Jake Ahlgren ‘21 News Reporter Humans have used almost every medium for artistic expression, the most popular forms being painting, drawing, sculpture, music, film, and much more. In most art, we think…
Affordable health care must be prioritized
Lois Hargrove ‘21 News Reporter With the 2020 presidential election a week away, the contest and its outcome have been on everyone’s minds. Personally, after watching the presidential and vice-presidential debates, I…
In the kitchen
In a normal school year, over 500 of Mercersburg Academy’s students, faculty members and staff would gather in the dining hall for family style meals every day. An integral part of the…
DEIJ committee effort
Matthew Tavarez ‘22 Established over 125 years ago, Mercersburg Academy was racially and religiously segregated at its founding in 1893. At the time Mercersburg was an all male school, not opening its…
Virtually fast
Molly Willis ‘22 News Reporter In their first virtual meet of the season, the Mercersburg Academy girls cross country team raced against the Hill School and Blair Academy. Many runners put up…
Class of ‘20
Terrance Ji ‘22 Reporter The Covid-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to the Mercersburg community, extending to former Blue Storm athletes who have gone off to compete at the collegiate level. Participating…
Voters
This November 3, Americans all over the country and the world will cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election. This pivotal event will turn the tide of modern American history. Consequently,…
So intense! Innovative courses during the ‘D-Term’
Caroline Simpson ‘22 News Reporter The weeks between the 2020 fall term and 2021 winter term will look very different from any other term in Mercersburg Academy history. The campus will be…
Independent Art Study
Clara Getty ‘21 Reporter I am currently in the midst of a three week long independent study in painting. With the flexibility of the block scheduling this academic year, I have had…
Laughing at Catastrophe
Greta Lawler ‘23 News Reporter Election time is stressful. It is exhausting to open up the news everyday only to be flooded with polling numbers, debate analysis, and the newest crazy comment…
Addressing the New Advisee System
Julia Mills ‘22 News reporter There have been many changes at Mercersburg this year, including the structure of advisory groups, which has undergone revision in preparation for the present school year. Assistant…
Getting to know Peter Kallin
Khoa Nguyen ‘22 News Reporter As soon as Coach Stensland announced that he would be leaving the Blue Storm at the end of the last school year, the athletics department began its tireless…
What do we do if there is a positive COVID-19 test on campus?
Melody Howe ‘22 News Reporter The coronavirus pandemic has raised concerns and fear across the world, and, not surprisingly, a challenge for Mercersburg Academy and boarding schools across the globe. However, Mercersburg’s…
Football Gets Creative
Ben Rihn ‘22 Sports Editor A lack of interscholastic competition has left a majority of students concerned about the purpose of the fall athletic season. Not only does this absence cloud the…
#blacklivesmatter
Rachel Cruea ‘21 News Reporter We The People. That is how the United States Constitution begins. However, who were those “people” alluded to in our constitution? They certainly weren’t women, much less…
Virtual ‘Burg 2.0
By Frances Elwood ‘23 News Reporter Virtual learning was never meant to perfectly simulate in-person learning, and that is certainly being felt by many disheartened students and teachers. Many feel that they…
Principles for choosing a president
Ryan Bland ‘21 News reporter When we vote, we are often not voting for the perfect candidate. Sometimes, even both are less than ideal. Nevertheless, in general elections, we should vote for…
A Review of Joji’s Nectar
By: Roy Kang ‘22 Nectar, released on September 25, 2020, is the second studio album created by Japanese singer-songwriter Joji, a.k.a George Kusunoki Miller. Released almost two years after Joji’s first full…
The college recruitment process
By Amanda Peh ’22 News Reporter Many of Mercersburg Academy’s seniors are committed to athletics, some so committed that they plan to play at the collegiate level. However, because of the pandemic,…
Empathy in an election
By Clara Getty ’21 News reporter Empathy is essential in a presidential candidate. The job of leader of a country is to serve the people and to protect them, financially, globally, and…
Explaining what words cannot
By Avo Reid ‘22 News reporter I was three weeks old when my mom took me into Washington for the first time. I would make the same trip on countless occasions in…
Loosening of COVID-19 Restrictions
By Avo Reid ‘22 News reporter On October 1, the Mercersburg community gathered in person for the first time as a whole body – a huge accomplishment in itself. A little less…
Blocking out the Block Schedule
By Bube Osaji News reporter The Mercersburg community has seen multiple changes amid the coronavirus pandemic, and such shifts evoke a range of emotions. Unsurprisingly, Mercersburg students have diverse opinions, positive and…
Getting the band back together
By Saskia Mentor ‘21 News reporter With the COVID-19 pandemic restricting proximity and contact, many wonder how Mercersburg Academy’s band will be able to function this fall. The answer is: with tape…
The debate debacle
By Zain Qureshi ‘22 Opinion Editor Like many others in the Mercersburg community, this past Tuesday, September 29, I watched the presidential debate between president Donald Trump and former vice-president Joe Biden….
PGA Showcase: Lifestyle and Elevate Fitness
By Isonah Dlado ‘22 News reporter On campus learning in the midst of a global pandemic has caused drastic changes in student life. Although many view this time as a negative setback,…
New Standards for Standardized Testing
By Maddie Gillner ‘22 News reporter Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has mutated practically every aspect of life, from politics to internet culture. While both of these things are important to…
Latinx culture nerd Gabby Rivera “visits” the burg
By Mathew Tavarez ‘22 News reporter On Wednesday, September 30, Mercersburg experienced another “first,” conducting its first ever “Monday Night” Lecture through Zoom. Accompanied by a lot of laughter and energy, YA…
Blue Storm sails ahead
By Shoki Nemoto ’21 NEWS Reporter In adapting to the pandemic, many unforeseen changes have occurred in recent months. Luckily, Mercersburg was quick to adapt. By implementing appropriate and effective protocols, the…
Sharing pronouns
By Mel Court ’23 News Reporter Along with migration to online classes and a new learning management system, the administration has been encouraging Mercersburg faculty and students to share their pronouns on…
Mercersburg election
By Avo Reid ’22 News Reporter “Democracy is the worst form of government,” Winston Churchill once famously said, “except for all of the other ones.” In an election year, during which the…
Falling out of fall routine
By Caroline Simpson ‘22 News Reporter This Fall, Mercersburg will look vastly different than those past due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Normal Fall Term events and activities have been canceled or modified….
Biden-Harris: What do they stand for?
By Maddy Gillner ‘22 News Reporter Recently, I saw a Joe Biden ad on YouTube that said, “Joe’s healthcare plan: more choices, lower cost.” But what does that even mean? How much…
Dancing outside the lines
By Mia Ingram ’21 News Reporter Like all performance group activities, the after-school dance program at Mercersburg Academy is operating very differently this fall due to new COVID-19 restrictions. All the same…
Taking advantage of the virtual sports world
By Minsoo Jung ‘21 News Reporter Since returning to school, especially during quarantine, many students have turned to video games while spending time in their rooms. Being that community members were restricted…
Mercersburgers are no strangers to natural disaster
By Dorothy Skuba Gray ‘23 News Reporter Pandemic. Social unrest. Political crisis. What next? No matter where you spent the summer nor what news occupied your inbox, you also certainly heard about…
Performing in a Pandemic
By Emma Shuford ‘22. Arts Editor Theater performances worldwide have been greatly hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic as socially distancing in theaters, for both actors and audiences, is difficult or impossible to…
Fight Back, Democrats
By Zain Qureshi ‘22 Opinion Editor On September 18, liberal icon and pioneer for women’s rights, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), passed away. She served on the Supreme Court from 1993 until…
Mercersburg pivots in order to open
By Greta Lawler ’23 NEWS Reporter On Sunday, September 13, Head of School Katie Titus welcomed the school at Convocation with very important news. To replace the lost athletic season, the MAPL…
Delicious or Dilemma?
By: Melody Howe ‘22 NEWS Reporter This year Mercersburg has hired a new food service to replace Sage: Meriwether Godsey. They have had to contend not only with the task of learning…
The temporary PGA
By Matthew Tavarez ’22 NEWS Reporter In the absence of PGAs and opportunities for physical activity in general, the on-campus quarantine has proved to be difficult for most on campus. Community members…
All in this together: Virtual Burg 2.0
By Dalilah Melkumova ’21 NEWS Reporter The alarm clock rings. I grab my phone from the nightstand and squint at the screen in a futile attempt to check the time. As soon…
Socially distanced socializing
By Molly Willis ’22 NEWS Reporter After the quarantine for on-campus students, the Student Activities Committee hosted a series of events, including a campfire and two movie nights. Underclass students headed to…
Rest in power.
By Sarah Noorbakhsh ’21 Editor-in-Chief Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday, September 18, was a powerhouse. She was, and still is, an American cultural and feminist icon, who,…
Storm Watch task force plans re-opening
by Grace Lewis, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and Jesse Zhang, Design Editor Emeritus As COVID-19 has swept across the world, everyday life has been put on hold. For Mercersburg Academy, this meant terminating in-person…
States reopening
By Lois Hargrove ’21 News Reporter As the number of COVID-19 cases fluctuates day by day and people spend more and more time confined to their homes, the question cannot help but…
Mercersburg Class of 2020
An online edition of the annual “Blue Issue” of the Mercersburg News, featuring yearbook photos and college matriculations for the graduating class. Enjoy!
Commencement goes virtual
By Katrina Lovegren ’21 Front Page Editor As expected, the Class of 2020’s Commencement ceremony will be held online this year. While this is rather unfortunate for the departing seniors, Mercersburg Academy…
From the Burg to the NFL: Vincent Rey
By Ben Rihn ’22 and John Xu ’22 Sports Editors Though commencement has gone online this year, the discouraging set of circumstances certainly has not dampened the celebratory mood of the moment….
Unsung hero
By Megan McGregor ’20 Editor-in-Chief Emeritus She is known as “the glue that holds the office together,” “the heart of the office,” and “the keeper of the files.” She is known as…
Misinformation
By Maddy Gillner News Reporter There is no doubt that misinformation regarding the coronavirus continues to run rampant. Some of the alarms, such as the theory that 5G signals cause the virus,…
Celebs and the pandemic
By Savannah Poe ’23 News Reporter Because we have been stuck in quarantine for the last few weeks, many students find themselves constantly scrolling through social media as a source of entertainment….
Senior capstone projects virtually complete
By Katrina Lovegren ’21 Front Page Editor Due to Mercersburg Academy’s COVID-19 campus closure, spring term events and traditions have been adapted to the online “Virtual Burg” format. Whether a part of…
I am a registered Democrat: I will not vote for Joe Biden
By Kevin Lee ’20 News Reporter This year, I will be a first-time voter, and I am a registered Democrat, but I will not vote for Joe Biden this November. I will…
College and the coronavirus
By Monique Garcia ’22 News Reporter As coronavirus cases continue to increase across the United States, college admission officers are pondering the future for their respective institutions and aspiring applicants. Understanding that…
Promoting connectedness: the Mercersburg Art Challenge
By Folake Okunsanya ‘22 News Reporter During quarantine, we have all had to find things to do to keep ourselves entertained. The Student Activities Committee (SAC) has been incredibly helpful, providing fun…
HUSTLE & BUSTLE
Faces in the Crowd How are you celebrating Earth Day? If you had to get one item from your room at school, what would you get? What would you name your vlogging…
The teen summer slump
Maddy Gilner ’22 News Reporter The coronavirus pandemic has created a massive spike in unemployment—anyone who works in a non-essential job and cannot work from home has essentially been laid off. Teenagers,…
Discrimination and danger fly below the radar
Dylan Gantt ’21 News Reporter Many news sources have recently confirmed an alarming new policy developed by the Trump administration during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. For years now, the Trump…
Blue Storm goes virtual
Aakash Koduru ’20 News Reporter With campus closed for the remainder of the year, an event that most athletes would have missed was the MESPY’s, Mercersburg Academy’s version of ESPN’s ESPY Awards…
Freedom of speech or freedom to infect?
Alexa Marsh ’21 News Reporter Despite the haunting one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, demonstrators across the nation, defying stay-at-home orders, have gathered in public rallies to demand…
Things to do while in quarantine
Unfortunately, self-isolation has given us a very long list of things that we can’t do as well as tons of extra time and nothing to do with it. So what can you…
Online learning: an inconvenience or an opportunity?
Beds. Kitchen tables. Backyards. For the Spring 2020 academic term, these have become our classrooms. Students are rolling out of bed at 8:55 a.m. to catch the first 9 a.m. class, eating…
Mercersburg across time zones: voices of students
Compiled by Lian Wang ’21 and Zain Qureshi ’22 Opinion Editors We asked students in times zones across the world the following questions: What time zone are you in? When in the…
Some reasons to smile
Katrina Lovegren ’21 Front Page Editor For nearly two months, the world has been fully in the hands of the coronavirus pandemic. It seems virtually impossible to escape the haunting reality of…
Cooking through quarantine
Maggie Betkowski ’21 Arts Editor Having more time due to being stuck in quarantine has given many the opportunity to use food as a way to cope and connect to family. Especially…
Missing sports during quarantine? Try esports
Henry O’Brien News Reporter Like most television stations during the COVID-19 outbreak, ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports, has had to change what they present on their network. With every sporting…
Adapting to visual arts online
Emma Shuford ’22 Arts Editor Online visual arts courses present many challenges for students and faculty as they navigate the absence of materials and lack of in-person interaction. However, online learning has…
Is the coronavirus infecting our election?
Carina Cole ’22 Features Editor The coronavirus pandemic has had a tremendous impact on almost all aspects of life in the United States. In addition to obvious negative effects on day-to-day lives,…
Superheroes wear masks
Alexa Marsh ’21 News Reporter As the total number of cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeds 800,000 and the death toll continues to surge, the Center for Disease Control and…
Betkowski’s bad idea
By Grace Lewis ’20, News Reporter The first time I heard about the superstition surrounding the graduation platform was as a ninth grader during peer group. As we walked to wrap presents,…
March Sadness
John Xu ’22 Sports Editor The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the largest athletic event in the world, was scheduled to take place this summer. On March 24, amid increasing pressure from athletes…
Closing campus
Katrina Lovegren ’21 Front Page Editor Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercersburg Academy’s campus has closed for the remaining term of the 2019-2020 school year. But with Mercersburg Academy’s new “Virtual ‘Burg,”…
Bringing a new meaning to “Digital Arts”
Maggie Betkowski ’21 Arts Editor The spread of coronavirus has caused Mercersburg Academy faculty to re-evaluate the way that their students will continue to learn. The first big switch has been the…
Is the government doing enough for lower income Americans?
Zain Qureshi ’22 Opinion Editor Despite the recent prosperity of the 2010s, 25 percent of Americans have no emergency funds, and another 23 percent have only enough in savings to cover their…
Stay home, please!
Lian Wang ’21 Opinion Editor Social distancing is one of the easiest and most effective ways of curbing the spread of COVID-19, yet many still forgo it for parties, gatherings, and other…
Keeping the Blue Storm community together
Ben Rihn ’22 Sports Editor With the recent and ever-changing developments of the coronavirus and the prevalent mentality of social distancing, high school athletics have suffered serious setbacks due to the universal…
Creating with the coronavirus
Emma Shuford ’22 Arts Editor Finding ways to cope with the coronavirus is a challenge all Mercersburg Academy students are facing. Many students are using their time at home to try something…
The Virtual ‘Burg, but the same community
Chantler Newton ’21 Front Page Editor Since March 19, Mercersburg Academy’s students have been moving through their online classes via GoogleMeet, connecting in small GoogleHangouts with both their fellow students and teachers….
Ditching the letter grade: to pass or to fail
Carina Cole ’22 Features Editor In response to the new coronavirus pandemic, all courses for the rest of the academic year will be taught remotely. The next step in adapting to online…
HUSTLE AND BUSTLE
Faces in the Crowd Describe your go-to quarantine outfit. What is your favorite quarantine meal/snack? What do you miss most about the dining hall? What is (are) your new found talent(s)? Sweatpants…
Boys and Sex
Riley Wick ’20 News Reporter New York Times bestselling author Peggy Orenstein will be joining Mercersburg Academy, for the second time, to speak about gender issues. Four-year seniors remember her last visit…
Fewer classes, more time
Lian Wang ’21 News Reporter For the three weeks between Long Winter Weekend and Spring Break, the Mercersburg community will be testing a new class schedule. Instead of five or six classes…
Added freedoms
Carina Cole ’22 News Reporter Recently, members of the student government enacted changes designed to ensure that Mercersburg’s students live more productive, stress-free lives. Now in the Spring term, the eleventh-grade class…
A town full of history
By Ebube Onwusika ‘21 News Reporter On Friday January 17, the Mercersburg community gathered in the Simon Theatre to view the film Cornie, focused on the experiences of Robert L. (Cornie) Watson’s,…
Jim Brinson: A Witness to History
Megan McGregor Editor-in-Chief James “Jim” Brinson, Mercersburg Academy’s carilloneur, was born in Birmingham, Alabama during a time when segregation in the South was the cultural norm. Growing up, he did not question…
Living diversity
By Clara Getty ’21 News Reporter Last week, Mercersburg Academy sent six students and four faculty members to the National Association of Independent School’s annual People of Color Conference in Seattle, Washington….
Keeping TABS on our education
By Allison Jones ’20 Front Page Editor On December 6, thirteen Mercersburg faculty members set out for Boston, Massachusetts for the annual TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) Conference. Mercersburg faculty have…
Finding a voice
By Carina Cole ‘22 News Reporter Taking the stage to share his Mercersburg story, Jesse Zhang ‘20 discussed the ways in which his hobby of photography allowed him to connect with his…
They, them, theirs
By Grace Lewis ’20 Editor-in-Chief In an effort to strengthen Mercersburg Academy’s community, the school has given students the opportunity to share their personal stories during school meetings. Birdy McDonnell ’20 is…
Say ‘Hello’
By Carina Cole ’22 News Reporter The importance of saying “Hello.” Selina Xue ‘20 used this idea to emphasize the rich knowledge that can come from taking a small risk. Xue talked…
New year, new goals
By Lian Wang ’21, News Reporter Each year, Mercersburg Academy chooses a theme to guide conversations and actions within the community. This year, the theme is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI….
Bidding adieu to the AP
By Ebube Onwusika ’21, News Reporter Advanced Placement courses have been a part of Mercersburg Academy’s curriculum for decades, but it has now been decided that the upcoming 2020-2021 school year will…
55 years strong
By Isonah Dlodlo ’22 News Reporter The Hale Field House this past Friday was characterized by stark contrast: on a weekend dedicated to honoring people of color, the audience was predominantly white….
The young return
By Carina Cole ’22 News Reporter On the weekend of October 18, many families of students and alumni came back to school for family and alumni weekend. Recent graduates of the class…
Did you win a fish?
By Jiachen Sun ‘20 News Reporter Strolling down East Seminary Street from Main Hall, the town of Mercersburg appears to look the way it always has: serene, a soft breeze ruffling the…
Painting a new way
By Megan McGregor ’20 Editor in Chief On Sunday, October 13, the senior class painted their initials on a pre-painted Mercersburg Academy shield on Sycamore Lane. The event, known as “Paint the…
Making a splash with the Lloyds
By Allison Jones ’20 Front Page Editor On Friday October 11, the Mercersburg community gathered in the new Lloyd Aquatic Center for the dedication of the facility. This eight-month project is finally…
Living, breathing history
Isabel Lewis Online Editor On Tuesday, September 24, the students in the Quinn-Ferguson Honors Seminar boarded a small, yellow school bus, eager to start three days of listening to some of the…
Free for all
By Kiersten Donnelly ’21 News Editor In spring 2019, Head of School Katie Titus introduced various task forces. With student and faculty days and weeks already packed to maximum capacity, the Mercersburg…
Feel free to join
By Ryan Bland ‘21 News Reporter On Friday night, Mercersburg Academy’s clubs united for the annual Club Fair. This event introduces new students to all of the clubs Mercersburg has to offer,…
Free time well spent
By Jiachen Sun ’20 News Reporter For most of the student body, arriving at Mercersburg during Inbound is a student’s first time anticipating an extended period of time away from home. Naturally,…
Putting the “act” in activism
By Eliza DuBose ’20 Arts Editor Molly Smith doesn’t possess the stereotypical stature of a commanding figure. She’s small in build and doesn’t necessarily call much attention to herself via her clothing…
Mr. and Ms. Worldwide
By Carina Cole ’22 News Reporter Summer is a time for relaxation, learning, and, most important, travel. Over the summer, several Mercersburg students journeyed to places all over the world where they…
The start of something new
By Carina Cole ‘22 News Reporter Convocation is a special event for everyone at Mercersburg: faculty, parents, new and returning students, alike. As the Irvine Memorial Chapel pews begin to fill, you…
Veracross is making me VERYCROSS
By Eliza DuBose ’20 Arts Editor The onset of a new Mercersburg school year ushered in the latest roster of students and the age of Veracross, the school’s new information management system….