When Bernie Sanders announced he was running, no one thought he would be relevant. No one would give Hillary Clinton a run for her money, this was her coronation. Now, five months after the first primary, Sanders has won 21 states and has stopped Clinton, at least temporarily, from winning the nomination. The race has been close, but if you look at the delegate counts for both candidates, it’s not.

Clinton has 2,310 delegates to Sanders’ 1,542. This is because of superdelegates. Superdelegates are party leaders, former Democratic Presidents and other elected Democratic officials. Superdelegates were put into place in the 1980s after severe Democratic defeats. Democratic primary voters were voting for to liberal Presidential candidates, like Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, who were getting crushed in their respective general elections.

Both men lost the Electoral College. Humphrey lost by 110 electoral votes, while McGovern lost by over 500 electoral votes, winning only Massachusetts and DC. Democrats, after these blistering defeats, created superdelegates, to help the more moderate/establishment democrat win the Presidential nomination.

This system, not surprisingly, is favoring Clinton, who has the support of 531 superdelegates to Sander’s 43. This is what is giving her a 768 delegate lead over Sanders. Without superdelegates, she would only be ahead of Sanders by 270 delegates, a much closer race.
This whole situation is ironic. Bernie Sander’s campaign is about ending corruption, breaking up the powerful, etc., but his own party’s Presidential system for nominating a candidate, is corrupt. It is ignoring the will of the people, and is being decided by people who made the rules. So even if Sanders goes on to win every single primary from now until June, he will still lose.

Today, Thursday, June 2, is my last day of high school. Ever. It doesn’t feel like that at all. In fact, I feel almost exactly the same way about school ending as I did my freshman year. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m the same person I was my freshman year. I wouldn’t be giving myself nearly enough credit if I said that. I have changed an incredible amount, and I wish that I had known the things I know now earlier. Luckily for you, I’m feeling a bit sentimental and a lot generous. Here’s all the stuff I wish I had known before this moment, compiled into one handy list for you.

1. Get salad in the cafeteria. Okay, first of all, this is definitely the best value. You get a salad, a sandwich, soup, yoghurt, fruit and a drink. Sure, you might have to pay a little extra if you get yoghurt and a sandwich or some other combination (I never quite figured out what cost extra) but compared to the other options, it’s not only the tastiest but the most economical.
2. If you’re walking in the hallways without a pass, walk with a purpose. Check your phone and walk quickly. Don’t just meander around. I promise you’ll be much less likely to be stopped.
3. Join every club ever. Try everything. Step outside your comfort zone. Not only will you be more likely to get into college, but you’ll meet people you never even knew existed.
4. Schedule time to hang out with your friends. I know that sounds really type-a, but I promise that in the heat of AP season you’ll be glad you forced yourself to take some time away and talk to the people who love you the most.
5. Don’t let boys (or girls) tell you who you are. Know yourself first. I promise that your relationships will suffer if you’re looking to another person to tell you how to feel or how to act.
6. Take the SAT your junior year. This will save you so much stress and if you aren’t where you need to be, you have a whole summer to study. The same goes for the ACT.
7. Start the Common App before school even starts your senior year. You’ll thank yourself when all your friends are panicking over applications and homework btu you’re already sitting pretty. Make sure you know which schools you want to apply early to, and apply early to all the schools without binding admissions. Your chances of getting in will be considerably higher.  
8. Avoid the main staircase. A) it’s always the most crowded and b) you don’t get the beautiful view you get from the other windowed staircases. You’ll save time and get a view of the sunshine.
9. Go to the homecoming football game. It’s part of the high school experience.
10. Same goes for prom. Go to every prom you can get your hands on. You’ll remember them the most.
11. Be on the right side of history. If your friends are having drama and you happen to be involved, stay true to how you feel about things. Don’t butt into drama that isn’t relevant to you, but if you do have to be involved, choose correctly.

I promise, you’ll be fine. Maybe you have to figure out these things for yourself, but I hope that they’re at least a little helpful. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself these last few years. This goodbye is bittersweet.

On Wednesday, June 1, the choirs performed their final concert of the year. All four choirs performed. The concert ended with “You Must Be Faithful”, a song that all choirs and alumni sing together every year in celebration.

The concert and symphonic band held their final concert of the year on Thursday, June 2nd. This was the 6th concert of the year for symphonic band.

The concert band started the concert off with three pieces, one being the Fate of the Gods by Steven Reineke, that featured freshmen Irene Lui on oboe, Andrew Ely on euphonium, and Ronal Gomez on trumpet.

“I was really nervous because it was the first time I was playing by myself in front of a whole audience,” Gomez said.

The symphonic band took the stage after the concert band, and proceed to play three full ensemble pieces, and four pieces that accompanied senior soloists. Seniors who make All-State band have the opportunity to perform a solo at the final concert of the year, and this year’s soloists were Kieran McClay on the xylophone, Hollyn Slykhuis on the trumpet, Valerio Aleman on trombone, and Laura Ruple on the oboe. Slykhuis, Aleman, and Ruple will all be attending schools to study music next year.

The symphonic band’s last piece was a nontraditional work called Angels in the Architecture, written by Frank Ticheli. The piece starts with band members swinging tubes and playing wine glasses filled with water to create an ethereal sounding environment. Senior Ellie Plass, stationed in the catwalk posed as the “angel”, then sang the opening theme from above.

“I liked the specific instruments that were use that we don’t usually use, and the soothing sound of [Angels in the Architecture],” freshman trombonist Kaeden Click said.

The final piece of the concert was a combined piece comprised of concert band and symphonic band members, playing Shenandoah by Frank Ticheli, an HHS band program tradition. In the middle of the piece, five seniors are featured while they play solos in a round together. This year the soloists were Valerio Aleman, Andy King, Laura Ruple, Hollyn Slykhuis, and Ava Reynolds. Shenandoah is one of the only times of the year concert band and symphonic band combine and play together.

“It was emotional at first because all the seniors are leaving, but at the same time I’m really happy for them. It was really fun to play with symphonic band because we usually don’t get to play with them so that was really cool,” freshmen trombonist Glorious Njoroge.

The HHS Governor’s STEM Academy launches a weather balloon to test the air quality in the Shenandoah Valley.

The 2016 election, as we all may agree, is nausea-inducing. All of the candidates are taking advantage of the US’ electoral system so that their name can go down in the history books of the future. This is how it always been,this year more than ever due to the transition from talking policy in and out of debates, to more bellicose attacks on each other on both sides of the fight. The parties are tearing themselves apart from the inside out. Unfortunately, the Obama administration must go and American citizens will have to face the unwanted ballot box in just a few short months. Whether you like Obama or not, it is undeniable that the upcoming president, whoever it is, will not be just a step down the stairs, but a complete tumbling fall.

As of now, the predominant leader and the most likely nominee is Hillary Clinton. Clinton is by far the most experienced and qualified candidate. She has held office as First Lady of the U.S., Secretary of State, Senator of New York, and First Lady of Arkansas. This being said, she hasn’t done a whole lot in those roles to be the most favorable leader. Her platform boils down to equal rights for women and minorities, a reform in the educational system, a reform in the electoral system and cheaper if not free healthcare. Although Clinton does look like a good Democrat on the surface, she still displays more conservative views on military intervention and surveillance. Her actions as Secretary of State were questionable at least. There is plenty of evidence showing that she allowed the surveillance on private phone calls of Germany, our ally, and their top officials. The Benghazi situation is also a rather shady area for her. She also has demonstrated more conservative views as the Senator of New York, voting to allow domestic dragnet surveillance. It appears that Clinton could very well be a closet conservative trying to appeal to the public eye.

Now, I won’t spend too much time dissing Trump because almost every single major news station and comedian has taken their blows at him. The majority of his supporters are white men who have not received higher than a high school degree. He is a bigoted, homophobic, sexist, and genuinely just a xenophobic. He’s a failed businessman with no political experience whatsoever who is attempting to appeal to the white lower class by constantly changing his stances, and yet somehow, he is still the second most backed candidate in the U.S. Trump is very much in the picture right now and poses a huge risk to the U.S. as the GOP’s nominee. He is only two percent behind Hillary in terms of U.S. polls, primaries and caucuses.

Now here comes the real problem. This is not an election for moderates. Due to the drastic beliefs of both of the (likely) nominees, flocks of moderates have started to back the Libertarian party, an option they see as a solution to their political problems. No one from the Libertarian party has ever won, and it is almost definite to remain that way in this year’s election. A vote for a Libertarian is a vote for Trump because he has unconditional voters that will not sway as we have seen.

If you haven’t figured it out already, the only logical vote in this year’s presidential election, whether you like it or not, is Hillary. She is the only person that can take down Trump. If you are choosing between a bad candidate (Hillary) and a worse one (Trump), you have to make the choice to go for the lesser of two evils. If you don’t like it, you’re going to have to do the American thing and pucker up and deal with a decent president for the next couple of years.

The Excellence Awards are held at the end of each school year to recognize exemplary performance by students of all grade levels in each department. Students are ranked from excellent to superlative based on the number of departments they’re recognized in. Senior Ava Reynolds was the superlative student at this year’s awards on June 6, being recognized in visual arts, band, English, social studies and journalism.

“I guess as the years have gone on, I didn’t feel like I was doing anything differently, but I just kept working hard and so it was just kind of cool to see it come together tonight,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds has been at the awards since she was a freshman and enjoyed seeing her and her classmates’ accomplishments grow since then.

“Sometimes it’s easier to get an A than it is to be a great person. I think it’s really inspiring for younger students to see, as well as freshmen and sophomores. Hopefully it inspires them to keep working when they see these older students achieving and working their hardest and getting recommended,” Reynolds said.

Assistant principal Joseph Glick was a main part in coordinating and running the awards. This year, many teachers felt as if the ceremony went a lot smoother than previous years.

“Each department creates a rigorous criteria and then teachers meet, discuss and debate on the rating of their students. Each department must rank their seniors that they’re submitting or recognition. That’s where we get the outstanding senior from each department,” Glick said.

These awards are a chance for students to be recognized for doing well in whichever areas teachers feel they excelled. Along with core classes, other departments included marketing, business, instrumental music, journalism, family and consumer science, world languages, Theater, JROTC and several others.

“I think it’s a really great way to show the best and brightest students, but not only that, because it also [recognizes] students that work really hard. Some of the people that got [awards] tonight might not be the straight A student, but that doesn’t matter because they’re still an excellent students. It just kind of culminates everything, not just having an A,” Reynolds said.

One of the main purposes of the ceremony is senior recognition, so each department also chooses one senior as their outstanding senior. The last award of the night is the Paul Cogar Most Distinguished Senior award, given to the student that teachers from each department feel is deserving. Senior Jaymie Inouye was the recipient of the 2015-16 school year.

“I think it’s always important to celebrate the hard work and the accomplishments. Our students do amazing things in our school and we often times spend energy working with kids that are struggling, but it’s important that we recognize the kids and the families that are achieving great things,” Glick said.

Unlike many other awards, the Excellence Awards honor more than just the basic core classes, providing an opportunity for recognition and motivation in other subjects students are passionate for, or maybe are striving to work harder in.

“It’s really important to have these because these sort of awards and these sort of recommendations make students feel good about their work in high school. They can carry a little bit of pride and motivation into the future to do the same,” Reynolds said. “I am even more motivated to work hard in things like social studies and english, that I didn’t think I was that great at. So you might not remember the title, but you’ll remember the honor and the feeling.”

Mr. Burgess, a leadership education, economics and personal finance teacher and new basketball coach has implemented a new program into the school system which allows interaction between high school students and elementary and middle school students. Read and Lead with a Blue Streak has given the leadership class, previously taught by him this year, the opportunity to read to younger students and interact with them.

Burgess explains more of what the program is about and its purpose in the local area.

“Through our leadership class, I’m trying to implement Read and Lead with a Blue Streak into the elementary and middle schools where we get our Blue Streaks to go back to be a role model and be a positive example on not only how to act in the school but more importantly when they are out in the community doing things the right way. That’s the beauty about as these kids matriculate elementary, to middle, to high school they learn all this book knowledge, more importantly we want to educate them on life skills in order for them to be positive role models in the community here in Harrisonburg, Virginia,” Burgess said.

The development of students in the leadership class throughout the year has prepared them for real life situations to apply their skills obtained within the classroom.

“In regards to the leadership class it’s been great seeing the maturation process of the students on how early on in the beginning of the year they were only in small cliques in the classroom and how the students were very shy in regards to getting up in front of the class, or reaching out in the cafeteria or doing commercials. The leadership class has evolved to getting out to these different elementary and middle schools,” Burgess said.

This is not Burgess’s first rodeo when it comes to programs of this sort.

“That being said, this is something I’ve been doing with colleges for the last twenty years. As well as when I was a student athlete at Radford University we would go back to the elementary schools and middle schools we would speak and read to the students, and we were the role models in the community, so that is something we are implementing here. So many times these younger student ask, ‘What is a Blue Streak?’ or say ‘I’ve never been to a high school event.’ Well now we are putting in that networking, but more importantly building that relationship between these students so they want to be here. That’s really the key, developing that relationship and showing them what it’s like to be a role model,” Burgess said.

Timing is a key factor for this program to function with ease with the students themselves and between schools.

“With this being the first year, it was challenging. We were unable to get into all the schools due to SOLs and testing, but I’m pleased to get into the four schools that we visited. Next year with our leadership class, our plans are to start the program earlier. This year we had a lot of things we had to progress throughout the class, making sure the students were ready to embrace their role as role models,” Burgess said.

Burgess has even bigger plans for the program for years to come.

“I would love getting more students involved with the program, not only students from my leadership class. That’s the big picture of what our goal is. I would love to this to evolve to a big thing for these younger students to look forward to seeing a Harrisonburg High School Blue Streak coming out to their school. My dream would to be to get a bus to each school and we get students who are responsible and take pride in being a role model onto these buses. A bus goes to Waterman, a bus goes to Spotswood, a bus goes to Stone Spring and so forth. Then there’s a thirty minute period where they are reading. Instead of having nineteen students reading to one grade level, imagine having forty student reading to multiple grade levels,” Burgess said.

Burgess speaks on why he does this, how it makes him feel and the importance of giving back to the community.

“In regards to giving back, I think we all should give back, but I get great satisfaction giving back to the community. I remember I was once their age, and I think a lot of adults and people in their positions to give back to whether it’s high school students or student athletes. At times we forget we were once their age and how impressionable we were and it’s great to have that platform to be able to give back to these youngsters. I am a product of the HCPS school system, so it’s even more gratifying when I visit my old elementary school that I attended. It’s even better when I’m able to do it with my current students such as yourself and back into these school and have an impression on these youngsters,” Burgess said.

Building the program the correct way will allow students to make a big impact on younger students as they progress.

“Those students in Mrs. Burgess’s class and also from the Waterman class, I spoke with some of those teachers and those students are still talking about the leadership class and how they took the time to sit down and read. That the beauty of making that relationship and making that connection with these youngsters and how they want to be a Blue Streak now,” Burgess said.

From the produce, to the meat, to the infrastructure of the building itself, Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza lets you know exactly what your food is and where it came from.

Owner Wade Luhn opened the pizzeria in 2013 with a ‘twist on your average Italian cuisine.’ Since then, the restaurant has progressed to serve wood-fired pizzas, hand-made pastas, fresh seasonal salads and sandwiches. Serving as the current manager of the establishment, Elizabeth Shinaberry attributes much of the early achievements of the restaurant to the leadership of head chef Colin Auckerman and owner Wade Luhn. 

“Wade, our owner, definitely has the vision which he communicates to our chef, Collin, who then takes that concept and puts his own twist on it. We’re so much more than just a pizza place,” Shinaberry said.

Originally constructed in 1862 as a horse stable, the building that houses the popular restaurant has been restructured from the ground up, while still retaining many traditional aspects.

“This building was an old horse stable, or livery, that was brought back to life in the form of Bella Luna. We have a natural skylight that used to be a freight elevator, all of the original brick, as well as the huge oak doors out front. We wanted to refurbish the building to all of it’s glory, while still keeping all of the elements that make it unique,” current manager Elizabeth Shinaberry said.

In addition to the modern redesign of the historic building, the staff maintains a traditional Sicilian wood-fired oven to balance innovation with tradition and fuel the majority of the food production.

Kelby Bartley
After the interview, the Bella Luna staff presented us with two of their favourite pizzas. Photo by Kelby Bartley

“Just about everything on the menu is created in-house, inside that oven,” Shinaberry said.

In addition, Bella Luna is unique due to their well-maintained partnership with numerous local outlets that allows the restaurant to use fresh ingredients, fruits, and vegetables.

“Everything on our menu is seasonal. Our salad, soups, and cocktails all change to accommodate what is available to us at that time. Our chef’s choice pizza of the day is topped with local veggies and meats that we get from local purveyors. For some of our cured meats we have to outsource to places up to 5 hours away, but produce wise, everything comes from the Shenandoah valley,” Shinaberry said.

Our featured appetizer: Housemade Nduja and Peach Crostini, finished with basil pesto. #appspecial #downtownharrisonburg

A photo posted by Bella Luna (@bellalunawoodfiredpizza) on Aug 21, 2015 at 1:27pm PDT

Bella Luna focuses not only on the creation and distribution of good food and overviewing a well-maintained establishment, but also on serving the general population to the best of their ability and making a positive impact on the community.

“For the most part we employ professionals. We do have some high schoolers and students from JMU, but they all live here year round and have accepted that working here is part of their overall life and is expected to be a main priority- not just their beer money,” Shinaberry said.

Kelby Bartley
The local vendors and farmers that provide Bella Luna with meat, produce, and dairy products.

Since their debut to the Harrisonburg community in 2013, Bella Luna has already been recognized as one of the best restaurants in the Harrisonburg area and Virginia. In 2014, they were the recipients of the “Best Pizza-Best of Virginia” award distributed by the Daily News Record and the Rockford Times, in addition to receiving a “4.5/5” rating from TripAdvisor.

“Bella Luna is super versatile and caters to very diverse groups of people. Any day you’ll come in, and at one table you can see a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and then right next to them are 17 sorority girls from JMU,” Shinaberry said. “We get a lot of first dates, birthday dinners and families with small kids which creates a really welcoming and warm environment. When it comes down to it, our customers are to credit for all the success we’ve found.”

1.16 feet long. Two paper plates.

That’s the size of just one slice of Benny Sorrentino’s Pizza in Harrisonburg, Virginia. General manager, Jon Durham, along with coworkers, makes the abnormally sized pizza fresh everyday. They even hand toss the dough.

“The size of the pizza is a novelty item to get the people interested in it. A huge slice of pizza gets people talking. We use it as marketing. We actually make everything in house so the quality of it is excellent,” Durham said.

Can’t tell if eating, or yelling at pizza is appropriate here?? #bennyspizza

A photo posted by Philip Boston (@bostonbulk) on Apr 27, 2015 at 6:47am PDT

Along with the dough, Durham and the other employees make the sauce in house and their own specific cheese blend.

“The most popular pizza we have here is our buffalo chicken,” Durham said, “We have a very limited menu, with one meat monthly special and one vegetable monthly special. We always have sriracha sausage, pepperoni, cheese and sliced sausage pizza.”

The pizza served at Benny’s is a combination of different styles.

“We call [our pizza] the Virginia slice, but it’s a mixture of New York style, New Jersey and our own little twist,” Durham said.

Keira Johnson
John Fairclough and John Durham making giant pizzas at Benny’s Pizza in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The Virginia slice all started with a man named Benny.

“Benny first made the pizza. He started it all and then we just go with different Italian names for the second part of the name. Some of them have a specific meaning others don’t. Sorrentino’s was completely random,” Durham said.

Being located in a college town Benny Sorrentino’s sees JMU students as most of its business when it’s in session.

“We have a very good mix. When JMU is in town, they’re 80 percent of our business on the weekends, but we do have quite a lot of local followings and when JMU is out of town more of the locals are willing to come downtown and try the pizza,” Durham said.

Benny’s Pizza has many locations up and down the East Coast, many of which are located in college towns just like Benny Sorrentino’s.

“It turns out any type of happening in downtown areas are in college towns. You stay up until 3 a.m., some nights so the

Matthew Herrity
Photos of customers enjoying their gigantic pizzas are on display on the side of the booths.

college atmosphere a big part of our business.”

Customer Ashley Kreib said she enjoys eating at Benny Sorrentino’s because it reminds her of eating at the Benny’s Pizza in Blacksburg when she went to college at Virginia Tech.

“At Tech, my entire group of friends would get a whole pizza. My friend had a truck, so we just put it in the back of his truck and took it to go.”

On its Twitter account, Benny’s advertises its continual pizza eating contest.

“The challenge is you have an hour to eat a whole 28” pizza. Competitive eaters have 15 minutes to try and eat the whole thing. The prize is $500,” Durham said. You can take part in this competition in any of the Benny restaurants.

The Benny’s challenge is here! Eat an 8 lb, 28″ inch cheese pizza with sausage and pepperoni and walk (or roll) out with $500!

— Benny Sorrentino’s (@BennysHBURG) June 27, 2016

Benny Sorrentino’s employee John Faircloth witnessed a failed attempt at the pizza contest.

“One guy tried the challenge here once, he didn’t even get close. He ate not even half the pizza and he was struggling the whole time. He had around 20 friends who were cheering him on, and we were all watching too, because it was the first challenge that had happened here before. Around 30 minutes in, he just stopped eating and gave up,” Faircloth said.

Durham believes that the pizza is difficult to make along with being difficult to eat.

“It’s a lot more difficult [to make] than regular pizza. We’re dealing with 28” of dough at a time. Three slices of our pizza is your typical large pizza.” Durham said.

Because the pizza is so large, people often have a hard time taking it home.

“We’ve had everything, from putting them on the roof of their Mini Cooper to stacking the boxes straight up and down in the back of their car. You name it, it’s happened,” Durham said.

The best part about graduating – free Benny’s ! These lovely ladies know how to celebrate! #gradphotos #graduation #virginiatech #gohokies #blacksburgphotographer #pizza #bennys #bennyspizza

A photo posted by Molly McCarvill (@mollyerinphotography) on May 10, 2016 at 5:19pm PDT

Harrisonburg residents Michael Davis and his daughter Emme come regularly to eat at Benny Sorrentino’s.

“I like the atmosphere and we can walk here which is really nice,” Davis said. “It’s nice and laid back. You can write with chalk on the wall, and [Emme] likes looking at all the pictures of the people eating the giant pieces of pizza on the wall.”

Davis said he enjoys the pizza at Benny’s even though the large size can be overwhelming at times.

“We have to make sure our van is cleaned out before we pick it up because we can’t get it into the side car door, so we have to put it in through the back,” Davis said. “Whenever we have friends in town we buy the whole pizza so we can see the look on their faces.”

Durham said one of his favorite parts of working at Benny’s is seeing people’s facial expressions.

“No matter what age people are, you could have a 60-year-old lady come in and she’ll smile and laugh the same as a kid does when they see the size of our pizza,” Durham said.

The varsity football team opened their 2016 season against EC Glass on Friday, August 26. The game was close the whole way, but Glass came out on top, beating the Streaks 37-34.

Harrisonburg jumped out to an early lead, as a forced fumble led to junior running back Collin Morris scoring the first TD of the season, bouncing a run to the outside and beating the defenders to the corner. Later in the quarter, sophomore Marcus Robinson-Jenkins intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The Streaks converted a fake field goal to pick up two points and extended their lead to 15-0.

Glass bounced back in the second, scoring a touchdown and a field goal to cut the lead to 15-10, but Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game on the ensuing possession, and HHS went back up 21-10. ECGHS was able to trim the deficit to 21-13 by nailing a field goal as time expired in the second quarter, making it an eight point game heading into the half.

The Hilltoppers came out hot in the second half, scoring a touchdown four minutes in to get back within two points of HHS. On the Streaks’ next possession, a trick play turned sour, as a double pass attempt led to Collin Morris under-throwing senior Matt Meiser, and Glass picking it off. Glass made a field goal just a minute later, taking their first lead of the game at 22-21.

Harrisonburg retook the lead early in the fourth, as Robinson broke off another touchdown run, putting the Streaks back on top, 27-22. The lead only lasted two minutes, however, as Glass bounced right back, with a touchdown, and a 2-point conversion to go up 30-27 with 7:59 to go. That score stayed put until junior quarterback AC White threw a pick 6 with 3:01 to play, and Glass went up by 10, seemingly sealing the game. White threw another interception just thirteen seconds later, giving Glass the ball back with 2:48 to go, still with a two possession lead.

The game looked to be over, but sophomore Victor Lynch was able to recover a Glass fumble and return it for a touchdown, cutting the Hilltoppers lead to three points with 1:52 to play. Roberto Gonzalez-Cavazos attempted an onside kick in a hope to give HHS a shot at the comeback win, but the ball bounced off of the hands of sophomore Ja’Heim Anderson before careening out of bounds, allowing Glass to run the clock out and seal the victory.

Harrisonburg’s next game takes place on Saturday, September 3, in Winchester against John Handley.

I spend a fair amount of time in the cemetery on the edge of Old Town. While this may seem like an unusual place to hang out (my mother certainly thinks so), it isn’t nearly as unsettling as it sounds. Although the idea of so many bodies crammed in the dirt underfoot can be overwhelming, there is a sort of comfort that comes with surrounding oneself with so much history. Sometimes I go there to watch the sunset after a storm with friends, or to do homework when the weather isn’t so sweltering or simply to search for the oldest gravestone I can find (1846, if you were wondering). When the wind is blowing and the magnolia trees are in bloom, it’s hard to see how so many people overlook a place that remains frozen in time this way.

My grandfather is buried in one of the farthest corners of the cemetery. His grave sits next to that of a person who I have only ever known as LEE, the one word engraved on their stone. Their grave is one I have coveted since childhood; slabs of colored glass are embedded in the rock. At age five, I remarked that this was how I wanted my gravestone to look—colorful and blindingly brilliant in the sunlight. My grandfather’s grave is, by comparison, achingly simple. The only decoration that separates it from any other stone is a statement, written by my mother, about his life as a scotsman. He is the only rock I know in that place, and it shocks me sometimes how forgotten people become.

Without fail, with every visit to the cemetery, the thought that always crosses my mind is the way we, as humans, throw our dead away without regards to the space they take up after we forget them. Graveyard overcrowding is an issue that resonates around the world, and it has been forcing many places to start stacking their dead. With 7 billion people in the world and over 107 billion dead, this is not an issue that will go away any time soon—people don’t ever stop dying.

In the interest of being kind to the earth after my death, I came across one option years ago that could be a feasible solution around the world. Several companies have invested in the business of biodegradable urns, in which cremated bodies have the chance to live again through the growth of a tree. The ashes, deposited into an eco-friendly urn and planted in the ground, provide nutrients to a seed, which grows over time into a tree, providing an environmentally sound way to memorialize a life.

Properly memorializing loved ones is not the biggest concern of those against cremation. Religious preferences are oftentimes what keep people from cremating their bodies, and these should be kept in mind, as they are valid and will probably last for decades to come. Eventually, however, the need for land and resources will most likely trump the aversion to the practice, as has happened with certain sects of Christianity over the past several centuries. While keeping cremated remains in urns is one possible solution to the overcrowding of graveyards worldwide, biodegradable urns solve more than one problem at a time. Why keep your dead loved one on your fireplace mantle when you can let them be a part of a much bigger picture?

Imagine this. Instead of rows of tombstones, we could have entire forests. We would be keeping the memory of those that are dear to us (while solving the deforestation issue) with each passing. The circle of life would continue unabated after death—ashes would build forests and new life would rise from their roots. Instead of rotting coffins cluttering up what precious land we have, we could use our whole selves to create something lasting and sustainable.

On Friday September 19, the Harrisonburg Blue Streaks took on the Black Knights of Charlottesville. The first quarter was back and forth with a touchdown by Marcus Robinson to put the Streaks up 7-0 going into the second quarter. Charlottesville responded with a rushing touchdown to tie the game. The Streaks marched up the field with the help of a pass interference to put them in the red zone. This led to another rushing touchdown by Collin Morris with 8:56 left in the half.

Charlottesville’s speed took them down the field for yet another rushing touchdown. The Black Knights went for the two point conversion but were unsuccessful, which brought the game to 14-12 with the Streaks leading. Harrisonburg went four and out the next drive, which gave Charlottesville the opportunity to score, ending the half with another point by The Black Knights. The second half, the Black Knights took over the game. The rushing game broke down the Streaks defense which allowed another touchdown, bringing the game to 26-14 Black Knights. Charlottesville continued to run the football, scoring another touchdown, making the game 33-14. As the clock wound down, the Streaks had one last attempt at the end zone. Quarterback AC White threw a pass to receiver Sam Healy for a touchdown to end the game. The final score was Black Knights 33 Streaks 21.

Nyah Phengsitthy
Farmers market provides homemade cookies for shoppers.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the local farmer’s market is held in downtown Harrisonburg. At the weekly event, vendors from around the valley come and sell their products such as produce, pastries,  and other homemade products. With all of the vendors coming and working their booths, many of them all have a different reason on why they started working at the farmer’s market in the first place.

Vendor Ann Borgmann has been working at the farmer’s market for six years and runs her business there, Grist Mill Bakery, every Saturday morning. At Borgmann’s booth, pastries and cookies are sold from her bakery.

“I always knew I wanted to run a small bakery, and the farmer’s market is a friendly place that I can sell pastries without having to have a storefront or a van that I drive around place to place,” Borgmann said.

Borgmann doesn’t mainly sell her products for the benefit of her business, but for the benefit of other people.

“I’m selling things that make you happy when you eat them… Things that are not store made, basically things that really taste good,” Borgmann said. Wednesday is cookie baking day, Thursday and Friday are the pastries; peel the apples, and get ready to make cinnamon rolls. 

Nyah Phengsitthy
Farmers market produce is all grown here in the Shenandoah Vally.

From owning her own business to being a vendor at the farmers market, Borgmann follows a specific schedule to help her prepare for Saturday mornings at the market.

“It’s a routine; it’s scheduled. It can take up a quite a bit of time if I’m not prepared or organized….you kind of have to schedule things in order to have things done and right and pack up and get her to the market,” Borgmann said.

According to Borgmann, the best seller for Grist Mill Bakery is their apple strudel for the fall season.

Aside, from pastries, many of the other vendors at the market are selling produce. Vendor Alex Calistoga has been running a booth at the Harrisonburg farmer’s market for 11 years, selling their homegrown produce from their farm.

“We have a farm in Augusta county; we have a 21 acre land and another 18 acre land that we grow watermelons, winter squash, tomatoes and cucumbers,” Calistoga said.

Not only are Calistoga and his mom working weekly at the Harrisonburg market, but they have been working at the markets in Stanton and Nelson as well.

“We go there [farmer’s markets] to sell our products and give people what they want,” Calistoga said.

Nyah Phengsitthy
People gather at the farmers market to shop for local fresh foods.

Located on 228 S Liberty Street, the Harrisonburg farmer’s market is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8AM-1PM.

For the past three years, the Marching Royal Dukes, JMU’s band, has invited high school students from all over the East Coast to join them in a halftime performance at one of the Saturday football games. The day has had more participants each year, and Sep. 10 set the record at over 500 high school musicians. About ten members of Harrisonburg High School’s band contributed to that 500. Along with the other high schools from near and far, members from the HHS color guard and band met at JMU at 9:00 a.m. to practice all day, with the exception of a meal, and show what they’ve learned in the song ‘Get It On’ in front of thousands of Dukes fans.

Harrisonburg junior trumpet player Juan Romero has been playing trumpet for eight years.

“I’m mostly excited to play ‘Get It On’ with the MRDs, marching on, watching the game, everything,” Romero said. “Normal high school performances are just about 150 people, but this time it’s like 500 plus, it’s going to be insane.”

This year marks junior JMU drum major Chris Pennington’s third year as part of Band Day.

“[This] is an opportunity for high schoolers to kind of get an idea of what we do at a college level,” Pennington said. “We don’t use it as a recruiting tool, obviously we get to show off our lovely campus, but it’s for them to get an idea about what the process is like, especially if they are considering pursuing music…at the collegiate level.”

Though Pennington has been with the program for three years, he never got the opportunity to participate as a high school student.

“I wish I had been able to come in high school because getting to see all the kids and the way that they interact with all the college students, and that bond that they get to form is really special. I wish I could have had the opportunity to do it,” Pennington said.

Ethan Scribano is also a junior in the HHS band, and reflected on his time rehearsing with the Dukes.

“Today is a day where high school students from around the area, some have come from Vermont and Baltimore, come and practice with the MRDs…We go to the game, watch the first half, then we play a song with them at halftime,” Scribano said.

For Scribano, rehearsing with collegiate band was a lot different than his usual high school practices.

“It’s a lot more casual because they can’t really control all of us, but we still get a lot more done because they’re more focused than us,” Scribano said. “But just to perform on the field in front of everyone, I think that’s always fun to do.”

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is getting a lot of heat from different athletes, NFL fans and many more for not standing for the national anthem. Fans have criticized him,= and even recorded burning his football jerseys and posted them on social media. I think this criticism that he’s getting is exactly what he deserves for his actions.

The national anthem isn’t just a song, it’s a tribute to the men and women who have sacrificed themselves to defend our country, and they deserve the respect of every American because they all fought for us. Some people say that veterans fought for that right, the right to do whatever you want, but to not stand for the anthem is low-class. I think Kaepernick has the right to speak his mind and think whatever he wants of this country, but he needs to respect this country. The anthem is not just about our country, it’s a salute to the veterans who fought for our freedoms, and we should be grateful for them. We can’t thank our veterans enough, so the least we can do is stand for the national anthem, which is what Colin Kaepernick needs to do.