If you think football season is just about the scores, you haven't had looked at the student section lately.
Tonight, look for the Pink Out at Joliet West and be prepared to see the loud, stylish, and exciting Driven by tradition and led by Orange Crew, themes like “Neon” and “Frat” have turned ordinary Friday nights into highly anticipated events.
“I really love going to the football games, especially going [[into]] my senior year,” OH senior Mak Hill said.
Each year, OH students anticipate the themes to be announced. Some notable themes this year include “Frat,” “Blue Out,” and “Neon.”
Juniors report disappointment and seniors were surprised by a significant change that has been made this school year: late arrival and early dismissal options have been unexpectedly taken away from juniors. And they should have that option.
“I took certain electives so I would have enough credits to do it," said OH junior Jake Hernandez, "and then they took it away at the last minute.”
As senior students who had late arrival last year, it was very surprising to see this change, especially because it had been standard for juniors for quite some time. The unexpectedness of the decision is what is really bothering us and other students.
How unexpected was this change? Hernandez was not even aware of this change until the first day of this school year when he set up a meeting with his counselor.
George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” published in 1949 in the earliest days of the Cold War, has stuck in the public consciousness for a reason.
The novel centers around narrator Winston Smith, a member of the Ingsoc Party (“newspeak” for English Socialism, though it isn’t representative of any real political party or economic system) and his realization of the issues with society. Over the course of the novel he goes from a questioning but obedient follower of Party doctrines to becoming involved in a group of dissenters, then through brainwashing and torture, back to a faithful member.
“The whole idea of ‘1984’ with government surveillance had to do with the growth of technology… and that advancement of technology has just made it even easier to track what people are doing,” OH social studies teacher Brenda Shay said.
The core issue that sets up the premise and haunts the characters through the entirety of the novel boils down to technological advancements making it feasible for the government to track and listen in on any and all of its citizens that it deems as a threat. The characters are constantly evading — or at least attempting to — cameras and microphones hidden throughout their city and homes. It is unclear in the book just how that information is being sorted through to identify threats or dissenters, but with modern technology, systems like that hardly require manpower.
As students head into finals today, your resident 42Fifty cartoonist wondered what happens after the school year ends. As it turns out, no one really knows. Everyone goes home, the halls still, the lights turn off, and an eerie quiet fills Oswego High School. But... is the building really empty?
For all we know, there may be someone who specifically roams the building at all hours to keep an eye on everything - like our beloved mascot, Pick the Panther. What happens to him?
When I first expressed interest in joining this publication, my mother was skeptical, and honestly, I don’t blame her for thinking that.
During middle school, I was a shy kid who always tried to find a way to get out of group work, and she rightfully had concerns about whether this class would be a good fit for me. However, I pressed on, requesting to take Digital Journalism 1, and she relented.
Now, I’m writing and editing my last articles as a Features Editor and am forever thankful for the time I got to spend here.