100 Year Anniversary: The Tulsa Race Massacre

Looking back on a day that changed our perspective on race in America.

By Morgan Lane

Staff Writer

Burning building in Greenwood during the massacre. (Via history.com)

Great clouds of smoke filled the streets of Greenwood, Oklahoma on June 1st, 1921. Over the course of 2 days, mobs killed many citizens and ruined the dynamic of a community. June 1st, 2021 marks the 100 year anniversary since one of the most violent racial events in U.S History: the Tulsa Race Massacre.

On May 31st, 1921, a 19 year old black man named Dick Rowland stepped on an elevator of the Drexel Building in Tulsa. The elevator operator, Sarah Page, was next to him at the time. Sarah was a 17 year old white woman who worked the elevators to save up for school. While with Rowland, Page screamed out in agony, and Rowland fled from the building. There were many accusations of what really happened to Page. The main one is Rowland attempted to sexually assault her and put his hands on her without her consent. It didn’t take long for the word to spread and eventually, headlines were made. The Tulsa Tribune titled their article, “Nab Negro for attacking girl in an elevator.”

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Kamloops Residential School Mass Grave

By Bella Kaguyutan 

Staff Writer

Apology issued after removal of Victoria memorial for Kamloops victims | Vancouver Sun

Image Source: Vancouver Sun

In May of 2021 the remains of 215 indigineous children as young as 3 were discovered near a residential school in Kamloops British Columbia, Canada. These deaths were undocumented and the children were buried in unmarked graves. 

The news of a mass grave was released on May 27th by Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation Chief, Rosanne Casimir. This mass grave was discovered through the use of ground-penetrating radar. They are working with the Royal British Columbia Museum to discover the identities of these unknown children. When children attending these schools died they rarely returned home, being buried in unmarked graves. 

Across Canada many memorials have been set up in honor of the children who lost their lives while attending a residential school. One of the most notable memorials was displayed on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery. 215 pairs of little shoes were placed on the steps to symbolize each of the bodies found in the mass grave site. 

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Sustainability Over the Summer

Tips and Tricks on How to be Environmentally-Friendly over the Summer

By Hammond Green Team Members

Sustainability from Home

Summer’s here! While a few people might be planning to travel this year, the pandemic has botched other people’s plans, so you might be staying home. If that’s the case, why not practice sustainability while you’re at it! Here’s a list of ten eco-friendly tips you can implement from the comfort of your home during your break:

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Summer Olympics 2021: What to Expect

By Kevin Barry

Staff Writer

Tokyo Olympics 2021: 10,000 volunteers drop out of participating in Games, likely due to COVID-19, per report - CBSSports.com

Image Source: Wikipedia

The long awaited summer Olympic games are back on this summer after a 5 year absence, here’s what you need to know. The summer Olympics includes 28 different sports with 38 disciplines, and those sports include swimming, tennis, basketball, soccer, and more. There are 206 countries/ territories that are able to participate in the Olympic games, so this year like many others will be a good one.

The Olympics this year last a total of 17 days taking place from July 23rd to August 8th. As many know, the competition will be occurring in Tokyo this year which has led over 10,000 volunteers to drop out due to covid concerns. This year, there will be more new people participating in or helping to run the games more than ever.

Keep an eye out for American competitors such as  gymnast Simone Biles (as she can become the first woman to win back to back titles since 1968), Katie Ledecky (the young swimming prodigy is looking to bounce back from her underwhelming performance in the world championships in 2019), and Serena Williams (as the 39 year old tries to continue the family legacy and take yet another singles title).

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Anime VS. Manga: Adaptations

Is it worth the watch?

By Gabrielle Fernandez

Staff Writer

Kaiu Shirai (The Promised Neverland)

Most likely if you’ve ever watched an anime, there is a manga that came before it to guide the animated series through all the plots, characters, and arcs it had. I dare you to think of a single anime that doesn’t have a manga and if you think it doesn’t then look it up, I’m sure you’ll find it. A lot of anime have had amazing adaptations from manga like JoJo part 2, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch man (season 1), and quite a few more. Though it has always been a regular belief that manga is just better than anime, why is that?

Anime is a style of japanese film and television that has become very, very popular throughout the years with kids, teens, and adults alike. Mangas are a style of japanese comic books that have also become very popular and are a catalyst for all anime being aired. When it comes down to it, anime are more popularized by the public however  manga is the one that most anime fans can agree on of it’s quality and plot. The main reason why people believe this is true is because it’s the original story and quite a few anime drive away from it.

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The Dangers of Inaccurate Representation

Taking a look at when representation goes wrong.

By Uma Ribeiro

Editor-in-Chief 

Image source: imdb.com

With the start of quarantine came more time to find new TV shows and movies to watch, or to re-watch some old ones, too. Sometimes it is the case that re-watching a former favorite will lead to liking said movie or TV show even more. But it is more commonly the case that doing so will lead to the realization that those former favorites are either not as good as remembered or are problematic in one way or another. In many popular TV shows and movies, ones that are known on national scales and others which were once Friday night go-tos, an incredibly inaccurate and more often than not, offensive depiction of people of different ethnicities, and specifically Brown people, was a recurring theme. 

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Why you should play mobile rhythm games

By Leaana Khan

Co-editorials editor

Image credit: idoljuns

Rhythm games are a genre of music-themed video games that challenge a player’s sense of rhythm by requiring them to input controls to the beat of a song. When someone hears the term “rhythm game”, they may first think of games like guitar hero or just dance. While these games are great and widely successful, they aren’t what I’m going to talk about here. Instead, this will highlight free-to-play mobile-based virtual idol rhythm games. Specifically, we’ll focus on BanG Dream! (more commonly known as Bandori), D4DJ Groovy Mix, and Project Sekai: Colorful Stage!

In terms of gameplay, these three games are fairly similar. Each game consists of story events, gacha, and the main rhythm games. Each game has a main story that follows all the characters. The games feature large casts that are separated into units/bands and each unit has their own side story that revolves around the characters in it. “The events are a fun way to reach goals in the gameplay,” says sophomore, Ramin Patwary. Each game gets new events that last slightly longer than a week that bring new story events, character cards, and music. “I think they’re very interesting because there’s so many different kinds of characters to relate to and get to love,” says sophomore, Jena Drabenstadt. For a lot of people, the cast and story is the main appeal of the games.

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Opinion: Copyright Law Is Outdated

By Lydia Jensen

Co-editorials Editor

Image via makeuseof.com

With the growing rise of access to the internet and all the free content it provides, and with many people turning to online methods of communication and content creation during quarantine, copyright law is not only as important as ever, but significantly easier to break. With 500 hours of content being uploaded every minute on YouTube alone (Statistica), it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of the information and whether or not it follows those strict guidelines. 

Copyright law allows the authors of a piece of media (depending on other legal circumstances) the ability to modify, extend, and copy their work. Many licenses don’t give the same abilities – or any at all – to others. In today’s society, where people are consuming art at rates to the point of it becoming a commodity, we need new copyright laws. With the current system in place, the only way that you can use someone else’s work, sometimes even with their permission, is through a critique. With memes and the general internet culture, this just doesn’t work.

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Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina Review

By Allison Diaz 

Staff Writer 

Majo no Tabitabi (Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina) - MyAnimeList.net

“It’s not about the destination…”

 “What’s your favorite story? Does it have a hero who slays a destined for greatness? Well, my favorite story is a little different. It’s the tale of a witch who travels the world, seeking nothing in particular. With no quest of her own, she’s free to wander wherever the wind takes her, adding a few pages to the story of whomever she meets before setting off on her next adventure. At the end of her travels, the witch takes on an apprentice who will one day begin her own journey. And so the cycle continues, or so the story goes. Now, the witch who starts the story anew…who could she be?”

Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina is a fantasy light novel series written by Jougi Shiraishi and illustrated by Azure. The light novel was adapted into an anime and attracted a large audience. The anime consists of 12 episodes and can be streamed on Funimation. 

As a young girl, Elaina, the protagonist, loved reading books, yet there was one book that she loved the most. ‘Niike’s adventure,’ a book full of short stories that the writer experienced throughout her journey around the world. Elaina was so inspired by Niike’s adventure that she decided to start her own adventure. The anime follows Elaina’s journey throughout the world seeking nothing in particular. 

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Ms. Barlow: The Definition of a Golden Bear

As the 2021 Teacher of the Year prepares to retire, we look back on her 42 years teaching at Hammond.

By Marissa Yelenik and Sarah Meklir

Online Editor and Managing Editor

Pictured above: Seniors Georgia Briggs and Ama Stott surprise Ms. Barlow with Hammond’s 2021 Teacher of the Year award (left to right: Georgia Briggs, Ms. Barlow, Ama Stott).

A constant force for good at Hammond, Ms. Barlow has been teaching here for 42 years. This year, she was awarded “Teacher of the Year” by the 2021 senior class in honor of her immense impact on students and her love for teaching and Hammond. She will begin a well-deserved retirement at the end of this school year. 

The award itself was a surprise to Ms. Barlow, who didn’t expect the honor for herself. She reflected on the moment it was awarded to her, detailing the events as she sat in her classroom in the Villa, the new name for the set of portables the social studies department is in this year. “Mr. Dunlap was marching down the hall with the band playing Sweet Caroline and I thought “What’s he doing in the Villa?” I thought he had gotten lost for band practice and they were supposed to go to the field. I was just really surprised and really honored that I had gotten that award.”

With all of her years of teaching under her belt, Ms. Barlow is a wealth of knowledge regarding Hammond’s history and the changes that have taken place. She reflected on her years, saying “There have been lots of different experiences here, but it’s been great to be at one school and see what it’s been like for this long. I haven’t changed schools, it’s this school that’s changed while I’ve been here.”

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