Have you ever wondered what it really takes to set up prom? Well, it takes more than you think. It takes a lot of time and effort to make things suitable for the students and their dates. They try to make it as comfortable as possible to please our student body.

This year's theme still hasn’t been decided, but they do have themes in mind, including “The Greatest Showman,” “Red Carpet,” “Masquerade,” or “Galaxy.” Normally the prom committee comes up with the themes, but Junior Class sponsor Mrs. Kami Eddington sometimes goes around and asks for the opinions of some juniors around school. Tickets cost $35 for Mt.Vernon students and $50 for outside dates.

Funding for prom comes from fundraisers and ticket sales. The more they can raise, the more fun they can provide for those who attend. Normally, the volunteer prom committee plans and sets up the prom.

Mrs. Eddington, head of the prom committee, says “It takes A LOT of money to organize prom: about $10,000." It takes a lot of time too. "It takes two hours to set up the night before and then five hours to just get everything looking nice and organized. I start planning throughout the year, but most of the time it’s around Christmas Time and January.” Of all the items needed, the food costs the most, followed by the venue and decorations.

Prom is fun and all, but it takes a lot of work to put on. Hours on hours of setting up and a lot of money is put in to make the students have the most fun possible. Everyone who goes to prom should remember to thank Mrs. Eddington, Mrs. Sampson and the prom committee for all the time and effort they put into planning this memorable night.

High school is not only about school work. It's also about making memories with your closest friends, becoming part of a club or team, and engaging in the high school spirit of MVHS.

“These are our years where we are starting to become who we are,” says senior Jairit Randolph, who says he will miss high school after he graduates. Senior Lorena Farrell has enjoyed a big change this year: “There has been a lot of drama and later in school you start to see people change.” As the saying goes, your closest friends can become your biggest enemies. That’s not always the case in high school. Your closest friends can become closer during your high school years.

Senior Danielle Bovee says she feels ready for adult life: “I’ve planned ahead a lot and thought it all out and saved LOTS! It will be a struggle, but everyone grows up at some point.” She is right about everyone having to grow up. You can’t stop yourself from going into the adult life.

Seniors are already planning ahead for what colleges they want to go to. Kate Catimgang says, “I have planned to go to Ozarks Technical Community College.” Adriana Farrell will join her there, but she plans to transfer later. “It’s good to plan ahead for what colleges you would like to go to. You need to have multiple choices though so you can find the best one,” Adriana explains.

High school is supposedly the best four years of your life, making memories of the good times with your friends. You can have that at college, too. You don’t have to stop having fun when you enroll into college. You can make new memories with new friends.

The Mount Vernon Mountaineers’ football season came to a bitter end after playing the Seneca Indians during the semi-finals round. They started the season with a perfect record and closed the season by losing the game against the Indians. Overall, the Mountaineers’ won 10 games and lost 1.

The Mountaineer football team put a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears into the season. They stood their ground and put in the effort to keep the team going. At the end of the day, “Seeing my player have success,” says Khelon Hayes, the lineman coach for the team, “is the most rewarding part.”

On Nov. 1, the Mountaineers hosted the quarter finals against the Nevada Tigers, winning the game 33-6.

The next week, the Mountaineers’ played the Seneca Indians for the semi-final rounds, again at the Mountaineer Stadium. During the first quarter, neither team scored any points. In the second quarter, the Indians made a touchdown and a field goal while the Mountaineers stayed at zero. During the third quarter, each team made a touchdown, bringing the score to 6-14. In the last quarter, the Mountaineers made a touchdown, but didn’t achieve a conversion, leaving the score at 12-14.

Though we didn’t win, the Mountaineer fans are proud of the diligent football team.

Mountaineer basketball season is quickly approaching. To begin the season, the Lady Mountaineers played at the Webb City Jamboree on Nov. 19. Their first regular season games will take place beginning tomorrow and ending Dec. 7 at the Carthage Invitational. The junior varsity and varsity girls’ first regular season game against Neosho will be at home Dec. 9.

The Mountaineer Boys Basketball Jamboree was held Nov. 22. The junior varsity basketball team first showcased their talent at the Strafford JV Tournament in Strafford , which ends Dec. 7. On Friday, Dec. 6, the boys varsity, junior varsity, and ninth-grade teams will play at Nevada.

Mount Vernon's Show Choirs performed at their first competition on Nov. 16. Vocal Motion placed top in the 3-A division, and Velocity placed second out of two schools in their division. Velocity member Emily Mathews tells the Green & White Review that Feb. 2 marks the true beginning of show choir season.

While the choirs were strong last year, ”... the choirs are stronger than last year,” explains Mathews explains. Even though the groups are stronger, Mathews is worried about her duet. “I’m not confident enough to get up there and sing in front of people yet,” she remarked.

“[Show Choir is] something I love. I love singing and I love dancing and the combination of both just makes me happy,” said Mathews.

However, what’s so great about the groups? “Velocity is a huge family and we work well with each other,” said Mathews. The choirs will continue to grow together and make progress over the coming season.

Every December, we celebrate our fellow man. Not just with the holiday season, but with the anniversary of several human rights landmarks. The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on Dec. 5, 1955, and ended over a year later on Dec. 20, 1956. On Dec. 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a result of that declaration, Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day, and December as a whole is celebrated as Human Rights Month. A fitting title, isn’t it?

Today, let’s take a step back and explore the most famous Civil Rights Movement events of all time, in honor of the hard work of the people that fought for the equal rights of all humans.

Now, some may ask why it’s important to learn about the Civil Rights of the past. To answer that, we turn to Mr. Mike Ray, who teaches American History. Mr. Ray believes that is this important for us all to learn. “I think we need to learn the history of all the people that make up America. You know, as a history teacher, most history is from the standpoint of White America, and women and other minorities sometimes get left out, and I think that’s not right, that’s not the real history. So the more we can explore and learn about it, the better off we are.”

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t because she was tired from long hours at her job. If she was any kind of tired, it was tired of being discriminated against because of the color of her skin, as she later said. She was arrested and fined. Shortly afterward, black civil rights leaders began organizing the boycott.

Within days, 40,000 riders boycotted the busing system, a boycott that would end up lasting until their demands were met. Initially, all they wanted was to reform of the bus system. The seating would be on a first-come-first-serve basis, and black drivers would be hired. Eventually, a group of five women sued the city in U.S. District Court, hoping to have the bus segregation laws invalidated.

Despite the fact that most of the city’s bus riders population were black, the city was loathe to meet the protesters' demands. In order to keep the boycott sustainable, the leaders of the movement organized carpools, and African-American cab drivers charged African-American passengers 10 cents, the same price as the bus fee. A large number of boycotters simply resolved to walk from place to place. The leaders also organized several meetings with the goal of keeping attention focused on the boycott.

On the afternoon of Dec. 5, 1955, the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed. Martin Luther King Jr., a pastor at a Montgomery Church, was elected president of the MIA. The boycott put King in the spotlight and eventually made him the face of the movement. His death on April 4, 1968, was not the first assassination attempt against him. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a bomb was defused at his house. Yet he, like so many others, kept fighting for his rights.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a catalyst in many ways. It was in many ways the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, it put Martin Luther King Jr in the spotlight of the movement, and it changed the US in ways still evident today.

“[O]viously, our country has gone through a major transformation, 2008 with the election of Barrack Obama as an African American president,” explained Mr. Ray. He also mentioned that the Montgomery Bus Boycotts were roughly forty years ago. Historically speaking, that’s a pretty short time for a society to change so much.

“But I think at the same time," Mr. Ray added, "what’s kind of sad and what’s kind of scary is that there have been a lot of people who upon seeing these changes have kind of dug in, and you start to see more, I think racism and prejudice now becoming more blatant. People are kind of striking back against the progress. So, you know, we may be heading towards another situation where, you know, those things come out in more of a violent way, unfortunately.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has little to do with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After all, it predates it by almost two decades. Instead, it was created in response to the horrors of Nazi Germany, and the slaughter of 11 million people.

The document is approximately 1883 words long. The Declaration contains a preamble and 30 articles. It has been translated into over 500 different languages. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines what inalienable rights belong to all man. Everything from slavery to political asylum to torture to privacy to marriage are covered.

Although some countries abstained from passing it, the Declaration ended up becoming one of the first documents the United Nations passed. It also provides a standard for which the UN to judge whether or not a country is committing human rights abuses, and it gave countries something from which to base their laws. This way, they could protect the rights of almost every person.

Technically, the document has no legal power. It is not an official treaty. The Declaration is only guidelines. But over the years it has become referenced and utilized so much the document is considered a part of customary international law. There are also several legally binding documents that have their basis in the Declaration.

Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the main proponents behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In fact, she was the chairman of the UDHR drafting committee. At the time, the world was still reeling from WWII and the atrocities committed by the Nazis. The Human Rights Commission consisted of 18 people from around the globe and wildly different walks of life. The writer of the first draft and member of the Commission, Rene Cassin, was a Frenchman. It took two years for the final draft to be completed. That said, Mrs. Roosevelt is widely recognized as the driving force behind the adoption of the Declaration. She fought long and hard for that document.

The Declaration has become essential in the UN’s pressuring of countries to reform and become less oppressive. If the UN did not keep pressuring South Africa, it is unlikely that the nation would have ended its collection of racially based laws, commonly known as Apartheid. At least, they wouldn’t have ended as early as they did. Without a clear definition of what constitutes a human rights abuse, the trade sanction against South Africa might not have been placed, and millions of people would still be under systematic oppression.

That is why countries in the UN such as South Africa and the Soviet Union abstained firm passing the Declaration of Universal Human Rights. They wanted to keep the power they had over their people.

We can learn a lot from people who fought for the rights of people who were oppressed. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s may be separated by cause and time period, but there is one lesson we can take from the people behind both moments in history.

As Mr. Ray said, “I think you need to learn from those type of people, that at some point we all have to take a stand. You know, Rosa Parks was kind of a quiet woman, you know, not one that you would be your stereotypical, to kind of stir a civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr was a young pastor, kind of thrust into this. Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman who, if you read her life story, was kind of shy, introverted, and… But they found their calling and were willing to step out into the public eye and take a chance for what they believe in. And that’s kind of what our country was founded on.”

A 22-year-old Hong Kong student named Alex Chow died after falling from a car park ledge during a protest. He fell and ended up in a comatose state on November 4. After his death was announced November 8, impromptu vigils and protests in his name immediately commenced. People flooded his college campus. Thousands have mourned him.

For those not in the know, Hong Kong was a British colony for a long time, and as such enjoyed greater freedoms than the rest of China. On July 1, 1997, it was given back to China, with promises that it would be under a “One Country, Two Systems” situation until 2047. This way, Hong Kong is to continue with a capitalist economy and to continue to have freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly and more.

Recently, protests broke out over a bill that would allow local authorities to extradite fugitives wanted outside of Hong Kong to places Hong Kong does not have extradition treaties with. The bill’s critics say this could become a form of “legalized kidnapping.” Young protesters, protesters like Chow, have expressed worries about what life will be like in the Hong Kong of 2047 if this is how things are now.

This is not the first time the people of Hong Kong have had objections to laws mainland China has introduced. Nor will it be the last. This is, however, the first time it has caused such massive protests.

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Hearings over the impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump began Nov 13, when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff gave opening remarks before Congress. There are many developments, some of which incriminate Trump, others not so much. Trump has said he will strongly consider testifying in writing to give his version of events during the impeachment probe.

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Deer shot and killed by hunters in Southwest MO are getting tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

To refresh, CWD is a prion-based illness that is highly infectious and affects deer, moose, elk, and other related species. The disease causes the infected animal’s brain and nervous system to degenerate heavily. This causes emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions, and eventually death.

This disease can also cause human deaths as the infected animal loses its fear of people and is more likely to cause a car accident.

If someone is hunting this deer season, it is highly advisable that the remains of any deer they kill are tested at the nearest participating Missouri Department of Conservation office, the nearest participating taxidermist, or the nearest participating meat processing facility.

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The Island nation of Samoa closed schools indefinitely on November 18 after a measles outbreak killed at least six. At the time, there were at least 716 cases recorded and over 100 people hospitalized. As of publishing, those numbers have risen. There are at least 53 confirmed deaths, 50 of which have been children. In another move to combat this epidemic, the government has banned children from public gatherings.

Measles on its own isn't too deadly, but it can cause serious complications in children. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those complications include pneumonia, ear infection, diarrhea, lifelong deafness, and permanent brain damage. Measles is also highly contagious. It can be spread from person to person via air particles.

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Nine-year-old child prodigy Laurent Simons of Belgium is set to graduate from a university later this month. He is studying to get a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Once the kid does that, he plans to take a gap year and go to Japan. After that, he plans to move on to a Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering while also studying for a medical degree. He apparently wants to spend his life developing artificial organs. His IQ is reportedly at least 145, but he has this ability to just take in knowledge like a sponge, as his teachers describe it. He has attracted offers from universities all over the world.

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President Trump became the first sitting president to attend NYC’s Veteran’s Day Parade. He gave the opening remarks. The parade is a non-partisan event and its organiser prohibit using the parade to promote a political agenda. For the last two years, however, he skipped out on Veteran’s Day celebrations. One event he missed was a visit to a cemetery in France due to rainy weather. He also missed a visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Veteran’s Day for similar reasons.

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There has been an outbreak of Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, in China. It is reportedly the most deadly strain of the disease. The third confirmed case was a man of 55 who got it from hunting and eating a wild rabbit.

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A common link has been found in vaping-related deaths: Vitamin E Acetate. The ingredient is put in THC flavored vapes to make the cartridges last longer. Twenty-nine patients with vaping injuries had samples of their lungs tested, which revealed large concentrations of the acetate.

Meanwhile in Detroit, an otherwise healthy, athletic seventeen-year-old with vaping injuries had a double lung transplant. This is believed to be the first vaping-related double lung transplant. His doctor, who has performed lung surgeries for 20 years, said that the inflammation and scarring in the boy’s lungs were “like nothing that I have never seen… It was an evil that I hadn’t faced before.”

'Tis the season to strike out seasonal depression

By Karrington Lutes

“The holidays are a wonderful time for families and friends to get together and celebrate, but it is also a time for individuals to reflect on loss. “ said Ms. Stephanie Smith, the high school’s counselor. The loss can cause the jolly holidays to become not so merry, leaving the person in a never-ending holiday slump.

What can students do to help out a fellow person or student? Ms. Smith says to “make sure to include others in everyday plans at school. If you see someone off by himself/herself, invite him/her to join your group. If he/she refuses to join, make sure a trusted adult is aware that the student is choosing to isolate himself/herself."

"The individual needs to possibly spend some time outside each day, eat a well-balanced diet, and get plenty of exercise.” advised Ms. Smith.

While students need to be aware that this issue is in our school, they must be able to know the signs. Some signs are, “depression, withdrawal from peers/friends, overeating or loss of appetite, fatigue, trouble concentrating,” according to Ms. Smith. If students see or notice these signs they should try talking to them, or consult an adult.

“Both genders can experience seasonal depression, but according to Medical News Today, women are much more likely than men to experience seasonal depression in the winter months,” states Ms. Smith. However, let’s not let the sadness take another cheery holiday from a fellow student. Let’s spread the positivity to them instead.

What are you most afraid of?

Clowns? Heights? Spiders? Confined spaces? Being alone? Talking in front of a crowd? What about the dark?

All fears have a deeper meaning. For example, most of the time, people are afraid of clowns because the makeup hides their identity and their emotions. The makeup also resembles that of a person, but it is slightly off. Also, in society, clowns are portrayed as a frightening entity. This is shown in the movies IT, The Terrifier, Poltergeist, and Stitches.

There could also be reasons for someone having nyctophobia, or a fear of the dark. They could just be more afraid of what is in the dark or what could happen while in the dark environment. If someone had acrophobia, or fear of heights, they are most likely just afraid of falling from that height and getting hurt. Fears can also be formed from what has happened previously in that person’s life.

This shows that there is more to people than what is shown. People make it seem like they have a hard surface and don’t get offended easily. With some people, that may be the case, but with other people, they just hide their sensitivity better.

Some people hide the pain and suffering in their life. Most of the time you don’t know what their home life is like or how they get treated.

You shouldn’t judge someone based on their appearance. They can’t change it. You don’t know the struggles they had to get through or how much things they’ve had to deal with.

Rick Riordan, one of my favorite authors of all time, is often called “The Storyteller of the Gods.” That moniker comes from his spectacular work writing young adult fiction about the gods of Greek Mythology in a modern-day setting. He also has two successful series about Egyptian myths and Norse myths, and two sequel series dealing with the Roman interpretations of the Greek gods and a god's fall from immortality to humanity.

A lot of his fans would love to see his take on the other various mythologies of the world, from the myths of the Aztecs to the legends from Japan. But he doesn’t. Instead, he started Rick Riordan Presents. He puts his name and praise on the cover of the book of a lesser-known author and they get the publicity associated with his name.

But it’s their work, and often their heritage. They do basically the same thing. They take the stories of old and bring them into the modern world. But it’s their culture. They have a personal connection to those stories. They grew up hearing them.

I think that’s one of the coolest things ever. He specifically said he wouldn’t write those stories because he felt the people who had a connection by blood deserved a chance to tell those stories. For example, the book Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is about a young African-American boy who punches a hole in the sky.

Tristain then falls through to another world where he teams up with African-American folk heroes such as John Henry to convince the trickster Anansi from African mythos to fix the sky. The author is African-American. That’s his culture, his heritage.

There’s more to the story than that, but I don’t want to spoil it. It’s good, you should read it. Rick Riordan doesn’t just let any writer have Rick Riordan presents slapped on their book. They’re all good writers.

A lot of people don’t know this, but the story of Percy Jackson started as a bedtime story for Rick Riordan’s son. I’m paraphrasing here, but he wanted his son to feel like literature could include him, a child who had ADHD and Dyslexia, like most demigods in Rick Riordan’s world.

Over time, that expanded to include other people. Gay, Genderfluid, Black, Chinese, it didn’t matter. I think what happened was he saw how happy his son was to see someone he connected to so easily. And he realized that other people wanted to feel like that too. That’s part of what I think made Percy Jackson so successful. And why Rick Riordan’s writing continues to be amazing.

There is no feeling quite like looking at something in the mainstream media and connecting to it instantly because it’s a part of your birthright. That’s the feeling I got while reading Percy Jackson. I connected the most with Annabeth at first, but then a character by the name of Nico Di Angelo was introduced. I always loved Nico.

His pain was so understandable, and his transformation from a happy little geek to a pessimistic goth geek that was almost heart-wrenching at times. I connected with that instantly because I too had my optimistic view of the world shattered a young age. I too had to grow up too fast because of circumstances beyond my control. I too have been grappling with the repercussions of that for years.

There is no feeling like seeing your heritage and culture in the mainstream media. Nothing comes close to being able to look at your favorite stories and say, “That person, that hero, is just like me.” That’s the feeling I get when I read about Greek myths or Macedonian heroes, because that’s my dad’s heritage, which is by extension mine. That’s something future writers need to learn. It isn’t just a good strategy to sell more books, it’s a way to bring joy to countless people. It’s a tool to fight discrimination.

Trends from the past are supposed to stay in the past, right? Well, recently we have seen them take a leap into the modern age. Things such as “scrunchies, messy buns, baggy jeans, ripped jeans, mullets, [and] crop tops” have made their way back into the modern age, says Nevaeh Souders.

While no one is quite sure why these trends are coming back, they are seen in a lot of places. “School, social media,” explained Souders. These trends didn’t start coming back until, “a year ago,” she guessed.

The trends may have had a jump start now, but fashion is always changing. “No, because it won’t be a big trend then,” stated Souders when asked if she would be seen wearing these far into the future.

That said, students should enjoy and appreciate styles from the “good old days”, and possibly adapt to the change.