Issuu

C ommon Sense Millard South High School • 14905 Q St. • Omaha, Neb., 68137

January 29, 2021

Volume 21 Issue 4

Two Sides of the Same Coin Students are back from Zoom and in the classroom

Macho Voce welcomes freshman Anthony Marrero to the choir room. Marrero spent last semester participating through Zoom. Photo by Carah Jones

Natalie Fedde Co-Editor In Chief With the second semester starting back up, students are reacclimating to the school environment. Some students are having a harder time of this than others, having to readjust to an in-person school environment after spending the first semester on Zoom. While many students say they are glad to be back, they also say they are facing unforeseen challenges. “I’m so tired,” junior Vivian Kaldahl said. “You have to interact with a lot more people, which takes more energy than I remembered.” Sophomore Aidan Gamble said he agrees that physically being in school is more draining than being home. “Having to walk long distances between classes is making me more tired than normal,” he said. The physical effort of being at school takes an unexpected

toll on the body. Returning students say they are also noticing that they have to put in more effort outside of the school day. “It is easier to manage time at home, and I felt like I got more done because I wasn’t always in class,” junior Maddy Leland said. “I got off Zoom, then I could work on homework.” Freshman Cassandra Thompson said she agrees. “In school, it’s much more strict, and when you’re at home, there’s a lot more leeway,” she said. Classes often get started a few minutes after the bell, and this year teachers have to wrap up early to sanitize their rooms for the next group of students. All of these small chunks of time add up for remote learners, allowing them more time to work during the school day. On top of this, assignments are occasionally modified to work over Zoom. Remote students may have a version of

an activity that is cut down for practicality. Leland said, “There is a lot of modification that goes on, especially since not all the kids are online,” Leland said. “Teachers sometimes forget about Zoom students, but I know they’re trying their best,” she said. Gamble said, “You can’t do a lot through a computer. It is hard to interact with other students, so we sometimes get left out of group activities.” As hard as teachers are trying, lessons translate differently online versus in school, causing a rift in comprehension. For some remote learners such as senior Eleora Timberlake, this was a factor in the decision to return to in-person school. “I wasn’t retaining information very well, and I felt generally sluggish,” Timberlake said. One upside of school is it keeps students moving and interacting all day. Thompson said, “The best thing about being at school is being able to socialize,” Thompson said. With restrictions from the pandemic, many aspects of regular teenage life are already taken from students. For those who are able to attend school in person, it is a way to keep a sense of normalcy and create and enforce bonds with peers that help build who they are. It is safe to say that learning from home is vastly

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“ Inmore school, it’s much strict, and when

you’re at home, there’s a lot more leeway.

”

–junior Maddy Leland

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Millard South Media livestreams sporting events for those unable to attend. Photo by Caden Blair.

Back in her remote learning set up from first semester, junior Vivian Kaldahl completes her elearning on Jan. 15. Kaldahl says two laptops were really ideal while on remote. “I used one for Zoom and one for Google Classroom and homework,” she said. Photo by Christine Kaldahl

TikTok food advice special guest Gordon Ramsay

This movie is ‘So’ul good

different than being in a classroom. While both options are valid, returning students are relieved to be back. “If I had stayed home any longer, I would feel like I missed an entire year of high school,” Kaldahl said.

Junior Karsen Pickrel applies hand sanitizer after class. Remote learners had the luxury of being maskless while at home and not having to sanitize so frequently. Photo by Natalie Fedde

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Young talent on Boys Varisty Basketball. Photo by Bergan Simmonds

News 1 • 29 • 2021

Millard South Media fills the void for fans Ally Seevers Sports Editor

As you walk into the stadium, onto the

court, or toward the diamond, it just isn’t the same without the overcrowded student section blaring in the background and the Patriot Pride Band playing Sweet Caroline in the background. But one thing that hasn’t changed: the Millard South Media table hiding out in the back, ready to broadcast the game onto YouTube for those who aren’t able to attend. “Millard South Media is a part of our broadcasting class here at Millard South,” said junior Haley Geringer. “We are a big team with separate roles. We have people who will call the games and run the cameras, we have our stats team, and then we have our photographers and videographers who make hype videos and canvas, or like ads, for the games.” One of the main projects that the Millard South Media team has undertaken is live streaming many of the Patriot sporting events. One of the commentators, senior Joey Kirkle, said, “We live stream as many Millard South sporting events as possible, giving fans an opportunity to watch the games even if they can’t make it.” Also on the team are commentators Nate Cronin, Caden Blair and David Church, who often photograph games, plus Tanner Gottschalck and Dylan Schiessler, who often do stats, the “producer” and cameraman, Taylor Lewis. Hannah Doornik, Haley Geringer, and Lydia Bruncker typically photograph games while Rakeem Ballard does the daily announcements and Bergan Simmonds videographs the games, and that’s not even all of the team who work behind the scenes. “Basically, I help produce the streams for the game broadcasts,” said sophomore Taylor Lewis. “I also help with a bunch of other stuff such as the camera or scoreboard; really just helping with whatever I can.” “Personally, I’ve been recently calling swimming and diving, but I mostly make the canvas and the hype videos as well as

some photography,” Geringer said. Streaming around 30 sporting events already this school year, totaling up to over 75 hours of streaming, these students have put in a lot of work, and in return have gotten a lot of appreciation from family members of athletes, other students, staff, and more. “They [the Seniors Hannah Doornik and CiCi King prepare to take sideline photos and video at an early season football game where only students] do a family could attend. This is Doornink’s first year on the media team and King’s second. Photo by Lydia Brunkner wonderful job,” quarterfinal game against Creighton Prep on their YouTube channel, Millard South said Millard South has had the most concurrent viewers, sitting Media. security officer, Dan Twarling. “When I at 994 viewers during the actual stream. “It was a super cool moment for all first started watching their broadcasts, “It’s really fun to watch my students of us,” said Kirkle. “Being there when we I was like ‘Those aren’t students!’ cause be passionate created the account, it’s been amazing they sound almost about what they seeing it constantly grow.” professional… They love to do and If you are interested in joining the class, are always talking; watch them make Kaldahl says that you can “join the class by they do a good job of it happen,” said either first taking the prerequisite, Intro to getting background advisor, Christine Journalism and Broadcasting (class number information. I could Kaldahl. “When 0064), or you can, with permission from the tell from the very first they’re at the liveinstructor, register for Broadcasting (0077) time that I watched streaming table and jump right in.” a football broadcast and they’re in their This group of students have done some that they had really moment doing amazing things in the short time that they done their research what they really have been around, but you can expect even on the other teams, love, it’s just fun to better things to come from this talented not just our team. I watch them in that group. love getting to watch experience and to “I enjoy being around the people,” said the games through know that people Tanner Gottschalck. “They are always fun; the live streams.” are listening and it’s definitely something I will miss once I The mostwatching what graduate.” watched broadcast we’re doing and “Millard South Media is so fun,” said since the start of appreciate it.” Geringer. “So be sure to watch the live the channel is the One of the streams!” 2020 varsity football biggest milestones season-opener against Millard North. The faces behind the voices on Millard South Media, that the media has seniors Nate Cronin and Joey Kirkle commentate the achieved though, It now has over 6 girls varsity basketball game vs. Millard North Jan. was reaching thousand views, 22. The duo has called 14 games this year. Photo by 1,000 subscribers while the football Zach Vanicek

Immunity on its way as vaccines roll out Sam Tews Staff Reporter As we enter the new year, the problems of the last continue to follow us. But there is some hope. Last year, many companies were working very hard in efforts to create vaccines for the covid 19 pandemic. Now, they are pushing even harder to get the vaccinations out to the public as fast as they can. However, there is skepticism surrounding these vaccines. Are they safe? Do they even work? Will there be enough? These are some of the many questions that people have found themselves asking, with the biggest questions out of those being the safety and effectiveness of the various vaccines. Covid is of course a pretty new virus, which means that many new treatments are constantly being developed and tested. Hiccups in how effective the treatments are against the virus are bound to happen, and that will hopefully help to create more effective vaccines. So far vaccinations have been generally slow across the world with only 44 million doses being administered, and though that is a large number, that’s be-

tween 51 separate countries. A handful of countries have really accelerated vaccinations though. For example, as of Jan. 18, Israel has vaccinated about 30 percent of their total population. Most countries as of now have yet to vaccinate 10 percent of their population and some are struggling to hit 5 percent. But this doesn’t need to make you think that there isn’t enough to go around because multiple companies are beginning to rapidly increase production. One notable example is Moderna. They increased their minimum production to about 600 million doses in early January and don’t seem to be stopping; as in an article released by CNBC, the company stated that they want to produce 1 billion doses of their vaccine this year. This Moderna vaccine is facing controversy, however. Many people do not like that it is a messenger RNA vaccine. The way an mRNA vaccine works is it has mRNA that has been coded to do whatever it has to do and when it is injected, the mRNA goes to your DNA to basically deliver a message. This type of vaccine is not very common and many find it to be too intrusive. Some people are also skepti-

cal of Covid vaccines because there have been numerous incidents relating to how patients have reacted to mRNA based vaccines; it seems that they are similar to the virus itself in that not everyone’s body reacts the same way to them. For example in California, epidemiologist Dr. Erica pan suggested the use of a batch of Moderna vaccines should be halted after numerous allergic reactions were reported. The CDC also reported similar reactions to the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, which is also based on mRNA. Both companies have issued statements saying they will investigate these reactions and will make adjustments if need be. Junior Jack Bayless’ mom is a nurse. He said she has received her two vaccinations. how their mom was a nurse and has so far had two different Covid vaccines. He said, “basically after the first shot nothing out of the ordinary happened, but the second one she was so tired she almost passed out. Tiredness is among the side effects that the CDC lists for most Covid vaccines. The entire list of possible side effects includes fever, tiredness, chills, headache, and pain/swelling in the arm that was

given the shot. All of which are normal signs that your body is building protection. However there have been scattered reports of more abnormal side effects. Bayliss said his mom learned from a coworker about a woman who started having convulsions after getting a Covid vaccine. While yes that might not have been caused by the vaccine, we have to remember that so far studies have shown that people can react much worse to certain vaccines than others and in this case maybe an unknown medical condition was accelerated. All this talk about the many things that can happen with the new vaccines is probably worrying, but most people that have been vaccinated so far have been completely fine. The CDC has said that, according to their respective companies, the two vaccines that are being made available to the U.S. public are about 95 percent effective plus severe side effects have been extremely rare as of now. Also, I if a serious issue does come up, the companies producing will certainly do something about it.

News 1• 29 • 2021

Remembering our fearless rose Jan. 5, 2021, marked 10 years since the loss of Dr. Vicki Kaspar, assistant principal. Current juniors and seniors might remember an afternoon of lockdown in their elementary classrooms in Millard, but they likely never met the woman for whom their high school teachers wear red for every Jan. 5. Students now hear reference to a meeting or see the sign posted outside the door to the Dr. Kaspar Conference Room, but they never met the woman whose portrait hangs there. Teachers and staff at MSHS responded to a simple request. “Tell us a word or phrase you would use to describe Dr. Kaspar.” The words on the accompanying art work reflect those heartfelt responses. Some words came up more than others, like “Mom” and “kind.” Teachers and staff were anxious to share more than just a word or two, and the student reporters who hear their stories understand a great deal more about Dr. Kaspar. Her memory lives on at MSHS and it is a privilege to share it with you. interviews conducted by Olivia Palmer and Natalie Fedde

Weidenhamer closing out 31 years in halls of MSHS Carah Jones Entertainment Editor

like the content at all.” Weidenhamer has two daughters, Joy (Class of 2018) and Erin (Class of Teaching with a mask and keeping 2021), that both have attended South. a safe distance from students is not how Weidenhamer says since they’ve been language arts teacher Vickie Weidenat South, she has become closer with hamer pictured her final year in the them. profession. “I feel like I got to know them both “The teacher I am this year is not better once they were here, because I the teacher I am,” Weidenhamer says. “I got to hear their stories as they were spent my first few years getting comhappening. They would come in befortable with being around the room tween class… I’d hear something, and and just moving constantly,” she said. then they would leave… I got to hear “When we got Smart Boards, I had to more than ‘Fine’ every day,” she said. adjust to being at the front of the room Before becoming a teacher, Weiso I could reach the Smart Board.” And denhamer worked for an airline. now with COVID, “you have to be six “I thought that was going to be feet away” and “within the mic of your my lifelong thing,” she said. “...I had camera to teach redone a lot of things motely and concurprior to [teaching]..., rently,” she says. but everything I had But despite done, I had mastered the changes to the in three months, so no delivery of instrucjob was really interesttion, Weidenhamer ing after the first three says students remonths.” ally haven’t changed But with teaching, “evover the years. ery day is interesting; “It’s how we every day is different, deal with them that’s and it’s never boring.” changed,” she said. She says teaching has Weidenhamer also changed her as a is an ‘82 graduate of person MSHS. “Thirty one years is a “We wrote and long time; it gets hard passed notes, and to remember who you Language Arts teacher that was the worst were.” “I can tell you Vickie Weidenhamer thing ever.” She says what I see. I can see sending a quick text isn’t any different.” people when they’re in their twenties Despite students never changand they think they know and they ing, Weidenhamer’s teaching style is think they’re right, but they just haven’t something that shes says has changed. had the same amount of experiences When she first started teaching 31 years to know that you can still be right and ago, Weidenhamer said that she “had someone else can be right.” difficulty with classroom management As for retirement, Weidenhamer [and] interactions with students.” She said, “It’s not a full retirement; I’m still said that when she was in college, and going to have to work.” “I love what I do even when she was in high school, “the from 8 to 3:15. It’s all the other little bits indication was that… [the teacher is] in and pieces that have become so much charge, and [they] make all the decimore complicated in the last 30 years. sions.” That’s the part that makes me tired. Now, she says, “[It has become] “I might sub, I might work retail. I more of a partnership. I give my studon’t know. I don’t have to know. I want dents choices when I can, I base the to be bored for a little bit, and then I’ll decisions I make off of what I think decide,” she said. they’ll enjoy the most, even if they don’t

art by K.J Ellison

Job hunting: Stalking a new kind of prey Alex Tippets Chief Headline Writer

If there is one thing to take away from this pandemic- it’s that it has affected industries differently. All around, businesses are either looking for people to fill job positions or are permanently closing their doors due to lack of revenue. This also drastically affects things for those who are actively job searching. Now that COVID-19 stimuluses are drying up, the number of people searching for jobs has skyrocketed. This makes finding any job, whether part or full-time, much more difficult. However, knowing what industries and positions are in high demand can allow you to get ahead of everyone else when it comes to job searching. Here’s what part-time job availability looks like right now. As the holiday season winds down, so do the open positions for cashiers in retail. Business tends to slow down for retailers at the start of the new year, so bringing in new employees is unlikely. This is especially true for clothing stores, since people who have just received new clothes over the holidays are much less likely to immediately go out and buy more. However, cashiers at other establishments such as restaurants are not adversely affected. Cashiring requires that you would be able to politely and effectively communicate with customers, do fast and basic math, as well as help customers having issues checking out. A retail position that is hiring, however, are shelf stockers. These jobs typically consist of what you’d expect, unload trucks and stock products on the sales floor. Stores like Walmart and Target typically have a stocking force that constantly fluctuates, so they are almost always hiring for these positions. It is advised that before applying that you ask yourself if you can carry boxes full of heavy products and be able to stand on your feet for long periods of time. Childcare is an industry that, while undergoing many regulation changes since last March, has not really had any rise or decline in demand for workers.

Positions are fairly abundant, and there are a few places currently looking for caretakers. Childcare requires you to be able to communicate effectively with children, and to have patience in dealing with issues that arise. Job openings in the entertainment business are at an all time low. With industries such as movie theaters on the brink of bankruptcy, many of these businesses are currently not open to hiring new people. Some businesses have been cycling through reopening and reclosing, so even if you find a position in this field, it’s probably advised that you do some research on how well that company is doing, and whether you’re at risk of losing that job as soon as you get it. Another industry that would be a viable option for job searching is the food industry. The food industry is hiring just as it always has, even during COVID-19. There have been some changes to how business is conducted, but the overall job experience is relatively the same as it’s always been. Even with everything different thanks to the pandemic, restaurants remain a solid choice for any teenager looking for an entry level job, whether it be cooking, cashiering, or bussing. There’s one more option one can look into when looking for a job, unfortunately this option is only for those 18 and older, and who can drive. With COVID-19, food delivery apps have absolutely skyrocketed in popularity. With just a few simple presses, you can order food from the comfort of your own home and have it delivered right to your doorstep. No contact delivery has made being in a pandemic, a little more bearable than it could have been. If you’re 18 and older with a car, you can typically apply as a delivery driver on the business’s website. These jobs also allow you to work on your own time, so you are able to choose your own hours, and you can bring someone along on the ride if driving alone sounds too boring. COVID-19 has provided everyone with a list of changes and challenges to everyday life, but, hopefully, now not being able to find a job won’t be one of them.

Opinion 1 • 29 • 2021

Staff Editorial:

All Students should Learn sign language

One of the biggest course selections in the Millard Public Schools curriculum is taking world language classes. At a young age, we are asked to choose a language to learn for a majority of our high school years. Usually, those options turn to either Spanish, French, or German. While those classes are useful, we think it would also be nice to expand the language learning to American Sign Language. American Sign Language (ASL) is a common way for deaf or hard of hearing people communicate. It takes a lot of patience and practice when learning ASL, since you have to rely on hand gestures to communicate rather than talking with your mouth. We know that it takes patience and practice to learn world languages, but with speaking, you are able to learn by talking, read-

ing, and listening to the language being spoken to you. With ASL, the best way to learn is repeating the same movement over and over again until it is engraved into your brain. There is no way to learn ASL by talking, reading, or listening to someone as that is not the point of sign language.

ASL is a very hands on way of learning, which is helpful to students who learn the easiest by using their hands. World language classes use a lot of visual and auditory learning in the classroom. While this may be easy for some people, there is a majority of students who struggle to learn languages without hands-on experience. It is very hard to come across anyone who knows ASL as it is not taught in schools. A lot of the time, anyone that knows ASL learns from the internet, someone they know, or going out of their way to take a class. It shouldn’t be that way. If we are given the option to take different languages from other countries, we should still be given the option to take a language that is helpful to hard of hearing people in our own country. art by K. J Ellison

Political power play Democrats have been on a winning streak. First they knocked off incumbent president Donald Trump, then they took control of the senate in two historic runoffs in Georgia, one of which elected the first African-American senator to represent the south since reconstruction. There’s just one problem: plenty of people just won’t accept it. They believe that Joe Biden and the “radical left” stole the election in some massive conspiracy. How did it come to this? How did blatant reality become so politicized? It’s actually an easy question to answer: Donald Trump and those close to him chose to make it so. They’ve been spreading the idea that Democrats rigged the election. But repub-

licans overperformed polls in both the house and senate at the same time Trump lost. Why would they only rig it against Trump and let other Republicans win? They wouldn’t. It doesn’t make sense. They’ve pushed countless claims of voter fraud, all of which failed in court. Even the 6-3 conservative supreme court. one third of it filled with Trump appointees, threw these cases out. But did Trump face facts? No, he kept the charade going. He has people on social media convinced that he has some sort of next-level plan to expose Biden and he’s just waiting for the right time to spring the trap. This isn’t based on reality, this is based on blind faith.

Then, on Jan. 6, a group of hardcore Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to stop congress from certifying the results. The president encouraged them. Misinformation fueled them. They were scammed and brainwashed into thinking they were doing the right thing. Four people died. And once again: President Trump encouraged them. By the time this article is published, Biden will be president of the United States, but with Trump plotting a run in 2024 and some Republicans talking about impeaching Biden, sadly, the consequences of putting partisanship over reality aren’t going away any time soon.

Josh Andrews Staff Reporter

Baby, it's covid outside

Spending winter holidays at home really not so bad after all

An unusual year calls for unusual ways to spend the holidays. Although 2020 was a struggle for families all around the United States because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, many found ways around the barriers, such as Zoom calls, phone calls, or other ways of communication with your loved ones. Unfortunately this year many families were also faced with the troubling decision of traveling to see loved ones and risking their health and safety, as well as that of those around them, or staying Joni Beauchamp safe at home. It Opinions Editor was very disappointing to see

people disregarding the pandemic and seeing their family since I most certainly wanted to see my own family this year. I just wasn’t truly able to see them out of love and wanting to keep them safe. My family also agreed that it’d be best to not visit one another since some of my family is high risk. Since my family insisted that we would stay home instead of visiting my grandparents on Christmas like we usually would, we ended up actually staying home and enjoying ourselves instead of stressing over the day. When I was little it was the most difficult time of the year, but weirdly enough this year wasn’t stressful at all. This year may have been hard in some ways, but I guess it helped me relax more than in the past. Every year is the same in some waya. There are traditions that every family has during the holidays, but this unusual year may have relieved some stress, as well as added it. Thankfully many of the traditions my family celebrates were pretty much the same. Consistency is key in the middle of drastic change. Many holidays were forced to be put on hold or arranged in ways that made little to no sense, such as New Years Eve. New Years Eve was thankfully not the worst I’ve ever experienced. I personally spent New Years eve sick for the 2019-2020 new year. Unfortunately, I still had to

take care of my sick dog with my mom this year while my dad sadly had to work the whole night. Some things haven’t changed. The entire night wasn’t awful though. I watched New Year’s celebrations from across the country as various artists happily performed while we waited for the New York ball drop, and then after that we patiently waited for our own midnight. Personally, I think that the 2020 holiday season wasn’t all that bad. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to have had the holiday season I had in my warm and cozy home with my immediate family. Although much of the time spent this year was sort of boring or uneventful, I think this year could have been a million times worse, even though it could’ve also been a million times better. In our isolation we’ve found ways to spend time together and have seemingly overcome things that would’ve been a huge burden in the past. I’m so thankful for the ability to have had the holidays spent this way. Many haven’t had that privilege this year, but hopefully next holiday season is much better.

Opinion 1 • 29 • 2021

The lament of the lost snow day

Students will never get the chance have a normal, school-free, snowday again The pandemic has caused many setbacks in the functionings of school, but one area where schools have adapted is technology. With many students learning from home, schools are now equipped to run virtually. This is great news for students who miss school often and need a way to stay caught up. However, the technological capacity to teach kids virtually may mean the end of snow days forever. Every midwestern kid knows that great feeling when they wake up in the morning to find out school is canceled. This means a couple of extra hours of sleep, playing in

Natalie Fedde Editor-in-Cheif

the snow, hot chocolate, and some extra catch up time on homework. We will never experience that feeling again. Of course, it is still exciting to hear about an e-learning day. Doing a virtual assignment for each class is much less taxing than sitting in a classroom all day. Still, elearning adds responsibility to a day that in the past would have been dedicated to relaxation and fun. My friends and I planned to watch a movie using group streaming platforms once we learned about the snow day, but when it came time to get cozy and watch, most of my friends had too much homework to participate. An upside of e-learning is that we won’t have to deal with adding days onto the end of the school year after too many snow days, but this is nonetheless a tragic loss for students. We have seen the last of many sledding adventures, snowball fights,

snow forts, and pink noses and ears. Kids still have the weekends to partake in these childhood joys, but they will never feel the same magic we felt knowing we were having fun when we were supposed to be at school. I am extremely grateful that the concept of an e-learning day did not exist until late in my high school career. Snow days made surviving school in the long winter a little more bearable, and my heart goes out to all of the children who will never know the true joy of a snow day.

Stripping it down: the essentials of a good chicken tender 1) Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Ranking and photo by Carah Jones

- *chef’s kiss* ‘nuff said

2) Blatt Beer & Table

- Crunchy! So! Crunchy! And the flavor! Just the right amount of salt

3) Runza

- Doesn’t deserve to even be ranked on the same scale, because it’s entirely different, the breading, the seasoning, etc. but if I had to rank it… it’s got all the necessary components for a solid #3 rating.

4) Whataburger

- Yeah, it’s from the south, but it’s amazing, and their spicy ketchup makes it even better.

5) Shirley’s Dinner

- If you get their chicken and waffles, it’s so great, but the breading doesn’t have seasoning, which is fine, but you have to pair it with a sauce, which is okay in this instance, because they have multiple sauces!

6) Raising Canes

- Bruv. They don’t season their chicken at all, leaving me only one option: eat the chicken with the only sauce they have. I don’t! Want! To eat! Your flavorless chicken! With canes sauce! It’s not! Good!

7) Culver's

- Actual garbage. Don’t even act like this could be called a chicken strip.

C ommon Sense Common Sense is the official publication of Millard South High School 14905 Q Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137. School district guidelines determine the suitability of advertising content. To place an ad or inquire about rates, call (402)-715-8363. Common Sense is a monthly publication produced in Room 130. Common Sense uses desktop publishing hardware and software: Apple computers, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Google word processing software. Printing by White Wolf Web in Sheldon, Iowa. Letters to the editor are encouraged. All letters must be signed with the student’s first and last name, grade, then submitted to Mrs. Kaldahl. Unsigned letters will not be published. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, length, and clarity. Letters of profane nature or other infractions of school or district policy will not be published.

Editors-in-Chief Halle Benson Natalie Fedde News Editor Paige Winchester Features Editor Sydney Mejia Sports Editor Ally Seevers Opinions Editor Joni Beauchamp

Entertainment Editor Carah Jones

Chief Headline Writer Alex Tippets

InDepth Editor KJ Ellison

Staff Cartoonists Keely King KJ Ellison

Online Editor Lane Howard Business Manager Olivia Palmer Staff Secretary Alex Tippets

Staff Reporters Lauren Rayner Sam Tews Joey Kaipust Josh Andrews Adviser Christine Kaldahl

Features 1 • 29 • 2021

Restaurants and restrictions How COVID affects food service workers Joseph Kaipust Staff Reporter For as long as anyone can remember, one of the staple jobs for high school students has been working at restaurants. Between bussing, doing dishes, and even sometimes waiting tables, restaurants are a reliable and solid place for teenagers to go looking for jobs. However, restaurants have been one of the businesses most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s been… weird,” junior Phillip Reitmajer said. Reitmajer started working as a busboy in Olive Garden in September. Over the relatively short length of his employment, Reitmajer has seen many government restrictions come and go. “We were limited to 50 percent capacity in September when I started working,” Reitmajer said, “A little bit after we went to 100 percent capacity, and then in mid-November, we had to go back to 50 percent.” Zander Chappell, who works as a dishwasher at Shirley’s Diner, has noticed a similar effect at his job. “We went from 50 percent, to 100 percent, then back to 50 percent, then to 75 percent,” Chappell said. “And now I think we’re back to 100 percent.” These constantly shifting capacity limitations have made things very complicated for students working in restaurants. The shifts in capacity can vastly

change the workload students experiare at risk,” Chappell said. ence, because when there are less tables, With customers not wearing their there are less dishes to do and less tables masks, servers and bussers walking that need to be bussed. Managers will throughout the restaurant can be rebegin scheduling less employees to peatedly exposed to multiple different adjust to the lower workload, and then people. have to change back when the restric “I’m not personally worried about it tions change again. but I could see why other people might “Most of the restrictions don’t be,” Reitmajer said. Another problem bother me very much, but the changes related to masks is customers who simin capacity are pretty annoying,” Reitmaply refuse to wear them. Many customjer said. ers will arrive at the restaurant without Just as with everywhere else, masks and can often be hostile to hosts restaurants that ask them to have also put one on. had to equip “We used to workers offer masks to with masks. customers who Customers, showed up however, without masks, have created but they usually a gray area just got offendwith regards ed,” Chappell to masks. said, “We’ve - Junior Phillip Reitmajer Since while even had a you are eatcouple people ing you can’t wear a mask, it is unclear to storm out.” many customers when it is okay to wear The concentration of lots of people a mask and when it is ok to not. in a small space and speaking interaction “Most customers are good about between masked waiters and customers masks while walking in; not so much add to the challenges. while walking out,” Reitmajer said. Many “I work at the Calvert’s restaurant at customers are happy to wear masks into the food court at Oakview,” junior Justin the building, but once they get to their Chaiysit said. “Masks do make it harder table, remove their masks and don’t put for me to hear the customers and them them on when exiting. to hear me. I’ll ask someone if they want “I feel like the servers and bussers ice in their drink and I’d have to repeat

customers are good “ Most about wearing masks while walking in; not so much while walking out.

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myself a couple times. Customers give their orders and I’m only hearing about half of it clearly, which causes me to have them repeat the huge list of drinks and condiments over again,” he said. For students who were working in restaurants before the outbreak of COVID-19, their work was greatly interrupted for a few months. “We shut down in March and didn’t reopen until around June,” Chappell said. Students working in restaurants were left without work for months, and even when they reopened, they struggled to get hours. “When we reopened, there were staff cuts, and less people were getting scheduled,” Chappell said. It wasn’t until the return to higher capacity that restaurant employees would finally be seeing their old hours again. However, for other students, COVID-19 has been a continuity. “I started working after COVID so I don’t really know anything different,” Reitmajer said. For restaurant employees who started working after the outbreak of the pandemic extra sanitization, mask protocols, and limited seating are more or less a part of the job. “When we go back to normal, it will probably be way different,” Reitmajer said.

Features 1 • 29• 2021

COVID inspires culinary arts

Students cook and bake their way through the pandemic KJ Ellison InDepth Editor It seems like more and more people are antsy for wanting new recipes and foods to try. Many restaurants and bakeries have closed during the pandemic, so some students have decided to take the challenges of making food in the comfort of their own homes. Sophomore Allison Isaacson said, “I’ve definitely been baking often lately.” Isaacson said she believes that some students are able to bake more often and try new things because they now have more free time. She was interested in baking before the pandemic, and now she’s been diving into different kinds of recipes as well. “I find most of the recipes I’m interested in on Instagram,” Issacson said. “My favorite thing to bake is chocolate

chip cookies, but I want to try making macarons sometime,” she said. Many students have also tried their hand in cooking because of social media platforms. “I think people are cooking more because of tik tok,” freshman Olivia Ellison said. “They see other people cooking and making things, and they can film themselves trying new things too,” she said. Ellison said that she was never really into cooking, but she liked doing so with her friends. She thought it was a fun hobby to do together, even if they messed up the recipe horribly. “We never really make it correctly, but it’s still fun,” Ellison said. When asked about why others have been cooking more often, she said people are at home more. They become more hunMaking her signature chocolate chip cookies, freshgry, so they’re willing to man Olivia Ellison pulls the pan from the oven. A whip something up instead Snowy day at home provided an opportunity for bakof being on the go and ing. Photo by K.J Ellison grabbing something quick, or waiting for lunch to roll around. have been able to flesh out what hob Ellison explained that her bies they’re interested in now with family has also been using a deliverymore free time, and they’re realizing food service called Hello Fresh for a that they are liking cooking and trying few months. new recipes. “It makes me feel healthy,” Ellison said. “ I’m not sure how healthy it actually is, but I think it’s more of a mental thing,” she said. Teachers have been cooking more often as well. Preparing a hot breakfast, junior Mi “I’m always looking up new recipes chael Carreon flips his egg over easy. to use,” Family & Consumer Science An e-learning day Jan. 25 provided him teacher Sydney Fahner said. “I think Making a lunch at home, junior Garrett Denton with an opportunity to put his culinary I’ve been cooking and baking more transfers the Italian sausage to his noodles. skills to practice. Photo courtesy of because of the pandemic too.” Next, Denton added pesto and a sprinkle of Michael Carreon parmesan. Photo courtesy of Garrett Denton. She said she believes that students

TikTok’s tasty trends Alex Tippets Secretary & Chief Headline Writer Tiktok, an app with many different communities for one to interact with, which can range from dancing, cosplay/makeup, politics, and much more. One community that continues to flourish from a constant stream of new content is the food community, or Foodtok as some call it. The great thing about this community is the vast range of content and ever growing stockpile of great recipes that people continue to share on a day to day basis. But even with so much being added constantly, there are ideas and videos that shine through and garner the attention of everyone who sees it. Here are some recent trends that have absolutely taken off on Foodtok in the past month. A recent trend that me and two other friends even tried for ourselves was the four course meal challenge. The basic concept is there are four courses- drinks, appetizers, main course, and finally dessert. You can either spin a wheel with restaurant names or do rock paper scissors to decide where to go, but for each of these four categories, you’re required to go to a different restaurant. For example, my friends and I ended up going

to Taco Bell for drinks, Sonic for appetizers, Hyvee sushi for the main course, and Freddy’s for the desserts. While definitely a fun and tasty experience, I definitely wouldn’t recommend undertaking this challenge very often. Afterwards my friends and I spent the rest of our evening lounging around in semi-food comas. It was most definitely not healthy in any way whatsoever, but if you’re feeling up to it and think you can spare some extra calories, I’d recommend it to anyone who’s even slightly interested. “It was fun driving around with my friends while we played games and ate a bunch of food,” senior Kate Varilek said. A second food trend that’s been making the rounds lately is the technique to making the “perfect” quesadilla. The basic idea is making a cut halfway up the tortilla, putting different ingredients in each of the four quadrants, and then folding each quadrant one at a time over each other. Then you can toast it in a pan or panini press. The result is a satisfyingly folded and crunchy quesadilla stylized with whatever ingredients you want.

Whether you want a more traditional meat and cheese, or something more customized like a breakfast quesadilla, you can do this trend with whatever you like and truly make it your own. The third and final trend that’s been going strong for a few months now is Gordon Ramsay. Sometime in early 2020, Gordon Ramsay created his own Tik Tok account after guest starring in a few of his daughter’s own posts, reacting to various crimes against foodkind. Now, he avidly posts on his own account, @ gordonramsayoffical, reacting to various food videos and doling out advice to his audience. Some of his most famous Tiktoks revolve around him berating various videos for all the things they are doing wrong when cooking. He’s provided us with gems such as “Toasters are for bread, and if I had 2 pieces I’d stick them to your ears you idiot.” Senior Sammi Rockewell is a fan. “It’s very funny to see him get angry about how someone is doing something incorrectly, but it’s always a little surprise when he’s actually impressed by something as well,” Rockwell said.

Entertainment 1 • 29 • 2021

Pixar returns with a Soul lotta love

Lauren Rayner Staff Reporter Pixar is back and better than ever with its 2020 release Soul, beautifully exploring themes of self-identity, transformation, and music. Released on Disney+ due to the pandemic, the film follows a hapless music teacher named Joe Gardner who dreamed of being a jazz musician. He unluckily had a neardeath experience that got him stuck in the afterlife, leading him to do some soul searching when introduced to 22, a soul looking to find her spark. The film takes a Freaky Friday twist later on, giving each character some perspective on each other’s lives. From the get-go, Soul is stocked full of personality and artistry in its story and animation. Pixar has time after time found a way to go above and beyond in its animation. Every shot in Soul is simply stunning to look at, which is to be expected, following previous release Toy Story 4, also making strides in the animation department. The entire film feels warm and exciting to look at, from the strenuous streets of New York to the colorful, illusive Great Beyond. If you don’t connect with the story Soul offers, you can at least appreciate the work that went into making the movie as immersive as it is, as well as the movie’s music. Soul’s score, created by Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross is absolutely gorgeous and is an integral part of the film. Without it, I truly believe that the film wouldn’t have been as captivating and impassioned as it was. Jamie Foxx, (Joe Gardner) and Tina

Fey (22), had a fun, never boring dynamic that made the film all the more memorable and exciting to watch. Pixar never fails in balancing humor and sincerity in

their films, and Soul is no different. The movie engages and connects with the audience, reminiscent of older Pixar films like Ratatouille or Wall-E, which is espe-

cially exciting to me. Soul is emotional, refreshing, and mature, and told in a lively way with a relatable story and characters. What truly makes Soul stand out to me among other films is its message and beautifully crafted concept. Tackling finding your purpose and the overall meaning of life is something Pixar has touched on in the past, but not to the extreme Soul took it. I didn’t expect it to stick with me as much as it did, but after watching the film, I really took some time to reflect life in general, something a Pixar film hasn’t made me do in a long time. Soul will give reassurance to children and teenagers growing up in a world where your passions might be pushed aside for other jobs, and remind people that it is essential to appreciate the world around you with the time you are given. For a short while, I was worried about the future of Pixar, after some mediocre releases and constant sequels, but with Soul, it seems like Pixar could be heading into a new golden era, showing their creativity and heart in films for people of all ages. In a world currently full of uninspired people stuck inside, Soul serves as a source of inspiration and motivation for people, in their lives and their passions. The movie is intellectual and thought-provoking, and in Pixar fashion, didn’t dumb the story down to connect with its viewers. It is effortlessly compelling and will go down as a classic. Soul is exactly what we wanted and needed from Pixar, and I am incredibly glad it exists.

Ratatouisical

TikTok musical takes the world by storm

art by Keely King

Halle Benson Co-Editor In Chef One of the best and worst things to come out of 2020 and enter the new year is Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical. TikTok has become one of the most popular apps for people all over the world to interact with each other and create humorous content to keep them entertained. Every week there is a new “trend” that takes over people’s For You Page (it is basically an explore page to let you scroll through popular videos), but for a whole month, the idea of creating a Ratatouille musical was insanely popular in the theatre community. At first, the idea of a Ratatouille musical was very funny. There were people composing music for the show, creating choreography, and even designing puppets for the actors to use. After a while, people started to take the idea of a Ratatouille musical seriously by actually making plans to move the show to Broadway. I don’t know about everyone else on TikTok, but I didn’t think people were actually being serious about making a stage production of a show about a rat in France. A majority of the videos on TikTok had people creating this content for fun, it didn’t seem like something people were actually preparing to move to the professional world. (Don’t get me wrong, though, I love the Ratatouille movie, it is one of my favorite Pixar movies.) The Ratatouille musical began to quiet down on TikTok as that trend has now passed. Every once in a while, a new video

or two would pop up on people’s For You Pages, but nothing too big to get the whole community excited about the musical again. Then, the official Disney on Broadway account found out about the Ratatouille musical, which got the idea more recognition and made it into an actual show for people to watch. The show features recordings of professional Broadway actors as characters in the show with a cast of ensemble members dancing to some of the numbers. Everyone who initially wrote songs for the Ratatouille musical were put on the creative team to help write the rest of the songs for the one hour performance. It was a little sad to see that the original song writers didn’t get to act in the show, except for Kevin Chamberlin, who is already a Broadway actor and celebrity. On the bright side, all of the money they earned from the event was donated to The Actors Fund, an organization that helps entertainment professionals with money over their lifespan. Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical streamed for three days with tickets costing $5 and donations being encouraged. Overall, the musical raised over two million dollars, which is insane and so helpful for people who work in the entertainment world. I have no idea what is going to happen to the Ratatouille musical next, but I’m honestly hoping we can put that idea to rest and move on. Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical will forever remain in our hearts.

Entertainment 1 • 29 • 2021

Not bad but not wonderful Wonderwoman 1984 serves as a distraction but nothing more Joni Beauchamp Staff Reporter Continuing the story of Diana Prince, Wonder Woman 1984 attempts to give audiences a fantastical sequel of the widely praised, 2017 film. Not only did this film not provide that, it hardly felt like any money or attention was put towards this film whatsoever. Once again, DC disappoints fans with their lack of writing, and seemingly their lack of rational thinking. The movie feels like it belongs in the horror genre with it’s lack of characterization and reasoning. Giving fans another reason to wander over to Marvel instead. The one female character besides Harley Quinn that made Warner Brothers any money has now been officially lost to greed and been forced to make another horrific film that isn’t even worth the first watch. The entirety of the film is spent having the main characters

get into unrealistic situations and not knowing how to pull themselves out until the last few minutes of the movie. Many of the characters themselves are introduced to audiences with little to no warning, bringing in these empty characters that have boring motives that the audience cannot find themselves relating to in the first place. The “twist” near the end doesn’t even feel surprising when they introduce the bland character of Barbara played by Kristen Wiig. Superhero films have always given us villains that have fallen flat, leaving nothing for the audience to remember, but the main villain in this movie takes the cake. His characterization is so bad that he may just be memorable for that only. His entire character is his craving for success and the son that he randomly has in moments when the directors wanted the audience to feel bad for a character. Not even Pedro Pascal can bring

this character to life. It was obvious that in many moments of the film that there must have been a demand for a longer movie, therefore obvious things that any rational person would’ve done were scrapped for the characters with doctorates and degrees to suddenly become so stupid they can’t even make a seemingly obvious decision. Overall this movie did not feel like it was made to be anything more than a lighthearted film that was released to give audiences something to do while sitting at home in the middle of a pandemic. Wonder Woman 1984 was nothing more than a money grab that won’t be all that remembered in the future, but it was at least a 2 hour distraction from everything that’s been going on in 2021.

Cobra Kai ‘kicks’ off the new year Sydney Mejia Features Editor Years after the All-Valley Karate Tournament at the end of The Karate Kid, the rivalry between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso continues in the sequel series, Cobra Kai. The first two seasons of the show were a big hit which set the bar very high, but season three of the series did not fail to impress. After a large brawl at West Valley High School, the feud between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Karate students still persists. Viewers were left with several cliffhangers after the fight resulting in the perfect setup for the next season. The season starts roughly two weeks after the big fight. Tory is expelled alongside Johnny’s son, Robby, who is also in juvenile detention after throwing Miguel over

the railing leaving him in a coma. Daniel’s daughter, Sam, is experiencing constant flashbacks after being confronted by Tory at school. Throughout the season, we see these rivalries grow between the children of the opposing dojos. Not only that, but the senseis of each dojo are still having major conflicts on their end. Daniel heads to Japan in order to try and save his car dealership and Johnny struggles with losing Cobra Kai to John Kreese. All of the fighting sequences are superior and the plot is very well thought out with many surprises along the way. However, one of the best things about this season was the return of several characters from the original films. Longtime fans of the movies are bound to enjoy seeing these familiar faces in

the newest season and how it affects the other characters in the series. This achieves great feelings of nostalgia for a good chunk of the audience. On the other hand, there may be some new viewers who are unaware of these original characters and are unsure of their connection. Despite this, Cobra Kai does a great job of including flashback scenes from the movies to make all of their viewers aware of who they are. This season and the show in its entirety definitely has something for everyone. It brings humor, karate, and drama to the table for all to enjoy. Cobra Kai is already confirmed for another season to be released around early 2022.

Patriot Pets art by Keely King

Leo is an eight month old purebred tabby cat who was found in a dumpster at four weeks. Belongs to Tarissa Putt

Kiyoshi is an eight year old American Akita that loves to bury herself in snow and eat icicles/ Belongs to Joni Beauchamp

By Paige Winchester. Want to see your pet here? Email pwinchester180@millardps.org

Basket Br

Sports 1 • 29 • 2021

Boys basketball team looks towards the future and dwells on the past With many of the team’s key players being underclassmen, the group has a bright future ahead. “We are very excited about the As the district tournament quickly young talent in our program,” said Coach approaches, the Millard South boys varsity Leuschen. “We have many players that basketball team has been working hard to are already contributing in big ways on perfect their game. the varsity team this season, and others “This season is off to a great start,” that have said head roles that coach, Tim Lecontinue uschen. “We’re to grow on currently 5 and our varsity 5 and are playteam.” ing some great Freshbasketball. All man Will sides of the ball Cooper said, are improving.” “It’s cool to The be on the Patriots have varsity team had a rough and to get kick off to the some play– Sophomore Maal Jal season, not ing time. knowing what It’s a great to expect with experience the COVID-19 and I have complications, but that has not stopped learned a lot this year.” this team from playing their best and Along with Will Cooper and Brock becoming brothers. Murtaugh, the other underclassmen on “We have a group where the chemisthe team are sophomores Lance Rucker, try continues to improve,” said Leuschen. Trey Moseman, Maal Jal, and Austin Trot“These last two weeks of practice have ter. been the best weeks of practice.” “It feels good. Even though I’m an “My favorite thing is making memounderclassman, it’s great to have the upries with all the guys,” sophomore Brock perclassmen push me everyday,” Jal said. Murtaugh said. “The games are always And with the JV boys team undefeatfun, but the team dinners, after practice ed, there are even more underclassmen and on the way to games are always fun that will make for an incredible varsity too.” Ally Seevers Sports Editor

“We’re just going to keep

playing hard and try to make it to districts and maybe even to state.

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Sophomore Austin Trotter, juniors Jackson Crain and Braden Cannon, and sophomores Maal Jal, Trey Moseman, and Brock Murtaugh smile at the camera during the game against Lincoln High. The Patriots beat the Links, 65-44. Photo by Caden Blair

Junior Gage Stenger goes up for the layup in the game against the #1 ranked Millard North. The Patriots lead the Mustangs, 18-11, after the 1st quarter. Photo by Bergan Simmonds

team in the future. “We look forward to our young players making contributions to the team that will help us have success down the stretch this season and look forward to their continued success in the years to come,” said Leuschen. But one of the reasons these boys are so good is this year’s seniors: Jack Cooper, Michael Harding, and Blake Stenger. “They [the seniors] have been leaders,” said Murtaugh. “I played with them last year, but with COVID-19, they’ve always been checking on us and making sure that we’ve all been okay.” Moseman said, “They have taught me how to mature, and how to move on if something doesn’t go the way it should have.” “The upperclassmen have taught me a lot, especially my brother Jack [Cooper] since he’s a senior,” said W. Cooper. “They have just taught me to work hard and keep my head in the game.”

These seniors are leaving their legacy with the underclassmen. “It’s definitely sad, knowing this is my last year, but I want to leave my mark and show how to do it for the younger kids,” said senior Michael Harding. “Some advice I have for the boys is just to stick with it. Put the work in and it will show.” And boy it has. This team has already had a show-stopping season, coming close to beating the #1 ranked Millard North Mustangs, and they are still getting better every single day. Jal said, “We’re just going to keep playing hard and try to make it to districts and maybe even to state.” “We think this group is going to play the best basketball by the end of the season,” said Leuschen. As Brock Murtaugh said, “Thank you to all the guys, especially the seniors, for making it a fun season and I hope we can finish out on a good note.”

Swimmers dive headfirst into the season Ally Seevers Sports Editor

Just as with everything else, COVID-19 threw a curve-ball at the 2020-21 swimming and diving season. “Honestly, COVID hasn’t changed as much as I expected,” said senior, Alaria Bode. “Basically, we run practice from two sides of the pool. Only a limited amount of people can come to our meets, and then we just have to wear our masks when we’re not actively in the pool.” Since swimming and diving involves submerging your entire body in water, the team has had to get creative when it comes to masks and what to do with them so they don’t get wet. “Coach Tyler [Hammond] has these hooks that he just hung on the wall, and they’re all around the pool,” Bode said. “So

before we get in the pool, we just put our mask on a hook.” Another thing COVID-19 has changed: the ability to have big events with lots of people. Alaria said, “Normally we have this huge invite around the first weekend in January where a bunch of schools come, but that got canceled, which is super sad.” But despite all the complications the coronavirus has brought, the team is still having a great season. “For the team, I feel like we’ve been doing pretty well,” said Bode. “We have a lot of kids on varsity this year, so we have a lot of people who do different things and are really good at what they do.” Luckily, the team will still be able to have a state championship meet, and you can expect to see many Patriots there. “It’s definitely been a weird year,” Alaria said, “but at least we get to swim.”

A Patriot swimmer glides on top of the water during the 100 meter freestyle. Metros start at home on February 11th with diving. Photo by Hannah Doornink

Sports 1• 29 • 2021

Meet the Ath’elite’: Mya Babbitt

Ally Seevers Sports Editor Athlete: Mya Babbitt, Class of 2023 Team: Girls Varsity Basketball “I’ve been playing basketball since like 3rd grade,” Babbitt said. “I started playing because my parents played it, and so did my brother, so I guess I just did too.” Position: Point Guard Number: 23 Mya Babbitt has become one of the most valued players on the girls basketball team, and yet, she’s only a sophomore. She said, “It’s something that I work for and something that I want to be so I just push myself to be the best that I can be.” And her “My mentor would hard work and dedication definitely my father to the sport just because he has paid off, helping her played college score 42 points basketball… so he has in the home game against taught me so much. the Lincoln I want to be like him High Links on Saturday, and hopefully play in January 16th. college.” With 10 threepointers made, she not only –sophomore Mya Babbitt broke the school record for points scored in a single game, but also tied the Class A record for the amount of 3s made in a game. “I guess I didn’t really realize during the game that I was making so many 3s. I was just kind of in the flow,” said Mya. “It’s really cool though. I just know that I

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Sophomore Mya Babbitt dribbles the ball down the court in the game against Lincoln High. Mya’s favorite play is “a star two play.” She says “it’s like a back door cut.” Photo by Haley Dougherty.

couldn’t do it without my teammates and them throwing me the ball and getting me open shots.” Babbitt said that her favorite thing about basketball is her “teammates. They make everything better, and then, of course, winning, especially winning with them.” “My favorite memories are probably when we won districts last year or the Metro Holiday championship game this year,” Mya said. “Just the rush of the game, the feeling of victory, and being able to celebrate with my teammates, my best friends, they’ve made for some pretty amazing games.” She said, “I love all the girls. I love our good rela-

tionships and how we can along well and play and win like a true team.” Mya’s very thankful for all who have helped her further her basketball career, saying, “My parents, and coaches, and teammates; they keep me motivated to keep playing. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without them.”

Read more Meet the Ath’elite features such as TJ Urban, Wyatt Geary, and Caitlyn Lessig on the Common Sense website at http://wearemillardsouth.com

Entertainment 1• 29 •2021

A Guide to RomComs by Natalie Fedde

on a scale from 1-5, 1 being the worst, 5 being the best

Spotify playlists to make your Valentine’s Day extra special

A playlist full of lovey dovey songs that you are guarantee to love.

4.75

Romance: 5 Comedy: 4 Is it a RomCom?: 5 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 5

This is a breakup playlist with songs to make you forget about your ex and hype YOU up.

4.25

It is okay to cry sometimes, so here is a playlist full of sad breakup songs to let it out.

Romance: 3 Comedy: 5 Is it a RomCom?: 5 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 4

Romance: 4 Comedy: 4 Is it a RomCom?: 4 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 4

4: 13 Going On 30 Romance: 3 Comedy: 4 Is it a RomCom?: 5 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 3

5: Forgetting Sarah Marshall Romance: 3 Comedy: 4 Is it a RomCom?: 4 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 3

6: Bridget Jones’ Diary Romance: 2 Comedy: 4 Is it a RomCom?: 5 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 2

7: 27 Dresses Romance: 4 Comedy: 2 Is it a RomCom?: 3 Natalie’s own personal biased opinion: 3

Picture perfect date ideas for you and your s.o Lane Howard Online Editor Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, landing on a Sunday this year. Since it is on a weekend, that makes it prime for a perfect romantic date for the most romantic holiday. Whether this is your first Valentine’s with a date or your fifth, we’ve got you covered with some cute date ideas for you and your sweetheart. If you’re able to go out, getting dinner from a restaurant is a classic Valentine’s date, although the pandemic might make that more difficult than usual. Instead of dining in, you might try getting your favorite restaurants as takeout or delivery. You and your special someone can still get dressed to the nines and have a romantic dinner at home or parked in a car! If you’re looking for something more low-key, you might try a chilled out movie night. You could find matching pajamas to wear, order a pizza, and watch your favorite romantic comedy. You might also enjoy indulging in some of your childhood pleasures, like building a pillow fort, having a Nerf war, or setting up a Hot Wheels track.

The time of love can also be a time for self love and self care, so maybe an at home spa day could be fun for you and your boo. Facemasks, nail polish, hair dye, sugar scrubs, and other self care products can give you and your Valentine a romantic evening together. For the more artistic minded, art can be a fun outlet. Whether you are new to painting or are very experienced, you and your lover could paint some happy little trees together with Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting episodes on YouTube or Hulu. If music is more of your jam, you could make a romantic playlist and dance to it together. If you can’t get out of the house, whether due to quarantine or otherwise, there are still virtual options available. One thing the pandemic has done to help is open a lot more fun activities online. Streaming services like Hulu and Disney+ have introduced watch party and group watch features to enjoy movies and shows with your friends or loved ones. There are also third party online websites like

Teleparty or TwoSeven that can sync your streaming services for the same effect. If you’re looking for something a bit more active online, you can always try the world of video games. Games like Minecraft and Animal Crossing are always big hits that can let you and your significant other hang out and have some romance digitally. You might also try some betrayal in Among Us with your partner or a group of friends. Finally, don’t forget about classic games from your childhood that you might like to return to, such as Club Penguin, Wizard 101, or Neopets. No matter what you choose to do this Valentine’s day, make sure you and your Valentine stay safe and healthy. Wear a mask, practice social distancing, avoid crowded places, and be smart. Valentine’s Day can be a source of stress for many, so we hope having some ideas can alleviate some of the stress of planning. Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy the holiday!