One year ago: With the political battle over gun rights following the Newtown shooting, Zephyrus featured two pieces about gun control. The first was a front-page news article explaining both sides of the issue and saying that Edina High School’s students are pretty much split when it comes to gun rights. The other was an opinion piece arguing that violent people, not the guns they had access to, were the cause of violence. It was an all-around politically charged issue with a head-to-head opinion piece about the legalization of marijuana on the next page.

Five years ago: A poll of two hundred students found that, by and large, the most popular video games at EHS are those that carry a feeling of nostalgia. The five most popular games listed in the article (“Mario Kart 64,” “Super Smash Brothers,” “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,” “Halo: Combat Evolved,” and “Pokemon Red/Blue”) all came out between 1996 and 2001, meaning that the students polled would be between three and ten when these games came out. The article provided a reminder of the innocence of childhood in an edition featuring three different articles about sex.

Ten years ago: An article revealed that EHS began its own news show, entitled “The Sting,” at the beginning of second semester in the ‘03-’04 school year. The news show took the place of the announcements and featured various news stories to keep students informed. It was made entirely by EHS students and staff. Near the end of the article, one student spoke about plans to continue “The Sting” in the next school year, which begs the question: why isn’t it around now?

Twenty-five years ago: A very bitter opinion piece criticized the disciplinary tactics of elementary schools in general. The writer compared his experiences in his first years of schooling to a prison and drew parallels between his own actions and those of the biblical villain of Judas. Although the piece seems a little bit overblown, it does make sense that he would be unhappy with his elementary school experience considering the arbitrary rules he was forced to obey, such as not crying, not using certain colors, and not putting the wrong trash in the wrong trash can. Punishments for these infractions included spanking and being forced to stand inside during recess.

Fifty years ago: A stinging review of an EHS play entitled “Arsenic and Old Lace” criticized both students for poor acting and the audience for not recognizing it as such. The writer went as far as to chastise individual actors (with their names and grades included) for being too quiet or over-eager. This review caused such an uproar that the author had to print a response article in the next edition which was half a defense of his views and half an apology.