by Reese Cassidy ’28 on September 25, 2025

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Arts & Entertainment

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Amidst the chaos going on with ABC, Dancing with the Stars has begun its 34th season. 

DWTS is a reality competition that pairs celebrities and professional dancers. Each week, the couples perform a ballroom dance in front of judges, getting votes from both the judges and the fans watching from home. Once all the votes are tallied, the lowest-scoring team gets sent home, and the winning couple wins the Mirrorball Trophy. The new season premiered last Tuesday, but the cast was announced two weeks before and has been a talking point since. 

While the number of couples varies each season, this season has 14 couples—one pro and one star in each. There are many returning pros this season and one new addition, Jan Ravnik. He is starting this season having just returned from performing the entirety of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, during which he was one of the most well-known backup dancers and was very prominent in Taylor Swift: Eras Tour (2023). In the past, he has also performed with Bruno Mars and Mariah Carey, so it is safe to say he has lots of experience. Other than Ravnik, the rest of the pros have been on past seasons of DWTS and are already largely known by the show’s fanbase. The pros are Alan Bersten, Brandon Armstrong, Britt Stewart, Daniella Karagach, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa, Gleb Savchenko, Jan Ravnik, Jenna Johnson, Mark Ballas, Pasha Pashkov, Rylee Arnold, Val Chmerkovskiy, and Witney Carson. 

This season’s stars come in a large variety of ages and careers, ranging from ages 21 to 58, including athletes, actors, singers, influencers, comedians, and even a zookeeper. It seems as though there’s something for everyone in this season, so no matter who is watching, it will be exciting. Some of these stars are up and coming or even at their peak of stardom, but others are well past it and were cast as stars for the older generations. This includes Andy Richter, who is most known as the comedic sidekick of Conan O’Brien, though some viewers may recognize him for voicing Mort in Madagascar (2005). Stand by Me (1986) star Corey Feldman and The Parent Trap (1998) actress Elaine Hendrix are also among the older stars of this season. There are always a couple of professional athletes among the cast, and this season is no different, with two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis and one of the most well-known and well-loved U.S. Olympic athletes: gymnast Jordan Chiles. The casting directors of DWTS also never fails to find some reality TV stars. This season, there are even two stars from the same show: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (2024) stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt. They will compete alongside Hilaria Baldwin and Dylan Efron, who is widely known as the brother of High School Musical (2006) star Zac Efron. There are multiple familiar faces for Gen-Z to watch out for, as they may be stars they grew up with. First, Danielle Fishel, who is best known for her character Topanga on both Boy Meets World (1993) and the spin-off Girl Meets World (2014). Then, two famous voices: Scott Hoying from Pentatonix and Lauren Jauregui from Fifth Harmony. The two stars causing the most talk and likely bringing most of the views for this season are Alix Earle and Robert Irwin. Earle has had a quick rise to fame over the past few years after her “Get Ready with Me” videos went viral on TikTok. Since then, she has been in movies and even a Super Bowl commercial. Irwin is possibly the most famous zookeeper in the world. Being the son of Steve Irwin, he has always been in the public eye. After an impressive first episode, a lot of America seems to think now is truly his time to shine. A Mirrorball Trophy may be in his future as he is hoping to carry on his sister, Bindi Irwin’s, legacy after she won season 21.

While fans all over the country have already made their picks on who they hope to win,  it’s not too late to tune in and cast your votes on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

by Andrew Katz ’26 on September 25, 2025

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Arts & Entertainment

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In 1999, when HBO released the first episode of The Sopranos, the standard for television shows changed. The Sopranos followed the life of Tony Soprano, a sociopathic mob boss who had to balance the drama of his biological family and his organized crime family. This show kick-started the Golden Age of television shows, which we are still in today. As people look for more shows that can match the level of The Sopranos, very few are able to do it. The most recent show to reach this upper tier of television shows is Succession.

Succession, running from 2018 to 2023, is a fictional show loosely based on the Murdoch family. The story begins with Logan Roy, the CEO of Waystar Royco. This is a giant corporation that has many different entities including ATN News, which delivers a shocking announcement on Roy’s 80th birthday that he is not planning on retiring, as he was expected to. This devastates Kendall Roy, his eldest son, who was supposed to be the future CEO. As the title of the show is Succession, the story follows the drama of the fight over who will be Logan Roy’s successor when he finally retires. For most of the show, there are three main contenders to the Waystar Royco throne: Kendall, Roman, the youngest son, and Shiv, the daughter. Other characters in the show are also trying to climb the corporate ladder. Two of these characters include their cousin Greg and Shiv’s husband Tom. The show, through four seasons, consistently shows the cynical nature of our capitalist world, especially through the characters doing the most embarrassing things just to be associated with power and wealth. The scene that shows this the best is the “boar on the floor” scene.

The “boar on the floor” scene takes place as Waystar Royco is attempting to acquire Pierce, another media empire. This plan goes south when someone from Royco’s side leaks this information to the press to tank the deal. Logan becomes angered by this act of disloyalty, as it is one of his main values, and he decides to have dinner with everyone aware of the deal. Logan questions people about their thoughts on the deal. He eventually pulls out three people whose responses he did not like, and tells them to sit on the floor. He then makes them oink like pigs, further humiliating them. As the men comply with this humiliating ritual, Logan throws two sausages for the three men and states that whoever doesn’t eat one is the one who ruined the deal. Though this game has nothing to do with actually finding out who leaked the information, it shows the power Logan holds, as he can have high-up executives humiliate themselves just because he chooses to. This scene also shows what greed can do to someone.

Everyone in the room lets this happen as they are scared Logan will take their power away. This one scene is representative of the entire show. Every person around Logan will do whatever he wants because of his power and their greed to be associated with wealth and power. They are puppets of Logan’s throughout the show, doing whatever he wants. Very few times have people ever gone against him, and if they do, they fail. Succession shows that this cynical nature is what our capitalist society rewards. One must be willing to sacrifice all values to be considered successful. When people sacrifice their values, only care about themselves, and are obsessed with power, they become sociopaths. And what Succession tells us is that only sociopaths win this game to acquire power and wealth in our society today. Overall, Succession is a must-watch TV drama that shows us the darkness in our society. Succession beautifully balances seriousness with the satirical scenes of the show and ends perfectly, making you want more of the show instead of dragging the story longer than needed. If you enjoyed shows like The Sopranos (1999), The Wire (2002), or Breaking Bad (2008), you will likely love Succession.

by Rachel Barter ’27 on September 25, 2025

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Opinion

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A Systematic Attack on Freedom of Speech

Recently in the United States, we have seen a vast number of attacks on freedom of speech from both political parties, most notably regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk earlier this month and the cancellation of both The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and, most recently, Jimmy Kimmel Live! 

Understandably so, Republicans and Democrats were both disgusted by the killing of Kirk and the attack on his freedom of speech, which was key to his career as a Republican advocate and debater. However, Democrats seem to be the only people to be disgusted by the cancellations of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as other attacks on Democrats’ freedom of speech. 

In fact, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was cancelled because Kimmel made comments regarding conservatives’ responses to Kirk’s death and the investigation that followed. Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” 

Kimmel’s comment was likely referring to Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s comments that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, had a “leftist ideology” and had also been in a romantic relationship with his roommate and alleged partner, who was in the process of transitioning from male to female. Cox’s inclusion of these comments makes me agree with Kimmel that investigators appear to be desperately trying to pin Kirk’s death on an out-of-control Democrat motivated by his alleged tie to the trans community, which demonstrates Republicans’ willingness to stretch the narrative to find a connection to the trans community.

It is also important to note Governor Cox made these remarks despite the reality that Robinson is a native Utah resident, is not registered to any political party, and grew up with conservative parents in St. George, a fast-growing conservative city defined by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thus, Kimmel’s comment did not attack Kirk at all; instead, it questioned the bias regarding the investigation of Kirk’s alleged shooter.

Whether I agree with Kimmel or not, I believe it is not appropriate to silence his speech. Just as the overwhelming conservative response to Kirk’s death demonstrated how many people think of gun violence as bad only when it affects someone they agree with and care about, the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! highlights how some conservatives condone attacks on freedom of speech when it benefits them and their party. Furthermore, please note ABC decided to pull the program after an unusually threatening comment was made by the Federal Communications Commission’s chair.

The First Amendment is supposed to apply to all citizens of the United States, regardless of their political views and who they would like to criticize, including the President of the United States. It was not meant to be revoked when public figures say things attacking the government or certain political parties. Hence, the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, despite how short it may have been, is extremely important; these two events are instances of our current administration taking creative liberty with the First Amendment by pressuring television networks to conform to the liking and opinions of President Donald Trump.

Additionally, it is essential that we, as college students, acknowledge these systematic attacks on freedom of speech and strive to combat them to preserve our right to free expression, which is not only crucial to our day-to-day lives but also vital for our education and the ability to have a well-rounded and informed understanding.

by Meghan Mitchell '23 on April 20, 2023
Opinion Staff

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Opinion

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Fanfiction is a strange topic. When mentioning it, you’re bound to be met with a wide range of reactions, from “You write fanfiction too?” to “You mean that nerdy fiction that tweens write?” As someone who has been in the fanfiction community for quite a while, I have seen my fair share of both well-written stories with in-depth characters and vivid world-building… and fiction that reads like it was written by twelve-year-olds who forgot spell check exists. Regardless, even the worst writers improve as they age, honing their writing skills and eventually creating something worth hyper-fixating on. However, despite the harmless fun of writing about characters of certain fandoms, many people still disregard fanfiction as a childish hobby. What these people fail to realize is that fanfiction does matter, for a variety of reasons. 

The first is fan interaction. It seems like certain fandoms such as Harry Potter, Supernatural, and even Twilight just won’t die despite their stories concluding years ago. That is mainly due to the number of dedicated fans still writing and reading about these characters. While the stories aren’t written by the authors of the original source material, fan interpretations can either be a refreshing look at a character or be so similar to the author’s work that it’s hard to tell the difference. Just because the main story is over doesn’t mean it has to stop for readers. In addition, fanfiction can be used as a creative outlet and allow people to become better writers. 

Writing can also be therapeutic. Sometimes people will write a character with whom they feel a connection in a situation similar to one that they are currently experiencing, to better cope with the event. This is an example of what someone would call a comfort character. As strange as it may sound, doing this can be a real benefit to people as it helps them feel less alone in whatever situation they are facing. 

The last issue is the judgment fanfiction writers face. Fanfiction writers get called childish or face mocking because of the stereotype of it being something only tween girls do. To this, I ask: why do people care so much about what someone does in their free time? There are worse things people can do than writing stories about fictional characters. It’s also not like fanfiction is anything new; some classic literary works we read in Civ, such as Dante’s Inferno, could be considered fanfiction. It keeps people creative, and some of the best storytellers of the modern era got their start by writing fanfiction. It allows people to connect and form bonds in ways they wouldn’t be able to normally. It’s an experience unlike any other, and instead of being scorned, it should be encouraged to allow people to dream and be creative with the characters they love.