J-School Journal 2018

Summer 2018

The Chronicle

Journal

PAGE 2 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Mason basketball reloads talent Students help community

after losing critical seniors animals through new club

Andrew Little Cecilia Jones
J-Schooler J-Schooler

After losing so In the old days, women
would stay at home and
many critical se- do household work, but
niors this past sea-
son, returning and now, young kindergarten
through high school girls
incoming Mason have the opportunity to
basketball players
are going to step help their community
through Girl Scouts.
up if they want to Andrew Little Sorted by age groups, Girl
climb the ladder and cut the Cecilia Jones
Grade 7 Scouts is an organization that
nets at the District Tourna- Grade 6
ment again this year. aims to change their community
for the greater good. They are best known for selling cookies, but
Assistant Coach Kyle Peters agrees that the returning helping others is just as, if not more, important to them. Some
players need to fill the void left by the departing seniors
if they want to reach the point of success they reached girls only do it for a few years, but others have been involved in
the program for the majority of their life.
last year. Sophomores Christine Giberson and Lauren Stacy have been
“Like Coach Richards says it’s not that we lose guys it
is that we reload,” Peters said. “We still have to get better Girl Scouts for upwards of seven years. Gibberson said that her
troop does more than just sell cookies.
and are still learning a little bit of continuity and the sub- “We have a big list of all these things to do,” Gibberson said.
bing pattern and subbing rotation, but we like our team
and where we are at.” “We do stuff for the younger girls. We did an overnight camp -- it
was like two nights -- and that was really fun.”
Players like Senior Noah Pedelty have set goals for Meeting people is also an important aspect of being a scout.
themselves and are embracing their new roles this year
so the team can be successful and live up to the expecta- Giberson said teaching life lessons to the other Girl Scouts is
important, too.
tion that was set by last years senior class. “It gives us someplace to get connections and do things,”Giber-
“He wants me to be a lot more vocal, which I’ve been
doing, I’ve started that from open gyms last year, he real- son said. “A big part of it is empowering women.”
Making a difference, Gibberson said, is important, especially
ly wants me to be more vocal leader and help the people when the differences are made through service projects that im-
who haven’t really stepped into a varsity game yet,” Ped-
elty said. “He wants me to kind of get them in a groove.” prove the community.
“I think the older you get, the more impact you have on the
Pedelty said that the team also needs to improve a lot, community; we do a lot of service projects,” Giberson said. “We
but he likes where they are and thinks that they have a
lot of talent this year. went to an organization called Scoop and we donated cat toys. I
like the community service.” It’s good to do something you like,
“To get back at districts I think we’re definitely gonna but even better if a community, or even the world, is benefited,
need to come together more as a team, we share the ball
really well,” Pedelty said. “We had 14 assists on friday, making the work of Girls Scouts quite important.
Along with the natural awards that come with Girl Scouts, like
we’ve been sharing the ball really well, and I think that’s having fun and serving their communities, individuals can earn
gonna be key to getting back and just trusting the of-
fense.” hundreds of small physical awards in the form of patches and
pins, maybe for hosting a drive, doing an overnight, or learning
It’s not just the seniors that are going to make an im- about their community. Depending on the project, the older girls
pact this year as newcomers like Junior Ethan Howard
will have a big role to play this year if the Comets want can also earn higher-ranking awards for their leadership roles.
“It’s about 80 hours of work, you put together a whole project,”
to achieve their goal of making to districts again. Giberson said. “With that, the biggest award is the gold award. In
“I think my role is gonna be kind of just a solid player.
I don’t think the team needs me to score cause I think the rank below us is the silver, and the one below that is bronze.
Funding is a big part of a girl’s, or anyone’s, success, as materials
that we have a lot of great scorers on our tea, but I think cost money. One common way they could get money is by cookie
that I can just be there to do the little things right for
our team,” Howard said. “Last year we had a lot of great selling, but both Giberson and Stacy said that their troops don’t
sell cookies anymore, instead their troops have garage sales. But
leaders on our team. The seniors have been doing a great what Stacy’s troop does with their money might be surprising to
job so far and we’re just looking to them to just show us
how to do it.” many, as they are making the world a better place.
“Normally a lot of it goes back into the community,” she says.
Thank you Indeed, lots of Girl Scouts give back to their community, in turn
making the world a better place.“There’s so much you can learn
from it,” she said. “Everyone should be in Girl Scouts.”

f or attending the 2018 J-School

PAGE 3 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Chapman launches online Comets earn shutout win
business with pet geckos on senior night

Caroline Henry Cody Allgor
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Geckos may be worth Nothing could
more than you think. stop the Comets
Freshmen Jason De from getting the
Anda and TJ Chap- win on their last
man got together to home game.
start GeckosInMason. It was Senior
com, where they will night in Mason and
be breeding geckos and the emotion ran
selling them to consumers. Caroline Henry high for the Comets Cody Allgor

De Anda said he strength- Grade 8 as they faced the Fire- Grade 8

ened his knowledge of birds. The defense was
breeding through different sources like YouTube. the star in the show, which was lead by Zaid Hamdan, who
“I had a little bit of prior knowledge, but I had to read said it would be a disappointment if they didn’t win.
many articles and watch a lot of YouTube videos. I even “We came out knowing this could be our last game on
talked to professional breeders,” De Anda said. “I was this field if we didn’t win,” Hamdan said. “I took the guys
friends with Thomas for a while, but we just recently aside and I said ‘hey guys, you know it would be a shame
started talking about geckos, so I went to his house and if this is the last game on this field.’ ”
we got the idea of breeding through GeckosInMason. Throughout the game the Comets defense stepped up
com.” playing as a unit, and lead the Comets to a 15-0 victory.
Both business partners own their own pet geckos: Coach Brian Castner said that everyone was playing for
Chapman said he was inspired to make the business by the team.
his very first leopard gecko that he got back in seventh “We played team defense again,” Castner said. “It wasn’t
grade. just one or two guys making tackles, our whole defense
“I fell in love with my first leopard gecko because he was getting to the ball.”
liked interacting a lot, and I realized I had two options: The Comets’ defense has always been known for their
I could mow lawns, or I could do something like a busi- tightly knit strategy and ability to get the job done. Ham-
ness,” Chapman said. “I remember looking over at my dan feels as though there isn’t one singular star player on
gecko and thinking ‘I could breed them.’” in the group, but rather everyone pulls their own weight
In order for the geckos to mate, Chapman said he and adds their own piece to the puzzle.
makes sure the female is used to her environment. “Our defense is one of the best defenses in the GMC,”
“You put a female in a tank with familiar shelter and Hamdan said. “And I don’t doubt that at all, and there is no
let her acclimate to her environment,” Chapman said. such thing as a key player, everybody grinds their hearts
“After about a week, you can introduce the male into the out, we have some break out players, but we all work so
female’s environment, and they will be comfortable]” well as a unit.”
The team’s website ships out the live geckos after they Coach Castner believes that a strong defense wins games
have been sold. De Anda said he believes they are safe and that the Comets have a top notch defense.
when it comes to the legality of their live shipping. “Great Defenses, win championships,” Castner said. “And
“We’re going to continue researching, like how to ship right now we have a great defense, defense is hitting the
geckos and live insects,” De Anda said. “I’m pretty sure whole levels, and we continue to be coachable, they’re real-
we don’t need a license to ship insects, but we need a ly unselfish, everybody does their job, I’m just really proud
license to ship geckos.” of them.”
The duo’s website also sells products for reptiles by
companies like ZooMed. De Anda said this is how they
are getting the supplies that appears on their website.
“We’re going to buy straight from the companies and J-School Tip:
manufacturers, so it’s going to be cheaper and we can
make some profit,” De Anda said.
Chapman and De Anda have ten geckos overall. De
Anda said that Chapman’s male gecko is essential for the
breeding process.
“He has three females and one male and the male was
the one we were looking for at the reptile convention,”
De Anda said. End every
In the future, the two have big plans in regards to her- quote with said
petology and exotic pet sales. Chapman said he wants to
expand the business after college.
“We want to get as many rare morphs as we can in the
near future,” Chapman said. “This might be a stretch,
but I really want to own a store when I get out of college
and become a professional herpetologist.”

PAGE 4 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Freshmen start business Students help community
breeding geckos animals through new club

Kar Iyer Abbie Dreyer
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Gecko breeding is now a Three Mason High School
business in the making.
Freshmen TJ Chapman students are looking to
make the future brighter
and Jason De Anda were for dogs and cats, one meet-
intrigued by the reptiles
and the complex mating ing at a time through their
new club, Animal Shelter
process, so they created a Alliance.
website in the hopes it would Kar Iyer
have a high appeal. Senior Amanda Cheng is Abbie Dreyer
The student’s websites, Grade 8 president of the Animal Shelter Grade 8
Alliance club and shares what gave
GeckosInMason.com, allowed them to sell their geckos that her the idea to implement this club after she visited her local
they started breeding. Due to the lack of gecko shops in Ma-
son, the pair created their business. De Anda said the thought shelter.
“I realized that they had so many cages that were stuffed with
of breeding geckos was spontaneous but he believed it could no open spaces,” Cheng said. “And then I asked myself, ‘Is there
be successful.
I fell in love with my first leopard gecko because he liked anything I can do to help out?’”
After recruiting her friends -- seniors Connie Mi and Lauren
interacting a lot, and I realized I had two options: I could mow Han -- Cheng set out to make the Animal Shelter Alliance club
lawns, or I could do something like a business,” Chapman
said. “I remember looking over at my gecko and thinking ‘I official. She said they first needed to decide what the problem
was and how they could help.
could breed them.’” “One common problem is that they (animal shelters) are tak-
For the business process, in half a year a male gecko will be
big enough to breed, and in few weeks after that, the students ing in too many dogs and they don’t have the resources to take
care of them,” Cheng said.
can ship the baby geckos to buyers. The male Chapman owns The trio discovered that they could get students together from
is a little underweight to breed, but since he is the pair’s only
male, Chapman said they have to wait. the district and make toys, treats, beds, and a variety of other
products to help out these shelters. Cheng explained that creat-
“My male is not ready for breeding yet because he is a little ing donations by hand is more meaningful.
bit under the weight limit,” Chapman said, “He is 34 grams
and he needs to be 45. So about 12 grams under.” “We don’t just ask for donations,” Cheng said. “We make the
resources for them to show that we care.”
However, for most of the geckos who are ready to breed, the Once the friends had a general vision for the club, they knew
process can take about 60 days after breeding for the baby
geckos to emerge. they would need more hands. They created over 45 different
types of flyers, placing them all over the middle school as well
“(The female) has been pregnant for about three weeks as the high school. Mi said the outcome was tremendous.
with the eggs and it takes like 39 days for them to incubate,”
Chapman said. “It was so surprising; I remember the first meeting,” Mi said.
“The entire room was jam packed with people. We were really
With gecko breeding, Chapman said it is necessary to be happy, of course.”
very cautious every step of the way. Through complex and
specific steps, Chapman said the geckos can be bred suc- With so many people ready to help, the club was off to a great
start. They began to produce and make their donations in large
cessfully, but with any minor fault, there could be a drastic sums, donating the final products to nearby shelters.
change or error.
“It’s crucial that you first open up the incubator and check The friends felt like they were making a big difference. Not
only was the club helping others, but they could take away
the moisture inside, because the eggs could potentially fry something from the club as well. Cheng said that the club en-
up,” Chapman said. “There’s a specific way you have to re-
move the eggs from the cage, and it requires precise mark- abled her to become a leader.
“I was able to take up this position as a leader and make a
ings. You have to pick up the eggs exactly how you did the change,” Cheng said.
first time, because if the egg tilts even slightly the embryo
will suffocate when it tries to hatch.” The leadership skills and values that the club taught were not
only applicable to the three leaders of the club. Mi said the club
Unlike insects you need a license to to ship geckos, and you is a great place to have fun and give back to the animal shelters
need a lot of materials and things such as an incubator to
hold and hatch the eggs, and all this can be hard to do. that save pets each day.
“We are having fun while we are helping,” Mi said. “We want
“We are going to research how to ship geckos and get a the club to be a place where everyone feels like they are taking
license,” De Anda said.
With understanding more about their own business, De on the responsibility to help.”
The club is serving the community in more ways than one.
Anda and Chapman are able to expand their knowledge. They have already partnered with several shelters and even par-
Chapman said that since the pets are friendly and since the
process is so rare to hear about, their business could greatly ticipated in fundraisers with fellowship companies in order to
contribute even more. Cheng, Mi, and Han both hope that their
extend. club can continue with just as much support and as many vol-
“We want to get as many rare morphs as we can in the near
future,” Chapman said. “When you look at species that have unteers in years to follow. They hope their club will continue to
grow, reach out to more shelters, help more animals, and leave
been bred with the most desirable traits like the Black Pearl, an even bigger impact on their community.
you’re looking at a price range of around 1000 dollars. This
might be a stretch, but I really want to own a store when I get “I’ve never really had an animal myself, “ Mi said. “But now
that I am becoming more involved, I feel like an advocate for
out of college and become a professional herpetologist.” the animals.”

Fo llow us on Twitter @ MHSCHRONICLE

PAGE 5 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

J-School Workshop
Activities

PAGE 6 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Rolled ice cream trend Film students see decline in
prominent in Mason Hollywood creativity

Ella Kerby Kelly Barto
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Put a winter coat Hollywood has been
known for its creativ-
on, new ice cream ity, but where did it
is rolling down to
your local malls for a go? The film world has
being taken over by
summer vacation. remakes and sequels,
This summer
rolled ice cream instead of creative new
titles that fill the big
has explodeed on screen.
social media, and now Ella Kerby There have been
Kelly Barto
a food stand in Ken- Grade 6
lots of classics that Grade 6
wood Mall is offering
an opportunity for people in Mason to try it. people feel are perfect
the way they are, but directors must disagree. Recent
Rolled ice cream is made by pouring ingredients movie remakes are almost never as well rated as the origi-
onto an ice pan and chopping the toppings, after the
mixture freezes, roll it up, top and serve. Senior Anna- nals, this also goes along with sequels. Hollywood is filled
with newer versions of these classic originals. Senior Joey
bella Collins thinks that rolled ice cream is an excit- Wood feels that sequels do not live up to the expectations
made from the classics.
ing food choice for this summer. “So many sequels are being made, just because they first
“I think ice cream is such a summer food, but every
ice cream place is like the same, you scoop it or it’s one was really good,” Wood said. “Then companies just keep
rolling with that, knowing that they are going to make a lot
soft served, and I think this is unique because you roll of money off of it.”
it and everyone is posting pictures about their food
and it’s pretty and I think it’s something different and A prime example of remakes not living up to people’s ex-
pectations would be the movies produced by the DC universe.
something you don’t do every summer,” Collins said. It is no wonder that other franchises with similar types of
Rolled ice cream can be seen everywhere from In-
stagram to Facebook. Collins said because of the in- movies, such as Marvel, have been more more successful with
their movies because of new characters getting introduced
creased social media popularity, ice cream lovers can’t and coming up with storylines that people have a reason to
wait to try the new trend.
“I was just on social media, scrolling through my keep coming back and watching all of their movies. On the
other hand, franchises like DC have not been nearly as popu-
feed, and I saw these pictures and I got really excited lar as other franchises because they keep remaking the same
because ice cream is my favorite dessert and the pic-
tures were so pretty,” Collins said. stories. Remakes of classics, such as Superman and Batman,
are not getting as much attention as the originals. Wood said
people are getting less interested in this same old content
Rolled ice cream was invented by I-Tim-Pad in Thai- that they have already seen, maybe even more than once.
land, but the trend has expanded to many attractive
places. Senior Wenhan Zhu works at the Yollo Rollo in Freshman Jake Sapp, of the Mason High School, thinks that
DC and Marvel are definitely different and he recognizes it.
the Kenwood location, and said he is surprised that the “ Batman and Superman, if you say their name anywhere
treat has become so popular.
“I was excited (about the opening) because I had only across the world, people are going to recognize it. I don’t
think it’s if they’ve had successful films in the past. Batman vs
tried it in big cities, such as New York and Chicago, Superman was just utter garbage in terms of their low re-
and we are the first ice cream roll store in Cincinna-
ti,” Zhu said. “The creator of Yolo Rollo is from Hong views. In today’s day and age, film scores are the most import-
ant things to people. Right when a movie comes out, they’ll
Kong and now lives in Alabama. He had no idea how check Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb, or stuff like that, and if they
crazy people would be about it.”
Zhu said that the rolled ice cream trend is not just see low reviews, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, we shouldn’t see this mov-
ie it’s garbage.’ Because of that, DC movies are automatically
about the food, but the experience, which makes him going to be labeled as garbage because most of them have
enjoy working even more to watch his customers ex-
citement when he hands them their food. been really bad. A lot of people didn’t even go and see Won-
der Woman for, like, two weeks when it started getting good
“I enjoy working here so much because all the cus- reviews.”
Sequels are beginning to fall flat and people, like Wood, are
tomers are super excited about it,” Zhu said. “I can see recognizing it.
how happy they are when they see the ice cream rolling
and how much they enjoy it after they try it. It is be- “I feel like people just have a general knowledge that they
are just going to deteriorate each time,” Wood said.
coming a trend because it’s so fun to watch the process. It’s not just sequels; remakes are also falling flat. People
After we smash the food in and roll it up, it looks amaz-
ing and every bite is tasty. I like it because people are expect to see a new, better quality movie, rather than the
older original. But, the remake usually seems to lack interest,
not only enjoying the ice cream, but they’re also enjoy- missing the flair that the original movie had. People feel that
ing the process of making it.”
Check out online coverage on even with all the new technology, the remake is still worse
compared to the original. Some think that directors aren’t
thinking about the enjoyment factor of the movie, more of
the money they will make off of it.
thecspn.com “The money you make is based off how many people come
to see it,” Wood said. “Instead of making a genuinely good
film, it’s based off how much money you make.”

PAGE 7 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Mason basketball hopes for Wheelchair basketball game
success after losing seniors helps fund inclusive playground

Bill Guo Nicholas Brady
J-Schooler J-Schooler

The Mason boys A teachers versus
professionals wheel-
basketball team has chair basketball game
big shoes to fill. In
2016-17, led by one brought excitement
and fun to both the
of the most success- audience and the
ful senior classes in
program history, players.
Despite the disabil-
the Comets earned ities that put player
their first District
championship since 1994 Zack Sikora and the rest
Bill Guo of his team in wheelchairs, Nicholas Brady

and finished 21-3. Grade 5 they used their positive Grade 8
Varsity assistant Kyle
Peters said their team has room to grow this year. attitudes as tools for success in playing basketball as a team.
“I’ve been playing wheelchair sports all my life,” Sikora said.
“We still need to get better,” Peters said. “We need “I think wheelchair sports has helped me with my confidence,
to start faster, we have started very slow the past few
games.” it’s helped me be a coachable person. I think everybody should
play wheelchair sports; it’s fun.”
Peters said he has big expectations for the upcoming Eighth grade teacher and basketball game participant Laura
season, including winning a Greater Miami Conference
(GMC) championship and reaching the district champi- Tonkin said that it was a great idea because of all the commu-
nication going on and how everyone came together for the big
onship .40% event.
“I like where we are at, we won a district champion-
ship,” Peters said. “And this year’s team can win one “I just think honestly having a common place and a common
activity bringing people together of varying abilities is huge,”
too.” Tonkin said. “It was extremely challenging. I was very excited
Coach Peters said that the team has a lot of talent this
year. to see the stands so packed.”
President of the Mason Parks & Recreation Foundation Ra-
“We got a good system and good players,” Peters said. chel Kopfler thought the best part of this event for many people
“Hopefully we can achieve our goal of reaching the Dis-
trict finals and maybe even a State championship.” was the fact that you had the opportunity to see a new skill that
many people would take for granted, but they got a chance see
Senior Tanner Knue averaged 9.6 points per game last it in a new light.
season as the Comets’ starting point guard. Knue said
he has personal goals for this upcoming season. “I think the importance of the game was just doing something
really fun, something really really fun for everyone to get in-
“I’m putting pressure on myself to get everyone in- volved in,” Kopfler said. “It really demonstrates and shows what
volved, and be a leader defensively,” Knue said. “I want
to be the best defender in the Greater Miami concon- it’s like how to do something that we all take for granted.”
Kopfler hopes this will happen again because it was an amaz-
ference throughout the year, and I hope to do it all, not ing learning experience for her. She said that the event will be
just score.”
Knue said that there will be plenty of new faces this remembered and talked about, as it was the first game of its
kind.
season. “This will be something that people will talk about for a long
“There is a lot of inexperience on our team this year”
Knue said. “Me and Noah [Pedelty] have to step up as time,” Kopfler said. “I hope this becomes an annual event; I
think that everyone here had a lot of fun.”
leaders in the locker room.”
Peters said Knue and Pedelty have stepped up as lead-
ers early on. J -S chool Tip:
“I’m putting pressure on myself to get everyone in-
volved, and be a leader defensively,” Knue said. “I want
to be the best defender in the Greater Miami conconfer-
ence (GMC) throughout the year, and I hope to do it all,
not just score.
A key to success this season for the Comets will be
how new members of the team can work with returnees.
Junior guard Ethan Howard is a new addition to the var-
sity squad who will look to make an immediate impact.
Howard said the keys to replacing the maturity and Stories should
discipline of last years team are doing the little things end with a quote.
to help the team out.
“I think if us new guys do the small things to help out,
we can make a big difference.” Howard said. “Whether
it’s grabbing a rebound, getting a steal, knocking down
a shot, or anything else, if we can get that done I feel
like we have a great chance to win games.”

PAGE 8 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

PAGE 9 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Comets improve to 4-1 with 31-0 New dessert has students
win over Lakota West Firebirds flocking to Kenwood Mall

Ethan Tu Serena Tu
J-Schooler J-Schooler

The Comets took I scream, you
scream, we all
care of business scream for rolled
last night against
Lakota West, ice cream.
Rolled ice
cruising to a 31-0 cream, or stir-
shutout victory
to improve to 4-1 fried ice cream,
Is a Thai-inspired
on the season, treat made by
and 2-1 in Greater
Miami Conference milk poured
(GMC) play. on an iced grill
Ethan Tu mixed with fruit or Serena Tu
The Comet defense Grade 5 different ingredients
Grade 4

can not be stopped. After five consecutive games where on the ice pan.
Each cup of ice cream only takes around two minutes to
the Comet defense has held their opponent scoreless, it make, but the increased popularity of it creates long lines.
is clear they are a force to be reckoned with.
The Comets can credit their victories to their im- Freshman Emma Davies remembers her first time trying
rolled ice cream. She waited very long but it was still worth
pressive defensive unit. Head coach Brian Castner said it.
the defense has played a huge role in the Comet’s win
against the Firebirds. “The first time I had rolled ice cream was at a cheer com-
petition in Columbus and I saw it on people’s Snapchat sto-
“They’re continuing to be coachable because they’re ries. It looked really yummy so I had to try it,” Davies said.
really unselfish. Everyone does their job and I’m just so
proud of them,” Castner said. “Great defenses win cham- “I also went back to Columbus for state, and we got to get it
again. My whole cheer team was shopping in the mall and
pionships and right now we have great defense.” we just saw the stand, so of course, we waited in the forty
Castner said the way the defense has been performing
makes it easy for their offense to excel. minute line because it was definitely worth it.”
Often times, these trendy treats are used for photographic
“If you’re able to control that defense and control the purposes, because many people think they’re cute. Junior
line of scrimmage and keep that clock going and get
a couple scores, two or three scores up, you’re going to Annabella Collins said that rolled ice cream is appealing
to people because they can post good-looking pictures on
win a lot of games,” Castner said. Instagram.
The Comets totaled 178 yards on the field with touch-
downs from Sora, Adams and a 20-yard scamper from “I was honestly more excited to post about it then I was to
eat it because it was so pretty,” Collins said. “Usually, every
senior running back Conner Garry as well. Castner also ice cream place is the same. They scoop it or they soft serve
emphasized that the team worked hard and played with
a purpose on Friday. Castner said senior night gave their it, but this is so different because we’ve never seen people
roll it. I think it’s also because of the show and tell aspect of
defense a unique motivation to give it their all. it, these days with social media everyone is obsessed with
“We played for our parents and you can tell that they
played for their parents. You can tell that they were posting pictures of their food, and making everything look
pretty and I think that makes people happy, it’s something
playing at the echo of the whistle,” Castner said. “Multi- different and something cool to do over the summer.”
Now there are many rolled ice cream stores in the United
ple times and some of them on the surface potentially States, but they are mostly kiosks. Senior Wenhan Zhu said
played their best game in the year. Hopefully we can
build off of that and move forward and go into week he was excited because he had not tried it in smaller cities.
“I was excited (about the opening) because I had only tried
ten.” it in big cities, such as New York and Chicago, and we’re
Castner said they are looking toward the next week of
football and see if they can keep up the defense. the first ice cream roll store in Cincinnati,” Zhu said. “The
creator of Yolo Rollo is from Hong Kong and now lives in
“We’re going to enjoy this weekend and when it gets Alabama. He owns many restaurants all over the United
to Monday were going to move to that other opponent,”-
Castner said. “We’re going to play some high level foot- States. When rolled ice cream got more popular he figured
out his own recipe (for the ice cream) and refit the machine
ball on a Friday night on the GMC.” so it can cool down faster than other stores. He had no idea

Th e Chronicle motto: how crazy people would be about it. They are willing to wait
hours for it, and some families buy it three times a day be-
cause their kids love it so much.”
Zhu said he enjoys working at Yollo Rollo because of the
enthusiasm of his customers while observing his work.
“I enjoy working here so much because all the customers
Get it done. are super excited about it,” Zhu said.“I can see how happy
they are when they see the ice cream rolling and how
much they enjoy it after they try it. It is becoming a trend
because it’s so fun to watch the process. After we smash the
food in and roll it up, it looks amazing and every bite is tasty.
I like it because people are not only enjoying the ice cream,
but they’re also enjoying the process of making it.”

PAGE 10 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Komatineni rallies Comets in Chapman, De Anda start
search of state championship reptile breeding company

Om Loni Syan Gandhi
J-Schooler J-Schooler

It has been Freshman TJ
Chapman has
six years since found a unqiue
Mason tennis
has had a state way to make
money.
champion, but Chapman start-
Junior Niraj Ko-
matineni hopes ed his gecko
breeding busi-
to change that. ness through
Despite Ko-
matineni being GeckosInMason.
Om Loni com because he Syan Gandhi
ranked second best
player in Ohio, he still Grade 5 had limited options to Grade 5

feels pressure after last years loss at state. make money, and he was
inspired by his own leopard gecko.
“Last year we really thought we had a chance to win “I fell in love with my first leopard gecko because he
state, but we fell short against Sycamore in the elite
eight,” Komatineni said. “This year I’ve been working liked interacting a lot, and I realized I had two options:
I could mow lawns, or I could do something like a busi-
with Aneesh and Shashank to make sure our practic- ness,” Chapman said. “I remember looking over at my
es are focused. When we’re on the bench at practice
I don’t want phones out, or us chit chatting about gecko and thinking ‘I could breed them.’”
Freshman Jason De Anda gets inspired when watching
school.” YouTube videos. De Anda said he got the idea of breeding
Komatineni plans on changing this by focusing and
working together with his teammates. They have made geckos through online inspiration and after talking to
Chapman.
it a priority to win at state by focusing and staying on “I had a little bit of prior knowledge, but I had to read
task in order to succeed.
”There’s always a lot of pressure playing on court many articles and watch a lot of YouTube videos. I even
talked to professional breeders,” De Anda said. “I was
9, where first singles plays,” Komatineni said. “We friends with Thomas for a while, but we just recently
can win most doubles games against any team, but at
the first position there are a lot of strong players and started talking about geckos, so I went to his house and
we got the idea of breeding through GeckosInMason.
sometimes it comes down to my court. There’s a lot of com.”
responsibility, I try to pump up my team by saying ‘Go
Comets’ or something to help them out any way I can Since the mating process requires a great deal of cau-
tion, Chapman placed his geckos in different environ-
as captain.” ments in order to begin breeding them.
Komatineni said losing matches is only an indication “You put a female in a tank with a familiar shelter and
to where a team needs to aim their improvement. let her acclimate to her environment, and then you set
up an identical tank for the male,” Chapman said. “Af-
“Southwest Ohio is great,” Komatineni said. “I’m ter about a week, you can introduce the male into the
ranked two in the state, there’s Andrew Pregel from
Indian Hill who is ranked 4, Turpin has the 5th and St. female’s environment, and they will be comfortable and
willing to mate in order to fertilize.”
X has the 6th so out of the top 6 kids in the state 4 are Eggs fry up when there is not enough moisture. Chap-
from Southwest Ohio. At the Coaches Classic the top 8
teams from Cincinnati all play each other, we always man removes the gecko eggs carefully to keep the baby
geckos healthy so that they are ready to hatch.
play good competition, we always play the better teams “It’s crucial that you first open up the incubator and
and when that happens we lose more matches than in
other regions, but when you lose matches you get the check the moisture inside, because the eggs could poten-
tially fry up,” Chapman said. “There’s a specific way you
opportunity to learn and know what we need to work have to remove the eggs from the cage, and it requires
on.”
Coach Mike Reid is sure that Komatineni has the abil- precise markings. You have to pick up the eggs exactly
how you did the first time, because if the egg tilts even
ity to become one of the state champions on Mason’s slightly the embryo will suffocate when it tries to hatch.”
tennis team.
“Komatineni is good. We’ve had two state champions Chapman said he is aiming to breed rare morphs that
customers could buy for high prices. He said if he is suc-
in Miguel Cepeda and Luke Tsai who went on to play cessful he wants to become a herpetologist after college.
college tennis, and he is certainly in those class of play-
ers, he could certainly win state this year and be one of “We want to get as many rare morphs as we can in the
near future,” Chapman said. “When you look at species
the top players,” Reid said. that have been bred with the most desirable traits like
Reid finds it vital to have someone like Komatineni
on the team demonstrating hard work on and off the the Black Pearl, you’re looking at a price range of around
1000 dollars. This might be a stretch, but I really want to
court. He said he is a role model to his team in every own a store when I get out of college and become a pro-
game.
“Every time you’ve got a guy who works as hard as fessional herpetologist.”

him and fights hard for every point he plays it makes a
big impact,” Reid said.

PAGE 11 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Local students donate materials New ice cream trend taking
to help animals in need over social media

Owen Liu Zach Morris
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Whether they bark, meow, A new way to eat ice
crawl, or slither, these stu- cream has rolled into pop-
dents are here to help them ularity.
out. The rolled ice cream
Animal Shelter Alliance trend is becoming admired
(ASA) is a new club started by adults and teens alike.
by seniors Amanda Cheng, After seeing it on social
Lauren Han, and Connie media, people have gone
Mi dedicated to providing Instagram and saw it looked cool.
resources to animals in need. Owen Liu “I saw it scrolling through my Zach Morris

Every other Friday, nearly 100 Grade 6 feed and I saw all these pictures Grade 7

members, from middle schoolers to high school seniors, meet and I got excited because ice cream is my favorite dessert,” Col-
up to make much-needed supplies. lins said.
“One of their common problems is that they’re taking in Ice cream lover and freshman Emma Davies also emphasized
way too many animals, and at the same time they don’t have social media’s influence on the ice cream’s appeal.
enough resources,” Cheng said. “I tried to look for clubs in “The first time I had rolled ice cream was at a cheer compe-
Mason that dealt with animal awareness, but there weren’t any; tition in Columbus and I saw it on people’s Snapchat stories,”
I might as well try and start my own.” Davies said. “It looked really yummy so I had to try it.”
Cheng has started the first animal shelter club in Mason, hav- Rolled ice cream originated in Thailand. Now it has come over
ing started it by going to an animal shelter and looking at the to many places and become really popular here in the United
stuffed dogs they had on display. States. With the treat’s attractive toppings and style, the ice cream
“Part of it is just that sentimental value,” Cheng said. “It’s not is interesting because of the rolling and the way they are made in
materialistic. We’re not just giving materials and donating that front of the customer. According to Wenhan Zhu, an employee
to them. We’re putting in thought and effort and craft skills.” at Yolo Rollo in Kenwood, watching the ice cream being made is
The club as it stands now is in heavy production for the an- just as fun for the customers as eating the unique dessert.
imals in need, including chew toys, treats, and other pet sup- “I like it because people are not only enjoying the ice cream,
plies. but they’re also enjoying the process of making it,” Zhu said. “I
“It’s been pretty cool to see that we’re actually making a dif- enjoy working here so much because all the customers are super
ference,” Julmy said. “We made excited about it. I can see how happy they are when they see the
over 300 toys and treats (at the last meeting) which is really ice cream rolling and how much they enjoy it after they try it. It
cool.” is becoming a trend because it’s so fun to watch the process.”
Individual shelters are able to send in requests for the re- While the trend has already been popular in big cities, like New
sources they need to cater to their animals, and the club works York and Chicago, smaller cities are just now getting introduced
to help them out in any way possible. to it. Zhu said this is the reason Yolo Rollo is thriving at Ken-
“Each shelter gave us wish lists of materials they lack, like wood in Cincinnati.
rugs, leashes, paper towels. We basically ask around the com- “They’re willing to wait hours for it, and some families buy it
munity for donations,” Cheng said. three times a day because their kids love it so much,” Zhu said.
While the whole club experience may seem like easy going While with her cheer team, Davies said she waited a long time
fun that helps the community, it requires quite a lot of work in order to try the uniquely rolled treat, but the long wait ended
and time investment from it’s members. up being worth it.
“People don’t really think about what goes behind a shelter, “My whole cheer team was shopping in the mall and we just
and they don’t see how much work it takes,” Han said. “A lot of saw the stand, so of course, we waited in the forty minute line
the shelters that we’re partnered with right now, they’re non- because it was definitely worth it,” Davies said.
profit, they’re donation-based, and it’s really hard for them to Since people have gone to great lengths to try the ice cream,
be able to effectively help all of the animals that they want to.” Collins said the process will become more popular, as Yolo Rol-
The club was started out of a necessity for helping the animals lo brings taste and entertainment together to put a new spin on
in need that don’t get all of the care they may require in Ma- what a sweet treat really is.
son. Several students have voiced their concern about the issue “Usually, every ice cream place is the same,” Collins said. “They
and took action through the club. Mi, she said these concerns scoop it or they soft serve it, but this is so different because we’ve
allowed for the club’s purpose to grow. never seen people roll it. I think it’s also because of the show and
“I realized just how much we neglect a lot of pets and animals tell aspect of it, it’s something different and something cool to do
in our area,” Mi said. “Just in our area there are around five over the summer.”
shelters. And that just surprised me; how many animals were
being abused in our area, an area that we usually consider to be
relatively wealthy and relatively good. It really shocked me.”
With the positive goals of the club, Mi said she has high Follow @MHSsportsradio
hopes for it’s future, its members, and the overall community on Twitter for
working towards animal protection. sports coverage
“It’s a new club, but I really hope that it’s something that will
continue in the future,” Mi said. “I’m a senior, and I just hope
that when I come back, it will still be here, going strong, still
helping out the community.”

PAGE 12 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

J-School Awards

PAGE 13 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

PAGE 14 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Constant sequels in Hollywood Freshmen collaborate to
catches students’ attention begin gecko business

Katie Wilson Sara Lindgren McManes, Rachel Yang
J-Schooler J-Schoolers

Lights. Camera. Sequels!
But what happened to
“Action”? Two freshmen have found
their niche in the breeding
In the past few years, business.
Freshman TJ Chapman be-
fresh, original movies came a gecko breeder after he
have depleted from the-
aters, leaving only sequels received his first gecko in sev-
enth grade. He said this later
and remakes for audiences inspired him to make a busi-
to enjoy. This lack of cre-
ativity in Hollywood has ness centered around breeding. Sara Lindgren McManes
caught the attention of many Katie Wilson “I really fell in love with the Grade 8
film-fanatics, including some Grade 8 Gecko, and then, I thought,
we need a way to make mon-
at Mason High School. ey.” Chapman said.
Senior Joey Wood is a self-proclaimed movie buff and
appreciates a quality film. According to Wood, the key to a Chapman collaborated
with freshman Jason De
good movie lies within the director. Anda, who helped in supply-
“What makes a good movie is the director himself,”
Wood said. “If the director thoroughly enjoys making the ing more geckos to be sold.
De Anda said the idea came
movie, like Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, to him when realizing the
and they make them to make movies, not for the Holly-
wood factor and to make as much money as you can, then lack of local gecko shops.
“We were talking about
the love of the director is evident in the film.” it one day, and we decided to Rachel Yang

Recently, the creativity in Hollywood has disappeared. meet up somewhere, so I went Grade 8
Box offices are overflowing with sequels, reboots, re- to his house,” De Anda said. “I
saw the geckos, and we thought of the idea of Geckos in Ma-
makes, and adaptations. According to Wood, this is because son. Since there is no exotic pet shop in Mason.”
when filmmakers see a hit, they try to repeat that success
through sequels. Chapman said the idea was very beneficial to him as it could
integrate his hobby into a successful business.
“It’s really sad to see (Hollywood) end up like that,” “And then I thought about what I could do. I could mow
Wood said. “Now, instead of making a genuinely good
film, it’s based on how much money you make, and the lawns, or do something like that, or I could do something like
a business and I saw my leopard gecko, and it all kinda, came
amount of money you make is based on how many people to me like that, since I can breed them, and all that.”
go and see it. So if they see a Transformers 8, they know
what they’re going to get. They don’t want to spend $12 to In order to breed, Chapman said there are various, compex
steps that much be done carefully.
go see a movie that may be really good, or could be just a “You put a female and a male in a cage with all her shelter,
complete flop. So many sequels are made because the first
one was really good, then companies just keep rolling with and you let her acclimate and then you do the same thing in
another tank, but have your males in there, and then you in-
that, knowing that they are going to make a lot of money.” troduce the male into the female cage, and the environment is
Freshman Jake Sapp, like Wood, enjoys movies, but Sapp
takes his passion a step further and writes his own screen- the same. And then they are all comfortable with the environ-
ment and process.”
plays. Sapp said that the Hollywood remake wave all lies Chapman said the length of the breeding and fertilization
behind one main factor— nostalgia.
“I think it also might attribute to if the newest one isn’t process is lengthy, so the owners with have to acquire patience
and understanding.
as good as the original, then the original will get a much “You put a female in a tank with familiar shelter and let her
more nostalgia factor from more people,” Sapp said.
“Right now, nostalgia is at an all time high, because of all acclimate to her environment, and then you set up an identical
tank for the male,” Chapman said. “After about a week, you can
of the reboots coming out. It’s crazy. I think what might introduce the male into the female’s environment, and they
also attribute to it is how much people remember the oth-
er ones, so when the new one comes out, people are like, will be comfortable and willing to mate in order to fertilize.”
De Anda talks about how they still need to prepared some
‘let’s watch the original.’” geckos for breeding.
“His male needs to grow, and I got get one or two of mine
Despite these sequels bringing attention to the originals ready, but he already has his ready. He just adopted one too,”
films, Wood said that the additional films can cause the
series to degrade. De Anda said.
De Anda said the shipping process is something their still
“I feel like some people know that sequels deteriorate improving upon.
over time,” Wood said. “Like take Pirates of the Caribbean;
the first one was a huge hit and then they made, like, five “We’re gonna continue researching, like how to ship geckos
and live insects and stuff like that,” De Anda said. “I’m pret-
other ones. I feel like people have a general knowledge ty sure you don’t need license to ship insects, but you need a
that they are just going to deteriorate over time.”
Wood said that due to remakes, practically all new mov- license to ship geckos.”
De Anda said he and Chapman collaborate with other compa-
ies are alike, and there needs to be some new content. nies, such as ZooMed [A reptile food company], to get products
“They base everything off of what works. It has definitely
gone into a pit which films are trying to get out of at this onto their own website.
“We’re gonna buy stuff from the company, cause it’s gonna be
point,” Wood said. “We know that there are so many recre-
ations, and we want new, fresh content.” cheaper, and make some profit” De Anda said.

PAGE 15 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

New form of ice cream rolls into Two students jump start

popularity business breeding geckos

Sean Alexander Taylor Murray
J-Schooler J-Schooler

A new form of ice cream
has been rolling into Mason.
The newest visually ap- For freshmen TJ Chap-
man and Jason De Anda,
pealing treat is made by geckos mean business.
smashing the cream on a flat
surface and rolling into an Chapman and De Anda
have put their minds
attractive rolled shape. It was together to start Gecko-
invented in Thailand in the
1960s by Japanese tempura sInMason.com, where they
sell geckos that they breed.
restaurants. Yolo Rollo em- Chapman said he was in-
ployee Wenhan Zhu said that Sean Alexander spired by his first pet gecko. Taylor Murray
he was eager about the new Grade 7 Grade 6
“Back in seventh grade, Mr.
trend because he never seen it in Cincinnati. Blevins, one of my teachers friends, had given me a leop-
“I was excited about the opening of because I had only
tried it in big cities such as New York and Chicago, and ard gecko, and I really fell in love with the leopard gecko,”
Chapman said. “Then I thought, well there’s two things
we’re the first ice cream roll in Cincinnati,” Wenhan said. I could do: I could mow lawns or I could do something
Lots of people love the taste of rolled ice cream. They
also think highly of how the ice cream looks itself, so that’s kind of like a business. I was in my room at the time
and I saw my leopard gecko and it all just kind of came to
they post it and share pictures to show how the ice cream me, and I was like I could breed them.”
looks. Freshman Emma Davies, another consumer of the
new trend, described why rolled ice cream is different Chapman, who is a volunteer at Arrowhead Reptile Res-
cue, currently has three female geckos and one male,
from typical ice cream varieties. whom he adopted. De Anda, on the other hand, currently
“I heard about it because I saw it on people’s stories that
were in Columbus and it just looked really yummy so I has six female geckos. The two will be shipping geckos to
friends, and as the business grows, other people around
had to try it,” Davies said. “The ice cream was rolled and Ohio.
there was beautiful toppings and everything looked very
good.” The process leading to the hatching of the eggs is one
that needs to be met with caution. Chapman said he is es-
The popular new trend has attracted large groups of pecially crucial of his handling of the eggs.
families and friends to wait in long lines to admire the
ice cream being made. Davies said when she first tried “It’s crucial that you first open up the incubator and
check the moisture inside, because the eggs could poten-
the rolled ice cream, she stood in long lines in order to tially fry up,” Chapman said. “There’s a specific way you
try the popular treat.
“I went back to Columbus for state, and we got to get have to remove the eggs from the cage, and it requires
precise markings. You have to pick up the eggs exactly how
it again. My whole cheer team was shopping in the mall you did the first time, because if the egg tilts even slightly
and we just saw the stand, so of course, we waited in the
forty minute line because it was definitely worth it.” the embryo will suffocate when it tries to hatch.”
Chapman said the shipping policy ensures that customers
Junior Annabella Collins, a fan of rolled ice cream, said receive a live gecko.
that the ice cream is so popular due to its unique style
and social media attraction. “We guarantee live shipping; if your gecko arrives dead,
we’ll send a new one,” Chapman said.
“Ice cream is a summer food and (the rolled ice cream) Since the customers have to pay for both expensive ship-
is a very different and new thing,” Collins said.
As rolled ice cream becomes more of trend, more and ping and original costs, they sell the geckos cheap. Geckos
can be shipped at $39, so the shipping is a big part of the
more people are willing to give it a try. Zhu said that the fee. When it comes to the legality of breeding, De Anda
popularity of the treat is not only due to how it tastes, but
to the experience of watching it be made and eating it. said he thinks they are in the clear.
“I’m pretty sure we don’t need a license to ship insects,
“I enjoy working here so much because all the custom- but we need a license to ship geckos,” De Anda said.
ers are super excited about it,” Zhu said. “I can see how
happy they are when they see the ice cream rolling and Alongside studying herpetology after college, Chapman
said his goal is to eventually become the owner of the first
how much they enjoy it after they try it. It is becoming exotic animal business in Mason.
a trend because it’s so fun to watch the process. After we
smash the food in and roll it up, it looks amazing and “Looking down the road, we’re opening our own store,”
Chapman said. “I want to be a herpetologist and open my
every bite is tasty. I like it because people are not only own reptile store.”
enjoying the ice cream, but they’re also enjoying the pro-
cess of making it.”


View all online editions thecspn.com
of The Chronicle

PAGE 16 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Opinion: Increased videography Opinion: Transgenders should be

aids in individuality allowed in prefered bathrooms

Krithika Sambamurthy Gabriel Caal
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Life behind a cam- Over the years, a question
has arisen, ‘should we let
era. It is what some of transgender people into the
us do. There are some
people that believe it is bathroom of their choice?’
Some may say no. But, I say
not right; I don’t agree. I yes.
believe that it is right to
video everything. Transgender people should
be allowed to go in whichever
Before videos, people bathroom they want to. Put
used to write everything
down in a diary. That was yourself in their shoes, being
a very biased way of doc- Krithika Sambamurthy born a gender that you do not
umenting things because Grade 8 connect with. If someone iden- Gabriel Caal
tifies as one gender, that is who Grade 8

when you write down whatever you think happened it is they are. Common misconceptions may state that they were
from your point of view; there is only one side of the story.
With videos, it’s an exact, unbiased documentation of what born as they were, and they should go into the bathroom of
their biological sex, or the gender they were born as. This is a
happened. common mindset, since in some places laws are put in place for
Time’s are changing. We don’t write things down in di-
aries anymore. Technology is improving and people are transgender people to go into the bathroom of the gender they
were born as. But if they say they’re not that gender, they’re
changing along with it. If you invent something new, like not. Respect their decision, would you enjoy if someone called
an iPhone that has video technology, then you can not
expect people to not use it. As people use it, people learn you by something you didn’t like?
If you wanted to be called by a nickname, but people refused
more about it. Gradually, they start to love it. to call you that, wouldn’t you be annoyed? It’s just like this for
People can remember things more clearly with videos
then they can with diaries. Even if they miss some things transgender people. People usually say that they should be who
they were born, but imagine how they feel.
that people around them said because they were busy vid- Being mistaken for someone they don’t identify as, wouldn’t
you be hurt? Wouldn’t you would want to go where feel most
eotaping them, they will catch it when they watch it back. comfortable?
I’ve always loved rewatching videos; they help me remem-
ber the time more clearly. They also help spark memories It is 2018. Our society should let people be whoever they are.
If you support them, then great, but we should let them enter
of what happened before and after the video. the bathroom of their choice. Support is not enough, we should
If people were to watch a video of their friends laughing
and being goofy, then it would make them smile too. When let them enter the bathroom of their choice. You will look like
a hypocrite if you do not let people be themselves. You may say
I’m on a long vacation and I miss my friends, I rewatch the that they don’t enter their bathrooms because they don’t have
videos that I took of them and they make me smile. They
make me feel like they are still with me in a way. Hearing the confidence to enter their bathrooms, that is their responsi-
bility and not yours. But they do not enter those bathrooms be-
their voices again makes me miss them a little less. cause they can be judged if they do. If you supported them with
My friends love the videos that I take of them, as well.
Whenever I film one, I send it to them and I always get more than your words, you would help change the society they
live in and they would have the confidence to go in.
positive feedback from them. My friends love that they Some people say that people going into the other bathroom
can watch themselves and the people that they love acting
stupid and having a great time. It makes them smile. It is a are there to be “perverts” and watch the other gender. But that
is almost never the case. Most people want to go into the bath-
good feeling to know that something I filmed makes other rooms because that is where they feel they belong as whichever
people happy and that other people are benefiting from it,
not only me. gender they say they are. These people are incorrect because it
is very unlikely for people to enter a bathroom, a public place,
Anyone can make people smile with their videos. A per- for perverted reasons. And no person wants to be accused of
son doesn’t need to be an artist or a great videographer to
be able to take videos. They are easy to shoot. All people that, just because it has happened on rare occasions before. This
does not mean every person who was born a different gender
need to do is press a button and the device they are using and goes into their chosen gender bathroom is a “pervert”.
makes the magic for you.
You may think that you will never experience this. But wheth-
With video editing softwares, people can take what they er you’re a student or an adult, there will be transgender people
in your workplace, or your school, or your neighborhood. As a
or someone else filmed and make it their own. It makes student, I have seen transgender people at my school and they
the video unique to them and that’s not something people
can do with diaries. Yes, the handwriting might be different definitely struggle with this. I do have transgender friends.
They most definitely struggle with this issue. No one wants to
but if you and someone else are writing about the same be mistaken for the other gender. Just think of how you would
thing, they are going to be pretty similar. But say you and
someone else are editing the same video, it’s going to turn feel being mistaken for the other gender, would you enjoy that?
If you say things like they should leave their designated bath-
out different per person. People can add their own touch to room. Imagine how they feel, not knowing which bathroom they
something that someone else may have filmed.
Videos are also unique to the person because peo- should go into. This is still a remaining issue at this time. I don’t
know how, and just accepting them with open arms into their
ple also film differently. If everybody is holding a camera bathroom, will help them get the confidence to do the simple
during an event, every video that comes out of it will be
different. I think that is amazing. Different people will thing that is going to the bathroom.
People are starting to accept them more. But a problem still
value different things so the object or people that the video lives that transgender people still struggle with choosing to go
is focused on will be different. If we didn’t have videos, you
would not really be able to tell people’s opinions and biases. into the bathroom of their choice. It is a matter of respecting

That is the magic of videography. their personal preferences.

PAGE 17 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL Summer 2018

Opinion: Success is measured Opinion: Classical genres
through happiness not wealth dominate pop and rap music

Abbie Dreyer Samuel Thanwin
J-Schooler J-Schooler

Teenagers usually strug- If you look at the Bill-
gle with the question of
“What do you want to be board top 100 list, the first
three includes two songs
when you grow up?” as they by Drake and one by
go through their schooling
years. In our modern-day Childish Gambino.
Rap music and pop
society, we are surrounded music are overtaking
by set “visions” and require-
ments of what makes a the majority of popular
culture. But the genres
successful career, person, and of classic rock and metal
life. For example, a career as a Abbie Dreyer should still have their place Samuel Thanwin
considering their smaller, yet Grade 8
doctor may appear more ap- Grade 8
pealing to someone than a career in art.
What happens is people, once they hear things about “more more dedicated fan base. These fan bases often tend to
stay near legendary bands like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses.
successful careers”, will want to back out of a career or pas- I got into rock and metal at the age of 11. My brother
sion they have. Because, it is more successful. And everyone
wants success. had a Guitar Hero game called “Warriors of Rock”. The
first song I played on it was called “Bat Country”. When
That word, “successful”, is thrown around in a very unde- I heard it, I started to like it and I played more rock and
fined way. Usually, we pair it with money, fame, and wealth.
Big houses, cool cars, fancy dinner parties and galas. But
what really is successful? If what people say --that success metal songs. Flash forward to today and I fear that the
songs on the radio -- ones that lack any substance or ded-
is gauged by how much wealth you have-- is true, then who ication from the artist -- will one day completely domi-
really is successful? The top 0.01% of US citizens who have
an above average income? Is that all success is? If so, next to nate, and the songs that I’m used to will be banished from
the music industry.
no one will ever reach success. Younger ages mostly like rap and pop and older people
So why do we incorporate these different jobs and wealth,
with “success”? Well it’s simple, really. People are natural- tend to like classical music. If this genre of music “takes
over” those other people will have nothing to listen too.
ly greedy. It hurts, but it’s true. We want more power. And Look at it this way: music is something that describes
the fact is, in our country, money is the fuel of life, which
immediately makes money a source of power. If you don’t you and represents your character. If pop and rap take
over the people that like other genres will not have some-
have money, you aren’t going to the grocery store to get thing to represent them, and lets not forget how poorly
food. There isn’t running water coming out of your kitchen
sink. In fact, you don’t have a kitchen sink, or a house. The pop music does represent those who prefer it. Pop music
often highlights qualities like conformity and self-con-
way our world is run revolves around money and economy. sciousness.
That is why wealth and “wealthy jobs” are incorporated with
success. Pop and rap are at their peak In the music industry. 2018
is the year for them, while other genres like rock, metal,
In the end, success depends on what your values are. blues and jazz are slowly losing popularity. At this rate,
Success is an ambiguous word that we describe differently
from person to person. In my opinion, success shouldn’t be rock and metal are not going to last as long as rap and
pop. If you look on YouTube, you’ll notice that new rock
measured by wealth. Nor should it be defined by a person’s
career path. Rather, it should be decided by how happy you songs do not have millions and millions of views like
are with where you are, who you are, what you are doing,
and what you’ve done. Happiness is something everyone the glamorous pop music videos do, which could be evi-
dence that they are not as popular as the other genres. Of
strives for. And if you’re happy, aren’t you doing something course, according to Time Magazine, America’s population
right? Happiness is what truly makes a person successful.
Say there was a man who had extremely large sums of mon- does prefer rap out of all the other genres.
But maybe the lack of views means less than we ought
ey, lived in an extravagant villa, and had a job as a heart to think. First off -- the lack of music video views does not
surgeon for a large hospital chain. But that man isn’t happy.
Now, say there is a man who lives in a one story apartment mean, in any regard, that the rock or metal music is of
lesser value. That is a nonnegotiable. But the lack of views
in a small suburban town and manages to make all of his could also just mean that rock artists care less about mak-
money off of his dream job, living paycheck to paycheck. If
he’s happy where he is, doing what he loves, he is definitely ing flashy music videos that flaunt their fame, money and
influence.
more successful. Maybe they care more about writing the lyrics.
See, I think the world needs to get rid of this sick, twisted
version of “success”. Success is not wealth. It’s not having a
nice house or a good paying job. Success is what you make
of it. Success is happiness. Satisfaction with what you’ve
made of your life. If you are happy about what you have Follow us on Instagram
done and who you are, you have succeeded in life. By creat- @ MHSCHRONICLE
ing this clear cut version of what success should be equated
with, we get rid of the stress put on younger people from
their adult figures about what jobs to take, who they should
be, and where they should end up. We are helping to create
a more comfortable environment for people, as well as set-

ting up values that our society should have.

PAGE 18 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

Opinion: Reboots can be Opinion: Libraries still relevant
necessary to television success despite modern technology

Gina Stenger Avani Jagdale
J-Schooler J-Schooler

A reboot is when Now that the
internet is being
an original show used by more
is done again and
is usually changed people to find
information, li-
in a way to match braries are becom-
the new director’s
thoughts. This can ing less popular.
People can order
immediately make peo- books online, or
ple think that a reboot is Gina Stenger purchase ebooks Avani Jagdale
worse than the original. Grade 7 instead of getting a Grade 8

They say reboots may take away physical copy. People can look up anything by using Goo-
from an original or that the original may be lost. While
this may be true, it is not always the case. gle ] instead of going to the library. Most people can access
computers at home, and go online to read the news. All of
I know this from experience because one of my fa- those are things that people used to go to the library for.
vorite Netflix series is in fact a reboot. The original was
made in 1984. After learning that my favorite show, I have been going to the library for a long time to check
out books, since I was five or six years old. I noticed that
Voltron Legendary Defenders, (VLD) was a reboot, I when I was younger, there were lots of people there.
decided to watch the original show. I was not sure what
to expect, especially since I already knew it was a rela- Every time I went, there were tons of people checking
out books, or using the computers, but recently, whenever
tively old show and that the animators did not have the I go, there are not as many people. They seem to have lost
same technology we have today.
I found I hated the voice acting, the quality and the interest in libraries, now that the internet, or buying eb-
ooks, have become a more “practical” alternative. A lot of
often lazy animating in the original. Things would my friends do not even go to the library anymore either. I
sometimes feel off during the show because of the voice
acting. thought that soon, libraries would stop being used.
But one day, I was at the library, and I saw two women
For example, there was a tense tragic scene, but the sitting at a table in the back of the library. One of the wom-
voice actors did not convey a distressed tone. This took
away from the scene’s suspense. The animation and en was teaching the other woman, who was clearly from a
different country, the English alphabet. It made me realize
voice acting did not match. It commonly would overlap that libraries are still useful, and that even if less people
or the voice would keep going even after the character’s
mouth was closed. were coming to the library for books, they could still be
used as a place where people can learn, and that they’re a
The original was loved so much that I think it de- source of information for people who have no other way of
served a better quality version. In the new show, the
voice acting was better by a long shot. Unlike some of getting it.
For people that do not have a lot of money, libraries are a
the scenes in the original, when there was a tragic scene helpful way to find information and learn. Without librar-
the characters sounded more panicked and unhappy. It
also helped a whole lot that the voice acting matched ies, those who are less fortunate would have no way to find
books to read. Libraries are the only place where you can
the characters’ mouthing. get books for free, which is why they’re important for peo-
There may be cases where a reboot is horrible and not
at all necessary, but sometimes, if not for a reboot, the ple, especially those who can’t afford to buy books.
There are also many people, like myself, who would pre-
original show could easily be lost. fer reading a physical copy of a book instead of reading it
People will quickly move on if a show is not men-
tioned that much. But if there is a reboot, there is a on a screen. ]Libraries are important for people who have
specific preferences, because at a library, genres and read-
possibility this could make people interested enough ing levels are more organized so you can find whatever
to watch the original, just like my story with VLD. The
only reason I decided to watch the original was because you need, in whatever form you want.
Libraries are also a place where students can come and
of the rebooted version which I found wonderful. meet with a tutor to help them learn, and be better in
Reboots can help make a show look better too. If the
original had a great plot line, but that was the only school, and a place where teenagers who like to read or
teach can find opportunities to volunteer.
good thing about it, it may not do well. While the internet might be able to do the same thing a
With a reboot, a similar plot line can be explored
using more resources, producing a higher quality show library can, libraries can give people who love to read and
learn a chance to do something they love, whether it’s vol-
that could make the show very popular. If the quality unteering to teach or read to younger kids, teaching immi-
of the show was great, but the plot line was dull, then
a reboot might be needed to make that certain show grants new languages, or just working behind the counter.
Libraries may not be as popular anymore, but they are still
interesting again. very important for lots of people. Even though many peo-
Although there may have been cases of bad reboots
there have also been plenty of cases when reboots were ple have stopped using the library to get books, there are
still many people who need them as well, whether it is to
much needed. find books or to learn new things

Books may be dwindling, but libraries are just getting
started.

PAGE 19 THE J-SCHOOL JOURNAL SUMMER 2018

The A.M. Session

The P.M. Session