February Hawk Talks

    During this time of the year over a billion cards are sold-making this the second biggest card sending occasion in the world. Cards can be sent to anyone; however, teachers, children, mothers, and wives generally receive the most. This is because of Valentine’s day. 

    This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday. Even in small towns such as ours with limited entertainment options there are still fun things to do while spending time with your significant other. Therefore,  your opportunities may vary depending on your destination. Around this time money is a big stresser because major holidays have come to an end and people give/receive gifts on this holiday. This is the reason a money free date is one of my favorites! 

    In our small town and surrounding towns there are a few restaurants that are not fast food. In Hiawatha there is El Canelo, New China, and Pizza Hut. In Falls City there is A&G, Fiesta Brava, and the Great China Buffet. In Sabetha there is also an El Canelo and Buzz Cafe. There are also entertainment options here in town- this is the movie theater. 

   Some fun things that you can do that do not revolve around money include baking together, watching movies or sunsets, and making scrapbooks. 

   For many people baking is a passion of theirs. Making sweet treats with your loved ones not only gives you yummy food, but it also builds memories with one another. One of the desserts that is a great option to make are heart shaped brownies or cookies. Another fun thing to do is watching movies or a sunset together. This is something that you can do with your loved one. It is a great opportunity to relax, have fun, and spend time with one another. Obviously the main genre to watch on this day is Romance. However if that is not your vibe then watch a different genre! One of the most creative things you can do that would cost little to no money would be to print out pictures of important moments or memories and compose a scrapbook of your relationship. 

   If money is not a main contributing factor to your valentines day ideas then there are other fun ideas to do. Some of these ideas include going out to eat, ice skating, or going to the movies. 

    One of the most common ways to celebrate is going out to eat. Since the day is celebrated on a Friday- going to St. Joe and eating with your partner and then shopping sounds like a great date idea! If you prefer to do something more unique you can go ice skating together as there is a place in St. Joe. A nice way to end the night would be to go to the movies together and simply spend time together. 

    There are many different opportunities for couples to spend time together regardless of money situations. Valentine's day seems upsetting to some people because they are not in relationships; however, this day can be spent with anyone you love, not just romantic interests. 

   The Hiawatha Headliners, had their first competition on Jan. 11 at Maryville High School in Maryville, Missouri. They performed at 9 am.

     They were the first group of the day to perform. This was a little hard on the group as they had to be fully up and awake to dance. This early performance time also made it hard for the group because there wasn't a crowd to cheer them on.          

     The Hiawatha Headliners scored a 369.5 out of 600 for their performance. 

     “For being our first competition in a couple of years, I thought it went okay. It was really helpful to work with Dr. Chris Kindle from State Fair Community College during our clinic. He gave us some good tips and pointers for the coming show choir season as well as refreshed our memory of the concepts we already knew,” May said.

    Due to factors like a smaller budget, the Hiawatha Headliners have to work extra hard to be on par with other teams from bigger schools 

   “The budget we have is fairly good, but I feel like we should try and get more money to help with funding as we want to do more,” senior headliner Dana Howard said.

   The music booster club currently provides funding for the choirs and the arts at HHS. Fundraising and local business sponsorship also help the Headliners.

   “Our booster organization is something that is extremely helpful to not just the choir program, but all music activities at the middle school and high school,” May said. 

   The Headliners students do a lot as part of this class and competition group. This could be having extra choreography days or practicing outside of class on music. The group works very hard to have good teamwork, The group must be able to work together for competition days and must do their best for the community activities, like the Maple Leaf Festival in town, and doing christmas carols.

   The Hiawatha Headliners will participate in another competition on Feb. 15 at Cameron High School in Cameron, Missouri.  

   “For the next few weeks, I'm planning to have the group refine our show to improve it for our next competition as well as start working on our pieces for music contests in April,” May said.

Black skinny jeans, dark floral skirts, fishnet tights, checkered vans, converse shoes, beanie hats and the last but most importantly not least, the flannel. All of these clothing items were common pieces in the most well-known 2010s style, the “Tumblr Soft Grunge aesthetic.”

This aesthetic took over social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and as the name suggests, Tumblr. In fact, it was so popular on Tumblr that the app itself became part of the trend by association. But what was the Tumblr Soft Grunge Aesthetic? And why is

“I was more of a wannabe grunge girl, than an actual grunge girl, but I definitely admired a lot of true grunge people on Tumblr during the 2010s. I was really into black nail polish, black and white striped shirts, skinny jeans, and converse,” said HHS teacher Libby Dean, who grew up during the peak of “Tumblr Soft Grunge.” 

      For starters, the Soft Grunge fashion wasn’t actually created on Tumblr, instead the inspiration dates way back to the ancient years of the 1990s. The 1990s is called “the rebellious era” because of the rise of experimentation and pushing boundaries, especially with grunge and grit. Most notably, indie rock bands such as Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, The Cranberries, and many more were created during the mid or near end of the 80s. Allowing for the genre to be embraced by the new generation of angsty young adults from the 90s. This is important to keep in mind because fashion and music heavily influence each other. To put it simply, fashion and music are like yin and yang. In music there is fashion to go along with it and vice versa. 

      “Music is probably the most influential thing for style or subcultures, something like ‘Soft Grunge’ would likely be associated with bands like Arctic Monkeys, The Neighbourhood, or The 1975,” said Tori Wist, HHS senior student who had a Tumblr account.

      So with that information in mind, it is no surprise that the main culture of Soft Grunge in the 2010s focused on alternative bands, attire, and lifestyle. Yet the other question still remains: why is it considered such a core characteristic of the previous decade? As stated earlier, Soft Grunge did appear over many different apps at the time. Even if a person did not have a Tumblr account, people could have discovered the aesthetic through other websites.

      Additionally, the 2010s was also the period where social issues were starting to reach society further than they could have without modern technology.

By Jacob Gallagher, News 

    Everyone knows the wifi has been performing poorly at Hiawatha High School as of late; however, the majority of us do not know why. During the last two weeks, HHS students were told multiple times that the issues should be fixed, but then the wifi continued to go out. Other issues have included only teachers having wifi issues, certain rooms being disconnected while others aren’t, and the wifi going on and off within minutes over and over again. These outages have disrupted many classes, and have impacted students’ ability to get their work done. However, teachers were arguably affected the most by these wifi troubles, as the outages disrupted lesson plans, and hindered the ability to use e-passes and accept them.

   “It kept happening during the same school days, so the same classes ended up more and more behind. Playing catch-up after three snow days was not fun,” said Mr. Cody Jiru, HHS history and government teacher.

   The outages began during the three snow days prior, and when the time came for school to finally start again, teachers were doing anything they could do to try and fix the issue. HHS Tech Systems Analyst/Administrator Tim Gilbert also attempted to fix the problem. One of the early attempts at fixing the problem involved going into each room with an outage and resetting the routers manually.

   “Here’s how we had to fix it,” Jiru said, while holding up a straightened paper clip.

   On the other hand, these issues were not solely the school’s fault. According to HHS principal Rhonda Wright, the problems were the result of a series of issues outside the school.

   “The problems had to do with an electrical breaker blowing which caused problems with the server and switches,” Wright said.

   These problems ended up being too big for HHS IT to handle, and the school ended up needing some outside help.

   “We did have a few outside professionals in to deal with the problem. One was an electrician to help with the breakers being blown, and the other is a company that deals with school servers and the technical side of getting the internet throughout the building and the district,” Wright said.

   Thankfully however, after a long and gruelling venture, the wifi seems to finally have been restored, and as far as Principal Wright knows, the issue has been resolved. At least for now.

      On Jan. 5, an immense snowstorm blasted over the United States. This major storm was first reported on Jan. 3 when it hit the Northern West Coast. Within moments of the report, citizens of the U.S fled to grocery stores to prepare their homes and lives for the next couple of days. As the storm spread, it brought harsh blizzard conditions to the eastern half of the country. Some results of the conditions were public schools shutting down, airplane flights being cancelled, people being stuck in buildings and many more emergencies.

      When the storm hit Kansas, it reached the maximum snowfall of the storm being 20 inches. Hiawatha High School students were happy with the school shutting down, extending their winter break by three days. To keep busy, students participated in nominating each other to jump in the snow with minimal clothing on. This “challenge” began in Topeka, Kansas and made its way to Hiawatha.

 “I didn't think the snow storm was that bad. In my opinion, the one last year was worse because of the snow drifts,” said HHS freshman, Grayson Gilbert. “I liked spending my snow days outside on my ranger. The worst part of the weather was the snot freezing in my nose.” 

       All Kansas highways shut down. The roads were hazardous because they were covered in snow and slick. Even not being out on the roads, the circumstances just staying home were not fun. According to the news agency, “Reuters,” there were still over 200,000 U.S customers without power after the storm passed.

      “I liked the storm because school got cancelled. I got a nice break from my teachers. I know over half the town lost power which was crazy to hear,” said HHS freshman Jerek Shoemaker. “My family lost power for over an hour. Because of being snowed in, I wasn't able to leave my house for a couple of days.”

By Maddie Keller, News 

On Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, the hugely popular social media platform TikTok went dark for users in the United States. This happened because of a federal ban on the app that was passed earlier this year. The ban on the app worked on the premise that the app was a danger to American citizens’ data. Citizens were told that their data was being compromised by the Chinese government. The ban was supported by both Republican and Democratic legislators. TikTok was unavailable for American users for fifteen hours. It is still not available for download on app stores, but if you already have the app, it will work on your phone.

“I feel like they are trying to silence people who are trying to use their voice by banning TikTok. It goes against our First Amendment right to free speech,” said Hiawatha High School student Bella Hedrick.

Then-president, Joseph Biden, refused to sign the ban into executive law. He left the decision up to incoming president Donald Trump. On Jan. 20th an executive order was signed to temporarily pause the ban on the app. This executive order did not stop the ban altogether but gave the app seventy additional days to find an American company to buy it.

Many rumors are circulating about who is planning to buy the app from its company ByteDance. Some believe it will be bought by Meta and be connected with Instagram and Facebook. According to www.inc.com, others believe that Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast has staked a claim on the app. Elon Musk is another name that has come up frequently.

Although TikTok has been temporarily restored in the United States, many speculate that there is something different about the app. Many users of the app feel that it has become more censored since coming back online for American users.

Users have been experiencing their videos that criticize the United States government being taken down. There have been messages popping up about how we should be checking our sources better and that we need to stop the spread of misinformation.

“I was getting content that was right-leaning when it was not like that before. Some things I tried to search would give me no results,” said HHS student Taryn Keller.

The newfound censorship on the app brings up many questions about freedom of speech in the United States. Some believe that the censorship on the app is prohibiting individuals from expressing their opinions and beliefs on certain topics. Censorship can become dangerous if it leads to the spread of propaganda and only allows for one side of the story to be shown to citizens.

Hey, blab-squad, I am back with a fun new topic. You may have seen seniors coming to school “late” or not being in classes you used to have with them. During the second semester, seniors can apply, and if accepted by the principal, can attend HHS part-time. They are allowed to work during the half days or work on other things during the day. I am one of the students who works half days simply because I have almost all the credits to graduate. Most seniors that applied also did it for that reason. 

       Now, I am going to bore you with some facts. Half days as an athlete are not the same for seniors who don’t participate in sports. Due to KSHAA rules, seniors who have half days in sports have to be here for at least five classes, while seniors who don’t only have to be here for four classes. The senior meets with Mrs. Pyle and changes their schedule to have the half days. 

      “I have more freedom to work on things I enjoy rather than take classes I don’t need or find interesting. I only have to take the two first periods on A-days and the last two on B-days,” HHS Senior, Maddie Keller, said.

       Maddie is a great example of a non-student athlete. 

Not every senior has the same schedule, I am an athlete so I am here every A-days and then two classes during B-days. That is just one example of how seniors have their days split. Being able to go home and work on assignments, do household chores, and take a mental break makes half-days so appealing. 

      “It gives me time to be prepared for practice and gives me more energy,” Senior Dani Morton says. 

      I would agree with Dani, as a student-athlete, being able to spend time at home and just work on things or give myself time during my busy week has been a big stress reliever. 

     However, half-days aren’t for everyone. Some people like being at school all day or have classes they genuinely like. 

      “I like having full days of school because it allows me to commit to other activities I wouldn’t be able to do if I had half-days. I get to see teachers more if I need help. I would have to do boring classes rather than the fun classes if I only did half days,” Senior Olivia Hawks says. 

      I think half-days are useful to some people, but some do benefit more from full days of class. I think the most important thing is students coming and getting class work done. Understanding what will help you as a student is the most important thing. 

Along with the midwest blizzards, as you may know, there have been some wildfires in California; more specifically in Los Angeles.

      The first of seven major fires started on Jan. 7 with half of them still continuing. The large fires have brought in a large number of firefighters from many different states like Nevada and some as far as Maine. Support from our bordering countries, Mexico and Canada, have also given aid in putting out the fires. The much needed help has been greatly appreciated in the area as they’ve been using over 500 different specialized aircrafts with over 16,000 personnel sent out.

      According to the CBS Live News page,the fires have caused a reported 25 deaths and counting, left over 12,000 structures damaged, and has charred more than 60 square miles of land in the area. Because of the fire’s speed and vastness, it put about 82,500 people in evacuation zones in just Los Angeles county alone. 

 The fires may have started because of a variety of things, which have led many people around the country to make conspiracies about them. Although nobody is completely sure about what exactly happened, the government believes that they’ve started from four things; fireworks, dry air with high winds, electrical issues and even arson. The suspicions of arson have been an ongoing problem in the L.A. area. This is because of the high priced homes in the area. With people evacuating, it has brought a lot of robbery and crimes since a lot of large houses are being left unattended.

       Although this problem isn’t close to our area, it is something that we should all be very aware and proactive about. Many “GoFundMe” pages have been set up to raise money for families that have lost their homes and belongings.

By Kerragan Bachman, News

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is seemingly taking over the world. Artificial intelligence is popular among students as they often go to AI for help on homework or answers to a quiz.

Campustechnology.com reports that 86% of students use AI in their studies. Although students make up over half of the demographic of AI users, all sorts of individuals use artificial intelligence for a variety of reasons. Given this information, the benefits many individuals receive from using AI often result in the consequences going unnoticed.

A main consequence of AI is its harmful effects on global warming and climate change. As many AI users don’t think twice before going to AI, this makes being aware of AI’s negative impact on the environment crucial.

“I rarely use AI. I know it is very bad for the environment because it uses up a lot of energy and produces huge amounts of heat into the environment. It is important that people be intentional about when they use AI and why because of its effect on the environment,” said Hiawatha High School senior Maddie Keller.

AI systems work by gathering large sums of information using algorithms to analyze data. According to Earth.org, AI uses mass amounts of electricity, typically generated from fossil fuels, which results in greenhouse gas emissions. When greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, they trap heat from the sun. This directly leads to climate change and global warming.

Climate change is the long-lasting changes in temperatures and weather patterns. The UN Environment Programme shares that although such shifts in world temperatures can take place naturally, human activities, in this case, the use of artificial intelligence is showing rapid, significant effects. Global warming refers to an increase in the Earth’s overall temperature.

All in all, the use of artificial intelligence contributes to global warming which is becoming increasingly threatening to the world and its population very quickly.

Opposing viewpoints say that AI has positive effects on global warming. AI has been said to play a role in monitoring environmental changes. The use of satellite imagery and other forms of technology can monitor weather patterns and even predict the onset of natural disasters. Per ScienceDirect.com, natural disasters like wildfires contribute to global warming as they emit a large quantity of heat and gases into the atmosphere. Thanks to AI and its ability to access live observations of the environment, environmental specialists can respond quicker to environmental crises which is crucial as such crises can worsen in the blink of an eye. Despite the positive effects AI can have on the environment, is it worth the damage caused to global temperatures?

All things considered, the use of artificial intelligence has played a pivotal role in global warming and climate change. Such a role has not been positive as it is harmful to all beings on Earth. Everything, from people to animals to the environment, is forced to face the treacherous consequences of climate change caused by human actions. Next time you consider using AI, ask yourself, “Is this worth the damage being caused to the environment?”