Meow Wolf’s third location is in Denver, and you should find time to visit.
By Rachel Webster
Opening the third location in the country on September 17, 2021, Meow Wolf is a unique art excursion for everyone. After booking tickets in advance, you arrive at the oddly shaped 90,000 square-foot building located smack-dab in the middle of highway ramps.
Senior, Ewan Gregory, who visited Meow Wolf on opening week, said about his experience: “This exhibit is really unique from its other locations in Santa Fe and Las Vegas. I imagine the strange location wedged between the highway intersection will be a considered a Denver landmark in the years to come.”
Outside, you go through security–which takes a max of ten minutes–and through the doors of art. For only three dollars, you can add on to your experience and buy a card, which takes you through the storyline of the artistry. Once you are ready, you go up an elevator and into an alien dimension. You can see rooms upon rooms full of artistry that must’ve taken years to develop. If you purchased the card, you can stop at devices that give you gems that you collect throughout your experience.
“The exhibit itself is sensory overload. With three completely different environments and hundreds of different art mediums and styles, it will take more than one visit to wrap my head around all that was there,” Gregory (12) states. “One second you’re looking at dioramas in repurposed speakers, the next you’re looking at a full forest full of psychedelic creatures and incredible lights and colors.”
One of the worlds inside Meow Wolf Denver.
You can spend any amount of time you want within the excursion up until they close for the day. Colorado residents only have to pay $35 in order to experience nothing like you’ve ever seen before. Already going once, Gregory comments, “I would definitely recommend checking it out. There’s only three locations in the world, and Denver is lucky enough to be one of them.”
You can stop your excursion anytime and return back to our world. When you’re in our world, you can get food and drinks and return to your excursion anytime. Many people consider this to be an immersive and transformative experience. “It ‘s a great place to appreciate local art and get lost in strange new worlds,” Gregory adds.
If you are interested in exploring this unique art excursion, their hours are 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. You can visit their website at https://meowwolf.com/visit/denver for more information and to reserve your tickets.
Information about Legend High School’s newly formed Medical Club.
By Cassidy Knox
In a world seemingly full of selfishness, it is a breath of fresh air to see people devoting their time to making real change. That is what Legend High School’s recently established Medical Club is trying to accomplish. This club recognizes that anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 people die waiting for an organ transplant each year, and 90% of adults support organ transplants but only 45% are registered organ donors (UNOS). Working with Lumincare Hospice and Project Angel Heart, president Nandhana Vivek heads the club that meets every Thursday after school from 3:15-4:15 in mobile 7.
The Medical Club is still accepting members. If you join, you can stay connected with club events using the Remind app. When joining the club, all members get a chance to become a UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) Ambassador, which gives young people a chance to advocate for becoming organ donors. Each meeting usually consists of crafting food bags and birthday cards for the residents of Lumincare Hospice. Club meetings are also spent learning about UNOS and barriers for organ transplants.
When asked about her motives for founding this club, Vivek stated, “Hearing about everyone’s experiences [with organ transplantation], is so eye-opening,” and she believes that “if we can make somebody else’s life better, then it’s a big deal.” She also hopes to get as many people involved with Medical Club as possible, as it will help in creating the greatest difference in the world. Vivek would like all Legend students to know that “If [you] join, you will be able to get service hours while also doing something to make somebody else’s life better.”
Vivek hopes to acquire more members to become organ donors to “potentially save a life” and help Project Angel Heart and Lumincare Hospice better the lives of people who are affected by life-threatening illnesses. Legend’s Medical Club is truly providing a helping hand to those in need—making the world a kinder and safer place.
Who: Any Legend student What: Medical Club Where: Mobile 7 When: Thursdays @ 3:15-4:15 pm
Do adults in society put too much pressure on teenagers?
By Rachel Webster
We grow up with people constantly reminding us that we will be adults before we know it. The age of adulthood is eighteen. At fifteen years old, eighteen seems a long ways away. So, we shouldn’t have to worry about the problems of adults, right? Wrong! Even though adulthood seems so far away, we are expected to have adult responsibilities. Most of us feel as if we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. Some feel burdened with too many adult responsibilities despite only being teenagers. In a recent Instagram survey, only 12% of the Legend student body who responded indicated no stress about high school. 88% of the students at Legend are stressed in some way. Are we under too much pressure?
The high school years are the best years of our lives, according to many adults: going to dances, joining extracurricular activities or clubs, and playing sports. For many of us, however, that tale is starting to become a fantasy. As students approach the last day of eighth grade, we are excited to become high schoolers. We are excited to attend the assemblies, have our own lockers, enjoy those Friday night lights, and dance the night away during homecoming and prom. By the time the first day of high school comes, we are all expecting the best. Jonathan Bagwell (09), says that his first impression of high school is that there is “not too much workload with some classes, but a couple definitely do have a heavier workload.” Overall, though, he adds, “I’m not stressed in high school right now. I’d say a time I was really stressed was in my old school–American Academy.” However, by the end of first semester in high school, dealing with test after test and final exams, some feel we are at our worst. The further into high school you get, the more stressed students become. Is it too much added pressure?
Before we know it, we are walking into school on the first day of our junior year. Many worry about the SATs, our futures, and our grades. Ella Overby (11) says, “Right now, yeah I’m stressed. I’m sure everyone is. With school work, the after school show, and relationship and friendship issues, it gets overwhelming.” On top of the many things going on in our lives, many are asked several times about what they want to do career-wise in the future. “Unless someone has a concrete plan for their future, I definitely think everyone is [stressed]. I hear most kids say what college they want to go to, what major they want to study, and what they want to be when they grow up. And I’m here trying to figure out my next day’s outfit… My mind changes every month on what I want to be, and I’m really clueless,” says Overby. For most of us, the answer to the continuous questions about our future is “I’m not sure yet.” At such a young age, we are expected to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives. For the people that do know their career path, good for them. And, for the rest of us, a lot of people are in the same boat. It’s like a big question floating above us, everywhere we go, trying to figure out what we want to pursue for our careers. Is it too much pressure?
As we worry about our future career, we are still stuck in the mindset that high school determines everything for us. We are told that if we don’t get good grades and participate in extracurricular activities, we won’t get into a good college, we won’t have a good career, and we won’t succeed at life. We juggle preparing for the SAT, after school jobs, and maintaining a good GPA. We go to our extracurricular activities and come home to stacks upon stacks of homework. We are also expected to have a perfect mental health and life, dealing with no personal issues. But we aren’t perfect. We deal with broken friendships, family issues, and our own personal struggles, which leads to us staying up until one or two a.m. Just for us to go to sleep, wake up, and redo the whole day again. Is it too much pressure?
Many of us can’t help but wonder how much sleep we are missing, how many tests we are failing, and everything else we are missing out on in life just because we have so much homework that keeps us up so late. Is it the teachers’ fault? According to Overby, a teacher’s goal “is to effectively teach their class and assign work so then you can perform well in the class. Your performance is their paycheck, too.” As a freshman, Bagwell, when asked if he thinks teachers understand the amount of things going on in our lives, said: “I feel like they do sometimes. But definitely not all the time. Because they go to work and go home; they don’t have sports, extracurricular [activities], and homework.” Though many teachers oversee extracurricular activities, coach sports, and have grading and lesson planning outside of school, many students misunderstand or minimize the difficulties and pressures our teachers face, too. When asked if teachers think high school students have too much pressure on them, Mrs. Kane says it depends on their lives. “Some students have excellent support systems at home, in their social lives, and here at school; others do not have these support systems.” She adds, “Ultimately, what each person chooses to add to their plate of responsibilities is exactly that: a choice. We can choose to lighten our load. We can choose to seek out better systems of support and coping. In making these healthier choices, we choose to worry less.” Do students feel like they are able to and know how to lighten the load or is it just too much pressure?
I didn’t write this article to point out the negative things about our lives, I wrote this article to inform the adults in our society of the stress they don’t seem to see in the younger generation around them. I want teachers to acknowledge what lies on our plates right now. I want teachers to support students and realize their stress levels are high. I want parents to realize that they should help their kids out by offering a little more patience and support. I want other adults to realize that our society puts too much pressure on kids at too young an age. I want colleges to understand that we can’t do it all.
We need to realize that everyone is going through some sort of stress, so we should all practice having more patience. Treat everyone with respect and keep in mind what they are going through. Instead of expecting us to just know how to deal with stress, we need to be taught healthy coping mechanisms. We need to be taught how to take things off our plates. We need to understand how to develop support systems for handling stress; otherwise, it will always be too much pressure.
Today, October 9, should have been a great occasion. But today instead of happiness and joy there is sadness and mourning as we try to celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 72nd birthday. It’s almost like losing him all over again. Every year his birthday comes around and we are reminded of that night way back in 1980 when he was shot and killed outside of his New York apartment.
But instead of thinking about that horrible tragedy (and how much we hate his killer Mark David Chapman), today is meant to be a celebration. The celebration of a great hero and a cultural icon. A celebration of the life he led and the people he has moved. In 1964 John Lennon, along with the other members of the Beatles, came to America and became not only an overnight sensation, but also one of the biggest celebrities worldwide.
His forty years on this earth changed music forever. He inspired countless artists of every genre. Everyone from Kurt Cobain to Ozzy Osbourne. He was an artist, an author, and dedicated most of his final years to advocate for peace. He was a great musician, but also a great man. It’s difficult to find words to describe a man who has had such a profound impact on the world. Listing his achievements doesn’t even begin to describe the real John Lennon. The only thing we can do is celebrate his life and his impact and be thankful for all he has done.
Taylor Swift tops the charts as one of the most popular singer/songwriters of our generation. She dominates the music industry with her new albums that come out every other year on her birthday, October 22.
Her new album, Red, comes out in less than a month. Her newly released single “Never Ever Getting Back Together” has been in the iTunes top ten since August 13th.
Sophomore Cassidy Speath has been a Swift fan ever since the sixth grade.
“I’m hoping for a good mix of different songs and styles,” Speath says.
Taylor is famously known for not changing any of the names of the people she writes about.
“She’s not afraid to be herself no matter if people criticize her music” Speath says, “and that’s why she’s a great role model.”
Taylor Swift has been working on Red for more than two years, inspired by all the “red” emotions she’s felt in her relationships within the past two years of her life, like anger, jealousy, and passion.
Trey Hamsmith is on a mission to bring the Legend experience to Metro State University, and beyond. Throughout his educational experience, he’s been nothing short of a pioneer.
As a member of Legend’s first wave of students, the Class of 2012, the school has been his canvas.
“We are very fortunate for the class of 2012. We had a lot of leaders. We wanted to lead this place knowing it would be a great home. We wanted to leave our mark,” Hamsmith said. “I wanted to make Legend a place people can find their home in.”
In return, Trey was Legend’s canvas. Holding the title of Drum Major of Legend’s marching band for four consecutive years required great discipline and responsibility on Trey’s part. The level of responsibility band director Mr. Otis gave Trey was of a magnitude that reflected a great deal of trust.
“Mr. Otis really trusted me with students and parents,” Hamsmith said. “I represented the students and teachers. I was given the leadership to represent the rest of the school.”
“When people at college hear about this experience, they envy it,” Hamsmith added.
Trey displays this level of investment in Legend in his daily life, from his actions and mentality to the clothes he wears.
“I still wear my Legend gear. I have a right to be proud. I don’t care if people make fun of me,” Hamsmith said.
The passion he holds for Legend wasn’t inherent in Trey, but taught to him. His father started him on the path, and his time at Legend shaped that passion into something far greater.
“Leave the place better than what you came to. If you didn’t make the mess, clean it. Pay it forward,” Hamsmith said, quoting his father.
Academically, he’s a Music Education and Composition student. But he is also very much a teacher, passing on the lessons he learned from Legend to his fellow academics.
“I’m taking that passion I learned and trying to help the [college] community,” Hamsmith said “What we created and left behind made me want to create that same situation in college.”
Trey was forged a Titan, and he will forge others in the same manner. According to Trey, this is done by encouraging everyone to be proud of what inspires them, and pushing them to go forward with that.
Trey was a student who became a teacher, and will teach other students to become teachers. He has started a chain reaction of Titanic values that will widen in scope, starting with lower classmen at Legend, then fellow academics at Metro State, and finally into the community itself. He got the ball rolling, and it’s snowballing into something much greater.
Summer 2012 was a busy one for musicians and music lovers alike. This summer appealed to music fans of all genres, with Vans Warped Tour for the punk rockers, and Summer Jam for fans of the rap genre.
Big name artists appearing at Warped Tour included Rise Against, A Day to Remember, Mayday Parade. Rappers Tyga, Wiz Khalifa, and Rick Ross were featured at Summer Jam.
Many Legend students went to each of these festivals, helping to make their mark in Colorado music.
“I was able to go to Gotye, The Black Keys, Imagine Dragons, and I have tickets to an upcoming show of Two Door Cinema Club for October.” Said Chander Rodden 11.
This summer was also important for Denver’s local bands. Bands such as Viretta, fronted by Legend alumni’s Elizabeth Moroni’s older twin brothers Michael and Rob Moroni, were given the opportunity to record with Isaac Slade, the lead singer of The Fray. They were able to record for 3 days in Candyland Studios, working on a single called “All I Have,” which was released near the beginning of summer for free download.
Viretta then visited Maxwell Studios to record their second EP, “Sanctuary,” which was released this summer on iTunes. They played plenty of shows promoting the EP, including their big EP release show at The Gothic theatre.
Mixolydia, a math rock band co-founded by Legend’s Jack Pumplin 11, also released an EP this summer. They played shows at venues such as The Ogden and The Black Sheep in Colorado Springs.
“The Marquis show July 6th was definitely the most important part of this summer for the band,” said Pumplin. “We are planning on writing new songs and getting a lot more shows.”
You can download the EP for free on the Mixolydia Facebook page, or check them out at an upcoming show.
