Cullen Durant: General Assignment, Photographer

Maddy Grant: Sports, Editor

Lottie Kanter: Education, Editor

Claire Nichols: Sports, Arts & Culture, Environment

Mose Stephens: General Assignment, Arts & Culture, Sports

Aaradhya Vedre Kyanam: General Assignment, Health, Sports

Knights and College: Too Much Self-Imposed Pressure Toward “Elite” Schools?

By Lottie Kanter 

As a college preparatory school, Altamont is expected to educate, guide, and provide resources for students to maximize their chances of acceptance at selective universities. While having access to top-notch resources and college counseling is an asset for all Altamont students, too much emphasis on college acceptance can be harmful. Experts say that students at Altamont sometimes over-emphasize the importance of getting into elite universities, to the detriment of their mental health and the overall school culture. Read More

Barely a Trickle: How Musicians Are Ripped Off by Streaming Services

By Mose Stephens

Today, music-streaming services are under fire because they aren’t paying artists enough. According to several music-industry publications, Spotify, the most popular but least ethical streaming service, pays artists about $0.003 each time a song is played. For comparison, Apple music, one of the more ethical streaming services, pays on average about $0.01 per stream. Yes, you read those figures right: the more generous service pays musicians about one cent per song-play. Whether you have an Apple Music subscription or a Spotify subscription, the artists you like aren’t getting paid enough. So how did this become an issue? Artists weren’t always paid awful wages for their work. This is a relatively new problem.

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Ninth Grade: The Transition Is Tricky, but Here Are Some Tips

By Cullen Durant

It is safe to say that the transition from middle school to high school can be a difficult one. There are many new challenges in high school. These include social and academic pressures and the expectation to juggle all of them with extracurricular activities. Read More

The Good and the Bad of the AI Environmental Tradeoff

By Claire Nichols

Artificial intelligence has many applications in today's world, including image generation, problem solving, and predicting patterns, just to name a few. Though AI can do all of this, it comes at a big price: harming the environment. The debate over AI is heated. Are its rapid, potentially lifesaving breakthroughs worth causing damage to the Earth? Is AI to be prioritized, or should the planet’s wellbeing be put first? Is a bridge between AI and sustainability even possible? Read More

Decline in Alabama Vaccination Rates Should Worry Us All

By Aaradhya Vedre Kayanam

Vaccinations in the United States have saved countless lives, but in Alabama, the people who need the vaccines the most – toddlers – are getting them less and less. And that means people here could get sick more and more. Read More

School Spirit Check-In: Interviews and an Opinion Poll for You

By Maddy Grant

Most students want to go to a school where they can get an amazing education and experience fun school activities and strong school spirit. Maddy Grant interviews a sampling of students and our Athletic Director about school spirit at Altamont. She also invites you to participate in a short, anonymous opinion poll. 

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SUMMER READING POLL

 In each issue, the Acta Diurna will ask for members of the Altamont community’s opinions on various subjects. Your responses could influence future reporting. This issue’s subject is Altamont’s summer reading program. Please respond to this short, anonymous poll.  

Seventh-grader Sophie Ward “pies” history teacher David Maddox during Homecoming festivities. (Photo by Acta Diurna staff)