Filling Orono with lots of love

Ellie Fasbender

Editor in Chief

Valentines day, love it or hate it, every year on Feb. 14 you will see red, pink, and purple hearts, chocolate everywhere, and little cupids flying all over. Valentine’s day is meant to symbolize a person’s love for either their significant other, or even a friend.

Movies, card shops, and candy stores advertise this holiday just as heavily, if not more, than Christmas. Almost immediately after seeing reindeer and santas everywhere it flips the switch to Valentines Day. Candy is repackaged with hearts in red, purple, and pink wrappers that fill the aisles.

According to abcNEWS the holiday is expected to bring in about 18.2 billion dollars in sales. That would mean that each person spends around $136.57.

It’s become a tradition for the Orono Newspaper staff to create a video on some of Orono’s couples. This year the couples chosen to be in the video were Chad Mrachek and Kendall Mauer, Natalie Brockman and Nick Byrnes, Daniel Walker and Anne Marie Ross, Mckenna Crandall and Holden Scharf, Reece Clifford and Ella Klaers, Grace Berbig and Griffin Mohs, Darby Sween and Nick Messerli-Mohs, and finally, Josie Peterson and Jack Patterson.

The couples were asked a series of questions and a few tricky tests. The videos were the perfect combination of adorable and hilarious. In the video the viewer has the opportunity to get to know couples from all different grades. Each couple has been dating for a different amount of time and that really contributes to the hilarity of the video.

“It was fun to see how much Reece actually knew about me”. Sophomore Ella Klaers said.

According to abcNEWS 54 percent of Americans are expected to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Of that 54 percent 20 percent purchase jewelry presents (one of valentines most common gifts). The estimated jewelry sales come to 4.3 million dollars every year.

“I thought it was really funny to she what she didn’t like” senior Chad Mrachek said.

Modern High School Dating Trends

Caroline Robson

News Editor

Many high school aged teens, typically ranging from 14 to 18, date or have dated while in school. This is nothing new or significant to any generation, as many of our grandparents were even high school sweethearts. The teen years are when kids are able to find themselves and start becoming mature and productive people. One significant difference that is apparent in today’s dating culture us the use of technology to meet and communicate with partners,

Snapchat, Instagram, and text message are all significant ways in which teens and most members of society communicate with each other these days. By following someone of interest on Instagram, or adding them on Snapchat, teens are able to make a first move in a very subtle, yet nearly effortless way.

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 25% of all high school students who have dated or been in romantic relationships in the past have met their significant other through some form of online communication. Looking back 30 years ago to the generation of our parents, this would not have been even remotely possible. The dating world has been forever changed, because it can take a lot more courage to go up to someone in person rather than hide behind a social media username.

Dating apps have also taken the world by storm. White typically reserved for ages 18 and up, many high school students still use apps like Tinder and Bumble. Tinder is the most common, being an easy way to swipe (indicating a like or a disinterest) based on someone’s appearance, name, and short bio. It makes finding a date significantly faster and easier, although maybe not a foolproof method for finding a soulmate.

At OHS many of these trends are very obvious and frequent. Many couples communicate throughout the day over text message and Snapchat, as well as being active on each other’s Instagram pages, liking posts and leaving comments. It can help many couples feel connected and involved with each others lives, and although it is impersonal forms of communication, it allows for more personal relationships because of the drastic increase of communication.