Vol 22, Issue 4

THE ROAR NEWS

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1801 HARVEY MITCHELL PKWY. S., COLLEGE STATION, TX 77840 | FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2017 | VOL. 22 NO. 4 | THEROARNEWS.COM

DOMESTIC ABUSE BRUISES, BLEEDING ON KNEES AGE FIVE

THREATS TO KILL SISTER AGE FOUR

OPEN PALM ON FACE MIDDLE OF ENGAGEMENT

PINNED ON FRONT LAWN AGE FOURTEEN

FIST, BLACK & BLUE FACE THIRD MONTH OF MARRIAGE

CHOKED IN BEDROOM AGE FOURTEEN

SCREAMING THROUGH LOCKED DOOR AFTER SEPARATION

Survivors of toxic relationships disclose experiences, after-effects of emotional, physical abuse

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because I actually thought my dad would kick my mom out because he always said he would,” Johnson said. “And then my twelfth birthday came around and he didn’t [kick her out] and [the abuse] just continued, calling [my mother] names and treating her [as if she were lesser].”

Unfortunately, Johnson’s recognition of the abuse came with complications.

“I think the hardest thing for people to understand is that the realization of [abuse] isn’t super immediate,” Johnson said. “I was one of those people, before I realized, who was like, ‘Just get out! It’s super easy, like why are you doing this to yourself?’”

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news pages 2-5 opinions pages 6-8 feature pages 9-15, 20 sports pages 16 & 17 reviews pages 18 & 19

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When senior Sophia Johnson* was five years old, she was hurt by the person she trusted to protect her the most: her father.

“It was super late and I couldn’t sleep, so I wanted to go out and play. Instead I was beaten and then thrown out into the garage. I’m sure there were bruises, but I remember falling on my knees and having blood on my knees,” Johnson said. “I remember crying and banging on the door; my mom says that, that night, she had thrown her body against mine and protected me.”

For Johnson, that occurrence marked only the first of many more instances of abuse at the hands of her father. “[My sister Sylvia* was] playing near the table and [my dad] said, ‘Oh, you should watch out,’ and he grabbed out a knife, and said [to my mother], ‘If you’re going to [let her] do something like that, why not just end her life right now instead of having her become disabled for the rest of her life?’” Johnson said.

Johnson realized on her twelfth birthday that her father’s tendency towards unpredictable aggression and threatening speech qualified as abuse.

“I’d never thought about it because [I was a] young, stupid child. I was really scared to turn twelve

fish tales:

vi burgess & june jeong editor-in-chief & opinions editor

page 19

brief | the roar

UPCOMING

2 | in

FEB 13-17 FEB 17-18 FEB 18 FEB 20 FEB 23 MAR 1 MAR 13-17

NEWS

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Be-you-tiful Week Tiger Swimming State Sadie Hawkins Dance Student Holiday George Bush Library Field Trip (Juniors only) Senior Scan Spring Break

IN THE

Tiger Robotics wins several awards at North League Championship

The Tiger Robotics team competed in this year’s North League Championship, winning third place nominee for the “Inspire Award”, second place nominee for the “PTC Design Award”, first place for the “Think Award”, as well as being captains of the winning alliance. The students competed against 11 other robots in this year’s “Velocity Vortex” game, submitted notebooks of their robot’s design process and were interviewed by a panel of judges.

Senior Kelly Krenek awarded Craig and Galen Brown scholarship

Senior Kelly Krenek was awarded with $40,000 in scholarships from the Craig and Galen Brown foundation. Ten thousand incoming Texas A&M students competed for the scholarship, and only the top 500 were selected for further review by the foundation. The remaining candidates were narrowed down to the final six, and were interviewed by the foundation to determine a winning scholar. Along with the scholarship, Krenek was also guaranteed a spot in Texas A&M’s Honors Engineering Society.

Tiger Orchestra competes in district Solo and Ensemble contest, qualifies for state

PHOTO BY MAYA GIRIMAJI Senior Jason Jasperson, playing Sky Masterson, prepares to roll the dice in Consol Choir’s performance of Guys and Dolls as other characters look on. The musical was performed three times, and promoted twice on Brazos Valley This Morning prior to the premiere.

The Tiger Orchestra competed in the UIL district Solo and Ensemble contest on February 3-4 and had 11 soloists qualified as well as two ensembles. The violinists who qualified were juniors Hannah Chang, Anna Miller, Melissa Yang and Jennifer Zhan, sophomore Michelle Wu and freshmen Eric Gan and Hyla Stuntz. Cellists who qualified were sophomores Aimee Deng and Selena Li. Pianists who qualified were junior Melissa Yang and sophomore Shiva Saravanan. Seniors Vi Burgess and Dana Choe qualified as an ensemble and juniors Jennifer Zhan, Sueji Han, Melissa Yang, Peter Hong and sophomore Shiva Saravanan qualified as a quintet.

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friday, feb. 10, 2017

Teachers and students speak out about domestic abuse in parent, romantic relationships “abuse” cont. from page 1 However, her perception of abuse changed once she began to understand the complex emotions of experiencing maltreatment by a loved one.

“When it’s a family member or someone who you should very much obviously care about, it’s difficult to realize,” Johnson said. “If you put a frog in boiling water, it’s going to jump out because it’s hot. But if you put a frog in water and you slowly turn up the temperature, it slowly boils itself to death. And it’s the same thing for me.”

Like Johnson, English I and English I Pre-AP teacher teacher Becky Slovak recognizes the difficulty of identifying abuse. “[My ex-husband and I] met in college. In the beginning, it was a normal relationship,” Slovak said. “I didn’t see anything that led me to believe that anything would change.”

With time, she began to notice that he became more controlling.

“If I wanted to do something, he’d find some reason that I shouldn’t go do that,” Slovak said. “At first, I found it flattering that he’d want to spend that much time with me and be that much a part of my life.

It took a long time for me to realize that it was more than being interested in me.”

When Slovak’s ex-husband physically abused Slovak for the first time, she was already invested in the relationship.

“This was someone I had cared about.

I remember telling him right then, If you ever lay a hand on me like that again, it’ll be the last you’ll see of me,’” Slovak said. “But at the same time, that sounds all strong and everything, but I wasn’t.”

Once they married and moved in together, Slovak and her ex-husband immediately began experiencing further tensions in their relationship.

“We had an argument, and for the first time, he used a fist on me rather than an open palm. He reached out and hit me, and my eye immediately started swelling up,” Slovak said. “No one in my life had ever hit me like that. It wasn’t just the physical pain; it was the fact that this man who had sworn he loved me upside and down would do this to me.”

Slovak’s neighbors who lived in the other side of the duplex heard her crying and came to investigate.

“I heard the wife say, ‘We heard crying.

Is everything okay? Is anyone hurt?’ And my husband was at the door, and goes, ‘No, no, no,’” Slovak said. “I saw her look at me,

and she knew immediately what was going he put his hands in [my] face and I told on. And they went back to their duplex and him, ‘Do not touch me,’” Schmidt said. they never talked to me again, ever. They “Then he pushed me really hard against the didn’t call police, they didn’t do anything. wall, and I kept pushing off of him. He had They just walked away from it.” his hands around my neck. And he’d hit me Slovak began to question herself and every time I’d say something, and I tried to wonder if she deserved the abuse. push him off—I ended up scratching him.”

“It took me a really long time to underFollowing the incident, Schmidt’s stand that none of those things matter,” Slo- mother called the police and Schmidt’s favak said. “No matter what I may have done, ther went to jail that night, but was released and I’m sure I did things to make him an- in the morning. Schmidt herself faced progry, just like we all do with people we love, bation and community service; the abuse but that it shouldn’t matter. [It] shouldn’t began to severely damage Schmidt psychochange the kind of relationship you have logically. with them.”

“I guess I’ve always had anger towards Junior Michelle Schmidt*, who was him because I’d see other girls and their abused by her father, knows that victim dads and how they’d be with them and it blaming can originate from other people. wasn’t the same, until I hit puberty, and “It wasn’t then [it] just my father who got kind of told me—it was harder, because my mom who I just didn’t told me to not think about it,” tell anybody Schmidt said. because they “And then later would never on, I got dibelieve me,” agnosed with Schmidt said. bipolar [disor“[My mom der] and all this told me that] depression and they’d take me all this was at its En away in Child worst. I was just Protective Serkind of down.” vices and they In addition wouldn’t love to mental disbecky slovak me like [my orders, Schmidt family] would. developed trust They said I’d issues. get put back [in “I keep to jail] if I told somebody, so I just kept it to myself, I don’t talk to a lot of people; I don’t myself.” have a lot of friends here—all my friends Schmidt didn’t meet her father until go to CSHS,” Schmidt said. “I’m not really he was released from prison when she was close to any of [my teammates]; they don’t four; she doesn’t acknowledge him as a fa- know what’s happening. I guess it kind of ther-figure. However, the abuse did not be- made it easier to be by myself, because I gin until she was eight and continued until ended up rampaging.” he moved out last May. Johnson has also refrained from telling “About two days after freshman year most people about the abuse because she started, I just came from my friend’s house didn’t want anyone’s pity. to drop off a [hair] straightener, and I came “It wasn’t until senior year that I beback and [my parents] just got angry. I told came more comfortable with [what hapthem where I was at and they didn’t believe pened] and more open about it,” Johnme,” Schmidt said. “I stayed in my room son said. “But at the same time, there are and I was really angry and I would scream some people who know me really well and into my pillow.” don’t know. When I wrote my college esThe situation escalated when Schmidt’s say about it, I literally let three people read parents came into her room to try to “get it. And even then, I was afraid to, because the real truth.”

I thought people wouldn’t like me because “I stood up and I talked to them, and of my dad. It’s made me less open to more my dad was getting closer and closer and people and more difficult to trust [others].”

“No matter what I may have done, and I’m sure I did things to make him angry, just like we all do with people we love, but that it shouldn’t matter.” glish I and English I Pre-AP teacher

Those feelings of distrust are often a result of watching mothers be subject to the same abuse; Johnson’s mother is suicidal because of it.

“One time, after a really bad argument, she was putting up the dishes and there was a huge knife where you cut meat. I swear if I wasn’t sitting there that day it might have happened,” Johnson said. “After every argument that my parents have had, there’s a huge fear that she [wouldn’t] pick me up today because she can’t.”

Like Johnson, Schmidt witnessed her mother being abused; this has convoluted their relationship.

“My mom, she was there, she’s seen it, she didn’t stop [the abuse]. But when I was younger, the abuse wasn’t on me, it was on her, and I did my best to stop it,” Schmidt said. “When I was ten, my mom was pregnant with my sister, and this was her baby shower; my dad came by and he was drunk.

And all I remember was he had her [by the] throat on the bed, just yelling at her, and I had to really push him off her. I guess she was too afraid to stop [him]. It felt like sometimes I deserved it.”

Slovak wants victims of abuse to know that the abuse isn’t their fault.

“Don’t think you can change [them].

Don’t think things will get better. Don’t think it will be different next time,” Slovak said. “It’s not going to change, and if the cycle has started without some kind of intervention, it is very difficult for the perpetrator to control that level of rage. And if [they have] that level of of anger issues, nothing [you] say or do is going to change that.”

Slovak also wants victims to realize that there are people who are more than willing to help.

“I had a job working on campus and my husband came and tried to ‘talk’ to me, and he was screaming. And I’ll never forget, a guy I worked with at the time came up and just stood right behind my right side and stared my husband down till he left,” Slovak said. “He gave me, in just those few seconds, such a sense of security. Just knowing that someone was willing to go that far for me was the most amazing feeling, that people care. It was the first time I really realized that.”

If you’re experiencing abuse, call 1-800799-7233, The National Domestic Violence Hotline. *Names were changed to protect student’s privacy.

4 | news | the roar

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Administrators reflect on TEA rankings, share concerns over assessment’s accuracy josh weimer online editor Despite Consol receiving a grade of D on the A-F accountability system recently released by the Texas Education Agency, CSISD administrators insist that the quality of the students’ education is still excellent.

“Two thirds of the factors that influence those scores are outside the school’s control, like a student’s socioeconomic status,” principal Gwen Elder said.

“The effects of poverty definitely have a negative effect on these standardized testing scores. So anything that’s closely related with poverty can run the risk of punishing poor communities for being poor, and not having adequate resources that other communities have.”

These ratings, presented as a “what if ” rating, foreshadow a possible system that could be used by the TEA next year. The system covers aspects of a school such as their ability to close performance gaps and standardized test performance.

Consol specifically received poor ratings in “post-secondary readiness,” or the school’s ability to prepare students for education beyond high school.

“When you’re looking at post-secondary readiness, you usually look at SAT scores, ACT scores, or AP scores and I think we had about 155 AP scholars last year,” Elder said. “They don’t take

any of that into consideration.”

Elder also feels that the lack of individuality involved in the rankings has caused some positive programs to reflect negatively on the school.

“If a kid was at risk of dropping out, instead of us just letting the student drop out, we work with our students and say ‘if all else fails, and you don’t want to take that fourth year of science, or whatever the reason may be, let’s see if we can look into other alternatives and have the student go to the minimum route,’ [Between] a drop out or a minimum [plan]--which would you prefer?” Elder said. “We were dinged because our recommended dropouts weren’t where the state thought it should be. But we look at each child as an individual, and I know they’re just looking at numbers.”

Superintendent Clark Ealy also feels that these ratings are dangerous to the quality of a student’s education.

“I can tell you there are smart kids, average kids, and kids who struggle in every school in Texas.

So if we were to say one school who has all of those kids gets labeled a “D,” the real danger is that people in that community and people in that district or the kids on campus begin to feel like every kid in that school is a D student,” Ealy said. “And [then] every change you make in that school is to affect those D students, so those D students will become C students. It takes all of the vari-

Domain I

ability out of it. What happens to those high flyers? What about the average students? If you’re doing everything and treating everybody like they’re a D student, it’s unfair to all of those other students.”

In response, Ealy and several other districts are working to create a resolution to abolish this system, and replace it with customizable, community based systems.

“That accountability system should include some reading, math, and other student performance indicators, but this system should also be indexed with things in the community that are important,” Ealy said. “College Station’s community-based accountability system should look a little different than Bryan’s or Navasota’s or Caldwell’s because we all have different communities and different expectations.”

Both Ealy and Elder plan on prioritizing the needs of students, not conforming to get better ratings.

“There are 1,030 school districts and about 8,000 public schools in Texas. I can tell you, there’s something good going on in all of those schools,” Ealy said.

“The schools need to be able to tell the stories about the great things that are happening inside those schools, and not having to counter or respond to being labeled a C, D or an F.”

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friday, feb. 10, 2017

COMMON THREADS

Local store offers free clothing for disadvantaged students maya girimaji & becca keefer | section editor & staff reporter To meet the needs of students and staff in CSISD, diChrissy’s Closet is open every Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. rector of Instruction Kelly Kovacs and instructional tech- The volunteer staff is a rotating cast of CSISD administranology coordinator Shannon Long introduced Chrissy’s tors, faculty and staff.

Closet — a free store for people in the district to receive But one member of the team has remained constant. gently used and new clothing, underwear, socks, shoes and Director of Student Services Chrissy Hester, the namesake toiletries on a monthly basis at no cost. for Chrissy’s Closet, works alongside Long, Kovacs and the Chrissy’s Closet opened in October of 2016 at College other volunteers every time the store is open.

View High School off of Timber Street.

“I had absolutely no idea [about the closet being named “We were sitting in a meeting one day and I had read after me] and I was surprised and taken aback,” Hester said. about another district who had something similar [to “It’s just an incredible honor to work with these families.”

Chrissy’s Closet],” Kovacs said. “I leaned over [to Long] In her 38 years working in CSISD, Hester has served as a and said ‘Do you counselor and printhink that we could cipal before her job do something like as the director. this for CSISD be“She truly emcause we know that bodies giving back we have a group of to people and we students and their just felt like it was families who could just a perfect fit,” really use this help?’

Long said. “A lot of director of instruction And she was like times when people kelly kovacs ‘Yeah. Let’s try it.’” leave or pass away, Kovacs and Long we always honor had noticed that the them but what a donation bins at all great way to do it of the schools were filled with items that the district could when she’s still here doing the work with us.” not access easily.

The store also prioritizes a genuine shopping experi“[College View] had space. It’s also ence. Instead of discarding clothes on tables, the closet has sort of centrally located. If you look at mannequins, a chandelier, and a check out line. With 15 the map of CSISD, it really is in the cen- fulls racks of clothes from prom dresses to coats to Aggie ter of town,” Kovacs said. “We felt it was gear, the store has something for kids, teens and adults. a convenient location for people in the Chrissy’s Closet aims to give all students and staff equal district and town.” opportunities to access necessities like everyone else.

After that meeting, Kovacs and Long “We know that not everyone has a background where pitched the idea to CSISD superinten- their parents are able to provide for them the same way that dent Clark Ealy, who supported the other parents can provide for their kids,” Kovacs said. “So idea. From there, the CSISD Education a major goal of ours is to make sure that no child has to go pick the pottery piece, paint it, and Foundation became the parent organi- to school without a coat or shoes that fit that would distract WE DO THE REST zation. from the learning.”

“The Foundation is thrilled to be a Because of this goal, Kovacs and Long have both seen Have a fired keepsake in 6 days! part of this. I just love the fact that it the impact the closet has had on everybody who has visBRING IN THIS COUPON FOR gives our community an opportunity to ited. For Kovacs, the best part of this job is seeing the joy come together and serve and help oth- on their faces. $2 OFF STUDIO FEE ers,” executive director of the CSISD Ed“At least 350 people have come,” Long said. “We’re very 900 HARVEY ROAD • 695-1500 • UPAINTIT.COM ucation Foundation Teresa Benden said. thankful that we have people who come in and shop for mugs • dishes • frames • banks • boxes • figurines • seasonal items • crosses “It’s been an all around great program.” their families and for themselves.”

“We know that not everyone has a background where their parents are able to provide for them the same way that other parents can provide for their kids.”

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6 | opinions | the roar

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Embracing family spurs self-development

viewpoint:

I kant even.

olivia conway staff reporter

Newfound perception of philosophy fuels recognition of discipline’s universality As a child, I was more familiar with learn, discuss, meet new people, and I saw the names of French and German phi- philosophy in a new light. losophers than the pop culture of the Before, philosophy to me involved mid-2000s. I had never watched “Hannah sitting quietly at dinner while my parents Montana,” but I knew who my parents’ fa- debated the ideas of people who were long vorite philosophers were. Not to say I un- dead in language that sounded foreign to derstood the works of Levinas, Nietzsche, my young ears, or descriptions of old men Heidegger, or Beauvoir, but I could at least in Athens from my school books. Both recognize their names among the many gave the impression that philosophy was books that populated my parents’ shelves. ancient (which it is) and no longer relGrowing up with two college phi- evant to modern life (far from the truth). losophy professors for parents had never Through philosophy camp I learned that seemed that special or beneficial to me as a philosophy is a discipline that evolves and child. I remember feeling jealousy towards changes alongside humankind, and one my friends whose parents were math teach- that can be applied to almost every aspect ers because I often needed help with my of human existence. I realized that philosohomework, and philosophy didn’t help me phy is more than just studying how people understand fractions. I didn’t truly under- think. Philosophy is studying the ways in stand what my parents did; I just knew that which people interact with each other and a seemingly simple view themselves as question could turn individuals within a into a lecture about society. It’s discussing the nature of the the shortcomings of universe and maneducation and govkind and my parents ernment, but also the studied people whose ways in which they names I couldn’t procan be improved. nounce, (and honestPhilosophy is the art ly still can’t.) When of asking questions asked by my peers and being okay when staff reporter about my parents’ those questions don’t olivia conway jobs, I would resort necessarily lead to an to my go-to-answer answer. I questioned of “they study how other people think.” the ideals of beauty, what we as humans (Partly true but not even close to the full consider art, and briefly, my own existence. scope of philosophy.)

For me, learning and appreciating It was not until the summer after my philosophy was like breaking the chains freshman year of high school that I began in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and seeto scratch the surface of understanding ing sunshine for the first time when before philosophy. My parents created a week- there had been only shadows. Understandlong camp for pre-college kids to learn phi- ing philosophy also brought me closer to losophy and philosophic thinking that I at- my parents because I was finally able to retended, mostly out of a sense of obligation. alize the importance of what they studied I’d like to think that I would have chosen and taught to others. It became a part of me on my own to learn philosophy, but hon- and changed the way I think about probestly, I probably would have rolled my eyes lems or questions, and as René Descartes at the idea of a week devoted to a subject famously said, “I think, therefore I am.”

I experienced every day. Philosophy camp Olivia is a staff reporter at The Roar. turned out to be one of the most beneficial Want to discuss philosophy? Contact her at things I have ever done, though. I got to the.roar.conway@gmail.com.

“Philosophy is the art of asking questions and being okay when those questions don’t necessarily lead to an answer.”

“Emily, please pick your brother up pick my siblings up from school so I don’t from school today.” “Emily, just get along have to, and I will never have a dad who with your sister and your brother, okay? can always put what he wants to do ahead They’re younger than you, and I need of what he has to do. But, what my selfyou to set a good example.” “Em, I really pitying, overly-self-conscious, and anxneed your help right now. Your dad is ious self finally came to realize was, it’s away, and I need someone’s help.” What okay. It’s okay to not be like my friends. my overworked parents never quite re- It’s okay to have two siblings with whom alized was that, in their effort to grant I don’t always get along; it just means I themselves at least a few hours of peace of have the opportunity to master the art of mind, they were also inadvertently teach- compromise. It’s okay to have a mom who ing me one of the most undervalued and works all the time (sometimes even too uncommon traits among my generation: much); it just means she will always put responsibility. But, I thought at the time, me before herself and do whatever she I never asked for this. I never wanted this can to help me succeed. It’s okay to have a responsibility. Being the oldest sibling in father who has to put the job first; it just a family of five means you’re stuck in the means I can learn to be the most responmiddle between kid and parent, with a sible and dependable oldest sibling I can great deal to learn. be when he’s absent.

I used to be ashamed of my famI have mastered and I have learned, ily. Not ashamed of who we were, per se, and I have been put first and supported. but of how we Of course, this looked to evdoesn’t mean I eryone else. Or, think my friends’ at least, how families are I thought we somehow worse looked. Back than mine, just then, all of my different. I now friends seemed accept that difto have the perferent is okay—in fect family: a fact, I appreciate father who was and value our difalways around, ferences. I know staff reporter a mother who now that to be didn’t really ashamed of my emily caldwell need to work, family means to and one, just be ashamed of one, sibling with whom they magically who I am. I am proud of all of the lessons seemed to always get along. I still re- my family has taught me and how they member how I used to feel after coming have influenced me. I am thankful for the home from one of their houses; I’d climb person they have shaped me into, whethup my front steps, each one seeming to er they meant to shape me that way or somehow remind me of all the things my not. Despite being a loud, sometimes obparents wanted me to do instead of go out noxious, but definitely always fun-loving that night, and each one slapping me in group of people, my family has given me the face with the reality that I don’t and the opportunity to grow, and I wouldn’t will never have the life some of my friends trade them for the world. have. I will never have just one sibling Emily is a staff reporter at The Roar. with whom I will always get along, I will Want to talk family? Contact her at the.roar. never have a stay-at-home mom who can caldwell@gmail.com.

“I know now that to be ashamed of my family means to be ashamed of who I am. I am proud of all the lessons my family has taught me and how they have influenced me.”

viewpoint:

emily caldwell staff reporter

my sister’s keeper

the roar | opinions | 7

yest e

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is ov er.

friday, feb. 10, 2017

ILLUSTRATION BY JUNE JEONG

Self-reflection leads to acceptance of present

june jeong opinions editor It’s 2 a.m. on a school night and I’m lying wide-awake—unable to sleep because I’m wrought with embarrassment.

This happens to me occasionally when I’m in my most vulnerable state, after a particularly stressful day at school, or following a heated argument with a friend or my parents. I begin to obsessively selfreflect and can’t stop this negative line of thinking, remembering a flood of stupid decisions I’ve made in my life. Once it starts, I’m suddenly overwhelmed with an intense mortification. What I remember varies in seriousness, ranging from mildly cringey details like how I used to dress, to the garbage I posted on social media, failing tests that were really easy, or distinct embarrassing remarks I made. And to be fair, I know no one cares about such trivial aspects of who I once was or bad, immature choices I’ve made, nor do they really remember; except I do.

But I also recall things that are more complex and serious: every decision I made as a lost and cynical fourteen year old, and how much I hated myself for the cliché (emo teen) that I knew I was at the time. I went down a path of self-destruction, and my emotional state was so poor that my grades suffered, which my teachers attributed to a poor work ethic, my physical health deteriorated, and I withdrew from my friends and parents.

To be fair, all of that is in the past, and it doesn’t define who I am now in the slightest. Whenever I run into people I haven’t talked to since middle school or freshman year, they’re usually struck by my stark difference in demeanor. “You seem so much happier—you don’t even seem like the same person,” they say, which definitely holds true. But I’m not without self-doubts now; if anything, I’ve grown hyper-aware of them. In my mind, I’m impatient, obnoxious, stubborn, impulsive, disingenuous, selfish. I cry and get upset

easily, hold grudges, micro-manage, and expect people to think the same way I do (and get frustrated when they don’t). Even qualities that I try so hard to maintain— being non-judgmental and empathetic—I often find myself failing at, and I can’t begin to express how painfully aware I am of that and how much I mentally punish myself for these identifiable shortcomings.

In some sense, I see myself in Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, in that I was ashamed of what I’ve been through, of what I’ve done, and in many ways, of the person that I am. When I talk to my parents and friends about this, they ask me why I think this way. The answer is never logical; it’s always a fragmented explanation of the heightened fears that stem from an awful point in my life. But I’ve recognized that I can’t continue to hold myself to this impossible standard, hating the very essence of who I am just because of my faults.

Those waves of intense self-examination rarely return now because I’ve learned how to combat them, reminding myself that the past is in the past and that I’m only human. It’s natural that I’m going to be embarrassed by how I was—just as my future self will feel about who I was as a high school senior. And after all, it’s only in releasing shame about the past that we’re able to exist freely in the present.

Acknowledging previously mistaken behavior is always the first step to growing as a person. And growth doesn’t happen overnight: it’s a painful, uncomfortable process. But it’s also incredibly rewarding.

I’m happier now with my life than I’ve ever been. I feel ready to guide friends who face similar circumstances, and truly blessed to have such loving, supportive adults and friends surrounding me. And I’m excited to see what the future holds as I embark on this next chapter of my life.

So here’s my admission: for a good two years of my life, I spent an excessive amount of time feeling miserable.

I sometimes still fear the disapproval of those who aren’t a central part of my life, but I work every day to move beyond it.

I choose to validate my own experience— who I once was, who I am now, and who I will be. That, I believe, is the deepest, most necessary expression of self-love and inner-strength. And we all deserve it.

ARTWORK

BYJUNE JEON

G

8 | viewpoints | the roar

the roar’s consensus When our reporters attempted to talk to district health employees about birth control for an article (see pages 10 & 11), we were promptly turned down every time with a simple phrase: “I can only talk about abstinence.”

This is an enormous disservice to the students on the part of the CSISD Board of Trustees. The Board should require more comprehensive reproductive education in middle and high schools.

In 1995, Texas enacted a requirement for public schools to teach abstinence and emphasize it over all other methods of contraception.

However, the state left it to the discretion of each district’s Board of Trustees to decide whether to provide additional information to that mandate; CSISD does not teach anything except abstinence.

This lack of education is nonsensical in quite a few ways.

First, birth control is quite commonly used for medical illnesses, not as contraception. Students should be able to solicit information from accessible medical professionals about medicine that could possibly help them manage irregular periods, ovarian cysts and endometriosis, among other conditions. Secondly, students are not taught about STDs; two in five sexually active teenage girls have STDs that could cause infertility or death, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, abstinence is largely disregarded by a majority of teenagers in the United States. Statistically, half of American teenagers have had intercourse by age seventeen (to illustrate, if Consol’s senior class were assembled, over 200 would be or have been sexually active). This abstinence-only policy clearly does not serve the needs of students, who, despite years of abstinence education, are still sexually active. All students, regardless of sexual activity, should be informed about the benefits and drawbacks of different methods of birth control.

As we, the student body, reach the age of informed consent, we should be knowledgeable. And while parents should be able to reserve the right to pull their children from reproductive education, said information should not be withheld from those who request it.

The CSISD Board of Trustees should provide reproductive education in the middle and high schools so that it encompasses significantly more information and better serves the needs of students.

friday, feb. 10 2017

SHOULD CSISD TALK ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL? Birth control is the act of preventing pregnancy. It comes in many forms, from the pill to the IUD. It also serves many purposes, such as restricting heavy period cramps, treating endometriosis and ovarian cysts, and alleviating cystic acne and period cramps. Legally, public schools in Texas are only required to teach abstinence.

“I think it’s important to inform us on [birth control] because there are students that may need to know more information about that, and it’s not something they can get at home so they need to find out through school. I did not know that nurses could not give that information.” junior catya martinez-gloria

“It’s kind of a tough position for the school because they need to expand other programs, but they should also recognize that there are students here that are not following abstinence. And so that should be recognized and talked about. I think it’s tough either way. ” junior daniel ramirez

The Roar 2016-2017 Staff Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Executive Editor Senior Editor Online Editor Opinions Editor Section Editors Staff Reporters

Faculty Adviser Assistant Adviser

Vi Burgess Haley Mitchell Rachel Lamb Jennifer Zhan Josh Weimer June Jeong Yanichka Ariunbold Maya Girimaji Drew Howerton Katerina Kountakis Emily Caldwell Olivia Conway Sam de Figueiredo Sueji Han Becca Keefer Michael Williams Chauncey Lindner

The Roar Editorial Board Vi Burgess • Haley Mitchell • June Jeong

The Roar is produced by the Advanced Journalism class at A&M Consolidated High School, 1801 Harvey Mitchell Parkway S., College Station, Texas, 77840. The opinions expressed are those of the writers and are not reflective of the administrators, faculty or staff of the College Station Independent School District.

Submissions to the editors are welcomed but must be signed and should not exceed 300 words. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions in the interest of clarity and length or to not print a letter at all. Letters containing obscene or libelous material will not be considered. The Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief, managing editor and opinions editor.

The Roar is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC), the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). The Roar is a winner of the CSPA Gold Crown, the 1997, 1998, 2000-2016 ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit, the CSPA Gold Medal Award, the NSPA All-American distinction and 2005, 2014,2016 ILPC Bronze Star and 2007-2013 and 2015 Silver Star.

College Station Independent School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex or handicap in providing education services. Monica Jones, Director of Human Resources, 1812 Welsh, College Station, Texas 77840 (979-764-5412) has been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements of Title IX. Molley Perry, Executive Director of Special Services, 1812 Welsh, Suite 120, College Station, Texas 77840 (979-764-5433) has been designated to coordinate compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

friday, feb. 10, 2017

fin-tastic

the roar | snapshots | 9

Students care for aquatic life, engage in hands-on learning rachel lamb I executive editor There’s something fishy happening in Room 1233.

“The point of aquatic science is basically to teach us all about aquatic life,” senior Grant Johnson said. “We learn how to maintain aquatic life, how to take care of your own tank if you have it, and to [gain] awareness of how important aquatic life is to us.”

The two large components of the aquatic science class are taking care of and learning about the different aquariums situated around the aquatic science classroom.

“You have to be responsible,” senior Chris Mancuso said. “If I’m not responsible and take care of the tank, then the fish will die.”

One of aquatic science teacher Chris Nolen’s main goals for the class is to teach the students a sense of responsibility about the world around them.

“I hope students learn a [good] work ethic,” Nolen said. “They have to take care of the fish in the tanks and gain an appreciation for animals.”

Nolen also hopes that students can take the skills they learn in aquatic science and use them outside of school.

“They could have their own tank at home, they could have their own little ecosystem if they want to,” Nolen said. “I would like to teach them a skill, so that in high school, or even when they get into college, they could actually go get a job, and perform well. I told them after they get out of this class, they should be able to get a job at either Petco or PetSmart and make some pretty decent money.”

There are twenty tanks in the aquatic science classrooms and groups of students take care of a different tank each six weeks.

“They have to do research on the tank and the fish.

What biomes do they live in? What regions of the world do they live? Are they compatible?” Nolen said. “By the time the year is over everyone in the class [will have] taken care of a saltwater tank, a fresh water tank and also a reptile tank, a turtle tank.”

The students learn about aquatic life around the world, the importance of the animals and the harm the aquatic animals can cause in their environments.

“Most of the fish we have are from the US, but some are from Africa,” Johnson said. “It’s pretty cool to learn about what different attributes each fish has because it’s kind of different from the fish in the US and fish out of Africa, so it’s different to see how each of them adapt to their environment.”

For students who have never had an aquarium before, the class offers an opportunity to maintain their own tank. “[Taking care of the tanks] is probably the hardest part,” Johnson said. “You have to make sure everything’s right in the tanks because if it isn’t then you’ve got to change out your filters to make sure the tanks are properly working.”

Mancuso values the hands-on nature of the class.

“It’s not just looking at a textbook and doing worksheets,” Mancuso said. “We actually get to see and do stuff.”

For one lab, the classes surveyed Bee Creek and tested for pollutants in the water.

“The students really enjoyed going outside seeing what nature has to offer,” Nolen said. “I think with aquatics you can teach them a lot of outdoors skills— recreational fishing, how to take care of the environment— and I don’t think a lot of classes that schools normally have allow students to be able to see that aspect of nature.”

above: Senior Tristan Chaney vaccums the water out of the red zebra cichlid fish tank.

above: Senior Allison Zamora shows the turtle she’s taking care of. below: Red zebra cichlids wait for food as they swim in the tank.

PHOTOS BY HALEY MITCHELL

10 | student

life | the roar

friday, feb.

Stigma surrounding oral con

vi burgess, haley mitchell & maya girimaji editor-in-chief, managing editor & section editor

Senior Emily Keith was completely out of commission during her period, missing at least a day of school until she started using oral contraception.

“My period is a lot lighter,” Keith said. “My period no longer interferes with my day. I can be on my period and actually do stuff.”

Staying home because of severe period side effects is not uncommon among females.

“I stayed home from school at least once every three months. It was mainly a lot of back pain and nausea,” junior Romina Lasagna said. “I would just be very weak because the nausea would make me not eat, and then you waste way more calories while on your period. I’d get sick afterwards because my immune system would be so bad.”

Lasagna uses birth control for her endometriosis, which is abnormal growth of the uterine lining outside of the uterus. She and Keith, like over a million American women, use birth control solely for medical purposes—not for contraception.

“There’s a strange idea that having birth control will lead to sex,” Keith said. “I wish people would know that it’s not just for sex. Yes, people do use it for sex and that’s great, but the big stigma around it is that it’s just for sex. Everybody knows where to get condoms and they talk about condoms, but birth control is just swept under the rug.”

Especially in the southern United States, there is a social stigma attached to any woman who takes birth control, regardless of the reason.

“At first, if any of [my friends] had negative reactions to it, I would always explain it to them. For a lot of my friends, I helped them understand that birth

KNOW THY

BIRTH CONTROL

THE PILL

BLOOD CLOTS

How well do you know the risks and benefits of the most popular type of birth control?

Boasting 99.9% effectiveness rate when used correctly, the pill is used by 16% of the female population in the US.

For some women, the estrogen in hormonal birth control increases risk of a blood clot in a leg or lung; however, overall risk of clotting is low.

a

the roar | student life| 11

. 10, 2017

ontraception under fire as students, medical professionals weigh benefits, drawbacks control isn’t only for sex,” Keith said. “I actually have friends who would like to take birth control for the same reasons that I do, but sadly, they feel very awkward about coming to their parents about it.”

shot that you have to get every three months. DepoProvera actually has some of the worst side effects and actually increases your likelihood of blood clots,” Manuel said. “For me, it also increased my weight gain and there [was] constant spotting.”

DOCTOR’S ORDERS While the side effects of her birth control were Dr. Jamie South of Brazos Valley Women’s Health difficult, according to Manuel, having her period was prescribes many young women oral contraception worse. simply as medication.

“The issue for me was [without my regular birth “One of the more common reasons we start control] I would get severely depressed on a level that younger girls on medication is to help with irregular was dangerous,” Manuel said. “I used to be overweight, periods,” South said. so I’ve got some seri“It’s helpful for painful ous body issues, and periods or heavy pe“I don’t think anyone should be a victim to their when I started to gain riods. Not everybody weight while I was on gets a regular monthly body and not have to miss out on anything in life the shot, it psychologiperiod until they’ve cally affected me going because their body is hurting them.” been having them for a back to the old ways of senior couple of years.” thinking. It was only For Keith, the side about a week, but duremily keith effects of hormonal ing that week it felt birth control were minilike nothing was worth mal. anything at all.”

“If I was feeling depressed or did have anxiety, South says that serious complications arising having [my] period and all of those awful symptoms from birth control use are rare. just adding on to it just made it worse, especially be“For people that have clotting disorders, certain cause my periods were irregular,” Keith said. “I don’t types of birth control, not all, can increase your risk of have to worry [now] if tomorrow I’m going to wake up blood clots,” South said. “There aren’t very many risks. at two in the morning and throw up.”

It depends on your past medical history and how your However, some women like senior Grace Manuel overall health is.” suffered the many potential side effects of hormonal Manuel, who initially used birth control for conbirth control. traception, has continued use for the various medical “I started with a Depo-Provera shot, which is a benefits, such as the prevention of ovarian cysts.

“If you’re doing it for medical reasons, you don’t have to be ashamed of being on birth control. There shouldn’t be a huge stigma around it. With enough research it can be a gift,” Manuel said. “Birth control is important for both the advancement of society and for securing the safety of women.”

Even advocates of abstinence as a form of birth control, like sophomore Grace Moore, see the benefits of birth control as a medicine.

“If you are using birth control to maintain a consistent period cycle, I think that is more than okay,” Moore said. “But if the prime reason you are using birth control is to not get pregnant, I would not suggest it.”

Former nurse practitioner Heidi Boas, who dealt with contraception over her decades at Baylor Scott & White clinic, said that most teenage girls love the medical benefits of birth control.

“Most girls who use it for medical reasons have a great benefit from using them,” Boas said. “You can actually take two packs in a row and have your period every eight weeks or six weeks, and those [are the] kind of things people who have bad cramps like.”

Keith, like multitudes of teenage girls, is happy with her decision.

“Birth control is amazing,” Keith said. “No matter how you’re using it or what you’re using it for, you get more control over your body. I don’t think anyone should be a victim to their body and not have to miss out on anything in life because their body is hurting them. [I think] birth control is just a wonderful way for people to get their lives back.”

CANCER

STDs

CYSTS

Combined oral contraceptives can actually reduce risk of ovarian cancer by 40% and endometrial cancer by 50%.

While oral contraception is meant to prevent pregnancy, it does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HPV, HIV, and herpes.

Birth control pills have been shown to get rid of or shrink ovarian cysts that have already formed. from WebMD

12 | feature | the roar

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Young marriage predicated by understanding of seriousness of life commitment sam de figueiredo & jennifer zhan staff reporter & senior editor After almost three years of dating, senior Mance Harmon felt that he was ready to propose.

“Through many of my relationships, I was kind of subconsciously worried that something bad would happen and it would just end,” Harmon said. “[When you’re married], you don’t really have to worry because you know that both of you have made a commitment to work together to fix anything that goes wrong. I thought it was long enough that we were both ready to make that lifelong commitment.”

Harmon and his wife got married in September and are currently in a long distance relationship.

“I lived in Austin [with my wife before we got married], and [my parents] told me to stop going out with her. I said no,” Harmon said. “They sent me to live with my aunt and uncle in Alabama, [and] then dragged me here to College Station. After three years of us still going out after all that, they gave up on stopping us.”

For seniors Cheyenne Cook and Wesley Warehime, who met their freshman year and began dating last year, there were fewer obstacles in their relationship.

“I asked her parents first. It was very scary,” Warehime said. “But as soon as I did, they were both excited.”

Currently, Warehime lives with Cook on her family’s farm, where he proposed last summer.

“Probably after the first four months of being together, I knew that she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” Warehime said. “We’re getting married in August of next year.”

The couple said that since getting engaged, many strangers have criticized their decision.

“Their opinions don’t affect us. It’s our relationship, not theirs,” Cook said.

here comes the

BRIDE

Still, both couples acknowledge that marriage should be taken very seriously.

“A lot of people who marry young end up getting divorced five or ten years later. In a relationship, people are generally looking for someone who makes them happy,” Harmon said. “And you don’t really want to look for someone who makes you happy so much as someone you can make happy.”

Harmon said he thinks part of the reason divorce rates are so high is because many young couples expect initial feelings of infatuation to last forever.

“It’s a different kind of love that you have to keep to stay in a relationship for long-term,” Harmon said. “[Before getting married, a couple] needs to evaluate

“Getting married is deciding that no matter what happens, I’m going to stay with you.” senior mance harmon

their relationship and see if they have that.”

Warehime and Cook agree that it’s important to plan ahead and have already discussed their future after graduating from high school. “[Cook] is going to online school and I’m going straight to work,” Warehime said. “We want to get a house on [Cook’s] land because her family is out there.”

Meanwhile, Harmon and his wife will move into an apartment together when they both attend Texas A&M University next fall. They have decided they don’t want to have children until at least five years after they both finish college.

“We want to get settled into good paying jobs and have the ability to take care of people that we need to before going into it,” Harmon said.

Although Warehime and Cook haven’t determined exactly when they want to have children, they said they consider eventually starting a family together to be an important part of marriage.

“We’ve already picked out names and talked about it and everything,” Cook said. “My parents know. We’ve definitely thought about it.”

The couple ultimately stresses that the most important thing is being certain that the marriage will bring long-term happiness.

“Don’t try and force [a relationship]. Make sure this is what you want,” Warehime said. “It’s not a day.

It’s forever.”

Because of this, the couples are prepared to work through any disagreements.

“We obviously don’t share the same opinions on everything in life, because we’re different people. We argue from time to time,” Harmon said. “But you have to put the other person over your own wants and needs.

For [a marriage] to really work, both people have to do that.”

Since getting engaged, Warehime and Cook said they have seen their relationship change for the better.

“It brought us closer,” Cook said. “[Now], if we get mad about something, we always talk it out.”

That unconditional commitment, Harmon believes, is the essence of marriage.

“Getting married is deciding that no matter what happens, I’m going to stay with you,” Harmon said.

“Whatever happens to either of us, I will stay loyal to you and help you through whatever glorious days or tragedies. Nothing can change that.”

the roar | feature | 13

friday, feb. 10, 2017

what’s in a name?

Distinctive names foster personal pride sueji han | staff reporter “Wait for it, wait for it, is it M--inge?” The substitute stumbles while calling junior Minh Luu’s name, and on cue, students around him snicker.

They anticipated the name to be pronounced wrong—just like it was the last time, the time before that, and the time before that.

Luu is one of several students whose unique names has attracted unwanted attention.

“In Vietnamese, the word ‘minh’ means light, clarity, something that’s bright, and represent[s] the future,” Luu said. “ I think that I’m kind, nice and I want try to be a bright person.”

Many nontraditional names reflect the different cultures that exist around the world.

“My last name comes from one of the dynasties in China that was passed down over generations,” freshman Tian Da Huang said. “My first name has the literal meaning of big sky.”

One small change in a name can make a big difference in the pronunciation of their name.

“Most people call me Minh making the ‘h’ silent,” Luu said. “People used to call me names like ‘mean’ or ‘ming’.”

For people depending on their pronunciation, some unique names can be harder than others.

“All of people don’t realize that the ‘gh’ is silent,” junior Darragh Farrell said. “So they will say something like ‘Darrig’ instead of ‘Darragh’.”

A name can help shape a person’s identity and offer an insight into what kind of person they may be. “ I think [my name] helps to describe how unique I am since it’s dif-

ferent.” sophomore Khyj Thomas said.

“I feel like I’m a smart and intelligent person.”

Especially in extracurriculars, people with unique names endure a lot of mispronunciation- and even blatantly wrong nicknames.

“There was a [day in] band when they thought my name was John,” Huang said. “For the entire rehearsal, they called me John.”

Even through many years of school, unique names are still mispronounced.

“In the past, I had a teacher [that mispronounced my name] and I never told him that he mispronounced my name,” Luu said. “The rest of the year, he never pronounced my name right until this year when I went back to his class and told him.”

For some, parents decide on names based on their siblings.

“I talked to my parents and they decided what sounded cool based off a list of names they had,” Huang said.

“They wanted one that was just like my brother [senior Tian Shu].”

Others view naming as more introspective. “ I think [naming] has to do with what you see and what you are gonna name like your child or pet,” Thomas said. “I think it’s more about how you feel about it, but I would probably give [them] a unique name.

However, Luu stresses that what is unique to Americans isn’t necessarily to the world.

“In Vietnam my name is common, and I would probably give a unique name to someone in the future,” Luu said. “When considering names, I wouldn’t consider the meaning behind the name as much.”

hi, my name is...

14 | feature | the roar

the princess and the clog

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Dancer practices unorthodox style, discovers independence through clogging haley mitchell & olivia conway managing editor & staff reporter Senior Kaylee Ramos was never satisfied with just being en pointe.

“I was in ballet when I was two, and I really didn’t like [it],” Ramos said. “I went to my first recital and I was sitting on my grandpa’s lap and when the cloggers came out, I was fascinated. So I quit ballet and tap that summer and I started clogging that next year and I’ve been doing it ever since. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

Ramos describes clogging as a mixture of Irish river dancing and tap dancing.

“People always ask if [clogging] is the dance with the wooden shoes,” Ramos said. “After I tell them that it’s not, they definitely don’t know what it is anymore. So I have to explain that it looks like tap dancing, but it’s a lot louder and the steps are more complicated and there’s an extra sound to them. To me, tap dancing steps just don’t sound complete.”

Through years of practice and dedication to dance, Ramos makes dancing a priority in her daily life.

“I was going to go on a cruise, but I would have missed dance,” Ramos said. “My family went without me. No excuses for me. Not even vacation.”

Ramos’ discipline does not go unnoticed.

“She practices all of her dances all of the time; she can still do her competition dance from the very first year, she can do them all,” Ramos’ coach Rebecca Thomas said. “I don’t

“This is who I am, this is what I’ve done my entire life.” senior kaylee ramos think anyone I’ve ever known through dance has had [Kaylee’s] passion for clogging.”

Thomas, who has instructed Ramos for the past six years, is an influential figure in Ramos’ life and personal development.

“I’ve watched her really grow into a strong, independent woman. It’s been really cool because I’ve gotten to watch her

grow up,” Thomas said. “I wanted nothing more than to at least help these girls use dance to get through anything in life that they come across.”

Ramos’ extensive involvement in dance has made her a leader on her clogging team, Wildfire Cloggers.

“This past year, I’ve had Kaylee actually come and start helping me teach my adult and beginner classes. She is very much a leader even to the little girls,” Thomas said. “I’ll have her sit in, hopefully training her for when I can’t come, she can come and do the classes.”

Ramos continues to make long-term plans in dance even after undergoing surgery for her severe knee problems.

“We stomp a lot and it messes up all of our knees, we all have knee problems,” Ramos said. “But it doesn’t stop me.

After my surgery, I was told to stop dancing, but I never did. I kept dancing anyway. My knee surgery was on a Thursday and I went to class that Sunday.”

Despite her injury, Ramos’ interest has grown over her sixteen years of involvement into pride in her sport.

“I used to not tell people what I did because they would just be like ‘that’s so weird’.” Ramos said. “But I’ve just embraced it. This is who I am, this is what I’ve done my entire life.”

the roar | feature | 15

friday, feb. 10 2017

SO FRESH, SO CLEAN

Custodians recount meaningful memories during work, passion for their jobs yanichka ariunbold section editor

PHOTO OF MARIA SALAZAR

BY YANICHKA ARIUNBOLD

A wrinkled piece of paper, meticulously scrawled over with black ink.

Two rows.

Twenty-seven names total.

This is Head Custodian John Tohkubbi’s Hello List: his secret to remembering the names of the countless people he makes sure to greet every chance he gets.

“For a while, I never used to be social and just keep to myself, and when I noticed people would say hi, I didn’t put much effort into that. But, over time, I started thinking, ‘That’s a connection you have with other people,’” Tohkubbi said. “So I developed a strategy—make a point of remembering the names of people I feel a connection to.

Not everybody you can connect to, not everybody is interested in saying hello to you, but the people who are, I write down in my Hello List.”

Senior Shelby Stratton, a regular member of the list, attests to Tohkubbi’s welcoming character. “[Tohkubbi] makes me feel like I’m going to have a great day,” Stratton said. “He always says hi to others, and he always remembers people, which makes them feel good about themselves. He just has that effect.”

Day-shift custodian Jerry Ayers has preferred to practice strict professionalism over the course of his eight-year time at Consol.

“I just try to stay busy and stay out of people’s way,” Ayers said. “It’s not an easy job—it’s a tough job, but at the same time someone’s gotta do it. Maybe there are some things that I don’t like to do, and there are some things I like to do, but at the same time it’s all part of my job.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that Ayers’ hard work goes unnoticed by the student body.

“Freshman year, [Ayers] would always come to our table and take our trash for us, and I thought was really sweet, so Valentine’s Day, I made him some cakeballs and a card for everyone to sign,” Stratton said. “I honestly think students like the custodians and value them, and I’ve never witnessed any prejudice that we’re better than them because they clean this building.”

Tohkubbi further emphasizes the sense of goodwill he finds among students.

“You know, you hear people say, ‘Aw, well, kids these days, they don’t listen,’” Tohkubbi said. “But that’s really very small—most students are happy and respectful. Overall, I’d say 98% of the students are doing what they need to, and I appreciate that.”

During his 9-year stint as the school’s Head Custodian, Tohkubbi’s most memorable moments have occurred during his time as a day-shift janitor.

“When I was doing basically what Jerry does—come in in the morning, open, and work lunch—anything was liable to happen. One time, for the senior prank, they put little rubber ducks in all of the toilets.

It wasn’t a mess, but I had to pick them out of the toilets,” Tohkubbi said, laughing. “It’s misbehaving and all that, but I get the humor of it. It was cute and funny, and I was able to get all the ducks before they clogged the pipes.”

For fellow night-shift custodian Maria Salazar, however, the “funniest things” happen at night—though these experiences could just as easily be called chilling by those less fearless.

“Three years into my time here, I was cleaning a room, and I was sure I heard someone crying in the nurse’s office. I was confused thinking, ‘Who’s there? Who’s crying?’ Then I looked back, and it was no one!” Salazar said, laughing. “Another time, we were walking down that hallway when we heard a man call out loudly, very loudly, so we left running! For me this has been very funny and amusing, but I’m definitely not afraid of these strange, inexplicable things.”

Although Salazar, a native Spanish speaker, wishes she could speak better English, the language barrier poses only a minimal setback in Consol’s friendly custodian community.

“I do feel bad about not having learned English. I mean, to work in a school and not have learned English? It’s very hard!”

Salazar said. “Thankfully, there’s always someone there to translate or interpret for me—and we get along very well because when one person is gone, we have to make up their work together.”

Note: Salazar’s interview was translated from Spanish.

16 | sports | the roar

relatio n

friday, feb. 10, 2017

ship

goals

Soccer coach’s devotion develops through unique bond with players, students drew howerton | section editor For varsity boys’ soccer coach Stefano Salerno, coaching is all about relationships.

“On the soccer field and in the classroom, everything comes down to building relationships,” Salerno said. “If you’re able to build relationships, most of the kids will listen to you” Junior and keeper John Ramirez believes that Salerno’s casual relationship with his players brings them together.

“The way he treats us, he brings us all close,” Ramirez said. “He’s not one of those cold distant coaches—he has fun with us, we have jokes.”

Salerno believes that the friendly atmosphere on the team encourages a deeper bond.

“The guys on the soccer team would give anything for their teammates, for all the coaches on the staff,” Salerno said. “It’s something that’s pretty amazing.”

As a teacher and coach, Salerno has plenty to do, working on both lesson plans for his English II Honors and on level classes and preparing for the next game.

“He’s running on two hours of sleep preparing set pieces for us, preparing things for games, preparing things for his class,” Ramirez said. “The man needs sleep.”

But Salerno reminds himself why he sacrifices things like sleep.

“There are days when you’re just really tired, but you have to be able to find the energy and be able to ask the question: Why am I doing this?” Salerno said. “And I’m doing it for the kids.”

When he coaches, Salerno believes it is important to encourage a team dynamic, stepping in only when necessary.

“There are times in the game when the kids need to feel your presence,” Salerno said. “When I notice that they need that, that they’re expecting that from me, it happens. But then there are other times where you need to let the kids do the talking.”

In order to do that, Salerno works to analyze the game with a calm mind.

“Rather than bombarding the kids with 25 different instructions, you give them three or four important things,” he said. “That’s how you win games in the end.”

Outside of practice, captain Kylan Lewis says that Salerno works to forge a bond with his team.

“On and off the field, he’s really dedicated to the sport,” Lewis said. “He always sits down with us and talks to us about our lives.”

And through dedication to relationship building, Lewis said that Salerno has taught him a lesson in commitment.

“He’s really dedicated to something and he shows it,” Lewis said. “He’s really true about it.”

While Salerno has taught his players, he believes he has learned just as much from them.

“I know what a lot of these kids have gone through in their lives,” he said. “They’ve given up so much to be able to play this sport and attend school as well. For a lot of us, we take a lot for granted and some of these kids, soccer is their life.”

Salerno has also been inspired by what he sees as a love of soccer.

“There’s such a huge love for the game, whatever nationality,” he said. “That’s incredible. I think it’s just a love of the game that motivates them.”

After the passing of his wife Kirsten, Salerno saw outpouring love and support from his students.

“One of my students from 2013 told me upon my return to school after Kirsten’s death that she will live through me,” Salerno said. “This is something that has stuck with me to this day. It’s amazing to me that so many students have come to my support and still come to my support four years after my loss.”

After the support he received, his wish was to give the same support to those he teaches.

“I will forever be in debt with my students and I hope that I can give back as much as I can to my students,” Salerno said. “It gives me peace to see others happy.”

Photo of Coach Salerno by Raymond Tjhia.

the roar | sports | 17

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Freshman varsity players, past and present, reflect on experiences on basketball team jennifer zhan | senior editor Four years ago, seniors Tre Flowers and Layton Dimery were used to the view from the sidelines.

“I didn’t think I was going to make [varsity as a freshman],” Dimery said. “When I got there, I just played my role as a bench player, contributing whatever I could off the bench.”

Dimery and Flowers were the only two in their class to make the boys varsity basketball team as freshmen. Since then, they have seen their roles expand dramatically.

“We went from coming off the bench and getting a couple minutes a game to pretty much playing the whole game, becoming key star players on the team,” Flowers said. “It was a big jump, but a good adjustment.”

The two have played basketball together since middle school, but said they don’t feel like competitors.

“We really help each other more than anything. If he knows he’s having an off game, he’ll try to give me the ball, if I’m having an off game, I try to give him the ball,” Flowers said. “We just complement each other’s game.”

Following in Dimery and Flowers’s footsteps, freshmen Bryce Smith and Nate Floyd were the only players in their grade to be placed on the varsity team this year.

“I knew about [them being on varsity since freshman year], but I didn’t think I was that good,” Smith said. “And then I ended up doing it, which was a big surprise, but pretty cool.”

Like Dimery and Flowers, Smith and Floyd have been

basketball teammates before.

“We’ve been playing basketball together since third grade, so we’re pretty close friends, Smith said, “[Floyd]’s almost like a brother to me.”

Boys basketball coach Thirman Dimery sees other similarities between the two pairs.

“Flowers is a really elusive kid on the court. He’s a real good vertical and just a natural open-court player,” Thirman Dimery said. “[Floyd]’s a lot like Flowers. His ball handling is great, and his court awareness of where the guys are on offense is above his age.”

Meanwhile, Layton Dimery and Smith have a different style.

“Layton [Dimery] is more of a team player, a quiet leader. He’s defensive-oriented and is one of those guys who does the small things in games,” Thirman Dimery said. “[Smith] would fall in that same category. Just like Layton [Dimery], he shoots the ball well. And he’s what we as coaches like to call a good coachable kid, real teamoriented.”

Thirman Dimery said the varsity program needs a variety of players.

“It depends on what we have returning [the next year], whether we need big guys, which we don’t have many of, or if we need shooters,” Thirman Dimery said. “We look at the pieces that we’re missing, and then we go down to the younger grades to find people that could fit into them.”

Layton Dimery and Flowers said they feel responsible for making the younger teammates feel comfortable de-

spite the age gap. “[When we were freshmen], the seniors welcomed us pretty [well], they joked around with us a lot,” Layton Dimery said. “When we saw [Floyd and Smith join], we tried to help them fit in because we knew how it was our freshman year.”

Currently, five seniors are on varsity, meaning that the composition of the varsity team next year will be very different. “[Smith] and I, we’ll need to step up, and also some of the sophomores,” Floyd said.

Thirman Dimery said that the commitment and drive to play both together and for each other is the team’s greatest strength.

“If [the players] do what we ask them to do, the winning and accolades—that stuff will take care of itself,” Thirman Dimery said. “The biggest thing we talk about is getting this team to become a team.”

Flowers said a lot of team bonding occurs outside of school practices, when teammates shoot together on the weekend, joke around at team dinners, and hang out at a player’s house before games.

“Once they get to know each other, know that their skill level is just as good, whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior—that’s when we talk about the closeness,” Thirman Dimery said. “That’s when everything just goes out and you just become a basketball player.”

double double PHOTO BY JENNIFER ZHAN

18 | review | the roar

IS THIS THE

REAL LIFE THE ROAR REVIEWS: VR HEADSETS jennifer zhan senior editor

drew howerton section editor

Our Tech classes recently got an HTC Vive virtual reality headset, and as someone who dislikes 3D movies because they give me headaches, I was really hesitant about trying virtual reality. But I was pleasantly surprised when I put on the bulky headset and felt immersed in the experience without being sick. I decided to play Fruit Ninja VR, a virtual reality version of the popular mobile phone game. I found my controllers replaced with two swords, and suddenly I got to live out my fantasy of being a ninja.

I was instantly hooked, slicing fruit and doing all sorts of really crazy contortions with my hands, almost hitting someone in one case.

As I was immersed in my game, slicing and dicing, I felt the cord of my headset tug on my head a little as I moved out of my limited circle of movement, and the immersion was broken. I was literally pulled out of the world I had gotten so invested in, which was my first tiny qualm with virtual reality. The only thing keeping you immersed is the screen right in front of your eyes; unless I had headphones plugged in and was completely alone, it was very hard to feel totally transported because I could still feel and hear people around me, and I felt a bit restricted by sizable bundle of wires that tethered me to the virtual world.

Another thing that I immediately noticed when I began playing was that the selection of games oriented towards virtual reality is very limited, with most of the games being little more than demos of technology that aren’t quite perfected yet. Before playing Fruit Ninja, I decided to play The Lab, which is a collection of minigames intended to display the capabilities of the Vive system. Specifically, I played a game in which I was to use my body help my ship dodge small bombs while I shot at other spaceships. This was entertaining for a bit, but I quickly got tired of contorting my body when I discovered that there was nothing else to do in this game, which was little more than a preview of things to come.

That seemed to be the theme of my brief experience with virtual reality: things to come. Not only is there a tiny library of games, but virtual reality isn’t particularly accessible either. Right now, the best virtual reality experience costs almost $1000, and requires a powerful high end computer in order to work properly, which not everyone has. This isn’t the fault of virtual reality, but the fault of a market that is still trying to find its footing as it sets new trends. Despite its drawbacks, virtual reality has the potential to change the way we experience movies, videogames and art. It’s very close, and that’s a start.

(Also, I’m still waiting on a Matrix themed virtual reality game).

Y TO B PHO JENN HAN

Z IFER

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I heard that we were going to get to try out Tech’s virtual reality headset. My mental picture of VR wasn’t much more than a pair of goggles with screens on the inside. It took me a lot longer than I expected to get the device on, because it needed to not only be strapped to my head, but also keep me tethered to a wire hanging from the ceiling. I have a pretty big head, so it kept slipping at first and I wasn’t directly in line with the lens, so I initially only saw a colorful blur. Once adjustments were made, the image from the VR headset filled my entire field of vision.

I wear glasses, but it felt like they weren’t there, like I had 20/20 vision.

I was given two remotes to hold and use to help me maneuver through the virtual world. It’s really strange hearing a disembodied voice tell you what buttons to press and where to walk, because even though you know that person’s right there in the same room in real life, they’re not in your screen, and it’s surprisingly hard to tell where exactly sound comes from when you can’t see the speaker.

Luckily, the controls are easy to pick up, so the weirdness of feeling like someone invisible is watching you was over pretty quick. It feels natural to just start walking around and

marvel at how everything changes real-time, not like a stretched, curved 360 Youtube video, but like reality.

Unfortunately, after accidentally almost choking myself with the wire hanging from the ceiling, I learned that it was better to use the remotes to point and click to areas you’d like to move to. That made it feel a little less real, but logistically, I think that was the best option for designers.

I played two simulations, one where I shot bows and arrows at people attacking my castle, and the other, a third person shooter where I was a spaceship defending myself from other spaceships and bombs.

The latter was very surreal because I felt like I was actually floating, since, as far as my brain could tell, I no longer had feet or a lower torso. The action felt real- my heart started pounding a bit as I ducked bombs, because it felt like they really were just flying at my face. When my turn with the headset was up, the guy who was helping me abruptly switched it off. As the screen went black he said, “And that’s what dying’s like.” It was a joke, but there was some truth in it.

For the first couple minutes back in reality, I felt really strange.

I think VR headsets could still stand to improve, but right now, the technology’s enough to make you believe that you really were in another world, just for a little while.

friday, feb. 10, 2017

friday, feb. 10, 2017

knitwits

the roar | review | 19

The Roar reviews America’s most underrated pasttime: knitting.

sam de figueiredo | staff reporter When I first searched “How to Knit” on Youtube I was under the impression that by the end of a short tutorial I would be able to knit myself a new winter wardrobe. Thirty seconds into a video, I realized that wouldn’t be the case. I tangled the yarn into a hopeless knot and stabbed my hand with the knitting needles countless times. I finally gave up after several unsuccessful attempts. All in all, I can see why knitting isn’t a popular teen pastime, as it is anticlimactic and disappointing.

haley mitchell | managing editor After a rough start, I was pretty much basketball’s equivalent of a baller at knitting. Once I sat myself down with the resolve to learn, I found myself absorbed in completing row after row of knit. This was pretty nifty after a while—I received some sideways looks and many requests for socks, but many people were interested in my newfound skill. One question I still can’t answer—”What are you making?” Uh... a rectangle? Some Pinterest boards are leading me to believe that to knit you actually need to follow a pattern, but I’m perfectly happy with my rectangle as is. Unfortunately, knitting can be just as frustrating as it is fulfilling. One lapse of concentration and I’d inadvertently drop a stitch, causing a noticeable hole to form as I advanced in the creation of my rectangle. By the end of the week, I had begun taking my knitting everywhere from waiting for my order in drive-thrus to keeping myself occupied during the longer scenes in Guys & Dolls. Though it may take me a while, I look forward to knitting my rectangle into a scarf for my Abuela.

olivia conway | staff reporter For some reason I thought knitting would be easy, but I was devastatingly wrong. Visions of sitting down to knit and walking away a few hours later with a knitted object of some sort quickly disappeared as I stared at the seemingly endless bundle of red yarn and the two plastic sticks with which I was supposed to create something of high quality. From the first step, which was literally just tying a slip-knot, I struggled. My woven masterpiece quickly dissolved into a tangled knot of yarn, better resembling a cat’s cradle game than the beginnings of a scarf.

At first, when only using one needle, I could see why some people thought knitting was relaxing; this all changed when I had to incorporate the second needle for another row of stitches. After multiple failed attempts, where I threw my knitting needles down in frustration and repeatedly dropped my yarn all over the floor, I managed to weave a second row of stitches. Of course, my stitches were far from the neat and pretty ones shown in the Youtube tutorial; mine were rough, tangled, and uneven. After unsuccessfully trying to start a third row of stitches I admitted defeat and surrendered my needles. I walked away from this experience full of disappointment but with a new respect for knitting.

NAL

20 | etcetera | the roar

all by myself

friday, feb. 10, 2017

Participation in classes dominated by opposite gender provides students new outlook of being the only female in his class. “ It was something I was thoughtful of. I would do more things that would be more mindful in presenting the material and how you say things to make Kelly feel Because she was the only female in a group with 7 comfortable,” Taylor said. “I try to promote the girl males, senior Kelly Krenek went on a dress-up Comput- stuff too. Just knowing she is a girl and just being comfortable with girl talk. I will girl talk with her all day.” er Technician field trip dressed as Snow White.

Media Tech teacher Shannon Jones also values the

“I didn’t know that the gender ratio in some of the CTE courses was as bad as it was,” Krenek said. “Af- significance of making females feel comfortable in a trater a month or so, you sort of stop noticing you are the ditionally male-dominated career field.

“I believe in relating the material to something only girl in the class because you get to know the other the girls may be interested in and not making all of the people and become friends with them.”

Krenek is one of a few students who stand out in assignments or topics things that only apply to men,” Jones said. “Make it gentheir classes not only for der neutral.” their talent, but for their Because Jones is an gender. alumni of Consol’s CTE Sophomore Samantha program, she has a great Cernuch is the only female understanding of what in her Ag Mechanics class. means it means to involve “It’s rough, befemales in CTE classes. cause they give you a hard junior Junior Mallorie Makuta, time,” Cernuch said. “I’ll be mallorie makuta a student in Audio Video welding or something, and Production, emphasizes they’ll come up behind me that although she is one of and bump me and try and the only females, she does not let it hold her back. mess me up. But it doesn’t bother me. I’m good.”

“I learned that if you try hard enough, it doesn’t Cernuch has often felt the pressure to work harder really matter if you are a girl or a boy,” Makuta said. than her male classmates.

“I feel like I have to speak up more,” Cernuch said. “You can make films almost better than anyone in the “I have to show them that I can do exactly what they can class if you put effort into it and actually learn from experience.” do, but better.”

Although Krenek, like Makuta, does admit it was However, it is not only females who feel the stress of being expected to do more. Sophomore Tanner Rich something she had to get used to, she stresses that being the only girl in a class full of boys is not synonymous is the only male in Color Guard.

“When I first joined, the girls were like, ‘what are with being alone.

“I can’t think of any time that the boys in the class you doing here,’ but now we all like each other,” Rich said. “I learned pretty quickly, so no one ever really weren’t welcoming,” Krenek said. “The guys are really respectful of personal space and just overall. I don’t feel doubted me.”

Teachers play an important role in making sure out of place.” all students feel welcomed. That being said, computer technician teacher Bart Taylor recognizes the difficulty

katerina kountakis & emily caldwell section editor & staff reporter

“I learned that if you try hard enough, it doesn’t really matter if you are a girl or a boy.”

GENDER DIVISION IN MAJORS

MALES | FEMALES MECHANICS & ELECTRONICS

98.7% 1.3% ENGINEERING

84.3% 15.7% CONSUMER SERVICES

8.9%

91.1%

NURSING/ NURSE ASSISTING

17.8% 82.2% BUSINESS SUPPORT & SECRETARIAL

23.3%

76.7%

source: Handbook for Achieving Gender Equity Through Education edited by Susan S. Klein, Barbara Richardson, Dolores A. Grayson, Lynn H. Fox, Cheris Kramarae, Diane S. Pollard, Carol Anne Dwyer