The Resignation of Jon Gruden - By Liam Smith

The finale of week 5 of the NFL seemed like it was going to be with any other, games coming down to the final plays giving fans the entertainment and relief they seek in viewing. All was normal until the league uncovered emails sent over a 7-year span 10 years ago by the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Jon Gruden. He was reported using racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language. Originally, the reaction was anger. Anger from all of the things Gruden had said. But it seemed that this original outburst of frustration from those who were involved was going away. That after his apology, the verdict was to really just accept that it was in the past when he wasn’t employed by the NFL. However, the scrutiny would continue in such a way that it seemed if no large steps were taken, then this controversy would linger over not only Gruden, but the entire Las Vegas Raiders organization for time to come. Realizing the harm he had caused, Jon Gruden resigned from his position of head coach on October 10, 2021. Gruden states, “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone”. But if all debts were due and he apologized, then why did Gruden resign, what was so bad that made all of this happen? In the emails he composed and now uncovered by the NFL, there are records of Gruden giving a racist comment towards NFL PLayers Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, vulgar language to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and an anti-gay remark to Bruce Allen in 2018(then the president of the Washington Football Team) about the type of players he shouldn’t draft. Although none of this happened while Gruden was the coach of the Raiders, it was noticed that with the public and media now aware of all of these previous acts, a person who makes such cruel and irresponsible remarks should not represent a team of the NFL. Now with him no longer being associated with anything NFL related, Former NFL player, Keyshawn Johnson, who is now an ESPN analyst for the NFL, said Gruden had always been a “fraud” and a “used-car salesman”. The two worked together for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won the Superbowl in 2021. Johnson did credit Gruden for giving them a small boost of energy to win the championship but ultimately, a great organization was already set up before he got there. So to some, all of Gruden's success was given to him, not earned, all while he temporarily disrupted the league.

Into the Wild - By Coline David

Gandhi one day said: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever”.

This vision of the world could be applied in everyone’s life. I am only 18 years old, and I am less likely to die tomorrow compared to an elderly person. So I don’t constantly wonder if this day I am living could be the last one. Because of this, it is certain that I will benefit less from each day that life gives me than someone who knows that his days are numbered. And that’s the problem.

It sometimes happens in life that we wonder if what we are doing is useful, if the job or the way that we have chosen does not correspond at all to the dreams we had as a child. Sometimes, life didn’t let us choose our job. Some other times, we choose a certain lifestyle because we are too afraid to realise our dreams. In the end, we wonder if our life has meaning.

Today, I decided to tell you more about a film that touched me deeply: “Into the Wild”.

The young man presented in this film asked himself exactly the same questions as those which I have just presented to you when the moment came for him to choose his future job after his graduation. Finally, for giving a meaning to his life, he decided to accomplish a crazy project while he still can.

“Into the Wild” is an American movie released in 2007 by the director Sean Penn. It is the film adaptation of the story “Into the Wild” written by Jon Krakauer in 1996 which tells the true story of Christopher McCandless.

Christopher McCandless is a brilliant American student who just graduated and who is promised a great future. He rejects the principles of modern society.

One day, after having dinner in a restaurant to celebrate his graduation, he decides to go on the roads without telling his family.

He chooses the life of an adventurer and renounces the American dream. He burns his papers and sends his savings to Oxfam.

He goes by car to the South of the United States. He discovers Arizona, the Grand Canyon, California and he finds different types of jobs in South Dakota and in Colorado to finance the rest of his journey.

It’s when he arrived in Mexico that he got the idea of going to Alaska. He does everything he can to get there and finally arrives at Fairbanks by hitchhiking.

He discovers Alaska under the snow and takes refuge in an abandoned bus. He will stay there for a hundred days alone, understanding nature and human beings. He finds in Alaska the happiness he has sought so much: spiritual peace in a pure and healthy paradise.

He decides after two years of travel that it’s time to go back home.The problem is that he finds himself blocked by the river. He is therefore forced to wait in the bus for the water level to drop in order to be able to cross.

Starving, he relies on his botanical guide which he misinterprets and accidentally poisons himself.

Meanwhile he understands that loneliness does not make a human happy. Chris is a young man loved by all. During his trip, all the people he meets fall in love or friendship with him. Blinded by his obstinacy of reaching Alaska at any cost, Chris does not perceive the happiness that love for another can bringHe realizes this when he reads the lines of a book of Tolstoi which describes perfect happiness in a rural micro-society.

Shortly before his death, he wrote with a pen in a page of a book: “Happiness only real when shared”.

The film ends with a photographic self-portrait of Chris taken shortly before his death. A note at the end of the film explains that he was found by hunters two weeks after his death.

This film illustrates for me an interesting reflection on the way of perceiving life. Seneque, one of the most Greek philosophers in Antiquity said: “No one cares about living well, but about living a long time, when everyone can give themselves the happiness of living well, not of living long.”

We live in a society that seeks at all costs to prolong life. Whether it be vaccines, operations, drugs, coma,... the goal is to live long. But at what cost?

Chris admittedly died young, but he certainly lived more intensely than most living people could 40 or 50 older than him. He has seen so much, met many people and made his dream come true.

Many people wonder how to find meaning in their life. As far as I’m concerned, I would like to live my life like Chris and carry out all my projects as long as my health allows me. So when I’m old and maybe disabled, I’ll have a lot to tell.

As a final world I would like to quote the lyrics of the song “Dommage” (or “Damage” in English) of Big Flo et Oli: translated from French: “It’s better to live with remorse than with regret.”

The Story Behind ¨The Monster Mash¨ - By Sarah O'Neal

On October 20 of 1962, a song by the name “Monster Mash” hit the billboards. The song went along with the popular “dance styles” of the day with doo-wop so prominent in the 1950’s. The song hit the charts yet again in 1973 which is a full decade after its initial release! Today, it’s probably the quintessential Halloween song.

The story involves a guy who was working in a lab, late one night, when he begins to see several movie monsters doing a fancy dance. Since its debut in 1962, the seriously goofy novelty song has been a perennial hit, scaring its way onto the airwaves and into the hearts of generation after generation. There’s more to the song and its singer than one might expect.The song is narrated by a mad scientist, whose monster creation rises from his lab to perform a new dance routine, inspired by the Mashed Potato.

The story of “The Monster Mash” begins with an old doo-wop tune. In the early 1960s, Bobby Pickett got home from the Korean war and moved to California to become an actor. While there, he got together with a band called The Cordials and began performing doo-wop tunes and recording several demos for their group. Per the liner notes for The Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection, the group was performing a song called, “Little Darling” which is a song that happens to contain a monologue in the middle. Bobby decided to perform the monologue with a Boris Karloff voice and received quite the positive reaction. In an October 2006 interview with Dr. Demento, he tells the story of how he and co-writer Leonard Capizzi came up with the idea and how it almost didn’t happen.

Per Pickett, the song only took about an hour to write and practically wrote itself, to which Dr. Demento responds, “a lot of the great ones do.” Time has shown us that he isn’t wrong. It still gets quite the airplay every October. It’s also been heard on many TV shows, including The Simpsons and Cheers.

UK’s BBC didn’t share the same opinions the United States did when the song was released in 1962, banning it from the airwaves on the grounds that it was “too morbid,” the organization wrote in a story. As the ban was occuring, the Monster Mash climbed to top of the Billboard charts before Halloween in the US in 1962, staying on the charts for 14 weeks. The ban was eventually reversed in 1973, 11 years after the song was released. That year, it went to number three on the UK charts, and number 10 on the Billboard charts again, only fitting for a graveyard smash.

After this hit went viral, Pickett had plenty of other songs that got some attention as well, such as “Monster Holiday”. With plenty of history made, Pickett sadly passed away in 2007 at the age of 69, due to complications of Lleukemia.

FFA Saves Food in the Community - By Brett Blesy

We have reached the Fall which means here in Springville, harvest season is now in full swing. Our small community grows a very large array of crops such as pumpkins, potatoes, apples, corn, and soybeans. A majority of these crops and produce are picked by machines. These harvesting machines will get a majority of the crop, although they aren't perfect. All of the food left behind in the field is left to rot, although a majority of it is still good for consumption.

To help battle against the food waste, the Springville FFA Chapter has decided to glean which is going through the fields and picking the good crop after the machines already have. On September 29, 2021 the chapter gleaned a large potato field and saved 1,100 lbs of potatoes from rotting in a field. The kids in the chapter then washed the potatoes in their Agriculture classes and packaged them up to donate to different places locally that could use them. A hundred pounds of potatoes were donated to each cafeteria in the Springville school district, as well as two hundred pounds each to three local food pantries which includes: Love Inc, The Trading Post, and Bread for Life. With the remaining one hundred pounds of potatoes, the chapter was able to peel, cut, shred, and cook the potatoes to make hash browns to eat in class.

In addition, we have many commodities here locally that are set up as U-pick. One of these is apples. People can walk into the orchard and pick the apples they want and then pay for the ones they chose. Although these apples aren't being picked by machine they can still be gleaned at the end of apple season because people are going to pick the perfect apples, but leave the small ones, or the ones with a little spot on them. Towards the end of October the Springville FFA Chapter will also be gleaning Stonehill Apple Orchard and will package up all of the apples in paper bags with a tag that teaches about food waste. These bags of apples will be donated to the Springville and Colden Elementary schools so that every kid from K-5 can go home with a bag of 10 apples for them and their family to enjoy.

Food waste is a very large problem especially in a world where the population is growing and we will need all of the food possible. Currently 40% of America's food is being wasted. Anything that can be done can make a difference, even just gleaning after a harvest.

The Great Gatsby - By Brooke Brant

The Great Gatsby, the tragic story of Jay Gatsby. Jay was a self made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman which he loved in his youth. Throughout the story Gatsby tries to get Daisy back so they can continue their lives together. The Great Gatsby was the third novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925. The story was set in the jazz age New york. The Great Gatsby was narrated by the character Nick Carraway, a yale university graduate from the midwest who moves to New York to pursue his dream. Nick takes a house on West Egg long island, where he finds himself among the newly rich. Nick was across the water from his cousin Daisy and her British wealthy husband Tom. Early that summer Nick goes over to their house for dinner where Nick meets Daisy's friend, Who tells Nick about Tom's mistress who lives in New York City. Later that evening Daisy tells him that she is unhappy. Nick later that night eventually goes home, and runs into Jay Gastby, his neighbor, who is staring out to a green light shining across the bay at the end of Daisy and Tom's dock. As the summer progressed Nick became more intrigued with gatsby's parties with the lights of dazzling parties held with a well stocked bar and full jazz orchestra. Nick attends one of these parties after being personally invited by Jay Gatsby himself. While being there he realized some of the quests there had their own dark theories about Gatsby's past. During the party he had a little conversation with Gatsby and then became better acquainted with Gatsby. Later in the summer of the month of July Gatsby tries to dispel the rumors that are going around about him and with that tells Nick he is from a healthy family who are all dead and that he is an oxford man, also a war man. At this point Nick is still unsure whether to believe Gastby or not. Nick was later told by his friend Jordan Baker that Gastby has told her he has known Nick's cousin Daisy for almost 5 years earlier in louisville and they had been in love. But then he went to fight in the war and while he was gone she married Tom, her present husband. Jordan was also told by Gatsby himself that he bought that house West Egg so he could live across the water from her. Gatsby later requests Nick agrees to invite Daisy over to his house where he can meet with her. A few days later he invited both over for some tea and both Daisy and Gastby were astonished to see and talk to one another after nearly 5 years without seeing each other. They later that day go to the gatsbys and he shows her his entire house and all the rooms he has. Daisy's husband Tom becomes aware that Daisy spent all day with Gatsby and becomes jealous. For the rest of the summer Gatsby and Daisy see each other privately and their feelings become more intense and stronger for one another. Jay Gatsby tells Nick he wants Daisy to tell her husband Tom that she never loved him and then marry Gatsby as though the never years have passed. One hot day near the end of the summer Nick and Gatsby meet at Daisy and her husband's house for lunch. Daisy gives Gatsby a compliment that shows how much she truly loves gatsby. Tom notices and insists they drive into town, on the way into town Tom stops for gas and runs into his mistresses husband. Who tells him that he and his wife are planning on moving, that shakes up Tom a bit so he speeds off fast. Later in the day Gatsby tells Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him and she's leaving him for Gatsby. Daisy starts to panic and says i did love him. Tom starts to yell and there was a lot of anger between Gatsby and Tom. Tom tells Daisy he loves her,while Gatsby is yelling at Daisy, telling him you want to be with me and that you never loved him. Daisy was stressed and ran out while Gatsby chased after her. Daisy was stressed and drove Gatsby's car with him in the passenger seat. Later while she is driving home she does a hit and run. The lady she hit with her vehicle was Tom's mistress that Daisy never knew about. She did and all the blame was put on Gatsby because it was his vehicle and everyone thought he was the one driving it when he killed the woman. The next morning Gatsby waited and waited for Daisy to call. He went for a swim before he drained his pool for the fall. While he was swimming he got a phone call so he got out of the pool and Gatsby was shot and killed. Gatsby was killed by Tom's mistress's husband who believes Gatsby's killed her. After he killed Gatbys he killed himself. As the word gets out nobody showed up to Jay Gatsby's funeral, not even Daisy. Daisy moved on with her life and stayed with her husband Tom as if nothing happened.

Zodiac Killer Finally ‘Identified’ - By Jamie Bradford

A team of specialists who investigate cold cases says it has identified the Zodiac Killer, one of America's most notorious serial killers who terrorized communities in the San Francisco area. This happened in the late 1960s with a series of brutal slayings and unsolvable ciphers over 50 years ago.

The Case Breakers, a team of more than 40 former law enforcement investigators, journalists and military intelligence officers, have tackled other mysteries such as the D.B. Cooper hijacking heist, the disappearance of former labor union boss Jimmy Hoffa and other unsolved cases. The group believes the killer is responsible for slaying hundreds of miles away that was never linked to him. The Zodiac Killer has been connected to five murders that occurred in 1968 and 1969 in the San Francisco area. Unlike most serial killers, the Zodiac teased and taunted authorities with complex ciphers in letters sent to newspapers and law enforcement. The killings have inspired books, movies and documentaries in the years since, and amateur and professional law enforcement workers have gone over the case in an effort to unmask the killer. The Case Breakers are now saying it has identified the Zodiac Killer as Gary Francis Poste, who passed away in 2018. The team's years of digging uncovered new forensic evidence and photos from Poste's darkroom. One image features scars on the forehead of Poste that match scars on a sketch of the Zodiac, the team said. Other clues include deciphering letters sent by the Zodiac that revealed him as the killer, said Jen Bucholtz, a former Army counterintelligence agent who works on cold cases.

In one note, the letters of Poste's full name were removed to reveal an alternate message, she told Fox News. "So you've got to know Gary's full name in order to decipher these anagrams," Bucholtz said. "I just don't think there's any other way anybody would have figured it out." In the cyphers the messages were chilling, he had claimed to have killed over 37 people and in another he said “I hope you have fun trying to catch me”. This case was under investigation for 10 years before it went cold. In order to decipher his riddles, Investigators had to take Gary Postes name out of it, Which ultimately encrypted the cypher. Although there has been significant evidence that the infamous zodiac killer was Gary Poste, We’ll never be sure of it without his confession… which we will never get.

The Greatest Film of All Time - By Scott Russell

“The Shawshank Redemption” is often viewed as the best film of all time. This film was released in 1994 and has withstood the test of time and featured famous actors such as Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The storyline starts with a formerly successful banker who is in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. The film portrays the main character’s (Andy’s) unique way of dealing with his unexpected and torture-filled new life in prison.

Throughout Andy’s time in the prison, he befriends numerous other inmates including the wisdom filled character named Red who is played by Morgan Freeman. The reasons that lead to “The Shawshank Redemption” being such a memorable movie are that it has a deep message combined with universal themes that almost any viewer can relate to. In addition, the movie does a great job of captivating the audience through its in depth details, which help to make the audience feel as though they have a personal relation with the characters. The deep message in short is that the virtue of freedom can be believed in despite whatever sort of current oppression one may be facing, however this message is better understood by watching the movie. The last factor that really solidifies “The Shawshank Redemption” as number one for me, is the complex plot within the movie. To elaborate further, the complex plot allows for multiple watchings of the movie in order to really capture all of what the screenwriter wanted the audience to notice.

In summary, “The Shawshank Redemption” is considered to be the best movie of all time due to a combination of its audience-engaging details, deep message, universal themes, and complex plot. I would recommend to anyone who hasn’t watched this movie, or to anyone who hasn't seen it recently, that you should go and watch it.

Do Horror Movies Mess With Your Life? - By Shay Travis

People watch movies all the time because they enjoy the storyline or the actors are fantastic at doing their job. The movies people most enjoy are adventure, action, and comedy but at the bottom of the list is the thriller/suspenseful and horror movies. When you watch a horror movie you want to cover your face and plug your ears because you are scared of what may happen. For some it increases the levels of their anxiety/panic or it may trigger unwanted thoughts in their head. So some viewers don't watch because of the risk of an anxiety/panic attack. But then there are others who think horror movies are their passion. They find horror movies exhilarating and it gives them an adrenaline rush while watching them. Other ways it helps is by building a “toolkit” to form people to help them deal with their anxiety. It helps people in real life situations as well, a person in a horror movie goes to check out the noise or weird shadow that is in the other room or in the basement. It gives people the common sense to not go check out the loud thud in the basement with just a flashlight.

Here are 10 movies that you shouldn't watch alone because it can cause anxiety and paranoia, Ring (Japan, 1998), Paranormal Activity (US, 2007), The Grudge (Japan,2002), The Shining (US, 1980), The Eye (Hong Kong/Singapore, 2002), The Blair Witch Project (US, 1999), Shutter (Thailand, 2004), Night of the Living Dead (US, 1968), Insidious (US, 2011), and Halloween (US, 1978) list by intostudy.com. These movies get your anxiety going and can help boost your immune system health. So to summarize everything that has been stated, horror movies can be bad for you or not bad for you depending on your state of mind.

The Facebook Whistleblower - By Braeden Raiber

The many debates swirling around privacy on social media have been discussed for years. The subject has been brought up year after year ever since social media’s first signs of success. The biggest question many consumers have regarding social media is whether or not a line needs to be drawn that keeps these companies from collecting a certain amount of our data. Recently, the largest social media outlet in the world, Facebook, has been surrounded in controversy over their wrongful use of it’s user’s data. It is not the first time the company’s been in trouble for this exact problem- as in 2018 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court over the service's misuse of data after it was revealed that quizzes on Facebook were harvesting tens of millions of user’s data to assist multiple presidential campaigns back in 2016. As the trial continued, the Legislature and Zuckerberg both agreed that some form of regulation over social media is necessary.

After three years Facebook is again facing a historic crisis that has taken many user’s anger with the company to new heights. This is after a data scientist at Facebook named Frances Haugen has revealed that Facebook is proven to “harm children, sow division, and undermine democracy.” According to Haugen the worst part is that the company was already well aware of these issues, but left them unattended to chase astronomical profits instead. Her claims certainly hold a lot of weight, as she worked at Facebook for nearly 2 years after several other stints working for other tech giants like Google, Pinterest, and Yelp. Her job at Facebook revolved around finding issues with the algorithm and its amplification of misinformation. Haugen’s main problem with Facebook is the company’s constant choice of profits over user security. She claims that throughout Facebook’s existence, it has time and time again chosen growth and profits when it had a chance to regulate and secure it’s user’s data. "I am here today because I believe that Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy," she said during her opening remarks. "The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help.”

It’s obvious Facebook has clearly crossed the line in terms of privacy. At this point there is a large debate that questions whether or not regulation over services like Facebook is necessary. Most would agree some form of regulation is needed, but there are a number of different possible ways it could be implemented. The biggest issue with regulating these companies is that they are privately owned. When most of an entire country is using the same service, it gives that service a lot of political power and influence. Being that Facebook and other companies like it are privately owned, that leaves a select few individuals in control of millions of users' data, leaving the government powerless to those who own the company. The challenge of regulation over these companies is that those who own them aren’t necessarily excited to give some of their power and influence away. However, it’s clear Facebook specifically is at a surplus of influence, as they own four of the largest social networks in the world. What the future of social media looks like after regulation is unknown, but as their popularity continues to grow we become more certain that change is needed.