Back to School Issue 2022-2023

The Islander

Islander Girl Breaks Tradition

Mercer Island High School is home to three loud and proud spirit groups: Islander Girls, Snail Pound and Flag Dudes. For many years, spirit groups have been a part of the MIHS culture, especially when it comes to getting students excited for sporting events.

One of Islander Girl Caley Newcomer’s goals is to try to make it known that spirit groups aren’t for just ‘that one group’ but a place for all students. Newcomer aims to do this by establishing the first ever Flag Dudette.

“I diversify [spirit groups] from the culture that it has always been,” Newcomer said. “It means that for everyone who is not in ‘that group’ it gives them a chance to have a letter at some point too.”

While Newcomer was always familiar with Islander Girls, the Flag Dudes were not always on her radar.

“Because of COVID, I really had no real memory of the Flag Dudes until basically my junior year,” Newcomer said. “I think that it is fun and you get a bunch of spirit gear and have a bunch of flags to run at the assemblies, so overall I think that it is really fun besides the fact that it’s all guys.”

While Newcomer is focused on her role as an Islander Girl, she also hopes to cultivate a position for a girl Flag Dude.

“I asked [the current flag dudes] for a flag and they gave me a

flag without a title,” Newcomer said.

Newcomer is now looking for prospects in the Class of 2024 to be the first ever official Flag Dudette.

“Personally I do not want to be a Flag Dude, because I already have an Islander Girl letter,” Newcomer said. “In terms of the flag I hope to hand it down to a girl.”

Of the two unofficial spirit groups, the female students have always had Islander Girls and Snail Pound has always been for male students. However, the Flag Dudes are the only school affiliated group, so there is more incentive to change the restrictive tradition.

“As soon as I realized that there were other spirit groups besides Flag Dudes and that one is guys and one is girls and then the Flag Dudes are also all guys, I felt like there should be a little bit of a cultural shift,” Newcomer said.

Flag Dudes were created in 1991 and the main job was to act as counterparts to cheerleaders during football games and to be an alternative way to hype up the crowd. But now, over 30 years later, students are looking to see more diversity.

“So I am hoping that after what, 30 years or so, that we can finally get a girl in there,” Newcomer said.

As Newcomer works to create change, the Class of 2024 and beyond should keep their eyes peeled for the first (of potentially many) Flag Dudettes.

New Parking Procedures Stump Students

The 2022-23 school year has finally arrived, and with a new year comes new challenges–particularly for student parking. As MIHS transitions out of its reserved-parking system for seniors in the C-lot, students are confused and frustrated, leaving many to wonder if this shift is worth the trouble and what can be improved upon in the future.

Mercer Island High School’s history of experimenting with its parking system goes back to 2020, since the pandemic’s start. Until then, the high school had reserved parking spots in C-lot for seniors only, at a rate of $150 for two semesters. After the pandemic hit, that system was scrapped during the remote learning period, and a new system was implemented in the 2021-22 school year.

“Over the years, there has been this feeling of ‘okay, we need to do some changes,’” Hill said. “Parking’s always been an issue, and I think we wanted to come from a place of equity that all students had the opportunity to find parking.”

The new system for our first year back in person still allowed reserved parking but also provided parking for juniors in C-lot via lottery. Since a smaller number of seniors bought parking in C-lot that year, selling empty parking spots to the Juniors made more sense.

However, for the 2022-23 school year, the MIHS administration created an entirely new parking system to promote carpooling to save gas and help the environment. Reserved carpool parking in the front parking lot was sold at $100 per car, so long as the driver had a minimum of three passengers signed on to their parking contract. The staff, who previously held that parking lot, were moved to the band lot as a result.

Hill stated, “The big thing is we were really wanting to encourage carpooling for so many different reasons. One, it’s good for the environment, two, creating community, and then obviously, it allows for more spots if we’re carpooling.”

As for the seniors who drive alone, their rate remained at $150 with added parking privileges in Northwood Elementary’s parking lot, though their reserved parking was revoked, and the parking in Northwood was to be shared with the Juniors.

Tibbs went into detail about his experience in preCOVID school years and provided some insight into the decision to push for first-come, first-serve parking. “My first year here, it was even more different. Each senior had an individual spot, and that became more of a problem because somebody would get their car parked into the spot next to theirs, and then so on and so on, and then we’d have at least 20 people displaced.”

Even during the transition period in the 2021-22 school year, there were challenges because “a lot of seniors didn’t want to park in Northwood. Now it’s like, what can we do, obviously without a building parking garage, that would give them the opportunity to park almost wherever without getting a parking ticket? Because getting a parking ticket is not fun, at the end of the day.”

The 200+ juniors and seniors who purchased a parking pass were given their respective privileges, though the lack of a hold over a specific spot and lack of spots in general in C-lot has left many students, namely seniors, immensely frustrated by these changes.

Seniors are still waking up hours before school starts to get a decent parking spot in C-lot, which only holds around 120 vehicles at best, or Northwood, except now they are paying to fight for their spot. Moreover, everyday, 40th and 42nd are traffic-jammed with student drivers between 7-8 a.m., and in the case of lack of parking, students have opted for parking in fire lanes in C-lot or blocking walkways to save time. These issues are not too distinct from the systemic issues with The Strip.

The state of MIHS’ parking system, despite its respectable intentions, has irritated the student body more than it has resolved its inequity issues, but, once again, seniors can take comfort in knowing that the first-come-first-serve system is a work in progress; a trial run. Tibbs and Hill have ensured the student body that they have our best intentions in mind, and they work diligently to improve this system to accommodate all student drivers. Improving the MIHS parking system is an ongoing project, and will be for a while, but in the meantime, we must be patient and learn to adjust as MIHS enters a transitional period to improve the student driver experience.

ABOUT

The MIHS Islander

9100 SE 42nd St.

Mercer Island, WA 98040 mihsislander@gmail.com www.mihsislander.org

Editors in Chief Kate Grove and Asha Woerner

Website Manager: Braeden Nett Photography Editor: Brooks Kahsai

Social Media & Business Team: Emily Fain and Katie Friedman

Copy Editing Team: Mia LoBosco and Kat Marsh

Features Team: Betty Butler, Sam Pelter and Tiffany Zhang Opinions Team: Ashwin Krishnaswamy, Maddie Gaspers and Gracie Hennessy Arts & Entertainment Team : Taylor Holshouser, Kyle Gerstel and Abby Weiss

Sports Team: Jordan Balousek and Tiffany Zhang

Senior Staff Writers: Hannah Howison and Annabelle Himstreet

Journalism Club President: Charlotte Wood Journalism Club Vice President: Jackson Chang

Adviser: Chris Twombley

Staff Writers: Tulin Alrouk, Eli An, Claude Cobbs, Meg Dahlin, Emily Dunn, Lexi Krawiec, Kira Lancaster, Jayce Madamba, Caitlin Riley, Juliette Robadey, Kalden Short, Kat Van Eeden, Julia Weisfield, Alex Winn, Elsa Zepeda Juarez

The MIHS Islander acknowledges that MIHS is on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.

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Letter From The Editors

Hello Islanders!

Welcome back– well, we’ve been back. The Islander is so excited to be back up and running, with a few differences, like the shape of our paper and a new editorial board. In this issue, we wanted to highlight the first weeks of school, along with what students accomplished over the summer.

Our lovely Features Team has articles covering parking, counselors, our new interim principal and all those other gory details. But we wanted to bring you some fun content too, including spirit articles and where our fellow snails went this summer.

The Arts and Entertainment Team has stayed up to date on pop culture this summer and has some amazing reviews to share. Sam on the SAM is back for season two and we have a back to school fashion review, so the freshmen know what shoes to wear. But we recommend really looking out for our reviews of “Purple Hearts” and “She-Hulk.”

Don’t worry, we could never leave out our Opinions Team–otherwise it really wouldn’t be a true Islander paper. Inside you’ll find discussions on masks, camp culture and our school’s physical aesthetic.

As many Islanders may know, the MIHS Football team has a new head coach. Flip to page eleven and get to know him or read about Swimmer Piper Enge. MIHS Sports did incredibly last year and The Islander cannot wait to cover them online at mihsislander.org and in print.

Finally, to wrap up this packed issue, we have a letter from our one and only ASB President. All students can get know Ainsley McCarthy and her goals for ASB this year– even if you already know Ainsley, still read this letter!

The Islander is an open student forum and one of our goals is to represent different voices in our community. If you ever want to write an article or just have something to share with our team, you can email mihsislander@gmail.com or stop by room 200 during fourth period. We hope this year is The Islander’s best one yet.

Love, Kate Grove and Asha Woerner

Cartoon Caption Contest

MIHS Welcomes New Photography Teacher

As the new school year kicks off, Mercer Island High School is getting acquainted with photography teacher Zachary Corbin.

Corbin came out of graduate school a few years ago and is now ready to teach one of his many passions, photography. He loves that photography creates an outlet for people to be more artistic.

“My favorite thing about teaching photography is that it allows [people] to see the world differently through an artistic lens,” Corbin said.

Corbin loves how photography helps people express themselves. He hopes his class will get people to let out their creative side.

“You can show people what you see because you can take pictures of something how you see it, and other people might not see it that way,” Corbin said.

Corbin enjoys that the MIHS community is small. When compared to his internship at Lincoln High School, he notices the difference between public schools in the city and those in suburban areas.

“I taught photography in my internship at Lincoln High School,” Corbin said. “MIHS reminds me a lot of a small town; it is an island community but I really enjoy that culture. […] It really has that small town feel in a city.”

Corbin’s internship at Lincoln High School taught him to incorporate steps into the process of creating photography.

“The big thing at Lincoln was learning about [the creative process] so I got to do that with photography, I got to do that with a ceramics class which was really cool, and I also did that with drawing and painting,” Corbin said. “I think it’s really cool to incorporate that process and I think it can be applied to anything beyond art. It’s just a different way of thinking about processes and what you’re doing.”

Lincoln High School helped Corbin get interested in photography. He loves teaching art using the creative process so he can see all of the steps his students take to get to their final project.

“I know that here and at Lincoln [it’s a process]. So you start with reflecting and kind of exploring artists to either get you inspiration or something that you really enjoy that will relate to your current project,” Corbin said. “You make a powerpoint showing not only what you made, but your process of how you made it.”

Corbin wants the MIHS community to know that he will be here to inspire the students’ artistic sides.

“I hope to give you all an outlet to explore your artistic side. But also, you know, it’s an elective. If you find joy in photography, that’s awesome and I want to give you that experience to have but if not, just making connections [is good],” Corbin said.

Nguyen Wins Big in Podcast Competition

Sophomore Hayley Nguyen was selected as a finalist in The New York Times’ fifth annual student podcast contest for her podcast “When the Water is Calm,” highlighting her father’s journey escaping from Vietnam alone at 13 years old. The contest is for participants 12-18 years old with podcasts that are five minutes or less.

Nguyen was first informed of the competition by MIHS Radio teacher Joe Bryant, who encouraged his students to sign up for the competition. Nguyen was new to podcasts as a form of storytelling, but the motivation from Bryant as well as a long-held desire to spread her father’s story inspired her to enter the competition.

“If I wasn’t in the radio class, I definitely would not know about this contest,” Nguyen said. “Joe really emphasizes how cool the podcast contest is and really recommends students to try it out and that’s what made me want to try out.”

Nguyen also received help from other upperclassmen in the radio program. Students such as Gabe Gottesman and Natalie Wood held a listening party to listen and give feedback.

“[It] was helpful to get another perspective on my podcast because before only my mom and dad had listened to it,” Nguyen said.

While the drafts of the scripts were written independently by Nguyen, her family also helped oversee the process, giving advice and notes on each draft.

“I wrote the scripts myself, but with every draft I had my parents listen to it and see if they wanted to add or change anything. Mostly, they were there to sit and give me feedback,” Nguyen said.

The entire drafting process only took about one week; the greatest struggle Nguyen faced was keeping the entire podcast under five minutes, writing multiple scripts until she reached her final draft.

“If there wasn’t a time limit, I definitely would have tried to capture more of his story, but since there was that five-minute time limit, I decided to only capture the first part of his journey,” Nguyen said.

A driving force throughout the process for Nguyen was her desire to honor her family and accurately represent her father’s experiences.

“I wanted to make this podcast so it would be like a digital record of his story so it wouldn’t be forgotten,” Nguyen said. “I’m really proud and my family’s really proud of me that I was able to share my father’s story.”

The podcast episode closes as her father reaches a refugee camp in Singapore. Nguyen plans to continue the story with additional podcasts.

“I’m planning on making another episode and another podcast about my dad’s journey and possibly other family members and other Vietnamese-American immigrants that went on a similar journey,” Nguyen said.

What’s Cooking: MIHS Introduces Culinary Arts Class

This school year, MIHS introduced a new class, Culinary Arts. Taught by Health teacher Lori Emery, the class will teach students kitchen safety, nutrition, and most importantly, how to cook.

“We’re going to do a lot,” Emery said. “We’ll do pizza, biscuits, we’re going to start off with a pico de gallo lab …we’re going to make beef flank steak tacos, we’re going to make lots of recipes using chicken ...we are [also] going to do snickerdoodles.”

Emery started the class this school year.

“[I’ve been thinking about this class] pretty much since I first started [teaching] here… I didn’t know that the community was interested in a class like this. But I didn’t really ask the community until somewhat recently,” Emery said. “And then when I did, to start this program, I realized our community actually wants a class like this … we sent out a survey to lots of kids last year, to see if they would be interested in this class. And we got an overwhelming number of people [to] say ‘yes, we would love to do it.’”

Although Emery started the culinary arts class this year, it isn’t the first time MIHS has had a cooking class.

“The school was remodeled in 1997, and we used to have a [cooking] classroom. It was in the same space, but it looked very different. But then when the school got remodeled in ‘97, they got rid of the classroom, so then it turned into the health room, which it was for 25

years, up until now.”

Over the summer, the school bought new kitchen equipment for the classroom, Room 415.

“There are six stations in there, and every one has a stove [and an oven] … There’s a refrigerator and a

culinary arts class includes learning how to cook with different food groups like carbohydrates, protein, and fats. However, Emery emphasizes that her class is not meant to replace the familial and cultural aspects of learning how to cook.

“It’s not only [about] teaching you the cooking process, but probably there’s a lot of tradition in [cooking], whether cultural tradition or family tradition, so I don’t want to say that my class is going to replace that. My class is just going to teach you industrylevel standards, so that after kids take my class, they can go out and get a job in the culinary hospitality industry,” Emery said.

Some students also take the class to learn how to cook before college.

“I signed up because I want to learn how to cook for college... [I’d like] to be able to make stuff from scratch, and not have to use pre-made noodles or something like that,” senior Bobby Selden said.

freezer that are industrial-grade. There is lots of counter space, lots of cabinet space … [and] everyday kitchen utensils. We’re really lucky that we have such a supportive CTE Program, and a community that has allowed us to purchase all the equipment in there,”

Emery said.

Emery’s plan for the curriculum of her semester-long

“I would love to see more upperclassmen, with the number I have right now, I have juniors and seniors in [the class], but it does seem to be more populated with my freshmen and sophomores. So I would love to get more—especially because seniors in a year from now, they’re going to have a kitchen of their own, or have the ability to choose more about what they eat every single day.” Emery continued, “I think this would be a really great class for seniors just before they make that step into adulthood, to learn these basic culinary skills.”

New Year Off to a Rocky Start in the Counseling Office

As students returned to the building on Aug. 31, they were mired with uncertainty. However, this feeling was different than in years past. No longer were the concerns about COVID, but something decidedly more typical: class schedules.

After replacing four of the five guidance counselors over the summer, Mercer Island High School was finally confronted with the brunt of a storm that had been brewing for the better part of three years. The issue coming to a head is the near-constantnear constant turnover in the MIHS counseling department, with ten new counselors arriving over the past four years. The largest sign of the stress in the department was seen in the many schedules in disarray throughout the first weeks of school.

“[My schedule] wasn’t initially messed up. [...] Then, after one change was made, the entire thing was messed up. I had two second periods, no English class, and two history classes,” senior Emma Williams said.

A large number of students had concerns about their schedules before the school year began. However, they found it difficult to get in touch with their counselors, creating a somewhat chaotic atmosphere before classes officially started.

“[When] I tried to get it fixed in the days leading up to school, I got no response, but I had been emailing each day,” Williams said. “I went in on the second

Islanders did some pretty incredible traveling this summer. Here are a few first-hand accounts of the exotic, far-away adventures our fellow snails went on during Summer 2022!

Junior Kate Yang traveled to Madrid, Seville and Barcelona, Spain with her family this summer. “The highlight of the trip was definitely Barcelona! We went to the beach which was beautiful, as well as Park Guell which had the most amazing views,” Yang said. The ten day adventure not only delivered sights and spots, but also some noteworthy eats. “We had tons of good food, but our first night in Barcelona we had the most amazing meal that included spicy prawns, cod with a sweet chili sauce, and churros with melted chocolate sauce,” Yang said.

Senior Molly Rojas went to Thailand with a program called Give Volunteers. “[We] worked doing farming and reforestation, farming land plots for plants that are endangered and stuff like that,” Rojas said. “And then we worked inside classrooms in villages teaching children English.”

Rojas describes this trip as “one of the best experiences [she’s] ever had.” Her favorite activities were teaching local children and floating down a river on “bamboo rafts that [they] had made.”

day to sort it out (after continuing to email) and I was told that I wasn’t allowed to see her because counselors weren’t seeing the students that week. It only got resolved after my parents got involved.”

For students who recently got new counselors (in this case, 80% of the student body), there is anxiety

counselor impossible and can overall hinder both personal and academic collaboration.

“I’ve had a new counselor every year since my freshman year and tried to make an effort with each of them, only to have them leave. It’s been incredibly difficult to ask questions because none of them are familiar with the school and it’s been even harder to connect.”

Another concern stemming from the personnel changes in the department surrounds the issue of letters of recommendation. Nearly all colleges and universities in the United States require counselors to write a letter of recommendation for applicants. While MIHS long ago stopped writing individualized letters, they still provide a report which is an integral part of these applications.

“I am incredibly worried [about my letter of recommendation],” Williams said. “I’m genuinely upset over this, because I’ve wasted a lot of time and energy trying to get to know my counselors, when I haven’t had time or energy to give.”

accompanying this shift. But for one group in particular, this poses a unique difficulty. Cohort SjZ, or those with last names at the end of the alphabet, are on their fourth counselor in four years. This makes developing a relationship with their guidance

Lawrence said. She enjoyed boating from Sorrento to Capri for a day in Italy, and noted the ocean swim midexcursion. France and Italy offered Lawrence her most memorable culinary experiences of the three weeks. “I enjoyed having Nutella crepes with fresh strawberries [in France] and in Italy I loved the spaghetti.”

This summer,

In the coming year, students will be looking to the MIHS administration for answers about the rapid movement in the counseling department.

appetizers followed by even larger courses [that] put our American stomachs to the test!” Shobe said.

Another European voyage was made by Junior Ellie Sadlier along with her family this summer. “I went to Europe (Spain and France) with my family because my dad wanted [my sister] and I to experience life in different European cities/countries,” Sadlier said. “The trip was about three weeks long.” Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and visiting Versailles were definitely valuable experiences of her trip, but Sadlier “[thinks] that visiting Gaudi’s La Pedrera in Barcelona and going to the flea market in Nice were super cool.” Of all the good European eats, the French Croque Madame and Spanish croquettes left special imprints on Sadlier’s heart.

Islanders Go Global

Freshman Aaliyah Khan, Cara Saitta and Kylie Oordt each shared their Hawaiian vacations from Summer 2022. “They had really good views on the hikes,” Khan said. “I got to swim with Turtles [on Maui],” Saitta said. “I love the pineapple!” Oordt exclaimed. The Hawaiian Islands also provided these MIHS students with a firsttime surfing experience, some memorably-tasty tacos and kombucha.

One student went to Tanzania on a safari this summer. “We went to a wateringhole for elephants and there were baby elephants rolling around in the mud, she said. The student went on the trip with her family, but clarified that “it was for [her] grandma.”

Freshman Alicia Wong had an incredible threeweek adventure in Europe this summer. “[I went to] London for a week and then I went to France for a week,” Wong said. She and her family then spent time bouncing from Cambridge, to Nadingham, to Manchester, to a couple days in Oxford, all before making the long trek home. “I saw a peacock at [Princess] Diana’s house,” Wong said, which she described as the highlight of her trip.

Junior Maya Lawrence also had a European summer extravaganza. “I went to France, Italy, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I was gone for around 3 weeks,”

Junior Dylan Shobe and his family had an 11 day, not-so-lactose-intolerant-friendly trip to Greece. “We saw the Islands, the Acropolis, and a lot of feta cheese,” Shobe said. An engaging tour guide and consistent over-eating were some of the more notable aspects of this trek. “[There was] an excessive amount of feta cheese on everything, Greek salads, and massive

Junior Molly O’Mara went to Spain for a month over the summer, splitting her time between a teen program and family vacation. “I went to Toledo, Madrid, San Sebastian and Barcelona,” O’mara said. O’mara’s highlight of the four-week excursion was the teen program. “It was me and 32 other kids from all over the country and we stayed at a school and practiced our Spanish and helped out with the summer camp.”

This summer, junior Genvieve Lee and her family granted her mom’s wish of correcting a trip-gone-poorly back in 2022 when they ventured to Australia for two weeks. “I got to feed a bunch of platypuses worms and maggots,” Lee said. “There’s [also] a lot of good gelato places around the Sydney Opera House ferries.”

As we all re-acclimate to full school and work days from the blissful fun of summer, let’s appreciate and reflect on the incredible traveling many members of our MIHS community did this summer.

Nick Wold Steps In as Interim MIHS Principal

MIHS Principal Walter Kelly announced on Wednesday, Sept. 14 that he will be taking a medical leave of absence. Associate Principal Nick Wold will serve as acting principal of MIHS until Kelly’s return.

“Monday, [Sept. 19], will be the start of me being our acting Principal,” Wold said.

There is no set date for when Kelly will return as he deals with what he described in a letter to students as a chronic illness.

“There is no determined timeline. Getting healthy, and getting right is important for Walter, and he didn’t set an end date,” Wold said.

Wold steps in during a challenging time for MIHS. Issues facing the school and the district at large include dropping enrollment, student parking issues, finalizing teacher contracts, and more. However, Wold hopes that Kelly’s absence won’t interrupt students’ daily lives.

hoping for the best for Walter, as he’s gone. But we hope that there won’t be any interruption for students, because we’ve got great support systems in place, from the district office, to our school, to our leaders in the building,” Wold said.

Wold has been an Associate Principal at MIHS for six years, and he loves working on Mercer Island.

“This is such a wonderful place, I love my job, I love being here. We’ve got the best students and staff around,” Wold said. “I’m thankful that Dr. Rundle, our superintendent, and the team over there at our district office has faith and trust in me and my leadership. But we have great leaders here too with Erica Hill and Lisa Deen, our other Associate Principals, and our fantastic leaders on campus… All the great people we have, so we’re in great shape and great hands to really go through this challenge and be just fine.”

How The MIHS Faculty Gets to School

As students and teachers return to school for the first normal” year post-pandemic, many teachers are going back to their routine commutes, some of which are peaceful rituals while others are filled with the typical Seattle traffic.

The Islander reached out to MIHS faculty members with a survey asking about methods of commuting for school staff and if they have any unique challenges they face as they drive to and from school each day.

“When [the] weather allows, my on-ramp to I-90 affords a view of the Cascades to the east and then as the ramp turns I see the Olympics to the west,” English teacher Creighton Laughary said. “[It is a] glorious way to start most mornings.”

In addition to Laughary, other members of the staff also take time during their commutes to appreciate the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

“I have a ritual of saying hello to Mount Rainier and Lake Washington when I emerge from the I-90 tunnel,” English teacher Jane Stafford said.

While some faculty members enjoy the morning light occasionally afforded to Seattleites, others find that it hinders their commute.

“During the month of September, our world is perfectly aligned so that I have to battle against the low morning sun shining directly into my eyes as I head east towards the island,” History teacher Lance Kinsey said.

Two staff members in particular occasionally find challenges with the other drivers sharing the road with them.

“Are bad drivers a ‘unique challenge?’ People that think real cars are bumper cars,” History teacher David Willecke said.

“One time last school year, there was awful traffic because someone had been launched into a body of water from the road during a collision,” Science teacher Zachary McCauley said. “I was not launched from my vehicle, but I found that commute challenging! I’m not sure if they found the body.”

Other teachers use their commutes as an opportunity to catch up on current events before starting their day. NPR in particular is a faculty favorite, with multiple respondents sharing that it is a staple of their mornings.

“I try not to get behind a school bus, so I’m not late,” English teacher Anne Fillmore said. “I listen to NPR to catch up on news.”

Another common commute is walking or biking, which 10% of responding MIHS staff members practice for environmental purposes.

“I listen to podcasts on my walks to and from school each day,” Math teacher Lee Jahncke said. “I find they help me relax and decompress after a day of teaching.”

“It takes more planning and time management to walk instead of drive, but it’s worth it for my health and the earth!” Spanish teacher Kelsey Cochran said.

However, the Seattle winter can pose a challenge to these environmentally friendly methods of travel as well as for those who must commute during the dark mornings.

“This will be my first fall/winter in Washington, I’m not sure how committed I’ll be to my bike once it is cold and damp,” Teacher Dana Rodgers said.

“The darkness in the winter can be a challenge and my ritual is to call and check in with my mom on my morning commute,” Parapro Sarah Shannon said.

Another obstacle facing staff as they come to Mercer Island every day is the closure of the West Seattle Bridge, as well as added tolls in the SR-99 tunnel.

“The SR-99 toll increased the cost of my commute by five dollars or added 15 minutes to go around,” Social Studies teacher Amanda Mattocks said.

“The West Seattle bridge, which should cut 25 minutes off of our commute each way, [had] been closed since the first week that MI schools shut down for COVID,” History teacher Dino Annest said.

Luckily for these staff members, after 909 days the West Seattle Bridge has officially reopened, hopefully lessening the burden on those commuting from the affected areas.

Others use this time spent in the car to connect with their children before starting their days.

“[My daughters and I] play Mountain/No Mountain every day as we come through the tunnel as we cross the bridge and look to see if Rainier is visible,” English teacher Eric Goldhammer said.

“I bring my son to school, who [then] takes the school bus to Islander Middle School,” Librarian Daniel Kiely said.

For Science teacher Carley Tallman, MIHS is her second stop of the day on her 25-mile commute from Edmonds.

“I stop at Lake Union Crew most mornings to row,” Tallman said. “[It’s not] a challenge to my commute except that I leave my house at 4:25 in the morning.”

A common habit for MIHS staff is swinging by Starbucks, whether as a ritual or a treat on special occasions.

“Most mornings include a Starbucks pitstop,” Instructional Technology Coach Kristina Getty said. “I have gotten that down to a science with order ahead on the mobile app when I get into my car.”

“[I make a] quick stop on Wednesdays at QFC to pick up donuts for the staff and to grab myself a Starbucks treat,” English teacher Leslie Seelye said.

No matter how or from where the MIHS faculty make

their way to school each day, Islanders are grateful for the energy and dedication they bring to making MI a more welcoming place.

Quotes From Staff

Alex Perry

“[I drink] smoothies in the morning and pray there isn’t a collision”

Joe Bryant

“I love my commute! Sometimes I stop at McDonalds in Factoria for a breakfast sandwich but am trying to avoid that this year. I can make a healthier and tastier breakfast at home!”

Sarah Shannon

“The only challenges I’ve considered are

1) The guilt of being a one-car-commuter

2) The unbelievably complicated and time-consuming alternative of public transportation 3) The traffic and 4) The now-tolled 99 tunnel (which means I take it less than I used to).”

Mary Woodgate

“I get to school by 6:30 in order to avoid traffic.”

Shannon Tapp

“I feel like the 405 drivers are more aggressive post-Covid. It’s scary!”

Beverly Van Hartesvelt

“I’m fortunate that I have a short commute!”

What percent of MIHS staff carpools to school?

“I’m sure people that have developed relationships with Walter Kelly over the years, feel a bond and are

Masks Are Not Metaphors

Although masks do not hinder communication from a logistical standpoint, our society has constructed the narrative that not wearing a mask is a sign of being ready to return to normalcy. Thus, a communication barrier does exist, but it is (primarily) psychological.

Going mask-commando is certainly beneficial for some activities (e.g. athletics), but many members of our society have convinced themselves that masks act as metaphors instead of seeing them for what they actually do: obstruct part of the face and protect the body.

The pandemic is too often described in the past

tense. Yes, the mask mandate is over, but we have not defeated the villain; ignoring the continued presence of COVID-19 is like if the Jedi disbanded after destroying the Death Star while Darth Vader continued harming and occasionally destroying planets (particularly planets with autoimmune disorders).

Sure, the state of our universe is improving and the rate at which Vader damages these planets has decreased, but the saga goes on nonetheless.

However, I’m no longer wearing a mask at school, so why should you? Well, I’m not saying you should (or shouldn’t), but I wish I could go to a school and live in a society in which I did not feel obligated to make that choice in order to shift how others perceive me.

Communal attitudes have always disproportionately affected teenagers, but the mask debate is unique since there are few tangible reasons to not wear a mask. I do not condone underage drug or alcohol use, but I understand that they can provide immediate gratification alongside their risks. Meanwhile, the benefits of not wearing a mask are merely symbolic, illustrating the effect of peer pressure in its purest form.

I believe it is probably too late in our collective healing process to change the way we think about masks. Despite this, it is worth considering how our culture cultivated this mentality and what we can do to prevent something like it from spreading again.

Scout’s Honor: Camp Culture Gone Wrong

In Brinnon, Wash., there lies a Boy Scout camp called Camp Parsons. The term “camp culture” there can mean many positive things, like long-established traditions and many old songs. Though recently the term has taken on a negative connotation within the staff community.

Although the intention of “camp culture” is to create a positive environment for the scouts and staffers, many of the marginalized staff members have voiced their opinions saying otherwise.

“Trying to be there for your community is the most important thing right? Last year I didn’t feel like people tried for me or for my friends,” staff member Izzy Wang said.

The culture created at Camp Parsons should not only support the staff and scouts, but should also include marginalized members of the community. The fact that the culture at present does not support everyone is a serious problem.

“There [are] a lot of direct bylaws against outright bullying and hazing [at camp] but because of the history of the [scouting]

points out is the roots and history of Camp Parsons.

“I received a lot of rhetoric around: this is our history and it is beyond us really,” Wang said. “It’s owned by people who aren’t here, who don’t show their face, who don’t communicate with us, and that makes it really hard to audit it and hold it accountable.”

[the] history of the demographics at camp, it [is] really hard to make that transition, like an actual safe space for a lot of people especially marginalized communities,”

Along with the environment not being a safe space for everyone, the work and culture can be overbearing for newer staff members with little

“There’s a tradition of being really unnecessarily rigorous and overburdensome on first-year staffers who need to learn, who need to be supported, who need to

Another problem that Wang

While the Fort Duckabush Museum does display essential parts of the camp’s history, the acknowledgment of Native American history is not ideal. The council has gotten as far as a land acknowledgment to represent the Native American sacred ground the camp rests upon, however, there is more that needs to be done.

“Land acknowledgments are not enough, they’re not enough to make up for Fort Duck, they’re not enough to make up for the songs, they’re not enough to make up for the lack of representation we have on our staff and I think there’s a lot more we can do,” Wang said.

Many of the participants who attended Camp Parsons this past year viewed the staff as one big family that holds all the same values. However, this assumption is far from the truth.

“[We’re] all the same as in historically we’ve all been straight cisgender white men, and now that the demographics are changing slightly I think those truly outdated parts of the culture are just becoming brighter red flags,” Wang said.

Camp Parsons and its culture have the capability to change, as long as the administration and staff take these steps of recognition and accountability. The previously harmful culture can become enjoyable, and replaced with a more welcoming environment.

“Make sure you’re communicating with other staff, with adults, and with scouts that this is a priority of ours,” Wang said. “We [may not] know what we’re doing yet, but we’re willing to listen and we’re willing to change because we care about you.”

School Design Hinders Student Learning

Despite 21 remodels and renovations, Mercer Island High School fails to house the 1,500 students comfortably and the outdated design is ugly.

The 400 and 200 hall intersection, the long maroon paint lines that run down the hallways, outdated classroom setups and overall vacancy of visual interest makes MIHS both hard to learn in and ugly.

Other than the line of flags running down the main hall to the commons, the school seems to lack interesting visuals. The halls all share the same ugly and boring beige textured panels with institutionalesque maroon lines down them.

One of the newest schools in Western Washington is Mount Si High School. Their innovative architecture allows for its large student body to park effectively. And it is designed to fit students’ learning needs and is a gorgeous building.

According to that school’s architect, “[the] four buildings, three stories each, strategically incorporate 2,300 students into interdisciplinary academies. These technology-rich academies, with centrally located shared spaces, encourage student interaction, while also breaking down the scale of the 358,000-square foot school for a more personal feel.”

MIHS and MSHS have almost the same square footage to student ratio, but the hallways at MIHS have a cramped fork-like design which leads to the awkward and sweaty mosh pit in the 400 and 200 hall intersection, making it impossible to get to class.

The remodel of the eastern side of MIHS was an

A Letter To The MIHS Drone Class

The MIHS administration claims to have a funding issue, but somehow, they are now able to fund a drones class. It seems like they want to add classes about cool new technology to prepare students for an evolving 21st-century world.

Okay, we get it: drones are “cool.” Whatever.

At the same time, far more relevant classes have been cut from our curriculum, putting us at a disadvantage for both learning and gaining college credits.

For example, take a look at what you’re holding right now! For several years we had two classes (and a club) until we got the disappointing news that one of them will be cut. Now we have over 40 students crammed into a single class…for what? Drones: a piece of technology that has no current effect on our students. Sure, they may start replacing humans one day, but they’ll never replace our paper’s highquality reporting.

We aren’t the only ones either: AP French has been combined with French IV, the AP Calculus BC class has been gone for years, and (which teacher?)’s proposal for a class on climate change has repeatedly been rejected. These classes (would) teach essential lessons on going to college, learning foreign languages, experiencing diverse cultures, and helping our world, while drones do none of that.

I don’t want to “drone on,” but I’m sure there are several other programs that have gotten the short end of the budgeting stick.

Our school shouldn’t be complaining that they can’t afford these classes, because guess what? Drones cost a lot of money. If the administration has enough money for this useless (and expensive) class, they could definitely keep two separate journalism classes. They could bring back AP Calc BC. They could keep AP French as its own class. They could even educate students about climate change! Speaking of that, we get the “technology is the future” thing, but we won’t even see the power of drones in years ahead if our planet is destroyed.

If students want to learn about drones as a fun activity, it should just be a club. That’s what clubs are for, after all.

Sincerely,

The Islander

extremely beneficial renovation, and those classrooms have high-tech resources, lots of light, and lack the beige ‘hospital’ feel.

However, MIHS should take a page out of MSHS’s book and consider modernizing even more of the school.

In addition to the ugliness, MIHS fails to hold its student body in multiple ways. For example, the lunch room is extremely crowded and the constant parking issue emerges every year.

There was a parking reconfiguration in 2014, however, the school still cannot handle the number of students driving to school every day. The new parking system implemented by the transportation team this year has helped counter this issue. However, even with the new carpool system, C-Lot and Northwood are both filled by 7:50 with cars even parked in fire lanes, this doesn’t even account for the sophomores and juniors creating the stream of cars up Strip.

The most recent ‘modernization’ at MIHS is the new Learning Commons, a space supposedly designed to have kids work together more and have a space that

promotes learning.

The booths added to try and achieve this goal have almost done the opposite. Kids sit in these group workspaces by themselves where no one is going to go up to join them. The only thing these booths did was turn the library into a Red Robin without the bottomless fries.

The school’s facilities are maintained impeccably, but the overall design makes the interior ugly. Having an architect redesign at least parts of the ancient building would help functionality and improve student and staff everyday experiences.

Sneak Peek: Fall Sports Preview

This year’s Girls Soccer team is looking forward to a strong season, and they are hoping for a return to the playoffs, and to advance further than they made it last season. “I would love to make it further than one game into playoffs, and when teams play us I want them to be nervous because we are going to be hard to beat,” senior captain Caley Newcomer said. Newcomer believes that the team’s athleticism from their fitness-focused training over the summer and beginning of the season will be a strength of the team this season. However, she also believes that the team will need to work on their communication skills throughout the season. “With a lot of new players I don’t expect that to come immediately,” Newcomer said. “I’m sure as we continue to play together we will get better throughout the season.” Along with many new players, the team is also at tempting to integrate a new coaching staff, which Newcomer says she hopes will bring along a new mindset. “I think we are feeling pretty pumped. A new team and a new coaching staff are making me hopeful we could have a successful season,” New comer said. She hopes to see many fans at most of the home games. “We appreciate all the support from our fans and we want to see everyone cheering us on, especially at home games,” Newcomer said. However, she specifically hopes to see fans turn out for Senior Night, which takes place Oct. 25 versus Bellevue. “The energy compared to other games on senior night is crazy,” Newcomer said. “We want as many fans as possible to support our nine seniors.”

Boys Tennis

The Boys Tennis team is coming off of a strong KingCo performance, and hopes to have a strong year going forward. “We came first in [the] regular season as well as first in the KingCo tournament… we ended up getting 3rd place in state,” Chew said. Chew emphasized the strong community surrounding tennis as a critical factor in the team’s success. “I’m so proud of my guys and grateful for my teammates, coaches, families and friends for supporting us through this last year’s journey. We’re definitely not done and are coming for the state title this year.” Chew believes that the team has many strong attributes that will benefit them in matches. “Some of the team’s strengths are consistency, game IQ, enthusiasm, dedication, work ethic, and energetic,” Chew said. He also emphasizes the

size of the program, and the opportunities that this provides. “Overall we have a roster of around 70 student athletes total on all 3 tennis teams,” Chew said. “When it comes to Mercer Island varsity tennis, our team chemistry and our skills on and off the court keep on growing.” Chew believes that the games to watch this season will be the home match against Bellevue, taking place at 4 p.m. on Oct. 10, as well as the KingCo tournament, which will be held at MIHS this year. He also had one final note for the student body. “I’d like to finally say that a lot of our guys on the team are single, so ladies if you’re looking for an athletic man ranging from 5-foot-3 to 6-foot-4, the tennis team offers a wonderful selection.”

Cross Country

The Cross Country team is looking for a strong return after their successful 21-22 campaign. “Our boys and girls teams had such strong showings throughout the season and especially at KingCo, with our boys taking 1st place in 3A overall and Ryan Koopman specifically winning across all of 3A KingCo boys,” senior captain Mustafa Agha said. “Sophia Fan and Karen Zhang also [made] it to state by qualifying on their own!” While Koopman has since graduated, the team remains strong. “We just returned from our Fort Worden retreat where we had a lot of fun team adventures,” Agha said. The team also focused on setting goals for their upcoming season and returning just as strong as they left last year. “We are extremely proud of our results [last year,] but discussed at the goal setting meeting that we want to go even farther and improve on each of our wins from last year, showing growth and meeting new challenges head on,” Agha said. Overall, this year’s Cross Country team wants to focus on maintaining their strong community, which Agha claims is aided by team Pasta Dinners, long meets, and a focus on proper sleep and nutrition habits. Agha says that he would love to see spectators at the team’s Senior Night on Oct. 12, where they will face off against Hazen and Liberty at home. “It’s going to be a lot of fun with [exciting] speeches and celebration,” Agha said. “It’s usually our most attended meet by friends and family so please feel free to join us and celebrate our achievements this season!”

Reading is Sexy: Abby’s Book Reviews

If you have ever taken an English class, I would bet you $15 that the teacher urged you at the end of the school year to read over the summer. And, if you are anything like me, I’d bet you $15 more that you didn’t read a single page.

However, this summer I had a realization: reading makes people sexy. Therefore, I decided it was time to make a lifestyle change. I am now here to tell you about some books I read over the summer that you can read this fall. I rated each book on the Weiss Sexiness Scale (WSS) ranging from any Ernest Hemingway book (very sexy) to the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books (the drawings aren’t realistic and the book isn’t in MLA format, gross).

The first book I read was “Daisy Jones and The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (not to be confused with the book of the summer “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” also written by Reid). I read both books and would recommend the slightly lesser known book, “Daisy Jones and The Six.”

Note: in addition to increasing your sexiness quotient, reading “underground” books will make you feel superior to your peers. The book follows the creation of a fictional band called The Six and how ‘70s it girl Daisy Jones comes to join in with them. It is written in a unique interview style which involves the different perspectives of all

the characters involved. I personally loved this structure because it added some humor when different characters had completely opposite perceptions of a situation. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking to get into recreational reading. It is fast paced, interesting, unique and sexy! I would rate this book 8/10 on the WSS.

The next book I read over the summer was “Where The Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. This book is about a girl named Kya whose whole family abandons her, forcing her to survive on her own in a secluded marsh in North Carolina. If you are looking for a book that will make you cry, this is the one (crying = sexy). This book also romanticizes the outdoors and made me want to forage for berries in the woods like Kya. It included a murder mystery aspect, which is especially interesting considering the author is wanted for questioning under charges of murder in Africa (not very sexy). I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for inspiration to get outside and be independent. I would rate this book a 8.5/10 on the WSS.

Next, I read “1984” by George Orwell, which I must admit, I was forced to read for AP Lit summer homework. Despite having no choice but to read it (or use SparkNotes), I actually liked this book. “1984” is a dystopian novel that takes place in Oceania—one of the three countries in Orwell’s fictional world. I would recommend “1984”

Ava Yeh: Successful MIHS Harpist

Ava Yeh, a junior at MIHS, has continued making significant strides in her musical accomplishments ever since her introduction to music as a young student in piano lessons and later, her introduction to harp.

Yeh found herself drawn to music and began taking piano lessons after seeing her neighbor play piano. Her love for classical music stemmed from these classes, as her teacher taught musical history and introduced her to a variety of composers.

“I’m always inspired by my mentors who have helped me further develop my love for classical music and build on my understanding of music as a whole,” Yeh said.

She emphasized the importance of the educational projects assigned by her piano teacher that further contributed to her growing fascination with classical music.

“A report I did on Beethoven as a kid really helped me discover my passion for classical music and made me more eager to learn more,” Yeh said.

Yeh was introduced to the harp through an orchestra concert at West Mercer Elementary School and

started playing in the spring of fourth grade. Since then, she has continued to practice new harp pieces and expand her repertoire.

“In eighth grade I joined the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra which had been a goal of mine since I was first introduced to classical music,” Yeh said.

By joining S.Y.S.O. Yeh advanced her playing and improved in a driven environment. In 2021, she was a prize winner in her division at the American Harp Society 24th National Competition.

“It was such an honor to participate in the national competition, and so inspiring to hear other competitors in the various divisions” Yeh said.

Yeh was selected as a 2022 Chapter Ambassador for the American Harp Society and in June of this year, was invited to the 44th American Harp Society National Conference as a Chapter Ambassador and performer. She performed a solo in the winner’s recital and was invited to perform in a seven harp ensemble accompanying choir and violin in a Choral Works with Harp concert.

“It was a really great experience and I got to meet a lot of harpists that I look up to,” Yeh said. “This summer was the first time I felt connected with the larger harp community.”

Following the conference, Yeh continued to spend a majority of her time focusing on music. She traveled to Michigan and Maryland to expand her knowledge in classical music and study with respected harpists and professors.

In addition to Yeh’s musical success, she was recently recognized for her submission in the Toyota art contest. Her winning piece incorporated her appreciation of nature and music, and the school was given a $10,000 educational scholarship for her talent.

“I really didn’t expect anything to come out of it when I submitted to the contest in January, but I’m so grateful to be chosen and I’m happy that money will be given to the school because of it,” Yeh said. “I’m hoping that the school will be able to allocate the money to the art department and orchestra.”

Yeh plans to continue her pursuit of harp after graduating high school.

“I definitely plan on continuing my musical education at the collegiate level – whether that be through a dual-degree program, minor, or double major,” Yeh said.

not only because you will eventually be forced to read it, but also because it brings up a lot of relevant topics, such as how the role of government and technology impacts society. I really appreciated how suspenseful the book was, it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. This book is honestly pretty spooky so it’s definitely giving those fall vibes. Since this book will make you seem smart, I would rate it a 7/10 on the WSS.

The final book I read this summer was “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. “Into Thin Air” is a memoir about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which resulted in the tragic death of 12 people. Krakauer was assigned to go to Everest base camp to write an article about the commercialization of climbing the mountain. However, he said he would only make the trek to the Himalayas if he could climb the mountain too. Something I appreciated about this book was that it integrated the history of Mount Everest in addition to chronicling Krakauer’s experience. I would highly recommend this book, especially as a fall/early winter read. Since reading this book makes you look outdoorsy, I would rate it a whopping 9/10 on the WSS.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my unique perspective and if nothing else, I hope these recommendations help encourage you to read and embrace the superiority complex that comes along with it.

Sam on the

Hey Islanders, welcome back to Sam on the SAM. A new school year means a new exhibit at my favorite place, the Seattle Art Museum, and this time around we have a local artist to share. Side note, I finally got my license—so this time I drove myself.

On Aug. 6, the third floor gallery opened a feature on one of Seattle’s emerging artists, Anthony White. White specializes in collagen—like compositions that include cultural and political symbols.

What truly stood out to me about White’s work was how long I could stand and look at these pieces. I found that the more I stood there and absorbed each composition, I felt a deeper sense of nostalgia. Finding what felt like easter eggs for pop-culture references in each piece created a fascinatingly familiar experience to anyone who visits the gallery.

“Exuberant at first glance, the images give rise to a sticky sense of claustrophobia,” the SAM’s description of White’s work says, and I could not agree more. He uses the symbols he creates to not only make visually breathtaking compositions, but also political commentary.

White won the “Betty Bowen Award” in 2021, a prestigious award in the Pacific Northwest. “Established in 1977 to honor the legacy of Betty Bowen—an enthusiastic supporter of Northwest contemporary art—the annual award celebrates a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work,” the description at the museum also says.

Anthony White is absolutely an artist that I will continue to keep an eye out for and support in the future. As the popularity of his work—along with the art culture in Seattle—is on the rise, White is a unique character who can ultimately resonate with many different audiences in our community.

The gallery will be open through Jan. 29, 2023 and is included with a General Admission ticket to the museum. However, I recommend visiting before Nov. 27, when “Frission” by Jane Lang Davis and Richard E. Lang closes.

The Tragedy of “Purple Hearts”

Kyle Gerstel

Political polarization is undoubtedly more relevant than ever in the post-Trump era and it is certainly a topic that the entertainment industry should take the opportunity to explore. The Netflix atrocity “Purple Hearts,” adapted from Tess Wakefield’s 2017 romance novel of the same name, attempts to tackle the issue, but the film perpetuates the unhealthy societal norm that visceral attraction should be followed instead of identifying red flags, subsequently enabling problematic behavior.

The predictable plot follows Cassie, a liberal musician with diabetes, as she struggles to pay for insulin. Meanwhile, Luke, a conservative Marine and former drug addict, attempts to pay off a debt to his dealer. They pursue a fraudulent marriage due to the financial benefits and despite their differing political ideologies, they fall in love. Yuck.

Although the film’s agenda is very straightforward, the story is provocative if viewed as a tragedy illustrating the danger of lust overpowering individuality. This was not the intention of the filmmakers (director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum said that the film is about the protagonists’ journey to “learn to become more moderate…, listen to each other and to love”), but the meaning of art is in the eye of the beholder.

In the film, Luke defends his friends as they make disgusting remarks such as “So we’re good enough to fight for your ass but not good enough to touch it?” and “This one is to life, love and hunting down some goddamn Arabs, baby!” Yes, friendly and romantic relationships can and should cross party lines (e.g. RBG and Scalia), but Cassie only allows

Mercer Island High School is home to over 1,500 students, all sporting their own unique styles. With the start of every new school year comes new fashion trends to take the student body by storm. Some of the most notable trends have been a mix of styles from the ‘70s to the 2000s, and some more modern mania.

Some specific styles I’ve noted from the first few weeks of this school year have been flared pants, low-waisted bottoms, Dickies carpenter pants, five-inch inseam shorts, the “coastal grandmother” aesthetic and many new styles of shoes. I’ve also noticed people using tote bags and handbags in place of backpacks as well as chrome dip and acrylic nails.

herself to forgive Luke for his behavior because she has the hots for him.

At the end of the film, Cassie has changed, but that does not mean she has grown. Rosenbaum would probably argue that Cassie becomes a more empathetic person, but I think she merely starts ignoring her beliefs. This is particularly dangerous since the arguments in the film are not centered around issues like taxes; characters advocate for and against basic human rights. That being said, the central political conflict could be effective, but it would require much more nuance.

Regardless of intended meaning, Cassie’s music is reminiscent of a tween’s diary entries set to the sounds of someone defecating on a piano. Thus, I have decided to end this review with my own rendition of the first third of the film’s climactic song, “I Didn’t Know,” rewritten to more directly reflect my interpretation of the story (I am not including the rest since the song is incredibly repetitive):

Dickie’s carpenter pants are also very “in’’ right now. It is common with these classic pants to flip down the waistband in order to make them more lowrise. These pants often have another pattern inside of the waistband, adding dimension. Another style I have seen frequently are five-inch inseam shorts, or “short-shorts”. These shorts are–as the name implies–shorter than what some might call “normal”. This depends on height, but they tend to fall in the midthigh area and act as the perfect option for people who are more confident in how their legs look.

TikTok is still taking the world by storm and is the birthplace of many of today’s fashion trends. The “Coastal grandmother” aesthetic has become popular through TikTok. As the name implies, this aesthetic is often characterized as classic and modest, more

I was fine before you walked right through that door

And now I’m something A HYPOCRITE more than I ever imagined

I was so sure I knew exactly who you were WOULD ALWAYS BE ANTI-WAR

But you were something MY MORALS ARE more FICKLE than I ever imagined

In your arms, I’m safe and sound BECOME BLIND

You turn my world right upside down ME ON AND OFF GOES MY MIND

pants. New Balances are often paired with wide legged pants in order to keep the wide silhouette (or scale) the same all the way down the leg. Another style I have noted is the return of the Birkenstock Boston. I’ve been seeing these shoes on runway models and social media, so it is no surprise to me that they are making their way into more people’s wardrobes.

As for the rest of the school year: I have a few predictions. School dances are a way to show individual style with some trendy influence. I think the dress and sneaker combo will show up at school dances. Because–as I’m sure most of us know–heels suck. I also believe that gender norms will continue to be tested; we might be seeing more girls in suits and guys in skirts. Society is getting more progressive than ever regarding clothing, and I think that we will

Back to School Fashion Trends: Everything You Need to Know

Classic winged eyeliner and heavy mascara have also made appearances.

Flared pants and bell bottoms were staples of the ‘70s, and they are back with a 2022 twist. They are often paired with a smaller, form-fitting shirt. These pants are often labeled as the “accent piece” of an outfit by often being colorful and patterned. However, these are not the only popular bottoms right now. Low-waisted pants (specifically jeans) have also made their way back into the rotation. A major style of Y2K fashion, low-rise pants are gaining popularity once again. Popular figures such as Paris Hilton are often credited with the return of low-rise bottoms.

coastal colors are featured, such as light blue, white, and creme. Think of a middle-aged person living their best life on a nice oceanfront property, basically Erica Barry in Something’s Gotta Give.

As for shoes, there are so many styles. Platform Converse, New Balances and Birkenstocks are all popular right now. Platforms are classy, easy to style and give you a little bit of height to top it all off. Because these shoes are both versatile and classic, it only makes sense that these shoes are a staple of backto-school fashion. I have seen many people sporting the classic and timeless New Balance sneaker, and I think this trend goes hand-in-hand with wider-leg

start to see more gender norms being broken.

In the winter, I think that the classic hoodie will continue to reign superior. I predict that crewnecks will also become more prominent than ever. Concerning shoes, chunky sneakers will continue to stay in style, along with flared pants and a coastal color palette.

With the start of the 2022-2023 school year–one of the more “normal” years of school we’ve had since 2019–school-wide fashion trends are more noticeable than ever. As it is only the beginning of the school year, I’m excited to see what other trends appear as the year kicks off.

“She-Hulk”: A Good Idea Poorly Executed

Disclaimer: I will be reviewing only the first episode of the series. The new superhero television show “She-Hulk” appears to be Marvel’s attempt to produce a more inclusive cast, starring a female superhero.

On Aug. 18, Marvel released its final television series, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” to complete its Fourth phase of content, starring Tatiana Maslany as “She-Hulk.”

Aside from “Wandavision,” breaking the fourth wall is still a new stylistic choice by Marvel. There are countless times throughout the first episode where Maslany turns to the camera to narrate. It effectively engages the audience, so I am all for it.

The plot line was easy to follow as it was realistic but rushed. When explaining Walters’s transformation into She-Hulk, Marvel quickly brushes over her transformation from Lawyer to SheHulk. This series of scenes lacked depth and surrounding emotion, which is surprising because unlike most of the Marvel TV series, they are not limited to six episodes.

Recently Marvel has been slacking in their computergenerated imagery (CGI) department and “She-Hulk” is no exception. Overall, it was a huge let-down, even the costuming was disappointing. It was obvious that She-Hulk

wasn’t real. Her hair looked off as did her proportions. Her muscles were no bigger than a bodybuilder’s, her height was not particularly extreme as Hulk’s and she even her green color was dull, which lacked visual interest.

As the episode progressed, attention shifted from She-

green, and the series emphasized all his Hulk-like qualities. But somehow, with all of the time they spent featuring Hulk’s characteristics, they still managed to downgrade him. He went from the big, green and angry hulk to a tamed and toned-down hulk.

The product placement throughout the episode is quite obvious. Cheetos: branding was everywhere. Whether they were being consumed or just lying on the table, it was blatant sponsorship. It also felt like Cheetos were being consumed in every other scene. Additionally, Microsoft’s Chromebook was clearly placed. Product placement was definitely utilized, but it did not detract from the show. If anything, the product placement added a glimpse of modern pop-culture and humor to the show.

Although probably not intended, the fighting scenes also added great humor. Marvel seemed to mimic the villains as it looked like they were pulled right from the comics, visually and physically.

Hulk to the Hulk. It felt as though the Hulk was the main character, as they spent valuable screen time dwelling on little details of his life, relegating She-Hulk to a supporting role.

It felt as though Marvel spent more time focusing on the Hulk than the She-Hulk. While the CGI on She-Hulk was lacking, the CGI on Hulk was solid. He looked big, strong,

“Thor: Love and Thunder” Disappoints

“Thor: Love and Thunder” is the worst Marvel movie ever produced. Director Taika Waititi tries too hard to make every scene funny, preventing the audience from taking the plot seriously. Also, why does Mjölnir call Jane just because she gets diagnosed with cancer? How

does Thor magically share his godly powers with a bunch of random kids? If he could do so, why didn’t he share his powers with all the Avengers in Endgame? Overall, this movie contains way too many plot holes just for the sake of being funny and bringing Natalie Portman back into the MCU.

Marvel’s Phase 4 is Dull and Stagnant

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has proven itself to be immensely successful over the past 14 years with films generating billions of dollars for both Marvel and Disney. The accomplishments of the MCU have allowed it to create new clichés in the movie industry, such as the use of witty dialogue during what would normally be an intense scene in other movies.

Marvel’s impact on the movie industry has even affected superhero movies from other studios, particularly DC’s attempt at a cinematic universe that borrows elements from the MCU to a much less successful and critically acclaimed degree. This can be seen in “Justice League” (2017), where MCU-like banter is implemented during scenes where the heroes are at risk of death and the world being taken over; very similar to Marvel films.

In the past, Marvel has made great strides in innovating the movie industry and in making the superhero genre mainstream. However, the studio, in recent times, has failed to innovate, and the quality of its works has decreased, with Marvel’s Phase 4 being the most egregious example of a drop in both quality of writing and cinematography.

For a recent example, look at the reception for “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022)’s CGI, where the quality of the VFX was publicly ridiculed across the internet and turned into a meme for being subpar when compared to Marvel’s previous higher standards in past films.

“Black Panther” (2017) explored Wakanda while establishing the setting for “Infinity War”(2017), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017) and “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) created the groundwork for the B plot of “Infinity War,” etc.

Overall, “She-Hulk” was a let-down, notwithstanding some humor, inclusivity and interesting visual details. This superhero lacked depth with major physical character details.

Marvel had the right idea with “She-Hulk”, it was simply poorly executed.

Meanwhile, Phase 4 has yet to develop a common story or work towards a main adversary like in “Infinity War,” and “Endgame” (2019) with Thanos.

Instead, Phase 4 has only brought the consumer largely disconnected plots in a franchise with the main selling point of a connected and evolving universe. Along with the latest Marvel films feeling disconnected from each other, they have also failed to advance the universe like in previous movies.

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Unfortunately, “Thor: Love and Thunder” isn’t the only movie in Phase 4 to utilize horrible CGI: “Black Widow” (2021) has been similarly criticized for its substandard visual effects. My favorite instance of bad CGI in “Black Widow” is when Natasha (Black Widow) yells “No” at Yelena in the most cheesy way possible to not sacrifice herself, with the background being so horribly blended into the lighting of the scene that the quality of the green screen is reminiscent of a poorly made Bollywood film. When the cliché of Yelena sacrificing herself inevitably occurs, she is blown away by a poorly rendered explosion that destroyed my immersion to the point that I started to laugh. Keep in mind that this is a movie that had a budget of $200 million. Although this is a very extreme example of poor VFX work in recent Marvel works, it perfectly encapsulates what is wrong with the modern-day MCU.

Not only has the quality of visual effects in Marvel films suffered in Phase 4, but the quality of storytelling has fallen as well.

For starters, Phase 3 of the MCU had every movie tie into one another in some way:

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For instance, in “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), the entire plot centers around the Avengers dealing with the consequences of their actions, with governments across the globe attempting to regulate the heroes to limit collateral damage. By making this concept a focal point of the plot, it allows the MCU to feel grounded and gives every action by the protagonists in MCU media weight in the universe.

Unfortunately, Marvel in Phase 4 has chosen to not have the overall story of the MCU be molded by the actions of both the protagonists and antagonists. Instead, it has opted for mainly selfcontained narratives that occasionally have a tie-in movie like with “WanadaVison” (2021) and “Doctor Strange: in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022).

By abandoning the MCU’s core principle of having a larger interconnected story among smaller narratives, Phase 4 has made the MCU boring, tarnishing its great potential to continue an interesting universe.

Ideally, executives at Marvel will recognize the problems regarding poor VFX and world-building that have plagued Phase 4 to prevent Phase 5 from following a similar path to its predecessor. However, if nothing is done to remedy the current problems in the MCU, the franchise will become duller and more stagnant as time goes on, a future no fan of the superhero genre wants to see.

Piper Enge Stuns in National Competitions

Junior Piper Enge began swimming when she was just six years old, and ever since then she has considered the pool to be her second home.

“[After] trying all the [other] sports, swimming just stuck the most for me,” Enge said.

Enge has a busy swimming schedule, competing for both the MIHS Girls Swive team and the Bellevue Club Swim Team. During the summer, she has up to 12 workouts and lifting sessions per week.

“Club swimming offers a much more competitive environment that is more challenging and better to become an elite swimmer,” Enge said. “[That] is awesome for someone as competitive as I am.”

While Enge has had to make plenty of sacrifices, her efforts have clearly paid off. To start, she competed for the Swive team on their journey to their eventual State

Title win in 2021.

“High school swimming is so much of a less stressful environment [than club swimming,] which makes it easier to have fun,” Enge said. “The team is so amazing and close, [and] it ends up being a really good way to spend the fall and meet new people!”

However, her achievements do not stop there. Enge competed in the Junior National Championships this past winter, placing third in the 18 & Under competition for the 200y breaststroke finals when she was just 15 years old. She also placed eighth in the 200y Individual Medley (IM) finals.

Over the summer, Enge also competed in the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, placing first in the 100y breaststroke and second in the 200y breaststroke.

“With these swims I am hopeful [I will] be selected for the USA Junior National Team this fall and get to go to many more international competitions,” Enge said.

Enge took first place in three different competitions during the 2022 Futures Championship, a marked improvement over her results from last year’s Futures Championship. Enge has also competed in many other meets this past year, including International Team Trials, receiving multiple personal bests in each competition.

While Enge continues to excel in swimming competitions, she also has to balance her practices and meets with her academics.

“It’s never going to be easy, but I have found the best way to do this is to have really good and open communication with teachers as well as coaches and making sure you know your priorities,” Enge said. “[That helps you] keep your mental health in check so you can exceed in both.”

In addition to her academics, Enge has to work to

maintain her social life, but she believes that having friends who are swimmers makes it easier.

“The best part about swimming is that it creates a social life with all of your best friends doing what you [do],” Enge said. “It’s not hard to still have time to hang out if you are doing it with swimmers! Swimming creates such a close community and you make such good friends.”

Right now, Enge is looking into colleges to continue her swimming career.

“I am currently in the recruiting process and taking official visits this fall, and I will hopefully be able to commit soon,” Enge said.

Despite her continued success, Enge has remained humble about her victories. She continues to work and train hard.

“While I have long term goals, I’m always just trying to keep moving forward one step at a time.”

Meet Mercer Island Football’s New Coaching Staff

On a hot Tuesday afternoon, DJ Mims strides down the stairs in the stadium, extends a welcome (and an apology, presumably for the difficulty tracking him down), and takes a seat on the steel bleachers. The sun beats down on us and his football team, who run drills on the field ahead of us.

Mims, who was hired in late March, replaces former five-year coach Ed Slezinger at the head coaching position.

Mims’ tenure as head coach has barely taken off from the ground. Despite spending less than three months with his new team, he insists that the team chemistry is good and continues to improve with team bonding events, like bowling and dinners.

“Obviously we don’t have much experience together on the field, we only had one game, but I think there’s a lot to take from that game,” Mims said.

The season opener for the Islanders took place against Seattle Prep on Sept. 2. The Islanders took the field at Seattle Prep’s stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff, the results of which ended in a loss, 28-17.

Diving into the defeat questions, and not to rub salt into a wound, I prefaced, Mims insists that the loss doesn’t make him concerned for the future of the season. His response is a quick (and casual) Nah

“Everybody wants to win,” he said. “You’re not gonna win every game. It’s just how you lose. There’s a good way to lose and a bad way to lose. If we went down battlin’ and fighting and competing then I’m gonna hold my head high.”

Mims brings along with him an almost entirely new coaching staff.

responding better, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better, if that makes sense. It’s just sort of different, it’s a different younger vibe. Which is, for them, I think is good.”

When asked his opinion personally of his new colleagues, Drayton laughed. “It’s great! A lot of energy. They’re young guys, which I find fun.”

“I played football all my life,” Mims explains, missing the almost signature straw hat that he more often than not dons. “When I got done playing the game it was more like, I gotta stay a part of it somehow by coaching.”

Mims played wide receiver at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, on an athletic scholarship. Prior to coming to Mercer Island, he coached high school football for nine years at various different high schools in the Tacoma area.

“I came to Mercer Island because I have a friend that connected me to this area and I saw that it was kind of a program that needed a jump start and a change of culture,” Mims said.

“Mostly all of them,” he says with a laugh. “Of the 14 coaches, 12 of ‘em are new.”

“Me and the coaches I have with me are kind of younger, we’re all in our 20s, 29s, 30s range and so we kinda bring new flavor, new swagger, and we relate to the kids a lot more,” Mims says. “A lot of these guys are former professional players or played college at a high level so they can share that experience with the players.”

That new flavor, or swagger, is on full display on a decidedly less hot September day, as Mo Drayton sits to the side of me on the cool bleachers.

Players linger about stretching and preparing for practice (many of them joking about a recently crashed moped — he’s an idiot! One exclaimed).

One of the few returning coaches from last season is Drayton (the man who assisted in tracking down Mims in the first place — justmakesureyouwritethatCoach Drayton is very handsome — he said with a chuckle while dialing Mims on the phone). Drayton played college football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was an inside linebacker. Drayton (or Coach Mo as his team calls him) now serves as the Islanders’ Varsity and JVC Offensive and Defensive Line coach.

“There’s definitely a different energy. I don’t know if it’s better or worse, it’s different,” Drayton said of the new coaching staff. “[The players are] definitely

Among the new coaches brought on this season is Darryl Valdez (DV — Drayton called him as he waved him over from the field ahead. This lovely young lady wants to ask you a few questions, Drayton says while descending the stairs toward the field. Be nice! Drayton adds. She’s a very nice young lady).

A Letter From ASB President Ainsley McCarthy

Hello Islanders!

My name is Ainsley McCarthy and I am so excited to introduce myself as your ASB President for the 2022-2023 school year. I’ve been in the Mercer Island School District since kindergarten (Lakeridge is the best school, and I won’t accept otherwise). A little bit about me is that I’m a summer camp enthusiast (aka I will never stop talking about it), I think standardized testing is the worst and I still don’t know what I want to do in life, which is totally okay! I’ve been in leadership for five years now and if you haven’t figured it out yet, I LOVE IT. I have high expectations for this year. Because it is everyone’s first “normal” year of high school, it’s a fresh start amongst our MI community. This year I hope we set the tone early about what our expectations are at MIHS. The goal this year is to be able to 1. remember the school motto and 2. act on it! Integrity, innovation and inspiration are the core values at our school and should be the top priority. I ran on the platform of inclusion and my favorite saying ever comes from the back of my dad’s t-shirt. It reads: “If you don’t intentionally include, you’re unintentionally excluding”. I encourage you to reach out to new people–you never know what kind of friendships you may form! This year is only going to be as good as you make it, so live it up!

Leadership is here to be the voice of the student body and put on events that are fun for everyone. Our focus this year is on communication (something that we all need to work on). We want to work

with students to reflect their needs so any and all feedback to anyone in leadership is appreciated!

We are working towards transparency to the student body so you’ll know what ASB and leadership are actually good for. As always, we want to keep our admin close to help us make the school the safest and most spirited it can be, and constantly hold meetings to reflect on how we can improve. We’ll be communicating with different student groups (clubs, sports teams, senate, etc.) to get a variety of perspectives on what we plan. I also want to ask for your help in making this year the most spirited one yet. There is so much spirit gear in rotation, so if you are an underclassman or an upperclassman who hasn’t ended up with a maroon shirt yet, ask around! Help each other out and share the love so that our whole school can participate in spirit days. MIHS has possibly the most powerful ASB ever created, and we promise to deliver on all of our responsibilities. Josie, Lainie, Gracie, Andrew and I want to deliver a memorable year and make all of you very proud.

Seniors–O.M.G., this is the year. I actually cannot believe that we are almost done with high school. I encourage you to soak up this year and talk to everybody! We will all go our separate ways in about nine months so why not enjoy it all together? Juniors–Hang in there, I know that this year has been talked up to be the worst one yet, but that isn’t always true. Take it one day at a time and put your mental health first, it will be over before you

know it! Sophomores–honestly, I don’t remember sophomore year because it was all online but I hope you have fun. Sorry I don’t have more to say about that, but you will do great.

Freshmen–welcome to high school! I want to tell you the cliché ‘live in the moment,’ because high school is going to go by so fast. Get to know your peers and talk to new people because the next four years are going to be more fun if you do it together. Also, do not slack off because it might come back to bite you later.

Anyways, I know I don’t say it a lot, but I truly love you all and I am so excited for what this year holds. Have a great day, an amazing year, and GO MI!