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Issue 4 Volume 13 Feb. 28, 2018 Hagerty High School Oviedo, Florida
WRESTLING HOSTS REGIONALS The boys wrestling team finished second in regionals and qualified seven for states. page 8 Ethan Lopez, 12
Cheer back on top with fourth state title Bryson Turner
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Online Editor
arsity cheer coach Kim Barlowe thought she was done. When 2017 ended, the varsity cheer team’s state championship streak was snapped, and Barlowe was done… until she wasn’t. “Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with the person that was hired as my replacement, so they had approached me about if I would be willing to come back.” Barlowe said. “Of course, I wasn’t going to ever leave those kids hanging.” With Barlowe coaching one last time, the varsity cheer team won its fourth state title in five years and added a second world title to go with it. “We were falling all over the place, and then we hit our routine at the regional competition without ever hitting it in practice,” co-captain Courtney O’Dea said. “That started our momentum.” The team carried that energy to the state competition, earning an 84.55, the highest score of any 2A team, regardless of division. “It is honestly unexplainable,” sophomore Lauren Lee said. “Winning states, it gives me chills to think about it.” This title completed a year of redemption after the team finished runner-up to Bartram Trail last year, but that was not on the mind of those who were making a second, or even third, trip to the state competition. “Me, Chase [Garick], and Savannah [Hobbs], we were talking about it, and saying how last year never came to our minds [that] whole week because we were working so hard,” O’Dea said. While the core of the team returned, one cheerleader making her first trip to the state championship was freshman Courtney Downing, who became the first freshman in the program to be a part of a state champion squad. “When I was younger, I’ve always looked up to them and wanted to be on the team,” Downing said. “They were always so exciting to watch, so to be able to be on the team and wear that
PICTURESQUE PERFORMANCE The varsity cheerleaders perform at the National High School Cheerleading Championship at the Wide World of Sports. photo by Jay Getty
uniform, I just felt so honored.” But two weeks of competition, in both regionals and states, took its toll. Downing was one of two cheerleaders who injured an ankle during the state championship, which rendered her unable to tumble during the week between then and nationals, which was less than a week away. On top of that, three members of the team came down with the flu. “My biggest thing was keeping the kids well, but I wouldn’t let them quit,” Barlowe said. The team, the entire team, managed to get healthy enough to compete in the national
championship where the team finished 11th. However, there was still one more routine, and that was for worlds, a competition which invites top squads from the previous year to square off for supremacy. “We went through and watched the videos on everything that we could improve on and from other teams that we could be competing against to give us that mindset that we are up there with the other teams,” co-captain Savannah Hobbs said. “We just have to do our job.” The team scored an 87.63, enough to win the second world title in program history, and the
Students participate in walkout protest Ahilyn Aguilar
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Editor-in-Chief
n Wednesday, Feb. 21, students participated in a peaceful protest for 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims of Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The protest was called a walkout, and students were to walk out of their class and meet at the picnic tables outside the cafeteria. The walkouts initially started with the twitter account National School Walkout, @schoolwalkoutUS, a page encouraging students and school staff to walk out of the school on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. After social media spread this movement, small walkout protests have been held in schools nationally, all of which are organized by local students. The school’s protest leader, senior Courtney Ring, first saw the idea of a walk out on an Instagram post, shared it with her friends and put it on her social media in the hope of bringing people together to honor the victims of the shooting. At 10 a.m. Ring and between more than 800 students walked out of their fourth period class to the picnic tables by the cafeteria and waited for the protest to start. Ring was hesitant at the start of the walkout since she did not know what to expect from the
PROTESTING FOR A CHANGE Senior Courtney Ring reads the names of the 17 Stoneman High School shooting victims during the walkout. Ring used CNN as a source of aid during her speech. photo by Nora Godisken
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students or administration. “Most of us have never participated in a protest before so we were being quiet and waiting for something to happen because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Ring said. “I was already planning on standing up and honoring the victims if no one else was willing to say something.” During the 17 minutes, Ring spoke up and used a CNN article to help her honor the victims and give more information about them. Ring read the names of each victim and gave information like what their family said about each victim. Ring also encouraged students to contact their representatives and do something for change. “I was terrified. I’m not a very good debater, so I didn’t want to say anything political during the speech; that’s why I decided to use the article,” Ring said. “I knew no one was going to say no to giving people who shouldn’t have passed away their moment of silence.” Administration was present during the walkout and supported it by allowing students to walk out of their classes without consequence and lead the protest however they wanted as long as it remained peaceful. After the protest, principal Mary Williams personally acknowledged Ring for her leadership as well as her words and thanked students for holding the protest in a peaceful manner. “Our students need to be able to have a voice and I appreciate the kind and reflective way they did this,” Williams said in an email to the school. “Our role is to be able to provide them a safe and organized way to express themselves in the way that they chose.” Multiple students contacted Ring to recognize her speech after the event and juniors Avery Watson and Valeria Rivera decided to join her in making a change. They will be the ones to plan future walkouts for the school, and collaborate with local schools like Oviedo High School. The students will also meet with the school board to discuss school safety and will be making and selling shirts for future events. “I didn’t know [Ring] before the walkout. I direct messaged her because I wanted to make a change and do something about it so we decided to meet and talk about the things we can do,” Rivera said. “[Watson, Ring and Rivera] all know it’s important that we give attention to the issue, that’s why we’re doing all of this, the victims were our age and that could’ve been us.” Ring, Rivera and Watson are asking students to wear orange every Wednesday, starting Feb. 28 as an awareness to gun violence. For more information on future events and activities follow @ walkouthagerty on Twitter and Instagram.
second white championship jacket of the season. “We just kept staying positive,” Downing said. “If something messed up in warm ups, we shook it off, reset and did it again.” While the juniors, sophomores and Downing look forward to competitions to come, where more success may await, the seniors hung up their uniforms with pride. “I feel like we’ve left a mark on the program,” O’Dea said. “It just shows no matter what struggles you go through and no matter what successes you have, you can do what you put your mind to and finish strong.”
See more on HagertyJourn.com DREAMING OF A GOODNIGHT’S SLEEP Students yearn for that one good night of sleep, instead of having to stay up all night long doing homework. Students explain their struggles to stay awake during class and what they try to do to keep their eyes open.
STUDENTS, STAFF TAKE THE DARE To raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, DARE Week encouraged teachers raise money by providing student incentives. From extra credit to hair dye, DARE Week was the week to have some fun.
CLAWING ITS WAY TO THE TOP When Black Panther came out on Feb. 16, Marvel outdid themselves throughout the movie. The plot, the back stories and the different cultures are the reasons that Black Panther is still on top of the charts.
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news
PRIDE ticket distribution on decline Prize matrix
2 tickets Cookie Voucher
3 tickets Candy
8 tickets Hagerty car decal 10 tickets Entry into drawing for 2 Prom tickets TBA: March l Questions? see Nellie Motecalvo in 7-100
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Emily Cosio News Editor
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ince the start of the school year, PRIDE ticket activity has drastically declined. Secretary Nellie Montecalvo, who is in charge of PRIDE tickets, has noticed. “This year the kids are not really into the PRIDE tickets,” Montecalvo said. “I hope if we do more coverage more announcements and things, it’ll be something they do.” Montecalvo stated that “nothing has changed” in regards to the system, the decline in tickets is due to the lack of students’ interest. People are familiar with the acronym PRIDE: Punctuality, Respect, Integrity, Dependability, and Excellence. Although to some, the posters may just be there or PRIDE may be just another school acronym, to others it means something. Some teachers, like Christina Slick, are aware of the importance of this system to
by Jessica Maldonado
you need to know APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR NATIONAL ENGLISH HONOR SOCIETY National English Honor Society is currently accepting applications from rising juniors and seniors. Students who have an A in English and an overall unweighted GPA of a 3.5 are allowed to apply. Students who want to apply must have all forms filled out, with an essay and a current English teacher recommendation, turned in to Krista Darling or to Lisa Gendreau no later than Feb. 27. Forms can be found with any English teacher. In addition to NEHS, other honor societies like Rho Kappa, Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society, are also accepting applications. All information is provided on the Hagerty website. RHO KAPPA SPONSORS SCAVENGER HUNT FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH Rho Kappa, the Social Studies Honor Society, is sponsoring a scavenger hunt contest for Black History Month. Forty-three figures featuring famous Black American fliers are posted outside teachers’ doors, and a link has been posted on the Hagerty website for a student to enter and complete the questions by Feb. 28 to get a chance to win. In order to win, all questions must be answered correctly and name and grade must also be provided. Prizes will be awarded to a boy and a girl in each grade. COUNSELORS FINALIZE STUDENT COURSE REQUESTS; CHANGE DEADLINE APRIL 2 Almost three-quarters through the year and most students have picked out schedules for next school year. For the next couple of weeks, students will be meeting with their counselors to make sure they are taking appropriate classes for their level and to plug in their course requests. Rising sophomores will go to the media center in their English class and rising juniors and seniors will go in their History class. Through the next two months, counselors will be finalizing all student schedules with a deadline for any changes by April 2. If any student wants to make a last minute change to their schedules, they must talk to their guidance counselor before the deadline. HEARTS WALK RAISES OVER $4000 FOR AUTISM The eighth Hearts for the Autism Walk was held on Saturday, Feb 17 at the Sam Momary Stadium. Youth PALS held the event to raise money for local students with autism. The walk raised over $4000, which will go to purchasing equipment such as iPads, manipulatives and computer software for students on the autism spectrum. The money was collected through a combination of donations, raffle tickets, walkers and even teachers getting pied in the face. The event lasted until noon, and over 150 walkers registered for the event. “The walk is our biggest event of the year and it’s rewarding to host something that will benefit the autistic community,” president Leah Harper said.
promote PRIDE around school. Slick encourages her students, especially juniors, to choose PRIDE tickets rather than candy, because of the rewards that are available, like parking passes. “I encourage juniors not to just take candy because they can get good stuff for PRIDE tickets,” Slick said. PRIDE is also closely linked to another school acronym, PBS, Positive Behavior Support, a program that rewards the students who demonstrate credible behavior. “That’s our motto: We want to support your positive behavior,” Montecalvo said. “We want to make our school more safe, and friendly to one another.” Another factor causing the decline might be a lack of awareness of the prizes. Montecalvo noted that students who do bring in their tickets tend to just buy candy bars, which cost three tickets. Although this is a sweet prize, there are also larger prizes. For only a few tickets, students can
purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win sport passes, parking passes, homecoming tickets and grad bash tickets. However, for those students who have trouble saving up, cookie vouchers are available for only two PRIDE tickets. Because tickets depend on teachers and administrators, Montecalvo says it is up to those students who want tickets to remind their teachers. Examples of appropriate times to hand out tickets would be for winning Kahoots, being an active participant in class discussion, or just simply holding the door for someone. Slick gave some of her students PRIDE tickets when they had their papers out before she prompted them to do so. One time a student took a phone that she found in the bathroom to the office, which was rewarded with PRIDE tickets. “Something has happened this year,” Montecalvo said. “We still want our jars filled up with tickets.”
Local authors give writing talk Katarina Harrison
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Opinions Editor
n Wednesday, Feb. 21, bestselling authors Leanna Renee Hieber and Alethea Kontis appeared at Barnes and Noble in Waterford Lakes to speak to high school students about the writing process they take when writing their books. Before and after the event, the authors also signed copies of the books. “I learned a lot about how you can express yourself with writing,” junior Nicole Goodrow said. “With each individual detail you can make it your own.” As part of the same event, three Seminole County schools took part in a book fair. At the register of Barnes and Noble, students could mention their affiliation with their school and part of the profit from their purchase would be donated to their school. Hieber and Kontis, who are best friends outside of the event, began by reading excerpts from some of their recent books. Hieber is the author of the Strangely Beautiful series and the Eterna Files series. Hieber gave the audience the option of whether to hear about her villain or hero while Kontis chose the excerpt she planned to read before the event. Following the reading, the two authors spoke about their writing processes and how they balanced a life of writing, acting and other interests. Hieber discussed other seminars she had been a part of as well as how her other passions affected her career as an author while Kontis chimed in with personal stories and tips. “I wish I had known that [writing] was a valid life choice,” Kontis said. “I like being the person I wish that I had met when I was in middle school.” They then allowed students to ask them about writing, their lives, and their books. Several students asked for personal tips to improve their skills, including Goodrow. Among the questions
ENCHANTED EVENT Author Alethea Kontis signs a copy of Enchanted, the first book of The Woodcutter Sisters series. photo by Katarina Harrison
asked were how the authors combated writers block, and how to improve dialog in their scenes. “It’s important to come to events like this because you can broaden your horizons and see and learn the different ways of authors,” Goodrow said. After answering questions, the two authors signed copies of their books. This signing included both personal signatures for attendees and a mass signing of several copies of their books to be sold at the location. If a student did not own a copy and wished to, copies of the books were available for purchase. “Talking to people in person is just basically reminding me why I do this in the first place,” Goodrow said.
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opinions The BluePrint is a student-produced newspaper in which the student editors make all content decisions. The newspaper belongs to the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Opinions expressed within the newspaper do Hagerty High School not represent the staff’s views as a whole (except 3225 Lockwood Blvd. for Our Take), the views of Seminole County Oviedo, FL 32765 Public Schools or Hagerty High’s administration hagertyjourn@blueprint.com and staff. Phone: (407) 871-0750 For information about advertising in the Fax: (407) 871-0817 paper, please contact us via one of the above methods. We reserve the right to reject any advertisement.
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blue print
Editor-in-Chief Ahilyn Aguilar
Online Editor Bryson Turner
Managing Editor Melissa Donovan
Staff Reporters Sydney Crouch Sarah Dreyer Noah Kemper Jessica Maldonado Tara Routie
Sports Editor Michael Gibson News Editor Emily Cosio Opinions Editor Katarina Harrison Business Manger Melissa Donovan
Adviser Brit Taylor Principal Dr. Mary Williams
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OUR TAKE School safety is everyone’s job
n Feb. 14, Majory Stoneman Douglas was added to the list of seven school shootings that have taken place in 2018. With this recent shooting taking place at a high school that is very similar to our own, it is time to consider how a tragedy in Parkland affects us. With situations like these, it is easy to point fingers. People, of course, point fingers at the shooter, while others point their finger at the government for not taking action to limit these kinds of tragedies. Some may even point their fingers at the students and school for not taking threats seriously or for not reporting said threats. In times like these, who do we blame for the innocent lives lost? The FBI did not correctly investigate the threats made, hypothetical threats were not taken seriously and the shooter legally obtained a semiautomatic weapon under the current gun laws. However, while fixing the mistakes are important, we should also focus on helping the victims and working together to prevent school shootings in the future. The phrase “if you see something, say something” has gotten a lot of publicity, and it holds a lot of truth. The students at Stoneman Douglas did say something; but their statements did not receive appropriate action. However, this should not stop people from being diligent. If you are scrolling through social media or YouTube and see a suspicious comment or post, you should probably report it. You could even report it anonymously, if you are hesitant. We need to focus on what we can do instead of what could have been done. If you do not like the current gun laws, do something about it. E-mail your representative, sign a petition, do something instead of sitting down and complaining. If you agree with the gun laws and feel that other measures need to be put in place, the same applies to you. Whatever your viewpoint is on preventing future school shootings, nothing is going to get done unless you get up and take action to influence our leaders to fix it. The students from Stoneman Douglas are taking action, why can’t you? We urge you, for the safety of this school and everyone in it, if you hear or see something suspicious, including on social media, please report it. It is much better for your report to be a false alarm, than for you to ignore the suspicious activity and have it turn into something horrific. The sad reality is that no matter how many safety precautions are taken, our safety is not guaranteed. We can however, be mindful of our surroundings and follow through with these safety precautions to do everything we can to stop this from happening again.
Tara’s Take: College rejection is okay Tara Routie
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Staff Reporter
o you did not get into your dream school, and your life is over. It is time to throw in the towel, sign up for welfare and find a park bench that will be known as home for the future. Does this sound ridiculous yet? While this may sound irrational, many students have mindsets like this when they receive a rejection letter. The winter and spring seasons bring college decisions, and far too many seniors overreact when they receive a rejection letter. When UF released decisions on Feb. 9, or when FSU released decisions on Jan. 25, it was not uncommon to see many students sitting in class and constantly pressing the refresh button on the application status page until their finger broke. Although coming to school only to check the status of your application seems absurd, this was the reality for many students. I see this kind of behavior every year. Students flip out on Twitter or in person during the time leading up to the release of the decision, and when the day finally comes, some students find
out they were rejected unfortunately. So what do they do? Many will retweet inspirational quotes about rejection to try and cheer themselves up, subtweet the school itself or just openly say how angry and upset they are for getting rejected. Others will compare themselves to students who did get in the school with a lower GPA and test score and constantly ask the question, “Why them and not me?” While it is normal to get upset once rejected, there comes a time where it is necessary to move on instead of forever wallowing in sadness. Now if you do happen to get rejected, throw yourself a pity party for the night, order some pizza and try to move past it. I suggest staying off of social media like Instagram and Twitter, especially if you are the type of person to get jealous. Maybe invite your friends over for a movie night, but do not invite the friends who got accepted. You do not want to be reminded of what you did not achieve in your own home. What you do not want to do is form an irrational mindset with the idea that your life is over. There comes a time in life where work experience trumps a degree when applying for a job. According to Undercover Recruiter, 66
percent of employees are hired on experience over academics. Eventually, employers will not care where you got your degree from, because they were only making sure that you have a degree. And just because your degree is not from UF does not mean that you failed at life. Give yourself some credit for having the opportunity to at least apply to college. Try to look at other paths too. By completing community college for a few years, not only do you earn a degree earlier, but you can transfer into basically any state college. You can still go to your dream school, you just took a little detour. In the most non cliché way possible, any college is better than no college. So instead of turning into one of those people who cry for three years because they didn’t get into UF, or their respected dream school, embrace that rejection letter and buy some ice cream to celebrate. After all, the school had to personally look at your application to reject you, so at least you were recognized. Even if you did get accepted, remember that you probably won’t get to attend your dream school if you get an F in Economics the second semester. Don’t give up on high school just yet.
“It annoys me when clubs hold last-minute meetings with mandatory attendance on inconvenient days.” - Allison Long, 12
BARKING MAD
Barking Mad is a collection of short submissions about things that tick students off around school. If something at school makes you mad, go to hagertyjourn.com and submit your entry to Ask the Editor, and it may be featured here.
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“The school has terrible phone service, so it’s hard to communicate with other people.” -Hannah Sanchez, 9 “I don’t like how strict our school is, especially when it comes to lunch because they control every little thing.” - Alyssa McNair, 9 “Teachers are unfair to their first period classes because things takes us by surprise, while their later periods have advantages. It’s so unfair.” - Conall Crossan, 10
“The Hero system is so unfair, it doesn’t take into account unexpected life situations.” - Ghasag Abdelrahim, 10
“Every administrator thinks that the littlest thing is a safety hazard and that it takes away learning time.” - Hannah Hadelman, 11
“Teachers don’t realize they are not the only class students have so they give us a lot of homework without thinking.” - Cade Schexnayder, 10
“Something that really annoys me is how the girls’ bathroom never has soap in the dispensers in buildings 2 and 3.” - Jacq’lene Rosu, 11
“Our school is very stereotypical. This makes it hard for people to fit in.” - Emily Baez, 10
”The Hero System is ridiculous and counterproductive. We are stuck outside of class for 20 minutes instead of one.” - Matthew Wilbur, 12
“It’s annoying how some teachers have favoritism. If a straight A student gets in trouble, teachers are more lenient with them than with those students who aren’t as smart.” - Shannon Sahinbas,11
“I don’t think sports should have practice every single day of the week. Athletes need to rest their muscles and have homework to do” - Hunter Desoto 9
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Time Management 5
4 Time Management
FINDING THE TIME
It adds to the hours of homework awaiting you, but join clubs, honor societies, or sports in or outside of school. As crazy as it may sound, having more on your plate makes you more organized because there is less time to mess around and procrastinate. According to medium.com, “The more [time] you [have to] work, the less effective and productive you are going to become over both short and long term.” In other words, the more time you spend on a task, the more time there is available to waste. “I get home from school, go to work at 3 p.m., come home at 10 p.m. and then sleep from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.. Then I wake up and do my homework or study in the morning,” senior Sina Imani said. “I hate wasting my time, so when I am not busy, I feel like any downtime I have is just going to nothing.”
Assistant Editor icture this: it is the night before the due date, you have only done a third of the assignment; there will be long night ahead of you and you already know you will be exhausted the next day. You see some of your friends are enjoying their night while you, you are knee deep in homework. You think to yourself: “If only I would have done this earlier,” or “If only I had organized this better.” If this has ever been you, here a few tips from high school pros of time management.
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1. UNWIND AND GET STARTED
This is pretty universal. Get an early start on your work so that you can feel out the assignment and assess how much time you think it will take you to complete it. Typically when you first get home from school the information is still fresh in your head and you are more focused and awake than you would be later on. For students who come home from school tired and overwhelmed, other students have recommended a power nap to re-energize, and then get started on the work. “I take a nap when I get home first and then I will start on my homework,” senior Sabik Azad said. “I had to start doing this because otherwise, I would never get anything done or sleep.” After relaxing, students like juniors Lauren Muse and Morgan Caudill plan to begin the assignment the night that they are assigned. Muse ensures to prioritize assignments according to classes that have upcoming tests or quizzes. Caudill works on assignments one-by-one and will take a half hour break in between them. She makes it a mission to start homework, especially when assigned over the weekend, early. “I always try to get at least one to three assignments done on Friday because it makes me feel a lot less stressed and overwhelmed over the weekend,” Caudill said. “Then I will usually take Saturday off and continue working on Sunday morning.”
“I just learned to spilt my time with trial and error, and understand what areas of time I do certain activities the best.” -Sina Imani, 12
4. THE 15 MINUTE RULE
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“One of the biggest [issues] I see is that I will assign work on Friday and the students will not work on it until Monday night, by that point, they have forgotten all of the information. Especially in math, I would recommend students to work on it the block it is assigned.” - Ms. Arp
design by Melissa Donovan and Katarina Harrison statistics from HuffingtonPost.com, USA Today, and Oxfordlearning.com
“Even with my efficiency, I never feel like I get enough sleep.” -Lauren Muse, 11 of students procrastinate
Sarah Dreyer
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3. MAKE A DAILY TO-DO LIST
“Every morning, I revise my todo list and I prioritize the most pressing matters. Once I have accomplished the task, I cross it off and move on to the next thing.”- Dr. Jannotti
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Through all of these tips, remember: you will get through it and although it may seem like there is no time to sleep, hang out with friends or watch movies, you are not alone. “Nothing in life or school is as serious as it seems at first so just do what you can every time and everything will work out,” Imani said.
THE OTHER SIDE: Sleep is for the Week
TEACHER TIPS: Learn from the Pros “When I was in college, after-school I would get to my work right away before I started watching T.V. or doing anything else so that I would not get sidetracked on the things that I need to get done.”- Ms. Douglas
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of students have quit an activity for school work
6. RELAX-IT WILL BE OKAY
“I have to listen to music or else I fall asleep, and I try to avoid [social media] because that is what I waste a lot of my time on.” - Olivia Ott, 11
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Once teachers assign work, one of the most fulfilling strategies is to write down all of the tasks, whether it is homework or tests to study for. “[Making a checklist] helps with free time because either I can get the work out of the way or have free time to do whatever until I planned for the work,” senior Jordan Snoap said. “It is so satisfying to see things get crossed off the list one by one.” This technique helps to compile all of the assignments into one organized list where you can put down due dates for yourself or, like Snoap, find what works best for you with this technique. “I like to set dates for myself and set frequent reminders and highlight it [on the list] for things that I think are more important than others, like college applications or a big project,” Snoap said. “For other things, I will mostly cross them out or just set a short phrased reminder.”
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The Huffington Post said that this rule allows procrastinators to try and fight temptation of sitting and watching another episode on Netflix, for just 15 minutes. They wrote, “We can all do something for just 15 minutes. But, what you’ll come to find is that after the 15 minutes are up, you’ll keep going.” To do this, get up and get ready to do the work, find a phone or stopwatch to set to 15 minutes, and get working. More than likely, that Physics homework that you were dreading will be done in the allotted time because you get so caught up in the task and find it hard to quit since you found your groove.
2. CREATE A CHECKLIST
2. WORK AHEAD BEFORE YOU FORGET
Another obvious tip that works, but could be challenging. Students like junior Olivia Ott have shown that they can complete their work in a fraction of the time if they put away their phones, not getting distracted by text messages, or social media notifications. “I have had a lot of late nights [for example, sometimes] when I am taking Psychology notes, [sometimes] I spend too much time on my phone, causing me to stay up later than needed,” Ott said. “I have to listen to music or else I fall asleep, and I try to avoid [social media] because that is what I waste a lot of my time on.” She sets goals for herself while working on assignments so that she can get her dose of social media. “I usually say once I finish a shorter assignment or a section of a larger [assignment] I will check my phone,” Ott said.
3. GET INVOLVED
Melissa Donovan
1. DO NOT PUT OFF THE WORK
5. PUT THE PHONE DOWN
days a year lost to procrastination
Staff Reporter
ome is where many students go to relax after a long day at school. Some play video games, read or even go outside for fresh air. Others are on social media, posting about their long day of school they had. By the time night hits, students are in bed watching Netflix or are still on social media… and that is when they remember they had homework to do. According to Studymode.com, about 66 percent of students have stayed awake all night to complete an assignment. For some students, procrastinating does not come naturally, but for freshman Krystal Garvey, it is instinct. Once, she remembered to do a major project at 9:30 p.m. and finished at 3 a.m. “Ever since middle school, the homework kept getting harder,” Garvey said, “and I did not want to do it immediately when I got home, so
that is how I started procrastinating.” Instead of doing homework, she plays on her piano, goes on her phone or plays with her dogs outside. However, she does point out that she does an assignment in a timely matter if it is important enough. Procrastination takes time to perfect, and is usually not advised. Junior Nancy Chen, who starts her homework around 8 or 9 p.m. and tries to finish it all by midnight. There are often assignments she forgets about and remembers at the last minute, but she always gets them done. “I thought my AP Statistics homework was due in class today,” Chen said. Out of panic, Chen did her math homework assignment the period before, only to find out it was not due that day. That same day, Chen finished her history homework while walking to class. Ever since Chen started middle school, her habit of procrastinating began by waking up one morning and remembering to do an assignment the same day it was due. From then on, procrastinating
became part of her routine. The reason behind Chen’s procrastination is her need to relax after a long day at school. Especially with AP classes, Math Club, Key Club and Robotics. When she gets home, she enjoys down time, and does whatever relaxes her. There are many reasons for procrastinating on assignments, from being forgetful or just too lazy. Sophomore Amanda Nelson procrastinates due to her love for sleep. Doing an assignment late at night is hard enough, but Nelson just wants to sleep away her homework. “As the work got harder, I got lazier and didn’t feel like doing it,” Nelson said. When she finally wakes up, she does her homework and then goes back to sleep. If the homework were a major assignment, Nelson would do it on a timely matter, and then catch up on her sleep later. For more tips of the procrastination trade from the best procrastinators in school, visit hagertyjourn.com.
“Procrastination comes naturally, since I can’t really focus on it if its not before the day it’s due.” -Nancy Chen, 11
MASS SCHOOL SHOOTINGS SINCE 2013
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Stoneman Douglas
“It’s a very tragic thing and my heart goes out to all the families who’ve lost their children because of it.” - Ginna Zippo, 9
71% of attackers felt
bullied or threatened by others prior to the shooting
78% of attackers had
“This is nothing new and people are starting to realize the impact guns have on society.” - Adriana Zumaeta, 12 “I feel that we need more awareness for the safety of our school and just in general I want to feel more protected.” - Alyssa Spence, 10 “We should focus on protecting every citizen and equally.” - Ivan Bosques, 11 “It’s horrible. I think the white house isn’t doing what they’re supposed to.” - Madison Daily, 12 “Gun control, or a better gun regulations, in my opinion, are the best ways to achieve no more violence.” - Ryan Leon, 11 “It makes me feel scared about coming to school, thinking that someone like that can just walk on campus like that.” - Nyla Rogers, 9 “I just feel angry and sad, because I just feel like he shouldn’t have been able to get into the school and shoot up the building that easily.” -Taylor Johnson, 10 “Yes reform efforts can be made towards mental health, but being able to prepare for something of that nature is almost inevitable.” - Anna Wimberly, 11 “The fact that he was even able to get onto the campus of that school illustrates that security in public schools is not what it should be.” - Kate Schuck, 11 “Metal detectors, ID checks and not selling guns to students can make schools safer.” - Orlando Servin, 9
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history of suicidal thoughts
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2013
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2018
communities act in the aftermath of parkland shooting
Jessica Maldonado
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Staff Reporter he second biggest school shooting in U.S. History took place on Wednesday, Feb. 14 in Parkland, a small town in Broward County. This incident took the lives of 17 students and teachers, and 14 additional students were injured. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was 19, with a history of violence and expulsion, was charged with 17 counts of premediated murder. This incident left people shocked and worried including teachers, parents and students here. Since the school shooting was in Florida, it made students think about the reality of mass shootings. “I started looking into it the day after it happened and as soon as I played a video with graphic content I immediately broke down,” junior Courtney Ring said. “Honestly I’m so ready to fight for us.” As Oviedo is very similar to Parkland in the way that they are both very safe neighborhoods in Florida, their security systems are very similar with the locked doors, code red and fire drills and that both schools are number one in their county, makes students think about a lot of “what if” questions.
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Many teens are standing up voicing their opinions around the world, making people listen and inspiring others to take action. Douglas High senior Emma Gonzales survived the attack, and gave a passionate speech this Saturday, Feb. 17, in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. She said that Stoneman Douglas High School will be in textbooks not because of the mass shooting but because they are going to be the last one. While students have been called to action, they have also wanted to support those impacted by the shooting. The English department decided to have their students write letters to government officials
about what they are feeling and what they think should be done. This idea came from a World History teacher from Douglas High School asking for other schools to help bring awareness by writing letters. “We felt like it was a great activity for students to reach out to their peers, to bring some kind of comfort, relief or hope to those who have been directly affected, and to use the writing skills we teach to students in real life situations,” English teacher Samantha Richardson said. Like every school district, Seminole County has measures in place to keep students safe. The doors are always locked, practicing fire and code red drills help, and a new app, the soft panic button, will also help. This is an app that teachers have on their phones that they can press when there is an active shooter or another emergency, and it will automatically inform police officers what is going on. Even before the Parkland shooting, administrators walked around campus checking if all the doors were locked on multiple days without warning. Hagerty also was the first school to practice code red drills during lunch. Students were taught where to go, where to hide and how to act. While these measures were in place before the Douglas shooting, the Feb. 14 event made it more important to make sure everything was being followed through. For something like this to happen to a school whose security systems are not too far off as this school sets off a mental alarm. “Students are unaware of the things we are doing because we don’t necessarily want them to know, but we have the most working cameras in the county,” school resource officer David Attaway said. “We just had to lock a couple more doors and put up some fencing, but the fact that we didn’t have to change much shows that we are in pretty good shape.” Students turn to authorities, like Attaway, for answers on what is going to happen and what is going to change to make them feel safer. “We can definitely continue practicing our
policies and make sure everyone knows what to do in any situation, but at the end of the day we can not 100 percent prevent something like this to happen,” junior Julianna Orlando said. “It is a sad reality but it is something that we need to recognize and prepare for.” H a v i n g tragedies like this one after another leaves an immense impact on nearby schools and triggers strong opinions to be said and heard. It impact teachers, parents and students the most, leaving come back into school more scared. “I came back to school worried that something may happen, I know that our school strives to be safe, and from what I’ve heard, so did Douglas, which was what scared me the most,” Daleandro said.
Out of 292 guns used for mass shootings, 167 were obtained legally while 49 were bought illegally
the march for our lives
will happen on March 24 in multiple U.S. cities like Washington, D.C. Attaway said that in order to comfort students of this school, he will soon be posting a Public Service Announcement video, explaining what to do to make students feel more comfortable and give them a more understanding on what would happen if something like this would happen to this school. While students are protesting and bringing attention to this serious situation, teachers and parents stand back and support them and are willing to take action too. “I wouldn’t be able to say anything other than I am sorry, but one thing that I can say that can give them some hope is that I will forever encourage students to make changes when change is necessary and that I will always try to do everything in my power to make sure that this does not happen again,” Richardson said.
2/26/2018 8:35:11 PM
7
lifestyles Original Opinions
one year of Oviedo crash data*
by Bryson Turner
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a othenr any day *Statistics comprised of data taken between Oct. 1, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2017 by The City of Oviedo
CRASH COURSE
Students learn from mistakes to become better drivers Bryson Turner
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Online Editor
enior Alyssa Melendez did not know what to think. All she saw was a work van speeding toward her 2014 Chevrolet Sonic in the left turn lane of East Mitchell Hammock Road. The van tried to swerve out of the way, but could no stop. It hit her car, which lurched forward, colliding with the vehicle in front of her. “I just completely froze and didn’t know what to do,” Melendez said. She managed to exit the vehicle to check on others that were involved, but after that, she sank to the ground, still slightly shaken by the events. “I kind of had an anxiety attack because I have had issues with that in the past,” Melendez said. “I couldn’t really move much, like I was just sitting there kind of freaking out.” According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 16-19 year-olds are three times more likely to get into a fatal car crash per mile driven than drivers 20-years old and older. The impact aggravated a trio of wounds she sustained in another crash a year and a half prior: a sprained left knee, a cyst in her posterior cruciate ligament, and a herniated disk. She described the pain as “10 times worse,” and still has 4-5 months left of physical therapy to alleviate it. According to the City of Oviedo, 30 percent of crashes are rear end collisions, like Melendez. Junior Brooke Boddiford can relate, as she was also rear-ended in front of Oviedo Presbyterian Church on Lockwood Boulevard. “There was a cop on the other side, so people were stopping in front of me to look at it,” Boddiford said. However, the car behind Boddiford did not follow her example, rear-ending her at 40-45 miles per hour.
Boddiford emerged from the wreck unharmed, but the same could not be said for her 2012 Ford Fusion. “The whole [back] end of the car was smashed in and the [rear] windshield was completely cracked,” Boddiford said. Though her car was totaled, the insurance money was enough to buy a new car. One place on the road that is always a risk for drivers is at large intersections, Oviedo has four. According to the City of Oviedo data, out of the 102 reported crashes at intersections, 27 of them occurred at the intersection of County Road 419 and Lockwood Boulevard.* This was where senior Sarah Gallagher found herself on Dec. 22. Gallagher and her friend, senior Kendall Pooley, were pulling out of the left turn lane when a truck pulled out in front of them. Not having the time to react, the two vehicles met, front to side. Gallagher was unharmed by the crash, but Pooley, who was involved in a minor crash of her own just two weeks prior, had to go to the Oviedo Medical Center for a bruised rib. Gallagher’s 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser was damaged beyond repair, and due to Gallagher’s hesitance to drive after, she has not had her own car since. “Now I’m just shaky at driving because I don’t know what people are going to do,” Gallagher said. Gallagher and Pooley’s crash resulted in injury to at least one passenger, but these types of crashes are more than an exception than the norm. According to the City of Oviedo, 93 percent of crashes result in just property damage,* such as the case of sophomore Micheal Maxwell. “I went to pull in and there was an open spot between two parked cars,” Maxwell said. “My mom was in the car with me and she yelled to brake, and I got really scared, so I pushed the gas
instead of the brake and I just bumped the car next to me.” Maxwell was a fairly new driver of a 2001 Honda Odyssey, so the prospect of being involved in any form of crash alarmed him. “I was worried about money, people getting and mad at me, and having to go to court and miss school,” Maxwell said. Luckily for Maxwell the woman whose car he hit was very understanding. She was simply glad he did the right thing, called the authorities, and settled the matter responsibly. “[She] actually sent us a Christmas card, thanking us that we the right thing,” Maxwell said. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 22 percent of crashes that involved 15-17 year-olds, and 26 percent that involved 18-20 year-olds in 2016 resulted in injuries. “It just taught me that you can’t rely on other people; to be always aware of their surroundings,” Gallagher said. One of the biggest takeaways these young drivers have taken with these run ins are that one not only has to look after what oneself is doing, but monitor the condition of their fellow motorists as well. “Everyone’s a bad driver,” Pooley said. “If you’re going to drive, make sure you’re paying attention and not doing dumb things.” Despite still having a fear of getting hit again, Melendez came away from her crash with an extremely important discovery about life on the road. “You have to be responsible, not only for yourself, but [for] other drivers around you,” Melendez said. “You should always take it seriously.” *Statistics from data taken between Oct. 1, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2017 by the City of Oviedo.
Altered Carbon (Season 1) Netflix: ****
Altered Carbon takes place in the distant year of 2384 where society has progressed to where human consciousness can transfer between different bodies, “sleeves,” through the use of a device called a “cortical stack.” Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman) is thrust into this new future, in a completely new sleeve, after his stack was kept in storage for 250 years. Visually, this show is stunning, very reminiscent of Blade Runner in terms of aesthetic. Additionally, Kinnaman, Martha Higareda as policewoman Kristen Ortega deliver excellent performances. However, all of this is bogged down by the sheer number of storylines going on at once. It’s worth a watch, but prepare to be slightly confused, or possibly overwhelmed. When We First Met Netflix: ** It’s not that the concept for this movie isn’t interesting, it just wasn’t executed well. Noah Ashby (Adam DeVine) gets the chance to travel back in time three years to the night he met his crush, Avery Martin (Alexandra Daddario), in the hopes to get her to fall in love with him over her eventual fiancé, Ethan (Robbie Amell). DeVine’s performance is very inconsistent and Ashby as a character can come off as slightly unlikeable, but what really sinks this film is its dreadfully written dialogue that violates Rule One of writing: “Show, don’t tell.” Mercifully, the film is only an hour and a half long, yet it probably would have been better if it had more time to develop characters like the cardboard cutout “perfect husband” Ethan. Do yourself a favor and skip this headache of a movie. The Cloverfield Paradox Netflix: *** The third film in J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield series, Paradox follows seven astronauts fighting for survival after an accident involving the Shepard Particle Accelerator on the Cloverfield Space Station causes them to question everything they know about the fabric of reality. On its own merits, the writing can be pretty confusing due to the faulty science behind it, and about half the movie’s characters are uninteresting. However, Gugu MbathaRaw as English Communications Officer Ava Hamilton, David Oyelowo as American Commander Kiel, and Daniel Brühl as German Engineer Ernst Schmidt deliver serviceable performances and there was a genuine feeling of suspense felt throughout the film that it all balances out. Nothing too special, but not irredeemable either.
8
sports
Wrestling takes second in regionals
MOVING ON Senior Devin Kohn (left) wrestles his opponent in a semifinal match in the regional championships. The Campbell University commit won his weight class and will proceed to states. Sophomore Bo Perkins (top right) attempts to escape a hold in his semifinal match. He would later move on to finals and win his weight class. Junior Ryan Rowland (bottom right) attempts to flip his opponent in his semifinal match. Rowland also won his weight class and advanced to the state finals. photos by Michael Gibson
Wrestling finshes historic regular season, sends seven to states in March Michael Gibson
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Sports Editor
n Feb. 23, nine wrestlers competed in the class 3A, region 1 championships, a record number for the program. Of those nine wrestlers, senior Devin Kohn, sophomore Bo Perkins and junior Ryan Rowland all won their weight class and will be advancing to the state championships. Four others will advance: senior Justin Segarra, junior Ethan Woods, senior Matthew Kaplan and freshman Dylan Kohn. The state championships will be held March 2-3 in Kissimmee. For the semifinals, the team had several matches against wrestlers from Fletcher Island, another top program in the state. During one match Segarra held the lead with a minute left but he was then pinned and lost the match.
Segarra was able to later redeem himself by winning in the consolations and finals, he will also be advancing to the state championship. “After my semifinals match it was a good feeling to know I was going to the finals,” Segarra said. “I knew it was going to be a tough match so I just had to stay focused.” This regional championship was different than the previous ones, as the team had home gym advantage so more family and friends were able to attend then other schools. That support, paired with the hard work of all the wrestlers, led the team to a second place finish with a team score of 156.5. The team finished the regular season 9-2, including a first ever win at the Johnny Rouse invitational, but they lost in the quarterfinals of the first ever state dual-championships, but the true postseason, the individual championships, are still underway. The team came out victorious in their previous tournament, the Bill Scott Memorial, with five wrestlers winning their weight class. Among the winners were freshman Dylan Kohn, in the 120-pound weight class, and his brother,
Ducharme takes second Noah Kemper
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Segarra said. “It’s been tough getting around with new people but it’s been pretty good so far. I’m really looking forward to the end of the season.” The program’s expectations have grown throughout the years. Diaz and the rest of the coaching staff have continually set higher standards for their wrestlers to meet; much of which includes winning their weight class. The team has put 12 different wrestlers on the top of the podium throughout the season, a number that continues to grow as the program develops. “Now that we’ve gotten better our expectations have certainly grown,” Diaz said. “I’m expecting to get in tournaments and win.” The winning continued through the team’s most recent meet against Apopka. The team won 45-24 and 10 wrestlers won their weight class. In the last meet of the regular season, the team destroyed rival Oviedo, 55-18 to close the season 9-2. This has been the most successful season in program history from, winning the Johnny Rouse memorial for the first time, to sending seven wrestlers to states. The team will look to finish the season off strong and contend for a state championship.
sports shorts
GIRLS BASKETBALL COMES UP JUST SHORT AGAINST NICEVILLE On Thursday Feb. 28 the girls basketball team faced off against Niceville in a district tournament game. The girls team trailed by six at the half and by only two at the start of the fourth. The team came up just short, however, with a last second miss, ending the season, 60-58. Small forward Megan Reilly led the team with 28 points. Varsity finished the season 8-17 and 1-4 in district. “They played well in a season of growth with a lot of freshmen playing major roles on varsity,” coach Joshua Johns said.
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Staff Reporter n Feb.2-3, the girls team competed in the FHSAA state meet. The team sent Cheyanne DuCharme, Kayra Tasci and Aryan Johnson to states. Each competitor was placed in a different weight class; DuCharme in the 110-pound weight class, Johnson in the 182-pound class, and Tasci in the 199-pound class. The competition was based off of two events, the bench press and the clean and jerk. Tasci bench pressed 145 pounds, Johnson benched 145 pounds, and DuCharme benched 140 pounds. After the bench press, the girls lifted the clean and jerk, which is a bar that is on the ground and each competitor lifts it up to their shoulders, catch it in a squat, then attempts to land in a jerk. DuCharme stood out by lifting 165 pounds, the highest in her weight class. “I prepared for this competition by focusing on one thing, and one thing only, that was to strive for my goal,” DuCharme said. Later when the scores were added up, competitors were given a rank for each event. If the girls are ranked in the top six, then they were awarded points for their team. Tasci ranked 15th, Johnson ranked 11th and DuCharme ranked second, so she earned five points for her team. The three lifters were part of a strong season
Devin Kohn, in the 145-pound weight class. “We’ve been wrestling together for years now, he started two years after I did,” Devin Kohn said. “We just started in high school together and it’s been good.” A big accomplishment for the team this season was their success against Winter Springs. In previous years, the team would often fall just short of Winter Springs and their success against them this season has been a testament of how much this program has grown. “We are getting better, we’ve caught up with them and passed them,” Diaz said. “We still have a lot of work to do but we are going in the right direction.” The team won the Johnny Rouse Invitational on Dec. 9, the first time in program history they won that meet. Segarra, who is in his first year in the program, led the way, recording five pins. Transferring schools and joining a new team is never easy but head coach Scotty Diaz and the rest of the wrestling team have been able to aid Segarra in his transition. “This season has meant a lot especially since it’s my senior year and I’m at a new school,”
BOYS BASKETBALL ENDS SEASON IN DISTRICTS AGAINST VIERA The boys basketball season ended in the district semifinals against Viera on Feb. 6. The game started out slow and as the first half ended, the team trailed 29-27. Viera slowly pulled away in the last two minutes and won the game 62-52. The team was led by senior Jace Coffie (26 points) and finished 12-13 and 2-4 in conference. “The team played well as the season went on, although it would have been nice to win more games for the seniors and stay more consistent,” coach Brett Hamilton said.
TWELVE ATHLETES SIGN COLLEGE LETTERS OF INTENT
CARRY THE WEIGHT Junior Cheyanne DuCharme practices clean and jerk before a meet. Ducharme finished second at states for the second year in a row in the 110 weight class. photo by Michael Gibson
where the team went 8-0 for the season, and 7-0 in their conference. “The team performed very well and we all exceeded the expectations for this season,” said head coach David Attaway.
On Thursday, Feb. 8, 12 students participated in NCAA signing day, accepting scholarships to play sports in college. The sports range from soccer to softball: Gabby Mathre - Santa Fe College, Ashley Worrell - Reindhardt University, Julia England Jacksonville State University, Morgan Morarend - University of West Florida, Maria Puccio-Ball - Flagler College, Devin Kohn - Campbell University, Jace Coffie - Thiel College, Jarret Prachel - Belmont Abbey College, Jackson Scott - Felician University, Dominic Madlang - University of Mount Olive, Connor Purcell - Mercer University.
BOYS SOCCER FINISHES SEASON IN FIRST ROUND On Sunday, Feb 11, the boys soccer team faced Olympia in the first round of the playoffs. Midfielder Muhammad Ali scored the first goal of the game, but the game was tied minutes later. After halftime, forward Jordan Snoap scored but Olympia scored also, sending the game into overtime. Olympia scored off a fast break eliminating the boys team from the playoffs. The team’s record was 18-4-1 and 11-2-1 in the conference, led by Snoap, who recorded 21 goals for the season. “Our team chemistry improved so much over the games we played and everyone’s effort was at maximum,” Snoap said.
2/26/2018 8:01:33 PM