The BluePrint - Volume 10, Issue 2

HAGERTY HIGH SCHOOL

3225 LOCKWOOD BLVD. OVIEDO, FL 32765

INDEX

the

blueprint

News............................... 2-5 Lifestyles......................... 6-9 Volunteering Tips......... 10-11 Student Connections.... 12-13 Reviews....................... 14-15 Opinions...................... 16-17 Sports......................... 18-20

volume 10, issue 2

Oct. 29,2014

Get thee to the auditorium

Actors set up for Romeo & Juliet’s Nov. 7 debut story on page 5

Photo by Aliyah Rackley

Five­ things to see on hagertyjourn.com wHE FOR SHE

wGRISWOLDS

Emma Watson’s speech concerning gender equality at the United Nations could be a milestone in the women’s rights movement.

After the band’s hit single “Beware the Dog” took off, the Australian band’s debut album “Be Impressive” does not disappoint.

wHUMANS OF HAGERTY

After accepting an administrative job at Greenwood Lakes Middle School, Dr. Johnson shares one last piece of advice.

wPLUS SIZE

wLATER GATOR

Early cellphones were more akin to bricks than anything else. Now, we have thin devices with gigantic glass screens.

Local alligator trapper Richard Robertson shares his tales of catching the scaly creatures in Oviedo’s residential areas.

Find the dog: Whenever you see the above HJO logo, scan the page with the Aurasma app to see extra content. You must follow hagertyjourn for it to work.

2 Elves of homecoming week Visit hagertyjourn.com for coverage of the week’s events, including Monday’s dodgeball tournament and the Husky Rumble on Tuesday.

Juniors vs. seniors Powderpuff game Thursday, Oct. 30

Football game vs.

University Friday, Oct. 31

City Nights and Neon Lights Dance Saturday, Nov. 1

a Game begins at 7 p.m. in Sam Momary Stadium

a Gates open at 6:30 p.m. a Tickets available at the gate for $6 a Game begins at 7:30 p.m. in Sam

Momary Stadium a Tickets are $6 a Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at halftime

a Runs from 8-11 p.m. a Tickets are $30 at the door a Students must have an ID to enter

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news Leadership works behind the scenes to make homecoming week possible

Maddie Garr

I

Business Manager

magine being responsible for an entire week of events, from dodgeball games to a dance Saturday night. Imagine having to order sashes for homecoming court and having a disaster when trying to order spirit books. Leadership kids did all of this and more, and they have been working in different committees, each responsible for planning and running a different event. They came up with the theme of Coast to Coast, splitting the campus into the East and West Coast. With organized groups and a big class, leadership was effective in preparing for the week in events such as the dance.

They did encounter some difficulty along the way when the spirit books were returned with last year’s page in them. Leadership now has 2,000 extra spirit books that they cannot use in their classroom’s closet. Leadership teacher Kari Miller called the printing company and explained the issue, having to go back and get the new printed books. With the situation finally fixed, the revised spirit books were then passed out to students revealing the theme of each day: Pajama Day, Twin Day, Mathlete vs.

Athlete Day, Throwback Thursday and Spirit Day. Kicking off the week on Monday, Oct. 27, a dodgeball tournament took place in the old gym with pizza and a bracket challenge that junior Mackenna Tobey, junior Karley Harms, and junior Nick Yaroma were responsible for.

The event required some pre-planning and work before it could go off. First they had to get the dodge balls from Coach Cabal and reserve the old gym with assistant principal Christy Bryce. They then had to go classroom to classroom asking teachers to play and organize their teams. For the last couple of weeks, they have been making promos, waivers, flyers, posters and sign-up forms.

After the Friday football game at the end of the week against University, the next event run by leadership is the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, Nov. 1. Junior Ashtyn Maccagnano was on the committee for the dance and was responsible for finding a DJ and coordinating all the details with him, including signing a contract. There will be a new DJ at the dance this year, who took a list of requests from the leadership kids.

The dance committee also took care of the decorations and food, designed the tickets and sold them, and found chaperones for the dance.

Other members of the dance committee include

Photo by Jake Arthur

THE FINISHING TOUCHES. Junior Tania Imani makes a homecoming banner in the leadership room with different cities on it. This year’s theme is Coast to Coast.

Tania Imani, Sierra Hittel, Julia Kemper and Jackie Kareem. They began their planning for the dance the second week of school.

The hardest part of planning the dance, according to Maccagnano, was working around a budget. She is confident that they found alternatives and worked out all the issues so the dance will go smoothly.

However, some portions of homecoming week from last year had to be cut due to the budget. The dodgeball tournament replaced Flick on the Fifty in the hopes to make extra profit. Art Honor Society is also helping the budget by making decorations for the dance, so that is not one more expense that leadership has to pay.

Maccagnano and the rest of leadership feels that the preparation is paying off.

“Whenever you put a lot of work into something, once you see it all together it is such a satisfying feeling and it makes all the stress and work worth it,” Maccagnano said.

From Monday to Saturday, everything that has to do with homecoming week has been carefully laid out and planned by all the leadership kids. Without the elves of homecoming week, such a week would not be possible.

3

news

Coming to a yard near you Sarah Gibson

A

Staff Reporter

s homecoming week plays out, juniors and seniors have been suiting up for battle, ready to fight harder than ever in the tradition of Junior-Senior wars.

Tension throughout the first quarter of the year has been rising, and the wars are expected to be more intense than in years past.

“Junior-Senior wars are no doubt bigger than ever before. It’s a lot more personal this year,” junior Brenden Carrillo said.

The Junior-Senior war is a tradition during homecoming week between the junior and senior classes where students prank the rivaling class’s houses by toilet-papering, egging, silly stringing and any other vandalism that comes to mind.

“We are going all out this year.

Nothing is off limits: everything from televisions and bikes to cat food

and fish will be used on houses,” an anonymous senior said. “The rivalry has escalated so much between juniors and seniors.”

In some cases, when the wars get out of control and permanently destroy property, the police are called.

“Usually when we are called because of the wars we give the kids a warning and send them on their way home. If property is actually damaged and there is proof of who caused the damage, the kids involved may be asked to cover any costs at the discretion of the parents,” Seminole County Sherriff Officer Johnie Gibson said.

Although the wars take place every year, influence from trending “squads” has only added to the upcoming tension. The problems escalated once juniors threatened to wear senior crowns to school. The senior class is done dealing with their “immature peers.”

“It wasn’t even officially Junior-

what’s news?

UPCOMING JUNIOR AND SENIOR PRIVILEGE DATES The next privilege date for junior and seniors will be Monday, Nov. 10 during first period. Seniors should turn forms into Lauren Bachand in Room 2-122 and juniors to Renee Sackett in Room 6-106. Forms are due the day before the privilege date and students are responsible for coming to all other periods that day.

THE “H” FACTOR BRINGS TALENT The talent show will be Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. There is a mandatory dress rehearsal on Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5 in advance. Talents will range from musical performances to dance solos.

ASL MOVIE NIGHT APPROACHES The American Sign Language club is hosting a movie in the auditorium called “No Ordinary Hero.” The movie stars John Maucere, a deaf actor, who plays the role of a superhero. The event will take place on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are on sale now in Barbara Chaves’ room, 6-211.

“COAST TO COAST” BROUGHT TO LIFE The annual homecoming parade is Friday, Oct. 31. The parade will start in front of the school on Lockwood Blvd. then turn onto Old Lockwood Blvd. and end in the stadium. There are 17 floats with organizations walking in between. The parade will start around 1 p.m. and end by 2:15. Students will not be able to check out after noon.

Senior wars yet and my house was already hit,” an anonymous junior said. “My garage even has to be repainted now because of the damage from shaving cream.”

Because of the destructive nature of the wars, administration does not condone them. However, because they take place off of school grounds and after hours, not much can be done to control students’ actions.

“This is something that the parents of these students should be controlling a little better,” assistant principal Christy Bryce said. “It is negative all around and I don’t agree with any aspect of it.”

Students, on the other hand, are in support of the wars. Whether pranking other houses or being pranked, as long as the wars do not become overly destructive, students agreed that they like the suspense.

“I want to hit my friend’s houses and make it really hard to clean up because then I’ll know I was

HITTING HOME Junior Haley Parlette’s house is one of the first houses to get hit during junior-senior wars. The war continues throughout the week.

Take it to the field Jessica Jeffers

E

Opinions Editor

very year since 2009, during Homecoming Week, juniors and seniors take their class war to the field. This year, the tension between the classes has escalated, with juniors and seniors both feeling that they are the top class on campus.

PowderPuff has become the staple of homecoming week, taking place on Thursday, the day before the homecoming football game. Traditionally, the girls cheer and the boys play football, but with PowderPuff, the girls play football and the boys cheer on the sidelines. This year will not be any different except for longer quarters; it will still take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30.

Many of the girls fall in love with the game after joining their junior year for their passion of football, and then continue into their senior year because the experience of working as a team was so great. The class of 2015, after a loss last year, plans to

up Styrofoam was buried in all of my rocks and bushes surrounding my house.”

Junior-Senior wars have influenced the hype of many students leading up to the Junior-Senior Powderpuff game.

“The suspense keeps us on guard all week long,” Gilliard said. “It’s always fun to have a little rivalry between each other.”

successful,” senior Bryce Gilliard said.

For those who have already been hit, cleaning up the mess around their houses has been exhausting and in some cases nearly impossible.

“My house was hit Saturday night, and the cleanup would take me hours to finish,” an anonymous junior said. “There was cat food in my fountain and microscopic crushed-

Juniors, seniors compete for top spot in PowderPuff

take it to the field again this year to prove their dominance over the class of 2016.

“Practices are going really well for the seniors,” senior Bryce Gilliard said.

The senior class is at an advantage this year, with a year of experience and two more practices than the juniors have had. Bad weather conditions kept juniors off the field.

Despite this roadblock, junior players are still feeling confident they will come out on the winning side. The juniors have only upset a senior win once.

“I know we will do great no matter how many practices we have,” junior Samantha Suarez said. “The junior girls are strong and fast … we are loud and crazy, so we definitely will put up a fight.”

However, the junior cheerleaders are not feeling as confident. With only six juniors compared to the 30 seniors that have signed up to cheer, the size of their team has led to some nervousness with the halftime rou-

tine.

Seniors have caught on to the junior class’s cheer size and used it to their advantage.

“The junior cheerleaders are in for a rude awakening come Oct. 30, their little six man posse does not know a thing about spirit,” senior and Powderpuff chairman Rodney Shaw said.

The senior football coaches, Brittany Campbell and Ashley Bennett, are confident in their team and aware of the increased class tension. With Campbell’s prediction of a senior win of 44-0, the practices have been hard on both sides.

“Practices are really hard to make sure the girls train to be flag-pulling machines,” Campbell said.

With all the hype created between the juniors and seniors, students on both sides hope to see their class pull the ultimate victory. “[Powderpuff] is the ultimate battle of females, seniors versus juniors, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Campbell said.

news

4

Fighting for tangible textbooks

Big sister is watching

Kallie Delis

More negativity, less facts Jessica Jeffers

F

Opinions Editor

orget leaves, pumpkins and cool weather; fall is a time for politics, advertisements and campaigns.

With seniors registered to vote now in the November election for the governor and local offices, they have become more aware of the politics in their everyday life.

Specifically, the politics on their televisions. It is impossible to turn on the television and not be bombarded with ads against either Rick Scott or Charlie Crist, or other officials running for office that we have never heard of in our lives. And we, as any good consumers, too often believe what the ads say. For many of us, it is unfortunately the only information we know about the candidates running in that election.

How is it possible to base our votes off of purely just ads? It is not. Yet that is what we do. Have our mothers not drilled into our minds to “Don’t believe everything you hear?” Crist creates ads showing the fraud in Scott’s formerly owned health care company, while Scott creates ads showing the Crist family and their castle of a house.

We need to bring the politics and facts into the political televisions ads that are being shown to viewers across the state and country. Elections should not just be a petty, back to back argument on our television, but rather actually making people aware of the policies they want to put in place.

However, $57 million has already been invested in this year’s election alone, it looks like this won’t be happening anytime soon. The only thing we can do about this, is not believe the things we hear on television, which includes doing our own research.

There are multiple sites on the internet to help you decipher the truth of ads such as Politifact.com that has infographics measuring the amount of truth to each statement in the ads. Another site that helps check facts is factcheck.com, which features both local and national elections.

This fall, when its time to drive your car out of your registered voting place, do your job as a citizen and check up on the facts.

Do not fall into the negative advertising traps.

S

Staff Reporter

ometimes, students come home late from a job, practice or meeting and realize there is an assignment due by midnight.

Rushing onto Blackboard, they find a glitch and no chance to complete the work. As more classes move to online textbooks, problems like these become more common, especially in classes like AP Government.

Scholastic sites always had occasional issues, but AP Government students faced even more online challenges. They cringed when not only Blackboard, but their online textbooks, refused to function. Webpages would not load. Assignments caused problems by not being displayed after being posted, and even when they did show up, many students were still not able to access them. Study plans or review questions were completed by students, but then went unsaved. Some coursework was submitted, but did not register in the gradebook.

Teacher Matthew Malkovich had to handle these challenges.

“He put the assignments that were on Pearson on Blackboard for the people that were having trouble,” senior Kaylyn Richmond said.

Usually, students have to fill out a form and beat the crowd in order to obtain an actual textbook, but a solution had to be reached quickly. Staff members in charge of the media center and textbook distribution, like media director Po Dickison, worked to respond to the request for more textbooks and provide hard copies for the class.

About three weeks after the school year began, the textbooks were distributed.

However, even after the school had purchased all of the AP Government textbooks that the Pearson provider had left, the class was still short. Malkovich allowed students to use his class set, and now each student is able to finish their work in a timely manner.

“I’d just rather use a book because it’s a lot easier and allows me to understand the material better,” senior Evren Tasci said.

AP U.S. History, Geometry and Algebra courses also encountered technical issues, including login and homework problems.

The county, state and Pearson look forward to fixing the kinks in their virtual systems.

They have plans for alternate student-online relationships. In a perfect world, they would have a Single Sign On. This would be a single site that allows students to log in and have

HARDCOVER HAPPINESS Students were relieved to work out of hardcover textbooks after experiencing multiple problems with online learning.

different portals to every resource needed for all courses. While the SSO sounds like the best option, it is still very early in the process.

Steps are being taken to better the online textbook situation. Many students continue to struggle with errors, though. Until the websites are finalized and development is complete, some will have to use the online books and others will have to use tangible books.

“As long as the world spins, some students are going to want real textbooks,” Dickison said.

Graveyard trip gives past perspective Courtney Dziewior

I

Staff Reporter

n the season of spider webs, haunted houses and pumpkins, it was fitting that students took a field trip to a graveyard. AP Environmental Science teachers Marc Pooler and Yvette Pigott allowed their students the opportunity to reflect on the past by uncovering Oviedo’s history during a field trip to the Oviedo Methodist Cemetery on Oct. 13 and 14.

“It allowed us, as students, to go out into the community and actually gather our own data,” senior Katerina Bourova said.

The task assigned was to split up into small groups and examine each tombstone at the cemetery, log the gender, when the person died, how old they were when they died and their age group. The deceased were then divided into two large groups, those that died prior to 1959 and those that died after. Students discovered patterns between these factors, with a consensus that women generally lived longer that men.

“For what we learned I would recommend it again, it was a hands on activity for age structure and population,” senior Alexa

Johnson said.

Students gained insight to the history of Oviedo by seeing graves from hundreds of years ago such as those belonging to soldiers in the Civil War. “It was interesting to see all of the different people that had lived in Oviedo, and I thought it was really cool to see the people born in the 1800s,” Johnson said. “It was really tedious though, because there were over 200 graves we had to count.”

Students drew conclusions based on the information provided from the tombstones.

Some left students wondering, while others gave them closure on what had happened to the deceased.

“There were these gravestones of what looked like couples that had died together.

There were two twin brothers who were stillborn which is what my conclusion was because they died on the same day they were born,” senior Heidi Winters said.

Some tombstones hit closer to home such as the graves of two Oviedo students who had died in a car crash in 2013.

“It was kind of crazy,” senior Bradley Ballew said about the graves’ recent dates. “But

it was eye-opening.”

“We saw one lady come up, and it was her son’s birthday. He was only 21. She put a happy birthday sign on his grave. It was pretty depressing,” Ballew said.

The history and connections may appeal to some, leaving them captivated by the old tombstones and their dates, whereas other students quickly succumbed to their feelings of hopelessness of documenting the hundreds of graves.

“It was kind of unorganized in the sense that a lot of people gave up and sat down,” Johnson said.

Senior Marissa Torres was disappointed in the overall upkeep of the final resting place of the deceased.

“It wasn’t well maintained. There were a lot of ant piles and dirt, and it was all kind of worn away,” Torres said.

Despite the dilapidated conditions, the students still learned valuable information while enjoying their field trip.

“I thought the trip was a great success. We got to get out there, get some data about our local communities, and I think the kids had a great time,” Pigott said.

news

5

Theater department prepares Shakespeare classic Winnie Meyer

U

Reviews Editor

ntil this fall, the terms “theater rehearsal” and “sword-fighting” were not usually in the same sentence.

“That was probably my all-time favorite rehearsal ever,” junior Brett Hagerman said. “It was interesting and so fun to learn.”

The drama department’s fall production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, showing Nov. 6-8, stars Hagerman as Romeo and senior Cassie Hess as Juliet. Though the play is a well-known classic, cast members have struggled with new challenges such as sword-fighting or fluently speaking Shakespearean English.

“It’s like speaking a new language,” Hess said. “But, you have to speak through it like you’re regularly talking. You can’t just pause at the end of a line.”

Learning and performing the material for Romeo and Juliet was different than what had been done in prior plays. For the first time, casting finished in May of last school year,

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so actors could begin to memorize their lines. Several rehearsals were dedicated to simply reading through the work and comprehending its meaning.

“I think Shakespeare is probably the most beautiful writer of all time,” Hagerman said. “He’s very blunt about things, but we just don’t understand it because we don’t speak the language.”

All plays require the cast to memorize countless lines, and there is usually some wiggle room to adlib if lines are forgotten. With Romeo and Juliet, however, this was not an option because of the age of the language.

“You have to say every word, and there are words that just aren’t even used anymore like ‘betrotheth,’” senior Heidi Winters said.

Along with memorization, the cast struggled with how the feelings and dialogue of the piece would flow and affect its audience.

“We had to spend a lot of time understanding the true meaning of the text and making sure we properly portray the story to a high school audience in a way that is interesting

and still shows what Shakespeare is all about,” senior Alexa Johnson said.

Learning and portraying Shakespearean writing was not the only setback of the play’s preparation.

In mid-October, the crew lost multiple props when the auditorium suffered a break-in and vandalism with a fire extinguisher throughout the room. Chemicals from the fire extinguisher damaged the curtains and forced the theater department to dispose of damaged props for the show. Rehearsal time for the day also decreased.

“That’s like somebody going into your home and lighting everything on fire,” Hagerman said.

Despite adversity, the cast and crew still enjoy all aspects of the show and are excited to perform and showcase their work. “[Acting] is almost like playing pretend, but you actually have a reason to, and you’re putting together this piece of art for someone to watch.

The feeling you get from that – I just love it,” Hess said.

Tickets can be purchased for $7 in advance, $9 at the door and $11 for priority seating.

photo by Aliyah Rackley

FANCY FENCING Junior Hannah Jackson and senior AJ Salas rehearse a sword-fighting scene for the upcoming play. After being casted last school year, Romeo and Juliet will show from Nov. 6-8.

Guidance gives students scholarship tips Peyton Whittington Staff Reporter

W

hile parents of students are concerned about today’s consumer and health care costs, college students are huddled in a corner clinging to their piggy banks.

The simple solution to this is scholarship money, which is not always easy to obtain. However, a large sum of money awaits students who know what scholarships to apply for, when to start searching and how to keep it all organized.

Clean up social media, email Schools may look at a student’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Google+ account before taking that student into consideration. A social media sweep for immature material is recommended. It is also beneficial

to have an appropriate email address made exclusively for communication with colleges.

“Sugarbear123 isn’t something you want to put down on an application,” guidance counselor Nick Maby said.

Find smaller scholarships Although big money corporate sponsor contests such as the $20,000 Coca-Cola scholarship are desirable, students can benefit more from applying for smaller scholarships with a better chance of winning.

“I knew a girl who applied for a $250 engineering scholarship for males only,” guidance counselor Michelle Cortes said. “She got the scholarship because nobody else applied for it.”

While $250 may not sound like a lot in comparison to the overall cost of college tuition, this is quite

a bit for a college student. Little scholarships add up. “[$250] is a lot of mac ‘n’ cheese and ramen noodles,” Cortes said.

Use technology for organizing Sites such as fastweb.com, finaid. org and scholarships.com assist students in searching and applying for scholarships specific to the student’s major, ethnicity, university of choice and financial situation.

“I just wish I would have known about these [resources] sooner,” senior Abiezer Santiago-Cruz said.

Get personal in the essay Along with a student’s application, many colleges and universities require a personal essay to learn more about the applicant’s goals and values. Applicants should establish a connection with the topic and stay specific to the prompt.

“It’s your job to show them, ‘I’m the one you want, I’m the one who deserves this,’” Cortes said.

Select a challenging, doable schedule

but

There are things all students can do to prepare for successful scholarship application aside from the obvious keep-your-testscores-high-and-your-GPA-higher approach.

Community service, extracurricular activities and honors/ AP classes stand out on applications, but a student should only take a rigorous schedule if it is manageable.

“Don’t select all APs if you’re just going to fail three of them and don’t settle for standard if you could be successful in honors,” Maby said.

Overall, those who maintain a balanced academic and extracurricular schedule make for successful scholarship applicants.

lifestyles

6

Cosplay culture takes center stage Jessica Ritchie

P

Photo by Darrell Andrews

FORTY DOLLAR FACADE Junior Olivia Andrews dresses as Magenta from Rocky Horror Picture Show at Megacon.

Staff Reporter

eople can now be professional by day and a superhero by night with a little imagination. Cosplay allows fans of movies, television shows, podcasts and books to dress up as their favorite character and flaunt their creativity.

Costumes can be as simple or elaborate as the designer wants. Star Trek shirts are one of the easier, costumes, while some cosplayers spend weeks on a single costume. Making it by hand is a way to show their ingenuity.

“Handmade is my favorite because it feels more personal,” junior Olivia Andrews said.

Cosplay fans might buy generic outfits from stores and alter the clothing to fit the desired look, while others go to thrift stores to save money on this expensive hobby. Junior Riley Kirk spent time and $30 at Goodwill looking for components to complete her young Bilbo

Baggins costume.

More experienced cosplayers create more advanced costumes like homemade corsets or use lights to create a wow factor. Some enthusiasts make their costumes as accurate as possible; while others add variety.

“I’m one of those people that try to make my costume as 100 percent as it can be, so I alter a lot of stuff to make very specific things,” Andrews said.

Andrews went to Megacon in August as Magenta from Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Andrews spent weeks over the summer and $40 to complete her costume. She had to find a wig and alter a skirt to replicate the movie’s design. People came up to her not only asking for pictures, but also had a group of girls invited her to go see Rocky Horror Picture Show.

“I felt like a celebrity all day,” Andrews said.

When senior Laura Mickler went to her first Megacon last year, she was happy that she was

Blood drive donations make a difference Madeline Kemper

S

Lifestyles Editor

aving three lives is no ordinary action, yet through the simple prick of a needle the donation of blood can do just that.

The blood drive has been held for seven years and run by National Honor Society for the last five.

“We have a lot of guidelines and things that we have to take care of and we are very efficient in making sure that everything is handled appropriately,” biology teacher and NHS sponsor Angela Campbell said.

In order to promote the blood drive that took place on Oct. 2, NHS makes posters and announcements on WOOF TV. The executive board is also in charge of signing up students during lunch for three weeks before the blood

drive.

NHS is responsible for making sure that there are enough donations of snacks and drinks for the donors as well as setting up the recovery room. Members who work the blood drive also have to block off a section of the parking lot.

The blood drive itself attracts a lot of students, some who have to be turned away for things such as a form not being filled out, not having a picture ID or even high blood pressure.

“They hype themselves up way more than they need to. It’s not as scary as it seems,” Campbell said.

Other students take advantage of getting out of class, and there have been issues in the past with students skipping class, thinking that they will get excused due to the blood drive. NHS sponsors have instituted a new policy where students have to log in and out through an excel

spreadsheet emailed out to all of the teachers, as well as attendance.

This year, however, there have been less people turned away than in the past.

“Our largest turnout was two years ago during the fall where we had 250 people come out, so we’re close, we’re only 30 away,” Campbell said. “This time we had 226 that signed up, we had 183 donations.”

Of those that participated, many said that they would donate again in the future. Students come for a variety of reasons, including a family member or friend that inspired them to donate, extra credit or feeling it was the right thing to do.

“My friend’s dad passed away from cancer, and my parents said if he needed blood we would have donated, so I felt good knowing that I was saving lives,” junior Madison Furest said.

noticed for her costume.

“This dude from 50 to 60 feet away started yelling ‘Hermione’ and waved at me,” Micker said.

Cosplayers like to act like their characters to help sell the idea of their authenticity, while others think that acting is unnecessary.

“I walked around with the same confident persona she has, just because I felt good about being so recognized,” Andrews said.

The most common convention for Oviedo residents to attend is Megacon in Orlando and the Tampa Bay Comic-con. This year Megacon is from April 10-12. Tickets range in price from $20 for a standard pass to $250 for a VIP pass that cover all three days and front of the line access to autographs.

Cosplaying is a growing hobby for fans who want to show off their passion and hard work.

This outlet of creativity connects students with people who they would not normally communicate with.

7

lifestyles

Tattoos change from symbols of rebellion to proof of bonding

Lauren Lee

T

Graphics Editor

attoos used to be a sign of reckless behavior and rebellion, but as they have become more accepted, they more often represent togetherness and bonding. Students put ink on their skin for many different reasons and they all hold meaning.

Tattoos can be permanent stories of what has happened in someone’s life or art that shows someone’s personality and preferences.

One of the most common reasons for getting tattoos, however, is to remember and show love for family members.

“The tattoo on my back is for my grandma who passed away and is also the reason I got my other tattoo because she taught me the quote: ‘For those I love, I will sacrifice,’” senior Taylor Figuero said.

To remember loved ones or to celebrate them, students use tattoos to bond with family and friends, and to show certain aspects of themselves to others.

Sometimes the tattoos for family members are not just to remember their lives, but to celebrate them and to keep a positive outlook on life.

“The tattoo on my back is my sister’s initials, since she wasn’t supposed to live past a certain age and she is perfectly healthy,” senior Zac Turner said.

According to the Pew Research Center, 38 percent of Americans 1829 have tattoos. Students from every grade get tattoos, but before age 17, the

student has to have a parental consent, so senior year is the most common time to get one.

To showcase a family bond, senior Jonah Castro and his family decided to get the same design: zodiac signs for each member put into one large tattoo.

“My mom first got the tattoo and decided the design of all of our zodiac signs. To me it reminds me that my family is always with me,” Castro said.

Even the act of actually getting a tattoo has transformed from rebellious outings to a tattoo parlor and more to family members and friends inking the tattoos.

Most tattoos are still done at parlors such as Age of Ink by UCF. There are currently 21,000 tattoo parlors in the U.S. alone, and the average cost for a small tattoo is $45 and $150 for a large tattoo, according to statisticbrain.com.

Not only are tattoos now a sign of bonding, they can also remind students of a certain quote or help them remain strong and positive through difficult times.

Turner has a tribal tattoo which shows his loyalty to family and friends, and senior Joy McNair has a tattoo of a Celtic sister knot, which is a never-ending knot that shows the relationship between sisters and how no matter what they are there for each other.

Despite having tattoos, teachers and administration do not seem to mind them and none of the students have had any problems. Most of the time the tattoos are covered. However, since tattoos are now a sign of bonding and showing compassion for others, it does not matter if the tattoos show.

“They don’t think I’m a bad kid just because I have tattoos,” Turner said.

Tattoo Facts

All tattoo facts are from weirdfacts.com.

Americans spend approximately $1.65 billion on tattoos annually.

To get a tattoo, the skin is pierced between 50 and 3,000 times a minute by a tattoo machine.

Receiving a tattoo has been described as similar to getting stung by a bee or getting a sunburn.

The top five designs are tribal, cross, stars, butterflies and fairies.

Today, the number of people who say adults with tattoos are more likely to do something deviant has dropped to 24% compared to 2008.

Among those with a tattoo, 86% have never regretted getting a tattoo.

According to a U.S. survey, women have more tattoos.

8

lifestyles

Van Sickle climbs to success

Surviving Suburbia

Adeline Davis

SUV drivers deserve props for patience Winnie Meyer

S

Reviews Editor

ports cars are the equivalent to the attractive person you try and fail not to sweat around. Smart cars are the little nerdy girls who are too scared to speak up. Pick-up trucks are the tough guys you see lifting weights with ease at the gym.

And SUVs are like the waltzing fat kid who unknowingly blocks the hallway.

SUVs and their drivers do not get nearly enough credit for the struggles they go through. Patience, focus and a somewhat optimistic personality is needed to handle such a car because driving a giant vehicle is a giant pain in the gas.

Without the discrimination from other drivers, SUV drivers like myself experience plenty of set-backs from the sheer size of our cars, which makes them difficult to maneuver.

A slight turn of the wheel is the difference between pulling up next to a fancy BMW and receiving a large bill for wrecking a fancy BMW. Parking in between two cars is next to impossible, so SUV drivers are forced to park in what feels like Uganda wherever they go.

As if this isn’t enough, other drivers on the road see my “big red car” and can only think “big red problem.” The number of people that assume I drive like a middle-aged parent, and attempt to swerve around me is laughable. The way I laugh and cut off said people is even more laughable.

The majority of the time we SUV drivers are fairly civil. Though we can, we choose to not act like obnoxious truck drivers and use the sidewalk and grass as a shortcut to get to the front of the car line in the afternoon. The SUV driver is like a lazy grizzly bear: unless intimidated or angered, they won’t attack.

And just as the grizzly bear, it would be wise not to aggravate the driver of a Chevy Tahoe. Getting into a scuffle won’t hurt us, unless you count pain from laughing too hard at the damage done to your totaled car.

SUV drivers deserve some respect for the struggle they deal with and the fact that they can do most of the things other drivers assume they cannot and refrain from being complete schmucks on the road, but you may want to watch how you drive around us, unless you are okay with finding your car looking like a metal pretzel.

W

Student Connection Editor

hen senior Lilly Van Sickle was 6, the first song she wrote was “When the wind blows my heart flows.”

Eleven years after her first artistic attempt, Van Sickle completed one of her biggest goals, releasing an EP out into the world. After years of networking, guitar practice, and long hours in the recording studio, Van Sickle’s songs evolved into words of inspiration; and can now be heard playing on iPods across the country.

The six songs on her EP are Hush, The Ladder, Lighthouse, Braids, The Ballad of Good&Evil and Away. EP stands for extended play and differs from an album in that it only consists of five to six singles. Van Sickle hopes to add about six more songs to her EP, enabling her to eventually produce an album.

“The beauty of doing music is I’ve already accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish,” Van Sickle said. “My goal in this was for it to touch just one person. It’s done more than I could have hoped for. “ Van Sickle’s initial beginning to creating her Sketchbook EP started during the summer when she attended a camp in Anderson, Ind. The camp focused on the business aspect of the music industry, connecting Van Sickle to her future producer, Steven Potaczek and providing her with important advice for her future career.

However, the process for creating her Sketchbook EP came with ups and downs. Van Sickle had to travel back to Anderson, Ind. the week before final exams. After going to school, taking two tests and dissecting a pig, Van Sickle was exhausted upon reaching the recording studio. Little did she know, the bass guitar player on Josh Garrels album, the drummer on Matt Kearney’s and Ben Rector’s albums, and the electric guitar player on The Band Perry’s album would be waiting to work with her.

When the studio musicians introduced themselves and asked Van Sickle to tell them something about herself; she was so shocked all she could think to say was, “I’m Lilly and I dissected a pig today.”

After the first introductions, Van Sickle began to dig deep into the recording process.

Despite its many thrills, Van Sickle began to realize boldness was crucial in the music industry. One of the days, Van Sickle found herself in a room full of music professionals, but disagreed with how they wanted to adjust her song The Ladder.

“It was definitely challenging when I was with people who were ten times higher up than I was,” Van Sickle said. “There are going to be

people who don’t agree with you but you have to know where you stand.”

The Ladder ended up sounding how Van Sickle envisioned, but she had to give up control in other situations, learning the business side to the music industry as she went along. Since her EP was released in early October, Van Sickle’s current goal is to market and gain solid connections. In the end, the overall process was rewarding.

“I am an adventure seeker,” Van Sickle said.

“I would do it again tomorrow if I could. I want to change the world.”

As a daily source of motivation, Van Sickle refers to the quote: “Where courage is contagious, confidence is key” and reminds herself of the “instilling” effects she wants her music to have on people.

The road ahead of Van Sickle will be challenging, but she believes in her music and in the impact she wants it to have on her listeners.

Despite her occasional doubts, Van Sickle is determined to go for it.

“There’s going to be 10,000 reasons in the world not to, but you’re going to have to do it anyways.” Van Sickle said.

photo by Flash Photography

PLAYING HER HEART OUT. Van Sickle lives out her dream on stage playing Hush, which is a part of her first EP.

lifestyles

S MASH I NG !

9 How Super Smash Bros. shat ters the stat us quo on convent ional v ideo games

A SMASHING SEQUEL

Ben Sorkin

Design Editor

S

Nintendo-moderated communities have been around since 2008’s Wii sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, introduced online play. However, it wasn’t until the fan modification of Brawl called Project M that the online community flourished.

“Because [Project M] is made by the community, it kind of goes to show that there is that competitive audience out there willing to mod the game in order for them to like it,” Massongil said.

When Brawl was met with many complaints and poor sales after release, Project M introduced features and characters to the game that were not included in the official Nintendo version. The entire fighting system and physics of Brawl was also overhauled to reflect Melee’s fan-preferred mechanics. The Project M team took everything fans did not like about Brawl and fixed it on their own.

“Nothing had been that huge before, with the community eventually liking [Project M] more than the original Brawl itself,” Shaffer said.

eptember 2014 saw the Japanese release of the newest iteration in the Smash Brothers series, Super Smash Bros.

A SMASHING HISTORY 3DS (or as it is commonly referred to online, SSB4). With f there has ever been a desire to see Pikachu from Pokémon playable characters leaked weeks before, features announced being flattened by a hammer-toting Yoshi from the Mario by Nintendo at an almost weekly pace and a desperate audience games, consider that desire satisfied with the Nintendo game lusting for the game’s release, Super Smash Bros. 3DS was Super Smash Bros. welcomed by a vastly different audience than past games in the Originally released in 1999 for the aging Nintendo 64, Super series.

Smash Bros. was a peculiar game aimed at a peculiar audience.

When characters and stages were released online in the form Introducing itself as a juxtaposition of two genres: party games of anonymous announcements, fans either shielded their eyes or and fighting games, asked if the leakers had more information Super Smash Bros. for them. ing anyth seen r neve had “I incorporated multiplayer “I just want to play the game like I did mechanics and genre like [Smash Bros.] before.” when I was a kid. With all the surprise Aaron Schaffer, 12 standards that had never characters and new challengers – not crossed paths before. seeing the entire roster online,” senior “[Smash Brothers] was a way to turn a fighter into something Tyler Trombley said. a lot easier to learn. It was more accessible and easy to pick up Trombley is not alone in wanting to go into Super Smash and play with your friends,” longtime fan of the franchise, senior Bros. 3DS blind. Large efforts were made in online communities, Macks Massongil, said. such as Nintendo’s very own social network, Miiverse, to combat Super Smash Bros. mixes mascots, characters and locales “spoilers” before the game had been released. However, other from famous (and even infamous) Nintendo titles into one fans of the series sucked up leaks and official announcements package. Players select a character from a vast roster and duke like a sponge. it out in a timed, strategic battle with up to four other players.

“I saw news all the time about ‘character X’ confirmed, and EVERYONE CAN SMASH Arenas where the battles are held are all themed heavily to ‘mode Y’ being playable in SSB4,” Massongil said. hile the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) represent major franchises in Nintendo’s first party repertoire.

Releasing in North America on Oct. 3, Super Smash Bros. rates Super Smash Bros. “E” for “everyone,” some people “I remember that [Smash Brothers Melee] was so… 3DS was met with wild critical and commercial acclaim. Only still consider the franchise exclusive to children. overwhelming because I had never seen anything like it before,” one week after the American release, Nintendo’s PR division “Even if it is targeted at kids, Nintendo’s marketing skills senior Aaron Schaffer said. “I didn’t think that stuff like that announced that the game had already sold 2.8 million copies target the game at old fans of the series too,” Trombley said. could be possible in a game.” worldwide, a number that Nintendo With characters that span claims to be one of the Nintendo 3DS’s “Playing with other pe Nintendo’s history, ople new best-selling games of all time. might is ob viously more fun than have players Students have celebrated a difficult the release of the game playing against compu knowing who ters.” time by bringing their 3DS they are playing Austin Hayes, 11 systems to school in order as, unless they to engage in multiplayer are old enough to battles. Junior Austin Hayes has brought his 3DS remember the character’s original debut. Older players, however, XL to school with him every day since the game are typically more excited to see classic characters announced came out. “Playing with other people is obviously for the Super Smash Bros. franchise. more fun than playing against the computers. […]

That being said, Super Smash Bros. intentionally breaks You get to see different playing styles and characters, the assumption that video games are just for kids. With its since everyone plays their own way,” Hayes said. unconventional mix of genres, dedicated communities and

I

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an excited new fan base, the Super Smash Bros. games ignore everything childish about video games, and instead invent a new ultiplayer in Super Smash Bros. 3DS relies greatly on the category all of their own. system’s portability, introducing modes that are enjoyed Super Smash Bros. 3DS released Oct. 3. The console exclusively through local, 3DS-to-3DS, connections only. Online companion, Super Smash Bros. Wii U is set to release Nov. 21. play is also available, but can be a mixed bag for some players looking to join the Smash Brothers community; especially if they seldom dabbled in online before.

But wait, there’s more! This is only part of “Online is going to be more of a balance of people who have the full story. Visit hagerty journ.com to never played Smash Bros. before and then the people who have view the entire story, and stick around to been playing forever, and play competitively,” Schaffer said. “It see exclusive time-lines and photos. will be weird if you are in that in-between zone.”

A SMASHING COMMUNITY

M

Balancing act So you need community service hours... a LOT of community service hours... now what?

Club requirements & typical service projects

Story by Sophie Hill · Design and photoillustration by Ben Sorkin

C

ommunity service isn’t just for celebrity convicts any more. And as many juniors and seniors are beginning to realize, finding places to volunteer to fulfill requirements for honor societies, clubs, teams and scholarships is a lot harder than students may think.

With over 65 clubs and societies, keeping track of which event is happening where and whether or not it is required can be stressful.

But luckily, there’s hope.

In terms of specifics, a quick email to club sponsors or a search on Google yields immediate, specific answers for any volunteering whim.

“As you’re looking for volunteering opportunities, follow your interests,” National Honor Society president senior Alexa Serino said. “It’s always going to be more fun volunteering for something you like because it makes community service less of a chore.”

For clubs, honor societies and Bright Futures Scholarships, community service is not meant to be an eagerly avoided and much dreaded chore.

Community service, while time consuming, is a way for students to learn lessons outside of the classroom about humility, respect, hard work and charity.

“There’s lots of organizations that want and deserve people’s involvement,” former Beta Club sponsor Craig Johnson said. “You just need to take the time to look around for one you’re passionate for.”

Bright Futures Scholarship Community Service Tips • • • • • • • •

30---100 hours of community service are required for the three levels of Bright Futures Scholarships.

Complete the Community Service Application with a guidance counselor’s signature prior to volunteering to guarantee service hours being accepted.

Only pre-approved SCPS community service sites will be accepted, and if an agency is not on the list, a form may be completed to officially approve the site.

Students have until May 1 of their graduation year to complete their required hours, however, it is recommended to be turned in by Dec. 1.

Community service may be completed at a maximum of four approved agencies.

If a student chooses four approved sites, a minimum of 25 hours must be completed at each site.

Students have the option to consider all Seminole County Public School departments and schools as one agency.

A maximum of 30 hours can be completed at the high school, and they must be completed after the school day.

10 community service

Rho Kappa (Social Studies Honor Society): Requirements: One service event per semester Fulfilling Hours: Historical movie events Sponsor: Robin Grenz and Dali Stires

Mu Alpha Theta: Requirements: Compete in the three regional tournaments each year and attend weekly practices Sponsor: Dan Conybear

National Science Honor Society: Requirements: Complete six hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Helping science teachers after school, road cleanups, anything science related Sponsor: Yvette Pigott

The Arts Societies: Thespian Honor Society: Requirements: Earn at least 10 points (through fundraising or social events) and participate in the production each semester Sponsor: Trevor Southworth National Art Honor Society: Requirements: Complete at least eight hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Making homecoming decorations, football game face-painting, anything art related Sponsor: Mary Marinel Tri-M Music Honor Society: Requirements: Complete at least ten hours of community service per semester Sponsor: Victoria Rathbun

General Service Groups: National Honor Society: Requirements: Attend monthly meetings and complete five individual hours and five group hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Blood drives, homeless shelters, food pantries Sponsor: Sarah Zietlow and Angela Campbell

Beta Club: Requirements: Complete five hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Any honor society hours Sponsor: See President, senior Kiele Mohre Key Club: Requirements: Participate in one event per semester Fulfilling Hours: Oviedo haunted house, Operation Give Back, float building Sponsor: Nitza Aritza Technical Honor Society : Requirements: Complete three individual hours and at least three group hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Float building fall festival, and independent volunteering having to do with which elective class you’re in (Early Childhood, Interior Design, and/or Video Production Sponsor: Donna Parker, Susan Higley and Jenny Burrell English: Requirements: Complete five hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Reading to elementary students, monitoring debate tournament, writing letters to soldiers, book drive Sponsor: Krista Darling

Language Societies: French Honor Society: Requirements: Complete three hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Road cleanups, float building, and competing in French Society tournaments Sponsor: Pamela Lynch Spanish Honor Society Requirements: Complete two group hours and three individual hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Tutoring, float building and Operation Christmas Child, anything Spanish related Sponsor: Patricia Lopez ASL Honor Society: Requirements: Complete 15 hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Fall Festival Sponsor: Renee Geary

community service 11

Balancing act So you need community service hours... a LOT of community service hours... now what?

Club requirements & typical service projects

Story by Sophie Hill · Design and photoillustration by Ben Sorkin

C

ommunity service isn’t just for celebrity convicts any more. And as many juniors and seniors are beginning to realize, finding places to volunteer to fulfill requirements for honor societies, clubs, teams and scholarships is a lot harder than students may think.

With over 65 clubs and societies, keeping track of which event is happening where and whether or not it is required can be stressful.

But luckily, there’s hope.

In terms of specifics, a quick email to club sponsors or a search on Google yields immediate, specific answers for any volunteering whim.

“As you’re looking for volunteering opportunities, follow your interests,” National Honor Society president senior Alexa Serino said. “It’s always going to be more fun volunteering for something you like because it makes community service less of a chore.”

For clubs, honor societies and Bright Futures Scholarships, community service is not meant to be an eagerly avoided and much dreaded chore.

Community service, while time consuming, is a way for students to learn lessons outside of the classroom about humility, respect, hard work and charity.

“There’s lots of organizations that want and deserve people’s involvement,” former Beta Club sponsor Craig Johnson said. “You just need to take the time to look around for one you’re passionate for.”

Bright Futures Scholarship Community Service Tips • • • • • • • •

30---100 hours of community service are required for the three levels of Bright Futures Scholarships.

Complete the Community Service Application with a guidance counselor’s signature prior to volunteering to guarantee service hours being accepted.

Only pre-approved SCPS community service sites will be accepted, and if an agency is not on the list, a form may be completed to officially approve the site.

Students have until May 1 of their graduation year to complete their required hours, however, it is recommended to be turned in by Dec. 1.

Community service may be completed at a maximum of four approved agencies.

If a student chooses four approved sites, a minimum of 25 hours must be completed at each site.

Students have the option to consider all Seminole County Public School departments and schools as one agency.

A maximum of 30 hours can be completed at the high school, and they must be completed after the school day.

10 community service

Rho Kappa (Social Studies Honor Society): Requirements: One service event per semester Fulfilling Hours: Historical movie events Sponsor: Robin Grenz and Dali Stires

Mu Alpha Theta: Requirements: Compete in the three regional tournaments each year and attend weekly practices Sponsor: Dan Conybear

National Science Honor Society: Requirements: Complete six hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Helping science teachers after school, road cleanups, anything science related Sponsor: Yvette Pigott

The Arts Societies: Thespian Honor Society: Requirements: Earn at least 10 points (through fundraising or social events) and participate in the production each semester Sponsor: Trevor Southworth National Art Honor Society: Requirements: Complete at least eight hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Making homecoming decorations, football game face-painting, anything art related Sponsor: Mary Marinel Tri-M Music Honor Society: Requirements: Complete at least ten hours of community service per semester Sponsor: Victoria Rathbun

General Service Groups: National Honor Society: Requirements: Attend monthly meetings and complete five individual hours and five group hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Blood drives, homeless shelters, food pantries Sponsor: Sarah Zietlow and Angela Campbell

Beta Club: Requirements: Complete five hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Any honor society hours Sponsor: See President, senior Kiele Mohre Key Club: Requirements: Participate in one event per semester Fulfilling Hours: Oviedo haunted house, Operation Give Back, float building Sponsor: Nitza Aritza Technical Honor Society : Requirements: Complete three individual hours and at least three group hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Float building fall festival, and independent volunteering having to do with which elective class you’re in (Early Childhood, Interior Design, and/or Video Production Sponsor: Donna Parker, Susan Higley and Jenny Burrell English: Requirements: Complete five hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Reading to elementary students, monitoring debate tournament, writing letters to soldiers, book drive Sponsor: Krista Darling

Language Societies: French Honor Society: Requirements: Complete three hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Road cleanups, float building, and competing in French Society tournaments Sponsor: Pamela Lynch Spanish Honor Society Requirements: Complete two group hours and three individual hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Tutoring, float building and Operation Christmas Child, anything Spanish related Sponsor: Patricia Lopez ASL Honor Society: Requirements: Complete 15 hours of community service per semester Fulfilling Hours: Fall Festival Sponsor: Renee Geary

community service 11

12

student connection

POLL Homecoming hype is in full swing. Each day of the week is given a theme to build up to the football game on Friday and the dance on Saturday. On Monday, students arrived at school in bathrobes and bunny slippers to kick off the beginning of Homecoming Week, couch potato style.

The school was flooded with look-alikes on Tuesday for Twin Day. Students dawned their ball caps and ball point pens for the esteemed Mathlete v. Athlete day on Wednesday. Thursday will bring with it the much anticipated Throwback Thursday, when students can break out their disco moves and poodle skirts.

On Friday students wear their class color to show school spirit.

Which Homecoming day do you enjoy most?

Spirit Friday 10%

Homecoming Mathlete vs.

Athlete Wednesday 14%

Twin Tuesday 18%

Pajama Monday 42%

Twitter Feed

Throwback Thursday 16%

100 people surveyed

Instagram Highlights

“Can’t stand when people say homecoming is boring. Like no you’re just boring and don’t know how to make it fun” senior Austin Ekern (@AustinEkern) “Bought a homecoming dress about a month ago… Got bored with it and bought a new one today #oopsy” senior Brianna Peery (@Bri_Peery)

Mock DUI “If you still think it’s ok to drink and drive after watching that then you have problems” senior Nicole Mattson (@nicolemattson5) “Can’t stand when people don’t take drinking and driving serious. No one will understand until they experience it.” senior Madisyn Menear(@madisynmenear)

Potter Posts “Mr. Potter fist bumped me today.” senior Hunter Stone (@hunterstone_33) “Potter’s dad jokes are immense today. What a day to be alive.” senior Alex Finster (@AlexFinster1)

@max_valade Valade butts heads with a white tailed deer in Oklahoma.

@jessi_sings Chorus kids kill time at the Stetson Choral Festival.

@chelsea_alicee Seniors excitedly enter Halloween Horror nights.

Sleep Deprivation “I look like I’ve been dead for 3 days.” senior Zach Mitchell (@zachmitchell7) “I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a normal sleep pattern.” senior Elizabeth Raby (@AnnieRaby)

@thevaughndotcom Donald Duck brings Mr. Vaughn to his knees.

@kennedi_martin Youth Pal members are all smiles at bowling night.

@kay_ham2 Hammack and Leverett at American Authors concert.

“It’s so hard not to fall asleep in English class...needs to be over already!” senior Rachel Bain(@_RachelBlain_)

13

student connection

EXPRESSIONS Art

Erika Garasso, 10 “I like to swim, so it represents the elegance of free-diving.”

Poetry The Monster and The Mask; Human Nature Steven Marvin, 11

Is it not the brisk belated morning that highlights the cruel expanse of nightly wretched desire and transgression?

Oh how the scorching flames of sin perish and are extinguished by the morning dew, only to be rekindled at the first opportunity.

As the advent of the day barrels toward the victims of our innate savagery, the state of man is naturally mutated from its true form: The Monster The Monster is enamored by subtle thoughts of anarchy within the recesses of the conscience. But, society

prefers its occupants to wear Masks of grotesque valor and value, Quickly, the manufactured cultural facades of cohesiveness and idealism attempt to distract us from our very essence. The monster yearns deeply to be freed from the slavery of morality, the ineptitude of self-restraint, and the grievance of apathy.

The key to the clasp that restrains the beast within is the mere shadow of darkness; the daily taste of man’s true spirit and environment. Therefore,it is the darkness, not the light that lends us life.

YouTube music Jennifer Surh, 10 Surh’s cover of “Say Something”

by A Great Big World can be found on her channel. @Jennifer Surh.

Kayla & Gail Lardizabal, 11 Various videos on their channel include Q&As or challenges. @ Kayla Gail.

Trinity Turlington, 10 Turlington posts videos mainly focusing on make-up tutorials and advice @ Glamitup88.

Double Take

Telepathy: Totally untrue Adeline Davis Student Connection Editor

T

he stress was high. Our sixth grade biology teacher was passing out the 100 question final exam. Savannah had taken the exam the period before me, so I knew it was hard. When the teacher got to me she smiled and said “Don’t worry, Adeline. You can just use your twin telepathy to get an A on the exam.”

At first I thought she was kidding, but then my classmates shot me looks of outrage. People actually thought twin telepathy was real. I mean, the closest I had ever come to telepathy was figuring out what Savannah got me for Christmas, and that was based on shaking the box.

However, no matter how many times I say otherwise, people love to believe there is some cosmic force connecting our minds.

Whenever twin telepathy is mentioned, people get really excited. I cannot count how many times people demand for me to say the color Savannah is thinking of.

Awkwardly enough, I always get it wrong and then am met with disappointed frowns.

Once someone actually told us, “Maybe you’re malfunctioning.” Being a twin, I am used to feeling like a science experiment at times, but it gets old having people ask you the same questions over and over again.

I blame society’s obsession with twin telepathy on the entertainment industry.

Around Halloween, I always flip to a channel where a pair of creepy twins are either chanting together like in The Shining, or intently reading each other’s minds.

These scenes are wrong for two reasons.

One, Savannah and I may occasionally say something at the same time, but we would not be able to chant without laughing. And two, trying to read Savannah’s mind is like trying to predict what Kim Kardashian will name her next child; it is impossible.

To all those telepathy believers out there, I can assure you there is no such thing. Trust me, if I could read Savannah’s mind I would be getting perfect scores on Browne’s AP Lit quizzes.

Jessie Sui, 9

“I saw the picture online and re-created something like it.”

See this column’s twin by Kallie Dellis online.

14

opinions

A

Note to student section: You can’t do that

s few students know, the third and fourth lines of our Alma Mater state that “loyal we will be, as we rise, defend and honor the pride of Hagerty.” Over the past two years, the student section has done just that. Whether rain or shine, 10-0 or 0-10, home or away, opponents can always expect a fired up crowd to be in the stands, rooting against them.

The student section has evolved since the introduction of the ringleader role two years ago. Drew Sullivan led the way in the 2013-14 school year and Chris Carpenter and his gang lead this year. We have “risen and defended” the pride of Hagerty in every way, from chanting “I believe we will win” before every game to senior Bradley Ballew taking the role of the captain from SpongeBob with the “Aye aye, captain!” chant before every kickoff.

While the spirit of this year’s student section cannot be overlooked, we should look at how we are using our spirit. The point of student section has always been to motivate the team playing and to distract the opponent so that we have a better chance of success. Yet, at times we

“The point of student section has always been to motivate the team.” forget our purpose. Instead of using our spirit for the good of the team, we use it for the good of ourselves. We forget about the game and instead search out the stands to find an awkward freshman couple so we can convince them to kiss.

The student section has completely forgotten the third part of the pledge in our Alma Mater “As we rise, defend and honor the pride of Hagerty.” We’ve lost ourselves in trying to become the most spirited section in the county. While there is no doubt about the level of spirit, we’ve forgotten what to be spirited about.

This is not a call to tone down the spirit, but we should shift the focus of what we’re cheering for. Instead of cheering to be obnoxious, let’s cheer for something that will help our teams advance. Cheers such as the rollercoaster, “you can’t do that” after the opponent gets penalized, and “this is our house” are all cheers that are positive as well as motivating for the team. That is our purpose and should be our goal every game.

Our players have to work day in and day out to try to give the school back it’s name. It’s time that the student section does the same.

barks & bites

blueprint

the

OUR TAKE

Editor-in-Chief The Blue Print is a student-produced Spencer Thompson newspaper in which the student editors make all content decisions. The newspaper belongs to Managing Editor Haley Gaeser the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Online Editor-in-Chief Florida Scholastic Press Association.

Sophie Hill Opinions expressed within the newspaper Online Managing Ed do not represent the staff’s views as a whole Katie Curley (except for the Our Take), the views of Seminole Photographer County Public Schools, or Hagerty High School’s Jake Arthur administration and staff.

Business Manager For information about advertising in the paper, Maddie Garr please contact us via one of the above methods.

Sports Editor We reserve the right to reject any advertisement.

Ben Clyatt

Hagerty High School 3225 Lockwood Blvd.

Oviedo, FL 32765 Email: hagertyjourn@blueprint.com Phone: (407) 871-0750 Fax: (407) 871-0817

Design Editor Ben Sorkin

Twitter Editor Taylor Ferraro Staff Reporters Justin Baronoff Kallie Delis Courtney Dziewior Sarah Gibson Alex Grace Nathaniel Kauffman Madeline Kemper Jessica Ritchie Peyton Whittington Adviser Brit Taylor

Floater Editor Jeannie Williams

Principal Dr. Mary Williams

Reviews Editor Winnie Meyer Opinions Editor Jessica Jeffers Student Connection Adeline Davis Graphics Editor Lauren Lee News Editor Daniella Parcell

CollegeBoard accepts change Katie Curley

A

Online Managing Editor

fter 10 years of 2400 points of torture, CollegeBoard is reverting the SAT back to its original 1600 point scale along with many other well-needed changes.

Redesigned to fuse reading and writing together, scores for this new section will range from 200 to 800.

While math is still its own section, also ranging from 200 to 800. However the composite reading section will have a combination of differently focused sections; evidence-based reading and writing, reading test, and writing and language test.

In the other major changes, the essay will be optional and given at the end of the SAT, so students who do not need it do not have to suffer

A BARK to upper house A BITE to the county guidance for senior for mandating the new A BARK AND A BITE A BITE to administration credit checks. By school website, which to U.S. History teacher for the PSAT bell guidance coming to is confusing and hard Dr. Craig Johnson for schedule. The schedule English classes or by to navigate. It also no leaving to become a had no consideration students going to them, longer has the pictures dean at Greenwood for students who student problems were of huskies that students Lakes Middle School. are enrolled in duel repeatedly addressed. and faculty have come Johnson was an amazing enrollment or OJT and Mary Cullen, the to love. We had the teacher who believed it made it difficult for upper house guidance old website for such a that students had the teachers to actually secretary, was especially long time and students, power to request their teach anything in 24 helpful when it came teachers and even own education. Students minutes. First period to community service parents knew where looked up to him and he was also cancelled at the questions and getting everything was. Why was also a great mentor. last second. The day was student transcripts sent change what was never He will be missed. a waste. to colleges. broken?

another butt numbing hour.

Collegeboard’s decision to move the essay to the end of the test was a good one, as students only need to write one if colleges require it.

Moreover, the time to write the essay will be doubled from 25 to 50 minutes, allowing takers to plan and write a well analyzed piece. This is a good move as planning and writing an effective essay in only 25 minutes is a feat in itself that not everyone can achieve. Meticulous writers can now breathe a little. This also shortens the testing time by 50 minutes. Everyone is happy with this, as students test in the current SAT for as long as their are in school on Wednesdays.

In the current version of the SAT there is a point deduction for incorrect answers, but in the new version there

will be no deduction. This does not seem fair, since when do tests not punish wrong answers? It goes against school ideology, making seniors and juniors sore to this announcement.

Also, CollegeBoard will provide more insight to the test for students and educators by providing sub-scores.

Rich score reports will help students study and prepare for the SAT, a plus for the new SAT. With the elimination of writing and point deductions along with a more lax scoring rubric, it is a nobrainer that the standardized test is getting easier. As for Collegeboard’s decision on changing the SAT, it is too bad that it came too late to save seniors and juniors. Freshmen and sophomores however better prepare for the new and improved SAT.

Back of the pack

A comic by Alexis Dolnack

15

opinions

Teachers strip students of fundamental rights Daniella Parcell

I

News Editor

n a setting where ear-splitting bells dictate when imprisoned victims move to and from cells, and the entire population simultaneously congregates in one area for meals, the last thing captives need is a restriction on how often they can put their natural bodily functions to use.

Many teachers, unfortunately, are similar to wardens who find it logical to strip their prisoners of fundamental restroom rights, limiting bathroom passes and rudely dismissing students who request them.

The idea of reducing kids’ chances to pee has become an unfortunate trend. Educators find it necessary to

create juvenile “potty rules,” limiting students to as few as two bathroom passes per quarter, apparently to be saved for whenever a kid predicts she will need to pee. Some teachers, furthermore, take urinary limitations to a whole new level by offering extra credit for unused passes, as if the peer with a strong bladder deserves a higher grade than the star student who has more trouble holding it in.

Apparently, these unnecessary limitations are efforts to maximize a child’s time in class. But believe it or not, when a student asks for a bathroom pass, it is usually because she needs to use the restroom, not because she wants to take a walk around campus, meet up with some friends and sell weed in the

BARKING

MAD

next hallway. The assumption that students use the bathroom as an excuse to skip class is ultimately false; when someone says she has to pee, chances are she has to pee.

And even in the rare case that a kid requests a restroom pass to catch a break from monotonous lectures and drooling peers, the consequences of missed class time fall only onto her.

While a kid may miss a portion of a lecture to fulfill his excretory needs, the dangers of missed class are minimal compared to those of restroom restrictions. In 2007, California student Michael Patterson was suspended for five days after using a Gatorade bottle to “[relieve] himself in the classroom,” which, apparently, “caused a school

disruption.” Resorting to a bottle is a bit overdramatic, but is the obnoxious 14-year-old really to blame?

According to the teen’s claim, the teacher refused to write a bathroom pass, telling the kid to “do what [he’s] go to do” and “go in the corner,” commands which he took to heart, creating a situation which could have been prevented if the teacher had held his sassy remarks, and instead allowed Patterson to urinate in peace.

For those not as daring as Patterson, however, refraining to use the restroom when necessary can invite serious health problems, the most severe being a urinary tract infection.

If losing a fundamental right is not devastating enough, students can also suffer gripping abdominal pain

and unpleasant restroom experiences, simply because a teacher did not want them to miss two minutes of class time, or was too lazy to write a pass.

For the health, comfort and general well-being of teenagers, the trend of limiting bathroom passes must be eliminated.

Though class interruptions should be prevented, it is ridiculous for a kid to be refused the right to urinate, especially if he is simply doing individual work, or has gone through the trouble of interrupting a lecture to announce the state of his bladder to the class. Before educators tell a student “no,” it is crucial that they consider the consequences of their remarks, and the absurdity of their refusals.

“I do not like how the grading system works.”

“That we have to wake up when it is still dark out- Mikey Reyenga, 11 side. If the sky is not awake, I should not be awake.”

- Kiele Mohre, 12 “When people walk slow in the hallway and stop in the middle.”

- Hannah Windbigler, 9 “Homework ticks me off because we just had six hours of school. It is so much stress and some “The attendance policy sucks because I fail if I do not go teachers give way too much.”

- Ashley Howard, 10 to school.”

- Paige Cooley, 9 “The stress and depression that hits like a brick at 9 o’clock at night while lying in bed and remembering “Slow walkers, teachers giving limited bathroom passes and tall people given bottom lockers.” a forgotten homework assignment.”

- Allison Gibbons, 9 - Claire Spear, 12 “I hate when there are two doors open yet everyone “The classrooms are all different temperatures, it makes it hard to dress accordingly.” goes through just one door.”

- Tanner Strobel, 11 -Corey Bergeron, 11

Barking Mad is a collection of short submissions about things that tick students off around school. If something at school ticks you off, go to hagertyjourn.com and submit your entry to Ask the Editor, and it may be featured here.

“Everyday people stand around right in front of my “I hate when teachers think they are always right.”

-Myranda Mutton, 12 locker, it is so annoying.”

- Alexis Marini, 11 “I hate waking up early and the fact I have one more year here.”

“When you try to get to class and freshmen girls just -Seth Germer, 11 stop right in the middle of the stairs or hallway and have a conversation.”

“I hate how a lot of the bathrooms are messed up,

-Angelica Rivera, 11 either because they were built wrong or when other students mess them up.”

“I hate the parking lot, no one knows how to drive.”

- John Lynch, 12 -Bailey Viator, 12

16

reviews

hALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS BASICS

Universal $42-$73

Closes Saturday Nov. 1 Halloween Horror Nights is Universal in the dark, but stuffed with blood-dripping vampires and partially decayed zombies stalking your every move.

BASICS

Scare factor In this darkened, haunted place there are eight houses highlighted by four scare zones. Houses consist of ones such as From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, Dollhouse of the Damned, and Roanoke – Cannibal County. Walking through The Walking Dead and Halloween houses is guaranteed to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Each includes horrifying surprises behind every corner. Some people scream, some cry, some jump, and some even fall.

Reactions are different for everyone, but you will have a strong one. Whether it is possessed dolls crawling at you or killer clowns hiding in the dark, Halloween Horror Nights is no place for the weak at heart.

SCARE FACTOR In the event’s seventh year, it has reached heights far surpassing the expectations of its home-made haunted house peers. Although a bit pricey, the trails were long, involved, and packed with details and scarers to keep you on edge.

BEST PART Food, live entertainment, vendor stalls, and backstage tours provided a great atmosphere for guests between trails and tons of activities for people of all ages. Even though it does not leave its patrons with nightmares for the next two weeks, it was a spooktacular way to shake up the evening.

Snooze factor The houses that are certified to bore you to tears

instead of scare you: Alien vs. Predator and Dracula Untold.

Got guts?

Check out these Halloween attractions.

The Petrified Forest

Altamonte $15 for one trail, $25 for both

Closes Saturday Nov. 1 The Petrified Forest, plagued by smoke machines, well-placed scarers, and eerie moonlight, includes two trails, each lasting 15 minutes, and promises its patrons a thoroughly enjoyable experience amongst the twists and turns of its well-made halls.

Design by Lauren Lee Reviews by Taylor Ferraro, Sophie Hill and Haley Gaeser

Other places to go R Dark and Twisted Past Haunted House

Orange City $8 to $10 Closes Friday Oct. 31 This haunted house consists of five haunted rooms that each have its own theme and a pitch black maze that is sure to cause screams.

The Haunted Trails

Jacksonville $20 Closes Friday Oct. 31 The Haunted Trails is the first inaugural haunted house on the Old Spanish Trails.

The house has stood for over 150 years and it has been completely renovated for this special occasion into a spooky surprise.

The Haunted Angelus Scream Park

Tampa $8 to $30 Closes Friday Oct. 31 The Haunted Angelus is rated one of the scariest haunted houses in Florida and has a PG-13 rating. With four great attractions and even a huge pumpkin patch, this haunted house is not one to miss. Not to mention that all of the proceeds benefit the Angelus, a Cerebral Palsy group home.

Basics

Mickey’s not so scary halloween

Disney $62 Closes Saturday Nov. 1 If you are looking for a fun Halloween experience, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween at Disney is the attraction for you. People are able to come dressed in costumes and walk around Magic Kingdom collecting candy as they go.

Scare Factor

If you get lucky, you may see a dead barbershop quartet in Frontierland or Disney villains like Cruella de Ville and Jafar haunting the streets. Creepy remixes of classic Disney songs are also played throughout the night.

Best Part If you really want to see something cool, check out Cinderella’s transformed castle. The happy halls have turned into a sinister space for all to come and see. There are also fireworks towards the end of the night and favorite rides like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and The Haunted Mansion are open for use.

17 Nar brings foreign twist

reviews

Daniella Parcell

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photo by Daniella Parcell

PITA PREFERENCE. Nar offers a variety of Mediterrean entrees and sides, including pita bread, hummus and Greek salad.

News Editor

hile popular restaurants tend to be the go-to dinner choices, one-of-akind settings often provide the most satisfactory entrees. Sitting among the American burger joints and fast food chains that define University Plaza, Nar Mediterranean Grill exemplifies this unique satisfaction, offering a diverse menu that strays from the familiar and more generic flavors of its neighbors.

For a reasonable price, ranging from $7 to $11, customers can choose from either vegetarian falafel or a variety of meats to be prepared over rice, as a salad, or in a sandwich.

For those craving a lighter meal, the menu also boasts multiple sides and salads, including a crisp Greek salad for $4, and creamy hummus with unusually fluffy pita bread for as little as $2. Though not listed on the

Shake it off at the Shack Haley Gaeser

A

Managing Editor

nyone can go through a McDonald’s drive thru and order any average burger with fries. The food is ready in way too short of a time to be considered fresh and if you are craving a dessert, the typical artificial flavoring in a McFlurry is available. But wouldn’t it be nice to break away from the norm and try a burger that the employees took the time and care to prepare? At the Shake Shack in Winter Park, the word average is not one to be used.

The first Shake Shack was established in New York City and once word got around of the restaurant’s success, they began opening up around the country. The Winter Park location, the first shack to hit Central Florida, opened on July 30 and made a huge impact.

What makes this Shack different from others is that it has an expansive outdoor patio space where customers can sit on lounge chairs by the fire pit or play a game of ping pong. It allows for people to do more than just

sit around waiting for their food to come out.

Shake Shack is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The menu at the shack consists of burgers, hot dogs, crinkle cut fries, frozen custard and numerous drink selections. There are even two types of dog treats available.

The single ShackBurger with crinkle cut fries is the perfect combo to fill a person up. Everything is fresh, hot and much better than fast food.

However, the best thing that Shake Shack offers is their concretes.

Concretes are made from their homemade frozen custard, a dense and creamy ice cream, and customers can either choose between a monthly special or to design their own. There are even over 10 mix-ins you can add like cheesecake blondies or chocolate truffle cookie dough.

These desserts are so popular that Shake Shack has a special C-line where customers who are buying only cold items (shakes, frozen custard ice

cream and concretes) can go through, order and receive their food at a much quicker pace.

Although, the wait time can be a little long as each burger is made fresh to order, especially if you go with a large group of people. Expect to wait around 15 to 20 minutes for a party of four.

The prices are a little high, especially since everything has to be ordered a la carte. A ShackBurger, fries and a concrete, however, will keep a person under $15.

Shake Shack is also big into helping the community. Five percent of sales from their Winter Wonderland concrete is donated to BASE Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation and one percent of their bottle profits support the cleanup of water sources around the world, proving they are an eco-friendly establishment.

Shake Shack is the perfect place to come for a causal dining experience.

The food is great and once a person steps inside, they will never want to eat fast food again.

Shake Shack

“Nar’s Favorites” menu, both of these dishes serve as standout items, giving a delicious, yet light and vegetarian snack. Each side is available in two sizes, letting it serve as the main course or as just an accompanying dish.

Though these foreign options will likely satisfy the majority of basic taste buds, Nar makes sure to cater the desires of even the pickiest of eaters. The extensive pizza menu, available by the slice or as a whole pie, offers toppings as simple as cheese and pepperoni, while still including falafel and steak on the list to maintain a Mediterranean twist.

Wings also appear on the menu, available in a variety of styles such as BBQ and Teriyaki, and costing only 50 cents a piece on the restaurant’s “Wing Wednesdays.”

While providing a more unique cuisine, the restaurant’s small interior allows it to have an efficient service style that parallels basic chains like

NATEflix

Tijuana Flats. After customers place their orders at the counter, friendly employees deliver food to self-seated tables within a reasonable time frame.

Although not the two minute wait time that people crave, Nar’s service guarantees that meal preparation is not rushed, while customers do not starve in anticipation.

With a satisfying meal experience, a visit to Nar does not disappoint.

However, for those who would rather not make a lengthy trip, the restaurant also offers an online ordering service.

After placing orders through grubhub. com, customers have the option to pick meals up at the restaurant, or have food delivered to them if the price exceeds $12.50.

Though its specialty sits in Mediterranean cuisine, Nar offers a break from typical meals with food for all preferences in a cozy, inviting setting.

Nar

Nathaniel Kauffman Staff Reporter

MOVIE TO WATCH - Star Trek: Into Darkness

With dazzling effects and quality acting by Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, this film serves as a unique Star Trek addition, with characters and plot lines taken from previous films like The Wrath of Khan.

With Pine as the unlikely captain of the Enterprise, the crew fights intergalactic battles and relies on the strange character of Benedict Cumberbund, who is later revealed as Khan. If you’re looking for a good action film, this is as good as it gets on Netflix.

MOVIE TO AVOID - GI Joe: Retaliation

The funniest thing about this movie was the epic themes, and even the title “Retaliation.” When I think of GI Joe, I think of the action figures I got in the McDonalds kids meals, not Dwayne Johnson lighting people up with a machine gun.

The movie is one big action scene. Just like the first movie, this one is way over the top. In the ending scene the character Roadblock, played by Johnson, blows up a motorcycle with a machine gun, disarms three men, beats up a man to override a launch sequence, and then blows the guy up while walking away. Sounds just like the scenes I used to create with my action figures.

SERIES TO GET HOOKED ON - The Office

One of the most hilarious shows ever, 20 minutes has never evoked as much laughter as an episode of The Office.

With crude and uneducated boss, Michael Scott, the workers get less work done than the class clown in third period.

Whether it’s a love affair or the pranks between Jim and Dwight, the characters constnantly go to extremes. With nine seasons to watch, you will have unlimited laughs watching all that The Office has to offer.

18

sports

Football misses playoffs, still remains positive

Spencer Thompson Editor-in-Chief

“W

e had one goal as a team. We wanted to get better every day,” head coach Phil Ziglar said. “That’s it. And we’ve done that. So I would consider this season a success.”

With more wins, more support and more heart than last season, the varsity football team has shown resilience in close games, confidence on the field, and has sparked a new chapter for the program.

“Teams know us now. They know we’re not a joke,” quarterback Michael Beaudry said. “We’re not an easy team to beat and the years to come are going to be like that too.

Nobody’s going to be scheduling us for their homecoming game for an easy win.”

Although the team is 4-4, they have not been beaten easily. Two of their losses have been lost by five

points total, 23-21 to University Orange City and 23-20 to undefeated Bishop Moore, while, every win has come by six points or more.

“We’ve played hard,” cornerback Jonah Castro said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

Another success of this season has been the increase in the confidence of players. The team has an offense that has sparked 1936 all-purpose yards on the season. Beating last year’s record, finishing games and becoming a more committed team has attributed to this shift.

“They finally see what we’re talking about. They’re drinking the Kool Aid,” Ziglar said. “They’re understanding that success is a building process and they’re getting confidence. I see it every day.”

The players’ goal this season was to make it to the playoffs. It would have only been the team’s second playoff appearance in school history.

Yet, with their most recent loss to

sports shorts

JV FOOTBALL BEATS LYMAN The JV football team wrapped up the season with a win at Lyman on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The final score was 13-0, and sophomore Kevin King scored both touchdowns. The team finished their season 6-2 atop the SAC standings.

BOWLING CLOSES OUT SEASON STRONG On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the boys and girls bowling teams played their last games of the regular season against Lyman. The boys won 2436-2107 and were led by sophomore Ryan Sarcevic, who rolled a 263. The girls won 2383-1351 led by senior Meghan Bradburn with a 213. Both teams advanced to the district playoffs.

GOLF PARTICIPATES IN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the boys and girls golf teams both played in the FHSAA Region 2 Championships. The boys finished in ninth place, and were led by sophomore Guerin Frei, who shot an 81, and senior Tyler Reilly, who shot an 82. Senior Meghan Fernander shot an 85 to lead the girls to a fifth place finish.

CROSS COUNTRY PLACES IN SAC CHAMPIONSHIP On Saturday, Oct. 25, the boys and girls varsity cross country teams hosted the 2014 SAC Championships. For the girls, Nicolette Worrell (19:30) and Lauren Tucker (19:31) earned First Team SAC honors as the girls finished third. For the boys, Andrew Stivers (16:12) earned First Team SAC honors as the boys finished seventh.

Timber Creek, 28-14, on Thursday and Oviedo’s 7-6 victory over Winter Park on Friday, that is no longer a possibility.

Despite the end of the playoff dream, the team has still remained positive and focused on the weeks to come.

“We just want to learn from [the Timber Creek] game,” Beaudry said.

“We want to make the best of the next two games. We want to win these next two for sure and end the season on a high note.”

The team plans to return 17 starters next year and the drive and hunger for districts is not going anywhere.

“Our goal is obviously to get to the playoffs next year,” wide receiver Alex Swenson said. “We’ve got to win all our district games. That’s the most important thing. And we all need to come together. We’re starting to do that this year, but I think next year we’ll have a better chance.”

photo by Jake Arthur

BEING OFFENSIVE. Wide reciever Josh Haywood and his teammates celebrate a touchdown against Oviedo. The team ledd 13-0 at halftime, but lost 55-20.

Voting is super cool !

18 or older? You can register to vote today 16 or 17? You can pre-register to vote today

www.VoteSeminole.org

19

sports

Bowling rolls into postseason

Photo by Aliyah Rackley

SPARING THE TROUBLE. Junior Lauren Wachter goes for a spare in a match against Lyman.

Ben Clyatt

T

Sports Editor

he boys and girls bowling teams have usually posted winning records season after season. That trend continued this season, with both teams finishing this year with regular season records of 15-1. The boys outscored their opponents on average by nearly

400 points a game, and the girls outscored theirs by an average of just over 660 points a game throughout the season.

This is not the first time the bowling team has been dominating the competition. Since 2011, the boys have only lost four games in the regular season. The boys and girls have consistently exceeded their opponents throughout the past several years, and yet have also come up short in the playoffs. However, they are hoping that this year will prove otherwise. “[This year,] everyone’s working towards the same thing. It’s not about individual performances, where I think it has been in previous years. Everyone’s working for the championships and the district [title], and they want it,” head coach Adam Stansbury said.

“They’ve always had a poor postseason, and so they want to do better in the postseason this year, and come back with a district championship instead of a runner up.”

Both the boys and girls bowling teams played their district championship games on Monday, Oct. 27. For coverage of that game, go to hagertyjourn.com.

“We have the bulls-eye on our back, so everybody seems to always bowl their best

against us,” Stansbury said.

The girls and boys teams both beat Oviedo in the second meeting of the season, on Oct. 15.

The boys won, 2610-2335, led by junior Noah Sutch with a 254, and the girls won 2301-2194, with junior Lauren Wachter rolling a 234.

“Whenever we beat Oviedo, it’s always nice,” Stansburry said.

The girls, however, lost the first match against Oviedo on Sept. 15, 2145-2070, for their only loss of the season. The boys pulled out a win in that first match, 2639-2455, with senior Casey Stuart leading the way with a 234.

The girls responded to the loss to Oviedo with a 10-game win streak to close out the season and go into the playoffs. Both teams attribute their success this year with teambuilding and a winning mentality.

“The fact that this year we have truly come together as a team and we all have the same goal of winning it all [has led to our success],” senior Meghan Bradburn said.

Both the girls and boys teams are going into the playoffs as the number one seed in the district and feel like this is the year they overcome their postseason slump and manage to walk away with at least a district title.

Heads collide over girls lax mandate Nathaniel Kauffman

A

Staff Reporter

gainst the will of U.S. Lacrosse, a change by the Florida High School Athletics Association mandates that all girls lacrosse players in Florida are now required to wear a protective helmet during all games and tournaments.

Lacrosse players have voiced their outrage over this, claiming it can only change the game for the worse.

These helmets are currently soft helmets, which, without a hard shell, have not historically been proven to stop head injuries.

“As a player who has had two concussions, I didn’t and still don’t believe that a soft ‘helmet’ will help prevent further incidents,” varsity captain Caitlyn Shoaff said. “I feel like the FHSAA didn’t take adequate time to truly consider research that shows that helmets will not prevent any major injuries.”

Apart from being non-preventive, some lacrosse players feel like it will actually make the game more violent. In contrast to boys lacrosse, girls currently cannot be as physical in parts of the game like checking due to the difference in rules.

“They think it’s going to protect us but it’s probably going to have the opposite effect,” varsity senior Gracie Humbert said. “Girls are going to think that they can check people more just because they have the helmets on.”

This new rule is not a first for the sport.

There have been multiple test runs, including one in Massachusetts. The rule, however, was quickly taken away the next year after a challenge in court.

Players are unsure how these helmets will affect them after a lifetime of being helmet free.

“I think it will affect how we will play, and I’m going to get some bad tan lines,” varsity junior Hannah Lindsey said.

Others, like Humbert, choose to not let it affect them.

“I think it will be weird but I think it will be funny… it will be a small detail,” Humbert said.

The helmets will cost $80, which players will pay just like with the rest of their gear, and the helmets will not be required during players club season.

Players and parents though, look to the FHSAA for their reasoning on the subject.

The FHSAA based the decision off of research that showed girls lacrosse as having

one of the highest concussion rates of all high school sports. It placed fourth in a study through the years of 2008-2012, and was ranked just under football, boys lacrosse and boys ice hockey.

“With a heightened awareness of sportsrelated concussions and sensitivity to the potential lasting effects of this significant health concern, this helmet requirement is a prudent decision by the FHSAA for the safety and health of our student-athletes,” Robert Sefcik, executive director of the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program and also a member of FHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, said.

Whether it is hurting the game or a distraction, the girls lacrosse players are not excited for this new addition.

With this weighing on the team’s mind, the toughest part for the girls may be to overcome the change and not let if affect their play on the field.

“At the end of the day what matters most is that we will win and lose as a team no matter what we are wearing. So as long as we can focus on what we can control and play together we will come out with the ‘W’s’,” Shoaff said.

Ben vs.

Spare no one vs.

Meghan Bradburn Ben Clyatt Sports Editor ast time I took on a highly skilled player in his own sport, it did not end well. Because I lack basic reasoning skills, I decided to do it again. This time, I took on a different player in a different sport.

This time, I bowled senior Meghan Bradburn.

I was unsure of my odds. Going in, I hadn’t bowled since, like, middle school.

Could I shake off the rust and out-perform a top bowler? I had some confidence, though.

I mean, if I can bowl a 275 on the Wii, I can get at least a 150 in real life, right?

I got to the bowling alley and met up with Bradburn. Since I haven’t bowled in years, I needed some kind of advantage. I saw Bradburn had her own bowling balls.

Players like Bradburn can pay upwards of $250 for their own balls, and hers were polished to perfection. These must be the reason for her success. Bradburn was stripped of them for the match and degraded to a heavy, dull, grimy, 14-pound house ball.

I went first, and rolled a gutter ball, and then got five pins after. My next trip up, I got another gutter ball, but showed some improvement when I followed with seven pins, giving me a score of 12 through two frames. Bradburn was visibly upset with the heavy ball, claiming it was five sizes too big.

It really showed in her score of 27 through two frames. [Cue eye roll.]

As the match went on, the deficit kept growing. My main goal became making sure my score wasn’t doubled. To make things worse, she offered to coach me halfway through the match. I got a strike, but still. I could’ve done it myself. Maybe.

My concession of letting her use her own balls on the last frame backfired on me. She ended up getting a strike. Whatever.

When it was all over, I managed one goal: she didn’t double my score. Final count: Meghan, 156; Ben, 88.

I was having an off day. And really, can you blame me? I had just gotten out of the ACT 45 minutes prior to playing her.

I should get props for staying awake the whole match. Besides, I had not bowled in years. She does it nearly every day. Also, I think my shoes might have been too small.

Whatever. I call shenanigans.

Record: 0-2

L

c

20

sports

Varsity volleyball advances to regionals Justin Baronoff

I

Staff Reporter

t was the first round of the district playoffs, and eighth-seed Lake Brantley was tied with the top seeded volleyball team, 2-2. Lake Brantley held all the momentum going into the fifth set. They knew they were about to relive last season’s first round heartbreak defeat, and knew this could not happen again.

The team survived, 3-2, and moved on to face Seminole in the semi-finals of the district playoffs.

“This game showed us that we have to go into every game during districts like it’s a championship game,” mid-blocker Anne-Marie Watson said.

The team faced Seminole in the district semi-finals on Wednesday, Oct. 22. They won, 3-0, due to great hustle and also setting a season high for blocks in a game.

The team then played in the district championship game on Thursday, Oct. 23, against University. They lost, 3-1, and finished second in the district.

“We really wanted to hang a district

[championship] banner up in the gym, but were upset to lose even though we know we have regionals to look forward to,” mid-blocker Brianna Baez said.

The team plays West Port on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. in the first round of regionals.

If the team wins three games in regionals, then they would come away with a regional championship and make it to the state final four.

If they beat West Port in regionals, then there is a possibility they will play University again and look to avenge their district championship defeat.

“If we do play them, we definitely want revenge and without a doubt would have the motivation to beat them,” Baez said. “We are going to practice really hard to make sure we do what is needed, so our seniors can finally have their year.”

Two years ago, the team beat Sandalwood in the regional quarterfinals, but then lost in the semifinals to Lake Mary. Last year they didn’t even make it to regionals, losing to Deland, in the first round of districts. They look to possibly change that this year.

“We played really well this season,” Baez

said. “We had a few things to work on during the season, but have addressed them for regionals and we will be ready.”

During the season, the team finished 13-4.

Some key wins of the season that got them the number one seed in districts were a win against Lake Mary 3-1, and beating University 3-1 as well.

“I was expecting much success this season,” head coach Juanita Hitt said. “Our team is very talented and I have had high expectations from them since day one.”

Even though the season is not yet over, Hitt is already focusing on what the team can improve on for next season.

“I think we need to focus on more of how we play and not who,” Hitt said. “Our team gets caught up on the name of the school. We sometimes lose focus on what we need to take care of instead of worrying about who we are playing.”

NOTE: The first round game of the regional playoffs against West Port was not completed in time to make it into the paper. Instead, coverage and results of that game can be found at hagertyjourn.com.

Photo by Jake Arthur GOING FOR THE KILL. Outside hitter Nicole Mattson blocks Oviedo’s right-side hitter.