These sights have become so common some people just ignore the gestures as they pass a couple in the hall.

“PDA in the halls makes me ill and I need to carry a bag around with me because I get nauseous,” jokes Davidson as he perches on top of a tall chair, watching the students in the lunchroom.

PDA can be found all over BHS, few do it but, many see it. Are these couples completely oblivious to the people around them, or do they simply not care?

“PDA is okay in my opinion,” said one student at BHS who chooses to be openly affectionate in the hallways. ”My friends don’t really mind it and I like showing my affection.”

“We feel like it’s acceptable because most of our friends do it too,” said another couple.

According to the New York Times, people either show PDA to flaunt the strength of their relationship or to mask the weakness within it.

“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable when I see people show PDA, because I wonder if that is how my boyfriend and I look,” explains a student who frequently takes part in PDA.  

“I show PDA to show that I care about my girlfriend, that I pay attention to her and show her that she matters to me,” said an anonymous student.

The New York Times states that showing PDA is okay in some public places more than others. Studies have found that PDA is more acceptable in places of meeting or departure, places like airports or train stations. For most students, PDA during school hours is awkward for them but as soon as it’s time to leave school it’s more accepted.

“PDA is absolutely disgusting at school, but administration can’t stop it,” said Junior Ryan Miller. “Some students have to get some common sense and understand that sticking their tongues down each other’s throats is not appropriate.”

For Gerry Bakke it was a matter of pride, to know that he was still the checkers master, for the student, she just wanted the $100. A substantial amount of money, but one that had almost never been cashed out.

“I always said that if someone can beat me once in checkers it was luck, but very few had the skill and determination to beat me twice. For those who beat me twice I would give them $100,” said Gerry Bakke.

After a heated battle, the crowd stood in shocked silence… the student had won triumphantly! For only the second time in the student’s career had she beat Bakke, even after trying to beat Bakke twice for over more than 100 games. “There are rumors that she cheated, and took pieces off the board. I didn’t notice since my vision was going at the time, but I trusted her and let her enjoy her win,” laughed Bakke.

“Very few times have I been beat twice. For those who did beat me I gave them the $100 and congratulated them, but never, and still to this day, have I ever been beaten twice in a row,” he proudly states.

Bakke lived for making relationships with other people. He participated in all kinds of activities and always kept his students involved in and outside the classroom. He lived to teach and did that, not only through school work, but with fun activities like checkers. He taught his kids that almost anyone could be bought off with money and that people would do almost anything for money. He loved to come to school because he knew everyday something new and awesome would happen. He always had fun with his work because he had created those relationships with his students and could share those moments with them.

Since Bakke has retired from teaching, he still lives on his dream of becoming one of the best checker players. Bakke has won many checkers tournaments in the park and continues to play checkers everyday.

“To this day I still play online checkers every day,” exclaimed Bakke.

The state tournament was held at the Xcel Energy Center from February 25-27. Wrestlers from all over the state prepare year-round for the state tournament. Their ultimate high school career goal is to conquer the 16 man bracket and stand on the top of the podium.

For sophomore Jacob Scherber and junior Charlie Desmarais, this would be their first state appearance and something they have been looking forward to for a long time. Both Scherber and Desmarais have been in wrestling for over 9 years and have been wrestling highschool varsity for the past two years without a trip to state. This year they both finally made it.

“One of my goals for the year was to make it to state,” said Charlie Desmarais.

Returning to the State Tournament was senior Adam Treptau and freshman Riley Habisch. This was Treptau’s fifth visit to the state tournament and Habisch’s second.

The 4 Bison wrestlers and their coaches traveled down to the Xcel Energy Center Wednesday, two days before individual competition started. The wrestlers stayed in a hotel close to the arena, which is paid for by the Buffalo Wrestling Booster Club along with all food and other expenses.

“I liked how worry free the whole experience was. For the most part, we didn’t have to stress about anything besides wrestling. Everything else was provided for us. The hotel and meals we had were extremely nice and it made the trip even more memorable,” said Scherber.

Even though the coaches tried their best to comfort everyone, wrestling was still a big stressor for some wrestlers.

“I was super nervous for my first time down, everyone’s watching and there is a lot of pressure to perform your best from the fans, other wrestlers, and mostly yourself,” said Desmarais.

With more than 50,000 people watching at times, and a whole season of work on the line you can see why wrestlers get nervous. Scherber wasn’t affected as much,

“I just did what I normally did to prepare, I think for most people the bigger stage puts pressure on them to change but I wasn’t really affected by it. Wrestling in other big tournaments like Fargo helped” he said.

Despite the nerves the wrestling had begun. Charlie kicked off the Bison with his first match at state to Owatonna’s Cade King. Desmarais put up a fight but unfortunately lost 8-0 ending his season. The season also came to an end early in the tournament for Habisch and Scherber. Habisch lost to Mound Westonka’s Lee Schmalz 6-0 and Scherber lost soon after to Mounds View’s Rowan Morgan with a score of 6-3. All three wrestlers were disappointed with their performances at the tournament, but there was some good that came out of the whole event.

“I think I’d just describe the whole trip as a good learning experience. For Charlie and I, it was something we hadn’t done before so we were constantly learning how things work down there,” said Scherber.

“I was pretty disappointed with the trip, but now I know what to prepare for next time and how to improve” said Desmarais.

The last Bison wrestler that remained in the tournament was Adam Treptau. In the past Treptau has placed 5th and 3rd, giving him high expectations for this year. Treptau won his first match with a score of 10-0 over Stillwater’s Conner Weiss. He would then move on to face Evan Ronsen of STMA, a wrestler who he had already lost to twice this year. Treptau came up just short of the win losing to Ronsen 5-2 and was kicked to the wrestlebacks where he beat Andrew Hoffman from Chaska-Chanhassen 6-0. Treptau moved on to wrestle Faribault’s Felipe Ramirez to determine if he would go for 3rd place or 5th place. Ramirez beat Treptau 4-1. Treptau met with Ronsen again in the 5th place match and lost 11-4 to take 6th in the MSHSL State tournament.

“It was good. I didn’t really care what the outcome was. I just wanted to wrestle to the best of my ability and give it my all,” said Treptau

Buffalo High School has held wrestling as a sport for over 50 years. Buffalo has produced eight State Champions and countless State Qualifiers and Place Winners.

Every wrestler faces challenges just like any sport. Skin diseases and injuries can plague any wrestlers career. In wrestling skin diseases are just as common as broken ankles in basketball or concussions in football.

“Skin issues always have been and always will be a part of our sport,” said former Head Wrestling Coach Jason Maurer. “They oftentimes can be a very frustrating aspect of the sport. Someone could be undefeated going into the State Tournament and not be able to wrestle if they come up with a skin issue. The big thing is making sure mats are clean, showering, and wearing clean clothes. Prevention is key.”

Skin diseases are part of the sport and if a wrestler gets a diseases he or she becomes absent from the sport for a certain period of time, just like an injury would do to an athlete in any other sport. The only way to spread skin diseases is through contact, whether from direct skin to skin contact or if something has developed on the mat. This is why it is so important for the wrestler to sit out if they are affected with a skin disease, so the problem is quickly controlled and conquered before it can spread.

Buffalo High School, like all schools that participate in wrestling, have had to deal with skin diseases. Over the years diseases like pityriasis rosea, ringworm, impetigo, herpes, molescum contagiosum, staph infection, and others have occurred in the program. Most of these diseases can be easily dealt with with a trip to the doctor and a prescribed cream or pill and do not affect an individual outside of wrestling.

“We haven’t had many skin issues. I attribute that to the preventions we take to thwart off skin conditions,” said Maurer. “We have purchased wipes, mandate showering, do skin checks regularly, and clean our mats before every practice.”

Even with the added risk for a possible skin issue, many wrestlers believe it isn’t anything to worry about.

“To not do something you enjoy because of a small possibility of some negative outcome just seems foolish to me,” said Sophomore Jacob Scherber. “What it really all comes down to is that skin diseases aren’t the disgusting disorders that our culture portrays them as. They are just a simple and easily treatable inconvenience that is not all that different from any other sports injury.”

Just since last year the school lunch prices were raised by $0.05. Currently at Buffalo High School a basic school lunch sells for $2.75. Milk costs an additional $0.50 and there are many more foods and beverages that cost extra also. Prices start at $0.65, for extra foods like chips and fruit roll-ups, and can cost as much as $3.25 or more, for extra foods like beef jerky.

Generally, BHS students who were surveyed thought school lunches were too expensive compared to the quantity of food they receive. Students felt the school lunches were not worth 100% of the money that they were using to pay for them. Students believed that the cost was too expensive for the quality of food, and the portions aren’t large enough for what they pay. They also believed that the extras were too expensive because they could buy that same item somewhere else for cheaper.

“The food at BHS has gotten more and more expensive each year,” said Junior Josh Skarin. “We now have less options at more expensive prices since my sister was in high school [three years ago].”

An increase in school lunch prices can not only be seen nationwide, but also at BHS. These changes can most likely be attributed to the reform of school lunches and the movement to make them healthier.

“The BHM district has worked hard to raise nutritional value, while still keeping the prices affordable for families,” said a former Montrose Elementary school lunch lady. “This is a very difficult task for even the most pristine districts.”