Who Here Cares About 1 Cent?

By Theo Town

You might have clicked on this article because you don’t think a cent matters. If not, out of curiosity, take a moment to empty your wallet, bank, or pockets and count how many pennies you have. Chances are it’s less than 20 cents. Now, imagine dropping those coins on the floor—would you feel comfortable just walking away or giving them to someone else? Most people would likely say yes and not worry at all if that small amount of money vanished from their lives.

The Penny Fanatic

There was once a penny fanatic, Otha Anders. He gathered every penny he saw on the subway, street, and park. After 25 years, he made only $5,000, equivalent to the monthly salary of a fast food employee.

Are Pennies Truly Useless?

If you’re convinced by the idea of insignificance, let’s explore a broader question: Are pennies truly useless? Should we stop producing and using them altogether?

The Cost of Pennies

From manufacturing costs to transactions, pennies are just not worth the hassle for the government. They spend more than one cent to produce each penny (one penny costs exactly 2.7¢), meaning each coin is effectively draining the government. NOW THAT’S JUST ABSURD! Handling and counting these coins can be a burden for businesses and consumers alike.

The Time Wasted

The time wasted dealing with pennies is too much for a few cents in a time where speed is essential—from banking to a barista. As humans evolve towards cards more than cash, the value of pennies diminishes further.

Follow Up

I started writing this article five weeks ago, before Trump announced he would eradicate the penny, so this is an original article. 

An English Breakfast, Explained

By Ben Rosenblum

Hi, if you have stopped to look at this article you are probably wondering how I could explain an English breakfast . Even though I do not come from Britain I consider an English Breakfast to be the best one. It’s composed of: sausages, eggs, toast, baked beans, hash browns, a mushroom, a tomato, and a glass of tea, coffee, or OJ. If this  sounds appetizing you’d be right because it is very good. Now it might surprise you to learn that 12 countries have contributed to making the English breakfast. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

Let’s imagine I wake up in the morning in Britain and want to make a delicious English breakfast. First I would start frying my sausages and eggs which come from the UK (1) in Italian olive oil (2). Then I would get my Irish grown mushroom (3) and tomato from the Netherlands (4)  then heat my baked beans from the U.S.(5) and cook my hash browns made from Belgian  potatoes (6). Next I got my bread made from German wheat (7) and toast before spreading it with Danish  butter (8). As for the drinks I might choose OJ made from Moroccan oranges (9), or perhaps some Guatemalan coffee  (10) and even the stereotypical tea could be plucked from Chinese tea fields (11) and given a liberal serving of French-grown sugar (12).


I hope that this has gotten you thinking about how we import food overseas and see ya next time. Note: This is one way to get to 12 countries and not all countries mentioned are the biggest exporters of the goods mentioned in their name.

Credit to a youtube video called : A Not-So-English Breakfast by creator Half-Asleep Chris.

The TV Cabinet (In Their Own Words) #1

By Archer D’Angelo

The Terrapin Times has decided to embark upon the task of explaining the members of Donald Trump’s Cabinet in a digestible way by and for the students of Brooklyn Independent. This is the product of this project, our dissection of  Trump’s cabinet, or as I call it, due to its large percentage of television personalities, the “TV Cabinet.” We will be explaining the members of This Cabinet by showcasing their own words and quotes, to truly understand their thought processes.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Terrapin Times has given its opinion on this man many times before, and the opinion is not  positive. He is the son of the beloved Attorney General, and brother of President John F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy Sr., but he is arguably an insult to his father’s memory, for he is against almost all that his father stood for. He is a so-called “Environmentalist” who in reality has done very little for the environment. He is a proponent of the theory that vaccines cause Autism and a long-term enemy of Dr. Anthony Fauci. While he is all of these things, there is one thing he isn’t and that is truthful.

However, there is one more thing that he is, one thing that shines above all, the facts of what he has done to animals. This started when he said  that “a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Need I say  more? Well, turns out, I must, because this is what he said in a video attached to a tweet reading “Looking forward to seeing how you spin this one, @NewYorker…”, which is somehow worse:

“I was taking some people falconing up in Goshen, New York, up in the Hudson Valley. And I was supposed to meet them there at maybe 8 or 9, I was driving up maybe really early like 7. And then a woman, in a van in front of me, hit a bear, and killed it. A young bear. So I pulled over and I picked up the bear, and I put it in the back of my van. Because I was going to skin the bear. And it was in very good condition, and I was going to put the meat in my refrigerator. And you can do this in New York State. You can get a Bear Tag, for a roadkill bear. So then we went hawking, and I had the bear in my car. And then we had a really good day and we went late, we were catching a lot of game and the people really loved it so we stayed late so instead of going back to my home in Westchester I had to go right to the city cause there was a dinner at Peter Luger Steak House. And at the end of the dinner, it went late and I realized I couldn’t go home, I had to go to the airport. And the bear was in my car, and I didn’t want to leave the bear in the car. Because that would have been bad. So then I thought, you know, in that time [2014], this was the little bit of the redneck in me, there had been a series of bicycle accidents in New York. They just had put in the bike lanes. And some people, a couple of people had gotten killed, and every day people had been badly injured. Every day it was in the press. And so I thought, I wasn’t drinking of course, but people were drinking with me who thought this was a good idea. And I said I had an old bike in my car that somebody had asked me to get rid of, I said “let’s go put the bear in Central Park and we’ll go make it look like it got hit by a bike.” So everybody thought “That’s a great idea!” So we went and did that. And we thought it would be amusing for anyone who found it or something. The next day, it was on every television station or something, it was the front page of every paper. And I turned on the TV and there was like miles of yellow tape and there were twenty cop cars, there were helicopters flying over it. And I was like “Oh my god. What did I do?” And then they were, there was some people on TV, In Tyvek Suits, with gloves on, lifting up the bike, and they were saying they were going to take this up to Albany to get it fingerprinted. I was worried, because my prints were all over this bike. Luckily, the story died down after a while, and it stayed dead for a decade. The New Yorker somehow found out about it and they just, their gonna do a whole big article on me and that’s one of the the articles. So they asked me, the fact checkers, you know it’s gonna be a bad story.”

That may already seem like an unrepeatable act of a delusional Kennedy, but more animal-based events have been reported involving him. It was recently discovered that in a Town And Country Magazine article from 2011 interviewing, RFK Jr.’s daughter, Kick, a story is told that:

“When she was six, word got out that a dead whale had washed up on Squaw Island in Hyannis Port. Bobby [RFK Jr.] — who likes to study animal skulls and skeletons — ran down to the beach with a chainsaw, cut off the whale’s head, and then bungee-corded it to the roof of the family minivan for the five-hour haul back to Mount Kisco, New York. “Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” Kick recalls. “We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us.”

This is without a doubt, both a crime and animal abuse. This is not simply my opinion, as the first event had the many law enforcement officers described, and the second event is currently being National Marine Fisheries Service, a subgroup of N.O.A.A. that is responsible for the United States’ marine resources. However, there is even more, as RFK Jr. MAY be guilty of human abuse, specifically misconduct, a idea that when asked about he responded, to a crowd of journalists that:

“I am not a church boy. I had a very, very rambunctious youth. I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world.”

And so, this man has a pretty decent chance of being the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that our President-Elect, Donald Trump, has stated “Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!” Also Trump has said that he would let Kennedy “go wild on health,” “go wild on the food” and “go wild on medicines” if reelected, which he certainly was. I however do hold hope that congress can block this hire and attempt to get someone at least slightly more qualified to manage our health.

Mini-Interview #2: Paxtyn (6th grade)

     This is the second article in the Terrapin Times’ Mini-Interviews. This is a interview conducted just before Thanksgiving about Paxtyn’s (6th Grade) Thanksgiving plans and other various opinions in relation to the holiday.

Terrapin times: We’re here with Paxtyn from 6th grade to see her plans for Thanksgiving. So Paxtyn are you going out of state or staying in the state this thanksgiving?

Paxtyn: I am going upstate New York.

Terrapin Times: Who do you celebrate with?

Paxtyn: My grandmother and my cousins are coming.

Terrapin Times: What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Paxtyn: I don’t know.

Terrapin Times: What is one thing you’re thankful for?

Paxtyn: My cat.

Terrapin Times: Who is one person you’re thankful for?

Paxtyn: My cat.

Mini-Interview #1: Gus (8th grade)

This is the first article in our Mini-Interviews series where we speak to different BKI students and staff members about various topics that interest them. This interview is with Gus (8th Grade) and talks about his involvement in the BKI Ping Pong Team.

Terrapin Times: Today we’re here with Gus from 8th grade to see his thoughts about table tennis. So Gus, what made you join the team?

Gus: Well I have a ping pong table at my house, and I play a lot and that’s why I joined because it’s fun.

Terrapin times: How is table tennis going so far?

Gus: It’s going good. We have practice two times a week, and I think everyone is improving pretty well.

Terrapin Times: How long have you been playing table tennis?

Gus: Like 4 years now.

Terrapin Times: What are your team’s goals for this season?

Gus: To make the playoffs and get a winning record.

Teachers on Teaching, Part #1

Interview by Skyla

This is an interview that Skyla (6th Grade) conducted with Kevin (7th & 8th Grade Science Teacher). This interview covers his thoughts on teaching this year and may be the start of a larger series where other teachers may get interviewed as well. We hope you enjoy this article and that you can learn a bit more about how Kevin teaches.

Skyla: We are here with Mr Kevin, who teaches 7th and 8th grade science. We will see his opinions on his classes this year. How do you feel about your classes this year?

Kevin: I feel pretty strong! Half of my 8th graders this year I taught as 7th graders last year, and I was their advisory teacher so I know them really well and I’m very close with all of them, and I teach 7a this year, and so far I’ve had a great time getting to know all of them! It’s been a great year so far.

Skyla: How long have you been teaching in general?

Kevin: This is my 4th year at BKI. This is my 3rd year teaching science and before that I was the Latin teacher here. Before I was at BKI I was at an afterschool program where I was the supervisor and I also tutored different subjects for many years before that. So in BKI I’ve been teaching for 4 years, and then before that I was teaching for another 4 years.

Skyla: What do you plan on learning from your students this year?

Kevin: I’ve learned one TikTok dance. I’m  not very good at it, but I did try it, and they have me on video doing it. So maybe another TikTok dance. My 7th graders are also introducing me to some new slang so I can build my slang vocabulary more.

Skyla: What are your thoughts on homework?

Kevin: I think homework is best when it isn’t too long. I think it’s important that learning happens both inside and outside the classroom. I don’t like to give long homework because it doesn’t benefit anyone.

Skyla: Favorite part of BKI?

Kevin: If I were to name one right now, I think it’s the fact that we spent a lot of time making school not just about academics. All the different assemblies that we do, field learning trips that we do, give students so many different ways to interact with their teachers.

Getting To Know BKI’s First Undefeated Sports Team

By Archer D’Angelo

The BKI soccer team is making history by being the FIRST UNDEFEATED Sports Team in BKI history! I went to soccer practice on Tuesday, October 24th and was able to talk to a few players. I asked their coach, Mr. Laidley, about why this season went so well and he said “The team is a lot more together and we are all contributing as much as we can.” Now if you want to learn more about how our soccer team got to this point, keep reading below!

What Do You Like Best About The Team This Year?

• Brandon, 7th, Right Back/Midfield “I like how everything has come full circle. I think the team is more well-rounded, and we have a bit more passion.”
• Lucas, 6th, Left Back “We play really good together. We have a lot of chemistry.”
• Dayo, 6th Grade, Left Wing/Center Back “I like the passing. We are a good team together so we share the ball. We also have good moves when shooting goals.”
• Mariatu, 7th, Defense “I like the nice community, and Mr. Laidley is the best coach.”
• Judah, 8th, Center Mid “I love this coach. The coach is really good.”
• Beau, 6th, Striker “Coach Laidley is up to a lot and he lets you do a lot. He’s a great coach, and I think everyone should play soccer, especially with your friends.”
• Dash, 8th Right/Left Wing “I also like that we are winning a lot this year.” (Dash said this as Judah picked him up for a piggyback ride.)

Why Did The Team Do So Well This Season?

• Dash, 8th, Right/Left Wing “The other teams are less organized and most of our team has played together for 2 or more years.”
• Brandon, 7th, Right Back/Midfield “Every single one of the players has great qualities, and our goalkeeper, Oliver, is doing really good.”
• Dayo, 6th Grade, Left Wing/Center Back “I think the communication and chemistry between the team is good.”

What Was The Best Moment Of The Season?

• Dayo, 6th Grade, Left Wing/Center Back “When we all played in the rain and the other team didn’t show up. We were scrimmaging with each other, but it was a good moment because we were all having fun and screaming and playing.”
• Beau, 6th, Striker “I think probably scoring my first goal. Also everyone is just fair and fun and nobody is mean to each other, and it’s just a great spot to have fun.”

How Does The League Work?

• Dash, 8th, Right/Left Wing “Every team makes the playoffs with the best playing the worst and then going in from that in a bracket. Also all the other teams are charter schools.”

Who Are The Team Leaders?

• Mr. Laidley, Teacher, Coach “8th graders are leaders, like Eli C. and Russell especially. Russell has led our entire defense. Oliver is a good goalie. CJ has been on the team since 6th grade and has held the team down, but we have a good group of people this year, I think in general everyone leads in some way.”

How Will Illness Affect Wednesday’s Game?

• Dash, 8th, Right/Left Wing “A few of our starters are sick right now, so that will definitely affect the team. We are gonna be missing people, so some people will have to play longer. That would make them more tired and it will make us a weaker team, but I still think we can win.”

How Do You Think The Team Will Do In The Playoffs?

• Dylan, 6th, Striker “Well, I don’t want to jinx it but I think we will do good!”
• Dash, 8th, Right/Left Wing “I think we are gonna do really well cause currently we are the best team and we are playing the worst team on Wednesday.”
• Brandon, 7th, Right Back/Midfield “I wanna have high hopes, because this is the first time we have ever gone undefeated.”
• Beau, 6th, Striker “Well, we’ve already beat every team we played, so I THINK,  I hope, we can win. I’m pretty sure we will do well in the playoffs.”

What Would You Like The Student Body To Do During The Playoffs To Support The Team?

• Lucas, 6th, Left Back “It would be pretty cool if you all went to playoff games!”

Before we finish, I have an exclusive piece of info. Mr. Laidley said, “If we make it to the City Championship, I’d try and make it a school trip,” which is incredibly exciting for anyone who likes trips. I hope that that can happen if we make it to that point.

If you are reading this before the game 0n Wednesday, October 25, the playoffs are yet to begin, and let’s hope that BKI can pull through and win their way to the finals! As Brandon said, “We gotta take this team to the championship, we gotta win it, we gotta take this championship, we gotta dominate!”

Archer D’Angelo

7th Grader with experience at the Ps32 Journal as Editor. He often writes about BKI News, History, and Games. He focuses on the BKI News & Global News Categories. He also is good at Canva and other Design programs used by the Terrapin Times. He is a Big Fan of History as well as Video and Board Games related to History.

Grading Ancient Empires

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Eric Adam’s budget proposal threatens to extract a dangerous amount of funding from NYC’s library program

By Clyde Brittelle

Our mayor Eric Adams has proposed budget cuts that would withhold funding that would otherwise go to, among others, the library system. According to Emma Fitzsimmons from The New York Times, “During his first year as mayor, Eric Adams said he was focused on ensuring that city government served the working-class New Yorkers who helped elect him. But now he is under fire for cutting funding for libraries — a critical lifeline for people who do not have internet access at home or who need after-school tutoring and English language instruction. The proposed cuts of $13 million this fiscal year and more than $20 million next year have sparked concern among families, elected officials and library leaders.” The consequence of this happening? Libraries will have to make some serious changes. These might include closing earlier, being open 5 days a week, laying of workers, or decreasing the services offered to visitors. All of these options would negatively affect library loving New Yorkers.  

Fitzsimmons says that, “With more than 200 locations across the city, the public library system is a beloved institution where children learn to love books and recently arrived migrants become acclimated to their new home…[L]ibrary leaders added that their services were needed more than ever following the disruption of the pandemic. ‘“We’d have no choice but to do less, and that would be a great shame for the city,”’ said Nick Buron, the chief librarian at the Queens Public Library…A group of 13 left-leaning council members called the mayor’s recent budget adjustments ‘“cruel and dangerous”’ and argued that they would make the city less stable.” 

Libraries are a haven of knowledge in NYC and without this funding, many people across all walks of life would be negatively affected. For many who do not have internet access at home, libraries are a place to study for tests, and spend time surfing the web. For the less fortunate, libraries offer  something bookstores  do not; free knowledge to a seemingly endless collection of literature. For kids who want access to books, libraries are there. And in a capitalist free market society, it is one of the few places where things are truly free. Libraries also provide a chance for college students to do research, and overall, for people to foster their love for books, literature, and reading as a whole.  Eric Adams might think libraries are not important  to a New Yorkers life, but he is wrong. I hope that all library loving New Yorkers stand up to help  our sacred institution.

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Rikers Island needs to change

By; Nylah Nash 

Rickers island is a 413-acre island in the East River in the Bronx that contains New York City’s largest jail. The island was originally under 100 acres in size but has since grown to more than 400 acres. Rikers island is known for its intense violence and corruption and for grouping minors with adults. 

The conditions faced at Rikers island have been described as  ‘“inhumane” not because of what happens in the jail but because of the de Blasio administration not fixing the framework, and lack of hiring correctional officers for about 4 years which puts correctional officers who currently work in the facility at a disadvantage because they were understaffed. For years inmates and correctional officers have spoken out about the cruelty faced in this prison but so far, no one has made an effort to correct these problems.

 Vincent Schiraldi, an American juvenile justice policy reformer and activist was recently in charge of Rikers island and in an interview explained how there was a lack of recreation, health care, appearance in court, and searches. Correctional officers weren’t in units physically which meant inmates had shanks and this put the lives of inmates at risk due to some having serious mental problems. This jail was so bad to the point where it came to the conclusion that inmates and correctional officers were getting treated worse than people who are fully convicted. 

One of the most pressing problems as stated was a union contract which meant that correctional officers had unlimited sick days, this left about 7,000+ (up to ⅓) not coming to work which created the added problem of sick leave abuse. One former inmate at Rikers island said that though they have been to many jails, Rikers island is most definitely the worst and another describes Rikers island as “animalistic’’. 

Rikers island from a birds eye view

More elderly former inmates say it’s embarrassing being locked up with inmates half of your age and on top of that having your life at risk because there are no correctional officers nor the help you seek is provided. Over a 9-month period in 2021, there were over 2,000 assaults, which was expressed as a correction officials “ worst two years’’ of his life because of skyrocketing violence. Honestly, I think the idea of getting more correctional officers and renovating Rikers island is the best idea yet because the problems faced in this jail are being spoken about and ideas are being generated but nothing is actually being done. You can ask a current inmate in Rikers island who hasn’t served a long sentence and I guarantee you they are going to say that the conditions are bad, and most likely even worse than before.

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Fort Greene

By, Clyde Brittelle

How did Fort Greene get its name? What is its location? What is the story behind its famous park? Read this article and you’ll find the answers to all of these questions. 

For this article I spoke with Ms.Lawton, who is a teacher for the 7th grade at BKI, about living in Fort Greene. I interviewed her on what it is like to live in Fort Greene. But before we get to that, we need to have some background information about this beautiful neighborhood.

Origins

Fort Greene’s name originates from a Revolutionary war general named Nathaniel Greene. General Greene was the leader of the decisive Southern offensive in the latter years of the war for the Patriots. He also supervised the construction of a fort in the area during the Battle of Long Island, and after that, the neighborhood was forever known as Fort Greene. 

Fort Greene Geography

Borough:Brooklyn

East: Vanderbilt Avenue and Clinton Hill

West: Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn

North: Flatbush Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard

South: Atlantic Avenue and Prospect Heights

The Racial Demographics of Fort Greene

Race	Percentage (2000)	Percentage (2015-2019)
White	31.15%	52.1%
Black	41.8%	20.3%
Asian	4.2%	11.3%
Hispanic	19.3%	12.3%

Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in gentrification. According to Jerome Dineen and Matthew Elo from The Real Deal, “Brownstones in Fort Green regularly top The Real Deal’s weekly residential sales rankings, so it is no surprise that space in the stately neighborhood is some of the priciest in the city.” And according to Springer Link,“The area of Fort Greene outside of public housing has been gentrifying since the late 1960s. This area is known for the large number of brownstones, though many apartment buildings and condominiums are also located there.” This increase in expenses has been historically hard for black, brown, and hispanic people (who tend to have a lower income, due to years of systemic racism) resulted in, as shown in the chart above, an increase in white and asian american residents and a decrease in black and hispanic residents. When I was speaking to Ms.Lawton on this subject, she said, “As a woman that derives from this neighborhood, I’ve seen the lasting effect of gentrification and its disregard for groups of people from distinct socioeconomic backgrounds. Fort Greene’s soaring housing prices forced black and brown families out of their neighborhood. Fort Greene, once packaged as the ghetto but since has been repackaged with an image of luxury…{which is} not recognizable to some.”

Fort Greene Park

Fort Greene Park was originally called Washington Park. It was renamed after Nathaniel Greene. (Also, the namesake for the neighborhood itself, as previously stated.) In 1867, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) helped redesign it. Prior to this project, Olmsted and Vaux had spearheaded the creation of Central Park. In 1908, Fort Greene park’s most notable feature, the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument (designed by Stanford White) was unveiled by President-elect William Howarn Taft. This monument honors ~11,500 patriots who perished aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor during the American Revolution. The park is ~30.2 acres and is currently 156 years old. According to Ms.Lawton, a 7th grade humanities teacher here at BKI, “Fort Greene Park is like the lovable auntie that welcomes all family members regardless of any misunderstandings amongst family. Fort Greene Park is a common ground for all children to display their innocence, for canines to run free wholesomely, for cookouts to be accompanied by picnics- for house music festivals, movie screenings and sports to coexist.” 

Reasons to love Fort Greene

I spoke with Ms.Lawton on why she loved Fort Greene. On the subject of the types of people living in the neighborhood she said, “its diversity and variety of restaurants. Fort Greene is the true epitome of a melting pot that combines different people, styles of living, and theories to create a tasteful neighborhood – Fort Greene is truly one of a kind.” I then asked her about the thing that might make or break a neighborhood. The best mom and pop store. Ms. Lawton’s favorite is “a beloved corner store located on Adelphi Street and Myrtle Ave – Farmer in the Deli. Farmer in the Deli isn’t just a corner store – it is a sandwich making connoisseur. Their sandwiches are the BEST in Fort Greene – arguably Brooklyn because of the amount of meat and extra goods that the sandwiches are dressed with. Check out Farmer in the Deli on any given day or night and you will be greeted with the warmth from the store’s owners, the aroma from customized sandwiches and a long line wrapped around the store – all for sandwiches.”

In conclusion, I hope you have learned a lot about Fort Greene and will hopefully enjoy going there in the future. Thanks for reading my article. (:

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What Is The Slowest Car?

By. Jaiden Johnson  

Lots of people are trying to figure out what the fastest car in the world is. And lots of people try to make (you need to fix the grammar here) the fastest car. But, what is the slowest car? First, we should answer the bigger question, what is the fastest car? According to the interwebs, the fastest car on the planet is the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, with a top speed of over 310 mph (about 500 kph). Let’s find the slowest car now. 

  When I did research on this, I found out that most slow cars are either City cars, compact sedans, or SUVs. First, let’s predict what the slowest car is.

CJ: “A Mercedes. Benz.”

Justice: “Jeep, I don’t know.”

Oliver: “A lego car.”

Eli: “I feel like it’s a Lamborghini

  There are multiple types of cars. Like supercars, SUVs, trucks, smart cars, and a lot more. So we should go over the slowest car for the SUV. You might not know this, but SUVs are in the list of the fastest cars. One of the slowest SUVs is the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk; with 8.3 seconds 0-60. But the #1 slowest SUV is the Toyota Land Cruiser; with 13.14 seconds 0-62. Since their pick-up, and their styling and power-trains make them off-road, this makes the car terribly slow.

  Now let’s try to find the slowest supercar. Surprisingly, these cars can’t even go 0-60 in 3 seconds, remember, they are supercars. One of the top 15 slowest supercars is called the 2003 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Zagato. It moves from 0-60 in about 5 seconds. The slowest car is surprisingly a Lamborghini, but it was made in 1968. This is the 1968 Lamborghini Miura, which takes 6.3 seconds to get from 0-60.

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What Is The Scariest Horror Movie?

By Jaiden Johnson

  Many people love horror movies, which are still pretty popular today. My way of ranking horror movies is the story, affect/impact, and if the movie was worth it. Let’s use an example. We are going to rank The Black Phone. This 1 hour and 42 min minute movie contains a boy named Finney Shaw, a 13-year-old whom a killer kidnaps. This story is unoriginal, but the director Scott Derrickson made it a lot better.

  Now to the impact. The real-life inspiration behind this movie was that this movie was based-off on real life. The Black Phone does explain childhood trauma in this movie, but Derrickson did not want to make it super violent; “I think you have to have a sensitivity of what an audience can tolerate without really being turned off or turning on the film itself.” Derrickson says. He wants to confront people about the real horrors he has faced.

Was The Black Phone worth it? When I say this, I mean was it worth the cost of the tickets or rent? I found some thoughts on Reddit, and the user sebasour says “I think it was a movie where the idea was a little better than the execution, but it still managed to remain tense for its runtime and was a pretty well-acted movie. It’s a movie I’ll probably forget about pretty quickly, but I enjoyed it.” Looks like some people think it’s pretty good, but not a Jordan Peele or Sam Raimi-type movie.

  While I was scrolling through the internet, I finally found a movie that made people ACTUALLY shake in fear. This movie is called Terrifier 2. This movie was extremely gross and insanely disgusting, I made people puke and even pass out due to the gore in the movie. This impact/effect rating on people is definitely a 10/10. The story of Terrifier 2 is when a clown is resurrected by an evil entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County to terrify a girl and her younger brother. Personally, I would give this story a 7/10, since this is a movie idea a lot of directors use, but it is pretty different since Art is resurrected by an evil entity.

  Finally, is Terrifier 2 worth it? I would say no. I don’t want to take the risk of  shaking in fear, throwing up, or even passing out. So, the worth would be a 6/10 for me. This is why I would rank this movie one of the scariest movies of all time.

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The effects of social media on youth and how to keep yourself safe.

By:Ava Beswick

Now, I know a lot of you guys don’t  want to hear this at all but I think social media is heavily damaging to our young people. An example of this is just twitter where saying anything gets you absolutely slandered. People on the internet don’t need to hold back. They can hide behind a digital screen, and say whatever they want without facing any repercussions besides maybe some people telling them “stop, that isn’t nice!” It  is really important to keep yourself safe on the internet, and more than that, keep your mental health from deteriorating. 

According to mcleanhospital.org (https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health) 

“According to the Pew Research Center, 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. This puts a large amount of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use.” Social media is literally proven to make you feel “high” off the dopamine and serotonin your brain produces, which causes you to feel happy, which may seem good until you realize social media is unable to properly retain those doses of serotonin. 

As well as social media causing you to get used to hyperstimulation. You know those videos on tiktok where they put reddit stories above of subway surfers gameplay? Hyperstimulation. That can cause you to be unable to focus when the time calls for it (doing schoolwork, reading a book etc), because of you being understimulated. Additionally, hyperstimulation leads to trouble sleeping, impaired cognitive function (what helps you think and remember things) muscle tension and headaches. 

Social media, as much as I hate to say it, also causes lack of motivation in a lot of people, and causes you to neglect your emotions and be unable to process and handle things. “I’m so sad right now, but that’s okay, because being sad means I can listen to Mitski and Lana Del Ray and be aesthetic.” Social media causes you to see somethings, and makes you want to copy it subconsciously. “Wow that person has such a nice house, I wish I had a house like that, now I’m depressed.” That’s what happens when you consume too much of a certain content. My mother always tells me that I need to sometimes take a break from social media, and she told me that whatever I see on instagram, and tiktok and all of those are fake. Nothing is real, and if it is, it’s all heavily exaggerated.

As much as a blessing social media can be, being able to instantly communicate with your friends and make new ones at a whim, it can also be a curse. I’m not saying that we have to stop using these socials altogether, but we definitely need to know when it’s best to step back, and take a break to get together in your own life.  

Ava Beswick

I am a 7th grade girl who loves anime and arguments, and has a lot of opinions and will share them if necessary. I like video games, manga, and am probably the (second) most opinionated person you will ever meet. I will argue for fun.