Gaming culture has skyrocketed throughout the years, becoming more socially acceptable; so much so, that we have competitions for certain games. Four years ago, Jenks’ Esports began as just a club with nothing. Now, they have won state championships and are in the top 25 in the country. Though Esports doesn’t get its recognition, they work hard to get where they are now. Having recently been deemed a “sport” by the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletic Association (OSSAA), the team reached the top 25 in PlayVS –  the national Esports competition for multiple games – with an 87.50% winning match, securing spot 17. 

From Jenks, Oklahoma to New York Broadway, Cody Davis has truly lived the “dream,” yet here he is, back in his hometown making a way in the arts for others at his Alma Mater. 

As a junior in high school, who is constantly getting told that I need to pick a career, I am also getting told that I need to be careful because some career fields are being taken over by artificial intelligence (AI). I'm extremely confused. What kind of jobs are being taken over? If we are not supposed to use AI in class, how are we going to be prepared to use it in our future careers, are the schools preparing us for this, or are they just throwing us into the world not knowing whether AI is a useful tool or the enemy?  Are there going to be any jobs left? What do the teachers think? I have so many questions, and luckily, I got to talk to a lot of intelligent people at the High School to help clear up some of my questions and figure out how to approach AI. 

The Olympics, the World renowned international sporting event featuring athletes from hundreds of countries. It would be safe to say that everyone has heard of the Olympics and has watched at least one event in their lifetime. But did you know there is also an Olympic competition for those with intellectual and physical disabilities?

A majority of the Jenks community is able to say they’ve found themselves at a Friday Night Lights game sometime throughout the years. They‘ll walk through the gate, find their seat on the bleachers, and watch a game of football like millions of other schools are doing on that very same night. If they go to a game this year they may see something new. All of a sudden the opposing team is on third down and a song starts playing from the speakers. Cheer and Pom girls are on the sidelines holding signs and chanting, desperately trying to get the crowd to participate. 

Heading to the restroom, advisory, or even the counselors, has always been a simple note saying “John to Mr. Smith - Mrs. Doe.”  Now that the new digital hall passes system, 5Star, has been implemented for about a month now, students have been in an uproar. Students are upset with the short time limits, teachers are upset with the system and advisory passes, and are collectively just confused. Although it seems that the general public isn’t feeling the most positive about 5-Star, we at Trojan Torch are determined to figure out why students dislike it so much, and what the admins have to say about it? 

A maroon curtain conceals the organized chaos going on backstage. People are running from room to room, gathering groups and getting everyone in order. There’s trails of glitter and sparkles left on the floor and everywhere you look you see a different colored dress.

With a rough start to the season, Jenks is currently 1-2 just recently suffering a tough 9-3 loss to Union. Heading into Bixby in a must-win game early in the season, this might be a test for Jenks as they dropped two games in a row to Union and Owasso. The future of the season is uncertain for Jenks.

For an evening filled with vibrant colors, sounds, and displays from around the globe, Jenks students, families, and community members are welcome to join The International Scholars Program (ISP) for their annual Global Village hosted at Jenks Intermediate School. The event takes place on October 10th and celebrates the diversity of the student body and the rich cultural heritages they bring to the school by means of a walk around and hands-on experience.

While summer is coming to an end and pools are turning cold, the pool at the Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center is starting to heat up with many swimmers training for this upcoming season. This is where Senior Alexis Selden is staying busy motivating her teammates to return to gold.

Known as America’s favorite pastime, baseball is the pinnacle of sports with over 162 games a season. High school baseball is the same, but just with 25 to 40 games (brucebolt.us) and with a little more youth.

The first day of school; for some it’s exciting, for others it’s the start of just another year. After the same usual struggle of finding parking, you take a look around, expecting nothing different, only to find two arches marking the main entrance, and construction workers putting in turf and concrete benches in tapped off areas. These small add-ons to campus are cute, but what is the reasoning behind it? 

Imagine you’re in a hot desert. The heat makes the people around you multiply, seemingly thousands of people are surrounding you. All of them go in separate directions in search of the best deal. This isn’t your average desert; this is the new Outlet Mall.

Imagine starting a new book, getting a few chapters in, and finding that this new book speaks to you in ways that no book ever has. The characters, the story, and the overarching message makes you feel so understood in a world that doesn’t quite understand you. Now imagine that book being ripped away from you. Each page being torn, crumpled, gone. Banned

Football time in Oklahoma is a sacred season. Students and families gather at Allan Trimble under the bright stadium lights, ready to crush the opposing team of the evening. There really isn’t much else you could ask for. Except…a rivalry game. When the mood and the stakes are intensified beyond measure. When every second counts on the field. When one mess up could cost you the game. Everything matters during rivalry games. Imagine playing all three “rivals” within a one-month period. Owasso, Union and Bixby all in September. That’s exactly what the Jenks High School Football team is about to endure. 

Almost two years since releasing her global record-breaking album Midnights, international singer/songwriter/performer Taylor Swift has swept the charts once again and stolen everyone’s attention with her brand-new double album that broke even her own records. The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, a double album, has 31 songs filled with some of the most heartbreaking and vulnerable songs that Swift has ever released. In the wake of not one, but two public relationships crumbling into pieces with all eyes on her, the media has made endless theories about what and who these songs are really about.

We’ve always been told by our English teachers “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Saying that the ugliest book could have the greatest story inside, so don’t just look at the appearance and pass judgment. As much as we are told this as kids we still judge books by their covers and how pretty they look. Even experienced book lovers, which I do count myself as, still judge books by their cover, and even every once in a while we cave into the need of just picking a really pretty book that would look good on our trophy case. I mean our bookshelves. There is a stereotype though that if you pick up a pretty book it’s either a really bad story or super dark.

French fries: the iconic American side-dish, hamburger sidekick, and milkshake’s savory counterpart. There are a number of fast food places around our school that distribute well known fries, which are still commonly debated on which is better. We took it upon ourselves to spend an afternoon after practice to go around Jenks and rate these fries on a very scientific scale that we invented.

I’ve spent most of my life lost in thought. When you’re someone who is constantly thinking and inside of their own brain you tend to get comfortable. It is like a safe space. But there comes times where you can’t control the thoughts happening in your brain. The future is a thought that takes over this space of mine quite frequently. I’ll sit in bed at night trying to think of where I see myself in 3 years, but it can be hard picturing myself anywhere but the present. The idea of the unknown can make more scary thoughts come into my safe space. Making me lost in thought more and more.

A season that comes around each year has sprung yet again. Spring! Spring, a beautiful season of new beginnings, blooming flowers, and new life is on its way back to Jenks. In the peak of Spring, it is so easy to look around and admire the beauty surrounding you, however in these first few weeks of spring, much of the beauty goes unnoticed. That is why it is so important to take a pause in your day every once in a while, and simply look around at the small and seemingly insignificant moments that create the lovely season of Spring.