  On April 22, a pop-up called “Visigo Agent” appeared on the screens of all PHS-issued devices, requesting permission for input monitoring and screen recording. Though PHS students speculated that the software was being rolled out to detect AI usage, its main purpose, according to Chief Technology Officer Todd MacDonald, is to detect threats to student safety and prevent self-harm or harm to others. 

The software, developed by Linewize, will monitor the screens of all student devices. In the vast majority of cases, the data recorded will be deleted immediately. However, if Linewize’s AI models detect a potential safety threat, it will capture screenshots of the student’s device and classify them into one of five levels based on the severity of the threat, with five being the highest.

If the threat is serious, involving an imminent risk to safety, an individual at the district will immediately be notified (regardless of the time of day), while lower level threats will appear on a dashboard to be reviewed. 

MacDonald emphasized that the district is not planning to use the system to detect cheating or AI usage, even if a student is suspected of such an action by a teacher or administrator. The system is programmed to detect threats or instances of sexual harassment, extreme bullying, suicide or suicidal ideation, and violence.

MacDonald also noted that while the school district is able to determine which student owns the device associated with a given capture, administration and faculty are not able to review or request past footage if it is not picked up by the system.

   “If a principal says, ‘Hey, I heard a rumor that a kid said this,’ I can’t go into the system… it doesn't work that way. I don't use the filter to look and see what websites the student [went] to. [The system] is really only looking for active dangers for students,” said MacDonald.

  The program has been piloted at Princeton Middle School for the past two weeks and has since detected around 100 threats, with the vast majority being false alarms.

“Most of [the alerts] are nothing to be concerned about. I quickly look and say, ‘Okay, this was a research project about drugs, right? It's not like a student is having an overdose.’ So I can immediately dismiss that one,” said MacDonald.

   The vast majority of school districts in New Jersey already have an equivalent type of software installed, with PPS being relatively late to the game. PHS is also unique in that it provides Macbooks to students, which are harder to install software on and monitor compared to Chromebooks. MacDonald noted that PHS students have a history of attempting to evade monitoring software and restrictions.

“If students refuse to install the software, at some point we will have to lock the devices down.  We have to get this working. If it turns out that we can't get that working reliably, then in the future, we won't be able to have students using MacBooks,” said MacDonald.

   PHS students have been fairly resistant so far; the majority of students did not immediately install the software. As a result, PHS administration added a 15-minute homeroom on Monday, April 27 to ensure students complied with the update.

   “I honestly think it's quite invasive… but in general, I guess it's kind of necessary, because a lot of people are doing what they shouldn't be doing in school instead of work. It's just another reminder that these are not our computers,” said Luca Nicolae-Jozwiakowski ’27.

Combined with the continuation of a filtering system such as Mosyle that restricts access to certain websites, Macdonald hopes the new software will help the district better comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act and protect PHS students in a world of growing digital threats.

   “I've talked to many districts, and almost every one that has set up these types of tools has [saved lives]. There have been several instances I know of … where [the system] has called a guidance counselor, and they called the police, and the police [arrived], and that student was about to take their life,” said MacDonald.


photo courtesy: Linewize
An example of the dashboard district technology personnel will have access to with Linewize. Events ranging from three to five in severity will be sent for review. The dashboard highlights an “Offensive User,” “Sexual Content,” and Discord use.

PPS debuts “Visigo Agent” software to increase student monitoring

This January, Governer Phil Murphy 
signed the New Voter Empowerment Act 
into law in New Jersey, which allowed 
17-year-olds who turn 18 by the general 
election to vote in state primaries for the 
first time, as long as they register to vote 
by May 12. Andrew Zwicker, the Senator 
for the legislative district LD-16, which 
includes Princeton, sponsored this law.

“It’s the first bill that I ever wrote … 
and it took almost a decade before it 
got signed into law,” said Zwicker. “It’s 
your world. The decisions that I make 
in the legislature right now, whether it is 
around economic policy, climate change, 
housing, [or] affordability, they’re not 
going to magically change in 10 years. So 
having your voice heard by folks like me 
is incredibly important.”

This law expands participation for 
primary elections, which determines the 
party nominees for the general election 
in November. 

“It’s a unique opportunity for young 
people to have their voices heard,” said 
executive board member and elections 
chair of the Princeton Community 
Democratic Organization Rachel 
Grainger. “The primary election is an 
opportunity to decide who ends up on the 
general ballot. So this gives young people 
more of a voice in that process.”

Zwicker encourages youth to participate 
in democratic processes, even if they 
have not turned 17 yet. Whether it is by 
volunteering in a campaign, attending 
a council meeting, or getting involved 
on a local municipality level, there are 
multiple ways to connect with our political 
representatives.

“Being civically engaged and civically 
minded is really important. A lot of people 
don’t realize that state local governments 
have a much more direct impact on 
people’s lives, especially young people’s 
education policy,” said History and 
Government and Politics teacher Timothy 
Campbell.

However, despite the expansion of 
voting abilities to youth, only 32 votes were 
cast by 17-year-olds during New Jersey’s 
11th congressional district special election 
this April. Due to the new bill, there are 
a variety of factors that can affect voting 
participation, including weather, ballot 
resources, and information about voting 
requirements. Campbell believes that 
these shortcomings can be fixed with a 
required government class for all high 
schoolers. 

“Not every 17-year-old knows about 
the registration process. Knowing the 
requirements [is] especially important,” 
said Campbell. “Seniors graduate from 
here and go to college … outside of their 
home district, they have to know they 
have a ballot registration process … 
that’s something that you could learn if a 
government class was mandatory before 
graduation.”

At PHS specifically, students can access 
resources and programs that help them 
learn about and get involved with the 
voting registration and election process. 
The school encourages students to join 
political clubs, while integrating civics 
lessons into the curriculum, educating 
them about elections through Student 
Council voting, and sending reminders 
about voting deadlines. Carina He 
’26 recalls the opportunities she has 
had throughout school involving civic 
education. 

“I remember [that] in middle school 
we did mock debates about social issues, 
and you continue to do similar critical 
thinking [in high school] where you 
learn both about the history of America’s 
election cycles and voting issues while 
also forming your own opinions and 
worldview,” said He.

Eleanor Nayden ’26, a senior who 
recently registered to vote, corroborated 
that young people are capable of shifting 
the current state of partisan politics.

“What’s needed right now in the very 
polarized political situation, is to do your 
research on the different people that are 
in politics, so that you’re not voting for 
ideals, but people that represent you and 
your desires and how you want to see the 
country move forward,” said Nayden.

Zwicker urged people to not feel 
discouraged over the political environment 
and instead use the power they have as 
members of a democratic society to make 
the change they want to see.

“The issue I see is people feel very 
discouraged given the chaos coming out 
of Washington and feel like their vote 
doesn’t matter,” said Zwicker. “But it’s the 
opposite because if we don’t [participate], 
we end up with elected officials who don’t 
share our values.”

Photo: Katherine Chen

Amanda Lee ’26 registers to vote by filling out the Voter Registration Application.

Senator Andrew Zwicker’s decade-long bill expands voting rights to 17-year-olds

On April 28, the Latinos Unidos club 
led their sixth annual assembly for PHS 
students in celebration of Hispanic heritage 
and culture. Students gathered in the gym 
to watch dances and songs performed by 
Latinos Unidos, Spanish class students, as 
well as PHS Studio Band. 

This year, students played an active role 
in deciding which aspects of their culture 
they wanted to showcase. Suggested by 
Annelise Narvaez-Salgado ’28, the club put 
on a Mexican Folklorico dance inspired 
by her culture. While performances like 
Narvaez-Salgado’s were more traditional, 
other musical performances like the 
Dominican Bachata and Panamanian 
Reggaeton added more modern aspects 
to the assembly.

“Our Hispanic culture is very diverse. 
Celebrating the uniqueness of that [is] 
important and it has to be recognized and 
valued,” said Spanish teacher and event 
organizer Señora Idania Rodriguez-Mejia. 
“The assembly is for all of us to learn, 
including us Latinos and Hispanics, we’re 
learning from each other as well.”

Members of Latinos Unidos at PHS 
aimed to create an assembly not only for 
PHS students to learn about the different 
traditions of the Hispanic world, but also 
as an opportunity for different students to 
participate and perform.

“I think my favorite part is definitely 
seeing people from different parts of things 
come together. We have the band, we have 
people who maybe are not so familiar 
with the club [that] want to be a part of 
this. Seeing everybody come together, it’s 
nice to see that,” said Latinos Unidos club 
President Valeria Trujillo ’26. 

Along with uniting the community, 
Latinos Unidos integrated a Bad Bunny 
theme at the end of their assembly, inspired 
by his recent performance at the Super 
Bowl half-time show. They centered their 
performance around his message: The only 
thing more powerful than hate is love.

“I was in my friend’s car and her dad 
was listening to Bad Bunny,” said Latinos 
Unidos leader Aimy Solares ’26. “He [said] 
‘I love Bad Bunny’s music,’ and ‘I want to 
go to Puerto Rico.’ I was so happy that 
Bad Bunny is bringing all these different 
kinds of people together.”

Student performers were also excited 
to learn more about Hispanic traditions 
and to show their classmates what they 
had prepared. The student organizers 
like Trujillo tried to make each assembly 
different from the last in order to recaptivate the audience.

“This year we definitely [wanted] to 
make it more inclusive. We were trying 
to keep that balance of entertaining 
and showing how beautiful the culture 
is, but also educating and familiarizing 
people with our culture,” says Trujillo. 
“We [wanted] to include people from the 
crowd [to] be more interactive … like a 
game from our culture that we could bring 
people down to play.”

Michelle Donis ’29, like many others who 
attended the assembly, expressed excitement 
in seeing the Latino representation at the 
assembly. 

“Hispanic heritage [is] my family and 
culture and how I embrace everything 
around me,” said Donis. “[I was] excited 
to see what the club had prepared for 
everybody and to show what our culture 
means to us and how we embrace it.”

In addition to fostering understanding 
about Hispanic culture, Rodriguez-Mejia 
hopes that students in the assembly can 
become more comfortable in expressing 
their identity and that the audience feels 
supported enough to do the same. 

“It’s my identity that creates me. It is 
extremely important to be allowed to 
wear what you want, to speak the language 
that you feel comfortable with,” said 
Rodriguez-Mejia. “That doesn’t mean 
that you’re going to put away or push 
away other cultures. We’re all learning 
from each other.

Photo: Katherine Chen

Inspired by Bad Bunny, students from Latinos Unidos hold up the banner to close off the assembly.

Latinos Unidos share a message of love and unity during Hispanic Heritage Assembly

PHS introduced its first ever Future Pathways Program 
on April 15, alongside the annual college fair held during 
April 14 and 15. Across the two days, juniors at PHS 
explored post-secondary futures that involved higher 
education through the college fair, as well as alternative 
careers through the Future Pathways Program. 

Since 2005, the average cost of college tuition and fees 
has increased by 93 percent, according to the Education 
Data Initiative. Adjusted for inflation, this number is 17 
percent in real terms. To address this issue, IDEAS Center 
Director Dr. Andrea Dinan launched the Future Pathways 
Program this year.

“College has become incredibly expensive, [but] there’s 
many different ways to get the training that you need or 
to figure out what your passion is, so it’s good to keep an 
open mind and check out all the different experiences,” 
Dinan said. “There’re so many other jobs and occupations 
and fields in the world that don’t necessarily need four 
years of college.”

Juniors who participated in Future Pathways received 
a passport to get stamped at each of the career paths they 
visited, with prizes awarded to those who filled out the 
entire passport. As a result, more juniors were incentivised 
to consider the opportunities provided by the fair.

“I might stray away from the college path and go to 
trade school, pilot school, or something like that,” said 
Tacto Yamada ’27.

Dinan invited professionals, workers, and representatives 
from a variety of different fields and professions, including 
USPS, the military, real estate, heating and air, and even 
representatives from Princeton Public Schools.

“I loved [sharing] with the folks around here because 
we’re always working with students and trying to get 
information out [about] careers, education and training,” 
said Director of the Mercer County Fire Academy James 
McCann. “We get people who are from all different 
backgrounds, and I think they all come with a passion 
for wanting to do good.”

In addition to directly entering their career after 
high school, many students choose to pursue a higher 
education, an opportunity that they learned more about 
at the college fair. College and career counselor Nipurna 
Shah has years of experience organizing the college fair 
and inviting universities to attend. PHS, which is part of 
a college consortium with other high schools in the area, 
used its combined resources and connections to reach out 
to colleges for their attendance at these fairs. This year, 
over 148 colleges attended the PHS college fair. 

“I [was] excited to meet with the colleges that I’m 
interested in. I’ve been on tours and I’ve talked with these 
admissions counselors, but I [wanted] to get a more handson experience and really see what can pique my interest 
while I [was] there,” said Ian Lansky ’27.

This year, students were introduced to StriveScan, an 
online tool used to make the registration and attendance 
process more efficient and to give college representatives 
a way to learn about students via a personalized QR code. 
Both events have been designed to assist juniors in 
finding what paths might fit them later on in life — the 
representatives and PHS advisors aimed to broaden their 
horizons to future possibilities. 

“I always encourage students to really think about what 
they love to do,” said Shah. “Find what you like, and you 
don’t necessarily have to know what it is yet in high school, 
college gives you time to explore that, but look for things 
that really excite you and ignite your passion.”

Photo: Andrea Dinan

Representatives from the Princeton Fire Department introduce Saurish Kapoor ’26 to the requirements for becoming a firefighter.

Future Pathways Program encourages students to explore different careers

On Saturday, April 11, many PHS students attended 
the second annual Francophone Festival held on Hinds 
Plaza at Princeton Public Library. The event, organized 
by Princeton-based francophone organization Princeton 
Accueil, was a celebration of the diversity of the Frenchspeaking world and an opportunity for PHS students to 
learn about the French language and culture hands-on.

“There’s a big emphasis on getting outside of the 
classroom and focusing on living in [a] cultural context 
because of the amount of francophone events and 
francophones in the Princeton community,” said French 
student and Francophone Festival volunteer Reya Nair ’26. 
“I think the French curriculum allows you to go beyond 
that classroom experience and really get into how you 
practice French as a lived experience.”

This month, in addition to the festival, PHS also invited 
director and animator Mailys Vallade to PHS French VI 
classes to share more about francophone culture portrayed 
through her film “Amélie et la Métaphysique des Tubes” 
(“Amélie or the Character of Rain”). Vallade, who attended 
a screening of her film at the Princeton French Film 
Festival, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated 
Feature in January.

“I think it’s cool to have these really established French 
[artists] come in and you get to ask them questions about 
their lives and careers in French as well,” said Joanna Hou 
’26. “You get to be able to practice your own language skills 
while also learning about their lifestyle.”

The Francophone Festival sought to represent 
francophonie, the French-speaking world, in all of its forms. 
As francophonie encompasses several countries, ranging 
from East Africa to Canada and Belgium, oftentimes farreaching branches of the French-speaking world are not 
represented. The Francophone Festival was a product of 
multiple francophone cultures coming together. 

“My foundation is from Haiti. In Haiti, they … speak 
French … and I really am very happy here to represent 
Haiti, because most of the people don’t think about them 
as a francophone country,” said President of Princeton 
Accueil and co-organizer of the festival, Nadège Frotté.

In attendance at the festival were 15 francophone authors 
from French-speaking regions of the world: France, 
Canada, Congo, Réunion Island, Tunisia, and Belgium. 
The authors included Christine Le Deurot, Jo Fischer, and 
Philip Kayne, whose works ranged from children’s books 
to historical novels. 

The event also had far-reaching impacts in PHS’s own 
French program. French teacher Gyselle North plans to 
take inspiration from the contemporary writing style of 
Mabanckou.

“Alain Mabanckou just wrote a book, ‘Ramsès de Paris’ 
… which I’m showing to my class … [It] doesn’t use any 
punctuation or capital letters,” said North. “He has a very 
special style of writing, [which] gives me [the] idea to 
propose that style to my students … to revise my own 
rubric.”

In addition to expanding the curriculum, North said it 
can be difficult to keep the French curriculum up to date, 
as they can offer limited representation of francophone 
culture’s breadth. In fact, the French IV curriculum only has 
one Black voice, lacking contemporary authors of diverse 
backgrounds. This is why the teachers encourage students 
to learn from the modern world and not only in class.

“It helps a lot to be involved in the French-speaking 
community outside of school, to realize it’s not just a 
class,” said French teacher Malachi Wood. “We encourage 
students to find French-speaking friends ... but to see 
that in Princeton, it’s important to interact with that 
community as well.”

Photo: Gyselle North


PHS French class students listen to French filmmaker Mailys Vallade share her creative process in animating the 
film “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain.”

Francophone Festival unites worldwide French-speaking cultures in Princeton

Hours before Princeton Town Council’s 
April 27 vote on Princeton Public Library’s 
annual budget, the municipality and the 
library announced they had reached an 
agreement to make up a $149,000 budget 
shortfall that had led to a public, weekslong disagreement. 

In January, the library announced a 
reduction in hours, closing at 8:00 p.m. 
instead of 9 p.m. on the weekdays and 5:00 
p.m. instead of 6 p.m. on weekends. The 
reduction, in addition to cuts in online 
subscription media access, was largely 
attributed to a 36.5% increase in health 
insurance costs for staff, alongside rising 
building utility costs.

However, even after the reduction, the 
library was still short $149,000, a sum 
the municipality had been refusing to 
cover, proposing instead that the library 
eliminate parking subsidies for patrons 
to make up the shortfall. Ultimately, 
the municipality agreed to increase its 
contribution by $75,000, partially offset 
by a restructuring of the library’s employee 
parking permits, and the library agreed 
to cover the remaining $74,000 through 
increased fundraising efforts.

In 2026, the town spent 4.98 million 
dollars on the library. Of that, 3.8 million 
dollars is mandated by the state, while 1.1 
million is a voluntary contribution from 
the municipality’s operating budget, a 
number that Princeton Mayor Mark Freda 
said might decrease in the future.

“We fund that library really, really well,” 
said Freda. “That’s a lot of money, and [it] 
has an impact on every property that’s 
paying taxes, and the taxes are high in this 
town, as they are. I think in the long term, 
the library is gonna have to try to figure 
out ways to find that money elsewhere, 
and not assume the town’s going to be able 
to keep giving them more than what we’re 
required to give.”

Though the library has a 17.8 million 
dollar endowment, much of it is restricted 
and cannot be used to fill any potential 
budget shortfalls, primarily because of 
legislation.

“The Friends and Foundation tracks 
donor intent and distributes funds based 
on the organization’s authorized investment 
guidelines and distribution policy in 
accordance with the Uniform Prudent 
Management of Institutional Funds Act of 
2006,” wrote the library’s Board of Trustees 
in a statement to the Tower. “This means 
that because of donor rules and legal 
guidelines, the money can’t just be used 
freely to fill a sudden budget gap.”

Before the municipality and the library 
reached an agreement, Princeton resident 
and PHS parent Raz Godelnik emailed both 
extensively, arguing that the town must 
prioritize library funding. 

“It’s a question of priorities; what are 
the priorities of [the municipality]? If the 
library, which is really sort of the most 
democratic institution, one that is serving 
everyone … is not a priority, if you can’t find 
[$150,000] to compensate for the deficit, 
I would ask whether the municipality 
is making the right decisions about our 
priorities,” said Godelnik.

However, Freda argued that the town 
cannot meet the funding needs of any one 
institution without limitations, particularly 
with already high property taxes making 
Princeton increasingly unaffordable for 
many. 
“We could have the greatest services 
in the world, but if people can’t afford to 
live here, what good are those services?” 
said Freda. “If I tell you it’s going to cost 
you $1,000 more per year than you can 
afford to live here and [as a result] you 
got to go [leave], it’s like, what good did I 
just do you?” 

Despite the relatively small shortfall, 
the issue generated a significant amount 
of controversy in Princeton, reaching the 
front page of the Town Topics and leading 
to significant community input. According 
to Freda, much of it was more emotional 
than practical.

“Some people decided, ‘Let’s tell 
everybody that loves the library they must 
write emails and call the elected officials 
and say, ‘Give the library whatever they 
want.’’” said Freda. “In spite of all that 
emotional response, … there was a small 
group [from both the municipality and the 
library that] continued to say, ‘Let’s keep 
talking, because the budget is not going 
to be finalized until April 27 and right up 
until that meeting, we [can] ... see if we 
[can] figure something out.’”


Photo: Katherine Chen

Princeton Public Library is the most visited municipal public library in New Jersey.

Library and Town Council reach  budget compromise to end  weeks-long standoff

On March 26, 2026, the International Olympic 
Committee (IOC) banned trans women from participating 
in the female division of the Olympics. Before the 
finalization of this new rule, the committee had already 
been discussing how to divide the female division in 
Olympic sports by making clear distinctions between 
biologically born females and transitioned females
They concluded that, because of scientifically proven 
advantages in biologically male athletes, it would be unfair 
and unsafe to permit them to participate. Specifically, the 
IOC cited close games and high stakes as the reason for 
their decision.

As part of Olympic regulations, athletes have been 
required to complete testing to see if they are eligible for 
the female division. This process usually includes genetic 
testing, such as cheek swabs or blood samples. The results 
are used to check for the sex-determining region Y gene, 
which is typically found in biological males. If the athlete 
has this gene, they are not allowed to compete in the female 
division, but if they don’t, they are allowed to participate. 
James Smirk, one of the head coaches of the track and 
field team, emphasized the credibility issues of the IOC in 
itself. Smirk referenced previous Olympic controversies 
to question the IOC’s consistency and fairness in its 
decisions over the years. 

“We can go all the way back to East Germany, [where 
athletes were] so heavily doping that the female athletes 
actually had higher registered testosterone than the highest 
natural male testosterone ever recorded. [However, the] 
Olympic Committee did nothing about [it],” said Smirk.

The East German doping scandal was an event where 
female athletes were given performance-enhancing 
drugs, synthetic versions of hormones, by their coaches. 
This leads to an increase in muscle mass, strength and 
speed, and a raise in testosterone levels in the body. One 
such drug given was Oral-Turinabol, which was used 
specifically to enhance strength and endurance. From 
1960 to 1989 22 national records were set by these 
athletes who used drugs. 

For Smirk, that raises larger questions about how 
much science versus outside factors actually influences 
the decisions the IOC makes. 

“I think one of the big things to understand is that 
when we talk about things like athletics, it’s very easy to 
sit here … and say, the science, the science, the science. 
But athletics are [also a] cultural phenomena,” said 
Smirk. “If you go back to other cultures that engaged 
in competitive athletics, transgender identity was not 
[considered] an issue. This is more of a cultural issue 
than it is necessarily a biological issue, and [it depends 
on] how culturally we define what fair competition 
represents.” 

According to the American College of Sports 
Medicine, notable differences between biological males 
and females appear at the age of puberty, around 12 
years old. These differences are due to the anabolic 
effects of testosterone in males. During puberty, male 
testosterone levels multiply by 20 to 30 times, 15 times 
higher than in females at the age of 18. 

Mary Pat Lelinski, head coach of the girls basketball 
team, explained that while men generally have more 
physical strength, each case should be considered 
individually, and if there are no big advantages, they 
should be allowed to compete.

Furthermore, she spoke about how physical 
differences between biological men and 
women often come into play, especially in 
a contact sport such as basketball. 


“Going case by case, if there’s an obvious 
advantage to [allowing a trans athlete 
to participate], then they can’t 
participate because it would create 
a safety issue in a lot of sports,” 
said Lelinski.

Greta Knierem ’27, an athlete on 
the girls varsity basketball team, who 
has been coached by Lelinski, shared a similar perspective, 
from an athlete’s point of view. 

“It should definitely depend on the case. It’s just so 
hard [to judge] depending on how skilled the person may 
be at the sport and just how much of a disadvantage it 
could mean to the other opponents in the activity or the 
sport,” said Knierem. “I don’t think that they could even 
[make] a rule on [transgender athletes competing in 
the women’s division since] everyone has different 
types of skills [and] everyone contributes to their 
sport differently.”

Specific cases of transgender women competing in 
the Olympics include Laurel Hubbard, a transgender 
weightlifter from New Zealand who competed in the 
Tokyo 2021 Olympics. Her participation brought a lot 
of attention to how transgender athletes fit into women’s 
sports because it raised questions about fairness, 
eligibility rules, and whether current Olympic 
policies can equally balance inclusion and competitive 
advantage. Cases like this have contributed to ongoing 
discussions within the IOC. Only after collecting 
years of data did the IOC decide to impose the ban.

Brian Dzbenski, Princeton High School’s Drector 
of Athletics, explained that decisions about 
transgender athletes in sports often involve multiple 
factors, especially when it comes to competition 
and student well being. 

“You want to use science and utilize the facts 
… men have higher levels of testosterone [which] 
… builds more muscle,” said Dzebinski. “When it 
comes down to the health and safety of students 
… that’s definitely a great concern.” 

He added that while separation may 
make sense in some situations, applying one clear 
rule across all sports and athletes is much 
more difficult in practice.

The IOC’s decision reflects an ongoing 
debate with no easy answer. While some 
believe the rule protects the fairness and 
safety in the Olympics, others argue 
that it oversimplifies a complex 
issue and does not account for 
individual differences. As 
sports continue to evolve, 
the challenge will be 
finding a balance that 
respects both inclusions and 
fair competition.


International Olympics Commitee bans trans woman athletes

Princeton High School’s very own Audrey Chiu ’26 
competed at the World Junior Synchronized Skating 
Championships, which took place from March 13 to 14 
in Gdańsk, Poland.

With her team, the Skyliners, Chiu won third place 
with 200.40 points, placing second and fourth in the short 
program and free skating segments, respectively, and 
finishing 4.46 points behind second place. This bronze 
medal finish marks the seventh junior world medal for 
the team. 

What does a typical day of training look like for you? Is 
training every single day?

I train in New Jersey three days during the weekdays: 
Monday, Tuesday, [and] Thursday, and then I skate with my 
team in Connecticut and New York on 
Friday, Saturday, [and] Sunday.

What was your favorite part about 
competing at the ISU World 
Junior Synchronized Skating 
Championships?

When we got on the ice to warm up, 
they dimmed the lights and they turned 
on purple and pink lights, and it was 
really cool to be in that zone with your 
team. And I was most proud that my 
family was able to get to see me skate, 
because they live in Taiwan, and they’ve 
never seen me skate before, and some 
of them came over to Poland to watch.

How were you able to adapt to the 
pressure when competing on the 
international stage?
 
I felt more pressure during ... the 
practices that we had leading up to the 
competition, [than] when we competed. [Competing] was 
really fun, so it was not that nerve-wracking.

What’s something that you would tell yourself to keep 
you motivated?

When I was younger, I didn’t 
really need to be motivated, because 
[skating] was something I liked to 
do. If I ever felt like I didn’t want to 
go, I would just tell myself that when 
you’re on the ice, you know you’re 
gonna have fun because your friends 
are there, you’re there, and you’re 
doing something you like [doing]. 

What are three qualities that are 
important for skaters to have?

Being understanding and being 
aware of the people around you is 
very important. [Also], you have 
to be determined, because [skating 
well] takes a lot of effort, and [can] 
sometimes hurt a lot. You [also] have 
to be very self-motivated [and] you 
have to [know how] to time manage 
yourself. You can’t rely too much 
on other people to do stuff for you


Audrey Chiu ’26 wins bronze with Team USA ice skating

High school students are often reduced to their victories. An environment that centers around achievements is an environment that discourages failure, imposing social expectations that pressure individuals to constantly improve. Failure thus warps from a possibility to a looming threat.  


The cultivation of a failure-fearing mindset creates false perceptions of what “failure” really means, contributing toward eventual self-sabotage. Outwardly displaying successes while diminishing defeats can often cause students to make unfair mental comparisons with their classmates. Simultaneously, negative personal understandings of failure, frequently influenced by childhood experiences, exaggerate poor performance. One’s distorted judgment towards a “B,” a singular argument, or a competition loss not only undermines individual progress but sets unrealistic future expectations.


Over the course of my life, similar to many students, I too have suffered through a number of failures. While playing badminton in middle school, I victoriously advanced through matches before halting at a fourth place finish in the final tournament. The idea of perfection that once defined my ability shattered upon the notion of not being “good enough.” During the same years I shifted my attention toward an active social life, interacting with a variety of people until having to move countries. These friendships crumbled with time, leaving nothing but a deep sense of guilt for having failed to maintain connections. Academically, an easy freshman year allowed me to interact with clubs and classmates without ever requiring external help. However, this ease faltered once I advanced to AP classes, ranging from persistent bad grades in the initial quarters of AP Chemistry to a defeatist demeanor upon observing other successful students. A stark contrast emerged between a freshman year 4.0 GPA and the red ink that covered my first test. 


These failures were not met with immediate motivation, and instead took precedence in my future endeavors. Failure is only harmful when people allow it to define themselves. Lost tournaments did not signify continued defeats, but rather allowed me to identify specific weaknesses. My past friendships never led to complete seclusion; instead, they created a more attentive nature with future relationships. My failed tests were never the “end,” but rather allowed me to improve my learning strategies. My failures, like everyone’s, break false expectations and represent genuine progress outside of a comfort zone. Harnessing the value of this natural part of life marks the beginning of a stronger self and a more resilient, authenitic, and peaceful existence.

The power of failure

Cheers & Jeers: April 2026

None of us are the same person in every room. The “skill” of changing our tone and mannerisms to match those of the people around us is ingrained into everyday life. 


The voice that garners respect in class, the voice that brings you closer with friends, the voice that makes you feel like the kid other parents compare theirs to. It’s all to appeal to an arbitrary standard of excellence or importance — to feel like a “better” version of ourselves than we think we actually are. But who cares if we’re better than that standard? Maybe it makes us feel better in the moment, but what long-term benefit does it bring us? The answer is, that there is none. The more we cave to the transient expectations of the world around us, the more we lose ourselves in its wave of voices.


This is not as simple as rejecting code switching entirely. Code switching is a necessary skill for some of the situations we find ourselves in day-to-day lives. The intention is not to discourage it in appropriate settings, but it becomes a problem when a fabricated persona becomes our base-line. Students need to be able to state with conviction who they are and what they stand for. If this skill is lost, we stop being able to choose who we are. Individuality is one of the great strengths of a large, diverse community like the one we have here at PHS. If we let ourselves be shaped entirely by outside forces, then that individuality is lost, replaced by an inauthenticity that hinders positive interactions and social progress.


Inauthenticity has become a quiet force behind the strife we see across the country even today; it estranges us from our own identities, even among those who should understand us the most. It prompts us to wonder: is this version of the person I’m talking to right now the “real” one, or just the one they have learned to present? Regurgitating the same meaningless slang, the same humorless joke, the same printed ideas.


“Imitation is suicide,” writes the 19th century transcendentalist-based philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.


The point stands in that progress has never come from people who waited to be agreed with, from people who imitated to belong. The space race didn’t happen because scientists forced their ideas to fit under what was accepted at the time. The Civil Rights Movement didn’t advance because its leaders prioritized comfort and majority perception. Einstein’s theory of relativity challenged the foundations of physics before his ideas were ever understood, let alone agreed with.


When our actions aim to conform rather than create, no new innovations are made.  Individual paths follow what is known to work, not what actually matters to the person choosing them. People build versions of what already exists. We see it now in the surge of startups, many of which are just AI wrappers that do the same thing with slight variation. They are not built to push an idea forward, but to fit within what is already working. 


Choosing not to follow the path well-trodden is a risk, it has always been. You may not fit in as easily, and you may not be understood as quickly. But what you say is your own, and what you choose reflects that.


Every student in this school brings something different to a room. There’s value in that; it lets us create works of art with special meaning, and approach problems with unique insights. It creates a vibrant community and a culture that is truly special and meaningful. And by all means we should embrace that.

Photo: Katherine Chen

Owing to his passion in singing, Benjamin Caswell Klein ’27 finds fulfillment in switching to his musical side during Studio Vocals.

The cost of code switching

*The Tower asked Princeton High School students for their opinions on next year’s in-school phone ban for the state of New Jersey. Here’s what they had to say:*

## The state law lacks clarity


There is a gray area in the state law, which says that the school cannot stop a student from using their phone in cases of emergency. Who is going to outline what constitutes an emergency? Will it be cases of school wide emergency or a student emergency, students with jobs, or students with loved ones who are sick? In some ways, our phones are our only ways to know if these people are OK. I myself had parents in the hospital for multiple months in the school year and was constantly texting family for updates. Would that be an emergency or be a separate exception? 


I’m also concerned about how it would affect me and my friends’ daily lives, especially when we wouldn’t be allowed to use our phones at lunch; for one, would that mean students would no longer be allowed to use their phones to buy food from vending machines or the Tiger Cafe? While that seems like a rather small issue, I know a lot of students just don’t carry cash anymore. 


With all these things in mind, what I hope going forward is that the school would fill the students in on what direction they are leaning so students can brace themselves. We don’t want to be thrown into the deep end of a pool and struggle with whatever the school decides.

Bridget McAloon ’27

## A double edged sword


It sounds like a double edged sword. I think the only reasonable law is no phones during class unless authorized by the teacher.


Max Wang ’27

## The phone ban is too optimistic


I think it’s unrealistic. Students need to contact their parents, their employers, etc. Maybe a student has a doctor’s appointment, or has to watch their younger sibling, or their work schedule is changed; now there is no way for them to communicate effectively about these things. That said, I know they are often used for purposes other than safety or communication, so I see where the lawmakers are coming from; phones can certainly be distracting to learning. Additionally, I think people will always find a way around restrictions such as these, whether it be burner phones or some other method. I’m not sure if this will be the best or most effective solution.

Anonymous ’27

## Phone bans encourage circumvention

In theory I think the ban is a good idea, but in reality it will only cause more problems. When students are given an obstacle, we’ll just overcome it. I feel like the ban is just going to make us more creative at hiding our phones. Phones can also be a safety measure for us, especially with the current climate of our nation. 

Anonymous ’27

## The necessity of phones in school
I don’t like the phone ban. While I understand the restrictions and concerns for students, I use my phone to communicate plans with my parents, friends, and clubs. I also use the Outlook app to stay up to date with club responsibilities. It also allows me to listen to music when my teachers let us. I also think that phones being a part of modern life means students should adapt to them, rather than have them taken away. Maybe required courses on digital literacy, coping skills, and balanced phone use would be a better long term solution.
 

Anonymous ’27

Graphics: Stephanie Liao

In the March 2026 PHS Phone Policy Feedback Survey administered by the PHS Tech Department, 413 students and 93 teachers anonymously provided input on the current impact of phone usage in school. The majority of student respondents believe that phones are not at all to somewhat distracting, while the majority of teacher respondents regard phones as very to extremely distracting. 

Letters to the Editor: April 2026

What separates elite athletes from the 
average person? The most important 
factor is what goes into your body. 

What you eat will dramatically impact 
your stamina, focus, and even postgame recovery. As a result, athletes 
experience fewer injuries and less 
soreness, making an athlete the best 
version of themselves.

Asker Jeukendrup is a world 
renowned sports nutritionist scientist 
known for his research on how 
the body uses fuel during exercise. 
He has worked with elite athletes 
and professional teams including 
Olympic competitors. Jeukendrop has 
published extensively in physiology 
and sports nutrition strategies, 
focusing on topics like endurance and 
maximizing energy efficiency during 
competition.

The first aspect of nutrition 
Jeukendrup focuses on is the pre-game 
meal which is critical for immediate 
performance. The main focus is on both 
simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs 
digest quickly, providing a quick dose 
of energy; but that boost doesn’t last 
long. Some examples of simple carbs 
include candy, soda, table sugar, white 
bread, and syrups, all best taken as a 
quick snack.

“Carbohydrates are the body’s 
preferred fuel during high-intensity 
exercise,” said Jeukendrup.
Complex carbs also provide fuel for 
the body. However, they are slow to 
digest and result in a gradual release 
of energy. These include whole grains 
like oats and brown rice, legumes such 
as beans, and starchy vegetables like 
potatoes and corn. Complex carbs 
promote sustained energy and help 
maintain blood sugar levels.

“If I don’t eat anything, I’ll feel 
more tired and less capable to play. 
But if I eat something 
before, then I could play 
better and I feel better,” 
said Juan Rivera ’29, a 
tennis and football player 
who values eating carbs 
before matches.

The choice on whether 
to eat simple or complex 
carbs pre-game first 
relies on the time you 
have, and then the sport. 
Simple carbs are great for 
short bursts of activity 
or when you’re on the 
go. But in long-term 
activities such as a soccer game or a 
marathon, athletes should fuel with 
complex carbs beforehand.

Since that energy won’t last the whole 
game, mid-game refueling is essential. 
Simple carbs and electrolytes provide a 
quick boost that helps maintain energy 
and focus during the play, and options 
like energy gels, fruit chews, bananas, 
and even orange slices are all easy and 
fast ways to get simple carbs in. 

Since sweating depletes key 
minerals needed for muscle function, 
replenishing electrolytes are crucial to 
restoring this balance and maintaining 
strength during games. Electrolyte 
drinks, salted pretzels, and even 
coconut water are all sufficient in 
restoring these essential minerals. 

Once the whistle blows or the clock 
hits zero, the body needs rest, and 
recovery is key. The most important 
category for long-term success is 
the post-game meal, which should 
be centered around complex carbs. 
Eating carbs 30 to 60 minutes after will 
replenish glycogen stores, which were 
depleted throughout the game. Rice 
bowls, whole-grain bread, and fruit 
smoothies are all excellent options.
Once carbs are covered, proteins 
become the focus. Essential for 
rebuilding and strengthening those 
same muscle fibers, proteins are the 
first step to improvement. Meats such 
as chicken or fish, chocolate milk, 
and Greek yogurt will all prevent 
muscle soreness and ensure long-term 
strength gains.

Wrapping up the post-game meal 
would be fluids and electrolytes. 
Rehydration is not only important 
during the game, but after as well. 
Athletes lose both electrolytes and 
water through sweat, meaning that 
replacing them will only help the body 
recover faster. More electrolyte drinks, 
coconut water, and plain water would 
all prove adequate in replenishment.

The way you fuel your body 
before, during, and after the game 
can make a noticeable difference in 
both one’s performance and recovery. 
By carefully choosing what goes into 
their body, athletes give themselves the 
best chance to stay strong, healthy, and 
focused in their games all throughout 
the season.


The right foods for athletes

The whistle blows and the atmosphere becomes tense as the opposing team pushes a 
fast-break; Zoie Reynolds ’26 is faced by two attackers, barreling toward her. Springing 
into action, she closes the angle with a perfectly timed slide. Before the lead attacker 
can even look at the cage, Reynolds executes a clean body check, dislodging the ball.
Reynolds started playing lacrosse in third grade after being introduced to the sport 
by her older sister, Skai Reynolds ’21.

“I was playing basketball, then I realized it really wasn’t the sport for me, and my 
older sister played lacrosse,” said Reynolds.
Although she began as an offensive player, she found a better way to help her team 
as she progressed in her career.

“At first, I liked [scoring] goals,” said Reynolds. “Then, I switched to defense, and 
[it] connected with me in a way 
because I just didn’t really like 
scoring that much. I really liked 
helping my other teammates.”

Serving as a captain of the team 
for her second year, Reynolds’ ability 
to connect with her teammates is 
critical and being able to see the 
game more clearly as a defender 
helps her understand how to help 
them to the best of her ability.

“[My focus is] guiding the team 
in games, always lifting up our 
teammates ... and just saying, ‘I’m 
here for you, everybody’s here for 
you,’” said Reynolds.

Reynolds’s leadership has been 
noticed by teammates, who have felt supported by her; midfielder Leah Bornstein 
’26 emphasizes the energy she brings to the team.

“She’s a great person on and off the field,” said Bornstein. “She’s always picking 
everyone up if they’re feeling down, and ... she just brings love, enthusiasm, and 
leadership toward you.”

Similarly, Charles Gallagher, one of Reynolds’s coaches, not only acknowledges 
her ability to dictate play in the backline, highlighting her strong ability to organize 
the team, but also emphasizes Reynolds’s dedication to the team.

“She communicates really well with the senior class ... and the underclassmen 
when it comes to defense,” said Gallagher. “She’s a great motivator, and she’s a total 
team player. [Reynolds] is not concerned about the accolades — she just wants to 
go out there and play.”

Outside of her leadership, Reynolds has established herself as an instrumental 
part of the team’s success; despite not receiving the most headlines for her defensive 
work, her teammates and coaches still recognize 
her effort.

“[The coaches] like to put her on the best 
offensive player from the other team because she’s 
that talented,” said Gallagher. “She can control 
those players and limit what they can do as an 
explosive offensive player, so ... the day before a 
game, we tell [Reynolds]: ‘Hey, Zoie, listen, you’re 
going to need to lock down the best player.’ And 
when that best player doesn’t have a great game, 
everybody knows why.”

Furthermore, Bornstein echoes this sentiment 
while also pointing out that Reynolds’s work ethic 
further establishes her on the field.

“She’s a really hard worker, and she doesn’t get 
recognized enough for it,” said Bornstein.
In her final season, Reynolds still has plans 
to improve the team. Specifically, she aims to 
improve camaraderie off the field to produce 
stronger performances during games.

“[I am working on] creating more team bonding 
for the team because when I was a freshman 
or sophomore, [the team] didn’t have a lot of 
bonding,” said Reynolds.

Although she may currently be a focal point of the team at PHS, Reynolds intends 
to continue her lacrosse career at the D1 level at Boston University. In fact, she has 
already began to plan her college education around the sport.

“I already know what I’m going to do, like leaving class early, balancing classes, and 
also connecting [lacrosse] back to how it would help me in my future,” said Reynolds.

After witnessing her development over the last four years, Gallagher is optimistic 
for her future and has high expectations for career at BU.

“In all honesty, she’s going to go down as probably one of the best defenders we’ve 
had at PHS lacrosse in a very, very long time,” said Gallagher. “Anybody that can go 
and play that sport in college at the D1 level is a really exceptional player, and she 
definitely is one of those player


Zoie Reynolds ’26: lacrosse

As the pitcher unleashed a high-heat fastball, Chase Hamerschlag ‘26 steadied himself and deftly hit the ball, sending it soaring above the players.  As the crowd watched the ball streak across the field, Hamerschlag casually jogged around the bases, scoring a crucial home run for his team against Notre Dame High School.

Dominic Capuano, PHS boys baseball coach, recalls the play and its importance to the outcome of the game.

“[He had] a big home run last year against Notre Dame, which was a big win for us,” said Capuano.  

These moments are the fruit of years of work and effort. After being inspired by his father and uncle — who both played baseball — Hamerschlag entered the sport when he was four years old.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I was about four years old,” said Hamerschlag. “I look up to my dad a lot in baseball. I just like to always have a non-quitting spirit.”

Despite playing other sports — competing as a tri-varsity athlete in baseball, soccer, and wrestling throughout his PHS career— Hamerschlag has held baseball as a priority, primarily citing his love for the game in his decision to pursue the sport.

“Growing up, I did [mixed martial arts], I wrestled, [and] I played tackle football,” said Hamerschlag. “I played basketball. I played soccer. But what made me focus on baseball was because it was a sport I really loved. I think that matters if you love doing the sport ... In life, you want to love what you do.”

On the other hand, Hamerschlag’s dedication to baseball isn’t limited by his performance on the field: he acts as a leader on the team.

“He’s always the first guy to say something motivational in a huddle,” said Anders Hedin ‘26. “He’s always really loud when you're at bat—he’s always cheering.”

However, these qualities are the result of years of work and effort on the team. Playing on the varsity team since his freshman year, Hamerschlag’s development has been witnessed by Capuano, who has worked with him for the past four years.
“He grew over that course of his time on [the] varsity [baseball team],” said Capuano. “He's matured a lot, [and he’s] honing his craft in a way that has made him very successful.”

Likewise, Hedin, who has accompanied Hamerschlag throughout their careers at PHS, expresses a similar idea in terms of the latter’s growth.

“[Hamerschlag] has always been really big and powerful, but I think as he’s gotten older, he’s gotten really in control of himself and he’s become very polished,” said Hedin. 

Over his time at PHS, Hamerschlag has batted an average of .316. Hamerschlag also batted nearly .400 last year, establishing himself as an elite batter where .300 is considered above average for high school baseball. Furthermore, Hamerschlag has pitched two combined no-hitters, meaning he and at least one other pitcher prevented the opposing team from getting a single hit for the entire game, a feat that demonstrates his competence from both the pitcher’s diamond and the batter’s box.

Although Hamerschlag’s performance metrics can offer insight into his quality as a player, his mental resilience has been a hidden factor that helps distinguish him from the competition.

“When he’s pitching, you get into trouble—you get runners on and stuff—and he usually is able to keep his head where other people would get frustrated and start blaming other people,” said Hedin. “He just keeps powering through, no matter what goes wrong or how many people are getting hits off him.”

In particular, Capuano explains the importance of the mental aspect of baseball, stressing that physique alone is insufficient to succeed in the sport.

“Baseball’s a mental game,” said Capuano. “Baseball is a lot more a [thinker]’s  game and you have to be in it with your mind and your body, so improve mentally.”

In his final year, Hamerschlag will attempt to continue the successes of the baseball team through his leadership and individual performances. However, his journey with baseball isn’t coming to a close; as previously mentioned, he is committed to Elon University where he will play on the D1 track as a pitcher. Looking towards the future, the Elon commit is also considering a professional career.

“I hope that [playing for Elon] can take me to play a little bit of professional baseball over my career,” said Hamerschlag


Chase Hamerschlag ’26: baseball

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched 
coordinated military attacks on Iran, marking the 
beginning of Operation Epic Fury. Congress did not 
officially declare war, nor was there a public referendum 
on the war before troops were mobilized. This isn’t the 
first time America has done this. In fact, Congress has 
not formally entered war against another country since 
World War II.

Every single conflict America has participated in since 
1945 has been justified constitutionally as an Authorized 
Use of Military Force (AUMF) under Article II of the 
Constitution. Article II establishes the executive branch 
and outlines the powers of the president, most importantly 
that of managing the military as Commander-in-Chief 
of the United States armed forces. With this power, the 
president is able to make executive decisions on their 
own and enter the nation into conflicts even if they aren’t 
official wars. 

America has not had a majorly popular war since 
WWII, which happens to be the last time a president 
asked Congress to declare war. Ask any PHS student 
who has taken U.S. History II or AP U.S. History, and 
they might recall learning about the highly controversial 
Vietnam War. Through the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 
former president Lyndon B. Johnson was granted a blank 
check for military force in Southeast Asia, spiraling into 
prolonged conflict. Protests were widespread, especially 
amongst young people who did not want to put their lives 
on the line for a conflict they did not agree to.

This manifested in the 1965 Tinker v. Des Moines case, 
when high school students in an Iowa public school wore 
black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. After 
this caused controversy with the school administration, 
the Supreme Court ruled that students had the right 
to express their political opinions unless it caused a 
reasonable disruption to learning. This critical lens view 
of democracy still applies to today’s conflicts. Shouldn’t 
we work toward a world where conflicts are resolved with 
peace, and wars are only carried out after deliberation 
by congresspeople who represent their constituents? For 
too long have generations of young Americans grown 
up hearing news of the country’s latest costly military 
endeavors while homeland prices skyrocket. With 
Trump’s recent war, Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz 
has increased gas prices by upwards of 50 percent. 

What the United States has been pursuing since the 
early 1800s is not noble “counterterrorism,” but a foreign 
policy merry-go-round driven by a delusional sense of 
American superiority. In this narrative, anything we do is 
justified and for the greater good of democracy. The bald 
eagle finds its way into every nest, every den, and every 
corner. The government makes a mockery of democracy, 
forcing their will on the majority that is the American 
public. In wake of the crumbling international order, our 
military has become an unwieldy tool for regime change 
rather than the force that protects citizens’ well-being. 

The constitutional loophole that allows for 
undemocratic, unpopular, and utterly useless wars 
needs to be patched. We must dismantle the mirage of 
American exceptionalism and restore the power to the 
people, for that is what true democracy is. Our issue was 
realized over 50 years with the infamously unpopular 
Vietnam War, where Congress passed the War Powers 
Resolution in 1973 that allows presidents to extend 
military intervention only if approved by Congress. If 
America wants real democracy and a foreign policy 
rooted in legal legitimacy, legislation like the War Powers 
Resolution must be enforced by the people. When we 
stop viewing the globe as a chessboard, we can actually 
improve our standard of living at home and truly carry 
out the moral authority we claim to represent abroad. 

Operation Epic Fury is not an anomaly, but rather 
the executive branch’s continuation of expansionist 
precedence. A nation that funnels democracy through 
the barrel of a gun while bypassing the consent of its own 
citizens is not a true republic; it is hypocrisy. As the future 
generation of America, it is time to call the bald eagle 
back to its nest. Wars we fight should be our own. 

What is a war nowdays?

“Kirkification,” known for adding Charlie Kirk’s 
face to existing memes, was popular within days of his 
assassination. In the modern political landscape, memes 
about news headlines spread fast – often disregarding any 
respect that could be required for the situation. The media 
has a large influence over us as members of society, and often 
affects how we react to global news events. 
Rather than regarding these situations 
with the seriousness and importance they 
deserve, the memes and dark humor posts 
spread across the internet downplay the 
severity of such events.They effectively 
allow countless individuals to laugh for 
the sake of lightening the mood, regardless 
of the harm such desensitization can 
cause. 

The idea of using memes to influence 
public opinion is called memetic warfare. 
First coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, 
multiple organizations such as NATO have studied its 
potential to take control of a narrative. As memes can 
spread so fast, they are extremely effective at transmitting 
ideas to younger generations, including perspectives of 
the news. For example, memes surrounding Sean “Diddy” 
Combs, which mocked his horrific crimes and undermined 
the experiences of victims, similarly turned serious events 
into something that is now easily trivialized by users on the 
internet. Consider exactly how this influences someone who 
is trying to form an opinion about the tragedy they have 
just heard about: despite inherently knowing that political 
violence and human trafficking must not be tolerated, when 
they see that the internet has deemed it socially acceptable 
to joke about death and sexual crimes, it is unlikely that 
they will consider higher moral 
grounds. 

When internet users are 
surrounded by online posts and memes that enable 
the mocking of such 
events, it can cause 
desensitization to 
such serious topics. 
Desensitization, 
characterized by 
ScienceDirect as 
“a psychological 
process wherein 
repeated exposure 
to a stimulus, such 
as media violence, 
leads to a diminished emotional 
response,” can cause a lack of empathy in young 
people that is crucial in the modern political climate. 

How does desensitization help our country’s political 
machines? Politics thrive off of polarization, pushing people 
to the extreme ends of the political spectrum to create a 
divide. As the rise in dark humor becomes more apparent, 
a lack of empathy can mean that members of any political 
party can become less likely to understand perspectives of 
the other side. According to a Pew Research Center study 
conducted in 2025, 80% of all adults cannot even agree on 
basic facts with the opposing party, showing just how far 
modern polarization has gone. When Nixon took part in 
Watergate, the Republican party understood that keeping Nixon in power would lead to the demise 
of Republican favorability. Now, when 
Trump incites a raid on the Capitol after 
fairly losing an election, it only invigorates 
his voterbase. The modern change is that 
extreme Republicans and Democrats 
find voting for the opposing party to be 
unthinkable, so no matter what happens, 
any respective candidates from “their side” 
will be getting their vote – the support based 
solely on party affiliation. 

Currently, there are countless memes 
circulating around the internet that thirty 
years ago would shock and offend both faces 
of the coin — just as the level of corruption 
in politics, now accepted as normal, would 
surprise critics of the past. Jokes that 
trivialize the sexual harassment of more 
than 1,000 underage individuals at Jeffrey Epstein’s island would rightly horrify many people, but 
now such crimes are easily turned into memes and “Five 
Nights at Epstein’s” games. It is shocking and terrifying to 
see how countless people are unaffected by such jokes today. 

Still, as long as we keep trivializing such issues, a divide 
within the country deepens at the cost of our collective 
conscience. Solutions do not stem from division and 
mockery, but from unification and empathy. It is important 
to prioritize your compassion and understanding for others, 
no matter how “harmless” dark jokes may appear. 

Dark humor desensitizes

School is designed to prepare students to become contributing citizens. However, when students who can succeed in AP Calculus BC question their ability to cook a simple meal, a serious issue presents itself. A 2019 survey by H & R Block revealed that 84 percent of American adults learned things in school they never used again, and 89 percent wished that they had learned more about practical life skills. Most Americans reported feeling that school prepared them well academically, highlighting a clear imbalance between academic knowledge and real-world readiness. One possible solution is reintroducing home economics classes in schools.

   Widely implemented in public schools from the early twentieth century, home economics has been losing popularity since the 1970s and has since been labeled as “outdated” and “sexist.” But this is only the case when the class is not approached from a universal perspective. Home economics classes forge respect for non-academic skills, which is especially important in the uber-competitive environment of Princeton High School. Additionally, teaching life skills to all can actually promote gender equality, making traditionally female roles like cooking and cleaning standardized and non-gender based. These benefits make it clear that PHS should reintroduce home economics as a class that fulfills 21st century credit requirements. 

   It’s easy to overlook the importance of life skills when academics are prioritized. At PHS, it’s normal to take college-level classes and spend hours a night on homework. But why shouldn’t students also learn skills they will use for the rest of their lives? It is not guaranteed that they will use history lessons or chemistry formulas after high school, but one thing is certain: no adult can succeed without having a basic understanding of how to care for themselves. First-year college students often struggle with basic tasks like sewing a button, doing laundry, budgeting money, or cooking meals, which can lead to unnecessary stress and poor habits. Home economics provides a structured way to practice these skills before students are fully on their own, allowing them to build confidence in a supportive environment instead of learning through stressful trial and error. Learning practical life skills also builds up one's confidence and mental well-being. Without these skills, students may rely heavily on fast food, overspend, or feel overwhelmed by independence. Home economics empowers students to feel in control of their lives, which is just as important as academic success. 

   Historically, home economics was a class usually only offered to girls, while boys participated in woodworking. Although the concept of home economics was not sexist, the implementation of it was. By fixing this outdated system, it can actually be one of the most helpful high school classes for future preparation. Teaching students life skills regardless of their gender will eliminate stereotypes that assume only women can cook or clean, and instead establish it as basic knowledge. Modern programs would include the same skills taught in the past, with some new lessons about budgeting, meal planning, and basic home maintenance. By updating the curriculum, schools can ensure that the class is relevant and beneficial for all.

   Schools are responsible for developing well-rounded individuals, which goes beyond cultivating strong test-takers. Intellectual success alone is not enough to prepare students for life, so even a single semester of home economics could provide lasting benefits. PHS should ensure that students are not just academically prepared to enter higher education and become adults, but also possess tools that make them independent, productive members of society. 


Bring back home economics

A room, or a packed stadium filled with music? Being 
alone, or being with hundreds of fans? Seeing the artist's 
album cover, or seeing them perform in person? Music 
has always been important in our society no matter the 
generation. It conveys a sense of visibility, togetherness, 
and acceptance. Unfortunately, one of the many beauties 
of music that is often forgotten or skipped over is its 
authenticity and its ability to build a community.

Using streaming services is practical, but every song 
that gets released goes through an extensive production 
process. The artist most likely sings multiple takes, 
perfecting their voice over and over again until the 
song is completely how they envision it. A level of 
perfectionism is understandable and expected within 
the music industry, but the joy of music comes from 
the small flaws. From small voice cracks, to laughter in 
songs, these moments reveal the humanity of the artist, 
which finalized songs sometimes lack. Along with the 
popularization of autotune, musicians are discouraged 
to release songs that do not fit the standard, contributing 
to the uniformity of the industry. With concerts, the 
crowd is composed of people together for one night, 
producing a unique environment for the artist to color 
their music with ad-libs. In this way, performances that 
are built off the crowd allow a new level of authenticity 
and creativity.

“When it's live, it's very unique because [Swift] can 
change the words or she can have a phrase 
that she says to interact with the audience. 
It just feels special because whoever is 
there in the audience are the only 
people who get to listen to it live 
like this,” said Vivian Lutkowski 
’28 who attended a Taylor 
Swift concert.

Not only do concerts allow 
the artist to experiment 
with performance style, a 
community and a sense 
of interconnectedness are 
also fostered during the 
performance. All audience 
members are packed inside 
one venue to see an artist they 
all enjoy, and therefore are uniting under a common 
interest. Trends such as friendship bracelets as well 
as custom items like stickers and charms immortalize 
the moment and provide a way to make friends with 
unlikely people.

“Everyone, like me, was a super fan. 
Everyone was being so nice and everyone 
was trading friendship bracelets around,” 
said Lutkowski.
 
Unlike studio recordings, artists have 
zero do-overs or retakes and there is no 
rewind button for the audience. That 
unfiltered experience of staying in the 
present moment can be refreshing and 
is irreplicable. Going to a concert not 
only brings people closer together, but it 
also brings people closer with the artist. 
Concerts turn songs into moments, and 
those moments last a lifetime.
 
“The music felt ... alive and radiant," 
said Lutkowski. "And I just loved every 
single time she opened her mouth to sing.”

The benefits of concerts

With a collection of around 700 albums, I have become 
obsessed with the ritual of picking a vinyl out of the sleeve, 
placing it onto the turntable, connecting the speakers, 
dropping the needle, and hearing the warm analog sound 
reverberate through the speakers. This tactile experience 
with music connected me to how music was enjoyed for 
decades and introduced me to hundreds of artists. For 
many years, I was an outlier, with many of my peers 
solely using streaming services. However, due to the 
trendiness of a vintage lifestyle, vinyls are becoming 
more widely used and collected by Gen Z listeners. 
According to Yahoo Finance, vinyl sales surpassed one 
billion dollars in 2025, with over 48 million units sold. 
Through this resurgence, old records stored in attics are 
now becoming coveted collector's items for teenagers.

Using a record player is a process and a ritual. From 
smelling the dust from records I haven’t used in a while 
to hearing the little crackling noises of the stylus on the 
grooves of the vinyl, I remember each of these sensory 
details like the back of my hand, making the experience 
grounding and nostalgic. The moment the first note 
rings through the speaker is so gratifying because I 
spent time preparing it, carefully handling each aspect 
of the process to ensure the vinyl and record player are 
preserved as best as possible.

“For vinyl in particular I think people appreciate the 
entire package the vinyl offers," said Brandon Odrobenek, 
an employee of Princeton Record Exchange, a local 
hub for vinyl collectors and a prime example of record 
store culture. "It’s not like you’re just pressing a button 
on your phone or on your computer. You’re actually 
taking the record out of the jacket, putting it on the 
turntable, dropping the stylus down, so it’s a whole 
different experience. I think that’s something that people 
[who] didn’t necessarily grow up with have come to 
appreciate, and the people who did grow up with it are 
now returning to it.” 

It wasn’t until the pandemic that I heard my peers 
talking about buying vinyls and experiencing the 
record store culture. It can be magical and meditative 
to flip through vinyls, smelling the aroma of old paper 
and listening to the background music chosen by the 
shopkeepers. On top of that, the idea that there could 
be an original or limited edition pressing hidden within 
the piles keeps the excitement flowing and makes me feel 
like a little kid on a treasure hunt.

Once I find what I am looking for, or maybe what I 
unexpectedly came across, another wave of excitement 
crosses over me, opening the record for the first time. 
Besides the first listen, opening it could uncover many 
of the hidden gifts an album jacket can have, like liner 
notes, posters, lyric sheets, stickers. One of my favorite 
discoveries was the four high-quality individual portraits 
and the large poster with lyrics on the back that I found 
inside The Beatles’ “White Album.” Both the tangibility 
of the music as well as the extra information and 
memorabilia connect the listener to the music beyond 
a single dimension, both physically and intellectually.

The combination of its ritualistic nature, the community 
behind it, and the physicality and interaction fostered 
are what revived vinyl popularity and brought it to the 
forefront of social media, becoming a large part of the 
vintage aesthetic. Whether it's freshly pressed vinyls from 
modern artists appeasing their audience or well-loved 
records from forgotten retro artists, vinyls and their 
culture are accessible to all tastes and levels of interest 
in music, which is why their resurgence became so 
widespread and influential.

“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you came from," 
said Odrobenek. "As long as you’re here because you 
love music and you’re passionate about buying music, 
that’s all that matters.”

The resurgence of vinyls

Spring-themed mini crosswords

Drama and comedy mixed with space and science comes together in a perfect twist to 
create the movie “Project Hail Mary,” which had everyone rushing to the theaters after 
its release on March 20. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s tenth feature film 
together is an adaptation of the 2021 Andy Weir novel of the same name.

The movie takes place in a not-so-distant future where the sun has mysteriously begun 
to dim because of a strange line observed between it and Venus. Dr. Eva Stratt (Sandra 
Hüller), the leader of an international task force designed to stop this issue before it 
causes a disastrous ice age, must bring in former scientist Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), 
a once-respected scientist forced into obscurity as a middle school teacher because of a 
controversial paper he wrote. During his research, Ryland figures out that small organisms, 
which he calls Astrophages, are feeding on the sun and causing this dimming.

The film oscillates between this plotline and Grace’s experience on the spaceship sent 
to the only star system not experiencing this dimming. On his journey, he meets and 
befriends an alien named Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz) and the two of them set out to 
save their respective planets.

Although Ryland and Rocky initially distrust each other, with the help of intergalactic 
translation technology they quickly overcome their differences and form a close bond. 
In “Project Hail Mary,” not even differences in home planet can limit the strength of 
friendship. Even the team of scientists dedicated to the Hail Mary mission too came from 
a wide variety of earthly nations.
 
If this ideal of global cooperation seems highly optimistic, the entire movie is. Even 
characters like Stratt, who would be easy to reduce to caricatures given their limited 
screen-time and archetypical roles, are given the film’s sympathy and allowed glimpses 
of interiority.
 
A part I found interesting was the creation of the alien Rocky through a combination of 
puppetry and CGI. A puppeteer, also Rocky’s voice actor, performed as the alien on set, 
and computer effects were added in post-production to touch up any mistakes 
that may have occured with the physical ones.
 
In addition, Rocky’s alien language of musical chords and rhythms was 
unique, and the way that he and Grace learned to 
communicate through technology from both of 
their societies was fascinating. Grace recording 
and learning a new vocabulary through 
Rocky’s music language was an inspiring part 
of the movie, and goes to show the lengths 
that one can, or should, go to understand the 
people around them.
 
Overall, this movie wasn’t just 
about science or space travel; it 
went deeper to explore values 
that teach the viewers life lessons, 
like the power of bravery, strong 
communication, friendship, 
and sacrifice. The characters 
are funny, smart, and heroic, 
with each adding their own 
special touch to the film. A 
fun, high-budget blockbuster 
with endearing acting and a 
heartwarming story, “Project 
Hail Mary” is a memorable, 
entertaining watch for everyone.

"Project Hail Mary" is out of this world

The second season of HBO Max’s award-winning medical drama “The Pitt” 
finished airing on April 16, 2026. The show, which takes place in a crowded 
Pittsburgh emergency room, operates with an unusual real-time concept: each 
season follows the characters through a 15-hour shift, and each episode maps 
an hour of it. This format allows the viewer a peek into what a day in the life 
of an emergency room worker might look like — the show, which regularly 
uses gory prosthetics to accurately imitate injuries, prides itself on medical 
realism. Season two of “The Pitt” follows most of the same characters — and 
their conflicts — as the first, along with several new additions, including 
two new medical students and a nurse.
 
Attending physician and head of the hospital’s emergency department Dr. 
Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle, also a director and writer on the 
show) remains the show’s focus, though season two puts an interesting spin on 
his characterization: where in the first season he was a noble-if-traumatized 
hero-without-a-cape, the second season dives deeper into the more 
unsavory qualities that stem from his repressed past working as a 
doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though he insists that 
he rigidly separates work and life, the line soon blurs between 
healthy balance and a refusal to confront his many problems.

If the climax of season one was an external event that shocked 
the hospital, season two’s is a slow, creeping internal implosion 
brought about by old and new rivalries coming to a head: Drs. 
Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) and Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), 
who butted heads last season so severely that it ended with 
one having to leave the hospital for ten months, are working 
together for the first time since the inciting incident; an old 
case comes back for Dr. Melissa King (Taylor Dearden) in 
the form of a medical malpractice lawsuit; and Dr. Robby 
can’t seem to get along with the new attending physician 
Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), a by-the-book doctor determined to fix up the underfunded and overcrowded emergency 
department from the inside.
 
The show doesn’t shy away from calling out healthcare biases, from 
the chronic misdiagnosis of women with heart disease to the struggles 
that deaf patients face just to communicate with their doctors. These 
scenes, interesting when handled smoothly, are often fumbled, however, 
with awkward dialogue that feels more like a clumsy attempt at a public 
service announcement for viewers than actions that the characters 
would take naturally. For instance, a season two plotline follows Dr. 
Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) as she treats a diabetic patient and 
seems to learn for the first time of the existence of people without medical 
insurance, despite the fact that she’d been a staunch advocate for patient 
wellbeing in the first season.
 
Though “The Pitt” is renowned for its medical accuracy, 
its realism doesn’t end there. Featuring storylines with 
anti-vaccinators, drug addiction, and gun violence, the 
show is committed to demonstrating the current 
cultural landscape, particularly as it pertains to 
healthcare work. There are moments that feel 
almost uncannily relevant to recent events: in 
one episode, an ER nurse is taken into custody 
by masked ICE agents for defending an 
undocumented patient, echoing the shooting 
of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by federal 
officers in February 2026.
 
The second season, which takes place on 
July 4, 2026 — America’s 250th birthday — 
is an often bleak but well-crafted reminder 
of the state of the world and the challenges 
that healthcare workers face.

"The Pitt" season two, reviewed

From playing in Nassau Band II to being a member of 
PHS Studio Band, Worth Rowley ’26 has found music to be 
a significant part of his life. As a devoted trumpet player, 
Rowley has continued to develop his skills through rehearsals, 
performances, and competitions. Being part of PHS’s Studio 
Band has allowed him to grow as a musician while making 
friends and becoming part of a tight community. In the future, 
Rowley plans to continue playing the trumpet at Tulane 
University and explore the jazz culture there.

**What inspired you to play the trumpet?**

I started playing in third grade. It was when our school system started teaching with 
instruments, just at the public schools. But I’d gone when I was really little to some music 
tryouts [and] a bunch of interesting instruments stuff. And I’d tried it before playing 
the trumpet, and people were like, “Oh, most people can’t play it the first time, and you 
could make a note, which is kind of interesting.” So then I was like, I might as well try 
it. And then I just never stopped playing.

**Who is your favorite composer and what is your favorite piece?**

This is a jazz standard and it’s called “Joy Spring,” the composer is this jazz trumpeter 
called Clifford Brown. It’s a really good one, and you can play it on any instrument.

**What is your favorite part of playing the trumpet?**

Being in Studio Band has definitely been one of my favorite parts of playing the 
trumpet. I guess I really enjoy the togetherness of the band at the school. It’s fun playing 
with people, much more than [playing the trumpet] on your own.
 
**How has being in the school’s Studio Band influenced both your performance style 
and your high school experiences?**

Well, I didn’t start in Studio Band. Freshman year I was in Nassau [Band] II, [which is] 
the third band. But I think over time I just got better through playing with other people. 
We play all the time [and] practice every day. So it has definitely helped me become a better 
player. Also, I made a lot of friends through it. A lot of my close friends were in bands, 
and we get to travel a lot, which is really awesome, and we get a variety of experiences.
To some extent, it forces you to be a little professional, because it’s so organized.

**What are some memorable moments you’ve had in the Studio Band?**

State finals is always a big one every year. This weekend we just won the National Jazz 
Festival, so that was good, and we also won that last year. But also we have Band Dances 
in the cafeteria about every month, and it’s always very fun. We get to [have our] families 
come, and it’s community building. 

**What are some challenges that you have faced as a trumpet player during your 
time at PHS?**

I would say that auditions are one of the biggest challenges. I didn’t have to audition 
this year because next year I won’t be in band anymore. But every year during auditions, 
it’s very stressful, you essentially only get one shot for sight readings. [If] you sight read 
poorly one time, when the pressure’s high, then you get dropped down a band, or you 
don’t move up, or something like that. So that’s always stressful, and you have to always 
prepare for that.

**What are your plans for the future as a trumpet player after you graduate?**

Next year I’m going to Tulane University in New Orleans, and New Orleans does 
have very good jazz music, so I’m excited for that. I’m excited to listen, and hopefully 
play in a big band there. [Tulane University] has a good culture there for music, and 
I’m excited for that.

**What are some pieces of advice you would give to new musicians that are joining 
PHS Studio Band?**

I would say just stick with it. At the start, it’s hard. … I remember last year was my first 
year in Studio Band. I felt like at the start, the jump from Jazz Ensemble to Studio Band 
was much bigger than I thought it was. And I felt like I was behind everyone. But after a 
couple weeks, you do get better playing with better people, and it will be fine at the end.

Vanguard