By Mary K. Hughes ('25)

September 29th, a Friday—was the day I began attending Riverside. I was scared, emotionally unstable, and lacked any confidence. I just left Scranton High. I left my friends, and my grandparents' home, where I felt so hopeful for my future (as a digital illustrator at the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County).

My siblings and I took the bus from home to our new school. It wasn’t as big as Scranton and there weren't as many people either. I thought it was pretty nice compared to all of the stammering stampedes and tripping over the steps in Scranton. 

I was still pretty scared of the people though. My social anxiety was looming over me like a devil with a pitch fork. I was hoping that the tour around would be long, so that I didn’t have to go into my first period class—having a bunch of eyes watching me drop into their room is anxiety inducing.

Although I was frightened, kind faces from teachers and the principals, Mr. Lazor and Mr. Quaglia, calmed me. The school was not too hard to navigate. And, I enjoyed the aesthetic of the building. I said to myself, "I suppose this won’t be that bad."

It was pretty weird being in a less diverse atmosphere. Most classes were small, which is one of the things I really enjoyed about the school. I loved my teachers, but some took me time to get to know them properly. As time passed I began to enjoy every single bit of the building.

We've moved from Florida to Nevada, from Nevada back to Florida, from South Carolina to Scranton, and then from Scranton to Taylor. With so many new places, I feel this school is so lovely and beautiful. I’m glad I transferred here even though I miss my CTC, my friends, and the classes I once knew. 

I found out that the path I’m making here in Riverside is worth it and I can guarantee it is better than Scranton!

Riverside's aid has been amazing, and they welcomed my siblings and I with open, giving arms. We worked to repay the kindness in return. My brother, Marvin, is becoming great friends with the teachers and staff, and is a classic jokester. My sister, Stefani, is able to work at the Viking Cafe and have classes to help her with her needs. And me—I'm a person who has blown my teachers away from the beginning. No, I didn’t look like much, and yes I thought everyone around me saw me as the weird quiet girl.

But I had one goal when starting my junior year. I wanted to become more confident and open up to those around me, and so I joined the chorus and poetry out loud. I was scared as hell but I did it because I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of being alone on a stage. As I spoke to the crowd in front of me I could feel my legs grow weak and mind heavy. But after everything—after running off of the stage, I did it and I don’t think I would have done that...ever. With that experience came a bunch of new friends and I met a lovely teacher, Ms. O'Shea, the creative writing teacher.

The quarters have passed swiftly and it’s safe to say that I am loved here and feel at home at Riverside. I appreciate being able to participate in school functions and events, winning awards and getting lots of mental help.

Riverside is the best schools I’ve transferred to thus far. I don’t think I’ll ever regret it. Thank you! I love being a Viking!

By Reese Simonson ('24)

"Sex, Drugs, and Self-Discovery" is an op-ed piece written by Reese for Ms. Frances O'Shea's Creative Writing class. The piece was submitted to a journalism competition at Wilkes University. Reese was awarded 2nd place in the Op-Ed category for the 23rd annual Tom Bigler Journalism & Media Conference, which will be held own Friday, April 26, on the campus of Wilkes. The conference was planned and sponsored by the University’s Communication and Media Studies Department and is designed for high school and college students.

Every decade had its own witch hunt associated with the rock music of the time. Each time a few bands were blamed for destroying the youth. The British Invasion in the Sixties demonized The Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger and his bodacious moves made teen girls scream. The Mars bar incident (It’s better if you don't know)made parents even more uneasy. Black Sabbath, the founders of heavy metal, came with the Seventies. Ozzy Osbourne had a polarizing effect. Someone like him was unusual, along with the screaming guitars and religious imagery made many uneasy.  To teen girls, he was Iron Man, but to their parents, he was the reincarnation of Satan himself. The 70s blended into the 80s with the Satanic Panic beginning in 1980. On the front line was Mötley Crüe, the embodiment of the LA rockstar life.

In the Eighties, The Sunset Strip in LA was known for sex, drugs, and rock & roll. The Strip had everything from the bright lights of The Seventh Veil strip club to the dark bathroom in the Whiskey-a-Go Go. This was the most glamorous and sleazy decade with young girls waiting in line backstage hoping to get with their favorite rockers. Spending just one night with one of the greats could make up for the years of neglect by their fathers. 

MTV was still playing music videos and making bands like Twisted Sister with their iconic look a household name. I missed this decade by only 44 years, yet I daydream on dark and rainy days about what I would be doing if I were an 18-year-old in the 1980s. In my dream life, I'm going to shows at The Roxy, cruising up and down the strip in my black Camaro blasting the latest Guns N' Roses cassette and watching “Back to the Future” on opening night. But the truth is, the genre that changed my life during one of the most influential decades in music history was not all that it was cracked up to be. Lurking beneath the drugs and strippers are misconceptions that still linger to this day.

 During the 80s everyone wanted a good time, except conservative parents. They saw the new fad as nothing but men in makeup singing about how fantastic it was to have sex with the Antichrist while getting into drunken fistfights. Moms were under the impression that if their kids were rocking out to bands like AC/DC and Def Leppard they would recreate the messages in the music.  Their fears were confirmed when two young adults took their own lives in 1985. One of the men survived for a few days. They did because Judas Priest’s Better by You, Better Than Me, which was released eight years prior, told them to.  After parents got wind of this story, they formed the Parents Music Rescue Center (PMRC). Their mission was to keep kids safe from harmful messages. The group accused bands of hiding dirty messages. They even created a list called the Filthy Fifteen to expose the worst of the worst. I will admit some of the songs are outright odes to sex, drugs, and violence. But I view them in an artistic way rather than taking them literally. It was not just rock stars who were being accused. Pop acts like Madonna and Prince were not safe from persecution either. Like Judas Priest, many of the songs on that list were condemned for backmasking, which is the process of playing a song in reverse to find subliminal messages. Judas Priest had to go to court to clear up that misconception. During the Supreme Court case, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister with his mass of unkempt blond hair spoke to the Court not in a suit, but in a tank top that showed off his tattoos. He gave one of the most eloquent speeches about freedom of expression. In the end, PMRC won. Judict Prist was not found liable for the deaths of the two men but all music now had to feature a warning label on the cover, so parents knew what was suitable for their kids. But that was the 80s. Let's fast-forward to the year 2024.

The one thing that has remained the same is the need for youth to rebel. Rock music has been an outlet for me to transgress societal norms. Dee Snider proved that just because you look like a bada$$ and listen to heavy metal music you are not less educated or more evil. That lesson changed my life. 

The feeling of not fitting in is scary. Society wants everyone to conform but people like me have no interest in what the mob is doing. I learned from rock music that it's okay to be different. I dress how I want, but the reality of it is no I can’t. I have been barked at. I have been told to “wrist check.”  I get stared at with the power of a thousand daggers. You would think we would live in a world that does not judge based on appearance. I am grateful that it's a lot better than the 1980s…even though the 80s totally kicked a?#! Music will always find a way to be bigger and bolder. No matter what, I will still be out here kicking a$$ and being me.

By Camron Altenhain ('24)

After the poem "Poor Angels" by Edward Hirsch

In the urban night

through the glass window

is the sound of angels

 hovering in the night sky

They teach the foundation

of creative poetry and

strange writing

Approaching is the dead hour 

of midnight

Will it be the last?

The souls of stars live in

the dark night

They read “Amaze me!”