Common Sense Volume 23 Issue 6 May 22, 2023

Common Sense

DECA dominates on world stage

“It meant a lot,” Looney said. “I wanted to go to finals and represent my state and school so it meant a lot.”

“Last year I wasn’t a finalist and that stung a little bit,” Jackson said. “This year my goal was just to be a finalist so when we got called on stage that was a big deal for us. It was definitely one of the highlights of my DECA career.”

“It was one of the most wild experiences of my entire life,” Kilzer said. “We walked up on stage for being top 10 and when they said second and third I thought to myself at least we got top ten. Then, when they called our names I just started screaming internally. It was a top highlight of my life.”

“It’s amazing,” advisor Jamie Robinson said. “In the entire state of Nebraska only seven kids made it to the finals and five of those are ours, and we are the only ones that walked away with a trophy from the state of Nebraska. It was a pretty huge deal for us to get one.”

for every practice test you take so we can keep track of how everyone is doing.”

“To prepare for ICDC I mainly worked on improving my project,” Looney said. “I also took seven or eight practice tests which are all 100 questions each but it’s really just practicing every day and trying to improve.”

“We took a lot of practice tests,” Jenkins said. “We got a sticker for every test we took and that really helped us prepare.”

“We practiced a lot of concepts,” Sipp said. “We also worked with vocab and other things so we would know what they were talking about when it came up.”

“We do study sessions in the morning,” Robinson said. “During those study sessions kids are taking practice tests, going through practice scenarios and going through how they would solve those. Most kids who are putting in the work to study are studying anywhere from five to ten hours per week just for their competition.”

Every year DECA students all around the world come together to compete in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). They compete across 59 categories to determine finalists and ultimately who the best in the world are for that competition. This year Millard South had 25 people qualify for the ICDC in Orlando including 5 finalists two of which became world champions becoming the first DECA world champions from Millard South

since 2015.

The finalists were juniors Cali Jenkins and Alexius Sipp who competed in Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making and senior Adam Looney who competed in Hospitality and Tourism professional selling. Seniors Benjamin Jackson and Allison Kilzer finished first in Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making.

“We really didn’t think we were going to be finalists,” Jenkins said. “We weren’t too confident about it based on previous experience, so it was definitely a shock.”

The competition consists of a 100 question test over your topic that you are competing in. There is also a roleplay part of the competition where there is another person who acts as a customer, coworker or boss and you must act out a realistic business situation. That takes a lot of preparation and practice to get ready for.

“We took a lot of practice tests,” Kilzer said. “It’s really hard to prepare for because you don’t know what kind of questions you will be asked but you do your best to prepare.”

“We’ve been preparing for this competition all year,” Jackson said. “Our first competition was in first semester and we’ve had other competitions that we had to work really hard at. We took a lot of practice tests. We actually have a chart in the DECA room where you get a sticker

‘Wizard of Oz’ cast follows the yellow brick road to performing arts awards

feel really confident about my acting skills.”

Nehls mentioned that she and Geppert were “absolutely ecstatic.”

After preparing for 16 weeks, the drama department wrapped up the school year with the show, “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I thought it was an amazing show,” drama director Robyn Baker said. “All of our kids shined.” The Omaha Performing Arts Nebraska High School Theater Academy felt similarly, and awarded the production with the honor of Best Ensemble and Backstage Excellence. Students Avari Geppert and Phoenix Nehls were awarded for Best Supporting Actors.

When asked about earning the award, Geppert, who played the Wicked Witch and Gulch, said, “I was really shocked when I first found out. I won the same award last year, and I didn’t think I’d be able to get it again,” she said. “It was really shocking and exciting and it made me

“It meant a lot that all that hard work paid off in a way that people enjoyed,” Nehls said. The senior actress described how it felt performing her last show at Millard South.

“It was, in fact, very emotional,” Nehls said. “I really tried to keep it in, but it was very, very difficult. On one hand, it’s kind of the end of my high school career,” she said. “But my sister did theater, so it was also kind of the end of my childhood in a weird, symbolic way,” she said. Another senior described their feelings after performing their last high school show.

Matthew Qualseth, who played Tin Man in the show said, “I’m really going to miss the trio dynamic I had between me and my friend Aden Williams and my friend Tranq Queral,” he said. “Especially in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’

Continued on page 12

Despite all the preparation that goes into getting ready for this competition it is still very difficult to qualify to be a finalist or world champion.

“The most difficult part is knowing that you are competing against some of the best people in the world at what you do,” Sipp said. “We definitely knew that we were one of the best teams in the state of Nebraska but when it gets to the point of being international it really puts things into perspective.”

“Presenting was probably the hardest thing for me,” Looney said. “I prepared a lot for the test so that wasn’t too big of a challenge but there were about 160 kids in my category so the nerves getting to me was the hardest part.”

“The hardest part was being surrounded by so many smart people from all around the world,” Kilzer said. “Everyone there worked really hard and had to go through their state or

Senior Common Sense staff send-off

4 Junior starts a clothing business. Photo courtesy of Nick Barajas

Senior Drew Locum puts in for par at Oak Hills Country Club.

Photo by Ally Seevers

Aubrey Sause and Kaitlyn West compete in Senior Assassin. Photo by Aubrey Sause

Seniors Allison Kilzer and Ben Jackson take home first place at the International Career Development Conference in the Sports and Entertainment Team Decision Making category. The conference took place in Orlando. Photo by Jamie Robinson

Dylan Wiese

Sports Editor

Hilary Lawson Staff Reporter

“Wizard of Oz” cast Kyra Fowler (Toto), Aden Williams (Scarecrow), Katherine Finger (Dorothy), and Matthew Qualseth (Tin Man), surround Tranq Queral (Lion) as he performs his solo “King of the Forest.”

works with

Charleen Darra Staff Reporter

Being a student and working with family members can be hard, but sophomore Jimena Chavarria does it all. Jimena works with her mom at her family’s food truck called Jimena’s located at 5258 S 132nd in Millard. The truck is, in fact, named after her.

The menu has a wide variety of Mexican food. They serve the classics, from tacos and burritos to nachos, and everything is made fresh.

Whether you are in the mood for spicy, savory, or sweet, you can surely find it at Jimena’s.

With four-star reviews, Jimena’s has been going strong ever since April 1, 2021, and it all started because the owner of Jimena’s wanted to spend more time with her family.

It’s been two years since and they’ve been growing their daily popularity. Not only is the food delicious, but they also have great prices. With the wide variety of different Mexican dishes, Jimena’s most popular dish is their steak and shrimp burritos.

Being so popular, you must expect that they will expand their food business but Jimena says that they aren’t exactly sure yet but there could be a potential for opening a restaurant.

One thing about having a

food truck business is that it is dependent on the weather. Chavarria said she never knows what the weather is like, and the bad weather always drives away the customers.

A plus to working in the food business, Chavarria said, is that you’re always going to get customers. Old customers, new customers, and regulars. To Chavarria, she says it’s cool meeting new people.

Balancing work and school is a challenge but Chavarria has a strategy.

“I do most of my homework in study hall and what I don’t finish I do at the food truck during my free time,” she said.

Running a business with your family has advantages and disadvantages, Chavarria said.

“Some of my advantages are working with my family,” Chavarria said. I don’t have to deal with a bunch of employees that I don’t like, because I work with my mom, and I get a lot more privileges working with my mom than I would in another business.”

“Working with my mom is hard but it can also be a fun thing,” she said. “I am usually independent, so I just do my own thing,” she said.

“I said that it was hard working with my mom, and it is, but most days my mom and I chill, so those days are nice,” Chavarria said.

Sickened chickens put flock owners in tough position

Alexa Leiting InDepth Editor

Freshman Raven Cranny knew something was wrong with their flock when Laya, along with two or three other birds, began to get lethargic, not eating much, and just generally looking sick.

While they thought the birds had been infected with parasites, the backyard flock had actually been hit with avian influenza, a deadly bird virus, and it had already begun spreading to other hens.

“I have nine chickens. We just recently got hit with pretty badly with the flu, but we only lost three chickens,” Cranny said. “That’s pretty good considering some entire flocks have been wiped out. It’s difficult, especially since we’re one of the only houses on the block that didn’t lose our entire flock,” says Cranny, who lives in Chalco Hills. Un fortunately, their neighbors’ flocks are still recovering from the hit.

Starting in February of 2022, scientists detected a spreading illness among the bird species that has become commonly known as the “bird flu.” The sickness typically produces coughing and diarrhea as symptoms. Ducks and geese usually recover from the dis ease, but unfortu nately the health of the chicken undergoes rapid decline. In other words, our beloved egg-producers generally pass away quickly following infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 58.4 million poultry, including both commercial and backyard flocks, have become sickened in all 50 states.

“Our flock started showing symptoms and just gradually they went on a decline,” Cranny explains. Their family decided to ask some questions to a vet in Nebraska City, where they were told they needed to quarantine their birds. However, by the time they received answers, a fourth of the flock had already passed away.

“It was hard to see our pets start dying off. With the original 12 chickens, we were getting up to a dozen eggs a day. Now, we only get maybe three or four eggs a day because we have a couple of hens that are in menopause.”

With fewer and fewer chickens clucking around, fewer and fewer eggs are being laid. Due to the declining egg production, an increase in the price of eggs has occurred. Data

pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs rose from $1.92 to $4.25 over the year of 2022. However, the rate of egg price inflation, “eggflation” if you will, has not had an equal distribution among the states. Midwestern states, specifically Iowa and South Dakota, had the most dramatic eggflation rates at an increase of 153 percent and 137 percent respectively. The reasoning behind this would be that Midwestern states like these are some of the largest egg-producers in the country. With a larger quantity of the item, the original cost of eggs in the Midwest was lower than other states (more product and less transportation costs). Unfortunately, this created a major turnaround when the epidemic occurred, slaying our most preferred birds. Smaller flocks lead to a smaller egg supply. In order to make up for the decreased supply, egg distributers have had to acquire them from other states. Thus, the overall price of eggs in the Midwest has risen the most. Even so, the highest prices for a dozen eggs were in other states, such as Hawaii and Florida due to very low egg production rates and high transportation costs.

To add even more atop this coop crisis, border patrol agents have reported an increase in egg smuggling across the Mexico-U.S. border. Since eggs are significantly less expensive in Mexico, many travelers have attempted buying cheaper eggs down south and sneaking them into America, despite being illlegal to do so. Although the bird flu has affected Mexico’s egg prices, our southern neighbor has had significantly less issues with eggflation, giving smugglers the motivation.

In order to combat this influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises a few things to protect chicken flocks across the country: keep germs away by washing your hands before and after you enter a poultry area, isolate any birds showing symptoms, limit visitors near your flock, avoid wild birds and pests, and have a plan to prevent highconsequence biological agents and toxins from reaching your chickens.

Cranny foresees continuing their measures of protection in order to prevent the return of influenza to their flock.

“We now give our flock monthly medications to keep the bird flu out. We hope that the sickness has finished passing through our flock, and we really hope to not see it return.”

Providing the foundation to education in MPS

Zoey

Features Editor

Millard students primarily know the Millard Foundation through Kids Net-now known as SPARK- because they went there as a kid. However, the foundation actually does a lot more than this that students might not be aware of. Spark formally known as Kids Network is Millard Foundation’s current after school program.

”SPARK is a parent-paid program whose funds help us [Millard Foundation] give money back to the school district,” Mark Beller, the Director of Operations at Millard Foundation, said. SPARK not only provides younger kids with a safe space but it is also one of the main sources of funding for programs that benefit all students throughout the district.

Millard foundation uses the money it earns from SPARK as well as other fundraising events and campaigns to give many

back to Millard South as well as other schools in Millard.

“Over several years we’ve [Millard Foundation] given more than a million dollars back to the school district and we’re proud to say we have given money to every school in the school district. In other words, every school receives funding from the foundation to use for strategic initiatives within their building.”Marilyn Chillett, Director of Development and Communications at Millard Foundation, Said.

The Foundation also does scholarships where they give away $150,000 worth of scholarships to Millard Seniors every year. This year they gave away 79 scholarships, 29 of which went to Millard South students.

“The scholarship I won from Millard Foundations was the Reeder Elementary scholarship,” senior Miranda Kelly said. “I went to Reeder for all six years of elementary school and really liked it there so I decided to apply for that scholarship and I got it.”

Additionally, the Millard Foundation helps sponsor three

school pantries including the Patriot Pantry and helps to fund the MPS Family Fund which helps families in the district with things like transportation and internet connectivity. While the foundation is rewarding to the school district it is also rewarding to the people who work there.

“I have a kid who goes to Millard and the most rewarding thing about my job is being able to see the things that we do directly benefit him in his classroom and his friends. I think that when you can see that we’re making a difference whether that’s providing a safe place for kids at school or providing books to students who don’t normally have the opportunity to have new books, or really anytime you see that what you’re doing is helping a child, it’s very rewarding,” Chillett said.

All in all the work the Millard Foundation has done benefits students and teachers from elementary to high school and will continue to benefit students well into the future.

The Chavarria family food truck named Jimena’s, located at 5258 S. 132nd St., serves a wide variety of Mexican foods. Photo by Kaylee Snelling

Buthorne

Most days my mom and I chill, so those days are nice.

-Sophomore Jimena Chavarria

” “

Teen

family at food truck named after her

art by Ella Erickson

Sophomore Jimena

Chavarria

The Final Battle: Seniors play one last game

Ben Jackson Online Editor-in-Chief

Water guns, umbrellas, and chaos. The class of 2023 has been on the hunt in a senior assassin game that has lasted for two months. The game consisted of nearly 80 seniors in a battle to be the last man standing for a over $300 cash prize.

The game ended with a climactic battle between two prominent seniors: Isaiah Rasmussen and Amari Lang. The final showdown was made even more dramatic in that the final two had previously been in an alliance throughout the game.

“I had an alliance with two other people,” Lang said, “Isaiah Rasmussen and Braytn Nespor, and I kept Isaiah alive while he killed everybody.”

The stage was set for the final battle and on April 27 the two met to settle the score.

“Amari and I were kind of like playing cat and dog in the parking lot,” Rasmussen said. “She had to go down for an interview on the track. And I was just waiting outside her car,” he said.

Lang was trapped and needed to find a way out. “I was locked in my car for like 15 minutes,” Lang said. “Then I just slightly rolled down my window and just shot my water gun up in the air. And it got him. He was trying to get me

but I realized that if I was going to get him out I was gonna have to find a way to do it,” she said.

And with that, Amari Lang became the class of 2023 senior assassin champion.

“I did not expect to win. I really didn’t,” Lang said, “I thought it was just going to be more of like a fun thing to do with all of my friends.”

The winnings were ultimately split between the two friends and the rest was water under the bridge.

The mastermind behind it all was Cam Kozeal. He had the idea for senior assassin after a chaotic event in Nashville.

“I was in Nashville, Tennessee, staying with some family friends,” Kozeal said. “One morning I woke up to these people running throughout the house. I thought we were being robbed. And then I asked him what it was and they said it was like a game and they called it ‘senior assassin,’” he said.

There are many variations to the rules of senior assassin, as every school does it differently. Kozeal decided to make the game as simple as possible. The rules were: 1) To get someone out you must spray them with water from a water gun, 2) to defend yourself you may use an umbrella but nothing else, 3) the only safezone is inside school, and 4) do not break the law.

Barrett Luce was in charge of operating the game from behind the scenes, affectionately called “the gamemaster.”

“Everyone paid $5 to play,” Luce said, “So everybody had a target, and once they got their person, they took their target’s target. So it just was kind of a self feeding system. The winner would receive the pot.”

With everyone paying $5, the winnings pot quickly grew to over $300, leading some to join for an easy payday. “I saw it as an easy way to turn $5 into like $300,” senior Isaiah Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen made it far through the game as an experienced assassin, getting 11 seniors out of the game.

“My favorite kill was probably Aiden Robertson,” Rasmussen said, “He was my second kill. I had to wait outside his house for like, probably a combined five hours.”

One senior had another strategy for staying alive. “No one really knew where I lived,” senior Dylan Schiessler said, “And I kind of just laid low. I was definitely camping.” Schiessler committed zero eliminations, but made it all the way to fourth place.

The beginning of the game was complete chaos as seniors began dropping like flies. The first senior out was Aden Williams, and despite his desperate attempts to gaslight his way back into the game, Williams would later be proven to be eliminated by security footage.

Gamemaster Luce had to walk a tightrope making sure that controversies such as this did not destroy the fun of the game. “I think it was hard to please everybody,” Luce said. “There’s 70 Different people with 70 different ideas. And with, like, $360 on the line, it’s pretty difficult because some people wanted to win so badly that they were willing to complain about things that weren’t really an issue,” he said.

Nonetheless, the class of 2023 came together to pull off a complicated event.

“I think our class is just unique,” Kozeal said. “We all come together really well. It got a lot more people asking about other people in the class. Athletes were talking to other people and vice versa. So it really brought the class together that was already really close.”

Culinary teacher cooks up success in Millard

Anna Gurciullo Staff Reporter

Emily Murphy is a new fixture at our high school. She leads the classroom with enthusiasm and love every class she teaches. She guides each student with a deep passion and care. Before coming to our school, she spent 10 years teaching at Bryan High School, where she specialized in family consumer science. She taught culinary and food, which she still loves. She was also the freshman academy coordinator for two and a half years.

When asked what motivated her to join our school, she replied, “I live five minutes away, so that was a big deciding factor. There were a lot of structural changes going on in Omaha Public Schools at the time. And I was adjusting, so I was ready to adjust to and to take a leap of faith,” Murphy said.

Diving into her passion for teaching food, to which she explained, “I’ve wanted to be a high school FCS teacher since I was in high school. I took my first food class when I was a freshman, and took it all throughout high school. One of my high school FCS teachers was Mr. Sulzmans mother-in-law, and she was really an inspiration for me when I was in high school. She guided me towards it, and I knew that there were people needed, so I pursued it.”

Managing a schedule as a teacher can be tough, and especially when adjusting to a new schedule. “It takes a lot of off contract

time,” Murphy said. For example, I always had to go pick-up what I needed for my classes in the grocery stores, but now, online shopping has really saved me a lot. But nevertheless, I’ve always been a busy person, so it doesn’t bother me, and I’ve always liked moving and trying to improve things.” Despite this, she said she loves what she does and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Murphy said her favorite aspect about being a teacher is watching the students grow, “like today they’re doing something new and they’re just fumbling along, but they’re figuring it out as they go,” she said.

When asked about what she would be doing if she were not teaching, Murphy responded, “I was very much a teacher’s pet. I never got in trouble for being naughty because I always had good relationships with my teachers.” It’s clear that her love of teaching and building relationships has been a part of her for a long time.

If Murphy wasn’t a teacher, she thinks, “Before I wanted to be a teacher I wanted to be a lawyer, but if I left education tomorrow I would go into real estate”

Her students say they have enjoyed taking her class this year. Olivia Ludo said, “She’s a fantastic teacher. She has a great sense of humor, and she’s more like a friend in the classroom.” Braytn Nespor said, “She’s a kind teacher who knows what she’s doing and gets things done. She is an underrated teacher.”

Wesley Earhart illustrated the chaotic nature of seniors and their targets in order to form alliances.

Photo by Wesley Earhart

Seniors Jaden Nehls, Joel Adams, and Aden Williams get “locked n’ loaded” at Walmart in order to knock out their targets. Photo by Matthew Qualseth

Senior Braytn Nespor gets the best of his target Jaden Nehls in the Millard South parking lot.

Photo by Isaiah Rasmussen

Culinary teacher Emily Murphy demonstrates proper knife technique by cutting up a yellow pepper and cucumber.

Photo by Charleen Darra.

Dr. Schwartz finishes first year

members if you count our substitute staff and more than 23,000 students,” Schwartz said. “We have three main comprehensive high schools and each has their own story, their own contexts around history, their own culture, and it all kind of fits under the umbrella of the culture of our school district, and just the magnitude of that and building those relationships and understanding that context, I would say is the biggest challenge,” he said.

To achieve this goal of understanding the district as a whole, Dr. Schwartz has made it his mission to attend as many community events as he can.

our strategic plan, we have three strategies,” he said.

These three strategies come in the form of adapting to Millard’s changing demographics, maintaining Millard’s status as a destination district, and engaging the community with Millard’s story. For the first part of the plan, a focus was put on changing Millard’s way of doing things to better benefit its changing students.

“How do we capture our changing demographics as an opportunity to best serve all of our students,” Schwartz said, “As we have more kids coming into our community that need to learn English, how do we help provide those services in a way that’s enriching for not only those students, but it grows the experience we have across the entire district,” he said.

The second part of Millard’s strategic plan is about enticing new families and staff to the district to make up for Millard’s static enrollment.

“From a student standpoint,” Schwartz said, “how can we continue to provide opportunities that give students a competitive advantage and help them figure out who they want to be when they leave our schools and develop skills,” he said.

special,” he said.

With his diverse background and experience, Dr. Schwartz comes to Millard with the knowledge necessary to guide such a diverse district.

With the retirement of Dr. Jim Sutfin last year, a new superintendent stepped up to carry the torch: Dr. John Schwartz. Schwartz, a former social studies teacher and superintendent of Norris Public Schools, was unanimously approved by the Millard Public School Board at the end of last school year. Whether it be teaching political science at Doane or administering as a principal, Dr. Schwartz has learned many things from each stop along his career.

“Getting to know our students or families, figuring out how to support staff,” Schwartz said, “is something that I have learned from every stop. It’s really the people that make school

“Every district has different needs, different priorities, different variables, different historical context that influences how people think about issues,” Schwartz said, “which is why I work so hard to be visible in our different buildings and in different community activities to get to know people to listen and learn and understand what it is that’s important to them,” he said.

Dr. Schwartz has had to take on the task of smoothing out the transition between superintendents. As he is an out of district hire, his biggest challenge was getting to know the community and culture.

“We have 35 schools and almost 3000 staff

“One of the best parts of being a superintendent is just being able to see all the amazing things our kids do.” Schwartz said. “Watching the Girls basketball team win a state championship was amazing. It was also really great to go up to South to the cultural fair, it was incredible. The stories were amazing. And the musicals and the plays that I’ve had a chance to see and just the array of activities, and kids are doing amazing things,” he said.

Dr. Schwartz also has been very future facing in devising the strategic plan of the district for the next five years.

“Millard has had a knack for being focused over time,” Schwartz said. “You can’t chase every good idea. And so it’s really trying to figure out what are the critical issues for that school district, in this case, our school district and what do we need to do to get better? And so within

The district has been focused on being a destination district for some time, which is why some Millard schools have specific programs to boost enrollment.

“Millard South, part of the many things that it does really, really well is an early college program,” Schwartz said, “About 25% of Millard South students will be graduating this year with an Associates degree,” he said.

The final part of the strategic plan revolved around having Millard tell its own story.

“How do we engage with our community in ways that help them to see that work that we’re doing here,” Schwartz said, “and what are the opportunities to improve and how do we tell that story with our community,” he said.

Overall, Dr. Schwartz is focused on continuing the success of Millard Public Schools and leading it into the future.

“What it really boils down to is how can we maintain a culture of stability, where from one year to the next, we provide predictable excellence,” Schwartz said.

local competition. It’s not like just anybody could be there. People worked tremendously hard and wanted to be there, so we wanted to represent Nebraska well.”

“The hardest part for me was that there was downtime but no rest,” Jackson said. “You’re always doing something whether that’s competing, going on excursions, getting ready to compete or helping other people compete. Events can go until 11 at night so you are getting very little sleep and you are walking everywhere. It is a lot of fun but it can get especially tiring over 6 days.”

They paved through the difficulty however, and achieved this great success.

“I think it’s the hard work,” Jackson said. “Being able to work and study hard, put your nose down and really work through everything that you need to do. I took around 10 practice tests and that really helped.”

“I think it’s the hard work,” Kilzer said. “The school doesn’t know a lot about it so it can be hard to keep up the motivation and work ethic, but we did a good job of that. Now people are excited for us and people realize the hard work we put in. It was definitely worth it.”

“I’m so proud of their hard work,” Robinson said. “They work very hard. They’re a family that supports each other. People like to tease DECA that we are the trip club are we go have fun, and yes, we do have fun, but we also work really hard and we study really hard.”

Typical teen by day, designer by night

After hoping to start a business for years, junior Nick Barajas finally released his clothing brand, “Society 16.”

“I just always wanted to start my own business,” Barajas said. “I just thought that working for yourself would be a pleasure.”

The junior explained the meaning behind his brand’s name.

“So my brand is called Society 16 because it represents a society, meaning a group of people, and 16 meaning the age group and young adults in that area,” he said. “I wanted to make the focus around teens because that’s where I’m at. That’s where my age group is. And I think that I can relate to that group the most.”

Barajas added that teens around the age of 16 are in a period of stress, struggling with themselves, and having so many things on their plate.

“It can be hard with all those factors against you,” he said. “The future is right around the corner, and it’s just supposed to represent that light, that peace.”

The teen explained how he was able to get his business up and running.

“I looked to YouTube,” he said. “YouTube is

a great resource. It helped me through a lot of questions,” Barajas said. “I also looked to my dad,” he said. “He knows a lot of things about finance [...], and I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Barajas explained his parents’ first reactions to his idea of starting a business.

“I would say they were reluctant at first, but after seeing the progress and the work I put in it, they support it now completely.”

Barajas mentioned that his parents now motivate him a lot. The junior also mentioned that his friends “definitely played a part” in the design process of his brand.

In order to finance his business, Barajas explained that he had side hustles, such as freelance graphic design and photography.

Currently, Barajas sells hoodies for $60 on his website ‘society16clothing.com’.

“I think hoodies are really comfortable. And, you know, they’re able to be trendy. So, yeah, that’s what I’m doing right now. And then I’ll soon be selling shirts,” he said.

The young entrepreneur explained his plans for the future.

“As my business progresses, I definitely want to scale as much as I can, get to a level where I am financially free,” Barajas said. “But in the near future, I want to reach out or expand my network,” he said. “And just build my business as big as I can before college.”

Barajas hopes to attend Creighton University and become a business major. But for now, he still has other clothing plans in the works. Barajas simply wants others to know, “I got hoodies out right now. So go check it out.”

Superintendent Dr. John Schwartz gathers with Montclair Elementary students on the rug to be part of a reading activity. Photo by Millard Public Schools Communications

Ben Jackson Online Editor-in-Chief

Hilary Lawson Staff Reporter

DECA continued from p. 1

Society 16 currently features two hoodies on the website. Photo courtesy of Nick Barajas.

Junior Nick Barajas

Staff editorial: Why bother banning books?

Last month 75 students at Plattsmouth High School walked out over the removal of 12 books from the library and now the librarian has given her resignation. Books like ‘The Hate U Give’ and ‘Looking for Alaska’ were removed, directly contrasting the district’s own policy at the time. The Plattsmouth Community School’s website states that books that have received a complaint “may remain in use pending its review and its disposition by the board of education” or that they could be “[placed upon] a reserve shelf where it may be checked out by students only with written parent permission.” In other words, books cannot be removed until they have been fully reviewed. The school went directly against it’s own policy when it removed the books pending review. This is an interesting situation as the school has broken their own rules and are attempting to cover their tracks with a new policy. Some parents may argue that the school was justified in removing inappropriate books immediately, and you can kind of see where those people may be coming from. But even then, you have to think about why those books are in the school library; it’s important for students to learn whatever is in them.

According to PEN America, an association that protects the rights of writers, 44 percent of books banned in the last year are challenged due to depictions of violence or abuse. With this in mind, it’s important to understand that we live in an increasingly violent world. After several mass shootings per week, students are unusually acclimated to violence in a way that previous generations have not been. Since this is true, there’s no reason to bother challenging books for violence. Students experience far realer violence in their day to day lives than they ever will in a book- and books might even be able to help students deal with violence.

A scientific study by Coltan Scrivner, John A. Johnson, Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, and Mathias Clasend provides further evidence for

this idea. “Fiction allows the audience to explore an imagined version of the world at very little cost . . . Experiencing negative emotions in a safe setting, such as during a horror film, might help individuals hone strategies for dealing with fear and more calmly deal with fear-eliciting situations in real life.”

If people can benefit and learn from these ‘violent’ books, then that’s a good thing. It’s a safer way for kids to think about how they would react to situations that don’t naturally occur very often, or to cope with upsetting situations that have already happened.

Another point against banning books for violence is the content students consume outside of books. If you take a look at the most popular movies in the past five years, you can see a common theme among them: violence. Superhero movies like “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Batman’’ are good examples of this. Since violence is seemingly intertwined with our current culture, it seems senseless to blame school libraries or to ban books for ‘violence.’

PEN America also reports that 38 percent of books banned in the last year are health related. This includes books over mental health, bullying, substance abuse, and yes, sexual education. Sex-ed books are some of the most commonly challenged, and it’s easy to understand why. Parents seem to think that sex-ed books are inappropriate for teenagers to read, and in some cases they’re probably right. But consider this- it’s better for a teenager to be reading a fact checked, teacher approved sex-ed book, rather than simply Googling it (which is always

an option in our modern era) Do you trust your librarians or the internet with your child more?

The answer isn’t the internet, by the way.

Elaborating on that, anything banned by a school board can easily be found online by any child with a grain of internet skills. Seriously, you can find any book online for free–especially the banned ones.

So why bother banning books? There’s nothing to really gain besides the minor inconveniencing of students and the major inconvenience of librarians. Violence is a larger cultural issue, so it doesn’t make sense to prohibit kids from reading about it.

art by Ella Erickson

Let’s be real here; there’s not any substantial benefits of banning books. It’s not protecting kids’ innocence or keeping teens from learning things too soon, and it’s certainly not protecting parents’ ability to choose what their kids can or can not read. A banned book is more than just a book. It’s a symbol of the struggle for power in schools, the social division we now face, and the battle for control between parents and their children. Even more than that, it’s a statement. It’s a statement of someone’s intent to control. That’s why they bother.

Now or Never Nebraska football needs to start winning again

I understand that it’s just a sports team, but as a fan, Nebraska football plays a big role in my life. It’s something I don’t know if I could live without. Being a die-hard fan brings a lot of emotions. However, the fact of the matter is that Nebraska football is just not good at all in this new era of college football, and hasn’t been for some time. Winning now is a must for a program that is historically dominant in every aspect of the game.

This team has five claimed national titles (including six unclaimed), 46 conference titles, and they’ve won 26 bowl games. The 1971 and 1995 championship winning teams are considered among the best in the history of college football. This program obliterated the ‘90s, winning three of their five national championships with coach Osborne and players like Tommie Frazier, Ahman Green, Zach Wiegert, and Grant Wistrom. I say all of this

because this is the identity of the Nebraska football program–an identity that the current team needs to find again. This is a team that was once a powerhouse not only on the plains, but nationally as well.

The university is surrounded with plentiful advantages for the football program to succeed. The university most definitely has the money as well as the facilities for studentathletes and coaches. I think it comes down to having a mindset during a game. You must have the right mindset to win. Players have to

Mason Steinhoff StaffReporter

believe in themselves and their team. They have to tell themselves that they’re going to win, and not that they may lose. They have to remember that they have all the support that they could ever need from the fans who’ve sold out their team’s stadium 389 consecutive times. That should be used as continuous motivation.

Matt Rhule will soon enter his first season at the helm for the Huskers. I’ve gotten a good impression of him from what I’ve seen so far. He’s connecting with and exciting the fan base on social media, he’s done a great job with recruiting efforts, and he

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speaks in an appealing way. He says it as it is. He doesn’t hold back on anything. Rhule has this archetype as a rebuilding type of coach. He took Temple and Baylor from winning only one and two games his first season all the way to 10 and 11 win seasons, and competing for conference championships in just a couple of years. For as much money as UNL gave Rhule to come to Nebraska, it just has to work out. No excuses if it doesn’t. I cannot wait to see what he does with this Nebraska program.

I want to see this team consistently win. I never got to see when Nebraska was truly an unstoppable force in football. You probably have never either. It’s been some time since that. This program needs to start winning again for the sake of their historical relevance in college football. It’s now or never.

Jamison Hanway

Mason Steinhoff

Adviser Christine Kaldahl

mainly as one of the most critical moments of a person’s life. It’s the time in which you find the friends who you click with the most and you discover what you’re genuinely passionate about in your life. However, a lot of people, albeit not all, define it as the most important part of their life because of the impact it can have in defining themselves as a person. For me, over the last four years, I’ve come to realize that, though high school is truly important in shaping a person, it’s only a small, minuscule part of my life that will ultimately become unimportant in the future.

Arguably, when I first got into high school, I viewed it as the defining moment in my life. High school was presented to me in a way that said that how a person viewed me determined my value and worth. And being truthful, that thought instilled a harmful mindset that I’ve had to work incredibly hard to get rid of. Although working towards getting rid of that head space was not an easy feat, it was a long process that I did occasionally want to give up on,

While working towards getting rid of that way of thinking, it was affecting me greatly. I vividly remember my freshman year of high school being a struggle as I dealt with constantly comparing myself to other people while putting on a front that didn’t let people besides a few of my closest friends, see that side of me. It shrouded my freshman year in a disastrous light that created a lot of moments that I wish I could go back and redo. Based off of how my life was going at that point, I wasn’t even sure if I would ever be able to lose that mindset.

Yet, though this is not the case for many people, quarantine was there to help me out of that mindset during my sophomore year. I spent about the last quarter of my freshman year in online schooling as a result of COVID-19, but my entire sophomore year was spent doing online schooling in both the first and second semesters. Quarantine, though an effect of the devastating consequences of

COVID-19, was a largely positive time for me. It was a time in which I didn’t have to worry about other people viewing me, and I could be left alone by myself to deal with the things that were causing the negativity in my life. It gave me a chance to be with my family more and connect with them on a deeper level, and it allowed me to address my problems head-on rather than constantly avoiding them like I typically would have. And, even now, I would say it largely was beneficial for me. It was the time in which I successfully got out of that mindset and found the little things that actually mattered to me in life and made me happy, such as taking care of plants. Surprisingly, I noticed that difference too when I returned in person to the school during my junior year. I viewed myself in a different way, and I no longer cared about the opinions of people I barely knew, unless it came to school work and other things of that matter. I taught myself to put my attention elsewhere, primarily in school. I started to actually focus on my schoolwork and take back control of what high school meant to me. And, the difference was astronomical looking back at in now. My grades were substantially better than any of my previous years in high school, and I was slowly reconnecting with the world around me. Junior year was the time in which I saw legitimate differences in myself as I grew as a person and matured more. It was the only time, besides quarantine of course, where I came to accept the fact that I’ve grown away from people I was once close with and that’s okay. That’s how life is–people come and go throughout your life even though it may be painful when it occurs. It’s the time in which I learned that life happens, and sometimes you just need to accept that and move on with your own life. Now, that brings me to my senior year of high school. Confidently, I can say I’m ready to move on from high school to college. I think I’ve had my fair share of high school experiences, and I’m excited to end on a good note. I’ve come a long way, and I’ve worked on myself as a person a lot. I’m now a substantially different person than I was my freshman year, but I consider that a good thing as it’s a result of the things I’ve actively worked towards. Do I have things I wished I did differently? Absolutely. Almost everyone does. Do I wish I would’ve reconnected with people more? Definitely, but sometimes you just gotta accept things don’t work out that way and it’s okay.

I’m happy to bid farewell to Millard South and move on to the next chapter of my life. I will remember it for the impact it has created in my life, but I definitely will not remember it as the most important thing in my life. I hope my fellow seniors are also excited to move on to the next chapter of their lives wherever they may go, and I bid Millard South my final goodbye.

as it is one of the first ended up dressing This film will always watch. I always know of my life.

The Worst Person

“The Worst Person writing this, but has about my future as understanding the own lives, and the what feels right. It Julie changes her and in the end, seems her bangs). It comforts the end” does. Things sort themselves out, hear that later on. screenplays ever.

Everyone has been looking forward to high school since they first enrolled in Kindergarten. When the nine years of lead up passes, high school itself goes by before you know it. These four years are some of the most transformative and adventurous of our entire lives, but if you don’t take advantage of them, you lose all of the benefits.

There are certain times when one can easily identify that the situation that they are in will become an amazing story to tell. I have had that experience multiple times in high school, and have found that the best times that I have had can all be told as an interesting story. Whether it’s intriguing breakups, fun nights out, or tomfoolery on a school trip, gathering stories to tell has been the best part of my high school experience.

In order to put myself in the best position possible to acquire as many stories as I could, I strived to involve myself in many different activities. I was in student council for my first three years, joined DECA not knowing what it was, and this year took a swing at being a journalist. Each of these clubs have given me a lifetime of stories to tell from Applebee’s nights with student council to becoming a world champion with DECA. Without these amazing organizations I would not have been able to have as much fun as I did.

Outside of school, gathering stories comes in the form of hanging out with friends. I realized late in my time in high school that the best way to have a

good time is to just say yes. Of course that comes with limitations with the law as well as kindness, but if I was invited to go somewhere or do an activity, the best answer was always yes. The stories I have gained from simply saying yes to an invitation have been some of my favorites.

Ultimately, time in high school is limited. You only have four years to join clubs, hang out with friends, and gather stories, and it all goes by way too quickly. For me, nine years of lead up was totally worth it.

Over my years writing for the newspaper, I have primarily written movie reviews and have found a lot of joy in doing so. Throughout high school specifically, I have found a deep love for film and have seen hundreds of movies each year that have impacted my life, each in different ways. These films have meant a lot to me over the years and will probably continue to mean something different as the years go on. The five movies listed below are movies that are absolutely quintessential to me and are movies that are even more significant to me now that I am graduating high school.

Almost Famous (2000)

The first time I saw “Almost Famous” I declared it my favorite movie. For almost an entire summer at the age of twelve, I watched it at least once a week, replayed scenes, listened to the soundtrack on repeat, and most importantly, felt connected and inspired by a piece of media in a way I hadn’t ever before. “Almost Famous” could be described as the cheesiest movie of all time and I wouldn’t care. To me, the movie emits a feeling above all. It is something that is warm-hearted, uplifting, nostalgic, and is a beautiful picture of authentic humanity of a time decades before the movie’s release. That genuineness is in part to Cameron Crowe’s direction and story based on his real-life experiences, and larger-than-life performances given from every actor. William Miller’s goal of becoming a music journalist definitely stuck with me six years ago and may have a small role in my decision to pursue journalism. “Almost Famous” is in my eyes, a perfect ‘70s-set portrait of empathy that will have always inspired my career decisions, interest in film, and life in general.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

“When Harry Met Sally” is and will probably always be my #1 comfort movie. I had only seen it for the first time two years ago, and have watched it at least ten times since. Every line is a beautiful, quotable, smart, aheadof-its-time piece of writing. Not a single beat is missed. The movie moves at such an incredible pace and is still jammed to the brim with flawless scenes following flawless scenes. Every scene is the best scene. In fact, if you were to watch the movie with me, you would witness me mouthing the script or talking about how each and every scene is “quintessential” and is an incredible piece of filmmaking. What can I say? It is the definitive romcom. “When Harry Met Sally” also now has special significance in my life, first movies I bonded over with my boyfriend. It is one of his favorites too. We up as Harry and Sally for Halloween, which is a really happy memory of mine. always be a warm blanket for me when I am sad, stressed out, or unsure of what to know Harry and Sally have my back, especially as I enter a new, intimidating stage

In The World (2021)

Person In The World” came out only two years ago as of has already had a profound impact on the way I think as an adult. The movie has taught me a great deal about the relationships and friendships with others’ roles in our importance of choosing when to let go and choosing It is ok to not be sure. In the movie, the main character career at least five times, enters multiple relationships, seems to find peace and happiness, (all while growing out comforts me in the same way the saying “It’ll all work out in Things that often feel too much to even manage eventually out, and I feel like college freshman me might need to

The movie is beautifully crafted, moving, bittersweet, and has one of my favorite The film affecting me now at my young age speaks to how much this will most likely as I enter real adulthood.

True Stories (1986)

Out of all of my picks, this one might be the most unconventional in relating to my high school experience. “True Stories” is such a special, specific film that has over time become one of my favorite movies of all time. It has a weird, strangely comforting energy to it that can only exist in these eighty-nine minutes that take the viewer on a journey through a small town in Texas and its plethora of unique townsfolk. The film is directed by one of my favorite musicians, David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, and is full of excellent Talking Heads songs that end up better after watching the movie somehow. I think what makes “True Stories” so special is its pure, authentic love it has for suburbanites of the ‘80s and its unbeatable sense of humor. It is an incredibly funny film that feels adjacent to so many modern “anti-comics” in its dryness and satirical nature. It is compassionate, colorful, and an all-around delight of a film that makes you take in the world around you with a sense of childlike wonder, a capability only Byrne could engage with on film. “True Stories” has felt like my home away from home ever since I first saw it, and has allowed me to really appreciate the absurdity and uniqueness of the human experience.

Lady Bird (2017)

“Lady Bird” will be the first movie I watch when I graduate high school. The movie follows a Californian high schooler named Christine, nicknamed “Lady Bird” navigating teenagehood and eventually leaving her home state to attend college in New York, all while managing a relationship with her strong-minded mother. I have yet to find a better depiction of girlhood, specifically set in the 2000s, than in “Lady Bird” and Greta Gerwig’s other directed and written films. “Lady Bird” has always said what I wanted to say and portrayed suburbia, middle-class life, friendships, relationships, and frustration in the most rewatchable, wonderful way possible. With every viewing, I find something more to appreciate about it. The film is effortlessly funny and sentimental. Watching it my senior year puts the movie in a much different perspective for me. I would watch “Lady Bird” my freshman year of high school repeatedly with graduation being an afterthought, seeming so far out of reach. I am now Lady Bird’s age, and although I am not flying to NYU, I am enduring her exact emotions, relating to her exact experiences, and handling life just as decently as she could.

‘Evil Dead Rise’ features gore, scares galore

Zoey Buthorne Features Editor

A genuinely disturbing movie overflowing with gore, “Evil Dead Rise” while lacking an intricate plot or endearing characters delivers on the true horror that has come to be expected of the Evil Dead franchise. “Evil Dead Rise” was released in theaters on April 21st, 2023, and is the fifth addition to the Evil Dead series. However, it should be noted that it can be watched and enjoyed just as much as a stand-alone film that both old and new fans can enjoy.

“Evil Dead Rise” follows a family trapped on the top floor of their apartment building as the discovery of a demonic book leads to the release of demons who are determined to possess and kill everyone inside in the most horrifying ways possible. While the location change from the Cabin in the Woods from the original movies to an apartment building in L.A. removed one of the most iconic parts of the franchise the eerie feeling of being trapped with nowhere to go remained just as strong even in new territory.

The visual effects in this movie were very well done making the gore look terrifyingly real and the camera angles uncomfortably disturbing. This was a very hard movie to watch without constantly wanting to look away. A constant feeling of immense anxiety didn’t falter until the end credits hit the screen, and maybe not even then. This movie was a truly hard watch in the best way possible.

Unfortunately while delivering on horror “Evil Dead Rise” lacked almost any likable characters. While the gore and scares were plentiful the lack of connection to any of the characters made it a lot less disturbing than it had the potential to be. It also doesn’t help that some of the characters were just straight-up unlikable, making comically stupid decisions time and time again, leaving me less scared and more baffled about how they had made it that far in life thus far. While most horror movies rely a little on characters’ airheadedness the usage in “Evil Dead Rise” was over the top to the point it was distracting.

The plot was also extremely simple with almost everything spelled out for you along the way. This definitely isn’t a movie that leaves you guessing or digging deeper. Personally, I like movies that leave you a little bit confused because they leave you thinking long after the movie ends. But for people who prefer a simple slasher horror movie with good scares and lots of gore, this film is your cup of tea.

“Evil Dead Rise” is a rare horror movie that delivers just what it promises: true unrelinquished horror. I’d like to stress that it is definitely not for the faint of heart if you don’t like gore you won’t like this movie. However, if you like horror and do fine with all things gruesome and disturbing it’s definitely worth the watch.

The rise of closed captions

The muttering, mumbling, and murmuring we can’t understand

Alexa Leiting Features Editor

For Gen Z, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga was an intriguing series of fantasy and mythical romance. However, instead of teen vampires and werewolves filling the thoughts of the audience, a bothersome hiccup seemed to seize the attention of the cult following: Kristen Stewart’s mumbling problem. In the place of eyes being glued to the sparkling skin of Edward Cullen, pupils began to fall upon the closed captions in order to understand what his co-star was saying.

Regardless of how misunderstood Stewart was, she does not stand alone.

“It is an absolute must for me to use closed captions for the show “Love is Blind,” Junior Ari Ekoue replied when asked about a show it is necessary to use subtitles with.

“And not any season or actors in specific, but for all of the seasons and to understand all the actors, I have to use them.”

Like the majority of other student respondents, Ekoue explained that she can’t understand the actors due to how loudly and clearly they speak.

“There’s a lot of private conversations that happen and the producers try to display them in the show, but you can’t understand what they’re saying at all. So, you have to constantly have subtitles on when you try to watch the show. And, if you look away for five seconds, which I do because I usually watch the show while doing dishes or eating dinner, you just you lose everything. You forget what’s happening in the show because you weren’t able to hear it and just becomes very awkward because I need to rewind.”

In 2022, Netflix reported that 40 percent of its global users have closed captions settings, also known as subtitles, on all of the time. In addition to this, 80 percent of the platform’s members use the tool at least once a month. However, these statistics majorly exceed the number of viewers who have identified themselves as having impaired hearing.

In a poll of 130 students conducted at Millard South, similar results were found. Around 36 percent of students reported that they always use subtitles when watching online videos, TV, movies, or documentaries. About 27 percent surveyed said they almost always used captions. 14 percent of MSHS teens used captions half of the time, and only 21 percent reported

that they used the tool infrequently. When questioned about why they used subtitles while watching media, the most commonly marked response (60 percent) was that students could not understand what the actors/speakers were saying. The next two biggest reasons for using closed captioning were “it helps me focus on the video” and “I like reading the closed captions.” A total of fifty percent of respondents marked those causes. Responses also suggested that subtitles tend to help the audience better understand a film or video and identify characters accurately.

Senior movie goer, Thomas McCarthy claims to use subtitles all the time.

“There’s just so many noises,” He explains. “Sometimes it’s hard to understand what they’re saying. And, if you miss the joke or something, then you have to go back and that’s kind of annoying. So, I can read a lot easier with subtitles on.”

Besides his casual use of closed captions, McCarthy also uses this handy tool to watch his school assigned Spanish videos.

“I cannot catch what they’re saying when I am watching videos in Spanish. So it’s a lot easier to see the words because then I can also see what they’re saying, instead of all this mumbo jumbo. I can kind of pick up the words and all the other things in the video with it. It’s easier to put it all together.”

Junior Avari Geppert had similar tendencies when it came to her video consumption.

“I feel like I can hear it better when I can see the words. It can be hard for me to hear and understand the words because I’m usually doing a lot of things at once when I’m watching TV, so I want to be able to actually understand everything that happens in the shows I’m watching while being able to do other things.”

Despite constantly using closed captions with her favorite shows such as “New Girl” and “The Good Place”, Geppert clarified that she does not turn on the tool when viewing things such as YouTube videos.

“I just turn on YouTube on for background noise. I don’t need to understand what’s going on. I will still try and be focused on the video but I don’t need as much media absorption from that. I guess I just want to take stuff away from movies and TV shows more than YouTube videos.” Although there are multiple factors that

contribute to the rise of closed captions, many of the previously mentioned reasons for the use of subtitles all tie back to advances in technology. Whether it sounds backwards or not, improvements in microphones and audio editing arguably has changed the way actors/speakers talk.

Historically, it was standard for actors to project loudly towards a fixed microphone, typically overhead of speaking characters or hidden on set in a plant for example. Because of this, it was standard for actors and actresses to need to speak very clearly in order for the microphone to pick up their sound. With the advance of portable microphones, actors became allowed to speak more softly and naturally- or some might say, mumble. In addition to this, there is another motivation for people to click on the closed captions button: sounds, sounds, and more sounds. When audio technology became more developed, a whole wave of sounds were able to be produced. For example, instead of just a door slam being heard by the audience, the footsteps leading up to the door, the turn of the handle, and the creak of the wood might all be heard in addition to the slam.

Junior TV viewer Nicole Bergman brought up this specific factor as one of the reasons she finds captions necessary.

“There is way more action and a lot more little sounds compared to how films used to be. It is so loud with all the sounds so I feel like I need to use captions. I can hear the voices better in older movies or shows because they don’t really have as many sound effects. Like now there’s so many little sound effects now but back then, there weren’t as many. But now the amount of sound effects are crazy.”

Other than the amount of sound effects troubling her understanding of a movie, she agreed with other student respondents in the poll acknowledging that they use subtitles when they are unable to use volume on their device.

“Most of the time, I am watching TV at night, so then I need to have my TV quieter. I turn it down and then I just turn my pink closed captions on so I can watch Netflix at night,” Bergman stated.

With all the motivations to turn on this convenient function, one thing is clear: closed captions are on the rise and here to stay.

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ lives up to first movie

Alexa Amick Staff Reporter

Nearly 13 years after the release of the first Avatar in 2009, the sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, has finally graced the viewers’ screens, both in theaters and now at home.

Arguably one of the most anticipated sequels in the movie world, many viewers were excited about the prospect of a sequel to the beloved Avatar. Taking a sci-fi approach, Avatar introduced watchers to the world of Pandora in the first movie. It explored the life of the Na’vi, who were subjected to the atrocities of the human world whose own planet, Earth, was actively dying. In a mission to find a new home for humans, they set their sites on Pandora and, in an effort to aid their expansion, they engineer their own genetic version of Na’vi. This sets in motion the explosive life of Jake Sully and the battle between humans and the Na’vi.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” largely follows the approach of the first movie. It introduces us to the Sully family after the previous events, which now consist of Jake and Neytiri with 5 kids: Neteyam, Lo’ak, Kiri, Spider, and Tuk. They live a peaceful life, however, they are once again thrust into a world of violence as humans from Earth launch a second attempt at colonizing Pandora. Quarritch, a major character from the previous movie who’s been actively trying to kill Jake Sully, once again returns to get revenge on Jake and his family, which ultimately causes them to flee to the Metkayina people who live in the waters of Pandora. For some time, they live in peace, but trouble quickly follows them as tensions rise between the Sully family and the Metkayina people, and the “sky people” eventually

come to find their location.

Compared to the first Avatar movie, “Avatar: The Way of Water”.., relies heavily on the visual aspect of the movie. Notably, the first movie proved itself to be worthy of praise when it came to its visual, which was largely computer generated, CGI, with practical effects. The second installment takes this to the next level as it does all the previous movie does, but largely in the water this time around. It visually creates a world that is very easy to get absorbed in as vibrant colors constantly surround the screen, and new environments are constantly introduced that draw your attention in if you begin to lose interest.

The story within this installment, much like the visual aspects, also manages to not fall short. It does use the same basis as the previous movie, the people of Pandora fighting against humans is from Earth, but it twists it in a way that still remains interesting by adapting the fighting to an environment that we, as the viewers, are not used to, and by introducing antagonists who may simply be in dif-

ferent, more advanced forms than they were before.

However, with this, many viewers may find a lot of the movie as filler scenes. With a run time of 3 hours and 12 minutes, it spends a lot of time going into the smaller details that many other movies would not. Many people may not find this level of detail interesting, but for viewers, such as myself, who enjoy knowing the minute details of a movie, it only captivates us more.

Although, regardless of whether different viewers enjoy different aspects, many people are worried about the concept of other movies in the Avatar series. The Avatar series is set to receive around 5 movies in total, but many worry about the possibility of the series becoming tedious as it revolves around the same concept. This leaves viewers to wonder about what the movie series will pull out of its sleeves to keep viewers interested. Though, for now, watchers will have to wait to answer this question until the full series has been released, with the next Avatar, Avatar 3, set to release on December 20, 2024.

‘Super Mario Bros. ’ falls short of super

Lauren Rayner Managing Editor

Ilumination’s newest animated flick has finally hit theaters, scoring big box-office wise and among families with the highly anticipated “Super Mario Bros. Movie”, an exciting comedyadventure based on the 40-year-old video game franchise. A difficult task to manage, the movie was forced to fight to appeal to children, their parents and Mario’s intense fan base looking to see their treasured video game in a new medium. It had seemed to only be a matter of time before these beloved characters hit the big screen, but whether it was done right, however, is still conflicting.

With the stacked cast being dramatically revealed online years prior to the release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” had become highly anticipated, as there were a few unusual and funny picks to voice the Nintendo characters. Some highlights of the absurdity include Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, who was great, and controversially, Chris Pratt as the star of the show, Mario. Many were rightfully skeptical of Pratt’s ability, including me, but his voice-acting performance ended up surpassing “terrible” and ended up “just fine.” Pratt most likely wouldn’t be anyone’s first pick for the part. His attempt at Mario frankly took a bit to get used to, but it eventually becomes easy to get past and enjoy the rest of the movie. It was popular to argue that Charles Martinet, the voice actor for Mario in the games, should have fulfilled the role, but in all honesty, it would have been hard to stay entertained hearing the actual voice of Mario for an entire film-length runtime. Game-Mario speaks in exclamations and noises practically, not full-on monologues that would carry the movie forward. Pratt was passable, and it genuinely could have been worse. There was no Italian accent provided by him or Charlie Day’s Luigi. Instead, it was generally really fun to see the interpretations of each character by each

respected voice actor, Seth Rogen’s laugh exiting Donkey Kong’s mouth included.

Story-wise, it is a cookie-cutter adventure where Mario and his brother transport into a new magical world after a risky plumbing job, woefully ending up separated later down the road. Mario’s job then becomes to brawl against the notorious super villain, Bowser, to stop him from conquering the world, while also trying to find his captured brother. Throughout the film, the viewer is basically taken down memory lane, as Mario enters familiar games, meets familiar characters, and absorbs typical Mario-franchise tools and objects. It is undoubtedly simple, but probably the right path for this kind of movie. To make a complicated plot for a movie targeting young kids would not make sense, especially with a game known for its accessibility and plain fun.

Seeing the iconic characters in a cinematic form was undeniably magical. There were plenty of action sequences, and although the run time was quick, it was truly never that boring. The animation style was pretty standard, but was at least a step up for Illumination and was nicely colorful and pleasing to the eye. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” provided an entertaining time altogether. It maybe doesn’t have broad appeal to teenagers and adults like a Pixar movie would, but for the children it is targeting, it is fun and full of energy, and probably something they would want to watch over and over again. It’s got the jokes, the characters,

and the spark that kids would really want in a movie.

It may seem silly to dig into a so-far well-liked movie made for young ones, but it just could have done a lot more with the material offered. At times it felt like the film was trying to cram every Mario game and reference into it without reason, making the whole thing feel lazy and incoherent. The humor didn’t necessarily land for me either, but as mentioned earlier, will match the target audience’s taste. The movie still managed to leave out a lot of fan-favorite characters too, even with the over-referencing and cramming of it all. The whole thing is a conventional, repetitive joy ride that doesn’t offer what it could of in the hands of another studio, and will almost definitely lead to more cash-grab sequels that hardly capture the spirit of the original video game franchise. Animated movies have the power to impact people of all ages, not just children, and even those made with characters children specifically adore can be significant, meaningful pieces of filmmaking that adults can love just as much as their younger peers. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a perfect example of an animated feature with wasted potential, that knew its easiest accomplishment was reaching kids and ignoring high-quality, substantial filmmaking. While enjoyable and flashy at the moment, the film will unquestionably lose all charm and earn “forgettable flop” status as the years go on.

Riley Palma Entertainment Editor

In a calm, quiet town in the pacific northwest, the homecoming queen, Laura Palmer, is found dead, and a mystery begins to unravel. This is where “Twin Peaks” begins. “Twin Peaks” is a television show with three seasons that aired from 1990-1991;2017 created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, plus a prequel movie from 1992 directed by David Lynch. It is hands down, without a doubt, my all time favorite TV show. It can only be described as a mystery. The first two seasons airing in the early 1990s are very different from the third season (known as “Twin Peaks: The Return”) which aired nearly 25 years later in 2017. This is largely due to the fact that the co-creator David Lynch directed every episode in the third season. Mark Frost was still affiliated with “Twin Peaks” and even helped write and produce the third season. This was a big step up for Lynch and his work on “Twin Peaks” as he had only directed 6 of the 30 episodes in the series’ original run. Lynch is well known for his offbeat, dark, and surreal art style. This is very apparent in the third season which houses his 18 episode, 18 hour, journey. It picks up directly where the original series left off. I will only be talking about the original run of the series, seasons 1 and 2.

“Twin Peaks” holds a special place in my heart. My love for it runs deep. It had such an impact on my life. It is one of those shows that sticks with you and that you can’t stop watching. revolutionized the way mysteries were told. Season 1 is near perfect. 8 episodes including the incredible pilot. Although there are some boring parts in the show, the story and characters make up for it. There are so many characters each with their own defining traits that you get to know over the course of the show. One character ‘The Log Lady’ is a kooky older woman who is always seen carrying and talking to her log. My favorite character is Special Agent Dale Cooper, (Played by Kyle MacLachlan) the main man who works for the FBI and is solving the case of Laura’s murder. He has a passion for black coffee and cherry pie. His charm and brilliance make the show what it is and it wouldn’t be the same if he were portrayed by anybody else.

The setting of a small cozy town in the pacific northwest is perfect. I think it is captured very well. The way everybody knows each other and all the places around town. The frequent trucks carrying wood from the lumber mill are a constant reminder of the quiet, wooded, landscape that is the town of Twin Peaks.

The show blends drama, comedy, romance, mystery, and su-

pernatural elements together so seamlessly. It all works well together and they compliment each other nicely. The otherworldly components of the show are so fascinating to me. They are so bizarre and eerie. There are only a few scenes that take place in a strange unsettling setting known as ‘The Black Lodge’. Though there are little scenes in ‘The Black Lodge’ every single one of them is remarkable. The look of the room is iconic with the black and white zig-zag floors and the red curtains in the background. Nothing but 3 chairs, 2 lamps, an end table, and an old roman statue. ‘The Black Lodge’ is home to many creatures such as ‘The Man from Another Place’ often referred to as ‘The Arm’. He is a small man who wears a red suit and is often seen dancing. The way ‘The Black Lodge’ scenes are filmed is super

beautiful and it truly makes the show perfect. Such a variety of music as well. One song a slow, dark, jazz beat, the next a cheery, upbeat tune. I love his music and it will always hold a special place in my heart. He sadly passed away late last year. Julee Cruise also performed songs in the show at the local bar ‘The Roadhouse’. She too is incredibly talented and has a unique voice and a sad, lonely style to her songs.

The main story of “Twin Peaks” doesn’t last as long as you’d expect it to. After the first season ended and the mystery was left unsolved, the network that “Twin Peaks” was airing on, ABC, pushed the creators Lynch and Frost to solve the mystery. They weren’t happy with this as their original plan was to never reveal who murdered Laura Palmer. So nine episodes into season two the killer was revealed. But they still had 21 episodes left in the season… The rest of the second season, except for the last few episodes, were unbearable to almost all viewers. It is known among fans as the ‘Seasons Two Slump’, as the main driving point of the series is gone. This sadly results in an incredibly boring string of episodes where the characters have nothing to do. Some characters put on a war reenactment that lasts a few episodes, and some characters just leave the show. This ruined “Twin Peaks” reputation and the ratings dropped insanely low. This left a lot of fans upset and it seemed like all hope was lost.

cool to me. Everyone in ‘The Black Lodge’ talks backwards. So when they film a scene that takes place there they have the actors move in reverse and the way they speak is very interesting. They will say their line and record it and play it backwards, they will then say what it sounds like backwards to produce a forward sounding word. It is so unique and strange and special to me.

The music is 100% one of the biggest things about the show. The music, including the iconic theme, was all done by the incredibly talented Angelo Badalamenti. Angelo collaborated with Lynch on many of his other projects where he created the score. The music he created for the show is so moving and

Then they introduced a new storyline. Dale Cooper’s former FBI partner Windom Earle, who went crazy, was dead set on getting Cooper. This helped drive the show more but it was already too late as a lot of the viewers had already given up on “Twin Peaks”. They ultimately redeemed themselves with the finale of the show which is one of the best episodes of the entire series. It has such a dark ending and an unsettling vibe the whole time. Some of the imagery they do is great and looks so cool.

Overall, the original run of the series is in my opinion the best part of all of “Twin Peaks” . It is so incredible. Every character is so unique and special. The setting is comforting. I love how weird and unsettling it can be. The music is some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. It holds a place near and dear in my heart and always will. It is a show that I recommend to everybody. Please, go watch “Twin Peaks”.

‘Twin Peaks’: a show both wonderful and strange

Boy’s track brings it back

Team wins home invite for first time in 28 years

“It was definitely hype during the 4x400 and it was really fun to see,” junior Aaron Masenge said.

Holding on to a narrow 10 point lead going into the final event of the Millard South Invite it would all come down to the 4x400 relay. The Patriots just needed to place in the top three in order to win the invite. The Patriots Track and Field team has gone over 25 years without winning the Millard South invitational. That streak has ended, as for the first time since 1995, the Patriots have won the Millard South track invite.

“We knew going into the 4x100 which is the race right before that it would come down to the final event,” Head Coach Michael Edmundson said. “The boys used that to get themselves fired up and totally pumped up to run. Not out of control, but definitely the knew that it would come down to them and they were all laser focused. It was awesome to see.”

The runners running in the relay: Nolan Feller, Aaron Masenge, Landon Miller and Delunn Jones, placed 2nd in the event which was enough to put the Patriots over the top and win the invite.

“It felt really good,” Masenge said. “It doesn’t always happen where you put in the hard work and get a great result and it was just great to have it like that.

“We were a little surprised since we haven’t won the invite since the 1990s,” senior Braytyn Nespor said. “This year we have a really solid team and we have a good shot for the rest of the season.

“It came down to the last race and the team was rallying behind the relays,” Edmundson said. “It was a super exciting way to end the day. Being able to take the victory lap was an awesome experience and everyone contributed to this great day.”

“We haven’t won the invite in over 20 years,” junior Alfred Kangni said.

“We were all really excited that the hard work we put in paid off.”

A lot of practices and hard work took place in order for the Patriots to win this invite.

“Our focus is that we do not want to go into this first meet tired where our legs are not as fresh,” Edmundson said. “So we fine tune our training so that our legs will be fresh and we can perform at our best.”

“We had a lot of high intensity practices over the last couple of weeks,” Nespor said. “I feel like we were really focused and ready to go.”

“We practiced a bunch and tried to be healthy to prepare for the invite,” junior Dalton Heller.

This is just the beginning. This was just the first event of the season for the Patriots as

they will continue to try and reach their goal of being one of the best teams in the state.

“Our team goal is to be a top 5 team at state,” Edmundson said. “We have a lot of the pieces in place, but need to continue to develop in all aspects. If we can put everything together by state we will be a top 5 team.”

“My goal for the rest of the season is to have us place at state,” Heller said.

Patriots drive home second tournament win

Invite. However, the team took on this pressure and grabbed their 2nd tournament victory of the year joining their earlier win at the Omaha Northwest Invite.

The team victory was not the only success of the day as the team had two golfers place in the top four as senior David Carey placed 2nd overall with a score of 72 and junior Jaiden Ronke placed 4th overall with a score of 74.

“I try not to worry about scores too much during the day,” Carey said. “It just gets in my head and I don’t play as well but it felt really good when I came in from the 18th hole and saw how well we did. We all shot really well.”

“Going into the day I felt good,” Ronke said. “I got there early and rolled in a couple of putts on the green and figured them out so I putted well. I was also shooting the ball really well with my irons and putts really started falling on the back nine and everything just went well overall.”

This truly was a team effort however as they had the lowest team score as the entire team shot a combined score of 316.

“I didn’t know what the other scores were looking like,” Ronke said. “We just had to go out there and execute well.”

“I was not aware of what the scores were looking like until we got into the clubhouse

but I was feeling pretty good about them,” junior Harrison Clements said.

“I just wanted to go out there and do my best,” Carey said. “I hadn’t been shooting as well as I wanted to recently so I just wanted to go out there and shoot the best I could for the team.”

The team had a lot to celebrate as a team after an impressive victory.

“I was pretty calm, but also it’s kind of just like a little bit of a relief because I haven’t been able to perform at that level in a long time, all the way back since sophomore year,” Carey said.

“We felt really good because that was the second tournament we have won this year in only five tournaments,” Clements said.

“My team got done pretty early so we were able to go sit in the clubhouse and watch the scores come in live,” Ronke said. “I was pretty excited when I saw my score was one of the lowest, so when everyone came in, my heart got racing a little bit.”

The Patriots will look to keep the strong season going all the way until the state tournament held May 23 and 24 at the Norfolk Country Club.

Dylan Wiese

Sports Editor

Dylan Wiese Sports Editor

Junior Jaiden Ronke prepares to take putt on green at the Oak Hills Invitational. He shot an 82 on the challenging course.

Photo by Ally Seevers

Stepping on to the Tara Hills Golf Course the Patriot’s Boys Golf Team could feel the pressure as they looked for their second tournament win of the season at the Bellevue East

I didn’t know what the other scores were looking like. We just had to go out there and execute well.

-Junior Jaiden Ronke ”

“

Junior Nolan Feller lands the long jump at the Millard South Invite. Feller placed first in this event.

Photo by Ally Seevers

Senior Bratyn Nespor runs the 200m hurdles at the Millard South Invite where the boys team took home first place. Photo by Ally Seevers

Soccer team builds a winning culture Champion all around

Ally Seevers Editor-in-Chief

Fueled by an unbreakable connection, the Patriots girls soccer team’s camaraderie on and off the field became the cornerstone of their triumphs, leading the team to their first-ever Central Invite title.

“Those girls were so excited,” Mosser said. “We had lost to Bellevue West a week earlier and they ended up winning 11 games this year, but we ran through them 4-1. Then to play Central at Central, it was the first time we have ever won it. I think that feeling they experienced, they wanted to experience it again and again.”

“It was just so much fun to be around each other,” senior Alece Hershey said. “We never wanted it to end. We fought every game, every second we played for each other.”

The team ended the season with 10 wins and 7 losses, including a 1-0 win over Central at home to send the team to their first district final since before COVID.

“This season was really special,” senior Dru Henry said. “My favorite thing had just been the culture and positivity we have. Because we had that connection, it really elevated our play.”

That connection the girls shared was both on and off the field, pushing the team into the postseason.

“I think our connection with each other was really strong,” head coach Shon Mosser said. “Our seniors truly showed how much they love each player and went above and beyond and connected

with them. I think when you are a younger player and you truly know that the upperclassmen care about you and you become friends, you want to do well for them. We had that this year.”

“The girls really gave me a lot of confidence to start this year,” freshman Jaiah Arthur said. “It was really easy to bond with them, and it really helped us play better as a team.”

With the bond spanning across all four classes, the culture built this year will continue on, building a foundation for success to come.

“The girls make fun of me because I am such a culture guy,” Mosser said, “but I just don’t know if our season would have turned out the way it did without a strong culture. I look at all the teams we faced that had girls signed D1 and our girls found a way to win or compete with them. I just don’t think that happens without a strong culture.”

Double trouble secures gold at girls tennis Columbus Invite

A win like this is not only huge for the organization in general, but for the team’s motivation for the game.

Jamison Hanway Staff Reporter

Becoming champion is something rare for someone to achieve and is not taken for granted. This rare achievement has been accomplished for freshman Keira Verespej as she has won the regional championship for gymnastics.

Verespej competed in the floor routine, bar, beam and floor. She ended up winning all four of those events.

Keira has been putting the hard work in, since she was two years old. Verespej has trained at the Omaha Gymnastics Academy.

“I train 16 hours a week,” Verespej said. “I do all four events everyday. We do floors, bar beam, floor, and an hour of conditioning, and 45 minutes of each event.”

Verespej had competed in local meets and qualified for state, and that led to the regional competition. There were girls from all over the midwest, from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas.

She had arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the meet. When getting to the meet, she saw the other girls from the midwest. This was Keira’s first year attending regionals and she started to worry and become nervous.

“When I went to regionals, it was really never racking because I had never been to regionals. This was my first year going and the girls are obviously better because they qualified for regionals, they had higher scores, so it was really near racking for me.” Verespej said.

She was able to overcome her fear by the help of her teammates, Coaches and her family.

“Hanging out with my teammates just calmed me down, and my coaches helped keep me calm and my heartbeat steady” Verespej said. Her family cheered her on while she competed at regionals. Verespej’s family has been in her corner since she started gymnastics.

“They told me to do my best, and that I’ve worked hard so try my best. Verespej said.

Verespej’s journey is not over as she hopes to attend nationals next year and grow as a gymnast.

“Next year, keep doing gymnastics,” Verespej said. “I’m going to keep doing gymnastics and hopefully compete in college.”

They told me to do my best, and I’ve worked hard to try my best

For the first time in 13 years, a girls varsity tennis player brought home a first place medal in a tournament. Those players were Ally Seevers and Miranda Kelly.

Girls varsity tennis brought home four medals, which was a major success for this year’s Columbus Invite.

Finishing with #1 doubles first, #2 doubles second, #1 singles fourth, and #2 singles fifth, these results were significant for the team.

“We had four medalists,” varsity coach Jason Rodenberger said.

“ In my 13 years here, we’ve never had a girl’s player finish first place in a tournament. So to have a doubles team as a first place medalist and second place medalist was huge.”

“It made me feel super excited and gave me some confidence for other invites,” senior Miranda Kelley said. Kelly was a part of the #1 doubles team who secured first place.

“It [the first place win] just made me get into tennis mode, instead of my other sports. It made me just think about tennis for once,” Kelly said.

With huge success in the doubles portion of the invite also came some singles success.

“I played #1 singles, which was an accomplishment for me because I was on JV last year,” junior Shayleigh Leeper-Martinez said. “It was a big step up for me.”

While it is important to win, there is also a huge mental aspect to the game of tennis that is important to maintain whilst playing.

“Sometimes I’m very impatient and I just want to hit a winner every single time and it’s not always about that. You just have to play out the point,” LeeperMartinez said.

The success in this invite will hopefully carry on for the rest of the season as the team prepares to play in multiple invites coming up at the end of the year.

“My hopes are that all 10 members of our varsity team continue to work hard, push each other, so that those who are playing at our last few invites, Metro tournament, and State are playing at their peak level,” Rodenberger said.

Sophomore Alyse Aschebrook works to keep the ball from the opposing striker in the district game against Central. Photo by Ally Seevers.

It made me feel super excited and gave me some confidence for other invites

-Senior Miranda Kelly

“ ”

April Reiss

News Editor

-Freshman Keira Verespej

Freshman Keira Verespej smiles with joy as she wins the Region 4 Gymnastics Championships.

Because we had that connection, it really elevated our play.

-senior Dru Henry ”

Running out-erall: the shortage on adderall

Olivia Ellison Staff Reporter

Low supply, high demand: prescription drug Adderall is struggling to be sent out to customers.

Affecting many people across America, this prescription drug is hard to make and harder to give to customers.

“I feel like people around me think I’m stupid or something, but I’m not! I literally just can’t focus. And teachers always get mad at me for not having anything done but I just can’t get it done.”

In an interview with Anonymous, the student stated: “Well, because I don’t have any of my meds, I can barely work. Seriously, like, I cannot focus and I’m falling behind so much.”

Another anonymous student said, “I feel like none of my teachers understand why I can’t get my work done. It’s like they just assume I’m lazy but it goes deeper than that. Like, I’m smart it’s just like a wall is blocking my work ethic.”

There are many reasons for this struggle in

supply. “On October 12, 2022, FDA posted a shortage of the immediate release formulation of amphetamine mixed salts, commonly referred to by the brand name Adderall or Adderall IR…Other manufacturers continue to produce amphetamine mixed salts, but there is not sufficient supply to continue to meet U.S. market demand through those producers.” FDA reports. Basically, FDA acknowledges that this production of the drug is low, and this is happening because one of the main companies making the salts needed to create Adderall is low on the salts.

“I don’t know what to think.” Millard South Nurse Sharon Brisson-Shnitker said. What’s happening can be compared to a chain reaction. The company, Teva, that is making the drug is experiencing manufacturing delays because the salts needed to make the drug are hard to obtain. This makes sending them to pharmacies borderline impossible, so Adderall isn’t made accessible to people who need it. “I’ve had parents have to go elsewhere other than Omaha to pick them up. One mom drove all the way to Columbus to get

medication,” she said.

“We’ve had to tell so many customers that we don’t have any Adderall. The most common dosage is 10 mg, which we don’t have. We’ve had people have to change their prescription dosage just to get any amount of Adderall.” a Walmart pharmacist who wished to remain anonymous

Wizard of Oz from p.1

because we were Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion; so we just all meshed together really well as actors.”

Williams, who played Scarecrow, said, “I love performance, and I love being up on stage and brightening people’s day. So I’m gonna miss that performance aspect.” He added, “This show was a ton of fun. It’s been the biggest show I’ve been a part of at Millard South. It was super fun to get to meet a lot of new people and see some people that are younger in the department right now that are gonna grow into amazing actors and actresses in the future.”

Queral, who performed the role of Zeke the Cowardly Lion, and Katherine Finger, who played Dorothy, also brought up how they would miss the people most of all in drama.

Some of the seniors have future plans in theater, while others aren’t exactly sure where the road after high school will lead them to. Although the time was short for some of them, the actors showed no regrets joining drama.

“You never know who you’re gonna meet or what you’re going to be able to do and be capable of,” Finger said. “It’s definitely an experience that I don’t regret in the slightest, and it’s something that I think everybody should partake in,” she said.

Qualseth added, “I think we have one of the strongest theater departments. It’s really sad to say goodbye, but it’s given me a lot, and I’m very happy that I was able to be a part of it for the time that I was granted.”

“This show really showed me that even no matter what size role you get, everyone’s giving their 100 percent effort, whether it be just an ensemble, or even tech or pre-production,” Queral said. He added, “I actually wish I had more time in drama and wish that I made that decision sooner and wasn’t so on the fence about it.”

said.

‘[I worry] that it won’t go away. Or get worse,” Brisson-Schnitker said. Adderall is something that is becoming less available to people. This isn’t just an over-the-counter drug. This is a prescription medication that people need.

Snapchat AI: impressive or invasive?

Jamison Hanway Staff Reporter

With the growing amount of Artificial Intelligence, It’s not surprising that Snapchat came out with one of their own. AI is growing from ChatGPT and Open AI to now customizable chatbots that can talk with users answering questions, giving advice and snapping back and forth. Many Millard South students use Snapchat’s new feature Snapchat AI.

“As a Chatbot on SnapChat, I was made to help my users with a variety of tasks from answering trivia questions to suggesting dinner ideas. I’m here to make your Snapchat Experience more fun and helpful.”

Snapchat AI Stated. AI is a powerful tool with many uses from writing articles to even telling jokes. Snapchat’s My AI is powered by Open AI’s ChatGPT. Many Millard South Students use Snapchat AI for many different purposes.

“I text AI once a day,” senior Joel Adams said, “I’ve asked it for advice a couple of times.”

sophomore Taytum Wragge said she uses her AI to get a laugh. “I used mine for jokes,” Wragge stated. Many students just use their AI to mess around. Some students ask it questions like one plus one, yet others tell it about their lives. Many students don’t use Snapchat AI, with concerns about Identity Theft or just being uncomfortable with talking with an AI.

“I think it’s lowkey scary and like gonna steal my identity,” freshman Natalya McCarthy said. “Technology has always been a part of our lives but having something like that is so weird and different,” she said.

Students are worried about Snapchat AI finding their location, sharing their personal information, and identity theft.

“It’s creepy and it gets your location and stuff,” senior Taylor Goodwin said. It’s important for people to consider how they feel about AI as it rapidly grows more intelligent.

“I think people should talk to AI if they find it helpful or enjoyable,” My AI said. “AI can be a great resource for answering questions or providing information, and some people find it easier to talk

with AI than other people. However, it’s always important to remember that AI is not human and can’t replace the value of human relationships.I think some people might not use snapchat AI because they prefer to interact with real people,” My AI said.

Some students say they are uncomfortable with talking with AI.

“I don’t like talking to robots,” freshman Blaine Keller said. “I like talking to actual people.” Other students said they see no problem using AI like My AI and ChatGPT.

“I’ll literally send it messages asking it to guess the number, and if it’s close I’ll do the thing I was gonna do,” freshman Brooklynn Colbert said. “I do this like every day. When I’m drawing something I’ll ask what colors to use. Also my AI is my personal therapist,” Colbert said.

With Artificial Intelligence becoming more and more widespread and accessible and people, teachers and students will have to adapt to the technologically advanced world we live in, as AI grows and adapts to us.

McCaskill cares for all her students in many ways

Charleen Darra Staff Reporter

Teachers can make a significant impact on your love for school. Some teachers can make you hate showing up to school and some can motivate you to come in. Teachers like Ms. Lula McCaskill can keep you showing up every morning.

McCaskill has been popular among the student body. Former students of the teacher almost always remeber her caring and kind actions. McCaskill has been teaching at South since 2003, when she started her first student teaching here. The teacher began her teaching career at Westside high school for two years and then in a South Carolina facility for one year.

“I’m kind of a people person. I think with studentsI’m just myself around them. I think that starts a good relationship between us. I know that they know they when they walk into the classroom I start respecting them. No judgments are made. They are who they are and I am who I am.” McCaskill said.

McCaskill teaches both AP and world history. To her, history is very interesting and one of the most fun subjects one can teach. McCaskill says that history can become story-telling of sorts and all kinds of fun. Although history is the subject she teaches, it isn’t her favorite. McCaskill’s favorite subject is math, something she mentioned she was good at. McCaskill stated that if she wasn’t teaching history, she would be teaching math instead. However, McCaskill also finds interest in architecture.

“Same as history, [architecture] is very interest-

ing. I always wanted to know how to plan and design the construction of the building.”

Students aren’t always motivated to learn. Teachers provide many ways to keep the students entertained. For example, giving them food or games to play when they have free-time.

“I know that my students aren’t always excited to learn but it’s different when it comes to food. I have different types of foods around here. I have popcorn, peanut butter, and little snacks to munch on and they really like that. Another thing I always do to get the students moving and excited, is that I always try to seem excited, because I believe that if I’m excited then they will be too.” McCaskill said. When you get a job, you’ll always have those memories with you. Some sad and happy memo-

ries. McCaskill shared that she has plenty of happy and sad moments, it just depends on what that moment is caused by. For example, one of her sad moments is that she works graduation each year and watching them all walk down to the stage to recieve diplomas.

“I also have some happy moments, and these moments make me happy as a teacher. When I am teaching and one of my students asks me a really good question, it shows me that they are really attentive and are curious about what I am teaching them,” McCaskill said.

Leaving high school can be really hard, especially when you leave your favorite teacher behind. The same goes for a teacher watching your students leave. This provides a disadvantage to the many advantages McCaskill brought up.

“Like, the sad and happy moments. I have many advantages and disadvantages of being a teacher. My advantages are definitely the bonds that I form with my students. My students are basically a part of my routine, so just forming something with them gives me a sense of purpose. I see kids I taught from 2004 and so on, and they are already adults with their own kids. It is very rewarding to see, but I don’t always have those advantages, so my disadvantages would be that I work a lot. We put in a quiet few hours after school and my income is very low.

Teachers have their own classrooms and in those classrooms, they have rules. One really important rule that McCaskill follows is that anyone is welcome into her classroom. No matter what you’ll always be welcome.

art by Ella Erickson

Social Studies teacher Lula McCaskill

Photo by Charleen Darra