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COLUMN: Short History of the Regent Review By Alex Vakar Hi everyone! I hope your summer went well. I’ve decided to continue my column into this school year, and I’m excited to re-introduce myself as the editor-in-chief of the Regent Review. This is something I’ve wanted to do since I first joined the club in 2019 with very little experience in the art of journalism. The first Tuesday of my freshman year, I walked into a room on the second floor and saw about five nerdy-looking seniors crowding around a teacher sitting at his desk. This was the newspaper club. In the following weeks, a few more members showed up, one of them being Bani, our beloved editor-in-chief for the past two years; and so we fell into the rhythm of the newspaper. We printed multiple physical papers that year, and “distributed” them by placing them into each teacher’s mailboxes. Although a big stack was given to the library for students to pick up, a large portion was left in the mailboxes of those teachers, collecting dust in their slot, until eventually, they were tossed. We were very dedicated and consumed by writing and putting together the paper that there ended up being no work done towards spreading the word. This year, I assure you, students will know about and read our paper. The first article I wrote in my first year was about sports. Don’t get me wrong, I love being active, and watching soccer in a crowd of passionate fans almost makes me one of them. Yet, I had just joined the newspaper, and finally had this opportunity to explore my curiosity for journalism. I surprised even myself when our previous club supervisor asked for someone to cover fall sports and my hand went shooting up. I continued to write, getting comfortable with interviewing strangers and learning more about our school, the people here, and the news. All until the pandemic hit, of course, and our paper came to a crashing halt. Bani, however, took initiative during the “Zoom year”, when we were all stuck in our homes and looking for something—anything—to do. She helped lead our group of members back into the world of journalism, creating a website and getting things going again. Our past successes both online and in-person have set us up for success this year. The most regrettable thing about being a quiet freshman was the lack of personal connections I made during my first year. As time went on, and (I’d like to think) my freshman self matured, I have started to see that the newspaper won’t get its “buzz” without the group of people working for it. Now, I’m inspired by all of the mentors and teachers I’ve met in my high school career to work towards a great, engaging newspaper for our school! |
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COLUMN: Life of an Immigrant Child By Frosya Mozhaeva Hello everyone! As you might remember, this column was headed by Bani Gulati, the former editor-in-chief of the newspaper who graduated last year. We, the members of the West Regent Review, want to keep this column lively to honor Bani and to provide an outlet for immigrant experiences of students here at West. Over the course of the year, we will have two West seniors writing for this column. My name is Frosya and I’m one of them. Here is my story. I immigrated to the US from Moscow eight years ago with my family after winning a green card in a diversity visa lottery. My parents wanted to provide me and my siblings with civil rights and opportunities we couldn't have in Russia. The only words I had in my pocket when coming to Madison were “hello”, “thank you”, and “sunny” (I loved BoneyM). I can assure you that my vocabulary has expanded since then. As the college application deadline is slowly but menacingly approaching, I believe it is fitting to write about the value of education in immigrant households. Immigrant parents are notorious for setting high academic standards for their kids, and my parents are no exception. My mother is a midwife, and my father is an architect, but I believe that those words do little justice for the scope of their work. Nearly every day, while I was eating cottage cheese pancakes in the kitchen in Moscow, I heard my mother furiously telling my father about the violations of women’s bodily integrity that she witnessed while working with male doctors. Her job wasn’t a big source of money or pleasure, it was mentally strenuous labor that she pursued because of her passion for women’s health rights. My father’s vision was no less: he fought to preserve the architectural heritage of Moscow, sometimes staying in buildings for days and nights straight to prevent their demolition. Education was never a burden for my parents, but rather a way to bring about a sense of justice that they were passionate about. When we immigrated to the US, however, they sacrificed their jobs, friends, and even passions for me and my siblings. Growing up, my parents never expected anything less than A’s from me. They never checked my Infinite Campus either because for them, it was intuitive that I set standards for myself. A holistic approach, perhaps. For me, education became a way to honor my parents and myself. If I want to have a job that I enjoy in the future, education serves as a compass and a map to get there. It is important to note, though, that sometimes, immigrant parents can set their expectations above Mount Everest. My mother created a list of colleges for me to apply to, seven out of eight of them Ivys. As I’m writing my personal statement, the pressure to achieve the unimaginable sometimes gets me overwhelmed. While you are staring at the night sky, stars serve as a source of light and hope, but when you are told to reach for them, they lose their charm. Those moments, however, are temporary, because I know that my parents are not after the Ivy badge, but sincerely want me to receive a high-quality education that will make it possible for me to do what I find interesting. To the students writing their college essays right now, remember to set your standards low but put in as much effort as you can. Writing your essay should not become another dumb way to die. |