The CHAT October issue 2016 2017 issue # 2

We Want Democracy and...

Employment

Free College Equality

WATCH OUT! BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR OUR HOMECOMING ISSUE COMING OUT NEXT WEEK!

Nadira Danticat - Content Sarah Barrocas - Content Cristina Feliciano - Layout Sofia Alfonso - Layout Managing Editors Chatter Daily News Evan Samuels Web Managing Editor Brittany Evelyn - Content Sarah Barrocas - Layout Business Managers Mr. J. Harris - Layout Mr. F. Fagen - Content Mr. J. Harris - Video Advisors Mr. P. Bayer Principal

David Cha-Kim News Editor Alexa Infante Student Life Editor LJ Lemmers Technology Editor

Contents

The C.H.C. Staff

Cristine Alayon Sports Editor Cristina Feliciano Features Editor Maria Acosta-Rubio Clubs Editor Ainsley McCormick Community Outreach

Student Life:

Samuel Eliacin - The CHAT Eric Hernandez - Web Photo Editors Katie Perez Graphics Editor

Open Letter to our Future President Mr. Holland’s opus: That’s a Rap!

Content Staff: Jordan Alberti, Florencia Azcurra, Sofia Azcurra, Paolo Barrera, Roselle Curiel, Mason Feldman, Matthew Hernandez, Janae McDonnough, Frank Mora, Christopher Nappi, Andres Perez, Amanda Rodriguez, Diego Salazar Layout Staff: Jose Bozo, Tomas Eiletz Bottaro, Sarah Barrocas, Esteban Gangotena Photography Staff: Julian Barcelo, Justin Dourvetakis, Omar Loutfi, Giulia Marcondes GRAPHIC STAFF: Nicole Mercadal, Micheal Perez, Justin Pierce

The C.H.A.T. is an official publication of the Pembroke Pines Charter High School (PPCHS). The content of our newspaper is not necessarily the opinions of our advisers and administration.

The C.H.A.T. staff welcomes any comments to the editors and/or staff.

The C.H.A.T is a publication of C.H.C (Charter High Communications) sponsored by the Communications & Technology Department of PPCHS. Pembroke Pines Charter High School 17189 Sheridan Street Pembroke Pines, FL 33331 Phone: 954-538-3700 Email: chc.ppchs@gmail.com Twitter: @_theCHATter Instagram: @thechatnews The CHAT welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for poor taste, libel, and space.

Drop off letters in room C113 or send an email to chc.ppchs@gmail.com

Lifestyle: Senior First Semester Stress: Explained New York Flourishes with Fashion

Technology: Social Media Paves Way to Politics Go-go GoPro

Pg

Stude

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Tribute: Pgs 22-23

Clubs and Electives: Pg

ent Life

Sports:

Features:

Fantasy Football and Math: The Unlikely Duo

How Well Do You Know Your Presidential History?

Editorial: The Colin Kaepernick Scandal

Friday Fights: AP GOV Takes the Race

News:

Entertainment:

Our future president: Did You Know?

Hollywood’s “Golden” Opportunities are turning White

Charter students, faculty adjust to new gates

Celebrity Political Views

Clubs & Electives:

Tribute:

Honoring a Humble Hero

Fernandez’s passing affects us all

Here’s One for the (Pretty) Ladies!

How I Remember Jose Fernandez

SGA Gets Election Polls Rolling Cristine Alayon Sports Editor

W hen November 8th comes to mind, you may just think of it as a normal day off of school, but in reality, it is the day that people flock to

the school library to vote for the next president. Not the next president of the school…the next president of the United States of America. Local residents and a handful of students attending Pines Charter will cast their votes for either democratic nominee Hilary Clinton, republican nominee Donald Trump, or Third Party candidates Jill Stein or Gary Johnson. The Southwest Regional Library will be just a small part of a humongous change in this country as we see President Obama merge out of office and become succeeded by the new candidate.

PPCHS SGA students will be there to witness the madness while running the polls for the voters. Poll running is one of SGA’s biggest events of the year because they will get to see how the largest election in the country is run, “It’s a long process, especially the hours” said SGA member Victoria Max (‘17). “We tend to stay all day from about 5am to 7pm.

This will be SGA’s 3rd year running polls, our first time was in 2014 for primary elections and then in March 2016 we ran another primary poll.”

The members will be placed by other adult volunteers. They are responsible for checking in the incoming voters. Although the day is long and filled with hard work, SGA must remain focused while checking people in with their voter’s registrations and precincts. Senior Ana Colicchio said, “I will be voting in this upcoming presidential election and I’m feeling excited. I know that my vote really does count and I’m happy to be able to exercise the right vote when there’s people all over the world that might not ever be given this right.”

This day will be filled with a bunch of movement going on in the library and SGA will be there to handle it all. SGA member Emilio Montanez (‘17) is looking forward to the job, “It’s going to be another awesome year of running the polls and we’ll just see how it goes!”

Graphic by: Justin Pierce

A Day in the Life of Mr. President Ainsley McCormick & Maria Acosta-Rubio

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Graphic by: Nicole Mercadal

Community Outreach & Clubs Editor

eing the President comes with discussing treaties, giving important briefings, and very little down time. Waking up before sunrise and going to sleep long after the sunset is the everyday routine for President Barack Obama. However, every day brings the possibility of a crisis, and plans can be changed at any moment. The President doesn’t always have a “typical” day.

The White House is already up and running before the President wakes up at around 6:30 am.

His nine hour work day begins with a short workout routine before arriving at his office around 8:30-9:00 a.m. When he arrives, Obama meets with his secretary, Ferial Govashiri, who informs him of the day’s plans. Our nation’s safety is the top priority in the eyes of our President, which is why he holds a daily national security briefing at around 10:00 a.m. and observes what topics are being discussed in upcoming debates by reading at least five newspapers. Aside from our nation’s safety, Malia and Sasha are just as important to our President and he makes sure he sees them before the beginning of the day.

Important phone calls, meetings, and discussions take up most of the day. If he is feeling especially talkative, Obama will speak to the press. If the President is sometimes in the middle of a legislative battle, he will meet with congressional leaders from both sides in the Oval office and discuss legislative strategies with his staff. “It’s a lot of work and there’s a lot of pressure when running a country. You’d have to make a lot of decisions,” said sophomore John Wentzel, Obama also makes time for citizens who are visiting the White House during the day and has “handshake sessions”- a time in which he greets and meets those citizens visiting our nation’s capital house. Not only does he make time to greet them personally when visiting, but he also reads and signs off some of the 10 randomly selected letters delivered to the White House each day in order to grasp the general concerns for everyday Americans.

After a long day filled with hard work, Obama will sit down with his family to eat dinner at around 6:30 p.m., just as most families do. President Obama will also try to spend quality time with his two daughters after dinner to catch up with them and see how they are. “It must be very overwhelming. The President has to be doing everything in his power to help our nation and he’s in charge of all of us,” said student Muriel Morales.

Obama usually ends up staying awake until around midnight, working on papers or possibly because of a late night phone call, but once he hits the bed, he sleeps soundly until his day starts all over again.

Open Letter to the future President Alexa Infante

DEvery ear Future President, time you walk up to a podium, face your political opponent in debate, or even tweet something out, we are inLifestyle Editor

structed to pay close attention. As America’s future it is our duty to learn as much about politics as possible. However, in this election every time we open our minds to see who our next president could be, we may have to cover our ears. This slanderous election has restricted its audience to a tight group. For the first time, when students are asked to go home and watch a debate for homework, parents may feel it is inappropriate.

As teenagers, we have heard most, if not all, of the things that are said. But that does not make this right. How are we ever going to formulate good political opinions and learn to be active citizens if we cannot even trust that our political candidates can speak for everyone to hear? They are a reflection of our country and a reflection of our society? After the topics discussed at the last Political Debate on Sunday October 9th, countless articles came out asking the most pressing question- Will parents let their children watch the next political debate.

Many parents answered no. The debates are packed vulgar language, which are simply unacceptable for children to be Photo by: Samuel Eliacin hearing. In this election both of you have struggled in reaching millennials. Discussing inappropriate, disrespectful, and extremely personal matters will not help your cause whatsoever. Also, a big issue on both ends is infidelity and the way women are treated. Parents would be crazy to let their children watch an internationally streamed event where the future leaders of our country are accused of disrespecting women in terrible ways. Accounts of groping women, talk of sex tapes, dirty “locker room talk”, are areas that are constantly being touched upon. Attacking your other opponent will not make us believe you are the better candidate. We want to know what you are going to do for our country, how you are going to make a difference, how you are going to protect us and our interests?

America is not necessarily adored by every other country, and it is important that our future president keeps us safe. In a poll on twitter taken by NBC Nightly News, 52% of parents voted that they will not allow their children to watch the political debate. We want to know what you are going to do for our country. Not how your political opponent performs in bed. Twitter also offered a “moment” that showed various tweets explaining how parents did not feel comfortable listening their children talk to you. You are supposed to be a voice that can talk to anyone. Someone who shows the pride, glory, freedom, and beauty of America. In high school we develop into great writers and readers. We learn how to argue, how to make ourselves credible, and how to convince our audience. We learn that although aggression is effective, being nice does in fact get you places.

Our future is ultimately in your hands. You are a role model. All leaders look to you. That is a power you cannot abuse. You cannot allow our citizens to think it is acceptable to be disrespectful towards someone, or exploit another person’s sexual life or personal practices. Everything you say from now on is scrutinized. Sometimes it is better to say nothing at all. We live in a fragile world and the truth is it is not difficult to offend someone.

As the future president, you must realize your responsibility over all of America. Every child, teen, adult, and elder is in your hands. You should work to ensure that you are reachable to all audiences. You attempt to make your opponent less attractive through vulgar language and exploiting their personal matters, but all that really does is make you less attractive.

Think before you speak and use kindness as a tool. Your ratings as well as your viewers will thank you.

Sincerely, The future of America

Red, White, Blue, and Jaguars

Florencia Azcurra Satff Writer

O n Friday September Friday 16th, seniors all over PPCHS dressed up and went into full character to celebrate constitution day.

Constitution day celebrates the rights we have and the ratification of the constitution.

Some freshmen, like Briana Walters, were confused as to why there were people around school dressed up speaking through a megaphone. “I was a little bit confused at first because there were people standing on the fountain citing a historical document. As the day went on I found out we were celebrating constitution day,” said Briana. “I think it’s nice that they want to acknowledge how important the role of the constitution is in our history.”

The select seniors taking Mr. Quigley’s and Ms. Hyacinth’s AP Government class participated in this patriotic event on Friday the 16th. The students were allowed to dress up in red, white, or bluethe colors of our nation’s flag. Some were even dressed as congressmen to give the full effect.

The students volunteered to go at different times. Then they assigned themselves a slot between classes to go around the school reading or citing parts of the constitution. They would leave their classes early, depending on what time they were assigned.

Senior Jamilla Amon, a student of Mr. Quigley’s AP Government class, read the constitution from the PPCHS fountain. Other students like Lexi Mallat, Nicole Patrick, and Eric Argibay, were some of the other seniors in Jamilla’s group. “I think the purpose of constitution day is to give recognition to an important document and such a meaningful part of our history,” says Jamilla. “We were reading copies of the constitution our teacher had printed out and given us. It was really fun! Especially when we stood on the fountain and read into the megaphone!”

Photo Donated by: Christopher Alegria

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Student Life

Once a Journalist, Always a Journalist Sofia Azcurra Staff Writer

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n Wednesday September 21st, 2016 Newspaper, Journalism, and Yearbook students attended a kick-off summit that addressed current teen issues and a fan favorite, sports. The students met journalists Bruce Silverman, Chris Wittyngham, and Ethan Skolnick, as well as writer Jonathan Rosen. All these outstanding men have taken a huge part in the journalism world and shaped the minds of many young journalists.

In fourth grade Bruce Silverman wrote to his hero about how he wanted to be a successful journalist. Years later in his junior year of college he met his lifelong hero and was awarded the opportunity of a lifetime to work with him. “I remember doing my first story on a fire right beside my apartment and we had to use the fire truck’s light to film in the dark,” he said with a smile. He is now the host of a radio show, Silverman on Sports and regular sports anchor. Aside from being a sports anchor, Silverman has been a yearbook representative for Heff- Jones in South Florida for over 20 years.

Not only was he the host of 790 the ticket and the voice for University of Miami basketball bur Chris Wittyngham was also a former Pines Charter jaguar. He graduated from PPCHS in 2010 and still carries his jaguar pride- enough to come back and tell his success story to young journalists. He led the school newspaper to success as he was the CHAT’s former sports editor. Chris always had a passion for being a TV producer when he was a child. As he grew older he

realized his passion for writing about sports. He said, “One of the most important things in journalism is being able to gain experience and review your own work. Be your own critic.”

“What you think you can’t do, be open, stand out and other opportunities will arrive.” Ethan Skolnick shared endless knowledge with all journalists as they walked out of the auditorium. “I was in third grade when I first started writing about my favorite sport players.” He wrote his first column on a well-known basketball player who died on the court, who he did not know and Ethan continued to write his stories. As he progressed with his writing he got the chance to work in places such as the Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. He now covers the Miami Heat and hosts The Ethan Skolnick Show on 790 the ticket. He is the author of two books, Innovative State and Raising Your Game as well.

In addition to meeting Journalists, students also met writer Jonathan Rosen who first started his journalism career but never ended up continuing. However, he did write a book, which helped him with his writing, Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies. Jonathan talked about how he struggled at first but never gave up and continued to write not as a career but as a pastime. He told the auditorium, “Take the positives out of the negatives.”

The journalists presented their current status on journalism and how they all had to surpass issues to get where they are now. The students wrote questions on index cards which the presenters answered gleefully.

All students left the summit with new perspectives on journalism and excitement as they had gained a new view on how to pursue journalism once they continue on their next journeys after high school.

Photo by: Yearbook

Presidential Election Project vetoes History Fair Evan Samuels and Alexa Infante Managing Editor - Web and Student Life Editor

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very student in Pines Charter High School exhaled a sigh of relief when they received the amazing news from their history teachers that this year they will not have to participate in History Fair. There is, however, still a mandatory project every student must do- the Presidential Election project. This project will definitely keep Charter students widely informed all throughout the election process. While the project varies from teacher to teacher, every student has the opportunity to learn about the past of the Presidential Elections that took place in our nation’s history.

Depending on the type of course that each student is taking, there will be a different project for every subject. For example, AICE US History students will have a different project than Honors History students. History teachers are very excited to get this project going for many reasons. AICE US and AICE International History teacher Mr. Curry said, “I’m really excited to get this project going, especially with AICE US because of how it has relevant content to our curriculum. Studies show that if you vote in the first election you are eligible for then you will be a lifetime voter and that is all a part of college citizenship and community in our school.”

The 2016 election is definitely one of the most anticipated elections. Whether it is Donald Trump representing the Republican Party or Hillary Clinton who is representing the Democrats, these elections will be widely historic and especially entertaining. That’s why history teachers felt it was best to come together and agree to do this project. They felt as if students needed to gain more knowledge about the elections as a whole in order to become a more informed voter when it becomes their time to vote.

The entire PPCHS history department was beaming with excitement to introduce their new idea to all of the students. Election Fair is an opportunity for students to learn about past and current elections and the way in which the election system works. This will overall encourage the future voters of PPCHS to become well informed and understand all of the responsibilities that voting presents. Our history fair Graphic by: Katie Perez department struggles to teach about the elections because they must focus on the content of their courseespecially upper level courses. With the upcoming election, it was essential that they found a way to educate their students about this relevant issue when there are only so many hours in the day. When the idea was first proposed to administration it was an automatic success. Their plan even included an actual fair that will take place at our school to showcase the projects on November 3rd. All parents are welcome to attend.

Students are just as excited for the change. Senior Alejandro Pellon said, “I feel that not having history fair will make my life a lot simpler. History fair has always been an issue due to the fact that it will sometimes take time out of instructional work, which for me is important since I take AP history classes.”

Change is something that has always been welcome here at PPCHS, so it is easy to see why a shift in curriculum has collected such positive feedback from students, teachers, and administrators. There is no doubt that Election Fair will successfully educate students without taking too much time away from the content of the class, and will be enjoyed by everyone.

Student Life

Mr. Holland’s opus: That’s a Rap! Amanda Rodriguez

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Staff Writer

r. Holland has only been a teacher at Pines Charter for three years, but he has made quite an impression on his kids. He graduated from the University of Pittsburg with a Bachelor of Arts History degree.

Ever since his first year, he has tried different learning techniques and strategies to try to give his students the best education possible, but he’s mostly talked about around the school for one particular reason: he raps his history lessons.

He writes his rap by first breaking a certain song down into syllables and trying to find similar rhyme schemes that will match the original song. He has a passion for music so he chooses a song with a nice beat, usually a rap song that his students will recognize. When he presents his raps to his classes, it’s all any student can talk about that day. By rapping his lessons he creates a fun learning environment. He stated, “I think one of the important things for us as educators is to recognize that if you are going to be a good educator, you can’t have pride. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and be different and I think that’s what leaves an impression on my students; you can’t do the same thig every year and expect different results.”

There are four ways that student learn: visual, auditory, read-write, or kinesthetic. He tries to incorporate every learning style in his day to day lessons. He has only completed two raps, but he is in the process of making more. He enjoyed making the rap so much himself that he has made it into a project for his students. The students can choose to either make a music video or present the rap live in front of the class.

Mr. Holland messes up all the time when he’s presenting the rap to his classes and he stated, “If I have not failed in a day then I haven’t tried.” Because of his compassionate nature, the kids are not pressured to make their performance perfect. Instead, it is all about the big picture: the information that they have obtained from the project.

Mr. Holland truly puts himself out there and chooses a different route in order to satisfy the educational needs of his students. He definitely has left an impact on the students who have him and even said, “I think what’s interesting about it is that kids come back and can still remember the song and sing a little bit of it, and that makes life interesting for me because I know that what I’m doing is making a difference.”

Photo Donated by: Yearbook

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Every Charter Vote Counts Mason Feldman Staff Writer

Ipolling n a few weeks Election Day will be here. On November 8, 2016 voters will file into places to select the 44th President of the United States. The candidates selected

from both the Republican and Democratic parties are both qualified to assume the office of the President. The Democratic nominee is the focused and highly governmentally experienced Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee is the fierce and talented entrepreneur Donald Trump. Each nominee has brought forth their own knowledge and opinions on the controversial issues of healthcare, immigration, foreign policies and the military.

Being informed about each party’s position on these issues is the key to selecting the best nominee. Who will you vote for?

Senior Josh Umbarita is thrilled for being able to vote in this upcoming election. He said, “I am very excited to vote for the first time because I feel like I can have a voice in our country when it comes to leadership. I feel more responsible and more mature getting the right to vote.” Umbarita will be placing his vote for Hillary Clinton to be our next President.

Senior Alexa Taylor feels different from Umbarita about having the right to vote. Taylor said, “Although it is an honor for being able to vote I am not excited to vote in this year’s election. I feel this way because I dislike the Presidential nominees. I don’t want to be associated with the generation that will elect either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to lead our great country”. Taylor will be voting for a 3rd party member, Jill Stein, or he may decide not even vote at all.

All in all, this election marks a historical event for our country. You have the first woman candidate and a business man with no political experience. The outcome of this election will most likely shock not just our country but the entire world. There is going to be a winner and a loser, but in the end hopefully the most qualified candidate gets sworn in as the next President of the United States. Pay close attention to the debates, news reports, and speeches to better understand the candidates and the policies that they stand for. Use your voice and make your choice on Election Day. Comic by: Mary Gaviola

How Well Do You Know Y

Maria Acos

Clubs Ed

Our Senior Jags have been through historical times. Elections of Presidents have been diverse, from our country beginning in prosperity to a presidential scandal, following up wit our PPCHS’ seniors ha B

1998-2001

ill Clinton served in office as the 42nd President of the United States. America relished in an era of prosperity and ease during his presidency. Clinton not only appointed women and minorities to top government posts, such as the first female U.S. attorney general Janet Reno, but his presidency was marked with low unemployment, a declining crime rate, and a budget surplus. Clinton attained great accomplishments during his presidency. While he was still in office, Clinton produced the highest homeownership in American history. The rate increased from 64.2% in 1992 to 67.7%, becoming the highest rate it’s ever been. Clinton also expanded college opportunity by creating new tax credits, scholarships, increasing Pell Grants, and giving a million students the ability to work their way through college. The president also had a 3,000% increase in educational technology funding in which it has increased the percentage of schools being connected to the internet from 35% in 1993 to 95% in 1999.

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Graphic by: Katie Perez

2001-2009

eorge W. Bush served in the presidential office in 2001. His presidency took place during a memorable and sensitive time in America- the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, New York. After the tragic attacks, he established the Department of Homeland Security and allowed the U.S. to lead wars in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq. He also signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law, fought against HIV/AIDS worldwide, and created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Furthermore, he implemented several free trade agreements and pushed for the offshore oil drilling. One of his foreign accomplishments during his presidency was signing the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement with India. This agreement improved relations between the countries and he established the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program that committed up to $15 billion to fight against AIDS over five years.

Friday Fights: AP GOV Takes the Race David Cha-Kim News Editor

In light of one of the most controversial presidential races in the history of the United States, it is only fitting for Charter’s AP Government students to take part in debates of their own. The AP Government classes, headed by Mr. Quigley and Mrs. Hyacinth, are all responsible for weekly presidential debates called Friday Fights. Each week the students debate a new topic.

Although the majority of the students at Charter are for Clinton, the amount of people debating for each side is always equal. Both Quigley’s and Hyacinth’s students randomly selected cards to determine their group for the rest of the Friday Fights. Students are often originally unenthusiastic about having to defend the very controversial Donald Trump.

However, in the moment of the debates themselves, when they take upon the role, they usually don’t have a hard time fighting and holding their own.

“It was torturous having to defend Trump,” said senior Sarah Duval. “I felt like I was being stripped of my identity. But even though I didn’t feel like myself, I still felt like I was able to perform.”

The Friday Fights started a few weeks before the first presidential debate took place on Monday, September 26th. Seeing the two candidates debate on television will be sure to change the way the AP Gov students perceive themselves when debating in upcoming weeks.

Both Mr. Quigley and Mrs. Hyacinth made time in class on block days to watch the majority of the highlights from the first debate. Taking in and absorbing what an actual debate is like is sure to affect performances for the remainder of the Friday Fights.

Topics that have been discussed so far include tax plans, immigration, and why the opposing candidate is not acceptable to be president. Each team member is responsible for their own research for their side and against the other side and is also responsible for a strong opening statement. Team members have to make sure their opening statements do not overlap so that they can make as many points against the other side as possible.

Debating in class is something that students find both productive and entertaining, and since the topics being discussed and the people being defended are so important to current events, Friday Fights is surely one of the most special in-school activities for the senior class of 2017.

Graphic by: Taylor Causey

Your Presidential History?

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th new Presidential departments, wars, and acts. With the election process inching closer to an end, we quickly glance at how much our presidents and country has changed, and how ave changed with them.

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e t c d d S f , d n g s s r Graphic by: Katie Perez

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2009-2016

arack Obama became the first African-American President of the United States. His presidency made a defining impact on history by breaking a barrier for all African-American citizens. He was sworn into office on January 20th, 2009 as the 44th President, and was reelected on November 6th 2012. During both of his terms he achieved great successes. He passed the Health Care Reform, which covered 32 million insured Americans and cut healthcare cost growth. The unemployment rates lowered and the private sector had begun producing more jobs than it was losing, creating nearly 3.7 million new jobs. These domestic and international events made Obama’s presidency well remembered. There were some highlights and important news during the 44th President’s terms. Just some of Obama’s include, but were most definitely not limited to, the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, the rise of ISIS to power, the gay and lesbian community officially being able to serve openly in the military for the first time, The LGBT+ community being granted the right to get married in all fifty states, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay that gave women who were unequally paid the right to sue their employers. To the youth in the United States, the President and his wife improved school nutrition and expanded healthcare coverage for children throughout their time in office. After the President is chosen from the 2016-2017 Presidential Election, President Obama will leave the White House and retire from being our commander in chief.

Graphic by: Katie Perez

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Features

able to e b d l u the t sho help all residen p d l u d o o c o ev hey “A g ay that t lved and keeps w a n i d o lea inv guiar that are Alexa A – people ” . d n i in m eryone

“They have to be very good and influential in speaking. Also they have to be very honest and keep there promises.” –Max Romero

"A president should be someone who can make the world a better place." –Nicole Fontane

"A president should be someone who can support their country and do what is best for their country, and who can support their people.” –Janiya Russell

What qualities do you deem necessary for a successful President to have?

Cheyenne Searcy- “Has to address and show concern for different demographics, but be able to bring them together in a way that will benefit the country.” –Cheyenne Searcy n o ca h w e n erso enefit th e p a l b e ld b hat can ld be ab u o em ou t sh ns t iden decisio They sh solve th e." s e r "A p logical future. nd and ing mad a e e mak n in the ues at h sions b i s o nati e the is lsive dec k t to a ut impu lafia o o with sana Ab s i –Kr

“The president should be someone who has respect for all types of people no matter their gender or ethnicity. Be transparent and not change their opinions or views depending on where they are and finally have experience prior to being president.” –Mackenzie Henderson

“My perfect president would be just and intelligent, super open-minded and would make a difference. My perfect president would not be sexist. Most importantly, someone who I would be proud to call our president.” –Gianna Correa

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“My perfect strong leade president th in the schoo with others.”

“A good president has to be a good speaker, their promises can't be empty and remain composed.”

–Jared Bushing

“Ou He/s need

“The president must have a plan to defeat ISIS and must be good at revitalizing the economy. Have to be a strong leader.”

–Ryan Pujols

t president would have ership. I would want a hat makes a difference ol and see them interact ” –Kaitlyn Pyramm

Features “The president needs to not be biased, needs to find the answers to our problems with proper and reasonable ways to solve them. They must be strong leaders that are qualified to run this country.” –Natalie Jimenez

ce telligen n i f o t ith ve a lo agree w s ould ha e l h s p o t e n p e d ake who i “A presi w to m meone o o s h t n w a for o and kn have to say. I w g things right in ey what th mitted to mak m o Belle really c Janaiva – ” . e n o every

ur perfect candidate would be a very strong and intellectual individual. she should be cautious about what is going on in the world and what ds to be controlled.” –Danielle Ricca and Brianna Rodriguez

“The ideal president would be coming for a humble background and actually cares about the well being of the US and it's people. He or she has to be a person who pushes to make the rights that will improve America.” –Hernando Lugo

“A good pr self-absor esident shouldn't bed in th be too emselves should ca and they re about oth able to lea d everyon ers, while being e else and t try in a d ecent way h .” –Anony e counmous

“They should be able to not only understand the middle class but know how to be able to help them.” –Mariana Yordan

“My perfect president would be morally sound and beneficial for both parties. In the end a good president would have to handle tough situations that we are facing today. We just need a good leader, plain and simple.”

–David Garcia

“For the ran past f o r been hom two ye as th success ecomin ars, I h g k f o ing ave be a ugh I k ul. The r a g e dete ood can now wh fore, I nd rmin at it feel dida soci alizi ation, p te. It tak takes to ng.” r e –Gu ide, and s focus , y Bo ston a lot of

Alexandra Ruiz-“The president needs to think about the general welfare of all of the American population, rather than just a small portion of it. They also need to be genuine, and keep their promises.” –Alexandra Ruiz

“A president should be someone who can do what the people may want and can help people in the future for later on and make the world a better place. Overall take people's decisions should be taken into consideration and help improve people's lives.” –Amber Browning

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Flipping Into Pure Gold

Fantasy Football and Math: The Unlikely Duo Evan Samuels

Sarah Barrocas

Managing Editor - Web

As the National Football League (NFL) approaches its third week of the 2016-2017 season, fantasy football has already reached its midseason form. Almost every football fan

has been spotted checking their lineups, executing trades, and trying to compete against their friends or other competition in an attempt to win their fantasy league. Whether it’s in class, lunch, or after school, fantasy football is the buzz around Charter and is bringing football fans from all grades together. Teachers around the country have been noticing this trend, and are coming together to try to find ways to bring fantasy football to students in the form of academics.

This all started through a 2009 study from the University of Mississippi. They studied elementary, middle, and high schools consisting of 144 teachers and 342 students (http://fantasysportsmath.com/study-results.php). According to the study by University of Mississippi, “75% of the teachers agreed that students understood math concepts more

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Co-Managing Editor - Content

t wasn't running the diamond of a baseball field, the tackle of a linebacker in a football game, or the swish of a nothing but net toss that captured the attention of sophomore William Gomez. Instead, it was the strength to flip his body around the high bar, the tenacity to perfectly execute a floor routine, and technique to nail and land the vault that ignited the flame in the passionate male gymnast, Will Gomez. Gomez’s first exposure to the gymnastics world was at age four, after watching his older sister, Celia Gomez (‘17), take classes. Now as a sophomore in high school, Will Gomez has continued his gymnastics career for twelve years, competing for seven.

The committed gymnast practices five days a week- every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday- with each training lasting around three to four hours. Representing the Park Avenue Gymnastics team, Gomez participates in all six of the male events: highbar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings, vault, and floor. The frenzied athlete credits gymnastics with having a large impact on his life, “It has taught me time management, how to work as a team, and many other things that have also helped me with concepts within school and success in other things of the world.”

While it may be difficult for the high school athlete to balance his time between his athletics and academics, his talent and passion for the sport has not wavered. After graduating

Graphic by: Taylor Causey

when they used fantasy sports.” Also the study found that, “students’ math grades were higher when they used fantasy sports.” Even though this study covered only 342 students, the results clearly showed the positive impact fantasy football has on math. “I would have never thought something like fantasy football and math would go together in school. I think it’s definitely something to consider for math teachers in Charter. This would be a fun and entertaining way to get high school students interested in math right from the beginning of class” said junior Daniel Pacheco.

Teachers, however, are not just using fantasy football for math, they are also using it for history. According to another study in 2009, a teacher from North Lakes Academy in Minneapolis incorporated fantasy football draft system and applied it to real world events.

Nelson, the teacher, made his history class draft countries, scoring the students’ based on how many times these countries were mentioned on the news (https://www.engadget. com/2015/09/04/fantasy-sports-in-schools/). Although this study didn’t seem like a lot at first, as more and more history teachers saw this practice they wanted to incorporate this into their curriculum as well. In 2014 this platform launched and today there are now more than “50,000 students and more than 1,000 teachers using Fantasy Geopolitics as part of their history, civics, and world events curriculum” (engadget).

It’s important to realize that not every student supports fantasy football incorporated into their curriculum. Junior Gabriela Perez said that, “Having fantasy football in a class like math might just make math more boring. I feel like more guys would pay attention than girls in these classes, and would just make me un-interested in learning.” It is clear that teachers using fantasy football in their curriculum experience some difficulties along the way. Their attempt to get every student interested in learning is a difficult task they try to complete.

It truly is a fascinating idea that one day something like fantasy football and school might come together in an effort to help students learn. The studies by the University of Mississippi and the teacher from North Lakes Academy definitely showcased encouraging results. Sure these studies have a lot of room for improvement and underwent some problems that needed to be fixed, however, the results overshadowed the problems. Hopefully schools like Charter find unique ways to connect fantasy football to subjects like math and history. If they do, this unlikely duo might mesh together in the future.

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Photo By: Aijah Harper

high school, Gomez hopes to continue his extracurricular occupation in college. Because there are only about 12 colleges that carry a men's gymnastics team, he is more willing to accept whatever opportunities and scholarships come his way. With an interest in Penn State, the South Florida gymnast could shortly be turning in his tank tops and cargo pants for a scarf and hoodie.

Throughout his career, Will is credited as the reigning four-time national champion for the male competition. While this is an astounding accomplishment to be credited with, his national title is among some of the very many crazy competitions he has participated in.

In 2015, Gomez attended the national championships. When the competition was over, he realized that he had lost by 0.025 of a point; however, while arriving home he realized that it was not possible to lose by a quarter of a tenth of a point. After putting in a petition that the judges said they would look over, the table still award Gomez with the silver medal. Ironically, two weeks later Will received a gold medal in the mail with a written letter apologizing for the mistake that they made. Even with an “accidental loss,” Gomez still came out a winner. With a future as bright as Will Gomez’s, he has jumped off of the beams, flipped off of the bars, and has followed his dreams to reach for the stars.

Sprinting and Swinging Back into Season Jordan Alberti & Cristine Alayon Staff Writer & Sports Editor

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ross Country: It’s the middle of Jags Cross Country season and the athletes have already shown flashes of potential and promising talent. Varsity runner Mateo Canola (‘19) had a lot of positive things to say about the team, “We are working as a team and we have some hard workers on the team. There are those who are more laid back, but they are starting to make significant progress. Everyone has improved in the 5K's we are running at each meet.” With two more meets to go and districts ahead of them, the Jags are pushing all they have to be able to qualify for districts and represent Charter the best they can. The running Jags have a lot of newcomers and the other half are returning athletes. Being that the team was great last year, they’re determined to work even harder to maintain the great status of “Pines Charter Cross Country.”

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olf: Golf is the unconventional sport that not many students at PPCHS keep up with, but this season the golf team has been making their mark. With a total of 12 members, 6 boys and 6 girls, the golfers have been a strong unit so far. Mr. Suid is the Jags golf coach and sees nothing but positive things, “The team is very young and a working progress. I see a lot of potential for the young players and we are working on building their individual skill” he comments. So far, the team has competed in one match and has more to go.

Although they lost in a close battle, the players continue to come out to Pembroke Lakes Golf Club every day after school and practice their swings. The 12 members are continuing to fight for Pines Charter and are eager to earn more victories on the golf course.

Photo By: Samuel Eliacin

Against Colin Kaepernick’s Movement Matthew Hernandez Staff Writer

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olin Kaepernick was not right in kneeling. On August 26th, 2016 during a San Francisco 49ers preseason football game Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem before the game. Kaepernick drew a huge amount of attention for this gesture, both good and bad, however, it was not the right course of action. The national anthem is a huge symbol in this country and every country for that matter which represents national pride. In the United States especially, it represents the freedoms we Photo By: Aijah Harper get to enjoy every day and the battles our military had to endure to get these freedoms. When the national anthem comes on everyone should always stand and remove hats, for one to respect the men and women who once served and currently serve this country in the military and risk their lives to protect us.

Aside from this, people should always rise just out of pure love, pride, and respect for this nation. Members of the military provide U.S. citizens the right and entitlement to so many freedoms and privileges that many others on this earth could only wish for. Colin Kaepernick is trying to help solve and raise awareness to a very important issue in this country which is of course racial equality, but the way he protested could’ve been thought out more and he could’ve done it in a different way. For example, Kaepernick could have raised a hand during the anthem or even worn a shirt with a phrase on it addressing the issue of equality on it, but kneeling during the anthem was excessive and was quite honestly uncalled for. Junior Gaby Torres said, “I believe that what Colin Kaepernick did had a justified reason behind it but, I feel the way he protested could've been much better.

He could've found a much more respectful way to silently protest than kneeling during the national anthem. I feel that he gave off the image of someone who wasn't proud of his country even though I don't think he meant it to be that way.”

In the end, racial equality in this country is a burning issue that needs to be fixed as soon as possible and I commend Kaepernick for trying to help the cause, but kneeling during our nation’s anthem was not the right way to do it.

Photo By: Samuel Eiacin

Colin Kaepernick Is Justified Frank Mora

When Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers took a knee during the

Staff Writer

national anthem it caused havoc. Many Americans were distraught that such a powerful figure would “disrespect” the flag, those who died in honor of the it, and our country. Americans took this protest out of context because Kaepernick in no way, shape, or form intended to disrespect the military. According to NFL.com Kaepernick stated, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me this Photo By: Aijah Harper is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.

There are bodies in the street and people getting paid by getting away with murder.”

As an African-American man, Kaepernick is protesting how he feels his people are being oppressed and is exercising his right to freedom of expression. Not only should we not mind if someone kneels during the flag because they have the right to express themselves, it is not illegal for someone to kneel during the national anthem. After Kaepernick’s first protest the NFL released this statement, “Players are encouraged, but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem.” Although it may be frowned upon by society to publicly go against the flag, it is not illegal nor against any NFL rules. Junior Corey Lessey said “I stand for what Kaepernick is doing because as an African-American, I understand where Kaepernick is coming from with these protests. I believe there is a social injustice in America and there needs to be a change.”

What Kaepernick did was completely legal in his right as a U.S. citizen and as a player in the NFL. Any U.S. citizen has the right whether or not they want to stand during the national anthem. We have the right to protest and express ourselves as long as it does no harm to anyone. For everyone, it isn’t illegal to “betray” the flag or kneel during it, and for athletes, such as the ones in the NFL, it isn’t against the rules to not stand during the national anthem.

Kaepernick and other players understood the scrutiny they would receive by going against the American flag, but these players wanted to stand up for a social injustice because of how powerful their actions are. Rather than focusing on the method, society needs to focus on these athletes’ message.

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Honoring a Humble Hero I

Sarah Barrocas & Andres Perez

Co-Managing Editor - Content & Staff Writer

n our lives, we are often times struck by events that carry the weight to change our lives a more organized student body that can not only help him plan events but also help continfor forever. No matter the circumstance, whether it’s an occasion to celebrate or tragedy ue and expand the growth of the foundation’s name. His council members are Chonnalin to lament, it is the way we handle ourselves in these situations that form the perspective Sumonthee as president, Kristen Johnson as vice president, Riley Gonzalez as secretary), in which we look into for the future. Bad things happen to good people, and it is those and Ainsley McCormick as treasurer and they have all been working with Mr. Garcia since ordinary people that have a story to tell. Almost everyone at PPCHS knows about large middle school. Their pre-disposed experience with the organization has thus ensured the nonprofit foundations that are very popular around the world like UNICEF and the Red enthusiasm and encouragement that it has spread to among other students.

Cross. What students may not know is that there is the Kevin Garcia Foundation that conThe Kevin Garcia Foundation prides itself on putting back tinuously works right in front of them each and every day. the smiles on many adolescents that may have been temBrian Garcia, a US History teacher at PPCHS, has created porarily stripped due to hardships of life they are forced to an organization with amazing aspirations and goals that are endure. Just this past April, the organization raised enough set to help bring his foundation, grow, and prosper. money to fund a surgery for Nicolly, a blind 3 year old girl from Brazil. Because of all the support and donations they The inspiration for The Kevin Garcia Foundation touchreceived, Nicolly is now able to see. es many people's hearts and the meaning behind it connects with a lot of people. After experiencing a death within the “Her reaction to sight was priceless, I'd love to do more of family, Brian Garcia and his accompanying family and that,” said sophomore president of the club Chonnalin Sufriends decided to turn a tragedy into something positive. monthee.

The organization honors the life of Kevin Garcia, an inspirAlthough it is the foundation’s first year as an official club ing, generous, and humble young man from the Pembroke here on the PPCHS campus, they have already experienced Pines community who spread love and joy to those he great success. An ongoing fundraiser the club has upheld came across in during his life. While Kevin may no longer is their ‘Spread Love’ bracelets. These accessories are sold be here physically with us, the memory and legacy of this throughout the year and can be picked up in Mr. Garcia’s man has withstood his time on this planet. class at any time. Furthermore, the club plans on their annuIn December of 2008, Kevin Garcia passed away in a al projects such as, the Thanksgiving food drive for a small car accident. His tragic accident encouraged his family to family shelter in Hialeah, the Christmas toy drive and party, establish a non-profit organization by means of honoring and the Easter luncheon at Joe DiMaggio’s, in addition to a the life of the teen appropriately. Considering the death of new fundraiser they hope to carry out in the future. the teenager was in December, the Garcia family asked for While the club describes its work as a team with all of toys instead of flowers to donate the gifts to a toy drive that its players contributing an equal part to the success of each Humble Hero Photo by: Justin Dourvetakis was being held by Joe DiMaggio’s Children's Hospital that event, they credit the durability and spirit of the club to the same month. The toy drive thus set the purpose for The Kevin Garcia Foundation- created to help those in need to help young teens and children president of the foundation, Ms. Maria Fiallo, Mr. Garcia's mom. Behind every amazing event that has been hosted, she is the wonder woman who makes it all happen. overcome economic barriers to have a more successful future.

All events and activities that the club carries out is because of love, the same type that “[The Foundation] is a way for my brother to continue impacting lives, and to not only keep his memory alive, but almost keep him alive in a way. Kevin was truly special, and Kevin inspired us to spread every day to everyone. There's no better feeling than receiving his goal was always to make people smile, I feel like we are doing a good job continuing a genuine smile or hug after touching someone's life, whether it be through a scholarship or Thanksgiving meal; no pay or volunteer hours could ever replace that. For additional that, even while he is gone,” said Kevin’s older brother, Brian Garcia. inquiries and interest with the foundation, visit: http://kevingarciafoundation.org/.

When he brought this club over to the Pines Charter community, he intended on creating

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Jaguars Getting Fit LJ Lemmers

Technology Editor

ith the addition of many new clubs joining PPCHS this year, Nutrition Club is one of those clubs that's purpose is to make many students’ dream come true. For students here at Charter, if you want to become fit and get that dream body of yours, Nutrition Club can do just that. Nutrition Club will guide students into the fitness life. Kids will learn the many different forms of exercise: CrossFit, weightlifting, and many others. It is a club that will help students live a healthy lifestyle.

“This club started up because I love fitness. I knew students here in Charter that wanted to get fit so I talked to Mr.Sacher last year who loves to work out as well. We decided to start up Nutrition Club, feeling that we should help those who would want to get in shape.” said senior and President Alejandro Pellon.

Nutrition Club is an after school club that was created by senior Alejandro Pellon and Mr.Sacher. It is a club that plans to educate people about nutrition. Students will learn diet plans to help them lose weight and gain muscle. They will be also learn various forms of exercises such as weightlifting and cardio.

“The goal of this club is to get people who aren’t into fitness to introduce them into that lifestyle to make them fitter and happier. If students are already into fitness, then they can be exposed to other types of exercise strategies that can help them,” said senior Vice President Jose Hernandez.

Nutrition Club will bring guests like personal trainers to give advice of their personal experiences about getting fit that can help students apply that to their life. The club will also be doing 1 day visits at gyms like LA Fitness, Youfit, Planet fitness, and the YMCA. The purpose of the gym visits are for newcomers to see how to work the different types of machines.

“We wanted to make it an open learning environment. This means that members of the club can research their own topic that either shows a new point or counters another thought because there is a lot of false information when it comes to fitness. We want to use this to be able to weigh the pros and cons of exercises or diets to see if they are beneficial,” said Pellon.

The club’s meeting are after school and will last usually for 25-40 minutes. The max number of students allowed in the club are 30. The members will also be volunteering at two disabilities walks for autism and Down syndrome. They will also be participating in either the Spartan run, color run, or a mud run.

Living a healthy lifestyle won’t happen overnight. However, by joining Nutrition Club, students will be able to learn various methods of nutrition. Guests will come to tell their story showing how they became fit and gym visits will teach students how the machines that are constantly used in fitness work. Nutrition Graphic by: Michael Perez Club will give students the teachings that will help establish a healthy body for the rest of their life.

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Here’s One for the (Pretty) Ladies!

Roselle Curiel

Girls, we have all been there. Shying away from the crowd, afraid to approach that group of people you’ve never spoke to before, or waking up in the mirror and feeling

Staff Writer

anxiety they get when they are in an environment that requires interaction. An anonymous girl at PPCHS said, “We get to a point in our life where we start to care too much about completely low of yourself. They say you are just the “quiet kid in class”, but you know what other people think, and then we start overanalyzing everything that we’re about to you are much more than that. Why is it so hard to just get up and go to talk to them? Why say or do because we think they’re going to judge you for it.” is it so easy to compare ourselves with other people, without Though the studies and surveys only measure a handful of seeing the good in ourselves first? teens across the United States, it can be accounted as an accurate representation for students in this society. And with For those out there that are shy, alone, feel as if they are that said, the numbers also provide another fact: You are not not good enough, lack the confidence, lack the self-esteem, alone. The door is always open… to the classroom of D223, or even none of the above, come on by to the Pretty Lathat is. dies Club. This is a group that is dedicated to teaching ladies about their worth. The goal of this club is to help girls The Pretty Ladies club is available for girls of all grades. feel more confident in themselves and teach girls to respect The club was established just last month, in August 2016, themselves and each other. by seniors Gabriela Teruel, the club’s President and Angelique Villedrouin, the club’s Vice President. The girls were In 2013, a survey by the Dove Self-Esteem Project showed inspired to create the Pretty Ladies after coming across the 47% of young girls, from eleven to twenty-four years old are school’s own Gentleman’s Club, after seeing that club they held back by their low confidence levels. “Everyone thinks wanted to build one for girls too. “In here, we will do some you have to look a certain way to be beautiful,” says an activities in order to build trust amongst each other and conanonymous student here in PPCHS. In a generation ruled by fidence. For example, sometimes all of us might have to go social media, many young students believe their self-worth up and perform a song. Meghan Trainor, for example, teaches is measured by how many likes received on their most regirls to be comfortable in their own skin, so we would want cent selfie. to sing some of her songs”, says Teruel. Villedrouin adds on “Girls compare each other to Instagram models and celebto this, mentioning how each member will also be getting a rities, so they think they have to look like that, and end up partner; someone they have most likely never talked with befeeling down that they don’t,” explains junior Elizabeth fore. From there, the goal is for them to become comfortable Castillo. Junior Camilla Swanson agreed, saying, “We like with each other, and have someone to rely on or be there for. to think ‘wow, I’m so not beautiful,’ just because we aren’t “This year we’re expecting girls to make bonds and create that person on the screen.” friendships with each other,” she said. Every so often, lessons will be taught on several topics, like how to better express Pretty ladies Club: Anjali Shah. Picture by: Justin Dourvetakis For others, however, it is not simply what is on their screen yourself. that’s bothersome, but instead it is those that are in real life.

According to TIME Magazine, the National Institute of Mental Health displayed a study “The message we are trying to convey is one that girls and women can be confident and in which 10,000 students, from thirteen to eighteen years old were questioned on their be themselves. A lot of girls have this negative view toward each other, and so we want to shyness and how they typically behave in an interview. Over half of the girls stated they create more friendly bonds, and just be able to have fun,” said Ms. Gonzalez, the club’s considered themselves “somewhat” or “very” shy. advisor.

“I think many girls don’t have the confidence to sometimes be who they are because They say your teenage years are the most difficult and stressful times in a person’s life, of how other people might react,” stated senior Anjali Shah. Not to be confused with and you shouldn’t have to be alone during it. The Pretty Ladies Club takes place every introverts, who simply prefer their alone time, shy teenagers are the ones who really want Wednesday during homeroom. And remember, Ladies are made, not born. to socialize and make friends. However, they don’t know how to overcome the fear or

Honor to the ‘Max’

Pines Charter is home to many honor societies, such as National Honor Society, National English

Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and even National Art Honor Society.

However this year, Rho Kappa, also known as National Social Studies Honor Society, will join this list of prestigious on-campus organizations. This is all due to senior Victoria Max and the club’s advisor Mr. Curry.

“After seeing all the different honor societies that were springing up around campus, I felt as though history was being neglected and deserved its own,” said Max. Max’s love for history stemmed from Charter’s very own Central campus, and the 8th grade US History course with Mr. Masterpalo, or Master P as the kids call him, furthered that. She recalls going into the class wondering how exciting it could be, but found herself fascinated with the past and its occurrences.

Though she is a senior and on the road to graduation, she still cherishes the days when her 8th grade self sat down and was engrossed in the crucial parts of the subject. This was all due of the effective and theatrical way in which Master P taught.

When she reached high school, the teacher that once again inspired her historical admiration was Mr. Curry. After taking his AICE International History and AICE United State History class consecutively,

Nadira Danticat

Co-Managing Editor - Content

Honor Societies: Victoria Max. Picture by: Samuel Elicin

as well as being heavily involved in his Leadership class, Max knew exactly who could advise and provide assistance in her endeavor. Now, he is the sponsor for the club and could not be more excited to see it flourish.

As for club plans that will take place in the 20162017 school year, Max has plenty. She is interested in not only drawing people in and making them excited about social studies, but wants to make a positive impact in the community as well.

“I have many ideas that range from small projects around the school such as “This Week In History” to larger scale projects such as what I hope my first project will be, a care package set up for veterans and those currently serving. I want to gather people to make these care packages and take them to VA centers, as well as send them overseas.” Said Max. Victoria Max wanted to create this club because she felt as though she owed it to the school. With her extensive background in the Student Government Association, this club is expected to be a success with many already excited to join. Applications will be released soon and the first meeting is expected to be conducted by October. If you are like one of the many Jaguars who have a love for history and plan on making it one day, do not hesitate on joining Rho Kappa!

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Social Media Pave Sarah Barrocas

Co-Managing Editor - Con

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he prevalence of social media in politics has made elected officials and candidates for and broadcast it to millions of people instantaneously allows campaigns to carefully manage

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Direct Contact 2. Advertising Without Paying For 3.

How Campaigns Go Viral 4. Tailoring the Mes- 5.

Fundraising With Voters Advertising Twitter and Facebook have become sage to the Audience Some campaigns Social media tools including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube allow politicians to speak directly to voters without spending a dime.

Using those social media allows politicians to circumvent the traditional method of reaching voters through paid advertising or earned

It has become fairly common for political campaigns to produce commercials and publish them for free on YouTube instead of, or in addition to, paying for time on television or the radio.

Often times, journalists covering campaigns will write about those YouTube ads, essentially broadcasting their message to a wider audience at no cost to the politicians. "For Donald trump it has been a strong media outlet to relay his ideas. However, Hillary Clinton has been suffering in this aspect and hasn't been able to connect with her followers.

instrumental in organizing campaigns. They allow like-minded voters and activists to easily share news and information such as campaign events with each other. That's what the "Share" function on Facebook and "retweet" feature of Twitter are for.

Donald Trump used Twitter heavily in his 2016 presidential campaign.

"I like it because I can get also my point of view out there, and my point of view is very important to a lot of people that are looking at me," Trump

Political campaigns can tap into a wealth of information or analytics about the people who are following them on social media, and customize their messages based on selected demographics. In other words, a campaign may find one message appropriate for voters under 30 years old will not be as effective with over 60

have used socalled "money bombs" to raise large amounts of cash in short period of time. Money bombs are typically 24-hour periods in which candidates press their supporters to donate money. They use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to get the word out, and often tie these money bombs to specific controversies that emerge during campaigns.

The popular libertarian Ron Paul, who ran for president in 2008, is orchestrated some of the most successful money bomb fundraising

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down si lations p candidat son: Allo unfiltere has land water or has impa the reac quicker. people w Twitter This all much mo

Go-go Gopro Saff Writer

IPlayStation magine it’s time to go back home and play a therapeutic game on your PS4 for a couple hours after a long day of filming using the GoPro with friends. But when you turn on your you realized that they just updated a new app and it was surprisingly a GoPro channel. In the app, you can finally stream and browse GoPro content at the same time.

This really benefits and gives players new thing to do on their PS4 or PS3.

The GoPro channel allows users to stream and browse on Go-Pro cameras, and accessories. John Cohen, the director of GoPro, said, “We want GoPro content and programming to be easily accessible on every platform where our millions of fans spend time” (gopro.com). The company recently came out a new GoPro video called The 66th Parallel – Discovering Iceland with Ben Brown. The video will be available on PS4 and PS3 only, until December 29. After that, check it out on all GoPro platforms (gopro.com). This new channel allow users watch other players while they’re playing their game just like when videogame users videotape themselves and post it on YouTube with their reaction on the game.

“I think it’s a pretty cool because you will be able to see a lot of new places and adventures taken by other people watching from the coolness of PlayStation”, said sophomore Matthew Cabrera.

The reasoning behind having this channel is that it makes the users have the benefit of observing and watching videos of their interest, while looking at other people adventures at the same time on their PS4 or PS3.The partnership of PlayStation and GoPro is to get both of their audience that are in to use one of the other to come together and have fun using both all together on one thing.

“I think it would be a creative way to spend your free time. It gives people the opportunity to be creative,” said sophomore Kylie Gutierrez.

It also gives the audiences other materials that can try while using the app. Such as making their own videos and posting, listen to music, and watching their sports or activities watching it on it too.

The GoPro channel is one of the numerous ideas and partnerships that PlayStation has so far. As you’re using this app on your PS4 or PS3, try testing it out to see if you would like to do something with it. This can really let you see different from the other perspective as they’re Graphic by: Justin Pierce

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es Way to Politics

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public office more accountable and accessible to voters. And the ability to publish content e their candidates’ images based on rich sets of analytics in real time and at almost no cost.

ontroversy access to voters also has its ides. Handlers and public-reprofessionals often manage a te’s image, and for good reaowing a politician to send out ed tweets or Facebook posts ded many a candidate in hot r in embarrassing situations. it acted the election by making ction to the candidates much For ex during the debates, were able to react live due to and other similar platforms. lows the public to become ore engaged with the election

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Feedback 8. Weighing Public Opinion 9. It's Hip 10. The Power of Many Asking for feedback from vot- The value of social media is in One reason social media is effective is that it en- Social media tools have alers or constituents can be a good thing. And it can be a very bad thing, depending on how politicians respond. Many campaigns hire staffers to monitor their social media channels for negative response and scrub anything unflattering. But such a bunker-like mentality can make a campaign appear defensive and closed off from the public. Well run modern day campaigns will engage the public regardless of whether their feedback is negative or positive.

its immediacy. Politicians and campaign do absolutely nothing without first knowing how their policy statements or moves will play among the electorate, and Twitter and Facebook both allow them to instantaneously gauge how the public is responding to an issue or controversy. Politicians can then adjust their campaigns accordingly, in real time, without the use of high-priced consultants or expensive polling.

gages younger voters. Typically, older Americans tend to make up the largest portion of voters who actually go to the polls. But Twitter and Facebook have energized younger voters, which has had a profound impact on elections. President Barack Obama was the first politician to tap into the power of social media during his two successful campaigns. Jack Abramoff is among the most famous Washington lobbyists in modern political history.

He pleaded guilty in 2006 to mail fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy. Senior Shreeya “I think that social media is a double-edged sword because while it has gotten more people easily accessible information about the election, it also spread a lot of misinfor-

lowed Americans to easily join together to petition the government and their elected officials, leveraging their numbers against the influence of powerful lobbyists and monied special interests.

Make no mistake, lobbyists and special interest still have the upper hand, but the day will come when the power of social media allows like-minded citizens to join together in ways that will be

Gaming Review: October Diego Salazar Satff Writer

• Titanfall 2: Release date: October 28th (PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows): Titanfall 2 is the 2nd game in the Titanfall series and this installment took into account the flaws of the first game, such as not having a campaign, limited multiplayer, and not delivering a full package. Titanfall 2 adds a lengthy campaign, a rich multiplayer, and a full $60 package, which is getting fans and newcomers excited for this title. In addition, Titanfall 2 adds a larger roster of titans with different abilities, including one with a sword! The campaign is adding plenty of new additions as well, such as interacting with your titan like never before and finally finding out where titans come from. This title even adds a bunch more customization options not only to pilots but also to the titans as well.

• The Elder Scrolls V Remastered: Release date: October 28th (PS4, Xbox One, PC):

Back in November 11th, 2011 The Elder Scrolls V released on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, and the game received positive feedback and got fantastic reviews as well. it was one of the most successful games of 2011. The Elder Scrolls V is an open world game that gives the player plenty of customization options and exploration routes, while delivering an entertaining story before and after the end credits. In terms of new additions that this title brings is that players can finally play mods on consoles, which was a huge request by fans. Other additions include up to date graphics with new water and snow textures. Not only that but the whole world is updated, and Skyrim has never looked this good! If you ever wanted a pet dragon well then now is the time to make one, a mod lets you add friendly dragons as well!

• Battlefield 1: Release date: October 21st (PS4, Xbox One, PC):

Usually when it comes to warfare games Call of Duty is on top but since Call of Duty added futuristic warfare, Battlefield 1 now provides classic warfare that is realistic. This game has been getting tons of anticipation because it adds the classic world war combat that fans loved back in Call of Duty. New ideas that the title brings is a more destructible game world, which adds to the realism of the game. Other additions include letting the player use weapons from World War 1, such as clubs, bayonets, gas grenades and even cannons! Vehicles have always been a huge part of all the Battlefield games, and this one is adding the official vehicles from World War 1. Some vehicles include, airships, fighter aircrafts and of course the tank!

• Batman: Arkham VR: Release date: October 13th (PS4, PSVR):

Batman video games are usually the same with a revamped combat system and a few new elements plus a new story, but now developer Rocksteady Studios is making the Batman series into virtual reality! VR really shines with this game as it connects the player with Batman in ways that have never been done before. The developer does this by putting the player into Batman’s shoes, while adding realistic graphics. This is definitely the closest way fans and new fans can be like the heroic Batman himself! An addition that really stands out with this title is that you can see yourself put on Batman’s mask, which gives the player a sense of strength. Equipment is an important thing to Batman, so this game lets the player use the Batarang, the Bat claw, and a new forensic scanner gadget that is completely new to the series. Even more exciting, for the first time ever the player gets to experience the bat cave in first person!

• Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2: Release Date: October 25th (PS4, Xbox One, STEAM):

Dragon Ball Z has gained most of its fans from the hit TV show, but Dragon Ball Z has also brought in some fans with their games as well. Dragon Ball XENOVERSE was first released on February 5th in 2015 and that game had plenty of success, since it added fluid and fast combat with an entertaining story mode and online component. XENOVERSE 2 now adds on to XENOVERSE by adding more fighters a new story and a richer online multiplayer. This new Dragon Ball Z game adds new enemies from a different time period, and lets the player experience the Dragon Ball world.

New combat animations have been made, and the battles look and sound like Graphic by: Nicole Mercadal they are from the show. This title also adds customization so you can make

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Our future president: Did You Know?

LJ Lemmers

Technology Editor

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onald Trump Zodiac: Gemini Children: Barron, Ivanka, Eric, Donald Trump Jr, Tiffany Religion: Presbyterian Born: Queens, New York City Favorite Food: Big Macs and Filet o Fish Nickname: Lord Voldemort Favorite book: All Quiet on the Western Front Favorite Movie: The Godfather Favorite Musicians: The Rolling Stones, Queen, Twisted Sister College: Fordham University and University of Pennsylvania 1.

Trump is the only presidential candidate with his own board game called Trump: The Game.

2.

Trump launched his own brand of vodka in 2006.

3.

Trump is a germaphobe, he hates shaking hands.

4.

Donald Trump has his own Hollywood Star.

5.

His public image’s hair doesn’t always look like that. Every day Trump blowdrys his hair forward and combs it backwards.

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illary Clinton Zodiac: Scorpio Children: Chelsea Religion: Methodist Favorite Food: American cuisine, lamb, spicy foods Born: Chicago, Illinois Favorite Musician: The Beatles College: Wellesley

1.

When Hillary was young, she did not want to become a politician. She wanted become a baseball player, a journalist, or an astronaut.

2.

Clinton used to be a Republican and campaigned for Barry Goldwater in 196 She switched parties in 1968, and then worked for Democratic nominee George McGovern 1972 and Jimmy Carter in 1976.

3.

Hillary won a Grammy in 1997 for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio versio of her book “It Takes a Village.”

4.

Hillary wanted to join the Marines, but the Marine recruiter told her she was “to old, couldn’t see very well, and that she was a woman.”

5.

Hillary served as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff during Nixon’s im peachment proceedings.

Comic By: Mary Gaviola

Comic By: Mary Gaviola

Chelsea Bombings leave Manhattan on edge Paolo Barrera

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Graphic by: Nicole Mercadal

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Staff Writer

n Saturday, September 18, yet another terrorist attack hit the buildings of New York, injuring 31 people in total. Ongoing investigations has both the NYPD and the FBI searching for information behind this bomb attack. From what is known, the two bombs that went off were located at 131 West 23rd street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan and by a Marine charity run in Seaside Park, New Jersey. With the first bomb exploding at 9:30 am Saturday in New Jersey, the pipe bomb luckily injured no one. The following morning, a backpack with five explosive devices was found by officials on a garbage can that was less than a mile away from the main suspect’s New Jersey home. All the devices found were concluded to be homemade, as the New York Times explains that the Chelsea area weapons were pressure cookers bombs that were filled with shrapnel and metal bearings.

The man who was charged on Tuesday for being behind the bombing is Ahmad Khan Rahami. The Afghanistan native lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey with his family while his wife was overseas during the bombings.

Having only three out of the eight total bombs found exploding, the citizens of New York and New Jersey are fortunate. If all eight bombs exploded, much more than the 31 people injured could have wound up in a hospital.

Those 31 Americans faced physical damage, but joined the country in experiencing frustrating emotional pain as well.

Sophomore Gurleen Cambow said, “When a bomb is detonated, everyone in the area is affected by it. Not only physically, but also emotionally. Over the past few months, many attacks have been occurring throughout the United States. We know no real reason as to why they are occurring, but they need to stop as they are harming too many people.”

What Ms. Cambow mentioned lends itself to how numerous students reacted to the incident. “I honestly didn’t react to the bombings to be honest. It’s just something normal nowadays, and that’s really messed up that we as a society are so numb to things like this now,” commented fellow Sophomore Thalia Garcia. Students like these two went on to say that investigations like the one being conducted on Saturday’s bombings should not become routine, for the USA hopes to enter a time of healing after yet another terrorist attack on American soil.

Charter students, faculty adjust to new gates Florencia & Sofia Azcurra Satff Writer

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pon their return to school, the eyes of Pines Charter students were met by black gates surrounding the perimeter of the campus. As many began to questions as to why they were put up, upperclassmen such as Andrew McGuil assumed that the gates were put up after certain incidents pertaining to vandalism that took place at PPCHS during the 2015-2016 school year.

Senior Nicole Gomez says, “I know the gates are meant to have good intentions, but the seniors would have a harder time getting used to them. We all have routines, how to get to class, and what way to walk.

But now we have to change that because of the gates,” says Gomez. So, in the end, I don’t necessarily like the gates.” Although the gates are only locked on the outside, anyone inside the campus can open them.

Administrators and teachers are taking the tardiness and the gates’ importance very seriously. Mrs. Lutchi, says, “I think the gates are a welcome addition to our campus. I think they were chosen with care because they fit with our campus design and don't make our school seem like a jail. I think we will feel safer because the gates add another barrier.”

The freshmen will know nothing other than the Pines Charter campus with the black gate that adorned its borders, but the other grade levels will need a little more time to get used to this change. Freshman, Kristy Navarro says, “It’s almost like being locked in.” By 7:15 a.m. the gates will lock from the outside and late students will need to go through the office to receive a pass and a detention, if necessary.

The idea of fencing in our school has been discussed for about 16 years.

Charter was always hesitant to put them up because of how unattractive they look. “But the big picture,” says Mr. Bayer, “is to have plants and trees around some areas of the fence to blend it with our existing landscaping.” Charter’s AP Environmental students had a contest three years ago to design a way for the school to have more control of the people coming into our campus but make it look good as well.

When the decision to put the gates up was decided, the school had to save up funds, get the approval, and decide on a company to install the first phase. The phase was already done by Friday, September 16, 2016. The second phase is to landscape around the gates and will not be done until next year.

There is no certainty that the gates provide 100% safety but they do make our school more protected than before. “Of course we realize that there is no such thing as security--just varying degrees of risk! So the gate is not an all-protective bubble that guarantees anything--but it is surely one step closer to the ‘single point of entry’ recommended for schools by virtually any expert on school safety and management. And it looks good too!” Says Mr. Bayer. The gates are there to provide the students of PPCHS safety and to give the safest environment possible.

Photo By: Justin Dourvetakis

Florida: The Biggest Swing State in the U.S. Frank Mora

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Staff Writer

very election year there are always states that seem to turn the tide or completely change the direction of the presidential race. One of these swing states always seems to be Florida.

Florida has a registered number of 4.4 million Republicans and 4.6 million registered Democrats. This is a pretty even distribution of people on both sides, but that is not what makes this state perhaps the fiercest battleground state in the country. In Florida, along with the number of both Republicans and Democrats, there are 3.3 million people registered as Independent voters. This means whichever candidate wins over the most of the Independent voters will usually win the race for Florida and its 29 electoral votes. Also because of all of the Independent voters and the relatively even number of Republicans and Democrats, winning Florida always seems to come right down to the wire.

For example, our current POTUS, Barack Obama, beat out former Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Florida by less than 1%. Florida’s image as a melting pot also has a big influence on the elections that take place every 4 years. 1 of every 5 people living in Florida is Hispanic.

A great amount of this ethnic group makes up the Independent voters. In this election, Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have really been campaigning hard to win over the majority of Floridians votes. Junior Morgan Robertson said “I think it's extremely important for Hillary and Trump to try to win Florida if they wanna get to the White House. Florida has proved time and time again that it is a deciding factor in presidential elections so I think it would be nearly impossible for the loser of Florida to win the election.”

We, as Florida residents, are fairly oblivious to how much we matter as a state to the election.

While Florida is the not the biggest or most populated state, states like California (Democrat), and Texas (Republican) are almost always guaranteed to vote for the same party. Our abnormally high amount of independent voters make us unpredictable and very desirable by any candidate who will ever run for office. Florida, we are a swing state.

Graphic by: Taylor Causey

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Presidential Debates: Clinton Clashes with the Temper-Tantrumed Trump David Cha-Kim

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News Editor

he most controversial presidential debates of our country’s history are only fitting of one of the most controversial races in its history. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are easily two of the most eccentric figures in the US’s political history, and their interactions during their debates are further proof of this.

The first debate was held on Monday, September 26th, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

Lester Holt of NBC was the moderator, but his actual ability to moderate was limited by Trump and Clinton’s stubborn attitudes. The first debate was formatted into six segments, each about fifteen minutes long.

Neither candidate nor their teams were previously informed of any of the six questions; Lester Holt had full discretion. The fifteen-minute sections included a topic, giving each candidate two minutes alone, and an 8 minute and 45 seconds period of back-and-forth discussion between both.

The topics focused on economy and job creation, trade, the federal deficit, race relations, the war on terror, foreign policy in general, and the political and business experience of both candidates. No audience participation was allowed, but outbursts of applause would frequently occur throughout the period of ninety minutes.

Almost every single scientific poll taken marked Hillary Clinton as the winner of the debates and only 10% of voters said their opinion of Trump improved after the debate (CNN).

While both candidates were acting rather immature behind their podiums. Trump’s behavior was noticeably worse and he was also criticized for focusing the topics onto himself and his business too much, which hurt how critics and voters viewed his performance.

The two Vice Presidential candidates, Senator Tim Kaine (D) and Governor Mike Pence (R), also had a debate of their own at Virginia’s Longwood University on Tuesday, October 4th, with moderation from Elaine Quijano of CBS. The debate was split into nine ten-minute segments with, similar to Trump and Clinton’s first debate, two minutes to each candidate given to respond and further time to discuss backand-forth. The questions brought up Trump’s bad temper, the economy, Social Security, police and race relations, nuclear weapons, abortion, and religious faith (including Islam). Mike Pence was found to have won in a CNN instant-poll by a margin of 6% despite criticism for not defending Trump’s comments. In contrast to the presidential debates, the Democratic candidate for the Vice Presidential debates was considered to be the more aggressive of the two while it was noted that Trump could learn from his running mate’s calm and collected manner on stage (CNN).

The second presidential debate took place on Sunday, October 9th, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in a town meeting styled format. The audience of independent voters were selected by the Gallup Organization. The event was moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Martha Raddatz. Cooper and Raddatz chose from the 30 most popular questions submitted to the Open Debate Coalition’s website, and the candidates had two minutes to respond to each along with another additional minute from the moderator to incite more back-and-forth discussion. Eight members of the audience were allowed to ask questions and they included questions on how acceptable it is for our country’s children to be watching presidential debates of such vulgarity, Obamacare, Islamophobia, taxes on the wealthy, the candidates’ devotion to ALL people of the US, the election of the Supreme Court justice, and energy policy. The final audience question asked the two to name something positive that they respect in one another, which was one of the most intriguing parts of the first three debates.

The majority of the first half of the debate concerned the infamous tape (leaked two days prior to the debate) of Donald Trump making extremely lewd comments about women to radio host Billy Bush. Trump tried his best to defend himself in his predicament by bringing up the many past accusations of sexual misconduct against former president Bill Clinton.

According to POLITICO, only 28% of people considered Trump to be the winner, but Clinton was also criticized for her lack of capitalizing on the chance to end the debate with a heavier emphasis on the leaked tape scandal. Critics argued that, with the right execution, Clinton could’ve completely put the election away had she struck a deeper blow concerning the harmful comments Trump made about women, especially considering the fact he is a father of daughters himself.

The people of America are viewing the debates as entertainment rather than politics, and in reality they cannot be blamed for doing so. The petty comments, subtle insults, loud yelling, rudely talking down to the moderators, and simply the overall tense tone of the debates made speaking of topics of our country’s future look like something from a reality TV show. The behaviors of the two were likely higher contributors to the viewers than the actual issues itself, which is a phenomenon that makes people question the state of our country come November onwards.

“Watching both of these debates was honestly really painful,” says senior Karina Ruiz. “I’m saddened that these are the two people America has to pick from.”

The third final debate between Clinton and Trump will take place on Wednesday, October 19th, at Paradise, Nevada’s UNLV campus. The format will be nearly an exact replica of the first one with another 90 minutes divided into six segments of fifteen minutes each. Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday will be the sole moderator of the final debate.

“The last debate is both of the candidates’ last major chance to make a lasting impact on an audience this large,” says senior Christopher Alegria. “If they both knew what’s best for themselves, they’d mature up for this last one and get out everything serious they want to say.”

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Graphic By: Katie Perez

Hurricane Matthew Mayhem

Graphic By: Justin Pierce

Amanda Rodriguez & Alexa Infante

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Comic By: Mary Gaviola

Staff Writer and Student Life Editor

n October 6, 2016 and October 7, 2016 schools in South Florida were excused from attending school due to Hurricane Matthew. Matthew made its way to the Eastern Caribbean and became classified as a category 5 with 160 mph winds on October 1st. By October 4th the storm moved to Haiti and Eastern Cuba as a category 4. From there it kept moving and on October 5th and 6th the storm hit the Bahamas as a category 3 and category 4. It was projected to hit the United States SouthEastern Coast which included Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Luckily for us the storm barely hit us and we only got some rain and winds. Unfortunately for the St. Augustine area there were major floods, on Anastasia Island there was water 2.5 above ground level, and parts of A1A were washed out by the violent storm.

This atrocity majorly affected countries in the Caribbean- specifically Haiti. Countless lives were impacted in Haiti during the Hurricane.

Even though we were not impacted immensely by the storm, countries like Haiti, Bahamas, and Cuba were not so lucky. There are numerous service organizations that have been established to help the victims of Hurricane Matthew.

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Tribute

Fernandez’s passing affects us all Cristine Alayon, Mason Feldman & Jordan Alberti Sports Editor & Staff Writer

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t was a Sunday morning when tragedy struck. The whole city of Miami and MLB fans all over the nation froze and it seemed the world came to a stop. Knots in the pit of stomachs filled as they turned on their televisions to hear one of sport’s most distraught moments. From this point on, the #16 became more than just a number, it became a figure that symbolizes the heart and soul of the Miami Marlins Organization. September 25th, 2016, was an emotion-packed day when “Kaught Looking,” Miami Marlins superstar Jose Fernandez’s boat, hit the rocks at full speed at approximately 3:30 a.m. Fernandez was on the boat with two friends, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Macias, when the boat crashed into rocks, tragically ending all three of their lives.

On the morning of Fernandez’s death, a passionate fan and Jaguar baseball member, Angel Padron (‘18), teared up and was emotionally wrecked by the loss of the pitcher he admired most. To pay respect back to Jose, he went with his father to Marlins Park and in memory of Fernandez, he bought a jersey and went on the field to take pictures inside and outside of the stadium. Angel Padron was interviewed by the Local 10 News and had been struggling to get words out of his mouth. He commented, “A bunch of emotions were going through my mind the whole time and I had goosebumps and chills from the moment I got to the field and for the rest of that day.”

Fernandez had been scheduled to start on Sunday at 1:10 p.m., but his start got pushed back to Monday at 7:05 p.m. against the New York Mets. The 24 year-old major leaguer had started on the 20th, in which he pitched 8 innings, had 12 strikeouts and only gave up 3 hits against the division leading, Washington Nationals. He had said after the game that “he felt that he had just pitched the best game of his life.” Everyone had gone to see just another #JoseDay, but it turned out to be the last game he would ever pitch in his life.

Fernandez and the two other friends had told people about their trip on the boat and even invited another couple of friends, which included Marlins outfielder, Marcell Ozuna. One friend turned it down because he had a bad feeling about the trip and even texted the friend who was driving the boat to keep Jose safe and close to shore. According to a source, Jose had gone on the boat to vent about the Marlins pushing his start back a day and he just wanted to relax where he felt most comfortable, on his boat. Another source says he went on his boat due to a fight with his fiancé. Jose and the two other friends had been at Miami River Bar and Restaurant that same night of this awful incident. Investigators have not linked alcohol or drugs to the accident, but they concluded that speed was what killed the trio because of the impact with the rocks and head trauma caused by the impact.

Marlins outfielder, Marcell Ozuna, had serious and straightforward thoughts about why he didn't go out that night and how he tried to stop the young Cuban MLB superstar. “That night I told him, ‘don’t go out,’” Ozuna said. “Everybody knew he was crazy about that boat and loved being out on the water. I told him I couldn’t go out that night because I had the kids and my wife waiting for me. He told me if I didn’t hear from him by 10 a.m. to call him and wake him up so he could get back to the ballpark on time for the game. I told him, ‘yeah no problem, I’ll call you.’ I woke up Sunday and that’s when I found out. I cried and cried. When I got here and saw everyone so serious, I just shut down, I didn’t think my brother would be gone so soon.”

This is pure speculation, but we truly believe that Jose’s journey would have ended in Cooperstown with a bronze plaque with all of his career accomplishments and his face immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sadly, the ending to this book took a different route, but the book did have great moments on and off the field. Escaping from Cuba, making it to the big leagues, and having a future child and a fiancé, are only some of his cherished memories throughout his life. Jose’s prized possessions were his mother and his grandmother, which anyone could agree, he loved more than anything. He was the world to these two women as he was what they lived for. Anytime Jose started at Marlins Park, they would always be there no matter what and simply “family” was the motto he lived by.

Holding a 29-2 home record, Fernandez was statistically the best home pitcher of all time. Through his first three years, he had a 17-0 record at home with a 1.4 ERA (earned run average) and finished his career with a 12-2 record at home in 2016 with a 1.63 ERA. These numbers are simply incredible for a 6 year MLB player and even so, unfathomable numbers. Jose had said before that when he pitches at home he feels “something different and he can express himself fully.” Being the man that he was, he stated that in away parks he would not have that emotion or same self-expression because of how much respect he had for the sport of baseball and the opposition.

As a fan base, everyone is going to miss Jose Fernandez. This amazing baseball player was an idol not just on the field, but off the field as well. From the country of Cuba, to a Tampa high school, to being drafted 14th overall in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins, the man conquered all trials and tribulations and he did it with a smile on his face.

Several students from Pines Charter who had a big connection to Fernandez and love baseball had passion-filled words to say.

Sophomore Kevin Castillo said “Jose impacted me in ways that no other person could. In 4 years, he was able to become my favorite baseball player of all time. He meant a lot to my family and he changed the way I viewed baseball.” Another sophomore, David Estevez, had more to say and he spilled some of his emotions, “When I found out he passed, I was very sad. His death impacted me very greatly and he meant a lot to the community. Jose was a great person on and off the field. He was very passionate, a very nice guy, and I enjoyed watching him have a good time every time he stood on the mound.” Senior baseball player William Wormsbecher will always remember Fernandez as one of the “game’s greatest.” He added “Jose was a true leader and was one of the most iconic baseball players to ever play the game. Once it came to playing the game, he was focused and serious and always played his hardest every time he stepped on that mound. At his age, I think he was the best pitcher I had seen throw. It’s a terrible loss for the baseball community and he was an inspiration from kids in America to kids in Cuba.”

There is no particular way to explain how saddened the whole baseball world is. People from all over the country and even students at Pines Charter are extremely devastated by this extensive loss. Fernandez meant more than baseball to the state of Florida, the United States, and even the world. The country of Cuba is where all-star Fernandez defected from after four attempts. The most astonishing story of him escaping Cuba happened in 2005 when Jose Fernandez was only 15 years-old and a person fell off the boat.

Jose immediately jumped in the water risking his life to save that person. Out of everyone on the boat that person ended up being his mother, Maritza Fernandez, and undoubtedly that was the most heroic event Jose was involved in. Think about a 15 year-old boy having the guts and braveness to distinctly do what he could to save his mother. Along with many more stories about his life, the hero showed how much he cared about everything. The passion he showed, the drive, and the determination he presented on and off the field was irreplaceable.

In honor and tribute to Fernandez, the Miami Marlins are retiring his number, #16. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria stated “I can tell you this now, nobody will wear that number again.” Fernandez had a smile and happiness on his face that no one in the league could compare to. Whether he was starting or not, day in and day out he expressed joy and cherished every moment he had in his life. All other MLB teams showed their support for Jose by either hanging a jersey with his name on the back in the dugout, showing a video tribute in honor of him, or having a moment of silence before their game had started. When tragedy strikes within sports, the game is there to unite people from all over the world together as one. Fernandez’s smile, talent, heart, and soul will stay with fans

forever as he continues to throw strikeout after strikeout on his new mound in the Promised Land. From one field to

another, his legacy will continue to live on and #16 will always be remembered and never left alone.

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Tribute

How I Remember Jose Fernandez Faran Fagen

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Advisor

or Father's Day last year, my dad, Ken, got tickets to a Marlins game for me, him and my son, Spencer. Jose Fernandez, battling back (as he always did) from Tommy John surgery, was scheduled to return to the mound July 2, 2015, as the Marlins hosted the Giants. It was a Thursday afternoon game, so it wasn't as packed as it could have been for Jose's return.

As the game started, my dad pointed out, as he always does when we go to a ball game together, that as nice as it was to see Jose, that it was more special for him to have three generations of the family (grandfather, son and grandson) at the game. Jose fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, before he displayed his dominant command and tantalizing curve to win the game. The highlight, though, came in the fourth. Not from the mound, from the batter's box. Jose stepped to the plate and smashed a 400-foot towering home run off Giants starter Matt Cain. I picked up Spencer in a bear hug, and my dad and I high-five as the crowd chanted, "Jose! Jose! Jose!�

After the game, Fernandez deflected the attention off his accomplishment, as he always did. "We got a win, that's all I can ask for," Fernandez said. "I'm healthy, that's all I can ask for." Thank you, Jose Fernandez for a wonderful Father's Day gift and for always being a class act through tough adversity.

You'll be missed.

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