Frontier Musical

by Ethan Zydel and Alex Burket

After over a year without a live musical at Frontier High School, the silence was broken with an amazing 3 night showing on The Theory of Relativity. The performers were well suited for their roles and they portrayed their characters enthusiastically. Megan Zakeri’s vocalization of the song “Me and Ricky” left the audience speechless. The song “Manicure” performed by Elayna Dipasqua pulled all the separate stories of the musical together; at first the plot seemed a little confusing, but after that scene everything was tied together perfectly. The lighting was spot on, both literally and figuratively. Not only were the actors and actresses fantastic, but the music from the pit really showed off our school's instrumental talents. Considering this performance was only put together within a month from auditions to opening night, it was a truly amazing performance. We can't wait to see what the drama club will pull together next with Sister Act.

The Best Mistake

by Emma Gordon

Harry Styles is a name that will undoubtedly ring a bell in the minds of most high school students. Whether they know him from One Direction, or the skyrocketing success of his solo career, he’s an incredibly influential figure among the younger generations. Harry’s Love On Tour is coming to a close after nearly three months, which has granted millions of fans across the US the opportunity to see him live; myself included.

To say that getting to his Cleveland show was an adventure is a vast understatement. The weekend leading up to the show, which was on Monday, October 18th, was a complete whirlwind. After having decided to not go see Harry because of how expensive the tickets were, my best friend Bella and I made the impromptu decision to splurge. I purchased two tickets the Friday before the show - without having secured a ride to Cleveland. This was among the most unwise decisions I’ve made in my lifetime. Bella and I spent that entire weekend begging and bribing our friends, family members, and coworkers to drive us to this show. We were desperate to get there, for we’d been following Harry since his days in One Direction; over 7 years ago. We built our friendship on our mutual adoration for him.

We begged and begged my mother until she caved. She finally agreed to drive us, which I’ll forever be grateful to her for. We drove the long four hours to Cleveland in our best concert outfits, listening to Harry’s album Fine Line on repeat in preparation for the show. Our vocal cords were nice and warmed up by the time we got there.

I burst into tears the second Harry took the stage, overcome with a wide variety of emotions, joy the most prevalent. I stared in complete awe at the man who had been illuminating my phone screen and filling my ears with music for over 7 years, grateful for every second that I had spent working to afford my ticket. It was a moment of pure, unbridled bliss. I can’t recall another moment in my life in which I felt as deliriously happy as I did then.

The night was filled with beautiful moments and happy memories. The energy of the crowd was unlike anything I had ever experienced. We screamed our voices away and danced until we couldn’t feel our feet anymore, and we enjoyed every single second. It was the most perfect night that I could have imagined. It even included a wave from Harry, which Bella swears was aimed directly at us.

The 18 songs were over in the blink of an eye. Harry was gone before we knew it, leaving us with only some photographs and a smile that didn’t go away for hours. I could not wrap my head around what I had just experienced. It’s been over a month, and I still cannot believe that I got to see him in person. It’s been my dream since I was 10 years old.

While buying the tickets before securing a ride to Cleveland led to the most stressful weekend of my life, it also led to the very best night of my existence. It was a mistake that I will never make again, but it is also one that I will never regret. Miraculously, everything worked out in my favor. I’ll be grateful for those moments for the rest of my days.

Backpack Editorial

by Zoey Chandler

A variety of social issues plague teenagers today; from #MeToo to #BLM, we have plenty to think about. Despite this, one discussion dominates our social spheres this fall: Should backpacks be allowed in hallways and in classes?

One, if the only, benefit of COVID-19 in our schools was the use of backpacks in the hallway and in our classes. Trips to lockers went to zero, we kept our keys and wallets with us, and we nearly always had what we needed. This meant goodbye to running to your locker and being late to classes! We can agree that having backpacks increased timeliness and decreased sweating students running from halfway across the school.

Today, however, things have changed. Now we’re carrying around even more than we used to (due to chromebooks), and struggling even more than ever. You all know the class - the one you run to from the back gym, to the front office. You’re late half the time because alongside the run you have to stop by your locker, which is inconveniently in the science wing. This is clearly not sustainable over the long term.

Then why don’t we use backpacks in the halls? As much as we groan, there are valid reasons. There have been dozens of school shooting events in 2021, and the year is not over yet. Juniors and Seniors at Frontier will remember two years ago, September 2019, when there was a (false) threat to Frontier. We were terrified, locked in our classes for hours on end, SWAT teams came, and we called our parents frantically thinking the worst. After a long day we were finally escorted out of the school. Violence is a threat to our everyday lives, and giving up backpacks in order to avoid any disasters is a no brainer.

On the other hand, I am still a student, and the run from chorus to APUSH never gets easier. We definitely have our reasons to want backpacks back. Many students argue that shootings and threats will happen anyway, and we cannot truly stop it by leaving backpacks in lockers. We go to our lockers all the time, and dangers have the potential to be almost anywhere. Carrying our bags with us keeps time in the hallway to a minimum, potentially minimizing the threat of COVID-19 by reducing our overall exposure to others. We also get out to the bus quicker, making transport more efficient, and we have everything we need from the day with us at home. Considering how rare a school shooting really is, is it worth the convenience of backpacks to slightly increase our risk of threat? The answer, as most things are, is subjective.

I don’t have a concrete answer, but I do know that the key to efficient education is consistency. Consistency in expectations, guidelines, and what is or is not allowed. More than ever, due to COVID, we yearn for a consistent plan with which to direct our lives. I hope that as a school, district, and society, we are headed in a more consistent direction which we can all be happy with.