Commentary
Do NPHS Teachers have Style?
By Aili Zissu, Staff Writer I bet you’ve noticed the teachers of New Paltz High School are totally fitted up. From crisp suit jackets to bold pattern mixes, our educators certainly have a flair for fashion. But why do they wear what they wear? What’s their inspiration? How do they feel about the way we…
Native Americans, Nature, and New Paltz
By Alex Bark, Writer Simply by living in the New Paltz community we are constantly surrounded by nature. But do we appreciate it enough? While Americans may be detached from our natural world, nature’s role in Native American culture is sacred to all aspects of life: religion, daily rituals, literature, food, medicine and art. Tobacco,…
A Potential Ban on TikTok: Good or Bad?
By Lyla Laffin, Writer Mindless scrolling and hours on end of countless promotions, ads, memes, dances, and information take up the majority of people’s lives in America and around the world. Whether we recognize it or not, social media platforms are the center of communication, business, and recreation in today’s society. In particular, TikTok, which…
Religion, and its Place in New Paltz High School’s Classrooms
By Bailey Kane, Staff Writer 4,512 hundred years ago, more than 4 millennia back into our history, the first known religious text was created. In Ancient Egypt, The Pyramid Texts were born. This set of physical knowledge is a testament to the power and influence religion has had on people. For over almost 5,000 years,…
Fast Fashion, the Result of Greed
By Bailey Kane, Staff writer All people wish to find value in one form or another. For some it’s through money, others through status, and for many, value can be gained from fashion. After all, it is just a flaunt of wealth. Although you may not be aware of it, most people consciously choose what…
The Importance of Representation in the NFL
By Sam Lawrence, Staff Writer The National Football League (NFL) consists of 32 teams divided into the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). It’s the most popular sports corporation in America and has maintained its popularity for decades. The NFL organization was founded on September 17, 1920. Today, it’s become one…
Fashion Trends of New Paltz and Beyond
By Shelby De Jong and Aivyn Hemminger, Staff Writers “First impressions are everything”, “seeing is believing”, “a picture tells a thousand words”- throughout our lives we have heard these cliches, we have been advised of the importance of visual presentation since we were young, and now as teenagers, we are in control of how we…
Behind the Glitz and Glamour of Broadway
By Nicholas Kutzin, Writer Bright lights, vibrant sound, the roar of the crowd as a singer finishes belting their heart out—these are the images conjured when you hear the word “Broadway.” You might picture a throng of fans cheering and screaming, tear streaks running down faces, or actors glowing in the spotlight as they dance…
The Rise of Thrifting: Overconsumption Disguised as Ethicality
The New Paltz High School community discusses current trends in thrifting in an effort to raise awareness of the harmful effects. By: Ruth Kurland, Writer Featured Image by Tierney Reed, Artist As thrifting has become increasingly trendy, it seems to have lost its original purpose. Thrifting has been dominated by fast fashion and has become…
The Value of Music in Our Schools
By Maggie DiDonna, Staff Writer “Playing music is not easy,” a truth that Gary Gibson of The Seattle Times and almost every instrumentalist knows. Music requires patience, innovation, and concentration, skills valued by school districts along with the twenty first century. But across the country, music programs are being cut, even here in New Paltz. …
So, What Is Freedom?
By Anna Goodman, Staff Writer Freedom. What a word. It means so many different things to so many different people. When I went on a long-awaited trip to Northern Ireland last summer in order to track down my distant family, it changed my perception of the word forever. To the eyes of many, Northern Ireland…
The Impact of Cover Art
By Jack Dunphy, Writer In the age of the media, listeners can still look to album covers to tell a story. Obviously some artists do a better job than others at finding that one picture that conveys the vibe of their whole album. In the case of Liquid Swords by the GZA, you see a…
Creativity in Classrooms
By Nectarios Rodriguez, Writer Graphic by Shelby de Jong, Staff Writer It’s no question that the public’s “creativity quotient” has steadily declined since 1990. Creativity is the keystone to childhood, integral in fostering a future of intelligence, and out of the box thinking. In adulthood it is the currency that drives business, and incites change. …
Artificial Intelligence’s Looming Influence on the Art World
By Lila Ackerman, Staff Writer Prepare to be amazed and slightly terrified as the art world falls under the calculated and pixelated spell of artificial intelligence (AI). Move aside Picasso, Van Gogh, and that artsy-fartsy guy from your neighborhood, because AI is about to showcase its algorithmic wizardry. With its uncanny ability to paint, sculpt,…
Thoughts Unraveled: Students Reflect on The First Amendment
In AP Language and Composition, students are asked to explore complex questions and synthesize their thinking. Here are just a few of the many thought-provoking responses students had when asked about the extent of the First Amendment. Writing by Anna Goodman-Staff Writer, Nectarios Rodriguez-Writer, and Georgia Schultz-Editor-in-chief Featured Image by Shelby DeJong, Staff Editor Anna…
The Digital Age of Education: For Better or for Worse?
By Lucca Falcone, Writer All across classrooms of the United States today, students frequently utilize digital technology to aid their learning. Whether it be a cellphone, Chromebook, or SMART board, these technologies are all used in different ways to enhance education and make it more efficient and convenient. But as time goes on, people agree…
Is BetterHelp an Example of Why You Shouldn’t Resort to Online Therapy?
By Trey Nitza, Visual Arts Editor-in-Chief Putting “BetterHelp controversies” into Google is appalling. Watching YouTube every now and then, I have heard of this online therapy service through their sponsorships with a lot of videos on the YouTube site. I and most people rarely pay attention to really any sponsorships on the site to be…
Got Milk?
Your school lunch tray does… but should it? By Lindsey Clinton, Co-Editor-In-Chief You stand in line waiting to get lunch in a room packed full of hungry students. Grab your tray, take a milk, and then get lunch. Once you get through the line and pay, your milk is immediately added to the mountain of…
The Return of Honesty to Journalism?
Tucker Carlson is fired from Fox News. By Taylor Kane, Staff Writer Who is to blame when a lie is believed? Are we to blame the liar, or the believer? For the past era of media, it’s been the believer. Gullibility is a punishable crime but dishonesty is not – until now. In December of…
Billboard Hits, Big Record Companies, and Binding Contracts
By Beckett Evans, Staff Writer Music makes the world go around. For most of us, listening to music is such a large part of our everyday routine that we often take it for granted. Have you wondered how some pop stars make hit after hit while other musicians are one hit wonders? There is a…
A Genocide Through Laws and Legislation
By Maggie Heenan, Staff Editor Genocide; a word that the majority of people would associate with a deliberate, mass killing of a specific minority group. When we hear this word we think of the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide- we think of this as a tragedy of the past or as the horrifying reality of…
The State of the Film Industry Today
By Trey Nitza, Staff Writer Remember when we all thought that movie theaters were going to die? During the Covid-19 pandemic, it felt like everything as we knew it was changing, and movies were no exception. Everyone started to make predictions about how the Coronavirus was the executioner that was going to deliver a final…
Love, And Change The World
Why Romeo and Juliet Still Matters. By Anna Goodman, Staff Writer Like almost all of you, I read Romeo & Juliet in ninth grade. Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably seen it referenced in every YA novel that’s a rip-off of Twilight. A boy and a girl from two noble families that hate each other,…
What the Eras Tour Chaos Means for the Future of Ticketmaster
By Julia Demskie, Assistant Editor-in-Chief Did you get tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour? Taylor Swift is one of the most famous artists of our generation. It’s no surprise that tickets to her first tour since 2018 were the most coveted of the year. Millions of fans flooded the website of Ticketmaster, a company that…
Does the First Amendment Protect Lies?
By Zlata Shmarina When the first amendment was written and adopted on December 15, 1791, one of its main purposes was to protect freedom of speech and the freedom of press for as long as the country shall stand. For hundreds of years now, that law has been upheld and respected by governing bodies to…
The Sensationalized Version of Jeffery Dahmer
By Esther Forte, Staff Writer On September 20th of 2022 Netflix came out with its own show on Milwaukee’s most evil native–Jeffrey Dahmer. What possessed Netflix to profile a monster like Dahmer in the first place, and what was so appealing that it attracted 56 million viewers within a matter of 12 days world wide?…
The Wrongful Death of Tyre Nichols and What It Means For America
By: Veda Keon, Staff Writer Tapping through my Instagram stories on February 10th, I felt my heart drop as I was met with the smiling face of Tyre Nichols on each new story. “Say his name” was plastered under each post; it was another black man unjustly killed at the hands of the police. The…
Past Music Icons Perform Again
How Technology in The Music Industry Has Gone Too Far By Lindsey Clinton, Co-Editor-In-Chief Once an icon of the century; forever, they stay immoral. No longer can we celebrate and commemorate their talents and legacy because we have forced their concerts to live on. The face of music has altered completely as we continue to…
The Bridge Between Virtual and Everyday Violence
By Georgia Schultz, Staff Writer From video games focused on murder to constant replays of barbaric events in the media, Americans are constantly bombarded with violent images, videos and thoughts in their everyday life. With the rise of this hatred becoming normalized, death tolls caused by violence have grown dramatically in the last decade. In…
You Should Be Scared This Election
By Shane Maher, Staff Writer You hear it every few Novembers: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.” This cliche has been said about nearly every race dating back to the beginning of American politics. Now it may never really be known which election is the “most important,” but the stakes of this…
My Unedited Experience in Nepal
By Julia Crofton, Staff Writer “How was Nepal?” is the only question I received the week I returned from the remarkable city of Kathmandu. I had expected to have an answer to this question after returning. I had expected to be able to say that it was incredible, perfect, and dreamlike. And while it was…
It’s Time to Redefine ‘Proper’ Speech
Editorial and Video by Phoebe Eis, Staff Writer One of my more vivid memories of high school is my first Socratic seminar, freshman year. Chairs were scraped (deafeningly) into a circle, directions were explained (and then explained again) and finally, we each contributed once to our discussion about the Roman empire. After my contributions, my…
A Call for Diversity
Gabriel Cook, Writer Featured Image Courtesy of The Harvard Business Review Since I’ve come to high school, I’ve felt a little bit weird. At first, the feeling fell to the back of my attention, but it hasn’t really gone away even as I have gotten more accustomed or grown into my environment. There is a…
It’s the Oscars… Again.
By Christine Vigliotti, Staff Writer Between early February and late March, the biggest names in Hollywood get ready for the showdown of the year The Academy Awards. They clear their Sunday, secure stylists and dates, and walk the red carpet, trying to hide their nerves through fake smiles. The attendees sit at overpriced tables as…
What Taylor Swift Means to Today’s Youth
By Hanna Beukelman and Parker Reed, Staff Writers Few possess the sheer ambition of 12-year-old Taylor Swift, whose diary’s front page read: “My life, my career, my dream, my reality.” Determined to become a household name, Swift’s global relevance was prefaced by her country singer aspirations, which she chased with vigor. Her transformation from Tennessee…
Why Chris Rock and Will Smith are Both in the Wrong
By Parker Reed and Julia Demskie The Oscars–on Sunday, March 27– hosted more than just renowned actors from all categories of timeless movies, but also the source of gossip that would be heard from the mouths of millions in the days following. Chris Rock, a comedian and actor, was a presenter at this year’s Oscars…
The NFL Needs to Change
Video by Solo Diedhiou, Staff Writer Video by Lindsey Clinton, Co-Editor-In-Chief Time for Much Needed Change in Hiring How Well Does New Paltz Know Their NFL Logos?
The Cook Off
By Shane Maher, Staff Writer Roman Grinevics and I have had a long standing rivalry concerning school lunches. With both of us having the same lunch on both days, we’ve gotten to know each other’s eating habits fairly well. For instance, it’s almost a guarantee that on any day of the year I will have…
Opinion: The Ahmaud Arbery Verdict
By Julia Demskie, Assistant Editor-in-Chief On February 23, 2020, the American tradition of murdering innocent black people was observed once again when Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot while on a jog. A video of the incident was released by lawyers for Arbery’s family on May 5, 2020; by the time this incident reached my world,…
I Wrote a Letter to Every State in America
By Shane Maher, Staff Writer During a trip to Pasquale’s on a cold quarantine night, I had a realization: I needed to write a letter to every single state in America. I really like learning about people, especially those from different places. I commonly watch “Vice” pieces on YouTube, since that’s what they tend to…
What Would Happen if the Internet Went Out?
By Giselle Eisenburg Featured Illustration by Fallon Geisler The internet has become a daily necessity in the last 20 years. Communication, entertainment, information, school, and work have become dependent on the use of the internet. However, the use of the internet is not a strictly modern thing. The internet has been a large part of…
Journalism: Forever Changed as a Result of “45”
By Lindsey Clinton, Co-Editor-in-Chief The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, and his administration have left much controversy over the credibility and relevance of journalists in today’s society. In April 2020, the coronavirus pandemic became the headline of virtually every news article across the globe. With many questions waiting eagerly to be answered,…
Sustainability in New Paltz High School
By Sophie Gallo, Staff Writer New Paltz High School students are striving to be more sustainable in their fashion choices. But the reality for students is… there are many factors that get in the way. Fashion One major pinpoint of self expression amongst high school students varies from person to person. While there are many…
The Pressures Instagram Puts on Today’s Youth
By Parker Reed, Staff Writer In today’s society where social media is always looming, children are losing their innocent childhood. “Why can’t I stay outside for five more minutes?” used to be the normal conflict between mother and child, but over the years the plea of a child has been transformed to begging for Instagram.…
The Importance of a Dynamic Consciousness
By Soleil Miller, Writer Growing up is like getting a new glasses prescription. The fresh lenses allow us to view the world in a clearer, more in-depth picture. As we age, our level of consciousness grows with us. The newfound perception that is gained through adolescence is the ability to be knowledgeable about feelings and…
The Glamorization of Mental Illness in the Media
By Mae Rogers, Writer We love the media. TikTok, Instagram, television, YouTube- you name it, we can’t get enough. In fact, 2021 estimates suggest that more than 210 million people worldwide suffer from addiction to social media and the internet. On all sources of media, you can find users that glamorize poor mental health and…
I Quit Instagram.
By Rosie Savelson, Staff Writer My private Instagram account has 1,135 posts. I created it in eighth grade, and for the last four years I shared on it almost daily. I created series; traditions; I packaged my innermost thoughts into irony and entertainment, everything a huge satire of itself. Then I made a decision I…
A Doodle From a Teacher
By Shane Maher, Staff Writer Have you ever wondered which one of your teachers was the best at doing quick 30 second doodles? Of course you haven’t, that’s ridiculous. I, however, always have, and this year I felt like I should finally answer that question. The task was fairly simple. All it required was going…
Education in 2020: Re-Learning Teaching
By Julia Demskie, Staff Writer When the world plunged into full lockdown just before the start of spring last year, no one could foresee the conditions schools would face upon coming back the next fall. The 2020-2021 school year has been one of unpredictable and dynamic circumstances for every student and teacher, and those at…
Looking at America Through Asian Eyes
By Matthias Lai, Staff Editor I really hit a blank while writing this piece. For a few weeks, I struggled with whether I’m the right person to write this, whether my voice can encompass a group of people whose voice is startlingly silent. I’m half Chinese, and almost everyone on my dad’s side of the…
The Future of Education
By Adam Koplik, Editor-in-Chief The pandemic was long, it was lonely, it was anxiety producing, and for many, it was tragic. Dozens of societal problems were highlighted, but one of the ones that stuck with me was how wrong we’re looking at education. The College Board was generous enough to offer free AP review videos…
The Maroon 