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Math teacher Kevin O'Gorman sat down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to talk about his experience celebrating Pi Day. He sometimes celebrates with his class, but often sits down to enjoy pie on his own if he doesn't celebrate during the school day.

On this episode of Listen In, social studies teacher Krista Silvernail sat down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to discuss the positive psychological impacts of compliments for National Compliment Day on March 1.

Silvernail teaches AP Psychology and covers types of relationships between different people.

"Psychology focuses a lot on how important it is that people feel a sense of belonging and that people want to connect with others," Silvernail said.

Giving a compliment benefits both the compliment giver and the compliment receiver by creating a relationship that makes both people feel good. A study by Psychology Today in 2021 suggested that more people should start giving compliments more frequently because of the psychological benefits.

"Especially if a person is intuitive and is paying close attention to the expressions of the person that they're giving the compliment to," Silvernail said. "We never know what's going on in somebody's day but to see somebody light up because you told them 'I love your hair' could make a big impact on [their] day."

Not only does she know this based on personal experience but Silvernail teaches a theory in her class that backs it up.

"Giving compliments would be a theory that's called the 'Feel Good When We Do Good' theory," she said. "Just like the theory states, a lot of times when we do a small act of kindness and see the way they respond, that makes us feel good for a significant time."

To celebrate National Compliment Day, Silvernail recommends giving a compliment as a simple act of kindness to help make a better day for someone else. Her personal goal is to get better at both receiving and giving compliments because of the impact on others.

"It makes them feel loved and wanted and part of a bigger group," Silvernail said.

On this episode of Listen In, junior Jessica Guan sits down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to discuss the importance of the Lunar New Year in Chinese culture. Since she was a child, Guan has celebrated the Lunar New Year.

Guan's parents are from China and the majority of their family still live there so they follow some of the traditional practices such as wearing red, decorating with fish for good luck and hanging red papers around the house.

The holiday prompts cleaning, wearing new clothes and other traditions to start the new year with prosperity. This year's celebration is extra special Guan said since 2024 is the year of the dragon, one of the 12 Chinese zodiacs.

"The creature largely symbolizes luck, strength, ambition and charm," Time Magazine said.

China has the largest Lunar New Year celebration in the world, prompting the largest mass migration as people travel home to China to celebrate. Although Guan has never made it due to the holiday's timing being in the middle of the school year, she would love to go in the future.

"I would love to see the celebrations. They have enormous parades in the cities [and] market vendors sell trinkets in the streets," Guan said.

The most important thing that Guan wants people to know about Chinese culture as a whole is that it needs to be kept separate from the government. She enjoys wearing traditional Chinese clothes because they prompt that conversation and allow her to have that conversation with people.

"Just because a government does one thing does not mean that the culture is necessarily associated with that or symbolic of that," Guan said. "I find that's a common misconception that people have in the West."

The Lunar New Year is Feb. 10 but there is a 14-day celebration that will end on Feb. 24.

Class of 2011 graduate Charles Zimmerman recently competed in season 5 of Holiday Wars, a baking competition show. As a high school student, Zimmerman won a gingerbread house contest as part of the Lafayette Culinary team. That was his first culinary arts competition. Zimmerman sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney to talk about what he took away from the show and how he got into his current field.

Gifted teacher Shannon Batt sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney to discuss her experience as a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She has been able to pass down her tribal heritage to her sons and over the past month has chatted with both Lafayette and middle school students about her culture. Batt said that although she doesn't live with her tribe, it still feels like home every time she's able to visit.

Car Club is a new, non-school-sponsored club that has started meeting outside of school, giving students an opportunity to learn engineering skills. Sophomore Adit Swami sat down with Multimedia Editor Samantha Haney and reporter Neel Patil to discuss the future of the club. The club has begun building a go-kart with an engine that they collectively fundraised to purchase. Soon, Swami hopes to start entering the club’s custom go-kart in drifting races, and interested club members will be able to drive it.