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The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
Alexis Bahensky

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor

Alexis is a senior ending her high school experience by starting up her third year on the CATalyst staff. She enjoys getting her opinion out in the world. She enjoys making the world a better place by giving her time to volunteering at a variety of organizations including the Food Bank and more. Hopefully by the time she graduates she will be able to pursue her dream career in psychology.

All content by Alexis Bahensky
“Multiverse of Madness” was not all that it was hyped up to be and could have done so much more.

Movie Madness

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
May 24, 2022
Junior Sidney Bahensky sits behind the projector as she helps students with a worksheet. Bahensky goes in every Thursday morning to get experience in the field of work she wishes to join in the future. “As an intern, I am supposed to set a good example for the kids.” Bahensky said. “I am there to show them what it is like to be a good listener and role model. I am also there to help remind them to stay on task, keep their hands to themselves, ad focus. I hope that by participating in the academy, I am a little more ahead and advanced in some subjects than others. I also hope to one day make an impact in the lives of thousands of students and occasionally parents.”

The future of education

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
May 13, 2022
One of the stops on the trip was the Beth El Synagogue. Here, they learned about the architecture within and what it means to the Jews who worship there. “The colorful curtains are meant to represent the seven days it took G-d to create the world, and, while it isn't very apparent in the picture, the front half of the seats are in the shape of semi-circles,” senior Deepasri Bylore said. “The seats are a recent change from the original design inspired from the linear seat layout of churches and gives what the rabbi describes as a more personal atmosphere between a congregation and speaker.”

Exploring faiths

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
May 11, 2022
People are not being properly educated on how to protect themselves from scamming, leading to financial ruin for many when they enter adulthood.

Scamming our youth

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
May 6, 2022
The MetroNEXT program will allow for more opportunities to arise in lower-income parts of the city, while also benefiting all classes.

A needed development

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
April 27, 2022
Students are feeling the effects of burnout leading to a mental health crisis among them.

Burnt out

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
April 27, 2022
“Moon Knight” is new to Marvel and struggles with mental illness as he attempts to grasp his new realized life as a hero.

A new kind of hero

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
April 14, 2022
Motor vehicle related accidents have been on the rise in recent years and something needs to be done about it.

Wrecking the future

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
April 11, 2022
Standardized test are starting to become irrelevant in the college application process. The test only create unneeded stress among high school students.

Stresting

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
March 23, 2022
The continued inequality between women and men has caused a sense of disrespect among all females and needs to be corrected.

A continuing struggle

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
March 23, 2022
“Turning Red” is a lighthearted film about a 13-year-old Asian-Canadian girl who is exploring who she really is and accepting it.

Turning Red is a win for the female audience

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
March 16, 2022

Creating flags in Carpentry

Alexis Bahensky and Halle Opat
March 10, 2022
While Millard West was lacking in the beginning, they had the lead, beating out their rivals. The final score was 12475, almost double the second place school’s score. “It went amazingly well,” senior Micheal Boehm said. “It was a great success for the computer science program here at West.”

Capture the virtual flag

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
March 3, 2022
Sitting in his office, senior Micheal Boehm checks up on the status of the First National Bank of Omaha’s network. Boehm checks for any signs of disruption that may cause the employees some technical problems. “It is pretty demanding physically and mentally surprisingly,” Boehm said. “Carrying 100-pound servers is definitely something that will come with an IT operations role, and problem-solving and advanced troubleshooting is super mentally intensive, especially with systems that sprawl across the network.”

Student to IT specialist

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
February 21, 2022
Incarceration rates have skyrocketed in the United States. We have the highest population of prisoners in the world, while only holding less than 5% of the world's population.

Unjust imprisonment

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
February 7, 2022

Senior stress

Alexis Bahensky and Eddie Shi
January 25, 2022
The Millard West bad posture account (“badposturemwhs”) shows students slouching showing how improper their posture is. Most of these students don’t even know their photos are being placed on the account which is a larger controversy in itself.

Social shaming

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
January 18, 2022
History teacher Angela Bosak taking ungly sweater day to the next level in her Christmas tree sweater.

Holiday Spirit Week Photo Gallery

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
December 21, 2021

Student to instructor

Alexis Bahensky and Brielle Wilson
December 20, 2021

Exploring hypnosis

Alexis Bahensky and Quinn Burton
December 17, 2021
Schools need to create better strategies to deal with teens mental health to help slow the rising cases of mental illnesses in teens.

The true pandemic amongst teens

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
December 9, 2021
Americans produce 25 million tons of trash during every holiday season. If this continues, the health of our environment will continue to decline at a rapid rate.

It’s the most wasteful time of the year

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
December 9, 2021

Theater Etiquette PSA

Alexis Bahensky and Austin Mallory
December 2, 2021
Girls with disabilities show off their talents and dreams at the 2021 Miss Amazing Amplify event. They are given a chance to show the world that they are no different than any other girl and are on the path to do great things. “The Amplify Event is an annual event that gathers girls and women from across the state of Nebraska (and even a gal from Wyoming this year) of all different abilities,” volunteer director Sydney Ferrara said. “Its purpose is to encourage confidence, leadership and friendship.”

Amplifying chances

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
November 22, 2021
This new Marvel film hit theaters on Nov. 5 with a surprising $170 million in the box office in less than a week. If this doesn’t show the potential and success of this new Marvel series, nothing will.

An eternal movie

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
November 10, 2021

Procrastination PSA

Alexis Bahensky and Miguel Paredes Reyes
November 4, 2021

Spooky service

Evan Vaslow and Alexis Bahensky
October 29, 2021
Sophomore Sophia Mason decided to dedicate her Sunday morning on Oct. 10 to be a personal shopper for Operation School Bell (OSB). She spent the four hours keeping track of families’ balances and helping them find affordable clothing for their children. “I decided to get involved with OSB because I needed community service hours and my grandma has been a part of the organization for years and has always told me I should get involved with it,” Mason said. “I will continue volunteering because it is a good cause and I enjoyed being a shopping assistant because I enjoy helping people.”

Operation School Bell in action

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
October 25, 2021
Many American lives are put on halt because of government shutdowns. In the image above, federal employees are protesting outside the capital of the U.S. because of the furloughing.

Putting lives on hold

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
October 8, 2021
“Shang-Chi: Legend of the 10 Rings'' was an instant hit when it was introduced in theaters. It takes place outside the MCU universe following the journey of Shang-Chi as he attempts to stop his father from destroying the mystic city of Ta Lo and gain the rings for himself.

A legend of its own

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
September 29, 2021
Many items in the Millard West high school bathrooms are going missing. In the image above, a soap dispenser has been ripped off the wall leaving students no soap to clean their hands with.

A devious trend

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
September 27, 2021

Patriots claim Q Street

Miguel Paredes Reyes and Alexis Bahensky
September 16, 2021
As more and more controversial topics begin to surface within our school districts, school board meetings around Nebraska, and nation wide, are becoming less of a civilized debate and more like a warzone.

A new warzone

Alexis Bahensky, Opinions Editor
September 10, 2021

Marching on

Morgan Weir and Alexis Bahensky
August 31, 2021

Bringing the South to the West

Alexis Bahensky, Nolan Nemitz, and Amelia Fitzpatrick
August 25, 2021
Mike Spinharney, a Vietnam War veteran, visits Honors English 10 students, via zoom, to share his experiences during his time serving. “My favorite story he told was when he said there were hippy-like people not letting him through the gate when he returned home from Vietnam,” sophomore Kyle Lorimer said. “So he swung his duffle-bag around like a baseball bat and knocked them over.”

A remembrance of war

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
December 22, 2020
As the number of teen users on social media increase, there is a decline in teen mental and physical health.

The real corruptor of teens

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
December 10, 2020

MMIW PSA

Alexis Bahensky and Madison Brandis
November 18, 2020
Junior NHS member Macy Klein dedicates her time to the Treats for Troops service project. “I wanted to get involved in making cookies for troops because I love baking,” Klein said. “It is especially meaningful for me to help out those who are fighting for our country!”

Baking sweet treats for those who protect our country

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
November 5, 2020
Released on October 9, the new horror series became an instant hit amongst viewers of all ages.

Another haunting arises

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
October 27, 2020
The reality most students in the LGBTQ community is harassment and bullying by others. To stop this, changes need to be made to schools across America to show support for these students and help them feel safe.

LGBTQ+ students still struggle within schools

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
October 13, 2020

College applications during COVID

Tenley Wright, Alexis Bahensky, Haden Batchelder, and Camille O'Neill
October 9, 2020
Get Out the Vote is the new project put in place by the Teen Council of Omaha. Kati Kough, Health Educator and Teen Council Facilitator, advises the project. “Gen Z are turning 18, and will make up over 10% of the voting population in the 2020 election, so it is important that they know about how to vote; how to register to vote; how to stay safe if they are voting in-person; and why voting is so important.”

Get Out the Vote is set into motion

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
October 6, 2020
Student voices are being limited within Nebraska. Action must be taken in order to prevent censorship within student journalism.

Censorship: the enemy of student journalists

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
September 18, 2020
Suicide rates have been on the rise in the past years and because of this, more awareness must be brought to the issue.

Every life holds value

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
September 11, 2020
The new season sends the seven siblings into Dallas, Texas, 1963 to stop the world’s end once again.

Ending the world a second time

Alexis Bahensky, Cartoonist
September 2, 2020
Though vaccination use has been on the rise in the past decade, a little less than half the population still refuses to receive them.

Vaccinations: needed more than ever

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
August 27, 2020
Jumanji: the Next Level, is a squeal to the remake of the 1995 version. The team gets sucked back into the world of Jumanji. However, this time they must face new challenges and quests in order to escape the world once more.

The Next Level

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
January 14, 2020
Animal testing has become the bases for animal cruelty. Animals are tested on against their will in inhumane ways such as being strapped down to a table. Laws have been put in place to put an end to animal suffrage, however, they have been proven ineffective over the years they’ve been put in place.

Suffering upon no other

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
December 13, 2019
Standardized testing has been around since the early 600’s. Though today’s testing is much different from back then, testing today causes more stress within students and they are becoming more and more of an inaccurate source to measure a student’s ability to learn.

Testing the system

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
December 5, 2019
Many politicians want to increase voter turnout in the US by making election day a federal holiday. However, they don’t consider that this new holiday will be a disadvantage for many blue-collar and low-income workers.

Election Day should not be a federal holiday

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
November 26, 2019
"Jojo Rabbit" follows the journey of Jojo through World War Two. After finding a Jewish girl living in his home, he goes on to debate if being a Nazi is what he really wants.

One Fearless Rabbit

Alexis Bahensky, Staff reporter
November 15, 2019

Experimenting with Halloween

Edison Geiler and Alexis Bahensky
November 6, 2019

Choir concert premiere

Alexis Bahensky and Connor Robb
October 30, 2019
Tablets are starting to play a large role in the education of students by getting rid of the use of textbooks. Though tablets can be beneficial, shoving textbooks aside to be left on a dusty shelf will only hurt students.

Tablets vs Textbooks

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
October 11, 2019

Teacher goes viral on popular Vsco app

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
October 8, 2019

And the verdict is

Alexis Bahensky and Morgan Weir
September 19, 2019

XC Walnut Grove

Alexis Bahensky and Cody Bennett
September 19, 2019
The Chernobyl mini series is rated as the highest fan-scored TV show on IMDB and is shown world wide to millions of viewers.

HBO’s New Hit Series

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
September 9, 2019
With a beaming smile, sophomore Kendall Parker takes the floor as she performs with the Stepperettes. She has been with the Stepperettes for five years now, and to Parker, they’re like a second family to her. “We all loved to twirl to seasons of love because it reminded us of how closer wer all were to each other,” Parker said.

Twirling her way to the top

Alexis Bahensky, Staff Reporter
September 5, 2019

New 2019-2020 Millard West Staff

Alexis Bahensky, Jordan Bakar, Connor Robb, Kaden Roth, and Morgan Weir
August 27, 2019
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