Sayonara Stewart: You Will be Missed
By Kira Crockett and Alyson Gillenwater
About a month or so ago, staff and students were saddened by news that will affect day to day school life at Auburn High: our head principal, Chris Stewart, would be leaving Auburn High. The word spread quickly and soon the whole school acknowledged the fact that he would be leaving soon. The mood in school quickly changed to a saddened and upset state. Staff and students were at a loss of words and didn't really know how to react. This subject makes a lot of people emotional and floods their brain with memories of Stewart, especially since he has been the head principal at Auburn for 6 years. We interviewed staff and students to get some insight on how the people who have been around him most feel about the situation. Stewart will be leaving Auburn for family reasons, as he has kids who attend Blacksburg, and it was getting tough to juggle between his responsibilities at Auburn and his family.
We have asked the teachers a couple of questions. Our first question we asked was: “Do you think the new principal will be the same or more strict about our rules?” We got similar answers but the one that stood out the most was Anita Browning, who said “I would like to see a principal that establishes positive relationships with students, staff, parents and community, as well as a principal who promotes accountability, treats teachers as professionals, works collaboratively and maintains discipline and structure for positive learning environments.” The next question that we have asked was: “What is your favorite memory with Mr. Stewart?” The one that stood out the best was Mrs. Roark, who said, “Winning the Golden helmet for Auburn Football with him, because he wanted the Golden Helmet to come back before he left.”
We also wanted to ask students about their opinions and thoughts on Stewart leaving. We decided to interview seniors since Stewart has been with them throughout their entire high school experience. We had many different answers and it was apparent that Stewart meant a great deal to Auburn as a whole. Many said that he has always been there for them with whatever they needed or requested. Rylee Lyons stated, “During COVID, I was a freshman and he made that year as good as he possibly could.” Stewart succeeded in making that year the best he could for the students and school, which shows how much he cares about his students and staff. We also asked students about their favorite memory of Stewart. Many had similar answers personality and silliness. Most of them commented on how hyped and funny he was at pep rallies. Others commented on things as simple as “He says hi to me every morning.” Nevertheless, Stewart impacts everyone positively and in different ways. The last question we asked students was “Will you miss him?” Of course for this question everyone's answer was simple: “Yes!”
One thing is for certain, we have been blessed and privileged to have had Chris Stewart as a principal here at Auburn High. We, as a school and staff, completely respect and understand his decision of moving to BHS. We will definitely miss him and wish nothing but the best for him, his family, and his future. We are looking forward to continually making Auburn a great school and are welcoming our new principal, a former teacher of Auburn. Stewart and his school spirit will be greatly missed by the Auburn community, good luck, Mr. Stewart!
The Eagles Cut Loose on the Dance Floor
By Delayna Mitcham
AHS Homecoming 2023 was a huge hit. The decorations in the halls were so cool. I loved the ideas everyone had. The themes were Freshman-Hawaiian, Sophomores- Desert, Juniors- Arctic, and Seniors were Jungle. Everyone worked really hard in their hallways. We had a pep rally that day as well, and that is always something to look forward to. There are a bunch of games and it’s so hilarious to watch. I thought the homecoming dance was really good this year. The decorations were awesome and the DJ was great. Everyone says that homecoming was better than last year. However, as exciting as homecoming was, all the juniors are looking forward to prom this year.
Tropical Storm Ophelia
By Hunter Greene
Virginia declared a state of emergency on September 22, 2023 due to the tropical storm Ophelia which is a category 3 hurricane. Winds were stated to reach up to 115 mph. Damages caused by the storm included widespread flooding, power outages and severe beach erosion caused by the high winds. Atlantic cities infrastructure pipes were exposed due to the beach erosion. While the storm did major damage to the east coast, the storm was reported to move away from Richmond only bringing heavy rain and heavy flooding, leaving the rest of VA unaffected.
Winter Weather
By Kaylan Phillips
Forecasts have reported that this winter is supposed to be colder than last year, there are also reports of a lot more snow. Meteoroligists are calling for a strong El Nino advisory as well. An El Nino pattern is when they call for more snow or precipitation, which is the reason it has become so cold so quickly. Because of this, they have called for more snow this winter. Even though they have called for more snow, it is not the regular kind of snowflakes we usually have, it is supposed to be more slushy and wet. We are also expected more wind and rain in the upcoming months, but if the temperatures drop enough there high chances of it turing it to snow.
Spirit Week: 2023 Homecoming
By Ashlyn Bibb-Johnson
Before a big event in the school such as homecoming and prom, we often have a spirit week. Spirit week is when there's a different theme for each day of the week. For example Tuesday’s theme for our spirit week was Barbie vs Ken. You either dressed up like Barbie or Ken. I’ve gotten lots of opinions and thoughts on this year's spirit week as well as homecoming. There have been many mixed opinions regarding the spirit days and the overall theme of homecoming. Many say that the themes were good but we should try and mix it up, that we seem to always do the same ones every year. A few people said that it was good, but could be even better if more people/staff within the school participated. I got some other comments on how the halls were decorated. Some of the Juniors have brought up how our hallway had gotten messed up and how people were only messing with our hallway, and taking our stuff down. Other than those few issues people seemed to like how the halls were decorated.
Auburn Hosts Giles for Homecoming
By Morgan Vest
A Lot has happened in the few past games for the eagles including many injuries. From the loss to Galax we hoped to win the homecoming game against Giles. While our hopes were up and down we unfortunately lost 21 to 63. Although we didn’t score until the 2nd quarter, we still scored points and defended Giles from scoring in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Before the game we had some opinions on how the game would go. Trevin Mower stated that he “felt like they have a chance but it will be hard with the many injured players.” We also asked Katie Light if she was worried about anything for this game and she stated that she “wasn’t too worried but just hoped that nobody would get hurt.” With this being the only worry, we are very happy to not have any injuries happen. After the game Mathew Wheeler stated that” the game did not turn out how he expected and that we could’ve been more put together.” Issac Wayne had a similar answer as well saying that “the line and defense could use some work.” With not only the players giving feedback, we had some visitors give some of their opinions. Ms. Beverly stated that “our boys looked really good, that they played hard and with heart, and never gave up.” Coach O had also said “dang, those Giles Spartans are good.” While we are all proud of our Eagles, we hope that the next game we bring back a win.
Golf goes to Regions
By Jaxon Mundy
The AHS golf team does not get noticed as much as it should, because they are actually really good. The team went to states over the weekend and placed 3rd out of 48th other competitors. Earlier in the season they also placed 2nd in districts. I asked Kobie Dalton what he thinks about placing 3rd in states and he said “We da best”. He also said “We are the best in the entire country” after placing 2nd in districts. I asked Drew Royal what he thought after placing 2nd in regions and he said “We were never supposed to be here, but you know.”
Climbing up the Charts
By Angelica Moore
Oliver Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, is a music artist who holds this real world, country folk music close to his heart. Oliver is just his stage name though, this name came from his grandfather who was born and raised in Appalachia. You can take a wild guess on where he’s from, but if you take a look at his songs there's one named “Virginia.” “Lord, they don't never sing songs about Virginia, but Virginia, she's always a singing to me.” Anthony had his real rise to fame when a song of his became a big hit on TikTok. If you’re on the right side of the app, you could guess the song I’m talking about. “Rich Men North of Richmond '' where he talks about the working class, government, and the income and taxes don’t line up. Most would assume that the song was about politics, but he said in an interview “I sit pretty dead center down the aisle on politics and always have.” He also spoke on not understanding why the conservatives wanted war when he was growing up. Christopher wants to be a voice for the voiceless. Oliver has had some rough patches like most of us. The reason he started recording his music is because he thought he was gonna die and didn’t want this music to die with him. “Well, let me just go ahead and start getting everything uploaded, so at least if, God forbid, I die of a heart attack in my thirties, there's some legacy there.”
Guts Album Review
By Rylee Lyons
After the 2020 release of her single driver’s license, Olivia Rodrigo took the charts (and the world) by storm. Being the youngest artist to ever top the billboard charts, her debut song held the #1 spot for 8 consecutive weeks. Her debut album SOUR held its relevance on the charts for months, and was a hugely successful and cohesive debut album. After such a successful debut, many thought Rodrigo wouldn’t be able to hold up with her next release, but her sophomore album GUTS did more than just hold up, it showed that she was capable of much more versatile and well written projects.
GUTS made its first appearance on the charts with its preluding singles; vampire, a typical Rodrigo piano ballad, and bad idea right? which leans more into her 2000s pop punk style. The album goes in between a lot of different styles and themes, its opener being an example of this. The song starts with a slow, sweet acoustic line and suddenly transitions into a much heavier song. While SOUR was very ballad-heavy, GUTS proved that Olivia could do more than write sad breakup songs, even though it does have some, such as vampire and logical. The album toys with many other ideas though, one prominent one being self reflection and doubt that many teenagers transitioning into adulthood feel, like teenage dream, making the bed and pretty isn’t pretty. These songs make it evident to see Rodrigo had matured personally and musically. The album also has many more lighthearted notes than SOUR, with playful, upbeat songs like ballad of a homeschooled girl, bad idea right? and love is embarrassing.
In my opinion, GUTS was a huge step up from her already well-done first project. GUTS shows more cohesiveness, writing and vocal skill, and is more enjoyable to a general audience. With relatable notes of themes many people of Rodrigo's age experience, the album has been perceived as well, if not better than SOUR. Olivia Rodrigo only continues to prove her position in pop music.
Most Popular: vampire
Best Writing: teenage dream
Best Music: ballad of a homeschooled girl
My personal favorite: lacy
Elemental Movie
By: Maya Spero
Trailers for elemental started coming on March 28, 2023. People weren’t impressed and just saw it as another quick cash grab for Disney. It was so much more than that. While the movie seemed like just another wholesome love story, the story and plot was based around xenophobia and interracial dating.
The beginning of the movie was showing our main characters' fire parents traveling to somewhere new, somewhere they didn’t quite understand. They were speaking in a different language than everyone else and were given strange looks. Their language “Firish'' sounds South Asian, East Asian, and Middle Eastern. The fire people mainly represent Asian people and their culture. We watched as they tried to rent a home and were rejected by all of the different places they came to. Soon they found an abandoned building and made it their home. That’s where they raised their daughter, Ember.
The story is about Ember falling in love with a water person named Wade. Throughout the movie, it is stated that they can't be together because “elements don’t mix”. Like real life interracial dating, it is still looked down upon by many because of personal belief. However, the story isn’t just about interracial dating, it also shows the discrimination Ember had to face growing up as a fire person.
Throughout the movie, we get flashbacks of how Ember was treated as a child when going out with her family. Her family wasn’t allowed to enter places just because of where they were from. They were told that they weren’t allowed to see a Vivisteria because they were fire people and in the scene, someone shouted “go back to fire land!” at the family. I’m sure that the scene upset or resonated with many people as many groups of minorities have heard the same thing said to them or have been kept out of places just because of their race and ethnicity. If it wasn’t having places be restricted, it was the comments people would make.
When Ember met Wade's family, one of Wade’s family members commented on how Ember spoke. “I just have to say that you speak so well and clear.” to which Ember responded “Yup, it's amazing what talking the same language your entire life can do”. They felt embarrassed after she responded to the rude comment. We see Ember deal with these kinds of things constantly throughout the movie, from the beginning to the end. It’s truly unfortunate that the fire people dealt with so much discrimination just for being fire people. No one deserves to be discriminated against just for being a different race or ethnicity.
As a Vietnamese person, who grew up in Southeast Asia, this movie really touched me. I’ve always wanted Asian people to get more representation but whenever we did, it was always badly shown or was just a mix of different stereotypes. I think this movie gave us very good Asian representation and did a good job at tackling racism. I truly loved this movie and I hope that anyone who watches it does too.