Apart from disrupting economies and healthcare systems, the COVID-19 pandemic warped a deeply personal cognitive process: our perception of time. With normal routines like going to school, hanging out with friends, and going shopping fading away, it became common for many people to lose track of the date.

“While [the pandemic] was happening, [the one and a half years] felt way longer,” said Serafina Joseph ’26. “I wasn’t really doing anything, [and] there were no monumental things happening.”

But when reflecting on the pandemic, students find that their perception of its total duration shrank, despite feeling like every day was crawling in the moment.

“Things do seem faster … it has messed up how I view time,” said Alena Ivanov ’27.

Students from around the world share the sentiment that the passage of time has felt different ever since March 2020. During the pandemic, the disruption of daily routines caused temporal landmarks and distinction between days to fade, commonly leading to the telescoping effect — the underestimate or overestimate to the recency of past events. A 2022 study conducted by the National Institute of Health found a significant relationship between time perception, focus, and awareness. Consequently, the side effects of the telescoping effects and other cognitive distortions of time include inaccurate, fragmented memories, poor decision-making, and a higher risk for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. Higher overall levels of mental health disorders during the pandemic further exacerbated the effects of this temporal disintegration.

Years after the pandemic, students still notice its lingering effects on their perception of time. Although purchasing a pack of paper masks for the first time may at times feel like a distant memory, there are also moments where the announcement about school being cancelled for two weeks feels like yesterday. Whether the events feel like a day, a year, or a decade ago, the change in routine and emotional upheaval of the pandemic makes many feel like they missed out on a valuable time of their lives.

“[It feels] like we’re still kind of making up for lost time,” said Ivanov.

COVID clockwork: Blurred time in the face of a global pandemic

Set — everything falls silent: the cheering crowd, the music, even the pounding of her heart. The gun is about to go off, and all that matters is what lies ahead. A deep breath, then the horn sounds. She’s off, spikes digging into the track, every ounce of training fueling Lena Hamilton ’25 toward the finish line.

Hamilton has been an athlete her whole life. After 13 years of classical ballet, she switched sports in the spring of her freshman year. She chose to pursue track and field because her dad had run in high school, and following in his footsteps proved the perfect way for her to remain active. Since then, her passion for the sport has only grown. 

“I’ve always enjoyed being competitive, and I found track and field to be a very competitive discipline that I could potentially excel at,” said Hamilton.

Since being named captain in her junior year, Hamilton has strived to bring her team closer together.

“I organize pre-season workouts during the fall off season, manage the team social media, design team merch, and plan team bonding,” said Hamilton.

For Hamilton, one of the most important lessons she has taken away from her experience in track is of the value of self-sufficiency as a mechanism for improvement.

“You’ll never grow as a sprinter if you aren’t able to self-analyze and figure out what you need to do to help yourself be better,” said Hamilton. “I’ve definitely gotten better at naming my flaws and working on how to fix them.”

Before races, Hamilton likes to take a moment to herself to collect her thoughts and concentrate on her upcoming event. She finds that, when facing race-day nerves, it is critical to not doubt herself and remember just how much she is capable of. 

“I like to say prayers to stay focused on my race and to remain confident in my training and my ability
to do what I need to do,” said Hamilton.

Being a track and field athlete means rigorous training for most of the year. Being a student-athlete means coming home late from practice and immediately shifting gears to focus on schoolwork. For Hamilton, it’s crucial to find ways to prevent homework and studying for assessments from piling up.

“I balance school and track by organizing my time and assignments to the best of my ability,” said Hamilton.

To her coaches, Hamilton stands out as a positive and motivating force on the team, always working to improve her own individual performance, and that of her teammates. 

“[Lena] embraces our team’s principles of growth mindset and positive psychology, always striving to improve and encouraging others to do the same,” said track head coach Ben Samara. “Her commitment to both personal progress and the success of the team is evident in everything she does.”

Apart from being an outstanding runner, Hamilton has a notable impact on her teammates, providing feedback whenever it’s needed and cheering them on during races. 

“She’s very positive, which I think is a nice quality to have, because it gets you thinking in a different approach, [rather] than [thinking of] something negative [that could] happen,” said Madison Hamlin ’27, a sprinter on the track team. “The advice that Lena gave me was so focused on myself and how to improve myself ... She inspires me because she’s like my big sister. She has that connection that works for us.”

With already three years of track under her belt and plenty of race experience, Hamilton only has a few words of advice for her younger self: “I would tell my freshman self to sign up for track sooner.

Lena Hamilton ’25: track

Guan Li, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for the Han Chinese people, marked the transition into adulthood, and into the age where they could no longer cut their hair. This is in accordance with the Confucian teaching that one should not damage their body, skin, or hair, because it is received from one’s parents. Once a young man had reached adulthood, he was obligated to tie his hair into a bun and cover it with a headdress. Hanfu headdresses came in various styles and materials, such as jade, gold, and silk, among others. Different levels of detail could indicate the wearer’s social status and wealth. While women did not have the same obligation to cover their hair, they commonly wore Hanfu hairpins which played an important role in Chinese marital customs. For instance, when a woman was engaged, she would provide her fiancé with her own hairpin, which he would return to her after marriage.

The origins of the African headwrap can be traced back to the early 1700s, when women in sub-Saharan Africa would wear them to protect their heads from sunlight. African women typically wrapped and tied a rectangular piece of cloth atop their head, tucking it in on the sides, resembling a turban. These headwraps served as a sign of respect. On the other side of the Atlantic however, headwraps took on a different connotation. As slavery became entrenched in the United States, various places passed Black Codes, some of which required Black women to wear headwraps as a symbol of subservience. Different styles of headwraps conveyed the relative social statuses of enslaved women. Women working in fields wore different styles than those who worked as house servants.

After slavery was abolished, headwraps were temporarily abandoned by Black women in the United States, as they came to be associated with the mammy stereotype, a caricature of Black women. Instead, many switched to more European-style hats, especially on festive occasions. However, in the 1990s and 2000s, headwraps increased in popularity due to singers like Erykah Badu, who, during this time, celebrated Black womanhood by proudly wearing headwraps to pay homage to their cultural roots. Today, Black women in the United States wear headwraps to express pride in their heritage as well as a practical and fashionable protective hairstyle.

Hanfu and headwraps

As Nike stocks plummet, the long-time global leader in athletic footwear seems to not be taking its own advice when it comes to “just doing it.” Since its founding in 1962, Nike’s popularity has been propelled by marketing campaigns and sponsorships of athletes who would later attain worldwide fame. The brand’s shoes are not only a staple on tracks, courts, and fields, but also an emblem of style and popular culture. While they will remain in every sneakerhead’s collection for years, the brand’s popularity, particularly its appeal to athletes, has noticeably decreased with an upsurge in more sport-specific shoes.

Many brands market their products for a specific sport, while Nike’s shoes are solely advertised as everyday sneakers or basketball shoes. For example, many runners have switched to On Clouds or HOKAs, volleyball players have switched to Avoli, and non-athletes have switched to more comfortable or “better-looking” shoes, such as Vans, Uggs, Converse, or Adidas.

“For volleyball, you need a lot of ankle support and [Avoli has] good insoles for jumping, and they look cool as well,” said girls volleyball Captain Pearl Agel ’25, who is one of many players who transferred to Avoli.

A budding new company created only last year, specifically catered to the needs of female volleyball players, Avoli shoes are made to support and cushion a player’s feet after powerful and repetitive jumps. Nike shoes, on the other hand, aren’t made with that in mind. In fact, basketball athletes jump four times less than volleyball players do, making basketball shoes — Nike’s forte — less viable in a competitive field.

Another competitor taking sales away from Nike is HOKA. HOKA One One, known simply as HOKA, is an athletic company geared towards runners. Their shoes have a lot of cushioning, making propulsion easier and bracing the foot’s impact when it hits the ground. Their high breathability is another reason so many athletes have made the switch to HOKA.

“I wear [HOKA shoes] because they work better for me as training shoes,” said cross country runner Mila Trkov ’27.

A problem that Nike seems to fall into is that their new models seem too similar to older models, or are just plain recolors. Seeing that aesthetics is a primary reason why people wear the shoes they do, Nike has become less desirable in the long run.

“I personally think [Converse shoes] are comfortable and look cooler,” said Eve Kavookjian ’27.

Although many people have switched from Nike to other brands that are more preferable to them, it is nowhere near gone or unpopular. Their shoes are still flooding the hallways of many schools, and customers of all ages are sure to be sporting the distinctive swoosh for years to come.

The demise of Nike

The Congressional Art Competition, sponsored by New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, is a yearly event that recognizes artistic works produced by high schoolers. An exhibit is held in Trenton until the end of May and this year, several Princeton High School students from different levels of art classes were selected to have their pieces showcased. Among these students were Charlotte Regnault, Grace Waldman, Kyuyoung Chung, Luis Santos Solares, Rebecca Zhang, Ngozi O’Keke-Agulu, Drew Trenfield, and Sylvia Schreiber. Winners from each district, recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington D.C., will have their art displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.
Works of varying mediums were selected,  and each artist sought to express themselves in a unique and individual way. Most of the works submitted by PHS students were “identity prints,” meaning that they conveyed the artist’s individuality; how they perceive themselves, or how they are perceived by others.
“[The art] was all about [the artists’] identity, and how they really express themselves as people and the symbolic aspects of how they represent themselves,” said Judy Buckley, an art teacher at PHS who has taught some of the students selected, as well as encouraged them to participate in the competition.
Grace Waldman ’25 ended up choosing to submit a collage that was part of a series of self-portraits on self-reflection that she created for the competition.
 “I hope to convey the different layers that there are to an identity. We're all wildly different individuals, I wanted to convey the internal and external layers of myself; represented by the words, phrases, and select images combined with my print,” Waldman said.
Waldman sees the competition more as an opportunity for young artists, from varying backgrounds and with unique ideas, to share what they have created with each other and learn from others as opposed to a contest where there is a designated winner.
“Art is something that we all have inside of us. And we all express it in a different way so it’s really great to be a part of that creative experience and share what you do with other kids,” said Waldman.

PHS Students compete in Congressional Art Exhibit

Latinos Unidos is one of many culture-centered clubs at Princeton-High-School. On June 3rd, the club hosted their annual festival to celebrate Latin American culture. The event, which took place on the PHS front lawn, offered traditional food, music, and activities from different parts of Latin America, for PHS students as well as parents. The festival, along with the club in general, is a way for members of the PHS community to connect on a cultural level while learning more about Latin American cultures.
“We hold events such as these to bring the community together and encourage others to get insight on what our club does and what it is about,” said Valeria Trullijo, a member of the club.
Leaders and members of the club must be able to overcome the obstacles that come with the process of the event’s organization, one of these being complications regarding the matter of funding.
“Everything costs money. And we were trying to fundraise. Luckily, the PREA, which is the teacher union, really sponsors us. And we're grateful for that. But finding that support is always a challenge,” said Spanish teacher Idania Rodriguez-Mejia, a leader of Latinos Unidos.
Latinos Unidos tries to organize at least one big annual event, typically at the end of the school year, in order to draw attention to the club for the coming year. The event also aims to make members of PHS’s Latin American community feel more welcomed within Princeton. 
“[Princeton is] a white dominated [town]. So as a Latino, I'm super grateful to be able to speak both languages, Spanish and English,” says Osbaldo Moralez, the club president. “But [for a] Latino who only knows Spanish, it's really hard to get access to things. [Latinos Unidos] is able to show them that they have support. I hope they can see that there are people that are behind them that are able to support them to make sure that they're not alone. And that for me is the goal [of the event].”

Behind the scenes of this year's Festival Latino

Born and raised in Cranbury, New Jersey, Jennifer Li served as a Peer Group leader, a trumpet player in Studio Band, and participated in various community service activities as a student at PHS. Now, having worked as a math teacher at PHS for six years, Li teaches Pre-Calculus Accelerated, Applications and Modeling of Math, and AP Calculus AB and BC within the classrooms she used to sit in as a student. 
Li credits much of her initial desire to pursue a job in the educational field to the meaningful relationships she built with PHS teachers as a high schooler. Continuing her heavy involvement with PHS’s community and extracurriculars, Li currently serves as Student Council Advisor and has worked as a Music Mentoring program substitute teacher and Speech and Debate coach in the past. Through these activities, Li hopes to serve as a mentor figure for students both in and outside of her math classes.
“The different things I experienced as a student here make me a teacher that is more approachable. [It] gives me [a] unique connection to students in that I went through the same things [they] did,” said Li. “I had a lot of different inspiring teachers [here], and the connections I had here with my teachers made me want to come back and teach here. Mr. Bongiovi actually had a great influence on [me] and made me feel like [teaching] would be a fun career.”
Within the walls of her own classroom, Li strives to create an environment where students are not afraid to ask questions or make mistakes, especially in classes with curriculums that students often feel intimidated by, such as Pre-Calculus Accelerated. To address students’ unfamiliarity with new and complex concepts, Li tries to explore the practical application of them.
“Math is in so many different things in the real world, even if we don’t realize it. Everybody’s using that in their daily lives,” said Li. “In my Applications and Modeling of Math class, we’re working on a project on how to buy a car. That’s [something] people actually experience in real life, so I think that’s important to be able to learn about that now.”
To help maximize student engagement with course material, Li creates colorful in-class presentations and answer keys for study reference, drawing from her long time hobby of bullet journaling and calligraphy. However, throughout her time and experiences as a teacher, Li has learned that maintaining a patient attitude in the classroom is the best way to address student disengagement.
“Being a teacher, you often have to reteach things or be okay with kids who aren’t always paying attention and give them the chance to learn again [at] other times,” Li said. 
Li’s patient approach to teaching is noticed by her students. Carina He ’26, a student in Li’s Pre-Calculus Accelerated class, appreciates Li’s ability to create a learning environment that fits the needs of each student. 
“She puts a lot of effort into the work that she does, and she’s a really kind person,” said He. “In class, she pays a lot of attention to student participation, comprehension, and engagement.” 
Li always planned to have a teaching career. Growing up, Li’s father, an avid tuba player, encouraged her initial dream of being a music teacher, fostering her love for music. Taking after her father’s musicianship, Li began experimenting with instruments, playing piano, then the violin and later the trombone at Cranbury Middle School before ultimately choosing to play trumpet at PHS. Driven by her skills in multiple instruments and her participation in Studio Band, Li applied to various music programs including those of the Berklee College of Music, University of the Arts, UMass Amherst, Penn State, and Duquesne University. 
“I did not get into music school. Auditions were always something I was really bad at,” said Li. “My dad actually wanted me to keep pursuing music school and take a gap year to practice more, just to get more comfortable with that whole process.”
However, Li decided that continuing her education in college the following year was more important, and, drawing from her affinity for math in school, Li decided to major in math and received her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst. Li combined her plans to enter an educational career with her college education and taught as a teaching assistant for undergraduate college classes. 
“When I was a teaching assistant, I really liked helping my peers understand the content and being able to have that moment of ‘oh, I get it’,” Li said.
After bumping into her former physics teacher, Mark Higgins, at the gym, Li learned about an open position in PHS’s math department. Seeing it as both an opportunity to fulfill her aspirations for teaching and reconnect with her alma mater, Li ended up applying for and receiving the position of math teacher at PHS. 
“I’m actually super happy with the path I ended up on, because I wouldn’t be able to work here at PHS if I continued pursuing music,” said Li. “The culture at PHS is so different from a lot of typical high schools.” 
In her limited free time, Li enjoys playing at Tuba Christmases, a holiday gathering of tuba players, with her father during the holiday season. Despite her teaching schedule, Li still makes time for maintaining her physical health and frequents the gym, often attending gym classes and initiating workout sessions with other teachers in PHS’s math department. 
“I love the relationships I get to build [here],” said Li. “It’s crazy that I’ve seen a few rounds of students starting as freshmen and then graduating here now, and some of them I’ve still kept in touch with after graduation. I love people and being able to work with people, whether it’s my coworkers, colleagues, or the students that I get to teach.”

PHS Profile: Jennifer Li

From April 12­–14, PHS’s Ethics Bowl team traveled to UNC-Chapel Hill Campus in North Carolina to compete in the 2024 National High School Ethics Bowl Championships, an annual competition where two teams face each other to discuss and evaluate case studies with moral questions or dilemmas. Facing 24 teams from across the nation, PHS’s Ethics Bowl team engaged in a series of riveting discussions on ethical dilemmas, placing fifth overall and winning the Judges’ Choice Award. 
In order to qualify for nationals, each team had to win their respective regional Ethics Bowl competitions. Back in November, the PHS Ethics Bowl team began preparing for the New Jersey High School Ethics Bowl competition that they won in February. During their preparations for nationals, the Ethics Bowl team scrutinized numerous philosophical topics and practiced employing analytical strategies that they have developed throughout their past meetings. 
Unlike other discussion-based competitions, such as debate, where judges are instructed to discard their biases, ethics bowl judges may bring in outside knowledge or their own opinions during the rounds. As a result, co-captain Amanda Sun ’24 explains that the questions posed by judges and opposing teams during the tournament rounds are idiosyncratic, often making them challenging for the team to answer on the spot. 
“Personal opinions can influence the judges’ decisions when asking us hard questions or giving lower points ... but we just have to try our best and just present what we came to the table with,” Sun said. 
In addition to addressing judges’ varying moral beliefs, the team members also had to discuss differences in their own ethical values in order to reach a consensus on a moral framework to apply to potential cases during the national tournament.
“We [spent] so many hours on the plane, in the hotel rooms, in the classrooms, just talking to each other about the cases and just trying to figure out how to resolve each of our individual beliefs and disagreements,” Sun said. 
While competing with students from across the nation, PHS’s team also noted that the geographical origin of other teams influenced how they approached the same moral questions.
“We got to see other people’s perspectives for the first time on these new cases and be exposed to new ideas, as opposed to just kind of agreeing with ourselves over and over again,” said Sun. “The teams were more diverse geographically. People in the South have different concerns than those in the West and the East for example, so it was interesting to see how philosophy is taught in different areas.”
The geographical diversity of the competing teams was paired with a diverse set of judges with different areas of focus in philosophy. 
“One judge got really detailed with John Locke’s specific language for the social contract, which we hadn’t foreseen,” said Nikolai Margulis ’25. “One of our cases focused on the morality of speculating about Taylor Swift’s sexuality. We were asked if pop stars and politicians should be held to different standards in regard to publicity with their private lives.”
The team not only treated the tournament as a chance to broaden their perspectives on ethical viewpoints but also to explore local eateries and events, attending a bluegrass concert and dining out at fro-yo spots. For Margulis, the highlight of the entire experience was the down-to-earth atmosphere during the competition.
“We were all amazed by the spirit of genuine interest in discussion that seemed to fill every match. There was definitely an air of gratitude and excitement among each team,” Margulis said.

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