BY LIZZIE DEADRICK

Redheads, gingers, carrot tops—whatever you call them, you can’t deny that this unique subspecies is getting a lot of attention lately. So, to gain some insight into Ginger life, we asked a few MHS gingers to answer some questions…

Do you like being a Ginger?
Maeve Harrington, Freshman: I haven’t known anything else, so I don’t really mind it. I think that the jokes can be funny and don’t bug me that much.
Rosie Ecker, Junior: I do now! Freshmen and sophomore year were rough because all upperclassmen love to pick on the redheads.
Nick Butcher, Senior: Gingers are the bomb.

Have you ever considered changing your hair color?
Butcher: I considered getting a blonde Mohawk one summer but didn’t because I wanted to stay natural and not taint my natural handsomeness.
Ecker: Yes! To brown! But my mom wouldn’t let me.
Katie Peters, Senior: Not seriously. But sometimes I like to tell people I’m dying it black, just for kicks.

How do you feel about the way the world regards Gingers?
Butcher: Couldn’t care less. As the twitter account @gingerproblems puts it, “Red hair don’t care.”
Ecker: The world is stupid. It’s seriously everywhere I go somebody makes a stupid ginger joke that is NOT funny. I’m over it, though.

What do you think about the recent Ginger phenomenon? (i.e. youtube videos, jokes, memes…)
Butcher: I love the recent Ginger explosion. I mean, people are finally seeing where the cool kids are.
Elysse Winget, Junior: To be honest I don’t get the phenomenon! We’ve existed since the beginning of time, so it’s definitely not new and interesting.
Peters: I definitely don’t find it offensive…I like to laugh at myself every once in a while.

Are you ever treated differently based on hair color?
Winget: I don’t think I go a day without being called out about my hair color. Some people immediately dislike you, whereas others really like it.
Harrington: Nothing discriminating or hurtful in my opinion. But anything that is said can be turned on you so easily with the “you’re a Ginger” card.

What’s one thing people don’t know about gingers?
Ecker: We glow in the dark.
Hunter Thiers, Freshman: One thing people don’t know about Gingers is that apparently we feel pain more than others… but that is just what I heard on talk show one time.
Winget: People don’t really know that Scotland has more redheads than Ireland, so assuming we are Irish is merely a misinformed stereotype!
Peters: People don’t know that Gingers have a very sensitive GINGEdar. It’s like radar, but for Gingers. We can spot Gingers from really far away. It’s kinda like a sixth sense.

Do you have a special bond with other gingers?
Harrington: I’ve been told multiple times that I have telepathy with other Gingers. It definitely bonds us, I believe.
Winget: There’s actually a “look” that gingers give each other. I brought it up to Jake Huskey and he instantly knew what I was talking about. I realized it last year at a drumline competition that I was looking at them differently. I can’t imitate it to anyone, but it’s sort of like an “I feel your pain, you rock” sort of thing.
Ecker: Of course I do! We all love each other right off the bat.

Do you have a soul?
Butcher: No, I gave mine up for some sun block when I was 13.
Harrington: I assume I do…even though I’ve been told I don’t!
Peters: Does it matter…?

Favorite famous Ginger?
Butcher: Patrick Renna, the redhead from The Sandlot.
Ecker: Lindsay Lohan.
Harrington: Emma Stone.
Winget: Ginger Spice!
Thiers: My favorite famous Ginger would have to be Ariel (The Little Mermaid).
Peters: I am also quite in love with Ariel, The Little Mermaid. I’m always a little skeptical about celebrity gingers though…sometimes you learn one is an imposter (red hair from a bottle) Tsk Tsk.

Favorite ginger joke?

Harrington: Q: What do gingers miss most about a great party? A: The invitation
Butcher: I enjoy almost any jokes from @gingerproblems.
Peters: Any and all.

Do you sunburn easily?
Butcher: Yeah, I can burn in a well-lit room.
Ecker: The other day we went outside during German and within 10 minutes I got sunburnt. No joke…you can ask Frau.
Thiers: I do sunburn very easily! I have to wear like 70-90 SPF.
Peters: Like it’s my job.

Any good ginger-related story/something that has happened to you?
Caty Jevic, Sophomore: I was out Krogering and a little boy ran up to me, poked me and ran away screaming “I touched the ginger!!” It was weird…
Ecker: My name is Rosie and I have red hair, so every time somebody meets me they are like, “Oh my God, that’s so funny because your name is Rosie and you have red hair!” Seriously? Shut up.