Vol. 23, Issue 6

THE ROAR NEWS

1801 HARVEY MITCHELL PKWY. S., COLLEGE STATION, TX 77840 | FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2018 | VOL. 23 NO. 6 | THEROARNEWS.COM

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Recent discussions of safety policies lead to re-evaluation of school security, student freedom olivia conway & allen zhang online editor & staff reporter

Alarms. Locked doors. Increased security personnel on campus. These are a few of the proposed changes to safety practices at Consol in response to the recent threats towards school safety that have prompted schools across the nation to fortify their

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security as a measure to protect their students. In the current era of unease and panic, school board member Carol Barrett is hesitant to disclose the full extent of the district’s safety decisions for the coming years.

“We have to be careful when we talk about safety because [we] don't want to give someone who's ‘the bad guy’ too much information,” Barrett said. “If

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[we] start telling people [our] weaknesses, [we've] just opened the door to them [to potentially cause harm].”

On the subject of doors, Consol’s will likely be much more difficult to open in the future, according to assistant principal Omar Espitia, who is a member of the safety committee responsible for updating the

“school safety” continued on page 3 sports pages 12-13

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UPCOMING

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MAY 19 Film Fest MAY 22 Senior Salute MAY 24 Senior Walk MAY 28 Memorial Day (No School) MAY 29 Finals, Periods 2nd, 5th, & 7th MAY 30 Finals, Periods 1st, 6th, & 3rd MAY 31 Finals, Periods 8th & 4th JUN. 1 Graduation

IN THE

NEWS friday, may 18, 2018

Bollywood club throws Consol’s first Holi color festival

Consol’s first annual Holi color festival, made possible by the Bollywood club, brought in over $300 dollars on April 20. The tickets sold for $5 each, and around 50-75 people attended. The club donated the proceeds to a charity devoted to ending hunger in South East Asia. Juniors Avha Mohanty and Noor Bains along with senior Maya Girimaji made the first Holi Fest possible.

Boys Soccer advances to fourth round of playoffs

The Consol varsity men’s soccer team advanced to the fourth round of state playoffs, making them the first team from Consol to do so in 16 years. The team suffered a loss in the fourth game of playoffs to Wisdom with a score of zero to two.

Senior captains Cade Williams, Eric Leland, and Darragh Farrell helped lead the team through the season.

Consol joins CSHS in cross-town music festival

On April 21, bands from College Station High School and Consol visited each campus to perform in the first Jungle Jam. Economics teacher Jason Pratt and CSHS AVP teacher Stephen Green worked together to extend Consol’s annual music festival, Consolapalooza, to include both schools of CSISD. Nineteen bands participated in the music festival, attracting around 80 concert-goers to each campus.

Seniors Ingrid Cuero, Catya Martinez, Hannah Turner, Johnny Avilez, Kaylee Mayfield, and Marie Monroe pose after a fun night at prom. PHOTO BY DREW HOWERTON

Student council holds Neverland-themed prom

Nearly 200 students attended Consol’s prom on April 28 at the Brazos County Expo Center. The event was put on by the junior class of Student Council, led by junior class president Ritika Annapareddy and student body vice president Ellie Garrett. The annual After-Prom Bash, organized by Consol PTO, awarded 16 $500 scholarships to seniors.

IT classes organize annual GameWars tournament

Consol’s IT classes held the GameWars video game tournament at the Brazos County Expo Center on May 4 and May 5. This year marked the first time that GameWars was held at the Expo Center as part of a partnership with the city.

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Junior Muhummad Sajid, senior Michael Fink and junior Emmanuel Preciado commentate a League of Legends game at AMCHS GameWars. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BART TAYLOR

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Proposed security increases address concerns, ensure safety of students, faculty “school safety” cont. from page 1

district’s policies regarding school safety. While the official decisions for the 2018-2019 school year have yet to be made, Espitia would not be surprised if the district chooses to add new reinforcements to school security.

“I would foresee anything from hardening the area so people can’t get in to possibly adding alarms to the exterior doors [and] additional cameras,” Espitia said. “Every single thing that we’ve talked about are things that will be good for the schools, [but] it may be gradual.”

Espitia considers external security to be one of the most important factors in improving school safety, especially since Consol has experienced difficulty in monitoring entrances and exits in the past.

“We actually have students who come on the campus who aren’t students here. We’ve caught people from Bryan or Navasota who are out of school,” Espitia said. “They show up on our campus sometimes and maybe they’re coming to inflict harm on someone they know or someone they don’t like.”

CURRENT POLICIES Although unpopular among students, many of the school policies such as the dress code and the requirement of wearing IDs were originally implemented for the sole purpose of school safety. For instance, the rule forbidding students from wearing hoods or hats is designed to allow the administrators to see students’ faces in order to better identify them.

Still, administrators are cautious to avoid crossing the line between ensuring student safety and preventing students from learning and interacting in a free and lenient environment. Barrett stressed that the main priority of the safety committee and the school board is to keep students safe without becoming oppressive.

“There’s a fine line between having that jail-like mentality where you feel like you’re locked in and being able to

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roam your school building safely,” Barrett said. “[We are] trying to have a balance between safety and allowing you to move across the campus, so I think the biggest thing is just for the students themselves to be involved [in discussions].”

Junior Amaya Mitchell thinks that the school has so far succeeded in their efforts to simultaneously preserve school safety and students’ freedom.

“I think [school is] pretty safe. I haven’t really encountered anything that would make me think otherwise,” Mitchell said. “The doors are always locked, [and] the students don’t really open the doors for anybody and you usually see adults with IDs.” SYSTEMATIC PROBLEMS While it is true that Consol has not had any major events that would

harmless action, like opening an outside door for someone, can put their safety and the safety of their peers at risk.

Opening a door for a friend, teacher, or peer can initially seem like a courtesy, but in opening the door, students risk allowing strangers of ill intent into the school building.

“We see it [opening doors] happen all the time especially with seniors arriving late and having off periods.

They’ll just stand at the doors and knock and people with let them in. The safety concern is [whether or not you are] an actual student at the school,” Zahn said.

“We don’t want people in here to cause fights, we’re worried about people who are sexual predators, we’re worried about school shootings.”

According to Zahn, whose sociology

“There’s a fine line between having that jail-like mentality where you feel like you’re locked in and being able to roam your school building safely.” school board member carol barrett

call school safety into question, social studies teacher Lindsay Zahn worries that students are ill prepared to handle a major safety breach.

“I think the drill that we do is ineffective in the sense that, [that’s] not how it’s going to happen,” Zahn said.

“Situational drills [would] be good [like] what if we’re all in the cafeteria, what then? We need to think about all situations.”

In addition, Zahn fears that students often fail to realize that a seemingly

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classes made a video to draw attention to the safety hazard of opening doors with abandon, every student interviewed for the video confessed to opening a door for someone in the past.

Apart from the risk surrounding the doors, administrators and teachers also see hall passes as a potential safety hazard. While passes are a good idea in theory for monitoring activity in the hallways, it becomes difficult for teachers to keep track of high volumes of students during periods like success.

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“I am not a big fan of the way success goes sometimes. I think a lot of students who are doing what they’re supposed to are getting a lot out of success time, [but some] students are using it as a way to get out of different areas and move around,” Espitia said. “They forge a pass or use an old pass so that’s where it becomes important that the teacher who’s receiving the pass and the one who‘s writing the pass really vet those that they’re giving passes to.”

Mitchell agrees that forging passes is becoming commonplace among Consol students, but concedes that the habit will most likely continue since students rarely experience severe repercussions.

“I know that sometimes kids take passes and fake signatures and so even if there is a signature, nobody knows if its real or fake,” Mitchell said. “They’re not going to stop doing it and I don’t think they will until something bad happens.”

For Zahn, students forging or taking passes presents an additional problem because she is responsible for knowing the whereabouts of her students at all time during her class periods, a feat made even more difficult when students do not follow set policies.

“I’m pretty strict on my success class, but I’ve had people walk out and disappear [and] I have no idea what’s going on,” Zahn said. “We’re not only legally responsible for you, but I would be devastated if one of my students got hurt.”

Ultimately, other administrators and teachers in the school share Zahn’s sentiments. The safety committee decides on policies out of a responsibility to protect students and teachers enforce those policies because they legitimately care for their students’ safety.

“We take [safety] seriously, that is the [primary] thing on our minds,” Espitia said. “I think you [can] try to train people to be ready to respond in the off chance that we have a problem.”

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friday, may 18, 2018

4 | news | the roar

Wealth distribution plan creates budget cuts, puts financial strain on local education drew howerton | senior executive editor College Station Independent School District is projected to pay close to $5 million in property tax revenue to the state of Texas by the end of August as part of the ‘recapture’ process by which the state attempts equalize school funding across the state.

Recapture is part of a 1993 school finance law passed by the state legislature known as the ‘Robin Hood Plan’. Under the plan, the wealth of a school district is measured by roughly how much property value the district has per student. Districts with high wealth, including CSISD, give the state a portion of their funds, which are generated by local property taxes, to be distributed to less wealthy districts.

CSISD falls into a wealth bracket that sets a maximum taxable value of $514,000 per student. According to district Chief Financial Officer Mike Martindale, CSISD’s property value is roughly $545,000 per student.

“Anything beyond that $514,000, the state takes that difference of value and captures whatever taxes we collect off of that property value,” he said. “This year we have about $545,000. They’re taking that difference of $31,000 of value and taking all of the taxes we capture off of it. We’re making payments of a little over $700,000 per month to the state.”

Martindale said that the state uses recapture as a revenue source instead of a way to level the playing field.

As local districts pay more in recapture revenue, the state uses recapture to fund schools and reduces how much it spends out of the general fund.

“They’re counting on [recapture] to make up their share. They’re taking our $5 million to put into the system, that frees $5 million that they would be responsible for,” he said. “They’re using that extra to supplement what they would be giving otherwise and using it in other areas of the general fund. Our recapture money is replacing what the state would otherwise put into education. They’re taking that difference and putting it somewhere else instead of funding at the same level they would otherwise.”

A Feb. 16 article by the Texas Tribune discussing school finance showed that in 2008 the state funded roughly 48.5 percent of education costs; by 2019, that funding will be closer to 38.5 percent. Property taxes have risen to make up the difference in state funding.

In 2008 state and local sources were contributing almost equally to public education; in 2017 the state contributed just over $19 billion, while local districts were spending upwards of $27 billion. According to the 2017-2018 CSISD budget, local property taxes are 88 percent of current revenue, while state funding only makes up 11 percent.

“As property values increase in our community, and as enrollment fluctuates, recapture payments will continue to increase,” Martindale said. “It has negative effects and has implications for our ability to add more teachers in areas where we have need.”

Already, early projections for the 2018-2019 school

year show a recapture payment close to $14 million.

Martindale said that this affects the district’s ability to grow because recapture payments cut into the budget for supplies and staff.

Under budget cuts, the ability to adequately add staff can become an issue, which means that class sizes will increase. Additionally, cuts limit supplies available to teachers.

“If we weren’t able to purchase certain chemicals or equipment because of budget reasons, that throws off the entire experience for the student,” biology and astronomy teacher Samuel Childers said. “[We’re] not able to do a lab to its effectiveness [or] demonstrate a concept which is very abstract without that demonstration.”

Budget constraints also put pressure on teachers emotionally and financially because salaries are often put on the chopping block.

“In education, there’s a high turnover. There are teachers coming into the district just as fast as others are going to different schools or just leaving the business entirely, and that has a lot to do with pay,” Childers said.

“This is an emotionally taxing profession. On a day-today basis, you’re dealing with students who all have different lives and you’re trying to accomodate them all. I can’t say money is going to solve that, but it’s one less to worry about.”

Though there have been significant efforts to fix the current school finance system and relieve pressure on school districts, most have not been successful. When the state legislature met in 2017, the Texas House passed a bill that would have increased state funding of public schools by $1.8 billion. However, the Senate passed a watered down version of the bill which stripped most of the funding. Physics teacher Michelle Jedlicka believes that

the state has not held up its end of the bargain.

“Our state has a constitutional responsibility to provide adequate public education.What they are doing is not supporting that,” she said. “We’re lucky [because] we’ve got other places where we can get creative, but there are a lot of districts across the state that are not as fortunate as us.”

The state’s total recapture revenue is projected to come out to just over $2 billion dollars.

School funding has been a battle for state lawmakers long before the Robin Hood Plan was instituted. Twice, once in 1987 and again in 1991, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the school finance system was unconstitutional. In 2016 the court ruled that while the current financial system is not unconstitutional, it is in need of reform. Until lawmakers can come to a consensus, school districts will continue paying recapture.

“It will begin to generate significant pressure on our budget. There’s nothing we can do about it. I have a line item in our budget for recapture next year for $14 million,” Martindale said. “That’s a $14 million cost that we don’t have that we could apply to more faculty and staff. It allows us to explore more programming for kids.

That’s $14 million that is just gone.”

For now, Childers said that teachers will continue to work with what they have.

“You can never find anything bad about additional funding for schools. We’re trying to do as much as we can with as least as we can and hope for the best. It’s only the future we’re dealing with. We’re only trying to educate the future generations of the world for the least amount of money possible,” he said. “That doesn’t make much sense to me.”

Local vs. state spending on K-12 education $28B

local spending

$26B $24B $22B $20B

state spending

$18B $16B $14B $12B

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

data retrieved from the Texas Legislativee Budget Board

2016

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friday, may 18, 2018

into the future Teenagers graduating early to acheive headstart in life tessa matthews & kara garza staff reporters

“So [I said] goodbye to my freetime, but I know in the future this’ll be really good for me.”

Although graduating early requires sacrifice, Thomas has found positive qualities throughout the process.

High school is different for everyone. Some “I’ve started trying to become more indepenpeople join clubs, play sports and some only dent so I can get a feel for real world situations, participate in required classes. For sophomore and the responsibility [I’ll face],” Thomas said. “ Reagan Johnson and junior Khyj Thomas, high Mostly [this experience has] made me see how fast school is 3 years instead of 4. everything is going by; which has made me want “Here in our office, we don’t question why to enjoy what’s going on now more.” [students choose to graduate early],” school After Thomas tore her ACL earlier in the counselor Paul Hord said. “We may have the year, her soccer career came to a halt. Thankfully discussion, but [we’re here to] try and help them the University of Lincoln Nebraska has offered to [graduate] as long as [their] parents are on board help her through her rehabilitation process so she with it. We do what we can to position students can get back on the field as soon as possible. to graduate “I [have [early] for the chance] whatever to get out reason they there and want to do strengthen so.” sophomore [my ACL]

more before REAGEN JOHNSON There my [freshare many man] class reasons why joins me at a Consol the universistudent may ty,” Thomas said. “So I’ll be ready to start working want to graduate early. Johnson, for example, is out and playing with my team.” going into the JAG Program, or Judge Advocate While Thomas begins her studies in college of Marines, after she graduates. The JAG program to earn her pharmacology degree, Johnson will be allows civilians who have already obtained their starting her senior year. law degree to practice law as a marine officer after “Being 16 as a senior with new people is undergoing military training. scary, but I feel like I can take on the challenge,” “I want to be a lawyer, but everyone in my Johnson said. “I can alway make new friends. family has been in the military,” Johnson said.

That’s just my personality.”

“I’ve always wanted to be able to do one or the Johnson understands that getting a jump start other. When I found out about the JAG program in her career will mean sacrificing more than time [I discovered that] essentially I get to do both. ” in her personal life.

Johnson will be eligible for graduation “[I will] be a little more immature [than evthrough a combination of night school classes and eryone else], but ultimately I think going into the substituting electives for other core classes. real world early will just help me to learn and be “I’ve had to put [a lot of] time into all of the more successful in the future,” Johnson said. extra classes I’m taking right now,” Johnson said.

“So say goodbye to my freetime, but I know in the future this’ll be really good for me”

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how far should

data privacy reach?

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Recent government interest in data misuse has sparked debates about data security. Some say users shouldn’t blame online sites like Facebook because they willingly gave their information, while others argue websites should be held accountable. Either way, this issue affects the majority of online citizens.

The Roar 2017-2018 Staff Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Senior Executive Editor Online Editor Opinions Editor Section Editors

Jennifer Zhan Maya Girimaji Drew Howerton

Olivia Conway Sam de Figueiredo Kara Garza Sueji Han Alex Roeder Elise Sawyer Staff Reporters Ashley Barnes Tessa Matthews Ruby Perry-Mize Allen Zhang Faculty Adviser Michael Williams Assistant Adviser Chauncey Lindner The Roar Editorial Board Jennifer Zhan • Maya Girimaji • Sam de Figueiredo

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 (979-7645412) 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.

“People should have their privacy and it shouldn’t be exploited for any reason. Having information on people can keep us safe sometimes, but when it comes to really private things that people don’t want public, I don’t think websites should have access to them.” junior mary house

“Although it’s the company’s responsibility to make sure information is handled responsibly, the user shouldn’t be mad when something bad does happen because they provided that information in the first place.” junior avha mohanty

the roar’s consensus In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate Commerce committee, answering lawmaker’s questions about a 2015 breach of data in which Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, obtained millions of user’s personal information through a personality quiz app that was connected to Facebook. Allegedly, data such as political leanings and personality traits were used to influence voters in various elections, including the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The scandal has brought about a larger debate over how much privacy users have online.

Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter should do more to safeguard personal data in order to ensure that user’s information is not given out to potential bad actors. Additionally, social media companies should encourage more transparency by making it easier for users to see who their data is shared with and why.

Companies should work harder to safeguard the personal data that users share online by verifying the identity of those that request user information. While user data is routinely bought and sold for the purposes of advertising and research, there are also malicious parties like as Cambridge Analytica who use social media data in order to influence elections and spread misinformation. Because of the real world implications that come with the accessibility of social media information, tech companies should only share user data with those who can be verified and held accountable for mishandling people’s private information. Although information that is shared willingly on social media, like posts and photos, is in the public domain, other data such as age, gender, political leanings, and personality traits should be safeguarded so that social media users are not subject to misinformation campaigns online.

Although social media companies have made efforts to reach out to users, there are still steps that companies can take in order to be completely transparent about what kind of user data is shared with third parties. Facebook introduced a tool that allows users to see apps connected to their accounts and what information those apps share by default.

Tools like this are a step in the right direction and gives users control over their digital persona. Because the internet is irreversibly intertwined with every aspect of daily life, citizens have a right to digital privacy when it comes to information they share with social media companies. Social media companies should respect that right to privacy and give users more information about who their data is being shared with.

Social media companies should make a concerted effort to treat user data with the same care that they would treat financial data or employee information. By agreeing to the terms and conditions of a social media service, users are in effect designating companies as caretakers of their data. Companies should start acting like it.

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friday, may 18, 2018

Students pursue internships, prepare for careers in education and child development elise sawyer | section editor On Monday and Friday mornings, educators of the future can be found in Room 2195.

The Ready Set Teach courses prepare students for an education-based career by providing knowledge about how to educate as well as internships at CSISD schools. Junior Avriana Duran, who hopes to start her own daycare, is one of many students in Ready Set Teach I who have started internships this semester. “[For the] first semester [of Ready Set Teach I], you’re pretty much learning what you need to know in your internships. It [teaches] lesson planning, and how to handle children and behaviors. [It helps] you go into your internship prepared.” Duran said. “For the second semester, you’ll use everything that you’ve learned before in your internship.”

The courses are taught by Janet Peterson, who has over 10 years of experience teaching them at both AMCHS and Bryan High School. “[Students] start off the first week observing [in their internships], and then they [assist] the teacher.

Then, they move into assisting students, and then they’ll actually teach. They’ll co-teach, and then they’ll teach their own lesson,” Peterson said. “By the time that they leave their internship they will feel like they’re a student teacher. They’ll feel like they belong in that classroom.”

Although there are no mandatory prerequisites to these courses, Peterson recommends the Teen Living and Child Development courses before starting in Ready Set Teach. “[Child Development teaches] knowledge of children, children’s activities, ages and stages, [and] working with children,” Peterson said. “The fabulous Tiger Buddies program comes here six times so that the child development students learn to engage and work with young children. They learn that children learn through play. ” The recommended classes are what inspired Duran to continue to Ready Set Teach, “I took both of [the recommended courses]. When I took Child Development, I wasn’t planning on taking Ready Set Teach,” Duran said. “But when [Peterson] saw me in Child Development, she fought for me and she made [me put] it on my schedule.”

The internships that the Ready Set Teach courses provide gain students valuable experience that has the potential to be beneficial in college.

“When [Ready Set Teach students] get to college, they are so far ahead because they’ve already spent 36 [to] 40 days in a classroom. Sometimes in college, you don’t get to experience a classroom until your junior year,” Peterson said. “They’ve already learned the parts of a lesson plan, they’ve already learned classroom

Junior Amaya Mitchell works on a project over educational techniques.

management. It definitely prepares them for success at college or in a career.”

Duran advises students who plan to pursue an education-related career to take this course before deciding to take similar courses in college.

“You get to see if you like being with children before you go to college and waste your money and time,” Duran said. “Here [we’re] getting to see if this is actually what we want to do.”

While the class is designed around education in the classroom, Peterson believes the class is not just beneficial for future school teachers, but for anyone who has educational aspirations.

“Ready Set Teach is to prepare students for the future if they plan a career in education or working with children,” Peterson said. “In education, you might be working with a public school, private school, you might be an educator in business, you might be an educator to the community. It’s not just beneficial for wannabe future teachers. [It’s for] anyone who [plans on working] with youth or children or even in a business. The class also provides lots of leadership opportunities and public speaking skills. Regardless of if you’re gonna go into an education field or something else, Ready Set Teach can be an asset for any really motivated student.”

Junior Emily Edwards prepares her lesson plans.

ready... set... teach!

PHOTOS BY ELISE SAWYER

8 | student

life | the roar

friday, may

TO STUDY OR NOT TO STUDY

the roar | student life | 9

18, 2018

Students discuss benefits, drawbacks of different study techniques, habits sam de figueiredo & ruby perry-mize | opinions editor & staff reporter Sophomore Nicolás Macri feverishly types finishing touches on his research paper minutes before the due date.

Ironically, this type of stunt can actually help Macri retain information better, he says.

“In a weird, twisted way, I know doing things with a time limit [or] with 30 minutes left has probably improved my performance in tests a lot,” Macri said. “[The material] is very fresh in your mind. It’s risky, but the adrenaline when you need to do something really locks the information in your mind.”

Freshman year, Macri consistently woke up as early as 4 a.m. to complete his homework after putting it off at night.

“When I stay up, it’s usually because I’m talking with somebody, or watching TV or something I enjoy,” Macri said. “I find the time either in school or [during] a more normal hour to do the work. If I stay up late, I like it to be [for] something I’m enjoying.”

To avoid an erratic sleep schedule like Macri’s, freshman Brett Hyman prefers to take her work day by day.

“I mainly just try to take notes. It doesn’t always happen, but I [like] to look at my notes that I did at night so that I can remember it the next day,” Hyman said. “Every day before the test, it just builds up and I understand everything from the beginning.”

Biology teacher Michelle Cochrane agrees that being well-rested is an important part of having a high quality of life. “[Getting enough sleep] definitely makes you a happier person,” Cochrane said. “You’re just more involved in your everyday life because you’re not falling asleep all the time, and you [can be] a part of everything because you’re not tired.”

Getting adequate sleep is easier said than done, but Cochrane stuck to her principles throughout her school career.

“I never pulled an all-nighter. Never,” Cochrane said. “My sleep was way more important to me, otherwise I [couldn’t] function. I do think a lot of the students here [pull all-nighters], but I feel that’s a disservice to them.”

The procrastination observed at Consol is mainly associated with students’ busy schedules.

“I know I spend a lot of time doing things not necessarily for school. It’s just a matter of how much of your time do you spend doing them,” Macri said. “I think that there’s enough hours in the day for us to complete our homework, it’s just a matter of [wanting] to do other things as well.”

Cochrane thinks other activities only become a problem when students start ignoring their studies.

“A lot of students don’t see their education as super important in comparison to their activities,” Cochrane said. “They want to do their activity first, and then do their assignment, versus their assignment and then their activity.”

However, Hyman adds that leaving things until the last minute isn’t always a choice for students who have other responsibilities.

“Maybe you’re really busy, maybe you have to do something for your family, your work or you have some other activities you need to do,” Hyman said. “Some kids will learn from it and try to do it earlier.”

Junior Riley Daniel, a self-proclaimed procrastinator, found herself starting to procrastinate when confronted with a more rigorous volleyball schedule.

“I’ll [tell myself] I’ll just do [homework] after practice or when I get home, then I’ll be so exhausted I’ll just pass out,” Daniel said. “I’ll definitely

prioritize sleep over everything which is why I have such an issue with procrastination.”

However, Daniel admits that her tendency to procrastinate is partly due to her own lack of motivation.

“If I’m doing poorly in a class or on something that needs to be done more thoroughly, I’ll actually work and study for it,” Daniel said. “College is really important to me, so I’ll probably actually do my homework [and] go to class, whereas now, [school] isn’t important enough for me to want to work hard for it.”

When it comes to school assignments, procrastinators are reputed to be lazy and unmotivated.

However, Daniel feels misjudged when she fails to turn in assignments.

“I’m not a lazy person. I take volleyball and my jobs outside of school really seriously, and I’ll work really hard at them all the time just because I think they’re important,” Daniel said. “My grades are good enough to get into college without doing every assignment.”

Though Daniel feels schoolwork simply doesn’t top her list of priorities, Macri considers completing his assignments a matter of courtesy toward his teachers.

“It’s not so much a grade thing as a respect thing, because [not turning in an assignment] shows I wasn’t able to make this a priority,” Macri said. “I know teachers do a whole lot of work so I always feel bad when I don’t finish something on time.”

Despite Macri’s fears that teachers feel put off by procrastination, Cochrane says she bears no hard feelings toward procrastinators.

“I don’t think that being a procrastinator makes you a negative person,” Cochrane said. “I think that there’s some people [who] thrive in procrastination [because] the stress makes them work harder.”

For many students, procrastination appears as a major problem only when high school begins. Hyman thinks this may be because of the contrasting workloads of middle and high school.

“We’re freshmen, so we’re learning about how we should study, and what’s our best study time,” Hyman sadi. “This is kind of the ‘learning’ year, so a lot of [the freshmen] are trying to figure it out.”

Macri agrees that the transition into more work can make procrastinating a matter of course, but freshmen can improve.

“It’s really hard for a lot of freshmen, because they’re just out of middle school where they’re asked very little in comparison to what’s asked in high school,” Macri said. “But as they age, they get better.”

Experience isn’t the only source of improvement. Daniel says resources are everywhere.

“I have a lot of help from others. I use the help that’s available to me,” Daniel said. “Because if you just ask, you have help within seconds. You just have to ask. That’s part of the reason I procrastinate, because I know I have help available to me.”

All in all, Macri doesn’t consider procrastination to be much of a problem.

“At the end of the day, if you’re doing it right and you’re doing it before it’s due, that should be okay,” Macri said. “If you can just manage your time well enough, you can recognize [when you] need the night before to do this, and that’s fine.”

FACING THEIR FEARS

10 | feature | the roar

friday, may 18, 2018

Students transition to high school, seek advice from upperclassmen

PHOTO BY SUEJI HAN

ruby perry-mize | staff reporter High School Musical, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off-movies like these led freshman Zachary Trenary to believe high school would be a wonderland of friends and freedom without the drag of adult responsibility. That is not what he found.

Enrolled in all advanced classes, Trenary was saddled with four to six hours of homework every night.

“In eighth grade, you have no homework,” Trenary said. “It’s pretty nonexistent. In highschool, take the eighth grade load and then multiply it by, like, fifteen, and that’s what freshman year is.”

Freshman Sarah Poore says the homework load wasn’t just greater, it was also more difficult.

“I got off in middle school a lot, making my teachers like me, and giving my half effort all the time,” Poore said. “And in high school I really have to push myself past those limits.”

Trenary doesn’t blame the high school for the heavier workload. Instead, he says, the middle school should work to prepare students to handle more homework.

“There’s going to be a lot more, cuz there’s just a lot more to learn. [But] I think more homework in eighth grade would probably be beneficial. The transition is so difficult because you go from having maximum thirty

minutes a day of homework to six hours.”

Solutions can also begin with the individual, freshman Srikar Satish says.

“If you know you’re gonna be taking AP human geography, start studying some geography in eighth grade, and that’ll help a lot,” he said. “Practice getting yourself in a routine to study.”

Freshman Sarah Poore, who moved to College Station the summer before ninth grade, encountered a social structure that was quite different from middle school.

“I think popularity means something different,” Poore said. “I think a big misconception is that you [can’t] have a lot of friends and still be smart and get your work done.”

The transition isn’t made any easier by suspect advice from older students.

“I feel like some of the upperclassmen will say things like ‘oh, that teacher’s really mean. You don’t want them,’” Trenary said. “Or ‘that class is really hard.

There’s, like, ten hours of homework.’”

That impulse isn’t new. When Counselor Kelli McAfee was a student, upperclassmen held “initiations” for the freshmen.

“It’s just a way to show your power over someone, which is a natural thing,” McAfee said. “And a lot of

those seniors who may do that experienced it themselves as freshmen, so they feel like they have the right to pass it on.”

Though this may be true of some students, upperclassmen who frighten freshmen may not do so intentionally, Trenary says.

“Different people have different perspectives on teachers and class courses and stuff,” he said. “Some of them don’t do it intentionally. Some of them are just speaking honestly what they believe.”

There is in fact nothing to fear but failure, Satish says.

“The only thing I think it’s ok to be afraid of in high school is if you’re gonna get a bad grade or not,” he said.

“Everything else is just psychological. It’s not needed.”

Trenary agrees that high school isn’t as bad as some incoming freshmen fear.

“There’s no way the entire thing will be bad and awful. There’s garbage, but with sprinkles.”

After a year on campus, Poore has this advice for incoming freshmen: it’s worth it.

“Power through all the struggles you have in the beginning, and it will get better,” she said. “Even though I wouldn’t want to do it again, I learned a lot and became a better person overall.”

friday, may 18, 2018

the roar |feature | 11

Consolidated memories Students, faculty consider favorite memories of 2017-2018

FRIENDSHIP

ashley barnes & alex roeder | staff reporter & section editor Junior Sarah Jenkins sits down in AP government next to junor Allison Aramburu just as she had every day before. Class starts, and the two find themselves immersed in their first real, normal conversation. Jenkins realizes that Aramburu is one of the most kind, funny people she had ever met but little does Jenkins know, she has found one of her closest and best friends.

Every student makes memories and is influenced throughout the course of high school. This year was no different. As the Roar steps back and takes a peek at what this school year brought to students’ lives, the memories, challenges, and overall successes students faced and overcame helped us realize how blessed this town is to call Consol their school.

“I’m grateful that Consol got me to know new people. I never can forget how many people I’ve met and how many friends I’ve made from Consol,” junior Jenkins said. “Every single memory, the consolidated memories that I’ve made at this school make this school amazing.”

Some students struggled with making themselves known in an environment where adjustment is hard for the community to accept.

“My whole life, I’d been sur-

rounded by people who do well with change and are used to it, and then I moved here where change was a huge deal.” junior Megan Schlather said. “People weren’t rude or anything, but cliques are hard to get into. Before I had broken that barrier of being the outside girl to being a friend, it was kind of weird. But now that I’m in [a friend group], [they are my] family.”

Many teachers hope to experience a personal bond with their students. Math teacher Bilinda Pruitt feels blessed to have kids who are open to interact.

“I would definitely say that [the students] are very kind, compassionate and welcoming to a new person and it’s been nice.”

Pruitt said. “I like to have relationships with my kids.”

Extracurricular classes have also impacted the development of student’s individuality and preparing them for life outside of school.

“Growing up, there’s that big struggle with [discovering] what you want and what makes you happy,” Jenkins said. “Although it was the hardest year of my life, I feel like that’s going to keep happening cause this year I’ve dealt with so many ups and downs. It’s going to keep on getting harder because I’m growing up.”

Students, like Jenkins and

Schlather, learned that an important part of high school is making friends and being involved in things students are passionate about. Schlather experienced this feeling at the Magnolia West soccer game.

“I don’t even like soccer” Schlather said. “But I’ve never had so much fun at a sporting event in my whole life. Everyone was in a good mood. That was honestly one of the best nights of my life. ” As students take what they learn this year and plan for the next, Jenkins believes they should focus on what they want to do and envision a future for themselves.

“Things change and we’re growing up.” Jenkins said. “Looking into [next] year, I think the best way to approach [it] is to see how you can improve on whatever you like the most.”

The main piece of advice given from students is to enjoy time in high school, treasure many memories, and value the lessons learned.

“You don’t believe them when they tell you high school goes fast, so cherish everything.”

Schlather said. “Chase after whatever you want to chase after. Try and do everything.”

junior SARAH JENKINS

MAGNOLIA WEST SOCCER GAME

“I’ve never had so much fun at a sporting event in my life. “

junior MEGAN SCHLATHER

NEW STUDENTS

teacher BELINDA PRUITT

12 | sports | the roar

friday, may 18, 2018

MAXIMUM EFFORT

Students attend summer sports camps, train for future seasons sueji han | section editor Push ups, curl ups, squats, and sprints are some of the few thing student athletes do to train and strengthen for their upcoming season.

Summer sports camps prepare students for football, volleyball, baseball, basketball, track, and softball starting from the beginning of June until August. Students ranging from second to twelfth grade can attend, where they will be taught by Consol coaches and work with future teammates.

“If [students] are looking to play volleyball at the junior high or high school level, it’s a great introduction to [learn] how we teach different skills,” Head volleyball coach Jennifer Kazmierski said. “[The camp is] a way to have fun while not being outside where it’s hot in June and July.”

Head football coach Lee Fedora thinks that these camps are beneficial to help students learn and train more about their sports. “[Students] need to have strength and conditioning for all sports,” Fedora said. “With the football camp, we will do a lot of the fundamental drills that [the students] are going to learn as they get in junior high and high school.”

While coaches know what their summer camps will be like. Head baseball coach Ryan Lennerton, who recently joined the coaching staff, is preparing for his first summer camp here in the CSISD district this June. “[The coaches] will do some defensive stuff and split [the students] up between their positions of catcher, infielder or outfielder,” Lennerton said. “We will hit each day, talk about pitching and base running, and make sure it’s organized and be well prepared to

PHOTO BY SUEJI HAN

handle the numbers we are going to get.”

Kazmierski thinks the camps are a way to help the students interact before they start playing with other students. “[The coaches] ask the kids to be very vocal because half of the team that’s on the court is behind the other team so we rely on communication in order to function on the court,” Kazmierski said. “[This camp] is cool because nowadays [people] rely our communication on phones, [being vocal] is one way that has made [the students] talk to each other.”

The students who have participated in these camps recognize the physical and emotional benefits.

“I try to get my arm in shape [for baseball and] go through weight and ball routine or band routines,” freshman Jack Hamilton said. “Some of the older guys on varsity run the camp, so you get to meet them before you come into the [high school] program.”

Junior Sawyer Nowak agrees that these camps help students adjust to Consol’s volleyball program. “[The camp] helps you get used to your teammates and become more experienced for Consol volleyball,” Nowak said. “Also [the camp] gives the coaches the opportunity to see [students] play and know what they can do.”

The coaches also find these camps progress their relationship with the students faster. “[The coaches] see the things [the students need] to work on, the things that they need to be working on because they only have two years in junior high and four years in high school,” Fedora said. “That’s going to come and go fast, and the quicker they get a relationship with the coach [the camp is] a better response to get that chemistry they need.”

friday, may 18, 2018

the roar | sports | 13

Devoted to you Students express passion and motivation through love of professional sports teams allen zhang & elise sawyer | staff reporters

PHOTO BY ELISE SAWYER

The age-old question still stands: Why are some people so obsessed with watching sports?

This question contains numerous answers- from following in the footsteps of major athletes to displaying local or family pride to a way to bond with friends.

Henning Schade, a freshman who competes on the tennis hopes to improve his own craft through watching others.

“Watching professional players really improves me a lot,” Schade said. “I take different things from a lot of different players. I try it out and I see if those tactics work or not.

Those professional tennis players have influenced my life. Those influences are really important to me.”

Junior baseball player Daniel Pugh also holds a similar opinion.

“Instead of just watching it, I also like to analyze it,” Pugh said. “I’ve always figured that by watching [baseball], you get better at your own skills. By helping myself, I can help my team be a better team as well.”

Pugh also believes that sports teams can encourage sports hype in their hometowns.

“A lot of the fans [of Texas A&M] always have a bunch of chants [that] they always have at games that are localized,” Pugh said. “You have local teams, and you wanna root for your city. And so, by rooting for your city, you get to represent yourself and the people around you. I think that’s why people like sports.”

Being a fan of a team can also come from family as well as location.

“I’ve been liking [the Spurs] ever since I was born,” freshman basketball player Paul Tisch said. “It’s like a family thing. We lived close to the San Antonio Spurs.”

Having a common love for a sport and team can

help build friendships.

“I just thought it’d be hard to make friends [when I moved to College Station],” Tisch said. “There’s a basketball court close to my house, so I go there almost every day. That’s where I made a lot of my close friends, who are Spurs fans and it gives me something to talk about with them, and something in common makes it easier to be friends.”

However, showing team spirit can be more difficult for students like freshman and Longhorns fan Brady Anderson, who are impacted by prominent team rivalries.

“I hate the Aggies,” Anderson said. “I hate how the Aggie fans hate the Longhorn fans. It’s sort of annoying how most [of] the Aggies are bragging about how the Longhorns are. [But] the rivalry makes it more important for the fans to watch. I go crazy when they beat the Aggies. [Texas A&M fans] just talk trash, [but] I talk trash back.”

Tisch also enjoys watching basketball because he hopes to become a professional basketball player. “[The Spurs inspire me] because they have a lot of form players. Scouts didn’t think that they would be successful in the MBA, and they’re one of the most successful teams in history,” Tisch said. “It’s my dream [to play for them].”

Of course, the solution to the wide-spread obsesion behind sports and teams could be simpler- that many consider watching sports a fun pastime.

“I like to watch [sports] a lot, and I feel that I probably watch it an unhealthy amount and view it a lot,” said Pugh. “It’s just fun and I’ve always done it. It’s fun to watch and I’ve always liked it.”

14 | review | the roar

friday, may 18, 2018

throw-back thursday the roar reviews: disc golf alex roeder | section editor

olivia conway | online editor

As a girl with little coordination, minimal physical strength, and a firm hatred of golf, I was skeptical when I was first invited to play and review disc golf. Nevertheless, I decided to try. We trekked across Research Park through long grass and mosquitoes, in search of the elusive disc golf course.

I’m not sure what I was expecting since obviously disc golf would be different from regular golf, but I was a bit taken aback when I realized that the objective of the game was to throw a frisbee into a metal cage. I also learned that there are apparently several different types of frisbees designated for specific distances. I chose to ignore this information in favor of sticking with one frisbee because I found it cumbersome to change frisbees as I made it closer to the frisbee cage. Since most of us had never played before, we quickly gave up on keeping score and instead just tried to improve our throws.

sam de figueiredo | opinions editor Going into this review experience, I had no idea how to play disc golf. I had seen the weird metal structures at Research Park before, but I honestly thought they were futuristic trash cans. Needless to say, I was very surprised when I learned we were supposed to throw the frisbees hundreds of feet into the weird metal cages. At first, I was awful. It took me four tries to get anywhere near the target, partly because of the strong winds. However, as I continued to play, I learned to use the wind to my advantage. I started to think I was pretty good at disc golf until a serious-looking college student rolled up to the same hole we were playing.

He unloaded his duffle bag full of frisbees and hit the target within three throws. If he was trying to intimidate us, it worked. We decided to move onto another hole next to the pond to improve our throws. Much to our delight, a family of ducks came out of the water to cheer us on before we moved on to more holes. I don’t know if I’ll ever get on the same level as the duffle bag boy, but I do think I’ll think about playing disc golf when I want to do something outside with friends.

alex roeder | section editor

If I’m being honest, I’m not one for sports. Or outside. Or moving. However, disc golf was really enjoyable. If I exclude the fact that I left Research Park with about 20 mosquito bites and lots of sweat, disc golf is a sport I’m actually willing to try again. The goal was simple, the specifics were easy to grasp, it was a fun time to hang out with my buds, and the adorable ducks hanging around the park enhanced the experience by 1000%. I’m sure however, that if I played with professionals I would be hopelessly lost and demolished, considering the fact that our group abandoned keeping score after the first round and rarely enforced the rules. Overall, if you want bonding time with your besties, a casual but engaging game to play, and a reason to throw around a frisbee, disc golf is the game for you.

PHOTOS BY ELISE SAWYER

friday, may 18, 2018

the roar | reviews | 15

good night and good luck the roar reviews: natural sleep aids drew howerton | senior-executive editor I always have trouble sleeping. I’m not sure if I have insomnia or what, but I wake up constantly throughout the night, sometimes every hour. For the longest time I thought that it was normal to wake up four or five times in the middle of the night, but a couple of Google searches found that I can’t sleep because of stress. Stress because of school, work, and other parts of my life has kept me awake at night, to the point where I’ve been falling asleep in class. If I wanted to try getting a better night’s sleep, my first step should be to de-stress. For that, I turned to meditation.

Meditation exercises are relatively simple: breath deeply and try to focus on the present moment. Supposedly, all I had to do is sit still, close my eyes, and get into a good pattern of breathing. Every time that my thoughts would drift to something stressful, I was supposed to just focus on my breathing until I felt calm. Once I’m calm, I would be able to fall asleep and sleep through the night.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for me. I set the mood perfectly by turning off the lights and lighting some candles, and I even put on some soft music. But once I got a good pattern of breathing going, I couldn’t help but get stressed out and think about other stuff.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get my calm back. Eventually, I would get tired of trying and would reserve myself to another restless night. There’s probably a cure for my sleeping problem, but it’s not meditation.

ruby perry-mize | staff reporter I am a person who often struggles to fall asleep. No matter how tired I am or how hard I try to clear my mind, the kaleidoscope of images and sounds wheeling uncooperatively in my brain refuses to pipe down. So when I heard we were publishing reviews on natural sleep aids, I cheerfully volunteered to test the effectiveness of music in encouraging sleep.

I listened to the choral artist Enya, who sings mellow, upbeat music. Listening to the songs helped me still my thoughts and go to sleep.

I found her voice incredibly calming. It was also oddly helpful that I couldn’t understand the words most of the time, since words are easily latched onto and worked into a frenzy in my mind. The fact that the words were inaccessible gave me something to listen to without giving me something to think about, the perfect combination. I would recommend listening to Enya or any other laid-back musician to anyone who has trouble clearing their mind when trying to sleep.

friday, may 18, 2018

16 | etcetera | the roar

thanks for the memories

Members of yearbook staff describe trials, rewards of making yearbooks olivia conway | online editor The yearbook staff has been to every game, dance, and school event. They know most of the students, teachers, and administrators by name. They work tirelessly for almost an entire year documenting the lives of the students inside and outside of school.

Shiny yearbooks appear at the end of the school year, but students often forget the people behind the cameras.

Sophomore Ellie Miller originally joined yearbook her freshman year after her older sister, who was an editor in chief at the time, encouraged her to give it a try.

“My sister, Maddie, was a really big inspiration to me my whole life and had always talked about [yearbook] and I thought it was really interesting,” Miller said. “Previously no other freshmen had been able to join.”

While Miller initially chose yearbook because she wanted to spend time with her sister and learn a new skill, she returned because of the positive environment.

“Yearbook [is] a breath of fresh air because we get to just hang out and be normal people,” Miller said. “We don’t have to focus on competing against each other because we’re all working towards the same goal.”

Junior Abby Sawyer also found a close community of friends when she joined yearbook in her sophomore year.

“When I first joined I was nervous because [there were] a lot of people I had seen around and upperclassmen that I didn’t really know, [but] everyone ended up being really helpful,” Sawyer said. “It’s a really good bonding experience.”

For Sawyer, yearbook provided an opportunity to become more involved in the school and an activity that she was passionate about.

“I never really had something in school that I was super involved in [and] I wanted a place to fit in,” Sawyer said. “Being on the yearbook allows [me] to be a part of everything because [we] have to go to all these events and talk to so many different people.”

Due to the wide array of skills and activities that the yearbook staff is exposed to, yearbook adviser Freda Carraway believes it has a lasting, positive impact on both their personal lives and future careers. “[Yearbook], in my opinion, is the class at Consol that prepares [the students] best for what they’re going to do after school. There’s not a skill that’s not touched on. They learn to manage time, they learn to write, they learn to interview and talk to real people, they learn about money, [and there’s a] vast amount of design that goes into it,” Carraway said. “Those skills translate into things that they can use in college right away.”

Miller agrees that yearbook has taught her several valuable skills that will be useful in other aspects of her life.

“I’ve learned a lot of people skills and real life skills like interviewing people and contacting people,

contacting teachers, coaches, [and] getting their information,” Miller said. “[We have to practice] time management and a lot of responsibility.”

The responsibility of conducting interviews, taking pictures, and documenting an entire school year, while rewarding, also comes with stress and strict deadlines. “[Making a yearbook] is stressful because the deadlines are pretty rigorous. We can’t change those [because] it jeopardizes our ability to get the book back [in time],” Carraway said.

Despite the heavy workload and stress, the yearbook staff agrees that the final product makes the process worth the work.

“It’s definitely a weight off [our] shoulders,” Sawyer said. “[And] it’s really exciting because [we] know that it’s going to come back in a few weeks and everyone’s going to be looking at them and talking about [them]. It’s a good feeling to know we made something that is going to be here forever.”

For Carraway, finishing the book comes with a sense of pride, but for her the real reward is getting to work with the students on the yearbook staff.

“These kids are well-rounded, they’re good writers, they’re creative, they’re involved in their school, they care about their school, they work well together, [they’re] smart, and devoted and funny,” Carraway said. “I enjoy that whole atmosphere, working with those kids to create something together. It’s super rewarding [and] the product that we produce keeps getting better and better and better every year.”