Over the past few years, Netflix has been creating original movies and televi-sion series to entertain their huge teenage demographic. Some of the better exam-ples include “13 Reasons Why,” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” and “The Last Summer.” However, their latest edition to their overabundance of the teen romance genre, “Tall Girl,” is far from even watch-able.

I guess you could call viewing these teen romance films a guilty pleasure of mine. Personally, I thought that “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” deserved a spot next to some of the greats such as “The Spectacular Now” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” I’ve seen it all, the good and the bad, so believe me when I say that this film is nowhere near the good side.

“Tall Girl” is the story of Jodi Krey-man, a six-foot-one junior. She is regard-ed as a freak of nature at her school, and she believes that she will never find true love. That all changes when an unusually tall and dashing foreign exchange student named Stig Mohlin comes into the pic-ture. This storyline eventually plays out into multiple love triangles that only serve to give viewers an ear-splitting headache.

The story of this movie reflects what your average ten year-old would say they thought high school was like. The film fails to add anything to the genre, in-

cluding archetypal characters such as the popular girl, the weird but still somehow charming guy, the girl’s best friend whose loyalty remains untested, and, finally, the guy that all the girls fawn over.

To make matters worse, the writers also had to put in some painfully obvious co-incidences to even allow the plot to move in the direction that the audience wants. Don’t forget about the bounty of agoniz-ingly cringe-worthy scenes that this film contains. I can recall at least half a dozen times in which I paused the movie and took a break due to the genuine irritation I had developed while watching it.

The script of the movie tears down any and all decent acting that the film sought to bring out. From extremely cheesy pick-up lines to parents actually knocking on their teenager’s door, the script further tarnishes the film.

The one redeeming quality of this film is the soundtrack, generally consisting of pop with some touches of rap and alter-native. The songs try to make up for the abysmal plot and script, but in the end, the movie isn’t 1 hour and 45 minutes of music. Some of the popular artists on the soundtrack include the late Mac Miller, Lizzo, and Meghan Trainor.

The ending of the film and the overall emotion are warm and fuzzy simply to align with the classic American cinema. The typical ending where the guy gets the girl and everything gets wrapped in a nice little bow for the viewer surprised abso-lutely no one.

Overall, “Tall Girl” is another one of Netflix’s attempts to gear towards its teen consumers, but it fails, greatly. With a terrible script, a cheesy and overdone plot line, and mediocre acting, this film lacks the very legs that it most desperately needed to stand on.

‘Tall Girl’ falls short even for a teenage romantic-comedyBY CALLAN FARRELL

Mario Kart shifts gears, taking gameplay from console to mobileBY JIMMY KIM

“Mario Kart Tour,” a casu-al mobile racing game that uses Nintendo’s flagship character Mario, was released on Sept. 25. It was downloaded more than 90 million times in its first week, and its popularity unexpectedly soared with students.

“I never thought this would become popular among us; lots of people in our class play ‘Mario Kart Tour,’” Jack Gitter ‘22 said.

Popular characters from the original games, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Koo-pa Troopa, have all appeared. The

new “Mario Kart” game follows a repeating trend, adding a num-ber of new tracks from major cities and landmarks around the world along with returning pop-ular tracks.

“‘Mario Kart Tour’ sounds like a simplified version of ‘Ma-rio Kart,’ but everything was there,” Jack Larsen ‘20, an avid “Mario Kart” fan, said.

Larsen has been playing vari-ous versions of “Mario Kart” ever

since he was little. He appreciates the fact that this app features the same memorable characters, items, and tracks from the con-sole games.

“You’ll hear familiar back-ground music as you race, and the classic red shells and banana peels are still present,” Larsen said.

The biggest change in terms of gameplay comes from the transfer

to mobile; the entire experience is now controlled via touch. The car moves forward automatically, so the only necessary user input is to steer left and right using the touch screen. In addition, the unique and humorous items used to dis-tract other racers now have a sim-ple manipulation method suitable for mobile devices.

“I feel like the touch screen al-lows users to easily engage in the game because it is very intuitive,” Daniel Phan ‘20 said.

To make this game more com-petitive, the company also intro-duced a “Tour Gold Pass,” which costs $4.99 a month. Such a sub-scription has never been seen in previous Nintendo console games.

Users who purchase the Gold Pass are given the right to use a variety of items, including exclu-

sive characters, carts, and badges. Each course will also be given an additional 200cc race eligibility, which increases the speed and dif-ficulty of the races, in addition to allowing access to the 50cc, 100cc and 150cc races.

“I think it is reasonable be-cause the Gold Pass doesn’t really boost your skill up. It’s mostly for the decoration and appearance of your cart,” Phan said.

Mario Kart Tour has rapidly become Nintendo’s most popular app, reaching the top spot in the game category for both the Goo-gle Play Store and the Apple App Store in Korea, Japan, the U.S., the UK, and on campus.

“More features will be updat-ed, and I’m excited for that. I’m sure more people will enjoy it,” Larsen said.

It’s that time of the year again. Leaves are falling, layers of clothes are increas-ing as the air chills, pumpkins are start-ing to pop up on porches, and every teenage girl in America is at a coffee shop getting anything on the menu with “pumpkin” in the name.

This pumpkin pandemic has been going on for several years now and is especially popular in social media posts.

That being said, I think it would be safe to assume that the majority of teen-age boys, at least in Nebraska, have nev-er had a single pumpkin flavored drink. However, I am no longer a part of that group and I am sure that my man card has now unofficially been revoked.

I had never been in a Scooter’s or Starbucks drive-thru before, and I felt very glad that I had tinted windows. Nonetheless, I still felt extremely awk-ward asking for “Pumpkin Spice Cara-melicious” and “Pumpkin Spice Frap-puccino.”

As the baristas handed me my drinks I thought to myself, “Wow, this defi-nitely is not worth five dollars,” but I powered through the adversity and got myself to take a sip.

The first sip I took from the Starbucks “Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino” cup leftme with an unfathomable urge to, for lack of better words, puke, even spew chunks, if you will. The flavor was as if a plastic pumpkin tinkled, and that tinkle was collect-ed, processed, and pre-served for a year until they put it in a cup

already half-full of sugar and called it ready to serve.

At least it looked nice enough for a teenage girl’s VSCO post; they got that right.

The Scooter’s “Pumpkin Spice Car-amelicious” was much better than the Starbucks drink (though that isn’t say-ing much). I could actually detect a hint of real coffee, and the pumpkin flavor reminded me of my mom’s homemade pumpkin pie . However, I still had a sug-ar overload going on which I did not enjoy, even though I have a huge sweet tooth (just ask Mrs. Frank in the book-store).

In the end, I don’t see why anyone would want to spend five dollars for a small pumpkin drink that is just plain nasty. My strong sugges-tion is you skip this marketing nightmare, save some money, and steer clear of pumpkin s p i c e flavored coffee

drinks.

Pumpkin spice is anything but niceBY MIKE KREMER

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Net

flix

Students play the new Mario Kart mobile app during free time. Since the app was released, Mario Kart has regained popularity among students.

I know, but it looks the shortest.— Greg Gonzalez ‘20

Ph

otos

by

Mik

e K

rem

er

Heard Around the Hallway

Entertainment | 8 The Mount

Greg, they all have 14 lines.— Ms. Sullivan

Can I have Sonnet 2? It’s the shortest.— Greg Gonzalez ‘20

Ph

oto

by M

ason

Mat

uke

wic

z

Headlines by Alex Schrier

2020 election escalates as candidates prepare to take on TrumpBY MASON MATUKEWICZ

As the field of 2020 democratic pres-idential contenders nar-rows, candidates prepare for primary elections in Iowa and New Hampshire in just two months. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg lead the pack of candidates eager to take on President Donald Trump in the general election.

Warren and Sanders come from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and they hope to foster substantial change for both their party and the county. With proposed policies such as Medicare for all, comprehensive climate change legislation, and tuition-free public university educa-tion, the candidates want to bring new ideas

to the general e l e c t i o nagainst the

president. Biden and

Buttigieg, on the other hand, repre-sent more mod-erate Democrats, citing that the pro-gressive policies of

their opponents will not win over indepen-

dent voters. Biden’s plan as president is to ex-pand the Affordable Care Act, to raise the minimum wage to $15

per hour, and to fix student debt-relief pro-grams.

Buttigieg, while still considered a mod-erate, has some key differences from Biden. He is a 37 year-old openly gay military veteran. He wants to bring generational change to the White House and represent those Americans who normally would not feel represented by establishment politi-cians.

Peyton Rosenfels ‘20 follows politics closely and plans on voting in Nebraska’s Democratic primary election on May 12. Buttigieg is Rosenfel’s candidate of choice.

“I believe his message of unity can

strengthen both sides of the country,” Ros-enfels said. “His Medicare for ‘those who want it’ is a plan that I think is great for testing Medicare [for all] and an option for those who prefer private health care.”

Ben Goetz ‘20, a self-identified con-servative has been following this election cycle. Although planning to vote for Pres-ident Trump during the general election, he does have a favorite candidate from the other side.

“My favorite Democratic candidate is Joe Biden because he is the most moderate candidate,” Goetz said.

Goetz also thinks the polices that Biden has proposed are the most likely to help Democrats defeat President Trump.

“Joe Biden is the most electable because he has gotten closest to the office before as vice president. His policies are the most appealing to independents out of the other radical democratic candidates,” Goetz said.

All Democratic front runners have backed the current impeachment inquiry into President Trump in the House of Rep-resentatives. The impeachment inquiry is certain to overlap with the 2020 election and it will be a major issue. Because of the political repercussions that concur with the inquiry, the candidates have been care-ful about their stances on the issue. Biden, Warren, and Buttigieg have both called for the impeachment of the president, while

Sanders has stopped short, supporting only the investigation for the time being.

This election cycle the primary goal for Democrats is to defeat President Trump. The electability of candidates is the main concern, according to Democratic Party insiders. Rosenfels believes that Buttigieg and Biden are the candidates most pre-pared to defeat the president.

“Of all the candidates, I believe Biden and Buttigieg are the most electable,” Ros-enfels said. “Buttigieg especially can con-nect with different types of people because he’s young, a veteran, and a member of the LGBT community.”

Democrats hope to take back the White House and the Senate, and the momentum appears to be in their favor with promising poll numbers. A recent New York Times poll has Trump down nationally against all four Democratic frontrunners. Trump does, however, appear to be strong in the electoral college. He leads Warren and Sanders in most battleground states, with an even match with Biden, according to a New York Times/Siena poll.

Less than one year out from the election, both Democrats and Republicans are anx-ious. Democrats are still shaken from 2016 and Republicans lost their majority in the House of Representatives last fall. This next election has the potential to change the di-rection of the country.

News | 2 The Mount

Vice President Biden

Senator Warren

Senator Sanders

Mayor Buttigieg

Students achieve success at annual UNL Math Day competitionBY JIMMY KIM

Illustration by Mason Matukewicz

Top math students participat-ed in the 30th annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln Math Day on Nov. 14. For the second year in a row, the team took first place in Class III in the Probe I Competi-tion.

“The Mount Michael students performed as well as I expected, which is at a very high level when compared to other schools,” math teacher Jason Mackeprang said.

According to Mackeprang, this marks the 12th time Mount Mi-chael placed first in their division in the last 16 years. The other four years they placed second.

The first event of the day was the Probe I exam. Most partic-ipants know it as a tricky and complicated test, which requires a high level of creativity and solid

fundamental knowledge. “It has been the fourth year

for me, but it still confuses me because it has nothing to do with what I learned recently,” Daniel Phan ‘20 said.

Although the questions as-sume only two years of high school algebra and one year of ge-ometry are needed to succeed, it is designed to challenge students with high complexity and origi-nality of mathematics. It provides an opportunity for the partici-pants to demonstrate their math-ematical ability away from their class materials.

“I felt like it was a complete-ly different field of mathematics. The test definitely stimulated my interest in mathematics in gener-al,” Joseph Chouinard ‘21 said

Overall, two students, Michael Mullin ‘22 and Huy Le ‘21, per-formed the best of the Mount Mi-chael students on the Probe I test and placed in the top 40 in the state out of approximately 1250 participants. They placed 10th and 33rd, respectively.

It is uncommon for under-classmen to reach the top 40, so Mullin’s achievement is even more of a success.

“Michael did very well, and I hope that he can perform as well next year,” Mackeprang said.

After the Probe I, the Quiz Bowl tournament took place. This is a competition which pits three-member teams against each other. This year, Michael Mullin ‘22, Brayden Whitaker ‘20, Mat-thew Collins ‘21, Huy Le ‘21 and

Daniel Phan ‘20 got second place, switching places every round.

“I think everything went smoothly until we faced Concor-

dia for the final, but I’m looking forward to competing for next year’s math day,” Mullin said.

Michael Mullin ‘22 and Matthew Collins ‘22 register for the final quiz bowl match. They placed second overall.

Ph

oto

by J

imm

y K

im

With November behind, all students are expected to be clean-shaven — all but one.

John Schroll ‘20 was crowned winner of No Shave November, edging out Ben Goetz ‘20 in a recast vote after the two initially tied. He has earned the right to boast his

beard proud during December.“I’m kind of excited to be growing my

beard in December because I’ve never grown it out this much before,” Schroll said. “I like the color the most.”

The decision came as a surprise to many

students who believed the vote was be-tween Goetz and Joe Lytle ‘20.

“I think I won because more of the teachers voted for me mostly because I’m a louder person, and I’m a little more no-ticeable,” Schroll said. “Lytle’s beard was better but I had no control [over the win-ner].”

Several students echoed Schroll, and some called for updates to the selection process, a process that has not changed in years.

According to student council advisor Holly Toft, teachers are provided with a list of participants and are asked to vote for the top three. In the case of a tie, teach-ers vote again to determine the winner.

“I believe the voting system this year was neither very official nor fair,” Lytle said. “I had heard from many, many facul-

ty members and students that either Goetz or I was going to win. But some of the fac-ulty I asked afterward didn’t even vote.”

Goetz believes student participation in the selection process could alleviate similar situations in the future.

“It was obvious to the entire student body and many faculty members that the winner did not have the best beard,” Goetz

said. “There should be some sort of student body participation in the selection process. Teachers could choose four or five [candi-dates], then the student body could vote on them.”

Though he did not end up winning, Goetz still enjoyed his shave-free month.

“I’m always looking for an excuse to grow out my beard in school,” he said. “Having a beard is just my personality. It’s a part of me.”

While the competition is a favorite of students, not everyone is on board.

“I feel irked that our young men look so disreputable during the month of No-vember,” Sr. Carol Jean Vandenhemel said. “Plus, there’s all those that try to be sneaky and scruffy without paying, and that both-ers me.”

Despite her objections, she concedes that the money “goes toward a good pur-pose.”

In total, the competition drew in 38 students and raised $190. All funds raised during No Shave November were donated to Wigs for Kids, a foundation that pro-vides wigs to children who lose their hair to cancer treatment.

Competition gets hairy, suprises manyBY ALEXANDER SCHRIER

Ben Goetz ‘20 and Joe Lytle ‘20 show off their beards during No Shave November. Contro-versy ensued after the winner of No Shave November was announced. While John Schroll ‘20 was voted best-beard, many students felt Lytle had the better beard.

Ph

oto

by A

lexa

nde

r Sc

hri

er

Headlines by Alex Schrier

ACT has announced that students will be able to retake individual sections of the test, rather than taking the entire four-part test over again. This move will ease pres-sure off students in the college admissions process.

Before the change, students had to re-take the test in its entirety if they wished to improve their score in a particular section. Retaking individual portions of the test will save students time and money, according to ACT.

This change in policy comes as more

colleges become “test optional,” meaning that students can decide whether or not they want their standardized test scores considered for admission. As standard-ized tests become more irrelevant, ACT is attempting to attract more students to at-tempt to improve their scores.

According to ACT, only forty-five per-cent of students opt to retake the test; those who do have a three point or higher average. This new policy change is aimed to positively help students with score im-provements and relief of pressure.

For many years, class upon class of boarding students have spent one night of the year attending a Shakespeare play put on by a group of enthusiastic actors. How-

ever, this year there were acting workshops instead of a play.

“We think it will be a more engaging ex-perience,” dean of students Dave Cormier

said.When the students gathered in the gym,

they were split into classes and sent out into the school where instructors facilitat-ed educational games and activities geared around Shakespeare. Many preferred the new format over watching a play.

“While it wasn’t as fun as most events, I’d say for the most part it was still enjoy-able and better than study hall,” Sebastian Santa-Maria ‘23 said.

Students learned how actors work and about the production of Macbeth, the play that would have been performed. There were lessons on Shakespearean grammar, explanations on the play background, and fun activities to do.

There was also lots of laughing during the beginning portions. Every class had

the same basic schedule with playing dif-ferent games. Many ridiculous poses and sounds were made in the first game, and more group work at the start was meant to make everyone more comfortable with be-ing outgoing and silly.

While some students took the night se-

riously, many did not.“It was fifty-fifty split. Some were ac-

tively participating, some were messing around. Some were taking it seriously, some were being sarcastic,” freshman dean Tim Struckman said.

As the night progressed, the games pro-gressively led into more formal discussions for juniors and seniors. Juniors could insult each other like Shakespeare would have done and seniors discussed the way the En-glish language has changed over time.

The freshmen and sophomores were en-couraged to get each other’s attention in a game involving three students and a lot of yelling. Most people enjoyed the games, in-cluding the instructors.

“I love the workshops because we get to know the students more,” an event facilita-tor Sarah said.

Although the night was fun for many, some still have reservations about the ex-perience.

“I think it went better for the under-classmen than the upperclassmen.” English teacher and organizer Eileen Sullivan said.

Company shakes up standardized test; Trump faces investigation

House Democrats planned to formalize the public phase of the Trump impeach-ment inquiry on Oct. 31. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced an im-peachment inquiry against the president on Sept. 24. This investigation follows a whistle-blower complaint that the presi-dent abused his powers to gain an unfair advantage in his reelection campaign.

A whistle-blower, whose identity re-mains classified, came forward to the Department of Justice to report that the president and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, pressured the Ukrainian gov-ernment over a phone call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his family for possible corruption. Biden, a top Democratic presidential contender, is a political opponent of the president. With-holding Congressionally mandated aid to Ukraine was also discussed. The president has since released a transcript of the phone call, but this has not slowed the momen-tum of House Democrats.

The framework for Democrats in this

impeachment push is the narrative that the president abused his power, mirroring the charges proposed against President Rich-ard Nixon. While legal discussion, closed door hearings, and dispositions with key witnesses are immediate, no official article of impeachment has been drafted.

This polarizing push to impeach the sitting president has already occupied law-makers in Washington and will likely be debated heavily among the Democratic caucus in the House.

New format for Shakespeare workshop allows for increased student participationBY MICHAEL OEHLER

ACT CHANGES TESTING POLICY BY MASON MATUKEWICZ

In Shakespearean style, seniors Maximo Gaytan ‘20, Jerry Fan ‘20, Tony Traggiai ‘20, Josh Snyder ‘20, Ben Quinlan ‘20, Ben Goetz ‘20, Charlie Plozay ‘20, and senior dean Tim Jacoby insult their classmates. While the instructors did not support the seniors, they did not stop them either.

Ph

oto

by J

imm

y K

im

Ph

oto

cou

rtes

y of

Gag

e Sk

idm

ore

Ph

oto

cou

rtes

y of

Alb

erto

G.

News | 2 The Mount

In midst of application season, seniors reach for college acceptanceBY ALEXANDER SCHRIER

As college deadlines quickly approach, the senior class is kicking into high gear. With so much to do — taking exams, pre-paring resumes, and writing essays — there is little time to spare.

Nearly three-fourths of seniors have already submitted applications to universi-ties. Top ten schools for the class include University of Nebraska, Creighton Uni-versity, University of Notre Dame, Bene-dictine College, University of Washington, Boston College, and Iowa State University.

According to Kent Christenson, the Class of 2020 is “working on 349 applica-tions to 147 different colleges.”

Most seniors submit their college ap-plications using the Common App, which provides schools with a complete profile of the applicant. From class load and GPA to extra-curricular activities and leadership opportunities, everything is on the table.

The application process is one that can consume hours of hard work, but, for some, that hard work has paid off.

Currently, seven seniors have re-ceived a full-tuition Regents’ scholar-ship from the University of Nebraska. The Regents’ scholarship is awarded to incoming freshmen based on their highest ACT score.

University of Nebraska Lincoln awards the Regents’ scholarship to stu-dents who score 32 or higher on the ACT, while University of Nebraska Omaha awards the scholarship to students who score 30 or above.

Because test scores can play an import-ant role in college admissions, seniors are hitting the books hard to improve their performance. As of October, the Class of 2020 averaged 28.6 on the ACT. Nebraska’s state average is 20.0.

From University of Washington to Bos-ton College, students are applying to schools across the nation. This map shows the top 15 schools seniors are applying to.

HOUSE LAUNCHES IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BY MASON MATUKEWICZ

Illu

stra

tion

by

Ale

xan

der

Sch

rier

Headlines by Alex Schrier