ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Feb 16

MOVING ON TOYURAN: MOWR //TRAILBLAZER CAREER ACADEMY 101 << TABLE OF CONTENTS MARIE Volume 13 Issue 3 Feb. 2016 $3.00

the

WEGMANN

family IS ROOTED IN CLARKE CENTRAL

SELF WANTS BRAGGING RIGHTS FOOTHILLS: A NEW PATH

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FEBRUARY 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOUNDational FAMILY

BY ELLA SAMS The Wegmann family has been involved with Clarke Central for four decades. Their legacy is explored inside Issue 3.

COVER STORY << Cover illustration by Ella Sams. Page design by Kevin Mobley.

>> VIEWPOINTS

>> NEWS

>> CULTURAL BUZZ

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BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE

By Valeria Garcia-Pozo

MAKING A MOVE

By Katy Mayfield & Andrew Caldwell

A NEW NORM

By Jurnee Louder

The Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative serves to unifiy and provide a support network to minority students at CCHS.

The Move on When Ready Act of 2015 has streamlined the process to take college courses in high school.

Rihanna’s new album, “Anti,” which has ascended to the top of the Billboard 200, exhibits a different, more refined sound.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

Photo by Sophie Fernandes. Photo illustration by Kevin Mobley.

Photo illustration by Lucia Bermudez.

>> FEATURED 22

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

LIFE AS LOGEN // By Emma Ramsay // Freshman Logen Kiewel shares his journey to understanding his own gender-fluidity.

>> VARIETY

>> SPORTS

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42

JOURNEY ON

By Clare Wislar & Catherine Argabright

A LOTTA’ HART

By Owen Churchwell

Our “Quest for Athens’ Best” series continues with the journey to locate Athens’ top Asian cuisine.

Freshman Ja’morris Hart has shown he has what it takes to be a two-sport varsity athlete.

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THE ROAD TO RUIN

Our November issue featured both a “Boiling Point” editorial by Amelia DeLamater and a news spread on texting and driving by Katy Mayfield, an issue which has persisted with the advancement of handheld technology.

Corrections/Omissions November 2015

>> VIEWPOINTS Our TAKE //

On page 2, Kevin Mobley’s name was misspelled.

On page 3, bottom right photo was taken by Karla Dougan.

On page 4, Ahren Self’s name was misspelled.

On page 8, Amelia DeLamater’s name was not included.

On page 9, Thao Duong’s name is misspelled.

On page 9, Lucia Bermudez’s name was not included.

On page 32, Kira McIntyre’s name is misspelled.

Staff

I agree with the opinion that immigration is an important part of our country’s history. Everyone who lives here today is an immigrant or has immigrant ancestors, and denying other immigrants from coming over is hypocritical and wrong. Immigrants provide a stable workforce and integrate their culture into our own. Trump’s argument that immigrants are criminals is factually incorrect and outrageous.

I’m very glad that your magazine publishes articles about issues that affect the world around us and causes its readers to have a better understanding of political issues.

--Denise Sunta, junior

increasingly interconnected. This article on Dea Pool and her immigration to the United States does an excellent job of raising questions on cultural identity and helping students understand how unique we are as individuals living in a multi-cultural environment such as Clarke Central. I look forward to reading more articles like this.

--Freddy Geiser, senior

>> VARIETY

>> NEWS

Texting and driving is such an important subject to me because most of the time, it leads to a car accident. Most teenage drivers think that it’s okay just because they hold their phone high enough, so they can see the road at the same time, but they are still not focusing on their surroundings and on the road. Like Camille Legette said in the article, “The thing is, teenagers have this sense that they’re invincible.” I agree with that because every single one of my friends are on their phones while they drive, which makes me more alert in the passenger seat.

I lost a family member due to a car accident and I feel Katy Mayfield wrote an amazing article to show awareness about texting and driving. The statistics that she found and the way she organized her article makes the message that much more effective.

--Kira McIntyre, junior

>> FEATURES

“I

thought it was really brave of him to write an article on such a personal topic.

“

why can’t it Wait? // Katy Mayfield

TRAP KING // Jordan Rhym

--Asela Eatenson, junior, on News writer Andrew Caldwell’s Fresh Voice editorial reflecting on his mother’s diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and how it has impacted his family.

life beyond bosnia // Fajr DeLane Understanding cultural differences is growing in importance as the world is becoming (cont...)

Contact

ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

I agree with the Jordan’s critique of the songs on Fetty Wap’s newest, self-entitled album being similar to each other, but I feel like that is something he wants to do. With the exclamation, “Yeah, baby!” in most of his songs, it’s like, “Oh yeah, this is is Fetty song we are listening to,” and it is something we think of when he hear about him, if that makes sense.

--Caroline Stewart, sophomore

>> SPORTS

SWINGING TO SUCCESS // Andrew Caldwell I have a couple friends on the softball team and I know losing so many games was really tough on them, and then once they finally started winning games they were really excited! Once people heard they were beginning to win some games, it started bringing more people to come watch their games which was kind of a pick-me-up for the team. Coach Tedeschi has brought such a new perspective of softball to the team and has motivated them that if they want to win games and quit losing, that they’re going to have to put in the work. It won’t come easily, but in the end it’ll be worth it.

--Collier Stephens, freshman

Letters: E-mail us at editors@odysseynewsmagazine.net, or drop off in the Main Office, in care of the ODYSSEY. We ask that all letters be under 250 words and signed. We reserve the right to omit or edit any letters received. Insulting, unsigned or libelous statements will not be considered for publication. All letters may be edited for clarity and space. Advertising: For ad rates e-mail us at business@odysseynewsmagazine.net. Online: Comment online at our website, www.odysseynewsmagazine.net.

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ODYSSEY

The ODYSSEY is a student-produced newsmagazine, published with the intent to inform, entertain and give voice to the Clarke Central High School community, as well as to educate student journalists. Established in 2003, the ODYSSEY is published multiple times a year, and each issue is an open public forum for student expression under the guidance of a faculty adviser.

Student journalists are provided with opportunities to investigate, inform, interpret and to evaluate: all traditionally accepted functions of the press in America.

Published opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone other than the staff.

The ODYSSEY staff is committed to reflect the mission statement set forth

by Clarke Central High School. The goals of the staff are to provide fair, accurate news and commentaries, as well as to serve the interests of the school and Athens’ community.

Advertising must conform to the guidelines set forth for editorials. Publication of advertisements does not indicate an endorsement by CCHS or the ODYSSEY staff.

Students pictured in advertisements are not given monetary compensation. All advertising rates are available upon request from any ODYSSEY staff member.

The ODYSSEY is a member of the Quill and Scroll Honor Society, Georgia Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

Corrections of errors and omissions will appear in the next issue.

Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Mobley Managing Editor: Amelia DeLamater Senior Copy Editor: Tierra Hayes Senior Visuals Editor: Ella Sams Photography Editor: Sophie Fernandes Viewpoints Editor: Sara Goodie News Editor: Katy Mayfield Variety Editor: Lucia Bermudez Sports Editor: Johanna Hall Junior Copy Editor: Jordan Rhym Writing Coach: Olivia Ripps Business Staff: Business Manager: Dalace Thomas, PR Manager: Delia Adamson, Social Media Coordinator: Sheridan Cofer

Our Take

D

ual enrollment--a program where high school students take college courses on campus--is a great thing. That means Move On When Ready (MOWR) should be great. Right?

The Move On When Ready Act was signed in April 2009, at which point the Georgia legislature began paying for high school students to take college courses at local community or state and private colleges. For Clarke Central students grades 9-12, the potential colleges are Athens Technical College, the University of North Georgia, Piedmont College and the University of Georgia.

It was called dual enrollment until now, because this past July, the Georgia Assembly updated the dual enrollment system by passing Senate Bill 132, the Move On When Ready Act. So when teachers talk about MOWR as possible courses for next year, that’s what they’re recommending.

It’s the same as dual enrollAs with any impressive-looking ment; it just has a different name. opportunity, there is more to February at CCHS is the consider before jumping right in. time when students start to finalize serious decisions about their futures by picking out their classes for the next year during advisement sessions. And as teachers like to profess, MOWR is a wonderful opportunity for high school students to ease into the realities of college courses and enhance their academic experiences (and not to mention how it looks on a resume.)

These are all, of course, valid points to be considered.

But as with any impressive-looking opportunity, there is more to consider before jumping right in.

In recent years, local colleges have gotten stricter about admitting dual enrollees. In fact, UGA requires a GPA of at least 3.9 and impressive test scores, and though some students might underestimate the rigor of Athens Tech, it requires a 3.0 and plenty of paperwork, including a letter of recommendation and standardized test scores.

MOWR states in its name that students can move on, but only when they’re ready. These courses are legitimate college classes and will be on students’ permanent academic records.

This isn’t a deterrent for students looking to dual enroll. As previously stated, MOWR is an exciting program and the idea of high school students taking college classes is revolutionary in and of itself.

Still, the Clarke County School District offers 25 Advanced Placement courses, and the Athens Community Career Academy across the street from CCHS has college level classes and career pathways as well.

So students can move on, but only when they’re ready.

Below: THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED: The new Move On When Ready program ensures that students who wish to take college courses in a university setting are absolutely qualified.

Illustration by Phineas Alexander.

Staff Writers: Phineas Alexander, Catherine Argabright, Andrew Caldwell, Caedmon Churchwell, Graham Collins, Fajr DeLane, Jamia Echols, Kieffer Farber, Valeria Garcia-Pozo, Kendall Griffin, Adrienne Lumpkin, Emma Ramsay, Clare Wislar Adviser: David A. Ragsdale ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE Clarke Central High School 350 S. Milledge Avenue Athens, Georgia 30605 Phone: (706) 357-5200, Ext. 17370

FEBRUARY 2016

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>> VIEWPOINTS

FResh Voice

Thumbs The ODYSSEY staff’s opinions on this month’s issues.

LEAVING a LEGACY The Wegmann family has been a part of the Clarke Central community since 1987 and still play integral roles in the school: from the baseball field to faculty leadership; from the media center to the press box and beyond.

The best of both worlds Taking college classes has become virtually free for high school students in the CCSD who want to get a head start on their secondary education.

State of the Fine Arts After over a year of construction, much of the fine arts department is still displaced, with their temporary spaces not living up to teachers’ needs.

Dream? Nope.

Although the picture-altering app, “Dreamscope,” promises dream-like results, the final products are anything but.

No space for hate The documentary “Hate” by Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal captures how anti-semitism has persisted in Europe.

W

FLORA LECHTRECK

hen I was almost four, my family moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, for my dad’s work. In a day, I went from talking a mile a minute to not being able to ask for a drink.

I was born in Cologne, Germany, where I spent the first three and a half years of my life. My younger brother, Ludwig, was born three years after me.

Both of my parents are German: my mother is from a small village in Bavaria, and my father was born in Münster.

I spent a year going to school at the Jewish Community Center in Worchester. During my time there, no one had ever mentioned anything about my family’s nationality. Everyone was always accepting of us and welcomed us into their family. Eventually, I moved to a different school in Worcester.

I was sitting in class with my friends one day when a boy came up to me and asked whether I was a robot programmed by Hitler.

I was taken aback by this People asked me whether I knew accusation that seemed to come completely out of Hitler personally. Eventually, every the blue. little thing started to get to me.

At this point, I wasn’t very educated about the atrocities that happened in Germany during World War II, so I was very confused. I didn’t understand why he was saying these things, so I felt offended.

Everything became clearer when we started to learn about World War II in fifth grade. I had recently made the move from Worcester to Athens and I was already the “new kid” in our grade.

People asked me whether I knew Hitler personally. Eventually, every little thing--like people turning around when Nazis were mentioned in class--started to get to me.

It turned out that my classmates and I had very different definitions of what it meant to be German.

People still often consciously try to make me feel bad about myself or guilty because of my nationality, but I no longer take it personally.

For me, being German means not living up to the negative expectations people place upon you. Being German is different for everyone, just like being American means many different things.

After all, judging people by their nationality, race or religion instead of who they are as a person is where everything started to go wrong in the first place.

No antics Rihanna’s newest album “Anti,” released on Jan. 28, shines a light on a more serious side of her art.

Pinning and winning The varsity wrestling team notched the most successful season in program history with a fourth place finish in the State Duals meet that capped off a 42-2 season.

Bouncing back AND forth Due to construction, the tennis courts at Clarke Central High School have been rendered unusuable. The tennis team must now practice off campus at Bishop Park.

Illustration by Sydney Gregg.

-- Compiled by Viewpoints staff

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Above: SURROUNDED BY SCORN: Online staff writer Flora Lechtreck has faced bigoted comments since fourth grade about her German heritage and reflects on how it has influenced her own identity.

FEBRUARY 2016

VIEWPOINTS <<

KEVIN

Mobley

Letter from the Editor. The criticism of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton indicates that greater problems lie within the culture of the NFL and its fanbase.

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n the heels of one of the most impressive seasons in NFL history and staring in the face of his first Super Bowl appearance, which he lost in a rather embarrassing fashion, Cam Newton--Heisman Trophy winner, 2011 No. 1 overall draft pick and 2015 MVP-winning quarterback of the Carolina Panthers--wanted to talk about something other than football.

He wanted to talk about race.

“I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing they can compare me to,” Newton said in his first press conference following a 49-15 drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 24.

Newton is absolutely justified in distinguishing himself as unapologetically black. People perceive him first for his skin color before acknowledging him as one of the most gifted athletes in sports at the moment.

But it’s the way in which Cam Newton is black that’s key here.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is black, too. And though the natural assumption that black men are guilty until proven innocent is a prime example of institutionalized racism in our country, for the sake of argument: both Cam Newton and Russell Wilson each have clean records since entering the NFL and are positive role models in their respective communities.

Only 13 percent of head coaches are African-American and not one single NFL owner is a person of color. Statistically, the NFL has been, and still is, controlled by white men.

Undoubtedly, both Cam and Russ have been catalytic figures in the emergence of their respective teams as Super Bowl contenders.

So, why then are they treated differently?

Wilson represents an ethos that appeals to the values of white America. His culture is “easier to understand,” as ESPN NFL analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark said on “Mike and Mike” the day following Cam’s press conference.

Critics of Cam, on the other hand, rely on meaningless rhetoric that he “doesn’t handle success the right way” or “celebrates too much.”

In the face of defeat, Cam refused to shake hands and prematurely exited his press conference following a deflating Super Bowl 24-10 loss to the Denver FEBRUARY 2016

Broncos and quarterback Peyton Manning, opening up the flood gates for his critics to denounce him as “pouting” or “childish.” Never mind that Manning did the exact same thing after his first Super Bowl loss to the Indianapolis Colts in 2010.

What Cam really embodies is a level of “blackness” that is off-putting, maybe even scary, to a good number of people who watch pro football, which is the direct root of their criticism.

When people watch Newton bowl over defenders into the end zone, dab and hand a football to a kid, their first instinct is not to think, “This a transcendent football player acting the right way.”

Rather, his personality and flamboyance makes people uncomfortable and often angry for no legitimate reason.

Let he who is without faults cast the first empty beer bottle.

This type of conflict has arisen in sports time and time again.

We saw it with swagger that characterized the Illustration by Phineas Alexander.

University of Miami football program in the mid-to-late 1980s and how “the U” was perceived. We saw it with the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor basketball’s “Fab Five” and how they influenced the landscape of college basketball.

We’ve seen it happen repeatedly with dominant black athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams and countless others.

Change is often discomforting, but every time I watch those ESPN “30 for 30” documentaries on Miami football and Michigan basketball, I can’t help but feel that all that backlash was pretty trivial.

The NFL is the last to undergo this tense culture shock for two reasons: first, because of the prestige and magnitude that comes with the quarterback position and, second, because while the league itself is 68 percent African-American (according to the 2014 player census), only 13 percent of head coaches are African-American and not one single NFL owner is a person of color.

Statistically, the NFL has been, and still is, controlled by white men. So, naturally, it has been designed over the span of its history to appeal to the interests of--don’t hold your breath--white men. That’s the nature of the business.

The problem isn’t that the NFL and its fanbase aren’t ready to accept black quarterbacks. The NFL has shown it isn’t ready to accept the culture that Cam Newton promotes in such a pervasive fashion as the best player in the sport.

Social progress in football, however, will continue. So take a step back from your computer, come out from under that Twitter egg avatar and just embrace one of the most vibrant athletes of this generation.

Center: THE PLIGHT OF SUPERMAN: Editor-in-Chief Kevin Mobley argues that Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton’s ascension to becoming the best player in the sport has shed light on the bigotry that still pervades the NFL and its fanbase in response to his dominant style of play and flamboyant personality.

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AMELIA

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

What is your most embarrassing memory at Clarke Central?

“I tripped up a construction worker by accident by moving a pole in his way. It was my bad.”

--Jonathan Julius, freshman “Last year, I was taking a Snapchat picture of someone that I didn’t actually know and the flash went off. Everyone looked at me and people thought that I was taking pictures of them.”

--Chloe Calabria, sophomore “I walked in front of a group of people taking a picture and they almost beat me up for it. They started chasing me.”

--Yael Santillan, junior “I was in ninth grade. We had gym, and the other PE class had came in there, and I was trying to look good in front of the seniors at that time... I was running up the court and I fell in front of everybody on my butt.”

--Tydarius Stowers, senior “I tripped over a power strip in my classroom. I tripped over that. Other than that, that’s just about it. I’ve just been here for such a short time.”

DeLamater Boiling Point. Athletes push their bodies to the breaking point every day, but sometimes struggle to know when too much is too much.

A

thletes know a level they want to achieve. They know they can be better, and some want to be the best. Athletes will play while they are hurt to try to help their team, maintain play time and prove they are okay.

One of the hardest things is Simple aches and soreness can develop not being able to into overuse injuries and, subsequently, play a sport they love. However, become permanent if not treated properly. avoiding needed rest may put the athlete at risk of a permanent injury.

High school athletes across the United States sustain around two million injuries every year, according to Stopsportsinjuries.com.

Almost half of these injuries are due to overuse, a common term to describe excessive wear and tear. Some results of overuse are stress fractures and tendonitis, the inflammation or irritation of tendons. Since these injuries take longer to show up, they can take longer to diagnose and even to treat and heal.

Simple aches and soreness, something athletes are used to, can develop into overuse injuries and, subsequently, become permanent if not treated properly.

Due to the fear of not playing the sport they love, 42 percent of student-athletes have admitted to hiding or pushing through injuries so they can still play their sport, according to a study by research group Safe Kids Worldwide. The study demonstrates that 53 percent of coaches testify to feeling tempted to put injured athletes into a competition.

“I think it’s honorable for a coach to step back and say, ‘This is for the wellbeing of the athlete. I just need to go about another way of what I need to have done out there,’” CCHS athletic trainer Ryan Johnson said.

Growing up, athletes are told there is a difference between being hurt and being injured. As a result, athletes sometimes blur the lines between soreness and being hurt with, what can be, a serious injury. One solution to the problem: a standard evaluation protocol.

“I think going through the evaluation process helps kind of pinpoint the problem, and if we can figure out a way to alter practice, to modify the activity, or whatever else to get them through practice is the approach I use,” Johnson said. “If we’re talking about an ACL tear or MCL sprain, then those are the kind of things that athletes need to sit out until there is adequate healing has occurred.”

To avoid these injuries, athletes need to pay attention to their body and what it is saying. But they need to push themselves too. They need to find that happy balance between pushing their bodiwa and knowing their limits.

Below: BREAKING POINT: Regardless of the sport, athletes are often told to push through the pain and to try to play no matter what. “You really hate that you’re injured, and you want to get back to playing as soon as possible,” senior Desmond Sorrells, a varsity football and basketball player, said. “The temptation to play is there. It seems like it’s eating away at you watching and not playing.”

--Alex Yates social studies department teacher --Compiled by Viewpoints staff

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Illustration by Phineas Alexander.

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SARA

Goodie

For crying out loud! President Barack Obama cried on Jan. 5 as he referenced the tragedy that took place three years ago at Sandy Hook. What nerve.

Editor’s note: The following content is purely satirical. It does not necessarily reflect the actual opinions of the author, anyone associated with the ODYSSEY staff or Clarke Central High School.

O

bama cried.

And our country is failing.

I don’t keep up with politics much, as they have little to do with my opinions on politics. We as Americans are guaranteed freedom of speech, with or without knowledge. But I’ve been informed that he has legalized gay marriage last June, and as a lesbian myself, I am outraged.

So he and I were already on thin ice.

The President of the United States of America, a proud nation built on forced immigration and throwing tea in large bodies of water, had the audacity to cry as he spoke about the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

In doing so, he has made a mockery of this tragedy.

Because of what happened, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon of Obama critics. The way I see it, there are two possible reasons for his tears.

First: he’s a skilled little crocodile man. If the tears were genuine, why didn’t he cry when the shooting occurred? I mean, he did cry when he delivered his official statement the same day, but did he cry when the event actually happened? Where’s the evidence?

It’s easy to fake tears. The President might have stealthily put shampoo in his eyes before delivering the speech, or he might have had some onions hidden in his podium.

Or maybe, when nobody was looking, Joe Biden ran in and punched his friend Obama in the gut.

Any of these simple strategies could have been put in place for Obama to conjure up some tears.

Not only is it feasible that he faked his emotions, but it’s probable. Obama took the terrible events at Sandy Hook and used them as evidence for his anti-gun platform. Crying is only a fleeting attempt to convince us that he has the best intentions.

Men shouldn’t cry. We have women for that, just like we have Q-tips for when we feel like going deaf.

Hasn’t he read the Second Amendment? Doesn’t he know that if the colonists need to form a militia overnight, they’ll need all the muskets they can get?

You know who else cries? Babies.

And they don’t even know how to burp by themselves.

The second possible reason Obama cried is that his tears were real, but he was just overreacting.

He should man up. Men shouldn’t cry. We have women for that, just like we have Q-tips for when we feel like going deaf. And if a system works, we probably shouldn’t change it. Let’s preserve the morals of our ancestors, the ones this country was built on.

No man should ever cry on the air. No excuses.

Well, except for the time CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite cried in 1963 when reporting the breaking news of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Or John Stewart after the terrorist attack on 9/11.

Or Green Bay Packer Brett Favre when he announced his retirement from the NFL in 2008.

Or all the other times influential male figures have cried, and in good taste been praised for it.

But all that aside, there is only one other acceptable reason that a man would cry in public eye: the assassination of our late President Abraham Lincoln.

It’s been 150 years. No one has had time to recover.

But Obama still has no excuse.

You know who else cries? Babies. And they don’t even know how to burp by themselves. We’ve elected a baby to run our country and defend us against the threats of the world, like unauthentic Mexican food and middle aged men on hoverboards.

We’re going down fast.

The point is, Obama shouldn’t have cried over the devastating deaths of first graders at their school. He was faking it. Well, he also might not have been. But if he wasn’t faking, that’s a problem, too.

Center: CRY ME A RIVER: Viewpoints Editor Sara Goodie expresses her views on President Barack Obama’s administration. More specifically, she satirically blames him for the downfall of the nation.

Illustration by Ella Sams.

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A VIRAL EFFECT The Zika Virus highlights the massive socio-economic issues in countries that it has affected and is symbolic of the lack of women’s rights found in the world.

A

BY CATHERINE ARGABRIGHT Viewpoints Writer

ccording to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zika Virus is “an infection from the Aedes mosquito that can be transferred through bites, infected blood, pregnancy and sexual contact.”

But truly, Zika is more than that. It is emblematic of the lack of women’s rights prevalent throughout most of the modern world.

Though incurable, roughly only 20 percent of people infected actually become ill with even fewer ever having

to be hospitalized.

Zika is only really an issue for the pregnant women who are infected and, in choosing to deliver, run the risk of giving birth to a child with an abnormally

The Zika Virus is emblematic of the lack of women’s rights prevalent throughout most of the modern world. small skull, technically coined as microcephaly.

In developing Brazil, where Zika was first identified and where there have been the most cases, the financial toll of raising a child with such a defect is not something many women have the means to experience. Not to mention the psychological effects of carrying a child for nine months and being unsure of its survival.

These women are faced with a tantalizing dilemma. If infected, their choices include giving birth to a deformed child, being subjected to a cruel, unsafe back-alley abortion or paying to circumvent the system in place in order to obtain a safe, though still illegal, abortion.

Most women in Brazil are excluded from the third choice.

According to the New York Times editorial board, “in Latin America, where many nations outlaw abortion, some governments have advised that pregnancies be delayed, which can create only greater anxiety for women who have sadly limited control over such decisions.”

As the virus spreads across South America, currently reaching into parts of Colombia, the debates between “pro-life” and “pro-choice” are feverently being brought up. Though, why has no one asked the questions, “Pro-women?

Pro-health?”

Is it not the woman’s child? The child she will have to spend the rest of her life caring for, protecting and defending. Is it not also the woman’s body?

Naturally, it seems as though it should be the woman’s choice if she should have the child or not. Unfortunately, it is the lawmakers’ choice, the lawmakers who seek to perpetuate the very system that they helped create.

Zika is not just a virus. It is not just a mild fever or rash. It is a reminder that women all over the world, all over Brazil, are deprived of one basic right, the right to protect themselves and their families.

Below: RAID ON RIGHTS: The outbreak of the Zika Virus has rekindled the fires of international debate on abortion and women’s rights around the world, but particularly in impoverished nations like Brazil.

Illustration by Phineas Alexander.

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Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

Above: SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS: Cedar Shoals High School students, parents and Athens community members all posed questions at a CSHS PTO meeting on Wed., Feb. 17, to CCSD superintendent Dr. Philip Lanoue and other key individuals regarding the alleged sexual assault that took place at CSHS on Jan. 7. Parent and former CCSD teacher Karen Sweeney Gerow is pictured speaking. “When you allow rapists to stay in school for three weeks, that does endanger other students,” Gerow said.

PROUD TO BE CCSD? Senior Copy Editor Tierra Hayes questions whether she is “Proud to be CCSD” after the district’s failure to respond to an alleged rape on the Cedar Shoals High School campus.

“P

roud to be CCSD” has been the promotional slogan held by the Clarke County School District in recent years, but it’s hard to be proud of a system that failed to inform the people it serves of a violent and serious alleged crime that happened right under the noses of school officials.

On Feb. 4, the news that a Cedar Shoals High School

BY TIERRA HAYES female student had been allegedly raped in one of the Senior Copy Editor school’s stairwells was released to the general public by the “Athens Banner-Herald,” information that much of the public, including students, teachers and parents, did not have until almost a month after the incident occurred.

It’s hard to be proud of a system that failed to inform the people it serves of a violent and serious alleged crime that happened right under the noses of school officials.

And more shockingly, the three students accused–one who raped the victim, two who held her down–were arrested Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, only days before the ABH report surfaced. They were allowed to freely attend school, despite evidence held by law enforcement and school administration.

Among the evidence was surveillance footage of the actual act, yet it took almost a month to do anything about it. Suspicion should have been enough to remove the students from school grounds, if not arrest them.

Since this came to light, the CSHS administration is reportedly bolstering security measures with an increased police presence and better cameras.

But is it too late? Shouldn’t these things have already been in place just to ensure a safe learning environment for students?

Many parents have asked these question and rightfully so, some of which attended the CCSD Board Meeting on Feb. 11 to voice their opinions to the community and to the board.

There is no doubt that the main person disserviced was the young girl who was abused by her peers. But there is still something to be said about the lack of communication that left many in the dark.

That’s nothing to be proud of.

FEBRUARY 2016

VIEWPOINTS <<

VALERIA

GARCIA-POZO

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INITIATING EMPOWERMENT. The Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative offers resources to students of color, aiming to break down socioeconomic walls.

s I walked into my first-period French class on Dec. 11, I received a pass to attend a meeting for Gifted Minorities Achieving (GMA) Initiative, a program to support and present opportunities to gifted students who are of ethnic or racial minorities.

I had been recognized. I sat down, glowing with satisfaction.

Then, one of my classmates opened his mouth.

He claimed that he, as a white male, was being discriminated against because the meeting was exclusively for minorities.

However, as a Hispanic person, I am not provided with privileges that are automatically available to him.

I am the only female Latina in my Advanced Placement (AP) Government class. People who look like me are underrepresented. When the topic of immigration is brought up, I can’t speak about my experience without someone yelling the word “illegal.”

It is this kind of bigotry that I would never face if I were white.

For this reason, movements such as the GMA Initiative are necessary outlets for members of minority groups to share their experiences.

GMA and programs like it ensure that minority students feel more equal.

They exponentially reduce the fear of being misunderstood for the things we say. The need to represent people of our ethnicities is eliminated.

However, these movements have been coined “reverse discrimination.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines reverse discrimination as “the practice of making it more difficult for a certain type of person (such as a white man) to get a job, to go to a school, etc., because other people who were treated unfairly in the past are now being given an advantage.”

Nonetheless, it is impossible to discriminate against the very people who created discrimination. There is a pedestal reserved for members of their race.

The opportunities I am given come out of necessity and the strive for equality. They are not an attempt to recreate an oppressive system.

are constantly being reminded that there have been students who look like us went on to succeed.

At GMA, we are constantly being reminded that there have been students who look like us that went on to succeed.

This is important because as minority students, we aren’t always provided with these role models.

Being assured that we are capable of doing well in school despite our skin color and background is absolutely necessary.

Below: A POSITIVE MESSAGE: Foreign Language department teacher Larissa Jean founded the Gifted Minorities Achieving (GMA) Initiative with counselors Heidi Nibbelink and Dr. Susan Strickland to help reduce the achievement gap, one of the Clarke Central and Clarke County School District admininstration’s top goals. “The purpose of GMA is to diversify our classes so that we are widening the net a little bit wider so students from all cultural backgrounds, all linguistic backgrounds are accurately represented in AP classes,” Jean said.

The opportunities I am given come out of necessity and the strive for equality.

In the couple of Glad Time sessions I’ve attended for GMA, I have been introduced to all the highest-level options in each subject for next year. These include advanced, accelerated and AP core subjects and electives.

I haven’t had the chance to sit down and preview all these options in any other of my classes, let alone the options that were appropriate for my level.

GMA is serving its purpose.

I am the oldest child in a family where the parents weren’t educated in the United States. My parents didn’t know what AP classes were until I was recommended for AP Government in eighth grade.

A main focus of the meetings, I’ve noticed, is encouraging the club members to take on challenging courses and sharing success stories to motivate us. We

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

FEBRUARY 2016

odysseynewsmagazine.net | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE

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>> NEWS A HELPING HAND FOR THE BAND

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

News briefs

Above: STARTING ON A HIGH NOTE: Sophomore Larry Scott plays the saxophone during a band workshop with Cynthia Johnston Turner, Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia, during Turner’s visit on Feb. 4. “(Turner) has instituted a “reach-out” program to introduce her expertise and that of the UGA Music Department to many high school band programs,” Dr. Robert Lawrence, CCHS Director of Bands, said.

SAVIT VISITS

First-time author and longtime actor Gavriel Savit visited Clarke Central High School on Feb. 5 while on tour for his newlyreleased book, “Anna and the Swallow Man.” The library hosted the event in conjunction with Avid Bookstore.

“It’s lovely. I really like this town,” Savit said. “(The visit) was really great. I had a lot of fun.

There were good questions. It’s fun to see the new space. I think I’m the third event here in the space and so I’m proud of that.”

Junior Lauryn Waters attended the event and was one of the many students who received a free copy of, “Anna and the Swallow Man.” She believes that author visits such as this are crucial in bridging the gap between writers and readers.

“I really like how he incorporated like the different points of view and he took his ideas about the book deeper,” Waters said. “( Visits are) good because it makes the book and the author’s perspective more identifiable and more relatable to the students because you actually see ‘Ok, this is a real person’ and why they wrote about this thing instead of just a random book.”

“

I HEARD THAT

“ “ “ “ ”

I hope y’all don’t have any more questions, ‘cause I’m gonna watch ‘Friday Night Tykes.’

”

THOMASINA MIRANDA, science department teacher, on Friday activities wrapping up class.

That was our ‘Welcome to public school!’ day.

”

ELIZABETH JURADO, junior, on the bathroom fire on the second day of the 2013-14 school year.

I didn’t have a frozen sandwich today, so that’s the high of my week. I like them when they’re not frozen. When they’re not frozen, it’s a great day.

”

MOR BOTHE, freshman, on school-provided sack lunches.

I’ve learned that helping others goes a long way if you’re willing.

RUTH FIGUEROA, senior, on selling lollipops and chocolates for Valentine’s Day and volunteering with the National Honor Society.

12 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

Cynthia Johnston Turner, Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia, came to Clarke Central on Feb. 4 to help prepare the school’s band students for the Large Group Performance Evaluation, a state-run music festival on Feb. 29.

“I reached out to (CCHS Director of Bands Dr. Robert Lawrence) to see if he wanted any help with his music program, and (to see how) I could help,” Turner said.

Turner provided constructive criticism to the students in the wind ensemble during her nearly two-hour visit.

“We often have clinicians to work with our band program. I instituted this philosophy (of bringing in experts to guide students) upon my arrival at CCHS,” Lawrence said.

PHASING IN

With Phase III of construction beginning in the spring semester of the 2015-16 school year, teachers have been relocated, some to trailers and some to changing classrooms.

“The cons are definitely obvious, a lot of people are displaced. A lot of teachers have to relocate,” social studies department teacher Stephen Hinson said. “The pros are we’re going to get a beautiful campus and a beautiful school.”

Classrooms which were in the main building last year are now in the new building as the old building is being renovated. In addition, the media center is now open, multiple classrooms have been relocated to trailers, and the indoor breezeways connecting the new building and west wing through the second and third floors are finished and in use.

“It’s really nice to have a new school that everything works in and it’s pretty,” senior McKay Brown said. “I think that it will be nice for the first few years but eventually people aren’t going to care that it’s new,” Brown said.

“Only kids who have had to deal with the construction are really going to appreciate it.”

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS <<

News briefs

FREE FOR ALL

This spring, the Athens Community Career Academy will be offering free test prep classes one Saturday a month to help students prepare for the SAT, ACT and ASSET. “It’s positive to see our students excel to their greatest potential on these types of tests and as well as they are able to earn these types of college credits,” Career Academy counselor Taryn Ellis said. “(The test prep) can improve their test score and hopefully help (the students) be more prepared when it is time for (them) to take the test.”

Though the test prep classes are not required, Assistant Principal Marie Yuran encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity. “(The free test prep) is great.

The more opportunities we can put out there to help the students be successful the better,” Yuran said. “(The test prep) will be a good SAT or ACT prep and that benefits our community as a whole.”

--compiled by News Staff

Right: THE REALITY IS VIRTUAL BUT THE FUN IS REAL: A student tries on Virtual Reality glasses, which classes made in the media center on Jan. 28 with the help of student volunteers from Cedar Shoals High School for Virtual Reality Day. Once the glasses were done, students downloaded VR apps and inserted their phones into the glasses for a virtual experience. “It felt like you were really in it.

It was 3D and you could look around and see what was around you,” sophomore Peyton Lowery said.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh. Photo illustration by Katy Mayfield.

GHPrep

Initiating change

Semi-finalists for state honors program now await the results for auditions and interviews in February.

The Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative provides a forum for discussion and support system for minority students.

he Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) is a summer program in which rising juniors and seniors are nominated by their teachers to take classes in subject fields that they are passionate about and excel in. State interviews for the program were held at Luella High School and Pebblebrook High School on Feb. 13.

“We have several stages of GHP. We have the local stage, then we have the district stage where they send us the nominees,” Governor’s Honors Program Manager Richard Parmer said. “Then, we review if they sent in an online application and decide who moves on to the next round as our semi-finalist for the interview and audition round and then we choose the finalist after that.”

Sophomores Martha Mayfield and Neha Mohanty and juniors Avery Warner, Asela Eatenson and Sakura Goodie were all invited to GHP state finals.

State interviews are comprised of two components: interviews with judges--who are teachers from across the state--and a subject-specific activity in which applicants can demonstrate their knowledge of their subject. For aspiring social studies majors this is a Senate committee meeting, for communicative arts majors a timed essay.

“Students are given topics. For example, we give students who have the subject music specific music to study. We give a list of things that you should and should not do. The students give general information about each discipline,” Parmer said.

Applicants like Eatenson used the opportunity to further commit to their areas of study.

“The application process is pretty nerve wracking, but I think it was worth the process. GHP wants students who are very devoted to their (area of study) and going through this process ensures that the students selected for the program are the best of the best,” Eatenson said.

wo years ago, it was brought to foreign language department teacher Larissa Jean’s attention that there was a lack of diversity within student candidates for the Governor’s Honor’s Program. This realization led Jean, along with school counselors Heidi Nibbelink and Dr. Susan Strickland, to create the Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative.

“The mission of GMA is to provide support for our students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who have been identified as gifted or have the potential to take advanced or rigorous course work here at Clarke Central,” Jean said.

Senior Autumn Venson-Roscoe appreciates the opportunity the GMA provides to talk about social problems she and her peers share.

“This year I can definitely say it is more structured. Even though we only had a few meetings last year, it was a great way to get out some of my anxiety and know I wasn’t alone, which gave me more confidence,” Venson-Roscoe said.

The club began meeting during Glad Time in January.

“At the heart of this initiative is for our AP courses, nominations for GHP, National Honors Society, advanced level courses to accurately represent the cultural diversity at our school,” Jean said.

Not only does GMA aim to educate the students at CCHS of opportunities, its sponsors want to enlighten parents as well.

“We want the parents of this population of students to be better informed about scholarship opportunities and post secondary opportunities, particularly if a gifted minority will be a first generation high school graduate, or who are the children of immigrant parents, who may not be as well versed on how to support their high achieving student in the public school system,” Jean said.

BY JAMIA ECHOLS News Writer

FEBRUARY 2016

T

BY SOPHIE FERNANDES Photography Editor

T

odysseynewsmagazine.net | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE

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>> NEWS

Package by Andrew Caldwell and Katy Mayfield News Writer, News Editor

14 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS <<

I

n July of 2015 the Georgia Assembly updated the dual enrollment system, through which students can take college-level courses while still in high school, by passing Senate Bill 132, the Move On When Ready Act. It revised- and in some places repealed- the Quality Basic Education Act of 1985 and Move On When Ready Act of 2009, which established dual enrollment.

While Clarke County School District students could dual enroll at public colleges or attend the Athens Community Career Academy before the recent Act, the Act â&#x20AC;&#x153;streamlines the existing dual enrollment options (MOWR, Accel, HOPE Grant, etc.) into one program (called Move On When Ready) with one funding source,â&#x20AC;? according to a Georgia Department of Education fact sheet on the legislation.

The ODYSSEY provides a look at two programs consolidated into Move On When Ready, Dual Enrollment, by Katy Mayfield, and Athens Community Career Academy, by Andrew Caldwell.

Photo illustration by Sophie Fernandes, Ella Sams, Olivia Ripps and Katy Mayfield.

>> NEWS

MOWR: Dual Enrollment

As part of MOWR, students in the state of Georgia can enroll part or full-time at any Georgia public university while earning both college and high school credit in classes on campus.

G

eorgia high school students now have the opportunity to take college classes at all of Georgia’s public colleges and participating private universities without paying tuition, board or any fees associated with attending college as a first year student through dual enrollment, in which students take both college and high school courses.

“You’ll hear a lot of people talking about the benefits of, ‘Oh, you can do this program for free, so you don’t have to pay for that college credit,’” Clarke Central counselor Heidi Nibbelink, who works with students and college advisors to dual enroll students, said. “(But) the reason to do it would be because you’re intellectually curious and you really want to study something and you want to see what it’s like to study that thing in college.”

Though Georgia high school students have been able to dual enroll for years, in July of 2015 the Georgia Assembly updated the dual enrollment system by passing Senate Bill 132, the Move On When Ready Act, which revised previous legislation on the matter.

Dual enrollment students can take classes at any college in the university system of Georgia which essentially includes all of Georgia’s public universities and select private colleges.

BY KATY MAYFIELD News Editor

Graphic by Suncana Pavlic.

Featured: HAVING OPTIONS: A map of the four Dual Enrollment options made available to Clarke Central students: the University of Georgia, Athens Technical College, Piedmont College and the University of North Georgia--Oconee.

and is now a freshman at Harvard University, said. “I wouldn’t suggest this to the majority of students: only a few in each grade are going to be ready for this kind of thing, but it’s certainly an experience. It benefits students because they learn to deal with college level work.”

Unlike full-time university students, certain classes dual-enrollers take at UGA count as both high school and college credit, going towards both the student’s diploma and their college degree.

“You can get any (high school credit) at UGA. I know in Georgia you have to --SARA TONKS, take a United States government, you have to take a world history, a United senior States history and macroeconomics. So they offer things that will fill those slots at the University of Georgia, like I’m taking macroeconomics (at UGA),” Tonks said. “And with classes like multicultural women’s studies, there is nothing like that at Clarke Central.”

In terms of college acceptance, all three mainstream class options for students--AP classes, dual enrollment, and ACCA--hold different weight with college admissions departments, sometimes depending on the student’s specific circumstances.

“Generally speaking, we encourage students to exhaust coursework available at their high school before seeking outside coursework. Advanced Placement courses are nationally and internationally standardized,” UGA admissions officer Katie Severens said. “If students choose to take dual enrollment coursework, we want to see that this is a challenging option for them and that they are not avoiding rigorous curriculum options at their schools.”

Despite the potential college drawbacks, Tonks says dual enrolling changed her life and her high school experience for the better.

“At UGA, I’m being challenged. There are people that want to learn, and it’s a very healthy place to learn,” Tonks said. “I’ve had multiple people say, ‘Sara, you can answer this stuff, you know it. No one’s gonna judge you. They’re gonna think you’re smart and they’re gonna think it’s really cool you know what’s going on ‘cause no one else does.’ And it’s very refreshing to be somewhere that people are accepting of that, because people weren’t in high school for me.

It’s wonderful.”

“The UGA admission application is the same thing as the dual enrollment application because they want to make sure the dual enrollment kids are just as qualified as the kids that are going there for college.”

“(Clarke Central students) can do Athens Tech, they can do University of North Georgia--the Oconee Campus--they can do Piedmont College, they can do UGA,” Nibbelink said. “The private colleges can choose to participate or not in the program.”

However, colleges are permitted under law to set their own guidelines for admittance. UGA has maintained its age requirement that only juniors and seniors can enroll. Similarly, different colleges have different entrance requirement in terms of SAT and ACT scores and grade point average. UGA, for example, requires a 3.9 GPA, whereas Piedmont asks for a 3.0.

“The UGA admission application is the same thing as the dual enrollment application because they want to make sure that the dual enrollment kids are just as qualified as the kids that are going there for college,” senior Sara Tonks, who dual enrolls at UGA, said.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Advanced Placement courses, the ACCA and dual enrollment at a state university is that while ACCA students can be technically dual enrolled with Athens Technical College, they are still in a facility with other high school students and, in the case of AP courses, still at their high school. Dual enrollees, however, take the same classes available full-time college freshmen on campus, and subsequently, do the same work.

“I really like the dual enrollment courses because they were taught by these real college professors who clearly knew what they were talking about. They clearly were experts on whatever they were teaching,” CCHS 2015 graduate Tomislav Žabčić-Matić, who dual enrolled at UGA his junior and senior years

16 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS << Featured: HITTING THE BOOKS: Junior Ky’Anna Arthurton, who has taken classes at the Athens Community Career Academy since August 2015, is pictured studying. “I went to the Career Academy to try something new. I’d heard good things and bad things about it and I wanted to try it out,” Arthurton said.

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

MOWR: Career Academy Clarke County School District students can take classes at the Athens Community Career Academy, where students earn college credits with the Athens Technical College alongside many of their peers.

T

he Athens Community Career Academy (ACCA), located on the H.T. Edwards Complex Campus off Broad Street, is a specialized charter program partnered between the Clarke County School District, Athens Technical College, the University of Georgia and OneAthens, a local anti-poverty organization.

“Career Academy is a state program allowing high school students to take college level courses and high school level courses at the same time,” Career Academy director Lawrence Harris said. “Our program gives students access to different classes you wouldn’t get in a normal, traditional high school setting, such as welding, automotive collision or agribusiness.”

According to Associate Principal Marie Yuran, approximately 80 CCHS students are attending the Career Academy in the current 2015-16 school year.

“The biggest appeal of Career Academy is the specialized programs they offer. If you’re interested in medicine or the culinary arts, they have classes for you where you can expand your expertise, and that’s gonna put you in a really nice position when it comes to applying for jobs or colleges.”

For sophomore Alyshia Sykes, the Career Academy is not only an opportunity to save money for college, but to expand her education beyond the basic core classes.

“I want to attend the Career Academy next year because I want to get a jump start on college because they offer classes where I can earn college credit and knock off two years of college all for free,” Sykes said.

Senior Marci Woods is aware of the opportunities offered at the Career Academy, but prefers taking Advanced Placement classes.

“I like AP classes because some of the courses are more rigorous, and I want to take other classes, like drama or band, and I might not be able to take those classes if I go to Career Academy,” Woods said.

The two programs mainly differ when it comes to the end of their semesters.

At the end of an AP course, one must score a three, four or five on the College Board AP exam in order to receive college credit, depending on the college.

“For our college courses, as long as you pass the class, you get the credit.

There’s no exam,” Harris said. “A lot of colleges will only accept a certain amount of AP credits, so if you want to go to an Ivy League school, they might only accept no more than usually five or six AP classes. But with us, legally because of the national accreditation agreement, they have to accept all of our credits.”

Harris references the accredidation agreement that ensures that high school credits earned by students at the ACCA are recognized by colleges nationwide.

Furthermore, colleges in the University System of Georgia recognize the college credits earned at the ACCA, but other institutions do not have to necessarily.

BY ANDREW CALDWELL News Writer

FEBRUARY 2016

Junior Ky’Anna Arthurton started attending the Career Academy in August of 2015, and feels the ACCA challenges students to be accountable for themselves.

“Career Academy isn’t like high school. The instructors don’t chase after you to get work from you. They aren’t constantly breathing down your neck telling you what to do. They give you a syllabus at the beginning of the semester with all of the work for the class and it’s up to you to remember to turn it in,” Arthurton said. “It teaches you responsibility above all other things which I find extremely important.”

“Career Academy isn’t like high school. The instructors don’t chase after you to get work from you.”

--KY’ANNA ARTHURTON, junior While the Career Academy students have differing schedules from one another, Arthurton feels her schedule would be appealing to most students.

“My classes at the Career Academy are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I catch the shuttle bus in the morning over to the Career Academy and have two classes with a 25-minute break in between. Then around 12:20, I catch the shuttle bus back to Central, have lunch during fourth block, and then go to the classes I have there,” Arthurton said.

With regard to applying to colleges, Harris strongly believes the Career Academy can not only separate one from other high achieving students, but be the difference between acceptance or rejection for a job or a college.

“I think colleges are very impressed with students who attend Career Academy. On the transcript it doesn’t show Career Academy, it shows the college course,” Harris said. “They see that and they’re like ‘Wow, I know these classes, we teach that every day.’”

By enrolling at the Career Academy, Arthurton believes she made the right choice and feels she found a place where she is understood.

“Coming to Career Academy has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Arthurton said. “I feel like I belong here. I feel I can grow and shape into who I wanna be here.” odysseynewsmagazine.net | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE

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>> NEWS

Treble in paradise

Through construction, the fine arts department makes the best of their changing spaces.

Photos by Sophie Fernandes.

A

s construction continues on Clarke Central High School, many of the fine arts programs, which have specific space and location needs, are awaiting their new upgraded spaces. Director of Bands Dr. Robert Lawrence welcomes the change from the old facilities.

“Number one, I wouldn’t call (the old band room) a band room, I’d call it a room. It was an old auto shop, the ceilings were too low, it was totally infested with rodents, it just was a bad facility for band,” Lawrence said.

Fine arts teachers found problems within their past facilities and coined a nickname for the space.

“We called (our old space) the ‘Music Dungeon’ because it was in the basement, and that room was also acoustically discouraging because it had this strange carpet on the walls. They had just stapled it to the wall and then there was concrete blocks underneath,” Clarke Central Orchestra Director Dr. Eunice Kang said. “It was like really moldy, bugs pests, everything, you name it, it was in there.”

When construction began in 2014, many of the fine arts spaces were demolished, but the new ones were not completed. As a result, many of the fine arts programs were moved into modular units on campus, while others use multiple classrooms.

“Construction makes our class a little difficult. I take multiple drama classes a day and have to travel to a different room for each class,” senior Sydney Sims, a Drama Club member, said. “Also, being in a normal classroom setting instead of an auditorium makes it hard to act because of the lack of space.”

Band has moved three times over the past two

BY ADRIENNE LUMPKIN News Writer

18 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

years. Lawrence hopes that the fourth, into the new band facility, will be their final move.

“Every location has had advantages. We came from a very poor facility but even then we didn’t complain. It was the best we had so we did the best with what we had,” Lawrence said. “We’ve become known as ‘Band Moving and Storage’ because we move ourselves. It can be a hassle but we just kind of deal with it.”

Art and Graphic Arts are the only fine art departments that have moved to their final locations.

Sophomore Morganne Fugett likes the extra space in the new art room because, before the holidays, the class was located in one of the old science rooms on the top floor of the old building.

“In the new room our tables are nicely spread out, giving us enough comfort to work. It’s much more bright and we have a lot of natural lighting which in my opinion, is the best light to work in because you get the most accuracy,” Fugett said.

According to construction manager Joe Dunagan, the new chorus and orchestra rooms are currently being finished in the space that used to be the Media Center and are scheduled to be finished by spring break, so students will be in the new spaces in time for the last quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, the drama and band classrooms will be located together next to the cafeteria where the previous Mell Auditorium was.

“The piano and music technology lab is between these two departments. Each space is also designed with three practice rooms,” Dunagan said. “The addition to Mell Auditorium is designed to house the Black Box (drama classroom) and drama storage.

Behind the Black Box is the new band room, plus practice rooms. Both spaces have a partial second floor for storage and recording.”

Kang believes anticipation for the new space is already impacting recruitment and morale.

“It’s going to be very exciting. High ceilings, acoustical wall treatments and carpet so that if we were to accidentally drop a instrument it will not break, new music stands and new posture chairs,” Kang said. “I’ve already bragged to all of the rising freshmen. I said, ‘You are not going believe the new room that you’re going to have when you get to Clarke Central. You will be the first to have that new room,’ and they’re already so excited.”

While fine arts instructors are pleased by the new facilities, they look forward to the potential impact the new setting will provide.

“I’m just very excited for the students to have a bright, inviting facility where they feel very inspired and motivated to improve and work hard. I think the environment is crucial to the students’ success and I try to make the best of any space we’re in, however I know the new space will be extremely powerful in motivating the students,” Kang said.

Above: DEP(ART)ING: The new art room, on the first floor of the renovated half of the Main building, stands empty save models of fruit and other objects for students to draw Left: LIVING HARMONIOUSLY: Machinery works on the new fine arts suite, next to the cafeteria, which will house the drama and band programs.

FEBRUARY 2016

IN FOCUS

NEWS <<

Featured: MARCH ON MILLEDGE: A man marches in the Athens Anti-Discrimination March in Downtown Athens on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18. The march, which featured speakers like former mayoral candidate Tim Denson and former county commissioner Alvin Sheats, was organized to show support for a recent local ordinance which attempts to combat discrimination in Downtown bars after Downtown bar General Beauregardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s was found to feature on its menu a drink named after a racial slur.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

>> FEATURES

>> FEATURED

Above: LEAN ON ME: Retired Clarke Central Attendance Clerk Anna Lumpkin relaxes on a bench with her husband of 42 years, Clarence Lumkpin. The two celebrated Anna’s retirement on Dec. 18 after 28 years of working on the CCHS campus. “We married right out of high school. As a matter of fact, when I graduated I was married. We met in high school, been married ever since,” Lumpkin said.

“Some pretty good years”

Longtime Attendance Clerk Anna Lumpkin spent 28 years working on the Clarke Central campus, but said goodbye in December.

BY KATY MAYFIELD

PHOTOS BY SOPHIE FERNANDES

News Editor

Photography Editor

F

ormer Attendance Clerk Anna Lumpkin was born in 1955 in Athens, the youngest of seven children. Her mother and father both worked, so her four older brothers and sister played a significant role in raising her. They spent their days playing in the family’s backyard.

“We played well. We had a peach tree and a plum tree and we would pick plums and peaches. Very long time ago, when I was a little girl, we did have a chicken house, chicken pen, whatever you call it,” Lumpkin said. “I was afraid of the chickens, but I did throw the feed out for them. And we would have to go in and collect eggs.”

The siblings also spent much of their time with their aunts, uncles, cousins and other extended family members, like their grandmother, all of

whom lived just down the street. In fact, it was their grandmother who took over raising the eight kids when Lumpkin’s parents died when she was 12.

“I lost my parents at an early age. Very early age,” Lumpkin said.

In the aftermath, the kids and their grandmother leaned on their faith and each other for support.

“My grandmother had the impact on me at church. You name it at the church, I was in it,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin attended Clarke Middle School and Lyons School before reaching Clarke Central in her junior year.

“I wasn’t an A-student, but I enjoyed being in school. I enjoyed graduation. That was a good day,” Lumpkin said.

In 1974, the year of she graduated, Lumpkin had her first child, a son, with her high school sweetheart Clarence, whom she had married a year

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before. It was around this time that Lumpkin picked up a job at a local daycare, where she worked for eight years.

“I learned how to be patient. I learned how to have patience with children, and it was very nice working with children, I enjoyed it because I had kids of my own,” Lumpkin said. “I used to love working with kids and then at that point I was ready to go to the office.”

Lumpkin began working in the office at the daycare in the day and taking secretarial classes at Athens Technical School during her evenings. She found she had a penchant for office work, and applied for a job in the Main Office at her alma mater.

“Working in the Main Office is pretty much the same as it was back then. Oh, so many phone calls.

Telephone would ring ring ring… You go home and dream about telephone calls,” Lumpkin said. “I enjoyed working that (job).”

FEBRUARY 2016

FEATURES <<

“I’ve had good years here at Clarke Central, even through the death of my son. The Clarke Central family really stuck by me.”

--ANNA LUMPKIN, retired Clarke Central Attendance Clerk

Above left: ALL SMILES: Lumpkin smiles with Principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker and Main Office secretary Linda Glenn at Lumpkin’s retirement party on Dec. 18. Lumpkin worked with Hooker for the eight years he’s been the Principal of Clarke Central. “For 28 years, Ms. Lumpkin has worked at Clarke Central. She’s been through probably about five principals, she survived all five of us, starting with Dr. Sullivan, Dr. Willis, Mr. Pool, Dr. Eason and then myself. She’s been a loyal employee,” Hooker said. “And she’s seen many changes at Clarke Central. So we’re very fortunate to have her to work with.” Above right: CHEERS TO ANNA: Lumpkin holds her ‘Official Retirement Mug’ at her retirement party. Lumpkin retired in December, and plans to spend more time with her family and start a garden. “I have three wonderful grandkids. There was a time they was over every weekend,” Lumpkin said.

Four years later, Lumpkin’s first son died on the Clarke Central campus.

“My oldest son I lost at the age of 17. He had sickle cell anemia. The worst day of my life,” Lumpkin said.

In the wake of yet another loss of nuclear family, Lumpkin relied on another community: her coworkers at Clarke Central.

“I’ve had good years here at Clarke Central, even through the death of my son. The principal then was Dr. Willis and he and the Clarke Central family really stuck by me and helped me. So I could stay here forever,” Lumpkin said.

Today Lumpkin’s family- at home and in the office- shares one of her longest and most important passions: her faith. “(Art department chair Dr. Anthony) Rucker is a member of the same church. I think going to church and working is a good combination,” Lumpkin said. “I think it kinda makes you be a better person. Being around a church member you learn to control yourself.”

Rucker says Lumpkin posesses a rare trait - consistency in character.

“With a person like Mrs. Lumpkin, you have the experience of knowing someone outside of work FEBRUARY 2016

and knowing somebody inside, and if they’re the same in both places you got a genuine person, a jewel,” Rucker said. “But the important thing is, those same (characteristics) that she has at church are the same characters here. A very kind person, hardworking, people-oriented.”

The combination of faith and work has been integral to Lumpkin’s workdays at Clarke Central.

“My gospel and prayer gets me through the day.

One guy asked me one day- he was in disciplinary- I had my radio on and he said, ‘Ms. Lumpkin why are you listening to that gospel every day?’ (I responded) ‘Why are you in here every day?’” Lumpkin said.

Twenty-eight years of days at a desk can be draining, but every so often moments of humor and oddity provide relief. “(I once got a note that said) ‘My son Jesus had a nail stuck in his hand and foot. Please excuse him,’ signed ‘The father.’ And I thought, ‘Oh my God, I know this note will be excused if no other note is excused, this was signed by the Father!’” Lumpkin said. “But then I realized it was a name, Jesús, not Jesus. I’ll always remember that one.”

According to Principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker, who has worked with Lumpkin since 2008, Lumpkin handled her work with grace.

“Her job is tough. Sometimes when parents come to see her, they’re not always pleasant. So you have to put on a smiling face and she’s done that over the past eight years,” Hooker said.

After 28 years, however, Lumpkin says it is time to move on: her official retirement began on Jan. 1, 2016.

“I turned 60 in December, and I’m proud of that,” Lumpkin said. “So I just figured it was time to go, let a young face come in.”

Students like senior McKay Brown find a Clarke Central without Lumpkin hard to imagine. “(Her retirement) makes me so sad,” Brown said.

“I have never had perfect attendance, or even been close to it, and Mrs. Lumpkin has always been very understanding and helpful and I’m so appreciative of her for that.”

That connection with students and her coworkers is what made the decision to leave a difficult one.

“I was sitting here working and all of a sudden I thought ‘I’m retiring. I won’t have a job to come to in January,’ and I got teary eyed. But it’s okay. I’m in a good place. So I got over it in about 10 minutes,” Lumpkin said. “It will take some adjusting, but I’m sure I will adjust.”

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FEATURES << Opposite page: FINDING FRIENDSHIPS: Freshman Logen Kiewel has always felt as if there were something missing in his life. The support of Logen’s friends was essential to his coming out as gender fluid.

“Many of my friends identify as the opposite gender or both. I also have a lot of friends who aren’t straight so being around them and having their support has really helped me figure out who I am as a person,” Logen said. Right: BECOMING CLOSER: Logen Kiewel, his mother, Barbara, and his father, Shawn, embrace while cooking a homemade meal together.

After telling his parents about being gender fluid, they have all grown closer and more open with each other. “The fluidity to choose between the two genders and to feel comfortable in either role speaks to Logens confidence and personal strength. I could not be more proud of him,” Barbara said.

LIFE AS LOGEN

For some, gender identity comes naturally. For freshman Logen Kiewel, however, a sense of gender identity has always eluded him, until now.

BY EMMA RAMSAY

PHOTOS BY SOPHIE FERNANDES

Sports Writer

Photography Editor

F

reshman Logen Kiewel goes to sleep every night not knowing what his gender will be when he wakes up.

Some mornings, it can be more feminine than masculine. Until recently, he didn’t know who he was or his true gender identity. After years of questioning, he now understands.

He is gender-fluid.

According to Gender Diversity, an online educational support network, “gender-fluidity conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender expression, with interests and behaviors that may even change from day to day. Gender-fluid people do not feel confined by restrictive boundaries of stereotypical expectations of women and men.”

For Logen, this means although he was born biologically female, he does not identify as masculine or feminine entirely, though he prefers to be referred to using male pronouns.

Logen’s story When Logen was younger, he struggled with understanding what his true gender was, and this FEBRUARY 2016

confusion made it difficult for him to be able to identify with any gender.

“At first, I always noticed that I am more of a tomboy,” Logen said. “When I got into seventh grade, I didn’t know what gender-fluidity was, so I identified as transgender. But some days, I wouldn’t really feel like I was a male. I just didn’t feel like I really knew who I was.”

When Logen was growing up, his parents never noticed anything about him that was any different from other children.

“Logen was a fairly well-rounded kid, who liked to play with everything,” Logen’s mother Barbara Kiewel said. “My spouse and I encouraged whatever Logen was interested in, so we had every toy from trucks and dinosaurs to Disney Princesses.”

As Logen matured, he began to question his gender identity and searched for answers.

“In eighth grade, I started doing more research and found out about what gender-fluidity was, and I realized at that moment that I was not transgender,” Logen said. “I was gender-fluid.”

Since being exposed to the trans community, Logen has met many people who have been supportive of his self expression.

“As I got older, I noticed that I saw less and less

“I started doing more research and found out about what gender-fluidity was, and I realized at that moment that I was not transgender, I was gender-fluid.”

--LOGEN KIEWEL, freshman of a point (of identifying with a specific gender), especially when I started hearing about people coming out as transgender in our community and

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FEBRUARY 2016

>> FEATURES

Above: STANDING STRONG: Logen Kiewel fastens his chest binder, an undergarment used to flatten the breast tissue. Since he started wearing the binder, Logen has become more comfortable in his day to day life. “I am gender-fluid but I am also Transsexual, so when I am older I plan to start to transition into getting a sex change. I just don’t feel comfortable in the current body that I am in,” Logen said. Opposite page: A SAFE HAVEN: Since coming to Clarke Central and joining the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) club, Logen and SAGA advisor Lara Guidry have become close. “Logen is such a brave person, and I have enjoyed getting to know him and who he is,” Guidry said. “He isn’t afraid of being himself and not letting anyone get him down.”

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going to my church, which is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens,” Logen said. “And there are a lot of trans people there. It has really opened me up to the fact that I may be on the gender fluid scale or a different gender.”

Even though Logen describes having grown up in a non-discriminatory community, he and his family have struggled with communicating about his gender identity and sexuality.

“I have always had an open household, but I still felt uncomfortable to the point where I wouldn’t even tell my mom, who was the person I talked to about everything,” Logen said.

However, Barbara and her husband feel as if they have provided Logen with a welcoming home environment, where Logen can be himself openly.

“We believe that questions should be answered, and boundaries should be tested. Many of my friends, co-workers and faith family are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” Barbara said. “It is such a supported, celebrated choice in the group of people Logen has grown up around that it has never been an issue.”

While Logen’s transition has been smooth at home, some of his classmates have not been as supportive.

“In middle school, a lot of people made a lot of rude comments about me being gender-fluid, attracted to females and wanting to be a male.

More recently, there has been a group of kids who have been making fun of the fact that I identify as gender-fluid and that I identified as trans in seventh grade,” Logen said. “They have been making a lot of comments and are openly transphobic and homophobic towards me.”

Over the course of Logen’s journey to understand that he is gender-fluid, he believes he has become a happier and overall a stronger person.

“I have actually gained a lot more confidence being openly gender-fluid, and that has helped me help myself and help others who are going through the same process,” Logen said.

English department teacher Laura Guidry, Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) adviser, recalls her first encounter with Logen.

“As soon as Logen walked into my class, he immediately told everyone, ‘Call me Logen and, just so you know, I am gender-fluid,’ and I just thought that was was probably one of the bravest things I have seen someone do,” Guidry said.

Freshman Mikah Harper, a friend of Logen’s, completely supports her friend being gender-fluid.

“I have known Logen forever, and I totally encourage him in not letting other people stop him from being who he wants to be,” Harper said.

Gender questions answered Melissa Will, a third-year doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia, suggests that gender-fluidity is best described as an unstable gender identity, one that can have fluctuations from day to day.

FEBRUARY 2016

FEATURES << “Gender-fluidity is the idea that a person’s identity is not necessarily stable,” Will said. “For example, how someone might identify today may not be the exact same tomorrow. Gender-fluidity looks at gender as a spectrum so there is more than just male and female. There’s an entire spectrum of identities.”

However, some students at CCHS feel that gender is not a fluid construct.

“It’s not real--you are either a girl or a boy. I just think (it’s) weird for someone to think that they are not one gender,” senior Santana Baldwin said.

Will, however, says within gender, these fluctuations in identity are not uncommon as one is developing, even for those who identify as he or she.

“Gender doesn’t have to be something that is super stable,” Will said. “It can be something that shifts and evolves as you get older. It can be something that is fairly solid for some people and not for others.”

According to Will, many people assume that sex

and gender are the same thing, when in reality, they have two different definitions.

“Sex is our biology, it is just your chromosomes and chemical makeup,” Will said. “Gender is a little different though; gender is more about how you identity and how you think yourself to be.”

Logen opposes being placed into sex-based

that is what I identify with more, but it is still just as awkward because I have to put myself in a box that I don’t want to be in.”

According to Will, Logen’s situation is quite common among people who are confused about their gender identity.

“It happens to more people than we realize, because gender-fluidity isn’t really something that is talked about, so people commonly confuse it with being transgender,” Will said. “With all the shiftings of culture and society, we are kind of in a new wave that allows for (gender) fluidity as opposed to hav--LAURA GUIDRY, ing to pick to be a box, and Sexuality and Gender Alliance adviser it is now more frequent for people to go in that direction.”

After many confusing years, Logen is happy to boxes that he does not fit in, nor wants to fit in. embrace his fluid identity.

“One of the things that happens to me daily is “(Being gender-fluid) made more sense to me,” having to look between the bathrooms and (decide) which one I fit in,” Logen said. “I do a lot of surveys Logen said. “Once I found out, everything fell into place perfectly, and I knew that I had finally found and quizzes and there is always the question, ‘Male my spot.” or female,’ and most of the time they don’t have ‘other’ as an option. Usually I put male, because

“As soon as Logen walked into my class, he immediately told everyone, ‘Call me Logen and, just so you know, I am gender-fluid,’ and I just thought that was was probably one of the bravest things I have seen someone do.”

FEBRUARY 2016

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>> COVER STORY

STORY AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELLA SAMS Senior Visuals Editor

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FEBRUARY 2016

COVER STORY << The Wegmann family has been involved at Clarke Central since 1987, providing support to the academic and athletic programs with five family members who attended the school.

Featured: DEEPLY ROOTED: The Wegmann family has maintained strong ties to the school and community since former Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s secretary Connie and current Student Support Tech specialist Mike moved to Athens in 1987. Their daughter, Ashlee, who graduated in 1999, is the current varsity volleyball coach and Special Education department chair, while their sons, Ryan and Beau, played soccer at CCHS and graduated in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Former front office secretary Kelly Wegmann and her husband Chuck, Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brother, became involved at Clarke Central when they moved to Athens in 1999. Their daughter, Mallory, played volleyball--under Ashlee--and basketball at CCHS and graduated in 2003, while their son, Nick, played football and baseball and is now currently coaching both those sports at CCHS after graduating in 2007.

FEBRUARY 2016

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>> COVER STORY

Photos courtesy of the Wegmann family.

N

ick Wegmann graduated from Clarke Central High School in 2007. But four years before him, so did Mallory Wegmann Berry, and four years before Mallory so did Beau Wegmann, and one year before Beau, so did Ryan Wegmann, and four years before Ryan so did Ashlee Wegmann.

Nine years before Nick graduated, Chuck and Kelly Wegmann became involved in the school, and 11 years before that, so did Mike and Connie Wegmann.

The Wegmanns have had a long line of involvement in CCHS and the Clarke County School District. Nine Wegmanns have been involved in the school in some way, and all have contributed to multiple aspects of the school community.

“We moved to Athens in 1987. I was here about three months and applied for a job at Clarke Central, and stayed there ever since,” Connie said.

Connie’s prompt involvement in CCHS lead to a tie that has now lasted 29 years.

“I pretty much worked in every office. I started in the media center, and I was the aid in the media center, and then I worked in the guidance office, then I worked in records, and then worked as a bookkeeper, then I became principal’s secretary for maybe the last 10 years that I was there,” Connie said.

With Mike and Connie’s children, Ashlee, Ryan and Beau at Saint Joseph Catholic School before high school, their desire for their kids to also be involved in the school provoked Mike in 1992 to make a decision regarding the athletic program at CCHS. “I went with Billy Henderson to Georgia High School Association to get permission for the kids from the private (middle) schools to play at the high schools. Until Billy Henderson went and appealed that, they weren’t allowed to participate,” Mike said.

Beau was then able to play soccer at CCHS starting from seventh grade, and

“I would like to think people say, ‘Oh, that was the family that gave their all, and supported and did all they had to do for Clarke Central.’ It wasn’t just for our kid, it was for everyone involved.”

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--CHUCK WEGMANN, former Clarke Central parent Ryan played starting from eighth grade. In 1999, his senior year, Beau went on to the State Championship with the varsity soccer team, and tied with Johnson City High School (Tenn.) for the National Championship.

“He got the football scholarship (to Elon University), so he didn’t start playing (senior year) because he didn’t want to hurt himself and lose that scholarship. But someone got hurt and the team had a vote, and they came in the house and asked him to go back to play,” Mike said. “He ended up playing the rest of the year.”

Beau went on to Elon University on a full-ride football scholarship. With Ashlee playing soccer, and Ryan and Beau playing football and soccer, Mike and Connie’s involvement became directed towards athletics. They were Booster Club presidents for the soccer team for two years. Connie worked with the cheerleaders.

“I think probably my best time was (when) I was a cheerleader sponsor. I had the best time with those girls. I did it for about seven years,” Connie said. “Back in those days, when it was senior night, the cheerleaders would pick a senior FEBRUARY 2016

COVER STORY <<

Opposite page left: GLAD TO BE A WEGMANN: Assistant football and baseball coach Nick Wegmann, a Class of 2007 graduate, as a baseball player at CCHS. “I just miss high school. It was fun. I had a fun four years,” Nick said.

Opposite page right: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Class of 1999 graduate Beau Wegmann is pictured with his parents, Connie and Mike, during Senior Night as a defender on the 1999 National Champion Clarke Central varsity soccer team. “Someone got hurt and the team had a vote, and they came in the house and asked (Beau) to go back to play,” Connie said. Top left: CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES: Mallory Wegmann Berry (third from left) is pictured (left-right) with varsity basketball coach Carla Johnson, her father Chuck, her brother Nick and her mother Kelly. Bottom left: STANDING STRONG: Beau (center), pictured from left-right with his brother Ryan, father Mike, mother Connie and sister Ashlee during his Signing Day ceremony to play football at Elon University. Top right: ALL IN THE FAMILY: Ashlee (left), who was Mallory’s coach on the varsity volleyball team and is now Special Education department chair, is pictured with Mallory (right) at Mallory’s Signing Day ceremony in 2003.

football player, and we would go to their houses while they were at practice and decorate their rooms. They just don’t do stuff like that anymore.”

The year Ryan graduated in 1998, Chuck and Kelly moved to Athens with their children Mallory and Nick, and became involved in CCHS. “Both Kelly and I were athletes in high school, and we wanted them to participate and go to a school where they could have both, and be competitive. So that’s how we decided,” Chuck said. “The kids wanted to go to Clarke Central and not Oconee County or Cedar Shoals anyways. (Connie and Mike) had probably been here 15 years maybe.”

Kelly worked as the front office secretary, and through that was able to get to know the school and the community.

“I was in the front office, and I feel like I got to know almost every kid in the school because at one time or another, they came through there. It was fun because I got involved,” Kelly said. “Even after I left, in 2003, I went down to the Board Office to the administrative offices. We still stayed involved because the kids were there.”

Chuck and Kelly wanted Mallory and Nick to be involved in sports, and in 1999 Mallory started basketball in the winter, and volleyball under Ashlee in the spring. She made the first basket in the New Gym, and Nick cut the ribbon for its opening. Nick was involved in Clarke Central from his sixth grade year when he began dressing as the gladiator for Mallory’s basketball games.

“I’ve just always been outgoing, I’m not really shy to do anything in front of people that might not know me, anything like that. I just saw what it was like supporting my sister, and I knew all the girls that were playing on the basketball team that would hang out with her, and we would go to every game no matter where it was,” Nick said. “When they would go to away games, we’d take the suit with us.”

In the fall of 2003, Nick entered high school and gave up dressing as the gladiator so he could play football and baseball. As soon as he graduated in FEBRUARY 2016

2007, he spoke with former football head coach Leroy Ryals to find a position within the football program, and has since become an assistant football and baseball coach.

“I just loved high school. There are plenty of memories. It’s what I tell the kids now that I’m coaching, is that it goes by just like that,” Nick said. “When you turn around, you’re not playing anymore. If we’re at a football practice and I hear someone saying they’re tired, if it’s a senior, I’ll say ‘Well when the season’s over and you’ve got nothing to do, you would beg to just have one more practice even if you weren’t going to play the game, because it’s just something you can do.”

Chuck and Kelly were heavily involved in the sports Mallory and Nick played, becoming the Booster Club Presidents for basketball in 2001, and football in 2006. But before that, in 1999, Chuck fulfilled a whole new role. “(Athletic director) Jon Ward asked me to be the PA announcer at the football games, and I said I would. I did it until one year after Nick graduated. I did that for two years, then Jon Ward, Buster Crumpton and myself one summer day went to lunch together, and that’s when Jon had the idea of ‘Gladiator Internet Television.’ We launched that that fall. Buster Crumpton and I have been doing GITV football games for for or five years now. I did the ‘Leroy Ryals Show’ on Charter Cable, produced (Nick’s) senior year and three years after that.”

With Mike now working as Student Support Tech at CCHS, Connie in eligibility for athletes, Ashlee as the CAPS Department Chair and volleyball coach and Nick as an assistant coach for baseball and football, the Wegmanns hope to carry on the stories they’ve experienced to future generations.

“I don’t think we’re looking for a legacy,” Chuck said. “I would like to think people say, ‘Oh, that was the family that gave their all, and supported and did all they had to do for Clarke Central.’ It wasn’t just for our kid, it was for everyone involved.”

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Cultural Buzz the boy

blackstar

stop

Director William Brent Bell’s recent horror movie “The Boy” offers a new take on the scary doll cliche, without overstepping its PG-13 rating.

“The Boy,” which premiered Jan. 22, follows Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan) as she moves from America to England for a job as a nanny. There, she meets the family who hired her: Mrs. and Mr. Heelshire (Diana Hardcastle and Jim Norton) and their son, Brahms.

At least, he is kind of their son. But, no spoilers.

The twist ending is definitely a surprise. Still, it takes more than an hour of mildly interesting cinematography and mediocre acting to get there.

All in all, “The Boy” is an interesting story that deserves praise primarily, if not entirely, for its ending.

The late artist David Bowie released his last album “Blackstar” on Jan. 8, two days prior to his unexpected death at age 69. Fans worldwide have bought the album, earning it the No. 1 spot on iTunes during the first week of its release.

To say the album is edgy is an understatement.

All seven songs on the album are powerful and full of emotion. The songs range from slow and haunting to upbeat and energetic, and are brilliant examples of the feelings Bowie was processing during his last few weeks.

The song “Blackstar” has a futuristic techno feeling with a fast paced beat, while “Lazarus” is slow and bittersweet and “Girl loves me” is an upbeat example of Bowie’s earlier work. It is comforting to hear a familiar sound and Bowie’s latest songs are sure to become heart-warming memories.

The game “Stop,” released on Jan. 24, 2014 on the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store, has recently gained popularity amongst teenagers.

The objective of the game is to fill five categories with words all starting with the same letter.

To get the letter, the player spins a wheel and the stopper will stop on a letter.

Similarly, the game will spin the categories and randomly choose five to play from.

“Stop” can be played against friends by using apps such as Facebook and Game Center.

Each round only lasts a maximum of 60 seconds, which provides for fun and fast rounds.

The game is exciting, challenging and keeps players entertained.

--Sara Goodie, Viewpoints Editor

-- Graham Collins, Staff Writer

--Amelia DeLamater, Managing Editor

R

Rihanna redone

ihanna. The iconic name draws a few things to mind. Pop. Youth.

Fun. But with her newest album, Rihanna has turned this image on its head.

“Anti,” the eighth studio album by the Barbadian recording artist, could be symbolic of many things. For starters, maybe it signifies an “anti-establishment” release, as the album was first released through the music streaming service Tidal and was available for free.

It could also refer to “anti-stereotypes” considering the sounds on this album sound nothing like the pop-box Rihanna placed herself in with her previous work.

On “Anti,” she opts for a more smooth R&B sound, even with some elements of psychadelic rock. Never before has a Rihanna album sounded this way in its entirety.

Anti’s new sound gives off a more mature vibe. The opening track “Consideration” feat. SZA, starts the album off strong. The beat is mellow as opposed to the aggressiveness of some of her previous work as SZA’s voice seems to float over the rhythm.

She then goes into songs like “Kiss It Better” and her cover of Tame Impala’s “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” which give off a more rock vibe and surprisingly fit Rihanna’s voice. She explores other rock styles and takes a trip back to the 50s with her doo-wop-esque song “Love On the Brain.”

Rihanna proves herself to be capable of creating a more versatile body of work, something her critics have chastised her for. Every song on “Anti” serves a purpose and gives Rihanna the chance to flex her vocal capabilities. For those who like club song Rihanna, don’t worry--she’s still there. On songs like, “Pose” and “Work” feat. Drake, the listener is reminded that although Rihanna’s sound has matured, pop Rihanna hasn’t disappeared just yet.

BY JURNEE LOUDER News Editor

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FEBRUARY 2016

VARIETY <<

Cultural Buzz purple reign

dreamscope

D.P. Dough

Sensuous beats, lyrics dripping with regal lingo and Future’s signature voice converge perfectly into what can only be described as an addictive concoction.

Realesed on Jan. 17 and produced by trap’s most dominant DJ, Metro Boomin’, “Purple Reign” is entirely composed of DJ Esco’s captivating sounds and Future’s rich voice.

This new mixtape seems to double as his incantation or rather, ode, to the woman who broke his heart. Though the pair split months ago, his music is still marked by his feelings for Ciara Harris.

Future is shameless in this incredibly well done mixtape.

Not a single lyric is out of place and every riff is perfectly spun. If one is looking for good music in the new year, this should certainly be on the list.

Released on Jan. 7 on the iTunes App Store, “Dreamscope” is designed to turn photographs into paintings, but does not do so effectively.

With the app “Dreamscope,” users choose an image and are instructed to choose what “style” painting they would like their photograph to become.

There is a wide variety of extremely appealing styles available to transform photographs.

However, once the image is fully developed, a process that takes more than five minutes, the picture comes out over edited and in many images the color is taken out and made visually unappealing.

The idea behind “Dreamscope” is extremely clever, but the idea does not make up for the poorly executed app.

Located at 180 West Broad St. on the first floor of the Georgia heights apartment building, chain restaurant D.P. Dough offers a variety of freshly baked calzones, including steak, chicken and veggie, all of which range from $7.25 to $7.75.

The restaurant is immaculate and the staff is friendly. The customer service is superb, as cashiers give suggestions on what to eat and visit tables thanking one for coming. However, seating is limited, holding up to approximately 15-20 customers.

Portions are filling, but the calzones themselves are filled with tasteless bread and cheese rather than the listed assortments of meat, veggies and spices. When it comes down to it, D.P. Dough is more of an acquired taste, targeted for college students, where service is irreparable but better than the food itself.

--Catherine Argabright, Staff Writer

--Olivia Ripps, Writing Coach

--Andrew Caldwell, Staff Writer

Murder watch

T

he 10-part true crime series, “Making a Murderer,” has been eagerly binged by crime show fanatics nationwide. The series focuses on the life of Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who served 18 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

The series was filmed during the course of two years. The show follows Avery as he adjusts to life outside of bars, sues the Manitowoc County sheriff’s department and then goes back to prison for the rape and murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.

The show is exciting to watch if one enjoys a front-row view of the prison system and a very intimate look into the mind of a man serving life for a murder that many believe he did not commit.

The series includes personal interviews with close family and friends which provides the audience with a point of view that many crime shows do not posses. With nearly a five-star rating on Netflix, “Making a Murderer” goes in depth to captivate viewers. One is sucked into Avery’s world and given the infuriating struggle that is his life.

Directors Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi have created a true crime series that shows the faults in our prison system, while also illustrating the faults we have in ourselves.

This in-depth true crime story is a must watch for the crime documentary addict.

BY GRAHAM COLLINS Staff Writer

Photo illustrations by Lucia Bermudez. Photos used under Fair Use guidelines.

FEBRUARY 2016

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>> VARIETY Featured: STILL STANDING: Clarke Central High School security officer Vara Loggins’ post on campus is the Baxter Street student parking lot. Though she has been faced with obstacles throughout her life, Loggins has never given up on herself or her goals. “I was 16 when I got pregnant with my son, my oldest son, but I still finished high school.

I still went to college,” Loggins said.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

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FEBRUARY 2016

VARIETY <<

TO LEARN AND TO LOVE Clarke Central High School security officer Vara Loggins overcame her struggles to become a positive role model at CCHS.

“G

et in here sweetheart, it’s cold.”

The door opened to a small box situated at the front of the Clarke Central High School parking lot. She sat comfortably in front of a heater. She is calm, collected, it is any other day. Her voice, her being, she softens the cold room. She is a warm woman.

She has worked at CCHS for only two short years, but she looks at home here. She looks comfortable. The gold stitched security badge appeared to glow on the side of her arm. She was engulfed by the nylon blue jacket. It seemed to protect her.

Her legs were crossed, she was at ease, unfazed by what had happened to her.

She discovered she was pregnant when she was only a sophomore in high school. Though initially a student at Madison County High School, CCHS Security officer Vara Loggins chose to attend an alternative school. She was then able to earn her GED through a program sponsered by Athens Technical College, where she eventually got her medical assisting license.

“It was hard, it was very hard, but I mean you can do it, you can do it. You just gotta learn from your mistakes,” Loggins said.

One would have never guessed that she had suffered at the hands of her first son’s father as the whimsical pink tips at the end of her bright, blonde hair would seem to tell a less painful story.

“It was a very bad relationship, he was a very abusive person, very mean,” Loggins said.

A truck went loudly by the security substation overlooking Baxter Street, she turned to see it. She looked regal sitting there, her presence so commanding. She knows pain, but she has never let it set her back.

Her strength, her courage and her perseverance are what have allowed her to overcome and grow from the struggles she faced.

“Just learn from your first mistake, don’t ever make the same mistake twice. It’s not the fact that you fall down that matters, but the fact that you’ve picked yourself up and have just tried again that counts,” Loggins said.

Her bright, blonde hair, delicate Southern accent and soft brown eyes do not paint a picture of a woman scorned, but rather one of a powerful, intelligent mother, who has built a healthy life for herself and her children.

BY CATHERINE ARGABRIGHT Variety Writer

FEBRUARY 2016

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>> VARIETY

LUCIA

Bermudez

T

“Hate” State. As a kickoff to the Athens Jewish Film Festival, the documentary “Hate” reveals anti-Semitism which has remained in parts of Europe.

he first time that I heard of the Holocaust I was in elementary school.

I remember hearing of the horrific things that happened and being distraught over it. The first time I heard the word anti-Semitism was in eighth grade, when we studied the Holocaust in depth.

I knew what anti-semitism was, but only when it was in reference to the Holocaust. I understood it as a group of people’s personal hatred of Jewish people that lead to the killing of millions, rather than the oppression and dehumanization of them.

I learned about anti-semitism that occurred around the time of the Holocaust, but it seemed to vanish once the Holocaust ended, or at least, we ceased to speak of it.

The 51 minute-long documentary “Hate” was screened at the UGA Special Collections Library on Feb. 2 as a prequel to the annual Athens Jewish Film Festival, which will take place March 19-22 at Cine.

The film, directed by Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal, discusses present day anti-semitism in Europe.

“Hate” portrays what it is like for many Jewish people in Europe today, and highlights their struggles and oppression. Anti-Jewish sentiments have remained prevalent in many European countries but the documentary mainly focused on Britain, France, Germany and Greece.

The film features a variety of personal accounts dealing with anti-semitism, as well as interviews with those who hold anti-semitic views. A wide array of people were interviewed, ranging from victims of anti-Semitism, to government officials, to anti-Semites and even neo-Nazis. The variety of viewpoints made the documentary interesting to watch and it was able to give one topic depth in various ways.

the wounds that the Holocaust inflicted.

However, that doesn’t stop people, such as the neo-Nazis that were featured in the film, from holding their views. They just have to be more discrete.

I learned about anti-Semitism that occurred around the time of the Holocaust, but it seemed to vanish once the Holocaust ended. Or, at least, we ceased to speak of it.

In the same way that racism is suppressed in America, anti-Semitism is being suppressed in Europe. The Holocaust was not the end of anti-Semitism, and its trail should not be covered up.

“Hate” does a great job of exposing the truth about anti-semitism in Europe and has definitely started off the Athens Jewish Film Festival on the right foot.

In the same way that racism was suppressed in America, anti-Semitism is being suppressed in Europe.

In comparison to racism in America, the anti-Semitic sentiments that remain in parts of Europe are much more subdued. There are strict laws set in place specifically to protect Jewish people, therefore others are not allowed to be as openly hateful.

For instance, in the documentary, an interviewee said that in Germany one can be arrested for denying that the Holocaust happened, and even speaking on the subject is taboo. Laws like this were put in place to try and heal

Cartoon by Ella Sams.

Right: CLOSED DOOR POLICY: Anti-Semitism has been present in Europe for many years and still remains in many parts today. The documentary “Hate” shines a spotlight specifically on France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece as they struggle to suppress the anti-Semitism that dwells there.

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VARIETY <<

SPOTLIGHT Blurbs written by Catherine Argabright. Layout by Tiernan O’Neill and Lucia Bermudez. Photo Illustrations by Lucia Bermudez using Fair Use guidelines.

A closer look at three can’t miss artists.

BIG GRAMS “Big Grams” is a skillfully written and produced EP by acclaimed rapper Big Boi and the lesser-known electronic duo, Phantograms. The unlikely pairing stumbled onto each other’s paths when a techno-rock song by Phantograms played during a commercial Big Boi happened to be watching. He dubbed the tune “Song of the Week” and shortly thereafter reached out to Phantograms, wanting to co-write a new “one-off ” EP. Their self titled album, “Big Grams,” hit the music scene on Sept. 25, 2015 and has emerged as a truly, artfully done collaboration. Big Boi and Phantograms have produced a real hit, and one can only hope they will produce more in the future.

KEHLANI American R&B singer-songwriter Kehlani Parrish, better known as Kehlani, got her start on America’s Got Talent as a member of the teen group, PopLyfe.

Since then, Kehlani has released multiple singles and produced her first mixtape, “Cloud 19.” Her second mixtape, “You Should Be Here,” earned her a Grammy nomination for “Best Urban Contemporary Album” after premiering at No. 2 on the national R&B charts in 2015 and setting off her sold-out North American tour. Her hit songs such as “The Way” and “You Should Be Here” have kept her fans coming back for more, and her unique style and sound sets her apart from other upcoming artists.

FIDLAR FIDLAR is the name and mantra of a punk garage band from Los Angeles that started in 2009. Zach Carper and Elvis Kuehn met in L.A. and began recording music together. Within three years and after Kuehn’s brother, Max Kuehn, had joined the duo, along with Brandon Schwartzel, FIDLAR was opening for the “Black Lips” and then going on tour with the “Hives.” Their songs are aggressive, in-your-face, loud and beautifully constructed. With a brilliant stage presence, their shows perfectly bring to life the punk essence found within their music and their music perfectly encapsulates the punk vibe that has been gaining prominence in contemporary western culture within the past five years.

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>> VARIETY

Photos by Sophie Fernandes.

Editor’s note: For each edition of “Quest for Athens’ Best,” the top two businesses from four reviews are selected for this Variety feature. Email editors@odysseynewsmagazine.net to comment on our selections and ratings, which are placed on a scale from one to five, with five being best and one being worst.

Taiwanese tea time 660 W. Broad St.

1

80ºF Cafe is a small venue where the staff is minimal, but the options are plentiful, serving primarily teas and small meals. Lights are strung on the ceiling and pictures displaying colorful bubble teas hang on the walls. A chalkboard in the front of the cafe displays the handwritten menu.

The prices range between $1.75 and $7.95 and the cafe is open from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

On the drink menu, the main star is the traditional Taiwanese bubble tea.

Small tapioca beads add texture and flavor to the tea. However, additional flavors can be added to the drink, including potent lavender. This makes the tea customized for the person ordering the beverage.

There are many American-Taiwanese dishes served at 180ºF Cafe, including the $4.00 pan-fried gyoza, a type of dumpling, as well as the inexpensive chicken steak. More authentic dishes include the Japanese-style Tonkatsu, a deep-friend pork cutlet, and the fried tofu. Many sides and appetizers can be ordered at the cafe as well, including the $2.95 edamame, a preparation of soybeans in the pod.

The cafe appears to have a small staff and the people working there are all extremely welcoming. The food comes out quickly while it is hot and ready to eat.

The 180ºF Cafe is a casual place to eat. Seating in the cafe is limited, but 180ºF Cafe is a great place for a fast and economical takeout meal, or a place to grab a refreshing, customizable bubble tea.

BY CLARE WISLAR Variety Writer

Above: TAPIOCA TREATS: A 180ºF Cafe staffer is preparing an authentic Taiwanese beverage. At the Cafe, the famous Taiwanese bubble teas are prepared behind the counter, coming out fast and fresh. The food is also brought out to the customer in a timely manner.

Portion

5

Price

5

Service

5

Quality Taste Variety

4 4.5 5

Left: HOT SPOT: Found at 660 W. Broad St., 180ºF Cafe is conveniently located just miles away from Clarke Central High School. The cafe stands out from the surrounding facilities with its festive lights and inviting atmosphere. Walking into the restaurant is like stepping into a different country.

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VARIETY <<

Asian Cuisine For our February issue, the variety staff continues their journey across the Classic City in search for the best Athens has to offer with stops at four Asian restaurants.

Thai’d up with flavor 367 Prince Ave. #1

T

ucked away in the Bottleworks Collective is a cozy, two-story gem. With rich Thai flavors sprinkled on each decadent dish, Siri Thai of Athens does not disappoint. Their bold options and low prices are guaranteed to add flavor to any evening or lunch. The restaurant is open Monday through Sunday except on Tuesdays, with hours from noon to 3:00 p.m. and reopening from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

There is plenty of seating on each level and customers are greeted by cheerful waitresses and intimate lighting upon entering the establishment, which was renovated roughly two years ago.

Siri Thai is beautifully decorated and kept clean. Thai culture is found both in the succulent food and in the lively and vibrant atmosphere. With two locations, one on the eastside and the other in Bottleworks, not only is the food truly Thai, but Siri Thai does not fit the typical “Asian restaurant chain” mold as it refrains from stereotypical decor and “americanized” dishes.

Offering both vegetarian and meat-eater friendly foods along with a choice as to how spicy each dish is, Siri Thai attempts and in many ways succeeds to please each customer.

Portions are anything but small and are very filling. Their jasmine rice is divine and their vegetables are nothing short of godly. Plates are loaded with fragrant rice, broth, vegetables and anything from shrimp to mock duck.Siri Thai excels in creating the perfect Thai dish and in balancing sweet, spicy and texture. Every item on the menu is laced with the vibrant and beautiful culture that inspired it.

In this hole in the wall off Prince Ave., one’s tongue is able to taste a world of wondrous color and fantastical tradition. The food perfectly encapsulates the beauty and exoctic flare found all over Thailand.

BY CATHERINE ARGABRIGHT Variety Writer

5

Portion

4

Price

5

Service

5

Quality

5

Taste

5

Variety

Right: HOLY CRUSTACEANS: With a wide variety of dishes and multiple levels of spicy to choose from, Siri Thai serves more than just Pad Thai. Their coconut and vegetable soup and their mock duck will leave one craving more.

FEBRUARY 2016

Above: STAIRWELL TO THE PURE LAND: Siri Thai is a two-story restaurant with the first floor designed to be for more casual dining and drinking, and the top floor decorated for more formal occasions. With the same food served on each level, only the aesthetic experience varies.

>> SPORTS

THE BOX SCORE

A new home Senior Copy Editor

Photo by Julie Alpaugh. Photo illustration by Johanna Hall.

AUDIBLES

“

We haven’t made state playoffs in about 14 years, (and) I really hope the varsity at least can step it up and make it to state.

”

GEORGE MONTEROLA, freshman junior varsity baseball player, on his hopes for the baseball team this spring.

“

If you have gone to a (wrestling) match and watch them pin somebody in less than one second, you realize their athletic abilities.

”

MARIE YURAN, Associate Principal, on the skill of the wrestling team.

“

We’re not a team where we need one girl to do everything. We’re a team of several very capable young women I think can fit a variety of roles.

”

CHRIS HULSE, head girls varsity soccer coach, on the girls varsity soccer team.

“

I love watching soccer games at Central, especially rivalry games, like Cedar.

”

DORIAN MANCEL, freshman, on the Clarke Central soccer games.

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A

fter a leak in the roof of the baseball locker room ruined lockers and equipment, work began to rebuild the room into a space with more function and appeal.

“We’re going to have a little more room in there, so that we can actually have conversations and sit everybody down for those conversations, as opposed to everybody being jammed in there and not being able to move,” head baseball coach Trey Henson said.

According to Henson, the renovated area will have amenities that have been missing since he was a part of the baseball team at Clarke Central from 1999-2003.

“It’s been snubbed out for a bathroom for the past 15 years, since we built the dugouts when I was in high school, and we’re finally going to have a toilet and sink in the locker room in the dugout,” Henson said.

Another goal of the construction is to give the players a place where they can change and get ready for games. “(We’re) putting some kind of flooring down, so that you can actually get dressed and have a heater in there so it’s not 28 degrees in there when guys are trying to change from school clothes into baseball attire,” Henson said.

Players, like sophomore Ben Gillespie, believe the new facility will be beneficial for the program.

“I think it will be a good improvement,” Gillespie said. “It would give us a place to keep our equipment dry. It is also a good place for us to keep our things so we don’t have to carry them around all the time.”

BY TIERRA HAYES

Left: PHI SLAMMA JAMMA: Sophomore and varsity basketball player Jack Mangel dunks a ball at the pep rally on Feb. 5. Mangel has been on the varsity basketball team since his freshman year.

“Basketball is what I love to do,” Mangel said.

Building back up

For the first time in 18 seasons, the varsity golf team is heading into a new season under new leadership.

English department teacher Brian Ash has stepped in as newly-appointed head golf coach.

Ash served as a lay coach for the Athens Academy varsity golf team last spring.

“Ash realized the boys team was comparatively small to the girls team and he’s made an effort to recruit from our school,” senior Martaz Imes said.

“He has created a Glad Time for everyone to enjoy.

It seems he’s a little more proactive.”

The team’s first match will be on March 8 at the Athens Country Club against Winder-Barrow High School. Ash attests that the boys team is in a “rebuilding year.”

“All these little things: who goes first, why you can’t walk in somebody’s line, these are things that kids have no idea about. You can’t just sit down and teach them,” Ash said. “They have to learn as they go.”

FEBRUARY 2016

SPORTS <<

THE BOX SCORE

BOUNCING TO BISHOP

A

s the new season gets Broadcast Staff underway, the boys and girls tennis teams both begin their 2016 campaigns to return to the AAAAA State Playoffs without an on-campus tennis facility due to campus construction.

“Not being able to play tennis every day is a huge disadvantage,” head varsity tennis coach Stephen Hinson said. “Other than that though, everything is going very well.”

The team currently holds practice at Julius F. Bishop Park, two miles from campus. According to Hinson, there are pros and cons to their new practice location, but he is overall grateful for a place to play.

“The disadvantages of not having the courts is that we practice at an off-campus site and we have to arrange transportation for everyone,” Hinson said. “It’s a little hectic getting over to Bishop Park, but once we’re there, it’s fantastic because there are so many courts.”

Junior Denise Sunta thinks practicing at Bishop is ideal due to the extra practice space.

“It is nice to have both teams together and we have six courts to practice on compared to three,” Sunta said.

As for Hinson, his goal for the season is to return as a competitive team in the region and qualify for state.

“We’ll have to play hard and play smart and win the matches that were supposed to win. (We will) try to win a couple of matches that will be really tough. We won’t be able to slip up at all. We have to be very consistent,” Hinson said.

BY KIKI GRIFFIN

--compiled by Sports Staff

Left: DRIBBLIN’ A WIN: Varsity point guard Jaycie Williams, a senior, dribbles the ball in a game against Cedar Shoals High School on Jan. 23. The Lady Gladiators defeated the Lady Jaguars 73-39. “(My teammates and I) have been playing all together since 5th or 6th grade, our chemistry is great and just has gotten stronger over the years and it feels like I’m playing with my family,” Williams said.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh. Photo illustration by Johanna Hall.

TRACKING THE SEASON

The Clarke Central track team has begun preparing for the upcoming spring season by holding practices five days a week. Distance coach Elyse Bray believes the team will be prepared for the upcoming meets because of the team’s talent level.

“We have a lot of potential this year. We have got a lot of contenders that will be up there definitely at region and hoping they get those sectional spots,” Bray said. “We just got to focus race to race and take it one at a time.”

Girls track runner Avery Warner, a junior, adds to Bray’s sentiments and also believes that the team’s camaraderie will be an advantage.

“My favorite part is definitely the team aspect of it,” Warner said. “We’re a really close-knit team with a really good coach, which makes running even more fun.”

As the season continues, Bray hopes the team’s goal of going to state will motivate the team.

“Our biggest focus of the year is region and sectionals because those are the meets that will get us to state and scoring at the state meet on the state level,” Bray said.

FEBRUARY 2016

Below: DIFFERENT STROKES: Varsity swimmer Geetam Mistry, a freshman, makes his way down the lane in a swim meet on Dec. 18. According to head swimming coach Emily Dowd, not all younger swimmers are as experienced. “I know some of the younger kids have never been on a swim team before, and so putting on a cap is new and the different terminology is new for them, and so they have to get used to that,” Dowd said.

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

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>> SPORTS

Earning

the letter

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

Throughout Clarke Central’s 46-year history, student athletes have valued the Letterman jacket.

C

larke Central High School students have the opportunity to earn a Letterman jacket during their four years in high school. These jackets are traditionally reserved for varsity team members and can be earned in a variety of ways depending on the sport or activity.

According to GQ.com, Letterman jackets date back to 1865 when baseball players at Harvard University began displaying a letter “H” on their sweaters and other clothing items.

It soon became tradition that a school’s best athletes be awarded with a letter that would later begin to be placed on a leather and wool jacket, like the ones commonly worn today. This trend grew and became a symbol of student athletes across the nation, including Athens.

Prior to CCHS’s formation in 1971, Athens was home to two segregated high schools, Athens High School for white students and Burney-Harris High School for students of color. Many students who moved to CCHS after integration already earned Letterman jackets from their respective high schools.

BY TIERRA HAYES Senior Copy Editor

“I truly love everything about Clarke Central, so to wear the jacket was an honor because not too many people are able to receive one.”

--JERON DRAINE, 2009 CCHS graduate

$125

A plain red and gold jacket with no patches

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Physical education teacher Billy Wade graduated from CCHS in 1973. He attended BHHS for his first two years of high school until the schools were integrated his junior year.

According to Wade, students continued to wear the jackets of their former schools at the newly opened CCHS. “It gave you an idea of who were the athletes because at the time it was really hard to get a Letterman jacket,” Wade said.

Once the two schools were integrated, new sport teams had to be formed with a mixture of students from the two schools.

“It was good and bad,” Wade said. “(Coaches) had the pick of the best athletes of both schools. The bad part was that … when they came over here (from BHHS) a lot of guys who would have been on those varsity teams didn’t make the team (at CCHS).”

According to Wade, during these years, Letterman jackets were bought by booster clubs either for teams that made it to important competitions, such as state, or for athletes coaches felt performed well.

“If you had a Letterman jacket, you were a top-tier athlete,” Wade said. “It wasn’t that they felt you got your jacket because you played so many quarters. If you got a Letterman jacket, you must be able to play.”

Baseball head coach Trey Henson graduated from CCHS in 2003. While in attendance, Henson, like many student athletes, lettered in multiple sports: baseball, football and golf.

To Henson, a Letterman jacket was a way to display his accomplishments.

“It was a sense of pride,” Henson said. “Everything we won in baseball was on one sleeve (and) everything we won in football was on the other sleeve. For us, it was kind of a way to show that work that you put in, trying to show that you have pride in your athletic program, in your school and at the same time, (it) showed that you were having some success.”

$30

Lettering on the back of the jacket

$7

Graduation year on sleeve Three digit weight class (wrestling only) for sleeve FEBRUARY 2016

SPORTS << In 2009, CCHS students Jeron Draine and Amber Thomas graduated after playing and lettering in their respective sports.

Draine played baseball at CCHS and lettered his junior year. Draine, now a graduate of Valdosta State University, fondly recalls the accomplishment.

“To (be a) letterman at Clarke Central was a great feeling,” Draine said. “I truly love everything about Clarke Central, so to wear the jacket was an honor because not too many people are able to receive one.”

Thomas lettered in her freshman year as a part of the softball team, an accomplishment she relished.

“When I got my Letterman jacket in ninth grade, I really felt like a big shot,” Thomas said. “I planned most of my outfits around the jacket and didn’t take it off no matter how hot the classroom got.”

Thomas, a teacher in Chicago, intends to keep a family tradition intact by hanging on to her jacket.

“That’s not something that you send to the Goodwill. You pass it down to your little kid or encourage them to get one.”

the most personalized jacket.

According to Athletic Director Dr. Jon Ward, if a student does not have the means to pay for their jacket after lettering, there is financial assistance available.

“Each head coach and their booster organization makes sure (that) if money is a situation, that (shortfall) does not prevent a kid from getting a jacket if they’ve earned it,” Ward said.

According to CCHS alumna Emily Dowd, who teaches French and is the head swim coach, who earned a Letterman’s jacket and still has hers today, all students who earn a jacket, should have one.

“I definitely recommend people (to get a Letterman jacket),” Dowd said.

“If you earn it, get it. It’s something you look back on with fond memories, be proud of and maybe show your kids.”

Opposite page: EARNED IT: Students at CCHS have used their Letterman jackets to represent successes in sports and academic clubs since the school’s formation in 1971. Current and former students still value the jacket today. Below: HER HEART ON HER SLEEVE: Foreign Language department teacher and CCHS alumna Emily Dowd shows off her patches on the sleeve of her Letterman jacket. She feels that the jacket holds many fond memories. “When I was a student here, I was involved in a lot of things,” Dowd said. “Obviously, academics were important to me, but I was also in a bunch of clubs and did sports.”

--DR. ROBBIE P. HOOKER, CCHS Principal “I’m pretty sure my dad--who also went to Clarke Central and played football—still has his jacket, so I knew it’d be weird to dispose of mine,” Thomas said.

Principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker has worked at CCHS for the past seven years.

He recognizes the lasting legacy the jackets have within the school and families like Thomas’.

“For most students (getting a Letterman jacket) is something you look forward to,” Hooker said. “I can recall, maybe my first year here, one young lady wore her dad’s Letterman jacket who graduated in the ‘80s. People take pride in those things. That’s not something that you send to the Goodwill, you pass it down to your little kid or encourage them to get one. It’s an honor to have one of those.”

Sophomore Leah Orlando is a JV volleyball player and looks forward to lettering before she graduates. “(I want to earn one) because when you get one, everybody knows that you’re on the varsity team, so then they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s cool, she plays varsity.’” Orlando said. “I think (the jacket) symbolizes that you were determined to be on varsity, so that’s kind of your award along with playing on a higher level.”

Participation in sports at the varsity level is not the only way to earn a Letterman jacket. Students at CCHS can also letter by being a part of the classroom band program.

Senior Kenya Daniel recently earned her jacket for marching band. While she takes pride in her accomplishment, Daniel feels some athletes feel band participation does not merit a varsity letter.

“They’ve even said we don’t deserve a Letterman jacket, but I think that if we compete like they do and go out and get medals just like they do, then we deserve it just as much as they do,” Daniel said.

While previously secured by booster clubs for respective athletes, the cost of Letterman jackets has shifted to individual students in recent years. For current letter winners, the price of the jackets can range from $125 to around $200 for Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

$6

Position patch for sleeve letter “C” on front left chest Monogram of student name on front right chest

FEBRUARY 2016

$1

Each sport, band or club sewn into the letter “C”

Infographic by Johanna Hall and Kevin Mobley.

Price quotes from Balfour on the CCHS athletics website.

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>> SPORTS SPORTS

SHOWING HART

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

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FEBRUARY 2016

SPORTS <<

Freshman Ja’morris Hart, a varsity offensive lineman and varsity wrestler, is competing at the highest levels in his first year as a Gladiator.

F

reshman Ja’morris Hart is one of a select few varsity football players and varsity wrestlers in his freshman class. While competing at the highest levels this year, Hart has impressed coaches. “(Hart) has great size. He’s smart, he’s aggressive and he loves to play. He does a great job for us,” varsity football offensive coordinator Thomas Balkcom said. “He has tremendous potential and great upside. He has a tremendous work ethic. He is constantly learning, asking questions and getting better everyday.”

Balkcom sees Hart’s potential extending beyond the realm of high school play.

“He should be a Division I football player. Scouts should come from all over the country by the time he is a senior to offer him a football scholarship,” Balkcom said.

BY OWEN CHURCHWELL Web Staff Writer

“He should be a Division I football player. Scouts should come from all over the country by the time he is a senior to offer him a football scholarship.”

--THOMAS BALKCOM, varsity football offensive coordinator Hart’s football career began at the age of 10. Hart feels his early start gave him a foundation for high school competition.

“It helped me get into the work of things that they do in the high school. At the high school they do things a little different, but it is still the same as little league football,” Hart said.

For Hart, being a successful athlete requires training during the times that he

is not competing in football or wrestling.

“My personal life and my athletic life is almost the same because I work at home for football, wrestling and track, and I do it here (at CCHS),” Hart said. “I work hard at what I do. I get good at it from practice.”

Due to injuries during the season to teammates, Hart found himself in the starting lineup on varsity. The move posed an early challenge for the freshman.

“It was very hard for me because I didn’t know the plays. I knew like a handful, but not all of them,” Hart said.

Surrounded by upperclassmen, Hart found himself turning to teammates for mentorship.

“One game, I kept asking the person next to me, ‘What do I do?’ and he told me and that got me through the game,” Hart said.

According to varsity offensive line coach Demetrius Edwards, Hart’s contributions have set a precedent for the program. “(Hart) is great. What he did as a freshman is stuff that I ask seniors and juniors to do, so I think he is going to be great in the future,” Edwards said.

“The other freshman love having him because they see that you don’t have to be a senior or a junior to contribute to the team.”

After concluding the season as a starting offensive lineman, Hart found himself thrust into another varsity position: as a wrestler in the 285 lbs. weight class for head varsity wrestling coach Tim Stoudenmire.

“It’s a long year and he is doing the job of a grown man by wrestling 285 as a freshman. In the coming years, yes, he will be a force to reckon with in the state,” Stoudenmire said. “Ja’morris is the future of the 285 lbs. weight class for our school.”

While he’s taken major strides, Hart’s first season as a Gladiator wrestler has not come without difficulty.

“In wrestling, he is struggling because the other guys have been wrestling longer than him and he’s just not as good,” freshman and long-time teammate Stephen Cofer said.

Despite the challenges of inexperience, coaches anticipate that Hart will adjust to the learning curve and emerge as a premier athlete at Clarke Central.

“I think watching a young guy like that as he develops other people will pick up on his work ethic, his leadership abilities. They will follow him and become better student-athletes themselves,” Balkcom said.

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

Opposite page: FRESH SKILLS: Freshman Ja’morris Hart has excelled at the varsity level in both football and wrestling in his first year as a Gladiator. Hart says he enjoys the level of enthusiasm that comes from coaches in the varsity program. “They scream at you, they yell at you, everything.

If you’re not running full speed the whole team is going to keep running. The coaches motivate you,” Hart said. Right: PAVING THE WAY: CCHS offensive line coach and former CCHS varsity football player Demetrius Edwards has taken Hart under his wing. “I think if he keeps his head on right and works hard and works hard--which he is a hard worker and he seems to have his act together--then he can go and play college football wherever he wants to,” Edwards said.

FEBRUARY 2016

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Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

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Coach Moore scores

Left: POINTING TOWARDS SUCCESS: Head girls junior varsity soccer coach Scott Moore coaches the students trying out for the CCHS team. Students scrimmaged to show what they can do on the field. “I try to instill some leadership qualities, vocal leadership, leadership by example,” Moore said.

Former Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School girls soccer coach Scott Moore is taking the next step in his coaching career at Clarke Central.

A

fter coaching soccer at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School for four years, Scott Moore was hired as the new junior varsity girls soccer coach at Clarke Central High School for the 2016 season.

Growing up in Snellville, Georgia, Moore played with his friends, older brother and parents.

“I started playing baseball, then I picked up tennis, then basketball, and soccer after that,” Moore said. “Both my parents were really good at tennis and so that (was) what got me going.”

After graduating from Brookwood High School, Moore attended the University of Georgia and earned his teaching degree in mathematics. He saw sports as more of a hobby and decided to focus on his teaching career.

“Teaching runs in my family. My grandmother was a career teacher and principal in South Georgia, and two of her sisters were teachers,” Moore said.

“My AP U.S. History teacher in high school showed me the impact a truly good teacher can have.”

Moore first began coaching boys soccer in 2009 while he was student teaching at Clarke Middle School. From there, he moved on to become the head girls soccer coach at BHL for four years. There, he met the CCHS head girls varsity soccer coach Chris Hulse in 2012.

“The varsity coach at the time gave me permission to start reaching out to the middle schools and trying to expand basically what we were already doing to get our focus beyond just our kids,” Hulse said. “When I reached out to Burney Harris, Coach Moore quickly replied and we’ve been working together pretty much ever since.”

During the summer of 2015, Moore made the move to become the girls junior varsity soccer coach for CCHS.

BY STACEE DILLARD Web Staff Writer

44 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

“The JV position opened this year and I was just ready for a change,” Moore said. “I enjoyed coaching at BHL, but I was ready to come up and try something different at the high school.”

Freshman Yocelin Rodriguez played for Moore for two years while she was on the BHL girls soccer team and says she learned a lot from his coaching.

“He teaches you in a great way,” Rodriguez said. “If you do something wrong, he won’t get mad at you and he would just help you to get it better.”

Moore admits that his coaching style is detail-oriented.

“I like to pay attention to the details. I’m a stickler,” Moore said. “If a girl (is) not doing something right, I’m gonna blow the drill at that point, teach and then go on with it.”

Sophomore and JV soccer player Neha Mohanty, who played under Moore for three years, respects his coaching style and believes he has helped her improve.

“He’s taught me a lot of things off the field,” Mohanty said. “He’s a very intuitive person so I often go to him for advice, and he taught me to keep my head up and always power through.”

Moore values the role that creativity and communication play in soccer.

“I like how every single person has to be on the same page in order for something to work. There is also a lot of creativity as far as skills kids can do, so it isn’t just being able to run past them like maybe in football,” Moore said. “You need to be able to do tricks with the ball to win a one-on-one situation.”

While he values skill, Moore looks for hard work and a positive demeanor in his players above all.

“I would rather have 11 players out there with good effort and attitude and average skills than I would with highly skilled players that take plays off and only plays when they want to,” Moore said.

FEBRUARY 2016

Photo by Julie Alpaugh.

>> SPORTS

Coach Moore scores

Left: POINTING TOWARDS SUCCESS: Head girls junior varsity soccer coach Scott Moore coaches the students trying out for the CCHS team. Students scrimmaged to show what they can do on the field. “I try to instill some leadership qualities, vocal leadership, leadership by example,” Moore said.

Former Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School girls soccer coach Scott Moore is taking the next step in his coaching career at Clarke Central.

A

fter coaching soccer at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School for four years, Scott Moore was hired as the new junior varsity girls soccer coach at Clarke Central High School for the 2016 season.

Growing up in Snellville, Georgia, Moore played with his friends, older brother and parents.

“I started playing baseball, then I picked up tennis, then basketball, and soccer after that,” Moore said. “Both my parents were really good at tennis and so that (was) what got me going.”

After graduating from Brookwood High School, Moore attended the University of Georgia and earned his teaching degree in mathematics. He saw sports as more of a hobby and decided to focus on his teaching career.

“Teaching runs in my family. My grandmother was a career teacher and principal in South Georgia, and two of her sisters were teachers,” Moore said.

“My AP U.S. History teacher in high school showed me the impact a truly good teacher can have.”

Moore first began coaching boys soccer in 2009 while he was student teaching at Clarke Middle School. From there, he moved on to become the head girls soccer coach at BHL for four years. There, he met the CCHS head girls varsity soccer coach Chris Hulse in 2012.

“The varsity coach at the time gave me permission to start reaching out to the middle schools and trying to expand basically what we were already doing to get our focus beyond just our kids,” Hulse said. “When I reached out to Burney Harris, Coach Moore quickly replied and we’ve been working together pretty much ever since.”

During the summer of 2015, Moore made the move to become the girls junior varsity soccer coach for CCHS.

BY STACEE DILLARD Web Staff Writer

44 | ODYSSEY NEWSMAGAZINE | odysseynewsmagazine.net

“The JV position opened this year and I was just ready for a change,” Moore said. “I enjoyed coaching at BHL, but I was ready to come up and try something different at the high school.”

Freshman Yocelin Rodriguez played for Moore for two years while she was on the BHL girls soccer team and says she learned a lot from his coaching.

“He teaches you in a great way,” Rodriguez said. “If you do something wrong, he won’t get mad at you and he would just help you to get it better.”

Moore admits that his coaching style is detail-oriented.

“I like to pay attention to the details. I’m a stickler,” Moore said. “If a girl (is) not doing something right, I’m gonna blow the drill at that point, teach and then go on with it.”

Sophomore and JV soccer player Neha Mohanty, who played under Moore for three years, respects his coaching style and believes he has helped her improve.

“He’s taught me a lot of things off the field,” Mohanty said. “He’s a very intuitive person so I often go to him for advice, and he taught me to keep my head up and always power through.”

Moore values the role that creativity and communication play in soccer.

“I like how every single person has to be on the same page in order for something to work. There is also a lot of creativity as far as skills kids can do, so it isn’t just being able to run past them like maybe in football,” Moore said. “You need to be able to do tricks with the ball to win a one-on-one situation.”

While he values skill, Moore looks for hard work and a positive demeanor in his players above all.

“I would rather have 11 players out there with good effort and attitude and average skills than I would with highly skilled players that take plays off and only plays when they want to,” Moore said.

FEBRUARY 2016

SPORTS <<

Lizmar Moreno Grade: 10 Sport: junior varsity soccer Years experience: 3 GPA: 3.0

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

Above: THE COME UP: Freshmen wrestlers Me’Shai Coleman (left) and Stephen Cofer wrestle at practice in the wrestling gym. According to head varsity wrestling coach Tim Stoudemire, the freshmen wrestlers are essential to the team’s success. “(They’re the) best group of freshmen I’ve ever had at Clarke Central,” Stoudenmire said. “Those guys are going to be big names in the state of Georgia next year.”

Game day ritual: “Drink lots of water and just get in the mindset for the game, and I always wear white spandex for home games.”

Wrestle for the win

Favorite game memory: “I was playing against Cedar and I was playing midfield, it was a really fun game.”

The 2015-16 varsity wrestling team laid claim to unprecedented feats in program history.

Role model: “My teammates.”

--Chris Hulse, head girls varsity soccer coach

Photos by Sophie Fernandes. Player cards designed by Johanna Hall.

ODYSSEY Star Players are selected based on their academic standing and commitment to teammates, their sports program and Clarke Central High School. Star Players are selected each month by the Sports staff based on interviews with players and coaches.

Jecorrah Arnold Grade: 11 Sport: varsity baseball Years experience: 12 GPA: 3.5 Game day ritual: “I don’t roll my sock all the way up, I think it is bad luck.”

Favorite game memory: “My first home run when I was nine.”

Role model: “My dad.”

What coaches say: “Jecorrah is a team player and he will do anything to benefit the team. He cares about his teammates. He leads with his actions and is great role model to some of the younger players.”

--Trey Henson, head varsity baseball coach FEBRUARY 2016

H

ead varsity wrestling coach Tim Stoudenmire is never satisfied.

With the most successful wrestling team in the Clarke Central’s history to date--a 42-2 duals record, a No. 4 finish in the AAAAA State Duals Tournament and securing both the Region 8-AAAAA Duals and Traditionals titles--nevertheless, Stoudenmire still wants more.

“I’m very thankful of where we are, but at the same time, I want to enjoy it for like, two seconds, and then do the next thing,” Stoudenmire said.

However, Stoudenmire expressed his pride in the team for their performance.

“We wrestled extremely well and fought through that and we ended up fourth out of 68 schools in AAAAA, which is the highest we ever finished,” Stoudenmire said.

Among qualifiers for the Traditionals AAAAA State Tournament were freshmen Cleveland Belton and Me’Shai Coleman, sophomore Brandon Navixay, juniors Zach Chastain, Calvin Nimley, Melvin Nimley and Bangahly Touray and seniors Charvonte Gantt, Owen Graham, Parick Isip, Shimobi Obijuru, Damien Pickett and Ignacio Vergara.

“It’s gonna be a lot harder (at individual state), more competition. But, as a freshman making it to state, it’s really good,” Coleman said. “We did a lot better than we did last year. We made a lot of progress.”

According to Isip, the intensity that Stoudenmire brings to the mat is a key contributor to the team’s success. “(Stoudenmire) always pushes us, he always tells us that performing in the room is going to translate to performing in tournaments and matches and everybody realized he was right,” Isip said.

With his vision for the program constantly expanding, Stoudenmire aims to further the accomplishment of the CCHS wrestling team in the future.

“I think that this year’s success will definitely lead to higher expectations in our performance next year,” Stoudenmire said.

“It’s just taken 10 years to get where we are now, so it’s going to take a few more years to take that next step.”

BY JOHANNA HALL Sports Editor

What coaches say: “Lizmar is a positive player who both enjoys the game and plays with enthusiasm.”

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5

THINGS to know about

GOLF

TEEING OFF

BY HEAD GOLF COACH BRIAN ASH AS TOLD TO CAEDMON CHURCHWELL

You have 18 holes. You have your par 3, par 4 and par 5. Par means you’re expected to get it in the hole (by a certain number of shots). An average golfer shoots 100, so if you go to par 3 and if you get (the ball in the hole) in three shots, you get a par. (Par for the course) is up usually to 72 (shots).

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Photo by Sophie Fernandes.

Photo illustration by Kevin Mobley.

If you are just starting, you don’t need to be hitting with big drivers. The best club to hit is a five iron or some sort of club with some loft on it, has bounce and gets the ball in the air. Once you start hitting more balls and getting your swing more refined. You’ve got to know what you’re doing or have a decent swing, or else you’re never going to get it off the ground.

When I first started playing, if you caught it you could hit it 250 yards.

That’s a long way, but with that same swing now with the clubs, they make you can hit a ball 350 yards.

BEYOND THE BASICS Competitive golf now is insane. For junior golf, there is a mini-tour just like there is a Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tour that goes around the country. Now if you want to be good and you want to go to Division I, you (have) to go play in all those tournaments. You don’t have to go all the way out to California, you look out for the tournaments that are around you. If you win that or place in the top three, you will start getting offers like crazy. That’s why you have to go outside of high school. You’ve got to have a portfolio that’s bigger than high school matches. You’ve got to win the big stuff.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY If you want to go play golf nowadays you are going to drop 50 bucks easily. The equipment has changed and the balls have changed, but it’s still very expensive.

You’re looking at 500 bucks to get a nice set of clubs--driver through putter--so you are looking at 500 bucks for clubs and $50 a round. It’s an expensive sport, that’s why a lot of people don’t play it. That’s why people aren’t playing it as much as they used to.

MIND GAMES (Golf ) is all between your ears, it’s in your head. There are so many little things to think about, but it demands that you don’t think about them. Once you start getting your swing down, it’s all muscle memory and the rest is up here (in your head). You have to forget about the last shot you hit. Say you scale it up in the woods, hit a tree and you’re like, “Man.” How you deal with that? You kind of pretend like you hit it on the fairway. It’s really good to have a bad memory in golf. You have to stay really focused, and that’s why I kind of washed out because I couldn’t really handle it. It’s a roller coaster ride with the emotions.

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