The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield
Our Best of SNO Published Articles
The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield
The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield
Jae Jepsen

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief

Jae Jepsen is a senior at Pleasant Valley High School and is thrilled to serve as 2023-2024 Editor-in-Chief for the Spartan Shield Online! In past years, she has written for the Boston Terrier at Boston University’s Summer Journalism Institute, worked as Copy Editor online, and been print News Editor. Outside of journalism, Jae is the Vice President Out-of-House for the PV Drama Officer Board, and participates in theatre both on and off stage. She has been a representative on Spartan Assembly throughout all of high school. After graduation, Jae will attend the University of Missouri to pursue a degree in journalism.

All content by Jae Jepsen
Columbia University's campus has broken out into protests and encampments of students protesting the war in Gaza.

Mirrored turmoil: Election year unrest reverberates across university campuses

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
May 18, 2024
Harvard University is one of several elite universities where test scores will now be required for admission.

What the Ivy League isn’t saying with their new application policy

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
April 25, 2024
Senior Brie Howell worked with senior Celia Brown to create a set of pins meant to promote feminism and empower girls.

Yes, she can be president: Casual misogyny hijacks senior tradition

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
April 22, 2024
PV students enjoyed watching the partial eclipse in front of the school on April 8.

[Photo] Eclipsing events: The importance of peak experiences

Selah DeVore, Copy Editor
April 17, 2024
Senior Pratima Khatri has spent time lobbying to legislators for as Organizing Lead for March for Our Lives Iowa. Photo credit to Saw Gee Dow Sow

Locked and loading: Iowans grapple with proposed bill to arm teachers

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
March 26, 2024
Senior Randall Brady holds up a sign with the response to a call-and-response chant.

Pleasant Valley students walkout of class in support of Perry High School after shooting

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
January 9, 2024
Senior Addie Kilcoin poses at the Eras Tour in June of 2023. Like Kilcoin, a large majority of Swift's fanbase is female. Photo Credit to Addie Kilcoin.

OPINION: Unfounded criticism of Taylor Swift enters America’s game

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
February 9, 2024
The injunction of SF 496 is allowing books like Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," to return to classroom after previously being removed from curriculum.

An Iowa plot twist: Senate File 496 faces legal hurdles

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
February 2, 2024
A Pleasant Valley student attempts to access AEA's online resources, but is unable.

In the crosshairs: AEA services at risk amid Iowa educational reform bill

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
January 28, 2024

[Video] PV Celebrates 50 Years of Girls Basketball

Jae Jepsen and Ayah Alsheikha
January 8, 2024
The opening act of comedian Demetri Martin’s show on Oct 22 2022.

[Photo] Not a laughing matter: The sensationalism of comedy takes ‘dark humor’ too far

Muskan Mehta, Social Media Manager
December 12, 2023
Recount board members Arun Pillutla, Mark Smith and Cyndi Diercks were responsible for determining the result of the District 6 election. Photo credit to Arun Pillutla

Mishandled election recount leaves school board position undecided

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
December 3, 2023
Americans are exposed to news about tragic mass shootings so regularly that the impact of each individual tragedy is reduced.

Bulletproof ignorance: America’s disturbing numbness to gun violence

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
November 27, 2023
As states around the nation place bans on classroom subjects and discussion topics, the integrity of the American education system comes into question.

Shifting tides: Unveiling current controversies in modern education

November 27, 2023
Constituents gather on Tuesday to await election results. Photo credit to Nikhil Wagle for PV School Board on Facebook.

Pleasant Valley school board election results reveal community priorities

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
November 13, 2023
The school board’s public forum was held at Scott Community College’s Belmont Campus, and brought up a number of district and community issues.

PV community gathers for pivotal conversations at pre-election school board forum

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
November 3, 2023
The Pleasant Valley school board meets regularly to discuss district-wide issues and make decisions concerning the PV community. Of the seven positions, four are currently up for election on Nov. 7. Photo credit to Pleasant Valley School District.

School board election showcases polarization in battle for educational leadership

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
October 26, 2023

Interview with PV School Board candidate Peter Olsen

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
October 26, 2023
Spartan Assembly members are pictured outside of Hy-Vee collecting donations for the Hunger Drive. Photo credit to Kristi Carr.

[Photo] Pleasant Valley takes on the Hunger Drive to tackle food disparity in the Quad Cities

Ayah Alsheikha, Lead Editor
October 23, 2023
Junior Carly Berta is featured on her family's Youtube channel in a video from 2018

Child abuse scandal puts spotlight on family vloggers

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
September 28, 2023
Prior to her arrest, Franke gave parenting advice with Connexions, a life coaching service

PV powderpuff teams competing in a game on Sept. 16.

[Photo] Pleasant Valley girls tackle powderpuff football

Ellie Samec, Copy Editor
September 18, 2023
Senate File 496 has changing many aspects of the classroom- including the names that teachers can call their students

Iowa education law creates changes for students and teachers

Jae Jepsen, Editor-in-Chief
September 11, 2023
Though the May 15 incident is by far the worst, Junior Lynsey Stevenson has been isolated from her peers at numerous other choir events

‘I felt like I was just a shadow’: PV fails to meet expectation of inclusivity

Jae Jepsen, Editor in Chief
May 30, 2023
Members of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) have gone on strike after contract negotiations failed to yield the changes they desired.

WGA strike has ‘striking’ impacts

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
May 18, 2023
The inaugural Spartan Spotlighters production came to a close on April 30 to much acclaim. They performed “The Wizard of Oz”, and featured disabled students between seventh and 12th grades.

Spartan Spotlighters take audiences ‘Over the Rainbow’ with remarkable performance

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
May 17, 2023
The exaggeration of niche style aesthetics is creating an expectation to fit into a singular category, even when fully involving oneself is near impossible.

Everycore: The obsession with categorizing fashion

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
May 11, 2023
North Scott Director of Curriculum and Instruction Bernadette Burstkern will be taking over Mike Zimmer’s job as Director of Secondary Education in the fall.

Brustkern to take over as PV Director of Secondary Education

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
May 2, 2023
PV Junior Brie Howell and her friends took part in the trend of extravagant concert fashion, going all out to see Harry Styles’ Love on Tour.

A musical met gala: The evolution of concert fashion

Jae Jepsen, Copy editor
April 18, 2023
Seniors have taken to social media to share their college decisions, providing counsel and caution to younger students as they ponder their own futures.

Statistical sorrow: Seniors share college decisions on social media

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
April 11, 2023
Parasocial relationships are formed when a fan of a celebrity begins to form a real attachment to them despite there being no real interaction or relationship between the two.

The illusion of intimacy: Fans prone to forming parasocial relationships with celebrities

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
April 4, 2023
Before Phi Phi Leh beach closed in 2018, there were over 6,000 visitors a day, contributing significantly to pollution on the island.

The dark side of tourism

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
April 4, 2023
Undefeated yet empty: How PV’s student section neglects female athletics

Undefeated yet empty: How PV’s student section neglects female athletics

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editors
March 21, 2023
High publicity trials have a permanent fixture of American culture, giving the media a newly formed responsibility for the outcomes of cases.

When the media plays juror

Jae Jepsen, copy editor
March 6, 2023
The controversial Stanford List suggests the elimination of harmful language, and includes words with unfavorable origins.

Stanford offensive language list attempts to make progress, addresses the wrong issue

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
February 28, 2023

[Video] Swords and storytelling: PV drama’s experiments with stage combat

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
February 22, 2023
Spotify’s bedroom pop playlist contains songs by both well known and obscure artists, and has over 1 million likes.

Made at home: The rise of bedroom pop in the digital age

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
February 20, 2023
Students take a bow at this year’s Penguin Project performance

PV drama pulls back the curtain on new ‘Spartan Spotlighters’ production

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
February 14, 2023
Since diabetes drugs have gone viral for their weight loss capabilities, shortages have been seen across the country.

The ethical dilemma of Ozempic

Jae Jepsen, Copy Editor
February 8, 2023
As criticism and memes about a show go viral, more people choose to watch it so they can add to the storm of hatred.

About the buzz: How the era of hate-watching is influencing media

Jae Jepsen, Copy editor
January 30, 2023
The 2023 American Girl of the Year Kavi Sharma is the first Indian-American doll in the series, which has long been representative of various cultures and backgrounds.

[Photo] American Girl of the Year 2023 brings representation to South Asian children

Shobini Iyer, EIC
January 30, 2023
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