated, and more misinformed, than ever. News
breaks instantly –– “fake news” propagates just as quickly. 
Ignoring reality is nothing new in politics; throughout American history, groups have
distorted or disregarded the facts to suit their agendas. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Know-Nothing Party espoused conspiracy theories to justify their nativist, anti-Catholic
platform. A century later, Sen. Joseph McCarthy gained tremendous power by falsely
accusing many individuals in his communist witch hunts. However, these historical
examples pale in comparison to people’s unawareness and denial of facts today.
More than ever, conspiracy theories are influencing people’s decisions. For example, although 97 percent of scientists agree that human activity is causing global warming and climate change, the Washington Post reported that 19 percent of Americans either deny that is happening at all or that humans cause it. No legitimate study has shown any inherent dangers in vaccines, yet 45 percent of adults doubt their safety as per the American Osteopathic Association, again ignoring the scientific literature in favor of erroneous alternatives.
The growing power of fake news has daunting ramifications on public opinion and on the state of pressing issues. Global warming ignorance has irreparable repercussions, and vaccine opposition endangers everyone’s health. And, just as dangerous, people are increasingly cherry-picking facts and creating their own realities to suit their agendas. Politicians on both sides of the aisle choose what to believe and make up what they want to believe to fit their positions. The same Republicans who went to extreme lengths to try to remove President Clinton from office for lying about an affair are bending over backwards today in an attempt to defend President Trump after he committed manifestly worse offenses. And there is something to be said about the President himself, who according to the Washington Post has made over 16,000 false claims in his first three years in office.
What can we do? As students at a high school that offers numerous opportunities to learn about the real truths of this world, it is our duty to pursue this knowledge and be able to identify the fake facts that are starting to surround us. Make use of your biology class to ask questions about vaccines, your history class to learn the incontrovertible facts of the past so that we don’t repeat history, your enviro class to learn about the real and detrimental impacts of climate change.
We would all be well-advised to follow the admonition of the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts”. It’s easy to see hypocrisy in others, but we so often fall victim to it ourselves. In the end, it comes down to people refusing to admit that their side is wrong, and going to extreme lengths to defend what they want to be true. Everyone everywhere must be aware of misleading information and its severe ramifications. We're already on a dangerous trend, so it's imperative to stay informed and know what's really going on. However much people like to think otherwise, everyone on all parts of the political spectrum distort reality to a certain degree. In an increasingly polarized world, it is essential to stay informed, seek out reliable sources, and not let a bias or a pre-set agenda prevent you from grasping reality.

Facts Matter

For most students at Princeton High School, it is not surprising to hear in casual conversation, “Hey, but it looks good on college apps….” The shadow of college constantly follows students at PHS and plays a large role in shaping their high school experience. At some level, every student is driven by the urge to get accepted into the most prestigious schools so that they may enter society with theoretically the best opportunities. We are reared with the notion that our college education will decide our success further on; however, we need to ask: “At what cost?”
When we tailor our identity specifically to this prestige and organize it around the very thing that is supposed to define us, we lose sight of the enjoyment of learning and of being teenagers; we enter a bizarre cycle that distorts the purpose of education. It becomes less an institution of improvement and learning than it does one of position and standings. Think about it this way: an Ivy League school does not offer a better education compared to many other liberal arts colleges, or other private universities. Why then, does the notion of acceptance into these institutions connote a sort of prestige? We’ve developed a sense of facsimile consumerism about these things—we desire the flashiest “product” no matter the quality of it. In a system that spoils us for choice, we often overlook the more modest yet better education for the purportedly “top tier” schools.
With a similar abundance of extracurricularsat PHS, students may feel pressured to sign up for as many as possible with no regard for their attraction to the activities they choose. The PHS club list itself is a daunting read, with inadequate space for clubs to truly reach potential members. In an environment meant to encourage students to explore their interests, the opposite happens. The tendency to pad one’s resume is only reinforced by the myriad of options provided by the extensive club list. 
Other PHS extracurriculars like Sports and Performing Arts are not exempt from this mindset. In what are meant to be genuine expressions of enjoyment reside the same looming advantageousness. Much commotion is made about getting onto particular teams, or into particular musical ensembles, or claiming particular performing roles. We don’t mean to proclaim that “art and expression are dead”; however, they are undeniably shadowed by a peripheral motive (Indeed, even when writing this piece, we were quick to consider how it would look on our own applications). This atmosphere creates, at its extreme, an overwhelmed shell of a student galvanized between myriad poles, with no foundational axis; or, realistically, a student ill-prepared and wrongheaded about their true passions—rather than seeking to partake in clubs or activities that we enjoy, we look to join those that society deems the most “impressive.” Sure, they look good on a resume, but they provide no real fulfillment. Is this the identity—acting not out of enjoyment but out of the illusion of “duty” to one’s future—that which we, as emerging adults, wish to create for ourselves?
	Moreover, it breeds in the individual genuine anxiety concerning their own future and the way they are perceived. Joining the right clubs, having the right talents, and building the right resume becomes a twisted competition - a necessity, really (or a presumed one). Whether we actively participate in it or not, there is an undeniable culture of competitiveness at PHS that is damaging to the flourishing mind. And, at the center of it, the student suffers most.
None of us want this. We should not allow ourselves to play into a culture of unhealthy competition. We should each purpose to encourage the pursuit of real interests, as opposed to the foppish fabrication of make-believe merits. There are those of us, and there are elements of this in each of us, that find real fulfillment in intellectual, artistic, and athletic expressions. That is the behavior that we should encourage. Rather than encouraging a race to the top, we’d do best to create a collaborative, educational atmosphere. We all see past these foolish pretenses, yet think ourselves immune to such a critical eye. Really, they just detract from why we’re here: to learn.

Toxic Club Culture

	From varsity track athlete to injured on the bench to powerlifting national champion, the success story of Ananya Lahiri ’20 is made for the movies. But her accomplishments did not come without their fair share of obstacles. As Lahiri repeatedly overcomes the hurdles presented along her athletic career, dedication becomes a hallmark of her journey.
	Lahiri first started her athletic career in India through running competitions held by her school. Always coming out first, Lahiri continued to focus her training on track when she moved back to the US in 8th grade. Inspired by the high level of athletics that she saw in America, Lahiri picked up personal training with her current coach, Shawn Nixon, at the end of 8th grade to help with the explosive power necessary for the long and triple jump. Lahiri continued her passion for track into highschool until junior year where she sustained an injury to her Achilles tendon. While recovering from her injury, Lahiri discovered the thrill of lifting heavier weights. This newfound passion pushed her to shift her training towards powerlifting. 
	“Initially my parents didn’t quite understand why I wanted to lift heavy, and there was also the stigma that it stunted growth. But after continual convincing, they eventually came around. ... Now they know that I love it and are super supportive,” Lahiri said.
	But in the midst of recovering from her Achilles injury, Lahiri also developed back issues  stemming from bad posture. This new setback would eventually become her greatest asset. With her back weakened, Lahiri focused her training on restrengthening. These targeted workouts would prove to be useful in stabilizing her for the squatting and deadlifting aspects of powerlifting. Recovering from numerous injuries takes dedication and perseverance, and Lahiri does just that.
	“Her mentality of being a good person, and a hard worker [with] work ethic, transfers to just about anything you want. ... She knows what makes her happy and what she’s great at. ... She's really good at blocking out the noise of social media nonsense and peer pressure, and just being a good person and working really hard. She always brings that really really mature and emotionally tough outlook to stuff,” Nixon said.
	Last September, Lahiri competed in her first powerlifting meet with the World Natural Powerlifting Federation, beating four state records in her weight and age division. Lahiri competed in her second powerlifting meet this past Sunday on February 23, 2020 and once again bested the state records that she had previously set. This past weekend crowns Lahiri as the state and national champion in her weight and age division in the WNPF.
Aside from her mentality, another aspect which makes Lahiri so successful when it comes to powerlifting is the community which has found within the sport. Unlike a traditional school sport where your fellow athletes are the same age, powerlifting has allowed Lahiri to interact with athletes older than her. With these interactions comes wisdom and information from reaches of life beyond highschool.
“Powerlifting is amazing and everyone is there to cheer you on and they only want you to improve. … There’s no toxic competition and I’ve made some of my greatest friends, like Savannah who’s 29 [and lifts with me],” Lahiri said.
Having a passion for her craft and a strong mentality is important in a male dominated sport. Lahiri has had some interesting run ins with people judging her weight lifting abilities based on her gender
“At the gym at PHS someone asked me if I needed help and they took the weight off the bar to make it lighter for me instead of putting them back on. So I said thanks and put them back on. That's happened a few times,” Lahiri said.
Instead of letting these stereotypes put her down, she uses them to further fuel her desire to do well.
“I don’t care about it as long as I know my lifts are going well, I’m happy, and injury free, that’s all that really matters to me,” Lahiri said. “[Also, don’t be afraid to go to the gym. It can be intimidating, … but just do it. Powerlifting is about breaking personal records. No judgement. Everyone is just there to cheer you on.”

Athletes of the Month: Ananya Lahiri

    From winning five National Basketball Association championships to making kids everywhere scream “Kobe!” whenever they shoot, the late Kobe Bryant built himself an excellent reputation throughout his Hall of Fame career whose impact still continues to affect PHS.   
    Bryant first played basketball in Reiti, Italy when he was three years old. Because Bryant’s father played basketball professionally in Italy, his life always involved basketball. After 14 years in Italy, Bryant moved back to the United States and enrolled in the Lower Merion High School where he became a national star, averaging 30 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists as a senior while leading his team to win a state championship. His astounding play during the championship garnered the attention of the Los Angeles Lakers. 
    Throughout the 20 years Bryant played in the NBA, Bryant won a multitude of awards including 18 All-Star selections, 15 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive team selections, an MVP award, and two NBA Finals MVPs. He is considered by many to be one of the best basketball players of his era.
    “He has zero flaws offensively. Zero. You backed off of him, he could shoot the three. You body him up a little bit, he can go around you. He could shoot the mid-range. He could post. He could make free throws,” said four-time MVP LeBron James. “That’s something I admired, just being at a point where the defense would always be at bay where they couldn’t guard you at all...”
    Bryant’s former teammate and NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal believes that Bryant’s work ethic led to his continuous success, citing that even when not given playing time he would pretend to shoot around without a ball. 
    “We’re all just looking like, ‘What is this kid doing?’” O’Neal said. “Full speed, sweating, just pump-faking and moving around without a ball. Talking to himself like, ‘You can’t guard me!’ Just talking to himself.”
    Players all over the league were in shock after Bryant died in a helicopter crash on January 26. That day, individuals around the world lost a role model. He motivated and inspired kids to play basketball through his ruthless mentality and greatness. 
    “I started playing ball because of KOBE after watching the 2010 finals,” NBA All-Star Joel Embiid tweeted. “I had never watched ball before that and that final was the turning point of my life. I WANTED TO BE LIKE KOBE.”
   After his death, many top athletes from different sports paid tribute to Bryant. This included the entire NBA with all the teams playing that day committing both a 24-second shot clock violation and an eight-second backcourt violation representing Bryant’s jersey numbers of 24 and eight. The National Football League followed suit with a moment of silence in honor of his death during their Pro Bowl match. In the game, defensive plays and touchdowns were celebrated with basketball moves in honor of the late shooting guard.  
     Being a huge soccer and tennis fan, Bryant supported and mentored athletes from different sports around the world, ensuring his influence could be felt outside of American sports as well. 
    “He has been one of the greatest sportsmen in history, so he deserves a round of big applause,” Rafael Nadal, the current second best tennis player in the world, said. “He always wanted more, he always wanted to increase his level, and he has been a true inspiration for the world of sport.” 
    PHS students were also affected by Bryant’s passing, with many in shock at the tragedy that occured to a role model they had looked up to their whole lives. 
    “I was really sad, actually. When I first heard it I was like, no way, but then after confirming I was heated about it and then I got sad thinking about the impact he had on the game,” said Timothy Evidente ’21, starting point guard for the men’s varsity team. “He’s one of the greatest of all time and he pushes me to do better every day. I feel motivated to do better and take aspects of his games and attempt to bring them to me. I was distraught about it [but] we can’t really [quantify] the impact he had.”
    Brian Frost ’20, fellow member of the varsity team, shares similar sentiments of not only being shocked but also inspired after Bryant’s death. 
    “I remember I was really shell shocked when I first heard the news ... on a personal level, [I] just [realized] how precious time is and how much the people around you matter, and [how] it translates to the team because we have a lot of seniors on this team and it’s our last go around. It kinda [reminded us to] make sure this season was as best as possible and there’s only a few games left and we need to do our best in every [game].”
    Shooting guard for the men’s varsity team Jackson Petrone’s ’22 style of play was directly influenced by Bryant’s passing. 
    “His leadership impacted everyone in the world... Especially [my game], he gave me motivation to play ... I copied a couple of his moves, spin moves, between the legs but I [feel like I] can’t use [those moves] anymore because it’s like he’s not alive anymore.”

A Tribute to Kobe

	Since volleyball’s introduction as an official Olympic sport for both men and women in 1964, it has faced increasing interest throughout the world. Players can now choose to compete in various numbers, from 6 people teams to doubles and in different courts from indoor to beach sand. But in the past 56 years since volleyball’s inception, it is apparent that girls volleyball specifically has reaped the benefits of increased interest in the sport. While boys volleyball is growing in popularity, PHS still lacks an official boys volleyball team.
“I was kind of confused. I know it’s not super popular as a boys sport, but still a lot of other schools in the area have boys teams, so I was a little bit shocked.” said Matei Moldoveanu ’20
Being a volleyball player himself, Moldoveanu noticed the lack of an outlet for boys to play volleyball and attempted to create a volleyball club. Despite Moldoveanu’s interest along with other volleyball athletes, the push for the creation of a volleyball club has been unsuccessful. Because of the lower recognition of boys volleyball, the administration did not feel the need to allocate the resources needed  to create a team. The absence of a boys volleyball team or recreational club means that students who want to participate are missing out on the opportunity to play a sport that is offered at many other highschools.
 “For a lot of kids, it’s really important to have a school team, so that they can play year round. Kids who don’t have school teams can only play [on club teams]. It’s kind of hard to stay on the same level [as other players] because you’re not playing as much,” Moldoveanu said.
In response to the lack of a boys volleyball program, Howard Cheng, a current volleyball player and coach, created the Open Gym Program hoping that kids in Princeton could have an outlet to play volleyball. 
“As a parent, I've raised two highschoolers already, and I really want to promote physical and mental health. … When these guys get on the court, they will feel totally different. They can get the pressure released, get themselves recharged. I see the benefit it had on my daughters, and I want to make this benefit also available to all our kids, if possible,” Cheng said.
His goals are to provide consistent training for players in Princeton that had already had some experience with volleyball, as well as offering a low cost option for those with financial burdens. The main goal of the program is to provide exposure to the sport of volleyball to all students. Part of increasing the exposure of volleyball is growing the number of male players in the sport. 
“For three years, [there were] almost no boys in the training program, even though the training program is the same [for boys and girls], but this year we do see much more senior boys, a few sophomore boys, and even a few middle school boys join the program,” Cheng said.
As boys volleyball has continued to grow in popularity, many other high schools and districts have taken notice and created boys volleyball teams. 
“Very few towns … don’t have boys volleyball programs. Unfortunately, Princeton is one of them. ... We need to get people’s attention, and we need their support to get the program started.” Cheng said.
However, with the previous lack of success towards creating a volleyball club, Moldoveanu expresses his doubt as it was difficult to get people’s attention before. One step that can be taken towards the establishment of a boys volleyball team is dispelling the stereotype that volleyball is a “girls” sport.
“It’s very much a men’s sport as well. It's very different. … Growing up playing it, I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Oh that’s a girls sport’ but people don’t really understand,” Moldoveanu said.
Cheng expressed similar sentiments. Having seen his two daughters go through the highschool volleyball program, Cheng knows the many benefits of playing this sport.
“It provides team bonding, building relationships and gives young kids the feeling of happiness,” Cheng said.
Cheng seeks to garner support from the Board of Education, the community, and parents in order to establish a boys team. Cheng suggests to all the boys waiting for an official team to group together and register for a club at PHS. If enough advocacy and voices are raised, Cheng believes that a team will be established in the future. Cheng feels the only way to understand volleyball is to experience it.
“You will see the agility, you will see the power, you will see the speed, you will see everything you can expect from any other successful sport options,” said Cheng. “To discover the beauty of volleyball, you have to experience it.”

Boys Volleyball

Gefen Bar-Cohen ’20 powers his way past two defenders and plants the ball into the basket. The buzzer sounds. It’s a victory for PHS. From trailing Montgomery 17-25 at halftime, the Little Tigers fought their way back in the third and fourth quarters with Bar-Cohen’s 16 points and five rebounds. His quick work helped the team triumph  47-45 in a key match, carrying momentum through their 4 game winning streak.
Bar-Cohen’s success through his senior season comes from his early beginnings and passion for the game of basketball. Watching the Boston Celtics with his older brother and father from a very young age, Bar-Cohen knew for sure it was exactly what he wanted to pursue. As an avid fan, Bar-Cohen cites the Celtics’s 2008 championship run led by Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Kevin Garnett as key inspirations for his play style and work ethic. His passion for playing basketball carried on through middle and high school, earning him spots on varsity teams throughout the years.
However, Bar-Cohen’s journey to being the captain of the varsity team wasn’t without its hurdles. Met with the transition from the junior varsity to the varsity team during his sophomore year, Bar-Cohen found that he needed to make adjustments to his playing style inorder to keep up with the faster and more physical nature of his new team.
“It’s the difference between boys versus men. You’re playing kids that are a lot stronger and more physical than you,” Bar-Cohen said. 
The team struggled during Bar-Cohen’s first year on the varsity team, finishing 4-20 for the season. But despite the rough finish, the challenging season further catalyzed Bar-Cohen’s striving towards the top.
“I’ve always known it was part of the process, [a] part of the game. I just knew that if I set my mind better, then everything would work out,” said Bar-Cohen. “I’ve always been motivated by the need for success. I want to go out there every day and try my hardest. I love looking up at the scoreboard at the end of every game … [to see] Princeton out scoring the other team [with] a feeling of success for my teammates, coaches, and myself,” 
With his role as a member expanding alongside his experience and skill, the team also saw improvements the next year, ending the season with a 12-13 record as well as making the state tournament.
“I consider myself to be a good teammate. I want to make the people around me better, [so I] give up a couple shots to give my teammates [opportunities to score]. … I [also] consider myself a good shooter. I grew a lot in the last couple years, so I’ve added a lot of depth to my game,” said Bar-Cohen. 
Head Coach Noone shares similar sentiments after having Gefen as a part of the team for the past few years. Attributing Bar-Cohen’s success to his unwavering dedication, Noone attests to Bar-Cohen’s skill on the court.
“His versatility, his ability to shoot, [and] his ability to score in the post. … Last year against North Brunswick, [Bar-Cohen] broke his nose. Unfortunately … we didn’t win, but that day he really showcased everything he had that day. If he didn’t break his nose in the last two minutes we probably would’ve won that game,” Noone said.
As the captain of the team, Bar-Cohen embraces his role as a leader, building team chemistry while keeping the team focused. 
“We’re a really tight group of kids and I really enjoy playing with them. … [Although] we started off a little slow, [having] some issues executing down the stretch of games, we learned from our mistakes in the past, eliminating those silly turnovers [and] making sure that we make those open shots. And as of late, we’ve been playing a lot better down the stretch,” said Bar-Cohen. “I really want to keep on rolling with that, riding the momentum,”
With his graduation coming up this summer, Bar-Cohen plans on taking his passion to the next chapter of his life at the Kenyon College basketball team, bringing the same level of dedication and work-ethic from high school. 
“I just really want to work hard for my playing time and add whatever I can for the team because I know it’s going to be a great experience and I’m looking forward to it,” said Bar- Cohen. “As Vince Lombardi once said, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

The Tower

February, 2020 Archives

The Tower