• 11/11: Girls basketball, boys swimming and bowling practices begin
  • 11/13: Signing day
  • 11/15: Cadenza concert @6:30 in West High commons
  • 11/15: Girls swimming state championship @ Marshalltown
The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story
The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story
The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story
Kamakshee Kuchhal '24

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor

(she/her) Kamakshee Kuchhal is a senior at West High School and is super excited for her third (and last) year on West Side Story Print Staff. Besides being a writing and grammar nerd (lead copy editor), she is also a debater, volunteer, robotics-member and older sister among many other things.

All content by Kamakshee Kuchhal
Endrit Ramku ’27, Finnley Bonfig ’26, Lincoln Beihl ’25 and Rowan Bihun ’26 pose with their trophies after competing in Congressional Debate at the Bettendorf Bulldog Invitational Nov. 10-11.

A talent that can’t be debated

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
June 3, 2024
West High seniors share their favorite stories.

Senior Stories

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
May 30, 2024
Class of 2024 senior columns

Class of 2024 senior columns

WSS Staff
May 30, 2024
Seniors Jules Keranen, Liaison Eleanor Weitz, Co-presidents Zaira Ahmad, Kamakshee Kuchhal, and Lillian Graham, along with Liaison Dexter Hanna, proudly pose with their Youth Human Rights Awards May 22.

Six 1440 seniors recognized at 2024 Youth Human Rights Awards

Lilly Graham and Kamakshee Kuchhal
May 27, 2024
Screen Shot 2024-05-22 at 11.09.26 AM

The passage of HFs 2586 2652 puts more lives — children and teachers — into the line of fire.

Aim for safety

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Jane Lam
April 18, 2024
WSS covers student experiences with the 2023-24 college admissions process.

Inside the application

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Jane Lam, Shanza Sami, and Henry Timmer-Hackert
April 18, 2024
West robotics members prepare for the upcoming competition season.

Wired for West

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Shanza Sami
March 8, 2024
Members of the West Speech & Debate team pose for a photo after winning sweepstakes at Districts.

West Speech & Debate members qualify for Nationals

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
February 14, 2024
ICW Speech & Debate team poses for a photo after winning the IHSSA sweepstakes trophy.

ICW Speech & Debate secures State sweepstakes for the fourth consecutive year

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
January 26, 2024
Melae Lacy '24, Aria Warren '26 and Ashley Niemiec '25 showcase their talents and confidence by participating in pageantry in high school.

Pageant personas

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Maddy Cook
January 24, 2024
Lots of students at West participate in cosplay.

Behind the costume

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Jessie Li
November 22, 2023
The West High Speech and Debate team poses at the end of Tournavelt, securing the title of overall runner-up in Lincoln-Douglas and champions in both Novice and Varsity Public Forum categories.

Tournavelt triumph: Speech and Debate team sweeps awards

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
October 24, 2023
Vuppala and Mathews receive gold for the Flight event at the Science Olympiad State Competition.

[Photo] Meet Science Olympiad’s newest captains

Shanza Sami, Print Features Editor
October 18, 2023
With college admissions on the rise and the recent overturning of affirmative action, Asian Americans are significantly impacted in the new educational and societal landscape.

Equity, not equality

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
October 10, 2023
WSS covers recent legislation regarding censorship and the LGBTQ+ community in classrooms.

Education legislation

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Shanza Sami, and Marie Stier
October 6, 2023
FTC Trobotix 8686 competes at the League Tournament January 14th. Photo courtesy of Evan Baker.

FTC versus FRC

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
May 26, 2023
West students share their experiences with eating disorders, self-harm scars and body dysmorphia.

Beauty Beyond Bodies

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Gianna Liu
May 18, 2023
The Radish

The Radish

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Jane Lam
April 23, 2023
Trobotix takes a team photo with their Gold Division Alliance Finalist medals.

Trobotix: a new beginning

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
March 7, 2023
"We love you, Poet!" is a common saying members of IC Speaks use before performances to show support for the performer.

We love you, Poet

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
March 2, 2023
Trobotix takes a team photo after advancing to the state level for FTC Robotics.

Trobotix advances to state

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
February 20, 2023
Debate team champions for the third consecutive year

Debate team champions for the third consecutive year

Jane Lam and Kamakshee Kuchhal
January 30, 2023
Kalen McCain '17 holds a State Semifinalist trophy from IHSSA.

Debater from the start: Student to Coach

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Jane Lam
January 26, 2023
Biswash (Biz) Bhattarai stands proudly as the new face of the popular "stonks" meme.

Bizness

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
January 21, 2023
FTC Team Trobotix's path to victory

FTC Team Trobotix’s path to victory

Wesal Haroun and Kamakshee Kuchhal
January 18, 2023
Krisha Kapoor '23 gives the closing speech at the annual Iowa MOST Benefit Concert

Spreading smiles: Iowa MOST

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
November 23, 2022
Tate's tantrums

Tate’s tantrums

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
November 19, 2022
The NESTT includes snacks and drinks for students to take.

NESTT at West

Reem Kirja and Kamakshee Kuchhal
October 8, 2022
Pammie poses for a photo in the hallways of West High.

Write this down

Zaira Ahmad and Kamakshee Kuchhal
May 24, 2022
Beauty standards impact students at West High, whether they originate from social media or Western beauty ideals.

Broken beauty

Kamakshee Kuchhal and Jane Lam
March 9, 2022
Language learning is a part of many students' high school experiences, whether they take ELL, a world language, or both.

Language logistics

Maya Chu, Kamakshee Kuchhal, and Athena Wu
January 25, 2022
There are many stigmas surrounding periods and students discuss what they believe should be done to break these.

SHHHH…

Katherine Shoppa, Kamakshee Kuchhal, and Jack Alden
November 20, 2021
For some students, their high school years become a balancing act between their interests and what they believe colleges want from them.

The college conundrum

Lilly Graham, Kamakshee Kuchhal, and Helen Zhang
October 5, 2021
Period Problems

Period Problems

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
May 6, 2021
A tall stem looms over the plain grass surrounding it, swaying in the wind as if asking me to be photographed. Hosting minuscule tube-like bulbs, I can smell spring in the air.

A New Beginning

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
April 10, 2021
In "A glance into the past," columnist Kamakshee Kuchhal '24 dives into the WSS archives.

A glance into the past: Miss Iowa, you’re ugly

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
April 8, 2021
Catching Some ZZZs

Catching Some ZZZs

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Abigail Kacmarynski, Akshethaa Naveen-Kumar, and Jane Lam
March 9, 2021
A glance into the past: One of Wunn's

A glance into the past: One of Wunn’s

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
February 28, 2021
In the first installment of "A glance into the past," Kamakshee Kuchhal '24 uncovers an article detailing a high school party.

A glance into the past: We’re going to party like it’s…

Kamakshee Kuchhal, Lead Print Copy Editor
February 9, 2021
Load More Stories
Donate to West Side Story
$50
$2000
Contributed
Our Goal

Menu
Activate Search
The student news source of Iowa City West High
Kamakshee Kuchhal