CC Lifestyle

Global superstar Taylor Swift has proven time and time again to be a visionary and pioneer for other artists within the music industry. This time, she is reinventing her old albums in order to gain the rights to them.  What Swift is doing is inspiring teens and others to question the ethics of the music industry. In June of 2019, Scooter Bruan, owner of Big Machine Records, sold Swift’s master for around 300 million to a private equity company, Shamrock Holdings. Swift claims that she was never made aware of the sale.  When she found out, she tried to buy her masters but was declined. This sparked outrage among her fans and other artists, thus beginning her re-recording process in order to acquire the rights to her music. 

Swift's most recent re-recording is of her 4th studio album, Red. This album gained major success. She broke the Spotify record for the most-streamed female album in a day, and her song All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) debuted at number one on the Billboard 100. Her re-recordings are making major rounds around Cedar Cliff, too.

Five of out nine interviewed students said that they have listened to Taylor Swift's re-recording and four out of nine knew the purpose behind it. Lyndsay Giesel, a junior at Cedar Cliff states, “I think it is so unfair what they did to her.”  Maddie Graef expressed, “I'm upset about everything, but I am proud of her for taking back what is hers, though.”  What Swift is doing is proving to be an example of overcoming hardships and making her own way.

There's no doubt that Taylor Swift is making history and reclaiming what is rightfully hers.  Her re-recordings are exciting and set examples for people throughout the globe, and the students at Cedar Cliff are definitely included.

Reading is a popular pastime among many students at Cedar Cliff High School. In spite of being stereotyped by movies, reading is a widely practiced pastime. Students were interviewed on reading-related questions, such as their favorite genre, author, and whether they liked manga and comics.

Fantasy was by far the most popular genre. Almost all of the interviewees named it their genre of choice. Some gave subgenres of fiction, such as horror, as their favorites. One student gave nonfiction as their favorite genre.

Students were also asked who their favorite authors were. Like the responses for manga, these were often unique. A student responded with “Cassandra Clare. She wrote The City of Bones(sic)”, while Percy Baucum responded with “Rick Riordan. He’s such an inspiration.” Other students mentioned people such as J.R.R. Tolkien, who is a favorite of Chris Lerch. Everyone interviewed had a personal favorite.

Manga (Japanese comics) was also popular among the students. Manga of choice varied more consistently with genre, with each interviewee naming something different. Several students named My Hero Academia and Tokyo Ghoul as their favorites, while Matt Kollas mentioned Fullmetal Alchemist. American comics were less popular, but some students are very enthusiastic about them. These included MARVEL-related stories, as well as more esoteric ones.

Reading has often been stereotyped as an uncool activity in teen-targeted media, but it is still very popular at Cedar Cliff. The creation of the Reading/Book Club is a testament to this. Spearheaded by student efforts, it will help cultivate reading activity among interested students at Cedar Cliff.

Despite some societal concerns that teenage students do not enjoy reading, this isn’t the case. One only needs to speak to a Cedar Cliff student to find this out.

Video games are something of a hot topic for teens and adults alike. Whether you are for or against them, you have to admit that most kids, and even some adults, love them. Students at Cedar cliff are no exception. 

When asked their thoughts on video games, a Junior at Cedar Cliff High School said, “I dunno, I like them. They help me chill after a long day at school.” When posed the same question, another student stated, “It's a good way to hang out with your friends without having to be in the same room.” That sentiment seemed to be the general census among students. Video games are a good way to relieve stress and have some fun, especially after a long stressful day of school. 

After interviewing over a dozen students, it became clear that many students frequently play video games. When asked what type of device they used to play those games, they were given the options of PC, mobile, and gaming consoles. 

Unsurprisingly the most common way people way to play is gaming consoles. This includes things such as the Nintendo Switch, Play stations, Xboxes, and some students even sighted their Wiis and DSs. 

Although it is notable that nearly every student who said they played on consol, said it was because they simply did not have access to anything else to play on.  

In opposition to console gamers, the PC (or computer) gamers said that they choose to play on the PC because they preferred it to any other medium; citing things like better controls, graphics, and overall quality of games. 

Mobile was the least used, with just over 2% of people interviewed playing on primarily mobile devices. When questioned as to why, most people said it was because of the poor graphics, small size, and quality of game offered. 

Throughout all three device options, the most played category was a tie between First-Person Shooters (FPSs) and Role Playing Games (RPGs). First-person shooters are games that include playing from the first-person point of view and using weapons to fight enemies. Role-playing games are story-based games that include playing a role. They usually have Nonplayer characters with deeper stories and a story that includes twists and turns. 

 Another unsurprising answer was which games people played, for RPGs, it was pretty scattered, with a few very common games such as Undertale, The Sims, and Stardew Valley; The FPS games were all pretty uniform, meaning Fortnite was the most popular. Other popular FPSs among students were Call Of Duty (COD), the Fallout franchise, Team Fortress 2, and Destiny, although many more were mentioned. 

Some students said that they don't play any video games. A quote from one junior, Layla sums it up pretty well saying, “I hate video games. Well, I don't hate them, I just haven't found any that I’m interested in.” 

All in all, most teens seem to enjoy video games, whether for a distraction or for fun, video games are an almost universal joy.