February MyDSHS Newspaper

February / 2018

MYDSHSNEWS

DRIGGERS RELISHES ROLE Page 14

Love is in the air...

Floral Design class preps for Valentine’s Day around campus. PAGE 2

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February, 2018

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LGBT Valentine’s Day

Students are lined up, hoping to see their sophomore Emerald Larios said. “We’re just kind of crush’s name on the long-awaited compatibility test a taboo.”

Clubs like Critical Mass are offered as a support results from a quiz they took months ago. Many system and safe space for of the students are excited and LGBT students. enthusiastic to pay a few dollars “I feel like the majority for their matchmaking results, “In some aspects, of non-LGBT students are but it’s hard for everyone to be being in a heterosexual, open minded, but some excited when there isn’t an option aren’t and that could be to be paired with someone of their cisgender relationship because of beliefs, practices, preferred gender orientation. is the easiest way for religion, or political views,” Every Year Dripping Springs sophomore Cassie Martin High School offers students the society to accept you. said. chance to purchase a Valentine’s This just means we have In 2016 alone, law Day questionnaire which they take to fight harder.” enforcement agencies and it tells students what other reported 1,218 hate crime students within the school they offences based on sexualare most compatible with. A large orientation, and 128 based complaint from the students who take this questionnaire is that it is heteronormative on gender identity.

“I know for a fact that other students in the LGBT and does not offer a same sex compatibility option.

“We’re not really represented in this school,” community do face some form of homophobia in

Tessa Stigler Staff Writer

some way or another, and DSHS does not do a very good job of not discriminating against these people based on their sexuality or gender,” sophomore Allie Haberman said.

According to a 2015 survey, 23% of LGBT students who had dated someone during the 12 months before the survey had experienced some form of dating harassment or bullying in the prior year.

“Many LGBT couples are afraid to show affection in public because of all of the bad things that people have heard of on the news about gay night clubs being attacked and transgender people being murdered,” junior Preston Willis said.

“In some aspects, being in a heterosexual, cisgender relationship is the easiest way for society to accept you,” Willis said. “This just means we have to fight harder.”

They Love me, They Love me Not...

Floral Design and Business classes combined and rose to the occasion to provide the students with romantic and fun flowers.

Tessa Stigler academy, as does the business The Tiger Shack will be selling Staff Writer classes, so we thought that it was a both single roses and bouquets to the natural relationship,” Trussell said. community to be delivered to students on Floral design students will be fully involved in Valentine’s Day until Feb. 13. the creation and delivery of each individual floral “This is gonna give the floral design students arrangement. a real hands-on experience on everything “It’s very interesting,” sophomore Brandon Amaya from the processing of the flowers, doing said.

“I love learning how to arrange the flowers and inventory, creating the arrangements, and put them together color wise.” even delivering the arrangements,” Principles Students can choose to purchase a single rose of Floral Design teacher Christy Trussell said. for $7, a double rose for $12, or half a dozen for To make this Valentine’s delivery possible, $26 that will be delivered to their close friends or the Principles of Floral Design and Principles special someone. of Business classes will be teaming up for this “I think it’s an exciting proposition for project. students too, because this is their chance to buy “It’s a great collaboration with the business a rose for a friend or for someone that they want to get to classes because they are helping us to maximize know better to show how much they love and care for them marketing and profit potential,” Trussell said. on Valentine’s Day,” Trussell said.

The Principles of Business students will be in charge of Students can order online at the Tiger Shack website, or the advertisement of the flowers and selling of the floral they can order in person in the Tiger Shack to have their arrangements. roses be delivered either Feb. 13 or 14.

“We are collaborating with the business classes because floral design actually falls under the career and technology

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Tiger Cry Yearbook Honored with Awards After a year’s worth of hard work and dedication, the 2017 Tiger Cry Yearbook “One and Only” was awarded First Place and Best Overall Sports Coverage for the 201617 school year by the American Scholastic Press Association.

The scoring of the ASPA is based on a scale of 1000; to earn third place requires a score of 500 to 699 points, second place requires 700 to 849 points to be earned, and first place requires a score of 850 up to 1000 points.

The Tiger Cry Yearbook was awarded first place with a score of 885, making them the only school from Central Texas

with an enrollment between 1701-2500 to receive a First Place distinction, as well as the only school nationwide to receive the special category in the Overall Sports Coverage.

“It is with continuing and great pleasure that we announce the winners of the American Scholastic Press Association’s Annual Review and Contest Awards for scholastic yearbooks, magazines, and other publications. We applaud all members for their dedication and concern for the improvement of their publications.”

The 2016-17 One and Only Yearbook publication that won First Place and Best Sports Coverage.

17 DECA Students Qualify for State A total of 17 students from the DECA Business Club advanced to the State DECA competition to be held at the end of February.

The students that will be moving on are as following: Olivia Ford– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Jessica Gallardo– Professional Selling Valari Graham– Business Law and Ethics Sydney Hetherington– Principles of Finance Nick Kann– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Sean Kelly– Sports and Entertainment Marketing Colin McCraw– Sports and Entertainment Marketing McCall Moore– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Josie Murillo– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Lily Sethre-Brink– Marketing Communications Clayton Shurley– Entrepreneurship Shelby Steur– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Cleo Swift– Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Varun Verma– Business Finance Faith Walker– Business Law and Ethics Riley Whitcomb– Professional Selling Brayson White– Automotive Services Marketing

supports Dripping Springs ISD 598 E. Hwy US 290, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 (512) 858-2972

Opinion

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February, 2018

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Why We Need a Home Economics Class Cece Vantrease

Contributing Opinion Writer I was visiting a friend at her high school, walking down a hallway when I noticed something a little odd; there was a kitchen where there should’ve been a classroom. Now being the nosey person I am, I decided to do some more digging.

I peeked open the door to the empty room and noticed that this very large kitchen in the middle of a classroom also had an adjacent room with computer paired with each desk that sat in a uniform line.

Puzzled, I wondered what use this room could be to a bunch of high school students. “Who cooks in class?” I thought. Later that day, I asked my friend what that room was used for. She responded that it was her “Home EC” class, short for Home Economics.

Now it was her turn to be puzzled, apparently she had never heard of a school not having one. She loved it. It was the one class where she got to learn information she knew she would use in her everyday life.

That night I went home and did a little bit of research, because in my mind “Home EC” classes were just more diverse cooking classes. To my surprise, Home Economics classes are incredibly useful and can be geared to teach anything from traditional cooking, to banking and finances.

To this day, the majority of society still views Home EC classes as a group of women with aprons and blown-out hair trying to make the perfect cake for their future husbands, when that’s just not the case.

Home Economics can be utilized and transformed in many more ways than just the standard of cooking.

Fortunately, many schools are making the transition to incorporate these types of classes into their curriculum. By doing this, they have made the decision to take the extra time and work into teaching students real life skills that go far beyond the classroom.

I’ll admit, our own Dripping Springs High School has made a small attempt at this. They have taken some of these skills and brought them into our core classes. By doing this, our administrators are, as said

before, attempting to provide students with real life skills but are falling short. For example, some of our math teachers are supposed to be teaching us about

college applications, when what we need is an actual college admissions counselor to guide us through the in’s and out’s of various college applications.

When it comes to knowledge that will last us a

lifetime, there is no excuse to cut short. If you were to survey students about what they felt was most needed at our school, a vast majority would say something that fell into the category of life applicable knowledge, like more information on taxes or college in general. Students deserve to learn these things, and it is our educators’ responsibility to teach them to the student body as a whole.

Some families, unfortunately, don’t have that figure to teach them how to cook or anyone to show them how to change a flat tire. More and more, seniors are going into college and even post high school life and are blindsided, because they may be more knowledgeable in calculus than the other students, but they still don’t know how college loans or how the process of paying taxes works.

While I do hold the highest value in academics, for me, and for the rest of the student body, I would love to see classes that could possibly be beneficial for us later in life, when we are buying our first home, our first car, or paying off our college debt. So, I wonder, why is knowledge about real world information not valued as greatly as the traditional core classes?

I want others to think of that question next time teachers try to explain certain adult life subjects, and students still don’t understand, because it was a subject that was given little attention to.

I hope that future generations will have the drive to have their knowledge expanded through classes and curriculum, and instead of feeling like they are being restrained to one topic. In addition, this would allow students to broaden their thinking on various topics while gaining a better comprehension of life beyond high school.

Furthermore, I leave you with this, every single student deserves to have their education on life subjects broadened to its greatest height, and with my message, I hope that school administrations can begin to perceive that as well. **(Image is courtesy of the Huffington Post)

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The Bare Minimum: Social Media’s Role in Teen Relationships Grayson Ruiz

Opinion & Lifestyle Editor Most teenagers know how today’s world works.

We mostly create our relationships and friendships through social media, liking each others’ posts, commenting “miss you!” on an old friend’s picture we haven’t talked to in a long time, and every once in a while, updating our Facebook pages to share what we’ve been up to for our family members who live out of state.

But what happens when these “social media relationships” take over our lives? Parents know it’s already hard enough for teenagers to disconnect from their devices, and what if creating these relationships over our phones is making room for a deficit of genuine face-to-face conversation and instead, replacing this with “the bare minimum”?

With Tinder becoming the new Match.com for teens and Snapchat being utilized as the replacement for texting, I call these things “the bare minimum”, mostly because it takes little to no effort to swipe right on someone or Snapchat someone. It may be an honest effort to try and get to know someone, but truthfully, it doesn’t fully compare to a phone call or an actual date.

I may be old-fashioned, but it’s taken me a while to realize that the most successful and fulfilling relationships are the ones not back and forth through a phone screen.

I believe that’s why girls preach the quote “all talk and no action”, especially when it comes to forming relationships. It’s human nature to promise more than we can deliver, but when you really are interested in someone, it’s challenging not to fall for their words, even if there is no truth in them.

That’s why social media can become toxic, because even if someone is interested in you, it takes zero effort to type something or swipe up on a Snapchat story. People view this as SUCH a huge deal, when in the grand scheme of things, it’s just not.

The value of face-to-face connections are still paramount, even though the world is rapidly evolving because of technology.

The workforce still puts high value in showing up to work, making connections, putting your phone down, and ensuring that employees are conversational in real life, not in a virtual reality.

Behind the facade of it all, teenagers (girls in particular) still desire this traditionalistic view of relationships. We want to be able to invest in another person with that time and energy reciprocated.

We don’t want it all to be through Snapchat or social media. Many teenagers can walk away from potential relationships with hurt feelings because of this “bare minimum” mindset in the people they are trying to pursue.

When one person feels as if the other person isn’t giving them any effort or time, it makes sense as to why many ultimately decide to walk away.

It’s a frustrating, endless cycle, and why I believe the majority of students at our high school are not in relationships. Sometimes it’s better not to settle for zero effort just because you are interested in someone.

It almost seems as if the effort to try and build an authentic, lasting relationship with someone

who has this bare minimum outlook is harder work than the other person is even willing to put forth. It’s easier to just be your best self, alone, and not tied to any particular person.

Many wait until college to even consider a meaningful relationship with another person, and with good reason. We won’t be around the people we hung out with in high school after we graduate, because most of us are finding universities that tailor to our individual needs.

I’ve always considered friendships and studies to be more important than relationships, but as a high school student, I understand the desire to meet new people and bond throughout our four years spent here.

Nowadays, when a friend explains they are having boy troubles, I already know it will be about “all talk and no action”. It’s a common, unfortunate situation that can only be solved by continuing to follow your own path, and not anyone else’s.

And luckily for me, I always have the perfect answer for the friends I hold close.

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Creative

ALL THE LATEST ENTERTAINMENT NEWS >> Visit myDSHS.com/category/entertainment.

Chinese New Year Jade Howe

Staff Writer & Illustrator For most residents in the United States, the thought of February is usually coupled with sweet anticipation of chocolates, flowers and sappy love letters. However, many countries outside the United States are preparing for a completely different type of celebration.

Two days after our beloved Valentine’s day is the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) is observed in several different countries and regions neighboring China, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines.

The reason each new year is celebrated on a different day is because it follows the beginning of the Lunar Year, and for 2018, the new moon happens to fall on February 16.

The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. As tradition goes, each new year is named after one of the twelve animals featured on the Chinese Zodiac.

This year will be the year of the Dog, following the Rooster that crowed throughout all of 2017.

Two full weeks of festivities occur in celebration of the the Lunar cycle, including many extravagant performances and incredible firework shows that are said to scare away the evil spirits in the coming months.

One of the annual traditions is the act of giving red envelopes filled with money to children, said to bring good luck. Another is to place bowls of mandarin oranges around the family homes, to bring the fruit of happiness.

Red is a prominent color for the holiday, as it is a sign of good luck and prosperity. The number 8 also has significance, seen as a symbol for good luck.

Reunion dinners are held on the eve of the New Year, during which families gather together to enjoy a very large, traditional feast. Dishes for the meal are meant to symbolise insurance for a thriving new year.

Pork, fish, and chicken are usually served whole to signify a sense of unity, while dumplings and egg rolls bring wealth. Along those lines, noodles symbolise longevity, sweet rice balls for togetherness, and long leafy greens for those who wish for long lives for their parents.

Now I don’t know about you, but that celebration of life sounds much better than some tacky, chalk candy hearts.

Illustrated by Jade Howe

February, 2018

MYDSHSNEWS

Valentine’s Day Crossword

ACROSS DOWN 2 Aphrodite 4 Used to tie around gifts 5 Comes in a heart shaped box 6 Color of Valentine’s 7 Shape of Valentine’s

1 Smells delightful but can be prickly 2 Cupid 3 Something to send to your crush 5 Sweet treat

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FEATURES

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February, 2018

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Giselle Galletti Features Editor

Snap, snap. Clothed in the iconic all black ensembles, Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandma, Lurch, and Uncle Fester Addams enter center stage, surrounded by their recently resurrected ancestors.

During the weekend of January 18-22, the high school theater program debuted their spring show, “The Addams Family: a musical comedy.”

The countless hours of practice and dedication the cast and crew put into the performance gathered a standing ovation after every performance.

“I went to see the musical because a lot of my really good friends were in the play, and I was excited to see them perform,” junior Emily Rapp said. “I used to watch the original Addams Family shows with my family, and it was really interesting seeing the way that DSHS portrayed them. It was very witty, and the family was cast perfectly. My favorite part was probably the musical numbers because I never realized people my age could be so talented.”

In this sequel to the cult favorite, Wednesday Addams has fallen in love with a “normal” boy from Ohio, Lucas Beineke, and they plan to get married, but first they want their parents to meet.

The musical follows the two families as they learn how to face what scares them the most, along with the trials of growing up.

“I wanted to audition for the musical because it was something I had never done before,” junior Grace Denny, who played an ancestor, said. “I have always had a small fear of singing or dancing on stage because I didn’t think I was as talented in that realm, but I wanted to overcome that fear, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

This feeling is mutual for much of the cast, as the musical is filled with many solo singing performances which led to a sitting ovation after each one. And during the group songs, the characters were often running across the eerily lit

stage in quick paced dance numbers.

“My favorite part of the play is Full Disclosure, because it’s the closing number to Act I, and it’s just a whole mess of chaos but it’s like controlled chaos, so it’s a lot of fun,” sophomore Cassie Martin, who played Grandma Addams, said.

“My favorite part of this whole production is the Tango scene, ” senior Emily Warkentin, who played Alice Beineke (Lucas’s mom), said. “It’s a dance number with Morticia and Gomez Addams and our featured dancers, and I loved watching it from offstage every time. Our directors and dance captains choreographed it to mimic a competition style dance, and because there isn’t any singing, the combination of the band playing and the beautiful dance work made the whole scene so much fun to watch.”

The dance numbers were a big part of the show, but there were also long sections of dialogue serious enough that some of the audience shed tears. These were coupled with one liners that had the whole audience laughing. All of which were based around the aspects of the characters that made them special and how close the cast had become with their characters.

“I feel like a little part of me is going to be [Grandma Addams] when I’m older, not as crazy hopefully, but I feel like I took some parts of my grandma too and put her in the role,” Martin said.

“It’s great to make people laugh.”

“Fester has an infatuation with the moon, which is looked down upon,” junior Preston Willis, who played Uncle Fester, said. “As a gay male, I can relate to Fester in the way that both of our sexualities were frowned upon at one point in time, but we both have learned to embrace it.”

“I can oddly relate to Alice in several ways,” Warkentin said. “First of all, she likes rhyming, and while I definitely don’t walk around talking in rhyme, I do enjoy poetry. Secondly, she likes yellow. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I actually loved that yellow skirt.”

“He’s a huge dork, so kind of me. I think the most memorable thing that happened was when I found I had to have a whip tied around my neck,” junior Austin Dunn, who plays Lucas Beineke, said. “That was fun.”

One of the focal points of the musical was the stark contrast of the white faces and black contour on all the members of the Addams family.

“My makeup really helps me get into character.

I feel more grandma-y once I put it on,” Martin

said. “But the real thing is the teeth. My mom actually paints the teeth on me and makes them look all gross, and it’s just the final touch, and I actually feel like I’m in character.”

“The makeup and costuming for this show was incredible, and it’s all thanks to our stellar costume crew,” junior Kenzie Olsen, who played Morticia Addams, said. “They spent as much time at rehearsals as we did because they built everyone’s costumes specifically for them.”

The school had one of its first snow days in a long time, a week before the opening of the show, causing the cast to have to miss their final tech rehearsal. They had never fully went through the entire musical, until opening night.

“Excited,” Warkentin said. “Anxious. Jittery. I don’t get nervous for performing but I definitely reacted to the raw energy from opening night. I hate running but it made me want to run around cheering and waving my arms like a mad man.”

“Opening night is always a blur [with] mixed emotions of nerves and excitement,” Olsen said.

Opening night went without what would be considered any major hitches, and this was due in part to the rehearsal of the show since the beginning of October on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then the week before the show they were at school until 10 p.m. every night.

“Expectations were huge at every single rehearsal,” Warkentin said. “We aim to be 100% present, set aside any homework and phones, and dedicate that time to learning and building our parts. We had to give up some vacation days to continue rehearsing over the holidays, and getting close to show week spent 30 hours over a long weekend perfecting the show. It’s exhausting but totally worth it, because being together with the same people for that much time pulls the cast together like a family.”

“One rehearsal day, we were working on vocals for ‘One Normal Night’ and I was always unsure about hitting my high belting note, but Coy told me to ‘put it in my forehead like a bull’ and sure enough, that note came out,” Willis said. “It surprised me at first, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to hit that note again, but as I kept working on it, it’s become easier and easier to reach.”

“One of my favorite moments of this whole production process was when we were all so exhausted from several long days of rehearsal that we somehow ended up in a huge dog pile on the floor of the auditorium,” Warkentin said. “There

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were people resting their heads on my legs and someone else was crushing my arm, but no one wanted to get up, so we didn’t. For a significant amount of time.”

The spine of the show came through at the end of the play, as the characters’ stories came full circle, and they celebrated in the form of dance and song.

“Well, firstly, I’m hoping people left the show in a good mood because they liked it,” Warkentin said.

“But on a deeper level, The Addams Family itself is really about every individual acknowledging that part of themselves that maybe they are afraid to see, or uncomfortable with, and learning to accept and embrace what makes us different. We hoped to send the message that it’s really okay to have fears, and uncertainty, and whatever it is that society tells us to change, and that it is possible to get through the darkness when we support one another and come together.”

Once the cast got through the first performance, they were able to rest for the first time in weeks and still decided to spend more time with each other. The musical brought together not only a community, but also a cast of high schoolers.

“We went to Jim’s after the Friday night performance, and [senior] Rob Thomas is in golf right now,” junior Molly Moynihan, who played an ancestor, said. “Someone was like ‘Rob shouldn’t you be golfing right now?’ It was like 11 o’clock at night, and Rob answers ‘I would but it’s dark out.’”

Photos by Coy Branscum

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February, 2018

A Love Letter to:

FEATURES

Katie Haberman Staff Writer

Frank (My Brother), from Jane

In the case of sophomore Jane Unger, the word ‘love’ directs her mind toward fondness in a familial sense as opposed to a romantic one.

Her relationship with older brother, Frank, counts as a very meaningful connection in Jane’s life due to their close and unbreakable bond.

“Frank has helped me become who I am today,” Unger said. “He helped me find one of my passions, which is debate, and we love doing that together.”

The pair of siblings both compete on the debate team, which travels to tournaments across Texas and allows them to spend quality time together outside of their home life. Last weekend they even traveled with their team to Corpus Christi where the two were able to forge an even deeper bond of friendship as they competed in different aspects of debate.

“He is not the best role model school-wise,” Unger said, “but he is really a great older brother.”

Though Jane chose to speak about her eldest brother, she actually has three more younger siblings, making the number of children in the Unger clan a total of five. With this many residents in their home, Frank and Jane have an amiable, if not teasing relationship with their younger sister and two brothers, sometimes ganging up on them due to their status as the older

siblings.

“My favorite memory of my brother is when he and I convinced my younger brother into thinking we were going to play with him, but we just didn’t,” Unger said. “It was really funny.”

The pair have relatively always gotten along, from playing games together as children to joining the same debate team as teens. Their old sibling rivalries have manifested into an easy-going friendship between the two that would most likely still be in place even without blood ties to one another.

“One of my other favorite memories of my brother is when we would play make-believe games on our property, and we’d pretend that we were like ninjas,” Unger said. “We’d fight with sticks and stuff, and it was really fun.”

Jane and Frank’s close relationship, though positive in most aspects, is a little bittersweet. With Frank leaving for college at the school year’s end, the pair will have to part, but Jane is certain that their bond will remain unbroken.

“Frank, I’m so proud that you have lived out eighteen years of your life,” Unger said. “Don’t die when you go to college. Love, Jane.”

Bella (The Dog), from Caroline

“Hey Bella,” sophomore Caroline Sprague said, emulating the format of a letter. “Thanks for being a good friend and dog, and keeping me warm at night.”

As many minds often do, Sprague’s thoughts went straight to her dog, Bella, when asked to write a love letter to absolutely anyone or anything.

With the kind of love and compassion a dog provides, this kind of immediate answer makes a perfect amount of sense in the case of Bella and Caroline.

“Bella has impacted my life,” Sprague said. “She inspires me every day to be the best I can be.”

Bella, a half-miniature weiner dog, has lived with Sprague and her family for seven years, throughout which she’s stayed a loyal friend and pet.

Weighing in at 20 pounds and reaching a height of about 8 inches, Bella files into the classification of slightly larger than average.

“She’s supposed to weigh 11 pounds,” Sprague said. “She has always been there for me and comforts me when I’m sad.”

Caroline shares many memories with her dog, having experienced many situations with Bella during the time she has resided with the Sprague family. As a weiner dog, Bella gets into silly shenanigans time and time again, many of which Sprague herself hasn’t forgotten.

“Once I was feeding her a drumstick, and I was holding the drumstick and letting her chew off it like a person,” Sprague said. “It was so funny, you should have been there. All of a sudden, she just grabs it from me and starts eating the bone whole, but not how a dog actually eats the bone; she put her head up and just forced the bone down her throat.”

Unfortunately, this moment with Bella wasn’t all fun and games, as watching a dog almost choke on a bone doubles as a highly stressful incident.

“It’s a really bad story, because I remember crying because I thought she was going to die and trying to get it from her, but she wouldn’t let me,” Sprague said. “She just ate it.”

However, Bella and Caroline’s relationship still remains intact, as Sprague has nothing but love for the weiner dog. Bella continues on as a physical reminder of the phrase ‘man’s best friend’ as the top dog in the Sprague household.

“My friend Eliana once said,’I love Bella so much,’” Sprague said.

“Every time I go to Caroline’s house, I hang out with her more than Caroline.”

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February, 2018

MYDSHSNEWS

Steve Harvey, from Ellie

When it comes to passions, some people are drawn to materialistic items, giving the topic of love a dictated, concrete definition. However, when asked to write a love letter to anyone or anything, sophomore Ellie Williamson went with something a little more personal to her own experience.

“I would describe Steve Harvey as a caring, loving father,” Williamson said, “hilarious, innovative host, and a smart, intelligent human being. I think everyone should just strive to be like him.”

As an avid fan of the game show Family Feud, Williamson has always found herself drawn to its host. She’s dedicated many of her after-school hours to watching him onscreen and labels herself as one of his biggest supporters.

“I just like to watch his interviews and his shows, especially when he goes on Oprah,” Williamson said. “That’s when I really get my funk on.”

Williamson’s connection to Harvey actually goes deeper than the surface, as she came into contact with the host when she was around 6 years old.

Though it was only a single experience, Ellie seemed to recall the event in vivid detail, clearly labeling it as a defining moment.

“I was riding on a boat, and I saw him dive out of the water at 15 miles an hour, and he flew over me,” Williamson said. “And when he flew over me, he said ‘In a few years, young lady, I will be hosting the best game show ever made’ and ever since then, I’ve been changed as a person.”

Through the years, Williamson’s passion for Harvey has only grown, developing into a special kind of love for the man. Steve Harvey notably doubles as a source of sentimentality in Williamson’s life, and she chalks his influence up to a dependency on his show.

“It’s a rough time in my life and Family Feud is just getting me through it,” Williamson said. “His comedies and loving words, you know.”

Due to Harvey having such a large impact on Ellie’s life, she even offered up some words of advice for the TV personality himself. As the object of her metaphorical love letter, she wanted to leave him with a boost of encouragement.

“You know what, Steve?” Williamson said. “You just keep doing you, and please don’t get divorced a third time. Just keep doing you, Steve.”

My Uterus, from Eliana

For some, the idea of love is purely materialistic, and in the case of sophomore Eliana Glenn, this interpretation counts as partly true. Though it’s not exactly an object, Eliana has a passion for her uterus that extends beyond time and space itself.

“It may have been one of the last things that developed when I was a fetus, but, you know,” Glenn said, “I love it.”

As a wannabe future gynecologist, Glenn’s love for her uterus goes farther than the average woman. This scientifically medical approach to appreciating her own uterus allows Glenn to acquire sufficient knowledge concerning her passion, giving this burning love even more fuel.

“I would write a love letter to my uterus because it supports me, and I love it a lot,” Glenn said. “It’s been with me for a while.”

Though the inner workings of the uterus surely fascinate Glenn, the views and ideas of those with the reproductive organ are infinitely more important.

The connection that every person with a uterus has to one another doubles as an unspoken bond, one that holds a special place in Eliana’s heart.

“It means that I’m a woman, which is a really good thing,” Glenn said. “It’s something I have in common with all women.”

When it comes to the uterus, Eliana has no trouble in recalling memories

concerning the organ. Some of these are bittersweet, however, as the uterus is actually involved in many painful processes.

“I have memories of when I first started my period, you know, a blessed moment, at the beach,” Glenn said. “I have memories of my mom’s uterus too, when I was developing.”

Due to love always coming with a side of hate, Glenn has had her fair share of enmity toward her own uterus. Though the uterus is known as a work of anatomical genius, it can also bother any woman (or person with one) to the point of extreme pain when concerning processes including monthly period cycles or childbirth.

“My uterus is small, like red, you know, squishy,” Glenn said. “My uterus has made my life worse, honestly, but I mean, it’s okay.”

The balanced relationship between Glenn and her uterus isn’t seen as precarious due to her equally positive and negative emotions toward the reproductive organ. This kind of respect toward an aspect of her own body is seen as both admirable and respectable, as many wouldn’t even think to give their own uterus a second glance in the face of a conservative society.

“Uterus, I love you, but sometimes I hate you,” Eliana said. “But, I love you still.”

Entertainment

12 MYDSHSNEWS

February, 2018

WANT TO TELL A STORY? >> Visit myDSHS.com/category/contribute to submit your creative writing.

care

spectrum public lighthearted over

dislike commercialism except

want

spend

pointless

show boyfriend

single

same

lovevalue

Valentine’s ‘aight

dumb girlfriend singles

consumeristic pretty cute till general special cheesy couples spend commercialized point year chocolate relationship gifts awareness

candy

think

giving

time

ploy

driven

LIFESTYLE

February, 2018

MYDSHSNEWS

13

Food Reviews Grayson Ruiz and Angelina Silva

Opinion & Lifestyle Editor/ Contributing Writer

In-N-Out 3701 S Lamar Blvd Austin, TX 78704 In-N-Out is the fast food restaurant that manages to take you back to the California boardwalks. With its white and red aesthetic, decorated with palm trees, it’s as if you were transported to a diner by a sunset on a beach.

At night, it’s a quieter time, where the workers rustle to gather the customers’ food in time. The mood is light, soft laughter is heard from several tables. The chairs spin, squeaking, as kids wait for their milkshakes to be handed to them.

I ordered one of In-N-Out’s famous burgers, the Double Double. Drizzled with their famous sweet sauce, the burger is joined with the infamous tomatoes, lettuce, and meat and cheese patties. If you want an extra spice, the sautéed onions work best with it.

Despite the mess it makes (it’s a big burger), it’s worth it in the end. The

fries were smothered with salt and somewhat crispy. Even though I prefer soggy fries, In-N-Out’s fries are the only ones I can tolerate.

The strawberry milkshake was extra creamy and sweet, satisfying my sweet tooth. It was a good way to end the night.

RATING: 4.3 out of 5 stars

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Trattoria Lisina 13308 Ranch to Market Rd 150 Driftwood, TX 78619 Trattoria Lisina is truly one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever been to. With its fabulous atmosphere and cleanly, friendly environment, it truly is a treat to dine there with friends or family.

I tried the five cheese ravioli with their alfredo sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese on top.

The cheese was properly melted and stuffed in the noodle, and the alfredo sauce was carefully drizzled on top.

The excellent food matched up with the excellent service of our waiter, who also served cookies n’ cream gelato as the dessert.

They have a great selection of desserts; these desserts, aside from the gelato, are rich and and sweet, so I would advise to stay way unless you have a major

Meet the Staff Editor-in-Chief Jaxson Thornton ‘18 Sports Editor Camryn Horst ‘19

Features Editor Giselle Galletti ‘19

Opinion & Lifestyle Editor Grayson Ruiz ‘18

Entertainment & News Editor Jade Berry ‘19

Online Editor Clara Comparan ‘18

Creative Editor Dallas Johnson ‘18

Staff Writers Tessa Stigler, Katie Haberman, Jade Howe, Rigley Willis

sweet tooth.

All in all, I would say Trattoria Lisina is the best Italian restaurantin the Hill Country area, and you definitely get your bang for your buck.

RATING: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Photo courtesy of The Daily Meal

Opinion

MyDSHS welcomes reader viewpoints through letters to the editor and guest columns. Opinions expressed in myDSHSnews are not necessarily those of the Dripping Springs High School or Dripping Springs ISD administration.

Editorials, Columns & Letters

Editorials express the opinions of the writers.

Letters and columns are the opinions of an individual and not myDSHS.

Letters

To submit a letter, email DSHSstudentmedia@dsisdconnect.com. Letters should be a maxiumum of 400 words. The letter is not guaranteed to be published.

SPORTS

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February, 2018

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Lady Lacrosse Prepares for Season

The Drive Behind Driggers

Sports Editior

Contributing Writer

The Lady Tiger lacrosse team will kick off their season on February 17 against Westwood High School. With a new coach and the team more than doubling in size from last season, the team is excitedly preparing to start the season off strong.

The team has been practicing multiple days a week and learning new drills and plays anticipating the first district game.

“The thing I’m most excited for this season is to see how far our team has come with our new awesome coach,” junior captain Raechel Miskol said. “I also can’t wait to see our team improve.”

Miskol and junior Amber Cahill were elected by the team to be captains this year, and they are given a lot of responsibility and leadership roles.

“Being a captain of the team is very rewarding, and it’s awesome that my teammates thought of me as a leader for them,” Miskol said.

Cahill said that while being a captain can be stressful at times, she is in agreement with Miskol that the position is gratifying.

“We get to lead practice when coach isn’t there and use our new drills. Also, this season I hope to be noticed by college scouts, and they are likely to see a captain,” Cahill said.

Miskol said that the team grew close this year and that she is appreciative of them.

“We have such amazing girls who are playing this year, and I always get to have an amazing time with them,” Miskol said.

Cahill added that the team is supportive and friendly to everyone this year.

“With this team, I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” Cahill said. “I’m excited to hopefully win games against our hard competition.”

Overall, Miskol said that the hardest thing is going to be to make sure that not just certain individuals improve, but that the team works together as a whole to be better.

“The biggest obstacle this season will have to be us really focusing on working hard to be a better team, which I think we will be able to do,” Miskol said.

The rush of adrenaline. The swishing of hair and panting players. On a large green field eleven players square off against the visitors. Maneuvering the ball in between the opponent, towards the goal. One swift kick and the ball is in the back of the net.

Cheers from teammates as she is surrounded in high-fives and hugs.

Junior Elizabeth Driggers is a varsity soccer player. As a forward on the team, she is a noticeable scorer. But the path to get here, to be on the best team, to play her time on the field has been nothing short of difficult.

“I had played rec for a long time when I was younger, and I actually stopped playing soccer to play softball and run track. I tried to come back to it (soccer) and it was really difficult. I actually didn’t make the select team the first time I tried out,” Driggers said.

The difference between soccer and track and softball is that soccer is a team sport that never stops. Players play for up to 45 minutes each half, with constant running, something much different than other sports.

“When you’re playing, you’re always thinking and so I think that you really have to pay attention, and if you’re not, you’re not in the game, paying attention and not where you’re supposed to be, and people call you out,” Driggers said.

Teammates in soccer must trust each other to have their backs. Teammates learn each other’s style and weakness to best work as a team but Driggers was not set to be the weak link.

“That was the drive for me. I thought if I worked hard then I’m going to get to where they are,” Driggers said.

Krista Olien, JV girls soccer coach, commented on how Driggers is “very respectful and has an amazing work ethic”.

But this work ethic didn’t set her up for success immediately. Freshman and sophomore year, she was on JV and voted captain both years.

“I realized this was an opportunity for me to be a leader, to express myself through different ways like skills and just improve myself,” Driggers said.

Driggers became a leader in the soccer program quickly and is still seen that way today. Charleigh Phipps, a freshman on both JV and varsity girls soccer, commented that Driggers was “committed to the sport” and “builds people up.”

“I have the opportunity to be the best I can be, and I can do that throughout the game with my teammates,” Driggers said.

The only way to get better at anything is to keep working on it. Driggers used this ethic to make herself the player she is today and still work on it every day.

“You have to push yourself beyond what they are doing,” Driggers said, “because that’s how you win games; that’s how you win championships.”

Camryn Horst

Cady Russell

February, 2018

MYDSHSNEWS

Resolutions and Expectations

Rigley Willis Staff Writer

2017 has come to an end. The year brought a multitude of athletic experiences, including many state playoff appearances, nail-biting victories, and hard-fought defeats. Evidently, 2018 is upon us and the possibilities are endless. New Year’s resolutions are a timeless tradition that allow people to reflect on the past year and propose what they wish to work on in the following year.

Athletes at Dripping Springs High School tend to have in-depth resolutions over what they wish the upcoming season will hold.

“My resolution for the new year is to make the transition from [junior varsity] to varsity on the tennis team in the upcoming season,” sophomore Julia Bourguignon said.

Despite athletics being extremely successful in 2017, hard work in the upcoming year will be the deciding factor on success in 2018.

“I’m going to hit the weight room whenever I can. It’s worked before, and if I keep getting [stronger], then the possibilities will be endless for 2018,” junior Sam Beach, basketball player, said.

“Work ethic is huge,” basketball and cross country coach Travis Crain said.

“The number one thing that leads to great things in sports and in life is that

15

internal drive.”

Individual goals are definitely said to be important at Dripping, but without the rest of a unit or team producing the end goal, a state title will never be accomplished.

“Teamwork is obviously the most important factor in sports,” sophomore football player Scotty Crosby said. “In 2018, we all want to improve our relationships and communication in football.”

One of the more resounding attributes that the student-athletes have stated is their will to win - no matter the cost.

“My New Year’s resolution is to win. I don’t really care if I’m the star player or a role guy. I just want to win,” senior basketball player Jordon Phillips said.

The student-athletes that make up the teams will obviously have a large part in success in 2018 but the coaching staff also has many goals and resolutions to make both themselves and their teams better.

“I want to develop and learn more and more about basketball so that I can become the best coach, the best player, the best future general manager, the best future scout that I can be, and the reality that I can accomplish this is really exciting,” Crain said.

All players have goals for their individual sports but some student-athletes believe that all sports should come together.

“I think that the entire athletic program needs to show out more. We should have larger crowds and more people in the student section especially,” sophomore Kaleb Barnes said. “I know I’ll be going to more games.”

All-in-all, for the student-athlete population, the general goal for the upcoming year or season in the athletic department is to improve upon their craft and expand their limits in their respective sports.

“As cliché as it sounds, the sky’s the limit,” basketball player Kennedy Donovan said, “and starting with something like a New Year’s resolution can get you pretty far in your sport.”

Wrestling Schedule Camryn Horst Sports Editior

2/8 : JV District @ Hutto 2/10 : District 13-5A Championships Varsity @ Hutto 2/16-17 :Region IV Championships for Qualifiers @ Delco Center 2/23-24 : State Championships @ Berry Center (Cypress)

COMMUNITY

16 MYDSHSNEWS

February, 2018

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The Origins of Saint Valentine’s Day Jaxson Power-Thornton Editor-in-Chief

February is upon us once again, and we all know what that means; love is in the air. For many citizens of the world, their thoughts are clouded with boxes of chocolate, roses, and candle lit dinners.

In honor of this, I have decided to take my column this month in a separate direction than normal. Whether for my sanity or not, I have chosen to skip a story on potentially more pressing matters such as the opioid epidemic, or DACA, or heck, even the government shutdown that washes that all down so nicely.

Abandon all politics, ye who enter here.

From this point out, I will be taking the time to give some background on a worldwide event based around a little something we all need a lot more of in our lives: love.

Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, is a celebration of romantic love in the modern day.

However, parts of its origins are actually… sort of horrific.

The dedication of February 14 for the holiday wasn’t made official until Pope Gelasius made it so in the 5th century A.D., and the reasoning for the chosen date is believed to have been an attempt at curbing a popular pagan celebration called Lupercalia.

As for the celebration of Lupercalia itself (before the Christianization took place), it would begin with animal sacrifices.

After that, strips of their hide would be used to strike young women as a ritual that was said to bestow fertility for the coming year. Then there was the usual feasting, fighting and fornicating that came with most pagan celebrations.

Grotesque, but historical.

But what about Saint Valentine?

Surely, he had something to do with this?

Right you are! Pope Gelasius did in fact name the holiday after a Saint Valentine… the discrepancy comes with the question of which Saint Valentine, as there had been multiple in the high ranks of the Church before the

coronation of the day.

The most popular theory is of the priest Saint Valentine who lived in the 3rd century A.D. under the Roman emperor Claudius the 2nd. Claudius was so territorially ambitious that he required enormous armies of top tier soldiers…Soldiers that there simply were not enough of.

Claudius became so fed up with the complaints of homesickness and pointlessness from his armies, that he saw it fit to ban marriage completely in an effort to harden his soldiers for battle.

Father Valentine, however, saw this as ludicrous. As the legend has it, he continued marrying young couples in secret. When Claudius eventually caught wind of this, he had Father Valentine jailed and sentenced him to death.

Whilst in prison, young couples who had been married by Father Valentine would visit to drop him flowers and notes. Father Valentine also fell deeply in love with the jailer’s daughter, and famously left her a letter on the day of his execution that was signed “From your Valentine.”

But the association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love didn’t arise still until many centuries later, in the 13th century.

Considered by many to be the father of English literature, poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a widely popular poem that linked the beginning of the mating period of birds with the famous Saint Valentine’s Day. Over the next few centuries, this link with romantic love strengthened, as the first written Valentine greetings popped up in the 15th century. Two hundred some years later, it had become a bonafide tradition in Great Britain for lovers to exchange handwritten notes on the date.

The next big leap for Valentine’s Day took place in the 1840s across the Atlantic Ocean, when American Esther Howland was inspired by the intricate handcrafted notes she saw passed around London and took to mass

producing them here in the states.

The 1900s saw to it that chocolate, flowers and other gifts received a spot in the holiday, and expanded the gift giving to include family and other loved ones.

And as the day grew more popular in pop culture, with appearances in TV specials such as Charlie Brown, it only boosted the commercial success of the holiday. It is a true consumer holiday in the present and has lately been criticized for being exploited as just that.

But whether or not you agree with the mass consumerism of Valentine’s Day, you must agree that it is an economic goldmine.

Each year, more than 1 billion cards are sent, accompanied by some 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and 220 million roses… just in the United States!

If you’re wondering what that smells like in cold hard cash, the number is just shy of an average of $20 billion per year! A rough estimate pins that around $130 dollars per person in the U.S.

A lot of those figures can be dizzying… But now that I’ve given you a brief history and a modern look about the consumer takeover of the romantic date, I want you to forget everything I just told you.

In the end, none of that matters. And however nihilistic this sounds, all the information in the paragraphs above is no more fun facts regurgitated onto paper that probably made you do no more than exhale a little more than usual.

What does matter are the people in your life. The people who are potentially sitting next to you right now. The people that you would do absolutely anything for.

So tell them what they mean to you. Remind them of how important they are. Maybe through some grand gesture, or with a card or some flowers.

Or maybe just with a phone call or a hug. But whatever you do, just make sure you do something to celebrate the love that is needed in this world more than any time I can remember.

And if you have a little bit left over in your heart, then give it to a stranger.

You never know who needs it most.