Band members march towards historic season
November 30, 2015 • view story on Fox Fusion
At competitions, football games and pep rallies, the Silver Spirit Marching Band makes themselves heard. The marching band has put in hours of hard work to add an extra element to different events around the state.
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“The competition season went very well. Hurricane Joaquin caused some of our competitions to get canceled, but at the ones we went to we did great,” junior baritone player Liam Olson said.
Members of the band were excited to get a chance to perform at competitions.
“It was really exciting to finally full out-perform in front of an audience, compared to performing for an empty parking lot during practice three days a week,” senior color guard member Ashley Dye said.
Many people are unaware of the hard work and preparation that goes into preparing for a marching band competition.
“As a band we practiced a lot, and I mean a lot, even the day of the competition we practiced that morning,” freshman baritone player Jonah Dehart said.
The practice schedule consists of long hours in many different weather elements, along with practices after school and on weekends.
“We practice 12 hours per day at band camp for two weeks over the summer. When school starts, practice is 4-6:30 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Friday nights are reserved for football games, where we perform the show either at halftime or after the game. Saturdays are completely packed; a two hour rehearsal in the morning before our competition that afternoon,” Ashley said.
Marching band competitions are scored by judges who look at different areas like visual effect or individual music quality. Dutch Fork’s marching band met many of those qualifications on their way to a successful competition season.
“We won everything at our first competition, received fourth place at state prelims, and sixth place at state finals. Those placements are the best Dutch Fork has received in a long time,” Ashley said.
The success of the band was fueled by the members’ desire to better themselves individually.
“Me personally, after all of that practice I just felt ready, so I stayed focused and recognized that I wasn’t doing this for my placement, I was doing it because it was something I like to do,” Jonah said.
Members of the band have a passion for their place in the band, and they would like to continue participating in marching band in college.
“I plan to continue doing color guard in college no matter where I go because the feeling I get when I perform on the field is indescribable,” Ashley said. “Watching the show unfold right in front of your eyes with your best friends surrounding you is the most amazing thing in the world.”
While some members want to do marching band in college, others will be ending in high school.
“I do not plan on continuing on with marching band during college because it takes up a lot of time and I plan on focusing on my school work and my major,” junior clarinet player Heather Pittman said.
There are many different elements that make marching band special to the members that are in it.
“My favorite part [about marching band]is the people. A lot of my friends are in marching band, and the after school practices are always fun,” Liam said.
Some people are more specific on what their favorite part of the band is.
“Probably my favorite part is playing the alma mater at the end of a football game because I just love the way it sounds. It’s slow and just flows well given that we play it correctly,” Jonah said.
Overall, the marching band is a very close-knit group, and the members are pleased with their competition season.
“Being surrounded by people you have become so close to is truly amazing,” Heather said. “The feeling you get before and after you perform is one that you just simply cannot explain.”
This was the first article I wrote that I felt like I made a difference. The marching band all felt that they were a hard working group that did not get enough credit, so they were eager to be interviewed and share the effort they put in.
Twitter beefs: the epitome of societies downfall
February 1, 2016 • view story on Fox Fusion
Last week, the world was blown away by the Twitter fight between rappers Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa. The snarky and rude comments made by both cultural icons were prime time entertainment for Twitter users. While the jokes may be funny and entertaining at a celebrity level, the issue is also a problem at a more common level.
In the past decade, internet usage has risen tremendously every year, and the problem of altercations being solved online has risen with it.
The first and most obvious problem that arises from “Twitter fights,” or any type of fight on the web, is that it promotes cyberbullying. National campaigns have been launched to prevent cyberbullying as teen suicide rates rise.
The idea behind it is: when you post online, either through your own profile or anonymously, it is easier to say something you feel rather than say it in person. Any person with a phone these days knows that it is easier to text someone information than say it to their face or call them on the phone. It eliminates a pressure that you feel, so it is easier to say mean things over text, Twitter, Facebook, or any time of online platform, than in person.
Confrontations online also get a lot of attention. Tweets between Kanye and Wiz got upwards of 60,000 retweets, but this also common for everyday people. A fight can’t go by online without the whole school talking about it the next day. It is now a constant battle to see who can be the meanest or the most “savage” online, and this causes the bullying of a person.
Society has taken a negative direction where we believe publicly calling out individuals on their flaws is amusing.
While posting mean or inappropriate comments online is at an all time high, so are the repercussions that result. A large number of teens all across the country have been arrested for cyberbullying, many serving jail time. If the situation leads to
the victim hurting themselves, the charges could even reach several years in prison.
But one thing that the world doesn’t know about these “Twitter fights” is that people you don’t know about are watching. An increasing number of employers are now searching through employee’s social media pages to see what they post. Also, college admissions representatives are looking at applicant’s profiles to make sure they are accepting a deserving individual.
Lastly, Twitter fights are just plain dumb. What happened to the days of rappers settling things face to face? Tupac and Biggie would look at Kanye and Wiz and laugh. Rap has become the most popular genre in America according to Spotify, but the most we’ve gotten out of these Twitter beefs is two diss tracks from Drake. Yawn. Congrats Kanye, you’ve managed to make yourself look even more like a teenage girl.
Twitter and other social media platforms have risen to the pinnacle of today’s society. Not only do friends, family, and peers follow each other, they follow celebrities, and while it might be funny to watch Drake drag Meek Mill or see Nicki Minaj fire shots at Taylor Swift, it is a serious situation when you bully individuals through Twitter. That tweet you sent about someone may be funny now, but will it be funny when you get rejected from your dream college or not hired by a business?
Switching from my normal interests in news and sports, I wrote an opinion piece regarding something I use everyday: Twitter. I used real life examples of my disapproval of fighting over social media.
Dutch Fork star commits to basketball powerhouse
September 7, 2016 • view story on Fox Fusion
After a career high of 38 points in his junior season, a recruiting buzz was created around senior Jordan Davis. Jordan could score, and in large numbers. The breakout season lead to schools like VCU, East Carolina, and Cincinnati to offer the 6’4” combo-guard, but one school stood out.
“I started talking to Dayton in the spring and I just built a relationship from there and felt like it was the right place for me,” Jordan said.
The Dayton Flyers, being the reigning Atlantic Ten conference champions and NCAA tournament participant, were attracted to the South Carolina 4A Player of the Year’s ability to score at all three levels.
“I think it’s a great fit there. Coach [Archie] Miller is a great coach who helps perimeter players get better,” varsity basketball coach Matt Brown said. “The style of play is perfect for Jordan, they go up and down the floor and shoot a lot of threes.”
Jordan has been a part of the Dutch Fork basketball program for years and has been a starter since eighth grade as well as being the star player for a handful of AAU teams around the Southeast.
“At Dutch Fork it’s prepared me to work hard and be a leader, and in AAU I’ve competed against a bunch of good players so it helped me get better,” Jordan said.
The progression of Jordan’s skill and significant experience have been noticed by his high school coach.
“The most I’ve seen him grow is his physicality, his mentality on the court, just being more aggressive, and being a lot more confident, especially in this last year leading into this year,” Brown said.
When asking friends and teachers to describe Jordan, each gives the same answer of quiet and humble. He uses these traits to his advantage on the basketball court.
“He’s humble, like he doesn’t say much. If players are trying to get in his head he doesn’t say much, so he’s humble,” senior small forward Justin Thompson said.
Jordan also excels off of the basketball court, getting the job done in the classroom.
“Jordan is very calm and quiet in class, he does get his work done in a timely manner, and he stays on task,” math teacher LoriBeth Lee said.
Flyers fans have a lot to look forward to, as Jordan believes his ability to score and lead the team is his strongest asset of his game, which will be key to succeeding in Dayton’s up-tempo offense.
“This summer he has grown a lot in preparation of getting his body ready as well as taking it strong to the rim and being able to pull up from deep range,” Brown said.
With his senior season approaching, Jordan is ecstatic to have the recruiting process out of the way to focus on his game.
“[Being committed to Dayton] feels good,” Jordan said. “I’m just excited to get down to campus and start rolling.”
Basketball has always been my favorite sport, so getting to know Jordan, who is very quiet and humble, was a cool experience. I was glad I got to inform the school of his talents on the court and his commitment to Dayton.
Dutch Fork to implement new AP Capstone program
January 12, 2017 • view story on Fox Fusion
In December, Lexington-Richland School District 5 announced the introduction of the AP Capstone program at Dutch Fork and Chapin High School.
“The AP Capstone is a set of two courses. The first course is called AP Seminar, and the second course is called AP research. Seminar the first semester, students work as a group and they have a research topic that they are supposed to define and present in,” research teacher Brittany Holden said. “So by the end of the year they’ll be working on individual projects, and that will lead into AP research, where they will individually work on projects.”
The program will break free of traditional classroom settings and curriculum, giving students the ability to choose the direction they want to go in.
“This program is beneficial to students because it has opportunities to allow students to study in the area that they would like to pursue after they leave high school,” senior Hayden Derrick said.
The skills the program offers, particularly in communication with classmates, colleagues, and peers, are appealing to some students.
“I would be interested in this program because I really would like to work on my communication with other people and learn how to interact with them,” junior Nameraha Thompson-Russell said.
The program consists of two Advanced Placement courses, Seminar and Research, and will take the place of Honors Research, which is currently offered at Dutch Fork to STEM students.
“I think it’s going to be great. Students already in honors research should be obtaining AP credit, and this will allow them to open that door and get ahead in college,” Holden said.
The rigorous curriculum carried by AP classes is a turnoff to some students.
“I wouldn’t be interested, not because I wouldn’t like the challenge, just because I have a lot of other stuff I have to do, and I have a lot more work that I have to do without that class,” senior Alyah Hancock said.
Differing from other more structured AP classes, the Capstone program offers a flexible curricular content model with room for creativity and student input. The Research class will demonstrate student research and writing abilities through a 5,000-word scholarly research paper.
“Research would allow a student to pursue a topic that they would be interested in,” Hayden said. “I wish the school would give students the opportunity to do more independent studies.”
While the class will introduce a new learning environment in the classroom, students wish the school would give more opportunities outside of the traditional classroom.
“I wish they would offer more out of school opportunities, like the school doesn’t really allow much more besides the CATE Center, like more field trips and more hands on activities because we really don’t do that here,” Alyah said.
When looking for classes, Hayden wants to make sure he gets the most out of the subject.
“I want the class to give me a real life application and not just material that I memorize and then later forget,” Hayden said.
The introduction of the AP Capstone program looks to elevate students thinking in an alternate learning environment.
“I think it would give students a great boost,” Alyah said. “It would challenge them to work harder and think smarter and it’ll give them more work to do.”
The program is open to any student who is enrolled in at least one other AP course. It can be added to a student’s schedule through the guidance office.
“I think it would be good because research strategies are important in college,” Holden said. “Research is an up and coming field, and every content area you need to know how to research.”
I began writing news stories to enhance my writing and branch out into different fields. I was pleased with this story because it includes credible and knowledgeable interviews along with background research.
Full Circle: the Jason Barnes story
February 14, 2017 • view story on Fox Fusion
I enjoyed writing this feature because I watched Jason play growing up, so it was cool to talk to him. I have read Sports Illustrated my entire life, so I drew influence for this story from articles featured in that magazine.