By: Abigail Wozniak 

Welcome to senior year! The year where all that stress from the previous years looks like little meltdowns. Seniors know the struggle, big exams, retakes, “meaner” teachers, and less time to have to yourselves. They get it, they understand you. This is the year in which the majority of the exams and assignments are graduation requirements. The IOA belongs to Language and Literature classes. Students must pass that class four times to leave high school. Seniors have to make an appointment to present the IOA to their teacher and be on time. The IOA is an oral exam that you must take in your senior year. The students will talk about a global issue of their choice and depending on their teacher's decision will either compare newspapers with meaning or will compare books that they have read. One literarywork and non literarywork.The exam is 15 minutes long. No breaks, no sleep, just straight work. No one is ever really prepared for senior year or what it brings.The seniors who finished the IOA gave some feedback about the IOA, and how to feel about it. "It will help the flow of the conversation on the Global issue to come more naturally,” said Mia Flores, a senior. Taft seniors are here to help! They felt the same, nervous, stressed, or even confused.Hannah Lahri, a senior,  said, “I would say that the IOA is not bad at all, it's easy. Just take your time and make the reading like a conversation.“ Seniors all need guidance sometimes. Flores said, “My advice to this year's seniors and next year's seniors is not to overthink it and say what you really feel about your global issue because it will help you get your point across. And it will help the flow of the conversation on the Global issue to come more naturally.” According to  Brian Will, Language and Literature Department Chair, “By meeting deadlines, thinking through ideas in advance, talking to their teachers, engaging in the curriculum, any and all students can be at least moderately, if not quite, successful on this assessment. ”

By: Alexas Loxas and Ryleigh Merced

Fights breaking out during school has always been a concern, but this past school year there has been an alarming and drastic increase. Just within the past month, an incident occurred at the gas station only two blocks away caused by Taft students. This incident has resulted in numerous police vehicles being ordered to the neighboring mobile gas station. Instances like these are distressing and frightening to the public, which can lead people to make assumptions about all Taft students. People outside of the Taft community perceive the students as vicious and idiotic. The harmful stereotype that the students of Taft have received from the public will limit their opportunities and damage the reputation of the community. Taft junior Nathaniel Ryba declared, “Fighting is extremely dangerous and is harming our youth.” Is the most recent and daunting incident at the gas station a sign of escalation in future fights? Or is it a sign of something deeper in Taft students. What is the real reason behind these fights? Fights are most commonly assumed to be the result of petty dramas and squabbles. But occurrences where numerous police cars are being called to a scene is absolutely unacceptable. These incidents prompt one to ask: what is the underlying issue? Is it the same issues from years’ previous but with a catalytic response from students? When there is one fight there tends to be multiple. There is no limit to how many fights can arise in one school day, as there have been many instances where a series of fights between students have emerged. These fights can occur throughout the day. Taft junior Daniel J Jackson commented on the situation by stating, “I believe that the total has indeed increased. The cause may be that people have already built up resentment and thus they release it all at once.” In an interview conducted on Nov. 6, Taft Principal Ryan Glowacz said, “It’s not necessarily something that has been brewing in the school throughout the course of the day. It's like kids are bringing things in.” Later on he stated, “You have a lot of federal involvement and you have essentially what is racial profiling going on throughout the city of Chicago.” He claimed that added pressures of outside life in Chicago are why students are becoming more aggressive. He then referred to the presence of ICE in our city and how they have negatively impacted the lives of students by bringing fear and irreparable changes to their lives. Glowacz insisted that we wait for further notice to publish this article so that he could provide further statistics and another interview. This second interview was conducted on Dec. 3. In this interview he comments on further police presence in taft "There was a fight on friday [ the fight was just before on November 21] and someone called the police, they respond and when they arrived they saw kids where in class” He claims that the police did not interfere with student activities but was just there to merely respond to a call. When Chicago police were responding they sent seven cop cars to taft. The increased number of police response to taft students raises cause for alarm. Dr Glowacz shared this table with us depicting the apparent decrease in school incidents. In conclusion, the reasons that students fight root from deeper issues than drama or petty arguments. The built up anger that is unleashed through student altercation comes from external issues and grievances. 

By: Ryleigh Merced and Aaliyah Mendez

On the early morning of Jan. 3, the U.S. arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas, Venezuela. According to the University of Chicago, they were flown to New York and processed at a DEA facility before being taken to a Brooklyn jail. Both were charged with narco terrorism,  conspiracy to commit narco-terriorism,  money laundering, drug-trafficking and corruption. To these charges both pleaded not guilty. While Maduro has been under U.S. government control, Venezuela has been under the responsibility of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She has been serving as the interim president since Maduro has been arrested. She was officially sworn in on Jan. 5. There have been widespread different reactions to the president's arrest. The people of Venezuela embraced this mark of a new Venezuela while western reactions have been conflicting. Rather this is a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty or a RTP ( Responsibility to protect) movement for the human rights violations Venezuelans have been enduring under President Maduro dictatorship. Under this authoritarian government there has been an economic hardship of escalating starvation and spread of disease and increase in crime. The shortages in Venezuela became a health crisis of shortage of milk, wheat, coffee, hygiene products and medicine were all scarce. Global Politics teacher Rachael P Nickolas commented on the growing situation, “If it really was about human rights abuses or bringing democracy there and helping the people, they would have removed and not just accepted the people in his regime.” Reports of extrajudicial killing which is murder of people or a person without lawful authority granted by judicial. Venezuelan government authorities, whether unlawful or lawful, targeted thousands of people that were killed under his administration. Nick Geese, a police officer for the city of Chicago has spoken about the events that have happened in Venezuela before Maduro's arrest. He stated, “The country is full of culture and love and people who want a better life, they need a proper leader and a stable government and to be free of maduro cruelty.” According to UNHCR, 7.8 million Venezuelans have left the country which is recorded to be the largest refugee crisis. Many Venezuelans immigrated to neighboring countries and others to the United States. The U.S. has targeted the state oil company PDVSA which is one of the world's largest oil exporting companies. A meeting was held in the white house for a plan to exploit Venezuelan resources after Maduro's arrest. Trump said the U.S. government would provide security and safety in exchange for Venezuelans companies' agreement to sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil in which an agreement took place. Creative Writing teacher Alma Vera said, “That arrest is not what we are told about.”  She didn’t have anything more to say, just sighed at the mention of the arrest. Venezuelan tenth grader Maria Rojas who attends Kenwood Academy has spoken on the arrest of president Maduro. She stated, “I love that he's out of office, and I was celebrating with my family but still worried about what comes next for Venezuela." President Maduro's arrest sparked controversy and celebrations but his arrest could strengthen the position of opposition leaders and push democratic movements in Venezuela. Improvements such as stable living conditions and economic boost as well as seeing a leader being held legally responsible can be a symbol of peace and justice. 

By: Penelope Shannon

Fans of Wicked are excited to hear that Wicked: For Good is officially coming to theaters on Nov. 21. This is the second movie in the two part adaptation of the famous broadway musical starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.  The news of the release has caused a lot of anticipation. With the success of the first movie, fans have been on their toes waiting to see how the story ends. Now that the movie is finally releasing soon,excitement is growing. Many fans and brands are riding the excitement of the popular movie. Recently, every store you go to seems to have a Wicked section. Stores are selling Wicked cereal, Wicked cake pops, Wicked cookies, WIcked edible glitter, and more. It seems to be everywhere recently. Senior Alyssa Kalisz said, “Everywhere I go I see Wicked stuff. I've never seen the movie but it's definitely on my mind now.” Wicked: For Good, will run for two hours and seventeen minutes. Following the announcement of the release, two official trailers were dropped. The first trailer released June 4, giving viewers the first look at what the movie has to offer. The final trailer, which was released on Sep. 24 to excite fans right before the release.  Senior Vincent Rodriguez stated, "The trailers really made me more excited to watch the movie. The anticipation has really made me more involved with the release.” As we get closer to the release date, Wicked is going to become more talked about than ever before. Senior Andrianna Bahriy said,“I didn't know about Wicked until the movies came out, and now I hear about it everywhere I go." Wicked: For Good is set to be one of the biggest movies of 2025, and fans everywhere are more ready than ever.  

By: Kateryna Hordieieva 

In 1816 the traditional stethoscope was invented. It is used to listen to sounds inside our bodies and it has been an important tool of every medic’s toolkit for a very long time. According to The Guardian, researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College healthcare NHS trust developed an AI-led stethoscope that can detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds. According to The Guardian, thousands of doctors at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress at Madrid (which is the world’s largest heart conference) were presented with the new invention. The study of the new technology involved about 12,000 patients from 200 GP surgeries in the UK. Researchers took the information needed from patients with symptoms such as breathlessness or fatigue. According to The Guardian, professor Mike Lewis, the NIHR scientific director for innovation, said, “This tool could be a real gamechanger for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society.” Students' opinions are somewhat conflicting on this topic, some of them are comfortable with an AI stethoscope detecting their heart problems, and some are scared to trust a computer with their body. Senior Anastasiia Kryvokulska shared her opinion on new technology, “I would trust the AI stethoscope because computers can detect small signals that humans sometimes cannot. But a doctor would also be able to help right away if something happens, and AI is not able to do so.” On the other hand, AI could be really helpful and students believe it will be used more often in the future and will benefit the doctors. Junior Serafym Nievierov shared, “We know that AI is very helpful in a lot of things that are necessary in our daily life, so I believe that in medicine it will be really helpful.” But overall, in students’ opinion doctors should be appreciated. Freshman Mariia Khopta said, “I think computers will never replace doctors because doctors have more life experience which computers will never achieve.” According to The Guardian, professor Mike Lewis, the NIHR scientific director for innovation, said, “This tool could be a real gamechanger for patients, bringing innovation directly into the hands of GPs. The AI stethoscope gives local clinicians the ability to spot problems earlier, diagnose patients in the community, and address some of the big killers in society.”

By: Annalena Horvath and Alyssa Sanchez

“Stranger Things” is the popular sci-fi drama show on Netflix, which is about a group of young friends who come across supernatural occurrences and other challenges that come along with it. The show came out July 2016 and Season 4, the most recent season, came out May 2022. This November, Stranger Things will be returning with Season 5. Season 4 left many fans with a cliffhanger. The season ended with many questions and theories from fans. Thinking about what will come in Season 5, what are guaranteed things coming in season 5?  Some predictions fans think will occur in season 5 is time travel. People think the characters might try to alter past events to prevent the bad things that happened at Hawkins. Another theory the fans had is that the characters from Stranger Things will die and other characters that have died in other seasons will come back. Junior Vada Mihelcic said, “Eddie's spirit will magically come back, and I think Max is going to die.” Backing up on Vada’s theory of someone dying, Alessandra Donedo, another junior at Taft said, “Someone is probably going to die because it has happened every season.”  Following the predictions from fans, United States history teacher Emily Blanchard stated, “I think the show is gonna leave everything on a good note and no cliffhangers , because it's the final season. I don't think any of the characters will die and my theory is that their team (friends) are gonna save Max and I think Eddie is in the underworld somewhere and they're gonna save Eddie from the upside down.” From previous seasons people had speculated that Will Byers is gay, and has a massive crush on his best friend Mike Wheeler, fans call this “ship” Byler. People predict that there is gonna be some type of heart to heart conversation with these two characters expressing how they feel about each other. Mihelcic continued, “Mike and Will, I think that they are going to get together.” Some new things are happening in the upcoming season.Usually every new season of Stranger Things there are new characters added. July 2024 it was announced that new actors are being introduced to the show, which means new characters. Linda Hamilton and Alex Breaux whose roles are unclear. Jake Connelly is playing a 12 year old boy. Finally, Nell Fisher who is playing as an older Holly Wheeler. Stranger Things has come a long way since the first season coming out in 2016 and now to the current ones. Fans have been watching the show since that long and are excited to see the finale and others are sad to see this show come to an end. 

By: Marta Radacina and Magdalena Gonzalez-Soloranzo

Welcome back to a new school year! A new year means new beginnings, new rules. Rules that not everyone might agree on, one of the biggest changes this year is the phone policy. That's why the school has enforced a new phone policy. This will help us stay focused and get the most out of our classes without scrolling on TikTok under the desk. French teacher Acadia Broussard supports the new phone tree policy, “It is reasonable and, unfortunately, necessary in the modern age.” Broussard believes it will improve phone tree usage, “Teenagers are very, very concerned with others and with norms.” This can create “a domino effect” where students stop following the rule. Broussard also believes it will improve students' achievements, “Phones are incredibly distracting and detrimental,” and since they are, “Proven scientifically to have similar effects as slot machines.” Limiting phones helps reduce distraction and boost focus. Taft junior Jester Lagrosa said, "I really don't care because I respect the phone tree.” Lagrosa thinks that this new policy will improve the phone tree usage since it adds consequences for not following it. However, Lagrosa doesn't believe that it will improve students' achievements. He said, “It depends on the student and whether they choose to focus or not.” Assistant Principal Patrick Levins shared his thoughts on the newly introduced phone policy. “This new phone policy was implemented because students were not following the previous phone tree policy, often saying there were no real consequences,” he explained. He continued, “I hope students understand the consequences this time and choose to follow the rules—we just want to see improvement in their classes.” Levins also added, “We’re doing this because we care about our students and truly want to see them succeed.” Overall, the new phone policy has sparked mixed reactions among both teachers and students. As some may see it as a necessary step to limit distraction and improve academic achievements, others believe it can impact how students choose to respond due to the consequences. Only time will tell if this policy will truly help students stay focused and reach their full potential.

By: Chamijah Allen

Since school has started we have a new rule with the chromebooks. As everybody now knows, the students at Taft now have to correlate their phone tree numbers with their chromebook numbers.  This issue started due to budget issues within the country and the school. The  students at Taft seem to be content with the new rule so far. Junior Stephanie Reza has a comment on how she believes the chromebook issue began, “Towards the end of last year students started to succumb to the trends online and attempted to break the school chromebooks.” Due to the budget issue the teachers now have to rely on the students at Taft to take responsibility and treat the Taft properties around them with respect and care. Scott Plencner, PPS teacher, and a chair member of the PPLC said, “Money is tight this year and we won't have enough money to replace or even fix the chromebooks this year.” When questioned about if a situation where a chromebook would get broken will occur, he said, “It will definitely happen.”  Though the chromebook phenomenon has kept things organized so far,  junior Kylie Yanez said, “ I believe the chromebook issue has actually brought more structure within the school and the students. It’s more organized and forces the students to be more aware.” After asking other students at Taft they also agree.  Last year and this year the students have always had a hard time putting their chromebooks in the right spot, they seem to be unfazed and unaware of their clumsiness. Plencner mentioned that originally their plan was to assign each student a computer, but Principal Ryan Glowacz believed it was better to stick with the rule we all know now. The staff and students at Taft do not know if this situation will get better or worse, but we are hoping for the best from now on.

By: Angelis Goris

On Aug. 27, there was an assembly held in the auditorium of William Taft Howard High School. This assembly was used to inform students about the new expectations for the upcoming school year. These expectations were given out by Principal Ryan Glowacz and IB MYP Coordinators Tanya Bateson, Sarah Gomez, and Jeff Mikula. In these new changes our Principal and IB MYP Coordinators demonstrated that they expected to educate global citizens and to broadly create a better world. Specifically what was mentioned was culture and climate expectations, student event eligibility criteria, IB MYP at Taft, and Taft Emergency Response Overview. Glowacz emphasized the importance of mutual respect, punctuality, and personal responsibility, encouraging all students to take ownership of their education. Bateson spoke of the importance of open-mindedness and international-mindedness, two key aspects of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), while Gomez mentioned strategies for how students stay eligible for events throughout the year. Mikula ended the presentation by reviewing the updated Emergency Response Plan, making it clear the importance of safety in all school settings. Each part of the assembly was directed to support students in becoming not only academically successful but also responsible members of the school community. Junior Zaira Carreto was at the assembly and said, “The new expectations that were mentioned in the assembly seem very insensitive towards students that might not be able to make it to school or something comes up,” Carreto said. “It sounds like these eligibility requirements could help students stay focused, but it's not very reasonable considering not everyone’s life is perfect and there can be times where you can make mistakes.” Other staff members of the Taft community also reflected on the new expectations. Some teachers believe the updates will give students more direct goals and create a more respectful environment. Taft Diverse Learners teacher Michelle Hogan explained that the policy seems “fair” because it matches what is mostly expected in high schools and at college levels. She added that there are no real negatives, since, “Student attendance is the number one reason a student is not passing a class.” Hogan also said the changed policy can motivate students to focus on academics first, stating, “Playing sports for Taft is a privilege,” and that student athletes should be, “Held to a higher standard.” The new expectations at Taft show the school’s push to keep students on track and ready for the future. While some students feel the expectations are too strict or unfair, teachers see them as a way to prepare and build better habits. As the year goes on, the school will notice if these expectations will truly help students grow in both learning and responsibility.

By: Lila Ballard

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are publicly engaged as of Aug. 26. After two years of dating Kelce proposed to Swift in the backyard garden of his Kansas city home. Both shared a joint Instagram post announcing the big news! When asked if she thought Swift might retire, settle down and possibly bear children, junior Karla Torres said, “I think a couple years after yeah.” Leaning into that, some may wonder if Swift plans on receiving an invitation from the NFL if the Chiefs win the superbowl. Kelce wears two superbowl rings proudly so through speculation some think a third might make it on that finger. Kelly Wisniewski, a Swift fanatic said, “I'm conflicted, I do think she would perform if asked, the NFL would be a fool not to ask her.” Obviously the Chiefs would have to win first, but the chances of that are high. Are Swift’s chances high too? Based on the fact that she wrote many songs about ex lovers, people speculate she would do the same if she and Kelce divorce. Taft junior Julia Ptasznik said, “Yeah definitely, didn't she write Bad Blood?” So because of past songs Swift has written like Bad Blood and others the speculation may seem justified. According to a Sep. 13 The Mirror interview, Miley Cyrus  had a few words to say about the engagement: “Anybody who has been around them can see how in love they are.” Remember your favorite celebrity, singer, or songwriter is human just like you and big things like this are a reminder to shed light on the humanity that may normally be forgotten.

By: Alauna Sherrod and Fintan O'Shea

Both students and teachers alike can agree that the Covid-19 pandemic served as an academic buffer and left a stain on America's state testing scores including SAT, ACT, and Star360 exams. However, can we still pin the blame on Covid when it comes to academic motivation and success? A January CNN article written by the Associated Press claims that, “Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills.” A blunt yet proven reflection of how 2019 learning progress has shown the depletion of student engagement as the predicted linear trend of rising test scores has been broken after 2020. However, according to Megan Vogt, a Taft teacher of 28 years who currently teaches mathematics to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, “We don't have finals anymore, so students aren't expected to remember the stuff taught in the earlier units from previous years, so us teachers constantly have to go back and teach seventh and eighth grade math skills, so reteaching the skills that students are expected to know takes time away from the skills they are supposed to be learning. That’s what lowers the scores.” Given this information, it could be assumed that without the expectation to remember material from previous years, the standard is being lowered automatically for the present and future generations of test takers which indirectly causes test scores to be lower as students need to work harder to remember past lessons. Senior cross country champion Sara Solis stated, “Motives increase when test scores are up. Seeing results on things we are learning and good grades is what keeps students motivated to achieve good scores because when you fail, you kind of label yourself as a failure and it discourages you from wanting to achieve more. The same thing goes for sports, you know when you don’t succeed and you blame yourself and sometimes it motivates you to try harder and do more but other times it makes you want to give up.” With that being said, can we classify decreasing test scores as a reflection of giving up? According to Taft Principal Ryan Glowacz, despite test scores dropping in recent years, he doesn’t believe that Taft  is falling behind, let alone failing. In fact, he stated,“86% of last year's senior class was enrolled in college - a majority of which were enrolled in a 4-year college…those college acceptances are so much more important than other things you can look at… that doesn’t seem like a setback to me.” Glowacz stressed that, “Test scores are important and they open doors, but so many colleges are test optional now… but no, during that pandemic one of the good shifts is that they really started looking at students holistically.” What this means is that there are now so many more avenues for students to take, not just since the pandemic but since Glowacz was a student himself in 2006. college…those college acceptances are so much more important than other things you can look at… that doesn’t seem like a setback to me.” Glowacz stressed that, “Test scores are important and they open doors, but so many colleges are test optional now… but no, during that pandemic one of the good shifts is that they really started looking at students holistically.” What this means is that there are now so many more avenues for students to take, not just since the pandemic but since Glowacz was a student himself in 2006.

By: Etahn Simball and Tajh Rawls 

On Sep. 10, Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, was fatally shot. He was a long-time ally of President Donald Trump and embraced many right-wing values of the Republican party. His death shocked the political world, being very sudden and unexpected. He was known for his support of the right-wing cause. According to BBC News, Kirk and his wife, Ericka Frazier, have two kids. They like to keep their family life private but share their Christian beliefs. Kirk and Frazier have worked together on many faith-based projects. They focus on their religion and values but don’t talk much about their personal life to the public. Kirk was born in 1993 in Illinois. He was homeschooled for a lot of his childhood and decided not to go to college, which he says made him see higher education differently. Charlie started touring college campuses in 2012, trying to debate and change people's minds about the political right-wing party. Kirk wrote several books, including The MAGA Doctrine and The College Scam. He often talked about Christian faith, his belief in limited government and free markets, at the college campuses that he would tour. At these debates, people would gather from both sides of political parties to debate these topics as well as get their voices heard on the world stage. He was a close ally of President Donald Trump and frequently appeared on television and at political events supporting Trump’s policies. Kirk was known for his bold style and approach to politics and his sharp speaking skills, which helped him become a well-known person in the inner conservative circles. Now this topic has been a point of controversy not only in the real world but also here at Taft. Taft senior David Aguilar said, “Although I didn't agree on Charlie Kirk's political views, he did a decent job of giving young college students a voice.” Taft senior Naly Mejivar said, “I think a lot of his views were less political and more personal, and he had a lot of interesting opinions. I don't really align with them." Taft senior Dylan Rivera said, “It was pretty sad the way he died, and I thought he was doing good things, going to colleges and spreading facts and information.” Kirk’s assassination on Sep. 10 was a shocking event that evoked strong emotions and opinions throughout our community and the country. Known for his controversial views, his death has sparked controversy, debate, and reflection on the state of politics in America. No matter where people stand, his passing marks an important moment in political history. 

By: Emma Anguiano

A new school year has started which means “new” rules have been intact. William Howard Taft High School has brought back metal detectors. These metal detectors were in use during 2022-23, but took a break 2024-2025. A lot of Taft students have stated that these metal detectors create a “prison-like” environment. Metal detectors are seen as “intimidating” but can also give this sense of a safe environment.  According to Taft senior Daniela Wryk, “Walking into the building and seeing these metal detectors kind of throws me off but I know they are used for good reason.” Students at Taft assume that these metal detectors were set to create a safer environment during school hours. Taft Assistant Principal Patrick Levins said, “The Taft learning community has made it their opinion that metal detectors would make our school safe.” With a campus filled with about 4200, many students decide to exit the building during school hours, which is illegal, or open the doors for other students who avoid going through the main entrance where the metal detectors are located. Levins said, “If you are walking in from a different door why are you trying to avoid the metal detectors? Which is why we definitely search them because we don’t know what they are bringing in.” Students have stated that metal detectors are used for the right intentions. Taft senior Emma Perez said, “With everything going on around the world with schools and weapons being involved I do believe that they have a right reason to use metal detectors.” There are a lot of opinions on the metal detectors, some being that they feel they are in a prison-like environment and some feel that there is a need for these metal detectors. The metal detectors being back has brought both feelings of safety and reluctance.