The Animal that Lived
Before the mid-1700s, the Kākāpō (pronounced Kuh-kaa-pow) roamed the forests of New Zealand, eating fruits, seeds, and leaves. Then, one day in 1769 Captain James Cook set foot on the island as part of a mission to circumnavigate and map New Zealand, changing the course of its biological balance forever. His arrival led to the British colonization of New Zealand which spelled disaster for the indigenous Māori people but also for many native animal and plant species on the island. The Europeans brought with them cats, dogs, goats, rats, and other invasive animals that began to ravage the island, eating everything they desired.
The Kākāpō is one of the animals that was most affected by these new invasive species. It is a massive, heavy flightless bird. In fact, it is the heaviest parrot in the world with males reaching 2.2 kilograms (4.9 pounds). Kākāpō are also nocturnal, a trait which helped them avoid birds of prey like the now-extinct Haasts Eagle, but something that does not help against mammalian predators. It is so important that the Kākāpō survive in New Zealand because Kākāpōs are what is known as an endemic species, meaning they only live in one geographical area, in this case, New Zealand. In 1974, the New Zealand government launched an initiative to save the Kākāpō. By some miracle, they managed to find an isolated population of 200 Kākāpō on Rakiura Island. Most of the current population is derived from these original 200 individuals. There are currently 237 Kākāpōs left in the wild, mostly scattered on various remote islands in New Zealand, where rats, stoats, possums, and other predators have been eradicated. They are still critically endangered and the public is still banned from seeing them in the wild, but their population steadily rises yearly. With careful conservation, the Kākāpō could soon be roaming New Zealand again.
Documentary Showcase
MINTED: The Rise (And Fall?) of the NFT was released in 2023. Directed by Nicholas Bruckman, the documentary is exclusively available on Netflix. It follows the journey of the NFT, beginning in 1958 in France and continuing to the present, when hype for Non-Fungible Tokens has largely disappeared. MINTED expertly guides viewers through the NFT boom in 2022 and its ultimate market crash, showcasing the perspectives of artists, collectors, and bitcoin holders. Artists around the world share how NFTs both liberated and poisoned them by transforming people’s view of art and content creation. One highlighted story is particularly powerful. Before NFTs, Kina Matahari’s political art was silenced by the Cuban government. She had to cover her oppositional words with black paper to display her pieces. Through selling her works digitally as NFTs, Matahari earned enough money to immigrate with her daughter to Spain and then to the United States. “The desire to leave Cuba is a desire that I’ve carried with me for a long time. It’s about freedom from living continually under censorship, without the freedom of expression…The money I earned from NFTs was an important part of proving the necessary funds required for the immigration process,” she states in her interview for the documentary. Kina Matahari’s was only one of many impactful stories in MINTED. Although there are downsides to selling your artwork as NFTs. On the blockchain, the ownership of artwork is removed from governmental control and decentralized, which is helpful in some cases, like Matahari’s, but also leaves artists vulnerable. An artist’s legal protection from fraud is removed. Unfortunately, in the world of NFTs, an artist’s work can be sold as a counterfeit without the artist’s permission, with little to no option for recourse. James Grimmelmann, a professor of Digital and Information Law at Cornell, states, “Technology can empower artists, but technology can also disempower artists.” From photography, 3D rendering, and traditional canvas works, MINTED shares the impact of NFTs on individuals and within a larger cultural context. If you enjoy technology, art history, or seeing how one event can shape different industries in many ways, MINTED: The Rise (And Fall?) of the NFT should be on your next watch queue!
Theatre
Over the last few months, the Theatre Department has come together in rehearsal for the new musical: The Anxiety Project. Sixteen actors and stage crew from varying grades have taken time out of their days to practice this production in preparation for bringing the musical to competition on October the 23rd, where they won the award for best one act musical and Aaron Carlson was awarded as a member of the all-star cast. They’ll be doing showings at HRA November 7-9.
Time’s Up
You mope your way to the corner
then at the empty walls you stare.
You write a few words
and run your fingers through your hair.
The desk is bitter and cold
the edges sharp on your skin.
Your pencil slips through your grasp
then tumbles and spins.
You erase all you had
then count the ceiling tiles.
Your train of thought is short
but could go on for miles.
You hear other pencils scratch
and other keyboards click.
You finally get a thought
and lose it just as quick.
You wonder about the lunch that’s next
and lose your thought in that.
But your brain snaps at you
“Get back on track”.
The lights buzz faintly
a hum in your ear
mixed with the shuffle
of footsteps near.
You see someone’s finished
then feel a wave of panic.
You’ve written less than ten words
and they’re anything but organic.
The air tastes stale
like paper and rust.
your tongue feels dry
and your throat gathers dust.
You really start to feel it
the tension in the air.
Because not only your mind
but your paper is bare.
Your heart’s now racing
your hands lock up
The silence is broken
when the room rings
“Time’s up”.
Opinion: Election Season
On November 4th, 2025, the voters of Virginia get to elect their next governor. The candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties are Abigail Spanberger and Winsome E. Sears, respectively. Spanberger claims that she will work on making Virginia more affordable for Virginians, reform immigration issues, protect reproductive rights, strengthen public education, expand free health care access, and establish more means of clean energy. Winsome E. Sears’ agenda is about deporting illegal aliens, working on the medicare issue, strengthening education, and establishing more means of energy, such as nonrenewables, nuclear, and some renewables. However, voters must not base their choice on the agenda and policy implementation. The character of the candidates should also play a role in voting. Spanberger endorses her attorney general candidate, Jay Jones, who made violent threats and comments about the former Virginia Speaker of the House, Todd Gilbert. Jay Jones compared him to dictators, also attacking the man’s wife and children. I personally think behavior like this must be condemned on both sides; however, Spanberger has not made much of a comment on the scandal. Spanberger supporters have also demonstrated racism towards the Jamaican candidate, Winsome Sears.
One of the more notable elections occurring in the country is New York City’s mayoral election. A more comedic approach has been shown throughout the campaigns, where candidates Mamdani, Cuomo, and Sliwa ferociously fight for votes throughout the city. The current polling shows that Mamdani is in the lead, Cuomo is second, and Sliwa is third. Mamdani’s popularity arises from his campaigning strategies by using social media and appealing to young voters who find it a struggle to afford certain things in New York City. He plans on turning New York into a socialist utopia where everything is suddenly and unrealistically affordable. Cuomo has been mega-funded by the millionaires of New York City. Lastly, Sliwa has been working on cleaning up the streets of New York City since day one.
History
For as beloved as Halloween is, very few people know how it came to be what it is today. It all began with the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated 2000 years ago. On Samhain, the night before the Celtic new year, October 31st, the ghosts of the dead were said to return to Earth. The Celts would celebrate the occasion by wearing early costumes made out of animal skins. As time passed Samhain fused with Roman festivals and eventually the Christian holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day, with some of Samhain’s traditions, dressing up and massive bonfires, surviving. Halloween in the U.S began in earnest with the mass influx of Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine who brought the celebration with them. The celebrations were much as they had been in Ireland, focused primarily on pranks and witchcraft, but there was a push late in the 19th century to make Halloween less of a cultish and mischievous holiday and transform it into a more child and family centered event. It was generally successful and formed the basis of modern Halloween when combined with the reintroduction of Trick or Treating.
HRA Newspaper 