L.S. Dunes is an American Rock powerhouse that has been sweeping America since 2022. With vocals by Anthony Green from Circa Survive, guitar by Frank Iero from My Chemical Romance, guitar by Travis Stever from Coheed And Cambria, bass guitar by Tim Payne from Thursday, and drums by Tucker Rule also from Thursday.

L.S. Dunes originally started as a project called Dad Bods, but it changed soon before their debut performance at Riot Fest in 2022, which I attended. I was also at their 2024 Riot Fest performance and their most recent concert at The Outlook in Chicago. 

The openers from this most recent show were Plague Vendor and From Indian Lakes. Plague Vendor is an American post-punk and post-hardcore band that has been active since 2009. They have a similar sound to bands such as She Wants Revenge, Christian Death, and Death From Above 1979. Their high-energy performance and charismatic stage presence made for an unforgettable set.

 In my recent listening, my favorite songs from them are “Black Sap Scriptures,” “I Only Speak In Friction,” and “Jezebel.” Their discography has a wide variety of songs with powerful basslines and dramatic vocals that are definitely worth a listen.

From Indian Lakes is a shoegaze and indie rock band from, ironically, Indian Lakes. They have been active since 2009, and they have taken influence from Radiohead, The Dodos, and Mew. Their set was like a dream, and Joey Vannucchi’s vocals made their songs sound almost angelic. Some similar artists are LSD and the Search for God, Panchiko, and Turnover. Overall, their set was a sight to behold and a must-see again in the future. 

Some of my favorite songs from their discography are “Blank Tapes,” “Did We Change,” and “Label This Love.” Their dream-pop and shoegaze sound is unique and a refreshing listen from most modern shoegaze music and is a band I’d highly recommend to anyone.

L.S. Dunes has been described as a rock supergroup, with members from all different post-hardcore and hardcore bands from the ‘90s and the 2000s. Out of the three times I have seen L.S. Dunes, this was easily their best performance and not just because it was a longer set. The energy was unbelievable, and the crowd picked up on it. Nearly every song someone was crowd surfing, including me, and there wasn’t a moment of boredom.

 Finally, some of my favorite songs were “Violet,” which is from their latest album, “Sleep Cult,” and “Benadryl Subreddit.” Their discography combines post-punk and hardcore from the ‘90s and puts a modern spin on it. With all of their members being pillars in the emo scene of the 2000s, they really know how to make good modern hardcore.

The Outlook is a smaller venue on the North side of Chicago with an open floor, nearly everyone had a good spot to see the stage, and the bands were able to interact with the crowd more easily. This meant a close-knit show that I’ll never forget and may even be one of my favorite concerts I’ve been to.

The 2025 LPHS Variety Show was a night packed with unique acts from singing, color guard, and poetry.

Each act on the stage went through auditions with teachers from the music department to find the best performers, then dress rehearsals to run the show, and then the final performance was the next day.

The Variety Show was not just for students but also teachers. Both Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Brown had vocal performances, and the teacher's act was a hit with the audience. Mr. Pitts, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Ruff, Ms. Santana, Ms. Hartson, and Mr. Coe all went on stage without knowing what they were going to do. 

“This was my first time doing the Variety Show, and I had no idea what I was going to do. In the future, I would prepare something myself, maybe musical or Shakespeare,” Pitts said.

Vocal performances were the most prevalent act of the night with showcases by Molly Cooper singing “On My Own” from Les Misérables, Elise Eldridge singing “Reflection” from Mulan, Halyn Pumroy singing “Your Daddy’s Son” from Ragtime, and Jaden Medina singing “Desesperado.”

One duet was performed by Camryn Ruiz and Nick Oss, and they sang “Seventeen” from Heathers, and Layna Hannon sang “Spring Into Summer” with her guitar.

There were many unique acts, including Henry Danger–The Uke King– performing his song “Tropical Midwest,” Hard Copy, featuring Ellie Hopper, Pierce Arnsbarger, Amazie Huffman, Nova Lear, and Felix Goff, performed “The Night Begins To Shine” from Teen Titans Go! Emily DeGarmo performed and sang “Heather” by Conan Gray on piano, and Madelyn Crawford recited her original poem “Thorns.” Finally, Madison Davis choreographed a color guard solo with “Tiny Star” from Over The Garden Wall. 

“I practiced for weeks on end after school with my friend; we created the routine together, and then I made it come to life. Overall, I loved it, it helped me get over my fear of performing in front of people. I’m so happy I did it because I had so much fun,” Davis said.

Some classes and extracurricular activities also had performances. The Show Choir performed “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, and the Jazz Band performed “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses. The varsity dance team, who recently performed at State, performed “I Look Good.” 

Finally, the guest MCs, Mrs. Cooper and Ms. Parker, carried the show along and announced all of the acts.

Pope Francis passed away due to a double pneumonia and other health complications on April 21. Now, the process of finding a new Pope is in place. 

Pope Francis was widely known for his progressive views. He often criticized wars, was tolerant of other faiths, and opposed the death penalty. These views are not common among modern religious and political figures, and his passing is extremely unfortunate in the Catholic Church.

To elect a new Pope, the College of Cardinals meets in the Vatican and discusses the candidates in the Papal Conclave. Together, they vote until they reach a ⅔ majority. Black smoke will rise if one is not selected, and white smoke will rise from the Sistine Chapel, thus showing that a new Pope has been elected. 

Now, the full process to get to be a candidate to be Pope is much harder. One must be male and become a catholic priest. A priest runs his church or runs it with another priest. Education is a must, and many major in Catholic Philosophy and Divinity or other similar majors. One thing to note is that as a priest, one must stay celibate and single. 

The next step is to become a bishop, which is much more selective. By becoming a bishop, they now oversee a cathedral and local churches. To become a bishop, one must be a priest for at least five years and have a PhD in theology. One must then be approved by the local bishops, the council of bishops in Vatican City, and then the Pope.

Finally, one must become a cardinal, which to do this, one must be appointed by the current Pope, which in this case is not currently applicable. In the future, one will be selected by having a ⅔ majority vote, which can take months and even years. Finally, the new Pope selects a name, typically one after another Pope in the past.

With a new papal election in process, many have been theorizing about who the new pope will be, but some say that Pope Francis was the last pope. In the Prophecy of the Pope, it states that Peter the Roman is the last pope before the end of the world or Judgement Day. Many speculate this is implying Pope Francis because of his more modern views on politics and his open-minded nature. This theory has little accuracy; this is because the prophecy has not been accurate since 1590, so this is extremely unreliable.

Overall, becoming the next Pope is difficult and time-consuming; in the meantime, the College of Cardinals assumes temporary government authority.

As summer rapidly approaches and the school year begins to wind down, the tunes of summer begin to emerge. One of the main artists in my summer playlist is Jimmy Buffett.

Jimmy Buffett was a singer, songwriter, businessman, philanthropist, and creator of Margaritaville. His tropical persona has captured hearts across generations. Born in Mississippi in 1947, Buffett was exposed to sailing at a young age, but later on in 1961, he realized he wanted to be a musician after seeing a folk ensemble perform. After he graduated from college in 1969, he began doing street performances to kickstart his music career. 

His first record deal was two albums with Barnaby Records, and neither of the albums was very successful. Later in 1973, Buffett signed a contract with ABC/Dunhill Records, which at the time was run by Don Gant. His next few albums slowly began gaining traction with A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean released in June 1973, and later on Living and Dying in ¾ Time released in February 1974. In March 1978, Buffett released Son of a Sailor. In addition to the title track), it featured “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” which reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is still one of his most popular songs today. After the mid '70s, Buffett’s success was immeasurable, from singles to albums to live shows, he gained more success after every release.

His style of music was often described as tropical rock, with other subgenres such as calypso, folk, and gulf rock. In an interview with ABC, Buffett described what his unique rock genre is to him.

“It's pure escapism, is all it is...I'm not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it's really a part of the human condition that you've got to have some fun. You've got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out. I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work, and so far it's worked out,” Buffet said.

Aside from music, Buffet wrote four books, all of which placed on the New York Times Bestseller list. These are A Pirate Looks at Fifty, Where Is Joe Merchant?, Tales from Margaritaville, and A Salty Piece of Land.

His business ventures were just as successful as his music. The chain restaurant Margaritaville has locations all over the world and has found a home in casinos, tourist traps, vacation spots, and big cities. Buffett had a second chain called Cheeseburger in Paradise, but all locations were shut down in 2020. Aside from restaurants, Buffett also had a record label creatively named Margaritaville, and it was distributed through MCA Records. This deal ended in 1996, and later in 1999, he started Mailboat Records to release live albums. 

Buffett has been working since 1981 to help with environmental conservation. He has worked with the Save The Manatee Club, and he lobbied to save the Endangered Species Act of 1973. He also assisted with disaster relief for hurricanes in Key West and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Buffett passed away on September 1, 2023, due to a rare skin cancer. He was surrounded by friends and family, and his last words were, “Have fun.” After his death, former president Joe Biden called him a “Music Icon,” and his tribute concert was a sight to behold. 

There will be a Jimmy Buffett tribute concert at the La Porte Civic Auditorium on Saturday, August 9. Tickets are $20 for balcony seating and $30 for standing room. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the show will start at 7 p.m.

Little Chocolates is a family-owned and operated chocolate shop downtown La Porte, and has been a sweet treat staple for years and is the go-to place for holiday chocolates. Little Chocolates is located at 916 1st St. and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

This family-owned business has been making chocolate in La Porte for about 15 years, and the risk has paid off. Little Chocolates is the heart of the town and is a fan-favorite spot for a sweet treat. They specialize in chocolates, truffles, and chocolate-covered strawberries, but they also have chocolate-covered s’mores, gummy bears, and many more items dipped in chocolate.

One student at La Porte High School is the daughter of the owners and has done many great things. Allison Little is a 4.0 GPA student who will be graduating one year early with academic honors. Her success is not just academic, but musical as well. She is a viola player in the high school symphony orchestra and a member of Tri-M Music Honors Society. Little is a varsity member of the debate team who specializes in Congress and Public Forum.

“All my academic achievements are to make a better future for myself. I want to be able to pay my mom back for all the sacrifices she has made to raise me and my brothers,” Little said.

Little plans to take a gap year after high school to build her resume with jobs, one is possibly interning at local therapy clinics to gain experience and help for college. To help pay for college and other things, she is working at Little Chocolates with her two brothers. In the future, she plans on going to IU South Bend to get a doctorate in psychology to then pursue therapy.

Over spring break, I traveled to Denmark, Norway, and Finland. I went in late March, which for Scandinavia is still in the peak of winter. The weather daily was around 35 degrees, with a wind chill of about 30. It snowed almost every night in Norway, and in Denmark, while still cold, had no snow and was a bit warmer at around 40 degrees. One of my biggest recommendations when visiting is to layer, it is extremely cold at night; it is often windy and layers can help.

Scandinavia has a rich history that goes back to the last ice age, but the beautiful architecture is a bit more recent, taking back to the 1700s in some areas. Statues were especially common in Copenhagen and were scattered throughout. One of the most famous is The Little Mermaid, which was made by Edvard Eriksen in 1913. In Norway, the urban areas had a mix of older and modern buildings, and this made wandering downtown interesting. When exploring, I recommend going outside of the big tourist areas and exploring the smaller local towns to see more than what is on the surface.

Many people in the touristy areas spoke English, but when exploring less urban areas, Danish and Norweigan were almost exclusively spoken. When looking in the tourist areas, graffiti was common, as it is in every urban city. There was less actual artwork and more tags, and similar to Chicago, stickers were on every poll and street sign. 

Driving was an experience of its own. The main reason for this was how there are few stop signs. There were yield signs in place of them, and some intersections had no stop signs at all. The roads are extremely narrow, and there are many one way roads. Biking and walking were the most prevalent modes of transportation. Electric cars are popular, and Tesla was a majority of cars on the road. 

Going along with driving, speed limits are much stricter than in America. Overall, laws are much stricter due to the high amounts of surveillance in Europe. With all of the cameras, crime rates are lower because there is always a camera around the corner. The police presence was higher in tourist areas, but up north, there was much less. 

The food in Scandinavia was much higher quality than in the United States. Food dyes were only in foods that came from America, and even soda has no dyes. The orange soda, for example, was a green color because of the lack of orange dye. Energy drinks are highly regulated and so is food and its packaging. While there, I tried a local dish of Reindeer soup, which was quite good, and it was kind of like beef. 

Overall, I had a wonderful time in Europe, and I hope to go back. There is so much to do, and there are so many places to explore. The tourist areas are fun, but exploring the smaller cities was the highlight of my trip.

Prom has been a long-lasting high school tradition since the early 20th century, and this event became a true rite of passage in the 1950s. The prom dress has been a staple in this tradition, but its style has evolved over time.

At the turn of the century, many modest dresses were appearing; floor-length gowns with high necklines and cotton or linen fabrics were becoming more common. But when the 1920s came along, the skirts rose and looser silhouettes were also often seen. The flapper style was highly desired among high school and college students alike. 

Moving out of the roaring '20s, dresses became more modest, and many were clad in neutral colors and dropped waist dresses. The velvet dress was all the rage, and many silhouettes were seen. Now in WWII in the 1940s, fabrics were rationed carefully, and modesty was a big priority. This decade also brought back the iconic hourglass figure of the time.

The 1950s brought in the tea-length dresses, which had a slim waist and a full skirt; ruffles were also often seen with these dresses. Ball gowns, sweetheart necklines, and waists cinched to the nines were the ideal look for high schoolers. Tulle also began to make an appearance in prom dresses, leading skirts to be even fuller. The 1960s were a transitional period in prom fashion, skirts have slimmed down and skirts have risen. Many opted for less formal gowns and a more casual sheath dress.

In the 1970s, the prom dresses were products of their time, many had bright, bold colors, a relaxed fit, and eye-catching embellishments. The eyelet style and lace were also a well-liked design for many, and these details are reminiscent of early 20th-century wedding attire. The 1980s were a time of big hair and even bigger dresses. Ruffles, metallic styles, and tulle dresses are all popular. At this time, the tradition of matching with friends or dates had become more mainstream.

The 1990s were a time that reminisced the 80s, with shoulder-padded dresses and off-the-shoulder gowns being popular in the first half of the decade. But in 1995, there was a shift towards minimalist style, the mermaid style dress was in vogue, and spaghetti straps were on the rise. The turn of the century brought satin gowns with spaghetti straps, and high necklines were also common. Another new style was the two-piece set, which was often sported at this time. 

The 2010s brought delicate, minimalist dresses with small intricate detailing, and on the other hand, many dresses were heavily beaded. Sequins, beads, and tulle detailing were a key part of prom at this time. Now into modern prom trends, which are a metallic shine and sleek silhouettes, many bold colors are becoming common, and ruffles are coming back once more.

This year’s prom theme at LPHS is Under The Aurora, and it is on May 3, 2025. It is from 7-10 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium. Forms to attend are in the counselors' office, and it is the perfect opportunity to see this year’s prom trends.

Spring is often a time of refresh and new beginnings, and one of the most significant ways people do this is through spring cleaning. People spring clean to symbolize a fresh start and the transition from winter to spring, creating a cleaner, more organized, healthier living environment, and boosting their mental well-being and productivity.

Spring cleaning can be more than just sweeping the kitchen and mopping the bathroom, it can also be decluttering or going through the clothes that haven't been worn since middle school. This refresh can bring many positive changes to daily life, and it can be beneficial in the long run. On the other hand, there are many times when spring cleaning can lead to more excess waste, and there are a few small ways to combat this.

When decluttering clothing, it is best to either donate or gift the clothing to someone else, instead of just throwing it away. This will then save the clothes from ending up in a landfill or the ocean. It may also end up in a new closet, where it will then become a new favorite piece. Some places to donate are Goodwill or The Salvation Army, but there are local options such as Hoosier Mama Thrift or St John’s Lutheran Thrift Shop.

Another option is mending or altering clothing, this can be beneficial because it can give new life to a piece that maybe hasn't been worn in a while. Some examples could be patching a hole in jeans, or adding some embroidery to a skirt, and there are many more ways to bring life to clothing. 

On the other hand, general cleaning makes it a bit harder to avoid excess waste. Reusable towels and rags are one of the biggest ways to reduce waste. Mopping with a cloth is much less wasteful than a paper or disposable one, and finally, using a reusable sponge instead of a disposable one can be a small change to reduce waste.

With spring in full bloom, many are spending their Sundays cleaning, and with Earth Day approaching on April 22, there are many ways to reduce environmental impacts and help the Earth. Each change, no matter how small, can make a difference.