April Issue

Construction at its best and worst 

By Alevia Durham 

Let me preface this by asking one question that will frame the entirety of the article: Is the construction on the Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School campus helping or hurting the students? 

Don’t get me wrong–there are benefits to every situation. However with good things comes the bad: a positive followed by a negative. The construction of the high school has both helped and hurt the students attending. While many appreciate the effort being put into our building, we also need to address the negative effects it’s having on students. 

First of all, half of the students being impacted by the construction won’t even be here to see it completed. The seniors will be graduating later in the spring; when will they feel the positive effects of the new wings and improved hallways? The juniors who will soon become seniors are also in this category. The construction of the pool or the new corridors across the building won’t all be finished by the time they graduate. So is it really worth it for them? 

Now, let me also say another thing: timing is key. No, the juniors and seniors won’t be at the high school to see the final product when construction is finally complete, but what about the students that follow them: the students that have not even arrived at the high school yet. The kids that are still in sixth grade or below who look up to the high school as a place for a new beginning is when this work really starts to pay off. Don’t the future students of the high school deserve a school that will house their creativity and academics that not only functions nice but looks nice? 

Second, we need to focus on the impact of construction during the school day. Last year when the new wing on the far side of the school was being built, excitement flooded the air. But as the wing opened and classes were available in this new section of the building, a new problem arose. How were the students going to get from one side of the building to the other without being late? Students at the high school have five minutes to transition in between classes but the problem is that it takes five minutes or more to get from one class to the other when both rooms are on completely different sides of the building. Add that five minutes onto the time it takes you to navigate traffic. Then, add that onto the new construction. 

A portion of the school between the old and new wing is currently being renovated. Along with the music wing, the gym hallway is also being improved. But at what cost? Students are forced to move from one side of the building to the other in five minutes while having to travel through a single file hallway crowded with hundreds of other kids trying to get to the same places they are. Traveling back to back in a condensed space is not ideal for most students, not just because it’s uncomfortable and loud, but because it causes students to be late. Most of the time, students are at a stand-still in front of the single file hallway because there’s simply no way to funnel people from one side of the building to the other through a single hallway. 

Now, that’s not to say that students do not appreciate the work being done by construction workers and school administrators to improve our situation. Most of the students attending the high school have no idea what goes on behind the closed off sections of the building where men and women are working tirelessly to improve our school. We value their time and effort and also want to thank them for making our school better with their work. 

But while the Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School is trying its best to reach their final construction goals by a certain point, it is having a more current negative effect than a positive future one. So the next question I must ask is this: is this worth it for the students who are facing the consequences of construction? 

MASH English teachers’ favorite novels: recommendations part 2!

By Chelsea Guan

Thank you for reading The Torch’s April Issue! Here are some more book recommendations from YOUR English teachers here at MASH to close off the month and give you a great start to the upcoming month of May… 

One of Mrs. Atkinson’s favorite novels is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a story set during the early 20th century following the lives of Francie Nolan and her family, by Betty Smith. The book gives a realistic view into what it was like living in the slums of Brooklyn during that time period and dives into how Francie is able to overcome her circumstances while appreciating the beauty and ugliness of life. One of the biggest reasons why Mrs. Atkinson loves this book is because of the narrator--Francie, who, like her, is a reader who finds education and escape in reading. Mrs. Atkinson connects with Francie on many levels and although she thinks anyone could read it, she highly recommends it to “those [students] who [have] found themselves curled up under a blanket with a flashlight and a book after bedtime or anyone who reads to escape the stresses and circumstances that sometimes challenge us.” 

Mrs. Atkinson also grew up reading Stephen King (one of her favorite writers) whose stories often capture her, however, rather than sticking to genres and authors, Mrs. Atkinson merely wants to read stories that talk about different people and places to “see the world through a lens different from [her] own.” She tries to read everything and anything at least once, but if she can’t get into a book… She’s not afraid to put it down either. Some books that made her look at humanity differently, as well as impacted her as a human include: A Man Called Ove, All the Light We Cannot See, Water for Elephants, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Cider House Rules, Beloved, The Color Purple, and The Great Gatsby. If you choose to read them, Mrs. Atkinson notes that you should read the descriptions carefully before doing so, as some of them are not easy to read emotionally.

Due to nostalgic and sentimental reasons of having read this book which was given to her by her older sister during her early teenage years, Mrs. Bohrer’s all-time favorite is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. This novel gave Ms. Bohrer insight into how connected you can be with novels, even if they were written years ago. Mrs. Bohrer felt transported into a completely different era, which can be applied to her experience with another one of her favorites, Little Women which helped shape her love for reading, as well as sharing and talking about it with her sisters. Mrs. Bohrer enjoys many different genres, but tends to be drawn to historical fiction the most. 

One other novel she would like to recommend is Beneath the Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan--a novel based on true events, telling the story of the life of an Italian boy who helps Jewish people escape from the Nazi occupied country during WWII with a twisting turn of events that follow, leaving him to operate as a spy after he’s forced to enlist as a German soldier. Lastly, for one of her recent favorites, she recommends Lessons in Chemistry. However, Mrs. Bohrer also advises students to not be afraid to put down books they don’t enjoy and pick up another one. She says, “I think people get the idea that if someone says they enjoy reading, it means that they devour everything they read. Not enjoying a book does not mean you are not capable of enjoying reading. It just means you should keep looking.”

Mrs. Donley brings a classic favorite series to the table--Harry Potter. She comments saying that it “provides an escape and transport[s] you to a new world with new friends and teachers and abilities you can only dream of.” She also recommends Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People and My Grandmother Told Me To Tell You She's Sorry, two of her favorite fictional novels. She mentions how interesting his writing style is and how his books will make you both laugh and cry. Mrs. Donley also adores anything by Brene Brown, who writes “self-help” books, making you feel and question things around you--in good ways. Mrs. Donley enjoys any genre, but definitely thrillers and mysteries the most. To know what other books Mrs. Donley would recommend, check out her Goodreads! 

Like many English teachers, Mr. Luttermoser has many favorite novels, which include: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Mr. Luttermoser loves books that offer interesting perspectives, multiple narratives, critical questions about humanity, and an engaging story. His favorite genre is Science/Speculative Fiction because they often “explore deep ideas and ask interesting questions.” Mr. Luttermoser’s favorite Sci-Fi authors are Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, and Ray Bradbury. Other notable books recommended by Mr. Luttermoser include Parable of the Sower and Kindred by Octavia Butler, an incredible writer, as well as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and City of Thieves by David Benioff. 

Mr. Murry loves Life of Pi by Yann Martel, a novel about an Indian boy surviving a shipwreck… However, his lifeboat is filled with zoo animals, a tiger included. The novel splits into two parts--Pi’s life before the shipwreck and his life after, describing his life, morals, and beliefs prior to him being set adrift in the ocean. Mr. Murry enjoys how the novel is able to make one person’s story about drifting out in the ocean for weeks interesting. As of recently, Mr. Murry has been reading lots of classic literature, but he notes that his all-time favorite genre has to be literary fiction because he loves picking apart books that contain interesting themes. Additionally, because the genre is so wide, it encapsulates everything from coming-of-age novels to classics. For students, he recommends Piranesi by Susanne Clark, a fantasy; I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy, a memoir; Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, a classic romance; and Fairy Tale by Stephen King, an adventure fantasy.

Last but not least, Mrs. Plante’s favorite novel of all time is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which takes place in Germany during WWII and is narrated by Death telling the story of a girl named Liesl’s tragic but “unquenchable” life. Mrs. Plante expresses how, “[She] had never thought much about what it would be like to be a regular civilian in Nazi Germany, and this book challenged [her] to think about the nuances of good and evil. Life is rarely black and white. Read it to be educated and inspired.” Her favorite genre at the moment is memoirs as she enjoys “walking a mile or two in someone else’s shoes both to find connection with people from other walks of life and to look at the world from a different perspective.” 

Although Mrs. Plante reads to be entertained, it’s also so that she can feel challenged to think and feel deeply, which is why she agrees so much with Franz Kafka’s quote, “A book must be an axe for the frozen sea inside us.” Some of her favorite memoirs are Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride, and Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. Mrs. Plante also highly suggests some other titles and series which include The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games books, the Twilight series, 1984 by George Orwell, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. 

Kat's Guide to Risk of Rain 2

By Kat Hausauer-Morgan

Hey, Y’all. Kat here. Welcome back to Kat’s Guide, a series of articles that drop any pretense of being “professional” and much rather talk to you like the writer would if he was sitting right next to you.

So uhh… Yeah it’s a big coincidence that my favorite game of 2023 and what will probably be my favorite game of 2024 both include the word “Rain” because:

Today, we’re talking about Risk of Rain 2, which is (so far) my favorite game of 2024!

Risk of Rain 2 came out on March 26, 2019. It was developed by Hopoo Games and is currently being published by Gearbox. It is a third-person horde shooter roguelike. The roguelike genre is a genre of game where many things are randomized every single time you play, This is called a “run”. In each run, things such as the locations you go to, the items you get, and the bosses and enemies you encounter are randomized (in a way that still makes sense).

This genre is seen mostly in indie games such as The Binding of Issac, Dead Cells, Skul, Risk of Rain (the 1st installment),  Risk of Rain Returns (the remaster of that installment made after Risk of Rain 2), and Hades. There are some roguelikes outside of the indie game industry (Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC being a good example) but this series excels in the indie game scene. 

The general rule of thumb with these games is that you should be able to win due to pure skill, but items will also help a lot.

Out of all of them, Risk of Rain 2 is the one I love the most. All of it comes down to having a simple yet engaging gameplay loop and also…

The complete lack of limitations on how strong you can be.

In Risk of Rain 2, your gameplay loop goes something like this.

1. You enter the stage,

2. You get items from chests and other sources.

3. You find and activate the teleporter.

4. You kill the teleporter boss and charge it all the way.

5. You leave.

Sounds simple right? Well, note that you have to do this as fast as you can to avoid getting out scaled. The longer your run goes on, the harder the enemies become. This means that if you spend too much time looting or trying to survive, the enemies will become much stronger and be much more of a threat. This means you might have to leave chests and other loot spots unopened just to make sure you don’t get left in the dust with power scaling.

Things like this make the early game much, much different than the late game and characters add another layer to it.

Every character you can play and unlock has its strengths and weaknesses.

To bring up a summary of each:

• Commando is a Jack-of-all-Trades that does the job, although a bit less unique than others.

• Huntress is an agile yet fragile character who can attack while sprinting,

• Bandit is a character that relies on getting behind enemies to get massive damage from crits and can easily sneak in and out of combat.

• MUL-T is a strong, durable tank that can rapidly adapt to situations by switching weaponry and equipment or becoming even more durable and strong.

• Engineer is a slow, defensive character with turrets that inherit his items.

• Artificer is a strong, mage-like character that can deal high damage and float.

• Mercenary is a quick, skill-chaining assassin who weaves his moves deeply.

• REX is a risky but strong character that uses its HP to deal high damage and heal back its HP.

• Loader is a fast and durable melee fighter who has attacks that get stronger the faster she is.

• Acrid is a poisonous, infectious melee fighter who can poison the entire stage and leave every creature on it with low hp.

• And Captain is a supportive, specialized veteran who can stop projectiles and can change the world massively with his supply beacons and orbital probes.

Now normally, I do not mention the DLC in the first article, but I think this time it’s worth mentioning DLC, especially since I don’t want another Downpour situation.

Here’s a summary of those two:

Railgunner acts as a strong, ranged fighter who can one-shot most bosses and deal massive damage to others.

And Void Fiend is a survivor that flows between a calmer, more passive uncorrupted state, and a more aggressive corrupted state. 

That’s all the survivors.

Normally, I would bring this up later but I think it’s nice to give a quick summary so that I have the rest of this article to sum up everything else I love about this game.

Let’s start with the first major part: the items!

So remember when I explained how “In each run, things such as the items you get are randomized”?

Yeah, those items are fun and half of the enjoyment I get from this game.

So many of them are unique and have so many different synergies that are fun and unique.

The game’s items love to experiment with what the items do. I always feel like the rarities represent how creative the item is rather than how good it is for the most part. The common items are simple, the uncommon items are more unique, and a fair amount of legendary items are unique in design, function, or both.

They also allow for runs that absolutely break the game. These runs are called “god” runs, and Risk of Rain 2 is famous for them.

Despite being a major part of how I enjoy the game, I really want to move on from items pretty quickly because there’s so much going on with items that I don’t want to hyperfocus on all of them. 

So let’s move on to another major part of the game I love: The Boss Fights.

While the bosses in Risk of Rain 2 aren’t necessarily the most interesting, I always love how they all challenge the player in unique ways. I like how there are no bosses that just feel like a carbon copy of one another. Even some of the obvious reskinned bosses have changes that make them more of a “Oh, wow. That’s a cool change” rather than “Oh. They just did  [CTRL + C -> CTRL + V]’d this boss, didn’t they”.

Bosses test many things, such as:

• Environmental Awareness

• Crowd Control

• Dodging

• Endurance

• Priorities

The final bosses of Mithrix and (DLC) Voidling are fun too because they test all of these to the extreme.

Before I move on, let me explain how much I love Mithrix as a final boss.

From his boss fight music to the atmosphere of Commencement, his boss fight’s location, to the fact that he speaks to you in the chat, He truly acts as an actual terror that is actually scary to fight. His first phase is a nice warm-up for the entire boss fight. He’s still a threat, but he doesn’t do too much damage compared to the next few phases, even when he slams the ground. The 2nd Phase is by far the easiest part of the entire fight since you just fight the Lunar Chimeras that are found in the entire rest of the level. However, it is a nice rest at this point.

Then the 2nd Phase kicks off.

This is when Mithrix pulls no punches. His attacks are more aggressive, he summons enemies, and he gains one major new attack.  After slamming the ground, he does a circular flame attack that deals massive damage and can end runs in seconds. This attack has many names, such as Big Spinny on the Wiki to “Pizza” in the fandom. All of this makes 2nd Phase so much scarier, especially because at the minimum, it can take up to 30 or so minutes to get here and it can be scary knowing that one misstep could instantly cause you to die and make you redo the entire run.  

However, after that…

You’re still not done because Phase 3 is both better and worse.

While Mithrix himself is weaker, he takes your items for himself and you have to regain them. This makes this last phase super scary since if you had a strong build, he now has that strong build.

This phase is also usually a victory lap once you get better since once you get a few items back, it tends to speed up the fight quite a bit. However, the initial shock of “Is the fight not over? OH. OH THAT’S ALL MY ITEMS WAIT-” makes it still my second favorite part of the final boss.

Finally, let me just explain how much I love all the little things.

Such as: 

• The one-shot protection mechanic, an unexplained mechanic that makes the game a lot more fair.

• The Atmosphere, with the music and stage locations, looks and sounds amazing.

• The endless amount of unique runs you can get.

• The many artifacts that can change gameplay.

• The logbooks, which add to the lore or just act as a fun little adition.

•  The pure creativity of everything, from the items to the abilities of characters.

Now, Risk of Rain 2 is not a perfect game. For as much as I wish it was, it sadly is not.

So let me list all the flaws I can think of in my eyes.

1. Many items are locked behind challenges, meaning that you may not see how creative the game is until you play the game many times.

2. The game does not hold your hand much and this game can scale in difficulty surprisingly quickly.

3. You are locked to only 2 characters at the start of the game, and the first one you unlock is (in my opinion) not that good for newer players to get as their absolute first new character.

4. The fact one-shot protection exists just makes death worse, especially since while it can protect from literally 1 trillion damage, it does not protect you after that. This can lead to times where one-shot protection looks like it did nothing because two things hit you in the exact perfect distance of time.

5. Being a roguelike, a fair amount of the game comes down to RNG/Luck.

However, similar to the last article, I have to give Risk of Rain 2 a 10/10. It is one of the best games I’ve ever played, it got me back into roguelikes, and I’ve been looking for a game that’s similar to it ever since I played it.

The game is $25 and the DLC is 15$ and is available on most platforms. However, I’d recommend buying it on a good PC if you can since the console versions have some big quirks that do ruin the game a fair bit. These quirks are not big enough to ruin the game in my opinion. 

That is all for today’s Kat’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!