C
Courier
905 8th Ave. NW, Mandan, ND Volume 30, Issue 1- October 2022
October 2021
From The Editor...
Ever since I have been in high school I have found interest in the Courier, I was always impressed that students could create such a professional publication, and I was ecstatic to second semester of sophomore year. When I was a sophomore my sister Liberty was the Editor-in-Chief, she taught me what it means to be a leader along with everything else I in me becoming the Editor-in-Cheif myself. With this being said, I am so honored to be the Editorin-Chief of the newest Courier staff, with Ariana González as our assistant Editor-in-chief and Feature Editor, Leah Emineth as our Opinion Editor, and Mac Fix as our News Editor. Now that you have met some of the crew, I hope you enjoy this issue of the Courier do not let it scare you away from reading the rest of them!
Scout Hurley, Editor-In-Chief
Courier Staff and Editorial Policy
Table Of Contents Page 2....................Letter From The Editor Page 3...........When Red Flags Look Green Page 4.........................Have Your Opinion, . and Respect the Rest Page 5..............Learning in a World Where . Teaching Does Not Always Work Page 6....................................Delta Variant . Grows Nation Wide Page 7..................Out with the Old School . in with the New Page 8&9............Climate Change’s Impact . on North Dakota Page 10...................Former Student Takes . Risks for a Better Future Page 11.........................Students Speak Up . About the COVID-19 Vaccine Page 12...........................................Flipside Page 13...................................Braves Head Page 14-17...................Halloween Package Page 18.......Teachers Analyze Afghanistan Page19.................................Club Spotlight Page 20&21.....................Sports Round Up Page 22..............................Sports Spotlight Page 23..........................................Ad Page Page 24......................Athlete of the Month
Opinion 02
Scout Hurley..............................................Editor-In-Chief Ariana González .......................Assistant Editor-In-Chief Feature Editor Leah Emineth............................................Opinion Editor McCartney Fix...............................................News Editor Shaydin Ell.............................................General Reporter Jasmine Patera........................................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. writers, not those of the Courier staff, administration, teachers, or student body. Editorials that are not signed staff. The Courier is funded entirely through advertising sales. Contact the Courier at mhscourier@gmail.com if interested in advertising.
October 2021
When Red Flags Look Green — Ariana González, Assistant Editor-in-Chief Sexual abuse is not uncommon. According to www.rainn.org, others,’” the anonymous student said. every 9 minutes, child protective services finds evidence for a Another anonymous student who was also groomed online child sexual abuse claim. mentioned that they were asked to perform sexual favors. 93% of perpetrators are known to the victims. A common “They would say they would want me to do sexual things tool used by the perpetrators is grooming; a manipulation tactic with them, but then say I could not because I was too young,” abusers use to get close to their victims so they can manipulate the anonymous student said. and/or exploit them. Grooming does not always happen online. It can also be done Generally speaking, most people have gotten the internet by people who are close to the victim’s family, or they could safety talk; be careful when talking to strangers, do not share even be a family member, like in this anonymous student’s personal information, etc. While there are a lot of interesting experience. and fun strangers you can get to know on the internet, that does “When I was 7-8 years old, they would have me lay down not take away the large amounts of creeps and bad people that on either my stomach or back and touch me in places I did not also have access to the internet. know were exactly wrong at the time,” the anonymous student Knowing the warning signs of grooming can keep you from said “I knew they were ‘private parts,’ but we were family and falling victim to someone who is perpetrator of grooming. I thought I could trust them.” These students are sharing their experiences and perspectives Often, victims struggle with coming forth with their stories dealing with the topic of grooming. due to guilt, shame or the fact that they still care about their Whether it is online or in person, anyone can be groomed. abusers. This anonymous student’s experience was online. “While you should tell someone, do not feel guilty if you “I met them in a groupchat with 3 other people on Instagram,” do not. The first time I told an adult was very recently,” the the student said. “I was 14 and they were 17, about to turn 18. anonymous student said. “I do not want to tell my parents We were online friends.” because they are genuinely a better person now, but that does Like in most grooming situations, the conversations between not mean I will just forget what happened.” the abuser and anonymous student were generally innocent, Being a victim of grooming or sexual abuse will never be your while the groomer gained the anonymous student’s trust. They fault. In a situation like that, you were being taken advantage made them feel like they could come to them for anything. of, and you should not blame yourself. A lot of the time people “It was pretty harmless at first,” the anonymous student said. are blinded by their trust for the other person, or how much they “They took a particular liking to me and we were really close. may care for them. They trusted me with a lot of their issues, like their personal The first step to healing is beginning to accept that. If you or and family life, and I trusted them and asked them for advice anyone you know is going through a similar situation, you can about things.” tell a trusted adult and/or contact the National Sexual Assault Soon after gaining their trust, the groomer begins to sexualize Hotline at 800.656.HOPE. their relationship with their victim. “It was not until 3 or 4 months into our friendship According to www.victimsofcrime.org, 28% of U.S youth that things started to get uncomfortable. They started telling me things about their sex life, even going between the ages of 14 to 17 have been sexually victimized. as far as sending explicit pictures and videos,” the anonymous student said. The groomer would also make strange comments about moving a step further in their relationship if the annonymous student was older. “They would always say that if I was their age, they would ask me out,” the annonymous student said. “They also asked me to send explicit pictures and videos to them a couple times.” A lot of the time, the groomer will make their victim feel as their maturity is very high for their age, in an attempt to excuse their actions. “They would always mask their intentions by telling me I was ‘mature for my age’ and I was ‘not like the
Opinion 03
October 2021
Photo by Leah Emineth
These students are depicting the issue of talking but not listening, arguing without being open minded to new ideas and without understanding that they do not have to agree.
Have Your Opinion, and Respect the Rest In the world today it seems like everyone has one idea of what is right and what is wrong. It is our right as Americans to have an opinion, but the issue comes when we have become so absorbed in our own idea of what is right that we refuse to believe anything else. If a person is willing to share their opinion they must be open to having discussions on their thoughts and maybe how other people’s ideas and morals differ. Part of growing up is becoming more open minded to every idea or at least listening even if you do not necessarily agree. No matter where a person goes, they will be surrounded by a variety of different ideas and views. It can be hard to listen to something you really disagree with without denouncing it, but part of growing up is realizing that, no matter what, there is always gonna be people you do not agree with but that does not make their opinion any less valid. The world has become very political and opinion based which can make it difficult to hear all sides of the spectrum without getting upset or disagreeing. Currently a hot topic around the world is COVID and the vaccine. It has caused a huge split in ideas and managed to be a very politically split decision. Some people think the vaccine is
Opinion 04
good and have decided to get it while others have decided not to, This can quickly cause debates and arguments that I am sure we have all witnessed or been a part of at some point. I have personally seen poltically derived arguments occur on the daily, especially when COVID was in full swing. It was a frustrating time for everyone with very high tension; if I have learned anything from COVID it is that it is so important to be able to speak an opinion in a respectful way and be able to listen to an opposing opinion and learn from it. Those conversations should be about learning both sides and being educated about both sides and then formulating an opinion. Nobody ever said everybody in the world has to agree and it is important to share opinions and question ideas. The idea of sharing opinions is great in theory because it constantly keeps us learning and formulating new ideas. Today, especially, it seems like sharing an opinion is very risky because somebody will always be upset by the ideas that they do not agree with, when in reality, disagreeing is okay. It is completely normal to have opposing opinions but it is not normal to have heated and charged conversations. At the end of the day, if they will not change your opinion, you will not change theirs.
October 2021
Learning in a World Where Teaching Does Not Always Work
— Nathan Stramer, General Reporter Photo by Nathan Stramer
If you are like me, then congratulations!!! You have a tough time learning in some classes, and a lot of classical teaching styles do not work on you. Now that you are in high school, it is easy to lose focus, and meeting deadlines without procrastinating may seem impossible. Many people fall into different styles of learners. There are visual learners, which is someone who watches the process of what to do and can do something fairly well after seeing it a couple of times. Another style, is auditory learners. They learn best by listening to the instructions, and put an image in their mind of what is required to learn The last type of learner is the kinesthetic learner. kinesthetic learnrs learn by having a great hands on experience and something to do right in front of them. When shown what to do, they may pick up on things very quickly. I am a kinesthetic learner, and I tend to have a lot of trouble with learning things in the classical teaching setting, a piece of paper and pencil is not the way that I am able to learn. “Different kids’ personalities do not always match up with teachers.” The POD as well as Law and Justice teacher here at Mandan, Kurt Miller said. Mr. Miller has been one of the few teachers whose classes I have been able to actually learn in. Not to say the teachers whose clases I could not learn in are bad, just that, those specific teaching styles have not worked with me, and unfortunately, those specific teaching styles that do not work are a good chunk of them. Mr. Miller teaches with group discussion and activities, simple fast notes and by-the-book tests. Those forms of teaching taught me to put in an input if you have an opinion. I enjoyed them because they forced me to talk and be proactive in a class where I would have done nothing but sleep if I had the option. It was very nice to always know that we had the option to converse amongst each other. Luckily this year, I have the option to discuss with my peers in every single one of my classes. I believe that teachers are starting to understand how students learn and are trying to adapt. Additionally, I tip my hat to those teachers. I can tell that they care about their jobs and their students’ education. I want everyone reading to take something from this, if you haven’t yet, then let it be this: If you find yourself lost in class, and unable to work, get out of your comfort zone. Find a way to learn where you can do your work efficiently. If you can’t find anything, your teachers and counselors are here to help. You may have to work for it, but it will be worth it. Find out what works best and do it.
Opinion 05
October 2021
Delta Variant Grows Nationwide
— Jasmine Patera, General Reporter
Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, several strains of the virus have grown into the limelight. One such strain is the Delta variant, now the predominant strain in the U.S. The variant has a significant foothold in North Dakota already. While the original strain still exists, Delta’s infectivity is more extreme. “The Delta variant is as contagious, if not more contagious than chicken pox, so it is spread very easily,” Vaccine Coordinator Miranda Baumgartner said. Part of the testing for the Delta variant is through Whole Genome Sequencing, rather than looking at every individual COVID test. This sequencing combined with phenotypic data is what detects new variants and their features. “We look at the tests that are sequenced to get an idea of the proportions of the Delta variant,” said COVID-19 Program Manager Abigail Folson. “Based on our estimates, we know that the Delta
variant is likely the most common variant in the state.” In terms of infectivity, specialists describe a viral reproductive number as an integer, “R0”. This number indicates how many people a carrier of the virus is likely to
infect- if the integer is above one, the disease will spread rather than die out. “With the original COVID-19 viral strain, the R0 value was around 2.5,” said Infectious Disease Specialist Noe Mateo. “With the Delta virus, the R0 value is closer to 6.” Because of Delta’s high infectivity, the infection rate has become similar to levels before the vaccine was available. Officials recommend various preventative measures to help reduce the spread, in order to reduce severity. “We do know that [the vaccine] is protective against the Delta variant as far as you may still contract COVID, but it can and will prevent hospitalizations,” Baumgartner said. “Even if you do test positive for COVID, the disease prevalence will be less severe for somebody who is vaccinated.” If you are interested in learning more about COVID facts and statistics, please visit health.nd.gov for up-to-date information.
Photo by Shaydin Ell
Covid-19 has changed life for students and adults alike.
Level of Contagiousness R0 Value
2.5
6
10
COVID-19
Delta Variant
This graph shoes the r0 (reproductive) value of different viruses comparing to delta. As the graph shoes the Delta Varient is almost two times more contagious then regualr COVID-19
News 06
16
Mumps
Measles
Info-graphic made by Jasmine Patera
October 2021
Out with the Old School in with the New — Leah Emineth, Opinion Editor
The new Mandan High School is projected to be done in 2024 and with it comes a lot of major changes. As the number of students attending Mandan High increases, so does the need for a new school. “The new school is projected to be between 290,000 and 295,000 square feet and will be built to hold 1,400 kids,” principal Mark Andresen said. “The commons areas and gym area are gonna be built to fit roughly 1,800 kids.” The current high school only fits about 1,200 kids so the new high school will be of big importance as the younger classes move up. The school is going to be three levels and built diagonally from the sports complex. “The main level will be in the middle of the building, there will be two academic wings and one will be two floors and the other will be three,” Andresen said. “The third floor will be the CTE wing so there will basically be five academic wings.” In regards to the old high school demolition is being considered . The property then would be sold to developers to make apartment buildings or other residential areas. “The all seasons arena would not get demolished because it is owned by the park district,” Andresen said. This high school will have a completely different look than the old highschool with higher ceilings and a lot of natural light making it look and feel a lot more spacious. “When you walk into this building you will walk into a commons area that is going to be very large with lots of flexible seating and natural lighting,” Andresen said. “There is gonna be a lunch room that has probably three to four lines in it of different food options. There will also probably be a coffee bar and consessions to replace the a la carte that we have currently.” When walking into the new school directly to the right is where the gym will be located and diagonal to the commons will be the auditorium which will hold 800 seats with a balcony. “The typical classroom will probably be between 850 to 900 square feet so there will be a lot more room in the classrooms,” Andresen said. “I think the design we are going with is going to be for the future. The library is going to be very different it is going to be an open format that overlooks the cafeteria and commons.” Each wing of the school will have a commons area with different seating for kids to sit in between classes or during lunch. Mandan currently has an auto shop, tech shop, and welding shop. “We are planning to have a welding shop, two Ag shops, a construction and technology shop, and a family consumer science
and health careers lab,” Andresen said. “Down in the commons kind of by the library we will have a school store and the DECA classroom right behind.” “Another key area down by the commons will be our culinary lab, a full cooking lab with glass on the windows so people walking by can see students cooking,” Andresen said. The design of the school is inspired by a High School in Sartell Minnestosa. The school will have a lot more space in general with natural light, higher ceilings, a lot more parking and seating for kids and more room in classrooms. The school is still in the developmental stages but it is full steam ahead. As of late September ground has been broken to start the new school.
Photo by Ariana Gonzalez
Pictured above is the ground work for the new high school covering around 295,000 square feet.
News 07
October 2021
Climate Change’s The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, run by the United Nations, published the first part of their sixth assessment report this August. This report is noteworthy for its certain language and conclusions it has for the world.
“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land,” the IPCC said. “Each of the last four decades has been successively warmer than any decade that preceded it since 1850.”
While the IPCC has essentially concluded that climate change is man-made, the effects it will have on humans iarenot so certain. While natural disasters and weather events are guaranteed to occur, the severity depends on actions to quell the climate crisis from policymakers. “Scientists were shocked at the extent [to] which we’ve messed with the atmosphere of the entire planet,” said Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Steven Travers. “They’re saying we don’t have a lot more time.” Furthermore, the effects of climate change are seen globally. The IPCC states that compound extreme weather events will become more common, thus exacerbating the effects of already unfavorable events. “Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least the mid-century,” the IPCC said. “Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades.” Similar issues have been cropping up in North Dakota. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, issues such as droughts, flooding, and high temperatures are expected to become more common in North Dakota.
News 08
October 2021
Impact on North Dakota — Jasmine Patera, General Reporter
“The big one is the variance; we’re going to have a huge variance of extremes [from] absolutely no water to floods,” Associate Professor Travers said. “That lack of predictability is a really bad thing for farmers.” These weather changes result in extra costs and problems for agriculturists in the state. Droughts in particular increase costs for feed and cause significant crop damage, harming both livestock and farming industries. For example, the NCSL estimates that the 2006 drought caused $425 million in crop damages, and $32 million to the livestock industry. With droughts becoming more frequent and paired with other disasters, the damages to North Dakota agriculturists is likely to worsen. “Extreme heat and minimal moisture causes crops to be completely unprofitable, and can even cause farmers to go bankrupt over just a few bad drought years,” said senior FFA student Ashton Boehm. However, the economic effects are just as bad for ranchers. With some weather events directly putting cattle in danger, lack of feed can also cause ranchers to decrease their herd or wipe them out completely. That reality has been experienced by local agriculturists in particular. This past year has been “harsh on everybody” that farms or owns cattle. “This year, farmers have experienced drought like no other,“ junior Medora Ellingson said. “A lot of farmers and ranchers have been selling their cattle to sale barns because they can’t physically keep up and feed that many cattle.” Part of this issue is because of a lack of feed. There seems to be little surplus available for those who need more hay than they own. “With some extremely high temperatures and minimal rainfall, crops have been hard to raise,” Boehm said. “We are not expecting to make much of a profit off of crops or from selling any hay as we have no extra this year.” Though the IPCC’s most recent report has only the first part published, subsequent parts will be published in 2022.
Design by Shaydin Ell
News 09
October 2021
Former Student Takes Risks For A Better Future
Everyone knows that one story about the risk taker. Whether or not the risk actually pays off is the part that varies in these stories. There always seems to be someone that no one believes in; there is always an underdog. Zach dropped out of high school after sophomore school year was over, to pursue his interest in automobiles Zach Tanneson was a student at Mandan Middle and High School. He dropped out of high school after sophomore school year was over, to pursue his interest in automobiles. “It was a risk I had to take, and it paid off,” Tanneson said. He now owns an LLC under the name of “Tanneson Garage”. “I worked construction 40 hours a week through sophomore year making eleven dollars an hour. I said enough is enough and dropped out to work full time,” Tanneson said. After putting in two years with Grey Ghost Construction, he now makes 25 dollars an hour. He is also looking at buying a good portion of the company. “It is about 35% of the company I am looking at buying, but I want to get my share appraised before I buy it just so I know it's worth it,” Tanneson said. As a side gig, Zach runs an automobile repair and customs shop out of his home, called Tanneson Garage. He has fixed other students' cars as well as anyone who may be in need of repair or even some custom options. “I like fixing cars for old friends from school too, the Nissan Armada I am working on is actually Turner Locken’s families’ car,” said Tanneson. Other kids that used to be friends with Zach have only good things to say about him. “I talked to Zach just the other day, and that kid has definitely made it,” Julian Baron said. Zach averages about 20 to 30 thousand dollars a year from my automotive works, and 25 dollars an hour 40 hours a week working construction “I am very happy that my decisions paid off because of the work I have put in,” Tanneson said. He has a true passion for what he does and has worked his arm and legs worth. “Most people I talked to about it, said that it was a stupid idea,” Zach Tanneson said. Him doing what he wanted and taking the opportunity he had has definitely paid off. — Nathan Stramer, General Reporter
Feature 10
October 2021
Students Speak Up
About the
COVID-19 Vaccine
Senior, Gage Whitney
I am vaccinated. I recently got vaccinated because at some point, whether we like it or not, the vaccine is going to be required by the government just like numerous other vaccines already are and life even as of right now is difficult to maneuver how you wish without having the vaccine. The sooner we all get vaccinated, hopefully, the sooner we all can move on from this and go back to living our everyday lives, and we are especially at a point right now where the vaccine has been issued enough times and for long enough period of time to see that there are not any immediate adverse effects from it. The biggest pro of the vaccine has got to be that once you are fully vaccinated, with the restrictions that are in place right now, your life can return back to normal just like how it was before COVID even existed. In addition to this, you have a sense of pride in the fact that you quite possibly just prevented the death of another human by doing your part and getting the vaccine yourself. A con of the vaccine, however, is that it seems that whether or not you are vaccinated determines your political affiliation. This should not be the case, though. People should be taking their own medical history and personal values into consideration when deciding whether or not to get the vaccine. Sure, the vaccine may not be 100% effective, but in my eyes, any chance I have to keep everyone around me healthy is a chance I am willing to take. Do I think the vaccine is suspicious? Obviously, the vaccine is suspicious. It is literally a drug that the government is practically forcing people to inject into their bodies with nothing but quick research done beforehand. Is that enough to stop me from getting the vaccine? No, it is not. That is because nevertheless, the vaccine is not a tracking device, it does not make you magnetic, and it definitely does not make you a sheep to the power of government. Whatever the vaccine may do to a person long term, I believe we can figure out later because by then at least one of these illnesses will have been dealt with and we should have enough new medical technology and information by then to cure what was caused by the initial vaccine, if there are any. I do not think COVID will go away without everyone getting vaccinated. We have already seen one wave of it where only a certain percentage of people are vaccinated and then the virus mutates based on those vaccinated people forming variants such as Delta. If this keeps happening, and not everyone gets vaccinated, then we are going to have created a super virus that then cannot be stopped, so we need to take preventative action now in order to save ourselves from struggling later.
— Scout Hurley, Editor-in-Chief
When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine there are a lot of reasons why someone would choose to get it or not. Having discussions about these reasons is vital in order to make an informed and balanced decision. Here are two students who have shared their perspectives on the vaccine and why they made the choice of getting it or not getting it.
Junior, Alexis Ritzman
I am not vaccinated. I chose not to be vaccinated, for the vaccine had not shown any real health benefits. People, who get the vaccine can still get COVID, which in my opinion, why take a vaccine that you do not know the long-term effects of if you can still contract it? In kids my age, the death rate is also very low, so why get the vaccine? Allowing my body to build natural immunity will benefit me in the long run. I also have had COVID previously, and I am as healthy as I was before I contracted it. I have no lasting effects from the virus. The biggest pro of the vaccine is opportunity. When traveling to places like Hawaii you either need the vaccine or have to have a negative COVID test. Which, having the vaccine would make it slightly easier. The biggest con to the vaccine would be the unknown longterm effects. They never had time to test what the effects would be after say, 2, 3 years from now. It is all a guessing game. There have also been many vaccines and medicines throughout history that have had serious long-term side effects. When looking at children, when out of the 4.2 million that have tested positive it is only resulted in about 358 deaths. Many of which already had underlying health conditions. Why risk the unknown long-term effects if the death rate is so low? I do see the vaccine as suspicious. The vaccine was created and pushed to the public in a short period of time. This means minimal testing and minimal study. The vaccine was also authorized for emergency I do not think COVID will necessarily go away. I think it’s now going to be kind of like the flu where you can still get it here and there, but I do believe it can be minimized without the vaccine. It has also been proven through testing as well, that people who contract COVID and gain natural immunity to the disease, have a lower chance of breakthrough with the delta variant. The people with the vaccine had an increased risk for breakthroughs with the variant. Natural immunity allows for stronger and longer protection over an experimental vaccine.
Feature 11
The
October 2021
Flipside — Scout Hurley, Editor-in-Chief
All photos by Scout Hurley
What is your favorite Pumpkin spice or hot Halloween Movie? cocoa?
Addison Mcleish
Angie Soto
Makaela Castillo
Maggie Hostetter
Mr. Gieser
“Halloweentown.”
“I don't watch Halloween movies.”
“Hot chocolate because I don’t even want to try pumpkin spice. “
“Neither, I like hot apple cider.”
“Ghost are most definitely real.”
“Hocus Pocus.”
“Pumpkin spice, no explanation needed.”
“Coraline.”
What is your favorite Halloween Movie?
“Hocus Pocus.”
“Cocoa, because I am not a hipster.”
“Pumpkin spice, it reminds me of my barista days.”
“House of a Thousand Corpses.”
Are ghosts real? “Ghost are most definitely real.”
“Yes.”
“Hell yeah.”
“Definitely.”
Mr. MacDonald
Pumpkin spice or hot cocoa? Are ghosts real?
Yes, there’s one outside my art room.”
“Depends on your definition.”
Feature 12
October 2021
Native American Students & Staff Share Their Perspectives On Mandan High School’s Mascot
— Ariana González, Assistant Editor-in-Chief
With the removal of Native American mascots throughout the background behind the mascots do not get offended as easily,” country, it seems our school is following through with the same Birdhorse said. “Whereas, the people who might not be as educated process. In the eyes of many activists throughout the country, about the whole thing might have a different mindset towards it.” Native American mascots are seen as offensive and continue to Junior Lily Giggee, who is also Native American, also shares a perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes. similar view to Robert Birdhorse. Over the last year or so, students have noticed that the “I think removing it was a dumb decision,” Giggee said. “I Bravehead, our school’s mascot, has been slowly been used less. thought it was cool and we were not asked whether we wanted to Mark Andresen, our school’s head director, shares his insight on get rid of it or not.” the removal of the Bravehead. Giggee believes that it was not offensive due to the fact that “We have currently been using more than one logo to make sure nobody was dressing up as a Native American person. we are using the logo to make sure we are using the Bravehead in “It was just a logo,” Giggee said. “It was not like we were an appropiate manner,” Andresen said. “ dressing up, it would be different if we were wearing the mascot.” According to Andresen, Giggee views the Bravehead the school has received as a form of representation complaints about the and a way for people to learn Bravehead several times about certain aspects of Native from groups outside of North American culture. Dakota. “Most people do not really “Two times we have know what our regalia looks had meetings to discuss like,” Giggee said. “Our its use which involved mascot was also more accurate Tribe members as well as than the Cleveland Indians, community members,” since we had the full feathered Andresen said “Each time dress and not just a couple thus far we have been able to little feathers.” agree to keep the logo as long Rather than being looked as we are sensitive and caring down on, Giggee believes that in how we use it.” having a mascot like ours helps In a survey sent out to represent Native American Native American students culture in a positive way. who are members of the Four “I think it is really cool to Photo by Ariana González Directions club, 95% of the have that social representation partcipants said that they do and having it in a good way, instead of a Though some people may be against the use of bad one,” Giggee said. not find the Bravehead to be the Bravehead, many students and staff are in offensive. Another student’s opinion comes from support of it. Robert Birdhorse, who is senior Samuel Burr, who does not like Native American, teaches the idea of removing the Bravehead. Geography and Native “It has been a part of Mandan history, American Studies. He believes there is some good and some bad which we live in,” Burr said. “It makes sense to keep the Bravehead about the removal of our mascot. the way it is since it has been here forever.” “That is just the world we live in today,” Birdhorse said. “You Like Birdhorse, Burr believes that outside influences is what have to be culturally sensitive to every race, whereas in previous makes mascots, such as the Bravehead, offensive. times, you could say and do as you wanted.” “Everybody from Mandan is cool about it,” Burr said. “Nobody Being Native American, Birdhorse did not find Native American does anything vulgar with it. I do not think anyone really cares. We mascots offensive. are known as the Mandan Braves, that is the way it is.” “I played college baseball at UND when they were the Fighting Despite this, it is currently unclear what the Bravehead’s future Sioux,” Birdhorse said. “A part of me took pride in having that as will be. our logo.” “We are unsure of what the future holds,” Andresen said. “A Birdhorse believes that stereotypes can be perpetuated more by process to review or remove may occur in the next year as we certain populations. begin to brand a new school.” “I think that the people that know the information and the
Feature 13
October 2021
The Halloween Fix From Fix
A review of some of the most spine tingling of films from across the years. — McCartney Fix, News Editor With every subsequent October, another crop of slashers fill the screens of cinemas, all almost impossibly indebted to the little independent slasher that could, John Carpenters “Halloween” Made on a shoestring budget of $350,000, “Halloween” laid the groundwork for not only the archetypal frame of a slashers narrative, but also the production philosophy that drives them, mainly low Dir. John Carpenter budgets and quick turnarounds. Shot over 20 days in Pasadena, California, with a cast of relative unknowns, Halloween follows a troupe of small town, innocuous, kind of unremarkable characters all subjugated to the mercy of the truest embodiment of evil theater screens had been and perhaps ever will be graced by. Jamie Lee Curtis plays the archetypal virginal final girl with a gleaming smile and assuredly nonexistent disciplinary rap sheet, her friends exist almost exclusively to have sex and inflate body counts, but they are not as bland as those they would assuredly go on to inspire. PJ Soles plays the ditsiest of ditsy blondes who totally wasn’t written by a thirty year old man trying his damnedest to put words in the mouth of a woman many years his junior. Nancy Kyes is the fire brand brunette by which all will have been judged over the last 40 years of horror cinema. Donald Pleasence was the closest thing to a notable name attached to the film, having acted in “Thunderball” in a James Bond film before Carpenter offered him the role which would come to define his career. Nick Castle is the man tasked with bringing to life Myers, and his approach is unique, as he opts for a deliberate, almost contemplative pace. He seems more curious than outright adversarial with his prey, as if he is not so much toying with them as studying them, and that, perhaps, is the brilliance of “Halloween”. The film strikes an unparalleled balance between the vagueness of Myers as an entity, and the specificity of him as a threat. He is at once a force of unknowable, almost unfathomable evil, yet in those moments he attacks, the deliberate pace with which he moves gives way to an apex of an attacker, seemingly bred from Photo sourced from Alternate Movie Posters hell to kill. the blackest eyes, the Devil’s eyes.” I have heard it said that Myers elicits fear because of what he represents- the stalking, looming threat of violence we as humans can never fully escape- as much as the pure horror of his being. But I would argue the genius of Carpenter’s direction is that he keeps his killer truly horrifying either way, whether you think him a singular killer or an allegory of something more.
“Halloween”
“He had
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October 2021
“Trick R’ Treat” Dir. Michael Dougherty
Photo sourced from Pinterest
“The Exorcist” Dir. William Friedkin
Photo sourced from Pinterest
As long October has a 31st day, Sam will do what he does best.
An artistic re-imagining of the fi
“Trick R Treat” is in the purest sense of the term a “Halloween Movie”. Its every individual strand is spun in service of the holiday, its set pieces are positively overflowing with wonderfully chintzy decorum, full to overflowing with pure unabashed Halloween cheese. Its every crevice and corner lit by pumpkins, cobwebs and witches strewn about its fictional Ohio city scape. It perfectly captures the vibe of a small city defined by its feverish obsession with a single night. It just oozes atmosphere, its the cinematic equivalent of a Spirit Halloween and it strives to be nothing more, being all the more perfect for it. Its deep reverence for not only the aesthetic, but the legend of Halloween is decidedly refreshing, as Sam, the overarching figure who is present in every one of the anthologies intertwined narratives acts as almost a surrogate for the legend of Hallows Eve itself. The quality of these tales is remarkably consistent as these loving send ups of some of the horror genres most overdone cliches are never handled with to irreverent a tone. From werewolves to demonic children, it earnestly runs the gambit of the genres tropes and does so without the cynical, mocking undertones of a film like “Scary Movie” “Trick R’ Treat” is the perfect October 31 flick because it is as scary or acclaimed as many of its genre contemporaries but because no film has ever felt so synonymous with a holiday as this one has with Halloween.
The Exorcist is one of those few “respectable” horror films, with artistic pedigree uncharacteristic for a film in which a possessed girl implies a man of God’s late mother performs favors in hell. Awards, however, and the legitimacy they grant films surrounded the exorcist from its inception. Academy Award winner William Freidken directs a cast including Oscar winning leading lady Ellen Burnstyn, and the Tony winning Jason Miller; who deliver impeccable performances as the mother of Regan, the aforementioned possessed girl, and the disillusioned religious man sent to perform the titular exorcism respectively. Its release was accompanied by calls for boycott from conservative religious groups, and its production was stained with tragedy and tribulation. For any other film with such a troubled production, the legend of its release and the stories surrounding it would grow to overshadow the film to which they were attached, but not with The Exorcist. The final frames of this film are as wrought with pain as any other throughout cinemas long history. Miller holds down the girl, asking the spirit inhabiting her to enter him, it obliges and with his last moment of humanity, he jumps from the window and tumbles down the stairs. In the scheme of things, however grand or minuscule they may be, Burnstyn gets her daughter back, and Miller has his faith vindicated, but this tale was a tragedy of circumstances not conclusions; of living a life that only ever has its larger questions answered by grabbing the devil by the horns. There are no wonderful days for exorcisms, but there are wonderful films about them, and this is the finest example. The rare film which both transcends and defines the genre it occupies.
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October 2021
Terrifying Tales From The Mandan High School — McCartney Fix, News Editor
The Not so Terrifying Spirit of Tuttle
Far From Home, Close to Creepy Jump Rope Girls
There are always those certain places at those certain times of There was just something off about the place. year which just startle with their beauty, and Chief Looking Village Every realtor who showed us through the property tipped us of, in in the fall is one of those places. not so subtle ways to its scarier elements. The shifting shades of the leaves holding on by a thread to the Of particular note was this strangely persistent, rustling, ruffle, branches before beginning a slow, breeze aided ascent provided a kind of like a blown whistle trapped in a potato chip bag. beautiful backdrop to the finest skyline perch in the state. One Realtor told us it was a rat infestation, the other errant wind The whole city was visible, but on this particular day, what most and the third ended the tour the second we asked about it. However caught my eye was a rock, seemingly marked by the devil himself, the property was simply too good a place at too good a price to stained with a maroon that looked as if it had been bled from the pass up, so throughout that strange hazy summer of 2021, we spent autumn leaves. My friends realized my preoccupation with this quite a lot of time there. sedimentary slab and believed it a Family came and passed through, wonderful opportunity to get a rise all saying some variation of the same out of my heart rate. thing, that they could just kind of, My pair of friends who had feel, a presence their, not physically accompanied me to the lookout, but almost ethereally, constantly in claimed they had seen a dark figure the background. darting in and out of those trees, but Speaking of background, we my initial suspicion was that they received some history for the were attempting to dupe me, and I building prior to its conversion into did not take kindly to being made a commercial property. fool. It was a hardware store that doubled However, when I caught up with as the sight for some truly ghastly them, initially planning to lambast accidents. Limbs were separated from Photo by McCartney Fix them for their adolescent antics, my torsos and minds were forever altered Do not look in the mirror this most scary time of peripheral caught a glimpse of that by the sights, and we were spending the year, for I fear you may not like what you see. same strange paradox, not so much chunks of the summer here! a figure as an absence of anything Then there were the occurrences. identifiable, like a black hole A coffee maker moved, a shirt folded personified. neatly that was previously thrown askew, and once dusty shelfs I was so swiftly set on edge that I ran into my friends vehicle, now made spotless, it was like a poltergeist, but strangely the and as we abandoned the premises, we were greeted by a circle opposite, occupied the home. of children, skipping in unison while chanting something vaguely It helped with work throughout the house and generally made the demonic. environment a more pleasant one to occupy. As far as silver linings go, we saw “Far From Home” that night, Maybe we were all just a little too prejudiced against that kind which almost made it enjoyable enough to overshadow the weird apparition, after all, everyone dies someday, but few would choose demonic angel kids we say! to spend their days after their days had long been numbered Can you say great way to end a night out with the boys? helping out others. So, if you ever find yourself by that old shop in Tuttle stop in, and have a cuppa Joe courtesy of the kindest ghost since Casper.
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October 2021
My Strange Attachments Wont Let Me Be
My Little Town, and The Littler Ghosts Who Call it Home
The spirits had become almost a part of me. Newark, Ohio was a pretty little piece of nothing. As easy on For as long as I can remember there have been attachments the eyes as it was to overlook, there was little in that place which following me, stepping in unison with me, taking every walk I called home for the first many years of my life which was cause alongside me. for, well really, anything. Talking about it has always been difficult. It’s tough not for me to If you held that belief you were easily weeded out as a tourist in say I would prefer a life without them casting their long shadows this town, because there was so much more to my hometown than over me, then again, I don’t have a clue what a life like that would those Earthworks built by tribes long since made artifacts of. look like. McMillen Woods was more specifically the setting for these I was a young girl when my first attachment burrowed itself experiences, as it was that apartment complex where I spent much within my soul, and since then, another two have joined it. of my youth. A tall, slender figure is the briefest and clearest description I To tell these tales is an exercise in suspending my Ohio nativism can give of that first thing, for a moment, as all who because it never physically spent more than a cursory presented itself to me in stay in Newark knew of these a form which I could call occurrences as a North Dakotan human. would the score of NDSUs It seemingly existed most recent game. outside of our plane, only Built over long since lost manifesting through actions to time farmland, McMillen meant to remind of its Woods was a tight knit presence, as if I could ever community of well worn, forget it was there. kind faced individuals, There was a hereditary the archetypal small town element to these hauntings, Midwestern slice of life which perhaps it was passed down you would find there was not so through generations. My much simple as comfortable. grandmother was afflicted The people worked hard, with something similar, as and perhaps better fit the Photo by McCartney Fix was my sister, but the love of description of your average Ghosts are not real you say? Then what is that behind you skeptic than a true believer, but a sibling knows no bounds. right now! I recognized her fragility, the folks knew what the folks and knew it was better if I knew and quite simply, they allowed her to grow old not knowing the struggles I had, hence knew ghosts were abound. how I contracted my second attachment. This attachment was These souls have long been theorized as the ghosts of deceased an abstract anxiety more than anything else, a little ribboned up children, with many finding comfort in knowing Newark acts as a girl that re-channeled my emotions and found boundless joy in garden of youth in which those robbed of theirs can live about their manipulating my mood. young lives as we who took them for granted have. She looked almost out of place in this world, as if she belonged This purported adolescence is provided credence by the many more in an episode of Shirley Temple than the 21st century. notable behaviors of the ghosts, which were, for the most part, Her aesthetic would be almost enduring if she wasn’t such a pain quite childish. in my neck. Beds were left looking like the after photos of an intense pillow The third ghost was a soothing spirit. I’m partially convinced it’s fight and ice cream was tossed empty and absentmindedly in the my grandma communicating with me, as it presents itself to me freezer, because lord forbid they have the courtesy to throw it away in moments of deep personal crisis and never ceases to quell my once they are done! soul. I wouldn’t mind the spirits if they were all like this. But, as But I guess all this does is offer validity to our towns unofficial the age old adage goes, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick slogan. the ghosts which permanently attach themselves to you. “Newark, Ohio, where a kid can be a kid, even if fate robbed them of that opportunity the first time around.
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October 2021
Teachers Analyze Afghanistan
— Shaydin Ell, General Reporter
No student in this high school remembers the start of the Afghanistan war. This war killed 2,401 US service members and wounded 20,752 of them. After the September 11th attacks in 2001, George W. Bush signed a “congressional resolution authorizing the use of force” against the ones responsible for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. “At first, we all thought it was an accident until we heard about the second plane hitting the South Tower. It was shocking and we were all very confused. It was sad and scary since there was so much uncertainty,” history teacher, Mrs. Megan Schaff said. At the beginning of 2009 President Barack Obama sent around 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Once the end of the year came around he wanted to send another 30,000 troops, with plans to bring them home in July of 2011. “Our goal was to turn control of the country back over to the citizens of Afghanistan. I know that throughout the last 20 years, we have had several periods of withdrawing troops, only to deploy more at later dates.” Schaff said 2020 President Donald Trump and his administration came to an agreement with the Taliban. This agreement stated that the United States would withdraw troops by May 1st 2021, by doing this the Taliban would cut ties with Al-Qaeda and avoid attacking U.S. forces. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban moved into Kabul and took control of the city. This caused the Afghan president to flee. Eleven days later, on August 26, 2021, almost 200 Afghans perished as well as 13 U.S. service members, most of these members under the age of 25. “The rapid take over that happened from the Taliban in Afghanistan is eerily similar to the North Vietnamese in Vietnam and just how quickly they were able to capture major cities,” said history teacher Mr. Henry Lau. Lau was referring to the fall of Saigon in Vietnam. On April 25th of 1975, the Vietnamese president fled and by the 27th of April the North Vietnamese completely took over. “This final troop withdrawal felt very hasty and I am saddened at the loss of both American and Afghan lives. I am concerned for those who are still awaiting help to leave the country [and] for the Afghani citizens who oppose Taliban rule,” Schaff said. Schaff also compared the withdrawal to Vietnam. Based on what we wanted to accomplish but could not. “I have a feeling that the US will be involved again in the future. We are so invested in that area of the world and have been for so long, that I do think it is only a matter of time before we
end up there again,” she said. Jason Salz, a history teacher who served in the U.S. military from 2002 to 2006, served in both campaigns OEF/OIF. (Operation Iraqi freedom and then Operation Enduring Freedom) and was a Sergeant by the end of his term. The women in Afghanistan are used to having rights in their country. With the new Taliban rule they are worried those rights will be taken away. “It's sad what's happening. They're 18, 19, maybe even 20 year old women. They probably learned about the Taliban rule, but they were in such a free state where they could go get educated. They were women that held all sorts of different types of positions, they owned beauty shops in some of those cities, and now they can't,” he says. When Salz was in the military, he was stationed in Bagram, this is where they ran their missions out of. They were talking about building permanent barracks there like a duty station. Salz also talked about the Korean War and how it has and still continues to help protect the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) and the South Koreans from the Northern Aggression. “A lot of people probably don't know this, but we fought our enemies during World War Two. We [still] have military bases there today that troops serve at,” he said. “I was okay with troops being removed out of Afghanistan after the Bin Laden mission. I don't understand why we don't have a true presence over there because what went down is a direct reason. The reason why things went down is because there's no military. For us to just throw the last 20 years away mind boggles me,” Salz said. The United States was not the only country to get run out of Afghanistan, our allies did, too. Many are not sure about the future effects of this withdrawal. “I,honestly do think it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when something's going to happen,” he said. Salz said that if it were his decision he would continue to have a presence there to watch and oversee their military. The Taliban even told us that this is a war of attrition. They'll just wait us out, like they did with the Russians, like they did with the Brits way back when, and they'll just wait it out. When their time is right they'll pounce and it's exactly what they did,” he said. The hopes that this widthdrawal is the end of our issues with Afghanistan. Others think that is is just the beginning.
800,000 American troops served in Afghanistan 2,977 died in 9/11
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Over 31,500 pieces of equipment left
October 2021
Chess Club Is Hoping To Compete — Nathan Stramer, General Reporter
Photo by Nathan Stramer
The first State Tournament for our chess club will be on the 9th and 10th of October, and the next meeting will be October 14th
Chess Club is one of our newest clubs at Mandan High School. It has a group of about 15 students that are eager to compete. They meet once or twice a month to play and review strategies almost like a sport “The club is really hoping to compete this year,” said Daniel Cahoon, the Chess Club advisor. Mandan Chess club cut a lot of practice and competition time in recent years, “This will be the first chess championship we will compete in since May of 2020,” said Cahoon. In prior years, Chess Club was not able to compete or practice as frequently due to pandemic conditions. “This year we are hoping that we can continue on with things,” said Cahoon. They do tournaments through the Chess Association. “The U.S. Chess group is planning on having tournaments this year” said Cahoon.
Dates for this fall’s play — Nathan Stramer, General Reporter
Standing left to right: Courtney Getzlaff, Medora Mallum, Xavier Scott, Ethan Unrathe
Friday, October 15th @ 7:30 Saturday, October 16th @ 7:30 Sunday, October 17th @ 7:30
Photo By Shaydin Ell
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October 2021
Sports “We haven’t made it to state in a while so I think this year we’re coming in W. D. A. as number three seat so we have a pretty high chance making it to state as a team.” ~Junior Brady Helbling
“An overall goal would be to play in the state tournament again, and we definitely have the potential to do so. I think through communication, hard work, and positive attitudes we can be a truly amazing team!” ~ Senior LaReena Mosbrucker
“Our goals are to be a competitive team and reach the play offs for the 4th straight year. We plan on getting there by out working the other teams.” ~ Senior Sam Burr
Photo by Shaydin Ell
“My goal is to take top 10 in the state, like I did last year and to be senior athlete of the year in the West. I have been working really hard and I have encouraging teammates.” ~Senior Aysia Mettler
Photo by Shaydin Ell
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October 2021
Roundup
“It’s been a really challenging season, we haven’t gotten the results that are needed to compete with Century, BHS, and Minot we have had our moments throughout the season where we have shown we can compete with the best but haven’t put it all together yet, but I believe we’re really close.” ~Junior Alex Wagner
— Shaydin Ell, General Reporter
“We’re working really hard this year we’re doing weights once a week and training harder than last year.” ~Junior Alexis Ritzman
Photo submitted by Alex Wegner
“There [are a] couple records we want to break. We should be able to break the hundred back [stroke] record soon and hundred fly record soon. We think we can break the 200 medley relay record.” ~ Junior Josey Jackson
Photo submitted by Alexis Ritzman
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October 2021
Taking it One Game at a Time
The Mandan Braves football team was pumped and ready to tackle the season. The first game was played against Bismarck Highschool, at the Community Bowl. The Braves lost 22-28, really putting up a good fight against the BHS Demons. Game number two was against St.Mary’s Highschool, the score was close almost the entire game until St.Mary’s scored towards the end winning. “We can’t commit turnovers and that was kind of the Achilles heel,” Coach Todd Sheldon says. Sheldon has been head coach for around 10 years, but worked as a Braves Assistant 7 years before. So far the thing the team needs to work on the most according to him is ball security “We had a couple turnovers but were able to overcome them against Williston, so in these first three games they are my focus. We can’t turn the ball over and right next to them,” says Coach Sheldon. Game three was an absolute blow out, Mandan beat the Williston Coyotes 47-6, this win brought their win ratio to 1-2. Bringing the winning percentage to 0.33%. The biggest skill that was shown during this game was running the ball effectively. The players with the ball, ran hard and followed the blocks fairly well bringing home such a big win. “We’ve lost two fairly close games and then we came back in one, gained pretty decisively so I’m feeling we’re headed in the right direction,” says Coach Todd Sheldon. Outside Linebacker Dylan Geiger, thinks the team is working better together every day. The one thing Geiger says the team is trying to bring more energy and higher intensity. The team had a large number of players graduate last year and “Enveloping leadership and learning what it takes to win games,” is one of the things Sheldon really wants to work on. “I just want to give a big shout out to the junior class for stepping up into some big shoes this year. We had almost our entire starting line up graduate last year and now this year those spots are filled up by a lot of juniors, and they are doing a excellent job,” said one of the team captains Aaron Grubb. Game three was in Minot against the Minot Magicians, the Braves won 35-21. The overall score being 2-2, wins versus loses making the win percentage a 50. “That Williston game really just gave our team a momentum booster. I think both sides of the ball played a whole lot better than the first two games and that win carried our momentum into Minot and we got a big win in Minot,” said Grubb.
— Shaydin Ell, General Reporter
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Sophmore Wyatt Piehl tackles Williston player Kaine Hickel
Senior Andrew Entzi running the ball towards te endzone Photos by Shaydin Ell
Mandan Braves waiting to start quarter 4
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October 2021
Athlete of the Month
— Jasmine Patera, General Reporter
Junior Acey Elkins What is your pre-game tradition? “I eat a lot of noodles and drink a lot of water.” Who is your biggest supporter? “Definitely my mom and dad, and uncle.” What are your goals for this season? “I’m going to try to get under 19 minutes and place at State.”
Photo submitted by Acey Elkins
Senior Raine Skjod
What is your pre-game tradition?
“Eat a huge bowl of spaghetti the night before a race.” Who is your biggest supporter?
“My dad and my mom they’re at almost every meet.” What are your goals for this season?
Photo by Shaydin Ell
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“Run sub 18:00 minutes and place above 30 at state.”
