NO H8: Transcending Gender - The Eagle Eye - Volume 1, Issue 1 - September 2015

THE

PLUS New Benches Humans of MSD Varsity Football Preview

NO H8: Transcending Gender

VOL. 1 NO. 1

SEPTEMBER 2015

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Table of Contents - 03 THE

VOL. 1 NO. 1

SEPTEMBER 2015

05 Overcrowding School enrollment surgeds to the Nest 06 New Benches Bowling Team AP Capstone Freshmen Class Gender 08 Transending MSD transgender students share their experiences

Vying for Revival -13

in Time 10 Frozen Humans of MSD shares sophomore Lexi Heller’s story

Humans of MSD - 11

11 Editorials Searching for identity Summer Reading Start 12 Shooting Cross country team rebounds after losing coach for Revival 13 Vying Varsity football team hopes to improve winning record from the Bird 16 Word Students share first day of school on Twitter Transcending Gender - 08

About the Cover

New to the Nest - 06

The No H8 Campaign is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media and visual protest. The photo illustration on the cover of the September issue is a tribute to that campaign, as this month’s cover story, Transcending Gender, relays the experiences of MSD’s own transgender students. Visit www.noh8campaign. com to learn more. Photo illustration by Makayla Manning

Joanna Zhuang & Zach Kaufman EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Makalya Manning ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Julia Corin ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gillian Morrison SPORTS EDITOR

Lily Skopp NEWS EDITOR

Julia Corin EDITORIAL EDITOR

Alexa Kravitz FEATURE EDITOR

Kaitlyn Falness ADVERTISING MANAGER

STAFF WRITERS:

Ariel Braunstein Tyrone Carter Amit Dadon Liam Hutton Gillian Marton

Taylor Morrison Lauren Newman Max Rosenthal Dante Sacks

Melissa Falkowski ADVISER

THE Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

5901 Pine Island Road Parkland, FL 33076

The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or Broward County Public Schools.

The publication abides by the scholastic press associations and is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, The National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. If you would like to advertise please call (7544) 322-2150 or email melissa.falkowski@browardschools.com

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04 - Advertisements

Crowded

Overcrowding - 05

2015-2016 school year brings highest student enrollment in years

Outta Space. Students in Ryan Cole’s fourth period Debate I class take notes during a class discussion.

The class has 41 students.

Photo by Lauren Newman

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tudents at Stoneman Douglas have become all too familiar with the term ‘overcrowding.’ The 2002 Florida Class Size Amendment states that, for grades 9-12, common core classes are only supposed to contain 25 students per class. There are currently math and English classes with 40 students in them.

Not only have many core classes been crowded, but also Advanced Placement classes. The Florida Class Size Amendment has no class size restrictions for AP classes because they are considered electives. Most classes have between 30 and 40 students enrolled. In their third periods alone, AP Physics C has a total of 44 students and AP Psych has 38.

New housing complexes are currently being built in Parkland, due to the rising housing market. This has caused many new families to move and enroll their children at MSD. Additional students are enrolling from private schools and other public schools in the area.

“I came from American Heritage because I didn’t like it there,” junior Taylor Lackey said. “I didn’t like the classes; I didn’t like the teachers, and I already had friends here at Douglas.”

The 2014-2015 enrollment was 2,914 students and administration expected the same numbers this school year, However the current enrollment is 3,159 and with the approximate 150 reassigned students, the school is growing fast.

“I wanted to take a different approach,” said Principal Ty Thompson. “Where if I wanted to hire someone, I could get someone a job rather than release someone and release

Are you in an overcrowded class?

Did you have your schedule changed?

Tweet us about it @EagleEyeMSD them of a job. I didn’t think [the enrollment rate] would be quite this high.”

The freshman class is currently the largest with a total of 855 students, over 100 more than MSD’s senior class. Ninth and tenth grade classes are the most overcrowded. Math teacher Kathryn Gilliam reflected the concerns of many teachers, who are having trouble giving students more personalized help.

“Kids get inhibited to ask any questions.” said math teacher Kathryn Gilliam, “Every seat is taken, and I can’t get around to everybody. I don’t think it’s fair to the kids.”

Some students have also expressed difficulty in adjusting to the new class sizes.

“I would be scared to present a project in front of 40 kids,” said senior Samantha Puleo. “I’m scared to present a project in front of 15.”

Administration hired three teachers to alleviate overcrowding - one English teacher, one math teacher and one social studies teacher. New sections of English I, English II, Geometry and World Geography were created in order to level class sizes.

“We will be hiring more teachers to help lower the class sizes,” said Assistant Principal Lucille Flynn. “This means the classes you have today may not be the classes you have next week; there will be schedule changes.”

Students with schedule changes were notified by their guidance counselors of the changes on Sept. 28. The new schedules went into effect on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Approximately 500 students received schedule changes.

Story by Kaitlyn Falness

06 - NEW TO THE NEST

Benched

School removes lockers to make room for new benches along courtyard for added lunch seating

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hey were the gift you didn’t know you wanted — until you got them. With help from the Stoneman Douglas Paremt Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and a vision, Principal Ty Thompson succeeded in adding 15 big, red, shiny benches to the courtyard. Over the summer, the janitorial staff removed the lockers lining the walls and replaced them with benches, which are both more functional as well as aesthetically pleasing than the lockers.

Thompson began the planning for this project last year in order to allocate funds for the benches to be installed before the school year started. Thompson used money from the budget as well as received several donations from clubs and organizations such as English Honors Society, the current junior class, and The Douglas Courier. However, the bulk of the donations came from the Stoneman Douglas PTSA which was instrumental in planning and facilitating this renovation.

In total, the addition of these benches along with a few garbage cans cost around $19,000.

As more and more students enroll at Douglas, there is an increasing demand for lunch period “real estate.” This, coupled with Florida’s crippling heat, warranted change.

Administration hoped to solve both problems with the practical solution of these benches.

“In Florida it gets hot. A lot of kids were sitting on the floor. We thought it would be more convenient to have them sit on the benches, that way they wouldn’t be inconvenienced by sitting on the hot, hard concrete,” Assistant Principal Winifred Porter said. “Now we are able to have more kids

Photos by Liam Hutton

outside, and we can accommodate a larger population.”

Practicality was not the only factor in this decision.

Another motivating factor was visual appeal. According to Thompson, the eyesore lockers needed to be replaced by something much more attractive in order to clean up the atmosphere of the school.

“The shiny new benches are much more visually appealing than the lockers,” sophomore Richard Doan said. “They make a great addition to the school.”

According to Thompson the feedback has been positive.

However, not all students are happy with the changes.

“It looks really nice, but I would have rather had the air conditioning or bathrooms redone instead of this,” junior Renana Cohen said. “I’m kind of disappointed that they got rid of lockers for this. I used a locker everyday, and now I have no place to store my heavy books.”

Despite the changes that have occurred, the renovation process is far from over. Although Thompson has not planned another major project, he hopes to continue to beautify the school and to remove more lockers.

“Right now we are just sitting tight with this,” Thompson said. “We are waiting to see if any money is coming in before to see if we can do any more beautification processes. We plan to ask the students what other things they would like to see.

I would like to get some murals and things up on the walls because I’m going to try to take down some more lockers, which will give us more wall space for artsy stuff." Story by Lily Skopp amd Liam Hutton

NEW TO THE NEST - 07

Striking Start

Sports options expand with addition of new bowling team

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or the first time in the history of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, competitive bowling is right down our alley. This new team, led by English teacher Darren Levine, will include sixteen bowlers - eight men and eight women.

Principal Ty Thompson approached Levine, former men’s golf coach about coaching the bowling team.

Because Levine bowled in a league a young adult, with an impressively high score of 241, involvement with this team was a no brainer for him.

“Never could I have ever imagined a bowling team [at Douglas],” Levine said. “My dreams have finally come true.”According to the Florida High School Association of Athletics, the bowling season started Aug. 3 and the last regular season game occurs on Oct. 24. In order to prepare for these games, members of the bowling team will practice daily at Sawgrass Lanes. Each practice will last the length of two games.

Twenty students attended the tryouts held Sept.

1. Decisions for the women’s team were made on the spot, but since so many male students attended tryouts, the decisions were posted the next day.

“I’ve been bowling since I was 5 years old,” bowling team member Ariel Contento said. “When I found out Douglas finally made a bowling team, I thought it would be a great opportunity to start up again. I’m one of the six players on the girls team.”

In addition to MSD, J.P. Taravella, Coral Springs Charter School and Coral Glades, other schools in Broward County have formed bowling teams in the recent years, likely a result of the modern spread of the sport from Central to South Florida.

Like any other high school sport, members of the bowling team have the opportunity to compete in Districts, Regionals and the State playoffs against these teams and others.

“My hopes are to have a pretty competitive team,” Levine said. “First and foremost, I want the kids to enjoy being for our inaugural season, and hopefully grow a team that can be competitive into playoffs.”

Story by Lily Skopp Strike a Pose. Coral Glades bowler Goni Har-Nov and seniors Ariel Contento and Hamza Yacoob pose for a picture at the first bowling match of the season at Sawgrass Lanes. Stoneman Douglas won the match after besting Coral Glades in two out of three games. Photo courtesy of Ariel Contento

How did your expectations of high school compare to the reality?

Incoming freshmen share their thoughts about starting high school “I thought high school was scary and out of my comfort zone...

I was just very concerned about feeling out of place, or like I didn’t belong. Now that I have experienced high school, I found that it’s not that different from middle school, besides a lot more work... I have classes with friends too, so it isn’t that different from middle school in the sense that I still have classes with some of the same people as I did last year.”

Ashley Paseltiner

Crystal Tang

“I thought high school was going to be really big, and that I wasn’t really going to know where I was going. I was pretty excited about all of my classes, but I thought they were going to be really hard... it’s not as hard as I thought it was going to be, although it’s still kind of challenging. I think high school is really fun now. “

Capstone at Stoneman Sophomores gain new Advanced Placement Capstone course

A

dvance Placement Capstone, a new two-year program available at Stoneman Douglas, guides students in obtaining valuable skills that colleges look for in their incoming freshmen. The course focuses on researching, analyzing, presenting, arguing and constructing and defending a thesis. MSD is one of only eight high schools in Broward County offering this course.

“I think [AP Capstone] is a great program because it really stresses the importance of being able to look at an argument from several viewpoints and understand how coming from different backgrounds can affect how you see an issue,” AP Seminar student Halie White said.

Students who successfully complete the two AP Capstone classes, AP Seminar and AP Research, in addition to any four other AP classes earn a special AP Capstone Diploma, which signifies outstanding academic excellence and acquisition of college-level skills in academics and research.

The instructors of the class, English teacher Andrea Kowalski-Rospierski and debate teacher Ryan Cole, believe the course will add more to MSD’s catalog of AP courses, as well as allow students to gain important, academic abilities that will significantly impact their success in college.

Students should choose to take this rigorous course if they are motivated, can work well both independently and collaboratively and if they want to learn the ins and outs of research.

Story by Lauren Newman

Transforming the Media In November 2015, The Danish Girl comes to theaters starring Eddie Redmayne who portrays artist Einar Wedgener who was the first man to undergo gender reassingment surgery On Sept. 18, “About Ray” hit theaters, starring Elle Fanning as a teenager who is trasnsitioning from female to male. His mother, played by Naomi Watts, deals with loosing her daughter, and gaining a son

Last winter, the television series “Transparent” debuted. The show, about a father who comes out as transgender to his three self-absorbed children, is nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actor and Outstanding Comedy Series

On June 15, South Florida resident, Jazz Jennings’ televisions show, “I Am Jazz,” debuted on TLC. The show airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

Transgender Students -09

Transcending Gender

Over the past year, the transgender community has gained increased exposure with the coming out of celebrities, like Caitlyn Jenner and Jazz Jennings. Transgender individuals identify with the opposite sex, known as gender dysphoria. MSD’s student body includes several transgender individuals, who have each embraced the LGBTQ+ community.

John Williams *

transgender community, as a result of Jenner’s heavily publicized transition.

“There have been improvements, but there are still closed John Williams announced his female to male transition on minded people. There will always be those few,” Arruda said. his personal Instagram account.

“I’m not going to waste my energy on people who don’t further “I knew from the time that I was 6 years old that I was just not a regular little girl,” Williams said. “When I was in kinder- anything for me.”

Jenner’s new show “I Am Cait” and her various media garten, we did those ‘When I grow up, I want to be’ activities, platforms have brought more awareness for the transgender and I put that I wanted to be a garbage man, while other girls community. put princess, nurse,or lawyer.”

“It’s great that the transgender community is finally getting According to Williams, throughout school, he always gravitated towards being around boys rather than girls. Some recognized,” Simon said. “Caitlyn Jenner is a very beautiful and inspirational woman. Although there is still so much that of Williams’ peers found it odd, especially his mother, who needs to be done, I’m glad she has come out to the world as her dressed him in girly clothes before he started picking his own true self.” clothing.

Over the last couple of months, Arruda’s family has become “When I started dressing myself, I started to get picked on for dressing like a boy, but I didn’t really see the problem. That more accepting of his transition and his new identity.

“During this last summer there were many improvements is just who I am.” made with my family over my transition,” Arruda said. “I finalAs William got older, he often questioned who he was and ly got my name legally changed, and we started to discuss the how to identify himself.

“In middle school, I began to question my sexuality, and re- next steps in my transitioning process. It took a while for my alized I was actually attracted to girls. I was confused, though. family to understand my transition, but they are at the point now where they can support me through the process.”

I did have the occasional, ‘maybe I do like boys,’ so it wasn’t always a sure thing,” William said. “Also, I had many phases; There was an emo phase, a hipster phase, a girly phase - which happened right before I realized who I really was. I thought Jane Doe found out that her 12 year old, half-sister, Kate, that maybe if I just hid behind all of this makeup and frilly wanted to transition to a male and call herself Adam. Kate had clothes, that I would fit in and feel better about myself.” first told Doe’s stepmother about her transition.

Although William went through many different changes, he “I first found out when my stepmother came to me and told still struggled to find who he really was. me that my sister was transgender,” Doe said. “She knew I was “When I found out what transgender really meant, it just going to be shocked, so she told me so that I wouldn’t have a clicked,” William said. “I’m transgender. I’ve been out for bad reaction in front of Kate.” about six months, and my mother still doesn’t seem to underA week after Doe found out, Kate sat Doe down to personalstand. I do get harassed by others sometimes, but I have many ly inform Doe about the transition. supportive friends who continue to help me through it. I’m a “When Kate sat me down, she immediately told me that she male, I found that I am gay.” was transgender and wanted to become a male,” Doe said. “I just told her that I am always going to support her and love her no matter what her gender is.”

According to Doe, the transition hasn’t impacted her family Jack Arruda, revealed his transition from female to male on Humans of MSD last year. Arruda’s transition began two years too dramatically because Kate has always had a tomboyish personality. However, the transition is still something that the ago, when he realized that he couldn’t connect well with girls. family has to adjust to.

“I’m still the same person that I’ve always been; I’m just “Sometimes I may use the wrong pronoun, but if I do Kate changing my name and a pronoun,” Arruda said. always makes sure to remind me,” Doe said. “I just have to Arruda recognizes how over the last couple of years, more people have become understanding and open to the transgen- wrap my mind around the fact that I have a little brother instead of a little sister now.” der community.

Doe’s family is adapting to the transition and are trying to “There has definitely been some progress,” Arruda said. be there for Kate whenever she needs them throughout this “Things are not as bad as they were in the 50’s when being process. Story by Makayla Manning, Alexa Kravitz, Gillian transgender was illegal so society has come a long way.”

Marton and Amit Dadon Arruda has noticed a recent surge in recognition of the

Jane Doe*

Jack Arruda

*Names indicated were changed to protect students’ anonymity

10 - Humans of MSD

Frozen in Time I

Sophomore Lexi Heller shares unique birth story

Although births from in vitro fertilization account for only 1.3 percent of all births, over 20 percent of all multiple births are resulting from the in vitro fertilization process, and about 1 in 4 IVF pregnancies result in multiples.

“After a short period of time they noticed that my embryo wasn’t developing as fast as my brother’s was,” Heller said.

“They decided to freeze my embryo at -196 degrees in liquid nitrogen for a year, a process known as the cryopreservation of embryos. A year after my brother was born I was implanted into my They decided to freeze my embryo at -196 degrees mom, so technically, my brother and I there are multiple options that one can take- one of which being in vitro in liquid nitrogen for a year, a process known as the aren’t really twins, being that he is 17 and I’m 16, but we could have been.” fertilization, which sophomore Lexi cryopreservation of embryos.

Though the process has proved Heller can vouch for. successful for thousands of women who “When my parents got married, would have been otherwise infertile, women who gave birth they couldn’t have children naturally, so they resorted to in after in vitro fertilization treatment are up to five times as vitro fertilization,” Heller said. “They went through with the in vitro fertilization in order to have my older siblings, Ashley likely to suffer from serious complications. Not to mention, babies born as a result of fertility treatments such as this are and Adam, who are 20 year old twins. They ended up really more likely to be born prematurely, stillborn or incredibly liking the process, so they decided to try another time.” underweight. Luckily for Heller and her siblings, none of that In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is the same as the process of normal fertilization, but instead of a sperm and an egg ever occurred, though she faced complications at birth.

“When I was born I had thrombocytopenia, which is a low combining naturally, they’re combined manually in a blood platelet count. The doctors had to cut out a small piece laboratory dish. When the egg gets fertilized, the embryo is of my skull to make sure that there was enough oxygen in then transferred back into the mother’s uterus.

“My parents’ second attempt at in vitro fertilization ended my blood,” Heller said. “Overall, I’m really thankful that the process was successful, because otherwise my siblings, and I up being successful, because the egg got fertilized and then wouldn’t be here and my parents never would have been able developed into an embryo,” Heller said. “The embryo split, to have children.” Story by Alexa Kravitz making me and my brother Jake fraternal twins.” n the United States, about 12 percent of women aged 15-24 have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying pregnancy, and about 6 percent of women aged 15-44 are unable to get pregnant. In this scenario,

“

”

Want more? Follow us on Instagram @HumansofMSD

“When I was playing hockey, I went in front of the net and our defense took a shot and hit me...

When I went to the hospital, they took an MRI and saw a lot of internal bleeding in the area of my brain associated with speech. Five days after I was sent home from the hospital, I had a seizure... They asked me my name and I couldn’t think of it.”

“I came out at the end of last year. My mom didn’t care, and I haven’t told my dad yet, but I think he knows. In the back of my mind I always knew, but I shoved it down. I tried to be attracted to the opposite sex, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be gay. It comes with so much baggage. People look at you so differently.”

“My daughter’s name is Skylah, and she’s 5 months old... My mom was upset when I told her, but she was the one who ended up convincing me to keep her.

Being a teen mom has made me see things in a completely different way... Playing with my daughter and seeing her happy is the most fulfilling thing in the world.”

“The death of my mom was the most difficult thing that ever happened to me. It changed me because it wasn’t just her death; she had Alzheimer’s for 20 years, so it was a process.

So for me, she was dead a long time ago. I couldn’t tell you when she really died. It was hard because it wasn’t just one morning, it was little by little every single day.”

Editorials - 11 the recognition of others Social Soul-Searching and to classify ourselves, and that wonder who the heck we are, and go through some pretty strange phases of hair styles along the way. What is not natural is the fixation of our image depicted on social media. Everyone’s guilty, even myself, of posting pictures of new shoes, acceptance letters and selfies.

We use social media to become the kind of person we want to be; one that always looks pretty, who has nice things, who goes to cool places.

In the frantic search of identity, we use Twitter/Instagram/ Snapchat to help create an ideal identity, but that’s not real.

One time, I found myself taking a picture of the book I was reading; I was going to post it on my snapchat feed.

I sat and asked myself: Am I wanting to become the person that reads for fun? If I truly read because I wanted to, why am I going to post it? Why do I want other people to see it?

Maybe because when other people see it, it becomes more real. We need the gratification

is problem number one.

Relationships are imperative in understanding identity.

A piece of our identity can be attributed to our friend groups. We see cliché movies where in the cafeteria: the jocks sit with the jocks, nerds with the nerds and mean girls with the mean girls. This is somewhat true.

We find relationships that can help us feel more comfortable being…well, us. The mean girl sits with the mean girl because she finds some comfort knowing she is not the only one… that her identity is not some uniquely horrifying fate of bitterness; it feels better to know that she’s not alone.

We tend to find ease in using relationships to classify our true identity.

The product of our identity is estimated by a multitude of different factors, one of them being success. Think of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Lionel Messi. They worked incredibly hard, dreaming of the day they would become successful, and when they get there, they’d finally be the

In an average students life, we will attend 1,495 days of school, not including college or summer break. We spend a majority of the first 13 years of our lives in a classroom; the only break from the repetitive classroom rotations is the f you did not drown in the summer. I am not justifying whines of the students the 24/7 Netflix watchers and perpetually ranting the sun soakers, because they about the English summer complain about summer work assignment, did you really out of laziness. Rather, I am even go on the first day? For complaining for the kids who all of the over-achievers out took the summer to break there reading this with their out of the Parkland orbit and eyeballs rolling out of control: interact with the world.

YES we did have all summer to This goes out to the do it. Here, however, is where students who pursued the problem lies: why should internships, college classes, we have to? or donated their time to

community service; in other words, the students who kept productive. Teachers should give free reign for those ambitious enough to engage in meaningful endeavors.

Summer work, which, in my experience has been extremely tedious, restricts these go-getters from gogetting. Taking time out of our adventures to hit the books, we lose the short time we have to experience.

The summer is our time to do what we are

Identity isn’t defined by one’s ocial media feed, friend group or success

I

f we’re all being honest here, the notorious search for self-identity is frustratingly overused, manifesting the plots of almost everything orbiting adolescence: movies, music and television. I see it in my classmates, in my neighbors, on the walls and in myself. We see it because it matters, and we see it because it is inevitable.

Unfortunately those involved in the mad search for identity are looking in the wrong places: lining profiles of social media accounts, the relationships we live in and the perpetual pursuit of success we tirelessly trudge after.

Psychologist, Erik Erikson, generated the eight stages of psychosocial development for human nature. Each stage presents a psychological crises that a human is likely endure at a particular time in their life.

In the age of adolescence, we are given the Identity vs.

Role Confusion crises. Meaning, at this age, it’s natural for us to ponder our existence,

Summer Bummer Summer reading assignments more harmful than helpful

I

person they were meant to be: a world-known leader in their sport. But, if Michael Jordan wasn’t as popularly known as the best basketball player of all time, does that mean he truly wasn’t just because he wasn’t called that? No. He’s just as talented whether we know it or not.

This all goes back to the search for identity: we can’t find truth in identity by measuring success; success is the product of the people; identity is the product of you. The search for identity in media, relationships and success are all normal tactics to further our understanding of who we are, but they are not the most effective. I have not completely figured it out yet, but I know myself best when I am doing things purely important to me, and finding some time alone.

Identity is not who you are on illuminating screens, how many followers you have, what clique you are apart of… it’s the kind of person you are in the morning, what things scare you the most, what song suits your shower voice best and who you want to become.

Editorial by Julia Corin

passionate about: to travel and to learn in a real-world environment. If a student decides to spend that time in bed watching Netflix and a drooling over a cell phone, so be it, their resumes will be punishment enough. Editorial

by Julia Corin and artwork

by Farrah Alkhadra

12 - Sports

Shooting Start Cross Country season nearly cancelled after coach quits

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ith the unexpected departure of Coach Justin Boruch the cross country team of MSD was left in a last minute scramble to find a coach and save the

season.

“I was really upset and shocked when the season was almost canceled,” third year runner Annika Mursten said.

“Cross country is so important to me and this upcoming season is crucial for me and my teammates. We have been training hard since June, and we earned our spot at the meets.

According to the team, when they first heard that Boruch was stepping down, on July 29, they were overwhelmed.

They felt abandoned and blindsided because they were left with no coach, no uniforms, no paperwork and no promise that they would even have a season. Mursten and fourth year runner Jared Rubin stepped up to make sure the new members of the team had the chance to run. They contacted former teammates and coaches to get them through the rest of the summer.

“I honestly feel that with all the support we had without a coach and the leadership from myself and fellow teammate Annika Mursten, that we were able to keep the program in top shape while waiting for the arrival of our new coach,” Rubin said.

According to Rubin, he and Mursten approached the Athletic Director Chris Hixon and Principal Ty Thompson to make it clear how important the season is for the teams, and that they would do anything to help find a coach because their season was in danger of cancellation. They even went as far as continuing to hold practices and essentially coaching the team themselves.

“Having to run practices without a coach over the summer was extremely difficult,” Rubin said. “The hardest part was coming up with workouts to help everyone improve. Luckily we had the help of former Douglas and current Division I runners Anthony Ramcharran and Alex Margetts, along with former coach Steve Kalos to guide us until we got a new coach.”

Just a few short days before the school year was to begin, the school found coach, trainer and runner, Angela Chambers.

Chambers was born in South Africa and lived there until she was 26 years old. She competed throughout her high school career in tennis, swimming and track and field, where she competed in the long jump and hurdles. Then she moved to Santiago, Chile to be a product manager for Hewlett Packard, and then moved back to South Africa and finally moved to the U.S. “I thought it was sad that such a good school might lose its season,” Chambers said. “I was excited to give my guidance to the kids. They may be a little bit behind because they haven’t had any guidance, but they are a great group of

On the Move. Junior Annika Mursten runs in the Martin County Under Lights Invitational on Friday, Sept. 4. Mursten finished in 12 place overall with a 22:13.33 time. Photo by Gillian Morrison

motivated runners, who I think will pick it up pretty quickly.”

She believes in the motto “run smart, run for life,” which means that the runners are smart and listen to their bodies and take care of themselves, they will be able to run successfully run for life.

“I plan on checking on their gate and working on their form to avoid injuries throughout the season,” Chambers said. “I also want to teach them the importance of good nutrition and hydration.”

Chambers wants the team to compete at as many invitationals as possible to get the school’s name out there and to show the team the highest level of competition possible.

The team competed at their first meet on Friday, Sept. 4 at Martin County Park in the Martin County Under the Lights Invitational against 43 other schools. Both the womens’ and mens’ teams came in seventh. Story by Gillian Morrison

Sports - 13 Tough Start. The varsity football team huddles together for a pep talk before the Sept. 18 game against Dillard High School. The team lost the game 7-28, leaving their current season record 0-3. Photo by Liam Hutton

Vying for Revival strenuous spring and summer conditioning programs are an intricate role in the teams’ success, it all starts with the internal leadership.

“There has been a uring the 2014 season lot of work, effort and the football team determination to turn the acquired a 7-3 record, Douglas football program the first winning record in around,” May said.

“Over the over a decade, as well as past two seasons, we have had defeated the Deerfield Beach 11 guys go on to play college Bucks for the first time in football, and while at Douglas, 13 years. But due to a loss they all had the same goals, to cross-town rival, Coral which were to win games and Springs, in the Pig Bowl, make playoffs.” the team failed to produce a The leadership, postseason berth. After an unsurprisingly lies within overall improvement, yet the senior class.

After being missing the playoffs by a a part of May’s revitalization, single game, the football team looks to make a comeback this four-year veterans; Joe year, the 15th anniversary of Durante, Josh Paulson, Lance Moise, Raymond Menendez, their last district title.

Andrew McFarlane, Damani The theme of the past Phillips, Adam Kaiser and two seasons has been Thomas McGowen, look to improvement. Since Coach Willis May Jr. took the helm, lead the team. After spending countless hours in the weight the teams’ record improved room and on the field, they from 3-7 to 5-5 and finally know the work ethic May to 7-3. According to May, expects in order to produce although the extensive,

After best season in more than a decade, football team looks to conquer district

D

success.

A major obstacle facing the Eagles arises from former quarterback Brett Israel’s transition to college. Israel filled the QB position for three years, two of them under May’s fast-paced, no-huddle offense. The team has filled the void with junior Kevin Matthews. Matthews transferred from West Broward and is in the process of familiarizing himself with the new playbook, and numerous signals required to be an effective field general.

According to Matthews, coming from a team like West Broward, caused difficulty adjusting to May’s complex, no huddle offense, considering the entire playbook consists of hand signals. Matthews enjoys playing for Douglas because he feels the overall skill level of the team is greater than that of West Broward.

“I enjoy the winning mentality. Everyone here expects to win. At my previous

school we went into games with a lot of doubt. Not here,” Matthews said.

Although Douglas fell 7-35 to the nationally ranked Flanagan Hawks in the first game, the team has an overwhelmingly optimistic and determined mindset for this upcoming season. While the team feels that scoring against Flanagan, ranked 9th in the country, is impressive in itself, they unanimously agree that merely competing is not enough. They will not be satisfied unless they conquer the district for the first time since 2001. Story by Zach Kaufman

Record - 0-3 Aug. 28 Flanagan 07-35 Sept. 4 Boyd Anderson 27-41 Sept. 18 Dillard 07-28 *The first three games count for the team’s record, but not for the district playoffs

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16 - Social Media

Word From the Bird

Students share first day of school on Twitter

“I had an eagletastic first day of school!! can’t wait for more eagletastic days!!!!!!! love school” @taylorcalvo Taylor Calvo, 11 “HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! I hope u don’t have any homework and ur teachers don’t care about dress code xox” @samsnyds Sam Snyder, 11

“AP Lit Annotations and chill???” @MattxRed Matt Deitsch, 12

“Hope everyone had an eagletastic first day! Welcome back MSD!” @MSD_MrsKR Andrea Kowalski-Rospierski, English teacher

“hate leaving my dog to go to school” @xo_genevieve Geneviee Kallwitz, 11

“Hoping this year will be better than the last” @mlopezxo Mariana Lopez Turcott, 11

“First day in the books. Only 179 to go.” @FrankKrar Frank Krar, math teacher

“Oops can’t go to school my bed won’t let me go” @JennyDeSeno Jenny DeSeno, 12