the Renaissance

the student newsmagazine of dutch fork high school 1400 old tamah road/ irmo, s.c.

volume 21. issue 3/ spring 2013

Editor ’s Letter

collyn taylor, editor-in-chief

02/dfr.toc.spring

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Dutch Fork’s news nexus This past month has helped me real-

ize how important journalism is to me. I hit my journalistic high at our

regional conference the first weekend of March. I won a scholarship and I saw The Re-naissance win an All-Southern rating. I also helped celebrate our Quiz Bowl team finishing second in the quiz bowl to four geniuses in black robes that could diffuse a bomb with a paperclip and a rubber band. The staff bonded not only through laughing and dancing (which there was a lot of), but we bonded through journalism as well. Through writing and filming and taking photos and designing, we became closer as a staff. We needed that closeness for what that Monday had to offer. All of the publication staffs were deci-mated; all of the laptops and desktops were stolen and we were left with almost nothing to put together a yearbook, newspaper and broadcast show. The robbery left me scrambling and wondering how we were going to put to-gether a magazine with five laptops. After I spent time venting and wallow-ing in self pity, I needed a way to occupy my time. That is were journalism really took control. Now, I have spent many hours writing, shooting and designing for The Renaissance but this time was different. I threw myself into it as a way to forget about the theft. That work helped created what this issue represents. As a staff we focus on what we knew how to do and that was write about milestones that Dutch Fork has hit this year and tradi-tions at Dutch Fork. From the catapult launch to the back to back state titles for the girls’ basketball team, the spring issue helps to encapsulate the tradition and excellence that Dutch Fork has pioneered throughout the year.

(cover): Boys’ lacrosse players stand in line at practice waiting for their turn to participate in a drill. This was the first year for Dutch Fork’s lacrosse team, where the team finished with a record of 5-8.

News 4689

Opinion1011121314

2009

Life 1518

18

table ofcontents

Sports 202122

tR

Schooling options next yearAP Exams threatenedLaunch spawns creativity News Briefs

Staff EditorialKids in the Hall/ Gun ControlImportance of college/theftReviewsTrending Now

Prom PackageAds

Lacrosse Blooms at DFBaseball helps teen adjustGirls win back to back titles

dfr.toc.spring/ 03

The mounds of dirt slowly move to the side to make room for metal bars and

the foundation for not only a new school, but new avenues for learning. Next year, students from all over the district will be al-lowed to travel to other district schools, including all magnet school Spring Hill High School, to pursue different avenues in learning. While students do get to learn at schools that cater to their specific needs, attendance at Dutch Fork will drop. “We’re losing some 140-something students that are coming from Dutch Fork Middle [School] and going to Spring Hill,” principal Greg Owings said. “I looked and saw that we will still have about 391 freshmen, so our enrollment will go down a couple hundred this year.”

Students also have the op-portunity to go to Chapin or Irmo to learn. Irmo, known for its International Baccalaureate [IB]program, is a reason for students transferring. “I’m going to Irmo because of the International Baccalaure-ate program. Dutch Fork doesn’t have IB and Irmo does,” sopho-more Jesse Johnson said. S tu d e nt s from all over the district have been volunteering to go explore new educational opportunities in the district. “The magnet school will provide a learning environ-ment where I learn with people that are interested in the same things I am,” Chapin freshman

Kyle Myers said. “This way the teachers can base their teaching around this common interest, enabling better comprehension. Although Chapin is a great school, I think my education can benefit from this.” The building of new schools

and the emerg-ing of differ-ent academic avenues has caused compe-tition for the schools, as they fight for enroll-ment numbers. “I know that competition is

a really good thing. For example the bread and butter of Dutch Fork is STEM. This year we knew we really had to sell our program,” Vice Principal of In-struction Sarah Longshore said. “We knew that we really had to show what we have to offer and

show it. Like with restaurants, hair salons and places like that you go to because of the reputa-tion. It’s the same thing as ap-plying to schools. We know that if we aren’t doing a good job kids will go somewhere else.” Dutch Fork administration, along with Owings is already preparing presentations to show to prospective students to showcase talents and speciali-ties at Dutch Fork. “I think the academics is so strong; teacher faculty is one of the best around. The thing about Dutch Fork is that we’re not just good at one thing, we’re good at a lot of different areas,” Owings said. “Our STEM pro-gram is really strong, a lot of kids do real well [in] math and science and technology and en-gineering. So we have a lot of things to offer. A lot of our clubs and a lot of our areas are very strong.”

New options for schooling open up in 2013story by collyn taylor and michaela baker

“The magnet school will provide a learning envior-nment where I learn with people that are interested in the same things as I am.” -Kyle Myers

04/ dfr.news.spring

news

Even though competi-tion has spawned between the schools in the district, Long-shore sees the validity of the magnet program and school of choice. “It’s a great idea for schools. It makes us think long and hard about the options and opportu-nities to provide our students,” Longshore said. “It makes us run like a business and we have to compete now to keep our students at Dutch Fork.” At the end of this year, eighth graders and current freshman will be able to transfer to Spring Hill for specialized learning, returning to their zoned school only for sports. “It’s a choice they have; I think there are five different magnet choices they have. Next year, when we do our presenta-tions, we are going to have great choices here with the STEM program and orchestra, and

dfr.news.spring/ 05

chorus, and all of the athlet-ics that we have here,” Owings said. “Our overall school is very strong, so we’ll have to put our selling caps on and get kids to come here.” Overall, students are excited for the new opportunities that programs like school of choice brings.“I see the choice that students have to attend this school, rather than being zoned to it as something awesome. This way I can be surrounded by those who are actually serious about attending this school, not there to learn because they have to,” Kyle said. “It also introduces students to the concept of choosing. Not all students have been in situations that they have to choose what’s best for them; and choosing whether or not to steal that cookie from your mom before supper does not count.”

Schools of Choice1. Dutch Fork High> STEM Program

2. Irmo High School> International Baccalaurete (IB) Program

3. Chapin High School> Academic Leadership Academy

4. Spring Hill High School> all magnet high school

Breaking thenews

A curvePExams at DF with highest pass rate

5 Psychology 68%4 Studio Art 2-D Design 68%

3 Physics C Mechanics, 69%

2 Studio Art, Drawing, 69%1 BC Calculus, 80%

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$Cost of the AP Exam

89per exam/US

117 per exam/ Canada

Test Distribution

million3.7tests taken nationwide

2millionstudents take exams yearly

18 thousandhigh schools offer AP exams

College Credit

3,800colleges recieve AP scores

3 credit hourseach passed exam earns college credit

60 countrieshave universities accepting AP exams

* information from collegeinsider.com and collegeboard.com

dfr.news.spring/ 07

Large gyms packed with students, filled with the turning of pages and the

scribble of pencils may be a dwindling sight as Dartmouth University has discontinued giving credit for Advanced Placement (AP) courses. AP courses, offered through College Board, are courses that have a standardized test in May and if a student earns a three, four, or five, (s)he earns certain college credits. Dutch Fork currently offers 22 AP courses, ranging from Calculus to Human Geogra-phy, all of which are designed to give students a unique learn-ing environment that will help students succeed in college, ac-cording to College Board. “They test a student’s abil-ity to think critically and read and write on a college level. They also prepare students for college life because in col-lege every course is an AP course, so might as well en-joy the experience and prac-tice of that now,” Academic Gifted Program coordinator Joe Landreneau said. “The only downside to an AP exam is an all or nothing, you pass or you don’t pass and it deter-

mines if you get college credit or not. The positives far out-weigh the negatives.” With the Dartmouth deci-sion being handed down, it strongly affects how students decide whether or not to enroll in higher-level classes. “I would not take an AP class if the credit did not count be-cause it would be pointless to have that much work without any reason,” freshman Anna Wolverton said. While students, like Anna, wouldn’t take a more rigorous course without more benefits, Landreneau would still want to teach his AP Language and Composition class because he sees more than just college credit. “Absolutely [I would teach an AP course still]. The AP course is not about college credit, it’s about being able to read, write, think on a college level,” Lan-dreneau said. “That’s ultimately what my goal is to do, is to pre-pare these kids to read, write, think on a collegiate level. If they pass the exam wonderful, but if they don’t, they are still being prepared for the college experience.” AP teachers in subjects

other than English also sees the advantage of having AP courses; even without college credit. “Yes, the students receive an experience that is similar to college. So even if there is no credit there is still experience,” AP history teacher Demetra Vastis said. “I really like teach-ing AP Human Geography and AP World so I would con-tinue.” Dartmouth’s decision came down as a result of internal studies that showed no correla-tion to passing an AP course to having knowledge of the ma-terial. For teachers at Dutch Fork, that is not the only rea-son that they believe Dart-mouth decided to stop handing out college credit. “It’s all about money. The AP programs cause students to come into college with lots of credits already, which means that they don’t stay in college for a longer time which means they’re going to lose more money. It is just a money is-sue,” Landreneau said. Anna sees the reasoning behind the Dartmouth claim, because AP classes only “shows partly the grasp of knowledge

of the subject.” AP classes, according to col-lege board, teach students skills and habits needed to be suc-cessful in college. “On the AP level the stu-dents receives a good experi-ence in writing essays,” Vastis said. “As a history major my tests were based on essays so being in an AP class will help students prepare for college.” For a nationally ranked AP program like Dutch Fork, who has AP courses in every subject, it is hard to see the AP classes going anywhere, even with the verdict issued by Dartmouth. “I don’t think that its go-ing to have much of an impact at all. I don’t see it having a big impact there. Universities know that if you pass an AP course, there is pretty much no course in college you can-not pass. It’s been around for over 50 years,” Landreneau said. “Courses continue to grow and I don’t see it slowing down any-time soon, especially with vir-tual learning and being able to earn credit that way, I don’t see it dwindling anytime soon. So this Dartmouth decision will become a non-factor.”

story by collyn taylor and michaela baker >>> pictures by michaela baker

From swarms of racecar drivers to masses of Revo-lutionary War soldiers and

the Blues Brothers running around, the softball launch is home to different characters. The football field trans-formed to a home full of soccer referees and other personalities ready to launch softballs. Every year, the physics’ softball launch gives students the opportunity to build cata-pults and launch softballs out of them. The students take this event to the next level, dressing up in elaborate costumes and decorating the cannon. “We put togas on, we had wallabees, we had straw hats, the shades rocking, indoors and outdoors,” senior Animal House group member Adam Kawamoto said. “We were go-

Physics students dress for success

news

08/ dfr.news.spring

ing for the frat look and that’s basically what the frat look is.” The students participating in the launch looked forward to dressing up and coming up with a theme for the project. “I think how people really committed to their themes and had fun made it more of an activity than a project,” junior Redneck team member Tal Wanish said. As the teams began to launch, a crowd began to build in the stands, cheering for each team and their theme. “The goddess theme was my favorite. I just thought it was interesting and that they really out that theme together well for the launch,” sophomore Brittnay Wright said. The team theme makes up a portion of the grade and teams

get extra points if their theme wins a top spot as best theme. Because of this, teams take the theme seriously. “We went all over down-town, looking in Army and Navy stores, we couldn’t find anything affordable, so we bought all of the materials and made everything ourselves,” senior Revolutionary War group member Chris Dickey said. “That helped us make our theme more personalized.” Aside from just physics classes participating in the launch, classes were allowed to come out to watch each team launch. From the stands stu-dents began to hatch their own ideas as to what their theme may have been. “I would choose something powerful and strong like su-

perwoman if I participated,” Brittnay said. “I would want it to show the power of my catapult.” Students look forward to dressing up in funny costumes and shooting catapults. “It makes it more fun, it makes it more interesting,” Adam said. “You get to work with the group, it’s fun to deco-rate your catapult.” The theme is one of the most important parts of the launch to some students. Some students take it more seriously than ac-tually building the launcher. “We spent more time on the theme than we did with the cannon. We had already built cannons before and it was real quick,” Chris said. “[The theme] made us work as a team more, we spent more time and it’s just more fun to get involved.”

story by collyn taylor and michaela baker >>> photo by kirsten arnoult

inBrief Advanced placement exams begin May 6Administrators win journalism award

Advanced placement (AP) exams begin May 6 with AP Chemis-try, AP Environmental Science and AP Psychology. The exams will continue throughout that week and continue throughout

the next week as well, ending on May 17 with AP Human Geography and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. Certain exams begin at 8 a.m. while others begin at noon. Check with collegeboard.com to see when exact dates and times are and what is allowed in the testing room. The exams will be held at the Shady Grove Methodist Church gym for the two weeks of testing.

Senior guard featured in Sports Illustrated

Senior guard Rose Robinson was featured in the Faces in the Crowd section of Sports Illustrated. This section profiles high school athletes that have excelled at their sport. Rose played

for both girls’ basketball teams that won the state title in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, she averaged 5 points per game, 4.2 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game, per maxpreps.com. Rose’s feature comes in the March 18 issue of the magazine on page 22.

“I feel honored. It is a great acomplishment. Many don’t get a chance to be in there so it is an honor,” Rose said.

Senior Samadwara Reddy was awarded the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement this year. The award comes with a scholarship worth $2,000. Only two stu-

dents are selected from each state per year and both recipients from South Carolina went to Dutch Fork; Samadwara and senior Maddie Kowalski. Maddie attended Dutch Fork last year but moved over the summer to a new school. Samadwara joins University of Chicago freshman Zach Wang as winners of this award from Dutch Fork. “Its some validation to the work that I’ve put into [scienc and math] classes,” Samadwara said. “I know that I did well.”

Student wins Siemens Award

On Mar. 2, principal Greg Owings and vice principal of instruction Sarah Longshore won the Southern In-terscholastic Press Association’s (SIPA) Dr. Kay Phil-

lips administrator of the year award. This was the first time in history that a pair of administrators have won the award in the same year. SIPA, the organization that awards the admin-istrator of the year, spans 15 states and includes the District of Columbia.

dfr.news.spring/ 09

the Renaissance

editor-in-chief, collyn taylor

staffrobin hendriks rachel urconiskirsten arnoulteddie bates alexis steele

fusion staffmckenzie mack tapanga brigmanmichaela bakerbrandy williamslaken radvansky alex cone dayla beckett

adviser,amy medlock-greene principal, greg owings

The Renaissance is an open forum for student expression at Dutch Fork High School.

The purpose of The Renaissance is to inform the student body about events affecting them, to influence its readers through responsible editorials, to enter-tain through feature content, to reflect the overall personality of the school and to bring buyer and seller together. These goals will be achieved through fair, accurate and responsible reporting.

Unbylined editorials reflect the views of the majority of The Renaissance staff, but not necessarily the view of the school board, the administratiors, the faculty, the adviser, the entire staff, or

student body. All bylined editorials and cartoons reflect the opinion of the writer or artist. Advertisements do not reflect the opinion of The Renaissance or its adviser.

The Renaissance encourages let-ters to the editors as they constitute a constructive avenue for opinion. All let-ters must be signed by the writer to be considered for publication. The staff re-serves the right to edit letters for poor taste, libel, grammar and space.

The Renaissance is published four times a year by students in the journalism classes. The online edi-tion, updated regularly, is available at www.foxfusion.org.

opinion

StaffEditorialViolent video games are okay in moderation

Staff Vote:Agree: 3

Disagree: 8Indifferent: 2

It has been a question for some time whether video games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Ghost Recon and Assassins Creed play a role in violence of the real world.

In the world right now, more than half a billion people play videogames and 183 million of those people live in the U.S. (McGonigal).

Though this many people are playing video games, it is unclear exactly how many are playing the more violent of them. What we do know is that not everyone that plays these video games has committed a crime. Video games may be something that a lot of people like to engage in but not every person that engages in this have the desire to hurt others.

Harming others seems to be a result of an unstable per-son with unreasonable logic and even though video games may take part in provoking this

mind set, it is completely fic-tional. Those that choose to buy into the fictitious activities and events of a video game either play them too much or should not be playing them at all be-cause their mind is not stable enough to handle playing.

This being said, the real question lies within the mental stability of video gamers. Al-though it would be hard to real-ly assess the mental stability of all gamers, parents of younger gamers can step in and regulate how often their children play.

Parents have a responsibility to teach their kids what is right and what is wrong and part of this is teaching them the con-cept of moderation. Though parents can not control their children’s actions completely, they do have the power to limit their time. There are steps that could be taken such as parental controls and sometimes its even as simple as removing the TV

from their child’s room.Violent video games are

not a problem on their own. If played an amount that is con-sidered regular, maybe only a few minutes a week, then the amount of violent acts caused by the increased obsession with these games would most likely be cut down to a minimum.

These games force the play-ers to think in a way that is not peaceful. To look out for any possible attackers and strategize the best ways to beat them.

That is not the way people generally view the world, but what seems to be the way at-tackers and serials view it.

A few hours a week of play-ing these video games could be considered fun, but any more than that and it starts to be con-sidered obsession.

An obsession with some-thing that does not exist in real-ity, but only in a made up world. If people become so addicted to

something that is not real, then eventually they will start to lose touch to reality and believe what is real is fake and what is fake is real.

If this were to happen to a person, there is no telling how they would see the world. They may see everyone out to get them, usually like how things are in one of these games, or they themselves might be the bad guy sent to kill a bystander.

Either way, it is extreme-ly dangerous for the people around the player and for the player themselves.

Parents should make a note of how often their child is play-ing a violent video game and think about whether they con-sider it too much. They should also look for warning signs in their child’s behavior. These could include a lack of social skills or an increased tendency to become angry or agitated in a shorter time span.

“Yeah, I guess,... If the teachers [are] bringing it to protect us and keep it where kids can’t get it...”

“Yes, because in case there is an intruder, they can defend them-selves and us.”

“Yes, absolutely. That would solve the majority of problems of schools around the United States...”

“If there was somebody in the building [that] had the inten-tions of harming students and the teacher felt that they would be able to stop them.”

Shelley Copelandsenior

Maurio Hiltonfreshman

Maddie Saunderssophomore

Josh Fagerburgjunior

Kids in the HallShould teachers be able to bring concealed weapons to school to school to protect students?

Proposed gun laws risky ideascolumn by laken radvansky and robin hendricks

dfr.opinion.spring/ 11

After a string of school shootings in recent years, it has been called into question whether teachers should or should not carry concealed weapons during school hours.

The murders of six adults and 20 young elementary school age children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut seems to have awakened the country and political officers to the in-creased number of shootings and massacres that have taken place as of late.

Almost every single pos-sible solution has been tossed around: banning civilian own-ership of guns entirely, gun

licensing restrictions and whether teachers should bring weapons to school.

Wouldn’t this cut down on the number of deaths should a shooter enter the school? Wouldn’t this keep the children safe?

Though the weapons would be concealed, if a person was cunning enough to find and re-trieve them, the consequences would be catastrophic.

If a shooter was to go to a classroom and the teacher pull out the gun, there is no guaran-tee the teacher would be brave enough to pull the trigger or even threaten to. We all want to assume that in a situation where several lives were at stake, that we would be the hero. But that is not always true.

When bringing guns into any situation, there is an in-crease in the chance of acci-

dents involving the weapon. Especially when little children are involved.

If an elementary teacher had a gun, she would have to keep extra sure that the children know nothing about it and that it is in a place nearly impossible for them to get to.

Some young kids would not even know what a gun was or could do if they were shown one, and would not know how dangerous it could be.

It would be so easy for a shooter to use the concealed weapon to their advantage, or for a little child to cause a major accident.

The best ways to keep people safe from shootings is to put more restrictions on who can have a gun license (psycho-logical tests, etc.). If those who owned guns were tested to be sane, the amount of shootings

would become less frequent. Other ways are to increase

the number of police officers at schools so if there were an intruder, they would be more easily caught. Doors leading lo-cated on the outside of schools should remain locked when it is not a time when many people are leaving or arriving.

Emergency drills should be practiced more often and taken more seriously by both teachers and students. Teachers should not carry on the lesson plans, but should take a break and choose to prepare the class for their own protection.

With all these safe solutions right at the fingertips of the teachers, guns are a radically dangerous idea that would like-ly cause more pain than help or protection both for the students and for the teachers that would carry them.

College important for economy by laken radvansky and robin hendricks

Choosing a college can be a stress-ful decision that some high school graduates choose not to deal with,

but the ones that actually do make a deci-sion, are more likely to be successful in life than someone that did not. In the fall of 2008, 2.2 million high school graduates were enrolled in a college. That is 68.6% of all high school graduates for that year. In the fall of 2011, the U.S Bu-reau of Labor Statistics reports that 68.3% of all high school graduates were enrolled in a college or university. Most jobs require some type of college degree, so by not going to college, gradu-ates are doing themselves a disservice. It is becoming more difficult to get a job in the USA than before. Having all the experience one can, is crucial.

In 2009, the percentage of jobs that re-quire a 2 year or higher college degree was 62% and it is projected that by the year of 2020 the percentage will rise to 75%, ac-cording to acteonline.org. If the percentage of high school gradu-ates going to college remains the same or decreases, this could mean bad news for our economy. So many qualified people are unem-ployed and looking for a job. To compete with everyone, future workers need to add college to their resume. Even if someone is qualified by their level of intellect, they need to prove it with actual records from colleges or they would not be taken seriously. If I had a company of my own, I would rather hire people who had more prior knowledge in regards to the certain field because that would produce the best results for the company and in turn receive more money. A lot of people are not sure what they want to do as soon as they get out of college,

so rather than wasting money on classes that they will never use as they switch from major to major, people unsure about their destiny should take some time to explore the possibilities. There is no reason to go to college unless one knows what (s)he wants to do with that degree. A person should go to college earlier in life to achieve the most economic success possible, but if someone wants to wait a few years as they explore their options, there is nothing wrong with that. Also if a person does not have enough money to go to college in the immediate future, they can work and save up for their tuition over a span of several years, along with applying for all available scholarships and student loans. Whether a student chooses to go to col-lege as soon as they leave high school or in a few years for whatever reason, everyone should go to college sometime in their life. This will help people get jobs and also im-prove the economy.

12/ dfr.opinion.spring

Imagine, a classroom that has been your sanctuary for half of your years in high school. The place that you go to pursue

your dreams and future career. The tools you use for your creativity peppered throughout the room, having to go no further than two steps to your right or left in order to access everything you’ve ever created. Now imagine walking into that same room and there’s nothing. It’s just emp-ty. With nothing but shattered CD’s all across the floor, crooked desks, muddy footsteps and a cracked window. Emptiness welling up inside that in-stantly turns to tears. Weakness taking over and nothing but silence left to comfort you.

Theft rampant at Dutch Fork

opinion

column by laken radvansky This is what I was faced with. In a random survey of 25 people 44% of them said they have had personal belong-ings stolen from them at Dutch Fork High School. According to the school’s resource of-ficers, electronics are number one on the list to be stolen and reports of stolen items come in at least two times a week. If one has valuables on them, they should be sure to keep them with you at all times. Do not leave any valuables unattended, bet-ter yet, don’t bring them at all. Every time someone walks through the doors at school, they have almost a 50% chance of having a belonging stolen. Think about that. Thiefs have no idea what the valuables that they are stealing mean to your victim. They need to stop and think to them-selves about how it would make them feel if someone took that same item from them. Stealing has been a problem in all societ-ies at some point in time, it’s normal. But let's be weird. Let Dutch Fork High School be the first

place to not have any theft. With a little bit of common sense, compassion for others and teamwork, we can bring this to an end. Get serious, this is not a joke. If you are anywhere near people, try this: look to your left and then look to your right and on each side of you, pick one person. There is a 44% chance that they have had something taken from them. It shouldn’t make one feel good that you are either a thief or surrounded by them. It should make you want to change, or do something about it. People can’t rely on other people to make the changes that you want to see happen. They have to be proactive and with a little bit of motivation the possibilities are limitless. Change starts with the first person to step forward. Be encouraged to take on the leadership role. Stand up for what is right and point out what is wrong. The change of tomorrow starts with the thoughts of today. So be weird, don’t follow the crowd and be the first to step forward.

The BachelorGOS

SI PI RLG

Six seasons ago, the doors to Manhattans Upper East side were opened for the

world to see, and the mysterious gossip girl was introduced changing the lives of Gossip Girl viewers forever. Gossip Girl is a blogger who knows every little thing about the Upper East Siders, who seem to rule the halls of their private schools and social societies. In the first episode, the fabulous, entertaining, yet drama filled Upper East Siders is introduced. We meet Dan Humphrey, a loner who doesn’t fit in and wants to be noticed by the beautiful Serena Van Der , the girl next door whom everyone seems to love; except her best friend, Blair Waldoorf, who spends her days either obsessing about her super hot boyfriend, Nathanial Archibald, or gossiping about the girls at school who seem to all want be friends with the womanizer, Chuck Bass. Overall though, viewers were pleased that after waiting for what seemed like a century, Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass finally decide get married. After a battling season of hate and rage between the Bass family, Bart Bass,Chuck Bass’ father, is

pronounced dead after being pushed off a building while fighting with his son, whom he previously tried to kill in the episode before. For many viewers, they thought the love between Serena and Dan had been crushed after she decides to leave the Upper East Side including Dan all behind, but hope is found. Serena decides to give Dan the chance to explain himself after writing and trying to publish a story about Serena and her friend’s lifestyle. And finally Gossip Girl is revealed to the world and surprisingly it ended up being the quiet yet powerful loner, Dan Humphrey who decided to start Gossip Girl because he wanted people to respect him and people respected Gossip Girl. Fans are both shocked and relieved to finally know who the mysterious gossip girl is but can’t really accept the fact that their sweet Dan could have created so much drama. As the last view minutes roll on of the season finale, viewers have the chance to see into the future, approximately five years and see the new life’s of their favorite Upper East siders.

Dan a n d S e r e n a f i n a l l y make up and decide to get married, Nate decides to run for mayor and has become a successful businessman. The favorite couple, Chuck and Blair are still happily married and with a son who resembles his father’s apperance. The clan are still extremely close and like promised, Gossip Girl has not started back up again. After 6 memorable seasons, the Gossip Girl era is finally coming to an end, the gates of the Upper East Side are being closed and viewers are forced to go back to living our mediocre lives, we will forever dream of our Gossip Girl family and the

memories theyhave left behind forever. You know you love me, XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Surrounded by a beautiful land of flowers in Thailand, season 17

bachelor Sean Lowe finally went down on one knee and

proposed to the funny yet intelligent Catherine

Guidici, who was the lucky girl to steal his

heart. “I want to

spend the rest of my life

t e l l i n g you I

l o v e

you and making you feel like the most special, beautiful woman in the world. Catherine will you marry me?” bachelor Sean Lowe said on the finale. Catherine Guidici is originally from Seattle, Washington and is a graphic artist for Amazon and part time writer for a vegan blog where she talks about being a vegan and the types of foods she eats and has been introduced to. Before proposing to Catherine, Sean had to break one last girl’s heart before Sean could propose to Catherine. Unfortunately for Lindsay Yenter, she was that girl. “I want to give you my heart so bad, but my heart is somewhere else. I’ve been so

confused, and have been searching and praying for

clarity. I think I’ve finally gotten it”, said Lowe.

(heavy.com) Catherine’s

i m m e d i a t e reaction to the

news that the man she

thought s h e

w a s

going to spend forever with has greater feelings for another women is almost too much for her to handle. She transforms into a emotional wreck on national television in 2.2 seconds. “Oh my gosh, I’m gonna go because this is painful. This is a nightmare. I’m happy for you, I’m happy that you found love, but I honestly can’t imagine my life without you and that’s something I’m going to have to figure out”, said contestant Lindsay Yenter. (foxnews.com) Lindsay exited herself in an emotional yet very adult manor, which showed her true character as a person. Following the proposal, the live televised special “After the Final Rose” aired, where we get to catch up with the Bachelor and his new fiance and see where they’re at in their relationship. Surprisingly, the former bachelor Sean Lowe and contestant Catherine Giudici are still engaged and are planning a wedding that will air on ABC. “We don’t have a date yet, but we have decided that we think it would be cool that since our relationship started

and developed and was cultivated on a TV show,

we’ll have our wedding on a TV show,” said

Sean on usatoday.com.

reviews by mckenzie mack and kirsten arnoult

dfr.opinion.spring/ 13

Temple Run 2story by rachel urconis

Twists and turns, through the woods and inside caves, the new game sen-

sation known as Temple Run 2 debuted internationally on Jan-uary 17, 2013, creating a mass of various opinions among many users and players. With the new game out, many students give it a posi-tive rating comparing it to the original Temple Run. “Temple Run 2 is so much better than the original one because the first one only had straight lines and edges. The game’s much more challeng-ing,” sophomore Jayson Cony-ers said. Other students, however, are not as fond of the new app; they feel that it lacks original-

ity. “I would not recommend the game because it’s the same thing as the first one. So why waste valuable data space and there’s other games like Subway Surfers and Fun Run,” junior Rashida Williamson said. A main key that attracts much of the positive reviews is the improved graphics from the transition of the first game to the second. “Temple Run 2 is in 3D and the graphics are more realistic, which makes it better,” fresh-man Taylor Smith said. With enjoyment of the excit-ing new sequel, whether it is the better graphics or just the more challenging obstacles, students cannot help but spend a lot of

time on the game, some even calling it an addiction, much like the original Temple Run. Jayson said that on a school day he plays it 10 times and about 15 times throughout the weekend. Another aspect of the game that makes it such a success is not only the intensity of the challenges within the game, but rather the concepts that the challenge presents to the play-ers. “You [the player] have more to do,” Jayson said. “There’s more obstacles such as the ropes and swings.” Sequels usually gain popu-

larity based on their prequels. In other words, Temple Run 2 will either be a success or fail based on the original Temple Run. No matter what Temple Run 2 brings along with it to the App Store, improvement or not, one key factor will always remain that makes Temple Run what it is now. “I would recommend the game to others because it’s dif-ferent from other games be-cause other games involve puz-zles and action,” junior Zachary Gothard said. “However, Tem-ple Run 2 tests reflexes and that’s much more fun.”

#TrendingNow

How to tie a

Bowtie

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opinion

1. After putting the bowtie around your neck with the wider sides dangling, tuck one end up between your neck and the tie.

2. Fold the other side at its widest part, holding it sideways. Now, the tie should begin to take shape.

3. Now, bring the side that went behind the neck over the folded side. Pull as tight to the neck as you want it.

4. Then, pull the top side through the hole in the back of the tie and adjust as the final step to southern gentleman-ship.

full video and steps available at www.foxfusion.org!

To become a master in southern wear and classiness, the bowtie is essential. Here is how to class up your closet with a bowtie.

a

Take Me Away to

PROM 2013

story and photos by alexandria cone and bailey phillips

On May eleventh about 600 students will be ex-periencing a significant

moment of their high school lives. Prom. Appearance and presenta-tion on that night are huge parts of what makes the occasion so special, therefore students are challenged with the act of find-ing a great outfit, for a good price, for the perfect night. Junior Board advisor Phyllis Richmond oversaw a modeling event called Prom Blast in the commons area on March 28 that allowed students to get an idea of what they were going to wear for prom. “It was a promotion to get the students thinking about prom and to show them the kind of dresses that are avail-able and to show the guys some neat examples of tuxedos and to have some businesses come in

that wanted to be a part of shar-ing what they have to offer the kids as far as flowers, makeup and clothing,” Richmond said. Budgeting is important for Prom. Junior Board member Aria Roberson said that she is wil-ing to spend as much as her mother allows her to whereas senior Dorien Johnson believes that $20 per person is enough to spend on that night, when it come to food and pre-prom ac-tivities. “Look for something that you could wear again, spend more money on the experience than the dress,” flower sales-woman Alex Houghtalen said. In order to help students to prepare for Prom at an afford-able expense the Junior Board invited several businesses that could give out discounts and even free services to Prom Blast.

“When the businesses came in they left some coupon cards that will be available on the prom table, [There will be a prom table available when we start selling prom tickets] and Remington College will be of-fering free hair do ups, cuts makeup, and nails this year,” said Richmond. Carolina Couture sales-woman Kimberly Laipil said that comfort is essential when selecting a suit or a dress; how-ever, students are expected to wear clothing that respects a set of dress conduct. “It’s a formal event, they’re wearing beautiful clothes, they need to act in a formal way. We don’t want any girls wearing too short of a dress that we can see her body and the dress should never come so low in the back that we see the lower area of her body,” Richmond said.

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center downtown is where the event will be held and with a theme like “Take Me Away” attending students are expected to have a good time if they find value in the occasion. “We have Prom to let ev-erybody relax because after a whole year of studying it’s nice to have a party to end the year,” junior Iyinda Kirkland said. Dorien believes that Prom isn’t the only thing that makes high school worth experienc-ing. “I won’t be going to Prom this year but the people you hang out with, the extracurricu-lar things that you do and your grades [define you],” Dorien said. “Prom is something every-one can really get into. Things that can really change a school define a high school experi-ence.”

PROM2013

life

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dfr.life.fall/ 17

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Lax Crosses Over story by brandy williams >>> photo by tapanga brigman

sports

20/ dfr.sports.fall

Junior Jackson Tolar and Junior Kody Imel practice drills on the field

The combination of football, hockey, basketball and soccer; it continues to get popular year after year and any-

body, big or small, can play. This year, Dutch Fork had their own lacrosse team, whereas in previous years Dutch Fork, Irmo and Chapin students all played together on a district team. “It’s fantastic that Dutch Fork has an of-ficial team and we get to put our name out there more,” junior Tab Hirsch said. The rules of girls’ lacrosse varies from boys’ lacrosse. “Girls aren’t allowed to hit each other like guys can, and for guys it’s more fast-paced, but the girls do have a bigger field than the guys,” senior Carson Sears said. Girls and boys also differ in the amount of protective gear they wear. “Boys wear helmets, mouth guard, body pad and gloves. Girls just wear a mouth

guard, shin pad and goggles, but if they’re a goalie, they’ll have extra padding on,” girls’ lacrosse coach Betsy Hirsch said. Being the first year, students have mul-tiple reasons for wanting to join the team. “I play because it’s a great form of exer-cise, it gives you something to do besides going straight home, and I get a chance to meet people I would’ve never met before anywhere else and overall, it’s fun,” Ariana said. Playing a sport helps athletes build team-work skills. “You definitely build chemistry with all your teammates,” Carson said. The lacrosse season only lasts a duration of two months. “Our first game is February 18th, but in the next weeks we’ll have two or three games a week, so the season isn’t long at all,” senior Jamesmane Randolph said.

Some players hope to continue lacrosse even after high school. “I hope to go collegiate [levels]; the col-legiate level is pretty much the same as the high school level, very few rules change, and it’s still as intense,” Tab said. There are hopes from coach Hirsch that Dutch Fork will do well in its first year as having their own official team. “I think the sky is the limit, the sport is growing; a lot of kids are trying is, it’ll reallybecome something big at Dutch Fork in a few years,” Hirsch said. The lacrosse players have hopes for a good season also. “I’m definitely ready for our first game. I think we’ll win and I think we’ll have many wins during the season,” Jamesmane said. “Our goal is just to ultimately have a good first season. We have some girls who will fight till the end.”

1636: Jesuit Missionaries Document the game ofLacrosse in Early America

1881:The first intercollegiate tournament is held at Westchester Polo Grounds in New York.

1933: The USWLA holds its first national tournament in Greenwich, Conn.

All information comes from http://www.lacrosse-informa-tion.com/the-history-of-lacrosse.html

Moving from Ohio to Irmo, South Carolina; it’s 564.2 miles, eight hours and 53 minutes away.

Not many teenagers can say they would enjoy this move mainly because they’d feel as if they were leaving everything behind to start a whole new life. Senior William Thomas did. “We moved down here because my grandparents were sick and it just felt like the right time,” William said. Before settling down in Ohio, William lived in various states. “I was born in Irmo, then moved to Ken-tucky, then moved to Ohio, then moved to Virginia, then back to Ohio and then back to Irmo,” William said. “But I’ve been in Ohio since 1999 so most of my life has been there.” Since moving here, William has been playing shortstop for the varsity baseball team. “It’s a great way for me to relax and play and have some fun and in an odd way, it keeps me closer to God. That’s what I love about it,” William said. The baseball team played a factor in

Will Thomas sits in a class and reads a book to pass time.

dfr.sports.spring/ 21

helping William’s final move to Irmo for se-nior year not as difficult. “It [moving to Irmo] wasn’t bad because I met some of the baseball guys over the summer and we played baseball together,” William said. “The baseball guys down here really differ from the baseball players in Ohio because the the baseball players in Ohio partied a lot and the baseball guys here are a lot more cooler and more team orientated.” The team has definitely bonded with William while playing together on the field. “We’ve been pretty good friends since the day he came down here and he’s pretty close with all of us,” pitcher and outfielder senior Ethan Hinkle said. “He’s really good, he plays really hard and he’ll be a great asset to our team this year.” William’s teachers enjoy having him as a part of their classroom as well. “He’s great. He’s resilient. He’s really adjusted to this high school and he plays sports,” social studies Kathryn Wagner said. “He’s quiet in class, but also very active.” William has proven to be a great student

in the weight room also. “I’ve only had him for three or four weeks, but so far I think he’s a nice young man and very personable and he gets along well with everyone,” physical education teacher Roy Kirby said. Overall, William has taken a liking to Dutch Fork and gets to experience situa-tions that he didn’t back in Ohio. “My favorite thing about Dutch Fork is the diversity. We don’t have that in Ohio. In Ohio, there’s not as many black kids or oth-er races. So it’s cool to get to know different cultures and get comfortable with different races,” William said. William’s faith plays a big role in his ev-eryday life. “The coolest thing about moving down is here is that back in Ohio there’s Christian people, but people don’t really share their faith, but down here I can share my faith among different people,” William said. “In Ohio, everybody knew everybody and they look down on you for every mistake you make, but moving down here I get to be a new person and really display the person I am so people can get to know me.”

story by brandy williams >>> photos by joy price New kid on the field

Back Backto story by brandi williams >>> photos by The State Media Company

Within the last ten sec-onds of the game, se-nior guard Rose Rob-

inson sinks in four straight free throws bringing the score to 46-43 for a close win. Many emotions run through the crowd as the final buzz-er goes off, announcing that Dutch Fork girls’ varsity basket-ball team have once again won another State championship.

“Everyone keeps asking how I feel. The thing about it is: you’re happy, you’re happy for the girls, you’re excited about it, you just can’t put it into words, it’s an awesome experience,” head coach Faye Norris said.

When it comes to more im-portant games such as the State game, the team has to use more

teamwork skills to ensure the win.

“Everyone who went out there was a key player. every-body was important and need-ed,” Norris said.

Most of the girls ended the game with statistics of their own that made them stand out.

“You had Morgan Williams who scored 18 points and had 17 rebounds, You had Alaina Coates with 17 rebounds also, you had Kyla Wigfall to come in here and shot at the clutch,” Norris said. “You had Kiki Dan-iels to block number 10 [on Dorman] so she didn’t score and you had Sydney [Shull] do-ing all the little things here and there.”

Sophomore Morgan Wil-

liams was also selected as Player of the Game.

“I felt accomplished. The win was something we had to work towards all year, not just a couple days before the game,” Morgan said.

Although senior Alaina Coates is leaving the team, she has a full-ride scholarship to the University of South Caro-lina.

“It was a great season and I’m really proud of the unde-feated season and of my team and going off to play for USC is going to be a great experience as well. I can’t wait,” Alaina said.

When the season ends and seniors have to go off to college, it can be a bittersweet feeling.

“I don’t think the team will

suffer because of the seniors leaving, all we can do is im-prove like we do every year,” Morgan said.

Fans and support from peers are a key part of important games as well.

“The atmosphere during halftime was really hype,” se-nior DeRon Burton said.

Overall, being back to back state champions is an experi-ence everyone can’t help but to be proud of.

“I’m really proud of the bas-ketball team because they are the only team that has been to state in a couple years and won,” DeRon said. “Congrats to them and hopefully they will all transfer over to good college teams.”

sports

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title game topperformers

18 pointssophomore Morgan Williams

5 offensive reboundssophomore Morgan Williams

13 defensive reboundssenior Alaina Coates

4 blockssenior Alaina Coates

*maxpreps.com