Hawk 2020

Living Without Fear

Women strive to stay safe in modern day

the Hawk

In This Issue: Volume 13, Issue 4 February 7, 2020 Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660

Higher Standards, pages 8 & 9 Tik Tok fame, page 14 Oscar Reviews, pages 16 & 17 Wrestling, page 19

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News Volume 13, Issue 4

state of the

UNION • The Events

Multiple events impact world

Landon Self | Reporter

President Impeachment Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 of last year. Since her announcement, the impeachment process has been playing out on Capitol Hill. On Oct. 31, the House of Representatives approved the rules for the process and began holding public hearings in the House Intelligence

and House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler. On Dec. 18, the House Voted on two articles of impeachment: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. By a vote of 230-197 on abuse of power and 229-198 on obstruction of congress, President Trump became the third American president to be impeached. On Jan. 15, the House voted on impeachment

managers and to send the two impeachment articles to the Senate. The following day, Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in to preside over the impeachment and all Senators were sworn in as jurors.

On Jan. 31, the Senate voted not to allow new witnesses by a vote of 51-49. A final vote on President Trumps Aquittal was on Feb. 5. with the process now over.

Airstrike on Iranian general Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 3. The airstrike was lead by the United States after an order given by President Trump. Soleimani was credited with the killing of hundreds of Americans and the attack on our embassy in Baghdad,

which is why President Trump ordered the attack. After the airstrike, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed his country would retaliate on the United States after killing their top military general. On Jan. 7, Iran launched a missile attack at a United States military base in the region,

Democrat Primary A record 29 candidates filed to run for the 2020 Democrat Party Presidential Nomination and as of Jan. 22, only 11 remain in the race: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. The Texas Democrat Primary is to be

held on March 3 where voters in Texas will cast their ballot for which Democrat they would like to be their nominee in the general election. Texas has 228 delegates at the Democrat National Convention which will be awarded proportionally based on the results of the Democrat Primary.

The Republican Primary will be held on

right now, 25 people have died and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed.

An estimated 280 million animals have died either by being burned or lack of food due to food being burned.

Hector Santos | Reporter

Of these events: Impeachment, Iran, Australia, Democratic Primary, which do you think is the most impactful or serious and why?

“Trump’s Impeachment because his impeachment shows the standards of what can and cannot be impeached and it will show how the checks and balances ensure that abuse of power cannot be used.”

Osaze Osakue, 10 which killed no Americans and caused minimal damage.

The following day, President Trump addressed the nation and said: “As long as I’m president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”

the same day with seven candidates running. President Trump will be on the ballot in the Republican Primary as the incumbent president. There are 155 delegates from Texas at the Republican National Convention which will also be awarded proportionally based on the primary results.

Fires take place in Australia For the last few months, Australia has been fighting a major wildfire in the country.

Starting in September as a small fire, it has now turned into a massive fire larger than 15 million acres. As of

• The Opinions

According to the Australia Bureau of Meteorology, 2019 was the hottest year on record for Australia, making the perfect climate to help spread this wildfire after being started by people.

“Australia fires because it’s something that is bad regardless of your political views.”

Mario Godina, 11

“Australia fires because it affects the air and is affecting the environment

Alexis Rivera, 9

“The Democratic primary because whichever nominee wins will determine if Trump will stay in office or if we will switch to a Democratic president.”

Kara Johnson, Librarian

News February 7, 2020

• By The Numbers

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Senior receives full-ride scholarship to Rice University Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor During his first semester as a senior while applying to colleges, Gospel Ibe discovered that he got into his dream school; Rice University. Not only did he get accepted, he also received a fullride scholarship into the university.

“I see [the scholarship and acceptance] as a major blessing and privilege,” Ibe said. “It felt extremely surreal when I found out that I’d gotten the scholarship. It still feels that way sometimes when I think about it. It’s an incredible opportunity that I don’t want to take for granted. [When I got the letter] I just stood there in shock and couldn’t even think straight for a minute, but then I finally thought to call my dad and he was super happy about it.”

While Rice was Ibe’s first choice college, he had backup options just in case he didn’t get in. He also applied to the University of Texas at Dallas and was accepted but shortly withdrew his application after hearing back from Rice. Additionally, he had also started to fill out applications for UT, Texas A&M, Texas State, and others but he never completed them.

“I am not exactly sure what I’ll major in, but I’m hoping to go to medical school so it’ll most likely be a science major like biology and I might also minor in music,” Ibe said.

In the 17 years of Hendrickson being open, there have been about two or three people that have been accepted into Rice, for the most part be-

ing offered a scholarship for sportsrelated activities. Rice’s acceptance rate for 2019 hit a record low 8.7 percent. This means that out of 27,084 students that applied, only 2,364 students were actually accepted. Getting into Rice itself is a big deal, but receiving a full ride scholarship to such a school, makes it an even bigger deal.

“Growing up I was really interested in a lot of things - art, music, and sports to name a few,” Ibe said.

“School was very important to us; however, my parents didn’t put much pressure on me growing up to do well in school. It was just something that we all wanted to excel in as a family. Seeing my older sisters do well in school motivates me to work hard. But I am

generally motivated by my faith and Scripture. I’ve also noticed that often times I do my best when I just trust God and stop being a try-hard, and I believe that’s God’s grace on my life.”

Ibe only really submitted two college applications before getting into his number one choice because of methods that he used to make this process easy for him.

“Do your research and find out which schools actually fits you the best, so you can write about the specific things that make this school a great match for you,” Ibe said. “Try to avoid any topics you know will probably be in other applicants’ essays so you stand out.”

Scholarship Websites:

$46

is awarded by the U.S. Department of Education and colleges/universities each year

billion

Scholarships.com FinAid.com SallieMae.com

FastWeb.com CollegeNet.com CollegeBoard.com

ScholarshipMonkey.com

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common types of scholarships

Academic Achievement Community Service Unique hobbies/traits Personal background

Athletic Achievement Financial need

Family’s workplace

/

Military affiliation

86

colleges across the nation offer full ride scholarships

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News Volume 13, Issue 4

PfISD hopes to break ground on new schools set to open in 2021

PfISD begins construction for new elementary and middle school.

Landon Self | Reporter Pflugerville ISD will be building a new middle school and new elementary school which will open for the 2021-2022 school year. The new schools are being built near Weiss High School off of Weiss Ln. In 2018, PFISD voters approved a bond, which is being used to fund the construction of the new schools. Mott Elementary, which has been open for three years, went over the building capacity

after its first year open.

“The new campuses are necessary for the rapid growth of students moving to our district to receive an outstanding public education,” School Board President Vernagene Mott said. “The intense growth is escalating east of State Highway 130 as new subdivisions are developed.”

The elementary was designed by Pfluger Architects and the middle school by PBK

Architects. The construction company for both campuses is Webber. The district has hopes that with good weather and a good construction force, the process of building these schools will go smoothly.

“We are very grateful and appreciative of the continual support of the citizens, property and business owners, parents,” Mott said. “We hope voters realize the value of a great public school system.”

School refocuses lens on picture of healthy relationships in February Evelyn Wilkosz | Reporter In an attempt to bring awareness to the issue of teen dating violence, Hendrickson will be setting up different activities throughout the month of February.

“Teen Dating Violence is not always physical,” social worker Lori Carl said.

“Jealousy, possessiveness, control and put downs can be subtle. It helps to talk and educate yourself about what healthy boundaries are.”

Throughout the month of February, the school will be showing awareness through the announcements, posters in the bathroom, and activities. The school has even made an effort to bring acknowledgment through social media and art murals.

These campaigns have been at the school for the past 14 years. According to Carl,

about one in 10 teens who date have been a victim of physical abuse in a relationship and one in three adolescents will experience abuse, which adds up to approximately 1.5 million high school students nationwide experiencing abuse from a relationship.

A well known misconception is that the only victims of relationship abuse are females, however, males are frequently the victims as well.

“We set up information tables and have an open mic event,” Carl said. “I provide individual assistance to students who find themselves in unhealthy relationships creating safety plans and talking to students regularly about warning signs and healthy boundaries.”

The theme this year is to challenge students to share one thing they learned

about teen dating violence with peers and friends.

“I talk to students a lot about dating” Carl said.

“Their safety and mental well being. I also view this work as preventative for future relationships. I want our students to treat each other with respect and demand to be treated with respect.”

Clubs and classes are educated each year about teen dating violence to increase awareness about this issue. However, February isn’t the only time that teen dating violence is given attention. Throughout the year, there is information posted in the bathrooms, for everyone to see.

“Awareness is prevention,” Carl said. “This is a topic that is addressed openly with students in health class as well as other classes.”

Unified Champions selling shirts for upcoming ceremony Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor Following Unified Champions being recognized by ESPN as one of the top schools in the National Special Olympics in September, there will be a resulting ceremony Mar. 9 to commemorate

this

accomplishment.

Unified Champions will be selling t-shirts for the ceremony, and students and staff are encouraged to purchase one to show their pride at the event. The shirts are being sold for $15,

which can be paid in either a check made out to the school or cash which can be given to Maggie Jashinsky.

The last day to put in orders is Feb. 7. If you would like to purchase a shirt, you can contact Maggie Jashinsky.

Monty Thompson | Photographer Seniors Hunter Pope and Makayla Chamberlain, and Junior Makayla Ritchie film video for announcements regarding teen dating awareness.

FCCLA members compete at region, advance to state Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor Members of FCCLA traveled to Corpus Christi for the FCCLA Region Competition on Jan. 31. While there, the group participated in a variety of events and had members place in a couple.

Juniors Jazmine Sandoval

and Arly Gomez placed third in Toys that Teach. Senior Sirad Abdi-Yusuf and Junior Fatuma Abdi-Yusuf placed fourth in Food Innovations Team 1.

The two teams both have the opportunity to attend FCCLA’s state conference Apr. 2.

HHS earns top three placements in essay competition Hector Santos | Reporter This year three students earned the top three spots in the Voice of Democracy and Citizenship Education essay contest on the topic “what makes America great.’’ For the last 10 years, students have placed in the top three, and in eight of those years HHS has had all three placings. Ten students advanced to district this year and five of those students placed at the district level. Sophomore Audrey Fife placed third and sophomore Max Garcia placed second, while freshman Kaitlyn Nash placed first. Garcia wrote about how the constitution gives rights that every person naturally wants and how the people get to choose their leaders.

“Our government allows everyone to have an opportunity that they can’t get on most other countries,” Garcia said “I want to show people who may not have hope for this country how beautiful it is and can be.”

Fife wrote about how the country was founded on freedom and natural human rights.

“When we stay true to those ideals we see the best things about this country,” Fife said.

Every year the contestants must complete the essay during October and submit the essay by Nov.1. The submissions are scored by individuals from the Veterans on Foreign Wars

(VFW) and Ladies Auxiliary. The judges listen to the submissions and then give them a score.

The student with the highest score from all the judges wins. This year there were a total of 75 essays and recordings submitted, 44 of those essays being from HHS. For the last ten years, debate coach Kirsten Nash typically assigns this essay as an assignment for her speech and debate team.

If students win district, they will also win scholarship money.

“Writing a good essay is about having a message and being able to convey it in a way that evokes emotion and create a picture for the audience,” Nash said.

Kaitlyn Nash, who took first place, compared America to a quilt by connecting it’s design to the founding fathers choosing a design for the government they would create. The different fabrics of the quilt is also reminiscent of the diverse culture in America and the stitching of the quilt to the stories people lived.

“Stitching is a unique way of designing the quilt and everyone in America has a unique in America has a unique story that forms the American history,” Nash said. “They live unique lives and are not afraid to share their culture and that’s what forms America’s ideals.”

Swim team competes at district Hector Santos | Reporter On Jan. 17th the swim team competed at UT for the District 11 6A championship and placed 5th in district. Two swimmers qualified for regionals: Konner Faust in the 100 yard Butterfly and Rachel Simonds in the 100 yard Backstroke. They also competed in the 200

yard relays, which includes all four strokes, along with Camryn Sadlier and Carlea Wyman.

The regionals took place in Mansfield in Dalles, Jan.31. At regionals, Simonds placed third in the 100 yard backstroke and Simonds, Faust, Sadlier, and Wyman advanced to finals.

News February 7, 2020

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JV, Varsity guard place at events Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor The JV Winterguard competed at the Texas Color Guard Circuit (TCGC) Westwood event Jan. 25, where they placed first in Scholastic JV out of six competing guards. The JV guard has won the Area West Championships, the highest level JV competes, every year since 2016.

“It was really cool to keep the tradition going and have it happen all over again,” sophomore Paige Brill said. “I was really proud,”.

The Varsity Guard competed at the Winter Guard International (WGI) San Antonio event on Feb. 1, where they placed second in open class out of six competing guards.

The JV guard took first at the TCGC Westwood event, their first event of the year.

Photo provided by | hendricksonhawkband via Instagram.

JV Wrestler places at district Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor Freshman Jake Garcia placed 2nd in the 138 weight class at JV districts, held at Vandegrift High School on

Jan. 31. After missing several weeks with a concussion, Garcia returned to practice Jan. 27, only practicing two days before competing.

Band Members perform Region Band concert Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor Twenty-four band members performed with the AllRegion band on Jan. 25. Band members auditioned to be a part of the band Dec. 13-14, and 11 members also advanced

to the area round. Of those 11, seniors Valerie Hernandez, Owen Larson, Brayden Heath, and Mason Willy made the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Band.

Juniors Rachel Simonds, Carlea Wyman, Konner Faust, and senior Camryn Sadlier advanced to regional finals for the 200 yard relay.

Photo provided by | Daniel Garcia via Twitter

Art Students win in Scholastic Art Competition Landon Self | Reporter Art students competed in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition in December.

Three students were awarded for their work in the competition. Freshman Zoe Jimenez was awarded Silver Key as well as Honorable Mention for her colored pencil drawings.

“I sketched out my drawing and it was of my dad and my mom,” Jimenez said. “Then I

colored it with colored pencils and added a bunch of details.”

Katherine San and Anh Nguyen won honorable mentions for their sculptures.

“It feels really good to win this award,” Jimenez said. “I know I’m good at art and will do it in the future and get an even higher score.”

Members of the 6A symphonic and concert region bands performed on Jan. 25.

Photo provided by | hendricksonhawkband via Instagram.

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Opinions Volume 13, Issue 4

• Staff Editorial

Women held to different standards Throughout work on this issue of paper, it became more apparent to us that our school organizations and clubs raise incredibly high standards for our students, standards that are higher than what the regular student body must adhere to. Even more notable, however, is the fact that regardless of what association students are a part of, women are already held to higher expectations than men. In our school for instance, boys and girls will be equally punished for activities such as vaping, use of alcohol, cheating, and fighting, but when it comes to social media and photos being posted, women are more policed, and are more subject to being kicked out because of something they do/post outside of school.

Now the topic of discussion is: Should students be removed from school organizations because of activities done outside of school?

Moreover, if a girl was to post a revealing photo of her body, like in a bikini, she’s automatically subject to cruel judgement, whereas when a guy posts a photo of him shirtless, it’s seen as completely normal and appropriate. Now, let’s say the girl who posts a bikini photo also works for a wellknown company who watches what she posts. Should she still post “revealing” images, or should she be restricted and have limits to what she can and can’t post? Does posting a revealing photo put a bad reputation in for that company? These are only some of the questions that are raised and have remained controversial for quite some time now. The answer falls in what these women (or men) know before

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

going into a club, job, and other environments before committing to them. If they sign a contract, knowing what is to be expected and what is considered unacceptable, yet they choose to not listen to it and go by their own rules, then yes, of course it makes sense for them to be removed from the environment if they break those

Vy Bui | Artist requirements. However, grounds become very gray when standards vary and when men aren’t held to the same standard. In regards to our own school environment, though, girls have been and get kicked out of clubs because of what they post outside of school. But some argue that it’s unfair to get removed from an organization because of something that didn’t even occur on school grounds. And, if it was a male doing the same things, they would remain untouched. This is true. Women are in fact more closely watched and examined than men are.

The fact of the matter though, is it’s inevitable that women are held to high standards, and sometimes those are in fact, higher

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.

than standards being held for men. Considerably, men take up most of leadership positions, and have been longer than women have. In fact, women only make up 28.9% of our state legislatures, which might seem small, but in 2018, that number was only at 25.3%, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This draws more attention to women in power, and not just on large scale positions like legislation and government, but in small communities and associations as well. In high school alone, we’ve all seen girls get kicked out of clubs because of what they wear or do outside of school, sometimes unbeknownst to those girls that what they’re doing is against the policy of their club or affiliation. Rarely do we see men getting kicked out for posting particular images, whether that’s because the leader of the association simply doesn’t care, or they just don’t know about what goes on outside of the school environment.

The reality of it all, is that this problem may never change. Women may never be quite equal as men as far as requirements go, and a common ground for those standards may never be found. However, we can all strive for somewhere close to it. We can all do our best to create an environment of equal opportunity and a place where standards aren’t an issue of gender, but rather of who actually lives up to them and who doesn’t. In our own school, teachers can strive to make their clubs and organizations equal for all, and fair for women and men.

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 Landon Self

Artist Vy Bui

Ethan Tittle Zachary Valdez Kyla White Evelyn Wilkosz

• Your Turn “I think with girls’ clothes it’s easier to show more and it’s more common for girls to show more and I get that teachers don’t want them to do that. In high school, I’ve never been dress coded but in middle school teachers would tell me to not wear holey jeans or show my shoulders with off the shoulder shirts. I don’t think dress codes should be a thing. To a certain extent, it’s kind of pointless. Our school doesn’t dress code anyway.”

Madelyn Nash, 11

“Girls tend to try to be more appealing and try for better style. So when it comes to girls, they’re more likely to be punished so the other girls know not to wear it.”

Jackson Boykin, 11

“I think girls are definitely held to a higher standard than boys if you look at the dress code, I mean most of the rules are definitely applicable to women rather than men, because men aren’t wearing super short shorts most of the time. I personally have never had issues with the dress code because my way of style is definitely not too against the dress code, I do have friends that have had problems with the dress code because something they wore was considered to be ‘too revealing’ so they got in trouble.”

Madison Rudkin, 9 “There are a lot of rules that pertain to girls a lot more than guys the majority of the time. I personally haven’t experienced it, but I have seen multiple people get dress coded for something as small as showing their shoulders.”

Ilwaad Mohamed, 10

“Our dress code is more particular and in depth, and we are forced to change and shop at different places. I get dress coded once or twice a month, but usually just for reasons like a teacher’s personal preference and not something that’s actually in the dress code. It’s embarrassing and it’s like we’re held to a different standard and it’s demeaning.”

Regan Greene, 9

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

Living Without Fear

Women strive to stay safe in modern day

Honors

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

In This Issue:

the Hawk Design by Abigail Hill Art by Abigail Hill Volume 13, Issue 4 February 7, 2020

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660

Higher Standards, pages 8 & 9 Tik Tok fame, page 14 Oscar Reviews, pages 16 & 17 Wrestling, page 19

• Hit or Miss

• My Turn

Opinion February 7, 2020

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Drills run smoothly, despite needs Daughter of police officer expresses for improvement thoughts, feelings, regarding officer shootings

As students get back from the break, one of the things they have to get used to again is drills. On Jan 15, the school issued a surprise lock down drill in order to test the students and teachers. Due to the unexpectedness of the drill, many people took it seriously. This serious attitude is key to preparing for if a lock down were to really happen. It allows procedures to be planned and worked out beforehand.

Even though the drill went smoothly, there were still some things that went wrong. Students were able to be seen when looking through the doors and some rooms weren’t checked for a really long time. If we are to practice these lock downs as if they are actually happening, then things like not having enough room to hide should be fixed in order to have future procedures go more smoothly. In order to fix this, students and teachers in small classrooms should be moved to another classroom during lock downs or have a plan of where to move. To ensure the overall safety of the student body, these precautions should be taken. Overall, even though they need some tweaking, the lock down was a hit.

New schedule system proves to be challenging for students to operate Counselors took a new approach to students choosing their schedules for the upcoming school year. Moving from the website Bridges, where students got to choose their courses by themselves during class, counselors have met English classes to conference with students one on one to help them choose their schedule.

However, this has been proven somewhat ineffective due to students being absent on the day their class is called or others preferring to use the previous website to choose their own classes and be able to go back and change them, if they change their minds. Moving away from Bridges for schedules is a miss.

District realignment rekindles old rivalries, adds travel time for teams On Feb. 3, new UIL districts were officially announced. In football, Hendrickson is in district 11-5A division 1, with Anderson, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, and Weiss. In other sports, Hendrickson is in district 18-5A, alongside Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Elgin, Manor, Pflugerville, Conally, and Weiss. While it may be sad to say goodbye to budding rivals in Cedar Ridge and Round Rock, now Weiss and Pflugerville will be on every year’s football schedule, and Connally will join the two against all other sports. Being able to play district rivals will make for more exciting games on the schedule.

Additionally, with three of the four district teams playing each other in football, it will be easier to get most home games on Friday nights, as opposed to two of the four home games on Thursday last year. The new ability to play district rivals in all sports is a hit.

However, not all changes as a result of realignment are positive. Especially for sports other than football, the non-PfISD schools in the district are generally farther than they were, with trips adding upwards of 10 minutes of travel time over the previous longest trips. This leads to more missed class time for athletes, who already have a busy schedule which makes it difficult to keep up with schoolwork. While getting to play district rivals is exciting, the additional travel time is a miss.

Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor Vy Bui | Artist When I first explain to people that my dad’s a cop, they begin to treat me differently. They ask me questions about whether or not he’s shot someone, if I’m a snitch, and so on. But what they don’t understand is that I’m just like them. Yes, there are some differences, but not in the way most people think.

My dad has been a cop for 14 years, working with Pflugerville Police Department and Round Rock Police Department. As a result, he teaches me how to be safer. It makes me a more observant person, always looking around to make sure nothing dangerous is around me. I get to hear entertaining stories about people being insanely intoxicated.

For example, one day he was taking these men to jail and one man was yelling and cursing nonstop while the other was trying to calm him down.

Then my dad started playing the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack and these grown men started singing along. But other than knowing more about what’s going on in the community, hearing humorous stories about his day, and being able to be aware of my surroundings at all times, there are still some downsides.

As mentioned earlier, I can get treated differently, and I do get asked questions that are stereotyped towards officers. But that’s the least of my concerns, after 14 years, I got used to it.

Recently, there have been multiple recurrences of officers getting harmed on the job, or even worse, killed. In fact, in the last 50 weeks, a total of 38 officers have fallen in the line of duty.

To look on the TV screen and see that another officer has been injured or shot for just doing their job, can be worrisome to me. Especially when I find out about that knowing he’s about to go to work the next day or even the day of.

Two years ago, I attended a funeral for a police officer for the first time. His name was Charles Whites, who had been affiliated with Round Rock Police Department for 19 years.

While responding to a hit and run on Feb. 25, 2018, Whites was directing traffic around the scene and was struck. On April 27, Whites passed away. When attending the funeral, it was overwhelming. Seeing all the different police departments from around Texas come together to honor Whites just showed me the unity that all police officers have. Listening to all of his beloved coworkers say nothing but nice things about him and making him seem like a fatherly figure deeply affected me knowing that someone who was just doing his job peacefully was killed because of a reckless driver. But the hardest part of it all was when everyone went outside and listened to the bagpipes as well as Whites’ End of Watch Call, a

ceremony where everyone at the funeral came together and the police dispatcher issues one call to the officer, followed by silence, and another call and silence and then announces that the officer is not responding because he has fallen in the line of duty. Experiencing this and watching everyone around me break down, myself included, was a type of feeling I will never forget. The feeling I felt watching everyone come together to mourn and honor someone who had fallen in the line of duty is something I will never want to experience.

What people fail to understand, is that what they watch on the news or hear about through social media about police brutality, while it is awful, it isn’t every officer that commits acts like this. Fairly recently, my dad worked a case in which a struggling single mother and her son of five years old moved from Chicago to get away from an abusive relationship, and then let a man into their lives and home. She then asked him to find somewhere else to live, causing him to ruin all of their belongings in their one-bedroom apartment completely destroyed. Their cords to almost all of their appliances were cut. He unplugged the refrigerator, ruining all of their food. He took a knife to their pullout couch and all their clothes. And the grossest of all, he defecated and urinated on their clothes and walls. All right before Christmas. My dad and his coworkers paid for a hotel for the family to stay at while the officers cleaned her apartment. A few days later he posted on Facebook asking people to help donate unwanted clothes and toys. After a week of the post going out, the family had a newly furnished house, which included a queen size bed that they didn’t have before. The officers that citizens see that are brutal and kill other people for no reason are either an uneducated officer, an officer that panicked for their own reason, or did what they could to protect themselves or others whether they made the right decision or not in the long run. While I am not defending those officers, it isn’t every officer that acts like them. For people to believe that that’s how all officers are, is just heartbreaking and worrisome. And even to have people act on those beliefs by intentionally harming police officers that they don’t know, worsens that feeling.

I love my dad, and I’m proud of him for having the bravery to go out into the crazy world almost every day and doing something I could never do. I know that he’s being as safe as can be, but there’s still that worry that even with him being as safe as possible isn’t enough. It’s a feeling that won’t ever go away. It may not be on my mind 24/7, but it’s always present.

My dad is a hero, even if other people don’t understand or view cops from my perspective.

Feature Volume 13, Issue 4

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Hig

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Standard Seth Deaton | Asst. Editor

Bryan Ross | Asst. Editor

Athletes held to greater expectations, scrutiny than student body

Over half a dozen cheerleaders were removed from the Westwood High School cheer team after pictures of them vaping on their social media were found, which violated the code of conducts portion of the zero tolerance policy in the WHS cheer handbook. The cheerleaders claim that the pictures were posted prior to their signing of the policy. RRISD has since then said they will be getting rid of all zero-tolerance policies starting next year, and the cheerleaders will have a chance to try out for the team again once they’ve completed education classes specific to the violations.

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thletes at Hendrickson are held to a higher standard than those in the student population would be. Coaches make sure that their athletes read and abide by the rules and regulations set by the district.

“All players sign and agree to the PfISD athletic handbook,” head football coach and boys athletic director Chip Killian said. “That’s the first contract that they and their parents sign and it just recognizes that they’ve read the handbook and understand what the consequences are for any type of behavior issues.”

The handbook states that all involved in extracurricular activities are expected to demonstrate exemplary behavior and dedication, whether at school or away. According to girls athletic director and head basketball coach Norma Sierra, it’s crucial that they uphold the standards they are set to because they represent themselves and their program, both on and off the field.

“Any athlete should be held to a higher standard than the general population just because they’re representing the school,” Sierra said.

“To me that’s very important that when athletes do misbehave they are held to a little bit of a higher standard just because they’re representing the school the whole year long, not just when they are in season.”

In addition to being a representative, the increased responsibilities of athletes raise the standard they are held to, district athletic director Todd Raymond said.

“I think it’s important to have an athletic handbook because we ask so much more of athletes,” Raymond said. “There’s so much more that goes on as far as time and effort, and also the fact that we are going out and competing against other communities and we send people out to go represent Pflugerville, Pflugerville ISD, Hendrickson high school or whatever, we want to make sure that we’re putting the best representation we can out there.”

A part of creating the athletic

handbook is simply trial and error, Raymond said.

“Seeing what issues arise in the past and where there are holes is what we have to work with,” Raymond said. “So for me, when I was hired in PfISD, we just kept the discipline part that’s in the student athletic handbook that way because there’s a whole lot of other stuff that I felt like I needed to address first. In this past summer we went back and revisited it. Basically what we did at that point is we went and sat down with a lot of our coaches and our campuses and found out what’s working and what’s not working.”

On a program level, Sierra said it’s important everyone is held to the same standard, regardless of talent or athleticism.

“I think for volleyball, [Carrie] Sulak does a wonderful job of keeping her girls in check,” Sierra said. “She’s probably one of the most fierce at following exact protocol, and I know that I do the same for basketball and every other sport as well. We tend to make sure that we stay aligned with each other, we really don’t care how great of an athlete you are, we’re always going to be top notch individuals before top notch athletes.”

In the Public Eye

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ven programs that aren’t as associated with the rest of athletics, such as cheer, are held to a higher standard. In fact, the cheer program has an extra handbook that they have to sign as well as the PfISD athletic handbook that all programs have to sign. “[The cheer team] signs a contract that they are going to uphold certain standards, the reason for that is that we don’t have a substitute group sitting on the sidelines that we can sub in,” head cheer coach Belva Sheport said. “Whatever we take is what we have to work with all year, so we don’t have these subs. If a flyer gets hurt we don’t have all these kids that can take that person’s place. All the skills are

so specialized, sometimes you might have one kid that can do anything but once they go down you might have to replace that person with two to make up for their skill set.”

Both handbooks outline rules, regulations, and expectations for all athletes in athletic programs. However, the cheer handbook has a much more specific and strict code of conduct. The cheer team is much more in the public eye than other sports, as every year they visit feeder elementary schools in the district and participate in pep rallies and other school events. The cheer handbook says that because cheer is a very visual position, athletes that participate in it should be held to a higher standard.

“The difference between cheerleading and other sports is that most sports run about a 10 week period, but cheer is year round,” Sheport said. “The fact that we are a full year round sport means we are in the public eye more than anyone and whatever is in the public eye all the time is the face of your school, so its more about how long we go, so they have to uphold those standards the whole year or that’s really hard on the whole team.”

Down the Rabbit Hole

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specific aspect of the standards that athletes are held to that has drawn controversy are the punishments athletes face for violations, alongside when and where those violations should be punishable.

“We follow athletes behavior,” Killian said. “When you get to a situation, our district, as far as athletics, has what we will and will not accept with recognizing off the field behavior. If you’re talking about social media or something like that, they’re not going to recognize that. It has to be a player, or a parent, or someone who works for the district, that actually witnesses a situation. If the legal authorities get involved in it, or something really formal, that’s obviously another type of understanding.”

The athletic handbook specifies that an athlete is considered in violation only if they or a parent admit to an offense, an offense is witnessed by a PfISD staff member, a PfISD administrator has reason to believe an offense was committed, or if a local law agency reports the violation.

“Say I’m your coach and your Mom comes to me and says ‘hey, he got in trouble this weekend’,” Raymond said.

“That’s first hand information. But say you’re our starting quarterback and the backup’s Mom comes to me. That’s not first hand information, right? So then we have a whole other system that that has to go through because we don’t have the ability to chase that down and police that if that makes any sense. So, if stuff comes to them, then we have systems in place for that.”

Raymond also said that the potential workload on coaches would be too much if they had to police behavior off the field for all of their athletes.

“I’m going to refer back to when I was an assistant football coach, the head track coach, and I taught Pre-AP Pre calculus,” Raymond said. “So I’m coaching before school, I’m coaching after school, and I’m teaching four or five sections of really high level math.

At what point in there do I have the time or the ability to go police that other stuff. So it’s tough. I don’t make them do that, it’s just too much. And plus once you go down that rabbit hole, now you’re policing everything.”

When situations do come to coaches, Sierra said that it’s important to have all of the facts of the issue before making a judgement.

“It’s always a case by case thing,” Sierra said. “We do have something set but we always hear them out, its like anything else you’re not going to be guilty until we figure everything out and we investigate to see what were all the consequences, we also have a good relationship with administration we talk to them and make sure that the information we have is correct.”

Raymond said that it’s about balancing holding athletes to a higher Continued on page 9

Feature February 7, 2020 Continued from page 8 standard while at the same time giving them opportunities when they do make mistakes.

“I’m 47 years old and I still do dumb stuff, so I still make mistakes,” Raymond said. “So what we have to do is balance holding them to a certain level, still with the opportunity for improvement. There are people who say ‘this kid did X, so that kid needs to be done forever.’ I think we all make mistakes, everybody deserves at least a second chance to try to earn their way back.”

Bridging the Gap

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ne of the many difficult things about creating a handbook is that teams in the district don’t only play against each other, but outside teams as well. Raymond said that when creating the

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handbooks he reaches out and talks to surrounding districts in order to help set the same standards.

“Really what we don’t want to have happen is let’s say, Hendrickson’s about to play Cedar Ridge,” Raymond said. “The two schools are right next to each other, in the same [UIL] district, and both starting quarterbacks are at a party, and they both get in trouble, identical situations, and two totally separate things happen on the outcome, as far as how the district’s athletic department handle it.

That’s really a bad look for the district. So we try to maintain a baseline level of consistency with those people around us as well.”

According to Raymond, the next step in the process is to set the same standards for all programs, whether it’s football, band, or theater.

“If you’re a football player and in the marching band and you get in trouble, we’ve gotta make sure that you aren’t getting a punishment for one side and a completely different one for the other,”

Raymond said “That’s kind of our next step is to make sure that those parts are a little bit aligned, and that’s hard to do since those things are completely different worlds. That’s my next goal.”

Raymond knows from experience what it’s like to be a part of two programs with two different sets of expectations and standards.

“I’m the son of two music teachers. Both my parents are choir teachers, my son’s All-State choir.

I was the kid that was in both. I would hate to think that I would be treated one way on one side and one way on the other side. I’m not saying that that’s not happening, but in an idyllic situation, I think there should be at least a baseline consistency. Now, because none of those are the same, I think there’s going to be a little bit of difference. I’m not 100% sure what the fine arts side of it looks like right now, but I’m pretty sure it’s not consistent with us, and that’s something that we’re going to work towards eventually.”

then there are some other things that we’ve absorbed from other schools that were a little different than what we’ve done before. But overall I feel that we’ve probably gotten a little less intense.”

The Silver Dancers are an all-female organization with a full year schedule filled with feeder school performances, halftime shows, and various other events. Having higher standards helps keep the program in a positive light Gregory says.

“I think as an all-female organization there’s definitely a lot of care that goes into the reputation of our organization,” Gregory said. “I think it can happen really quickly that we get that negative perception, and we have a lot of conversations within the Silver Dancers that it just takes one of them for us to gain a negative perception. I also think that it’s a lot of time together for an all-female organization, so our standards help to keep our structure consistent throughout the full school year helps us be seen in a positive light.”

Similar to the cheer team, the Silver Dancers follow a demerit system, which includes warnings, merits as rewards, and demerits as consequences. Once a dancer receives 15 demerits, they are removed from the team.

“With all of that, they’re still expected to show up every single day to practice and put in just the same amount of work,” Gregory said.

On top of the demerit system, the directors monitor the dancer’s social media accounts.

“We have silver dancer accounts on different social media platforms, for example, we have a silver dancer Instagram and twitter. The directors have access to those accounts and we require them to follow the account so we have access to their accounts so we monitor in that way.”

The dance program teaches a lot of lessons that general public school doesn’t teach because they are able to set higher standards as an extracurricular organization Gregory said.

“I don’t think the whole school would be super successful with the expectations that we have because we have higher standards than just the general student code of conduct,” Gregory said.

“However, we believe strongly in our standards and there’s a reason for all the rules we have. We take it very seriously to teach life lessons to our kids. We try to equip them with everything we have and we do that through all the rules and expectations we have for them.”

Fine Arts, Silver Dancers held to similar standards as athletic programs Angelyna Rosales | Asst. Editor Due to recent events, standards in athletics, fine arts, and other extracurricular have been called into question. Setting expectations and standards helps programs to represent the district, campus, and the community to the best of their ability district fine arts director Manuel Gamez said.

Gamez has worked closely with district athletic director, Todd Raymond, to make sure the standards between the athletic department and the fine arts programs generally follow the same guidelines.

“I think the [handbooks] both correlate with each other very well,” Gamez said. “Todd and I have a great relationship and we communicate a lot of our expectations, and they’re very similar if not the same.”

Recently, the dance program has transitioned into a district-wide dance handbook instead of using a campus-based handbook.

“The new handbook is pretty similar,” dance director Taryn Gregory said. “I think we had somewhat higher standards than some of the other schools in the district so we kind of met in the middle with this new handbook. On some of the little day to day stuff, we were a little stricter beforehand and

“‘I will honor my position in PALs to be a positive role model for my peers and community shown through my words, actions, and lifestyle.’ PALs code. They have to be exemplary in their behavior. Each student in this class has two elementary kids they are mentoring. We want elementary students to have the best possible mentor, and somebody to look up to. I don’t feel like [other organizations] have to be this strict because they’re not necessarily dealing with children. The cheerleaders and athletes are in front of high school students mostly. They’re not one on one with the kids like students here are. The contract is the warning, and if students violate the rules then they’re gone.” Carol Peterson

“Our code is given to us by the National Honor Society, so all members meet the national standards. The school district has a student code of conduct that lays out the standards that all students should be held to, but as a member of NHS, [they] are supposed to be student leaders and are supposed to model behaviors that we want all of our students to have. Our first responsibility is to make sure the way our local chapters run corresponds to the framework established by the national organization. Members have due process rights so regardless of any infractions or violations to the code of conduct, there’s no automatic punishment or consequence, that’s determined by a faculty staff on the committee.” Jeffrey Martindale

“We have an additional handbook on top of the fine arts handbook and the student code of conduct, it sets out standards that are specific to our program as in the overnight travel, and other activities that only occurs in speech and debate which are different, and we have to spell those things out specifically. The handbook itself is something we’ve established over time, and every year we learn new things and make adjustments based on different experiences. Participation in any extracurricular activity is a privilege, not a right and whatever activity it is, when they go out in the community, participating in these events, they are serving as a representative of the school and they should be modelling exemplary behavior and ethics, as well as the treatment of others.

They should be seen as the best we have. When there are minor infractions, they are usually handled in house and given a warning. If there’s a recurrent issue or a violation of the law, we bring in the administrators to discuss the future of the student in the program.” Kisten Nash

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Feature Volume 13, Issue 3

Living Without Fear

Staffer shares, reflects on personal experience with feeling unsafe Kaitlyn Nash | Reporter When you grow up with a cop as a dad, you hear it all: “Always walk home and to school with someone.”

“Never walk alone with your earbuds in.” “Hold your house keys in your knuckles,” and so on. Because of my dad’s constant reminders, I always felt safe as a kid. Back then, I didn’t have to always look over my shoulder, put my sweater on over my tank top when walking home in 90 degree weather, tense as a car passed me or flinch when somebody touched my shoulder. When I was young, I felt safe. But on Valentines Day of 2013, that all changed.

As my sister and I were walking to school that foggy morning, a man approached us. He grabbed me and my sister’s shoulders with a firm grip and asked us if we could do something for him.

As an eight year old, this

didn’t seem too odd because I thought this man knew me, so I continued to converse with him until it seemed almost certain he didn’t know us at all. When he noticed my sister and me getting anxious, he grabbed my sister and covered her mouth. I stood there breathless, I couldn’t scream. Nothing came out.

But when I saw the terror in my sister’s eyes, suddenly I was able to call out for help.

Now the role was reversed.

He was afraid of us. He pushed my sister down and ran.

Everything after that was a blur. We ran as fast as we could to school, not noticing the tears streaking down our face. When the cops showed up to the school, I didn’t really notice. I was too focused on the fact that I had left the Valentine cupcakes I had spent hours baking in the middle of the sidewalk,

all squished together.

It didn’t settle in until the ride home after my parents, who were just as unsettled as us, picked us up. I didn’t

go to school for a week.

Even when I decided to go again, I couldn’t walk there.

And every night, recurring nightmares played out in my head over and over again.

When he was finally

caught, the dreams didn’t stop. But the constant terror of him being there died down after a while. Two years after he was caught and put on house arrest, he had his trial. At this time, most of the memories had blurred into one repeated story I had told everyone who asked about what had happened. But when I had to speak in that courtroom, looking directly at his face, nothing seemed blurry anymore. That day, I told that evil man what he had done to me. How he had destroyed my childhood with one grasping hand. How unexpectedly, he would come back in my dreams and leave me shaking in the dark. How his gaze followed me through the eyes of every man I have ever met after him.

Now, my emotions toward what happened to me are a little easier to control. But I still feel unsafe when alone

and walking to and from school or when I’m in big spaces. I don’t think that those feelings will ever change.

This is a major problem for many women and men across the world who feel just like I do. Although being aware of your surroundings is important, being paranoid of your surroundings isn’t what millions of people should feel.

It’s sad that I have to worry every second of my life that what happened to me will happen again. It’s sad that others feel that way, too.

But we can’t let these things control us. Even if I do feel unsafe, I will never let anyone see it. To be strong is to win. Not letting him control me is to win. I will strive everyday to get to the point where I don’t have to flinch when someone touches my shoulder. I will work until I don’t have to feel defenseless ever again.

Senior describes incidents of verbal harassment while on the job

Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor Catcalls, inappropriate hand gestures, suggestive comments. This is a few of the things Senior Solé Oren has been subjected to since beginning her job at HEB six months ago, and the list of harassment which she has experienced continues to grow longer and longer with each passing shift.

“I definitely do get harassed on a daily basis, and I’ve noticed it’s usually older men and occasionally people in their mid or late 20s that think they have a chance,” Oren said.

The issue of men becoming overly flirtatious while Oren is at the register is one which occurs at almost every shift she has, though there have been a few circumstances that have caused Oren to feel

directly endangered while on the job.

“One time, in particular, I was helping an older man in an electric cart to his car to unload his groceries,” Oren said. “He asked what school I went to, if I had a boyfriend, if I could go back home with him, and also made a comment about the tightness of my jeans.”

Though one may believe situations to this severity isn’t something which many are forced to undergo on a daily basis, this is the harsh reality for Oren and many of her coworkers.

“Occurrences of harassment happen to just about all of my female coworkers,” Oren said.

Seeing as this is a common occurrence for Oren, and others, she has established measures to be taken when a

customer begins to push their boundaries.

“If I notice a man flirting with me repeatedly I stop smiling and act extremely rude,” Oren said. “Sometimes I will even talk to my friends, so the customer feels uncomfortable and outnumbered.”

As of now, Oren’s own protective measures are enough to keep customer’s predatory behaviors from escalating, though if things were to go any further than she could handle she has no doubt that management would protect her.

“Oftentimes the harassment doesn’t get far enough to where I need to call a manager but I do trust that if it came down to it my managers would protect me if needed,” Oren said.

To Oren, it’s sad that the idea of harassment has been normalized to the point in which she is forced to face it every day. Though, she has faith with raised awareness and others speaking up on this issue that the problem will begin to better as the years go on.

“It’s sad that this is what we’re forced to go through on a daily basis,” Oren said.

“But w i t h raised

awareness, and the use of protective measures I believe we can solve the problem.”

Feature February 7, 2020

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Editor shares disturbing experiences working for Round Rock Express Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor As a junior, getting a job at Round Rock Express was exciting for me. Not only was this my first real job, I was given the opportunity to work with people my age that I was close to.

My first few shifts were strictly work. After about two weeks into my job as a parking attendant, I greeted a male customer who was probably in his thirties; asking him how he was doing. He told me he was doing good and asked how I was doing. I thought it was very polite of him and I responded saying that I was doing good. Directly after this, he commented saying “looking good, too.” Shocked, I told a fellow coworker about what had just happened and all he said was “he’s just trying to get some,” which frustrated me. All I could think was “why didn’t he take this seriously?”

It sincerely shocked me that even when telling someone that a man had said something like that to me, a 17-yearold minor, and no one cared.

About a month went by and everything was fine. Until one day when I was minding my own business when my supervisor’s boss, the even operations manager, a man who is maybe in his forties, came up to me. I remember the words so clearly: “Why don’t you go over to the entrance and show off those legs so we can get some more people in here.” I froze. I knew he was joking, but once again me and most of the other parking attendants were minors. I told him no and continued with my shift. After hearing this, I told my parents about it and they were just as frustrated as I was that someone who works with a bunch of minors had said something like that.

At this point I knew I wouldn’t be returning. I just thought “surely nothing else can be worse than those stupid comments.” Boy, was I wrong. Another few weeks passed by and I was late to my shift, not realizing it began earlier than usual. I rushed over to the Dell Diamond as fast as I could, worrying about being in trouble.

I showed up to the entrance I would be working at and waited for my supervisor to come bring me my stuff. After about five minutes he showed up. He gave me a bit of a hard time for being late, but to my luck he wasn’t mad. As he was talking, I was putting on my equipment. He then came up and squeezed my shoulders.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t like being touched without permission – I like my personal space. This was a man in his sixties com-

ing up behind me unexpectedly grabbing me. This obviously made me uncomfortable, but I got over it. He left and came back about 10 minutes later to see if we needed water. I went to get water and I felt someone stroke down my back. Just when I had thought that things with people older than me harassing me with comments that shouldn’t be said to a minor couldn’t get worse, I was touched. Twice in the same day by the same 60-year-old man, which to me was worse than getting in trouble. The rest of the shift and ride home I was quiet and my blood was boiling. I was so tired of having to deal with grown men that do not understand that they shouldn’t be touching or harassing minors.

When I got home, I once again told my parents what happened. My dad was as mad as I was. We both want-

ed to tell the head of security over at the Dell Diamond since my dad was close with the guy. But I changed my mind.

I felt there was no need to, the season was almost over and I knew after this there was nothing that could convince me to go back. However now, I regret not saying anything. My supervisor’s boss is no longer employed there for unknown reasons, but my supervisor is still there. Probably doing the same things that he did to me to other minors. Something I could’ve stopped. After experiencing this, all I have to ask is for everyone to take things like this seriously. Yes, what I experienced wasn’t that dangerous, but minors – both guys and girls – experience things like this. Even little things such as comments can cause people to feel powerless and extremely uncomfortable, as I did.

Editor retells stories of street harassment, inappropriate comments Abigail Hill | Co-Editor I was introduced to street harassment at the age of just 14 years old. I started experiencing what it was like to be cat called, honked and whistled at, and commented on by strangers that looked 10 years older than myself.

14 was the age I began to model, but it was also the age where I began to doubt the intentions and integrity of everyone around me, leading to underlying problems in my life that would later come to surface as I got older.

After being a “teen” for only one year, older men whistled at me on the streets of New York, my first trip in a new city where I only went for modeling. I remember feeling uncomfortable, shocked, and confused as to what they would be hollering or whistling at. I didn’t look their age, and I wasn’t wearing provocative clothes, heck I was only 14 years old, about to turn 15. I barely knew what real harassment was, but I knew nothing of what it would be like when the harassment was on me.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, in fact I didn’t until I hit 16, where I travelled to Miami for Miami Swim Week with

just two other young girls. We stayed in an Airbnb together with no adults - in one of the top five most dangerous cities subject to human trafficking.

For the majority of the trip, I stuck around with one of the girls who was just 17 at the time, while the girl who was 18 went out and did her own thing. This left me and the other (under-age) girl alone to basically fend for ourselves.

For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to be independent, away from adults looking out for me. I was scared out of my mind. And not just the type of scared where you think your house may be haunted, but the kind of scared when you fear the chances of something legitimately happening to you. Something like being kidnapped or hurt by another human.

I remember one day very clearly. I was doing a photoshoot on the beach with my friend. My friend and the photographer got separated from me for a little bit as I waited behind for them to get done shooting. During this time, a man, probably in his late 20’s, came up to me and began making conversation despite me showing no

interest in keeping up a conversation. Every minute or so, he inched closer and closer to me, allowing me to smell the drunkenness in his breath as his words began meshing with one another. At this point, I of course go into full defense mode and dart away immediately. I know if

“

I shouldn’t have to be afraid of walking by myself to my car after work. I shouldn’t fear the possibility of a guy doing harmful things to me when I’m in a crowd.”

Abigail Hill,12 I would’ve stayed by him any longer, I would be putting myself in real danger, and I feel lucky that I listened to my instinct.

Looking back on what happened, though, I can’t help but feel angry. I wasn’t all alone on that beach that day.

There were people all around that could’ve intervened if

they paid attention or noticed my discomfort. I don’t blame those people for not acting, however I do believe we all have a duty to look out for one another and pay attention to things that seem or look off. It’s our responsibility, really, and if we aren’t able to prevent awful things from happening to other people simply because we aren’t aware of our surroundings, then this problem will never end. That problem being verbal and/or physical harassment.

Now I’m 18. I stopped modeling with an agency my freshman year of high school, and now the only modeling I do is just for fun, occasionally doing it for the income. However, the name calling, sly comments, and inappropriate gestures only continue to get worse it seems. Just the other day as I was going about my day with my best friend, we counted a total of five cars that rolled down their windows only to yell out inappropriate things to us. Now, they may not all have been interpreted as bad or out of line, but the point is they were uncalled for. Of course it’s impossible to prevent those men from saying whatever they want, however, as a society, we can

do a better job at teaching each other how to properly treat one another.

That requires hard conversations, honesty, and the ability to decide for ourselves how we want to be perceived.

Honestly, I can’t even count how many times I’ve felt unsafe just due to words out someone’s mouth. The reality is: As many good people there are in this world, there’s equally, if not more, evil people. Because of the experiences I have now been forced to go through as an adolescent, I was, and still am, having to grow up and learn rapidly about the dangerous world we live in.

At some point in everyone’s life, we’re all going to have to face the truth. It’s not a matter of if, but when. I can only hope, though, that we learn to recognize, as a collective society the change that must occur in order to better the life of everyone around us. It could be as simple as taking small, but very important safety precautions, paying attention to our surroundings, and sharing stories that may be hard to tell.

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Feature Volume 13, Issue 4

HOW TO BE SAFE

Products, tips to avoid dangerous situations under review

Dragon’s Breath Pepper Spray An easy way to stay safe and have no one notice the product you’re using is by using pepper spray that appears to look like lipstick. The Dragon’s Breath Pepper Spray is an

accessible method that can be put on key chains. By having pepper spray that looks like lipstick on your key chain; if a person were to approach you, the product would not be

easily noticeable which would allow you to be able to protect yourself in a way that is not expected. The pepper spray can be purchased on Amazon for $14.

RESQME Keychain Car Escape Tool In the event that people are in a car and do not feel safe and need a way to get out, the RESQME Keychain Car Escape Tool, is the perfect product to help in that situation. The Car Escape Tool has a seatbelt

cutter and a window breaker.

When needing to use the tool, all that needs to be done is to pull the tool away from the clip, allowing it to be used.

This product can be attached to keys or a lanyard making

it very accessible whenever in danger. The RESQME tool can be found on Amazon and in Wal-Mart, ranging from $6 to $10.

GUARD DOG SECURITY HARM & HAMMER There are many moments when people use Uber or Lyft as their way of transportation, but with that there are many times when people are uncomfortable with the driver for any circumstance. The

Guard Dog Security Harm and Hammer is a combination of pepper spray at the top and at the bottom there is a glass breaker. Both are methods that can be used in a scenario where self-defense is needed.

The product can also be used in many other situations that are not only involved within a car. The pepper spray goes as far as 16 feet allowing it to have a farther range. It can be found on Amazon for $11.

https://guarddogsecurity.com/harmhammer-black

SAFE SOUND SECURITY PERSONAL ALARM When someone is walking by themselves, many are fearful of what could happen because they are by themselves and feel as though they are seen as more approachable. When feeling unsafe an assault siren is a helpful product to

use. The siren has a pin that simply needs to be pulled out in order to activate the alarm to begin sounding. This alarm can be pulled to call for help and warn others near by that you’re in danger. The siren also has a flashlight that can

be helpful whenever walking in an area that is not very well lit so that there can be a way to see the area better.

The alarm can be found on Amazon for $25.

long is needed when they feel unsafe. The moment the button is released, the app puts up a keypad for 10 seconds that gives the choice to put in a pin that the user chose when the app is first opened.

If the pin isn’t put in, Noonlight will alert nearby police officers to where the phones

location is. Apps like these have been a big help to many people in any given situation.

They help create escapes in uncomfortable and dangerous situations, and just a feeling of safety and security without feeling helpless.

NOONLIGHT Noonlight is an app created by SafeTrek Inc. that lets police officers know a cellphone’s location in the area when the user is in danger, and offers protection when alone with just the press of a button.

Users hold down a button on the screen for however

https://www. cafago.com/en/ p-s3479b.html

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: Stay aware of the surroundings. Keep headphones and other devices out of ears, in order to hear what’s happening around. Face traffic to be able to notice who’s getting out of a car or leaving a store.

Choose a route that is well lit up and is popular. When alone in empty areas, someone is more likely to get attacked since there is little to no people to see them. Practice this tip even if it costs walking further.

Keep keys between fingers in a fist. This can be used as a weapon if ever approached.

Feature February 7, 2020

13

Cutting Off Loose Ends

School board cuts programs due to lack of enrollment

Kaitlyn Nash | Reporter

When meeting before the winter break, the school board decided to cut the following programs; principles of government and public administration POLI SCI 1, POLI SCI 2, which are all taught by Kirsten Nash, and the entire interior design pathway and fashion design pathway which are taught by Kristen Sutphen. The board told Nash and Sutphen three days before they left for the break. To Nash, this isn’t the first time she’s experienced the administration cutting her programs.

“The state of Texas decided about eight years ago that students in Texas don’t need communication skills anymore so the class I was teaching at the time, Professional Communications, was cut in terms of a requirement for graduation by the

state and then PFISD decided not to keep it as a local credit so this is the second time I’ve been through this with the district,” Nash said.

Since there was such little notice, Nash and Sutphen were caught off guard. The board also did not give any explanation on why the classes were not going to be continued in the following year. This causes both teachers to question why their classes were seen as unfit for the curriculum.

“As a teacher, I want to remain positive about [it],” Sutphen said.

“I don’t want to bash this decision that the district has made. I want to support their decision however, I do think there was no conversation with myself or anyone else who teaches these subjects. I feel a little blindsided not to have an alternate class for them

or to state a case of why it would still be an important class to have.”

As for the students of these classes, they feel as though cutting the class is a disservice to their creative mindsets.

Senior Kelly Daoud has taken the class before and believes it should remain an offered class.

“There’s other kids that don’t want to study medical or business or the common subjects everyone likes to study,” Daoud said. “These are things that other people in the school are interested in and want to see this as a future for themselves and it sucks how the school’s taking it away from them.

How are [we] supposed to learn when we can’t start young? For me, I took all of the interior design classes and I was [in] that pathway. It really did help me taking those classes because I knew it

motivated me on what I wanted to do.

It gave me a perspective on my job in the future.”

When it comes to her government classes, Nash wants her students to be able to continue to be interested in the subject, even if the classes no longer exist. She hopes her students don’t lose interest in what they love most.

“Though it is a somewhat smaller program in terms of pathway, the kids who are in that pathway are really into government and public administration and have aspirations to be in the government in the future,” Nash said. “I think it is disappointing to not be able to have this mechanism to teach them more and get them a more in depth look at how government works.”

Statement from PfISD regarding cut programs Pflugerville ISD has a committee made up of employees across the district (counselors, teachers, principals, district administrators) and external partners (higher education representatives and industry leaders) who work together to review CTE course listings and programs at all PfISD High Schools. This committee meets annually and utilizes labor market data, student

enrollment, student outcomes, and comparison to stateapproved programs to make course/program recommendations for high schools.

Upon review, there were three program areas at Hendrickson High School, which did not have sufficient labor market demand and successful student outcomes in order to continue to be offered in their current format. We

are pleased to provide an expansion on other unique programs at Hendrickson High School in the areas of Information Technology and the Fire & EMT Academy.

Pflugerville ISD continually works to ensure we are offering the most innovative and cutting-edge courses to best prepare our students to be successful in college and career.

Tamra Spence, PFISD Communications Officer

Ian Falkenbury | Photographer Senior Sunny Nguyen and junior Seja Nasar work on projects using sewing machines in Fashion Design 2. This is one of the classes that will be cut in the upcoming school

14

Entertainment Volume 13, Issue 4

Tik Tok on the Clock Students with high following on app, Tik Tok, explain what it is like, what they do Brisa Espinoza | Asst. Editor

Ian Falkenbury | Photographer

Kai Moore

Bianca Anderson

11

10

“I decided to start posting on Tik Tok at the time it was getting popular so I thought I’d give it a try.”

“I started posting around the end of the summer.

My friend is the one who had it first and got me on the app.”

Edwyn Ayon

11

“I was always on the app and the videos seemed fun to do so I started to post.”

Madeline Lischka

9

“I started posting because over the summer I got bored and didn’t have anything to do.”

Thomas Lopez

12

“I was home alone and bored back in September so I decided to make a Tik Tok.”

503K+ followers

107K+ followers

58K+ followers

57K+ followers

15K+ followers

“The process of making my videos is pretty simple. I just set up my ring light in my room, set my phone up and start recording.”

I’m mainly a humor page but sometimes I show my clothes which can take a while. It feels really good to know people want to see me.”

“I just think of ideas, write them down on the notes app and then end up making them later that day. I get anxious and nervous to see how people would react.”

“I find a sound, think of ideas, then make the video. The videos I post aren’t made to be taken seriously but sometimes people get the wrong message.”

“I either get an idea from a funny thought or a sound that I really want to use. I just do something that will impress my followers or make my friends laugh.”

9+ Million likes

3+ Million likes

1+ Million likes

1+ Million likes

223K+ likes

“When “Hopefully my I started to get videos make people followers, I felt great smile. All the good comments and confident about myself. and my day one followers I kept making videos for keep me going.” all my fans.”

“I want people to “When I started enjoy my videos But in gaining followers I the end, it’s just about me was surprised. I didn’t having fun while I make expect my videos to blow them.” up.”

“I never thought I was capable of having a following. I was excited to brag about it to my friends.”

Entertainment February 7, 2020

15

A Little Bit Naughty

Theatre program puts on Matilda for winter musical Lighting designer, senior Winston Ross, completes lighting and sound checks during dress rehearsals in preparation for the opening show. “Me and my director spent hours and hours making all these looks, we spent probably 40 hours after school,” Ross said. “I spent all of my life for these 20 days creating this design and helping create this story.

The way lighting helps create the mood for a scene and help tell the story is really cool to watch.”

Hazel Burton | Photographer

Matilda ensemble singing School Song in the first act of the musical. The song is performed in the first act when Matilda shows up for her first day at school at Crunchem Hall. “Being a part of the musical was amazing, freshman Kyra Carr said. “ I made a lot of new friends and everyone was so welcoming and nice and I feel like we became really close. It was just overall an amazing experience.”

Eniola Tanimonu | Photographer

Matilda, played by senior Francene Bayola, telling the story of the escapologist and his wife, which would later be revealed to be Miss Honey’s parents.

Elly Perales | Photographer

Trunchbull, played by senior Austin Shaw, singing The Hammer in the second act of the musical. Photo courtesy of the theatre program.

Mister and Misses Wormwood, played by senior Cole Porter and sophomore Marissa Reyes, reacting after Mr. Wormwood accidentally dyes his hair orange when their daughter Matilda (Bayola) switched his hair gel with bleach.

Makayla Luna | Photographer

16

Entertainment Volume 13, Issue 4

IT'S OSCAR SEASON

Staff reviews nominated movies, votes which movies will win particular awards

1917

Hector Santos | Reporter 1917 is nominated for best picture, cinematography, makeup and hairstylist, director, sound mixing, sound editing, original music score, visual effects, original screenplay, and production design. The film is a movie based on the first world war, about two young British soldiers, Lance Corporal Blake and Lance Corporal Schofield, who are tasked with a mission to deliver a message into enemy territory in order to stop 1600 men walking into a deadly trap.

The film is shot in real time, making it unique from other movies. The movie is filmed as if it were one camera shot through most of the film that is always moving which helps with the immersion of the film and keeps the audience engaged with the journey the main characters embark on.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLY WOOD

Hannah Brubaker | Reporter Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the winner of the 2020 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, and is an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. The movie takes place in the evolving studio world of Hollywood in 1969, with award winning actors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.

The main character, Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), who was a Western actor played and his stunt-double/friend, Cliff Booth (Pitt), were caught struggling to keep up with the changing film-making industry. The directors take on the hippie side of Hollywood was genius, and like a Shakespearean play, it ended with a twist that included the infamous Manson murders.

FORD V FERRARI

LITTLE WOMEN

Hector Santos | Reporter Ford vs Ferrari, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, is nominated for Best Picture, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, and Sound Editing.

The movie is based around two competing car companies.

The American multinational auto maker, Ford, challenges the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Ferrari, to the 24 hour race of Le Mans in 1966.

American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and British race car driver Ken Miles, battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. and compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari. The movie has many great moments where the characters interact with each other, and the movie does a great job of not making one side the good guy or the other the bad guy.

The story is compelling enough to keep viewers engaged till the end, with every scene, race, and conversation.

Brisa Espinoza | Asst. Editor Little Women is a movie everyone needs to see and the lessons taught in this movie are ones that’ll last a life time. The movie is based on the Marsh family and all that they go through as the four sisters are growing up. One of the sisters, Jo, challenges the beliefs of women at the time and does the opposite of what is wanted for her to act. While her other sisters do what is expected of them; marry a man that is rich and then provide for their kids and husband. Throughout the movie, the hardships of Jo and her sisters are shown, but what makes this movie different than other comingof-age movies is the bond of the sisters and their ability to stick by each other through everything. It shows viewers what sisters go through as they live together, from fighting with each other, to being the shoulder to cry on; causing the viewers to reminisce on these memories with their own sisters or siblings. Little Women causes women to look at their life in a different way.

Never thinking thought how life would be if women were expected to simply just marry a man and then care for their family without doing anything else with their life. Little Women teaches viewers and women that they are more than what they are told to be, they can truly do anything with their life as long as they try and don’t stop. The movie has been nominated for six Oscar Awards: Saoirse Ronan for Actress in a Leading Role, Florence Pugh for Actress in a Supporting Role, Costume Design, Music (Original Score), Best Picture and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

MARRIAGE STORY

Hannah Brubaker | Reporter

The film Marriage Story is a beautiful movie, but it’s not just a story, it’s a story of stories throughout the decay of a marriage. The director Noah Baumbach does an amazing job portraying both sides of the divorce. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver also did a phenomenal job on bringing to life these delicate characters whose lives are falling apart but are holding on together just enough to not make the divorce difficult for their child. The movie definitely deserved the Oscar nomination for Best Picture, but the movie has a lower chance of winning only because there wasn’t enough depth in the reasoning of divorce.

Entertainment February 7, 2020

JOJO RABBIT Kyla White | Reporter With six nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards and two others at the 77th Golden Globe awards, JoJo Rabbit is a film set during WWII starring Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo a young German boy and Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa, a Jewish girl that was being hidden

by JoJo’s mother. With Hitler as JoJo’s imaginary friend, he influences as well as encourages just about everything JoJo does despite not actually being by his side. With WWII going on, JoJo is a die-hard Nazi like the rest of the young kids his age in Germany, but when he finds a Jewish girl living in his attic, hidden by a panel in the wall of JoJo’s deceased sister, JoJo starts to slowly question everything he has ever been told.

JoJo, who refuses to acknowledge that Elsa is just like him, takes it upon himself to write a book with the knowledge coming straight from Elsa herself. That being said, the book is filled with depictions of Jewish people as devils with sharp teeth and other lies, all coming from Elsa’s mouth, just to spite JoJo for being ignorant.

Eventually JoJo and Elsa become unlikely friends but there’s still the looming WW II and the thought of Elsa being discovered. JoJo Rabbit has a hiding orphan girl teach a young brainwashed little boy humanity, while at the same time making it into a morbid comedy set in the heart of Nazi Germany.

PARASITE

JOKER

Ikram Mohamed | Asst. Editor

Kaitlin Mackey | Co-Editor

Parasite is one of the latest movies to spark interest within many throughout the cinematic world, having a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and winning at least four awards. It’s a piece of work which has taken many by storm.

Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, the movie follows their journey of the Kim family as they go from living within a cramped, rodent filled apartment to forcing themselves within the mansion of their soon to be an employer. Following Ki-woo, the son of the family, securing a job as a tutor for the Park family, the rest of the family uses him as a way to weasel their way into the family’s home. One by one, the Kim family attempts to get rid of each of the original house workers within the household and in turn replacing them with a member of their own family.

The plot of the movie directly challenges the issue of class discrimination within our society, and lack of caring which many have for the lower class. Bong Joon-ho manages to show the danger of this relationship between rich and poor, highlighting the lengths many are willing to go to dig themselves out of the hole which society has placed them into. The deeper meanings prevalent, as well as the beautiful execution of many defining scenes within the movie, is part of what sets it out so much from many of the newly released films.

This year at the 92nd Academy Awards, the superhero comic book-based movie, Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, is up for the most awards, with a total of 11. The movie shows the life of Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix), a man with a mental illness, and what he went through on a daily basis, until it caused him to become homicidal and violent towards other people, giving him his famous name, the Joker. Due to Phoenix’s phenomenal job in playing this part, he was able to be nominated for Best Lead Actor, making Phoenix the second actor ever by the academy for a role based on a superhero comic book character after Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in The Dark Knight. In addition to Best Lead Actor, Joker is also up for Best Picture, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Adapted Screenplay, and Phillips for Best Director.

While Joker is a rather dark movie, it manages to show the rest of society how someone with a mental illness views the world.

THINGS TO KNOW: The Oscars will air on February 9th at 7 pm on ABC. This year, just like last, there will be no host for the award ceremony, but instead the show will be guided by a series of high-profile presenters, including Tina Fey and Chris Evans.

The Joker had the most nominations this year with a total of 11 nominations.

STAFF PICKS: Best Picture: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Best Director Todd Phillips, The Joker Best Cinematography Tied, The Joker & 1917 Best Original Screenplay Knives Out Best Adapted Screenplay The Joker Best Actress Saoirse Ronan, Little Women Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix, The Joker Best Supporting Actress Tied, Scarlet Johanson, and Florence Pugh Best Supporting Actor Tom Hanks Best Animated Feature Toy Story 4

17

18

Sports Volume 13, Issue 4

A Grand Season Varsity basketball player, Sarah Malinowski, talks about the season, her future Ethan Tittle | Reporter

Q

& A

How long have you been played basketball?

“I have been playing basketball since I was about five years old.”

How have the people you’ve met and the things you’ve done with basketball affected who you are today?

“The people I met during all my years pushed me to be my best and to never stop getting better. The basketball community has been a second family to me.”

How does it feel to be awarded for scoring 1000 points?

“It’s an amazing achievement that took a lot of extra hours in the gym and a lot of hard work during practice.”

What is the team’s goal for the season?

“We hope to make it to the state tournament this year and get further than we have been before.”

How have your parents pushed you influenced you as you have progressed?

and

“My parents have always supported me and encouraged me to do my best. They will take me to shoot and rebound when I want to get some shots up.”

Did you play in any middle school teams and/ leagues outside of school?

“I played at Kelly Lane during middle school and played summer ball with Austin Elite.”

Is this a goal you have been trying to reach? What are some challenges that you have had to “I didn’t know how close I was until the beginning of this year. It was shocking because I had missed so many games with my knee injuries.”

overcome while playing basketball?

“I’ve had two knee injuries in my high school career so coming back and still being able to play well was hard.”

Monty Thompson | Photographer

Gabby Rangel | Photographer

Monty Thompson | Photographer

Bailey Hebert | Photographer

Being announced on the starting lineup, Malinowski gets up from the bench to high five her teammates and coaches before the nondistrict game against Harker Heights.

Trying to steal the ball, Malinowski attempts to get the ball away from the other team. The team beat Westwood 49-40.

Receiving a pass, Malinowski tries to catch the ball without allowing the other team to steal the ball. The team lost to Harker Height during a non-district game, 56-36.

Dribbling the ball, Malinowski keeps the ball away before passing the ball to score a point. The team beat Leander 67-21.

Breaking the Streak

Sports February 7, 2020

19

Wrestling rises in numbers as other programs fall Seth Deaton | Asst. Editor In a year that’s seen the decline in numbers of programs across the board following the graduation of the last grand fathered class after the opening of Weiss, the wrestling program has not only been able to maintain their numbers but grow them as well.

What was previously an overlooked, dying program has since then exploded in popularity. Wrestling captain Noah Issa says the increase of interest in wrestling is due to the fact that most of the people that were previously on the team are very social.

“They have a ton of friends outside of wrestling and they were able to make people interested in wrestling either because of friends or just because they want to,” Issa said. “Along with the fact that coach Castillo is one of the most loved coaches on the coaching staff and he’s able to recruit some of the younger freshmen to do wrestling.

Other than that I think it’s just how socially accepting we are and how inviting we are.”

Captain Hickman Taylor, III says that another reason the numbers have risen is the fact

that program is about more than just wrestling.

“It’s an attraction to the real family aspect that we have on the wrestling team,” Taylor said. “We try to keep everything pretty civil. There’s no disrespect or toxicity within the team and that’s going to draw people everywhere.”

According to Issa the drastic increase in numbers has greatly changed the dynamic of both tournaments and practices.

“For practice we definitely have more people to work,” Issa said. “We used to have to run in groups of three because there weren’t enough people to really work on it, but now everyone can really work on it together, and there’s not somebody left out all the time. With tournaments it gives us an opportunity to score more points, win more, and get more people out into the tournaments to experience what real wrestling is. It’s increased the experience level.”

Not only has the change affected the dynamic of practices and tournaments, but ac-

cording to Issa it’s changed his role as a captain.

“It’s definitely harder,” Issa said. “Previous captains have only had to worry about a select few kids, but given that there’s a lot more younger kids especially it makes it

“

It’s an attraction to the real family aspect that we have on the wrestling team."

Hickman Taylor, III,

harder. It’s like being a kindergarten teacher you have to round them up every now and then. It’s a good experience to leave them something behind like a teaching point or a focal point every practice or every tournament. And just to get them started on the tra-

Varsity wrestler junior, Trey Lowery, locked up with his opponent during a duel with Cedar Ridge.

Rachel Schulze | Photographer

dition that we’ve set over the past five or six years.”

Taylor said that one thing that’s helped him as a captain is that a lot of leaders have stepped up within the program and that’s allowed him to be able to help some of the younger athletes.

“For my part I try to leave the younger athletes with a little more leadership in them and a little more drive to help the next person,” Taylor said.

However, one thing that both Taylor and Issa made sure didn’t change was the value of family within the team.

“The only thing that’s changed is that we have a bigger family,” Taylor said. just means there’s a 12 “That lot more people to care for.

You have more dependability within the group so it helps a lot of things get done a little more efficiently.”

Issa said that because a majority of the team is only in their first or second year of wrestling one job he’s set upon himself as captain is to prepare them for when most of the more experienced wrestlers leave.

“It’s about experience,” Issa said. “We try to get them into tournaments we try to get them into practices. The constant actual aspect of wrestling is if you wrestle all the time you’ll eventually pick up something whether it’s good or bad you work with it. Personally I like to work with them one on one and just teach them the basics. Go with the basics that will work no matter what situation you’re in and then perfect it.”

Taylor said the biggest aspect of wrestling that allows them to be successful is the fact that most people don’t leave the program once they’ve joined. He says that’s because everyone is included in everything “There’s no point in doing something you don’t want to,” Taylor said. “We don’t hold anything against people that don’t want to wrestle, but at the same time the wrestling program is more than just wrestling. We have an environment that you just want to be in and it makes people want to come back.”

Varsity wrestler sophomore, Evan Tomastik, taking down his opponent from Round Rock High School.

Rachel Schulze | Photographer

20

Sports Volume 13, Issue 4

Traditionally Speaking

Athletes discuss superstitions, game day traditions “I have a game day tradition where I wake up and take a shower, after that I make sure to wear one of the necklaces my parents gave me for Christmas when I was little. It has a saint and a soccer ball. So to me it represents that someone is taking care of me and making sure I’m not getting injured while I’m playing. During the game I always make sure to stay relaxed and that I have an open mind set in knowing where I am. My tradition is more for fun, sometimes I miss it because I’m forgetful but if I don’t do it I don’t feel any better or any worse. It’s important because the necklace my parents gave to me means a lot to me so when I wear it I feel a lot better throughout my day.” - Rogelio Sanchez Hernandez, 10

“My game day tradition is that I always have to wear pre wrap and my hair has to be in a ponytail braid and then I cuff my socks a certain way to show the Nike sign. My hair is more superstition because I play a lot better when my hair is out of my face and the pre wrap is just a tradition I’ve done for a long time. My traditions started more for style, but I feel like I play a lot better when I remember to do them Sometimes I forget pre wrap or a ponytail so I can’t put my hair in a braid and so it’s distracting because my hair is all in my face. I wouldn’t say that my traditions are important or essential, but they’ve just become a habit that helps me play better.” - Erika Suarez, 10

“I always wear my birthstone necklace on game day, and I don’t take it off until I put my hair up, which I won’t do until we’re about to get off the bus or were already at the field. I always listen to this really bad song with my friend, and it’s called “Boom” by Tiesto and Sevenn. The song is more for fun and to hype us up, but the necklace is more based on superstition because it makes me more confident that I’ll play better. My necklace started just because I realized I always wore it and my friend just started playing the song for me so we just started listening to it. We forgot to listen to the song one time, but we were playing a bad team so nothing really happened. My necklace is really important because it was given to me from someone special and it’s my birthstone so it kinda just represents me. The song isn’t that important, it’s just something fun that I do with my friend.” - Sydney Greene, 10

“I listen to the same song “Am I A Psycho” by Tech N9ne, and every game day I tape my wrists and put my family’s initials on it.

My traditions are more for fun but every time I do it I feel like I have a better game. My dad showed me the song a few years ago and I’ve been listening to it ever since. And I started taping my wrist and putting my family’s initials on it after one of aunts passed away, and then I just started adding my immediate family’s initials to it. I’ve never missed my tradition so I’m not sure what will happen if I do miss it. Taping my wrists signifies that my family’s always going to be by my side, and the song just hypes me up.”

- Kendahl Lang, 10

“Every game I wear purple pre-wrap because it’s my mom’s favorite color, and I dedicate every game to her. I also have a lucky spandex and a lucky sports bra. I went to the state cup two years ago, and we ended up winning so after that they kind of just became my good luck charms. I have missed my traditions, whenever I forget to wear purple pre-wrap. I usually play bad its really weird. It’s important because it’s just a reminder that I play for my mom because she’s done so much for me.”

- Makailyn Marchand-Simons, 10

“My game day tradition is that I can’t get on Snapchat 2 hours prior to my games. It started when I got Snap like 6 years ago, and I was using Snapchat before a game and I just felt like not in the game at all and I felt like it was because I didn’t set my mind right prior to the game. I use it once before a game on accident and I felt super worried during the game, but we won anyway so it was fine. It just freaked me out a bit. This tradition is important to me because it reminds me to focus in on the game and not be distracted prior and during the game. It helps me get in the zone of where I need to be, the limiting phone time and mainly just using it for hype music.” - Naia Fulton-Jones, 12

“I wear ribbons in my hair for good luck. My tradition is more for fun, my mom made it for me so it makes me feel better and like I have her with me. She made it for me just so I could stand out on the field so she could spot me. I’ve never missed it, and I’m not really scared to miss it, but I wear it so I can play for my family. The ribbons really just show that they’re with me when I’m playing.” - Mariza Casarez, 10