The Catamount - Vol. 11 No. 6 - May 2023

Asian American Pacific Islander Month celebrates contributions, fosters involvement in community

Claire Guo Features Editor

The 31 days of May each mark one step in the countdown of new beginnings--from graduating high school to the start of a new summer--but the month simultaneously sets a time for celebrating stories already told. During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, the significant cultural contributions that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders made to many facets of American history are recognized and honored.

“I think that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often get left out of conversations about history, and it’s important to pay attention because it’s just as important as any part of global history,” junior Siri Paruchuri said.

Paruchuri, whose heritage lies in India, believes that both the label “Asian” and “Indian” are broad terms, each sheltering diverse communities deserving of recognition.

“Obviously Asia is a very big continent and there’s so many different cultures and ethnicities and traditions,” she said. “I don’t think people realize that there’s so many

distinctions within India. Based on the region of India that you’re from, your culture and your traditions and your beliefs are extremely different.”

For Paruchuri, she feels as though her worldview has been largely shaped by her religion. Growing up Hindu has influenced how she perceives life and even what comes after.

“I think believing in reincarnation has made me believe that I will always have the opportunity to try again. I will always have another life to live,” Paruchuri said. “If there’s something good that [I missed out on], maybe if it was really meant for me, it will come for me in my next life.”

Senior Atiya Thomson shares the same sentiment with religion having a prominent role in her heritage, shaping her everyday life.

“I feel like [most holidays] we celebrate are the religious holidays, which is a big part of culture in Indonesia since we have the largest Muslim population in the world,” she said.

According to Thomson, who was born in Indonesia, this month is a way to “give a spotlight” to minority groups who may have felt “discriminated against or disrespected because of their culture.” Thomson lived in Indonesia for two months before moving to the Philippines, her home for ten years. continued on page 2

Graphic by Briceida Bellon

Celebration of culture improves connection to heritage

continued from page 1

ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER CONTRIBUTIONS

Vietnamese Thu Phap

Different from the Western calligraphy style, which uses a number of drawing tools like pen nibs, erasers, rulers, compasses, and squares to achieve accurate letter proportions,Vietnamese calligraphers only use brushes and black ink to achieve the beauty of philosophy hidden inside.

Indonesian Batik Indian Carnatic Music

Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to color selectively by soaking the cloth in one color, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colors are desired

Carnatic Music is a form of Indian classi cal music with origins in Southern India. Lyrics in Carnatic music are largely devotional; most of the songs are addressed to the Hindu deities. Many songs emphasize love and other social issues or rest on the concept of sublimation of human emotions for union with the divine.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts

“In the Philippines, I lived in a close-knit community. When I moved here, there was a big school and town compared to where I used to live,” Thomson said.

The celebration of different cultures remains one of the reasons that Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is so significant. Senior Zoe Zamora expressed her fondness of the big parties her Filipino culture has.

“The parties are different from here. [They can last beyond] midnight. For birthdays, when you turn eighteen, you have this big party,” she said. “We start Christmas in September. Celebrations last for months.”

Zamora was born in the Philippines and moved to America before she turned three years old, carrying her Filipino traditions and cuisines with her. She finds happiness in others embracing and sharing her culture.

“If someone’s wearing traditional Filipino culture, I appreciate that. I appreciate foreigners who appreciate our culture. I’ve never seen any foreigner do it harmfully [as long as] they respect it,” Zamora said.

May is also a time when people can “reconnect with their culture,” according to Zamora. Whenever she visits her home country, she experiences the “happy atmosphere” that the Philippines offer. However, there are also differences that Zamora notices in herself.

“I understand my language, but I wish I could speak it fluently [as I’ve] spoken English all my life,” she said.

“My niece is teaching me. She speaks Tagalog, and I speak English to her. I wish we could speak Tagalog together.”

The language barrier is a common obstacle in many journeys both to and from America.

“The biggest challenge I had [when coming to America] was the language gap,” senior Anna Lee said. “I overcame that with watching a lot of American movies and YouTube videos.”

During her freshman year of high school, Lee moved to America from South Korea. When making such a trip, many people adopt westernized names in the process.

“It can be hard to pronounce your Asian names, and you don’t want to go around and explain,” Lee said. “I know some people who keep their Korean names, but [a lot of people] make Americanized names because it’s easier to pronounce and it’s friendlier and more approachable.”

Every Saturday for three hours, Lee volunteers at a Korean school to connect Korean children in America to their native language.

“The difficulty that the immigrant parents have is that they can’t communicate with their babies,” she said. “Korean school is to facilitate and educate them about the Korean culture that they don’t get to experience in America.”

The disparity between languages is a drawback that senior Nu Ton shares with Lee. Ton mentions her dif-

ficulty navigating through a new country after living in Vietnam for the first fourteen years of her life.

“My friend, he’s from Vietnam too, and he’s not confident in his English,” Ton said. “I just want to say to him, ‘You don’t have to worry. You can make friends with just your personality and make them happy.’”

The sights and food are both parts of Vietnam for which Ton holds a great appreciation.

“My favorite place is the big city. I can hangout at 10 p.m. and still have food because the stalls are still open. [The market] is right there, so you don’t have to travel a lot,” she said.

According to Ton, houses in Vietnam have the ability and opportunity to exist as a building outside of just providing a home for someone.

“If they build a restaurant [in America], they [usually do not] live in it, but if they build a restaurant in Vietnam, they can live in it,” Ton said. “My house can be a clothes store, a restaurant or a coffee shop.”

Another important part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is making sure to honor the many enrichments that AAPI have given to American society in various fields including science, literature, art, music and other facets of society.

“The food and music is amazing. One thing I really appreciate is the traditional clothing that we wear, I just think it’s so beautiful,” Paruchuri said.•

Graphics by Briceida Bellon

Seniors discuss college application process, offer advice

Briceida Bellon Managing Editor

Many juniors can feel overwhelmed by the lengthy and daunting college application process -– and seniors who just completed it are often times relieved it’s over.

Seniors Lujein Abdelwahed, Ashlynn McCulley, Jordan Carter and college and career advisor Bethany Coile came together to answer questions surrounding the college admissions process as well as their own experience navigating it.

Where did you apply, where are you attending and why?

Abdelwahed: I applied to multiple Texas colleges, but I’m ultimately attending University of Texas at Austin. I didn’t really have any plans to leave the state and since I’m in the top 6%, I got an automatic acceptance to the college, I just had to apply to my major. It really made the process less stressful for me

C arter: I’m going to attend Trinity University in San Antonio. I applied to colleges both in state and out of state. My decision process was kind of based [on] which school provided me the most aid – I don’t want to be in debt after college which is what really forwarded my decision to attend in-state instead of Cornell. I know the prestige is there but what matters to me is whether or not I’ll be paying student loans in my future or not.

McCulley: Like Lujein, I applied to a lot foTexas colleges, but I also applied to other public schools out of state. I ultimately ended up deciding to choose.

How can juniors efficiently prepare for the admissions process?

Abdelwahed: I would recommend researching colleges you want to apply to and what their requirements are and checking and see if you meet those requirements. Once

you’ve ensured your eligibility, I would definitely start writing those Common App essays during the summer once you have time. I personally started writing mine a bit later, which is why I recommend getting them done before school starts so you’re not balancing the essays and regular school work at the same time.

Carter: After going through the process myself, my number one advice is to start early. In my personal opinion, it’s impossible to make the application process “stressfree,” but you can definitely do things to lower the toll it takes. Begin drafting college essays during your free

questions about careers and colleges. There are also resources if students are still unsure about which college to attend, like the “Princeton Review Quiz,” “Texas Reality Check” and “College Scorecard.” There are also many college mentors available online like “Apprenticeship Finder” and “Marticulate.”

Do you think it’s a good idea to apply without sending in standardized testing scores since it’s available now?

Abdelwahed: It really depends on your experience. Studying for the SAT was definitely challenging and something I recommend doing your junior year so you can perfect your score before college application season, but not everyone has the time and energy for it. I think if you performed well and you feel like it would demonstrate your academic excellence, then submit it but if not, then maybe not.

Carter: I also think it really depends on who you are and how your application already shows who you are. I personally submitted mine because I felt like it was a positive thing to add, so I’d say just check and see what the average score is for whatever college you’re applying to and if your score is good enough, submit it.

time over the summer. Also, be sure to ask for teacher recommendations early because your teacher will want to have time to write one. You can even have another eye look over your essays and make sure they are good. McCulley: Don’t be afraid of being unsure. You can always reach out or ask your counselor for any help involving the application. I know FAFSA and financial aid can be pretty confusing to deal with, which is why our school hosted a help session for it.

What are some great resources for students wanting to navigate the process?

Coile: Students can always visit me if they have any

What is some advice for the time period when you anxiously wait for decisions?

McCulley: Distract yourself. But also just accept that what’s submitted is done and that you can’t do anything to change your application.

Carter: I guess this only applies for when you receive your decision, but remember rejection is redirection. Sometimes, college admissions are a gamble.

Abdelwahed: Just stay calm and try to enjoy the last few months of senior year. You’ll end up at a place where you’ll be happy, and if not, then you can always grind during your undergraduate years and apply for a dream school. •

Resources for the College Admissions Process

Xello

A program that helps students discover relevant college, university, trade, military, and career options based on their personality, skills and knowledge.

Big Future

A free, comprehensive set of digital resources that helps all students take a productive first step after high school.

Sources: College Initiative

College Navigator

A college search tool created by the US Department of Education and its National Center for Education Statistics that provides statistics and information on practically every U.S. college and university.

Matriculate

A virtual program that connects high-achieving, low-income juniors and seniors to highly-trained undergraduate advisors.

Art by Amari Rutherford

Remember rejection is redirection. sometimes, college admissions are a gamble

-Jordan Carter senior

Animation program cultivates love for digital art

Joi Speck Editor

For all its years at CSHS, animation classes taught by animation and game design teacher Patrick Powell have fostered creativity and built useful technical skills among students. As digital art class, animation class teaches students 3D modeling, rigging, texturing and animation.

“There’s a lot of [time] that goes into [developing animation] skills,” Powell said. “The first year [students] learn the basics of modeling and rigging, then the [following] year it’s texturing and more advanced techniques [so] that by the time they get to their third year, they can finally [piece] everything together and make [lengthier] animations.”

Graduates in the class of 2023 had the chance to enter Powell’s animation classes four years previous, senior Liam O’Brien taking advantage of this in his first year at CSHS.

“I started taking animation classes back in my freshman year of high school, when I decided to take Principles of [Arts & AV class],” O’Brien said. “I mainly [chose] it because I didn’t know what I wanted to do in school and it sounded like a lot of fun.”

Animation class requires a unique blend of both artistic and technical skill sets.

“Animation is an art class, essentially, so you definitely need that kind of artistic, creative process,” Powell said. “There’s also a technical aspect where you have to learn software to make [models]. It won’t be something that happens in 20 minutes–it could take you [from] five days to two weeks, so you definitely have to [possess] patience.”

As a film and animation enthusiast, sophomore Raine Pate began animating again after being influenced by her older brother, who’d been an animation student himself.

“My brother inspired me to take up animation again,” Pate said. “I [had dabbled] in animation before, but it was more of a hobby I would pick up as a last resort. When my brother started making anima-

tions in his senior year of high school, I decided [to get] back into it again.”

Rather than making 3D animations, Pate indulges in 2D–recognizing their differences.

“With 2D animations, they [operate] along an x and y-axis, there’s no z-axis [to allow] front to back [movement],” Pate said. “While with 3D animation, it takes a lot of practice–there are many [meticulous] factors [involved] like the quality of hair and clothing [and their] actual physical properties.”

Whereas other students’ specialties lie in 2D and 3D animation, senior Chloé Espinosa’s niche lies in intertwining storyboarding and artistry alike.

“I’m into concept ideas [and the] like,” Espinosa said. “I do storyboards, environmental art, character design, all the traditional art stuff. Storyboarding is [basically] taking an entire animation and putting all the important frames in a line–like manga, [for example].”

With the graduation of the class of 2023 comes the wrap-up of CSHS animation classes.

“I only have so many periods in the day that I can teach,” Powell said. “Between three classes of [different levels of] game design and the Principles of Arts & AV class, I don’t have much room for animation stuff. That’s why–for right now at least–there’s no more additional animation beyond what we already have.”

After this school year, those willing to learn animation on their own have a plethora of options.

“For anyone who wanted to try animation for themself, I would start with Blender–at least, for the 3D side of things,” Powell said. “Free resources [like] Blender [are] very new-user friendly and have an absolute mountain of online resources you can use on YouTube for [tutorials]. With 2D animation, [while] you have to pay for Adobe, it has a tool called ‘Animate’ which is fantastic for this specifically. Another good 2D tool called ‘Toon Boom’ is what a lot of actual cartoons use nowadays, but it also [requires payment].”

As long as one has patience and persistence in their animation journey, they

Animation Program Options

3D Programs

Blender: Great for modling, rigging, animating, and rendering (Free)

Maya:Used in professional spaces- Allows for modling, rigging, lighting, and shading. ($235.00/mo, Free trial availible)

Daz 3D: Motion Capture, Keyframe Animation- Allows for physics based clothing, and hair simulation. (Free)

2D Programs

Open Toonz: Allows for animation, digital composition- Has been used by studio ghibli before (Free)

Adobe Animate: Can create vector animations- compatable with other Adobe apps to add effects to creations. ($20.99/mo, Free trial available)

Moho Pro: Is a good program for getting started. It’s one one of the easiest programs for beginners to use but includes a wealth of advanced features for professional use. ($399.99/mo, 30-day Free trial)

Sources: Blender.org, autodes.com, movavi.com, adobe.com

should be well on their way to mastering the craft.

“[Animation] takes a lot of time, especially in the beginning stages of it,”

Espinosa said. “Still, [for those interested] I’d say go for it, straight-up–just jump into it and get started.” •

▲Senior Ashely Silvey animates using Maya on May 3 in Patrick Powell’s animation class. PHOTO BY ELISABETH STEWART

Bible study fuels staffer’s desire for change, equality THE CAT’S EYE VIEW

Unsanitary bathrooms dampen integrity of learning environment

The CSHS bathrooms seem to have not recovered from the age of “Devious Licks,” marked by graffiti on stall walls, broken soap dispensers and toilet paper strung across the floors. As the conditions in the bathrooms are a result of both a shortage of janitorial staff and student negligence, amending the situation requires a joint effort between staff and students.

The district should hire more janitors, and also fairly compensate janitorial staff for their contributions. Our janitors clean spaces across four floors used by over 2,000 students. Such a large scope of responsibilities warrants motivating pay and more staff members to help shoulder the burden.

However, no matter how many janitors take care of the school, their efforts cannot change the state of the bathrooms unless students step up. It’s not our responsibility to mop floors or wipe mirrors, but it is our responsibility to leave shared spaces tidy for the next person. The sheer disregard for the most basic of bathroom utilities, from sinks to stalls, needs to stop. The damage is an insult to the janitors, a financial burden for administrators and a disrespect for fellow students trying to be comfortable throughout the school day. The state of the bathrooms negatively reflects upon our maturity and capability as emerging adults.

When we return to CSHS in August, welcomed by newly waxed floors and clean restrooms, we must begin the year with a commitment to promoting our comfort and safety. We can do so by recognizing that we, as students, may not be inherently responsible for the quality of our school bathrooms, but we are old and mature enough to be accountable for doing our part to leave shared spaces better than we left them. •

2022-2023 Newspaper Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

Features Editor

Opinions Editor

Entertainment Editor

Sports Editor

News Editor Editors

Cartoonist

Faculty Adviser

Assistant Adviser

Elisabeth Stewart

Briceida Bellon

Claire Guo

Sonya Lin

Emily Borham

Emily Ko

Amari Rutherford

Cheyenne Clark, Dean Crick, Lauren Byerly, Rhyan Kalke, Sadie Rigby, Joi Speck

William Crick

Courtney Wellmann

Mindi Cameron-Green

A few weeks ago in early morning Bible study, I walked into the room to see one of my teachers writing on the white board. One of the sentences stated “a large social event in the community usually has girls coming in immodest attire.” This just exemplifies the unequal standards girls are held to–-after all, how often do we hear these judgments about men?

Rhyan Kalke

School dress codes, wage gaps, gender discrimination and everyday sexism, unequal social standards are only some of the injustices women face. Daily, women are required to adhere to gender roles and standards based on outdated ideas.

As a society, we have gotten to a point of judging women for almost every little thing they do. While

this does also happen with men to some extent, it’s much more prevalent with women in today’s society. We’re judged on our clothes, hair, makeup, actions, and even likes and dislikes. If we like traditionally “boyish” things like riding bikes or playing sports, we risk being seen as not ‘feminine enough.’ Whereas if you like traditionally feminine things like makeup or cooking, you’re judged by others for not being “woke” enough, or being anti-feminist.

Feminism is about being seen as equals. Men have been treated this way for nearly all of history, women are just now being recognized as people. I’ve met many who don’t agree with this and support traditional gender roles, feminism in itself is not negative as some of society now portrays it to be.

Unless we stop the unnecessary and meaningless judgments we make daily, this reality is going to get worse. •

View of the Pride: Should students do a better job at keeping bathrooms clean?

“You woudn’t keep your own bathroom in this state, so why would you treat a school bathroom this way?”

- Leslie Lehrmann, senior

“Though it’s the custodian’s job, we can still do everything we can to keep it clean and if the bathrooms are nasty, then it’s no one’s fault but our own.”

-Miriam Demlow, sophomore

The Catamount Newspaper

“To an extent, yes, but ultimately keeping bathrooms clean should be the responsibility of the school because there isn’t enough time for students to create clean bathrooms for their peers to use.”

-Susan Xu, sophomore

“There needs to be more effort in the staff to discipline students who vandalize the bathrooms.”

-Fiza Mareida, junior

The newspaper is produced by the Advanced Journalism: Newspaper Production class at College Station High School, 4002 Victoria Ave., College Station, Texas, 77845. The opinions expressed are those of the writers and are not reflective of the administrators, faculty or staff of the College Station Independent School District.

Submissions to the editors are welcomed but must be signed and should not exceed 300 words. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions in the interest of clarity and length or to not print a letter at all. Letters containing obscene or libelous material will not be considered. The Editorial Board consists of all staff.

The newspaper is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC) and a winner of their Bronze Star award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 as well as their Silver Star Award in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

College Station ISD does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex or handicap in providing education services. Monica James, Director of Human Resources, 1812 Welsh, College Station, Texas 77840 (979-764-5412) has been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements of Title IX. Molley Perry, Director of Special Services, 1812 Welsh, Suite 120, College Station, Texas 77840 (979-764-5433) has been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination. requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Peruvian heritage inspires staffer despite distance

A burst of insecurity flows through my fuerte (strong) Incan veins when I overhear my peers discussing their latest summer break destination--Peru. My stomach drops as the little white lie my mom fed me from a young age rolls off my tongue: “Obviously I’ve visited the country my parents and generations before have called home.”

Suddenly, a six-hour flight to Lima morphs into a voyage requiring me to acquire a little green card and board a train, a ship, and a spaceship just to cross the mountains, ocean, and galaxies between me and my Peruvian heritage. They’ll wonder why I, a Peruvian girl, have never visited Peru before shrugging and sharing pictures of their families enjoying the beach, hiking through Machu Picchu, and savoring a dish of Lomo Saltado.

I have photos too–-my parents’ memories are stowed in a brown scrapbook on our dusty living room shelves. The Puerto Playa visited by my white peers–-evident from their sunburnt faces–-lurks in the background of my father’s childhood photos. Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world, remains unvis-

ited by one of their own–-my mother’s poverty-stricken life in the Andes mountains never granted her the chance to explore her ancestors’ citadel.

When reading stories of immigrants similar to my parents in history textbooks, the heartbreak of separation from families and the struggles of adapting to new cultures are what stand out the most to most of my classmates-myself included. However, it only takes a second glance to recognize the presence of perseverance in between those same lines of discrimination and heartbreak.

If my ancestry has taught me anything, it’s that I’m incapable of pouring anything but my heart and soul into my experiences. On days where I’m defeated by yet another low physics exam score or plagued with a lack of motivation, I remember that no one else in my AP classrooms grew up hearing stories of their grandmother’s resilience when raising ten children in a mud house in the Andes.

Like generations before me, though 3,209 miles away, I’m walking mountains and valleys and navigating unfamiliar areas, connected by our same dedication and our beautiful Peruvian heritage. •

Schafer Senior

“From freshman year to now, I completely changed my perspective from staying in my shell to being in multiple clubs and even going to State for SkillsUSA. Hard work, dedication and loyalty made me strive to be different from my past self. By joining AVP and SkillsUSA, I’ve gained [a ton of] professional skills and met many new people, including friends that helped challenge me to break out into my three passions–photography, graphic design and film. I have learned how to utilize a crane camera, a gimbal and photography lighting tools. These skills have led me to win district and State superior blue ribbons, which is a high honor.” •

Hard Times at CSHS by William Crick

Kaylynn

Briceida Bellon

Graphics by Sonya Lin

Uncontrolled firearms prevent safe environments

sure this never happens again by upping security and implementing new policies, but nothing seems to land, because the problem still plagues schools and communities across the nation. This dare-I-

Amari Rutherford

The morning could start off like any other. We wake up, go to school, and sit down in our first period classes, and our teachers begin the lesson. But then an alarm sounds. “Avoid, Deny, Defend” echoing across the halls of the school. Confused, teachers stop mid-sentence, listening to the unplanned announcement, as their classes silently gaze around the room, looking at each other. It’s up to our classmates to avoid the intruder, deny them access, and defend ourselves and others if the time comes.

Although we have not experienced this at CSHS, too many students and teachers, of all ages and all grade levels, have gone through this.

The United States of America is one of the only developed countries where gun violence is considered a national threat.

Beginning in 2013 many news outlets began tracking the number of school related mass shootings, and the number of times per year these events occurred have tripled since 2013, just ten years ago. Since then schools have taken measures to as-

call-it epidemic can’t be solved with just one solution, but with many smaller solutions that add up to solve the big problem of ensuring student safety. However, the availability of firearms in the U.S affects student’s safety. And there has been push-back, because purchasing firearms is very easy in the U.S. compared to other developed countries. Having so few restrictions means that anyone who passes the immediate back-

ground check, which usually only checks for criminal convictions, domestic violence and immigration status, can buy firearms within hours. However, things change when buying from a private seller. A buyer isn’t required to go through these same background checks. Having this type of open access increases the chances of someone purchasing a gun with the intent to harm others.

One big push back that refrains lawmakers from making real change is that the Second Amendment promises to protect a citizen’s right to bear arms. While this is valid since we should be able to protect ourselves, the lines between this freedom and protecting schools and other public spaces are blurry. Protecting students is a two way street, because schools can only do so much, especially when it comes to an outside entity.

At the end of the day, the right to bear arms is protected under the constitution, and finding a balance between restricting those who don’t fit the qualifications and upholding the rights that are sworn and protected is going to be challenging, but going forward the safety of our school heavily depends on it. •

Abundance of formulaic tropes hinders success in movies

Voices

What is your favorite Cultural tradition to celebrate?

“My favorite holiday is Sankranti [Telugu New Year] beacuse one of the items we eat is a chutney, which has many different flavors representing all of the ups and downs in life.”

Swarali Akella, sophomore

“Easter, because my grandma will make over 300 Easter eggs from scratch, and we get to smash them together with friends and family. ”

Michael McKinley, sophomore

Do you remember when “Infinity War” and “End Game” were first released? Remember how popular they were? For good reason too; they were good movies. Since then, however, Marvel movies and shows have become... not good.

Dean Crick

Aside from occasional successes such as “Spiderman: No Way Home” or “Moonknight,” Marvel movies keep following the same pattern, and it is does not produce very good movies.

out some information and then fighting some bad guys over it. Like in “Shang-Chi,” the main story starts with Shang-Chi on a bus where he fights some bad guys. He then finds where his sister is, and fights some other people. He meets his sister, and fights more bad guys. He talks with his father about his plan, then fights more bad guys. He goes to the magical land, and fights more bad guys, fights his father, then fights the evil monster mentioned before.

“Every seven years we travel to Nigeria, and we have huge cultural parties where we eat, hire masquerades and wear traditional clothing based on each of our families.” Favor Ezeanuna. senior

“As a family, we make lanterns and we light them on certain holidays. The lanterns serve as a signal for something to look forward to, like a light at the end of the tunnel, Krisha Dhaduk, senior

Art by Sonya Lin

The first problem that comes to mind, is the lack of development for the villains of the movies. Gor the God Butcher in “Thor: Love and Thun der” was given roughly two minutes of backstory. In “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the villain is an evil monster with an evil plan to be evil and spread evil. As the audience, we are not interested in what they are doing and do not care if they win or lose because of this.

The next problem is the overuse of action sequences. The movies and shows are a pattern of the main character finding

Or with the finale of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Although I found the rest of the show to be interesting and very good, the finale was essentially the two heroes running around in the dark fighting random henchmen for fifty minutes.

As mentioned before, there are good Marvel movies and shows, but considering the amount of formulaic ones they are putting out, people stop caring whenever they release a new one. •

“La Tamalada. In my family, we make tamales every December. This takes place usually before the Christmas holiday. It brings us together as a family to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday.”

Rose Santos, Art and Drawing

The United States of America is one of the only developed countries where gun violence is a national threat

Senior Directs bring new talent, diverse array of shows to stage

Elisabeth Stewart Editor-in-Chief

CSHS theatre’s graduating seniors recently stepped off the stage, but only to transform from actors to directors as part of the annual “Senior Directs Showcase” on May 4 and 5.

Shows included a mix of well-known literature like “The Giver” and “Alice in Wonderland,” a heartbreaking drama “The Death and Life of Larry Benson,” a humorous Shakespeare play with both a modern and classic Romeo and Juliet, several musical number medleys and more.

“These plays are so varied. I’m surprised with the options that were given [by directors], and I think the audience [was] surprised with the depth, excitement and maturity of these shows,” theater director Elizabeth Creel said.

Creel began senior directs in 2016, following the conclusion of that year’s One Act Play competition season as a way to continue building directors’ and actors’ skills.

“It was a shorter [competition season] than we expected. The students were just devastated,” she said. “I thought the best way to keep them happy is to keep them busy, and senior directs is a great chance for kids in our department to share what they’ve learned and to provide opportunities for underclassmen who may have never had a role.”

Seniors in advanced theater courses can apply to direct a show of their choosing. Their applications must include an artistic vision for the show, which many directors, including senior Hailey Hudson, have thought about for years.

“‘The Death and Life of Larry Benson’ is about a man who goes to war, comes home, and thinks he’s Larry Benson, but he’s not at all,” Hudson said. “It deals with PTSD and how when people come home from war, they don’t know how to adapt.”

To prepare for her show, Hudson said she had to “understand these characters and build this whole story in [her] head.”

“Each character has a specific emotion attached to them,” she said. “I also

incorporated this into their costumes. Jessie wears yellow because she’s very pure and lighthearted, blue for the mom who is family-centered and black and red for the dad who is aggressive about the situation.”

Creel said that the directors have been in enough shows to “understand the ebbs and flows of how a play works.”

“But they always hit a wall where it’s hard for them to direct their peers because they’re the same age and friends with them,” she said. “A lot of the challenge is helping them to maintain their position as a director but not break relationships.”

Senior director Alexa Ayala said she looked for a cast that “built off of each other,” were “directable” and were people she trusted with the emotional connection she has with the songs she chose to include in her showcase.

Her selection includes standout songs from lesser-known Broadway shows like “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

“I told some of my actors, ‘These songs hold a piece of me. They hold a piece of my soul. I trust y’all and I care for y’all and I’m giving you this piece of me because I know y’all will do amazing in these roles,’” she said.

Creel said that the directors have to see “the beginning of a product” as well as the “potential within that.”

To “really show what live theater can be,” senior Colin Medlock began this trial-and-error process three months before even submitting his proposal for “Ride the Cyclone,” a musical about a group of kids who perish in a roller coaster crash and then decide who gets to rise from the dead.

“I saw this show at the Texas Thespians show in November,” he said. “Since I’m a technician, not an actor, I was like, ‘I wonder how I could do that at my school and use what I have to build the same world that they did.’”

Medlock, who wants to go into professional production design and stage management after college, drew his blueprints and built a seesaw roller coaster out of his

garage to make one actress appear like she’s flying.

“Safety is a huge thing in technical theater. That’s why I started planning so early,” he said. “I tested it and tested it again. [I worked] on this for so long so that it [could] be a cool and safe experience.”

Medlock said that the senior direct experience helped him think about how to transform his passion for theater into a career and uplift younger theater members

just starting out.

“Senior directs give students who may not be in a show throughout the year an opportunity to try out,” Creel said. “It’s this cool opportunity to open our doors and share this secret that theater people know: if you’ve ever been in a play, you know how awesome it is. We’re trying to let people in on our little world here.”

•

▲Senior Colin Medlock and freshman Audrey Keough adjust the central beam that allows the character Jane Doe, played by junior Emma West, to “levitate” in “Ride the Cyclone.”

PHOTO BY ELISABETH STEWART

▲Senior Mya Hardin directs her “Alice in Wonderland” cast from the sound booth during a run-through.

PHOTO BY ELISABETH STEWART

▲Senior Avery Burkett builds a balcony for her show’s star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. PHOTO BY ELISABETH STEWART

Film Fest offers outlet for student expression on big screen

Emily Borham Entertainment Editor

Students turned into directors when all the AVP classes came together to watch their films on the big screen on May 13, the eighth annual Film Fest.

“I’m always very proud to look back on the accomplishments that the students have made over the year,” Audio and Visual Production teacher Stephen Green said. “For a lot of these projects, it’s the first time an audience actually gets to see them instead of just the people that they are in class with every day.”

Throughout the year, AVP students work up to creating their final film of the year, for which they are given creative license over the plot and design. Senior Emily Moreno’s film is a homage to her father’s friend group when he was in high school.

“I grew up hearing all their cool stories, and they are still active in my life, so I wanted to give back to them through this film,” Moreno said.

Most of the films are seniors’ last farewell. Filming together since their first days in AVP I three years ago, seniors Joseph Chunga-Pizarro and Dat Ha, known as “The Fellas,”produce their last film project together. “I almost don’t even think of it as our last film, but just the last thing we do before launching into whatever creative pursuits we do,” Ha said. “This is another branching off point from high school to the rest of our lives.”

The duo has bonded over their shared love for music, and for their final film, crafted a story about a boy who goes on a journey for his late father’s lost records.

“Music drives us in our films. We always want to have a needle drop when it comes to all these films,” Chunga-Pizarro said.”From just slapping on some sixties music to finding the perfect song to capture the vibe for the film, everything is about music. That’s what drives us from pre-production to editing, our love of music.”

Senior Dominic Motekaitis hopes to produce a comedic film of different short stories.

“This is my last chance to

show off my skills and to show off my storytelling,” he said. “But it’s also a gathering of fellow filmmakers and fellow film appreciators, and a place where I feel that I can truly express myself.”

Motekaitis loves seeing, “pieces of these people’s personalities represented in their films, but now it’s paired with a higher expression,” he said.

“We have been with these people for many years now, and it’s been so interesting to see their very first films, their humble beginnings, to the growth each person has made in their films from where they’ve come from,” Motekaitis said. “We’ve all learned so much, everyone has become such excellent storytellers and have such grand stories with such engaging movies. It’s really impressive to see how we all started from sort of ground zero, and grew up to make almost professional cinema.”

•

I love seeing people’s reactions, everyone laughing and smiling together while sharing each other’s films

-Joseph Chunga-Pizarro senior

▲Senior Emily Moreno films a scene in her film “The Doo Doo Posse” PHOTO BY EMILY BORHAM

▲Seniors Joseph Chunga-Pizarro and Dat Ha set up the framing of their camera before shooting a scene. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE FELLAS

Dedicated array of teams display agricultural skills in FFA state contests

Lauren Byerly Editor

FFA is a schoolwide organization that hosts Leadership Development Events, or LDE’s, in the fall and Career Development Events, or CDE’s, in the spring. Many of this year’s CDE teams compete at state on April 28.

Floriculture

The Floriculture contest encompasses five, occasionally six, stations. The stations are ID, two stations with 30 questions each; Practicum, which simulates ownership of one’s own floral business; Keep/Cull and Placing. According to senior Megan Miles who explains floriculture is 75 percent memorization.

Another way the floriculture team prepares for contests is practice contests.

“[Our] first competition is like a clinic just to kind of see what [the contests are] like, and then we have competitions to lead up to Area,” sophomore Kordelia Kostelnik said. “The more that you go through, the more you understand how [the contest] works, and the better you get because you see patterns and plants that repeat.”.

While memorization is vital to success in the contests, some questions are difficult to study for.

“I would say the practicum is the most challenging part. We have a 10 question test: five [to six] of them [represent] you own[ing] your own floral business, and we had to calculate how much it would take all the way down to cost for labor taxes and market goods,” senior Faye Crossley said. “Then along with those five math questions, general knowledge questions are super hard to study for because we have a 50 question test.”

While these contests are difficult, the contests ultimately aid in the development of these kids.

“[Being a part of the Floriculture team] teaches [the team] to work together, [and] teaches them study skills because they need to study the test questions [and] study the plants. It [also] teaches [the team] dedication because if they are not consistently coming to practice, they’re not going to do well at contest[s],” Ritch said.

Kostelnik utilized her opportunity on the team to prepare her for her future career.

“In college, I’m [planning] to major in business [and] after college, I’m gonna get a job using that degree. I’m going to open up my own floral shop. I want to make designs and do weddings and different events [similar to] that,” Kostelnik said.

Milk Quality

The Milk Quality State team, advised by Jordyn Getz consists of four team members: Sebastian Sanderson, Kendall Lazarine, Chloe Ream and Gracie Ream.

A milk quality competition consists of five stations, one where individuals drink ten samples of milk and try to determine defects; Cheese Identification, Dairy-non dairy, Practicum and a test on the dairy industry.

“The most challenging part of the competition would have to be the amount of people. Sometimes it gets crowded at certain stations, and you have to push through [the crowd] to get what you need,” senior Kendall Lazarine said.

Being a part of a team has introduced the members to many new experiences.

“When I moved here [the counselors] gave me my elective options, and they said [I would be taking] floral design. I didn’t know it was part of FFA or did I know what FFA was,” sophomore Chloe Ream said. “Mrs. Getz introduced me and [the] people in my [floral design] class to [the Milk Quality team and encouraged us to] try it out. I tried it out and I stepped out of my comfort zone. I went head-first and did not know what to expect.”

Joining the Milk Quality team was rewarding for Lazarine, in more ways than just gaining knowledge.

“While I don’t see myself pursuing this type of career in my future, I feel like I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about the agriculture industry and got to make some good memories along the way,” Lazarine said.

Nursery/Landscaping

The Nursery Landscaping team’s contests are derived of four stations, Plant ID, identifying plants, weeds, diseases or

tools; Keep/Cull, General Knowledge test and Practicum.

“We either go through slideshows that we make, finding pictures on Google, [and] as we get later in the season, we’ve taken pictures [of] past contests so we can [use those to practice]. Every now and then we’ll go to Lowe’s, because they’ve got some of the plants that we look over,” senior Sam Weisepape said.

In addition to studying as a team, students also prepare online with QBanks. Being a member of the nursery landscaping team helped Weisapape accomplish steps needed to achieve his future career.

“Around freshman year, I decided that in the future I wanted to do something Ag oriented. I’m going to be a horticulture major next year [at Oklahoma State University],” Weisepape said.

FFA not only has aided in the development for Weisepape’s future career, but gave other team members important skills needed in life.

“Everything I’ve done has been totally worth it. When you talk about programs at schools like this [that] build leadership skills, communication skill is the ability to think critically [and] the ability to lead a group discussion, FFA does that [through] LTE[’s] [and] CDE’s,” junior Noah Benn said.

Senior Landon Peoples also agrees

Career development Event Teams

Floriculture: The team distinguishes the quality of floral arrangements, potted plants and regular plants.

Milk Quality: The team distinguishes the quality of dairy products, identifies defects in milk samples and determines whether a product is dairy or not.

Nursery/Landscape: The team determines the quality of plants and identifies plants, pests, diseases and tools used in maintaining a garden.

with Benn that joining FFA and being a part of the Nursery Landscaping team has been rewarding.

“The memories I’ve made will be with me for the rest of my life,” Peoples said. “I can look back and remember all these incredible experiences I’ve had and feel that my time in the FFA was never wasted.”•

▲The entirety of the Career Development Events Teams (excluding Wildlife) gathers in Weatherford, Texas, on March 28. PHOTO PROVIDED BY KORDELIA KOSTELNIK

World Cultures Club inspires appreciation for communities of multi-cultural lifestyles

Sonya Lin Opinions Editor

Transforming a dream into reality is no easy feat, yet sophomores Swarali Akella and Alina Hussein did just that. What had once been an idea sparked through a conversation between the two blossomed into CSHS’s first World Cultures Club, embodying their hopes and dreams for the diverse student population of CSHS.

“[Back in seventh grade we] didn’t really know what types of clubs there would be in high school, but we knew that we wanted to start one where everybody is celebrated [and we could] showcase our culture [and] other cultures as well,” Akella said.

Hussein comes from a very diverse background; she is Pakistani, Indian, Bengali and of Islamic faith. Her unique roots allowed her insight to a mixed array of cultures that spurred her ambitions to see a better range of cultures represented at CSHS.

“There’s so many celebrations within my culture,” Hussein said. “I always wanted to see that better displayed in school [along with other cultures we don’t see much of].”

Upon gaining confidence in themselves and their heritage, Hussein and Akella set out on a mission to create better inclusivity at CSHS.

“We do have a diverse group of students that I feel aren’t fully showcased,” Hussein said. “Hence, why we want the club to be [a place where everyone can feel included through] the representation of their cultures and just simply by having fun and [putting down their barriers].”

Through the club they hope not only to highlight the beauty of different cultures but also to educate others on a various range of cultures.

“The main purpose of the club is to showcase the beauty of different cultures but you also get some education value out of it as a byproduct,” Akella said.

The club is open to everyone and anyone no matter their race, background or heritage. It is a place where students of all grades come together and have fun.

“We want the club to be a collaborative community,” Akella said. “CSHS and College Station in general is like a huge melting pot, and so we want to emulate that here in the club. We try to meet at least one Tuesday every month in Mr. Lehrmann’s room.”

On April the fourth the club hosted a Holi festival outside the art lawn celebrating the arrival of springtime. It was a great experience for many, creating lasting memories of joy for club members especially for sophomore Prabahv Gautam.

“The Holi festival was splendid for me,” Gautam said. “I felt very much represented as I could celebrate my culture with many of my friends in CSHS. It felt unreal as I would have never imagined Holi being celebrated inside of our school. It really made me feel proud and accomplished!”

Both Akella and Hussein plan on continuing the club next year.

“We definitely plan on reestablishing the club next year with many new improvements,” Akella said. “This was our first year, so it was definitely a learning process for the two of us. We hope to explore more cultures next year.” •

we wanted to start [a club] where everybody is celebrated

-Swarali Akella sophomore

▲Swarali Akella (left) and Aubrey Lake (right) poses in front of the Holi poster, displayed to honor the Hindu celebration, the Holi Festival. The Holi Festival is known as the Festival of Colors, Love and Spring, and welcomes new beginnings. PHOTO BY SONYA LIN

▲During the Holi Festival on Aprtil the fourth Ying Cao spreascolored powder as a symbol of bringing positivity into the lives of people. PHOTO BY SONYA LIN

▲ Prabhav Gautam (left) and Thomas Graham (right) engage in another celebration of the festival by embracing the range of human emotions with dance on the art lawn. PHOTO BY SONYA LIN

Classic book club revitalizes appreciation for literature

Dean Crick Editor

Although most students will only read books such as “A Separate Peace” or “The Great Gatsby”–-the ones labeled as “classics”–-for English class, some students choose to read books such as this outside of the English curriculum, in Classic Book Club.

Formed by students, the goal of the club is to tackle books students do not typically choose on their own and then to engage with others about the reading.

“Talking about books you are currently reading is a lot of fun. A discussion even becomes vital when trying a book outside of your norm,” science teacher and club sponsor Ryan Parham said. “Our club came from students wanting to expand their reading lists and have fun while doing so.”

The club is also an opportunity to connect with other students.

“We really just socialize for the first 15-ish minutes then we start talking about the book,” junior Aubri Fregia said. “We mostly talk about what we thought of it, favorite characters, and more.”

A book is read between meetings, which take place for about an hour every week on Wednesdays in room 2027, until all of the members finish it, when a new book is chosen.

“The time meetings take depends on the length and how much we decided to read,” junior Ryan Marsh said.

Although the term “classic” calls to mind names such as Steinback or Charles Dickens, the club also does not just read British or American literature.

“[The term ‘classic’] really doesn’t have a time period. It’s more about the content of the book,” Fregia said. “For example, we read the Princess Bride which is a little more modern.”

The books that the club reads are suggested by the members or chosen from recommended book lists. The members then vote on which book to read next after some debate and consultation.

“So far we’ve had almost everyone choose a book that they really wanted to read,” junior Carleigh Ostermann said. “So it’s not like one person has a heavier opinion.” •

What classic novel should you check out from the library?

If you’re looking for...

Russian Literature

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s novel “provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general.” The protagonist, Anna, is “a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfill her passionate nature--with tragic consequences.”

Gothic Horror

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

Regarded as the first gothic novel, “The Castle of Otranto” follows Manred, the prince of Otranto, who attempts to secure his castle for his progeny in the face of an ancient, mysterious curse.

Urban Fiction

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

Regarded as the first potential classic novel of its kind, in Souljah’s story, the protagonist is the “the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family… When a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn’t want to go, her street smarts and skills are put to the test of a lifetime.”

Psychological Thriller

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

“Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict and unbending routine... But her regime is disrupted by the arrival of McMurphy--the swaggering, fun-loving trickster with a devilish grin who resolves to oppose her rules on behalf of his fellow inmates.”

Romance

Persuasion by Jane Austen

In Austen’s last completed novel, the protagonist Anne Elliot navigates a broken engagement and reawakened love with Captain Frederick Wentworth, who is newly returned from war.

Social Commentary

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“From the Deep South to the streets... of Harlem, from a horrifying “battle royal” where black men are reduced to fighting animals, to a Communist rally where they are elevated to the status of trophies, [the] nameless protagonist ushers readers into a parallel universe that throws our own into harsh... relief.”

Coming-of-Age

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

Smith’s novel is a “poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident.” The story follows the idealistic Fracie Nolan’s “formative years” in the slums as she navigates first love, her father’s alcoholism and ruined reputations.

Adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne

“An adventurous geology professor chances upon a manuscript in which a 16th-century explorer claims to have found a route to the earth’s core. Professor Lidenbrock... sets off across Iceland in the company of Hans Bjelke, a native guide. The expedition descends into... a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence.”

Our club came from students wanting to expand their reading lists

-RYAN Parham club sponsor

Cougar softball heads to playoffs for first time in four years

Rhyan Kalke Editor

After sacrificing time and putting in hard work throughout the past year, the CSHS softball team have qualified for playoffs for the first time since 2019.

“[We’re doing] a lot of things really well this year,” said head softball coach Vincent Carreon. “Last year, our kids turned a corner and started figuring out how to win close ball games and they’ve carried that into this season. We expect to win our games now, and I’m excited to see this team play in the postseason. No one on this team has ever played a playoff game so that will be a fun experience for us.”

Overall, the team has impressed students and parents alike with their performance this season.

“Watching athletes work hard and improve everyday is extremely rewarding,” Carreon said. “It’s a great experience when you see a student athlete perform at the level they expect when they’ve put in all the work.”

Each of the athletes on the team have different reasons for playing the sport, but they all have one thing in common: their passion for the sport itself.

“The season is going way better than I expected it to,” said sophomore Dallis Arellano, who’s played softball for eight years. “I think we’re going to have a really good turnout.”

To get as far as they’ve come, every player on the team had to learn to work together in order to learn to win. With a great coaching staff and devoted players, the team is carrying itself to victory.

“I think we have a pretty good coaching staff, and they’ve helped us a lot,” sophomore Gracie Ream said. “All of us being there for each other has definitely helped a lot with things like picking each other up in a game when we’re not doing well. I think we definitely help each other a lot. Communication is how we do it.”

Class 5A Softball Playoffs

Cougars (26-11-1)

Bi-district: Cougars defeat Killeen Ellison 10-0, 13-0 Area: Cougars defeat Georgetown East View 10-0, 2-0 Regional quarterfinals: Cougars lose to Georgetown 2-0, 4-1

The team members help each other through personal struggles too, like injuries or bad days.

“We are all pretty close, and we get along fine,” Arellano said. “Of course, there are times we butt heads, but we always come back together since we all have the same goal. We put our trust into one another and make sure our teammates know that we have their backs no matter what

the outcome of any game is. During my injury, they always helped me feel like I still had a role on the team and now they are helping me get back to where I was.”

Along with all of these success es and personal challenges, however, come various challenges the team has to face together.

“I think balancing what our team needs on the field with the time they need to balance their aca classes, social lives, family time is a Carreon said. be really good joy their high We’re at such a great school with so many op portunities, I just want them to be able to take advantage of every great thing while they are here.”

To succeed in the sport, every player looks to role models to encourage them to work harder and be the best they can be. By doing this, they successfully grow as athletes.

“I look up to my sister,” Ream said. “We’ve played together since we started, and she’s my catcher, so we’re always together. It’s just so en couraging to me.”

Baseball team battles through challenging season

Courtney Wellmann Adviser

Although the Cougar baseball team ended the season without advancing to the playoffs, the team learned valuable lessons through the adversity. The team finished 13-16 with a 4-10 record in district play.

“We had a big group of seniors, and the record didn’t reflect the leadership they brought forth,” head coach Chris Litton said. “They worked hard and missed the playoffs by only four games and six runs.”

Several games were close losses that gave the team opportunities for growth.

“We had high expectations, and we came up short, which was disappointing,

but we were forced to play with each other and practice harder,” junior Aidan DeLeon said. “Baseball will humble you. It’s not a very forgiving sport.”

That teamwork is part of the community team sports like baseball offers athletes in high school, whether they are winning or losing.

“The brotherhood, the aspect of growing together, brought us closer together,” senior Peyton Reed said.

Reed reiterated that they team gained the understanding of “sticking together and seeing it through,” win or lose.

DeLeon added players are now focused on summer ball and in the fall they will transition into team efforts to prepare for the spring.

After four years as a head coach, this is Litton’s first group of seniors he has coached all four years, and he is proud of their efforts over the years.

“They helped with younger players and showed them how to lead,” he said.

That leadership resulted in victories off the field as well through philanthropic endeavors to make baseball more than just about themselves. For the last four years, the team has held a fundraising campaiagn for the national Vs. Cancer organization. To date more than $85,000 has been raised with $27,000 this year alone.

The Vs. Cancer organization applies half of funds raised to lifesaving pediatric brain tumor research and the other half to support families in local children’s hospitals through the Butterfly Foundation.

Litton said he is extremely proud of each athletes’ effort to support the foundation to make a positive impact on children. •

The Seniors helped with younger players and showed them how to lead

-Chris Litton head coach

Sophomore Gracie Ream takes a swing at practice on May 11. PHOTO BY EMILY KO

Record-breaking sprinter serves as model athlete for team

Emily Ko Sports Editor

From an interest in track tracing back to middle school and through support and motivation from her family and teammates, varsity track team captain and school record breaker P’Soularia Maxey now serves as a leader and model athlete for her team. Maxey, who competes in the 200 and 400 meter sprint, has broken multiple school records for her times, her most recent one being 56.69 seconds at the district finals in the 400 meter sprint.

“Though I wasn’t really that open until this year, I put myself around people that wanted to be successful with me,” Maxey said. “I had to open up and be more confident in this sport because I have other teammates that look up to me.”

Although having only started on the track team a year ago, according to track coach Peter Martin, Maxey has progressed into a leader for the team.

“Everyday, every workout, and every competition, I’ve been able to watch her grow and be okay with notso-great performances, but then also bounce back and be able to push herself to achieve great performances,” Martin said. “She’s one that works really hard, and her work ethic speaks for itself.”

Through her leadership and motivation, Maxey has not only inspired her teammates on the track, but

has also set an example of a good role model, according to track teammate sophomore Layni Kaase.

“She’s a captain this year, but even before she was captain, everyone looked up to her, me included,” Kaase said. “She always did the right thing whether the coach was watching or not, and it helped set the standard for other runners.”

Despite her leadership and inspiring qualities, Maxey describes having faced multiple challenges throughout her track years.

“My biggest challenge for myself is that I’m always doubting myself, and I’m always in my head,” Maxey said. “But what I do is I pray. And when I pray, everything’s off my shoulders.”

Maxey’s work ethic and dedication has appealed to Kaase as well. Her strong mentality and constant efforts have also helped Kaase to be inspired as a teammate.

“I think her resilience makes her super special,” Kaase said. “She’s not a quitter, if anything, she’s always trying to do the next rep before the rest time is over. She inspires me by being mentally strong and tough. She has goals, and I think that’s why I don’t see her only working hard on the track but in every aspect of her life.”

Maxey plans on going to the University of Texas of the Rio Grande Valley to major in Kinesiology and to continue her journey in track.

Boys athletes compete in events with commitment

Cheyenne Clark Editor

The boys track team have dominated all throughout their now finished season and it would not have been for their dedicated and strong players.

“I liked the team bond,” sophomore Russell Glanz said. “[Track] seemed really fun, and it has been, so it was mostly the team that wanted me to do track, and also my friends are in it.”

Glanz has been a part of track for four years now and he participates in sprint events but recently other running events too.

“Last year I would do the 800 meter

and one mile, but [the coaches] started me on the 4x4 meter and the 400 meter this year,” Glanz said.

Similarly to Glanz, junior Noah Benn has run for years.

“I started running track meets in middle school,” Benn said. “I was a part of the Pecan Trail Running Club as well because that’s when my brother was getting into high school, as well, and he was running and that made me want to run too.”

Benn has always had a strong love for running.

“I can’t remember not enjoying it,” Benn said. “A lot of people fell out of love

with it, but I’ve always loved it.”

Benn has been running for more than five years now and competes in the distance events.

“My favorite is probably the one mile,” Benn said.

Coach Matt DeBerry is in his first year as head coach of the boys track team.

“Their work ethic, attitude and their attention to detail as well as training year round and being committed to their craft is what separates them from the rest of the other athletes they compete against,” DeBerry said.

DeBerry believes that their commit-

“With track, it kind of puts you in a solo position,” Maxey said. “But a lot of [what I’ve accomplished in track] has been my greatest achievement.”

ment and work ethic also contributes to their mentality.

“[Noah] is a big-time ‘lead by example’ guy and Russell is a really charismatic guy and has real good energy, which is contagious in a team,” DeBerry said.

The level of commitment that both Benn and Glanz possess makes it hard for other runners to compete against in DeBerry’s eyes.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see them [train] even when there are not a lot of people here, but you still see them grinding and trying to get better,” DeBerry said.

▲Senior P’Soularia Maxey runs at the varsity district track meet on April 12. Maxey qualified for state at the regional championships with a time of 55.46 in the 400m sprint on April 29. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAXEY •

She’s one that works really hard, and her work ethic speaks for itself

-Peter Martin head Coach

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Frozen treats serve as relaxing ways to start summer vacation

Joi Speck Editor

One drizzly, sleepy Friday afternoon, my dad and I decided to stop by SMOOSH--a shop that offers a variety of summertime sweets (brownies, floats, milkshakes), but is predominantly known for its ice cream cookie sandwiches. Located on Wellborn road in Jones Crossing Shopping Center, SMOOSH isn’t hard to miss with its vibrant, pastel-esque presentation-–all the more vivid on the inside.

Upon entering the quaint shop, I was immediately greeted by a cookie display decked out in Easter decorations with the heavenly aroma of freshly-baked goods. SMOOSH offers a unique experi-

Cheyenne Clark Editor

I recently had the opportunity to go to Freezing Cow in College Station at 725 Texas Avenue, (open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. everyday).

As I walked in, my nervousness of how the ice cream would taste quickly subsided. The first thing I noticed is that the windows and walls are covered with bright sticky notes, and some of the notes had drawings and others had random sayings. The interior is very colorful as well. The walls are half light pink and half brown marble, while the tables are white and orange checkerboard themed with orange chairs along with them. Hanging off of the ceiling are different colored lamps as well as multicolor Christmas lights hung around the perimeter of the windows.

ence in allowing customers the freedom to custom-create their ice cream sandwiches, starting with cookies (available in flavors chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, M&M, fudge, sugar, etc.) as a base. The store attendant was very helpful and informative, and I was pleased to hear that a great deal of the ice cream flavors (ranging from vanilla, butter pecan and cappuccino fudge crunch to crazier ones such as cotton candy, strawberry cheesecake and “Cookie Monster”) were oatmilk-based and gluten-free. A plethora of additional toppings are also available from chocolate chips to marshmallows and gummy bears. I played it safe ordering a fudge cookie base ($2.98) with cookies n’ cream ice cream filling ($5.49). My dad went for an M&M cookie base ($2.98) with espresso coffee ($5.49) as his ice cream of choice.

True to the shops’ name, I just about

I was thinking about the rolled ice cream throughout the day, and I already knew the flavor I wanted: cookies and creme, my go-to flavor.

As I read the menu on the flat screen, I came across their ninth option on their menu: the Dark Forest ($6.39), which is chocolate with oreo, brownie and chocolate syrup. Each customer gets to order two free toppings, and I chose more oreos and cheesecake bits.

The wait for the rolled ice cream was very short, luckily. As I looked at my creation, my eyes widened because of how delicious it looked.

My first bite was amazing. The flavors were so cohesive and each bite was more addicting than the last. It did not take me very long to finish the ice cream, and as I took my last bite of the treat I could not wait to have it again. •

“SMOOSH-ed” my face attempting to get a bite into the sizable ice cream sandwich. Neverthe less, I would soon discover it to be delicious. While I was forced to grapple with the lim its of my small mouth, my dad had much better luck with his snake-like jaw. Still, even he was forced to reckon with the consequences of brain-freeze as we decided to “mine away” at the ice cream filling (with provided spoons) while it warmed up a bit. Ultimately, the shop’s products and service delivered, and I can

Elisabeth Stewart Editor-in-Chief

Last summer, Andy’s Ice Cream arrived in College Station, delivering a retro-style “slice of hometown Americana” that calls on the charm--and treats--of decades past.

A franchise established in 1986, Andy’s offers guests many ways to sample its treats. Guests can order through the drive-thru or place their order and then sit on the large, shaded patio, as there is no indoor seating. Past the windows and neon signs, one can glance into the red-and-white bricked creamery.

Andy’s menu features concretes (custard blended with toppings), the Jackhammer (custard filled with a topping in the center), shakes, malts, sundaes, splits, cones, soda floats, and the option to “Build Your Own Treat.” All of the treats have fun names--like “The Rico Suave” or the “Texas Two-Step”-and come with a variety of toppings, includ-

imagine how well-suited such treats would be during a warm summer day. SMOOSH is open all week from 2 to 10

All in all, I must advise potential customers to order a drink with whatever treat they request. Unfortunately, that was but another grave error my dad and I realized halfway through our “SMOOSH ex-

ing Bordeaux Cherry, crushed waffle-cone pieces and every possible type of chocolate candy. Treats come in three sizes: small (12 ounces), medium (16 ounces) and large (24 ounces).

I ordered a small “Nutty Waffle Crunch” concrete, which is vanilla custard blended with waffle cone pieces, crushed nuts and melted chocolate chips. My order cost $6.48 with tax. When the cashier announced my total, the price initially shocked me, but once I received the treat, I realized that the sheer size of the concrete fairly accounts for the price. The custard was smooth and sweet, and all of the add-ins were evenly distributed throughout the thick concrete.

While McDonald’s or Freddy’s will remain my go-to for a typical summer ice cream craving (due to its close proximity to my house, low price and childhood nostalgia), Andy’s Ice Cream is a great option for anyone searching for a deluxe treat. Ice cream fans can visit the store at Southwest Parkway and Wellborn Road from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, and until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. •

Art by Rhyan Kalke

Practitioners adhere to religious, personal consumption limitations

Sadie Rigby Editor

There are various reasons why someone may have a diet where they can not eat whatever they like whenever and wherever. The reasons behind these habits are equally varying and can range from religious reasons to health.

Sophomore E.B. Ferguson has a severe allergy to peanuts and as such has a very restrictive every day diet.

“I have level six out of six allergy, if not higher, and I can’t be within like two blocks of peanuts,” she said. “So, if somebody opens a bag of peanuts in class, I have to leave and go into another class because I can break out in hives and potentially die.”

Even foods that have nothing to do with peanuts must be avoided in case of cross contamination.

“I can’t have any product packaged in a peanut facility because of cross contamination,” Ferguson said. “I’d say I learned how to read from reading labels. The first thing I learned how to read was a label with the little ‘may contain peanuts’ warning at the bottom so knew, ‘oh, I can’t eat this.’”

Ferguson would like others to know these health concerns pose a real threat.

“I’d like people to be more aware

that it’s a problem, because a lot of people are just like ‘oh you’re being dramatic,’” Ferguson said. “I say ‘no, I could literally die,’ and I will if you open a peanut in front of me.”

On top of health reasons, many students avoid eating certain things due to dieting or religious reasons. Senior Luqman Baghdad Brahmin recently celebrated the period of Ramadan, a spiritual time in the religion of Islam that equates to about a month of fasting.

“We don’t eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. Basically, the goal of it is to learn self-control, and it’s a time of Ibadah, which means worship, so the only reason that we’re doing this is for God,” he said. “It gets us closer to God, who we call Allah.”

Besides the month of Ramadan (which can last between 29 and 30 days depending on the year’s Lunar calendar), there are other opportunities to fast and a few other dietary rules in Islam.

“We’re not allowed to drink alcohol,

and we’re not allowed to eat pork. And also any animals that have canines, like meat-eating animals,” Baghdad-Brahmin said. “This is because of a concept called Nedjus and that means uncleanliness. We believe pork and other types of animals, especially if they eat other animals, to be unclean, so that is why we don’t eat those animals. And then with the alcohol, it has a lot of destructive qualities to it that can ruin society.”

Other religions incorporate fasting as part of the practice, but the specifics can vary among belief systems.

Junior William Bradford is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Christian denomination, and shares his dietary patterns due to his church’s practices.

“Fasting is not eating for a period of about 24 hours. We do it at least once every month on the first Sunday, but you can do it more than that,” he said. “You pray beforehand and then when you’re fasting you try and think about what

you’re fasting for.”

Like many other religions, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has diet standards and practices, most of them coming specifically from the Word of Wisdom.

“It says things that we shouldn’t do as a member and things that we can’t do and can do as a member. Like we can’t drink alcohol ever, can’t drink tea or coffee and nothing like drugs, barring medical use,” Bradford said. “[But] I don’t really feel like my social life changes too much because I’ve been a member my whole life. If someone offers me something, I just say no, and nobody really gets mad or anything.”

Regardless of the reason, most people do not eat whatever, wherever, and however they want, and the community at CSHS has found ways to provide for these different needs. Some teachers make their classrooms a “no peanut zone” while others may be accommodating to fasting students.

“It’s nice to see that Muslim kids were able to go to the library during lunch and get some work done, and teachers are pretty understanding,” Baghdad-Brahim said. “In general, the atmosphere is just pretty welcoming and it doesn’t make it difficult for me to come to school [during Ramadan].” •

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar lasts 29 to 30 days.

Ramadan begins and ends with the sighting of the crescent moon.

Graphics by Emily Borham

Participating Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

Suhoor

This is the predawn meal, typically a light meal high in protein.

Iftar

The nightly feast that breaks the fast, often opened with dates.

Eid al-Fitr

Known as “the feast of fast-breaking,” this is the holidayy that ends Ramadan after sightings of the cresent moon or 30 days of fasting.

I’tikaf

This period refers to going into seclusion during the final 10 nights of Ramadan to pray and read the Quran.

Source: BBC Religions

We don’t eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. The goal of it is to learn self-control

-Luqman Baghdad Brahmin senior