By Jazmine Hytower Staff Writer Rumors of the “Momo” challenge has been heavily circulating on many social media platforms in the past few months. “Momo” was first widely introduced to the web in July 2018, but has really taken off since 2019 started. Momo is a fictional entity that is said to entice children into doing dangerous things such as self-harm and even suicide. Momo was created by Keisuke Aiso, an artist who makes ghoulish works, in 2016 and is actually called Mother Bird. “I first heard about the challenge on social media and on the news,” Niji Collins, a Merrillville mother of five, said. “I heard it was affecting a lot of kids.” Many warnings have been issued,but there are no reported cases of anything bad actually happening to any children because of the so-called challenge. Many parents are still alarmed and worried that their children will be targeted. “I believe that Momo is demonic and a distraction toward children,” Collins said. Many people on the internet don’t believe that the Momo challenge is real, but Collins claimed that “Momo” contacted one of her children.” “Not only did it call his phone, it called his friend’s phone at the same time,” Collins said. “He was so afraid.” Niji said that she doesn’t believe in the actual character of “Momo”, but fully believes there are deranged and disturbed people behind it. Parents are worried and some claim to have seen it, but it seems there are still teenagers with and without younger siblings who don’t believe in it at all. “I don’t believe in Momo at all,” Junior, Kyla McCoy, said. “I never heard my sister talking about it and she’s never mentioned it to me.” Many people got alarmed about the Momo challenge when parents were claiming it was showing up on youtube in Peppa Pig videos. Peppa Pig is a TV show geared toward young children, and many children use youtube to watch it. Youtube issued a response to this via Twitter saying they hadn’t seen any recent evidence of the challenge on youtube and that it was against their guidelines. “Me and my sister are on youtube all the time, and we definitely have never seen any actual videos of Momo,” McCoy said. Comments are closed.
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Student reflectionsPlease keep scrolling all the way down to see all the comments.
Senior Zhanvie Edmond
“My biggest fear is that this may happen again and make everyone’s situation even harder. E-learning is great and all, but it is very hard to stay motivated to get work done because of all the distractions being at home brings. What I miss the most is my whole senior year. Everyone looks forward to all the festivities of senior year and it sucks that I won’t be able to have those experiences. I’ve been keeping myself busy by trying my hardest to stay on top of school work, painting, and playing video games to get my mind off of bigger issues. And to the rest of the senior class, just keep pushing through. Yes, this is a very tough time, but life still goes on, so we have to stay strong.” Senior Aaliyah Perry
“My biggest fear during all of this that it will last way longer than we expect it to. When I first heard school was closed for the rest of the year, I didn’t think it was true. I just laughed it off and then started crying again because I realized the rest of my senior year was gone. I’ve been keeping myself busy by keeping in contact with my friends and doing lots of baking. I’ve been talking to friends via phone, Skype, and even google hangouts. As for baking, so far I’ve made churros and tons of cookies. I miss being able to just walk through the halls and see other people focused in class. I really like to see other people focused on certain tasks because it motivates me to do something too. E-learning has been weird. Sometimes I absolutely love it, other times I hate it. Sometimes, I just close my laptop and act like it’s summer… and then I remember that I still have grades to worry about and I can’t fail. Most of my work is pretty easy, but it’s really difficult with my technical classes because we can’t work the way we normally would. Seniors, this isn’t the end of us. We are going to make this year memorable!” Senior Tajah East
What I’ve been missing most about school is the nonstop exciting environment. I miss the constant laughter I would have with my teachers and classmates. I miss the atmosphere of learning , I miss walking the halls , I miss hearing the bells rings , and I miss the feeling of having somewhere to be. I absolutely hate that my fellow 2020 classmates have said our goodbye to MHS in this way. Yet there is always light in every situation. I can say the positive outlook I have is we now know what true leadership and teamwork looks like from our school. The staff has been doing their best to try to help with everything in this crazy time. And it’s greatly appreciated from us all. Even though we miss our regular lives this is a great time to re-evaluate ourselves, families , hobbies, and just explore new things that can emerge from this quarantine. I can say as a class we have missed out of stuff, but I can ensure we will have a story to tell. I love you class of 2020 and we will always be remembered. Senior Desiree Alleyne “My biggest fear right now is not being able to walk across the stage. I want to be with my class for one last time and wear my cap and gown to receive the diploma I worked so hard for. I want to experience something that a lot of people never get to experience. Rejoicing with the people I spent the last 13 years of school with about our accomplishment was something I always looked forward to. Playing in the Orchestra for graduation was something I also looked forward to all of my years high school.”
Senior Kenneth King
“I work to keep myself occupied. I also watch Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and do my work.” The MirrorThe Mirror is the student newspaper of Merrillville High School, 276 E. 68th Place, Merrillville Ind. 46410. |