The Dionysus Issue

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The Warrior Apollo

The Dionysus Issue

Volume one // Issue six //May 2018

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Contributors

Vinny Nelson, Graphic, 02 Irving Lopez, photo, 03 Irving Lopez, photo, 04 Natalie Gill, photo and words, 05 Jason Han, words, 07 Jason Han, words, 08 Saunders Cohen, photos, 10 Saunders Cohen, photo, 11 Jane Knudsen, words, 12 Staff: Elliot Evans, editor-in-chief

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Photos by Irving Lopez

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Letter from the Editor The theme of this issue is parties, based on the Greek god Dionysus. With Summer getting closer and closer, the weight of school is lifting, giving way to parties. My aim with this issue is to show the feeling of freedom through student-produced media and to inspire anyone who reads this to do whatever makes them happy. I hope you enjoy. Your editor, Elliot

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Submission Policy

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he Warrior Apollo accepts all art, literature, music, fashion, and photography submissions by all current Westside students and publishes it in a magazine format. A student may submit as much work as desired. If you wish to submit your work by paper, stop by the journalism hallway, rooms 251253, and pass on your work to either of the Editors-in-Chief, Vincent Nelson or Elliot Evans, or journalism advisors Jerred Zegelis and Timothy Kaldahl. The Warrior Apollo does not accept any work that may be considered offensive and reserves the right to reject and edit content for any reason. Please direct any questions to the Editorsin-Chief. Thank you for your submissions.

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The God: Dionysus D

ionysus, god of the grape harvest and ritual madness. The only Olympian with a mortal mother, his father was Zeus, he was born from his father’s thigh, then hidden from Hera. Brother to the gods Apollo, Ares, Athena, Artemis, and Zeus’ many other children, he was the last god born in Mount Olympus. He was raised by rain and fire, which connects to grapes (the fruit ripens through heat and its life is sustained through water). Dionysus was the first to harvest grapes and turn them into wine, making him known as the God of the Vine. He held many festivals and parties, causing him to often be referred to as the god who blurred the lines between civilized and uncivilized, a god of chaos. He accepted outcasts and treated others with compassion. The god of the grape harvest lived through many adventures. He was captured by pirates

because he was mistaken for someone else. While the pirates had him detained, he manifested into a lion and attacked the captain. The other pirates were then terrified, jumping overboard and abandoning ship. Dionysus was also married. Princess Ariadne of Crete was his wife until her death. Upon her passing, Dionysus created a constellation in her honor. It is Dionysus’ kindness that allowed him to become regarded as a full Olympian God, rather than just a demigod. Although Hera was ashamed of Dionysus and furious with Zeus for his affair, Dionysus still saved her life by freeing her from a trap. After this, Hera deemed him a complete God. Dionysus’ free spirit and kind soul are what make him a memorable greek god. God of grape harvest of ritual madness; this is the Dionysus issue.

Photo and words by Natalie Gill

god of parties

Commencment Day on Main Street S

he’d never considered herself the most charitable sort, though offering to open her house up to her classmates, of whom she mostly didn’t know, was proving to be a saintly act. It was an informal gathering that ballooned quite considerably. She was told by the one guy friend in her friend group that holding a party after the commencement address was tradition and not to be taken lightly, and as a result the honor was then conferred on her, because each one of her friends had some reasonable happenstance that prevented them from upholding the tradition. She’d also never been the kind of person who really enjoyed parties, but she was under the LPSUHVVLRQ WKDW RQO\ ¿YH RU VL[ SHRSOH ZRXOG VKRZ up. Maybe their parents. But then, the calls and texts started coming in: Is it ok if X comes along? Or, Man, my mom’s brother said I have to bring my four nephews and all their dogs—so sorry! and the number, somehow, ended up including a greater part of the senior corpus. Her house was a subtle, two-story style in dire need of renovation off of Main Street. It overlooked a hang-out fast food place where people like to go after school. She’d only bought a bag of chips, a twelvepack of soda and prepared some Velveeta in a crock pot for nacho cheese. The infrastructure just wasn’t

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there to support the party. By the second hour, the pantry had already been ravaged. Twelve boxes of Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper had been prepared, and seven bags of Doritos had been bought. The screen door leading out to the backyard had been shattered and had already cut the bare feet of several boys who elected to cannonball the Jacuzzi from the roof. The closet and bedroom were both blocked off by the dresser for God knows what reason. The TV was playing something about dogs, though that was one of the least awful things about the situation. The garage smelled like death. Little paper plates could be found in the oddest places; one was in the sink and another between the discs of the family coffee machine. Clothes had already been stolen or ripped apart for confetti and the carpet had been stabbed for some kind of sinking experience -- whatever that was. And though the basement was locked off as a precautionary measure, the crafty partygoers just went around into the garage then through into the basement, which turned into a game of hide-andseek. The person that had been lost, as all this was going on, was the host, who had escaped to her own corner of the guest bedroom and blocked it off. Though people may talk about what she was doing in there, she really didn’t care. And for a little while, the sound that pounded the walls of her family’s house

god of parties to kill her, they just were. She said she thought the SDUW\ ZRXOG EH ¿YH RU VL[ SHRSOH DQG VKH UHDOO\ GLG believe that. She could not understand why people threw parties. Maybe it was so that you could feel less alone, but she never felt better after they were done. And it was hard to move through the party. Who do you talk to? What do you say? What’s the structure? She felt the sheets of the bed against her hand and then lay down to stare at the ceiling which hadn’t been remodeled since her childhood. The ceiling was a blue sky with a sun in the corner, and that sun had a little face and was smiling. She always knew that she never really wanted to host this party. Even if it was the few people she knew attending. Maybe it was because she knew that those friends wouldn’t last. She untied her Converse shoes and placed them RQ WKH ÀRRU DZD\ IURP WKH EHG 6KH WKRXJKW DERXW the memories she held. Of the brief romance with the guy friend that they now don’t talk about. Of going to the museum with her friends and laughing at all the sillier art pieces. Of starting a lacrosse club with her friends that had now grown in stature considerably. How precious those memories were, right now. But how will they age? How will these friendships age? Each one of them, her closest friends, are scattering across the world in just a few months. Two are going to Iowa State. One is staying home. One is travelling across the world. When the common thread they all hold so desperately to dissipates, will they stay what they were? Perhaps those memories are strong enough tethers to each other. Enough to carry them the rest of their lives. But she fears better. When they leave, and she leaves, they’ll text quite a bit for a few months. Talk about how their lives have FKDQJHG 7KHQ DIWHU WKH ¿UVW VHPHVWHU RI FROOHJH texting will seem less urgent. The light that shined through the window dimmed, but she could still see

GXVW ZLVSV DV WKH\ Ă€HZ JHQWO\ WRZDUGV WKH JURXQG into invisibility. People will be so far away that it seems odd to NHHS WKH IULHQGVKLS 6KHÂśOO ÂżQG QHZ IULHQGV ULJKW at hand, and the distance between her and her old friends will seem an interminable chasm where no sound or light can cross, even though she’ll see her friends’ texts right in her hands. And her greatest fear is that, after all of this, she won’t care. That the new friends she encounters will be more than enough. And by the end of her life, her friends from high school will be small mementos. She saw herself in D KRVSLWDO EHG OLNH VKH LV QRZ UHĂ€HFWLQJ RQ KHU OLIH and the different impacts. And her social life in high VFKRRO VHHPHG VR LQVLJQLÂżFDQW 7KH OHDVW LPSRUWDQW part. Is that how she was going to let herself pass into the next life? The party’s tenor drew closer to a hum. She could hear them outside, but could not consider their own anxiety, their own stray thoughts about how they may consider this event later in their life. Maybe that’s why people enjoyed parties. Because, for that moment, nothing else mattered. Nothing else was real. A few light knocks against the door were followed by a few more. She got up and moved the dresser away, and opened the door to see a boy from her class, about as tall as her, with a drink in his hand. “Hey, I saw you go in there. Some people were worried about you,â€? He said. “I’m doing great. No worries.â€? “Alright, well, want to come back out? Thanks for giving us this.â€? “I think I’m alright. Just go, enjoy, my gift, but one favor.â€? “Yeah?â€? “Do enjoy it, please.â€?

Words by Jason Han

Party Playlist

god of madness

Apple music // Soundcloud 1. Formation (Homecoming Live) Beyoncé 2. Sunday Matty Wood$ 3. OKRA Tyler, The Creator %RQ¿UH Childish Gambino 5. Binz 9

Solange 6. APESHIT THE CARTERS 7. Summer Bummer (Feat. A$AP Rocky & Playboi Carti) Lana Del Rey 8. Palace/ Curse (feat. Steve Lacy & Tyler, The Creator) The Internet

god of madness

Photos by Saunders Cohen

god of theater

Photos by Saunders Cohen

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god of theater

Eavesdropping in a Scene S

ETTING: A classroom/study center. It contains two large circular tables, both with poles through the center, and one smaller, wooden table. Opposite these are two couches in the corner. The room is unspectacular and intimate. It is very worn in, and everyone seems to know one another. AT RISE: There are roughly 4 students (JULIA, MINA, EMILY, AND JOE) at the circular table on the right, all working and in conversation. At the smaller circular table, there is one student (MADIGAN) working and talking with the others. Leaning on a table diagonal from hers, a teacher (K) is standing. At a couch near the end of the room there is one girl (ALEX) sitting. At another couch sits a boy (VINNY). K I like Nat King Cole, but he’s, like, he’s– JULIA Luke claims he’s, like, some connoisseur, but, like– MADIGAN (Laughing, surprised.) A CONNOISSEUR! JULIA He listens to, like, uh, Imagine Dragons and, like– EMILY Ew, I cyberbully Imagine Dragons.

What if Luke came in here like “You’re all wrong, I listen to, like, super underground–â€? VINNY And he pulls up, like, One Republic. (They all laugh. ALEX takes out her earbuds. Maybe airpods?) ALEX A$AP Rocky could hit me with a bus and I would still love myself. (Laughter.) His voice is literally like heaven and I could listen to him for the rest of my life. EMILY Oh my gosh, what music video is it‌ (She tries to remember.) National Anthem! (ALEX, MINA, and EMILY continue to talk about A$AP Rocky, pulling up an interview of him on MINA’s computer. SAM enters with ELLIOT, stage right.) SAM Who wants fun dip? $/(; 0,1$ DQG (0,/< DUH D FKRUXV RI DIÂżUPDWLRQ JOE sighs.) JOE Dude, I feel so old. I was like– I feel really old.

JULIA It’s like the type of pop that, like–

JULIA Why?

VINNY Like One Republic? JULIA (Nodding.) Like One Republic. Like, slightly alternative-ish, but– EMILY But still pop. JULIA It’s not like– He would never listen to, like, Ariana Grande. (She pauses.)

JOE ‘Cause I didn’t want fun dip. JULIA I didn’t, like– I was like, “it’s a powder.� (People continue to chat. JOE looks down at his notes.) JOE How do I...pass my classes?

Words by Jane Knudsen

The Apollo Manifesto: Here at Apollo we pledge allegiance to artistic freedom, To giving students a creative outlet, To thinking outside the box, To expressing emotion through art, To ignoring what people think of you. Because what makes Apollo special is its contributors, The content within And the love each issue is made of.

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