MHS Courier December 2020

THE

COURIER 905 8th Ave. NW, Mandan, ND - Volume 29, Issue 3- December 2020

Check out the plethora of articles on the politics in today’s society from the president to the senate.

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Check out The Courier staff gift recommendations for this season full of giving but on a budget.

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From The Editor...

As the first semester comes to an end, the senior-itas is starting to kick in. I speak for all seniors when I say graduation could not come any sooner. It is time for us to start figuring out what path we are taking after high school. Being young adults we have endless opportunities such as, enlisting into the military, going to college or trade school or taking some time off to enjoy life.

Although furthering your education is important in today’s society, I think having a bucket list with bold goals is important for one’s own happiness. Backpacking around Europe, hiking the Andes Mountains to Machu Picchu and attending a performance at the Sydney Opera House in Australia are big dreams of mine, but I have realistic goals too.

I want to graduate with a 4.0 GPA, buy a new car before the fall of 2021 and take a road trip to South Dakota with my friends this summer. Whether your plans for the future are big or small, setting milestones creates structure and responsibility.

This issue has a variety of fun and serious articles for the student body to enjoy such as, the importance of supporting the person running our country, Doctora Lucia Shelley’s journey to America and a Christmas movie review by the Co-News Editor and grinchiest man on staff, McCartney Fix. With all these upcoming steps we have to take, it is important to cherish the time we have with family and friends before we get slammed with writing college essays, paying the bills and getting a job. I hope you all enjoy the December issue of The Courier and have a wonderful break!

Table Of Contents

Page 2.....................Letter From The Editor Page 3......................Supporting The Person ...................................Running Our Country Page 4..................Canceling Cancel Culture Page 5.............COVID-19 Vaccine Updates ...........................................In North Dakota Page 6-7........The Scoop on Politics Today Page 8......................................The Flipside Page 9..........Holidays In The USA v. Other ......................................................Countries Page 10..........Staff Gift Recommendations Page 11......................Dr. Shelley’s Journey Page 12-13......................The Fix From Fix Page 14........The Future Of MHS Students Page 15...............................Advertisements Page 16....................Athlete Of The Month Every Eye on West Main Street in Mandan is spreading holiday cheer with their elegant and modern Christmas Decorations.

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Cover photo by Aspen Jewkes

Kelsie Hildebrand, Editor-In-Chief

Courier Staff and Editorial Policy

Kelsie Hildebrand..................................Editor-In-Chief Scout Hurley...........................Assistant Editor-In-Chief Feature Editor Aspen Jewkes.........................................Opinion Editor Ryan Ulrich................................................Sports Editor Co-News Editor McCartney Fix......................................Co-News Editor Daden Dolajak.....................................General Reporter Leah Emineth......................................General Reporter Nathan Stramer....................................General Reporter The Courier is a news/feature magazine that is published throughout the school year. As an open forum for student expression, all content online and in print is decided and moderated by student editors.

The staff welcomes letters, articles, submissions, of any student, faculty, or community interest.

Submissions may be turned into the Courier, room 221, and by message to mhscourier@gmail.com. All submissions must be signed by the author if they are to be published and subject to editing if space is restricted.

The Courier strives to be objective in its news coverage.

Columns and letters reflect only the opinions of the writers, not those of the Courier staff, administration, teachers, or student body. Editorials that are not signed reflect the consensus of the staff.

The Courier is funded entirely through advertising sales. Contact the Courier at mhscourier@gmail.com if interested in advertising.

December 2020

Opinion

1.

Support The Person Running Our Country — Aspen Jewkes, Opinion Editor Photo by pingnews.com

2.

Photo by John Althouse Cohen

3.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Photo by Gage Skidmore

4.

5.

This nation has become divided for many reasons, but one of the main reasons it has become so divided is because of politics.

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or identify with a different party, we as a nation should support the person who is running our country.

We can have our own views and we do not have to agree with what the president is doing. However, we should support whoever is in office while it may seem like that would not do anything, it would.

This is a time where our country seems divided in ways that cannot be easily mended. It seems to be easier to divide than it is to unite.

Being united as a nation would bring us to a place of peace and make us better as individual citizens. Progressive countries such as, Norway, Denmark and Sweden embrace their diversity and uniqueness, which in return creates a united country.

Part of being a responsible, progressive citizen is wanting the best for your fellow citizens and country. Progressive citizens understand that unified purposes and goals make us stronger as a nation.

We will not see success for everyone if we are rooting for the leader of the country to fail. Citizens need to recognize that each person alone does not have the resources needed to achieve valued goals.

In order to achieve those goals as a country, we must work together, support each other every step of the way. A divided country is bound to fall. We need to stand together as a nation because we need each other and we need unity.

Being a unified country will bring people together instead of separating the nation with hate. This world is bound to have hate and negativity, but by bringing positivity and unity into the world, it is bound to bring citizens closer than ever.

Having different political views is very important, because without having different views on important issues that define the United States, democracy is unable to flourish.

Regardless of your own political opinions, you should want the president to be successful. When the president fails, America fails.

You can disagree with a president’s actions. You can dislike a president’s personality. You can be excited for the next election year and hope for change, but you should not root for the president to fail.

Every American should want to see every administration succeed.

If they do, it is a win for the American people.

1. Ronald Reagen stands in front of the nation.

2. Barack Obama contemplating next big decision.

3. Donald Trump posing at end of a speech for pictures.

4. Bill Clinton speaking to the nation.

5. Joe Biden speaking at one of his campaigns in 2020.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Opinion

December 2020

03

C A NCCulture Cancel ELED — Leah Emineth, General Reporter

Cancel culture has become a very normal, and popular way of shaming people online for mistakes they have made. Whether the incident was recent, or ten years ago, it seems people jump at the idea of publicly shaming and canceling a person.

In an article written by Maria Coole, she stated that “it is quick judgment with no questions,” Coole said. “The irony of cancel culture is that while it is enticing to engage in, it flies in the face of everything our generation is trying to achieve, it lacks patience, communication, understanding, and communication.”

It is so easy to shame and bully someone through a computer, but it seems unreasonable for someone to get hate from millions of people who have probably done “cancel worthy” things at one point in their life. Nobody is perfect, so do people really have the right to cancel others if they have made mistakes themselves?

Of course it is important to shed light on social issues and some people need to be called out for their wrong doing, but there is always backlash when a person posts intimate details of their lives online.

However, it seems a bit unfair to have millions of people attacking a person in the comment section of every video they post, and sometimes it causes them to delete social media all together.

It has become the new normal to just cancel a person for anything without any consideration, or background knowledge of what was or is going on in that person's life.

In an interview with former president Barack Obama, he spoke on his opinion on cancel culture.

“That is not activism, and that is not bringing about change,” Obama said. “If all you are doing is casting stones, you are probably not going to get that far.”

People tend to forget that they make bad choices too, but for some reason people love to point out other people's mistakes while sweeping theirs under the rug.

With how crazy the world is, the last thing anyone needs is constant backlash and hate.

It has become a trend to follow the leader, and when one person acts negatively towards another, it becomes a toxic chain.

In 2019, a scandal arose between beauty influencer James Charles and Tati Westbrook after she posted her groundbreaking video “BYE SISTER.” In this video she makes false accusations about James Charles, accusing him of sexualizing and grooming straight men, which resulted in him losing over two million subscribers within days.

His subscribers continued to decline rapidly until he made a response video with proof defending himself.

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In the video, he clarified the rumors with visual evidence.

This is just one example of an influencer being unjustly “canceled” and cyberbullied. No one is mentally prepared enough for the wrath of millions of people on the internet.

In order to effectively cancel someone, we should be working to take their platform away completely instead of giving their video more publicity by sharing it and commenting.

Psychologist Dr. Becky Spelman said “The motivation behind cancel culture is easy to understand; it can feel absolutely infuriating to hear someone stating views that a person has the moral authority to tell them to shut up and sit down, or, to ban them from public forums, can be very inviting.”

Cancel culture has been causing many social media platforms to become toxic and uninviting places to be. Change needs to be made in order to create the atmosphere so many people preach about.

December 2020

Photo sourced by Instagram Photo sourced by Prachatai Photo sourced by Benstein All Graphics by Leah Emineth

Opinion

North Dakota COVID-19 Cases Reach An All Time High — Daden Dolajak, General Reporter

North Dakota has been the leading hot-spot for COVID-19 since January 21, 2020 according to the CDC. There are several maps showing the spread of COVID-19 being much more severe in the Midwest than in costal states.

The problem with the rising number in cases is the lack of canceled events, and the improper use of face masks. The wearing of non-medical face masks in public to lessen transmission of COVID-19 in the United States was first recommended by the CDC on April 3, 2020.

For more than a month, doctors pleaded with Governor Doug Burgum to institute a statewide mask mandate, as North Dakota’s COVID-19 outbreak grew steadily this fall. Health specialists now criticize Burgum for his inappropriate reaction to the rising number of cases considering Burgum didn’t institute a mandate until North Dakota was number one in the country for cases and deaths per 1000 residence.

The Sturgis bike rally upset a lot of people due to the amount of attendees at the event. This was a great example of an event that should have been canceled because of COVID-19 but was not.

Photo by NIAID sourced from creative commons

Vaccinations for COVID-19 will be available to many people by next year and they are looking to get the first batch of doses to vaccinate about 20 million people. Perhaps a COVID-19 vaccine would make a good Christmas present.

Chart sourced from the CDC

This chart shows north Dakota having one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. all information is updated as of December 14 2020.

News

December 2020

The bike rally was followed by some of the worst spikes in cases in the Midwest, but there is no evidence to support its direct connection to the rise in cases.

Some attendees saw it as a necessity to be there and enjoy the event and the bands.

The purpose of mask use and social distancing is to get the least amount of people infected with COVID-19 as possible until a vaccine is released to the public. A vaccine candidate has been chosen, and is now being distributed for states to use.

On December 8th, 2020 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York will receive a batch of 170,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines by December 15th, 2020. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that met the “prescribed success criteria,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

The state plans to distribute the first batch of doses to nursing home residents and staff, followed by health care workers.

By 2021 it is planned to be available for every state in the country. With a 95% success rate the Pfizer vaccine is looking very promising says FDA officials.

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The Slew of Similarities between President Trump and President Elect Biden — McCartney Fix, Co-News Editor

In the wake of 2020’s turmoil, many have found in Joe Biden a relief from the purported madness of the Trump administration.

However, when combed over with an analytical lense, one can easily find a number of similarities between Trump and the man tapped to replace him, that have seemingly been ignored by those most vocally outspoken against president 45.

Joe Biden is a placidly pro policing candidate with a senatorial track record of supporting now contentious criminal justice policies, most infamously the 1994 crime bill.

Trump and Biden also overlap more broadly on their health care initiatives, with each being in favor of private health care companies being allowed to remain in control of the industry, though Biden hopes to build upon the ACA, a system that hopes to see every american insured, or at the very least given an affordable avenue towards coverage. Trump, however, looks to wholly repeal the legislation, meaning that Biden sits slightly to the left of Trump on healthcare, while never encroaching upon the M4A territory of Bernie Sanders or AOC. Another narrative in need of swift dispelling is that of Biden as a socialist. Biden, much like Trump, is a capitalist though he favors legislation over laissez-faire and is generally in favor of a stronger welfare safety net.

President elect Biden and President Trump have a number of differences separating them from each other politically, but to paint them as polar opposites is ignorant at best and intentionally manipulative at worst.

While Biden is president, the sun will still rise and fall on a free country with a democracy strong and ingrained enough to allow for his election, institutions will not be dismantled and freedoms will be no further repressed. In that same vein, however, America’s union is no more perfect or its issues any less prevalent because of a different man occupying the oval office, the election of a single president does not possess such power: however, Democracy does.

Photo sourced from Creative Commons

The Life, Times and Policies of Madam Vice President Harris — Nathan Stramer, General Reporter

Change is coming, the United States is breaking boundaries. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s chosen vice president will be the first woman, as well as the first African-American, and the first Asian-American, to be elected Vice President.

Born in Oakland, California on October 20th, 1964, Kamala Harris was the daughter of an Indian mother, and a Jamaican father, both of which are immigrants. She also has a sister named Maya Harris.

Their father and mother divorced when Kamala was only five years old. Their mother has raised them alone Photo sourced from which has hugely impacted Harris’ life Creative Commons “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women,” Kamala said.

Now at 56 years old, she is a symbol for justice and equality. She is very inspirational to many women and people in general.

She would like to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty and solitary confinement and end Private Prisons.

She also wants to end mass incarceration and reverse “Decades of failed policies.” that summoned up an “unjust, unequal, and vastly expansive system.” This same system harms and unfairly affects black communities that are statistically poor.

Kamala Harris is against the War on drugs and has said “She wants to see all marijuana-related crimes expunged from offenders’ criminal records.”

She claims this will help many non-violent offenders that have been incarcerated. She also claims that it will help colored communities disproportionately affected by inequitable drug policies.

“Look at the awful war on drugs and the disproportionate impact it has on black men and creating their criminal records, it has deprived people of access to jobs and housing and basic benefits.” Harris said.

“You never have to ask anyone permission to lead,” Harris said to two young women at a rally in Iowa last year. “I want you to remember that, OK? When you want to lead, you lead.”

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December 2020

Feature

Final Two Senate Seats Matter For Next Two Years — Ryan Ulrich, Sports and Co-News Editor

While during an election year what one may look to watch in particular would be the presidential election, but both the Senate and House of Representatives elections are just as important to pay attention to. Although, the 2020 Presidential and House of Representatives elections have been called, the Senate has yet to be called, and the outcome of who maintains the majority of the Senate will be crucial for the next two years.

Even though both the President and the House looked to have been called for the Democratic Party, the fate of the Senate will be up in the air until January 5th. The state of Georgia will hold a runoff election for its two available seats, as neither candidate received fifty percent of the votes, but since Photo sourced from the Democratic Party has already won the House, the outcome of who will maintain the majority of the feinstein.gov.

Senate will hugely affect President Biden’s ability to accomplish his agenda during his first two years in office.

“If the Democrats can win both of these seats back, then they will be in control of the Senate, and the president will have an agenda that won’t be able to be challenged on Capitol Hill, Pollster Frank Luntz said. “If the Republicans win one of these seats, then they retain control the majority and will determine exactly how the President’s agenda will go forward.”

If the Republican party is able to maintain one of the two available seats in Georgia then they will be able to achieve a majority in the Senate, thus stopping President Biden from being able to push his full agenda. If Republicans lose both seats, then the Democratic Party would maintain control of the Senate, as the Vice President, Kamala Harris, Photo sourced from aoc.gov would hold the tie-breaking vote since neither party is able to achieve having a majority.

For Republicans, winning one of the Senate seats would be a huge win as it would force a divided government and prevent President Biden from rolling back the previous administration’s actions.

However, if the Democratic Party wins both seats, the Republican Party would not be able to have much opposition in government for the next two years.

The Growing Division of the United States of America over the issues of Politics — Ryan Ulrich, Sports and Co-News Editor The United States is a country that is a democracy full of many people of different cultures.

However, in today’s day and age, politics have become so polarizing to the point that it consumes national attention on a daily basis.

Over the past four years, the state of American politics has become increasingly polarizing to the point in which citizens in the United States would feel justified to use violence to advance political goals. For example, thirty six percent of Republican adult voters would feel justified to use violence, as well as thirty three percent of Democrat voters would feel justified to use violence too according to statisitca.com.

The need from some members of both parties to use violence over these past four years has thus added fuel to the blazing fire of American Politics. However, for some people it has made it easier Photo by Sam Howzit from to come to the common ground.

Creative Commons Even though many have focused on the controversies this year has brought, it secretly helped drive people to the polls. For instance, in the 2020 election there was a record turnout where over 155 million Americans voted for determining the next President of the United States.

Beside having record turnout in the polls, the need to protest has consumed 2020 as at one point there were protests nationwide.

However, when it comes to any protest that happens, there is always a counter protest looking to fight back.

Feature

December 2020

07

Freshman Kayla Bauer

Sophomore Brady Helbling

Junior Kendal Beckler

Senior Chase Strinden

Teacher Jason Salz

The Flipside — Aspen Jewkes, Opinion Editor

“I think jingle bells are so annoying.”

“Obviously The Grinch.”

Name something about Christmas that most people like, but you dislike.

What holiday movie do you watch over and over again?

“I watch The Grinch.”

“It’s a Sponge Bob Christmas.”

“Elf!”

“Die Hard.”

“Most people like playing out in the snow ,while I would rather stay inside to stay warm.”

“Eggnog!!!”

“Eggnog, it is so disgusting!”

“How they set up way too early for it.”

Hot Cocoa or Apple Cider?

“I love apple cider.”

“Hot Cocoa.”

“Hot Cocoa.”

“Hot Cocoa.”

“Definitely Apple Cider.”

Noobs of the Month Freshman Lily Berning

“Definitely seeing my family.”

“My Instagram is @Lilyberning.”

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

What do you want the high school to know about you ?

Feature

“Seeing my family and Freshman friends.” Hunter Hammer “I like sports!”

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December 2020

— Ariana Gonzalez, General Reporter

An Inside Look on Holiday Traditions Around the World

Christmas trees, gifts, Santa Claus, New Year’s Eve and Thanksgiving, these are some elements one might think of when they hear the word “holidays.” After all, growing up watching Western media, most Americans expect these things when the holidays come around.

However, in a lot of countries, the holidays look completely different.

There are approximately 195 countries in the world, each one with different cultures, languages, traditions and history. A lot of countries celebrate the same holidays as us, but they don not all celebrate it the same way that we do. Some do not even celebrate certain holidays at all!

There are a lot of similarities and differences between the holidays in the U.S. and holidays in other countries. Sophomore Ena Alagic, sophomore Jesary González and freshman Alondra Vidal Tobon tell us what the holidays are like in their country and how they differ from the U.S..

Sophomore Ena Alagic’s family is from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Like in the U.S., New Year’s and Christmas are celebrated, as well as Halloween in certain parts, and are celebrated differently in Bosnia-Herzegovina. While some traditional foods here are turkey, pork and gravy, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s traditional foods are different.

“Lamb is very traditional since my family is mostly Muslim and we cannot eat any pork,” Alagic said.

Alagic and her family also celebrate a Muslim holiday called Eid, dedicated to giving thanks to your friends and family.

“At that time, you would feed the homeless and orphans. You just wanna give back to people,” Alagic said.

“During Eid, you would kiss the hands of your relatives and thank them. At parties, you would wear completely brand new clothing.”

While in the U.S. holidays are a big deal, in other countries, they are not in other countries.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of them.

“In the U.S., holidays are much more praised and it seems like more of a ‘must’ for a lot of people,” Alagic said. “In Bosnia, no one really cares if you do not celebrate them.”

Another perspective comes from sophomore Jesary González, who is Puerto Rican and has been living in the U.S. for the last 3 years. Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898, when the U.S. purchased the island from Spain in the Treaty of Paris. Despite this, holidays in Puerto Rico and holidays in the U.S. do have differences.

“I think one of the biggest differences between holidays in the U.S. and Puerto Rico is the type of food we eat. In Puerto Rico, we eat pasteles, arroz con gandules and pernil,” González said.

The holidays are also celebrated differently due to the weather.

“Here in North Dakota and a lot of places in the US, it is cold around the holidays. In Puerto Rico, its hot and humid all year round; you can even go to the beach during Christmas!” González said.

While holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s are celebrated in Puerto Rico, a holiday called “El Día de Los Reyes” (which translates to “Three Kings’ Day”) is also celebrated there. This is a celebration of the Three Kings who brought gifts to Jesus when he was born.

El Día de Los Reyes is celebrated on January 6th every year. The night before, children go outside with scissors and a shoe box to cut grass to put in the box for the camels the Three Kings travel on.

“The shoe box is placed somewhere and when the Three Kings arrive that night, the camels eat the grass and the Three Kings leave gifts in the box,” González said.

Freshman Alondra Vidal Tobón is from Mexico. Like in the U.S., Christmas, Easter and New Year’s are celebrated in Mexico.

“We celebrate Christmas in Mexico, but we start celebrating it on December 12th. During Christmas, we have a tradition called Posada which commemorates the journey that Joseph and Mary made from Nazaret to Bethlehem,” Vidal Tobón said. “Some traditional foods we eat during the holidays are tamales and pozoles.”

While Christmas trees are a classic tradition in the U.S., the same cannot be said about Mexico.

“We do not really put up Christmas trees, however it’s beginning to become more popular,” Vidal Tobón said. “One really important decoration, though, is the Nacimiento, which replicates the image of baby Jesus between Mary and Joseph, surrounded by animals, angels and the Three Kings.”

While each culture celebrates differently, the girls see the value in the different celebrations.

“I think that while I prefer the holidays in Puerto Rico, both countries have their own special feel to them when it comes to the holidays, as well as countries all over the world,” said González.

“I think that while I prefer the holidays in Puerto Rico, both countries have their own special feel to them when it comes to the holidays, as well as countries all over the world.”

Feature

December 2020

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INEXPENSIVE, ENJOYABLE GIFT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COURIER STAFF — Kelsie Hildebrand, Editor-in-Chief

Senior, Ryan Ulrich recommends,

A Netflix Membership

A Netflix membership is a great gift for any movie buff. Netflix has a wide range of television shows and movies from horrors to romantic comedies, and the basic package only costs $8.99 a month with a free 30-day trial. There is a standard and premium package, which allows for more people to view shows on the one account at the same time and HD and Ultra HD availability. All in all, Netflix is the way to go if you’re looking for binge-worthy shows and tear-jerking movies for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Senior, Aspen Jewkes recommends,

Junior, Leah Emineth recommends,

DD Vanilla & Berry Amber Candle

Edible Arrangement

Junior McCartney Fix recommends,

Junior Nathan Stramer recommends,

An edible arrangement is a delicious gift that pleases the eye and the tummy. The fruit baskets imitate a flower arrangement that create a fun illusion. Their website has a wide variety of sizes, The DD candles are hand poured and richly scented. This candle shapes and sweets that are available for consumers. The smaller is on sale for only eight dollars. The sophisticated presence and items are more affordable for a last minute gift, but the bigger tasteful scent brings a sense of welcoming to one’s home. A candle items are great if one is pitching in on the cost for a magical is such a sweet and simple gift for people on a budget.

Christmas.

Personalized Christmas Ornament

Life Size Teddy Bear

A personalized Christmas ornament is the perfect way to melt A life size teddy bear is very soft and one’s heart. This sentimental gift is a great way to show love on cuddly for the kids in the family. This Christmas. A personalized Christmas ornament is cheap and good playful and out-of-the-box gift idea can be quality for any anniversary to graduation themed ornament. found at any big retail company store for a reasonable price ranging from 20 dollars to 100 dollars depending on size.

Junior Scout Hurley recommends,

Blanket

Junior Daden Dolajak recommends,

Hydro Flask

The hydro flask keeps water ice cold for up to 24 hours. A refreshing, chilled sip of water helps people stay hydrated. With sizes ranging from 12 ounces to 64 ounces, it is a semi-affordable gift for kids, teenagers and adults. Prices vary with the sizes, but the most expensive hydro flask rounds out to be about 60 dollars.

There are tons of fun colors and customizations to match anyone's personality. In fact, many people decorate their hydro flasks with stickers and handmade bracelets.

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Imagine being wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket in your home on a cold winter night or sun-tanning on the beach with a blanket layed down to protect one from the burning sand. A blanket can be used all year round, and it is perfect for every instance. With hundreds of different sizes, textures, qualities and appearances, a blanket is affordable and enjoyable.

Senior Kelsie Hildebrand recommends,

Puzzle

With quarantining and social distancing, people are left feeling bored a majority of their days. A puzzle is a great gift for young children to aid in developing their brains and adults to keep themselves busy. Whether it is easy or complicated, a puzzle is very inexpensive with thousands of different designs.

December 2020

Feature

— Scout Hurley, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

ESPAÑOL

Lucia Shelley Maluy

es una de las profesoras de español aquí en Mandan High School, nació en Monterrey, México hace muchos años. La Dra. Shelley está cumpliendo el sueño de su vida de ser maestra, mientras mantiene una vida social emocionante, incluso tiene un canal de YouTube donde lee libros en español en voz alta para niños. “Siempre estoy buscando libros interesantes y divertidos con los que trabajar. Me encanta cocinar y hornear, así como pasar tiempo con mi esposo, mis hijos y hablar con mis amigos en México”, dijo la Doctora Shelley.

De niña, Shelley fue cantante profesional de entre 7 y 10 años.

“Canté ante grandes multitudes en estadios de béisbol, cadenas de televisión nacionales, etc.” Dijo la Doctora Shelley. “Eso realmente me impactó, me dió mucha confianza para hablar y estar frente a la gente”. A ella siempre le han gustado las artes, en la universidad practicaba danza moderna y ópera, por esa época también comenzó a enseñar.

Shelley fue a escuelas públicas toda su vida, se mudó a los Estados Unidos en el 2006. Estudió una licenciatura en Literatura Española y se ha enseñado en muchas escuelas diferentes.

“He trabajado en escuelas primarias públicas y privadas, en Texas y el estado de Washington. También enseñé en la Universidad de Mary durante 5 años, antes de venir a enseñar español e inglés como segundo idioma a la escuela preparatoria de Mandan”, dijo la doctora Shelley.

Mientras trabajaba en la Universidad de María la Dra. Shelley terminó su maestría, y luego comenzó su doctorado en educación.

Ella terminó estos estudios durante su segundo año de enseñanza completa en la preparatoria de Mandan.

También es madre de dos hombres; Marco, que tiene 23 años y Leo, de 22. Shelley cree que la verdadera felicidad consiste en estar contento con lo que tienes en la vida, mientras que intentas conquistar tus objetivos y ambiciones.

“Aprendí que la paciencia es la clave para resolver los conflictos, comprender a otras personas, conquistar a todos los dragones, pero honestamente, todavía estoy trabajando en eso”, dijo la doctora Shelley.

Shelley atribuye parte de su éxito a su madre, quien fue un gran ejemplo de una persona trabajadora. Quizás mi mamá era estricta, pero de una manera productiva. “Era una mujer sabia, muy reflexiva, que siempre estaba estudiando muchas cosas y leía todos los libros a su alcance”, dijo la doctora Shelley. “Ella hizo de nuestra casa un hogar”

Lucia Shelley Maluy is a Spanish teacher here at Mandan High School, she was born in Monterrey, Mexico many years ago.

Dr. Shelley is fulfilling her life goal of being a teacher, while maintaining an exciting social life. She even has a YouTube channel where she reads books in Spanish aloud for kids.

“I am always looking for interesting, fun books to work with,” Doctora Shelley said. “I absolutely love cooking and baking, as well as spending time with my husband, boys and talking to my friends in Mexico,” Shelley is a very creative individua;. As a child, Shelley was a professional singer from ages 7-10.

“I sang to huge crowds in baseball stadiums, national TV networks, etc.” Doctora Shelley said. “That truly impacted me, gave me a lot of confidence to speak and to be in front of people.”

She has always had a liking for the arts, in college she practiced modern dance and opera, around that time she also began teaching.

Shelley has gone to public school her whole life, she moved to the United States of America in 2006. She studied a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and taught in many different schools.

“I have worked in public and private schools, at the elementary level in Texas and Washington state.” Doctora Shelley said.

“I also taught at the University of Mary for 5 years, before coming to teach Spanish and English as a Second Language to Mandan High School.”

While working at University of Mary Shelley finished her master’s degree, and then started her doctoral degree in education.

She finished this degree during her second full year teaching at Mandan High School.

She is also a mother of two boys; Marco who is 23 and Leo who is 22. Shelley believes that true happiness is to be content where you are in life, while maintaining and pursuing your goals and ambitions.

“I learned that patience is the key to solve conflicts, to understand other people, to conquer all dragons, but honestly, I’m still working on that,” Doctora Shelley said.

Shelley attributes some of her success to her mother, who was a great example of a hard-working individual. She could be strict, but it was in a productive way.

“She was a wise woman, very reflective, that always kept studying many things and read every possible book” Doctora Shelley said.

“She made our house a home.”

El camino hacia el trabajo ideal de Lucia Shelley Maluy

“I learned that patience is the key to solve conflicts, to understand other people, to conquer all dragons, but honestly, I am still working on that.”

Journey to Her Dream Job With Lucia Shelley Maluy

December 2020

ENGLISH

Feature

Translated by Lucia Shelley Maluy

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The Holiday Fix From Fix A round up and review of some yule tide classics.

— McCartney Fix, Co-News Editor

“Its A Wonderful Life” Dir. Frank Capra

Photo sourced from Alternate Movie Posters

A gorgeous alternative poster depicting the ever iconic bathrobe scene

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“Is this the ear you can’t hear out of? George Bailey, I’m going to love you till the day I die.”

As expertly illustrated to the audience through the chorus of prayers for his well being that open the film, Mr. Bailey is a man who every soul in town owes a deep debt of gratitude to, yet through his indomitable selflessness, those debts will never be collected upon.

Portrayed with deft and true charisma by James Stewart in a turn he would later call his favorite, Bailey occupies a number of roles throughout his eventful and ultimately impactful life.

The portrait of Bailey Dir. Frank Capra and screenwriter Frances Goodrich paint reflects a man, not without fault or flaw, but without the ability to settle for doing wrong in the end. “It’s a Wonderful Life” chooses not to hyper-fixate on any one moment in Baileys life, instead opting for a full framed approach.

Capra hopes for us to interpret Bailey as the attainable every man we should all hope to exit as one day, never perfect, but always willing to own up to his mistakes not through apologies but actions.

These events all play out in dramatically different ways lending this kaleidoscopic, genre bending effect to the film, from the slapstick routine of the high school dance, to the incendiary intimacy of the phone shot, a scene of genuine romance rivaled by few films, It’s a Wonderful Life is never satisfied to exit solely as an effectual yule tide sap fest.

It’s cast, all excellently acted and scripted, serve as the foundational pieces of the film’s plot, with each serving to enrich and have their lives enriched by Bailey.

Wrapping up with a truest, most blissful portrait of the love and togetherness of the Christmas season, the film’s conclusion never fails to leave my eyes welled with tears and my heart swelled with love.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” is a deceptively simple story which holds such a transfixing power over me after every viewing. It’s that sort of film which warms my spirit and possesses me with such a genuine love of life and those who I experience it with that calling my friends and loved ones and telling them all they mean to me seems like the logical conclusion to a viewing of the film. It turns me into that most optimistic of saccharine saps and I love it all the more for that.

Some would regard It’s a Wonderful Life as a product of a bygone era of overly optimistic film making, including a group of students at a seminar in the 70’s who asked Capra if there was still room in Hollywood for such films to be created.

‘If there isn’t,” he responded, “we might as well give up.”

December 2020

Feature

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

“Black Christmas” Dir. Bob Clark

Dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik

Photo sourced from IMDB

Photo sourced from Pinterest

The theatrical poster for the 1989 comedic masterpiece

An alternative poster for the 1974 slasher

Holidays with the families are stressful ordeals.

They so often result in experiences that are rarely if ever worth the worrying and excruciating preparatory process, yet like clockwork we return to them, year after year, rioting when we’re unable to partake in the proceedings.

That’s because the holiday season, like no other, provides uniquely intimate bonding experiences with the ones you love the most, and no one film grasps this dynamic better than “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.

As excellently portrayed by Chevy Chase, Clark is truly the films beating heart, an unabashed lover of the season and those it surrounds him with; as put ever so perfectly by one of his coworkers, he’s “the last true family man” and finds nothing shameful in such a title.

Those in-laws and extended family members hes flanked by wonderfully round out the cast from the hickish Eddie to the senile Bethany, every character in the film leaves some sort of impact on the audience.

That isn’t to say the movie is without fault or flaw, it struggles to fully flesh out its overstuffed conclusion, and ever so often, the bitterness of its humor impedes upon it’s more heartfelt moments, lending them a detached sort of irony that undoes their weight.

However, loving a flawed yet fully human thing that we see ourselves in is an infinitely easier and more pleasurable experience than simply admiring perfection, and Christmas Vacation exemplifies this.

It may not be perfect, but it’s perfect for the season.

Black Christmas is the sort of film which is able to retroactively subvert the shortcomings of a sub-genre it is partially responsible for spawning.

The film follows a set of sorority sisters as they are tormented by a faceless assailant throughout the holiday season, or at least that’s how it’s billed.

The true ace of spades up the flicks sleeve is its earnest, and emotional core, fleshed out through a number of subplots.

Each of the main sisters is shown to be grappling with something, whether it be Jess, languishing over the possibility of aborting her child, or Barb who’s true demons are brought to the forefront over internalized accusations that her negligent alcoholism was indirectly responsible for the death of one her peers.

It expertly interweaves these plot points into the larger narrative, because it understands that as an audience, where more fearful of harm being done upon those we have a genuine sort of connection to.

Entirely isolated from any sort of character connection however, Black Christmas is a plenty scary film.

The most praiseworthy quality of Black Christmas, however, is its ability to act as a blueprint for future titans of the sub genre while never succumbing to the laziness of those who hoped to emulate its success while ignoring those aspects most pivotal to it.

Through fleshed out characterizations and genuine emotional beats that hit as intended, Black Christmas lends the slasher subgenre that which it so often lacks, a soul.

Feature

December 2020

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Professionals Share Their Insight With Students Interested In Pursuing Similar Career Paths — Kelsie Hildebrand, Hildebrand, Editor-in-Chief

Dental hygienists complete daily tasks such as, patient teeth screening, teeth cleaning and advising patients on oral health and treatments, but they must ensure that their patients are comfortable and educated.

There are thousands of diverse career paths available for people. With tons of fields of study, it may be hard for one to decide what their path is. One student interested in dental shares her hopes for the future, and one professional in the dental field shares her story to inspire young adults.

Senior Meagan Gourlay has been all over the board when it comes to picking a career until she settled on dental hygiene for several reasons such as, the “teeth” field intrigues Gourlay, the great pay and the high demand for dental hygienists. Gourlay has just decided which education path she is taking to pursue her passion.

“I struggled for a really long time deciding whether I wanted military schooling or just to go to college, but eventually, I followed my heart and applied for Wahpeton,” Gourlay said. “I recently just got accepted into North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) Wahpeton to pursue my dental hygiene.”

Schooling for dental hygiene requires many prerequisites and generals, which can be taken at NDSCS Wahpeton for it is also the only school in North Dakota that has a dental hygiene program. After applying for the dental hygiene program, you complete two years for your Bachelors Degree. The next step is finding a job in what you trained for which may include moving out of state.

“When I was younger I did not know if I wanted to stay in North Dakota for college, but when I came into my senior year, I decided to stay for the in-state tuition,” Gourlay said. “I would like to stick with an office that I would be in forever, but I would also like to go somewhere warmer like Texas for life, but who knows!”

Dental Hygienist at A Lifetime Of Smiles, Kristy Dagner, figured out late in high school that the dental field was for her after weighing the benefits of each opportunity presented to her.

“When I had braces when I was younger, I loved how my teeth turned out, so I decided I wanted to do something in the dental field,” Dagner said. “It was between nursing and dental, and dental had better hours than nurses for the most part and hygienists make better money than assistants.”

Public health work, dental hygiene program education or corporate are some advancement opportunities for dental hygienists, a Bachelors or Masters Degree is typically required.

As far as working in the dental field goes, one thing any professional might say is that science is a huge component in the field.

“Take it and like it,” Dagner said. “Science, that is the biggest thing!”

Photo submitted by Meagan Gourlay

Meagan Gourlay strives to finish out her high school career to move onto pursuing her dream of becoming a dental hygienist.

Photo by Riberrific

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December 2020

Feature

Thank you to this issue’s sponsors Burning Desires, Capital City Construction and Eide Bailly!

Athlete of the Month — Scout Hurley, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Acey Elkins

Sophomore

What was your favorite memory of the season? ‘‘Going out to eat before the meet.”

Who do you look up to in the sport, famous or not famous?

“Kelby Rinas” What is your pre-game tradition?

“Eat spaghetti and drink a lot of water.”

Who is your biggest supporter?

“My biggest supporters are my dad, uncle, and my mom.”

Photo submitted by Acey Elkins

Acey Elkins was Mandan’s top runner at all three cross country meets.

Tyler Thilmony Senior

What was your favorite memory of the season?

“Coming back and beating Davies in the first round of the playoffs.”

Who do you look up to in the sport... famous or not famous?

“Adam Thielen” What is your pre-game tradition?

“Listening to music and always having a piece of gum.”

Photo submitted by Tyler Thilmony

Tyler leads the team in receptions (36) and yards receiving (550) and touchdown receptions (4).

Who is your biggest supporter?

“My niece and nephews.”

Check out the online version of The Courier here! Also, don’t forget to follow our Instagram.

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@mhscourier

December 2020

Sports