September 28, 2023
The Super STUCO of the NCLA
By: Sophia Franks
As of September 15, the NCLA Student Council is officially up and running. Led by President Will Swisher, the student council meets every Friday to organize events and represent the student body in order to influence the administration. “Our mission this year is to be organized, be efficient, and to represent the student body well, communicating with the student body and with admin.” said Monica Truhe, vice president, in an interview. “Our goal is to have a good year and we want nothing more, nothing less.”
To this end, student council has already begun planning the first event of the year: Powderpuff and its spirit week. They aren’t only looking forward to Powderpuff, though. Student body President Will Swisher said in an interview that the student council is working on getting town hall meetings instituted as well. These would be monthly meetings of the student council that are open to all students so that anyone can voice their opinion or ask questions.
Will also hopes to plan “a gaga ball tournament, and potentially other events that connect to the high school student body.” They have also started forming committees, Monica added, “specifically event and poster committees, so if anyone wants to join let me know!” These committees work on planning and decorations for events and poster creation for sports and other events. If you’re interested in joining, Monica can be reached at sz3719@thencla.org.
NCLA Student Council 2023-2024.
Photo Credits: Andrew Ellis – Left to right: Brecklyn Wilson, Ana Gonzalez Garza, Charlotte Pugh, Kaitlyn Parker, Monica Truhe, Will Swisher, Nick Swisher, Brenna Lauten, Joey Mattingly, Jimmy Davis, Kim Mead
The other members of the student council include Nick Swisher, secretary, who keeps track of the agendas and takes meeting minutes; Kaitlyn Parker, parliamentarian, who makes sure that school guidelines are followed; Brenna Lauten, treasurer, who takes care of the council’s cash flow; Kim Mead (senior social media chair) and Ana Gonzalez Garza (underclassman social media chair), who superintend the student council’s communications and social media; and one representative from each class: Brecklyn Wilson (senior), Joey Mattingly (junior), Charlotte Pugh (sophomore), and Jimmy Davis (freshman).
The representatives’ job is to advocate for their class with the student council and with administration, so if you have ideas or opinions you would like to share, contacting your representative is the way to be heard.
Student council looks forward to a good year, full of fun events and school spirit. “I feel as though there will be challenges,” Monica commented, “there will always be challenges with any administrative body, but I foresee quick fixes. I think that as much as the student council is going to work together this year, I don’t see anything being debilitating.”
October 12, 2023
Friday the 13th
By: Sophia Franks
For the first time since this past January, the next 13th of the month happens to fall on a Friday.
For hundreds of years, Friday the 13th has been surrounded by superstition. According to folklore, the day is a sign of bad luck and inauspicious timing as severe as walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, or having a black cat cross your path. Additionally, any other misfortune is supposedly multiplied by seven if it occurs on Friday the 13th.
But how did this superstition come about? Some of the earliest reasons include the number of guests at the Last Supper (13- often Judas the traitor is counted as the thirteenth guest), the arrest of a group of Knights Templar on a Friday the 13th, and the fact that the Code of Hammurabi left out a thirteenth item. The superstition was solidified in 1907 with the release of the novel “Friday, the Thirteenth”, which describes a stock market crash on a Friday the 13th.
After the book’s release, other instances of popular media made the tradition a bit more common. Main contributors were the “Friday the 13th” movies and “The Da Vinci Code”.
Today, the belief is widely counted as a silly and irrational fear. However, for some people who have friggatriskaidekaphobia, the fear is very real. The superstition of Friday the 13th has never had much of a logical backing, but there have been several events that believers consider to be proof of its misfortune.
On Friday the 13th of different years, Buckingham Palace was bombed during WWII, the Coronavirus pandemic officially began, the largest passenger ship wreck ever occurred, two flights crashed on the same day with only two survivors, and Australia experienced horrible wildfires.
Friday the 13th may be just a superstition, but there are plenty of coincidental events that could be used to argue otherwise. Either way, be careful out there this Friday, and avoid those mirrors!
November 16, 2023
When is it too early for Christmas?
By: Sophia Franks
We’ve all seen Christmas lights up in September. Some of us have shaken our heads as we drive past, thinking to ourselves that the holiday season comes earlier every year. Some of us don’t find it a problem at all.
When is too early to put up Christmas decorations? In order to find out, I asked eighteen NCLA students for their opinions. One junior said you should wait until mid-November, and a senior said you can start as soon as it’s October. However, most of the responses were split between two opinions: wait until after Halloween (39%) and wait until after Thanksgiving (44%).
There didn’t appear to be any trend separating the different grades, but our school deviates from the national average. Nationwide, over 50% believe that the best time to decorate is right after Thanksgiving- much higher than our students’ percentage.
However, NCLA teachers are a little more in line with the national average. According to Mr. Landphair, his family usually decorates around the end of November and the time of Thanksgiving. Similarly, Dr. Pisapia won’t decorate until roughly the beginning of December. Ms. Kerr agrees, but her decorations are already up- she says with a laugh, “you should wait until after Thanksgiving but I needed hope”.
Some NCLA students avoid the debate altogether. Junior Adam Koonce says that his family puts a tree up early, but they decorate it with fall-themed ornaments for the Thanksgiving season.
However, there aren’t many who are willing to compromise.The majority of students argue that there is a certain time when Christmas decorations become appropriate
Overall, the school consensus appears to fall around the time of Thanksgiving.
Sources
Bearne, Adam. “When should you put up Christmas lights? A new survey illuminates an evergreen debate.” NPR, 28 November 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/11/28/1139388772/the-debate-dividing-america-is-it-too-early-to-put-up-christmas-lights. Accessed 13 November 2023.