CHS Chilli-Chatter

by Aundraya Shady

When the 3:01 bell rings, are you one of the students who heads home to do homework, one of the students who heads to a sports practice, or one of the many students who heads to a part-time job? Many students at CHS hold a part-time job--in fact, most students go to work after school.

In a recent survey of 137 students, 76% reported that they have a part-time job. Most of the students work 11-15 hours a week, and around 16% of the students work over 20 hours a week. One of the most surprising results was that 66% of students work both weekends and weekdays. Working this many hours during both the week and weekend should make for some difficulties. After all, many of our CHS students are also involved in extracurricular activities.

Being a student and an employee can stretch students to their limits. However, CHS students know how to manage their time. The survey asked if part-time jobs conflicted with school work and surprisingly 64% of the answers were no. This just proves the fact the Chillicothe High School students are successful at planning their time.

The students at CHS have a variety of jobs. Some of them are servers at restaurants and help to keep customers happy with their food. Others work with animals and equipment on the farm. Some work at local retailers. There are even students who help the elderly in the local nursing homes. Being a part of CHS has broadened the horizons of part-time jobs. There are many different jobs out there and high school kids tend to take up a lot of them.

The survey also asked, “What has your part-time job taught you?” The most selected answer was Responsibility with 81%. The next answer was People Skills with 79% and following that was Time Management at 74%. Although being a part-time worker and a full-time student is tricky, CHS has it under control. We as Hornets have had the education to prepare us for the real world outside of high school. With the help of parents, friends, and teachers, students who have part-time jobs seem to be doing it well. Not only does CHS have busy Hornets, but successful Hornets in the hive as well.

by Leah Lourenco

The creation of the e-cigarette has led to a nationwide epidemic of teen vaping. It rose to popularity in full force and is currently threatening the health of people across the United States. As vaping has become more common, and people become more addicted, researchers have found more proof to suggest that vaping may cause adverse effects. It is important that now more than ever we take up the fight against recreational e-cigarette use.

Many adults compare youth’s increased use of e-cigarettes to normal cigarette use in the past. Previously, the dangers of cigarettes were unknown, causing people, including children, to partake in smoking. This led to a generation of cigarette-addicted people. The parallels are certainly there in vaping. According to the CDC, in 2018 more than 3.6 million middle/high school students had vaped in the past 30 days in the United States. (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/pdfs/Electronic-Cigarettes-Infographic-p.pdf). A student survey was conducted at CHS in early November 2020. At CHS, 83.4% of survey respondents know people who vape. Not much is known about the dangers of vaping, and even less was known five years ago. This has led to a feeling of safety regarding vaping, and many youths have become addicted.

This generation of e-cigarette addicted youth may lead to a repeat of the cigarette cycle, where many adults now experience adverse health effects due to the prevalence of smoking in their youth. Theory already suggests that the ingredients in vape products are dangerous. Nicotine and aerosol are the main known threats. Not only does nicotine cause addiction to vaping, but it also harms youth brain development. This is especially threatening considering that youths are a larger consumer of vape paraphernalia than adults. The aerosols contain chemicals and small particles that go into the lungs. These are not healthy, but it is unknown to the extent that this will affect people long-term.

The vaping survey also reported some hopeful news--56.9% of CHS students know someone who has quit vaping. An interview with our high school principal, Mr. Dan Nagel, provided further insight. Mr. Nagel said that vaping replaced cigarettes in schools three years ago. When this happened, vaping violations became three times as common as cigarette violations were. During the 2019-2020 school year, approximately 50 vape products were confiscated over the entire school year, but this year the number confiscated has dropped dramatically. Mr. Nagel believes that perhaps this trend is due to a new vaping policy that was put into place last year. This policy gives offenders five days of out-of-school suspension when they are found to have any vape products. Mr. Nagel also said it is possible that students may have become more creative with how they are hiding their products.

There may be some other contributing factors to the decrease of vape violations at CHS. It is possible that students have finally built up enough awareness of the dangers of vaping and have decided to quit of their own volition. Perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic also has an impact. Some 13% of survey respondents agreed that someone has quit vaping due to COVID-19. I think this could be explained by two reasons: students are less likely to vape because they recognize that vaping may put their lungs at risk for COVID-19 and maybe more realistically--due to social distancing rules--peer pressure and the thrill of vaping in a group has been reduced.

Hopefully, as time progresses we do not see a repeat of the cigarette cycle, and instead, we continue to see a downward trend in recreational vape use not only at CHS but nationwide. This can only be accomplished through a conscious effort to educate and help teens and e-cigarette addicted people to stop the recreational use of vape products.

by Kadence Shipers

Many activities at CHS have been postponed, virtualized, or limited due to Covid restrictions. Some of those activities include the Academic Banquet, Veterans Day Assembly, and Barnwarming. Although these events were not cancelled, they were not celebrated in the traditional manner.

by Dimitri Dickerson

Although this year has been as normal as possible, there are many events--including fine arts events--that have been cancelled or modified. Because of the need to limit crowds, Covid-19 has changed what the fine arts departments can produce.

Mrs. Sarah Cavanah, Band Director at CHS, stated that all marching competitions were cancelled this year (such as Cameron MarchFest and Carrollton Band Day) but that plans were in the works to have spring performances in the Performing Arts Center. The main concern is making sure the audience is socially distanced as well as the band. Mrs. Cavanah’s band class has been practicing in the PAC, spread out both on the stage and in the seats used by the audience during performances.

Mr. Matthan Mrkvicka, the CHS Choir Director, detailed that all choir performances as of yet have been cancelled and that even in class the students are not singing. He also stated that his class format had changed with students “learning music remotely from home.” Instead of in-class singing, “the students have expanded [their] knowledge of music theory and now students are learning to conduct music.” He is hoping that sometime in the future the students will be able to put together a recording of singing from home to use as a virtual performance.

Mrs. Lisa Rule, the CHS Drama Department director, discussed how they continued to produce a show left over from last spring. The production was moved to the football field to allow for social distancing among the audience. Her drama class has remained unchanged aside from the addition of masks. Rule hopes that this year’s spring production will be in the PAC, but plans to relocate to the football field once more if that isn’t possible. She is also working on a new alternative where people will be able to rent past productions for a small fee using an online service. She hopes to have this set up by mid-December.

Fine arts performances have drastically changed this year, but the CHS Fine Arts Department is taking its “cue” by moving to new formats.

by Claire Ripley

Lowkey she sus, she spills so much tea about her “best friend”... someone's capping. If that sentence didn't make sense to you, you may be over the age of 30 and if it did, hello fellow teenager. The experience of being a teenager may not change much from year to year, but one thing changes for certain and that would be the slang teenagers use. Let’s break down these “secret codes” that may make it seem like you’re learning a different language.

“No cap!” This slang phrase for “You’re lying” has to be one of the biggest of 2020. When someone says “no cap” it basically means they’re calling you a liar, or what you're saying is a lie. This can be used in other contexts like capping meaning lying or all cap meaning everything is thought to be a lie.

You may think extra just means having an abundance of something, or too much of something, but in today's slanguage being extra means you're over the top or extreme. Teens may use this by saying, “She’s so extra, there is no need to wear a fancy dress to a basketball game.”

Next the word flex. I’m not talking about flexing your biceps at the gym, but flex really just means to show off. Today people may say someone is flexing because they are showing off something they’re proud of.

You all probably know the term downlow meaning to keep something a secret and not to emphasize it. Downlow means the same thing as the word lowkey that is most used by teens as a way to keep something a secret and not to go around telling people. Similarly, sus is the root word for suspicious and it's pretty self-explanatory. When someone is suspicious or involved in suspicious activity they would be considered sus. Teens usually use the term this like, “She was being really quiet, that's super sus.”

Do you have big news that may be a secret, but you still want to tell everyone? In 2020, that would be spilling the tea similar to “spilling the beans.” The tea is the gossip and you're the teapot spilling out all the tea. If someone were to say, “ I have to tell you something,” a common teen response would be, “Spill the tea.”

These next words may be a little 2019, but are still commonly used in teen language. When someone is shook they are surprised or shocked. If someone were to say something crazy or surprising a common response would be “I’m shook.” Lit and gas are all ways of saying something is cool; for example “That’s gas” or “It’s lit.” Lastly, the phrase “That’s fire” is frequently used as a way of complimenting someone's outfit, accessories, or photo.

There you have it, new words or phrases to connect the Gen Z’s with other generations through slanguage. Don’t get too over confident, though; these words will soon die off and be replaced with others. Until then, here you have the newest teen slang.

by Emma Rule

In a time where school traditions are changing, it is a good time to look back on the CHS traditions that have gone away. Our current high school experience has changed dramatically from years past because of the virus preventions, but some traditions slowly faded out throughout the past decades.

“Wills and Prophecies” are one of the things that have gone away. In the annual CHS yearbook, the Cresset, a prophecy would be written along by the photo of the student. These can be seen all the way back to 1907. Based on the students’ attitudes, habits, and future plans, these prophecies predicted what students would do in their futures. Some students’ prophecies tell of becoming a pastor, a stay-at-home wife, a salesman, etc. Later, Wills and prophecies would be published in student publications and were great fun for the students to come up with for their peers.

Another tradition that brought liveliness to students’ lives were the Junior and Senior Fights. In a race to claim the school’s flag from the flag pole in front of “Old CHS,” students would be consumed in a brawl and boxing fights. The fights are discussed by Coach Bob Fairchild in the 2009 documentary “If Halls Could Talk.” Along with the fights themselves, students would kidnap other students to prevent them from being a threat during the fights. Students would return to school the following day with black eyes and bruises.

Along with the traditional Homecoming dances that students currently plan and attend, there used to be a dance that was themed as a Hobo Dance. Hobo dances had a king and queen that were crowned that night. Students dressed up in overalls and ripped and ragged clothes.

Another dance other than the Hobo Dance was the Snake Dance during Homecoming. On the Thursday night preceding the football game and parade, students would host a bonfire behind the high school. Students would then link arms or hands around the bonfire and walk single-file around the fire and the school, as can be seen in the 1971 edition of the Cresset. Following the Snake Dance and bonfire, they would acquire a junk car and bash it for entertainment. Right before the parade on the following day, students would snake dance--again single-file--to watch the parade down Washington Street. The Snake Dance, bonfire, and car bash were Homecoming activities that have faded with time and seemed to be gone by the late 1980s.

The Cresset yearbook also crowned a queen and king of the school beginning in the 1920s. The school would vote for the Cresset royalty. There would be a coronation of princes and princesses for the runners-up for queen and king. Not only was there Cresset Royalty but also a Cresset play; the play was produced by the yearbook staff and was used to raise money and student awareness about the yearbook.

In this time of drastic change, traditions are a good thing to look forward to and back upon. Reminiscing can be healthy for students to fondly recall the times that they spent together and created memories. Hopefully, this year will create new memories and traditions that will benefit the school and the community for years to come.