Senior Send Off - Class of ‘22

Suhani Muhajan, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Grace Yang

Members of Northview's 2022 graduating class reflect on their experience in high school and their plans going forward. Point of View's seniors, Caleb, Dhruv, and Suhani, discuss their time in the class. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Sahit: My name is Sahit and I'm a senior at Northview High School.

Sasha: Hi, my name is Sasha.

Soham: Yeah, hello, my name is Soham. I'm a senior here at Northview I'm the captain of the varsity soccer team.

Elizabeth: Hello, my name is Elizabeth Ziabchenko. And I'm a student at Northview High School.

Alana: Yes, hello, I'm Alana McLaughlin, and I'm a senior.

Sivan: Hi, I'm Sivan. I'm a senior at Northview High School, and I'll be graduating this year.

Caleb: And this was high school for Northview's class of 2022. We've learned we've grown, we've made countless memories that we'll keep forever.

Sahit: Most of my favorite memories are actually oriented with my friends and things we do together, we went to the Chattahoochee River, the plan was to just you know, look at a river and just play around in the park and so forth. But we he and I actually ended up going into the river. And we were not, we were not smart about it because the current was extremely strong, and we had no idea what to do. And we realized this halfway in, and like we barely made it out alive and kind of thing and like we were both shivering and hypothermic, it was just really crazy and scary. But now that I look back on it, it feels more like like a storybook adventure. And those memories that I'm really happy about.

Sasha: I got to step in for the role of Carrie for one day, and learn it in like two seconds. So that's definitely going to be a core memory for me. It was a lot of fun.

Sivan: Um, my favorite memory was actually pretty recent, it was during the Stone Mountain trip. So after the mountain, we everyone went to the barbecue and everyone ate and things like that. And everyone decided to go play volleyball. And for some reason, everyone decided to go play volleyball at this one singular net. And what I thought was so memorable about that experience was that like, kids from so many different like cliques or groups, kids from like different backgrounds, because who had different interests all came together and support each other while we played volleyball. And you could see like the excitement and joy in everyone's eyes when they went to when they hit the ball over the net. And people are high-fiving and people who never even spoke to each other before we're on the same team. And they were like just enjoying each other's company.

Elizabeth: Some of my favorite memories is like performing at an international night, particularly my senior year when I was in 2x. And the cullmination of my high school tennis, which was winning regions this year.

Alana: One of my favorite memories was probably I think it was the homecoming football game where it was blackout of this year. It was just great because all the different friend groups and our grade were there. And it was really like a sense of community and everybody was together. And I don't think you get that every football game. And it was just nice. And we missed so many things because of COVID. It was really nice to just be together and like kind of experience that.

Soham: I would say my favorite memory from the last four years is probably this past this past season with my team with the Northview our soccer team, we exceeded expectations tremendously. We were runner ups in our region, and we made it to the Round 16 second round of playoffs. And just that the whole season these past few months have been some of like the best ones in my life. This is a tremendous success we had in like the amount of fun I had to with with all my with all my teammates. And so it was just it was it was amazing was a great experience. Suhani: Whether we were online or in person, we've pushed ourselves to our limits, bonding over shared procrastination and late night studying.

Sivan: What I think I'll miss the most about my high school experience is the suffering everyone went through together. So in my eyes, while the classes were very hard and they took a lot of work, the nights that you spend with your friends on like FaceTime or discord like grinding out assignments or study guides and things like that. While they were hard. I think it was kind of enjoyable at the same time because um, it was like a group collectively suffering together.

Alana: I have loved yearbook. It's a lot of work but nothing beats like that community in that class and the ability we have to have so much fun together, but it's also something that's my passion.

Elizabeth: My favorite classes, were definitely my lit classes my ninth grade with Coronavirus, Yashi 11th grade with Miss Pope and 12th grade with AP Lit and Rawlins class. Honorable mention to honors Chem surprisingly because I definitely think that the shared torture of honors Chem brings people together. And I made some of my best friends are in my honors chem class where we did a bunch of labs and just talk through our assignments together. And cram studied for classes during lunch.

Sahit: AP Lang for sure by Mrs. Pope, even though it was online, which wasn't the best aspect of it. It was extremely entertaining and educational. It kind of helped me realize the importance of language which is something I didn't realize the first two years and it helped me really hone in on my voice. Identify with what I truly believe in and find a way to express that and justify it and like, you know, persuade people and like, take my stance. So it gave me a lot of confidence.

Sasha: Okay this is a class that I took freshman year. But it's definitely one of my favorites. It was 10th honors lit. And I had Ms Pope. We had this one unit where we were reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And my friend Aayush and I, we liked the book so much that we started making a Broadway musical out of it. And we like wrote songs and cast people and everything. So I loved that class so much, I had so much fun.

Dhruv: Outside the classroom, we grew as people tried new things, we planted the seeds of future hobbies we take with us now.

Sivan: Growing up, I was like very, very unathletic. And something about wrestling and like something about like watching yourself grow, was like very fun for me. Because it was like, knowing that you didn't come from like a background where you were just knew you were gonna do sports, and doing wrestling and like winning matches and succeeding. Something about that was just very fun for me.

Sasha: I think I'm proud of how involved I got in everything that I did, I got some leadership positions. And I feel like that really helped me this year, like really get more involved with what I was doing and get that experience. Be president of a club. Just be in the club in the first place. I've been part of improv clubs since freshman year. So all four years, being involved in chorus being really involved in theater. I just this year gotten involved with the Northview bolt, which was like so much fun. Just getting involved with as much as I could, I feel like I'm proud of that.

Sahit: Especially with Psi Alpha, which is the psychology Art Society. And whether it's through guest speaker events, or like the various fundraisers, awareness campaigns, anything we've done, the ability to impact the greater Northview community and make a significant impact on it. And also leave a legacy of the club behind as a graduate, something I'm really excited and proud about.

Suhani: And despite everything that made high school seem impossible, at moments, we persevered, though, maybe that's easier to say, in hindsight.

Sivan: I was on the wrestling team. And I would say the wrestling teams practices were the hardest of any sport I've ever done. And being in that room, and like sweating, and like suffering and constantly like pushing each other, in that hot, sweaty room for like, hours and hours every week, kind of brought me closer together with the people I was in there with. And because of that it just made it so enjoyable and memorable.

Sasha: Taking charge and making decisions for myself and talking to people in that way. I was always more of a follower than a leader. But this year, I think I've definitely learned to become more of a leader and make decisions and be in charge of some things. And I feel like that's been really useful. And it's really going to help me going forward. So I'd say that's the main thing. Yeah.

Sivan: Looking back, because I was so sporadic, and so like spontaneous about a lot of my decisions. It kind of hindered a lot of my growth and development in certain areas. And I feel like looking back, if I just stuck to certain things and tried new things, I would have probably been a very different person than I am now.

Sahit: Because freshman, sophomore year, I think like most students, I spent a great deal of time to studying and working. And I wish I did have more balanced, which means enjoying myself more, going out with my friends more doing hobbies, and just an overall sense of like fulfillment, which I feel like I lack that I found now.

Alana: Like embrace who you are and don't apologize for being who you are. I think that obviously when you're a freshman, you're so worried that the upperclassmen are going to judge you and other people are going to judge you and I just wish that I had embraced myself sooner I think I would have been a lot happier.

Soham: Enjoy enjoy these years. I kind of sounds cliche, but like, and like you know, when I heard obviously when we all heard it back, back when we were freshmen too, like, oh, yeah, don't worry, we have so much time. It's true. It's for real man, it goes by so fast. Take it take it one year at a time. We can time you know, just enjoy, enjoy high school man, prepare yourself, gain those qualities that you need to be successful in life moving forward. This is the time where you where you learn everything, learn your skills, learn what you want to do and stuff. So going forward, I think I'll remember all the experiences that I've had these past few years whether it be in soccer, you know, how to take a tough loss or how to how to you know, when to whens the right time to like celebrate wins around women to push hard to work hard and stuff.

Elizabeth: The threat of college isn't so much of a threat as just a next step that is going to happen regardless of whatever grades or things that happen along my high school journey. So I would say work hard. But take take time when you need it. And sometimes an assignment isn't as important as something else that's going on in your life.

Sasha: I don't know advice I would give freshmen me is just don't worry as much cuz you are, because like, things will work out. It won't just all like, be that, like, you'll have bad moments, but like, it'll all work itself out, I won't stay like that.

Sivan: So I'll probably take like the regrets, I guess that I have from high school and move into college with them such as like, trying new things and staying consistent with certain things. But at the same time, I think high school has taught me that I can like kind of push myself farther than I really thought I could initially. And so I'll probably carry that throughout the rest of my life.

Soham: I knew like even before like I decided where to go to college, I was like, I want to come back as much as possible back to Johns Creek. To just you know, hang out with my friends.

Sasha: Well, first of all, I want to get this out of the way. Sujana asked me to say see Sujana. So the number one thing that I will miss about high school is to Sujana Vangala. Which is true, like, I think the answer is that I'm just going to miss all my friends, like so much I'm going to try like really, really hard to keep in touch with everyone.

Dhruv: I think for me over the past four years, something I'm really going to like keep is like the ability to learn like not necessarily even the things I have learned, but like, you know, floundering, like figure things out, like sharing it with other people. Like I think I really value that.

Suhani: I think personally, I really value the relationships I've formed. You know, these past four years, and especially in this class, because we all came into this kind of not knowing each other. But we've gotten so close together and getting to see how we've improved from our first episode to now. And realizing that we did that together as a group. It's really fulfilling, and I'm so happy that we got to do it together.

Caleb: I think for me, regardless of how much work we put into each podcast, putting our heart and our soul into it, I think we also remain to have fun, like when we made them, and growing these relationships within the class and kind of creating a family. I think there's something special in that. And I think these are some of the relationships that I'll carry with me and not always remember, in my future and in college.

Dhruv: I think that like for me no matter what, even if I'm leaving physically, I'm like, I'm not going to be here anymore. Like all this stuff from high school like the cringe the mistakes like the good times, like the friendships, I'm going to keep those with me like in my heart always know what I mean, as corny as that sounds.

Suhani: No same. I'm really grateful for all the experiences, whether they be good or bad. And I mean, I'm so grateful to all the people who supported me these past four years, like my bus driver, all my teachers, all my friends, those people that you know, you pass on the hallways and just wave at you know, and thank you to everyone who's listening because, you know, podcasts was so important to me this year.

Caleb: For me, one thing I will say is that throughout high school, there's so many lessons that I've learned, but especially this year, it's just stretched me a bunch with whether it's like in education or whether it's socially. There's so much that I've learned in my growth has been, you know, exponential, and I'm grateful that high school has provided me with the lessons that I needed to take with me into the future. And I'm forever grateful for it.

Sahit: Outings, we've had my friends like we went through waterfalls, you know, hiking, rock climbing, these are all things I never imagined I'd ever do. Just because it seems so out of left field like if like, I didn't see myself as the kind of person to go out with my friends, like stay overnight or go to parties or anything. But it was only in senior semester that we went far beyond our comfort zone and the normal. Just go home and study and sleep kind of thing to do lots of crazy things and lots of really fun things risky but fun.

Suhani: This concludes our senior year send off episode. Now signing off. This was Suhani.

Dhruv: This was Dhruv.

Caleb: And this was Caleb. Thank you for tuning in this year to listen to Point of View.

Grace: For a transcript of this episode, head to the point of view tab on our website nhsmessenger.org And follow us on Instagram Twitter or Facebook @nhspointofview for updates or new episodes. I'm Grace, one of the editors-in-chief for Point of View next year and this has been Point of View.

Across the Table - Our First Year

Jordan Anderson, Rachel Everett, Delisa Troupe, Suhani Mahajan, Sofia Mang, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Orelia Thottam, Grace Yang

In this episode, hosts Delisa, Grace, Sofia, Rachel, Orelia, Jordan, Caleb, Suhani, and Dhruv discuss their favorite memories, biggest accomplishments, and hopes for next year as the first official year of Point of View comes to a bittersweet end. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music. 

Delisa Troupe: Hello and welcome to Point of View where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. I’m your host Delisa Troupe, and today I’m sitting with Grace, Sofia, Rachel, Orelia, Jordan, Caleb, Suhani, and Dhruv, some of the hosts of podcasts as this class comes to a bittersweet end. So the first question that we’re touching on today is how, what was your first impression of each other and the class like, think back to like your first day of school. What did you think of it?

Sofia Mang: It was a little bit awkward, because it was such a small class and some like not many of us knew each other. But I do think that it was kind of nice getting to know each other on the beginning because it was like, those icebreakers were kind of funny, and especially like the thing with Dhruv. Or used to call him like Drew with a v. I don’t know.

Delisa: So I kind of like started the class because Sofia told me about it. I had no idea even existed. And she was like, can you please come? I don’t know, and she was like, begging me. And at the time, I was an intro to art. But I decided to drop that because the class was like mostly freshmen. And I decided to join this instead, and I’m really glad that I did.

Rachel Everett: I remember for like, oh, was it like first week or two maybe three, Caleb our like head editor just was not in this class. He was not here for like, the longest time. And it was, so we got past that. Um, but I certainly remember like how seeing it was, it was an interest group. And we were all like, you know. Like sometimes in a class, you can all see people that like, oh that makes sense they’re in this class. Or like they fit like a stereotype. We all come from like, different backgrounds. And I kind of like that.

Suhani Mahajan: I just want to say y’all terrified me, because I didn’t know anyone but Dhruv, and Rachel.

Caleb: And me.

Suhani: No because I just did not know you until this year.

Caleb: You knew of my name right?

Suhani: You know, that’s a question mark. But Rachel was like a comfort like, life saver thing. And Dhruv was like, oh that’s that kid from freshman year. And then the rest of y’all were like, og my god, they’re so close. And I had no idea if I’d be able to like mesh with everyone in the class, especially since most of y’all are juniors, and I’m a senior.

Grace: I don’t know, I did not think we were that close. Like on the first day, because I didn’t know anybody because Marcus came later. He was the only person I knew, and even like Marcus came later and he only talked to me a few times he’s like clingy. And so I don’t know, my first day I saw like, I think it was Rachel, Suhani, who were in here. And I was like, looking around the classroom. And I was like, is this journalism? And they’re like yeah, and I was like oh I thought it was a different room or like a different title. Because I thought, I signed up for messenger, like the writing portion. But then I like got assigned to this class. And I was like, did I sign up for this? I’m like, I don’t think I did. But Mrs. Evans was talking about how like, we could like edit audio and maybe do videos. And I was like, okay, I guess I’ll stay. And like, because there’s too much of a hassle to go to my counselor, but like I’m glad I did. Because I agree with Rachel that like, it brings in a lot of people who are like in different social circles, and like in different grades as well. So it’s like really interesting to see how everyone’s doing and like, because everyone brings a different opinion. I feel like which is really interesting to see.

Delisa: Poor Jonah, the only freshman.

Sofia: I kind of like to call it, I told Delisa this the other day and I was we’re kinda like Breakfast Club. Yeah, have you guys never seen that movie?

Rachel: No.

Sofia: I’ve seen it. Jordan, how do you feel being like the only sophomore in this class?

Jordan: At first I was terrified. Because I didn’t know anyone. And I do really, I’m like really bad in situations where I don’t know anybody. So like, I’m quiet, I still am. But like outside this class, I’m like a hot mess but, we’re not gonna talk about that. Like I was like, really scared at first because I was like, “Oh i’m probably gonna do terrible. Everyone’s probably gonna yell at e if I mess something up.” But like eventually, I was like okay nice. This is like my favorite class. Whenever I’m stressed about chemistry I’m so happy, this is my next class because I can just like relax and think about happy things.

Delisa: No, this is kind of off topic, but you know Mekayle Upton. So I’m wither her in messenger,and she’s always talking about how you’re always talking about podcast.

Jordan: I love this class. This is the only reason why I come to school. Because if I didn’t have this class, I wouldn’t be in school 90% of the time.

Sofia: I’m kind of curious, because Orelia you’re also new to the school this year. How did you hear about this class and like find out.

Orelia Thottam: So, I was supposed to go to messenger too, and I was here Sophomore year. So that’s the class that I signed up for. And I was supposed to be a photographer for messenger. But then my fourth period was clashing with German, so they put me in this class. So my counselor was like, oh so you have to choose between journalism and German. And I was like, no I want both classes, I’m not choosing between either though. And she’s saying we’ll see about it later. And the next day she emailed me saying it’s only messenger so journalism four is fine. Okay, so I thought it was another messenger class. But I didn’t remember that over the summer, I did sign up for this class. So it was going to be the same class with Messenger, like it’s going to be the same thing. And then when I come on here, there’s like 11 people in this class. I know there’s quite a lot of people in messenger. Okay. And then they told us this is broadcast, I was thinking there’s no point in changing so they just said it’s okay. It’s not like a knew people in messenger anyways so it was okay.

Suhani: It’s all a learning process.

Orelia: Sure and it wasn’t like I knew anyone in messenger that was like, if i change, I’d be like, with my friends. I didn’t know anyone in this class nor that one. So I was like, I’ll have to meet new people. So I'll just in this class.

Delisa: And we kind of already touched upon this. But the second question is, why id you decide to join? And I wanted to ask Caleb, this because you technically did not have a choice. So how did you feel getting assigned senior editor podcast?

Caleb: I had worked on it the previous year, my junior year with Noelle. She had given me, her and Mrs. Evans and like Jennifer, the messenger editor, at the time gave me a chance to kind of work on some podcasts, kind of see what that was kind of like and then ended up loving it. And I also applied at the end of the year to be either like opinions editor for messenger, or like the multimedia, that sort of thing like the podcast editor. And I was kind of scared because it'd be our first year as a class. And I didn't know what to expect. But that kind of like the media and the audio aspect, I was really intrigued about it. Because I mean, I kind of started doing that sort of thing. During like 2020, and like COVID time, so I kind of was interested in that. And then I ended up loving it and kind of saw potential as a class.

Rachel: I’m very similar to Caleb in the sense that I was chosen as one of the junior podcasts editors alongside Sofia. So I wasn't, I was technically given a choice. But it was less of a choice and more of like, come on to the class. And I'm very glad I did. Because I ended up I thought I had wanted to go into like writing journalism. And I realized that my writing is probably not as strong as I thought it was. And now I like want, I'm looking at colleges, specifically for broadcast journalism, because of how much fun I've had in this class. And like, how much I just really found a passion for it.

Sofia: Yeah, just like Rachel. Obviously, I was also assigned as Junior podcast editor. And it was unfamiliar to me, but not as unfamiliar as it could be for Caleb and Rachel, because in my freshman year, I wasn't in Messenger or anything like that I was in it was like this, like one year class. It was really random. It was like a sports class. And we basically made videos and like interviewed athletes, and it was kind of like, a thing. So I was like, familiar with like, editing and like video and stuff like that. But I didn't enjoy like writing in the messenger. But then after I joined this class, I really liked the dynamic that came with this class. And yeah, I'm really glad that I stayed.

Dhruv Singh: I don't even know like the reason I ended up in podcasts, or broadcast journalism in the first place like I was never even tangentially related to like journalism kids. Like I was never in Messenger or talked to Miss Evans before this year. But I think that at the end of my junior year, because I was doing so much like video stuff with bolt and like the end of the AV program and stuff that is Pope recommended me to Mrs Evans. So then I was, I think it was like sneak peek or somewhere like the last day of school junior year, I came into like, say hi to teachers. And Mrs Evans emailed me even though I never talked to her before. She was like, “Hi, I have a class next year called like, broadcast journalism. I think that you'd like it. Do you happen to be at school today?” I wasn't even supposed to be at school, but I was like “Sure. Okay, I'll come by.” and then three months later, I ended up in here and I'm really glad I did because I got to learn like so much because like I I think that like I helped a lot with like the technical aspect for like the audio and recording editing and all that. But like, you know, I I really didn't have that much experience with the audio editing performance. Like I like you guys seem to think that I'm like, experiencing this I was kind of making it up as I went. No, and I'm so glad I did.

Rachel: Towards the beginning of the year we were all just calling out Dhruv's name like “Dhruv!” so he could come help us.

Dhruv: Dude that happened like ten minutes ago.

Suhani: Now it’s become Dhruv Singh and now it’s a command.

Grace: I remember one time I was editing something, I asked you for help to do something wasn't working right. He just pulled up Google and I could have just done this myself.

Dhruv: Listen, half the skill is figuring out how to figure out stuff when you don't know it. Okay, so that's what I say.

Delisa: And touching on that, other than Dhruv, who clearly taught us all the technical aspects of everything. What skills have you guys learned from this class?

Grace: Not to tute my own horn anything. Like I also did audio video to like, but like, I really only edited like sort of video. And I guess using platforms like Adobe Audition, sort of like to edit audio was something we learned like like cutting audio and like using fades and stuff like that. Like, I think one of my favorite days was when Rachel had the, like the Photoshop and Illustrator lesson because I, I think making graphic design is so cool. And like, and like it was, it was really fun, even though it was like frustrating at times. Because we were cutting out like Melissa and Megan or something like sometimes you'd cut out like their arm or something. Like it was I think it was really fun, like playing around with Photoshop and Illustrator and like, being able to make graphics and stuff like that is something I really like, like learning. And besides that, because I was completely new to like this whole journalism thing. So I didn't know how to like write interviews, like features or anything. So I think that gaining that like writing skill was also something really important. I feel like I learned.

Suhani: Like as a messenger kid, I love how different storytelling can be in broadcast journalism and how you have more choice with like, stylistic, like, stylistically how you get to tell that story, because it's not just like, interview, transition, interview transition, kind of how we do in Messenger. And I think that's been my favorite part. Because I feel like I've grown as a storyteller, how do you feel Delisa?

Delisa: I kind of like how we all grew together, like, especially in the beginning, some of us knew how to do things, but for the most part, we were all like pretty new to everything. I feel like the skills we learned in here, like using audition using Photoshop, and like everything else is like so helpful, like in the real world. And I feel like this class gave me like so much like technical skills that I like, never would have, like, known about before. And like, even though like if you can like search things up on Google, and you can like go on YouTube, it's not really helpful unless you actually have like a project you're working on. So the fact that I was like, able to not only learn those skills, but experiment with them was really helpful.

Dhruv: I think I learned like how to learn and teach from other people a little bit better, you know, like, because, like, I feel like I couldn't learn those skills. On my own. Like, I was curious, I could Google it. But I think that like applying it in the group setting is what made it really made me like feel like I was actually able to do this things like use them like. Well, like I don't think I would ever say like, oh yeah, I can use audition if I just was using it on my own at home. But you know, after like running an interview with you guys and being like, oh yeah, this is how you do this are like, figuring out new stuff with grace. Like when we're at like trying editing the homecoming episode stuff. Like, I feel like I'm competent. Now. Like, I feel like I know it.

Delisa: I really liked how we got to like, we had like ideas that we learned from other podcasts that we listened to on Spotify, and were able to like, oh, this will be so cool. Like, how can we add this into like our next episodes like using video or like the Hoco Titans things like you said, or like book bands was like completely new with like, using music throughout the entire episode. And I really liked like, how the more podcasts we put out, like the better they got pretty much.

Orelia: For me when I came in, I didn't know anything. So as I knew, every time I came into class, I was always worried that we're gonna do something today, and I don't know how to do it, and it's just gonna be so bad for them. I think by now by the end of it. Almost anything like the graphic, the editing interview, like how to set up a script, how to reach out to people in a way that it's not like you're not pushing them to do the interview with you like you're actually asking them,they all those things, I just, I've just learned a ton. And it's crazy to think about it because it's just been one whole year. And by the end for I feel like I'm more ready and prepared for the next year. So I'm happy about that.

Jordan: I have to say, my, this is weird, but my favorite thing that I've learned was on Adobe Audition, how to make like the waveform thing until multitrack would have learned how to do that. I was like, wow, this is for real. But like, I had no clue with any like how to edit anything. But I want to do because my little sister was like, Oh, I want to become an editor when I'm older. And I was like what type of editor, she was like editing like audio stuff because she watches this YouTuber that does it. And I was like, this sounds pretty fun. So when I like came to this class, when I was really excited to like learn how to do all this stuff, especially the multitrack my favorite thing.

Rachel: I would definitely say that um, I've definitely learned skills that have helped me outside of this class. I had never touched like audition or anything other than like InDesign and possibly illustrator from Messenger. So you being able to use audition, I figured out how to record something and like I worked with drew on how to remove like, some noise stuff for our Carrie curtain speech.

Dhruv: I pulled up google for that one.

Rachel: Okay. Um, so these skills that we've like, learned will definitely, like, they're not just things that we can use in this class, there's like applications outside.

Delisa: So now that we're ending the year, how do you guys think you've improved from the very beginning to now?

Sofia: Um, personally, for me, I think the main way that I improved, like the way that I'm most proud of is definitely on graphics. I remember at the beginning of the year, Grace, like helped us with our first graphic. And then from there on, I would really like I always went to her and I was like, Grace, please help me with this. And I'm like, I would like to, like follow her format. And then the most recent graphic that I made with the like international night, that was like, mainly from my own like, ideas in my brain. And I was so proud of how it came out, because it was like exactly how it looks in my head. And it wasn't really following a certain format, it just follow like, what the episode kind of like aura was, and I was so proud of that, I was able to learn how to like, I was showing everyone to class, I learned how to make shades on the curtain, nobody cared. But um, yeah, definitely just learning how to use Illustrator more and kind of use my own creative. Like way with that, and then also definitely audition. Same with international episode after I learned how to like, incorporate stuff because I feel like podcast is a lot more immersive and storytelling with the sounds able to do and stuff like that. And when I found out how to incorporate that without making it sound like awkward or weird, I was so proud of it.

Grace: To clear things up of it. The grace that Sophia is talking about is Grace Peng our EIC for messenger. So I was not a graphic Master, but yeah, I can really see how Sofia improved, like, her international night graphic was actually so amazing. And like, I feel like the whole thing was like having more creative freedom and like, not just following like a sort of like framework. I think we I think as like a whole group, we grew out of like just following a framework and like, started like doing our own sort of like how we want to do our graphics, like how we want to do your episodes, and not just doing like a like the exact same thing we always did like for me one way I feel like I improved is I think sort of like Delisa touched on it with like our book bans episode how like, we started sort of working into incorporating like different sounds and like cutting in more clips instead of just having like, blocks of just audio.

Delisa: Yeah, because the book bans no one, previously before that, we would just like have a complete like interview. But for the book bans ones is the first time that we had like different interviews that we had to incorporate into one episode. And so that was like a lot of editing a lot of like sounds that we had to include. And so that was like probably my biggest accomplishment or like the thing I'm the most proud of. And also, I was in both messenger and podcast this year for the first time. And I really learned how to like talk to people and like, introduce myself and like, especially when it comes to interviewing people. And I really like how I like learn to work together with other people, and just like, know how to do small talk.

Caleb: I think the thing I'm most improved on was my boldness. It's weird, me being the editor of this class, and I still get like stage fright and you know, being scared to talk in front of people because I'm scared of like the comments I might get back, and that sort of thing. But I think as we went on through this year, interviewing people doing more episodes, I gained more experience, and kind of got more comfortable with the mic, and that sort of thing. But also kind of being trying to grow as a leader, as my first time ever being like in a leadership position. Really, so growing like with the class, but then also kind of keeping us on track kind of, you know, just being a better leader, I think that's the main thing I've moved on.

Orelia: I feel as a class as well, like just the kind of content or the kind of episodes we used to make initially was what we make now I feel like they're just more serious and they have more of a reason behind it in some way or the other. Like the first few episodes like they just had so much room for editing and the way we frame the whole thing. And then the reason why it's like the homecoming one or the book bands, all those just was they just seem so much more detail oriented and professional in some way or the other.

Dhruv: I think that it just in general like the way we record episodes to like even the like less flashy ones. Like the first ever episode we did was the Downey interview, like Caleb, Suhani and I went that we were sent out and like originally wanted Mrs. Evans to come with us to we were it wasn't possible we were like really nervous. I remember that. We like walked to his office we go in and like it took us like 10 minutes to setup. I was like and then like Suhani would have like a whiteboard and she like flashed at Caleb when he needed him to say something and it didn't help like either because like in the episode you could tell Caleb would look like anyway. And like all sorts of things and like it took us like 40 minutes and I was okay like you know, Caleb's great at talking and so it's Downey and stuff, but then we did it again. Just Caleb and I We did the same thing we walked down the same hallway like when no one else it's like we were in like we were set up like instantly we got like more info in like half the time it was just so much better it was like all the bad habits that we had are like going away and like just our process is so much more robust and so like really interesting thing but I'm really glad we did like the same episode twice.

Caleb: Yeah, I agree. Dt: What are some of your favorite memories and then biggest accomplishments in this class? Som: I think I could say this for mostly everyone this class but my favorite memory was definitely Mrs. Evans birthday because I remember we made this like Slack channel and then it was like we all like it was so nice being able to talk everyone in like a non academic setting because these are the only use Slack that like you know, like podcasts kind of related stuff. But for this we were all talking about like what's her favorite color guys what gets you to get her something like links everyone told me the stuffed animal I thought was really ugly but everyone was being so mean but then like I went out to go get the cake and then everyone's favorite color purple, I’m pretty sure it’s purple. And then um after that when we actually came in and we had that huge card we were like running around to get signatures from teachers and then we're like trying to fill it up and then like to Delisa showed me the messenger was like that was so full compared to ours signatures from teachers and stuff like that. And then when the actual day came we were like talking about like ways that we could surprise her I was like I shouldn't pretend like someone slapped me and then scream Dhruv’s name.

Caleb: No we were gonna put it on Jonah that he like passed out.

Dhruv: Sofia said that and I wasn’t gonna get top so I said like, what if we pretend Jonah died.

Sofia: A freshman. Yeah, and then like, during the actual in the actual celebration, I just felt like so much like we were a family which I do feel like we are a family um, after all this time. And then messenger had like a whole like party with like.

Rachel: People in a budget, we gotta love it.

Sofia: It was really nice. And I loved how Mrs. Evans treasured it and it was a heartwarming moment for all of us.

Suhani: Told to go to the back room.

Caleb: You guys kept whispering and I was like what are y’all doing.

Sofia: No one told me that we were going to forget that, we weren’t going to forget that it was her birthday. So I didn’t wish her happy birthday because I was like, so we’re all forgetting that it’s her birthday right.

Delisa: Yeah, I literally remember planning like us all standing up at the exact same time going to the back of the back, like robots and her being like completely weird out like what.

Suhani: We said, let’s start our work and she’s never seen us so motivated.

Rachel: Um, I would say my favorite memory goes along with the birthday party. But I, Mrs. Evans texted me one day and was like, can you make a graphic with like, episode seven point twenty-two. And I was like okay, with no possible idea in my head, what seven point twenty-two could mean. I was like okay. Later come to find out, It's a picture of her ultrasound. She that I made. And I was like, oh, and then, um, the next thing goes along with it. But it was. It was witnessed. It was I think was at a birthday party. And I think Mrs Evans had just found out the gender of her baby. And she's like, do you guys want to know and we all placed bets. And then we found out and then we just got so hyped.

Delisa: I like how like every girl voted girl and then it was a girl and we all liked cheered and it was very wholesome.

Caleb: Yeah, I’m still mad.

Grace: I think that shows like one of my favorite aspects of this class that like, we're all really close to each other and also really close to Mrs. Evans. I remember that one time when Dhruv got a speeding ticket and he he was so stressed and he kept talking to Mrs. Evans about it and she like calmed him down and she was like-

Dhruv: She actually calmed me down so much. I was like, well, Mrs. Evans I'm really stressed about this, but like, you know, it's fine. Like I felt better after talking to her. She didn't say much.

Delisa: I remember your court date too.

Grace: As for like a competition, and I remember we submitted a few episodes for like what was it? GSPA, Georgia Scholar Press Association. Yes. And we did win an award for that. And I'm also, personally, I'm proud of like, being able to have a vision and like, carry it out. Because I remember the first time I was assigned to, like, I had the idea, or somebody had the idea for like, Homecoming Titans that we cover that. And like, I was like, I really want to be in that group. Because I really want to record that moment where he announces the titans, and there's like, a bunch of cheering. And like, I was able to, like execute my vision in that episode. And it made me like, really, really proud and really, really happy, or ever.

Dhruv: I remember it was so cool. Like, Grace asked me to, like, come to the back for a second. And I like went back there. And she started doing it. And then she like, I just kind of sat back and she did the whole thing on her own. And it sounds like so good. And I was like, I'm telling you, like, you guys do not need my help.

Delisa: Yeah, to wrap it all up isn't specifically a favorite memory for me. But I feel like because book bans are split into like two groups, and like most of us are like on either one group or the other. I feel like after that, we all somehow managed to like, even if we were in different groups, we would all like help each other out. And I feel like it made us like so much closer. So that was like one of my favorite aspects of this class. But what are your guys's like favorite things that you hope for next year, or like what you're looking forward to?

Orelia: I personally am kind of excited to meet all the new people who are going to be joining the class, and seeing how, like from whatever we learn this year, how it's just going to help what we do next year and change everything that we do next year. So that's one thing and just kind of being able to spend another year with all of you.

Sofia: Yeah, I agree. Because like, it's gonna be definitely more structured and different from this year, because we know so much more now. And it's going to be not as like, not easy to teach the other staffers but it'll be like better for us because I feel like we'll have more of a foundation and it'll just be more exciting to like, actually execute the stuff that you want to do. Because you had that idea. You didn't know if you could execute it, but you did. And now we know that we can execute like anything you want to. But yeah.

Delisa: i’m excited for Caleb’s grad party.

Caleb: Invitation to see if it comes to your inbox. But even though me, Dhruv and Suhani will be gone next year. My biggest hope is that you guys continue to make really good content for Northview to hear. I'll still be tuning in, but I'm just like, take whatever we've learned this year into them and keep growing. And I think I'm really proud of you guys. Oh Mrs.Evans don’t do it.

Dhruv: I think even if like I won't even lie, I don't think I listened to a single episode after they came out. Listen, like I would like help editing each one. I'd heard each one like I always heard it was like, yeah, the release, like I just like worry about the next thing. But even if like I'm not gonna be here, and I didn't listen to one, I just want you guys to like keep growing on you guys. Like keep trying new things and stuff I want to like, tune in and be like, Dude, I don't know how we never even thought of that. Like, I want to be impressed. I want to like and I'm gonna I'm gonna keep tuning in. I want to see where you guys do next.

Grace: A lot of pressure making me in this we have a Google document to sort of write down all our ideas. And my main idea was to fill the gaping hole left in Dhruv Singh’s place. Dhruv honestly did like a lot of stuff. So I'm hoping that we can like yeah, because you're leaving the morning will be mean after we finish recording. Yeah, I think that next year, I really am excited to like teach new people other things and hear their ideas as well. And I also want to like fix some stuff with like our mics and like sort of standardize everything because I know this year, you're a bit disorganized, because like renew class.

Sofia: And I hope I just hope that I can carry on Caleb's confidence and Suhani’s kindness just got like a whole spotlight.

Grace: Caleb is trying so hard right now.

Orelia: Actually.

Delisa: Is he actually.

Caleb: No.

Delisa: So to all the people who are planning on joining podcasts next year, or who hoped to join podcasts in the future, what would you guys say to them?

Sofia: I would say

Rachel: Do it.

Caleb: Just do it.

Sofia: Don't be afraid of anything that you think might if it's different from what you usually do, if you don't know if you'd like, if you don't know you'll be good at it, because you never know, obviously, I didn't know what was coming from me when I came into this class. But I love this community so much. I love the atmosphere. I love creating episodes. And it's turned into what my biggest passion, so that could be you too.

Delisa: Yeah, I remember my freshman year, I only wanted to be in classes if my friends were in it. Or if I knew the people there, just so I was because I was too afraid, obviously, to join things that were out of my comfort zone. Not only classes, but also clubs. And for all like the incoming freshmen and sophomores, whatever grade you're in, don't be afraid to join. Even if it seems like we're all close. Like, it didn't really start that way. And I feel like if you go out of your comfort zone, you take that leap to join something that you find interesting could be a much better experience than you would have ever imagined.

Rachel: You, you may not think that you're interested in something, but just joining a class and realizing that, oh, wow, I really enjoyed this, and I want to do it in the future is a really big step. And don't be afraid to come join us we have a lot of fun. It may seem like it's a lot of work putting out a podcast, but you have fun doing so.

Caleb: Although like I want us to I want you guys to create really good content. But I would say don't get too caught up in the work that you forget to have the fun that we have in this class, like the just the bonds that we make. And like the just all the laughs that we had, I think those are a lot more meaningful. And although we can just even implement those into our podcasts and like the bond between us in the connection that we have is from those experiences in the fun that we've had.

Suhani: Speaking of bonds, I would just like to give a shout out to someone who isn't here. New members when you come into the class and for the first time that lump in the back of the classroom is Marcus.

Dhruv: Keep an eye out for Jonah.

Grace: Yeah, just try it because I think that one thing that brings a lot of people together is like, like listening to stuff, whether it's like music, or like the radio or something. And also, I would say don't be afraid if that people will like already be in their friend groups or anything like at the beginning of the year. We like barely even knew each other. But like, this class really brings you closer to other people.

Orelia: Also, one thing that I noticed and I would advise is that if someone tells you that something about your work can be changed in a certain way. Like don't be afraid of criticism. And like don't be afraid if someone tells you to change something, don't feel offended by like just actually try to implement it and see why they told you to do that rather than being scared about it.

Mrs. Evans: So this concludes our episode. Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the point of view tab on our website, nhsmessenger.org And follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook @nhspointofview for updates. I'm your host Mrs. Evans and this has been Point of View.

Point of You - End of Year Interview with Principal Downey

Caleb Smith, Dhruv Singh, Suhani Mahajan

In this episode, we interviewed Principal Downey, reflecting on the past school year and touching on hopes he has for the future. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Caleb Smith: Hello, and welcome to point of view, where we give, students are placed to listen, learn and lean in. I'm your host, Caleb Smith. And today we are with our principal Mr. Downey, as we wrap up the year.

Mr. Downey: Hey, Caleb, happy to be back with you guys.

Caleb Smith: We're so lucky to have you. We just got a couple questions for you. We can start off here, how as your year been since last year? And how do you feel about these differences that we've had?

Mr. Downey: Wow, this certainly has been a unique year for all the obvious reasons, you know, the, the first semester, I will say was probably one of the most difficult semesters that I've had as a principal, this is my eighth year in this role. Coming into this year, I think we all had some expectations about what the year was going to be like. And it was a lot harder than I think we all thought it was going to be. I think the students, the staff, the parents, certainly myself, we were all fired up for, to kind of quote unquote, get back to normal, but I think we all forgot how hard the normal can be.

Caleb Smith: Absolutely.

Mr. Downey: And there were some situations in the fall semester that as a principal, you know, I pride myself on problem solving and making things better for the kids in our community. And there were just a couple of situations that I wasn't able to resolve and make the situation better. So that was hard and frustrating. But on a positive sense. You know, as difficult as this, this, the fall semester was, I think the spring semester has been so much better. Yeah, I think we all kind of got back into the routine of doing school again. And in the spring, that's kind of when we start celebrating our seniors, and start doing a lot more quote unquote, fun things. So, it was great to have those things back on the calendar and great to see our kids enjoying school again.

Caleb Smith: Absolutely, I definitely agree with that. It feels good to be back after, you know, 2020 and then a little bit into 2021. I was kind of scared that we weren't going to come back. But I'm glad we got to go this full year absolutely got to live. Absolutely. I know, I feel so bad for the past couple of seniors that didn't get to experience you know, the graduation and prom and that sort of thing. But I'm very grateful that we've gotten this far. So I'm just, that's just where I'm at right now. But for our next question, what are some accomplishments, accomplishments from this year that you're proud of?

Mr. Downey: You know, the, it's almost too early to look at reflect back on that, because we're several weeks away of kind of getting to that milestone of graduation. But I'm going to predict that we're looking back on this year that especially in the second semester, that we were able to provide some experiences to our kids outside the classroom. Yeah, as well as inside the classroom. You know, and that's what was missing over the last two, two plus years. For all of our students. You know, high school is not just the academic experience. It's just it's not just what happens in between the bells. That's certainly a big part of it. But really, it's the whole experience that our kids have been missing out on that the spring semester, we were able to bring back bring back. Our seniors got to do some fun experiences and get out of the building. I'm fired up for prom, at Mercedes Benz. Yeah, you know that. That should be a great night. And we were able to do Titan fest again, right before spring break. Just to kind of, you know, get our kids to, you know, not just experienced the stressors of school, but to experience the fun parts. So that's probably what I look back on and feel the best about is that we're able to bring some joy back into the building.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, it feels good to have all these events back. It's been a minute, we only got to as seniors, we only got to experience Titan Fest one time. So, it's been it's good to have it back. It was awesome. What was your favorite event of this year?

Mr. Downey: That's a great question. You know, the favorite event, you know, it's international night, every year is always going to be a highlight. So that was a fun night getting to see the kids showcase their talents on the stage.

Caleb Smith: Were you at A show or B show?

Mr. Downey: You always go to the B show. That's a no brainer. But the joy for me is that as principal I don't need a ticket. I can just kind of walk in and walk right in. I always try to make the B show because that's the one that has the high energy definitely and the crowds into it. So that's always a highlight because again, that that kind of what I said to earlier, there's so much more about the high school experience than just the classroom stuff. So, getting to showcase our kids and celebrating our kids. That's always a highlight. You know, and we haven't hit prom yet. But I suspect prom is going to be another highlight. You know, we really haven't had a full prom experience in several years, as you spoke to earlier, especially our senior class. You know, the junior class, they always have next year, senior class, this is it, and they haven't had one. And we're having it at Mercedes Benz. So, I think that's just going to be a neat and different experience. So, I think that's going to be a highlight. And then of course, every year, a highlight is the graduation ceremony. Because that's just the culmination of 12 years, and of education of our kids and certainly our four years together. That's always a cool, cool event.

Caleb Smith: Absolutely. Well, we were talking about Titan Fest, what was Titan Fest for you this year? What was it like for you?

Mr. Downey: It was you know, what I did a lot of just sitting back and watching kids. I mean, you really that that, to me was kind of that earmark moment of just fun. Right? School is hard. You know, most of our kids take a challenging course load. So, it's hard. It's hard being a student. For our seniors getting at that time a year spring break, kind of the college application process is pretty much done. And most of the kids have a good idea of what they're doing next year. Our underclassmen haven't experienced much of anything. You know, you said the senior class was the only class that ever had a Titan Fest. So, the 9th 10th and 11th graders never even knew what it was. So just seeing the kids play. And having fun goofing off being silly. So, I just sat back kind of watched it, you know. So that was reward in and of itself. Just seeing the kids have fun.

Caleb Smith: Awesome. Did you end up watching Carrie this year?

Mr. Downey: I did!

Caleb Smith: What was your favorite part?

Mr. Downey: So, I went to the Sunday matinee show. So, a couple of things that struck me, first of all, the talent level of our kids performing was really just, I shouldn't be surprised. But I'm always surprised about how talented our kids are. So that was great to see. I was not fully prepared for the script. So, kind of some of the language was like, Oh, wow. But it was, you're applauding it and you're cheering it makes sense that the kids are doing such a great job. But you know, the most surprising thing to me was that I got so caught up in the story, that seeing the character of Carrie go through what she went through in terms of the harassment, bullying, kind of picking on her, like my heart was in the character. Yeah, so in that climactic prom scene where like, all hell breaks loose, you know, and then at the very end, when her mom ends up stabbing her like, I was tear, I was teared up. I got it. I was emotionally invested in Carrie. I knew the story. I knew how it was gonna go. But the kids did such a great job in the performance that I got emotionally invested in her. So, it was a little gut wrenching to go through that ending. So that's what caught me off guard. I didn't expect to have that emotional response. But that's the beauty of the art. Is that it? It brings out that emotion in you. And that's why we experience it.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, I didn't get the pleasure of getting to see Carrie, but I actually really regret it. Because by what you just said and what other people have said it's been an amazing performance. So, I wish I could have made it. For our next question. How was your time at international night this year, specifically back to when we were talking about our events?

Mr. Downey: You know, again, as I said with the Titan Fest, just seeing people smile. You know, we- having lived through the last two, half, three, two plus years now whatever it's been- it's just, it has been hard on everybody. So, there hasn't been a lot of joy. Yeah. And then on top of it, everyone has been wearing masks. Yeah. So, you miss you don't you didn't we didn't realize going through it. But certainly, I appreciate now just seeing people's facial expressions. And in this case of joy and fun and laughter. You know, you know the two years leading up to this, have just been hard. So, there hasn't been a lot of smiling. So international night again, just kind of like Titan fest. It was a chance to see our kids in this case also our community our parents just being joyful. Yeah. and celebrating each other.

Caleb Smith: Celebrate all the cultures and the diversity.

Mr. Downey: Yes, absolutely. And there's no doubt eating that food is a highlight. That's a big treat. And then again, kind of like Carrie, you see seeing our kids perform on stage and showcasing their talents. You're always like, wow, I didn't know that kid could do that.

Caleb Smith: That's surprised me. You know, that’s a great event. What homecoming or prom theme would you like to see this year that we haven't done before?

Mr. Downey: A prom or homecoming theme? Yeah. Geez? That's a tough question.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, cuz we've had I know, we've had like, I think it was Marvel couple years ago, and then Star Wars for prom. So that sort of thing. Like any like, special. You know.

Mr. Downey: I don't think I have one. Because it's not about what I want. All right. Part of my job is to try and provide experiences that the kids want. Yeah. So, you know, that's my safe defer to that question is, you know what, because what's fun to me might not be fun to a teenager now. You know, I graduated high school 30 some odd years ago. So, it's, you know, I'm turning 50 this year, so I can't deny that. I don't know if applause is necessary or just getting old. But I say that in a fun way. And, you know, I'm starting to feel a little bit of that disconnect with what kids like today versus, you know, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, when I was a little more closer to it. So, you know, I'm gonna run and celebrate whatever the kids want to do.

Caleb Smith: Absolutely. I love that response. Well, what kind of music have you been listening to? Or any new artists? Have you been listening to?

Mr. Downey: You know, the, I just had this conversation with my wife. Because I have, I'm always a Dave Matthews fan. I always have been, but I've sort of rediscovered some other jam bands. And I had been hooked on OAR right now. And I'm gonna be buying tickets too. They have a show at the Roxy in July in downtown Atlanta that I'm gonna go to. So, it's, you know, fish. Dave Matthews. I've kind of just gotten back into these jam bands that I've rediscovered, and it's not new music necessarily. But I've kind of fallen in love with it again.

Caleb Smith: So, you see, listen to it in the past, and then now.

Mr. Downey: Yeah, exactly!

Caleb Smith: Gotcha. Gotcha. What is your favorite Taylor Swift song?

Mr. Downey: I guess the standard answer. Can you go wrong for any of them? But then I'm supposed to be able to name some Taylor Swift songs that I might get stuck with. My daughter's 12. You know, she'll be able to rattle off the Taylor Swift songs. Much better than me. You know, as much as I joked about some of the bands. I like to listen to kids at home. Yeah. And they insist on Dad changing the music. Whenever I'm playing my songs, it usually ends up with like, Imagine Dragons or Taylor Swift or something.

Caleb Smith: Because I remember in like our first interview, we were talking, I think about music. And you said you were a Swiftie. And then that kind of threw everybody off. So, you had to bring it back. See? Yeah, so no favorites right now. No favorites right now with the songs?

Mr. Downey: No, I can’t name any right now. I've been stuck on my jam band music.

Caleb Smith: I got you. I got you. No, no worries about that one. If you're a student and Northview, which classes would you wish to take?

Mr. Downey: Wow. That's another great question. You know usually what I have found through my experience, it's less about the content and more about the person leading the class. Yeah, I guess so. There's, you know, my backgrounds in biology. So, I'm sure that if I was a student in at Northview, I'd probably gravitate to Mr. Morgan's health science classes. That pathway. Yeah. I'm also a huge soccer fan. So no, I would love to be a student in his class and talk soccer and talk.

Caleb Smith: You played when you were younger?

Mr. Downey: I did.

Caleb Smith: I remember that.

Mr. Downey: Yeah. I grew up playing soccer. And then I coached the high school team for 16 years. Wow. So, I miss being involved with that. And I'm now coaching my son's U-10 team. So, it's got me connected. Yeah. So certainly, Mr. Morgan's class would probably intrigue me. You know, Mr. Rollins? 12th grade lit class, you know, the that's a hard class, but coming out of that class The kids really grow. So that would probably, you know, writing and communicating is always an essential skill to be successful no matter what you do. So that class would intrigue me. You know, I’d probably suffer through that class like every other senior who takes that I would probably not take Bombards calculus class. And that's not a comment on Coach Bombard. Calculus, I struggled with calculus, I probably would avoid that class. What else is out there? Let's think, you know, rattle off some and I'll tell you if I would have dove into them.

Caleb Smith: Like science wise, or forensics, maybe biology or you said biology right.

Mr. Downey: Yeah. So yeah, I would definitely be taking those you know, I'd be intrigued by Mr. Kemp's physics class. Yeah, Physics I kind of struggled with physics, a little bit in college. But I think he's just a great teacher. So, I think his class I probably could have benefited from.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, definitely.

Mr. Downey: You know, so certainly, in the sciences, I'd probably eat up just about every science class we have out there.

Caleb Smith: Gotcha. I think we got a general sense of what kind of classes are little bit hard and a little bit too easy in there. What aspect of Northview as a whole, would you say is your favorite?

Mr. Downey: No doubt the kids know, the, you know, the working with kids is a joy. Working with adults, is a little bit harder. Yeah. But our student body, I put our I put our student body up against any other high school in the country, you know, we Northview gets some really high national accolades and state level accolades for our, for our achievement. And it's certainly in no small part to our teaching staff. But really, at the end of the day, it's our students that come into this building every day that embrace being students, and everything that comes with it, you know, the vast majority of our kids, you know, they want to be successful. So, they're here every day to be successful. And then they're here to be involved. The fact that you guys are even sitting here doing this podcast reflects our students in general. Like, they kind of take that extra step, to do one more thing to make their own experience in school, a good one. So, when I get to share in that time, and have moments like this, where we can have a conversation, and interact with our kids on any level, I mean, that's, that just brings joy to my day. It's certainly my job, you know, and I've said this 1000 times, I got one of the best educational jobs in the country, I get paid to come to Northview every day and hang out with these kids every day. Yeah, it's pretty good gig.

Caleb Smith: Well, we love you as our principal. Thank you. What are your hopes for next year? Are there any changes in the upcoming year?

Mr. Downey: You know, next year, you know, I'm certainly hoping that unlike this fall, when we had to make that transition back into school full time that, you know, our kids already have this full year under the belt, you know, that we're back into that routine with deadlines. Yeah, and that's been our struggle this year with our students, I think, has been kind of that idea of staying on top of our deadline, because we've through COVID, we've given everyone that grace. And, you know, we've not been tight on handing things in on time. So, like, right now, we sweat out the end of the year, because some kids are, are on paper failing classes, when really, it's just because they have a zero and they haven't turned something in that they just need to get done and turn in. So, like, we're anxious as administrators, and we're chasing kids, when they just, if we had turned this in on time, we wouldn't be sweating this time a year. So, I'm hoping that that gets behind us. And then, you know, we have every year at this time, we, you know, we we're hiring some new teachers. So, we always want to make sure we get that right. And we're not going to be right 100% of the time, but we certainly want to be right as close to 100% of the time so that our kids have great teachers in front of them. Yeah. And then we, you know, we plan next year to have all those great events for our kids to enjoy. What I didn't get to this year, which I want to get back to. It’s up on my whiteboard right now. Even though you might not be able to read my shorthand, but I had SAC, which is a student advisory council, you know, to create a committee of kids that represent the school that we meet with on a regular basis, that kind of keep me in touch with what's working and what what's not working? Yeah, you know, I want our kids to have a voice and you know, if something's not going right, that they have an avenue and a voice to make things better.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, I'd like to kind of the connection between like, like, how there's a gap between you and the students and to kind of bridge the gap.

Mr. Downey: Yeah, yeah. So, you know, it's not, you know, you know, through the journalism class, I'm in that class a lot. And that's an opportunity to have a little bit of a dialogue. But, you know, trying to find ways to have or processes to have more of those dialogues with kids.

Caleb Smith: Gotcha. For a final question, what are your plans for this summer?

Mr. Downey: Well, it's interesting this summer, professionally, we're getting kicked out of our building here, we have all this construction going on. Right. So, one of the summer projects that's going to happen is that they are upgrading our fire safety system, which means that once they turn that off, we're not allowed to occupy the building. So professionally for the summer, I'm going to be hanging out at Chattahoochee High School.

Caleb Smith: Really?

Mr. Downey: Yep, I got to set up offices over there for the summer. And really, the summer is really about just planning for next year. So, in the month of June, the administrative team will still be working full-time. So, it's all about planning for next year. And then July is the first two weeks of July usually pretty quiet. And that's usually when I'll take a little vacation time via that July 4 Week is a real quiet week, because obviously everyone's on vacation. So usually, I tried to get away then as well. What's interesting this summer on a personal note is that both of my kids will be at overnight camp for four weeks. Oh, wow. So it'd be the first time that my wife and I will be kind of staring at each other that we don't got kids to chase around and shuffle around and drive around. Yeah. So, you know, we're gonna plan some, some fun things for us. So really, it's just taking a couple weeks off to kind of recharge and get ready to tackle the tackle the new year.

Caleb Smith: That’s awesome. Yeah, well, we're excited. I mean, we won't be here that kind of experience it but that's alright.

Mr. Downey: We'll be off to bigger and better things. Yeah, all of our seniors, you know, you guys where you know, your lives are just beginning at this point. You know, you'll just be stepping out of that literally and figuratively, figuratively stepping out of the house, stepping out from mom and dad, and kind of on your own. And, like, the fun parts of life are just beginning to start for you guys.

Caleb Smith: Yeah, we're thankful for the uh you know, the lessons that we've learned here. You know, we'll take it with us into wherever we go after this. But you know, that's all the time we have for today. We thank you so much for your time and support this year. This concludes our episode. Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the point of view tab on our website, NHS messenger.org. And follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook @nhspointofview for more updates and new episodes. I'm your host Caleb Smith and this has been:

Mr. Downey: Brian Downey, it's a joy to join you guys.

Caleb Smith: And this has been Point of View.

Across The Table - Music Taste, do our personalities affect what we listen to?

Rachel Everett, Marcus Kim, Dhruv Singh, Suhani Mahajan

Staffers Dhruv, Marcus, Rachel, and Suhani examine a study linking personality to music taste, discussing the validity of the study and their own experiences with music. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Marcus Kim: HeIlo, and welcome to Point of View where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. I'm Marcus,

Dhruv Singh: I’m Dhruv,

Suhani Mahajan: I'm Suhani,

Rachel Everett: and I’m Rachel.

Marcus Kim: And today we'll be discussing the psychological similarities between our emotions, personality and the music that we like. So there is a study by Heriot-Watt University that tries and draws a connection or correlation between our personalities and the type of music we like to listen to. So for example, if you really like pop, rap, country, or dance music, you could be described as like conventional, extroverted or even hard working. On the other side of the spectrum, if you prefer to listen to indie, rock, jazz, or classical, you could be described as creative or introverted. I personally really like pop music. I like the more chill side of pop music. And sometimes when I'm at the gym, or playing like Valent, I like hard rock music. I'm kind of extroverted, so I could definitely see how pop being extroverted makes sense.

Rachel Everett: Do you think that you fit in with that box of pop music, with the whole hard working and high self-esteem?

Marcus Kim: I'm definitely not hard working, but I would consider myself pretty extroverted. I do like some indie songs, and sometimes when I am feeling a little bit introverted. There are flaws in the study, obviously, but I can kind of see how there is some sort of connection.

Dhruv Singh: I feel like, for me, personally, I listen to all kinds of music. I listen to at least a little bit of each one of these genres. But when I'm looking at it, I kind of feel like, it's like a false correlation, or it could be construed as that. Because when you look at the distinctive characteristics when they're mentioning the genres, they kind of just reflect the culture and the perception of that genre at the time. I'm sure if this study was done in the 80s, or 70s, when rock was the predominant form of music and like the pop genre and stuff, that would be listed as like the outgoing, hardworking one, right? But now, culturally, we've shifted over to like, electronic and like hip hop and stuff be more on the pop music. Now that's gonna be more like the extroverted, outgoing, self esteem heavy genre, or at least the personalities that people say that genre has.

Marcus Kim: Going off of that, when you think of heavy rock, and metal and stuff, when you think about it, you would think about someone at a concert like banging their head in a mosh pit or something. It says that people who like heavy rock and metal tend to be introverted and might have low self-esteem. So, I can see how there is an idea, like a heuristic idea of what someone might be if they listened to heavy rock or metal, but actually it might be the opposite.

Dhruv Singh: I feel like the music comes first not the opposite. Like I tie these caricatures and ideas of these people to the music because I know people who listen to music who are like that, you know what I mean? This study kinda like insinuates the idea that if you fill these like personality boxes, then you will end up like this afterwards maybe if you listen to more of this music, which I feel is kind of flawed, because I feel like that's not the right way to read it or at least that isn't like an accurate way to read it.

Suhani Mahajan: I feel like that's a way to generalize, you're right. But also, just based on your mood and whatnot, if you reach for different music, I think your feelings in that moment when you reach for a different genre of music might actually be similar to these descriptions. So also, the whole people who listen to rock being creative, but also like often introverted, I think that's plausible enough. I don't know how the study was conducted, but I don't know if it's right for us to suggest that the study is incorrect either. It's very possible if we look at a bunch of people and their music tastes there might be a correlation.

Dhruv Singh: So, I guess you're right. There definitely will always be a correlation between someone who listens to music and the music you listen to since music has moods and emotion in it. So obviously, like you're gonna share that mood or like that kind of personality. I don't know if any of you guys like listen to a genre that you particularly connect with.

Rachel Everett: I feel like I do at least a little bit country music. I always get hated on for liking country music. I don't know why it's good music. I listen to more country pop. The study says country music fans are typically hardworking, conventional and outgoing. I like to think that I'm hardworking. I also like to think I'm outgoing. I definitely get stuff done, and I'm always out and about with people. I kind of disagree with the conventional like, I think maybe you have that like stigma of like, oh, country music is for, like, conservatives, or like Republicans or something. And it says, conventional, I don't like to think that I'm, like, maybe traditional. I like to think I'm open minded, in a sense.

Dhruv Singh: Well, that brings up another criticism I have of the study, just to dunk on it a little bit more. Because some of that definitely, because you gotta consider that genre comes from a very specific culture at the time, that's where you get the new name. Funk was a thing and then it diversifies a bit more, then you end up with stuff like hip hop and based off of that, it ceding off. So country stems from the rock and pop of the 60s and 70s, right. But then as it becomes more rural, and it becomes like foci, and then it splits off more. And then you end up with the genre of country coming from other roots. So they took what they liked about folk, which is the storytelling nature of it, and the values and stuff, and then they like, split it off even more. And they made it like, okay, now we're going to talk about this specific value that like country music has, which is the stereotype. In my head, it's like the stereotype of like, a cold beer. It's something like that. That's not the case, obviously. But like, that's what I've been like. So obviously, when you look at how music genres split off, there's always gonna be that connection that you could find. This study is just bringing it to focus.

Rachel Everett: So, you're saying that even though the study categorizes these things differently, there's always going to be a connection within them.

Dhruv Singh: I'm saying that naturally with media and music at all, you can always tie it back to where the genre comes from, and you can just say that like 'Okay, if you listen to this, you probably follow those roots a little bit.'

Suhani Mahajan: I think it's also based on like, what you're talking about roots and everything, how you are introduced, or how you experience the music, like, how did you get introduced the country? If you don't mind me asking?

Rachel Everett: I don't remember, I think it was always on the radio. We only listen to one radio station. It was always on in the car; we would always change the radio stations if it wasn't. So, it's always been like that kind of comfort place for me. So that's how I got introduced.

Suhani Mahajan: Actually, yeah, I have to say, if I think about the radio, like early childhood, like 2000s pop is what we listen to. And pop music, according to this study, talks about how I'm supposed to be hardworking, and have high self-esteem. And I think, I mean, I’d like to think that's true. But I also associate pop music with family and that warmth because those are the memories I have associated with that genre of music. So, I think the whole roots thing that Dhruv was talking about, I mean, it's not exactly what he was talking about, but-

Dhruv Singh: I think that the fun thing about music and art is that everyone has their own way of finding it. So, like Rachel grows up with the station, right? And then you end up liking that music more as you get older, and like you were kind of getting something like that too Suhani. You said you like K-pop right? You kind of found that. So, at one point it's not like you were with that as you grew up in some of that. For me, I had this thing where I really hated music up until late middle school. I was kind of that loser who only listened to video game soundtracks. If anything with lyrics played, I'd get really annoying about it. I'd be like, no, I don't want to hear it.

Suhani Mahajan: I'm also the type of kid who just didn't want to wear words, like shirts with words on them.

Dhruv Singh: I did not have an opinion about that.

Marcus Kim: I definitely see myself in that. In late middle school, I would always be that one kid where they would be like, 'What music do you listen to?' and I would be like, 'I actually don't listen to a lot.' I really didn't enjoy music because I didn't really have a reason to listen to music. I didn't feel like buying Spotify and I didn't really like ads and I hadn't really found an artist that I liked. So, I definitely really didn't listen to much music. I kind of generalized all music as the same, which actually going back to what you were saying Dhruv, let's say for example, even within rock, right? If you look at Elvis Presley, both of them are technically wrong, but the emotions that they show and the emotions that are in it, and the reasons you would listen to it, or the type of people that would listen to it, there might be some overlap, but generally they're on opposite sides of the spectrum of raw, right? You were saying how music genres branch off, even within these genres, people will still go to different artists for different things. So that could also be a flaw within the study because it doesn't really account like what is a genre.

Dhruv Singh: I think that genre as a concept is kind of flawed too. So when you take these big, sweeping things and say anyone who listens to this genre is like this, you're inherently gonna miss a like a lot by simplifying it like that, because it's nuanced.

Suhani Mahajan: Are you talking about the way that you're describing how genres are created, and there's so many branches of them, so you can't really generalize?

Dhruv Singh: I think that genre is a really helpful way to group things, right? But when you're grouping anything like that, anything that's kind of nuanced, you're missing a lot, right? So genre. I don't know how it actually forms. But when it happens, it misses a lot, like so. For instance, it's also tied to the cultural norms of the time. So genre mainly has been in the past been dictated by white people if that makes sense. You can trace back anything. Black music wasn't given like a serious genre, it was more just considered in that group. So jazz and stuff like that would have been electric guitar elements and stuff. But then when it becomes more popular in the mainstream, like white group started using electric guitar, it becomes like, rock and roll, if that makes sense. You could trace that line through history. So in general you're going to be missing a lot whenever you refer to genre as like a de facto identifier if that makes sense.

Marcus Kim: So I think going past the idea of genre a little bit like what you get out of the music, right? So for example, um, I think it wouldn't be very controversial to say that indie or like chill music is more of an invoker of emotion, where listening to something like classic or jazz is more complex music, right?

Suhani Mahajan: You can still experience emotions with any kind of music.

Marcus Kim: Of course, but no, again, Heriot Watt also did a study that know those more structurally complex musical genres like classical jazz and world music, people who like that typically go into like, you know, stem or like mathematical, very like binary, like binary career paths. On the opposite side of the spectrum, people who tend to like more music that invokes more emotion typically go into like more like creative or humanitarian paths. So I can actually definitely see that. I upvote that. I upvote that. I resonate with that a lot.

Dhruv Singh: So you're saying that, if you tend to gravitate towards a certain type of music, you can kind of see that you might be interested in other things as well. If you like, complex musical, you'll like complex fields, and like medical fields.

Suhani Mahajan: How your brain interprets music is just like a clue to how your brain interprets other things, or what it prefers.

Dhruv Singh: I can kind of see that, I think, but then I think it also just comes down to the fact that people will always consume music and media differently. I know that I personally don't gravitate to one kind of thing. I don't really like just classical music. We could tie that back to the fact that everyone kind of enjoys music for different reasons.

Suhani Mahajan: So then let's talk about that. Marcus, let's start with you. What draws you to the music you listen to? Why do you listen to it?

Marcus Kim: So typically, okay, so let's just go down the list. So when I'm listening to like pop music or just for fun, like you know, when I'm just like, chilling, that's probably for I don't know, like just to entertain myself right? Over when I'm like, working out or like playing Fowler and I'm listening to like heavy metal or like that, that'd be more for like, I don't know, more of like a, like a strong sensation of sorts. And this actually ties to a theory of like, why we listen to music. So there is a theory, seven main reasons why we listen to music for entertainment, a sense of revival, to feel a strong sensation for mental work to find a sense of solace, diversion or a release of emotion. And thinking about my playlist, right? And depending on my mood, or why I'm listening to music, the songs I'll choose change, so I could definitely see that.

Dhruv Singh I can definitely see that. I'm kind of curious. What does mental work mean?

Marcus Kim: So how, when I looked into mental work is you're listening to music, just for the sake of listening to music you're not having in the background, you are 100% focused on the music, like you sit downs, like you go to an orchestra, or you go to an opera and you're focusing strictly on the music itself. I think that could be considering working.

Suhani Mahajan: As a K-pop fan, I'm gonna say, I mean, what you described was going to a concert or something to experience the music and as someone who's gone to K-pop concerts, yes, I'm going to experience the music, but I think that's also a different environment. Just because the experience is different. So.

Dhruv Singh: I think that hits like a dip that hits like a different thing with like strong sensation and entertainment. Right? I think he's referring more to like a concert hall for like orchestral pieces. Like when you go to see like an orchestra performance. You're not clapping and like singing. You're like, yes, that is a very interesting key. Like, different. But yeah, I kind of like I this part of the study, I kind of agree with more, I feel like there's still probably like, I couldn't think of anything off the top my head, but they're probably still missing some reasons why people like MIT might listen to music. But I feel like this is a lot less general in that, like, I think that everyone can at least relate to some of these reasons.

Marcus Kim: I know we're talking about like, why he was in music. I just kind of think about this, but it has like no one thought of like location. And like how that might affect how you listen to music. Because I know I drive. So my car playlists are like 10 times different from like, my, like, quote, unquote, school playlists, like the place I played school. Like my car music. My car music is basically like, pretty busy. Because I just it's like the base just feels my car. So all of a sudden the like, like old school rock, like so many armies are really good, like black. But like when I'm at school I kind of listened to were like, not necessarily mellow, but more just low, calmer, more upbeat.

Dhruv Singh: Sometimes I used to wish that like, I had a superpower where I could just hear it was in people's headphones. It was like, everyone listens to such different stuff.

Rachel Everett: You got to be the guy on Tik Tok.

Dhruv Singh: That kind of thing is really interesting to watch, because everyone just uses music because as a different way when they're just walking around school or driving. I like something with a little rhythm when I'm like walking around during school just because I'm walking, I'm going places.

Rachel Everett: Do you ever try and walk to the beat?

Dhruv Singh: Oh, well, I don't try.

Suhani Mahajan: He's gonna start skipping.

Dhruv Singh: But I think it probably happens anyway. But like, when I'm driving, listen, like more stuff that just helps me focus, because driving is a passive activity and that like I'm thinking, but I'm thinking like as actively. So like, I wasn't like we were lyrical stuff and stuff like that. Like, it just depends on the person.

Suhani Mahajan: It’s really interesting. If you drive with Dhruv he will sing the lyrics as what he's saying.

Dhruv Singh: Maybe.

Marcus Kim: I mean, but then there is a reason why we listen to music. And then, but there was also like, I don't know, some agreement disagreement with, you know, if it's predetermined. So then I guess the general overarching question is, is music taste and your enjoyment in music, something as esoteric is that, are you able to put a study behind it?

Dhruv Singh: I don't think so. I don't think it's ever going to be that accurate. But that's how I feel about this.

Suhani Mahajan: Yeah, I don't think if we don't even understand our emotions and feelings, like, the way the brain kind of comes up with these, I don't think we can understand the correlation between feelings and preferences and music.

Marcus Kim: I mean, I guess to take a counterargument. You know, neurons either fire or not, right. And that's how our brain is made up. So if our brains and emotions are technically all stemming from like, yes or no, one or zero responses, could eventually if we map out our brains and the technology is good enough, could we then create like a perfect playlist for someone?

Dhruv Singh: That's a really interesting concept. I wonder if that's actually that's the future.

Marcus Kim: I mean like in this future.

Dhruv Singh: If this study is correct then yeah, I guess so.

Suhani Mahajan: Says Dhruv after bashing this study.

Dhruv Singh: I don't think. I don't know if he can, but like, yeah, that's what this study kind of asserts.

Marcus Kim: Does anyone? Okay, so does anyone know their 16 personalities type their like, four letter personality type? Yes? So I found on Spotify playlists, for I know, it's so cheesy, there's gonna be like, these, you know, I, it's really interesting, because seeing the diff like, I thought I was one four letter combination. But instead, I'm actually another. And so I overloaded like, my first one. And then I was like, Oh, I'm at this other one. So listening to the different music that the Creator put into the playlist was actually really interesting. Because it turns out I like both. So like, it's not necessarily that your personality type is going to determine what you like, but it's, it seems more fine-tuned to you in a way.

Suhani Mahajan: Did you like when you found out that you were actually a different, like, personality type? Did you find like that the other playlists suited you more?

Marcus Kim: Let me check. So I just found, so I'm an ISFP. And looking at the songs, I definitely feel like I vibe with it a lot more than the original one I had. They're all kind of very light airy music in. I don't think that's a good way to describe it. But they're all good ones with a good beat. Not necessarily too heavy. When, with the other one, the INFP that I thought I was, is kind of more like deep, more like, not necessarily darker, but like deeper songs. Maybe if you can consider them heavy. So seeing how the music swats changed depending on the personality type. I definitely think I resonate with my current one more, which is kind of interesting, because it didn't think I would be any different.

Marcus Kim: Regardless, music kind of resonates with us. I mean, whether it's based off of your emotion, or just how you're raised or the culture growing up in. Music is just kind of always prevalent. I think, with how popular music streaming apps like Spotify are, I think music will just continue to be a part of our lives and the upcoming generations because music is just more accessible, right? And no, we're still trying to figure a lot about our brains and trying to decide what we like. And I just think on the closing note, music will just always be here. And I think maybe we should just chill and enjoy it rather than try and find out why we like it.

Rachel Everett: And check out the Spotify playlist that's linked in the description. We've added some music from all of our different tastes, so yeah.

Marcus Kim: Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the Point of View tab on our website nhsmessenger.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook at @nhspointofview for updates and new episodes. I'm your host Marcus,

Dhruv Singh: I'm Dhruv,

Suhani Mahajan: Suhani,

Rachel Everett: and Rachel, and this has been Point of View.

International Night - Backstage

Sofia Mang, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Grace Yang

In this episode, Host Grace Yang discusses the preparations behind International Night with the teachers, performers, and club leaders involved, honing in on their busy schedules, connections to the cultures represented and their hopes for the show. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Grace Yang: International Night. An evening celebrating the different cultures at Northview with awe-inspiring performances, tickets that sell out every year, a packed auditorium, and delicious dishes from around the world. This is one of the most exciting nights at Northview, but many students are unaware of the time and effort that performers, sponsors, guests, and Kaleidoscope members put into making sure the event runs smoothly. Hello and welcome to Point of View, where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. I'm Grace, and today I’ll be discussing preparations for International Night and what goes on behind the scenes.

Grace: Some of the principal contributors to International Night's success are the sponsors of the event, Mrs. Rogers and Dr. Hart.

Mrs. Rogers: Good morning. I'm Mrs. Rogers. I am the sponsor of Kaleidoscope club and Kaleidoscope club puts on International Night.

Grace: Kaleidoscope has put on the show almost since Northview’s founding.

Mrs. Rogers: I believe that International Night…it was going on when I first started at this school, I believe back in around 2006-2007, it may have started. I took over the club the 2013-2014 school year, and have been doing International Night since then and Dr. Sekman has been my right hand lady helping me with International Night.

Grace: They have supported the event every year and pour so much of their personal time into managing logistics and rehearsals.

Mrs. Rogers: Well preparing for it, I guess my favorite part is maybe auditions and then just working with the club officers to pull off the event and organize it. Perhaps the most difficult is just you know, being organized and then remembering all the little things that have to be done. And also just getting volunteers to do some of the things that are not as much fun like, you know, selling tickets, you know, working a table at the taste of cultures, that sort of thing.

Grace: The hard work pays off with a great performance that is put on every year.

Mrs. Rogers: I just hope it will provide a fun, fun evening that will be memorable and that will inspire them to be creative themselves and to appreciate the diversity that we have here at Northview and in our Johns Creek community and admire the talent of their peers.

Grace: Kaleidoscope is the club that runs international night.

Tvisha Pendyala: Hi, I'm Tvisha Pendyala, and I'm a senior.

Shruthi Balachander: Hi, my name is Shruthi Balachander and I'm a junior here at Northview and I'm the president of the Kaleidoscope Club.

Grace: Members are there for every rehearsal and they contribute to committees that organize different parts of the show so everything falls into place.

Tvisha: Well, we have committees so each person in leadership usually takes up a role for each committee and I've been an usher for every year that I was like in the club except last year, obviously because we were remote. And for ushering, since I'm the one that knows it the best, that's why I got the position really. Other than that, we don't just solely focus on the committee that we're assigned to or like the role we take, we are a really good team together. We will always help each other whenever we need it and if we have any general things that need to be discussed, we're down for it.

Shruthi: So my role includes overseeing everything from the committees that go into International Night, but also with the performers, rehearsals, and the night itself. So we have, especially leading up to the month of March and international night coming forward so soon, we've had a lot of monthly meetings with committees. My job is to split a lot of the members into committees and make sure that one is working on the paintings and the posters for International Night, the others are working on International Night Week activities, and the others are ushers and backstage committees for International Night itself so everything runs smoothly on the night of.

Grace: Kaleidoscope leaders and members have a lot of work and there are a lot of obstacles, but the process and end result are very rewarding.

Tvisha: Since it's like a really big group, right? Because you have your club members and you have the performers as well, so you have to manage both of them. Sometimes you forget that you have to meet with leadership on your own too. So it's just like constantly being aware of having to do different stuff to get to the end result. So it's just like, you forget stuff so it's kind of hard for that.

Shruthi: I think it's not easy because there's members who don't show up all the time, right? And there's not a continuation of everything and there's so many performers and groups and there’s so many logistics. Like, booking the auditorium itself is a big deal, booking the cafeteria and that is also such a big deal. But the tickets might actually be the hardest part because we at Northview are known to sell out of tickets super fast and it's really hard to get good show tickets. So that's why we were potentially considering a C show. And we're not sure if we will definitely or indefinitely have one because it's still up to how many tickets we buy and what all goes into it. But definitely, I think the performance itself and getting that all cohesively together, whether that was International Night auditions or whether it's right now, with getting all the groups to work with each other, that would definitely be the hardest part.

Grace: Each committee has different responsibilities. Each part of the show must be accounted for with people ushering, managing ticket sales, and everything else. And in the week before international night, everyone involved in the show has a packed schedule.

Shruthi: International Night rehearsals are known to go on forever. Like we practice until 10, 11 and it's just figuring out all the lighting, music, and how each group should transition. And as we know, the seniors always put on that great performance, because it's their year and there's a lot of members into that. So rehearsals are tiring, they're long, but it pays off because both the shows at the end run super smoothly. But we also have general meetings for the performers, figuring out what they're supposed to do when they're backstage and so yeah, it's long and tiring, but it pays off in the end.

Grace: Kaleidoscope is the backbone of international preparations and the members strive to put on a great show and share other cultures.

Tvisha: Since it's a cultural thing, I hope people can connect with their cultures there and have fun showcasing it. And it kind of inspires other people to showcase their cultures that aren't shown as much because like, obviously, Indians and Kpop, those two groups take up a lot of the time, right, which is great, because, obviously, I'm Indian, so I will enjoy it. But it's nice seeing the minority groups, even if it's Russian, like the Russian performances, like they're really nice to see. So I just hope more performers come out and the audience enjoys it, because it's really fun.

Shruthi: Um, so it's been two years since we've had International Night fully and really what I hope this year is that people feel a sense of enjoyment and appreciation for being able to be back in the auditorium, one, and being able to experience such a big night with so much diversity and culture, especially after everything that we've been through over the past few years. With, when we were a quarantine, I know a lot of movements came up and a lot of social issues came up. And I think this is a time we should be taking to really celebrate the positivity and culture and diversity and overlook our differences, then unity that brings us together. And I really hope that people not only see the effort that goes into this night, but they also see how much the value of culture is here at Johns Creek and Northview because it's such a big part of our identities and our societies.

Grace: Performers are the core of international night.

Jensi Perng: I'm Jensi Perng, and I'm the president of the Taiwanese Yo-Yo club.

Vedu Arya: I'm Vedu Arya. I'm a senior at Northview. And I'm performing with BBB or Big Bhangra Brand.

Sunny Park: Hi, my name is Sunny Park. I'm a senior at Northview. And I'm going to be in Dream High.

Grace: They share customs that are important to their backgrounds through instruments, dance, singing, and other arts and expose Northview students to cultures that many of their peers identify with.

Jensi: We're representing Taiwanese culture and our music choice is from Attack on Titan, so kind of Japanese culture as well. So I'm Taiwanese American, and I've been doing Taiwanese Yo-Yo for almost nine years now so it's been pretty long. And it's like, really fun and a great way to get to know people.

Vedu: So we generalize and say we represent Indian culture, right. But within Indian culture, there are multiple styles of dance. So this year, we actually went above and beyond and we’re performing new styles of dance. So we have Bhangra of course, we have Garba, we have Bollywood, we have Tollywood and we of course have Hip Hop as well.

Sunny: We're representing South Korea. I'm the president of KPOP Dance Club at our school so I do a lot of KPOP Dance and like, you know those kinds of performances as well.

Grace: Some of these clubs have a tradition of performing at International Night. For example, Taiwanese Yo-Yo usually performs as well as Dream High.

Jensi: So our club, I think, has been around for around six years and was started by another student. So I think with the exception of last year, this will be our fifth time at international night.

Vedu: So our group has performed before, we performed our sophomore year, so two years back. But the thing is, BBB isn't an official club or anything. It's just a friend group wanting to show off our culture. However, there is usually one Indian dance group every single year, that goes last at International Night and just, you know, performs and represents our culture.

Sunny: It was originally Korean seniors every year. But I guess this year, we're kind of changing it up. But yeah, every year.

Grace: Performers have to manage their schedules, spend hours practicing, and make decisions on the lighting and equipment they use.

Jensi: So our club meets every Wednesday, sometimes we meet over the weekends, as well. For the routine it usually takes me about two day but we tweak it when we meet up.

Vedu: So we have to perform at Beta Con as well, right and so we started practice, I think it was around December, or even November. Typically, we'll just go to one of our friend's house, he will host in their basement, or she'll host in their basement. And we'll just, you know, we'll just dance. Practices are usually pretty long, like just last Sunday, we were practicing and I was up till 3am at one of my friend's house. but yeah.

Sunny: I think it depends on the group. But I think for this one, because most of us are just doing the group is mainly just for, you know, seniors and just to have fun, we usually take up a little bit longer, I'm thinking maybe like four months. But that's only because we meet up maybe once a week, or maybe once every two weeks.

Grace: In the end, they're doing this to share a culture they're proud of and want the audience to enjoy.

Jensi: Well, we've worked really hard. So I guess like, as usual, we don't want any of the Yo-Yo’s to drop, and everything will go smoothly. There's this really cool part at the end, where we take a long pair of sticks, and we do some pretty cool tosses, so I want people to look forward to that.

Vedu: I guess one thing is that, since a lot of the underclassmen didn't get to experience International Night last year, is that it's okay to scream and shout and in fact, we encourage it. You know, we want the entire audience to get really hype while we're performing just so we know that you guys are having fun while we're also having fun performing.

Sunny: I hope you can see how much we've prepared for it. Obviously, not all of us are going to you know, be Kpop stars or, you know, going to be like these spectacular dancers. But yeah, I hope you guys can see how much fun we can have and like, you know, there's a taboo of Kpop and Kpop songs being very cringy. But I hope you guys can see past that and, you know, just see how Kpop can be fun and, you know, really enjoyable for lots of you know, diverse kinds of people.

Grace: The other side to international night is the Taste of Culture event. This is held in the cafeteria, where guests set up booths with food from the cultures they represent. This is made possible with the management of Ms. Hsu and Ms. Kim, two of Northview’s bilingual community liaisons. Parents, teachers, and other guests take time out of their busy schedules to prepare food from their home countries and give students a taste of authentic ethnic dishes. We usually have a few parents manning a Korean booth, showcasing food from the country that many of our students trace their lineages back to. Our very own Ms. Godbole and Mr. Hunter are in charge of a French booth, and the Nigerian Association always sets up a stand for Nigeria. Another crucial part to the success of International Night is the logistics behind everything. In order to control the stage lighting, make sure that the music and sound is done correctly, and that the entire show runs smoothly, Kaleidoscope teams up with the Northview drama department.

Mrs. Rogers: Oh well, we rely heavily on the drama department and they have wonderful experienced tech crews. So I contact Ms. Pieri and she recommends people for Stage Manager and lighting and sound.

Grace: All these factors come together to make international night unforgettable. Aside from showcasing culture around the world, the event gives Northview students and other people of the community something to remember and look forward to each year.

Shruthi: Recently actually I've also been seeing the promotion of Johns Creek High schools International Night and I was wondering the same thing about how much of a scope it has outside of the school. I think it really does have a lot because Northview’s international Night is known to schools around us like Lambert and Forsyth, because when I was in middle school, I remember coming and I wasn't even in high school.

Vedu: We want the audience to react how we reacted when we were the audience basically. When we were in middle school, and we were freshmen, we would run to the front of the audience, and we’d just, you know, start screaming and get really hype. And that's basically just what we want from the audience.

Grace: So this year, knowing all the hard work and time the performers, guests, Kaleidoscope, and teachers have put in. Let’s enjoy the show and let their efforts be known.

Shruthi: Definitely come watch international night! We have so much in store, the performances are gonna be great. But also join Kaleidoscope. I mean, it's a fun club. We do a lot of activities that relate to food and celebrating culture but we also talk about a lot of social issues and differences that arise because of culture and race and such. And so yeah, but come to International Night!

Grace: This concludes this episode of Point of View. Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the Point of View tab on our website, nhsmessenger.org, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at NHS Point of View for updates and new episodes. I'm your host, and this has been Point of View.

Books Bans- A World of Grey

Marcus Kim, Suhani Mahajan, Sofia Mang, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Grace Yang

In the first episode of our two-part series, host Caleb Smith discusses the wave of book bans sweeping over America and the effects of categorizing books. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music! 

Caleb Smith: “Love who you want to, and do it unapologetically, including that face you see every day in the mirror.”

“Many of us connect with each other through trauma and pain: broken people finding other broken people in the hopes of fixing one another.”

These quotes from All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Matthew Johnson advise us to practice self-love and healing from trauma, practices that almost every single person would promote as healthy and beneficial. What happens when we condemn texts that encourage youth, the future leaders of the world, to love themselves and heal from their pasts? Is the restriction of books a necessary action to help avoid explicit material to our youth? What becomes of our society when we restrict literature to black-and-white categories of either “acceptable” or “unacceptable”? Who determines this? Is this new wave of book bans driven by political agendas?

Hello and welcome to Point of View where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. I’m your host, Caleb. Join us on episode one of our two-part series on Book Bans as we dive into these questions and the implications behind the recent surge of book bans in America.

Please note that this episode references sensitive topics including suicide, violence against minorities, mental illnesses, and sexual violence, and may not be suitable for some listeners.

On January 10, the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee voted to remove Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel Maus from its curriculum, effectively prohibiting teachers from teaching the book. The board’s reasoning for this ban, as stated on its website, was due to the book’s “use of profanity and nudity and… its depiction of violence and suicide.” The book tells about the horrors of the Holocaust from the authors’ parents’ point of view as Jewish people, themselves. Art Spegielman, the author, stated he believes the real reason the school board removed the book was because of its focus on the Holocaust, but the school board did release a statement that it values “teaching our children the historical and moral lessons and realities of the Holocaust.”

Additionally in Texas, multiple books are being pulled from school library shelves due to complaints from parents and school districts’ reviews of the books. Several of these reviews and complaints were spurred by an inquiry from Republican representative Matt Krause back on October 21, 2021. Krause compiled a list of 850 books and asked Texas school districts for information on their whereabouts and costs, then asked schools to review books that deal with topics ranging from human sexuality to people of certain races or sexes being inherently oppressive. An associate editor at Book Riot found that around 60% of the books on this list include LGBTQ+ themes. The North East Independent School District started reviewing the books on the list and removed more than 400 books dealing with race, sexuality, and gender. The district received backlash with an online petition of people who believed this review was hurting colored and LGBTQ+ students.

Texas governor Greg Abbott has also contributed to the banning of books by sending a letter to the Texas Education Agency to “investigate any criminal activity in our public schools involving the availability of pornography.” In response to this statement, many parents have challenged books with the claim that they are pornographic. Authors rebut these claims, saying they come from reading isolated passages, and that the book as a whole encourages teens to act on their desires safely. Other complaints have been filed about books that deal with race; parents claim they make kids feel guilty for being white.

More recently, Forsyth county in Georgia removed eight books from its media centers shelves after a parent complaint of sexually explicit material. Of these eight pieces, four of them feature POC main characters. Four other titles were moved to only be available in high schools. These books include Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

This censorship of literature impacts students the most, so we sat down with a few high schoolers and a teacher to discuss their thoughts on these book bans.

Ashley Ulrich: Hi, I'm Ashley Ulrich. I am a teacher at Northview High School. I'm one of the co-chairs for the English department. And I've been teaching here, this is my 15th year, and I primarily teach 10th graders and juniors.

Book banning is not a new concept. It has been a political controversy for forever, it feels like. I have definitely taught books that have in times and places been challenged or banned by groups at different times.

Smith: Book bans have been around for centuries, with America’s first book ban taking place in 1637 on Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, which critiqued Puritan practices. Since then, our country has grown much more accepting, welcoming people of all religions, races, and sexualities. Some of this societal progress can be attributed to books that push people to be uncomfortable and face reality. For example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852, exposed the cruel nature of slavery to the public, strengthening the abolitionist movement.

Literature pushes the boundaries and tells about all facets of society.

Ryan Li: So like if you only approve certain texts, you only learn what those texts are teaching you. You don’t have the vast variety of, you know, different points of view, which is what makes literature so special.

Smith: It is a unique form of communication as it defuses ideas from all kinds of people. Anybody’s ideals may be challenged with literature, be they democrat, republican, or anything in between. No book is objectively correct or incorrect.

Ulrich: I think most sources are not that black and white. So it becomes tricky without picking out the most outliers of examples to, I think, pin down on a spectrum of, you are terrible, and you are great. There is a lot of gray in the space between objectively promoting good and objectively promoting bad.

Smith: For example, the “Handmaid’s Tale” offers Christians a critique on the possibility of the overbearing power of religion. It is written through a female point of view that shows the flaws of a male dominated society that is often seen in religious texts. Stripping away the political ideas associated with a story like this, we reveal a genuine warning about how individual rights may crumble under an overpowering government. Beneath the political veil that society has given “The Handmaid’s Tale”, lies a genuinely amazing piece of literature that critiques our status quo regarding religion and power structures. Putting “The Handmaid’s Tale” into a strict black or white box of either being pro-conservative or pro-liberal takes away from the story and the message it is trying to send. By reducing this work to a binary, the heart of this book is lost.

This pattern of exposing the worst parts of humanity in hopes of achieving reform or simply to make people think, can be seen in many popular books, whether they are taught in schools or not.

Li: It’s not really sort of something I can put my finger on exactly, it’s just sort of a feeling you get after you read a book. It sort of expands your worldview on things, like a subliminal message, things that slowly change the way you view the world through reading different texts, through reading things that concern these controversial topics that sort of, you know, expand your knowledge on them.

Smith: For example, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a book in the curriculum of many school districts across the nation, discusses uncomfortable topics such as mental illness and the terrible treatment that mentally ill people have received historically. The content makes readers think about the conditions in the medical system as well as about the bigger questions, such as things that are worse than death. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the setting is a mental asylum, where the patients are often rambunctious and punished for this behavior. The setting could lead readers to believe that there is something innately wrong with people who have mental illnesses. Rather than moving Cuckoo’s Nest to the ‘no good’ box immediately, an inspection of the book reveals how it uses the setting as a critique of the treatment of people with mental illness.

Ulrich: With a book, there is a writer, that writer is writing for an audience to communicate a message, and understanding the purpose of the message that they're trying to communicate and the audience that they're trying to reach. And what they hope to accomplish with that is important with any text, whether it's a speech, or whether it's a novel or any other form of communication.

Smith: Actually engaging and reading the book shows how the setting itself presents the mistreatment and horrors that happen in a systemic institution for people deemed ‘insane’. While Cuckoo’s Nest is a controversial book, it is not being targeted in this most recent wave of bans, along with many other hard reads. They are still being taught in schools across the country, and there is one defining factor about these books: they are from the so-called “normal” perspective, that being of a straight white man. Both the protagonist, Randle McMurphy, and the book’s author, Ken Kesey, come from this majority.

Vangala: Honestly, if you look at the publishing industry as a whole, even though there are so many people of color, so many LGBTQ people in America, it’s a largely white straight world. I think by banning these books and preventing people from accessing these kinds of stories, you’re showing them that only one kind of story is valid, and one kind of story is acceptable.

Smith: This doesn’t mean that Cuckoo’s Nest is any less important of a text, but it is a glaring pattern in these bans.

Ulrich: We're seeing right now, a lot of questioning of writers that are not from the majority population, people of color, people who are from the LGBTQ community, and a lot of superficial elements of texts are being used as the justification for why books can be banned outright for all people in this you know, whole school or home school district or whole state. And in doing so, there is an implied argument that people like that don't have a place that we shouldn't be listening to what they have to say that to me is problematic.

Smith: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is comparable in content, albeit a bit more serious, to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian was banned due to profanity and reference to sexual acts, but Cuckoo’s Nest is much more violent and contains more sexually explicit material, and has not been challenged in the newest wave of book bans. This raises the question of whether sexual content is being used to ban books or if the real intention is to prevent students from reading books showing a certain viewpoint.

Ulrich: I am more inclined to see the removal of whole groups of texts, because they're written by a certain type of person, or because they have, you know, content of this type or that type or this type or that type. I think that oftentimes, we can sometimes use those labels as a hide, for a real reason why sometimes a book might be banned, that we might say this content is what is objectionable, but really, it's a challenge to the status quo, or it's a challenge to the viewpoints and the feelings that people have. That is, at the heart the problem.

Smith: The striking difference between One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is that Sherman Alexie, the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, is a Native American author showing the day-to-day life of a different culture, and Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a straight white man.

Vangala: I mean, it’s the same kind of idea where if you see the acceptable stories, and it’s The Great Gatsby, and it’s The Catcher in the Rye, it’s stories of white men. And then you look at the stories that are banned, and it’s about the Holocaust, and it’s about Melissa, a transgender girl, you’re seeing very obviously that one type of voice is seen as acceptable and some voices are seen as unacceptable, and when you identify with a voice that’s seen as unacceptable, it’s really damaging to your growth.

Smith: On Goodreads, a book review website, a parent reveals that she started reading parts of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and crossing out sections she thought were inappropriate for her child. It is an honorable task to be a parent and every parent wants to be the best for their children.

Ulrich: If a parent is really concerned about content in a text, as a parent, they have the right to determine what is appropriate for their child, in the same way, they should have that right to determine what a child can watch on television or see in a movie or playing a video game or listen to in music.

Smith: But allowing opinionated parents, often acting on a political agenda, to pick what is “too harsh” and to restrict those texts for all students across the board can be dangerous. Media has an effect on people's worldview, and it makes sense that a parent would want some knowledge and control over what a child is exposed to in their formative years. However, there is a difference between this contained parenting and the sweeping actions of a larger administrative board.

Ulrich: Speaking as a teacher and as a person, I think there is an inherent difference, which is probably come across in some of my other comments between a parent making a choice for their child, and someone making a choice for entire groups of kids or entire groups of populations that they may not intimately know. Those two things to me are very different circumstances. I see the biggest issue when someone thinks that they know best for whole groups of people without having any direct connection to them. A teacher, a parent, even an administrator who's directly involved in the lives of that group of kids, to me, is in a better place to make a judgment call for what feels like a more founded reason than making sweeping judgments from a position that's very detached and removed.

Smith: The themes of racial prejudice, sexual desires, and domestic abuse in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and other heavy topics addressing the LGBTQ+ community and sexual assault have become more relevant, but have also been more targeted in recent bans.

Li: I don’t think I’ve read many books concerning these themes outside of school, which is why I think implementing book bans is especially harmful, because sometimes school is the only place you’re exposed to these types of themes.

Smith: Banning these books across the board insinuates that the bigger ideas in these books are outright wrong, and can push them to be seen as part of political agendas.

Ulrich: When we take an entire group of texts, and give it a label, and then say that that is unacceptable, particularly if it is a flat ban, and across the board, instead of in an individual context for an individual kid, that to me can be very problematic, because it suggests that there is something inherently negative about the writer or the writers intentions. And that might be one person's view, or, you know, a group of persons’ views. But that's probably not a pan of a view for everyone. In fact, many books, unfortunately, find themselves, you know, for different reasons being challenged, because they might run contrary to the perspective that a group, you know, wants to advocate for and kind of make a political statement about.

Smith: The idea in modern American society that LGBTQ+ ideas are liberal and conservatives are anti-LGBTQ can be attributed to the current black and white, yes or no, of the American political climate. The world is not black or white, but a shade of gray. People cannot be labeled in a binary fashion, and to an even greater extent, the ideas that people share cannot and should not ever come close to a bilinear scale.

Ulrich: I try to include a variety of themes in the texts that we explore. I think questions about who we are as people, and what matters to us. And the way that we interact with other people are probably some of the most fundamental things that we can work with students about and have them think critically about, especially when we look at the world. On a bigger scale, once you're not in high school, I mean, interpersonal relationships and having a sense of who you are, and what matters to you. Those are fundamental things that shape every part of a person's life. So giving kids texts that are exploring identity, about sense of self, about how we relate to others, how we relate to people that are different than us, how we acknowledge that there are perspectives that are perhaps different than our own. To me, those are some of the most fundamental, important things that we can talk about. Because through that, we're addressing things that give kids the ability to make choices in the future about who they are, how they see themselves, the way they interact with others.

Smith: Katy Independent School District has banned the book and memoir “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M Johnson. In this memoir, Johnson explores the trials and triumphs of a black queer man growing up. Many could immediately label this as dangerous. It could expose our youth to sensitive topics such as sexual violence or uncensored sex.

Li: In terms of literature, most of the stuff that starts to, for required reading, that does deal with sexuality and things along those lines, happens in eighth grade. A lot of the reasoning behind these bans is that, you know, these people are too young to learn about these things but I feel like at that age, you’re already mentally mature enough to handle topics and themes of this nature.

Smith: The book could be labeled as liberal propaganda and be shoved in the ‘no good’ box and shipped away. However, as explained earlier, All Boys Aren't Blue explores topics of sexuality, masculinity, and consent, which aren’t topics that can be relegated to a political party. These themes include the discussion of the ‘republican father’, the idea of a strong breadwinning male figure, the explanation of consent and dangers of sexual assault, and even the talk of American childhood.

Vangala: When it comes to a book, you have to put, there’s so many people that work on a book. Even writing a book just takes years and years and so much thought that when it comes to a book, you know that there were a lot of eyes that went over it. When there’s sexually explicit conent in there, it’s for a purpose.

Smith: Forcing a label on a book antagonizes its contents. The stories that this work of literature can provide to society are lost through the attempts to section it off into a political party. There is something for everyone in books. Labeling them as black or white, red or blue, is a dangerous practice that prevents the dissemination of literature and stories within society.

Vangala: I believe that the people who are instating book bans are doing it with the belief that they are helping children, but by doing that they are actively hindering our education. They are, again, limiting our worldview and making us believe that only one type of person and one type of story is worthy of being heard.

Smith: We live in turbulent times that no one can predict. Literature and restrictions have been hand and hand for centuries. However, we have to critically analyze the reasons and how they are being restricted and ask the hard question of ‘is this okay to do’. The growth and development of our youth is at stake and prioritizing a political agenda can prevent them from learning the realities of the world and changing it for the better. Join us in our next episode to talk to the students, authors, and teachers these bans are affecting. Thank you for listening to the first episode on Book Bans. -For a transcript of this episode, head to the Point of View tab on our website nhsmessenger.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook @nhspointofview for updates and new episodes. I’m your host Caleb Smith and this has been Point of View.

Across the Table - Superheroes

Rachel Everett, Caleb Smith, Jonah Chadwin, Dhruv Singh

In this episode, staffers Dhruv, Caleb, Jonah, and Rachel discuss their opinions on Spiderman: No Way Home, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superheroes as a whole. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Dhruv: Hello and welcome to point of view where we give students a place to listen and learn. We're your hosts, Dhruv,

Caleb: Caleb,

Jonah: Jonah,

Rachel: and Rachel.

Dhruv: And today we'll be talking about Spider Man, the recent movie, and superheroes as a whole. We won't be getting into spoilers until later in the episode, so I'll give you a warning when we start that. Okay, so recently, we're kind of been like, the biggest theme in Entertainment has been superheroes. Wouldn’t you guys agree?

All: Yeah.

Dhruv: So I like, at least for me, I feel like you can kind of see these like themes like, over history, like they're like cowboys in the 60s and like sci-fi mania stuff, like what you guys think like,

Caleb: Would you consider Indiana Jones like a super?

Dhruv: Yeah, There was like a point where like action movies and like, like, heist stuff was really popular, like Ocean's 11. Like,

Caleb: I never really got into Indiana Jones. But like, I've heard that that's been like a big thing, especially like, back in the day. I don't remember when that came out though. When did it come out?

Dhruv: Like the 80s.

Caleb: 80s. Okay, yeah.

Dhruv: So like, I think that if we're like, following those trends, we're kind of in like a big superhero. I guess renaissance right now, like superhero movies have been around a long time. But now they're kind of, they look a lot a lot different.

Caleb: They're very different from when they were before. But they're at like its peak right now. Especially with the animation and what they're including and kind of like their ideas of how they're forming these movies together is like, yeah, really crazy.

Rachel: It seems to be like they're interweaving each other. And it's not just like one film and then another one, it’s the entire story.

Dhruv: Yeah, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like that's the term is like, I think it might have been the first to do that, you know, where you take different series. And you like, tie them together? And like, build off each other, like, tease each other and stuff. I don't actually know if anything has done it in that like regard before?

Jonah: I don't know. I don't think the DC has done it nearly as well.

Dhruv: Yeah, no, for sure. If we're talking, It also has a lot of like copycats. Yeah. Like, yeah, DC tried it. And then like there was a point where I think was universal was trying it with like their like horror movie.

Caleb: Like, stories can have sequels and like a like a movie after that. But they're, they don't really like connect, as well as what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is doing. Kind of like building off each other each, like each movie, and kind of getting better as they go.

Jonah: Yeah. And they have stuff planned out for the next I think six years. I think Kevin Feige said in an interview.

Caleb: Yeah, that's crazy.

Dhruv: I think it's, it's kind of like a TV show, right? Like, you get connected to these characters. Because you have so much time with them. Yeah. And like, you get to spend like several episodes with one character, you build them up, you like have like multiple conflicts and stuff. And like, a cinematic universe kind of does the same thing. It's just on a much larger scale, like bigger budgets. Yeah, like, I guess more fleshed-out stories and stuff. And like, I personally feel like there are some downsides to that. Like, I know, it's kind of controversial just to like, because I love Marvel movies and stuff, and I love superhero movies. They're some of the most fun like, they deliver themes and stuff while also being fun without like requiring too much thought and stuff. So I think they're like, really accessible by a wide audience. The thing is, though, that I kind of feel like when you have such a large amount of like entertainment right now being one thing. Like, I think Marvel is like 1/4 of the entertainment industry right now.

All: Yeah.

Dhruv: I feel like it can get like-

Caleb: Overwhelming?

Dhruv: Yeah.

Caleb: Um, I guess I could agree. But I think all the content that they're putting out is almost trying to build their fan base even more than what it already was. Yeah, Marvel has been popular for like, for what- decades? I don't know how long it's like been a thing. Like, even before, like, back in the comics, like they had a lot of fans and stuff. But I think that with all the content they're putting out, it could seem overwhelming, but I do love like enjoying seeing that. Because when movies come out they’re like two years apart, but if they're putting out the TV shows and the movies, like kinda like not back to back, but they're in close in proximity. I think that it kind of gets us closer to those characters in the story.

Jonah: Yeah, and in a few years, they'll have more than I think 40 projects and for new people that are just jumping on that's gonna be really hard for them to get into it.

Dhruv: It’s intimidating.

Jonah: But I feel like it's definitely worth it. There are a lot of stories that you can just like watch on your own and some series that you can watch on your own without needing to know the other things.

Dhruv: Yes.

Rachel: Do you also think that it's kind of getting oversaturated?

Dhruv: I think I think that like- I know I personally, before this most recent Spider Man movie, I was kind of feeling burnt out on it. Because I've been like a big superhero fan like I’ve loved Spider Man since I was like really young and stuff like all this. But you know, after like seeing Marvel so much over the last few years I saw those three shows they released like the Captain America and Loki and WandaVision stuff.

Jonah: Yeah.

Dhruv: And like after that I just kind of feeling burnt out. I wasn't that interested in like any new movies that they were gonna release. I won't lie, Spider Man kind of brought me back on though.

Caleb: Yeah, that was a crazy movie.

Dhruv: But I do think that like oversaturation and just like the sheer amount of content, like it kind of makes each one less special for me. At least, I can see like-

Caleb: I can see your point.

Jonah: I see your point. I just, I disagree, because I feel like it just, they all have their own thing about them. Yeah. And they are all so different. And I just, they don't get boring for me. I don't, I don't think they ever will for me.

Rachel: I think that like it's almost intimidating, but also at the same time, it's just so much and not enough time in a way. Like back in early 2021, WandaVision came out, then like a week later, Falcon and the Winter Soldier came out, and then Loki and then there was just so much other stuff. And it's like, you don't have enough time to catch up. Like, I haven't been able to watch all of Hawkeye yet. And I'm just like trying to find the time. It's just-

Caleb: But I think like with these, like TV shows, I think Marvel's aspect was that although movies take a lot longer to make, I think that with them putting these shows out, it's almost giving us this like leisure time where we can watch this at home, and then in that time, they're making movies that we can go see once those are finished. So that way we could like, I mean, not necessarily like kind of keep intact of what's going on in this universe. And like kind of how everything will connect once that next big movie comes out kind of like Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Jonah: Yeah. And I really liked even diving deeper into those characters that we haven't seen as often that might be overlooked like Hawkeye, Wandavision and Bucky and Falcon using them more, they've gotten more screentime than some of those other bigger characters because they've got their own series now.

Dhruv: I think like if we're talking about the characters specifically, like, we like zoom out a little bit to talk about superheroes. I think it's really interesting that they're like, they're having like, they're like seen in a different form now. And I think they're kind of like folktales if you think about it, yeah, they've been around for like, a long, long time, like since the 50s. Like somebody's like Spider Man's like the 60s and 70s and a ton of different iterations. But like, when you reduce it to its core, it is kind of like just like, it's something to like latch on to. It's like something to relate to. It's like a story that like a kid can like, really enjoy like learn lessons from. Dometimes there will also be like really goofy comic book like storylines and stuff, but the main like, essence is like- you guys have any thoughts on that?

Jonah: I feel like for all of us, there's a Marvel character out there that we can all relate to, probably a lot of them.

Caleb: Even like Kate Bishop. I think that kind of like storytelling, like if we were in Kate bishops position, like her looking at Hawkeye, I think well, this is kind of a spoiler if you guys haven’t watched the Hawkeye series yet, but just Kate Bishop looking up to Hawkeye and just seeing him on the side of the building. And like saving people, even when there's aliens, he had no powers like the rest of his, like the rest of the Avengers. She kind of took up that and was like, wow, okay, I'm gonna take this lesson. I'm gonna learn to fight people. And then she got really good at archery and knew how to find that sort of thing.

Dhruv: Yeah, I think that at their best, like superhero movies are just, they go deep on a character or they show you like a character that you can kind of relate to. And then there's just like fun action on top of that stuff. Like it's fun movies. I think that the core though, is that character, like, when they're my issue with them is that sometimes like, a movie will come out and that character is missing. It feels like it's just part of like the cinematic universe and stuff.

Caleb: What example would you give?

Dhruv: I'd say something like, like the first Dr. Strange, right? I love him. I think he's super cool. But that first movie, I feel like he's kind of bland. At least in that first one. But yeah, I think he's coming into his own. I'm really excited for this next one.

Jonah: Yeah, I feel like at the beginning they sort of had to experiment with that character and get to learn him better and as it goes throughout I feel like they're doing better. And with Multiverse of Madness, I feel like they're gonna do better and make it his movie.

Dhruv: Yeah, like that's what I'm saying. Like, I think that when they are just using like a character or like a movie as a piece of a larger thing to like, build up to something. I think that's when I feel like okay, maybe the cinematic universe is detracting from like these individual pieces. You know what I mean? Also, sometimes like, something interesting about the cinematic universe, right, is the concept of like a bunch of different artists or directors coming and like making their own movie, and like their own unique style and then like, fitting into this larger piece and like you get like this like tapestry of a bunch of different styles and stuff. But the thing is, is that I feel like that's a missed opportunity because like sometimes these Marvel movies end up like looking the same. There's like not much unique voice in each one. I don't know if you guys disagree.

Jonah: Yeah, I feel like recently I feel like they've gotten better. Eternals felt really different than the other movies, Shang-Chi felt really different. And with all the new stuff they're putting out, I feel like they're all diving deeper into different sections, like, the Agatha show that they announced will dive deeper into the magic, like, just Multiverse of Madness and into that reality kind of thing.

Dhruv: Like making each individual piece pop more. Yeah. Like, I'm glad to see they're doing that a little bit more.

Jonah: Yeah, in the earlier days, they all had that same sort of tone. Yeah.

Caleb: Would you say they did that with No Way Home?

Jonah: I would say yeah.

Dhruv: I did think that No Way Home had a little bit more of like an individual voice. I think that like, I'll just leave like one last note on like, something. There's like, what was it- Martin Scorsese said something about Marvel movies- which gets thrown around a lot like every interview with a Marvel actor- they're asked like, “What do you think of what Martin Scorsese said?”. He said like that Marvel movies aren't cinema. He said they aren't cinema because they're like, theme park rides.

Jonah: Yeah, I've heard that.

Dhruv: And the thing is, is that that's like, really, it's pretty pretentious. And it like comes off really self-like dramatic and stuff. But I kind of see what he's saying sometimes.

Jonah: I kind of see it.

Dhruv: Because here's the thing, right? Okay. Okay. I see you nodding.

Rachel: I think Caleb and I agree. Or don’t understand.

Dhruv: Let me explain myself. Let me explain myself, right, because I get what you mean, it is really pretentious. And I think the way he said it was kind of like “They aren't cinema.” like is really like up his snooty. But when you watch an individual movie, right, it's like, it's a whole story. There's like a lot of thought that goes into it like, let me think of a movie. If I'm watching, like, shoot, give me a second.

Caleb: Dune.

Dhruv: Uh, well, that's also like a part of a franchise and stuff.

Caleb: Oh, is it actually?

Dhruv: Yeah, well, there’s like going to be sequels like, but let me think like, this movie, like Blindspotting. It's just a random movie. It's like its own story. It like has some characters when you watch it at the beginning and like, by the time it comes to the end, you've seen what like the people who made it like intended, like, it's a full story, there’s characters, like all this stuff. With a Marvel movie, you're watching like a piece. It's like a cog, you know, it's not like its own, like full machine, or at least sometimes it might feel like that. Yeah, instead it comes out as like, one piece that's building up to something larger. And also, they're like, sometimes they can be like, very corporate, or it can feel like it or something. It might not feel like personal. And in that regard, I can kind of see what he means by like, they're not the same as like a full singular movie.

Jonah: Yeah.

Caleb: Is that what you consider cinema?

Dhruv: Well, okay, I disagree with what like, what he said, but I can kind of see like a point. I mean, I don't want to come off as like- I still love Marvel Movies I'm like a dude. I see Spider Man, I’m like Oh!

Caleb: Yeah, every Marvel movie I get hyped.

Dhruv: I love them to be clear. I just like I think that that it’s an interesting point. There might be something to be said there. You know what I mean? Yeah, like, I don't know if you guys still disagree.

Jonah: I mean, not many Marvel movies have like, they all have really good acting. But how many Marvel movies have really won Oscars? Like Black Panther was, I think the only one?

Dhruv: Or it was nominated.

Jonah: Or yeah, it might have been nominated. Did it win any?

Caleb: I don’t think so.

Dhruv: I don't think so. No, it was GreenBook, which I don’t know was as good, either. But like, you know, I just, I think there's an interesting idea there. But where some people take like a stance, like, oh, all Marvel movies, they aren't on the same level and stuff. I think that's… With some of these Marvel movies, there's a lot of love that goes into them. You know, you can really tell like, I'm not trying to take away from that at all. I just think, I feel like it's a little bit different. Yeah.

Caleb: It's definitely different than a lot of the movies that we see today. I think they're doing their own thing. And they're succeeding at it, too.

Jonah: Yeah. I don't think they really care if they like win Oscars.

Dhruv: For sure.

Jonah: I feel like they just care about making the fans happy, giving the fans what they want to say. I feel like they've done that pretty well.

Dhruv: I think when they're at their best, they're just making like, just putting love into like a fun movie that you will really enjoy.

Rachel: I kind of like that whole aspect of not trying to win Oscars. Because you definitely can see movies that are like trying really hard to.

Dhruv: For sure. they're always pretentious.

Rachel: Yes. They're like trying to be so like dramatic and so like insightful and then you just go to a Marvel movie and you're just like let's have a good time.

Caleb: It’s just good entertainment.

Dhruv: Yeah. Sometimes you forget that like sometimes you need something simple.

Caleb: Yeah, you need something with like a bunch of different aspects of the storyline. Have you guys ever seen Cherry?

Dhruv: Cherry?

Jonah: With Tom Holland? Yeah.

Caleb: That movie, I feel like was trying to win an Oscar. Yeah, it just had a lot going on, it was actually really crazy. Watch it, but it's a long movie. But the question I have for you guys is, what do you think your favorite Marvel movie is? Or superhero movie?

Dhruv: Favorite superhero movie?

Rachel: Don't start with me. I’ll have to think about it. You go first.

Jonah: No Way Home easily.

Caleb: Okay. Ah, I might have to agree with you on that one. That movie was really good.

Jonah: I like the big climatic ones like Infinity War and Endgame.

Caleb: I would say it's either No Way Home or Endgame.

Dhruv: I like those but, well this is me. Like I love those like, bombastic super big stories. But for me, like my favorite is definitely Spider-Verse. I love that movie.

Caleb: Yeah? I’ve never seen it. Never seen it.

Jonah: If that was live-action that would be everybody’s favorite. I feel like some people take away from that because it’s animated.

Dhruv: Dude, the fact that it’s animated makes it better though.

Caleb: Makes it better?

Dhruv: Yes, it makes it better! You’ve got to watch this movie.

Jonah: The style of the animation is so great.

Caleb: Okay, maybe I gotta watch it before I say anything. But like, real life? I don't know if it could ever compare to animation.

Rachel: I definitely think Caleb should watch the movie before he comments.

Caleb: Alright, I’ll watch it.

Dhruv: The reason I like it, right, is because it has the essence of this character that has like, it has a really good interpretation of Spider-Man in my opinion. And then it's like, the style is like, it's incredible. It's like unique, which is so much fun to see. It's like I was watching it and I just like couldn't believe what I was seeing. The music's incredible, like, the visuals. And the story is like, it feels like contained and I kind of like that sometimes I kind of like a personal.

Jonah: Yeah, it really feels like kind of like a comic book come to life because they have like, comic book catchphrases like BAM, WHAM like, in the art. It's so cool to see that.

Rachel: It definitely felt like it just flew off the page like left the pages.

Dhruv: Yeah, I recommend that movie if you're curious. If you haven't seen it.

Rachel: I cannot decide on a favorite Marvel movie more so because I follow characters rather than movies.

Dhruv: I see.

RacheI: I think Dhruv- just all of y'all- you have such an amazing eye for movies and like seeing them into depth. I just like characters and actors.

Dhruv: That's fine.

Caleb: What did you say your favorite character was?

Rachel: Either Bucky or Dr. Strange so I would say either.

Caleb: There's no way! You just said Captain America yesterday.

Rachel: No! My favorite movie is Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Doctor Strange.

Dhruv: I’m sorry for like trashing Doctor Strange.

Rachel: You're okay, I can kind of understand where you're coming from.

Dhruv: I like the visuals. I like the movie. The actual stuff is just the character.

Jonah: Yeah, that was the best part of Doctor Strange.

Rachel: The visuals are very, very impressive. But I like the magical element of Dr. Strange. I feel like seeing those possibilities is so… and seeing them delve into those possibilities in the magic. And even, actually, I can't say that. It's from Spider-Man so we will talk about that later.

Jonah: I like the side characters that steal the show in Marvel Movies. Like Karun the cameraman in Eternals. Morris from Shang-Chi, Yelena from Black Widow.

Rachel: Loki. The younger brother. Bucky.

Caleb: Yup.

Jonah: I love seeing those.

Dhruv: Okay, so two of us mentioned that No Way Home was our favorite and stuff and that's the one that just came out so let's talk about that one.

Rachel: But let's put a little spoiler warning.

Caleb: Yeah, let’s put a spoiler warning.

Rachel: If you have not watched the movie, do not listen. If you want to get it spoiled, then listen.

Dhruv: Go watch it and then run back and come listen.

Caleb: Let's just talk about our initial thoughts. You can go ahead Dhruv.

Dhruv: So, I love it. I think, you know if I'm looking at it like as a celebration of the character, like as a Spider-Man fan and just like a superhero movie. I think it's perfect. I think it hits all the notes like I would want it to and I had a ton of fun watching it.

Rachel: What notes did you want it to hit that it did hit or some examples?

Dhruv: Well like, I think it nailed the character. I think like- I watched it and I felt like there's like a story it wanted to tell, emotional beats it wanted to hit and it hit all those and I loved it. Like, it made me feel something and I think that's like the best thing a movie can do you know.

Caleb: I think that with this Spider-Man I think he's finally really become like Spider-Man, especially with the decisions that he made and then kind of the loss that he suffered. I feel like he's finally turning into the Spider-Man that is in the comics.

Jonah: Some people have criticized Tom Holland’s Spider-Man for being like IrOn BoY Jr but I feel like after this I feel like nobody can really say that.

Dhruv: You know all Spider-Man fans we love this. We do not want to see him winning we want to see him be at the worst point in his life.

Jonah: I feel like we saw that.

Rachel: For me, overall it was just like a lot. I'm one of those people that like gets really into movies and like experiences a lot of emotions. So I was like-

Caleb: Did you cry during this movie?

RacheI: I surprisingly did not. I came close to tears. I came close. There were tears in my eyes. I did not cry though.

Caleb: I cried.

Jonah: I bawled.

Rachel: Because I had stuff spoiled for me. So there wasn't like-

Caleb: See that's where it gets bad, like if you're spoiling a movie, then you like take away all of like the good feelings that come along when you see it for the first time. So that's why I had to see it like, the first day.

Dhruv: Okay, so we're in spoilers right now. So why don't we talk about the- let's talk about the overall concept. Like what happens in the movie and then we could talk about like, specific moments we liked. So, regarding the fact that they brought in- spoiler, spoiler- they brought in like, characters from other like, cinematic universe, like other series that were not part of it before. Like, I think that was a really cool idea.

Caleb: That was amazing, like, I had seen spoilers but like, like, um, I don't know what you want to call it, like people saying that they were going to be in the movie, but I didn't really like. I was having hope. But I didn't know if I truly believed it. And then when I finally saw it, I got so hype in the movie theater. Everybody in the back was screaming loud. That was the experience. Like I think I had the entire Northview senior class in that movie theater, like screaming loud, but no, I really loved that aspect that they added into it with adding Toby and Andrew.

Jonah: That was a really great movie experience. Just seeing everybody scream for your favorite characters. The Daredevil cameo coming. Yeah, Andrew saving MJ that was all.

Caleb: That made me cry like so hard. Yeah, something about it. Just like it hit super close to home. I don't even know why.

Dhruv: It’s a well written scene it’s great.It’s shot well. The movie also I know I said this earlier And actually, I feel like the director has like a more of a style on this one, you know? Yeah. Like the other ones feel kind of like flat I guess. Like yes, but like, it was a lot of fun to watch. Like, it was interesting. Like, there was like cool shots like the the CG is like great, obviously. Yeah. You like, it's just it there. Although there is one aspect of like, bringing in other characters like a celebratory thing that I'm worried about. I wonder if people are going to try and copy it.

Jonah: In the Flash movie. Weren't they gonna like bring back some characters like Michael Keaton’s Batman.

Dhruv: Okay, following the patterns in the DC universe right now. I feel like they're not going to be able to do it. That being said, this because of this recommendation, Aquaman is so bad. It's hilarious. It's so much fun. It's like the best DC movie I really recommend.

Caleb: It's not even that bad.

Dhruv: It's my favorite. But I think it's very silly. I think it's stupid. But I like that. Okay, I was like, happy with that.

Caleb: How’d we end up at Aquaman?

Rachel: In terms of like you saying, you wonder if there'll be any copycats.

Dhruv: Trying to do celebrations of like movies.

Caleb: That’s if they can even get that actor back.

Rachel: I was more so thinking about bringing other people into like the universe, but I also like, I know in like DC TV shows they have crossovers that are so confusing.

Caleb: But I think with the now they've actually confirmed that. Andrew, Andrew will be back and then Toby might be back for some more cameos in the future. So they actually like super fully back.

Dhruv: if they're like in it like

Caleb: It was cool. One time I don't know about Yeah, I don't know. I would love a third movie for Andrew Garfield. I don't know if it'd be the same.

Jonah: There was a reliable leak that said that there's gonna be a third movie with Gwen returning from like another universe as Spider-Gwen. In her universe Peter Parker dies. So that would be I think I'd love it.

Dhruv: So another thing like this movie kind of made me like, think about revisiting the old ones, right? Like the Tobey Maguire movies are great. Like that. They're like stylistic and there's so much fun. They're like they they know what they are. They're silly. Yeah, just like I will say I think the Andrew Garfield is like the best actor to portray Spider Man. I think he's very charismatic. I think he was my favorite to watch in the new one. I do feel like because of this movie, people are revisiting the Amazing Spider-Man movies and thinking like and saying they're better then they remember them being. I think those movies kind of suck.

Jonah: Those movies suck but I feel like Andrew being spider man wasn't the problem.

Caleb: I just rewatched them from Toby Maguire all the way down to the second movie for Andrew. And Toby's actually the quality and the entire like he's got to be the worst Spider Man. But he's still like I still love him like yeah, I have a love for him as a like a spider-man, but he didn't portray it well enough. And like the whole storyline was him and MJ like their whole like she didn't love she only loved spider-man she didn't love Peter Parker like I didn't really enjoy the Tobey Maguire I love the Amazing Spider Man. I think I thought those are for me.

Dhruv: I think personally, I feel like I agree with you that Toby Maguire like kind of like he's a good actor, but I think his portrayal is a little bit like it’s not as interesting. Yeah, and I think Andrew Garfield just really I love I think he's like my favorite pick but I just I just think his movies are really silly.

Jonah: His dynamic with Gwen was the best part of seeing them. That was great.

Dhruv: You think you want to talk about the villains in No Way Home bringing them back.

Rachel: Before we go to villains I do want to say I really enjoyed. Spoiler! I've we've already given a spoiler warning but when they were atop the Statue of Liberty it was really.

Dhruv: The banter.

Rachel: The back and forth with everyone was so nice.

Dhruv: I wanna see deleted scenes for this movie now because I'm sure there's a lot of those that they cut.

Caleb: Especially them interacting with each other like. When Ned yelled Peter and then all of them responded like that sort of thing. That was really good as like like they did really well with the movie that's all I can say like 10 out of 10 for Marvel.

Dhruv: Yeah, I think it's a great Spider Man movie I think it like wraps up the character well

Jonah: Well talking about the villains I feel like Green Goblin was just wow.

Caleb: I can't believe they got him back. I thought he was too old to come back.

Jonah: He was scary. He was a scary villain to see when like Peter was punching him as hard as he can, he’s just laughing.

Dhruv :I feel like Willem Dafoe is like the best actor.

Caleb: I didn’t realize that he was that strong I forgot that Green Goblin could do that.

Dhruv: I think they do some of the characters. I do think that Sandman and Lizard they weren't like given as much development which makes sense because they weren't as big they weren't as big of favorites also, I don't know if they're actors were actually there. I’m pretty sure the live action shots of them towards the end of movie are actually just reused shots.

Caleb: That like there was no like speaking like and then the same for Curtis Connor. I think thats his name Lizard. Yeah, he didn't do any like it looks like the same faces he was making in The Amazing Spider Man. I know that they were there but like, it's crazy.

Jonah: Yeah, I know that Sandman his shots like when you just actually saw him as a human were from the other movie.

Caleb: So that’s confirmed.

Jonah: Yeah. Okay. I'm not sure if those are though.

Dhruv: I think they redeem Electro. I think he’s really goofy in the Amazing Spider-Man movies.

Jonah: I love him.

Dhruv: I like this version of him quite a bit better.

Caleb: You like this one better?

Dhruv: I like this one better. I think he's more like entertaining to watch. He’s just kind of mustache twirling. He's pretty evil.

Jonah: He’s more comic accurate too with the yellow lightning.

Dhruv: Yeah, it's cool.

Jonah: I feel like they really took us on a big roller coaster ride because you have like Aunt May’s super sad death. And but then like, maybe five minutes later. Oh, Andrew and Toby are here. Yeah, they're like so happy that they're but oh, no Aunt May’s gone.

Dhruv: I think. Um, if I've one criticism for the movie, watching it again. I was so excited for the second half that the first half drag for me. Yeah, I think it works well on the first watch.

Jonah: I just like I feel like the first parts really good, but I feel like the second part just blows it out of the water.

Caleb: They brought in Doc Ok pretty early, though. Pretty early.

Dhruv: Yeah. Well, he was we knew about him beforehand and I think he was great. Yeah, really good job. The actor Alfred Molina. He's just great. He's like a super good actor and stuff. So it's fun to watch.

Rachel: Do we have any final thoughts before we end?

Dhruv: Yeah, overall, I just feel like this movie serves as like a great origin for this for the Marvel Universe as like Peter Parker, I think yeah, sums up the character. I think it's like, it's my personal favorite of the three Spider Man movies.

Jonah: This trilogy really like is a coming of age story. And those next that next trilogy is really gonna dive deep into him being on his own.

Caleb: I do wish that we got like more of an origin story for him. But I like where I went.

Jonah: Yeah, there's an animated series that they announced called freshman year that's going to be an animated and like thing that's going to be its origin story. Oh, that'll be cool. To see more of them.

Rachel: I'm for my final thoughts for superheroes in general. Or I guess the MCU in general. I'm looking forward to how this will set up future movies. Yeah, it definitely set up multiverse of madness.

Dhruv: Yeah, also Sam Raimi is directing that but yeah.

Caleb: I can't wait to see what Marvel as a whole is gonna do. Because the entire MCU is doing a really good job. I hope they don't end up falling off anytime soon. For about the next few years, who knows? Maybe Yeah, I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Dhruv: This concludes this episode of Across the Table. Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the point of view tab on our website, nhsmessenger.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at @nhspointofview for updates and new episodes. We've been your hosts Dhruv,

Caleb: Caleb

Jonah: Jonah

Rachel: and Rachel and this has been Point of View.

Point of You - Tech Talk with Mr. Paul

Jonah Chadwin, Dhruv Singh

In this episode, staffer Dhruv Singh interviews Mr. Paul about his experience as a Media Center specialist, Assistant Director of the marching band, and Taylor Swift fan. Listen on Spotify here!

Dhruv Singh: Hello, and welcome to Point of View where we give students a place to listen, learn and lean in. I'm your host, Dhruv Singh, and today we'll be interviewing Mr. Paul, the media specialist here at Northview. So Mr. Paul, a lot of people might have seen your face before, when you help with tech issues and stuff, but I'm not sure that everyone really knows what your role is. So do you mind going into that a little bit?

Mr. Paul: Okay. Which part of my role that's- I do a lot.

Dhruv: So like, what is the main job description for media specialists?

Mr. Paul: Okay. Well, job description-wise specific and official, Fulton County changed this to media and educational technology instructor a couple years ago. So that's a nice way to say that we're here to help with students and teachers' needs in media and technology. Media being books, internet, video, audio, pretty much anything, and then technology, the obvious things. We do everything from the personal devices. We have recording equipment, video, and audio, all that stuff that we check out and help people with. But in the media side of it, I get to curate the list of books that we buy, and I get to decide which books need to go, and which books need to stay. And by mean to go, I mean, old and not used- not 'this is controversial.' No, no, no we don't do that. So I get to do that. And that's really exciting. And I really like that.

Dhruv: So how did you end up in this position? Is it like you just liked media and just kind of naturally filled this role? Or was it something you actively sought out? Or?

Mr. Paul: It's, I kind of fell into it? My story is a long winding path.

Dhruv: If you want to go into that, we'd love to hear it.

Mr. Paul: Sure!

Dhruv: How did you end up?

Mr. Paul: Well, I graduated high school convinced I was going to be a doctor. And then Freshman chemistry happened and that was wrong. So no matter how easy and great you think chemistry is in high school, wait till college. Don't be afraid it's fine. So then I had already decided to major in history with pre med because pre med is not a major. A lot of people major in bio or genetics or biochem, something like that. But I loved history always did. So I majored in history. I ended up getting that history degree. And then the financial collapse of 2007 happened and there were literally no jobs for people with just history degrees. So I went back to school, my now wife, then girlfriend, and her parents convinced me to give teaching a shot. And you know, it sounds different. My parents have been telling me that since I was 14. And you know, you just got to hear it from somebody else. So they convinced me to give it a shot. And I got my social studies education degree. And I taught everything you can teach in social studies for two years. But by the end of that second year, I knew that in the classroom was not where I belonged. I love education. And I love to read, and I'm good at technology. And I like talking to people about books and technology. So I went for the media specialist role at a master's degree. And there it is.

Dhruv: So and then on top of the media specialist stuff, you're involved with a lot of extracurriculars. So do you mind going through some of those?

Mr. Paul: Yeah, absolutely. The one that I love the most and takes up the most of my time is marching band. I was involved in band from the time I was 10 years old until now. And I was lucky enough my second year here that I went and talked to Mrs. Dickerson, the band director, and asked if she needed any help, and she was like 'oh my god, please come help.' So I'm lucky enough toI'm one of the few folks that gets to be an assistant marching band director without a music degree, which is pretty rare. And it's an excellent situation. I'm very lucky to be here. And I love working with the marching band and doing that. So that takes up most of my time. And it's where my heart is outside of the library. But I also have sponsored a lot of clubs. I restarted Model UN here in 2014 and passed that on when I had a kid because it takes up so much time. And so do kids. Gosh, oh, I sponsored the book club here, which is natural for a librarian. We had one when I got here and I kept that going for a couple of years and it just kind of- interest waned. So just as you know, if students aren't interested in it, then it's not gonna be great. So I let it pass and then this year, a couple of students approached me and asked if I was starting another one, so I was very happy to do that. This year, we've also started a Makerspace club. Some students approached me that had obtained some 3D printers and other making equipment through a charity they were working with during the pandemic to make PPE. And they wanted to start a Makerspace club here where students can come and just make things with 3D printers, laser printers, CNC machines, all that kind of stuff. So we do that and we meet every Tuesday and just build things and cut things and burn things and it's great.

Dhruv: To go back to marching band, so assistant director, what exactly does it entail? During the season and stuff like that.

Mr. Paul: I do basically whatever Mrs. Dickerson needs me to do. We have instrument specialists for each instrument, so I don't need to help with that. But well, what we don't have are marching technique specialists. So we have Mike Rostin is a former student of Mrs. Dickerson, and so he is an alumnus of Northview High School and teaches music in Cherokee County, but he comes and helps us with visuals, but I do more with the one-on-one on the field, helping with marching technique and helping people do that. And then I do logistics, and just really anything that's needed.

Dhruv: Do you have any thoughts on the season as it has just wrapped up? How marching band did or any thoughts? The marching band or the football team? The marching band or we can stay away from that.

Mr. Paul: We had a really good year this year. We were actually very pleasantly surprised, because you know, after the pandemic, a lot of bands like Milton typically has 200 people in their band or more. They were down to 130 this year, and we usually march round 121, 140. So we were afraid that we'd be down around 80, 60. But we had 109 people come out. It was great. You could tell that everybody, directors, students, everybody was so happy to be there because everybody was so much more focused than we've ever been. And I think we had one of our best seasons we've had since I've been involved with it.

Dhruv: Yeah, you can really hear it come out when they are playing during games and stuff. It was a lot of fun.

Mr. Paul: Thanks!

Dhruv: And you said you have a background in playing music right? Did you play music during college?

Mr. Paul: Oh yeah, I marched in the marching band at UGA for five years, you know, super senior. Gotta get one more in. And I marched in high school and played in concert bands in elementary.

Dhruv: What instrument did you play?

Mr. Paul: Saxophone and French horn and bass drum.

Dhruv: Okay, woah, that's quite a few.

Mr. Paul: Yeah. I'm sure you could tell I have eclectic tastes, I could never pick what I wanted to do for a living because I couldn't decide what I liked the best and I couldn't pick which instrument I wanted to play because I couldn't decide which I liked the best.

Dhruv: Yeah, that's a big reason I thought interviewing you would have been fun for this because I've seen you around the school just doing whatever really you like helping out with devices and then one day you were like offering to help out with the Bolt and stuff like uploading to YouTube and then you were like doing 3D printing. And I was like, he probably has an interesting job. Is there a reason why you pick up so many clubs? Do you just like seeing students do this stuff? Or is it just some of your interests?

Mr. Paul: It's a good mix. I love the day to day of my media specialist position. But the thing I miss the most from being a classroom teacher is forming relationships with students. It's hard in a librarian role to meet and really get to know students because I see 1000 kids a day instead of 120 and maybe 150. Look at the other teachers in the room. So it's hard to get to know kids so that's one of the reasons I wanted to get involved in band and clubs and things. I enjoy the specific activities because I didn't seek out clubs that I would not enjoy participating with. That would be no fun at all. Why would I spend my extra time doing that? So I find the stuff that I like and kids that are interested in that too and it gives me- I really enjoy it. Yeah, it's a great way to connect.

Dhruv: And then some more like simple questions since you're a media specialist you'd probably have some opinions on this. Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

Mr. Paul: Ugh, you ask the hardest ones. Oh gosh, favorite movie I mean can watch Star Wars over and over forever you know.

Dhruv: Classic.

Mr. Paul: I'm a librarian nerd for life.

Dhruv: And then a favorite band or musician? You have a background in music.

Mr. Paul: Favorite band- currently, man I love Jason Isbelle he's great. You know Jason Isbelle?

Dhruv: I don't know if I know on the top of my head.

Mr. Paul: Sure, you know he's more new age Southern rock kind of thing. A little country, little Rock that's great. Of course I listened to Taylor's version of the Red album cuz you know you have to.

Dhruv: It was great.

Mr. Paul: And it was really solid and Silk Sonic just dropped their album and that was really well done. And you know, I like a little bit of everything.

Dhruv: Yeah, exactly.

Mr. Paul: Outkast, love Outkast. Outkast might be my favorite group ever. They're timeless.

Dhruv: There's some good opinions here Mr. Paul.

Mr. Paul: I do my best.

Dhruv: And then do you have a favorite book as a librarian?

Mr. Paul: Favorite book? I don't know if it's a favorite. But I tend to read 6, 7, 8 books at a time.

Dhruv: Oh wow.

Mr. Paul: Just because when you're in a different place you want to read a different kind of book. I usually have two nonfiction, a couple of fiction, and maybe a biography or something going on. That's nonfiction but. Something I always have going when I need something to decompress and not think all that hard is the Harry Potter series. It's always going. I just finished seven for, I don't know, 100th time. Who knows? But I just read that because some of the stuff I read, you know, there's lots of heavy books out there that are very much worth reading, but they can drain you so you need something to lighten it up. So I guess that's probably my favorite because that's what I read the most.

Dhruv: Yeah, the fun Star Wars, Harry Potter the fun classic stuff.

Mr. Paul: Absolutely.

Dhruv: Always fun.

Mr. Paul: Oh, Harry Potter is classic. Oh my god. Might have made you feel a little bit. Oh, you came out when I was in middle school? Oh my lord.

Dhruv: Anything else you want to talk about? Any hobbies or interests that you dive into outside of school?

Mr. Paul: Really love to travel. Travel to hike a lot.

Dhruv: Oh, hiking.

Mr. Paul: Yeah, my wife and I love to hike. My wife, my brother in law, my mother in law, and I are on a quest to go to every major league baseball stadium. We've been to 22, getting there. Very close. San Francisco highly recommend their ballpark. Chicago and Boston are amazing too. And you know, Truist down the road's not bad either. But yeah, we're huge baseball fans, we do that. And 2017 was our big one. We did a two week road trip and hit five stadiums in the Midwest.

Dhruv: That's a cool hobby. It's a cool thing to talk about.

Mr. Pau: I recommend it. We do a lot of credit card points. We kind of game the system to travel on a teacher's budget. So I taught a course to my mother in law's friends one time on that. So I mean, once y'all graduate if you can be responsible with a credit card we can talk about how to game the system and travel. Travel is, I can't recommend anything more to anybody in their life. Make sure you see other things. Everything's different and it just enriches it.

Dhruv: You heard it here. Come to Mr. Paul, if you want tips for traveling on a budget.

Mr. Paul: Absolutely.

Dhruv: Okay, so this concludes our interview with Mr. Paul. Thank you so much for listening.

Mr. Paul: Thanks for having me.

Dhruv: For a transcript of this episode, head to the Point of View tab on our website nhsmessenger.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook at @nhspointofview for updates and new episodes. I'm your host Dhruv Singh, and this has been Point of View.

Point of View - Interview with Downey

Jonah Chadwin, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Suhani Mahajan

In this episode, Point of View interviewed principal Brian Downey, asking student submitted questions. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music!

Caleb: Hello, and welcome to Point of View, where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. I'm your host, Caleb Smith, and today I'm very excited to be here with our principal, Mr. Downey, to ask student submitted questions.

Caleb: As our first question, what was the hardest thing about being a principal during COVID-19?

Mr. Downey: Wow. So, Caleb, first, thanks for having me on board here. I'm excited to have a conversation with you and everybody else. The hardest thing for COVID-19 is really two parts to that answer. One is that the students weren't physically in the building and when you're not physically here, it's so hard to develop relationships with kids, and really that's the best part of my job is working with the kids every day, kind of like we are now. The second part is that so much of what we have been dealing with is outside of my control. So, you know, we have to make decisions, and we have to carry out decisions that others make, based on information that we just don't have control over. So oftentimes, it's just very frustrating for everybody involved, and I end up having to make some decisions that I know impact people differently, and there's really just no good answer or right answer through all of this. So, it certainly has been hard.

Caleb: Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you, all right for the second question.

In terms of future years after the pandemic has ceased enough for a new normal of learning, what future changes will the school be adding, if any, to be prepared in case this ever happens again?

Mr. Downey: Well, it's certainly the biggest learning piece that we had, is that we can actually still in some manner, shape or form carry on with teaching and learning in a remote setting. Yeah, it certainly isn't perfect yet. I don't know if we'll ever get to perfect, but we can certainly do enough to maintain the learning. I think the changes that we're looking for in the future is really going to be centered around the learning platform that we use. Going forward. Right now, we've been leveraging Microsoft Teams, whether or not that continues beyond this year. I don't know yet. But that is something that we certainly have learned to master and to take advantage of. So even now, when we have kids that are out and that are sick, they should still be able to access their learning, without physically being in the building.

Caleb: All right, and as we're getting into the school and the students, what inspired the idea of Titan time?

Mr. Downey: Really there are a lot of factors that went into that decision. We wholly understand that our student experience is a difficult one. You know, we really challenge our students academically. But there's more to school than academics, you know, we really have to look out for the whole child, you know, we have talked about building relationships, we've talked about the social emotional well-being of our kids, and those things have to be taken care of, in order for our kids to be successful academically. So, coming out of this pandemic, we've known that we have to address a lot of issues, we have to address the mental health concerns of our kids. We have to find ways to build relationships with our kids beyond just that typical teacher-student interaction. We have to have time to deliver lessons around these things, and that's where the student's success skills come into play, and we also want to have time built into the day to support our kids. You know, if the kid is struggling, one of the factors that we all struggle with is just time. Yeah, it's just hard. You know, our teachers are busy, our kids are busy. So, we were very intentional and just trying to carve out a little bit of time during the school day, to allow for those relationships to allow time to deliver some focus lessons to allow time for interventions and supports to, to kick in and it's time to take a breath during the day.

Caleb: Yeah, I absolutely agree, I think the biggest thing, during COVID-19, in the pandemic, at its peak was students being in isolation and alone. And I think taking that time for Titan time, especially, and giving students a place where they can actually feel things and actually learn a lot more is very, very amazing, and I'm very grateful that you guys incorporated that this year. Thank you.

I'm speaking about students in our clubs this year, we have an environmental club, and they're very, very passionate about composting, and we're wondering, what would they do to go about getting a change in Northview, and any other students passionate about anything else? How would they come to you with any ideas that they have that they're passionate about?

Mr. Downey: Well, that's, you know, you use some of my favorite words there, being passionate is one of them, you know, one of the, one of our goals here at Northview, is that, you know, is to help our students find their passion, and then to act on it, and to use their voice to affect change, whether that's at a local level, or in a more global level. So, in a case, like the environmental club, you know, they want to tackle this idea of being more responsible in our community and our planet, and the one piece that we want to focus on, or they want to focus on, is the idea about composting and reusing and recycling. So I would encourage them or any other club, you know, to come on into my office at any time, you know, literally the door is open for a reason that's to signify that, hey, I'm available, come on in, to come talk about their ideas, and it's my job to help guide them through that process and to help remove some obstacles so they can tackle their goals and accomplish their goals. So, in this case, that composting idea, I mean, that's a significant change in practice in our building. So, there's a lot of things are going to have to go into that. So, let's go to really my job to help guide them through that to give them the lookout fours, provide some guardrails around their decision making put them in touch with the right people to see if we can get that to go forward.

Caleb: Absolutely. All right.

Speaking on a lighter note, what school event did you miss most during the fully virtual school year of 2020 to 2021?

Mr. Downey: Wow, you know, there's so much that goes into that question. Yeah, you know, to narrow it down to one is pretty hard, but probably, you know, well, let me just flip the question a little bit, every year the one event that is the highlight on my calendar is International Night. Yeah, absolutely. Because it's such a special night for our kids and our community, to really showcase their cultures and their experiences, and to showcase their talents. I think that one event just so represents everything that is so great about Northview High School, that to not have that certainly left a big empty place in my heart and an empty place in our building last year. So I'm looking forward to that night this year.

Caleb: I think it truly represents the diversity we have at Northview, and a lot of the students and where the backgrounds that they come from, and the culture. So, I really enjoy International Night and everybody coming together, it almost feels just like a very good group of people kind of going along with each other.

Mr. Downey: If you if you ever get a chance to see the second show that night, the B show, it is just wild, the energy that's in that room is just incredible, and it's so much fun. So much fun. All right.

Caleb: For a more serious question with our students, does the amount of people in the cafeteria without masks worry you about the future risks that we're taking with COVID still going on?

Mr. Downey: Absolutely. Yes. You know, COVID is still a thing, and it's still a huge concern, and everything about it is still a worry. You know, just having 30 kids in a classroom is a worry. You know, right now we have two lunches. So that's about, you know, 800, 900 kids at a time, that aren't necessarily in the cafeteria because we can spread out some other spaces. But nonetheless, you know, it's we have a lot of kids in the cafeteria. It's a full cafeteria. And obviously, during lunch, you know, masks are off. So, people can eat. So yeah, it's a worry. We have been very fortunate so far that in our building, the cases that are involving students and staff have been relatively minimal, especially in comparison to some other schools. So, it's always a worry, you know, and we have some decision-making matrixes to help us that if things get worse, we do have a plan to go to four lunches, and actually you know, cut that number in half that's in the cafeteria at any one time. We just haven't reached that point yet. So, it's a worry. Yeah, it's something we're keeping an eye on, but we seem to be handling it well, so far, yeah.

Caleb: I just think students. they should be there. I think they're relatively safe in terms of that, but I feel like and sometimes you can get kind of carried away, but I think the guidelines that you guys are going to be putting in. Mr. Downey: You know, it's just natural, you know, a couple things. One, our student body is very responsible, if you stand in our halls during passing time, 99.99% of our kids are doing the right thing all the time. Absolutely. And that includes COVID related stuff. At lunch, you know, when the mask comes off, it's just a natural thing for a kid to get up and move around and talk and forget to put it back on. So those are just things that we have to keep an eye on and just politely remind everybody.

Caleb: Yeah. Caleb: In terms of the lunch and everything like that, why were the social studies classes moved to B lunch, because in considering COVID, they were asking that wouldn't it be safer if the lunch was smaller?

Mr. Downey: Our lunches are actually pretty evenly divided. So let me just correct that man.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: Social Studies historically ate first lunch, because historically, most of their department was on the 100 side of the building.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: But because of some things that have happened over the years, most of their department is now on the 600 side of the building. So, we try to keep the lunch divided by halves of the school, so that we don't have kids in the halls. When classes are going on. So that's what led to that change, but we've actually been able to balance the lunches fairly, fairly evenly.

Caleb: Sounds good.

Mr. Downey: Yeah.

Caleb: All right, and also about lunch, is there anything that we can do to improve the quality of our food, which fuels our students?

Mr. Downey: Well, I gotta tread lightly on this answer.

Caleb: Yeah, absolutely.

Mr. Downey: You know, the phrase quality of the food is subjective in nature, because, you know, our cafeteria, the workers in there and the prep that goes in, they meet and surpass every single guideline that is out there in terms of nutrition and quality. So, like, it depends on the metric that we're going to use. If the metric is the student's enjoyment of it. That's just going to be a tough one, but I get it, you know, the cafeteria and the food that goes into it is something that's outside of the principal's sphere of influence. I don't have direct oversight over that. So that that's, that's a hard, hard one for you to answer.

Caleb: I get it.

Mr. Downey: But I will, I will say this, I often eat the cafeteria lunch. I enjoy it.

Caleb: Now. I have no problem. This is one of the questions we've received. All right.

As we Segway into this, what else will have to occur for Northview to go back into remote learning? I know there was some brief little infographic that went into it talking about the cases, but what was your insight on that?

Mr. Downey: Yeah, so Fulton County just updated, some metrics for us to keep an eye on and it's always based around the Fulton County Board of Health epidemiology report, and the number of the spread rate per 100,000 of our population within each city. So currently, the city of Johns Creek we're right around 300. In terms of a spread rate, if it goes below 100, then we can talk about masks being optional again. If it goes above 500, you know, we start talking about lunches changing and things like that, but it's not until it goes above 1,250 that we will then have to switch to full remote status. So, we're fortunate that we're a long way away from that. There are other schools in Fulton County that have met that and are indeed in a full remote status now.

Caleb: Wow. When I looked at the infographic, it said per 100,000 is that considering the entire Fulton County?

Mr. Downey: No, so it's broken down by city, so Northview physically resides in the city of Johns Creek. So, it's whatever the number is for the city of Johns Creek, and that will then determine what happens at Northview.

Caleb: Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Okay.

If we go online, what will sports look like?

Mr Downey: They would continue, but the change would be in the audience. So, I mentioned that matrix and the numbers that are in there. We would as we kind of increase those cases, we would reduce the audience by 50%, reduce it down to 30%, and then ultimately, if we were in that full remote status, we would have our athletic events with no audience. We're committed to running face to face classes as long as we ca, but we're also committed to hopefully, that extra experience of athletics as well.

Caleb: Yeah, I know this is sports in general, just something students really enjoy whether it's football, softball, volleyball, basketball, any of those, we really enjoy being in the audience and considering going back to remote learning and going with no audience, that will be truly sad, because we didn't get to last year.

Mr. Downey: That will be a sad day indeed.

Caleb: Yeah. So, we're hoping that we can stay where we are and kind of just get better from here.

Mr Downey: Yep. So, to that end, mask up, get vaccinated, wash your hands, stay healthy and lets rock and roll.

Caleb: Absolutely.

Do you have anything you'd like the students to get back into the swing of or something you feel like will take time to get back into?

Mr. Downey: You know the worry that I had at the start of the year is that for most of our kids, 75% of our kids, they had not been in school, physically in school for a year and a half.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: So, it was really about managing our own expectations as adults and having to reteach and remind students about their expectations of them as students. It's so far been actually a much smoother, easier transition than I was worried about. So, I'm happy to say that, you know, kids being kids are pretty resilient and can adapt pretty quickly. So just being back in school, I think everyone was pretty happy about.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: And we've managed the transition fairly well.

Caleb: Yeah, it's been great being back since it's been so long.

Mr. Downey: Absolutely.

Caleb: Missed seeing you guys.

Mr. Downey: Yeah, we miss you guys' man. *both laugh*

Caleb: We've been talking a lot about things that have changed due to COVID, but what have you seen endure over the course of this pandemic?

Mr. Downey: You know what I've seen the most of that just reinforces some of our beliefs is that at our foundation, relationships matter the most, you know, the academics will come, but if we don't create an environment, whether it's via teams, or hear face to face in which our kids feel supported and loved, then that learning is going to be hard.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: And probably every kid who listens to this podcast, they're going to remember a teacher, not because of the content that was taught, but they're going to remember the teacher because of their personality, how they interacted with the kids, because they cared about the kids, they love the kids.

Caleb: Yes.

Mr. Downey: That's what you're going to remember, and that's what's really at our foundation, in order for us to achieve our success. So, I saw that carry through the pandemic, that a lot of our teachers were able to still connect with our kids, and show that, hey, we love you guys, we care about you, and we're gonna do everything we can to help you, and vice versa, and our kids did the same.

Caleb: Yeah. Teachers were amazing, especially being online.

Mr. Downey: And our kids are too, you know, it takes both.

Caleb: I know that we've created a new organization, if that's what you will call it called Northview United, and we just wanted to ask you, what is the role of Northview United this year?

Mr. Downey: Really, it’s to help guide and advise the school and as the principal: Me. In what we do and how we do it. You know, I just spoke to the fact that relationships are important. Well, every kid and every kid means all 1,755 individuals, they have to know that they matter, that they're important and that their voice matters.

Caleb: Yes.

Mr. Downey: And Northview United is helped to guide and shift us to make sure that we take care of all those kids, that we don't marginalize a group that we don't unintentionally or intentionally silence a group of students that we really have to be intentional, to make sure that they have a voice that we listened to that voice, and that we support that voice, and I think that's been the biggest advantage of creating that group, that sort of advisory board that's helped to guide us and give us feedback, and it's just one of those things that we, especially the adults, we have to be intentional in what we look at, and the look at is the impact of what we do and how we do it. So often, we do things, say things, teach things highlight things, but we don't look at it from the lens from the other side. From the student's lens, to make sure that what we meant is indeed what was received. And oftentimes, it's not. And oftentimes, we'll do something, say something, have a policy teacher book, to, you know, do something in which, you know, a kid sitting back saying, Well, what about me? What about, you know, my culture? What about my experience? That's not even addressed in anything we do here. So, you know, we want to make sure that we value all those different perspectives, and support all of our kids.

Caleb: Absolutely. Considering the diversity, we have in our staff. This is that's a really great program that you guys have started this year.

And we also wanted to know, what is the program you have planned for this year? And the years to come?

Mr. Downey: Well, so yeah, that's the million-dollar question is, you know, how do we carry this work forward? Right now, it's between the last year and this year, it's really been focused on the professional development side of the adults to bring these issues to the forefront so that we, as adults can have conversations around these topics in around our students, and all their different voices that they represent. So now we're trying to pivot to Alright, what actions are going to come out of this now? What are we doing differently now? So, some actions that have come out of it that I'm proud to say some are seemingly small, but they're important. Homecoming is coming up. Well Student Council, under the topic of Northview United said, you know what, we don't want to have a homecoming king and queen. You know, it should be any student.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: Why are we gonna identify them as a king or a queen? So now they're called homecoming Titans.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: So, to represent that, hey, anybody, can be a leader and be recognized here at Northview.

Caleb: That's great.

Mr. Downey: And then some of its deeper and more meaningful, all the way down to the text that our students are reading, to make sure that our kids, that if this is the state standard here that we're teaching, while the vehicle we use, doesn't have to be this one historical text. You know what, let's put, let's put a variety out there. That may speak to our individual kids that our kids can relate to, and say, hey, that's my story as well, that will then allow that kid to access that learning in a much more meaningful way. So, we're looking at changing up some of those things. So that we reach more kids.

Caleb: That's good, that's good.

Caleb: And we also wanted to know who is on the advisory board of Northeast united?

Mr. Downey: Its parents, teachers, students, and assistant principal and myself, this is a group of about 10 or 12 of us.

Caleb: Okay, cool. Yeah. Sounds great.

Caleb: Is there a place where students can submit questions and concerns? And how will those be addressed?

Mr. Downey: Well, you know, that's a great question. You know, it's certainly anyone and people do, their emails, public email, it's downeyb@fultonschools.org. I love it when students email me stuff. Because you know, going back to an earlier conversation about using their voice being passionate, speaking up, I think that's wonderful. So, I would encourage them to email me at any time, but also to stop me at any time. Yeah, you know, I'm in the cafeteria a lot. I'm in the halls a lot. The doors open here. I love it when the kids come in, especially if they're trying to make the place better. You know, especially if their goal is to bring something to light that we can be better at. I would encourage anyone to reach out to help me out.

Caleb: Absolutely.

Caleb: And as we get into the end of this. Do you have any closing comments for our audience? Mr. Downey: Closing comments? Well, first of all, Caleb and the team that's behind the mic that people can't hear. This is an awesome initiative you guys are taking on. So, I commend you guys for stepping up into these roles, and for trying to connect with our community a little more. That's fantastic. So, kudos to you guys.

Caleb: Thank you.

Mr. Downey: And then beyond that, you know, at the end of the day, my job as principal is to try to make the school in this community the best that I can for our students.

Caleb: Absolutely.

Mr. Downey: But I need help doing that, you know, that the principal is supposed to know everything, but quite frankly, the principal doesn't know everything.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: I can only fix or make better what I know about, oftentimes, I won't know about an issue or concern or something that's not right. And then I'll get the complaint. And I'll say, wow, I wish I'd known about that, I would have done something sooner. So, you know, at the end of the day, my job is to remove those obstacles and to support our kids, so that they can achieve everything that they want to achieve. So, keep talking, keep interacting, keep supporting each other, keep loving each other. And at the end of the day, we will all be successful if we can do that.

Caleb: Absolutely. So that was the end of our serious questions. We just got a couple more for you on the fun side.

Mr. Downey: All right!

Caleb: So, get ready for this. All right, thank you for that, and we appreciate it. All right to our fun questions.

Mr. Downey: All right. Whoo!

Caleb: What kind of student were you in high school?

Mr. Downey: Wow. So, we're going back a few years now guys, you know, I'm turning 50 this year. So, you know, we're going back 30 plus years here. You know, I was, you know, you're A-B student. I wasn't top of the class, but I was a pretty good student. I was into athletics; I was a soccer player. So, I guess this stereotype would fit that jock idea in some level, but you know, I kind of went to a school that was similar to Northview, in the sense that the student body was into school, like we all love school. And we were involved and did stuff and had fun with it. So, you know, while I was clearly not as smart as most of our students are here at Northview, I think I would fit that same profile of Northview. Where I love school, I was into school, I was involved in clubs, I was involved in athletics, and just had some fun.

Caleb: So the bored Northview student.

Mr. Downey: Just not as smart. *both laugh*

Caleb: I love that you’re being vulnerable there. What was your favorite class in high school?

Mr. Downey: You know my favorite class was actually my senior year in high school. We had a graduation requirement in the class was called family living, and it fell into that PE, health area, but it was a class that was designed to prepare you for life. And we tackled everything imaginable about life, sort of outside the regular academics. We talked about religion, and all the different religions, we talked about mental health, and everything that went into that. We talked about marriage, and what that meant, and what does that look like. We talked at length about sex education and everything, and anything under that topic that would come into play. And what made the class so fascinating and interesting, and why it's so memorable, is that in your senior year, you're actually mature enough to talk about these conversations. And that's what took place. I mean, we had very adult mature conversations with our teacher, that was about learning about all these topics. You know, this is back in the 80s. So, for example, AIDS was still the pandemic at the time, and there was no cure. And it was primarily, you know, associated with homosexual population with drug users. So, it was still kind of a taboo. Well, one of our guest speakers, was a gay man who was HIV positive who had AIDS. So that's how like on the cutting edge this class was. So, to have that speaker in to talk about that real life experience was incredible. We had a priest come in and talk about his experience. We had a rabbi come in and talk about their experience. We had you know, all sorts of, you know, we had a pro-life person, a pro-choice person come in to talk about abortion, like we just tackled everything, everything under the sun. And it just armed me and my classmates with such a great education about life beyond the traditional standards, that by the time we went off to college, we were the experts in our dorms. Like when you would hear all these myths and conversations that college kids have, and you'd be like, well, that's not right. So, it was a great class, it had a great teacher. So that was a really neat class.

Caleb: Sounds very, very informative. I wish we still had that this year. I mean, in the recent years to come.

Mr. Downey: And we don't offer it here in New Jersey, sorry I grew up in New Jersey, we don't offer it here in Georgia, the state of New Jersey does offer this class.

Caleb: Still to this day?

Mr. Downey: Yep, still to this day they have this class. So if I go back to my old high school, they still teach that same class.

Caleb: That’s great. Hopefully in the future years, we might incorporate some of that, because I feel like a lot of students would need that kind of guide to life. I feel like a lot of students feel like when they turn 18, and when they graduate high school, they just let off into the world without knowing too much about it, especially if their parents haven't told them much about it. So, I feel like that's a great input that New Jersey is doing. If you remember what was your senior quote?

Mr. Downey: It was sometimes you kick sometimes you get kicked, which was a quote from an NXS song which was one of my favorite bands back in the 80s. And it was just kind of a like, just roll with life a little bit. Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked, right? Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're not. You know, learning how to deal with those things, and still move forward in a positive manner. That just because you get kicked doesn't you know, doesn't mean doesn't mean to quit, right? It means you get to get back up and keep after it. So short and sweet. Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked. *both laugh*

Caleb: What is your favorite sports team?

Mr. Downey: Hey, you know, I grew up my first 18 years in a suburb in Philadelphia, but then I spent 20 years in New England and fell in love with the Patriots, you know, yup if you look at my desk, I still have some paraphernalia there. So, my high school buddies, I'm still close with would just be crushed if I don't say the Eagles, but the Patriots, you know, I started to become a fan of the Patriots in the early 90s when they were terrible. And then got to watch this whole transition happen. Living up in New England it was it was still so much fun to see all that happen that I'm still a huge fan.

Caleb: You still support them through the deflation of the football.

Mr. Downey: Oh! There we go. We're going there. Yeah, I beg to differ on those facts, but yes, Bill Belichick has my undying support, the Patriots do they're a great organization.

Caleb: Respect. I respect that. *both laugh*

What is the craziest hairstyle you've ever had?

Mr. Downey: Dear god I rocked the mullet in high school, I big time rocked that mullet, I was a soccer player, so I kind of embraced that soccer persona at the time, which was you know, having really long hair. And I owned that mullet back in the day. In fact, the funny quirk was that after soccer season was over in the fall. So, after the season ended my senior year, I cut it off, and I got a haircut similar to what I have now: short, and my girlfriend at the time didn't even recognize me. Like would walk by me in the hall like wouldn't even say hi. I’m like honey is everything all right? Literally just didn't even know who I was.

Caleb: Kind of like a buzzcut almost.

Mr. Downey: Dude, I had some long hair. Yeah. And then cut it all off senior year. Yep.

Caleb: All right. What has been your favorite marching band theme?

Mr. Downey: You know, the marching band rocks every year. And they're a fun bunch to watch perform. We talked earlier in the earlier segment about international night being such a wonderful thing. Well, the theme this year is their own in that international theme as a part of their show this year so I got to go with this year because it ties into everything, right? And we talked about Northview United we talked about international night. We talked about you know, the great diversity of our school. So, to have our band kind of own that and run that run with that, I think is super cool. So, I know I hate to give the easy answer, but this year's theme is awesome.

Caleb: I love that theme as well.

What is your favorite book?

Mr. Downey: You know, the book that I always go back to is called Trinity Leon Uris. And it tells the history of Ireland through a fictional story that traces some families through generations. I’m of Irish descent. I've always been very proud of my family and my family culture and background and that and that book just resonated with me over and over and I've probably read it four or five times. And the story in it, it's just heartbreaking. It's, you know, the history of Ireland much like the history of a lot of our countries. There's just a lot of heartbreak and difficulties there, and Leon Uris the author just does a wonderful job of sort of telling that story in a very moving passionate way that I just found so intriguing that I leaned into and have read and reread a bunch of times.

Caleb: Sounds like a pretty good read.

Mr. Downey: It's a big one. It's a huge book, so it's a challenge to get through.

Caleb: More fun.

Mr. Downey: Yes.

Caleb: Who is your celebrity crush?

Mr. Downey: You know, I got a couple there. You know Natalie Portman always knocks me out. I think she's just a stunner and her acting is fantastic but let me throw a curveball at you. Tom Brady is just like, if I'm going to crush on somebody. It's Tom Brady. Like he is the man.

Caleb: You are a Patriots fan I can see it.

Mr. Downey: Yeah, well now I’m a Tampa fan because I'm a Tom Brady fan. He's doing everything right in life. Whatever he's doing in life is working. So, like, you know. You know, the curveball I’m throwing at you is between Natalie Portman then Tom Brady. There's two of them for you.

Caleb: I think she was also in Thor. She was in the Thor movie.

Mr. Downey: Yeah, I’d have to go through her history. I don't know. Was she in Thor.

Caleb: I think so. I think she was Thor's girlfriend. At one point. I'm not sure.

Mr. Downey: When she was in V for Vendetta and she shaved her head, I thought she was just such a stunner of a person, and her acting is incredible. She's just great.

Caleb: As going more into Northview, which Northview clubs? Would you join? If you were here?

Mr. Downey: Wow. Northview clubs? Well, of course, we have 97 of them at Northview. There's so many to jump into. I don't know I hadn't thought about that one. You know the...

Caleb: It's hard to think off the top of your head. Do you know most of them by heart?

Mr. Downey: Oh, dear goodness. No. *both laugh*

That list of 97?

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: I've worked the most with the robotics club, but I don't know if I would join that one, because it's such a commitment. Those kids pour their hearts and souls and time into that. I don't know if I ever would have been able to afford to dive into that that much, but at least I'll give a shout out to the robotics team.

Caleb: Okay, here's the very anticipated question.

Mr. Downey: All right.

Caleb: What is your favorite BTS song?

Mr. Downey: See, I feel like that's a loaded question.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: Because, you know, if you're a fan, you're being asked to narrow it down to one. Right. I doubt anyone if you're a true fan out there that you would narrow it down to one. So, I'm going to give you a very superficial answer that I think Dynamite kind of represents. They're kind of attraction to everybody. It's such a fun, like uplifting kind of poppy cool song that, you know, how could you not like it? And I think that's what makes them so popular. Is that really any audience should and could enjoy their music man.

Caleb: Me personally, I haven't listened to them, but I know I might get a lot of hate for that.

Mr. Downey: Well in this school like I think you almost have to.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: I mean, you know, one of the challenges I have as principal is to try to stay connected to teenagers, right? Like I mentioned how old I am. It's been 30 some odd years since I've been in high school. So, I try to keep up keep up with things like music and pop culture and things the kids are into. And in our Northview community if you're not a fan of them, then well yeah, like you and I would get made fun of if we don’t..

Caleb: Follow the trends, you know.

Mr. Downey: Right.

Caleb: What is your favorite movie or TV show?

Mr. Downey: I'll just give you one answer here, which is The Wire, which ran on HBO, which really told the story of the drug trade in the city of Baltimore. And it did it over five seasons and every season looked at that central issue from a different lens. Whether it was the police, the politicians, the drug dealers, the schools, the politicians, the newspapers, it looked at it from each different lens, so every season just had a really different take to it. And it was gritty, and real and heartbreaking.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: What I don't like in movies and TV shows are happy endings. Sort of like that Hollywood ending, because to me, that's just not the real world. Like, what connects with me? And maybe I shouldn't say it but you know, movies that are sad that are heartbreaking that at the end like you're an emotional wreck, that you walk away from that you've experienced that emotion. Besides is that happy, sappy Hollywood ending so the wire is always a series that I just loved.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: I think they did just such a great job with it.

Caleb: All right, very good question.

Mr. Downey: All Right!

Caleb: Is it soda or pop?

Mr. Downey: It’s soda. I don’t even know anyone who calls it pop. If you’re calling it pop, who are you? Who are these people?

Caleb: I don’t know where they’re from. *both laugh*

And if so what’s your favorite soda?

Mr. Downey: I always go back to root beer, you know. Root beer’s always a special treat. Growing up that was a special treat. It’s not as common as your regular Cokes and stuff like that. A good A&W root beer is always a treat.

Caleb: Really good, really good. What is your favorite thing about being a principal?

Mr. Downey: You know the funniest thing that I find that’s one of my favorites is the intercom. I get to get on the intercom, and I have a captive audience of 2,000 people. And it just cracks me up every day when I get on the intercom that I’m at a point in my life, I’ve got my master’s degree, leadership degree. I’ve done all these things, but my greatest thrill is that I get to pick up the intercom mic and talk to the entire school. Even if I'm just saying the pledge, it just always gives me a quick little thrill in like a very immature, funny way. That 2,000 people are forced to listen to me very day. *both laugh*

Caleb: No, we enjoy it. I think we enjoy it. Just getting a little bit of your voice every day makes me want to be here. Our very last question.

Mr. Downey: All right! Fire away.

Caleb: Is it ever not a good day to be a titan?

Mr. Downey: Yes, because it’s always a great day to be a titan! *both laugh*

Caleb: I embrace that mantra just to remind myself and to everybody else that we’re here at Northview, we’re here at school, it’s okay. We’re gonna have some fun along the way. We’re gonna do some serious work, but let’s not take ourselves too seriously while we’re doing it.

Caleb: Yeah.

Mr. Downey: And let’s embrace the day ahead of us and make the most of it. It’s always a great day to be a titan.

Caleb: It is. All right. So, that’s the end of it.

Mr. Downey: Well, thank you so much. It’s a ton of fun.

Caleb: We enjoyed you being here with us. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Mr. Downey: I appreciate you guys and thank you for everything you guys do.

Caleb: Absolutely.

Mr. Downey: I certainly love you all.

Caleb: All right. This has been point of view.