Hawk December 2019

the Game of

the Hawk

after high school

In This Issue: Volume 13, Issue 3 December 13, 2019 Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660

Comparing streaming services, page 3 Young Republicans, page 8 Gift ideas, pages 14 & 15 Christmas lights, page 20

2

News Volume 13, Issue 3

state of the

UNION

As the Presidential impeachment process progresses, facts unfold

• The History

Only 2 Presidents impeached in past Landon Self | Reporter There have only been two presidents that were officially impeached by the House of Representatives: President Andrew Johnson in 1868 for charges of violating the Tenure of Office Act and President Bill Clinton in 1998 on charges of lying under oath to a Federal Grand Jury.

Despite Johnson and Clinton being impeached, neither was removed from office due to an

acquittal by the U.S. Senate.

President Richard Nixon was almost impeached for his crimes in the Watergate Scandal but resigned and President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974.

Impeachment is not only used for presidents. Senators, Judges, and Cabinet Members have also been impeached.

The first impeachment of a member of congress was in 1797 when Senator William

Blount was impeached by the House of Representatives and all charges against him were dropped despite Blount being expelled from the Senate before his trial. The most recent impeachment of a public official was in 2010 when Judge for the U.S. District Court in Louisiana, G. Thomas Porteous, was impeached and removed from office after a conviction from the Senate.

• Now Current impeachment inquiry continues to move forward Landon Self | Reporter Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced the House of Representatives would be starting a formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 over allegations of wrongdoing in call with the President of Ukraine from a whistle blower.

The following day, President Trump released a transcript of his call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and claimed there was no “Quid Pro Quo,” or asking for a favor to give an unfair advantage while giving up something for it.

Throughout the month of October, House Democrats conducted closed-door hearings.

On Oct. 23, House Republicans

stormed a hearing being held by the Democrats in protest of the impeachment inquiry.

Then, on Oct. 31, the House of Representatives passed a resolution that set up the rules for the impeachment process. The vote was largely along party lines with 232 members voting in favor of the resolution and 196 voting against it.

All Republicans and two Democrats voted against the resolution with all Democrats in favor of it. This vote was not whether President Trump should be impeached, but a vote on how the process will work.

In the week of Nov. 11, the first public impeachment hearings took place in the House Intelligence Committee with key witnesses such as Ambassadors George Kent

and Gordon Sondland giving testimony that contradicted each other.

The hearings then moved to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jerry Nadler.

Legal scholars such as Jonathan Turley and Pamela Karlan testified and also sent different messages about the legitimacy of the impeachment inquiry.

On Dec. 5, Speaker Pelosi announced that the House will move forward and asked the Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump signaling that he will most likely be impeached by a vote along party lines. There is only one Democrat who has announced he will vote against impeachment of President Trump.

• The Steps Abigail Hill | Co-Editor In light of the current impeachment Inquiry, President Donald Trump is currently under review for his actions regarding the phone call with Ukraine. To put it simply, Democrats are reviewing his actions to determine whether or not Trump abused his constitutional rights as President, as they are saying he used bribery on Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in return for military aid. Below are the steps taken during the impeachment process and where we currently stand.

1

Congress must open an impeachment inquiry in the House Judiciary Committee to investigate on a possible impeachment. The House can vote on formalizing the inquiry, but it is not required by the constitution.

2

House committees then build evidence for the case of impeachment, and the Judiciary committee decides if there is sufficient evidence to recommend the full House vote on Articles of Impeachment.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:

3

The House either passes or doesn’t pass the Articles of Impeachment by the majority vote. If the Impeachment gets passed, the President is then “Impeached,” however the vote still needs to go through the Senate.

4 The Senate tries the accused President with the Chief Justice overseeing the proceedings. The conviction requires a twothirds vote, or 67 out of 100 Senators. Democrats hold 47 seats, and Republicans hold 53 seats. Therefore, 20 of the current Republicans would need to vote with the Democrats. If convicted, the defendant is immediately removed from office, and the Vice President would take on the role of the President.

In this scenario, that would be Mike Pence.

News December 13, 2019

• By The Numbers

Comparing the different prices, movies, show of streaming services Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor

1,569

shows

3 streaming plans: Basic

Standard Premium

1,650 shows One week

long free trial

4,010 movies

30

Disney+

More than

$69.99

500

movies

per year

or $6.99

per month

day free trial

Over 2,500 movies 4 streaming plans: Basic

Five

$49.99

per month

More than

70 channels

day free trial

Premium Basic and live TV Premium and live TV

$5 per month $50 per year People who buy iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod Touch, or Mac qualify for a free subscription for one year

Seven day free trial

12,764 movies $119 per year $12.99

per month

56 shows

30

day free trial

3

4

News Volume 13, Issue 3

Lunch policy changes to accommodate lower income students Hector Santos | Reporter As of the beginning of November, the district has changed their lunch debt policy. For the last few years, if students did not have any money in their lunch accounts they would be provided with a cheese sandwich.

This is no longer the case. If a student doesn’t have money in their account or a negative balance, they will still

be provided with a full basic hot meal and milk or juice.

However, they cannot get extra food items, such as chips or extra beverage, nor can they order a second tray until the student has paid off their debt.

“Sometimes kids tend to forget their lunch money and some can’t afford a meal at lunch,” social worker Lori Carl said. “I don’t think anyone wants a plain sandwich for lunch just because

they can’t afford anything else.”

The No Hungry Hawks program has also contributed to providing students with food if they can’t afford it at the cafeteria. No Hungry Hawks is when seniors from last year donate money to the school so they can pay for the students to eat that day. The Locker, a student run organization, has also started to donate snacks. The sponsor for the locker, Lucinda Handshoe

gives Carl the snacks from the locker and kids can go to her room in student services and grab a snack.

“We just don’t want there to be hungry teenagers out there,” Carl said. “If you are struggling to pay for lunch, please come see me in student services because teenagers are growing and eating is an essential part of your learning.”

Chapter of Math club begins at Hendrickson Hannah Brubaker | Reporter Mu Alpha Theta club, a national high school and two-year college mathematics honor society is starting here this year. The honor society provides a method to encourage students who enjoy and excel in math to continue to do well and gives the opportunity to participate in math-related events to possibly earn prizes or even scholarships.

“Mr. [Johnnie] Kaatz and I have been talking about it for a really long time, and the stars finally aligned to where we both had enough time to make it happen.” one of the sponsors for Mu Alpha Theta and math teacher Amanda Gass said. “I’m really hoping we can create a peer tutoring system as our number one goal, and it not only helps the kids who are getting

the help but as well as the tutors who solidify their skills.”

The honor society has different requirements for the members, but students are encouraged to participate in club meetings activities even if they are not qualified as members. The club has already had its applicants placed, but the club will be advertised as of next year and applications will be available.

“To open up the honor society, we focused on the upperclassmen to get a starting class then open it up from there,” Gass said. “Algebra 1 and Geometry have to be completed and one has to be enrolled in Algebra 2 and to continue into college preparatory classes. It’s not much as a club, it’s an opportunity for us to recognize kids who do really well in math. It’s like National Honor Society but just for math.”

Jazz Band performs at various central Texas gigs Ethan Tittle | Reporter

Earlier this week, the jazz band had the opportunity to play at the Pfestival of Lights in Pflugerville. This was the first year the newly formed jazz band is performing at an event like the Trail of Lights and is planning on performing at more things like this such as playing at the Domain shopping center, the Austin Trail of Lights, and more events in the springtime.

“Later on in the year we are going to perform at Disney World and we are going to go to a few jazz competitions, so I am excited

for that,” Senior trumpet player Nick Arellano said.

The Pfestival of Lights is an annual event held by the city of Pflugerville on Dec. 7 in downtown Pflugerville. It consists of a christmas themed parade, pictures with Santa, and other holiday festivities around the city hall. On Dec. 11 the jazz band also performed at the Austin Trail of Lights.

“I am happy that we got to perform at the Trail of Lights.” Arellano said. “My family has a tradition of going to the Trail of Lights every year together and im glad that this year my family got to come see me.”

Jazz Ensemble 1 before they performed at the Pfestival of Lights Dec. 7. Photo provided by James Hairston

Recently Re-elected Mayor Victor Gonzalez speaks at a Veterans day service Nov. 11. Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Gonzales Re-elected Mayor, Weiss Re-elected Councilman Landon Self | Reporter Citizens of Pflugerville went to the polls on Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for Mayor and City Council Place One. Incumbent Mayor Victor Gonzales secured a second term as mayor by winning 54 percent of the vote. His challenger, Brad Marshall, received 46 percent of the vote in the rematch of these two candidates. This outcome is very similar to the Mayor’s election in 2016 where Gonzales and Marshall faced off against each other and Gonzales won by over 1,000 votes. However, in 2019 Gonzales won a narrower raw vote margin, defeating Marshall by a little over 500 votes.

“My team and I were very

excited to have won this election. We worked very hard to get voters out, as this is very challenging during a non-presidential election year,” Mayor Gonzales said.

“My win means I can continue to pursue some key projects for the betterment of the city. I look forward to our future planning demands and growth. I have a very exciting three years ahead of me.”

Another race the citizens of Pflugerville voted in was the City Council race for Place One. Incumbent councilmen Doug Weiss was re-elected with 61 percent of the vote against two challengers, Emmy McDaniel and Dana Barbie who received 25 percent and 14 percent of the vote respectively.

News December 13, 2019

Science Olympiad team places at event events, students must test the and during Talon in B203.

Hector Santos | Reporter The Science Olympiad team machine and determine how it Captains teach themselves and teach other students the attended a practice meet at functions.

Juniors Seth Cotton and Josh concepts they need to know for Cypress Falls High School and the competitions. scored 475 points, Most captains ranking 17th out of were from last 45 as of November. year. In order There are 27 events to be a captain, the students must one must send an compete in, all application to the involving two or science olympiad more people.

All officer. events have a “We don’t receive written test about much school the subject but funding so we some also have a use donations in lab or experiment order to pay off the students must on invitational participate in. equipment,” For example, the e x p e r i m e n t a l The team also competed Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Seven Lake Chemistry, Pre-Ap event is when two Invitational tournament. Tre Sellison, 12, and Josh Manigsaca, and AP teacher Kubicek students must 11, placed 3rd in Astronomy; Meagan Lavallee, 12, and Ai-vy Ryan work together to Le, 9, placed 2nd in Disease Detectives; and Ben Pham, said.

Their next build a mechanism. 12 and Zach Pham, 9, placed 2nd in Write it Do it. Photo practice run is One writes the provided by Nick Arrelano on Dec 7th and instructions based will take place on the model provided to them and the Manigsaca have placed in the at Seven Lakes High School. other must follow their Astronomy event. The Science They must place first or instructions in order to build Olympiad students practice second at regionals in order the model.

In Engineering before and after school to qualify for state.

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Rachel Simonds, 11, along with Camryn Sadlier, 12, Konner Faust, 11, and Carlea Wyman, 11, placed 3rd at the 200 yard medley relay at the AISD Swim meet. Simonds advanced to the North Zones TISCA Swimming & Diving Championship Dec. 6-7 where she placed 6th in the 100 yard free and 5th in the 100 yard back.

Makaya Smith | Photographer

Debate Team wins numerous awards The debate team competed at the St. Michael’s/Bowie swing tournament. It was at Bowie High School on Nov. 8 and 9.

“I say we either win or we learn,” debate

coach Kirsten Nash said. “We have this really good group of novices this year.”

The following students placed or advanced to semifinals at the tournament.

Foreign Extemp Sanjitha Yedavalli, 2nd Place Matt Raggio, Semifinals

CX Debate David Do / Bekla Kouakou, Semifinals

Humorous Interp Isabelle Cano, 3rd Place Original Oratory Isabelle Cano, Semifinals PF Debate Sanjitha Yedavalli / Melanie Garza, Semifinals

Domestic Extemp Melanie Garza, Semifinals Novice Extemp Cyan Brown, 5th Place Novice PF Debate Lilly Rochelle / Lucas Flores, Quarterfinals

At a previous tournament on Oct. 25 and 26, at Stephen F. Austin High School, the team got

the team award, 2nd place sweepstakes.

Public Forum Sanjitha Yedavalli / Nahom Tulu, Semifinals

Sanjitha Yedavalli, 4th Place Yousor Mohammad Ali, 6th Place

Novice Policy Debate Dat Phan / Gabby O’Donnell, Co-Champions Regan Greene / Reece Wilcox, Co-Champions Dat Phan, 1st Place Speaker Novice Public Forum Debate Xylie Nazworth / Genesis Villalobos, 2nd Place Melanie Garza / Lucas Flores, Semis Genesis Villalobos, 1st Place Speaker Oratory Audrey Fife,1st Place Bekla Kouakou, 3rd Place International Extemp Audrey Fife, 2nd Place

Domestic Extemp Claire Martinez, 2nd Place Nahom Tulu, Semifinals Melanie Garza, Semifinals Informative Audrey Fife, 5th Place Novice Extemp Ohen Cano, Semis Regan Greene, Semis Colin Martinez, Semis Dat Phan, Semis Gabby O’Donnell, Semis

Konner Faust, 11, alongside placing with the 200 yard medley relay team, placed 2nd in the 200 yard free at the AISD swim meet. She advanced to the TISCA Swimming & Diving Championship Dec. 6-7, where she placed 7th in the 100 yard fly, 4th in the 100 yard free, and 2nd in the 200 yard fly. Makaya Smith | Photographer

Newspaper Staff members place at virtual meet Members of the Newspaper Staff competed at the CenTex Invitational meet for UIL,

with over 1800 participants.

The following staff members placed in the 6A-3 division.

Headline Writing Seth Deaton, 10- 3rd Bryan Ross, 11- 4th

News Writing Bryan Ross, 11- 4th Seth Deaton, 10- 6th Ethan Tittle, 10- 8th

Copy editing Bryan Ross, 11- 6th Editorial Writing Bryan Ross, 11- 4th Angelyna Rosales, 10- 7th

Feature Writing Bryan Ross, 11- 1st Seth Deaton, 10- 3rd Angelyna Rosales, 10- 8th

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Opinions Volume 13, Issue 3

• Staff Editorial

Bathrooms cause frustration, confusion One of the most fundamental and consistent parts of a school day is the occasional rest room break. Whether it’s during lunch, during a passing period, or during class, bathroom breaks are one of the few things that everyone can relate to. But surprisingly enough, even this can turn into a major issue.

Early this year, students trying to use the rest room, depending on where they were, would be met with a surprise: the rest rooms were locked.

Nobody was told why or for how long rest rooms would be locked.

It was confusing, and speculation was rampant.

Fighting, vaping, and certain other activities were all suggested as reasons for closing. Whatever the reason, bathroom breaks took longer and bathrooms got overcrowded.

Pretty soon after, bathrooms were reopened. Our long school wide nightmare was over.

But issues in general with the bathrooms, specifically in the boys’ bathrooms, seem to have persisted the whole year.

Vy Bui | Artist This year, more than previous school years, there has been a general inconsistency with seemingly simple and necessary materials, like soap and toilet paper. Bathroom breaks can take 10-15 minutes simply looking for the combination of soap, toilet paper, and usable stalls. As has been mentioned in previous issues of the newspaper, paper towels are lacking from almost every rest room in the school. And while that is annoying, and there are plenty of reasons to want paper towels, there are also valid reasons behind not having them, like trash and environmental issues. But there’s no excuse for not stocking bathrooms with toilet paper and soap. These are necessities, and not having them is frankly gross and leads to a significant increase in the spread of sickness.

There are a few possible reasons for these problems. One is that the bathrooms run out of soap and toilet paper by the end of the school

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100 Student Population: 2,134 Staff: 180 Adviser: Kari Riemer Principal: Daniel Garcia www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper

day. That makes sense to a degree, because there are plenty of people to use the rest rooms, and with the occasional locked bathroom, concentration increases. But it doesn’t make sense that this issue would spring up now with the smallest school population in years, and either way, it’s not just that soap bags are empty, the bags to put soap in are missing.

The other thing that happened recently is that some rest rooms were locked again. This time, it was clearer that those restrooms were being locked as a result of the rest rooms being trashed. The issue with this is that instead of holding individuals accountable for their mistakes, everyone is punished and rest rooms become less accessible. A way to reduce issues in the rest room without having to lock them is enforcing existing hall pass policy.

Having hall monitors during class to make sure everyone in the hall has a reason to be there would go a long way towards cleaning up issues that go on in the bathrooms.

Whatever the actual reason, there’s no excuse for inadequately stocked rest rooms. Having soap and toilet paper should be a top priority. Nothing is more important than making sure people have clean hands and don’t spread sickness, especially during the winter when everyone is at least a little bit under the weather. If bathrooms are going to be locked, greater transparency from administration so the student body knows where and why they are locked would be helpful. This isn’t a complex issue; it hasn’t been one in the past. Unless the bathrooms are consistently stocked with necessary products, students are faced with the option of spending large amounts of class time looking for a rest room or spreading germs through the school. Between inconsistency and lack of transparency, the school has let a simple issue become a problem that, unless it is solved, could have serious consequences.

The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free through an advisory period and on newsstands throughout the building.

Editorial Staff Co-Editors: Abigail Hill & Kaitlin Mackey Assistant Editors: Seth Deaton, Brisa Espinoza, Ikram Mohamed, Angelyna Rosales, Bryan Ross

Reporters

Hannah Brubaker Kaitlin Curtis Kaitlyn Nash Hector Santos

Artist Vy Bui

Landon Self Ethan Tittle Zachary Valdez Kyla White

• Your Turn “[When] I need to use the rest room, I usually walk down a couple halls to find one. I’ve been seeing [the toilet paper on the stalls] for a while, so at this point it’s normal. [I think it would stop] whenever everyone can stop messing around. [The bathrooms are cleaned] not very well, I’ve never seen a clean bathroom at this school.”

Devon Camacho, 10

“I think the bathrooms need to be redone in a lot of ways, like the soap dispensers are always broken. Even some of the sinks don’t work, and it always smells really bad. It just needs to be fixed. Paper towels are never there, the air dryers are dirty and don’t work sometimes.”

Mercer Burgess, 11

“To me, I feel the bathrooms are dirty. There’s writing on the stall in sharpie which is pretty weird, but it’s just messy and I don’t really feel comfortable using the bathrooms. It’s not bad and it doesn’t smell bad but it’s just not clean.”

Anya Ventura, 11

“There’s only three bathrooms unlocked so it’s inconvenient for time when you’re searching for a bathroom. Whoever is doing [the vandalization of the bathrooms] is childish.

[It will stop] whenever people will stop vandalizing the bathrooms, which I think will be a miracle when that happens. I don’t think they are being kept clean at all, I mean it’s definitely hard to clean when there’s toilet paper encasing the stalls.”

Monty Thompson, 11

“It’s upsetting because I can never find a rest room to use. It’s terrible because every time I have to use the rest room and it’s locked, I get in trouble for having to go to another rest room since it takes longer. [I think it would stop] when people stop throwing toilet paper on top of the stalls for no reason. The janitors do a good job cleaning after the kids, but there’s never any soap so I have to find hand sanitizer to use.”

Michael Montgomery, 11

Associations

Payton

Interscholastic Press League Texas Association of Journalism Educators Journalism Educators Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press League

Impson,

the Game of

12 after high school

Honors

ILPC Bronze Star, 2014 & 2015, 2017, 2018 Columbia Scholastic Press League, Gold Medalist 2016, 2017, 2018 Silver Crown, 2017, 2018 Pacemaker Finalist, 2018

the Hawk

In This Issue: Volume 13, Issue 3 December 13, 2019 Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660

Comparing streaming services, page 3 Young Republicans, page 8 Gift ideas, pages 14 & 15 Christmas lights, page 20

Design and photo

by Kaitlin Mackey

• Hit or Miss

• My Turn

Opinion December 13, 2019

7

Library offers lunchtime sanctuary The librarian allows students to enjoy their lunch time in the library if they want a more quiet lunch experience.

This is a good thing because it gives students a more relaxed time to study, work on homework, or just socialize with their friends. Being in the library makes things less chaotic and kids don’t have to worry about having to shout over people if they’re trying to talk to someone. Students also can’t shout out or be too loud as it can disrupt the focus of those who are working so they have to be courteous of their own volume. Even so these rules are reasonable and not very hard to follow. Allowing students a chance to work on school work during lunch or hang out with friends is a hit.

Missing lunch seats cause problems Recently, many lunch tables in the cafeteria have started having broken or completely missing seats. This is due to the amount of student activity during lunch. But the missing seats have posed a major problem for students who have larger friend groups.

These groups are forced to find another seat or are completely separated due to the missing chairs. This lack of seating makes it to where people can’t sit with the people they want to sit with to create an awkward gap between friend groups sitting at the tables. It creates an unnecessary problem that students shouldn’t have to deal with. This can be fixed by replacing the broken tables with new ones, or just fixing the tables that are already broken. This is why the broken lunch tables are a miss.

CK-12 introduces homework hassle New this year, an online assignment was given to the students by the biology teachers called CK-12. This assignment requires students to complete a set of practices and an ending quiz about the subject that they’re learning about that week. The assignment is due by midnight on every Saturday. Although this online requirement was initially given as a way to have kids practice what they are learning, it has become inconvenient.

Along with the stress of their pre-existing homework, students have to go to a separate website and complete the assignment.

The assignments are puzzling for many students due to all the questions being a “introduction” into the topic for that week. This means that students have to guess on every question and aren’t able to grasp the concept due to them not understanding the topic that the assignment is about. If students happen to forget to complete the assignment, they get an automatic zero in the grade book until they complete it for a late grade. The tests are not working for classes and should be taken away. CK12 is a miss.

Tardy policy compounds issues At the beginning of last week, a new tardy policy was enacted which stated that all tardy students should be sent to the library or textbook window to pick up a tardy pass.

Students with a tardy pass would be required to spend an hour in tutorials to remove the tardy from the record. Tardy’s had become a problem, so having a stronger, clearer policy is a good idea. The problem with the system is that it requires students to miss more class time as a punishment for being late, when a teacher could just mark tardies and still require an hour of tutorial time to make it up. The policy is on the right track, but making students even later to class is a miss.

Vy Bui | Artist

Choosing A Path Staffer Determines Factors That Led To Finding Herself Kaitlyn Nash | Reporter There are many factors inside and out that determine who you are. Most of the time, you can control them. But one of the hardest parts about yourself to examine is the things you believe in. For 93 percent of the population, the things you believe in are determined by which religion you decide to follow. But what about us? The remaining seven percent who still haven't gotten it figured out yet.

The seven percent of us who are agnostic.

Growing up, I had many strong Christians in my household. My paternal grandma, whom I’ve only met once as a baby, knew her place was with God. He was her savior and was the one who led her away from the dangers of smoking. Following His light as well is my maternal grandmother, my maternal grandfather, and almost every distant relative I can think of. Since my mother and father were both raised in these households, it was only acceptable that they were Christian, too.

I went to church a lot as a kid and for a really long time, all I knew to believe in was God. But as I grew up and I was introduced to new topics and beliefs, I knew that I couldn’t pretend to believe in everything I had been raised to think.

When looking at the bible and all the stories about Jesus and God, I can’t help but think that science makes more sense in my head.

I’m not saying that anyone who believes in the scriptures are wrong, I just think that science works best for me. It means that everything can be explained and simple.

Not being tethered to one religion means that my mind can always be wide open. I believe that ever since I became agnostic, I’ve been way more accepting and open to learning about other people and how they view the world. Also, since I don’t follow one particular religion, I don’t have to conform to the beliefs of that religion. I get to follow my heart and choose what I believe and what I don’t.

But sometimes, believing what I do causes many problems. I’ve encountered a few people who think that what I think is wrong and that I’m going to “hell” for not following God. I don’t blame them for reacting in this way because many people, especially in a state like Texas, have never been exposed to people who are different than them. It has also distanced me from my family in many ways. My mother and father have always been accepting of me being agnostic, but it's very hard to tell my grandparents who have been rooted to believe there is only one way to think. And with no other person in my family thinking the same way, it also makes me feel very different from them.

Even with these obstacles, I have still been able to be very close with my family and find a really accepting group of friends who love me for who I am. I am forever thankful to them for never making me feel out of place. Even though I don’t follow a specific religion, I still accept and listen to every belief that is subjected to me. I also don’t think that anyone who follows a religion is wrong. Just because I do not believe in anything, doesn’t mean I don’t think you can.

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Feature Volume 13, Issue 3

Young Republicans

Student creates club for fellow republican teenagers to express beliefs, educate others Brisa Espinoza | Asst. Editor Leading the meetings and discussing real world problems, senior Cade Kokes acts as director for the WilCo Area Teenage Republicans and helps unite teens in their common interest: being a Republican and advocating their beliefs.

Kokes first began his journey creating the club after going to the Republican headquarters in Georgetown.

From there, the State Policy director contacted him expressing the need for a club to help teenagers get more involved with the political party.

“I make all the plans for the club, contact the speakers we have, and practically do all the hard work,” Kokes said. “At the organization we discuss problems and how to fix them. We also have guest speakers that are all high up in office. We go out and take actions by spreading the word of the Republican party.”

Believing it is his duty as an American and Republican, Kokes saw the opportunity to educate others on the party’s’ beliefs through teens that are motivated like he is.

“I got involved because it is the right thing to do,” Kokes said. “I have the right to my own opinion and I wanted a hobby that actually mattered in the real world that I can make a difference.”

Despite constant judgement

for expressing his beliefs on both social media and real life, he doesn’t let it affect him. He continues to proudly advocate the Republican party as much as he can.

“When I get approached by a Democrat, they normally start yelling at me and threatening me because we have different beliefs,” Kokes

“

I wanted a hobby that actually mattered in the real world that I can make a difference."

Cade Kokes, 12

said. “My truck has been keyed twice and I get called horrible names every day. I normally stay calm and pray for them.”

With the amount of young adults voting beginning to rise throughout recent elections, getting young adults to continue to show out and vote in the elections is still being campaigned for as they will be voting for the future of America.

“Everyone should vote, it is the American thing to do,” Kokes said. “Whether you’re a

Republican or Democrat you should go out and vote. Take a stand for your beliefs and get involved.”

In many recent events, teens have been brought down for expressing their beliefs and getting involved with politics because they’re still young and aren’t ‘educated’ over politics.

“Teens should get involved in politics because it is your constitutional right to express your opinion,” Kokes said. “Politics have been around from the Mongols to all the way to the start of Britain. Politics makes the world go ‘round; there will always be politics till the day we die.”

Throughout everything that is happening in the United States that depicts Republicans to be racists, sexists and many other things, Kokes does not let those opinions bring him and his beliefs down. He finds it important to express what he stands for and create the legacy for future Republicans.

“I express my beliefs because I am a proud Republican, I fight for what is right,” Kokes said. “When the facts and statistics are on the Republican side then why not take a stand for them? When someone wants to take away the culture of America, then I will fight for it. America got this far because of our history and culture, why change it?”

ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Interview With Ted Cruz Why do you believe it’s important for teens to get involved with politics?

Senator Cruz: “A couple of reasons: It gets repeated a lot but it is your future. This is the world you will inherit and if you value the rights we have as Americans, our constitutional liberties, being able to speak out for whatever issue is near and dear to your heart, being able to worship however your faith and conscious dictates; all of the fundamental rights that come from the constitution and bill of rights, we will preserve them only if each generation steps up and fights for them. Secondly, young people have a passion that is powerful. If you look at politics, young people: high school, college, just out of college; have a fire to change the world. Let me encourage every student, don’t give up on that fire, hold on to it, and pour your passion into making a difference to the world around you.”

Staffer discusses reasoning behind school club for Republican teenagers, the importance Landon Self | Reporter The Pflugerville Young Republican Club is a brand new club that has been co-established by myself and two other high school students from other Pflugerville high schools. This club was created to bring awareness to young people interested in politics that there are young Republicans who may share the same beliefs as them. It is a club where young Republicans from the Pflugerville area are welcome to come and speak their minds on political issues. The club meets every month with official meeting dates still up for discussion among myself and fellow club leaders. There will be speakers in the future to come and tell young students how they can get involved in politics and what it means to be a Republican. The speakers will all be Republican, and we offer Democrats the chance to come to our meetings to hear our side and why we think what

we think. The main goal of the club is to encourage people to pay attention to politics because of the effect it has on our everyday lives.

It is important for young people across the country to pay attention to federal, state, and local politics. When state legislators pass education bills and the governor signs them, it affects every student and teacher in Texas. An overwhelming majority of young people feel that these things don’t affect them, but they do. Back in June, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill Three, which dealt with funding for schools and specific school programs.

Students that are involved in certain programs could be affected by this law, and it is important that students pay attention to what is in these bills because of the direct effect it has on them. It is false when young people, Republican or Democrat, say that politics doesn’t matter.

Republicans and Democrats can disagree on policies, but the level of respect that is shown to people that share different believes is an important part of democracy. The Pflugerville Young Republican Club is a place where all are welcome, Republican and Democrat. All are welcome because is important to hear the other side and where they are coming from. There are limitations to Republicans and Democrats coming to our meetings such as they will be asked to leave if they show a disrespectful attitude towards speakers and club officers. Respect for the other party is important in American politics and unfortunately, we do not see it anymore. The message of the Pflugerville Young Republican Club is to respect people with other beliefs while standing up for your own.

Feature December 13, 2019

the Game of Join the military

9

after high school

Attend a two year school Take a gap year

Considering College

Other Options

Join the Work Force

Counselor gives advice on college decision Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor College admissions season is reaching its peak, and many colleges have already admitted or rejected applicants. As seniors get past the stage of applying, they begin the more difficult stage of their final year of high school: choosing what school to attend for the next four years.

“I would say most importantly does the college have your major,” counselor Leigh Ann Spradlin said. “If they don’t have your major, then why are you going there, right? The other thing would be location and how far away it is. I think every kid’s different though, but number one I’d say is major.”

While going far away from home can bring exciting opportunities, Spradlin says

that some people may overestimate how well they can handle the new climate or being far away from family.

“Something kids don’t think about but is important is weather,” Spradlin said. “In different parts of the country, some students don’t expect it to be as cold as it is in some places. Distance is another one. Some kids that aren’t very independent think they can go farther, then get homesick and end up coming home.”

One way to get more familiar and prepared for schools is by visiting campuses, which Spradlin says has helped her see the large amount of options that exist.

“I regret not visiting more campuses,” Spradlin said.

“That’s a big regret. Seeing the opportunities that are

out there, from a counselor’s perspective, now visiting as an adult, my world’s gotten bigger as far as ‘Wow, there’s a lot of opportunity out there in different places.’”

Alongside that, Spradlin says that above all, a campus needs to feel like home, and that signing up for a school that you’re unfamiliar with puts that at risk.

“Students not getting on campus is a problem,” Spradlin said. “You’ll have a lot of students that get admitted, sign up, and sign the dotted line to go to this campus but have never set foot on it. I think that’s a huge issue, because I’ve always told them that if it doesn’t feel like home then they’re gonna want to come home.”

Pay attention to Regular admission into deadlines that must be colleges: met for graduation January 1 - March 1 (depending on school)

FAFSA Deadline: January 15 Scholarships: Most by March 15 but varies

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Feature Volume 13, Issue 3

College applications, deadlines explained What are some pros and cons of in state and Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor For many high school students, the idea of eventually graduating high school is one that is extremely daunting.

The stress comes along with organizing what colleges they would like to go to, applying to each, and having to go through the entire process regarding their future.

Leigh Ann Spradlin is the college and career counselor of the school, aiding and allowing students access to a variety of tools to help them prepare for numerous college-related things.

“I provide students with many resources to help with their applications,” Spradlin said. “Application submission, essay editing and review, testing registration, and any questions they may have along the way.”

Regarding the topic of college applications specifically, Spradlin has a lot of tips to help provide students with a fast, easy applying process.

“Most applications open July 1st,” Spradlin said. “Start on it, make sure you have a few people look over it, and then submit it early. My recommendation is to have your application in by November 1st.”

Though it’s easy to have applications completed before their required deadline, Spradlin stresses the importance of making sure certain aspects of your application are finished as well.

“A complete application means they have filled out the necessary demographic requirements, submitted the transcript, submitted test scores, and paid the fee for the application,” Spradlin said.

Spradlin emphasizes to make sure all aspects of students’ applications are completely finished, and checked before being sent off to their colleges.

“No errors, and do not leave anything blank,” Spradlin said. “Make sure the university has your transcript and your test scores.”

With this, Spradlin acts as a helping-hand throughout the application process. Although this is true, she advises that students be proactive and not wait until the last minute.

“The best colleges to apply to, are the ones that are the best fit for each student,” Spradlin said. “Don’t wait until the posted deadlines. Get them in early.”

In State vs Out of State

out of state colleges?

“Out of state colleges have an out of state tuition, and you would have to pay that annually because you don’t live in that state.

Some positives are that you get new meet new people, have a new environment around you, get new connections, and more opportunities.”

Carlos Sahagun, 10

“You get to meet new people and a new way of life rather than Texas. A con is that it’s more expensive to go to an out of state college, and your family is not as close so you might get homesick and start to miss those home-cooked meals.”

Katherine Neille, 11

What is your favorite in state and out of state school?

“My favorite out of state college would be The Juilliard School in New York, and my favorite in state college is The University of Texas of the Permian Basin.”

Ameyalli Ramon, 12

“My favorite in state college is Texas Tech, and my favorite out of state college would be LSU.”

Kelly Daoud, 12

“My in state college of choice would be UTSA, and my favorite out of state would be Colorado State”

College Applications

Jonet Powell, 12

Financial Aid

Important FAFSA deadline closing in for financial aid

Kaitlin Curtis | Reporter Kaitlyn Nash | Reporter

Along with all the upcoming deadlines for senior college applications, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, FASFA, is one of the most important to fill out. Students have to fill out one of these forms and see if they qualify for financial aid from colleges.

If students need help with filling one of these forms out, students should go meet with the College and Career counselor, Leigh Ann Spradlin.

“You can get free money which is the grants, and you can qualify for loans

which is like low interest loans you can take out or borrow so you can pay back after you get out of college,” Spradlin said. “But what the really important part is that colleges will look at this application and sometimes they’ll say ‘hey if you fall in a certain area then we can give you scholarships.’ It’s a free application. The priority deadline is Jan 15, 2020.”

To fill out this form, it is important to know how financial aid works and the process schools take in receiving and analyzing your application. Even if students don’t receive the

money that comes from the application, there are still other things you can do to help pay for college.

“Once you do this one application you're telling the government to report to whatever schools you’ve applied for,” Spradlin said. “So let’s say you applied to five schools, the government [is going to] give your information to those five different schools and each school is [going to] come up with a financial aid award letter for you.

And then from there, that’s [going to] look different for every school depending

on

how much it costs.”

One thing that seniors should know before filling out the application is who can apply for it and what the requirements are. This can be helpful in deciding if the FAFSA application is right for you.

“Everybody qualifies for financial aid whether its grants, scholarships, or loans,” Spradlin said. “The biggest myth out there is that people will say ‘well I don't qualify for anything so I’m not [going to] do it’ when in reality is everybody at least qualifies for loans if you need them.

Complete the application, and file your taxes.”

For seniors still feeling overwhelmed with filling out the application, the school offers many resources for you to use.

“My website under scholarships and financial aid is a good resource,” Spradlin said. “I think it’s the best because I have all the resources I like to give parents and students on there. Seek out help, ask for help, come in and get help. There are resources on campus and we can all help you with it.”

Feature December 13, 2019

Counselor, student discuss pros, cons of graduating early Seth Deaton | Asst. Editor

Graduating Early

As the class of 2022 walks the stage, sophomore Isabella Dudley will be just getting home from her freshman year in college, along with a small group that, like her, went through the exhausting process of graduating early.

In order for a student to graduate early they have to have a meeting with their counselor. During the meeting their counselor will make sure they have enough credits to graduate early and map out what they’ll need to do.

“If someone wants to graduate early, the sooner they speak to a counselor during their high school career, the better,” counselor Wresha Torrez said.

“Most of the time kids come in during their sophomore year or their freshman year. A lot of kids end up graduating in three and a half because they come in a little bit too late. The first thing I do when someone comes in is I ask them one question and that’s ‘why, why do you want to graduate early?’

A lot of people are just in a hurry to grow up. You have to have a real reason because it’s really hard, you have to double up on something every single year and if it’s not something you really want to do it’s not worth it.”

The process of graduating early can be a heavy burden on those that aren’t prepared to handle it. According to sophomore Isabella Dudley graduating early isn’t something you should do unless you’re willing to put in the effort.

“The hardest part is the workload,” Dudley said. “This year I’ve doubled up on two sciences which isn’t really the biggest deal, but it just is the work-

Scholarships

load of having overall high academics since I’m taking all Pre-AP and AP classes as well and it’s the struggle of keeping my mental health up, and next year is going to be just as crazy.”

However, graduating early is not an easy task and there’s a lot of difficulties and problems that occur throughout the process.

“The biggest problem that is see is that when students come their sophomore year if they don’t have Algebra as an eighth g r a d er that m e a n s we have to double up on everything w i t h in two years,” T o r r e z said. “The issue is if they come during their sophomore year that means their sophomore year has already started and I can’t really add anything.

That means they’d have to do two English, two science, two math, and two history [classes] in one year. Everything they

would have is core classes. I have a student right now who’s graduating this year who didn’t decide to graduate until this year and that student literally has nothing but required courses for graduation and must pass all of them, so it’s been pretty stressful for them.

I check in with this student every now and then to make s u r e they a r e doing

okay.”

According to Torrez there seems to be a trend where more and more students are wanting to graduate early.

She says that kids today are in too

11

big of a rush to grow up and should slow down and enjoy their childhood.

“I just think the biggest thing is there needs to be a good reason a students wants to graduate early,” Torrez said.

“I don’t like it when they just tell me they want to graduate early. Now if they have a career goal and that helps them with that then that’s great, but there has to be a plan. Otherwise I think kids kind of stall out, they’re only 17 when they graduate, I’ve even had 16 year olds graduate early and I always wonder, ‘are they really mature enough to handle themselves on their own?’ I have a niece that graduated early and she’s fine now, she’s an engineer and her life is good, but her first year of college was really hard for her, just the social aspect of all of it. That’s the biggest thing is why and is there a plan, and if there is, are they ready and willing to carry out that plan, otherwise it’s just not a good idea.”

Dudley says that even though the process has been exhausting and stressful she’s glad she did it because it will pay off in the future.

“It’s all worth it in the end,” Dudley said. “There may be some points where you think ‘why am I doing this,’ but it’s going to be worth it in the end and also it’s going to get you where you want to be. The whole process of graduating early gives you this grit so later in life when you face difficult things you’ll have the determination to keep going and you’ll have the endurance to be able to withstand the stress that comes along with having a job and being an adult. It gives you a lot of experience to prepare you for life.”

Counselor explains importance of scholarships, deadlines Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor The idea of attending college in the fall can be an overwhelming thought for many seniors, especially with the semester coming to a quick close. Though, for some, the idea of having to finance their time at whichever institution they are planning to attend is one which elicits greater fear for many. College in America is one that comes with a lot of financial burdens, though there are many options present to help students with dealing with it.

Scholarships are a valuable asset to many students hoping to find a way to finance their education, and there

are many ways for students to find some for themselves.

“There are a few sources for students to find scholarships,” college and career counselor Leigh Ann Spradlin said. “A majority of scholarships come through the universities that they apply too, otherwise, our link [on the College and Career Center website] is the best way to find local scholarships.”

Scholarships are presented in many varieties and typically fall within one of two common categories.

“There are different kinds of scholarships available to students,” Spradlin said. “Merit Scholarships, which are from

universities based on the student’s GPA, class rank, and/ or SAT or ACT test scores and Local Scholarships, which are from community members/ organizations or businesses.”

Though finding scholarships is pretty accessible, many still require an application for students to be considered.

“The basic requirements for applying for scholarships are an application, resume, transcript, and a letter of recommendation,” Spradlin said.

After securing a scholarship of any kind, the money presented to the student will easily find its way to the university which they are planning to attend.

“They will send the student’s university a check once the student confirms where they are going and proof of class registration,” Spradlin said.

Though the idea of searching and applying for scholarships can be pretty intimidating, what students can receive from applying is more than beneficial to their futures.

“Sometimes we have only a few applicants for scholarships,” Spradlin said. “Students think it’s a lot of work, but if you spend an hour on one scholarship and you get $500 then you just made $500 an hour. So, apply, apply, apply.”

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Feature Volume 13, Issue 3

Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

Senior creates Spanish Honor Society to help minorities gain more recognition Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor With Pflugerville gradually becoming more populated, the city also becomes more diverse; causing Hendrickson to be more diverse. As a result, multiple clubs and organizations have been created, Spanish National Honor Society, being one of them.

Senior and president Letty Hernandez took it upon herself to create Spanish NHS, an organization where students participate in volunteering and helping other students out.

“As a minority in this school, specifically I feel like I found a way to make my voice heard within clubs, organizations and classes,” Hernandez said. “With that I am hopeful to make that happen for others as well. I want to raise awareness to all of the hardworking Hispanic people at our school that are not recognized.”

Meanwhile, there is also the National Honor Society, which is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States in which students are selected based on academic achievement, leadership, service, and their character. In National Honor

Spanish III students, Kayla Durocher, Corey Fields, and Bailee Greenhalgh, participate in class by taking notes, making test corrections, and asking questions as Spanish teacher, Alberto Macias leads the class in their discussion.

Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Society, students are expected to be organizations. For example, in Spanish role models and help the community National Honor Society, members through volunteer work. must have at least three of the six “The difference between Spanish requirements, with the requirements National Honor Society and National being that they have taken an AP Honor Society is that we are going Spanish class or already received to be more diverse,” Hernandez credit, they plan to take their second said. “We focus our semester in Spanish volunteer hours on III or higher, have at tutoring others in least a 3.0 weighted Spanish classes and or unweighted As a minority in this by helping others GPA, are able to understand Spanish meet all volunteer school, specifically culture more than hours when they’re I feel like I found actually going out assigned, are willing a way to make my to find volunteer to help tutor other voice heard within opportunities.” students in a foreign clubs, organizations While there language course, and classes." are some major and are at least a differences between sophomore.

When Letty Hernandez, 12 discussing National National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, a National Honor student must have a Society, there is still one thing that GPA of at least 3.7, or in other words the two have in common, being that classes must have an average of both of the organizations have certain an A, as well of at least 25 hours of expectations that they must fulfill community service since they started in order to become inducted and high school. to become an active member of the “Spanish National Honor Society

“

gives students the opportunity to build up their [college] resume,” Hernandez said. “However, we want students that will actually put in the effort to continue this movement that we’re starting.”

As of right now, there are only five members, all being officers due to the insufficient amount of awareness by students. However that minor problem is being fixed soon, with Spanish teachers passing out applications to students who automatically meet the expectations to become a member.

The officers intend to spread the word by posting information about it on a social media account ran by the officers and there will be an announcement to direct students to Spanish teacher, Coach, and sponsor of the organization, Felipe Castro, in portable two to get an application.

“My goal for this organization is to get every single student from whatever cultural background recognized,” Hernandez. “I would like to get every minority group involved in some sort of way. I also want to raise awareness about minorities and inspire others.”

Feature December 13, 2019

Setting the Stage

13

Tech Crew, Pit Orchestra add magic to musical productions Crew members describe the behind the scenes preparations for musicals Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor The lights. The sound. The set. The things that turn a musical from actors singing and dancing on a stage to an unforgettable production may be hidden in the back of the auditorium, but are essential to any performance.

For this year’s production of Matilda, it’s no different.

Matilda is a show about a 5 year old girl, Matilda, with extremely advanced mental abilities who is mistreated by her parents, and sent to boarding school where all the teachers but one treat her similarly. The one, Ms. Honey, is the only adult in the show who sees her for the miracle she is and treats her with kindness.

“Matilda is such a very heavy projection based show in aspects of a lot of the stuff that happens in the script we can’t technically do on stage,” senior Evelyn Cestone said.

“Like swinging a girl by her pigtails.

We can’t really do that. The story of the acrobat and the escapologist, or any of the more death-defying stunts that happen throughout the play.

That and having to make everything in this play so large because we have to think from it in the point of view of a child. Everything’s going to be huge compared to a kindergartner.”

Senior Heidi Stringer, who works on sets and designs choreography as well as performing in the show’s ensemble, says that task is especially difficult because Matilda is not commonly done

as a high school show.

“We are one of the first schools to do Matilda,” Stringer said. “Trying to come up with our own really cool ideas has been unique because we can’t copy what other schools have done, so we have to come up with our own system of doing things. That’s really fun.”

than it has been in the past.

“We started much earlier than we have in years past, so we got a head start on it,” senior Josh Brockelsby said.

“People don’t recognize how much work actually goes into it. Usually we don’t involve Tech 1 in the creation of the musical, but there’s so much stuff we need to get done before January

Tech crew member Sarah Schulze working on a stone wall prop for Matilda.

Ian Falkenbury | Photographer As a result of those challenges, tech work for Matilda started earlier this year, and has been more involved

that we’ve included those classes, and we’ve had to design stuff so that they can do it, and everything we’re trying

to make is just nuts. Not everyone realizes how much work goes into that to make sure it all is ready by then.”

In a show that includes scenes where chalk writes by itself, a cake disappears as it is eaten, and a girl is hurled across a field by her hair, creativity is required. Cestone said that working on the show early and often has been important to succeeding in producing those challenging scenes.

“We’ve been working like two months on Matilda already,” Cestone said. “I think one of our biggest things was the light up chalkboard, the magical scene where the chalk’s in the air writing as she speaks. That one has been interesting to figure out. It’s been a lot of we build small, to see if the idea ends up working out, then we build big. Ideas are pretty even across the board. Malone always says that all good ideas are never one’s own, you always have to find something where you think ‘oh that’s kind of cool’ and then you have to make it your own.”

Overall, Stringer says that having a strong team means that success can come largely from within.

“Most of what we do is our ideas,” Stringer said. “Sometimes when we’re really stumped we look to other schools for inspiration, but most of the time we really like what we come up with so we go with our plans because we have a lot of really amazing minds and we have a great team to work with.”

Senior discusses past experiences, expectations for upcoming musical Seth Deaton | Asst. Editor The lead for the musical starts to sing, and in the background music begins to sound. A guitar comes in immersing the audience in the sound of the music.

Every year members of the band audition to be a part of the pit orchestra for the annual musical. Senior Thomas Lopez has auditioned for the musical every year, but unlike everyone else he doesn’t audition with a normal band instrument.

“I play guitar a lot and it’s an opportunity, before jazz band, to play guitar for the school in a jazz band setting,” Lopez said. “And I really like Broadway musicals so it’s something that I really wanted to pursue, so that’s why I did it my freshman year and I got hooked.”

Lopez says that he enjoys playing guitar in the pit because it’s a different experience than he gets playing trombone in the marching and concert band, but like marching band, each show has a unique atmosphere around it.

“It’s a lot different because you’re not just

going with the flow you kind of do your own thing,” Lopez said. “You’re in the background a lot but all of the music that comes out is really nice unlike trombone, where you’re constantly playing single notes. Each show has its own things that I like about it but I really liked In the Heights because I really like Lin Manuel Miranda, there’s some beautiful stuff that he wrote.”

As the first performance becomes close the pit will start working with the vocalists to put everything together and make sure that everything is ready for the live shows. Lopez says that he enjoys working with the vocalists because it creates a unique sound and makes him a better player.

“I like accompanying people a lot more because it’s easier to follow and it’s just a lot more fun because we get to work together with vocalists and it creates a different vibe that you don’t get with band,” Lopez said. “It’s definitely made me a better player because I’ve learned more aspects of the musical worlds than I would’ve from just band.”

Senior Thomas Lopez working on music for Matilda on his guitar. Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Gifts For 14

Entertainment Volume 13, Issue 3

For Your Significant Other:

Giving

Bond Bracelet

Kaitlin Curtis | Reporter An idea for a gift is a bond bracelet. All that is required is a tap on the screen and it will light up on the other bracelet. Even though it is directed towards couples, it can be used it for a best friend too, it is a unique gift. Even though it is pricey at $98, it is waterproof, and a great present.

Explosion Box Angelyna Rosales | Asst. Editor An explosion box is a fun and creative gift that can be decorated with colorful designs, and when you open the box it ‘explodes’ with pictures, notes and other memorable trinkets.

You can buy the base of the box, which includes the flaps and places to add pictures, stickers, and colored markers on Amazon for about $14. This gift is perfect for any close friend, or whomever you have a lot of pictures or memories with.

Perfect presents for family this Christmas season under review

For Mom:

LED Lights Kyla White | Reporter

Face Masks

Hannah Brubaker | Reporter Give the gift of variety with this Kiehl’s set that comprises of their best face masks. Kiehl’s Must-Have Mini Masks can be given to anyone who enjoys a little self-pampering. This gift set is available at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Kiehl’s for $32.

https://www.macys.com/ shop/product/kiehlssince-1851-5-pc.-mini-masksampler-set?ID=6038879

Travel Hammock

Hannah Brubaker | Reporter If there is anyone who enjoys the outdoors, this travel hammock would be the perfect gift. It can be set up easily by just tying the strings between 2 trees or posts and then it’s good to go. They are available online or at REI with the price ranging from $30-$80.

Fleece Blanket Abigail Hill | Co-Editor What’s usually $49 is now $39, the mega soft blanket from Urban Outfitters. Although you may be able to find a cheaper blanket from Target, you won’t find a blanket as soft and warm as this one. Coming in 12 colors, the blanket is perfect for the holidays, and a gift your mom would just love.

https://www.sierra.com/chillax-doubletravel-hammock-with-integratedsuspension~p~8389a/

Elago Charging Hub Abigail Hill | Co-Editor The Elago Charging Hub is perfect for all kinds of tech lovers. Whether it be for your dad, sibling, or significant other, the Elago Charging Hub is an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPod charging stand, organizing your electronics, and decluttering your desk or night stand from all the cords. The cost is only $25, and you can buy the product in black or white, and you can find it online at Urban Outfitters.

Smartphone Projector Abigail Hill | Co-Editor Stuck on a long roadtrip to visit your relatives? Well, the Smartphone Projector is the perfect gift for you, and everyone for that matter. Starting at only $30 on Amazon or Urban Outfitters, the Smartphone Projector displays anything on your phone, so that way you can watch movies up to 8x bigger than your smartphone screen. For the full effect, it’s recommended that your phone be at 100 percent brightness, and used in the dark, and on a smooth, white surface.

First becoming popular from the app Tik Tok, indoor LED lights are the perfect Christmas gift to give anyone. LED lights are trendy and fun to put along the corners of your walls in any room, or even along the edges of any piece of furniture.

Most come with 32.8 ft and a small remote with around 16 colors to set different moods and add a little color to any part of your house. They range from $16.99 to $29.99.

https://ww.9to5toys. com/2019/05/15/elagocharging-hub/

For Your Siblings:

For Dad:

Fuji Instax Camera Abigail Hill | Co-Editor

Mancrates

Kaitlin Curtis | Reporter For a dad, a great idea for a gift are Mancrates. They are a box full with many different things, anywhere from outdoor items, food and drinks, cooking and grilling, to grooming. They can be personalized in tons of ways. There are many different crates, price ranges, and subscription plans to choose from.

http://www.daddoes. com/6622/football-mancrates/

The polaroid camera has been a desirable product for years.

Although there are many versions of the polaroid, one most common and cheapeast is the Fuji Instax Camera. Starting at about $59.99 at Best Buy, you can also find them on Amazon or any other store that holds tech gifts, like Target and even Michaels.

Fuzzy Socks Abigail Hill | Co-Editor

Amazon Echo

Now this gift, you can find anywhere. Fuzzy Socks have and always will be one of the easiest, warmest, and comforting gifts that will ever exist. They come in hundreds of different colors and styles and can be as cheap as $5, making the perfect gift for your best friend, sibling, or parents.

Abigail Hill | Co-Editor Although the Amazon Echo came out lat year, the popularity for the product hasn’t died out. There are the Amazon Echo Dots starting at $39.99, the Amazon Echo (original) at $69.99 amd the Amazon Echo Plus at $149.99. This is the perfect gift for just about anyone who loves technolgy and entertainment.

Device Holder Abigail Hill | Co-Editor

Wireless Charger

Brothers love vido games, and he may very well love this gift too. The Cable Guys Device Holder, coming in the forms of Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Sonic the Hedgehog, Groot, and a Storm Trooper. They are $24.9 and can be bought on the Urban Outfitters website.

Abigail Hill | Co-Editor For any dad that doesn’t know his phone can charge wirelessly, the Anker PowerWave Fast Wireless Changer Stand is perfect for him. At only $18 (orginally $30), the wireless charger is a handy commodity and easy gift for your dad.

Foam Roller Abigail Hill | Co-Editor If you have a dad that loves to workout, then a foam roller is just what he needs. After intense work outs and sore muscles, the grid foam roller helps relieve muscle strain and helps ease any aches and pains. They are only $26.24 and you can easily find them on Amazon.

https://www. urbanoutfitters.com/shop/ cable-guys-groot-deviceholder

Beanies Abigail Hill | Co-Editor Beanies have been rising in popularity lately and are making a strong comeback in fashion, making them a great gift for the winter time as temperatures drop. Although you’re able to buy them in a variety of stores, Patgonia, North Face, and Urban Outfitters are among the best places to purchase them. Usually prices range from $15 to $35 anywhere.

Juicer Abigail Hill | Co-Editor The Big Mouth Juice Extracter Electric Juicer starts at $54.99 and is great for any dad (or mom) that loves juice cleanses and wants to eat right. The gift is easy to operate and one of the top rated juicers out there. https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach67601A-Extractor-Electric/dp/B00E0IBKLQ

https://www.blue-tomato. com/en-GB/product/ adidas+SkateboardingJoe+Beanie566450/?varid=303916998

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Entertainment Volume 13, Issue 3

Cup Of Cheer

Staff reviews top drinks for upcoming holiday season

Hannah Brubaker | Reporter

Starbucks

Hot chocolate is the staple drink of Christmas, regardless of where it comes from. The smell or even the warmth of hot chocolate can get practically anyone in the Christmas spirit. At Starbucks, there is a choice from the other five variations they provide which include Peppermint

Hot Chocolate, Toasted White Hot Chocolate, Peppermint White Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and White Hot Chocolate.

But the classic includes the familiar toasty and pleasant taste of chocolate for the winter season. Prices vary with flavor and size, it ranges from $2.95 to $5.45.

Angelyna Rosales | Reporter Chick-fil-a has added the Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake back to their menu, and will be sold throughout early January. The shake is handspun and contains vanilla ice cream

and small pieces of peppermint and chocolate chips, topped with whipped cream and а cherry and is available as a small for $4.05. This shake will definitely satisfy your winter ice cream cravings.

Chick-fil-a

Dunkin' Donuts

Angelyna Rosales | Reporter Dunkin’ Donuts recently released a new signature latte to their winter menu. The Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Latte has the sweet taste of fall and contains a cinnamon pumpkin coffee

flavor topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle and cinnamon sugar.

This latte is available as a hot coffee for $3.69 or as an iced coffee for $4.19.

The Dunkin’ Donuts cinnamon sugar latte is perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Smoothie King

Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor As the seasons change, the seasonal drinks come out. Including at Smoothie King, who came out with a new smoothie, the Dark Chocolate Strawberry Slim-N-Trim. The smoothie itself has the chocolate strawberry taste that most people love. While the smoothie is rather sweet, it lives up

Vy Bui | Artist

to its name, to where it’s still healthy with pure strawberries, three types of chocolate protein, plant-based sweetener, and fiber included. The smoothie has an equal amount of both chocolate and strawberries and with zero added sugars making it worth the $5 purchase.

Starbucks Kyla White | Reporter Starbucks holiday drinks are back along with their seasonal cups. Drinks like the Chestnut Praline Latte, Caramel Brulée Latte, Eggnog Latten and the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha ranging from $4.45 to $5.45 depending on the size, and are now available until mid to late January, and with the cold weather comes the hot drinks with their festive cups.

Going in on a cold Saturday morning to grab a Chestnut Praline Latte, it

had a slight caramel taste to accompany the chestnut flavored syrup, which I didn’t know what it tasted like until I drank this and I’m still assuming what chestnuts taste like exactly. Praline is off of a French dessert that is made with pulverized and sweetened nuts, the taste was subtle but the latte still had the warm taste of Christmas. With the limited time on their holiday menu, people are lining up to snatch their favorite festive treat before its gone.

Hop Doddy Seth Deaton | Asst. Editor To celebrate the holidays Hop Doddy is bringing back several of it’s favorite seasonal milkshakes. One of their best is their strawberry shortbread shake. This shake is vanilla custard with bits of strawberry, vanilla butter cream, and Lorna Doone Shortbread Crumble. Along with the strawberry shortbread they have other, less traditional holiday flavors. Theses include the Nutella chocolate pretzel, a vanilla shake with pretzels and

Nutella, and the banana foster, a vanilla shake with cinnamon banana, salted caramel and brown butter.

Each shake costs around $6.50 not including tax, and like all other Hop Doddy milkshakes is served with a whipped cream topping, and are a perfect finish to the delicious burger that they serve. While some of these may not be the most traditional holiday beverage, the Hop Doddy shakes are perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth looking for some holiday flavor.

From Good To Great

Sports December 13, 2019

17

Basketball captains discuss plans for success, expectations for upcoming season Angelyna Rosales | Asst. Editor

Monty Thompson | Photographer

Macy Burnham | Photographer

Sophomore Erika Suarez, and senior captain Sarah Malinowski drop back to defend the basket while playing against Harker Heights.

What are your plans to help your team be successful?

“To work hard on defense, and communicate. I also wanna be a team leader and be a good teammate. To be a good captain you really have to communicate with your team and tell them what to do in different situations.”

Micah Williams,11

“I need to be a leader on and off the court. I need to set a good example, and help people who are doing things wrong. I also can’t let stuff get to my head and I’ll have to stay calm and keep everyone else under control.”

Kayden Crosby,11 Senior captain, Micah Williams, steps up to the free throw line while playing against Northeast high school during preseason.

“Just to work hard in practice and be a leader on the team while we play and help all of the underclassmen out and help them to figure out how to play the game.”

Sarah Malinowski,12

What are your expectations for the season?

What are you looking forward to during the season?

“My expectation for this season is to win district, because throughout my high school career I’ve never won district and hopefully we’ll be able to make it to state.”

“I’m looking forward to the bond and the brotherhood with my team, we’re going to plan a lot of team dinners and activities to help with that.”

Micah Williams,11 “I expect us to win district and make the playoffs, to do that we really need the team to come together and everyone has to do their job on their court.”

Kayden Crosby,11

“I expect us to do very well this season. We had a lot of graduating seniors last year who played an important role in our team but we’re getting everyone to work hard in practice and learn their role and learn how to play together as a team.”

Micah Williams,11 “I’m really just looking forward to getting out there on the court and playing.”

Kayden Crosby,11 “I’m looking forward to spending time with the team because it’s my senior year and I’m getting very excited about all the games and getting a chance to experience everything one last time.”

Sarah Malinowski,12 How do you plan to improve upon last seasons success?

Sarah Malinowski,12 What are you planning to change this year from last season?

“I plan on improving our execution, last season we kind of veered off of what we usually do and I feel that if we play our game we’ll end up doing better, and to do that we need to have players who actually want to play the game and not have lazy people on the team.”

“I think we need to have better chemistry while playing, because last season there was a lot of ball sticking and I feel that if we improved our chemistry the ball would move more fluidly.”

“Last year we made it to the second round of playoffs, so hopefully this year we will be able to make it further than that.”

Micah Williams,11

“Hopefully we will be able to make it further in the playoffs, we’ve been to the regional finals and regional tournament twice now so we’re hoping to get the chance to play in the state tournament this year.”

Sarah Malinowski,12

Micah Williams,11 Kayden Crosby,11

“We really need to just work hard in practice and do a lot of conditioning and run all of our plays and we need to grow closer as a team, We are going to work on our shooting and ball handling skills a lot and spend more time with each other outside of practice.”

Sarah Malinowski,12

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Sports Volume 13, Issue 3

Beyond Spirit

Cheerleader perseveres through sport despite medical disorder Brisa Espinoza | Asst. Editor She wears the same bows as the team, same uniform but her only difference from the others is that sophomore Elena Chacon has a chromosome disorder.

When Elena was first diagnosed, it was a shock to all because Elena was a part of the 3 percent that would be different than other kids. Elena was diagnosed with a chromosome disorder that causes her to have evident delays. This is known as, “Partial Deletion of the 13th Chromosome.”

“When we got the p h o n e call to tell us about the disorder, I dropped to the ground,” C h a c o n ’ s mother, Yvette Chacon said.

“Her life

flashed before me. I was scared of all the horrible things she’d face, how people would laugh at her and how hard her life will be. I closed my eyes and prayed to have the strength to give her the best life ever and started doing just that.”

Despite Elena having special needs, she was welcomed to the cheer team with open arms. Yvette Chacon was worried about having Elena be a part of the cheer team due to her fear of what others would think about Elena and how they would treat her.

“I wasn’t scared, but I get nervous for her,” Chacon said. “But she teaches me, she’s never nervous, so I started g e t t i n g used to it. What

is

matters that

everyone h a s made her feel so welcome that she doesn’t k n o w how to be nervous.

I would get nervous because I don’t know how other people would accept her or how they would react to her. She doesn’t know when she’s not being treated right, but that’s what I’m there for.”

Having Elena on the cheer team wasn’t an unusual experience for cheer coaches Belva and Robin Sheport. The cheer team has included students

with disabilities to be a part of the team and their game day activities.

“We’ve have had a special member of the team for several years now,” Belva Sheport said. “In the past it has been males who help run the flags, throw footballs, hold the run through.

But it’s so special to see Elena out on the field/court participating with the cheer team.

She is actually a very hard worker and tries her best to do the cheers.”

Elena does p r a c t i c a l l y everything she can do like the rest of the team. She doesn’t participate in the competitions, but regardless of her not being able to participate in competitions she cheers at the games and does stunts.

“She has worked extremely hard to learn the cheers,” junior cheerleader Faith Cummings said.

“Stunting is probably the hardest part of cheer, but it didn’t stop us from getting Elena in a knee stunt.”

At the start of Elena’s cheer career, Mrs.Chacon would put her worries over how the crowd would react to Elena in front of her actually watching Elena on the sidelines cheering on the team.

“There was a lot of times where instead of watching Elena, I would be watching around to see if anyone would react,” Chacon said. “I would see reactions but nothing ugly, I’d see someone touch someone on the shoulder and be like, ‘look.’

Eventually, I stopped looking for those people that react ugly because I’d be too busy watching Elena.”

In middle school, Cummings talked to Kelly Lane Middle School cheer coach Mary Perisho about allowing Elena to join her middle school cheer team.

Since Elena joining the cheer team, she has stuck with it through high school.

Mrs. Chacon credits Faith for being the one that introduced Elena to the new environment and allowing cheer to be a type of therapy for Elena. “[Elena] brings the team so much joy and positivity,” Cummings said.

“She has taught us to work through our hard times and never give up.”

In September, Hendrickson was announced as one of the Top five Unified High School in the nation by

ESPN. The school was recognized as being a school that has an inclusive campus and everyone works together despite disabilities.

“I think that when Elena travels to the games with the team, it shows the other teams who Hendrickson is, what they stand for and that they do have someone that has special needs,” Chacon said. “She stands out whether she tries or not while she’s on the field. I think it’s all about the inclusion and I love that with any kind of competition she cheers for the other team is there and they see her.

I think that all she’s been able to do through cheer is because of the team as well the girls have included her. They treat her just as if she was a regular person on the team, I’m used to having Elena be taught one-on-one in her classes but the girls are doing their own thing and since she is her own self, they let her be who she is.”

Cheerleading has been a safe space for Elena, it has taught her and everyone else that despite one’s differences, in a way we’re all the same. Being involved with cheer was just the first step into showing Elena that she truly does outshine others but in her own way.

“I never knew I was going to have a special needs child and now being a part of Hendrickson, I’ve seen how much inclusion they have and having everyone being included,” Chacon said. “It helps a lot of people learn and teaches them that it doesn’t matter who you are. It was hard for me to let go of Elena at times, I wanted to protect her to the point where I was on the verge of pulling her out of middle school because I wanted to protect her from the world and how ugly It is. But what’s great is that I was able to learn from everyone, that everyone all embraced Elena and there is goodness in the world, that it allowed me to let her learn and I’m glad she’s able to do it at Hendrickson with everyone here. I’m thankful for everyone that says hi to her, laughs with her, gives her a high-five or a fist bump. It means everything to us.”

Sister Act

Sports December 13, 2019

19

Sisters both commit to play collegiate softball at Texas A&M

Brisa Espinoza | Asst. Editor

Rachel Schulze | Photographer

Photo provided by | Isabella Torres

Why did you commit to Texas A&M? Do feel pressure while you’re playing because your Mariana Torres, 12: “I chose A&M because of the way the committed to a SEC school? coaches, players, and community made it feel like home. They are very deep in tradition, which reveals the true character of Aggies.”

Mariana: “All the time, but at the end of the day I remind myself that I’m competing with the player I was yesterday, and as long as I continue to work hard, I can only get better

Isabella Torres, 9: “I decided to attend Texas A&M University

always worried about my performance. But growing up and maturing, I’ve learned that the SEC is a competing conference that will be difficult to compete with, but will for sure make me a better player and performance.”

because of the joy the campus and people brought to me. The coaches and players made me feel right at home.”

Isabella: “At such a young age I was so nervous playing or even attending their camps and

Have you ever regretted committing How does it feel like to be committed to the same school as your sister? so young?

Mariana: “No, since I’ve committed, I want to work 10x harder to earn a starting spot as a freshman.”

Isabella: “At the beginning I would always think about my decision, and wondered if it was the right one, but going back to A&M after my decision just made me realize how much I love the university, and how proud I am to be an Aggie.”

Are you excited to play softball in college?

Mariana: “I’ve actually forgotten a few times, but it’s crazy to think about. She’s been one of my main competitors since I started playing and to think it’ll carry onto college; I can’t imagine how much more we can push each other.”

Isabella: “Being committed to the same school as my sister is such a blessing. I’ve never dreamt of anything more exciting than playing on the same field as her.”

Do you think it’ll be weird playing for the same team as your sister?

Mariana: “I’m excited, yet nervous. College softball comes with a lot of responsibilities, but getting to play the sport you love alongside some of your best friends is priceless.”

Mariana: “Maybe at times when we have disagreements, but she’s my best friend so we get

Isabella: “I’m super excited to play softball in college. It’s

Isabella: “My sister has always been my best friend and playing with her on the same field is like a dream to me.”

always been a dream of mine, and just continuing this long softball journey is so exhilarating.”

Do you feel “safer” knowing you already have a plan for college?

Mariana: “Absolutely. Seeing all my friends stress about

college applications made me realize how blessed I am that I fell in love with a sport that’ll provide me with a secondary education

Isabella: “Most definitely, but it also comes with a little

pressure to stay on top of my academics, and to be able to perform on the field.”

over things fast.”

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Back Page Volume 13, Issue 3

‘Tis The Season

Christmas lights set up around the city with holiday season approaching Ikram Mohamed | Photographer