About the editor:

AIDAN is a senior this year, and is excited to be participating in Corner Canyon's Productions Company and Chamber Choir. 

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Resting Grinch Face

LILY HERSCH
STAFF WRITER

     Picture this: It’s the day after Halloween, November 1st. You wake up dazed due to a sugar coma and the mental trauma of a haunted house. You are about to get out of bed, when you hear it: a call, almost angelic in its tone, yet you nearly don’t register it due to its routine defrosting among radio stations: “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey. And so begins the 60-day preparation for the one-day holiday: Christmas.
    According to Statista.com, 43% of the U.S. population will begin holiday shopping before the end of October. Further, average consumer spending for Christmas shopping is about $1,017. In comparison, bankrate.com reports the average American household spends an average of $33.75 for Halloween candy. Why is gift-shopping the price of a smoothie in L.A. more celebrated than having a free pass to jump-scare people and collect candy (that is a twentieth of the price, mind you)? This is a question that haunts me (so punny!) and needs to be addressed.
​   Holidays are a delight, but Christmas seems to have a choke-hold on people like none other (unless you are bitter, the Grinch, or both [like myself). Compared to other holidays, the adoration is endless: shopping sales guaranteed to bring in hungry-for-gifts WASPs, house decor worth a house in itself, and as much planning as one would give to ACT tests. I guess my big question is, why? Why all this Christmas hoo-ha?
Stella Cianflone, a CCHS sophomore and Christmas lover, says “I feel Christmas is so popular due to all the traditions that are celebrated, there is something for everyone. And, I mean, Christmas is awesome!” (Is it? Or are those societal expectations talking?) 
     Cal Taggart, a CCHS senior and fellow Christmas-questioner comments, “I feel it creates a lot of divides between people due to its materialism. Such as, “I’m the better brother because I got this gift”, or people feeling inferior because they got less than those around them. You can say Christmas isn’t about presents, but that’s more the idea than reality.” 

“I feel it creates a lot of divides between people due to its materialism. Such as, “I’m the better brother because I got this gift”, or people feeling inferior because they got less than those around them. You can say Christmas isn’t about presents, but that’s more the idea than reality.” 

     I feel this article may cause a lot of controversy, but I am not one to shy away from such things. Like how the Lorax speaks for the trees, I speak for the Grinch before he was infected by Whoville’s cheer.
PUBLISHED 10/17

of all the places to get piercings and tattoos, these are the best

BY NORAH KOSOROK
SCIENCE AND TECH EDITOR

     “The best place to get your ears pierced is pharmacies in Spain,” says Diana Da Silva. But not all of us can afford to go all the way to Spain just for a cool new piercing. 
     I love piercings and tattoos, but did you know that there can be a lot of health risks to you because of low quality piercings or unsanitary tools? Places like Claire’s, where they use a piercing gun, can cause very gross damage to your ears. To everything from mild infections to your cartilage ripping, your ears could get permanent damage. 
     There are so many other places you can get pierced!! These places use clean tools and high quality jewelry that make your piercing last a long time and heal really well! I have personally had many piercings and tattoo experiences, whether it be me getting them or my sisters, and every time, we get them at proper piercings and tattoo shops. Combined I have experience with 23 different types of piercings and 15 different tattoos. 
     If you are thinking you want any kind of piercing, you should try going to these shops. 
For body piercings, such as nose, eyebrow, lip, and belly button, go to a shop that specializes in piercings alone. I would recommend ENSO Piercing and Adornments.   They specialize in all things piercing and I got my nose done there. My sisters also have all gotten nose piercings there and in total we have 6 nose rings done by their professionally licensed piercers. Their piercings are a bit more expensive, a single piercing being $40 not including jewelry, and $15 and up for jewelry. ​

Places like Claire’s, where they use a piercing gun, can cause very gross damage to your ears. To everything from mild infections to your cartilage ripping, your ears could get permanent damage. 

The Best Tattoo Shops to Visit on Your 18th Birthday

• Sugar Dolls SLC
  
• The Carbon Collective Tattoo
  
• Koi Dragon Tattoo
  
• The Black Art Society 
  
• Black Rabbit tattoo
  

   Lily Hersch got her nose pierced at Art of the Heart and said they were super professional and, in my opinion, she looks SO CUTE!! For a simple ear piercing, anywhere on the lobe or cartilage, tragus or conch, I would recommend a few. If you want a cool and funky atmosphere with the sweet buzz of tattoo guns, go to The Artist Den. I got my tattoo there and my family friend got her double lobes there. Piercings start at $40 and go up depending on what you want, jewelry included. Grace Walton said “I got my top 4 ear piercings at a tattoo shop. GO TO A TATTOO SHOP!!” I would also recommend, Big Deluxe Tattoo for piercings in your cartilage. The pricing is around $60, going up or down depending on what you want. 
     If you want a cute dermal piercing, then you should also go to ENSO’s but if that is a bit out of your price range, some other good shops are Abyss Body Piercing or IRIS Piercing Studio and Jewelry Gallery. If you are looking to get your dermals removed for any reason, KOI Piercing Studio does a very professional job with minimal pain. 
POSTED 11/3/22

How does school affect studentS' mental health?

BY ABI FICHIALOS
​STAFF WRITER

     Are students being pushed too hard? Have we passed the healthy limit of pushing students to become better? As a student it has been really hard to find the answer to these questions. I've always felt like no matter what the answer was, my feelings would be invalidated or discounted by the response, “Is it really too hard or are you just not trying hard enough?" 
    I understand that other students are capable of keeping up with the present work and still get perfect grades however, we aren't the same. Nobody is. We all learn easier in our own ways, our brains don't function the same and we have very different lives. We don't need to be compared to other students as if they are a standard, or the “goal.” We are all going to do things differently including school, this just needs to be understood and accepted. 
    One out of every five teenagers in America suffer from at least one mental health disorder. You'd think that would draw more attention to the subject seeing as 16% of the world's population is teenagers. Contrary to that, nothing to do with school is helping students with mental illnesses succeed. I know that school isn't meant to adjust to the needs of specific students but I think they would realize that accommodating these needs of students would benefit more than they know. 
     Why do we need to take into account mental illness during school? Mental illness has many effects on the way we act and participate in everything at school. It affects the motivation of students to turn in and complete assignments, it has a very negative effect on attendance, it makes students feel exhausted or overly energetic which makes it very hard for them to focus and learn and overall it makes it difficult for students to see the purpose of going to school.  In a sense, it's nearly impossible to fully cure any mental illness but we can fix how we go about motivating the students to continue their school even during the difficult times. 

Is it really too hard or are you just not trying hard enough?

     Some examples of things I've learned can help these students by giving them more time to complete homework in class. It makes the work seem "simpler” to complete and not as much of a chore. Another thing is if teachers are able they should attempt to help students learn easier in any way possible whether its a visual example or making it an example out of real life, anything that helps the student understand what they're learning. 
    All in all school and mental health have so many similarities and  can both benefit or be parasitic when tied together. So more often we need to think about mental health and think about what those students need to be successful in school and have time to take care of themselves.

​PUBLISHED 9/21/22

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