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Art: Sophie Livingston

Staff editorial: Time to wind down COVID-19 restrictions

Gov. Walz announced the end of most pandemic restrictions by May 28 — including the mask mandate by July 1. Considering the continuous decline in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the Echo Editorial Board believes this is the right decision.

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School walkouts prove effective

e best way to have people come together is a peaceful rally where people speak about the situation going on, and express how they feel or think. School walkouts are very good and they allow for a teen in high school to express how they feel about any issues or situations going on.

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Standardized testing needs to go

Standardized exams have faced a lot of criticism recently. Speci cally for high school students, these tests are a cause for concern. ey are stressful, time-consuming and do a bad job of assessing students’ knowledge. Standardized tests are stressful and not worth the time and energy students put into them.

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POINT COUNTERPOINT

Game causes controversy yearly in school, community

Assassins brings students together

Jordyn Deschamps

jordyndeschamps@slpecho.com

After a entire year apart, the game assassins help to bring students back together. This game should stay, as it brings back a sense of long overdue unity.

Assassins started May 3. The game has students form teams of six, and the teams are given a “hit list.” Students then you go around shooting the people on their list with a Nerf gun.

I was ultimately impressed with how everyone was following the guidelines and rules.

I feel like people are actually starting to have fun again, and a little bit of normalcy is coming back after what COVID-19 has taken from us. We couldn’t do the assassins game last year so it's great that we can do it now.

Another benefit about the game is it can help with meeting new people. With the game providing a random list of people on the hit list, you won't know everyone who is on your list, so you meet new people when you take a picture with them.

You also get to bond with your friends. I have many friends who I know signed up just to have fun with their peers and make memories.

The assassins game brings people together. It also brings a great feeling of being in a group and being a part of something, after being apart from everyone and everything for a very long time.

STUDENT VOICES

Should students be allowed to play assassins?

“Supposedly it is supposed to be something fun ... but as a black person I don’t like the game, and it’s not fun for me. I wouldn’t feel comfortable and happy playing the game as a policeman might think I’m shooting these people. It’s just going to be stressful for me, not a happy game.

Helen Tefera, senior

“It's a really nice and competitive game, but I think being able to buy yourself back into it is kind of unfair.”

Ayub Mohamed,

sophomore Assassins game is disruptive, dangerous

Maren Wilsey

marenwilsey@slpecho.com

If you’ve been keeping up with school events, chances are you’ve heard about Assassins. While I think it’s a fun tradition, there are just too many negative factors involved.

One of the first rules of the game is that school grounds are off limits. This leaves players to race around the metro area hoping to get the chance to kill someone off their hit list, no matter the cost.

Another of the biggest issues with this tradition is how dangerous it is. Google, “high school Nerf wars,” and a slew of articles pop up regarding injuries, accidents and deaths that have resulted.

A few years ago, two students at Lakeville South were killed in a car accident while playing the game. While there are rules in place to try and prevent accidents like these, there's no way of enforcing them. And most games are student organized with no official ties to the school, so little is done to step in and control it.

Aside from the danger of playing the game, the nature of the Nerf wars poses threat to safety as well. It is a bunch of teenagers running around with guns. It's escalated to a point where police departments release warnings when it’s time for the games to begin. But the thing is, the issue isn’t the nature of the game, it’s the actions the people playing it take that make it so dangerous.

PARK TRAIL Emmy Pearson

Being an oriole has been great but... I think we’re ready to... senior spread our

leave the oriole nest!

Badly Rated Movies The best

Ben Sanford

bensanford@slpecho.com

Low ratings prove irrelevant

mother!

2017

Director Darren Aronofsky’s allegorical lm “mother!” starring Jennifer Lawrence is a dark look into humankind. e lm received mediocre critic reviews. I nd myself riveted with this lm with its insightful religious symbols and innovative directing. e lm graphically depicts violent atrocities throughout history. e intense imagery of the movie’s climax paints an overwhelming but nuanced conclusion, with interesting statements of religion and environmentalism. e stellar acting by Jennifer Lawrence makes the lm more compelling. Despite much of the lm containing little dialogue, the emotion she displays is heartbreaking. e lm “mother!” is like none other, with deeply rooted metaphors, powerful commentaries and speci c direction from Aronofsky.

We’re the Millers

2013

Despite its low ratings, “We’re the Millers’’ is one of the comedies I nd myself rewatching. e lm is made great by its unique plot, all-star cast and situational humor.

“We’re the Millers” is a successful lm because it never takes itself too seriously. e jokes are creative, and the actors lean into the comedy of the lm.

Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis do an amazing job pushing forward the plot throughout the lm. ey have electric chemistry with one another, playing o of each other’s jokes and facial expressions with the perfect amount of subtly. eir snarky attitudes bring about an exciting atmosphere throughout the lm.

Venom

2018

Aer seeing the critic Rotten Tomatoes score of 29% for “Venom,” my expectations couldn’t have been lower. However, I found the lm to be enjoyable, with the comedy and action in the lm complimenting each other.

Tom Hardy’s ability to act both as Eddie and the extraterrestrial symbiote is impressive and exciting to watch, with physical gags between the characters are hilarious and creative. He was successful and transitioned from the villainous character voice of Venom to the physical comedy of Eddie’s interactions with him. is lm added a very interesting tone in its adaptation from the comics, making the protagonist more an anti-hero than a full-out hero. Filling the movie with comedy completely reframed the “Venom” from the comics, which added something new and enticing.