Temporarily permanent duality.

When I am not interning at a hospital or writing articles for a blog, I am usually bothering my little sister. Or rather, being bothered by her. Having a six-and-a-half year age difference often means we have some trouble communicating and understanding each other but regardless, she makes up a huge part of who I am. My instincts to care and help others came from caring and helping her as a kid and as she continues to grow, we have begun to bridge the six-year gap—so I have not only found a permanent partner-in-crime but also a best friend.

I am also constantly influenced by my motherland, however foreign it seems. Being raised in the United States since I was barely a few months old means I have little experience in India. The one time I visited that I can actually remember was unfortunately a month of constant throwing-up and jet-lag. However, one person contributed significantly to my newfound love for my country. When he began to talk about his home state in India, a fire lit up in his eyes and his voice was filled with passion. Since then, his connection to India fueled mine, leading me to ask for the first time, “Can we go to India this summer?” Unfortunately, this passion is not shared by my mother so there are no 16-hour plane tickets stored in my Wallet app, but hopefully that will change soon. Until then, dance has been establishing my connection. I practice Bhangra, a dance form that originated in the state of Punjab. It is extremely high energy and expressive and I have been practicing it for a little more than a year now. I have made many friends that connected me to my Punjabi roots, all while forming strong connections with my coaches.

While international plane tickets are quite uncommon, “across the country” seems to be a common destination for me. Since I was born, I have moved seven times from state to state, and more if in-state moves are counted. This pattern led me to develop communication skills early on and I often have little trouble making friends. However, I also developed a strong sense of independence, being an older sibling and also leaving my friends behind often. Therefore, I categorize myself as a quite open-minded and adjustable person.

Traditional art forms also deserve a honorable mention. I have been practicing multiple mediums of art since I was very little but have recently been deprived of time and inspiration to continue. Regardless, art forms a huge part of who I am and how I respond to situations. It helped me develop extreme patience as well as an ability to recover from mistakes easily with little mental toll and a lot more innovation. Other art forms also include music. I do more than enjoy music, it dictates and mirrors my feelings and helps me connect with my own emotions as well as with the person I enjoy spending time with most. We began interacting by syncing our music on Spotify and chatting through the beats, the synths, the key changes and the riffs as they rang in our ears. I have also participated in choir for the last four years, feeling the magical harmonies and chords as so many people sing together.

There are many things that make me, me. I have my titles or roles, like student, friend, sister, athlete and more, but here are the details of who I am. I am a rising junior at Athens Academy in Athens, Georgia. I have a little sister named Ria who is 13. One of the most common things she and I get told is that we look like each other, which makes us laugh because in our minds we could not be any more different.

I have a number of passions or hobbies but the big three for me are definitely tennis, music and journalism. I have played tennis since I was 11-years-old and now play for my school’s varisty tennis team. I love playing competitively, but I also love the social aspects of tennis and how I can hit with a friend while talking and catching up. Secondly, music is a core part of who I am. I have played the violin and piano for more than 10 years, performing with multiple orchestras too. Last year I started songwriting, which acts as an outlet for me to process my emotions while also embracing my creativity. Listening to music and new artists is one thing I love to do, and I will never miss the opportunity to discuss an album with someone.

Lastly, one of my more recent but more significant passions is journalism. During my freshman year, I took the writing for publication course that my school offered. This was because it was the only elective that worked with my schedule, and I loved the teacher who taught it. Besides that, I had no interest in journalism or writing. I had actually always been more of a math person, but my teacher pushed me out of my comfort zone and looking back, I could not thank her enough.

I began to write for my school newspaper, and during my freshman year mainly wrote for the news section. Sophomore year, I was the sports section editor and taught writing workshops to younger students on the side. I started my capstone research project, centered around the societal effects of journalism. Through my capstone work, I am striving to learn more about the editorial process and how journalism is a tool to spark change while embracing diversity. I jumped at the opportunity for an internship at the Red & Black and am currently in the recruitment process. I’m not decided on what I want to major in in college but for now, I’ve been thinking about double majoring in journalism and international-affairs. In the journalism field, my dream job would be reporting internationally, allowing me to travel and explore different cultures while meeting new people.

I am going into my junior year at Campbell Highschool in Smyrna, Georgia. I am in the International Baccalaureate(IB) program, I love to dance at Atlanta Ballet and most importantly take photos in hopes to persure my goal of becoming a photojournalist. Some of my favorite things to photograph include people, cars, nature and architecture. I mostly take pictures at car shows, while camping and traveling. However, friends and family is also a big part of my life and who I am.

My mom was born and raised in Canada and my dad was born in Tennessee, but mostly grew up in Georgia. I visit family and friends in Canada as often as I can and enjoy spending time with the family I have close to home. Because I have grown up in a small town, I have known most of my friends since I was very little and love that I get to maintain those friendships.

As a little kid I was always a dancer. I danced around the house, at concerts and local music events and just all the time in general. I was put into ballet at a young age, but stoped in kindergarden and began Taekwondo. I continued to do Taekwondo until fifth grade when I got my black belt and decided there were other hobbies I would rather persue. In fourth grade I picked dance back up and began to participate more in school and local theatre productions. Along the way I also picked up basketball, gymnastics and volleyball, but dance just seemed to stick the most. I love the feeling of being on stage in a pretty costume and crazy makeup and realizing what all of those long and hard rehersals were for.

When it came to career paths, I had a hard time making up my mind. When I was little I really wanted to go into marinebiology and study dolphins, until a florida trip made me realize that I would have to spend time with other, more scary animals, in the ocean. After that I thought that because of how good I was on stage I should go into the film industry. It was then I became interested in cameras, film and storytelling. At some point (I don’t know when exactly), but I realized that I wanted to make an impact on the world. Maybe it was watching more of the news during covid, maybe it wasn’t, but I wanted to make an impact. I realized that I could still be able to write, use a camera and make a difference at the same time through journalism. The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” didn’t truly click with me until I began to see photos of stuggling ecosystems due to global warming, people in poverty living on the streets that can’t support their children, and innocent people dying in wars for their country not understaning what they stand for. No one should take education for granted, and through journalism more people are becoming educated in what is happening around them.

That being said, while I might not have the most interesting backstory, these things are what make me who I am and motivate me to keep pushing through school and life. In the words of Ferris Buler, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

By: Caroline Conner

Hello, I’m Caroline Conner. I am from Burlington, North Carolina, a medium-sized town in between Greensboro and Durham. I am a rising junior at Walter M. Williams High School. I spend most of my time there competing on the golf and softball teams, taking tests and completing assignments in my classes, and participating in various student organizations like student council. I am looking forward to getting more involved in my school’s new journalism club this school year, which will publish several school-related stories each month.

The other thing about me is that my mood is very dependent on how well the Tar Heel basketball season is going. My parents are both UNC Chapel Hill alums, so we spend lots of time in Chapel Hill cheering on the Heels. A lot of my favorite memories revolve around UNC athletics. For example, if you were to ask me, what was the best night of your life? I would say April 2, 2022. That was the night my dad and I celebrated Carolina’s win over Duke at the Final Four in New Orleans. I also enjoy cheering for the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Cubs. Therefore, I firmly believe the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl this year, the Mavs will recover from the devastating Luka trade with the acquisition of Cooper Flagg, and the Cubs will make the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020.

In addition to playing and watching sports, I really enjoy traveling with my family. My favorite trip I’ve taken this year was to Boston with my dad, where I attended Harvard Model Congress. My favorite place to visit is definitely Disney World, specifically the Hollywood Studios theme park. Recently, I’ve enjoyed traveling to tour different colleges. Some of my favorites we’ve seen are Harvard and Northwestern.

In summary, I’m a huge sports fan, I love to travel, and school is a big priority for me. This year I’m looking forward to further exploring my interest in journalism and spending more time on the golf course!

Since ChatGPT was launched in 2022, use of the program has become increasingly prominent in the classroom environment. Although many teens have found the website to be helpful in their studies, there have been many situations where students have abused ChatGPT by cheating or plagiarizing. 

“ChatGPT has been helpful for me because it helps me study and gain more information that teachers haven’t told me,” said Audrey Taylor, a student at The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia. “It was really difficult to find practice problems, and ChatGPT was an easy way I could get practice problems, and they were accurate and helped me.”

Audrey is a perfect example of a student using ChatGPT for the right purpose. For most students, the website is a useful study tool and a helpful way to clarify topics covered in class. Specifically, Taylor had noticed a significant difference in her understanding of AP World History from the first semester of sophomore year to the second. She struggled less frequently and even noticed her grades improving over time.

While attending her current school, Audrey has overheard many situations where students have been caught using ChatGPT for the wrong purposes. “Someone got in trouble, got a zero, and had to go to the head of school and the honor council.” Taylor said. 

There are severe consequences for students who have used ChatGPT maliciously. Not only do the offenders have to attend a court-like hearing in front of the honor council, but they lose trust from their teachers, parents, and peers. The machine is a test of students’ integrity and must be used wisely.  

“My friend who goes to Northeastern University in Boston put his essay into ChatGPT to help with grammar mistakes, and whatever his English teacher used to check it said it was completely ChatGPT.” said Maeve Scruggs, an undergraduate student at Texas Christian University. “It made it look like he didn’t write it but he did write it.”

Although the technology used to find plagiarism is successful and helpful in many situations, there have been situations where students have been falsely accused of using ChatGPT to write their essays and assignments. ChatGPT makes it difficult to distinguish between harmless use and cheating. Luckily, the student was able to recover a draft and present it at his college hearing, preventing him from being punished or expelled.

“It’s up to educators to adjust to new technologies,” said Dr. Joe Dennis, Chair of the Department of Mass Communications at Piedmont University. 

Joe has adjusted many of the assignments he assigns to his students, requiring personal experiences to be included instead of simply stating history facts. By making writing assignments more personal, students are unable to use ChatGPT to copy or plagiarize because they must incorporate their own experiences and personality into their writing. 

“I think ChatGPT is scary because of how well it works,” Maeve said. “I think there definitely needs to be a limit, and I think it has progressed so much in the past year that the things it will eventually be capable of scare me.”

As ChatGPT becomes more popular, students are beginning to think for themselves less and depend on AI more. Specifically in college, Maeve has found it concerning that many of her peers will enter entire quizzes and assignments into ChatGPT and copy each answer, which prevents them from learning or utilizing their critical thinking. Similar to our dependence on cell phones, as ChatGPT becomes more prevalent and advanced, students will become increasingly reliant on the machine for their education.

“If the zombie apocalypse comes, are we going to know anything?”

Girls all across America are anxiously awaiting and preparing themselves for one of the most important weeks of their life, rush week. 

“You have to be the best version of yourself you’ve ever had to be,” said rising freshman at the University of Georgia Shaelan Purdy. 

Rush consists of an entire week full of activities. The first day is Letters Day (AKA Open House) in which the girls quickly stop by all the sorority houses and make their first impressions. The second day is Service Day, the sororities’ philanthropy is shown and individuals spend time learning about what each one represents. The third day revolves around house tours and girls get an idea of what it’s like to live in their desired sorority house. The fourth and final day is called Pref Night in which you get more of the house and are introduced to their traditions. Pref Night is the most nerve wracking day for girls because at this point they’ve passed several rounds of selections and the girls decide what house they want to end up in. 

“I ended up with two houses that I really liked and I couldn’t decide,” said rising junior at UGA Grey Cohen. “I had really big reservations about both and reasons I wanted to do both.”

SEC schools are infamously known for having a highly competitive recruitment process and girls from these schools spend months beforehand making sure that they’re ready for rush. Some ways in which girls prepare is by cleansing their social media, buying outfits and creating a rush resume. 

“I have cleaned up my social media, not that there was anything bad on there, just cleaned it up a little bit,” Purdy said. 

A major reason why girls decide to rush is the idea that they will find their “forever friends” throughout their time in the home. Girls that live in the same house refer to each other as sisters that belong to a sisterhood, and similarly boys in a frat are brothers that belong to a brotherhood. Many girls find a piece of mind knowing that their sisters will be with them throughout college and even after. 

“I think that being in a sorority means that you have a good community to rely on during college years but also beyond college,” said rising freshman at Louisiana State University Stori Beall.

Although anyone can rush, it’s important to note the cost. Dues differ depending on the college but according to Yahoo Finance, joining a sorority costs anywhere from $1,000 to $4,750 a semester. This is obviously a hefty amount of money to be charged per semester but dues go towards housing, events, member fees and recruitment, and returning member dues are significantly less, usually ranging from $600 to $1,000. Some people argue that joining Greek life is paying for friends and although this may seem like the case, others think of it more as an investment. 

“I don’t think rush is buying your friends, I think it’s facilitating a way to connect with people you might not have met otherwise,” Purdy said.

Another benefit that sororities have to offer are all the networking opportunities that can arise from social events and connecting with alumni. By joining a house, it automatically introduces you to a whole new world of potential jobs and internships. 

“It can get you good connections, whether that be jobs or internships in the future,” Beall said. “I’ve already had a few people reach out and be like, ‘Oh I was a Kappa Gamma, I work for interior design.’”

Additionally, each sorority has a philanthropy (charity) they support by donating money or directly volunteering. This helps girls narrow their choices because they tend to choose sororities that align with their views. The houses host several events to raise money and this is a major incentive for dues. 

“Every sorority has a different mission and you can find out which one you want to be a part of and I really like that,” Purdy said.

Something that sororities receive a lot of backlash for is their exclusivity. Over 70% of sorority members are white, which has become a major topic of conversation, yet little change has been made. There are still people of color who choose to rush, such as rising freshman at the University of Ole Miss, Fiona Bernard. As a way to ease Bernard’s nerves, she decided to reach out to other POC’s at Ole Miss and felt a lot more confident about rushing.

“I talked to other girls rushing and they had nothing but good things to say,” Bernard said.

Sorority girls also tend to stick within their crowd and don’t hang out with people outside their social group. Some girls work to break this norm by branching out and connecting with outside groups. 

“Sometimes there’s a culture of not talking to people outside of Greek life but it’s important to be very well-rounded, have friends outside of Greek life,”said Abby Van Brimmer, a rising sophomore at Georgia Tech. 

As the summer season is coming to an end and the start of school is rapidly approaching, girls throughout the country are preparing to face rush week and all it has to offer. 

“I’m excited to really experience the whole week,” said rising freshman at UGA Sidney Cohen, “because I know it’s going to be something new and something that I’ve never put myself through.”