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April first is for fools

Lee-Davis students join in on the April Fools fun

The month of April is a sure sign of spring time with Easter, May flowers, and of course Aprils Fools day. It is a day of laughter and pranks. Although it is not an official holiday, it is well known all over the world. It is “celebrated” in Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States. The idea of pulling pranks on friends can be seen as strange by some, which makes people wonder where such a tradition came from.  In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, there seems to be a misprint in the story saying that an event would take place on March 32. Obviously meaning April first; the joke has gone on since 1392.

  The light heartedness of the holiday is a good break from the stress of the year so far. Whether it be doing simple jokes, or a full out hoax like what BBC did in 1957. The well-known, British Broadcasting Corporation pulled an April fool’s joke on their viewers. BBC showed a fake news bit of people harvesting spaghetti off of trees. At that time spaghetti was not very well known in the U.K. so the public did not know how the Italian dish was made. Decades later CNN called this broadcast "the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled". BBC has gone on to do other jokes as well. In April of 2012 they released a story saying that the world had ended.

  Pranks are not just for April fool’s day though. Pranks are being pulled off by people all the time now. Late night talk shows have taken a stab at the practical joke world and have been successful. Ellen DeGeneres is notorious for pulling pranks on her guests,  such as Taylor Swift, who has been a target eight times. Whether it be scaring celebrities on the show or surprising people undercover, Ellen knows how to prank.

  In honor of April fool’s day Lee-Davis also pulled a few pranks as well. The French classes follow the French tradition called Fish Day, or Le Poisson d’Avril. On that day the French classes went around the school putting up paper fish on the walls, doors, and some signs as well. 

Another prank that happened was pulled on Mr. Salvato. Senior Allison Kellam, senior Alyson Curry, and senior Diana Nguyen decided to put sticky notes all around his class room. When Mr. Salvato came into his classroom on April first, he was in for a big surprise. Sticky notes covered the walls and an artistic, 8-bit sticky note version of Mario was on the walls.

  April fool’s day has been around ever since medieval times. It might not be an official holiday but people all over the world partake in it. It’s a good day to relieve stress and pull a harmless prank on a friend.

    - Photo Editor, Kylie Dotson.

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#MeninistMovement

What started as a joke is becoming more serious

  The definition of Feminism is one of the definitions that people tend to be very confused about. People are unsure if it’s that women want more than men, or if women want to be equal. It’s the latter, according to dictionaries everywhere. Now, there’s a counter movement against feminism: meninism. They call themselves “meninists” or “menimists.” Meninists used to be a term used for men that stood with the feminist movement, rather than against it.

  No one is too sure what meninism even is, especially since the whole idea of meninism started as a joke on twitter, becoming a popular hashtag quickly. However, based on some of the more serious tweets out there, most people can infer that these men are really just trying to get attention. They already have more rights than women, what else do they want?

  For starters, men are held to certain standards sometimes, but it is very different than the standards that women are held to, specifically because women are held to more standards than men, and the numbers of harassment and assault are bigger when it comes to women victims and men instigators, rather than other gender pairings.

  Another thing is that despite how women have come a long way, women still aren’t equal yet. They’re still paid less than their male coworkers, and they’re still getting sexually harassed and assaulted, and telling them how to not attract that type of attention, when the opposite should be done.

 Also, young women tend to be sexualized and told to cover themselves up, whilst men go through that less than girls do. Society is taking a huge step backwards when it has to teach young women to modify their behavior instead of teaching men to respect them.

 It’s also rather sad that the fastest way a guy will stop hitting on someone is to say “I have a boyfriend,” because he respects the man more than he respects the girl in that case. Another sad thing is that America as a society needs to make an ad for one of the most broadcast and watched events in the nation to show people that belittling a gender – or any type of separate group, for that matter – is not okay.

- Online Editor, Samantha Lett, and Staff Writer, Hailey Carter.

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White, Camo, and Orange - Oh My!

   Unfortunately, the football season has come to an end. But having a look back, the student section did not disappoint when it came to attendance in the stands. Whether it was a black out, camo out or the America out, the student section was all for it. Some of the themes were traditional, like the orange out for homecoming, or the camo out for the game against Hanover, are both traditions that the students still follow today. The reasoning behind the camo out for the game against Hanover is because it is “hawk hunting season,” and it’s been that way for a while. Another tradition is the white out for Atlee, and one more is the black out for the Tomato Bowl against Patrick Henry.

   “I really liked the America out because it was fun and I got to wear my red mask with my friends. Savannah Martin and Kaitlyn Hilliard had blue and white. It was really cool,” sophomore Ella Alvis said. The America out appeared to be a fan-favorite among students. Alvis also added that another reason why she liked the America out was because she is a “die-hard American”

   “The black out and the America out had the best reaction from the student section I think,” said history teacher and pride club sponsor, Ms. Vanlandingham. Some people have been asking who comes up with the themes for these games, and it’s  the pride club members. The energy from the student section would make the games more fun, and it brings all of the students together through a color or a pattern, showing a group as one. Sophomore David Stanley said the student body was very united during the black out.

   “I like the black out because it is very intimidating. Black is just an awesome color,” sophomore Latané Gilbert said. The student section was in good attendance that night.

   It is so important for the themes to be good, because it would bring a bigger crowd to the games. A study conducted by PsychologyEducator.com shows that a bigger crowd produces more sound to distract the opposing team. The loud sound distracts the other team which throws off the players. The themes are important because they bring people to add to the crowd to support our Lee-Davis confederates, and the loud noise of the crowd to distract the team against us. The more noise, the more distraction there is. A good theme will lead to a good crowd, which in the end will result in a good game.

   The Lee-Davis themes were a big hit this season, as one could easily tell. Hopefully, the themes next season will be amazing as well.

- Photo Editor, Kylee Dotson

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A FOURth hit?

The new One Direction album meets the expectations of fans

   From losing X-Factor to winning the hearts of millions of fans, hit band, One Direction, released a new album, FOUR, Monday, November 17. Diehard fans, however, have had the album for over a week. To the Directioners, the leak was no surprise. All of their albums have been leaked before, but this one is a little different.

  FOUR was put on shelves ten days earlier than it’s arrival date, allowing fans to swoop down and pick up copies on November 7. All the other albums were been leaked over the internet. Another difference between FOUR and the other three albums (Midnight Memories, Take Me Home, and Up All Night) is FOUR’s tracks are amazing all around – deluxe edition or not.

   Starting with track one, Steal My Girl, and ending with the deluxe track, Act My Age, FOUR has much better lyrics, and better beats. Steal My Girl makes the listener feel pumped, and it’s a great start to the album, especially since it’s one of the worst tracks on the album. Since it’s so good, the rest of the songs are sure to get minds racing with how great they are.

   Track four, 18, was written by Ed Sheeran, who has written other songs for the 1D boys in the past, such as “Moments” (Up All Night, 2011), “Over Again”, and “Little Things” (Take Me Home, 2012).

  Track seven, Night Changes, is a fan favorite, despite the fans craving upbeat songs to dance around to in their rooms, hairbrush in hand. Night Changes has been sung live a few times already, and one of those times has been an acoustic version of it. Night Changes is set to be the next single from the album, the music video for it coming out tomorrow, November 21. It is supposed to be released at 11:00 a.m. EST, and based on the teasers for that, it looks amazing.

  Track eight, No Control, is a jamming song from start to finish. It’s upbeat and the lyrics are amazing. The chorus doesn’t disappoint, and neither do the lads’ vocals, once again. The same goes for the track after it, Fireproof, which was released for free for 24 hours for promotional reasons. It’s slower, but not too slow, and the lyrics are meaningful. Both songs showcase the boys’ talents, especially fireproof with Zayn’s vocals. However, No Control, sounds so great that the following quote is one of the worst lyrics in the song, which is saying how great the rest of it is. “I can’t contain this anymore, I’m all yours I got no control, no control,”

  Track eleven, Stockholm Syndrome, is the second best song on the album, the best song being No Control. It’s about the title itself, which isn’t generally the case for a song with a title so obscure. The phrase "Stockholm Syndrome" means understanding or having feelings towards a captor, and the song named after that makes you feel captured by nothing other than it’s amazing beat and on point lyrics, so the title makes more sense than just the song. “(Oh) Baby look what you’ve done to me, (Oh), Baby look what you’ve done now. Baby, I’ll never leave if you keep holding me this way.” That's only an excerpt of that masterpiece.

 The last track of the album, Clouds, is an unsatisfactory way to end the album, though, because the beat isn’t as good as the rest of the songs, though the lyrics are nice. The only complaint about the album itself? The track Girl Almighty. It’s easily one of the worst tracks on the album, for the lack of thought in the lyrics. Most fans seem to not like it as much as other songs on the album, and it’s clear why, once you’ve listened to the album in it’s entirety, since all the other songs have better lyrics, and a better beat.

  To sum up all the deluxe songs, (Change Your Ticket, Illusion, Once In A Lifetime, and Act My Age) two are slow, and two are fast, and are all beautiful. Illusion and Once In A Lifetime seem to strike the heartstrings of all that hear them, and Change Your Ticket makes fans’ excitement rise instantly. Act My Age, however, makes most fans laugh, simply because the beginning reminds most of a pirate theme.

  Overall, this album, deluxe or not, is absolutely satisfying, and a fan could totally survive without the deluxe version of the album. Many fans, no matter if they waited the long, ten days or not to hear the album, are in love with the harmonies, music, and pure talent that have erupted from One Direction this time. Since it seems to be that they release an album every year, fans expectantly wait for something that will be even better than FOUR, though the extraordinharry album will surely tie them over for a year.

- Online Editor, Samantha Lett

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Frozen - We Can't Let it Go!

  Thousands of little girls dressed from head to toe in Frozen attire crowded the Richmond Coliseum on September 20, 2014 to see Disney’s Frozen on Ice. It has almost been a year since the movie premiered, and since then, Frozen has sold over a billion copies of the DVD and soundtrack worldwide, and the Frozen frenzy continues.  

   The opening of the show began with two announcers, who interacted with the audience and pumped up the energy throughout the Coliseum with fun dance moves and Frozen trivia. While most kids seemed to enjoy the stalling of the show, it seemed a little overbearing for older audience members.  

  Once the lights dimmed, the legendary Mickey and Minnie Mouse, along with Goofy and Donald, skated out and performed a quick introduction for the show. After they exited the ice, the show everyone came to see began.

  The first scene opened with Sven and Kristoff, similar to the first scene in the movie. The next couple of scenes with Anna and Elsa as younger kids were very touching. Throughout the show, creativity was key to embracing such an outstanding animated movie. The lighting and visual effects added a lot to the show. Many were curious to see how certain scenes in the movie would be portrayed onto the ice, but audience members were not disappointed.  

  Elsa’s powers had sparks flying and bursts of light entrancing the audience in her powerful performance of “Let It Go.” Elsa transformed from her winter cloak into a sparkly short dress during her song and kids in every direction sang along with her as she did leaps and twirls across the ice. Her castle was a small platform of clear “ice” that didn’t do justice to Elsa’s creation in the movie, but the point was made and it was more practical for an ice show with quick prop changes from scene to scene.

  When the happy little snowman, Olaf, entered the ice, the crowd went absolutely wild.  Audience members of all ages love the adorable and witty snowman, and he performed “Summer” with amazing enthusiasm.

  The monstrous snowman that Elsa created to protect herself was blown up on stage right in front of the audience so they could see the transformation from a small ball of snow into a big muscular snowman with spikes and claws. The trolls were in a very creative costume and they performed an enjoyable dance with a kick line to top it off.

  As for Hans, he finally gets what he deserves after revealing his evil motifs for pretending to fall in love with Anna. Sweet revenge comes when Anna gives him a good punch in the face.

  Overall, the transition from the movie onto the ice was enjoyable. Although the show didn’t quite capture Frozen’s original success on the screen, it provided a new way to appreciate the astounding script and relive the story.      

  The catchy songs and the very well developed characters combine to create a truly inspiring show. After such a star-studded performance, Frozen fans will never let it go.            

- Sports Editor, Justine Walton

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Ebola Epidemic

  The biggest Ebola outbreak recorded in history occurred in West Africa over the summer. Ebola is a deadly disease that targets the immune system, the organs, and causes severe bleeding from  the eyes, ears, and/or mouth. 90 percent of people who are infected end up dying. The disease started in Guinea and traveled to Sierra Leone, and Liberia. If untreated, this disease is fatal. Unfortunately, there are more ill patients than doctors available in these infected areas.

  Ebola is so highly contagious that doctors have to wear gloves, aprons, boots, and eye glasses just to prevent even the slightest drop of bodily fluids that can infect them. Afterwards, the protective gear they once wore must be disinfected or burned.

  Ebola was originally a disease found in bush meat, the meat of monkeys, and can be passed to humans from infected animals and their byproducts. It is also passed in unsanitary hospitals. Unfortunately, most hospitals in third world countries are not as sanitary as they should be. However, the most common way for any epidemic to spread is through human to human interaction.  

  This is an epidemic that the whole world has been watching and trying to fix. Over the summer, there were two Americans that were infected: Dr. Kent Brantly and missionary worker Nancy Writebol. There was discussion of whether or not they should come back to the United States. They were brought to Emory Hospital in Atlanta after being given an experimental drug. Brantly was the first American citizen to be infected with the sometimes fatal virus.  Since, there have been three more Americans infected with this disease, but have been quarantined in Emory Hospital.

   The CDC, or Centers for Disease Control, has said that by January, Ebola will have taken 1.4 million Ebola cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone alone. If this disease continues to grow, it might become a permanent part of the region and spread as commonly as the flu or malaria. As of today, there is no recorded cure for the disease. There is a way to slow down this epidemic from getting worse, however.

  "It is still possible to reverse the epidemic, and we believe this can be done if a sufficient number of all patients are effectively isolated, either in Ebola Treatment Units or in other settings, such as community-based or home care," Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. With this shred of hope of stopping this epidemic getting any worse than it already is, there might be a way to stop it.

   The US will now be trying to help keep the problem from growing. President Obama announced that the country would send 3,000 troops to Liberia to set up a military command center that would serve as a base to support relief operations in the region. The U.S. Department of Defense funded two companies that are developing drug therapies for Ebola, and is working with another company to develop an Ebola vaccine.

   The United States had its first case of Ebola on their own soil on September 30 in Dallas, Texas. The male American had left from Liberia without any symptoms, but four days later he was checked into Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The U.S. has isolated the man and isn’t going to discharge him until he’s recovered.  Being isolated is the first step to containing Ebola. The next would be to track down any other people who had contact with the infected person.

   For now, the biggest outbreak of Ebola is getting worse before it’ll get better.  The best advice is wash your hands, and don’t travel to West Africa.

- Photo Editor, Kylee Dotson

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Leggings, shoulders, shorts higher than five inches above the knee. All of these are items that are prohibited to be seen or worn at school. This is just a fraction of the restrictions that the student body faces, and whilst this is intended for all of the student body, many are beginning to notice that this so-called gender neutral dress code isn’t so neutral after all.

  “I think the dress code is kind of sexist. The dress code penalizes women much more than men in my opinion. When boys wear a tank top, it is ‘Hey just don’t wear that again,’ where as a girl will get sent home or to ISS for wearing one.” junior Connor Spear said.

  Spear isn’t the only male to think this. Apparently, boys all over Lee-Davis think that the dress code is stricter towards females.

  “[Boys will be boys] is an excuse for when boys act in a childlike or animalistic behavior, when they’re not acting properly, it’s ‘boys will be boys,’” junior Robbie Barlow said.

 In today’s society, people are always evolving. Hillary Clinton could be the first woman president of the United States. We evolved from women being seen as maids and cooks of the household, to them being seen as people in power.

 “Historically, men dictate what is socially acceptable, and as long as you can remember, women were meant to be this perfect thing. Only in recent years, women have been given the same freedoms that men have. Even now, they’re still held to a higher standard than men are,” Barlow said.

 It is true that boys do have their own dress code rules they must follow. Sagging and hats are more enforced for the males, but they also must follow the rules that generally apply to only females. However, it does seem as though they only have to follow the two aforementioned rules, and it seems like females are held to a higher standard in the dress code - not just in general.

“I think they’re definitely a little hard on us with the dress code this year,” sophomore Autumn Robinson said. “People say ‘boys will be boys’, because boys are more immature.”

 One barely ever hears the phrase with the opposite gender mentioned. Saying “girls will be girls” is something that is rarely, if ever, heard in today’s society, let alone the halls of school.

“I think the dress code is stupid,” sophomore Hannah Martin said. “If guys get distracted by shoulders, then they should learn to control themselves.”

 It seems as though a girl gets the short end of the index card when it comes to the dress code, after all, girls are caught more often than boys are, and generally the girls can’t immediately fix the problem the way boys can.

 “Have you ever even heard of a boy going home due to the dress code? Girls get sent home for short shorts, but if boys sag, they just fix the problem right there,” senior Audrey Ladd said.

 It seems as though girls are held to a higher standard than boys in today’s society, between clothing choices to shaming of actions. However, boys seem to be getting a better education, considering the fact that they don’t have to leave class or call for new clothes, which is more distracting than the clothing itself.

- Staff Writer, Hailey Carter, and Online Editor, Samantha Lett.

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Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour review

The millennial of all pop stars graced the stage of the VerizonCenter in WashingtonD.C. on Thursday, April 10, and two Southerner staff members were lucky enough to be in attendance. Known for her raunchy performance at the MTV VMA’s, reinvigorating “twerking”, and lighting up on stage; Cyrus was everything you would expect and more.

The crowd featured people from every background and age. Whether you love or hate Cyrus, nobody could deny the energy pumping through the arena, or that Cyrus put on an amazing show. After a devastating week for the singer (her puppy Floyd passed away) and cancelling a short string of shows at the beginning of the week; Cyrus claimed she was “going to go all the way” with the crowd that night; and if she accomplished anything, she accomplished that.

Cyrus opened the show with the high energy title track of her album Bangerz and blew the whole crowd away with the extraordinary production value. With the music blasting, a picture of Cyrus’ face illuminated the giant stage, while a giant pink slide peeked its way out of Cyrus’ mouth, mimicking her iconic tongue. Then, Cyrus herself slid out from the mouth and onto the stage.  Dressed in a Liberace-esque leotard, Cyrus pranced around the whole stage with her parade of unique backup dancers and custom mascots. The most impressive aspect of the show had to be the videos playing behind Cyrus. Every song had its own unique music video; some even featured custom cartoon animations by artist John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show. The best video, graphically, had to be “Do My Thang” which visually represented everything the song meant. Her face appeared in circles, and morphed into several other pictures of her. The video is best described as a trippy collection of photos as a distorted representation of everything Cyrus stands for: being yourself.

Every part of the show was unique to Cyrus’ style; from her many costume changes to characters she brought on stage with her. During her performance of “FU,” a fluffy creature that can only be described as a giant, neon orange snuffleupogaus, crept onto the stage. What was so interesting about this creature was how it was operated, with one person moving its head from a pole, and another walking with its body. It was also amazing to watch how smooth it moved with Cyrus. Whenever she moved, so did it.

Cyrus showed off her amazing vocal chops when she went to back of the arena to slow the show down. She covered Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Lonesome When You Go” though many did not know the lyrics to that ballad. Cyrus also covered Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness,” bringing everyone in the crowd back. Then she covered her godmother Dolly Parton’s, “Jolene” which really showed just how talented the young star is.

For Cyrus’ final song, she pulled out all the stops, and came out in a white cutout leotard with a big bird yellow feather jacket. As she sang her song “Drive,” a hotdog started lowering from the ceiling, with all of her dancers wearing condiment costumes. When it finally reached the stage, Cyrus hopped on while saying “the louder you scream, the higher this thing goes,” causing the crowd to completely lose it as they hoped for Cyrus to swing above them. Cyrus finally left the show while riding her giant hotdog to the exit sign in the sky (as it played on the screen).

The whole night was full of excitement, and was extremely high energy, though the whole night led up to Cyrus’ encore performance of her two hit singles “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop.” During “We Can’t Stop” the crying outer space kitten made its appearance and sang the whole song alongside Cyrus, which brought the energy up to an outstanding level. After that, Cyrus left again, only to return for her epic final hit: “Party in the USA.” The song came with one final outfit change into an American themed sequined covered, you guessed it, leotard, with a rhinestone covered cowboy hat, Chanel purse, and her “hillbilly” teeth. Her backup dancers were dressed as national monuments; with two women dressed as a glittery Mt.Rushmore, her busty Amazon Ashley dressed as a sultry Statue of Liberty, and even a little person dressed as the Liberty Bell. There were blasts of confetti, an extravagant light show, and even a fireworks show.

The show was a ruckus party; the money got low, the DJ stopped, the music slowed down and everything got blurry. The entire experience can only be described as a collection of love, money, partying, and of course, twerking. 

- Entertainment Editor, Hannah Bruski

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And the winner goes to...

The second annual Mr. LD contest was held on April 29 in the auditorium, hosted by last year’s winner, senior Carter Mooney. The theme for this year was Candy Land. The spotlight hit the contestants as they walked out on to the stage. They did a dance to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” for their opening performance and after that they were introduced.

“We had four different practices; the first practice was an introduction for Mr. LD, the second was learning the dance, the third was practicing the dance, and the final practice was dress rehearsal,” senior Jace Garthright said.

The contestants included: seniors Chase Talley, Garthright, Randy Linkins, Austin Diehr, Junior Ordaz; sophomore Tyler Jones; and freshman Omeed Quarterman.

“I wanted to be a part of Mr. LD because it looked like a great way to make people laugh and I’m all about the joy of others. I feel like everyone was kind of nervous. I was a little, just because it was something I have never done before,” Garthright said.

There were a lot of things that needed to be done in order to prepare for the big night.

“I just thought about my moves and some funny things I could say that I knew the audience would enjoy,” Garthright said.

Throughout the night, the contestants participated in a questionnaire and the famous catwalk with their choice of teacher escorts.

“I chose Ms. Casey as my teacher escort because she is one of my favorite teachers. I had her last year for pre-calculus,” Garthright said.

As the catwalk finished, the audience were told that there would be a scream off to determine the winner. The audience screamed for the contestant that they wanted to win. After everyone finished screaming they waited in silence to hear the winner. And the winner was senior Jace Garthright.

“Once they said my name, I couldn’t stop smiling because it felt great to be cheered on by all of my classmates,” Garthright said.

The winner of Mr. LD is most likely to return the following year to host the next Mr. LD contest, but it is not set in stone considering that the winner this year was a senior. Jace will be more than happy to host it next year if asked, due to him going to VCU next year.

“My advice for future contestants is, first, be yourself. It may sound cliché or generic, but it’s the truth. Second, get the crowd on your side. Make them laugh and have a great time. And lastly, you have just got to work it on the stage,” Garthright said. 

- Staff Writer, Cheyenne Harris