Teacher Feature: Mrs.Mease
by: Sadaka Archie, Clubs Editor

    "I believe students are underestimated at Reading High School. They have potential and I want to help them succeed," states Mrs. Mease, a first year teacher at RHS, on why she decided to teach at the high school.
    With a degree from Albright College, Mease teaches five classes of Contemporary Society and one class of Government and Economics, which are social study classes. "In my Contemporary Society classes, we already covered AIDS and HIV. We are now covering marriage. During the fourth quarter, we will cover economics; how to get an apartment, for example," she explained of what basic topics her Contemporary Society classes discuss throughout the year.
     Not only does Mease teach six classes, she is also a field hockey coach. "The team has gotten stronger throughout the year. Even through difficult obstacles as a team, they came together." No one on the team has said to be a "standout". "They are all valuable players. There is not one extreme standout on the team. You need them all to play," stated Mease on the quality of teamwork.
    Reading High is a school that is known for its diversity. "I think it's a diverse situation that brings a lot to the classroom," Mease states on her views of RHS.
    For a last thought, Mease gave her advice to her students stating, "Do something productive once you leave RHS, be a good member to society. I want all my students to succeed." And for the Field Hockey team, "They kept their heads high throughout the season no matter what was thrown at them."

The Real Dracula Vlad Tepes
by: Jennifer Spirache, Staff Writer

   For many centuries' people lived believing Dracula was real when some believed he was just make believe. Here I tell you about the real Dracula known as Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula). Vlad was known as a person committing brutal punishment techniques. His father "Vlad Dracul", in Romanian language means "Dragon". Dracul was the prince of Wallachia (one of the three Romanian provinces). Vlad Tepes followed his father and lived six years at the princely court. In 1442, because of political reasons Dracula and his brother Radu were taken hostage by Sultan Murad II. Dracula was held in Turkey until the year 1448. The Turkish captivity surly played an important role in Dracula's upbringing.
   It was that period of time that he got drawn to a very pessimistic view of life. The Turks soon set him free after his father's assassination in 1447. During this time he also learned about his other brother's death. Mircea was tortured and buried alive by the boyars of Tirgoviste.
Years later Dracula became prince of Wallachia after he killed Vladislar II and took back his throne. Later Dracula established his capital at Tirgoviste. Till this day the ruins of his palace are still there also nearby is a statue of himself. Vlad is considered an important figure in Romanian history because he unified Wallachia and resisted the influence of foreigners. Despite his achievement he was also known for his cruelty. Dracula liked to set up a banquet table and dine while he watched people die. His favorite form of execution was impalement. That's where he got his name "Tepes", which in Romanian means "The impaler". This banquet was slow. It could take days to die. Vlad liked to impale many people at once, arranging the stakes in fancy designs. Nothing at all was too brutal for Dracula. He had the enjoyment of having people skinned, boiled alive, decapitated, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, roasted, hacked, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, etc. He also liked to cut off parts of people's bodies. The reason of these brutal encounters was because Dracula was also known around for his fierce insistence on honest and order. Any crime from lying, stealing to killing could be punished by impalement. He would also look upon the poor, vagrants, and beggars or thieves. He would invite all poor and sick to his court for a great feast. After the guests ate and drank Dracula ordered the hall boarded up and set on fire. No one survived.
   Dracula was a horrendous brutal man. Despite his cruel and savage reputation, Vlad Tepes is a national hero remembered by defending Romanians against invading Ottoman Empire. Which he might not be known as having fangs and sucking blood Dracula is real and history. A lot of his castles are still standing, one known as "Bran Castle" or in Romanian "Castelu Bran", located 14 miles outside of Brasov, Romania. Built in 1378 but heavily restored it proudly bears the tag of Dracula's official residence and is on every tourists must-see list. Even though this wasn't his official residence he would from time to time stay here.