I’m eternally grateful for the time I’ve spent on the Norse Star and all the opportunities I’ve had to share my voice with the world. That being said, there’s only so many articles you can write a month, and throughout the years there’s a few I wanted to write that never came to light. Here are some of them:
Opinion: Syttende Mai is actually kind of weird.
When I first got here, I thought this town was like some sort of cult that worshipped Norway. And then I was like…does Norway know we exist? I know the Norwegian Dancers go there and perform, but imagine how crazy it would be if one day there was a random group of high schoolers from Norway who didn’t speak English at all but devoted their entire lives to, like, hip-hop dances, cheeseburgers, and the 4th of July. I’ve never seen Midsommar, but I imagine this town gives Midsommar vibes. I didn’t write this article because I didn’t want to upset the loyal Norwegian community here, which is basically all of you.
Features: Gossip column.
For years different staff members have talked about the idea of including an anonymous gossip column, which I absolutely LOVE. Apparently it’s not “ethical” to put peoples’ business all up in the Norse Star, but it would definitely at least double the amount of people that read it. And it’s objectively the most high school newspaper thing a high school newspaper could do. Like, have y’all not read Dork Diaries…
For example, imagine if we could talk about the guy who paid a freshman to go to prom with him. Or that one teacher that was overheard at a bar saying he doesn’t like his woman coworker because he thinks she’s into him. I bet y’all want more, don’t you?
Cover story: Athlete’s privileges.
The first story I ever pitched when I got on staff was a cover story about how students who do well at sports often don’t actually get the rules enforced on them because coaches are scared of losing their star players. I know tons of athletes who don’t keep their grades up and can be seen vaping on their Snapchat stories for the whole world to see but nobody cares because they’re just too good at their sport to get kicked off. The problem with this article is that it made people mad and also nobody would realistically be willing to interview about it and talk about the real issue.
News: Why is there such a big gender disparity in high-achieving scholars?
It’s very obvious looking at all the top scholars, members of the student senate, and generally active and successful members of our high school that they’re almost all girls. I wanted to do a deep dive into why that is, psychologically, environmentally, etc., but never got the chance.
Arts & Entertainment: More comics!
I’ve made two comics during my time here, and I’ve wanted to do more. I think they’re a great way to get people to actually look at a page while making a statement. I hope in the future some of the Norse Star artists make comics a regular thing. Maybe something like this:
In conclusion, Norse Star was a great way for me to show my thoughts to the world and talk about things I thought were important, but there’s never enough time to do everything you really want. I hope the future writers of the Norse Star use this for some inspo if they ever run out of story ideas (which of course never happens…)
