Pokemon GO Is Pokemon gone
Hoards of teenagers crowd the Crown Point Square, moving in packs across the street. The danger: none of them are looking up.
Pokemon GO swept CP by storm, consuming young adults in nostalgia and the desire to be the very best that no one ever was. But, like most fads, Pokemon GO slowly faded away from the community, as noted by CPHS sophomore James Tustison.
“Everyone was all hyped about Pokemon GO. It was brand new and everybody wanted it,” Tustison said. “They think it’s boring now. There’s new games out. Why keep playing this?”
Though the game’s presence is not as large as before, Tustison still enjoys the game. At first, he was not going to play, but he was convinced by others’ opinions of the game. As of late September, Tustison still partakes in Pokemon battles with his mother and sister.
Senior Olivia Todd never became involved in Pokemon GO, attributing her lack of interest in the platform itself.
“When I was little, I used to play the original Pokemon on my DS. But now that it came out on my phone, it just didn’t feel like it was the same thing. I never had an interest in playing,” Todd said.
Furthermore, Todd is glad the trend is slowly coming to an end. The groups that surrounded the “hotspots” were detrimental to what she saw as children’s safety.
“I had a hotspot at the park in my neighborhood. I would always see high schoolers just chilling at the park or 20-year-olds. It kind of annoyed me because we have a lot of little kids[in the neighborhood], and when I babysit them, I usually bring them to the park,” Todd said. “When there are older people there, I take a step back because I don’t want to bring [the kids] in an environment where there are older adults that can not necessarily change the way they think, but can affect how they play and all that.”
Even though she was not a fan of the app, Todd does believe the fad held benefits for the players.
“It got people up and moving, so the physical activity is really good, but I’d say there is more negative than positive to the game,” Todd said.
Tustison, along with CPHS Health and Physical Education teacher Nick Bruno, see the healthful benefits to the game.
“People definitely got out a lot more. They were walking around a lot more, trying to hatch eggs and catch more Pokemon. That is definitely a plus,” Tustison said.
Bruno finds that the most beneficial portion of the app is that it was a fun way to exercise.
“The players want to get up and walk around to catch new Pokémon, evolve them, hatch them and explode the virtual Poke world,” Bruno said. “Not everyone enjoys running or exercising other ways, so creating a game that forces people to get up and move so they can have fun and enjoy being physically active without really paying attention to how long or far they have walked is really great.”
Bruno contributes more than just physical health benefits to Pokemon GO. He states that it is also beneficial to social health by strengthening social skills through the concept of teams and interacting to locate certain Pokemon. But, like Tustison, Bruno believes the craze has dwindled because it was just that: a craze. He also believes that the beginning of the new school year eliminated time to play the game.
“I think school starting back up played a big role in the decrease in players. During the summer, everyone could stay out late and hunt Pokémon, but with school starting up and adding any practices and homework after school hours, no one has as much free time as they did in the summer,” Bruno said.
Both Bruno and Todd found that the game was good for local commerce. Since the Square was constantly crowded with patrons, local businesses were able to benefit from the game.
“I think it was beneficial to Crown Point because it helped the businesses up on the square. With people walking around for hours and hours playing the game, they would eventually stop and grab some food or something to drink. In addition, I know a few places were giving discounts for players on certain teams to help bring in more business,” Bruno said.
Overall fads come and go, and Pokemon GO is no different. But this fad, according to Bruno, had benefits that will resonate in the community for a lifetime.
CPHS hosts ISSMA Marching Festival, receives multiple awards
No football game is complete without the marching band halftime show. On October 1, the marching band got to play their own game at the ISSMA Marching Festival that was held at Crown Point High School.
With 11 bands in attendance, the CPHS marching band the Royal Regiment was able to prove their abilities by earning a gold rating, the highest a band can receive, and a music achievement award, one of two extras for an outstanding performance. The Royal Regiment was the only band in attendance to receive the music achievement award.
This conclusion to the season proved to be a bittersweet one for senior drum major Kasey Kolberg. Although the season came to an end, Kolberg believes the ISSMA was an amazing experience for all those involved.
“I really think it’s such an amazing experience to be able to host something this important. Everyone in the band gets to feel involved with the community because there are so many opportunities for interaction with the bands from other areas,” Kolberg said. “Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work our band has done this season. We really had an incredible performance.”
CPHS Color Guard performed alongside the Royal Regiment, aiding in the achievement of the awards. The Guard works hard to create a routine that accompanies the music of the Royal Regiment. Seniors Madi Marsh and Kira Kopman lead the dance as the band performs the music.
“The band did really amazing with the music. We are a huge marching band, which makes things a little more challenging for [the Color Guard], but we always finish with gold,” Marsh said.