By Mary Hachey
On Friday May 18th, 2018, Netflix released a second season of “13 Reasons Why.” Just as it's debut season, season 2 of the controversial hit series received immediate backlash.

The television series authentically tackles several real-world problems including sexual assault, substance abuse, slut-shaming, bullying, and mental illness. Because of this, it has faced an extreme amount of criticism from not only psychologists and teachers, but also parents and teens alike. Critics are accusing the show of glorifying suicide, being unnecessarily graphic, and presenting a lack of understanding on how to safely address such sensitive issues.

By Adam Henschel
In 2018, the online multiplayer video game Fortnite simply took the world by storm. Blowing up in a matter of months millions of kids worldwide jumped on board and began gearing up to go to battle with their peers. By February it was estimated that around 3.4 million concurrent players circled the gaming world. Astonishingly, enough one of the top Xbox players in the world walks the halls at Mashpee Middle High School.
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Student Matthew Franks is a die hard Fortnite player who has been ranked in the top 50 Xbox players globally on several occasions. As impressive as this feat is I am here to interview Matt to get an understanding of how his intense love (or obsession) formed and how it has impacted the other aspects of his life.

Q: What about Fortnite draws you in as opposed to other games. What is it in particular that resonates with you about this game?
A: Fornite is a lot more intense than other games. If you mess up there's always a way out of it unlike other games such as pubg. Because you can build it allows you to get into longer standoffs and creative battle sequences.

By Daphne Tamburrini
​Q: When did you first get into Broadway?
A: That was last year when I discovered Hamilton. I guess when I was younger, I always liked Wicked. I wanted to see that really badly. I didn’t really get into it until I got obsessed with Hamilton, I was like “wait, this is really cool”.

Q: How did you discover Hamilton?
A: I went to this youth group and I had not too many friends there but one of my friends there there, I had was super into it. A bunch of other people liked it too but it was her specifically that made me think “Hmm, I should look into this”. So I did.

By Sean Smith
Question: How long have you lived in Mashpee and how is it different from your old town? If you have lived here your whole life, how has it changed?
Answer: “I believe I’ve lived here 11 years like coming up this summer. I used to live in Falmouth. I feel like they’re not that different. I feel like the neighborhood I used to live in, we didn’t really talk to many of our neighbors. There was this one old lady that I’d go help her like take groceries out of her car and stuff all the time but now I don’t live in a neighborhood so  I don’t really talk to any of my neighbors. So I feel like that, like the community is a little more welcoming. Your neighbors were like your pals. And here we kind of just keep to ourselves. I mean like, maybe you could be friends with your neighbors, but I don’t have any neighbors anymore so.”
Q: What has been your favorite memory of high school so far?
A: “This year, I feel like a my friend group kind of got a lot closer together; like one of my friends came back from a different school and we gained a couple new friends this year and like we’re all really close now. And so I feel like that is a really important thing to find in high school and I feel really happy that it finally came together because I’ve like switched friends all the time in previous years so it’s cool that I have like a core group of friends.”

By Maryjane Donohoe
Q: Where are you from? Where did you grow up?
A: I'm from Chelmsford Mass, about an 1 Hour and 45 minutes north from here. I grew up there and attended all of my elementary and high school years there.
Q: Where did you go to high school and college?
A: I attended High School at Chelmsford High  and when it was time to come to college I went to Assumption College in Worcester for my grad and undergraduate degree.  

By Anna O'Neill
​​​Q : What was it like growing up in the Midwest, and how does it compare to now living in New England?
A : “I always got to play with my brother and sisters, and I remember a lot playing outside, and because we didn't have street signs or a lot of traffic, you could kind of get lost and do whatever you want... We would just get lost in our entire town because it was so safe at the time that you could just do that, and the parents, you never had to check in… here, now, you have to ride in a car to get from point A to point B, and if you do walk it's pretty dangerous, things aren't close... The style of houses was different, that was probably the biggest thing that drove me nuts, it looks like they are unfinished with the shingles on 3 sides.. And all my friends when they come out they are like what's wrong with "New Englanders", are they poor? Why don't they finish their houses? And i had that same concept too.”

By Stella Bold
Q: A simple question to start off with: How are you liking Mashpee Middle-High School so far?
A: It’s been great, so far everyone has been very welcoming, and it’s local, the commute is not bad at all. Mr. Brodie has been incredibly welcoming and very supportive of everything that I’ve done, along with Mr. Valentine and Ms. Reynolds. The kids have been great, I haven’t been disrespected, and everyone’s been treating me with the utmost respect. I only have a couple more weeks but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here so far.
Q: Did you grow up in this area or elsewhere?
A: I did not grow up on the Cape, but I did grow up in Massachusetts. I grew up in Andover, which is about 20-30 minutes outside of Boston, kind of near the New Hampshire border. I lived in the same house all 18 years.