10 minute read
Fashion club hits the runway
Members of the fashion club use bleach to create art on clothes.
Photos by Alan Lu
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Fashion club takes Richland
Alan Lu Staff Writer
Amatullah Scott and Sofia Ali decided that it was finally time for the Richland campus to get an outfit check. Longtime friends, they co-preside over the new Fashion Club, now forged in their senior year at Richland Collegiate High School. Their vision: giving students in the Richland community a creative outlet through the world of fashion as well as a chance to make new friends and memories.
Speaking about club activities, “I like to think first and foremost [about] stuff that’s easy for people, and I like to make it as sustainable as possible, which is why we’re using clothes from our own closet and from the student pantry which are donations, so that was the idea for bleaching and for future events”, Scott said. At the first meeting, club members donated their retired pieces. At the second meeting members transformed some of the pieces into new unique clothes by applying bleach in unexpected ways.
They’re not stopping anytime soon though. More events are planned every two weeks and there are more opportunities for students to get involved in the club. Anyone curious about the club is welcome to simply show up.
“Even though we’ve only been around for a little bit, I feel like we’ve become this sort of family, and it’s beautiful honestly”, Ali said.
For the ambitious, these meetings are potentially building towards a full-on fashion show in which members of the club will be the models, designers and backstage crew. The emphasis is on bonding over a shared passion for fashion and discovering new things about clothes.
The club presidents want the show to be something members are excited about, not a source of stress. For the time being, the meetings are chill hangouts where club members play with clothes. This possibility that this may turn into something bigger is just a bonus for members.
Of course, the club wouldn’t exist without club adviser Kimberly Blevins. Blevins doesn’t just play an administrative role. She’s also a key part of the club’s functioning, handling much of the logistics.
Naturally, it’s the people who show up that make up the club. Only time will tell if members will carry on Scott and Ali’s legacy and carry Fashion Club into the future after they leave this year.
Fashion Club meets every other Thursday at 5 p.m., usually in E032, with the next meetings on Oct. 6 and Oct. 20. Follow on IG @ richlandfc. Email: fashionclubdallascollegerc@ gmail.com
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Photos by Alan Lu Co-presidents Amatulla Scott (left) and Sofia Ali (right) with their adviser Kimberly Blevins (middle).
Russian immigrants in the Dallas area oppose the war
Ryan Bingham Duff Staff Writer
With the Ukrainian-Russian war underway, Ukrainian forces are driving back the invading army. Russian President Vladimir Putin not only has called for a national draft for the military reservists to enlist, civilians in Russia with no combat experience are being conscripted as well.
At the Euro Deli, a Russian grocery store in Richardson, part-time worker Olga Smirnova said she reads from various channels that oppose the Putin regime. According to her, they advise users to wipe out their cellphone’s memory if they wished to flee via the border.
“I know a lot of people right now, especially men, who say they don’t want to go to war and say [that they] want to leave Russia,” Smirnova said. “People [who] want to leave Russia stay for about three to four hours [at] the border,” Smirnova said, adding that people are not only fleeing at the Georgia border, but also Kazakhstan and Mongolia. “It depends on which side [of the country the citizen lives].” According to Smirnova, the borders are not closed.
Smirnova said that she read a comment on an online telegram that said, “I and my friend, just went to Georgia, and no one stopped us.” It said the border patrol officers don’t ask many questions, only if they have a military document containing their numbers for conscription.
“Right now, it’s OK to leave Russia, but for how long?” Smirnova said. “A lot of people [don’t] agree with [the] government right now.” She thinks that if the government closes the border, a revolution will occur. “It will be 1917 all over again when Vladimir Lenin took office, creating the USSR,” Smirnova added.
Ukrainian refugee Taisiya Aristambaieva fled from her hometown in Bucha, a city in Ukraine’s Kyiv Oblast, last April along with her 12-year-old daughter. She has been working at the Euro Deli since then.
“We left a lot of our friends there [but] we managed to leave during the occupation,” Aristambaieva said, describing the Russian armed forces as “terrorism and lawlessness. It was March, the whole month of March they [Russians] were there and this is what they did,” Aristambaieva said. According to her, 1,000 Ukrainians have died in Kyiv. Her son, Roman, only 24, is still there working as a dentist.
“We are grateful to the Americans for helping us,” Aristambaieva said, describing the U.S. government as “supportive”. “They really work our military very well. [They] now work [supply] weapons that help us because our Ukrainian soldiers will stand up to the end to defend their lands.” Aristambaieva said that although she is grateful for the support she receives while living and working in Dallas, she intends to go back home when the war ends.
Fair crew works on the right boot to finish with Big Tex setup, so the most famous Texan giant can welcome fairgoers on the opening day.
Simon Pruitt Managing Editor
Behind the corny dogs, football games and patriotic pageantry of the State Fair of Texas, which opened Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 23, lies a live music wonderland that many fairgoers don’t even notice.
Produced by Texas-based label State Fair Records, the fair will present over 50 artists between two music stages: the Bud Light Stage and the Yuengling Stage. Nearly every artist signed to the label will be performing a set, along with a multitude of other talented locals and artists from around the country. On Sept. 23, State Fair Records held a Fair preview concert at the historic Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum. Titled “Wild Ride,” the concert featured four of the artists slated to perform at the fair, headlined by country star Matt Hillyer.
The night began with local acoustic musician Izzy Jeffery. Performing alone, Jeffery turned her act into a one-woman show, playing the guitar and bass drum simultaneously. She showcased her unique catalog of solo artistry, leading to her Oct. 6 performances at the Yuengling Stage on fairgrounds.
Blues titan E.J. Matthews performed next, quickly winning over the crowd with catchy hooks and squeaking rooster crows’ in-between lyrics. Matthews’ energy sent a shockwave through the Hermann Hall crowd, ending each song with people on their feet. Matthews and his band oozed confidence and pure joy to be on stage, and it was all too infectious. Experience the shockwave for yourself on. At press time, Matthews was scheduled to perform Oct. 1 at the Yuengling Stage. Third on the bill was the State Fair Records staple, Squeezebox Bandits. The band is among the most popular honky-tonk groups in the state, performing at most SFR events and selling out countless bars in-between.
Their accordion-brandishing lead singer, Abel Casillas, is known by anyone who’s been in the DFW music scene in recent years. The group will shrink to a duo on Oct. 9 for a performance at the Yuengling Stage before bringing the whole band in for an Oct. 20 shows at the Bud Light Stage.Lastly, the king of Dallas country arrived. Matt Hillyer took the stage and immediately turned the laid-back concert into a frenzied country dance hall.
On cue, everyone in the room got up, grabbed their partner and danced the night away. It became glaringly obvious why Hillyer was picked to headline, and even more obvious why he’s slated for a whopping four sets at the State Fair. Bring your dancing shoes and catch Hillyer live at the Bud Light Stage on Oct. 15, or for three consecutive Mondays, which at press time was scheduled to begin at the Yuengling Stage, Oct. 3 and continue Oct. 10 and Oct. 17.
As every year, Big Tex was put in place a week before the official opening day, Sept. 30. According to Joe Kolanek, the big iconic symbol of the fair weighs 27,000 pounds and is 55 feet tall.
Blanca Reyes Editor-in-Chief
He did it once again. Joe Kolanek, who works for Davis Crane Company, has been lifting Big Tex into place for years at the State Fair of Texas.
“This is my 10-11 time [lifting Big Tex]. I do it every year,” Kolanek said.
Although he has been doing the job for years, Kolanek said it is never the same experience. In addition to this, something different happened this year. Kolanek’s family and friends were there for the very first time to support him.
Dee Kolanek said her husband has been doing a great job and has even won a national award for safety crane operator of the year. She said that this year coming to support her husband came about organically.
“It just happened. The day he had to do it, the kids were out of school in Mansfield for the day; so, we just took the day off and decided this,” Dee Kolanek said.
Joe Kolanek said the crew got there at 5:30 a.m. to prepare everything for erecting the most iconic symbol of the state fair. First, they had to dress up Big Tex, who is sporting new
October 4, 2022
LIFESTYLE 5
As every year, Big Tex was put in place a week before the official opening day, Sept. 30. According to Joe Kolanek, the big iconic symbol of the fair Morgan and Dee Kolanek witness for the first time Big Tex’s installation.
clothes, a scarf and a belt, Kolanek said. The crew prepared Big Tex, so at 10 a.m. Kolanek could do his job.
“He did a great job even though his sister has been waiting for him to drop it,” Dee Kolanek said.
Besides Joe Kolanek’s wife and Morgan, his daughter, friends of the family were there to support him. One of them was Lynette Smith. She has known the Kolaneks for about six years and although every year Joe invites them to come, it never worked out until this year. Smith even had the idea of making some shirts to wear during the event to show their support for their friend.
“I thought it would be fun just to have a shirt in support of Joe,” Smith said.
She and Dee worked on the design to make it fun since it was a special occasion for them.
Morgan said she was happy to be at the event since she has always watched it on TV. She also said that the first year she attended was last year.
“Not a lot of people can say that their dad does this. It’s just my thing that I can brag about,” Morgan said.
After her first experience going to the fair last year, from now on she is planning to come every year.
Her favorite part of the fair, as for many, was the food. “I think my favorite was either the fried snickers or the taco cone. That was really good. And this year, I would like to try a cotton candy burrito,” Morgan said.
For more information about the state fair visit: https://bigtex.com/.
Photos by Blanca Reyes Big Tex is ready to welcome fairgoers RichlandStudentMedia.com
