Mind Over Matt Dives into Brain of Hopeless, Helpless Illustrator

by KAREN STEELE

      The lights were out. The entire auditorium was dark. Slowly, the lights came on... and lead Christopher Moran was asleep in his underwear, as was his nerdy subconscious counterpart, played by Sam Miller. McLoughlin's newest drama play is a hilarious comedy called Mind Over Matt.

     “It's been a really fun adventure, and it's a smaller cast than we've had before,” said Director Melissa Cunnington, comparing this play to ones in the past. “It's a little bit different than what we've done before, so it's exciting that we're attempting something a little bit more challenging for us.” In years past, she has had to work hard to find a play with enough parts so everyone in the drama class who wanted to be in the play could. For this semester's play, she tried something new: choosing a play with a small cast and opening up the opportunity for everyone in the school to audition.

      Despite all of the jokes cracked (along with the Star Trek references out the wazoo), Mind Over Matt offers the opportunity to take a much closer look at why people do the things they do. The different personalities of Matt (played by Moran) are personified by Taylor Johnson, Collin Green, Sam Miller, Marcos Saldaña, and David James, who, respectively represent Matt's responsible, vain, nerdy, curmudgeonly, and misogynistic sides. Together, the five personalities take turns controlling what Matt does and says, bearing similarities to Pixar's Inside Out, but with a very unique feel and atmosphere.

     The actors have put lots of effort into their play, as shown in their near-perfect synchronization when Matt hits his head on the table and all five of his personalities react at the same time. Both Saldaña and Miller put lots of time into developing the voices of their characters; Saldaña with a gravelly tone that sounds like it would hurt his throat and Miller with a constant, nasally whine. Moran did a great job keeping himself occupied while not distracting the audience during the soliloquies of the personalities, and Cynthia Ruiz (playing Rose) bravely had a glass full of water tossed at her.

     Katie Torres (Ms. Killian) dominated the stage with her powerful presence as she stalked back and forth, demanding the audience's attention as she delivers her icy lines. The cast also shares a sense of familiarity, like they all have known each other for Matt's whole life, proven when they march together in a drunken conga line and cracking up while making (terrible) puns. The role of Matt's cranky landlord, Mrs. Snyder (Grace Miller) reaps laughter, as does the friendly banter between the Devil and the Angel (Sandra Pereyda and Ashley Gardner), who take turns making good and bad choices for Matt.

     As always, this Mac-Hi play delivers, providing a chance for students to see their peers in completely different ways (i.e. in their underwear, drinking from sippy cups, wearing each other's underwear, and some butt-slapping). All in all, Mind Over Matt is another great performance by the Pioneers and Mrs. Cunnington, with props to the crew (Mackenzie Norton, Grace Merritt, and Cynthia Lozano) and Todd Cunnington for his continued willingness to help with stage setup.

Samuel Miller, seen tied up. Johnson helped, while James, Green, and Saldana stood by.

Torres places a gentle hand on Moran's shoulder while Saldana enjoys the view, and Miller, James, Green, and Johnson run away in fear.

Pereyda looks at Ruiz and Moran lovingly.

The entire crew: Lozano, Merrit, Ruiz, Torres, James, Samuel Miller, Moran, Johnson, Saldana, Green, Gardner, Grace Miller, and Pereyda. Not pictured: Mackenzie Norton.

Some memorable quotes:

• “Good morning, testosterooomies!” - Rose (Johnson)
• “Ms. Killian? More like Mrs. Kill-Her-Men!” - Dylan (Green)
• “Who do you think is the best [James] Bond?” - Matt, asking Penny (Ruiz), a potential love interest, the most important question
• “Halo everybody!” - Angel (Gardner) to Devil (Pereyda)
• “She wants to have our babies!” - Butch (James)
• “We're sorry... That your stupidity forced us to hurt you!” - Dylan

Omar Ornelas

by MARIA ORNELAS

You might have heard of the senior, Omar Ornelas, my older brother. When he’s not at school you might seen around town, or in Walla Walla in his red Lexus. After high school he doesn’t have any specific college or university in mind, but he does know what he wants to be. He wants to be a detective and work in crime scenes. A normal day in his life is waking up for school, going to wrestling practice, then afterwards going to the gym and working out. After coming home he’ll be in the garage working on other cars. He loves cars, and his favorite quote actually has to do with cars: “If one day speed kills me, don’t cry because I was smiling”.

His interest in cars came partially from our dad. Growing up, our dad was always working on cars after work, getting my two brothers to help him when he was remodeling the cars. Both of my brothers got interested in cars since they grew up around them. Once Omar started working, he could buy his own cars and fix them up however he wants, and as he did that, his love for cars grew more intense. As of right now, getting a nice turbo is his only plan for his car. Omar said he loves cars so much because of “how beautiful they are.” During Homecoming week, I remember Omar telling me, “Dress up for all the homecoming dress down days, because that sh** flies and you’ll regret not doing it.” But don’t assume that the only thing he cares about are cars; he always puts his family first. If you ever see him with one of his siblings or parents, you’ll see the real Omar.

'Día de los Muertos' Meets Shakespeare

by KAREN STEELE


All of the lights were out in the Powerhouse Theatre in Walla Walla. The faint sounds of scuffling feet could be heard on the stage as the actors got into position. Once the lights turned on, they were frozen in place, their bodies and painted faces telling a story.

The story was told in English first by a member from the Powerhouse crew, and then in Spanish by Sandra Pereyda. It was the story of a king, portrayed by Marcos Saldaña, who ascended to the throne through murdering his brother. Taylor Johnson played the ghost of the prince’s father, the true king of the land. These images of the frozen actors are called tableaus. Some of them were moving slowly. In one scene, the prince stood above his uncle, knife poised, and they slowly shifted to the next scene where the king fell on his side as the prince lowered his weapon. Other props were used during the performance, such as swords during a battle, crowns, goblets, and jester hats to add color and vivacity to the play.

“It was fun and exciting,” said Camille Riley, a Junior. Although she has been involved in community plays in years past, this is her first semester in Drama with Mrs. Cunnington. “I enjoyed performing in a new and somewhat difficult way. While on stage, I got to learn a bit more about the Day of the Dead.” She went on to describe how much fun she had.

Collin Green, who performed the role of the prince, stated that it was “interesting to go at Hamlet from a different perspective.”

Although our Drama Club was only involved for the one night, the theatre was full, the audience was captivated, and the growing thespians will remember this night for years to come.

Thank you to Melissa Cunnington for letting her use her pictures.

Band & Choir Concert

by CASEY HALE

October the 29th. The band played and the choir sang. Beginning with the Mac Hi Jazz Band, they rolled on to the stage and played their tuning note. Mr. Agidius signaled for the band to begin playing and play they did. The band began with Uptown Funk which featured upbeat, fun solos, and the lively song awakened the audience from their trance of boredom. With the spectators alert and attentive, the band began their slower and calmer songs, the first of which was Sugar, followed by Angel Eyes. Finally finishing with Backatown a new song in the world of jazz by an artist called Trombone Shorty. Then, the band left, having amazed the crowd.

Choir members wandered onto the stage and sang Music In You, Night Winds, Pictures Of Fall, and Clap Your Hands And Sing. Then, the Crimson & Black choir strolled on stage and serenaded the audience with Voices of the Night. They then energized the spectators with the vibrant song Run, Mary, Run. While filled with the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve, Mrs. Cunnington began the song The Lake with words by Edgar Allan Poe. The concert ended with the song Shout Glory, a piece inspired by the Bible.

All in all, a beautiful night provided by the hardworking, music-loving students from McLoughlin.

The Court of Appeals Appears at Mac-Hi

by KAREN STEELE

For the first time in the history of Eastern Oregon, a legitimate Court of Appeals took place in McLoughlin’s Jack Williams Auditorium.  Three court judges, two public defenders, and one prosecutor entered Tuesday morning, along with a bailiff and police escort. What happened on stage was nothing like anything you’ve seen on TV.

One of the two important things to understand is that this is not the “heroic defense attorney vs evil prosecutor” cases that you see on cable programming. Secondly, this was a real Court of Appeals session. It was the real deal, not a fun reenactment just to entertain high schoolers.

Some background information: before the Court gathers, the kind of typical court action that you’re used to seeing has already happened. The defendant has already been declared ‘guilty’ by the judges and the jury. If said defendant feels that the verdict is unfair or biased (or verdicts, if they are being tried for multiple charges), an appeal is filed. Basically - imagine a four-year old whining “it’s not fair!” This is also called a complaint. If deemed to be a viable complaint by a panel, the appeal moves on to the Court of Appeals.

The three judges (Judges Rex Armstrong, Erika Hadlock, Jim Egan; seen at left, in order) gather, along with the defendant’s attorney (in these cases, Mark Brown and John Evans) and the state prosecutor (Prosecutor Shaw). The defender has 10 minutes to explain the background information to the judges and then explain the points that their client has complained on - the ruling is unfair, the charges are biased or unjust, this piece of evidence was ignored, etc. Then the prosecutor takes the stand for 15 minutes and explains why the appellate court gave this ruling. For the last five minutes, the defender counters the prosecutor’s points and justifies them for their client’s sake. At the 30-minute mark, a red light goes off and the defense leaves the stand.

Not super exciting, but still intriguing. After hearing over ten of these on a typical day, the judge returns home, and, sometime over the next month, writes up an opinion, where they explain if they feel that the previous ruling was accurate, or if it should be appealed (removed, taken back, recalled). If two or more of them decide that the complaint should be appealed, they meet up and write an official opinion and turn it in. And the cycle continued.

The published opinions from the Court of Appeals on October 27th can be found at this website: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/Pages/OpinionsCOA2015.aspx.

The New Pioneer Mercantile

by ANAHI CASTILLO & JENNIFER RAMOS

What is the Mercantile about? This program helps Mac-Hi students with disabilities find job training in and out of school.  

They make and sell goods such as cookies, candy, and coffee, which you can find in the cafeteria every morning before school. The price for the cookies is .50, and the coffee is one dollar for plain, $1.25 with flavoring for small, $1.75 for a large plain, and $2.00 with flavoring for large.

Some of the students who help in this program are Alex, Ana, Francisco, Angie, Kayley, and Josh. These students have been working really hard to make this program successful.  Some of the jobs they do are go to the preschool and help in the cafeteria at Central Middle School and McLoughlin High School.

Students also get paid for the time they work once every two weeks. The money that they make goes towards buying new supplies and saving up for the field trip to Portland for students that provides an opportunity for these hardworking students to be included.

Thanks to Mrs. Greer and Lisa. This program has been a great opportunity for these students.

Mac-Hi's New 'Text Alert' System

by DARBY FRESKE

Looking at the school's official website, I noticed that they have added a new way to contact your parents. They now have what is called a text alert, and it’s when they text your parents instead of calling when you are absent. So, if you are one of those kids who just delete the message or your parents aren’t

home, watch out! Parents have an option to opt into getting the text, and this will go into effect at parent teacher conferences.
The school decided that it wasn’t very effective to call the homes of students because of parents not getting home to hear it or to answer the call. For a parent to opt out, they will have to tell the teacher or the school. If your parents are going to the conferences on Monday and Tuesday, then they will be hearing about it and or being taught about online grade checking. Too many kids think this seems unnecessary or ridiculous, but this is needed. Colleges look at attendance records, and it may have a huge effect on you. Parents can get into trouble if you aren’t showing up to class, so go to class. Remember, at conferences parents will be informed about the text alert, and online grade checking.

What a Bunch of Turkeys

by BECKY HAMMILL

     When you hear the word “Thanksgiving,” you most likely think of family and a table full of food. And it’s exactly that. Although Thanksgiving goes all the way back to 1621. it wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day to be held every November.
   

     The Thanksgiving traditions most Americans have are the serving of a big turkey (with the occasional ham), playing/watching football, parading (the NYC Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade started in 1927), making a wish by breaking the turkey’s wishbone, and of course, giving thanks. The whole reason for Thanksgiving was to take a day to just relax, eat good food, and think about all of the things you’re thankful for (hence the word “thanks” in Thanksgiving).

  So, relax on Thanksgiving, and really take the time to be thankful for what and who you have. I know I will.