Tick-tack-tick-tack-tick-tack-tick-tack. The hot concrete of Comlara park sparked with each strike of the Armoni Conner’s make-shift clothesline rope, surrounded by the giggles of seniors as they skipped. When Conner heard the “picnic” in Senior Picnic, she knew what she was going to bring—her...

A dangerous TikTok trend encouraging students to vandalize school-issued Chromebooks has prompted a districtwide warning from Unit 5’s IT Department. Known online as the “Chromebook Challenge,” the trend instructs students to insert pencil lead, staples, paper clips or other conductive materials...

The May-hem is upon us—the inboxes are full. The college tees are out. The senior absences keep adding up. Senior season has arrived. As the countdown to graduation winds down, the spotlight often shines on spirit week polls, senior sunset movie picks and yearbook superlatives. But one of the...

The screen flickers on, and the opening notes of a timeless tune fill the room. A door swings open, and a familiar figure begins a quiet ritual: sweater zipped, sneakers laced. Whether it’s animated or filmed, the gestures are the same—deliberate, comforting. A signal that it’s time to slow...

Buckets of ice water are back this spring—but this time, they’re promoting mental health awareness. Students at the University of South Carolina launched the #SpeakYourMIND campaign on March 31, reviving the format of the 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to spark conversations about mental illness. The...

America’s national parks and forests, long viewed as a national treasure, are far more than havens for bird watching, hiking, mountain climbing and sightseeing—they are critical to climate regulation and biodiversity. The U.S. national park system now spans more than 273 million acres, including 433...

Senior Bryce Hickman made history at the IHSA State Journalism Finals on April 25, becoming just the second Ironman to win a Journalism state championship. Hickman earned first place in Review Writing at the event, held at Heartland Community College, following in the footsteps of 2018 graduate Katie...

For the first time this season, Community softball holds a winning record. The Ironmen climbed above .500 with a 9-1 road win over Danville on Thursday, improving to 10-9 overall and 5-0 in Big Twelve play—good for first place in the conference. In the conference race, Champaign Central sits close...

After dropping their first eight games of the season, Community softball has bounced back to win nine of their last 10, evening their record at 9-9. The slow start was deceiving. Five of the team’s eight losses were by just one run—it was only a matter of time before the Ironmen swung their way...

Marco Reynolds didn’t just win at April 22’s track and field meet in Champaign—the senior rewrote Community’s record books. At a triangular hosted by Champaign Centennial, Reynolds broke two school records in a dominant performance that etched her name in Iron history for both the discus and...

Vampires used to skulk in crumbling castles, draped in capes and centuries-old rot. Now they wear pressed suits, flash charming smiles—and drain entire cultures dry. With “Sinners,” director Ryan Coogler trades jump scares for generational trauma. His fifth feature, following “Creed” and...

What does it feel like to die? If you knew you’d be reborn, would that make the process any less terrifying? Less painful? Less traumatic? These are just some of the existential questions at the heart of Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mickey 17.” Six years after winning Best Picture for “Parasite,”...

First they came for the Center for Disease Control, and I did not speak out—because I was healthy. Then they came for the migrants and refugees, and I did not speak out—because I was a legal citizen. Then they came for paper straws, and I did not speak out—because I was not a turtle. Then...

3:30, and Community’s doors burst open—students spilling out. Backpacks slung over shoulders, hands shoved deep into pockets, they rushed toward buses idling at the curb, they wove through the parking lot chaos—horns blaring, engines revving—a steady current, all moving with one purpose: getting...

Are Movie Theaters Dying, or Are We Just Forgetting Why They Matter? In the dark ages—before mobile devices and flat-screen TVs—early man had no choice but to journey to vast structures for entertainment. These coliseums of storytelling, with their dim lobbies and the scent of butter-soaked popcorn...