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Nostolgia

Is Fame Finally Getting To Chappell Roan Or Is It Actually Getting Too Far Ahead Of Her?

Written by: Eliana Ramirez Guzman 11th

Chappell Roan, your favorite artist's favorite artist, has been receiving recent controversy after an interaction between her and a photographer on the VMAS red carpet made its way onto social media. Roan and her stylist, Genesis Webb, can be seen in the viral clip attempting to fix her dress before a photographer then clearly yells out “Shut the f***k up Chappell” despite Roan not having said anything to have prompted this. Roan is quick to respond back with “You shut the f**k up” as Webb continues fixing her dress before they both eventually move on, but not before Roan shouts out one last response to the photographer: “Don’t, not me b***h.”

Roan’s sudden rise to fame earlier this year with hits such as Good Luck, Babe! and HOT TO GO! has unfortunately started taking its toll on the 26-year-old musician with this interaction having not been the only one of this type that she’s been forced to deal with. On August 19, Roan took to TikTok with two separate videos to call out fans who began harassing her in public by asking for photos, following her around, and even stalking her family.

“I need you to answer questions, just answer my questions for a second; If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window?” She begins her first video with. “I’m a random b***h, you’re a random b***h, just think about that for a second okay?”

“That does not make it okay, that doesn’t make it normal, I don’t–doesn’t mean I want it, doesn’t mean that I like it.” She continues in her second video. “I’m allowed to say no to creepy behavior okay?”

Many were supportive of her views regarding her boundaries with fans, taking to Twitter, or X, as it’s been officially renamed for the past year, to voice their support as she’d made it so nobody could comment on either post on TikTok. There were those few individuals, however, who expressed their anger at how Roan was now trying to establish boundaries between her fans. Such an incident occurred when Roan was traveling to Seattle back in July only for fans to have managed to get ahold of her flight details and wait for her at the airport. A man grew aggressive when Roan refused to give him her autograph and had to have police intervene.

“I got home and dropped to my knees.” Roan recalled. “I have a hard time crying now because of my meds, but I sobbed and I was screaming.”

So has Roan actually been getting too ahead of herself as people have been claiming?

F**k no and f**k them. She has every right to be speaking out about this. 

Female artists or celebrities in general are expected by society's standards to take the strange and weird interactions they have with fans and keep their heads held high, much like if a woman were to get cat called on the streets by some random man. Roan trying to set boundaries with her fans when it comes to performing on stage vs when she’s just out and about as an everyday person by speaking out about this is both courageous and right on her part. Female celebrities shouldn’t have to reinforce the idea that they are people too, still actresses and music artists, but people at the end of the day with their own family and lives to live. I speak for myself when I say that if I ever actually see a celebrity in public, I’m walking right past them like I would any other person; they have every right to live their own lives without some borderline creepy or starstruck fan interrupting their day for an autograph or photo.

Connections

How to play:

• Find 4 groups of 4 words

• Each group contains 4 words that are connected by category

For Example:

Pocket / Wallet / Purse / Bank → Places to put your money in. 

Snow / Base / Foul / Winners → ____ Ball.

• The categories of each group will be more complex, it will not be something like “Adjectives”, “Words”, “4-Letter Words”, or “Contains a vowel”.

• Each category varies in difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard.  

• Click on 4 words and hit “submit” to see if it is a category.

• Feel free to reset the game if you lose. Have fun!

Created by: William Espiritu 11th

Check out more of our Customized Connections

 Here !

School Update

This Week's Features!

Around the world, different countries, along with their unique cultures, set out ways to show their respect and acknowledge their elders. The Philippines is one of these countries that doesn’t let themselves fall back on these customs. It is a country that values kindness and respect very seriously; after all, Filipinos are known for their warm hospitality towards other people. Being born in the Philippines, growing up, I was used to being respectful to people I do not know of; neighbors and strangers are able to communicate casually despite their lack of relationship towards each other. I was used to being taught how to respect my elders. This is why kids or even people who are older than you need to respect each other. One way of doing this is to acknowledge people by your relationship to them or what you should call someone based on your age. An example of this is that if I’m a grandchild talking to my grandparents, I have to address them as “lola or lolo." lolo being the masculine version and “lola” being the feminine version, this example doesn’t differ very much from the Spanish culture of calling your grandparents “abuelo” or "abuela." We address grandparents this way to show respect to them acknowledging that they are older than you, but this does not only go one way where only the older people have to be respected but also younger people in opposite grandparents respecting their grandchild would call them "apo,” which means grandchild. It's a way for grandparents to refer to their grandchildren in a more endearing way, showing not only respect for them but also expressing the love they have for them. 

Of course, this respect is not only exchanged between grandparents and grandchildren but also between uncles and aunts, which are referred to as “tita” and "tito," “tita” for the feminine version and “tito” for the masculine version. In the Philippines, addressing someone is very different, as it does not only have to be limited to people your relative to, but it’s also required for people who you might not know of but are older than you. Say I have a neighbor who is older than you. Say I have a neighbor who is older than me around the same age as my parents in technicality. I refer to them as tita and tito as a sign of respect. The same goes with older people who are not my grandparents. Despite the lack of relationship we have with each other in technicality, as a sign of respect, we have to call them "“lolo” or “lola." Same goes with someone older to me that would, in technicality, be the same age as an older brother or older sister; we refer to them as “ate” or "kuya," “ate” for the feminine version while “kuya” as the masculine version. This address shows respect to those who are older to you, no matter what your relationship with each other is. It doesn’t matter. If you are close to someone or have a casual way of talking to each other, you have to address someone who is older than you by what they refer to. It’s less of a requirement but more of showing respect to someone, having morals in a way.

Another show of respect that Filipinos are very familiar with and accustomed to is "mano." In Spanish, "mano" is referred to as hands, which is very similar to the context of this sign of respect. “Mano” refers to a verb, an action of taking one's hand and putting your forehead against it as a sign of greeting. Now this gesture is a lot more common to do in older generations, such as grandparents, but having to do this gesture towards aunts and uncles emits great respect to them. Mano is a very important gesture with elders, as it’s  very respectful when greeting them. It’s a way of telling an older person that it's your honor to be with them, similar to hand kissing in a way, and can even be identified as the same as bowing to an elder in other countries like Korea, Japan, China, and more. In these countries, the farther you bow, the more respect you give to that person, which is very similar to the Philippines in a way. The more you "mano" to your lola's and lola's and address them as lolo's and lola's, the more you respect them as a person. Mostly every kid in the Philippines is taught all these gestures, as young as 2-3 years old, as soon as a kid is able to comprehend things in life, as parents would love for their children to grow up respecting their families, elders, and even just people around them. In the Philippines, children, even if somewhat older, say in their early 20s, do not follow these gestures; they can be seen as someone respectful, and in older generations perspective, they can be seen as someone rebellious as they show no efforts to respect an older person. In some cases, parents who also do not teach their children these gestures, especially in the eyes of the older generation, can be seen as disrespectful and referred to as a parent who spoils their kids and prevents them from having the knowledge they need in life; some may even refer to them as a parent who does not care for their kids to teach them some manners.

Oh come on! What my parents said is a lie! Listen Doc, I’m not really sure why I’m here, but if you're gonna psychoanalyze me or something, you got it a billion times wrong. To tell you the truth, you should’ve talked to my parents more. They’re about a trillion times more wrong in the head than me. 

Well anyways, I’ll tell you what really happened. We went to the place on Ino’s birthday. It was pretty beaten up and depressing as always, but his stone was far more mint than the others. You would’ve liked seeing it. It was kinda one of those pristine types; the ones that really grab your attention when you look from side to side. It makes sense, though, how Ino’s was more pristine than the other ones. I mean, when you meet him, you’ll know why his stone was like that. One time at camp, he’d skip rocks with things he hated written on them. He used a marker and wrote the most stupid things and chucked them into the river. It was very hilarious, actually, because he would forget what he just wrote on the rock when it sank. What I really liked about the stones, though, was that he would always put my name on it after I pissed him off. He was just like that. I wish you would’ve seen him. He’d probably like you a lot.

I remember we were pretty silent the whole time. We stood next to his stone and said all the things we remembered and loved about him, but that was it; it only took us three minutes. The rest of the time we kinda just stared at his dirt, or at least I did. I saw my parents looking at his blurry photo for a bit, but they would get distracted by this random ladybug on the grass. They would kinda focus on it, if that makes sense. They would track it for minutes, even if it wandered to someone else’s stone. And when it flew away, they’d always look for another ladybug, and there always was. That kinda pissed me off to tell you the truth. 

Well, I kinda had enough of my parents after they tracked the billionth ladybug. I started really going off at them, I mean about them looking at the ladybugs. All I said was that the ladybugs didn’t matter and all the things I hated about them, the ladybugs, I mean, and how Ino would probably write the ladybugs on a stone and chuck it farther than the river. Of course, they didn’t understand me, and I acted pretty immature looking back at it; I was bawling and everything. My parents always say that I must act more mature now. But I thought that was kinda stupid. It’s only been three months.

My parents were really pissed about what I did. They started going off about how I was acting like a little kid, and how I had to be strong for Ino, and how I was embarrassing them. I felt really bad after that, but I don’t know why. I try to think about why, even right now, but I just can’t. I’m just too distracted to think right now, that’s all.

After we left the place, they kept saying all the bad things about my behavior and how if I kept it up, we’d never come back. I really wanted to say something after that, even saying something small, but it wouldn’t be smart for me to do it, at least at that moment. Anyways, we went home and it still continued.

I saw them staring into Ino’s room one time. They were kinda frozen there, in his doorway, kinda  just looking in his room. It was really weird to tell you the truth; they never acted like that. Well anyways, I called them and they snapped out of it. It was kinda stupid looking back at it; I mean, me snapping them out, because the day after, they had this stupid idea to trash all the stuff that belonged to Ino. It was really awful, too, because they made me help. We got rid of everything: his books, clothes, pictures, even his bed. It was kinda funny, too, in a way, I mean looking at all his stuff, and I think my parents found it funny also. I’m not sure though, they never stayed in his room for a long time; they kinda avoided it to tell you the truth.

I remember seeing some rocks and a marker Ino kept in his closet; it was pretty hilarious. I mean when you saw it yourself, it’d look funny. Well anyways, I wrote my parents' names on the rocks; I thought Ino would find it absolutely hilarious. To be honest, I’m not really sure if he’d find it as funny as I did, I’m kinda forgetting what he likes; that scares me, to tell you the truth – how I’m not remembering his humor, I mean. Well anyways, I threw all the rocks and the markers away. It was kinda weird too, I mean how I was throwing it away. I kinda hesitated to drop them in for a while. I thought about being Ino for a moment, and what he would do; well, actually, I know what he would do. He would run to the nearest puddle and chuck the markers and rocks with our parents’ names in, and run back home swearing that he would never write on another rock again, and if he did, he would always make sure it's underwater, so no one would ever think about it, ever. To tell you the truth, I really don’t think I could ever be Ino, or at least have his style; it’s too hard, with my parents and everything.

It took us about three days to clear his stuff. I remember one time I was looking into Ino’s room and just staring at it, kinda like my parents. I mean, not like frozen or anything, but just looking at how empty it was; it made me kinda depressed, in a way. Well, I guess I was staring at it for hours because my mom noticed me and said “Is Ino gonna write his bedroom on a rock and throw it farther than the river?” That really, really, really pissed me off to tell you the truth. I would’ve probably yelled at her right there. I mean, maybe not yelled, but constructively informed her how they could never ever copy Ino’s style and how it was all really their fault why I was staring, that’s all. Well, even though I wanted to, I wouldn’t do it, not even for a million bucks, I swear. I would never do it, for Ino’s sake. 

Well, I guess that’s why I haven’t been talking for a while. I mean, to them, my parents. It's cause I really don’t wanna say anything that’ll piss them off anymore. I guess that’s why I’m here, huh Doc? So you can try to fix my talk and everything. Well, to be honest, I really enjoyed this time. It’s quite funny actually, I thought you were going to act just like my parents, but you didn’t. That’s what I really like about you; how you’re not them and everything. To be honest you kinda remind me of Ino. I’d bet you a trillion dollars that you have a great shot at being Ino. I mean, I’d bet that you’d never write someone’s name on a rock, even my parents, and even if you did, you’d always aim in the water, like Ino did.

A Candlelit Letter

Written by: Eric Dang 11th

 In a small town, there was once a girl who loved. She had a heart for everything around her. She loved her brother, her parents, and her relatives. She loved nature: the sky, the land, the sea; all were things she held dearly. She cared for her friends, and even her enemies. There was nothing in the world she disliked, but the world could not say the same. Those she loved did not love her in return. Why? Because she had a love that burned. Her family that she embraced, burnt to ashes. The trees that she hugged, lit up at the slightest warmth. Everywhere she went, a trail of flames followed, so she left everything behind, and fled. To a place where her love could not burn, a place where there was nothing, nor anyone to love: The afterlife. 

     She climbed the tallest peak on the continent, repenting through her suffering as everyday got colder, and colder. She planned to continue going higher until she froze, a befitting death for someone who burns. When she reached the top of the mountain, she was still alive as her love for the snow kept her warm. In the distance, a shack appeared through the gale of the blizzard. Who could be living here, she curiously wondered. Even though she promised not to go near anyone, she wanted to know, she did love answers after all. Inside, a tiny candle flickered as it illuminated the dark interior. She could see a table, a bed, oh how it reminded her of home. Yet there was something unfamiliar, a boy who looked her age laid restless on the stiff mattress. Without knowing, she had already entered and sat herself on a chair next to him. He awoke, and their eyes locked.

     The boy was also unique in a way that contrasted her. He was alone with no one around him, no one to care for him, and no one to love him. Over time his heart rejected warmth, and began to be encased with an impenetrable frost just like the mountain he was left on. Hearing his story, she began to cry as she reminisced of her family, and how they both wanted to be loved. Yet she was different in the fact that she had love to give. Her tears were imbued with loving warmth and as they fell into the boy, for once, he felt a strange fuzzy feeling. A feeling that pierced through his cold heart, thawing it, and giving him meaning. Day after day, all her love that no one accepted poured into the boy as they both found a solution to their problems. She had someone that appreciated her love, and he had someone who gave him the warmth of affection. Weeks followed, the mountain no longer snowed, but began growing grass and flowers instead. As they spent their time together in peace and love, it seemed as if the world around them was changing.

     Everything was taking a turn for the better, until she fell onto the cold floorboard on a fateful day. After giving away all her love to help him, she no longer had the warmth to stay alive. The boy took out an old piece of paper and wrote on it. He wrote a letter every day for her to read in the afterlife she so dearly yearned for. He burned them in the candle, hoping that the burning letters would find their way to her as the smoke escaped through the window. It was the end of her story, and the boy was abandoned once again, but both of them were happy to have met each other.

God I am so in my head

and the things on the internet are not my friends

Especially when it comes to you

Saying that I’m stupid and silly for the things that I do

That if they don’t try then why do you?

And if they cry then whose arms do they come running to?

And it’s?

Why?

So I had a dream last night that the world was ending in my brain

conjure to you

Yet my family was there

But who was I running to?

Right?

And when the meteors fall

all I wanted to do was tell you how I truly felt

The burning of the meteors matching the burning of my passion

And when I woke up from that nightmare the real one started because I’d just sound crazy if i just said that 

‘I love…’

You ask why?

You ask why? Because I fantasize your toothbrush next to mine

Why?

Cause I can imagine us watching Coraline with the crisp breeze while falling leaves engulf us

The same colour as the falling meteors in my dream

And I know that I’m annoying 

And you have me wrapped around your finger 

waiting for you to pull the trigger

Yet you put me under your pillow and sleep on it

afraid to use it

But I’m hoping that you’ll take the shot

And I hope that you treasure things like I do

Like your favorite candy because how many people actually remember that?

I mean

what’s my favorite candy

Right?

And this isn’t an attack on anyone

I’m just trying to put things into perspective what many people don’t see

and thats you

So why?

Cause I know my feelings even if the internet says its fault

So why?

Cause I know my feelings even when the world is falling apart

So why?

Cause I know my feelings even if you don’t know yours

Cause I’m not just loving you

I’m loving someone’s daughter

someone’s best friend

Someone’s future mother even…

If it's all in my head 

(Spanish version)

Dios estoy tan en mi cabeza

y las cosas en internet no son mis amigas

Especialmente cuando se trata de ti

Decir que soy estúpido y tonto por las cosas que hago

Que si ellos no lo intentan ¿por qué tú?

Y si lloran, ¿a brazos de quién corren?

¿Y lo es?

¿Por qué?

Entonces anoche soñé que el mundo se estaba acabando en mi cerebro.

conjurarte

Sin embargo, mi familia estaba allí

¿Pero hacia quién estaba corriendo?

¿Bien?

Y cuando caen los meteoritos

Todo lo que quería hacer era decirte lo que realmente sentí.

El ardor de los meteoros coincide con el ardor de mi pasión.

Y cuando desperté de esa pesadilla, la verdadera comenzó porque sonaría loco si dijera eso. 

'Amo…'

¿Preguntas por qué?

¿Preguntas por qué? Porque fantaseo con tu cepillo de dientes al lado del mío

¿Por qué?

Porque puedo imaginarnos viendo a Coraline con la brisa fresca mientras las hojas cayendo nos envuelven.

Del mismo color que los meteoritos que caen en mi sueño.

Y sé que soy molesto 

Y me tienes envuelto alrededor de tu dedo 

esperando que aprietes el gatillo

Sin embargo, me pones debajo de tu almohada y duermes sobre ella.

miedo de usarlo

Pero espero que tomes la oportunidad

Y espero que atesores las cosas como yo.

Como tu dulce favorito porque ¿cuántas personas realmente lo recuerdan?

Quiero decir

cual es mi dulce favorito

¿Bien?

Y esto no es un ataque a nadie.

Sólo estoy tratando de poner las cosas en perspectiva, lo que mucha gente no ve.

y ese eres tu

Entonces ¿por qué?

Porque conozco mis sentimientos incluso si Internet dice que es culpa

Entonces ¿por qué?

Porque conozco mis sentimientos incluso cuando el mundo se está desmoronando

Entonces ¿por qué?

Porque conozco mis sentimientos incluso si tú no conoces los tuyos

Porque no solo te estoy amando

Estoy amando a la hija de alguien

el mejor amigo de alguien

La futura madre de alguien incluso…

Si toda está en mi cabeza

Current World

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2024. Since then, Western officials estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions of Ukrainians have fled their country due to the damages and nuclear bombs. Ukraine also sustained tens of billions of dollars worth of damage. 

2022

Russian forces attacked the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. After weeks of fighting, Russian forces pulled back, stymied by the ferocious resistance of Ukrainians. 

Attacking from the south, the Kherson region was attacked by Russian forces, as well as the regional capital aiming for Ukraine’s coast. Moscow also aimed to form a “land bridge” between the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally taken away from Ukraine in 2014. Far more civilians were killed in March from this event than any other month, according to United Nations data.

A Russian missile strike on a train station in Kramatorsk killed 50 civilians. The last Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces in Mariupol in May after weeks of bombardment that killed thousands of civilians. The fight ended with a siege of the Azovstal steel plant, which symbolized Ukrainian resistance to all.

 In August, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the Kherson region. Kyiv's forces employed a weapon system, HIMARS, to target Russian military infrastructure and also to attack Russian air bases in Crimea. The next month after that, Ukraine had a rapid offensive, retaking much of the Northeastern Kharkiv region, and then the month after that, Ukraine recaptured the eastern city of Lyman.

 Two days before Russia’s launch on a barrage of airstrikes, an explosion damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Crimea with Russia. Russia quickly announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions despite its fall that October.  

2023 

Ukrainian forces started the year by striking a building in Donetsk that was housing Russian troops. Russian forces were closer to seizing the city of Bakhmut despite the losses everywhere else. U.S. and European officials estimated that Russian casualties in the war were approaching 200,000 killed or wounded. Ukraine had about 100,000 killed or wounded in action and 30.000 in civilian deaths. 

Bitter fighting rages in Bakhmut, with each side claiming they're in control of the eastern city. Ukraine gets its first delivery of Western heavy tanks with British challengers and German Leopards, a welcome boost for the country’s armed forces. Moscow points out that the US also has weapons of mass destruction parked in Europe.

 The battle for Bakkhmut rages on with the Russian Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Progozhin claiming that his forces are “in legal control of the city." A later gruesome video was posted with him next to his dead soldiers; he threatened to pull out the key fight unless much-needed ammo is supplied by the Russian army forces. It shows his growing assertiveness with Russian military establishments.

 A major disaster unfolds when the Soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam in Russia-controlled southern Ukraine is blown up. Zelensky blames it on “Russian terrorists,"  while Moscow denies any involvement. The incident killed 50 people, flooded a vast majority of land, and cost 1.2 billion in damage, according to Ukrainian Environment Minister Russian Strilets.

 Many events continued this year, including Ukraine being accused of using landmines, China supplying Russia with military equipment during the war, etc. 

2024

So far reported by ACLED, there are 844 political violence events, 75 incidents of violence targeting civilians, and at least 39 fatalities from civilian targeting during August to September 6. 

Just this week, September 17, 2024, nine residential buildings were destroyed in Kursk, Russia. Russian forces captured the Ukrainian city of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, according to a source in the military cited by the Russian state. Six people, including four rescuers, were injured during the Russian-guided air bomb attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv city. Russia repelled a total of 5 attempts of Ukrainian forces smashing through its border into the Kursk region, bringing many reported attacks on the border these past 6 days. Finally, Russian air defense systems have shot down several Ukrainian Armed Forces missiles in the region since dawn, according to Alexey Smirnov, Governor of the Kursk region in Russia.

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