People affected by social media Page 2
SOPA censor bill tabled Page 3
YPMP Music Review Page 3
Birdville
Hawk
Men’s Basketball makes playoffs Page 4
UIL realignment announced Page 4
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JROTC advances in Academic Bowl competition by Kendall Carlson Editor-In-Chief Birdville High School’s JROTC academic team competed against 1,583 teams from around the world to advance to the second level of the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl on February 1st. The competi-
tion continued through February 15th. The team consists of Abigail Durden, Jules Watson, Savannah Beasley, Mahlon Miller, Foster Davis and Chase Wiley. “They pick students who have good grades, knew the material in class and tested well,”
Beasley said. “We’ve been putting a lot of extra time into the competition both inside class and outside of class.” One of the main goals of the JROTC Academic Bowl is to prepare students for upcoming exams such as the SAT and ACT, as well as graduation ex-
ams. In each level of the competition, the students have to answer questions about JROTC curriculum, English, math and science. “It was important, because it shows that JROTC is more than about army-related activities. It’s also about showing
your skills academically too,” Beasley said. Only twenty-four of the 1,583 teams advanced to the 2012 Army JROTC Leadership Symposium and Academic Bowl Championship in Washington, D.C. at George Mason University this upcoming June.
Rock ‘n Roll here to stay
Theatre performance of Grease! huge success OAP By The Bog Of Cats company announced
by Kendall Carlson Editor-In-Chief There are only three words to describe the excitement. It is automatic! Systematic! Hydromatic! It is Grease Lightning! Theatre reenacted the iconic musical four days in a row flawlessly. The actors had the entire BHS auditorium standing on their feet by the end of the play. The roles of Danny and Sandy were played by Matthew Matherly and Mandy Foster. “My first reaction [to finding out I would be playing Danny] wasn’t a reaction at all, because it was ten o’clock at night after a day of rehearsal and a performance of the fall show. It was more like a zombie seeing free brains… excited, but still dead,” Matherly said. The Pink Ladies were played by Amy McKinney, Tori Smith, Emily Ivey and Leah Beth Etheredge. “My favorite scene would have to be when Rizzo and Kenickie get into a fist fight on stage, because Baylor Morrison is Kenickie and it’s great that I get to do something new such as fight with [him]…he’s such a great actor and it’s great getting to share this experience with him,” McKinney said. Madison Williams had the part of Patty and Ryan Ivey played Teen Angel and Johnny Casino. “I auditioned for the part I
got (Teen Angel), because he’s always been my favorite part of the show,” Ivey said. “I’ve seen this show a few times and each time this part rolls around, Teen Angel comes out, sings his song, struts around, receives thunderous applause, and then leaves. It’s a part that audiences seem to really enjoy, myself included.” Other major players included Vince Fontaine played by Blake Bolt, Clay Wilson as Doody, Sonny played by Chris Coyle and Taylor Hearne as Roger. Brandy Twine played Cha-Cha and Eugene was played by Sean Woods. “Everyone knows these characters, everyone knows these songs. It’s now our job as actors to translate ourselves onto these characters, while still retaining the elements that made them iconic,” Ivey said. The male chorus included Seth Barton, Ashton Boukros, Tory Boyd, Brandon Calvin, Gage Daulton, Max Gamble, Samuel Garcia, Alex Healy, Jose Hernandez, Joe James, Chandler Laird, Nick Landivar, Tyler LeDoux, Garrett Love, Michael Peschell, Devin Spraggins, Nathan Stevenson, Logan Thompson and Michael Williams. The female chorus included Abby Arnold, Amy Anderson, Mickey Castenada, Colleen Chauncey, Melissa Crawford, Hunter Dukes, Jamie Greco, Jodi Henley, Steffie Huffstetler, Rebecca Hurlbut, Paige Jenkins, Ashley Koeneke, Sushia
Lancaster, Katie O’Brien, Vy Nhan, Marisa Perales, Ashley Rose, Lauren Sargent, Monica Suarez, Melissa Taylor, Catherine Valoon, Elizabeth Valoon and Elysse Villalobos. “The best thing about being in chorus is just singing with everyone,” Lancaster said. On average, the students put more than 100 hours into rehearsing for a musical. This year was no exception. Many students were up at school for days at a time rehearsing and getting their parts just right. “On a bad day I may as well sleep at the school, but apparently there are policies against that,” Matherly said.
The first musical ever produced at BHS was Grease back in 2000. This new cast has the privilege of having their musical recorded and submitted for consideration for the Betty Buckley Awards to be announced in the near future. The show never stops as the next theatre production is the UIL One Act Play, The Bog Of Cats. The posting of the company list includes Seth Barton, Charlotte Cairns, Brandon Calvin, LeahBeth Etheredge, Mandy Foster, Taylor Hearne, Ryan Ivey, Matt Matherly, Baylor Morrison, Tori Smith, Elizabeth Valoon,
The main cast of Grease!
Madison Williams and Assistant Director / Stage Manager Melissa Crawford. Understudies include Amy Anderson, Ashton Bokros, Lily Clegg, Alex Healy, Joe James, Sushia Lancaster, Nick Landivar, Ashley Rose, Lauren Sargent, Clay Wilson, Catherine Valoon and Sean Woods. There are several small non-speaking roles that may be filled by understudies depending on the final cutting. Some technical roles may be filled by understudies also. OAP competition begins in March.
Opinions
Page 2 February Birdville Hawk
Semester final exam exemption policy changes created to benefit students by Megan Abel Arts & Entertainment Editor A semester end tradition has ended this year at Birdville High School. For several years, Birdville has offered a unique option for students - as long as students met requirements set by the school, maintained good grades and few absences, they could receive the reward of not only being exempt from taking the final exams, but also that time out of school. This year, however, Birdville has changed its policy, and it has become mandatory that students attend school during testing times even if they are exempt from the tests. This has been a big change for students who are used to the privilege of skipping finals. Some students who were exempt from tests decided to take the tests regardless of exemption, simply because it was easier for the teacher to administer tests to everyone instead of just half the class. Teachers offered students the option that tests taken despite exemptions would only be entered into the grade book if they were beneficial to the student, so for many taking the test was not so regrettable. This was not the only change to the testing guidelines. The schedule for taking tests was also a big change encompassing four days instead of the previous three. The previous schedule was simple, with seventh period on Wednesday, then odd classes one day, even classes another day based on the specific semester. With more students being exempt on the final day, there were fewer students on campus; therefore,
fewer distractions for students taking the tests and fewer discipline issues for teachers. It was simple and easy. Teachers also had to adjust their frame of mind with less time to review in the days before the tests and extra time for review built in to the actual testing time. Many students who were not required to take the tests opted for
comfortable clothing, pillows and catching some shuteye. The changes were not all bad, and came about mainly because of the district’s income from the state received according to attendance. Many students agree the easy days were a relief from a semester of hard work. Birdville is one of the few schools that offers exemptions, so students should not be an-
gry about mandatory attendance, because they are still being offered a great opportunity that other students envy. Even though finals exemptions were originally instituted to encourage and reward attendance, some feel it is counter-productive in preparing students for college, since no one is exempt from finals in college.
Cyberbullying must stop
Life should be valued more than opinions on websites by Garrett Nall Sports Editor According to many media outlets, there has been an increase in cyberbullying activity. Cyberbullying is when people are teased, degraded or even threatened through social media websites or another form of communication through the internet. Over the past few years this has grown exponentially, with the sudden increase in popularity of social websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and several others. Because of social media sites, movies, television, news and other sources, cyber bullying has been maybe exaggerated just a tad bit. In no way should bullying be condoned, but throughout history kids have had issues in school with other kids. It is human nature.
After being bullied in elementary school, all the feelings of being hurt that come with it are understandable, but now that it is happening through Facebook does that really make it any worse. Of course the outrage
The value of life is so much more important than words from an insecure person. comes from the fact that some cyberbullying victims have taken their own lives. This is, of course a devastating fact and blow on American society, but in return is it not a fact that people taking
these social websites more serious than their own lives an even more devastating fact? The World Health Organization estimates that over 755,250 people commit suicide each year. That is just barely over .01 percent of the US population. Now think about how many stories there have been in the past few years on kids taking their life, because of cyber bullying, not too many. So while the issue has been about stopping these cyberbullies, the real issue is teaching kids to stand up for themselves, for what they believe in and to value their own lives more than someone else’s opinion of them. Students should report cyberbullying to their parents, crisis counselor and anyone that will listen. The value of life is so much more important than words from an insecure person who puts someone down to make themselves feel more important.
Kendall Carlson Editor-In-Chief News Editor Megan Abel Arts & Entertainment Editor Matthew Hildewig Features Editor Garrett Nall Sports Editor Holly Nguyen Photographer Opinions Editor Jannet Hiles Adviser Jason Wells Principal The HAWK is published monthly, during the regular school calendar, by the Journalism Department of Birdville High School. Its purpose is to serve as an open forum for the students, faculty and staff of Birdville, and the surrounding communities of Colleyville, Hurst, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Watauga. The HAWK is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference and Southern Interscholastic Press Association. Advertising Rates are $5.00 per column-inch. Current circulation is 1500 copies in print and the paper is archived on the world wide web at www.birdvillehigh.com. Papers are distributed free of charge. Editorials reflect the views of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the school faculty, staff, students or administration. Letters to the Editor are welcomed and must be typed, singlespaced and limited to 200 words. They can be delivered to room A400 or emailed to birdvillehawkstaff@ gmail.com and must be signed and include a phone number and address for verification.
What are your plans for spring break?
“I am planning to visit my cousin in Washington D.C.”
“I am hopefully going to San Diego for vacation and then to ASU to tour the campus and do a softball clinic.”
“I am looking to exercise and run on the track and just workout and keep my body in shape.”
“Hanging out with friends most of the time, maybe go to the beach. I don’t know, we’ll just see.”
“I’m going to be coaching volleyball, cleaning my house, relaxing and watching movies that I haven’t seen.”
Tuan Vu Freshman
Taylor Moore Sophomore
Moataz Ahmed Junior
Kacie Freeman Senior
Jenna Gomez Faculty
Features
Page 3 February Birdville Hawk
SOPA bill, attempt to censor internet tabled by Matthew Hildewig Features Editor Visit any popular site on the web in the past few weeks and not surprisingly, find information about, or protests against House Bill 3261, or as it is referred to, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). SOPA is a bill that was first brought up by U.S. Representative Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas. The bill, which was brought to light on October 26th, is nationally acclaimed and world wide web criticized for its main goal of expanding the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking, copyrighted intellectual property and circulation of counterfeit goods. Attributes to this bill include the requesting of court orders to bar advertising networks and search engines from linking to infringing sites. Court orders will also require Internet service providers to block access to web sites breaking the law, and expand existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyright material. Students might wonder how SOPA could effect them. On January 18th 2012 many popular sites the student body are dedicated to either raised their banners or shut themselves down for a day in protest to SOPA. Some of the sites like Wikipedia, Google, Tumblr, and YouTube were among over 7,000 web sites that participated in an online protest to the bill. To many students SOPA is
seen as a way of censoring the Internet. “The bill is wrong, it violates our first amendment and censors subjects that aren’t a problem of the web,” Kevin Hutsell said. Many students disagree with SOPA saying it is in violation of free speech, and it is an ineffective way to solve the problems of the Internet. “The bill is absolutely ridiculous and illegitimate, it will change the Internet for the worse if passed,” Anna Gibbons said. Now with this information one might wonder who on Earth could actually support a bill that threatens one of societies most uniquely complex ideas; but there are many for it. Many in Hollywood support the bill, many congressmen and women, as well as many large corporations. A majority of Hollywood’s actors and musicians do support the bill, because the bills main purpose is to stop online copyright piracy. Many artists are in favor, because it protects their products. With SOPA, all sites that contribute to illegal downloading of music, movies and games would cease. The bill would allow the government to shut down popular torrent sites, blogs, music sites, and just about anything that has ever provided any form of copyrighted material. The voting for the passage of the bill was originally supposed to happen in late January; but due to the mass protest of the bill on the 18th of January Rep-
resentative Lamar Smith has decided to table the bill until further notice. To table the bill, means to put the bill on hold until further
notice, not dead, but put on hold for further voting on a later date. With this newfound delay of the bill non-supporters can only hope for it to be killed once and for
all.
To contribute to the fight, call state senators or congressmen and women, send letters and sign petitions to support or kill the bill.
Music Review
Your Past, My Present shreds in local venues, music halls
by Matthew Hildewig Features Editor For some head-banging, moshing, or guitar ripping metal in the local area, check out YPMP, Your Past, My Present. The band YPMP is a posthard core metal band that features Matt Fortner, Brandon Doyle, Cody Klinger, Evan Romrell, and Evan Moschetti, one of Birdville’s own juniors. The band which started playing a little over a year ago out of a Haltom City practice room is an
epic metal band that has released two singles, Blood and Sand, and I, Regret. YPMP is also working on finishing their first EP. The band has played around the entire DFW area including, Tomcats in Fort Worth, Dads in Lewisville, Phil’s in Arlington, and many more. The band has also competed in Battle for Unsilent Night 4, and Battle for South By So What. The band like many, aspires to be signed by a major recording company, so they can make it big
and share their passion of music with the world. Evan Moshcetti the aspiring bass player has been with the band since the beginning. With his ability he wants to make a career out of music and keep going. “I want to continue doing what I love and hopefully tour the world” Moshcetti said. For more info on the band and its music check out their Facebook and Youtube pages by searching the bands name.
YPMP - Evan Moscetti, Brandon Doyle , Matt Fortner, Cody Klinger, Evan Romrell
North East Mall undergoes major changes by Megan Abel Arts & Entertainment Editor Many Birdville students’ have noticed major changes going on at their favorite local mall. The North East Mall is one of the most frequented locations by teenagers in this area. After school, teens flock to this favorite meeting place and attempt to temporarily forget projects and homework by shopping, eating or just hanging out; however, they are starting to worry their favorite hangout may be changing too much. “I began to notice stores were missing,” student Zarah Manzi said. Manzi considers walking the mall a healthy alternative to sitting at home. “I mean there are sales everywhere, especially at stores going out [of business], but it just worried me. Is the mall going under or is this just a weird remodeling phase,” Manzi said. According to Holly Conner, Director of Marketing for
North East Mall, major changes are taking place to improve the shopping experience. “Many stores that may appear to be closed are only temporarily closed for renovations like Claire’s that is scheduled to reopen sometime in March,” Conner said. Other stores, like Gap are keeping their doors open while remodeling, hoping customers will overlook the temporary inconviences of construction. Though it is true that Abercrombie & Fitch and Godiva have left the building, other stores are coming in to to fill the void. “Godiva’s previous location is being filled with a different candy store called See’s Candies,” Conner said. Godiva, Abercrombie & Fitch and Hallmark left for various reasons. “Hallmark also owns the store outside the mall on the corner of Pipeline Rd. at The Shops at North East Mall. They wanted to consolidate and concentrate their effforts on that store,” Con-
ner said. Even teens who rarely visit the mall, like Morgan Taylor, have noticed changes. Unlike her classmates, she had a very different assumption about the mall. “Bankruptcy makes sense to me, but then I think about that remodeling that they’ve been working on behind the food court. If they were so close to breaking, why would they be remodeling,” Taylor said. According to Conner, major changes are happening at the Food Court entrance, which is considered the main entrance to the mall. “We are revamping the entire look of the entrance, new paint, seating, landscaping and steel structures. We feel the shoppers will really enjoy the new look,” Conner said. The food court is scheduled to be completed in early March. Other new additions include The Limited, which will open in the Dillard’s wing later this summer and G by Guess, opening in the Nordstrom’s wing
in late spring. Changes also include the consolidation of Image and Image Plus, opening in late spring in the J.C. Penney wing. Many students expressed disappointment in the closing of the ecclectic store, Earthbound. “We were sad to see Earth-
bound go, because they were a great shop for us. We are still working with our leasing team to try to get them back in a different space,” Conner said. According to Conner, updating and providing an overall positive shopping experience is the goal.
Sports
Page 4 February Birdville Hawk
Men’s Basketball pushes through to reach goals
by Garrett Nall Sports Editor It is often said that with great experience comes great success, and this year’s Birdville Men’s Varsity basketball team is a true testament to that. With all 5 starters being seniors, the Hawks have mounted a 21-9 record and a 10-2 record in district at press time. They are tied for first in district with Byron Nelson after suffering their first loss in district to none other than Nelson and then a few games later losing their second against Azle. Both of the Hawks’ games against Nelson this year have been nothing short of thrilling. Their first meeting here at Birdville went all the way into a fourth overtime, and then their recent game went into just a single overtime. Since the Hawks have played Nelson twice this year already they have no remaining games this regular season against
them.
“This year has definitely been a trip. It’s far from over and we certainly hope to keep up our winning ways to keep moving forward,” guard Kevin Reynoso said. The hype around this year’s team from a school spirit standpoint has been nothing short of
“Winning district has been our goal since day one of the season.” Cris Sawyer spectacular. The student section has been anything but quiet, heckling the other team and pushing the Hawks for the W. In response the team has lived up to expectations by putting up a 7-1 record here at home. “We for sure pride ourselves on our team. This has been the best team I’ve seen since
I’ve been here so we certainly want to show as much support as possible,” junior Ashlyn Massey said, The Hawks now have their playoff spot locked in and are ready to get started with the postseason but, before the playoffs begin, they still have a chance at winning district. Birdville must win the remainder of their games and Byron Nelson needs to lose just once. “Winning district has been our goal since day one of the season. Even though we have a playoff spot locked, we’re not going to stop pushing until the end of the season,” guard Cris Sawyer said. Timber Creek has won 4 of their last 5 games including a win against Nelson. The Falcons’ only loss during that span came to Azle by 4 points. Go out and support the Men’s Basketball team as they push through the playoffs.
Cameron Grant takes the shot for the Hawks against Springtown. Photo by Legacy Yearbook Staff
Sports Opinion
UIL realignment good for Hawk football team by Garrett Nall Sports Editor
Every 2 years the University Interscholastic League redraws the district boundaries throughout the state. This realignment year, UIL seems to have done Birdville some good. The district has almost a completely different outlook as it did this past season. There is only one returning member which is Boswell. Saginaw High School has rejoined the district after taking a two year beating at the 5A level going just 1-9 on the season last year. A new Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD school, Chisholm Trail will be joining the district. This will be Chisholm’s first year of
competition at any level. Being that they will only field freshmen and sophomores, the Rangers do not pose much of a threat to the Hawks in the 2012 season. In addition to all three EMSISD schools, there will be five Fort Worth schools. The FWISD competitors combined posted a 17-34 record last year. Only Dunbar went at or above the .500 margin with 6-5 record. It must be noted that the three-time defending state champs the Aledo Bearcats will not be in the district this year. Aledo has always seemed to have Birdville’s number, but this year it will be irrelevant since they are no longer on the district schedule.
The Football team is going to have quite the easy schedule this year but, the one concern is the postseason picture. The Hawks could be looking at a first round playoff game against a team such as Lake Dallas, Denton Guyer, Byron Nelson, or maybe even Wichita Rider. All four of those teams post a major threat for knocking out the Hawks in the first round. The 2012 football season feels like it is going to be a special one with so much talent returning. Season tickets go on sale in the summer, before school starts. Go to www. birdvilleschools.net for more information. Click on departments and then athletics for the latest district news.
Hawk Sports Briefs Men’s Basketball - Season standing, tied for first place in district. 22-9 (11-2). Womens’s Basketball - Final season record 14-17 (5-9) Men’s Soccer - Won Brewer Tournament 4-0. Women’s Soccer - Won Brewer and Jonny Baggett Memorial Tournament. Overall record 14-1. Track & Field - Practice has started. The first meet was 2/18/12 Swimming - 11 swimmers advance to Regionals. Hockey - Season standing, in second place with a record of 11-4.