In the time of late August through July, influencers have gone out their way to throw huge birthday parties at a mansion where several tik tok creators live called “The Hype House” while a worldwide pandemic still occurs. Many other influencers have followed this trail. As we now know, partying is a part of their job.

Being quarantined since March is understandable but it seems a bit unfair to be partying while there is a pandemic going on. People have craved to come out of their houses and socialize.

According to an article called “Influencers Face Backlash After Attending Party for TikTok Star Larray As Coronavirus Surges,” a comedian, rapper, and much more tweeted, “A lot of influencers have been confirmed to me testing positive for COVID-19 after the influencer parties, like A LOT. And they aren't saying anything & aren't warning people they came in contact with after. If you attended, get tested. yall caused an outbreak. Thanks!"

These influencers are hypocrites. They talk about being six feet apart, wearing a mask, and using hand sanitizers but are throwing parties with over 100 people.

Alexis Flott, a senior from uni stated, “I think it’s messed up considering the fact that they have a large platform and the way they’re using that is to tell people to completely ignore the virus. They should have stayed at home and followed the correct procedures.”

Influencers are a big part of our generation. They inspire a lot of young people. Some teens grow up following and idolizing influencers. This isn’t setting a great example for our generation and future generations to come. “We have high expectations of influencers but they are just like us, having a bigger audience applies more pressure,” Flott said.

One wrong move and influencers are suddenly considered “cancelled.” The media will portray you as a bad person no matter what you do. What you show on the internet is who people think you are. Throwing a party during a worldwide pandemic was not the best move. Always remember, stay six feet apart, wear your mask, and wash your hands frequently.

COVID-19 with no doubt is inconveniencing many students. Various issues have arisen from the online schooling system set in place. The platform that is most commonly used for schools is Zoom.

Elementary school, high school, and even college students use Zoom to be able to communicate with their teachers and try to make it feel as real as possible.

Although Zoom is commonly used, there have been problems with students not being able to access meetings or turn in their assignments because the system has crashed. This has been frustrating to many students and teachers not being able to go through with class the way they would like to.

I asked a student at Uni ‘‘Would she rather be back to in-class learning in school and why?” The student responded, “I would rather be in school because it’s easier and keeps me more organized, but when we are online everything is on us and digital, so it’s not as much support.”

I agree, I do feel like being physically at school motivates the student more and forces them to get up on time. On the bright side, if you are a responsible student it will be a breeze and you will probably find it more convenient being on campus.

There are always going to be difficulties when it comes to virtual learning, but as long as we stick together and work out our challenges we won't have too many problems.

Students should keep in mind that Monday is our support day and every day besides Monday we have advisories to help us with anything we might need.

The teaser for Matt Reeves’s 2021 film, The Batman, was released at the virtual comic convention, the DC fandome on August 22th. A version of the song “Something in the Way” from the album "Nevermind" by Nirvana plays during the trailer, though some minor adjustments such as extra orchestra and percussion elements have been added for additional drama.

According to Kurt Cobain, in the biography Come As You Are by Michael Azzerad, the song is about “…like if I was living under the bridge and I was dying of A.I.D.S., if I was sick and I couldn’t move and I was a total street person.”

While we don't know much of the plot, there have been a few comics that have been revealed to influence the film. Director Matt Reeves was asked about deep cuts that would be included in The Batman and expressed love for Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke. Reeves explained that he “wanted to get into the mindset of the character—and [he] wanted to think of the psychology” in an interview at the DC Fandome.

When I asked the executive producer of every Batman movie since 1989, Michael Uslan, about comic book influences, he cautiously mentioned that "‘Batman: Year Two’ [by Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis] and a couple of famous Batman story arcs,” would be included but noted that “naming them would be ‘telling.’"

Something unconfirmed that I picked up myself was the dialogue towards the end of the teaser that seems to be taken from Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. In the teaser, some thugs in face paint ask Batman “The hell are you supposed to be?” Batman responds by giving one of the thugs a beating and replying “I’m vengeance,” a phrase nearly identical to the words shared between Batman and the Penguin in Batman: Earth One where Penguin asks Batman “Who are you” to which Batman explains that he is “Vengeance.”

The scene in the trailer could also be referencing the famous line “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!” from Batman: The Animated Series’s episode “Nothing to Fear."

Though the movie seems to cling to some amount of realism, I think that there will be notably more influence from comics other than the few that every movie has been based on like The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman: Year One.

Amidst this global pandemic, the U.S has seen a rise in what people are now calling a "Karen." A Karen according to the majority is a usually a white woman in her late to early 30s-40s in various different states. A Karen is usually known to complain about following simple mandates set out to everyone. Complains usually arise from women labeled as Karens because they feel as if the mandates do not only apply to them.

In other words, the definition can virtually be, “The “Karen” moniker is the social media shorthand for white women who call the cops on black people over harmless incidents."

Karens have been spotted all over the country and it is not always just to complain, but in some cases it was to racially slander minorities. There have been various examples of this, such as the “Karen” in Arizona who was slapped across the face for telling a woman to "go back to Mexico" when in actuality the woman was not Mexican, but Native American.

When talking about whether or not the intentions of Karens are racially motivated, Adan Ruiz, a student from Uni stated, “Yes I do believe that Karens can be neutral when it comes to racially motivated actions, all the stories you hear about Karens aren't about race.”

Karens have been known to have outbursts such as the one mentioned above, but as soon as they begin to be under scrutiny they tend to play the victim. Contrary to popular belief, women aren't the only people who can hold the title of being a “Karen." Men as well can be considered one, but they are referred to as “Chad, or Kevin”

The wacky and zany film releasing in 2021, The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn has a chance to redeem DC’s reputation with films. DC Comics has had a very rough history with movies, especially after the failure that was the original Suicide Squad in 2016 and also because of the popularity of Marvel’s cinematic universe.

I asked Erez Asken, a sophomore at University High to comment on whether James Gunn is fit being the director of this project. “I believe so. A lot of Suicide Squad 2016 was, let’s say, inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy" said Erez "like the scene in the bar and the way they tried to lighten the tone in reshoots and post production. Gunn himself really seems to have passion for the team and the older suicide squad comics.”

The movie’s original teaser trailer and “Casting Call” video was shown at the DC Fandome earlier this year. Details such as character designs, not every character being alive by the end of the movie, the gore, and taking heavy inspiration from the original comic run were talked about. Fans also found the unrevealed villain in the background of the teaser quickly after it was released.

According to Ian Cardona in “The Suicide Squad: A DC Alien Powerhouse May Be Hiding in the First Footage” from CBR, the background characters are mainly out of focus, but their faces are seen covered by purple and blue starfish, showing that the villain is the mainly unknown Conqueror of the DC universe, Starro. This decision leads the fans to believe that they will be straying heavily from the mainstream and using characters not well known to the general public.

All of this is building up to be a very exciting new chapter into the DC film universe and, along with other releases, should put DC back on the map in terms of its big screen presence.

The month of September is often known for many national holidays such as Labor Day (Sept. 6) and Admissions Day (Sept. 9), but a very important topic is often overlooked: suicide prevention.

The youth column of the suicide prevention lifeline states, “suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10-24.”

In these hard times consisting of anxiety, pandemic depression, and distance learning stress, many are taken by surprise. The risk of suicides among people of all ages is even higher, especially with students who are lacking social interaction due to social distance learning.

A junior at Uni High School disclosed her situation regarding these difficult times of being at home all day. She explains that during quarantine she has had her ups and downs, “Quarantine has truly been a battle with my mental health. Even though I'm not able to see my friends or get fresh air every day, I still have a very manageable [school] schedule.”

Uni High School does have its mental health awareness and anti-bullying week, but the situation for sit in talks with the counselors is very different now due to distance learning.

The interviewed student wished to remain anonymous because she had experienced being suicidal. The student admitted that freshman year was difficult because she had to pretend that she was happy, “School [being] stressful and the workloads were sometimes so overwhelming that spiraling was more frequent. Anxiety and depression often made me tired and it was harder for me to focus in class.”

She eventually sought help from one of the school counselors in hope of gaining a new perspective. However, she felt it could have been more helpful. “I'm glad they try to help, but I think they could try to make it feel more available.”

Additionally, some students won’t always feel comfortable talking to someone in school. There are many alternatives like the following list of phone numbers you can use to call or text someone without having to face them.

• National Suicide prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

• Crisis Text Line: 741741

• For actual harm that puts your life in danger call: 911

If you know anyone who is having suicidal thoughts or has talked about harming themselves, you should provide them with your own support or redirect them to the above list of hotlines.