Colleges face challenges with efforts to reopen
October 9, 2020
Expecting COVID-19 to pandemic to subside, on June 3, 2020, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) announced the reopening of their Fall 2020 semester with in-person instruction and social distancing guidelines. However, as COVID-19 spreads across the country, UT, along with many other colleges, opted...
Restaurants recover from COVID-19 shutdown
October 9, 2020
Thousands across the United States were hesitant to rush into restaurants when outdoor dining first opened, but ended up caving into their burger cravings and their hunger for fries, despite the consistent coronavirus cases. To answer the nation’s questions and concerns for eating at restaurants...
College applicants struggle with standardized tests amid pandemic
October 9, 2020
On Aug. 29, senior Abby Fuller of Brielle put on her mask and drove down to Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River to take the SAT. Despite taking the test last November, Fuller signed up to retest in August, after seeing Spring tests being canceled. Although many colleges across the country no ...
Monmouth County schools plan to reopen, face setbacks
October 9, 2020
As schools across the country return to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, each school has a different plan for what their “new normal” is expected to be. On July 26, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy gave schools clearance to reopen, and schools across Monmouth County have had various approaches to ...
Students reflect on their religious upbringings
May 8, 2020
For freshman Anna Siciliano of Ocean Township, the religious upbringing from her early childhood still sticks with her. Siciliano attended Saint Jerome, a Catholic school, from preschool to eighth grade, and says that even though she doesn’t attend a religious school now, the knowledge that she rec...
In the spirit of education: CHS teaches about religion
May 8, 2020
Students sit patiently in rows facing the white board where World History teacher Tom Ross lectures them on the Quran, the sacred text of Islamic religious beliefs. The lesson is about religion, which can come across as a touchy subject, but no one questions it because it is history. “I think ...
Students observe religious differences between generations
May 8, 2020
Seventy percent of Americans believe in the importance of religious freedom, according to Fox News. But, 42 percent of the members of Generation Z (Gen Z) consider themselves religiously unaffiliated. Gen Z is redefining the importance of religion in their lives. “I do think that religion is prevalent in ...
CHS teachers prepare for statewide LGBTQ curriculum requirement
March 9, 2020
Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy mandated that all NJ public schools add LGBTQ-related topics into their lesson plans for middle and high school students. Twelve NJ schools began to pilot the new curriculum in January and the mandate is set to go statewide for the 2020-2021 school year, according to the A...
Some MCVSD schools emphasize inclusivity more than others
March 9, 2020
In some schools the LGBTQ+ youth are forced to stay hidden beneath the shadows in fear of any criticism that may come with revealing their sexuality. Some schools around the country have not always provided a safe environment for the LGBTQ+ youth to express their sexuality. These students still face...
Alliance provides a safe haven for the LGBTQ community at CHS
March 9, 2020
The Gay-Straight Alliance or Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is a student-led organization found in high schools that intends to provide a supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth as well as their cisgender, heterosexual allies. At CHS, GSA is a student-run club that provi...
Coming out comes with challenges
March 9, 2020
When freshman Lee Gaines of Shrewsbury came out to their family as pansexual and nonbinary, they were swiftly and promptly written out of their great grandmother’s will. “She was very, very Catholic. She went to a Catholic school, she almost was a nun,” Gaines explained. “It’s fine. I l...
Ivy League allures CHS students, but doesn’t admit them
March 9, 2020
Legend (and Naviance) has it that not one CHS student has ever gotten into Yale. Ever. That, however, did not stop senior Vaugh Battista of Tinton Falls from applying to the Ivy League school in Connecticut. The result? Battista was deferred, joining the large number of CHS students who have been deni...