Ghostly strobe lights illuminate the dark figures onstage and a swarm of people below as the lead singer proclaims: “Boys Don’t Cry.”

On June 10, The Cure continued their “Shows of a Lost World” tour at the United Center in Chicago. The show, encompassing the band’s long legacy, was gorgeously haunting.

The Cure is an English rock band that formed in the late 70s. Having since amassed a nearly cult-like following, their recent tour was highly celebrated. 

Upon arrival, the massive venue was packed with people: an array of generations dressed in the same black clothing and dark makeup, standing in merchandise lines that snaked around the whole building. Excited chatter reverberated throughout the arena over the light rain sounds playing from the stage as the audience made their way in.

The Twilight Sad, a Scottish band, performed the opening act. Combining dark lyricism …
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An unknown man steals movies online on a computer.

Pirates used to be great swashbucklers who were chased through the seven seas, but now they are teens in their living room.

Piracy is the unauthorized use or reproduction of the movies, television, music, books, or any other trademarked products. Piracy started as the counterfeiting of money, but slowly evolved into something that does not seem illegal. Piracy has plagued most countries and entertainment production companies around the world from Disney to Nintendo which, as reported by the United States Chamber of Commerce in 2021, caused an 11% to 24% revenue reduction.

Lately, there has been a rise in teens pirating their favorite television shows and music. Hamilton Southeastern High School junior Max Johnson engages in piracy to catch his favorite shows and movies. He said he engages in piracy mainly to …
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The “Benadryl challenge” and the “milk crate challenge” are two of the most dangerous trends on TikTok. Both of these challenges come with a high chance of injury and various health risks. Since the majority of users on TikTok are impressionable teenagers, it leads to a higher chance of users partaking in these dangerous challenges

TikTok is on many teenagers phones across the country. Photo by Solen Feyissa.

While the “milk carton challenge” has a slightly lower risk of injury due to some level of skill being involved, all participants have a high chance of risk. The “milk carton challenge” involves stacking milk cartons into a staircase formation going up and then down with the goal being to walk up and down the cartons without falling. Milk cartons are not very sturdy, which leads to a lot of the cartons …
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Beauty evokes fear when face-to-face with it—especially when you’re in high school. Earlier this week, approximately 250 high school students gathered at Indiana University for the High School Journalism Institute Program. Many of them, having arrived knowing nobody else, confronted the intimidation that is first impressions. Even if they don’t realize it, this anxiety can be largely caused by underlying societal beauty standards.

Ruby Pittenger and Molly Mullen stare at their reflection in the mirror at HSJI. Photo by Sabrina Paul

First impressions are so intimidating because of the implicit impressions that come with them. When talking about implicit impressions, Irmak Olcaysoy Okten in his article describes the ways in which people quickly and unconsciously judge each other. 

“Implicit measures aim to capture the spontaneous impressions that are typically invisible to the perceivers—impressions they have formed without any awareness or intention,” …
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