Volume 56 No. 3

IN THIS ISSUE

An exploration of the construction being done and what to expect when the student body returns after spring break this year.

The staff explores St. Louis and finds the seven best places for the students to visit on their staycation over spring break

A greater understanding of how procrastination negatively impacts students stress and sleep.

A deep dive into the paradox that is binge watching, and how it affects you.

A Message From Our Staff

This is now the third issue that this 2025 staff has released. This issue was the first issue where every single staffer had a part. Every person on the staff had their own page to design which led to better and more diverse creative expression throughout the issue.

This issue comes out right before spring break, which led us to focus on a “staycation” theme for our center spread. We highlight the best places that were mentioned in the polling we did before we started writing and designing. Continuing the “Perfect Bite” saga that we have created, this next issue dives into donuts. The staff traveled around St. Louis to find the best donut places, well known and underground alike. Other topics we spoke about were timely to what is happening for the students. We covered the benefits of taking summer courses and what students should expect to see after they come back from spring break.

The cover we went for on this issue was supposed to make Sparty seem like a tourist in St. Louis. This made the cover which was unconventional, give a more personal and eye catching view.

The staff wanted to give a huge thank you to Aidan Medley ‘26 and Jack Guignon ‘26 for playing in both sides of the media. They helped the staff get pictures for what stories we needed, and made amazing edits that get the entire student body fired up. We couldn’t have done it without them, whether it be their photo expertise or their ability to edit the photos we need, we are very appreciative of them.

- Andrew Dolan, Editor-in-Chief

Our Mission

The goals of The Mirror, as De Smet Jesuit’s official student newspaper, are to provide accurate information in the spirit of responsible journalism, to entertain and to offer a forum for the ideas of students, parents, graduates, faculty and administrators. By-lined commentaries represent the opinions of their writers; they do not necessarily express the views of the administration, faculty, student body or The Mirror staff and its adviser.

Editorials without bylines represent the opinions of the editors and the staff. At least a three-fourths majority of the staff is needed for an article to be considered an opinion of the paper.

The Mirror welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be limited to 500 words and should be submitted to the publications office in Room 212 or emailed to desmetpress@gmail.com. All letters must be signed, but names will be withheld upon request.

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief // Andrew Dolan

Web Editor // Liam Mahfood-Thurman

Assistant Web Editor // Cole Devine

Opinions Editor // Hank Hardage

News Editor // Charlie Frein

Multimedia Specialist // Aidan Medley

Multimedia Specialist // Jack Guignon

Staff Writer // Bobby Dolan

Staff Writer // Henry Reardon

Staff Writer // Torin Lopez

Staff Writer // Patrick Dolan

Staff Writer // Jack Mabry

Staff Illustrator // Scotty Ruddy

Adviser // Kevin Berns

@desmetpress

Spring break brings more construction changes

STORY BY Charlie Frein

The school’s construction project on the first floor has made significant progress in the past few months. This construction is being done in preparation for the new middle school opening next year as well as adapting the high school space for this change.

They have removed all the walls and ceilings and have begun framing up all of the new walls for the new layout.

The biggest challenge faced so far was an unplanned power outage on the east end of the school. They were cutting trenches in the floor to add plumbing and gas to new science classrooms and the original wires for the school were right under the floor. It took 4 full working days for the electricians

to identify the problems, make it safe to work on, and restore everything.

The next big change students will notice is that the school will begin constructing a new Admissions Center in the Emerson Lobby starting during spring break. At the same time, room 210 will start its renovation process for the new Entrepreneurship Center.

The new Admissions Center will be open before the end of the school year, but the Entrepreneurship Center will not be completed until the summer.

“We think it is a really good plan,” Senior Director of Operations Christopher Williams said. “It will create a great new space for the [high school].”

Spring art show highlights student creativity

STORY BY Cole Devine

The school is hosting a spring art showcase from April 23 up until May 5 in the Emerson lobby. The showcase is intended to bring light to the artistic growth of art students.

“[Students should come] to support their fellow students’ art” Art Teacher Laurie Kohler said. “It’s a nice way to support their friends and maybe understand something a little bit better visually.”

The showcase will feature pieces from various art classes including relief sculptures, contour line drawings, ceramic bowls, self portraits, and more.

“I always like to see the freshman work where they started, and then always looking at the advanced students’ [work],” Kohler said. “It’s more of their voice and how they have developed their technique.”

They plan to host the art showcase in

conjunction with Fine Arts week. Food and beverages will be placed out alongside the showcase.

“We spent a whole week prior to the show actually putting [it] up,” Art Teacher Emily Ledbetter said. “It usually takes a couple days for us to get it taken down, but it takes weeks of preparation to cut, select, cut matte frames, and hang all the artwork on all of our boards.”

Letters will be mailed out to the parents of students enrolled in an art course a few weeks prior to the showcase. The card showcases student work from each grade level.

“Having them come to those shows and take a look at the artwork is a really great way to support our kids,” Ledbetter said. “I think [it] encourages students to take our classes.”

The Verdict is Victory

Mock Trial Team Qualifies for Regionals for Second Straight Year

STORY BY Jack Mabry

In just two years, former lawyer and head of the Mock Trial Team, Christopher Welling has shaped the school’s mock trial team, which was founded in 2018, into a top contender, earning back-to-back finishes in the top 10 of the preliminary round and two regional playoff berths.

“I’m incredibly proud of all of them,” Mr. Welling said. “My favorite part about leading the group of guys on the team is that I don’t feel like I have to lead them, I feel more like I’m collaborating and working with them.”

The school’s mock trial team is headed to regionals for the state tournament starting on March 4 after placing 10th in the preliminary rounds.

“They’re completely prepared and they will perform incredibly well,” Mr. Welling said. “At this point, we’re about as prepared as we could possibly be, and I’d like them to just have fun.”

In the two total rounds of preliminary play, the varsity team won all six of its ballots, headed by players such as junior Jack Gaffney, who won best attorney in his last trial, and Senior Ben Krinninger, who won best witness in his last trial.

Senior Ben Hollman, who the mock trial team considers their most improved player and sophomore Chase Palucci, who was voted best attorney by the opposing team in a recent trial have also largely contributed to the team’s overall success.

“I think that our teammates have been very good, especially our captains, Jack Gaffney and Jake Strahlendorf,” sophomore mock trial member Chase Palucci said. “Our improvement comes from communicating, but if we can do that, I feel like we’ll be very good.”

The team was given a 75-80 page packet to prepare in October for two sets of preliminary rounds on Jan 15 and Feb 11. Out of the 80 teams competing, the school’s team was able to confidently advance to the regionals ranking 10th out of the 16 teams that qualified.

“Mr. Welling is really good at getting you hooked,” Palucci said. “He does a good job at incorporating new people and trying to get them up to speed.”

The regionals will consist of two rounds on March 4 and March 6 in which the school’s team will rotate between the prosecution and the defense. If they are able to finish in the top eight, they will move on to the state tournament in Kansas City.

“Getting to the regionals is a huge win for the entire team because it’s going to double the number of competitions that we are going to have,” Welling said. “I always hope that they are exposed to as many opportunities to compete as possible.”

The team plans on participating in constant scrimmaging to prepare for the playoffs, rotating back and forth between the first and second team.

“I think we did pretty good overall. We can improve in clarity and just polish it over,” Gaffney said. “We did pretty good in the last round, but this round we can really step it up and make our game perfect.”

Summer Studies

The benefits of working over your break

STORY BY Andrew Dolan

With course registration out of the way, the only thing on most people’s mind is a school-free summer. But is this really the best choice? The school is offering summer classes this over break for incoming juniors and seniors and they should be taken advantage of.

I feel wary even sharing this information because of classes filling up fast but I’ll share what I’ve learned. Taking Ecclesiology over the summer led me to be more successful in the class than how I would have been if I took it over the school year. Along with this, the schedule was three days a week 8-10am. It only took up around four weeks of the summer.

The school offers a plethora of fun and interesting classes that students want to take. The advantage of taking a summer class is that you now have an extra semester or two to take a more fun class. This would get an objectively more rigorous class out of the way to have a whole semester to explore a class of your choice.

Another advantage of taking summer classes is that you now appear to be a better and more involved student to colleges than if you didn’t. Taking this would show your dedication to school and your desire to remain a learner even over your break. It improves your transcript, showing a more intensive and rigorous schedule which always helps with college applications.

The last and least common situation

is to graduate early. Working with your counselors, you can build a summer schedule that will allow you to graduate early whether for sports or other reasons.

I’ve often heard students who don’t agree comment on how they don’t want to work more on school during the summer. My response to this is that it’s two hour classes three times a week with only around 30 minutes of homework a night. And it only lasts around four weeks so

you will not at all be wasting your whole summer. Because it is in a smaller time frame, the class goes less in depth which allows for better understanding of the material.

So my advice to you, of course, is to take the summer classes. It’ll look better on your transcript and allow you to take more interesting classes and maybe even graduate early before your peers. There really are no downsides.

Summer Class Offerings

From Stress to Success

How to handle procrastination and use your time wisely

BY Torin Lopez

Odds are you struggle with procrastination. Statistically, 80% of all students struggle with procrastination in some way or another. However, this isn’t something that you need to give in to. With a good game plan and a solid effort, you can beat it.

Procrastination is not just as simple as being lazy; it is much deeper than that. Procrastination can be caused by a lot of things, from anxiety to feeling overwhelmed. One reason that is really common is a lack of motivation. Students will just put off work until later because they don’t feel like doing it. This is the most dangerous type of procrastination due to how simple it is. When students push things back to do more enjoyable tasks, they lower the amount of time they have to work on what they need to, and they add to the stress of doing it. The less time you have to do your work, the less comfort you have to do it. This type of procrastination may seem harmless, but it is quite the opposite. If someone does this often enough, it can lead to large amounts of missing work or even sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation is common in people who procrastinate a lot, and with students being growing young adults, they need sleep to perform to the best of their abilities. Sleep deprivation can be caused

by having a busy day schedule. When a student doesn’t get home until six pm, they may take a break for a little while. Breaks are OK if they are short, but sometimes these breaks will take too long, and with the average student having three hours or more of homework a night, this can make them stay up late and push sleeping back further and further.

Sleep deprivation also correlates directly with wanting to put stuff off for later,

which can cause students to be lazy and tired. This gets them deeper into the hole. Students also don’t do their best work while tired, which makes the quality of the work go down. This is the worst thing you can do for school. However, there are some ways to get ahead of nights like these. First, find what motivates you to do a task and harness that, but there are also strategies that will actually help get work done.

One of the best is to start with the small things. The fewer things on a student’s plate, the easier it is to keep going. However, this doesn’t mean putting projects off till the end. Just get the small things out of the way so that your plate is less clustered. Breaks are also OK if you set timers, but you have to keep yourself accountable. Other good strategies include minimizing the distractions in your environment. This includes things like a phone, video games, etc. Lastly, it is the easiest but one of the most effective—making a list and a planner of when you plan to tackle assignments. Your brain makes you think you have more of a deadline, and things will go smoother. Any student can beat procrastination if they give it their best, and in the end, they will experience less stress and better sleep as a reward for their efforts.

Best Staycation

The Aquarium

Aquarium at Union Station Tickets - $25

Located in the heart of the city in the historic Union Stat ion on Market Street, the aquarium is something to be visited this spring break. Your journey through the St. Louis Aquarium starts along a freshwater river and the shallow waters of a salt marsh, then move into a deep, dark abyss of the open ocean. When visiting the changing rivers, you learn about the history of Missouri’s local freshwater rivers and the aquatic animals that inhabit them in Changing Rivers. In Shark Canyon, sharks in all shapes and sizes swim in the aquarium, while learning why sharks deserve our respect and protection. In The Deep, sea dragons, octopus, and jellies surround you as you descend into the oceans death and watch the mysteries of the deep ocean come to life. Not only does Union Station offer the aquarium, but also has a hotel and local restaurants.

Going to visit the Arch

The Gateway Arch Tickets - $15

The St. Louis Arch, also known as Gateway Arch, is a great place for St. Louis high school students to go out to. It is 630 feet tall and the world’s tallest arch and one of America’s most famous landmarks. It’s a great spot for a high school kid to learn some history about their city while hanging out with friends.

One of the best parts about the Arch is the tram ride up to the top. It’s an adrenaline rush, and when you do get to the top, you get to see beautiful views of St. Louis, the Mississippi River, and even parts of nearby states. The view is perfect for taking photos with your friends, and it’s a great way to see the city in a new way. The Arch is included in Gateway Arch National Park, which has a museum full of interactive exhibits. They school you in the history of the Arch and St. Louis’ role in the westward expansion of America.

The museum makes learning fun, with interactive exhibits that really make history come alive. It’s a great way to learn something new while strolling.

The Arch park is also a great place to relax. There is space to just hang out, picnic, or play. After visiting the Arch and museum, students can give themselves a break by bringing their friends in the park. With school out of the way, spend a nice day playing catch with your friends at the Arch.

The Botanical Garden

Spring Break in STL does not have to be wasted sitting at home all day. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a sight to see during spring break because of its beauty and serenity. During the spring, the gardens are filled with vibrant flowers, including tulips, daffodils, and cherry blossoms. Visitors can see the renowned Climatron, which contains tropical plants, or stroll through the serene Japanese Garden. The garden’s large grounds provide plenty of room for relaxation, photography, and appreciating nature’s rejuvenation. A plant lover or someone looking for a peaceful retreat, the Missouri Botanical Garden presents a rejuvenating, picturesque experience that is ideal for anyone wishing to get close to nature during their spring break in STL.

Spots in the Lou

Sight Seeing

St. Louis CITY Game

City is starting off a new season and it’s a beautiful time of year to catch a game. City is looking promising with a new coach this year and several players coming in from the transfer market over the summer. During spring break, there is a game at home on March 15. The game is on a Saturday with tickets starting at $52 in the opposing teams cheering section. These games are electric and will be a night to remember. The game is against Austin FC and you can buy tickets on seat geek. Last year city fell 2-0 on the road, meaning this will be a good game to catch as they’re back with a vengeance.

Top Golf Active

Top Golf St. Louis - Chesterfield. The premier entertainment destination in Chesterfield, MO. Enjoy yearround comfort in the hitting bays with cooling fans in case of heat and heaters in case it is cold. Top Golf is as luxury as playing golf gets. With HDTV’s and a sports bar and restaurant on the first floor, this is not a place to miss this spring break. No clubs? Don’t worry, Top Golf provides top of the line clubs for all of their guests. The goal is to take aim at the giant outfield targets and the high tech balls will score themselves.

Sight Seeing

Forest Park

Forest Park is considered the largest urban park in all of the US. One of the things that Forest Park includes is the Zoo. The Zoo has free ad mission and houses over 18,000 animals, making it a fun afternoon for you and your friends. Along with this there is the St. Louis Art Museum which features a wide range of different art collections. The Missouri History Museum gives viewers insight into the rich past of the history of the region. It has interactive exhibits that make your mind think differently. See for yourself and stop by.

Sight Seeing

St. Louis Blues Game

The Blues are making a push for the playoffs over the next few weeks. There are six games to be played over spring break, three of which are at home. The cheapest tickets are $15 against the Canucks on the 20th. These games are always high energy and a good environment to be in. The chilly atmosphere with your buddies as you can feel the tension in the air, is really an unmatched feeling. With tickets this cheap there really is no reason not to give it a visit when you’re bored on a random night over break. The games are on the 16th, 20th, and the 23rd.

Colin Kemp ‘25 along with his other classmates prepares meals for the children in the school of Indian Creek. The group spent part of each of their work days making meals for the students to eat. The groups relationship with the students was great, as the students constantly wanted to play tag and spend the day with the mission group. On the last work day of the mission trip, the students had the day off of school, and spent it helping and playing with the service group. “You saw a good connection being made with them,” Mr. Hawkey said. “they got a great opportunity for interaction, it’s an opportunity where they get to learn a lot about the culture and the people.”

Setting the World on Fire

STORY BY Liam Mahfood-Thurman

From Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, a group of students took a mission trip to Punta Gorda, Belize. The goal of the trip was to revitalize and repair a school in Indian Creek.

“They take more pride in [the school],” Director of Junior Projects John Hawkey said. “In all of my years going down there, its the first time I’ve seen villagers come and begin to help.”

The school has been making the trip to Belize since the 1980’s. With 26 Catholic schools in Belize, the school travels to Belize each year to help a Catholic school that has requested it.

Because the trip coincided with mission week, the funds were raised to travel to Indian Creek. Indian Creek had requested assistance for many years.

“In reality, for me, in leaning towards that one, it was one of the oldest requests,” Hawkey said.

Along with the satisfaction of redoing the school, learning about community and helping others around you was another goal of the trip. By understanding the impact they can have on one community, and bring that impact to your own community.

“Being out of our comfort zone, it opens up your eyes to a lot of things,” Hawkey said. “You begin to see it in your own communities and how you can make a difference.”

Michael Scally ‘26 repaints the school in Indian Creek Belize. After the students arrived on January 25th, they worked from Monday to Thursday on repainting and repairing the damage that had been done to the building. The revitalization of the school building had a great effect on the Indian Creek community, as many from the village came to visit, and even help with the work being done to the building. After they finished, the community loved what was done to the building, and they took great pride in their new look building.

Building Experiences

One senior’s way of pioneering the future of the Robotics Club

STORY BY Patrick Dolan

The robotics club completes no easy tasks. Their inventions have to be completed in just a few months for various competitions, which can cause some panic within the club. The veterans of the group focus on the productivity of their younger peers. From the outside looking in, it may seem that all the team is focused on is the competitions but that is not always the case.

Senior Ryan Davis has been a member of the robotics club for 3 years. Many say he is the leader of the team and based on his reputation it is hard to disagree. He first saw robotics when he was shadowing the school.

“I had never done something like robotics before,” Davis said. “But I guess I just fell in love with the experience.”

The club’s long time director Doctor Robert Behm gives the members of the club some independence. He answers the questions they have and gives them advice but he focuses on letting the members develop leadership skills.

“Our job is just to make sure everyone is doing the best they can,” Davis said.

“No matter how well we place at the competitions we just want to have some fun.”

Constructing the best robot they can make is what the veterans on the team focus on, not the competitiveness of the conventions and events. It is the bond and character that their fellow club members start to develop.

“I have been doing this for a while,” Davis said. “So I am just going to learn from the mistakes I have made in previous years and help whoever I can.”

If you are looking for a robotics club that wins every competition and makes the club feel more like a sport, then this is not for you. But if you are looking to truly develop leadership skills while still incorporating the idea of robotics being competitive. Life is not a game of winning and losing but a game of development and improvement and that is what the robotics club hopes its members develop.

“For someone who never did robotics before, it turned out pretty well,” Davis said. “And I am just trying to give everybody else a similar experience.”

Hooked on Success

Fishing team begins hunt for third state title with more anglers

STORY BY Patrick Dolan

In just three years, the bass fishing team has grown from just a small group of anglers into a surplus of volunteers ready to gain experience in this unique sport. The team has not just grown in pure numbers, but in experience and competing in tournaments. The team looks to defend their state title from last year and use their experience to their best ability.

Bass Fishing team organizer Kevin Berns, the bass fishing team coordinator, does not even fish much himself. He is just someone who volunteered to run the new-born team just three years ago. That said, the team, under his guidance, has done as well as anyone expected, placing 12th in the state in the National Youth Fishing Association (NYFA) in 2023, and winning The Bass Federation (TBF) Student Angler Federation (SAF) state championship in 2023 and 2024.

“The boat captains are the ones who have the experience when it comes to this,” Mr. Berns said. “Without them this wouldn’t happen. We are excited to have so many dads, uncles, and alums stepping up to lead our team. We feel we have a shot at winning them all.”

Sophomore Nick Whitney won the TBF State Championship last year with Class of ‘24 grad Danny Swallow. Senior Michael Distelrath will be his co-angler this year as they attempt to defend the title March 15 at Table Rock Lake.

“You really have to trust yourself,” Whitney said “Being open to any possibilities is very important.”

Sophomore Caleb Schreckenberg and junior Jack Howard also will compete in the March 15 championship.

Whitney will pair with Braden Winkelmann in the NYFA events which began March 9. Juniors Casey Burkot and Nic Parrish, sophomores Henry Dinan and Kevin Dolan,

Resilient Comeback

Esports finishes third in State

STORY BY Hank Hardage

Esports Seniors: Saul Rico, Dylan Schoen, and Kayden Smotherson bounced back from a rough start in Apex Legends to earn third place out of 17 teams in the state championship on Feb. 22.

“It was a cool setting,” Esports coach Ryan Sextro said. “And was cool to experience with those guys.”

Apex Legends is a battle royale game, played in trios. You drop at a certain point on the map and scavenge for guns, ammo, and shields.

Each team played six drops,

with two ways to win. The team that passes 50 points first, or the team with the most points at the end

The team had a challenging start in the first two rounds, but had a dominant next three rounds. They headed into the final round with the lead.

Unfortunately they fell quickly, which allowed Nixa to climb from fourth to first place.

“In the end, they looked at what Nixa did in that last round, and couldn’t be mad about it,” Sextro said. “Although, it was a great event.”

and seniors Michael Distelrath and Rylan Govero will also compete in the NYFA.

The STL Fish Cup bank fishing season begins March 30 at Forest Park with at least 15 more Spartan anglers taking part. A De Smet team won all the bank fishing competitions they took part in last year.

“It is amazing seeing how fast [the team] has grown,” Diselrath said. “This year we hope to be even better.”

St. Louis Left Waiting

Why Cardinal’s fans should not expect anything in the next season

STORY BY Bobby Dolan

The 11 time World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals are looking down the road into a rebuild year for the 2025 season. What was once a Major League Baseball (MLB) powerhouse, this franchise will need to take a year or two to rebuild for the future. Since the 2019 season when they gained former Diamondback first baseman and National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt, who will be a New York Yankee in the 2025 season due to his contract termination with St. Louis, the Cardinals have made the playoffs three times and have not made it past the divisional round, not living up to many Cardinals fan’s standards. They have picked up big pieces in the off-season in the past few seasons, including 10-time Gold Glove award winner Nolan Arenado, who is now expected to stay with the Cardinals for the upcoming season. It would have been best for the team to find a trade partner to gain valuable young prospects for the All-Star. Picking up one or two skill positions with big bats is not the answer for St. Louis. They are going to rebuild, and it starts with pitching.

The big move in the pitching rotation last year was picking up starter Sonny Gray from the Minnesota Twins. He had a solid 3.85 earned run average (ERA) with the Cardinals in the 2024 season. While this was a good move, the rest of the starting rotation was shaky and could not handle good lineups, which is why they are going to take a couple of years to invest in the younger players from the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinal’s triple-A team. They agreed to triple-A terms with many players, meaning they are trying to upgrade their young talents. However, absolutely nothing has gotten better with the St. Louis Cardinals, as they are the last team to not sign any new players in the 2025 offseason. Is John Mozeilak even trying to help the team for next year? I don’t think so.

Some would say that the Cardinals could be better than they were last year because they have only lost a struggling Paul

Goldschmidt and young prospects like Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker are only improving. Losing a key veteran and doing nothing in the offseason can only hurt a team. There is nothing to look forward to in Cardinals’ baseball for the next year or two. St. Louis fans are losing the team that they used to know and love for the next few years.

LeBron Should Stay in the NBA

STORY BY Henry Reardon

James. Lebron James.

A staple to the name James, who has changed the world forever. LeBron James is indubitably the greatest basketball player of all time and has been in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since the 2003 draft. He is the chosen one.

For the last 22 seasons LeBron has continued to assert his dominance and superiority within the league winning four MVP awards, being a 20 time all-star, and securing the NBA all time scoring record by scoring over 41-thousand points during his career.

Just recently LeBron turned 40 years old. Striking the question into the brains of many, when will he retire? LeBron has talked about how over the last few seasons he has been asking himself the same question. At the end of the 2023 season LeBron made a speech saying that the day he cannot give everything on the court is the day he will retire.

Luckily for us, the pure athleticism

that LeBron possesses and the overall performance that he has portrayed over this 2024-2025 season shows that he might as well be in his prime. LeBron should obviously continue to play for many reasons. If LeBron plays for only 2 more seasons, not only will he beat the record for longest career in the NBA, (23 seasons) but he will also get a chance to play with his second son, Bryce. If Bryce gets drafted into the NBA then LeBron will surely stay for longer. As of right now Bryce is committed to the University of Arizona as a three-star recruit according to 247 sports. He will be eligible for the 2026 draft after his freshman season for the Wildcats.

With the influence and symbolism that LeBron has brought into the NBA and throughout the lives of many people, the best decision would be for him to stay in the NBA for at least a couple more years. Staying would also help LeBron continue to amaze the millions of fans that he has all around the world, as well as create new ones.

The Binge Paradox

Binge-watching offers enjoyment and escape, but overdoing it can harm sleep and health.

An enjoyable hobby that can be good, but negative if taken too far

STORY BY Hank Hardage

With easy access to unlimited movies and shows, the average bingewatch session lasts 3 hours and 8 minutes. With over 200 streaming services available worldwide, this has led to a rise in binge-watching. Binge-watching is classified as watching a lot of entertainment content in the same sitting or in a short amount of time. The word binge-watch first came in 2003 but initially grew in popularity from 2011 to 2015 when services such as Netflix offered entire shows on demand. In 2015 “bingewatch” was named word of the year by the Collins English Dictionary. Now nearly a decade later, binge-watching has become a huge thing among people of all ages.

According to heinz.cmu.edu currently, around 70% of Americans say that they binge-watch television shows. This may seem worrisome, but it’s actually quite impressive. Although you can’t blame them, who wants to read their history textbook when they can watch their favorite show for hours instead? Binge-watching has become more of an art than an unhealthy addiction. Binging a show gives the brain a shot of dopamine, a hormone that plays a role in motivation, pleasure, and learning. Not having too much dopamine can be harmful, therefore binging your favorite show can be good for you at times. Binging can also create healthy escapism, as it can help viewers escape from times of stress or anxiety. This calmness viewers

find when watching something they enjoy is much better than scrolling through apps like social media. Studies show that social media is harmful to kids, and most adults agree with this fact. One study by Common Sense Media reported that 70% of youth users said they felt “left out” or excluded when using social media. Another study by the American Psychiatric Association reported that 38% of adults see social media usage as harmful to mental health. Therefore binging T.V. is a far better option for a time of enjoyment, as it does not have the same negative mental effects as social media. Instead, it helps viewers take a break from the social media madness and escape from times of stress and anxiety. Binging your favorite show is supposed to be a time of relief and joy, not a time of depression and sadness, which is brought on by social media.

Although binge-watching isn’t necessarily a bad habit, overdoing it can have negative effects on sleep, physical and mental health. According to a new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a whopping 88% of U.S. adults admitted they had lost sleep due to staying up binge-watching a show. Sleep is one of the most important feats a human can get, as it improves brain function/health, physical health, and emotional well-being. Along with sleep, overdoing it can lead to depression, due to its social isolation. Some people use its isolation factor to escape their depression, rather

than using it for a simple time of enjoyment. Physically, binge-watching can lead to back problems and a lack of physical activity. This is primarily due to poor posture and not balancing physical activity with it. If these negative factors are the case, how can we prevent our favorite show from getting in the way of our sleep and health? The answer is: set limits and balance it with other important activities. These include exercise, seeing friends, and reading. Binge-watching is supposed to be a good time for you, not a self-destruction on your next day.

THE PERFECT BITE

This issue’s addition to the “Perfect Bite” Saga is donuts. The staff realized the rich culture that St. Louis holds surrounding donuts, as well as the fierce debates that came when discussing it. So enjoy the staff’s top 5 donuts.

Old Town had a classic glaze which had been the best glaze donut we had ever had. The crisp shell with the fluffy interior and a sweet glaze that melts in your mouth made this the best donut listed.

Donut Palace had a blueberry donut that tasted fresher and more authentic than any other donut we have ever had. The blueberry flavoring mixing with the fresh glaze landed this in our number two spot.

A very classic donut from the most classic donut place in St. Louis. This chocolate sprinkles donut features a soft base with a load of sprinkles on top of the rich chocolate icing. Simple and sweet.

The

bring this into the top

World’s Fair Donuts gave the Double Chocolate donut created with yeast. Fluffy and very airy texture which made it a little dry in the mouth. Better choice for those who prefer less sweetness.