Vol. 19 No. 4

the

Roar

A&M Consolidated High School

Kick it with girls soccer on page 16.

1801 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy. S., College Station, Texas 77840

Friday, Feb. 14, 2014

Vol. 19 No. 4

inthisissue photos

fashion show

9

people

13

meet mamie

sports

boys track

Libraries innovate, adapt to world of ebooks, iPads

15 V

wheretolook

news viewpoints snapshots special feature people sports entertainment

pages 2-4 pages 5-8 page 9 pages 10-11 pages 12-14 pages 15-17 pages 18-20

ogue. Convenience. Versatility. Technology has it all. Just as iPods replaced MP3 players and flip phones died away, people have begun opting for the modern counterparts of what they consider outmoded items. And while ebooks have become more prominent, will traditional libraries meet the same fate?

“I grew up in a world where libraries meant going and checking out books, taking them home, reading them and bringing them back. [The process] was so crazy,” librarian Denise Gary said. “Now, libraries have evolved so much with technology, and we deal with much more.”

With the amount of technology avail-

annie zhang | news editor able, libraries, including Consol’s library, have started checking out tablets, iPads, cameras and microphones for students to use.

“Students love the interaction with technology. We have some librarians in the district who don’t want to have anything to do with technology, but I think it’s a positive asset,” Gary said. “It’s so exciting that students can, at the drop of a hat, have what they need.”

Though many aspects of the traditional library have been modified, Gary believes the overall role of the library hasn’t changed.

“It’s the ways that its resources are being accessed, in terms of digitally or traditionally, that has changed,” Gary said.

On the other hand, sophomore Eric Pil-

lai, who considers himself an avid reader, said that the role of the library has changed quite dramatically since technology improved.

“The traditional role of a library has been a place to find repository information, but now with Wikipedia, the prevalence of Google search and the information availability have made that completely obsolete,” Pillai said. “Beyond a university setting, where you have a high level of academia, there is almost no value in a library dedicated solely to information, and even in the university, that can easily be taken online.”

“Ebooks” continued on page 3.

2 | news | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Budget, federal requirements impede potential classes rojas oliva | entertainment editor According to the big bang theory, 13.7 billion years ago the massive chain of events that led you to this line of text began. Current chemistry teacher Samuel Childers would like to teach students all about this journey.

“Astronomy for me [is important because] you go outside and look up and you wonder, ‘Well what’s that? How did that start? And what’s that next to that? And is there anything in between that?’” Childers said. “It sounds kinda hokey, but we’re connected to each other biologically and then we’re connected to the earth chemically, but atomically we’re connected to everything else. All the stuff we’re made of was belched out of some dying star, and that’s kinda cool.”

After expressing interest, filling out a course request form that looks a lot like the little class descriptions in the course catalogs students get and forwarding that to his department chairperson, Childers became a hopeful astronomy teacher.

“I’ve always had an interest in the space program. It came from my dad. We re-watched ‘Star Trek’ together and that sparked it,” Childers said.

However, after flowing up the chain of command, Childers learned that the astronomy class he’d hoped for was not

going to be offered next year. Aquatic science teacher Matthew Young had a similar experience when he attempted to create an honors version of his class.

Young aimed to provide an opportunity for students willing to take the material of the original aquatic science class further, while also providing the GPA bump that generally provides an incentive to more class rank-minded students. But unlike other sciences offered to students needing to fulfill their four sciences requisite, the class eliminated the stress of an AP test looming ahead.

After extensive polling, Young determined that he had as many as 70 potential students. However, his class didn’t go through as, in the name of fairness, the district would have needed to offer the same course at College Station High School, and the Environmental Science class, which will begin next year, could offer the same population the same GPA opportunity at a cheaper price relative to the tank-intensive aquatic course.

“I was just told it wasn’t going to happen, and it took me a while to figure out what the situation was behind that. All I got was just a no,” Young said.

Attempting to create classes gets into the tricky balance of providing for students while also keeping in mind the more mundane constraint of any

bureaucracy that can stump potential state level basically. And now a little at the classes: budget. federal level,” social studies department “It’s important, if our directive is to give chairperson Jason Pratt said. [students] choice in what classes [they’re] All of these factors contribute to the taking, that we really need to be giving decisions behind the creation of classes and [them] choice,” Young said. “We’re moving begin to explain why some don’t move forin that direction; ward. Still, at the it’s just for whatlocal level, teachever reason my “It’s important, if our directive ers remained unattempt at that deterred. failed, and hope- is to give [students] choice in “Up until a fully in the future week ago, I asthat will continue what classes [they’re] taking, sumed it was still a to expand, and I possibility to have that we really need to be think it gets into the astronomy money and who giving [them] choice.” class, and when I can teach what.” found out that it C h i l d e r s ’s chemistry teacher Samuel Childers wasn’t, it was kind astronomy class of disappointing. didn’t go through But that’s okay, I’ll simply because last year, no classes were just re-file paperwork,” Childers said. added. The budget just didn’t allow for it.

Science department chairperson However, the complications extend Charlotte Wiggins also expressed an optibeyond local concerns as department mistic outlook. heads and the District Education Improve“It can be a frustrating process, bement Council, which decides which classes cause you can have a class that you think to allow the school board to vote on, have is innovative, and that students will like to take into account more far-reaching ob- and it will make kids successful, [but] you stacles. This can involve everything from can’t do it because of budget constraints or the concerns of the governor and state leg- staffing concerns, or any of those things,” islation to fulfilling federal requirements Wiggins said. “It’s just frustrating for everyset down by the No Child Left Behind Act. body, but it is what it is, and you hope for “We’re not run locally; we’re run at the the best next year.”

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the roar | news | 3

friday, feb. 14, 2014

School library transitions to meet demands of technological generation “Ebooks” cont. from page 1 Calling traditional libraries “essentially Starbucks,” Pillai added that people no longer want to go to libraries to find information, but rather, to socialize and take advantage of internet access.

“All that’s available on Google,” Pillai said. “People go to libraries either for storybooks or as a place to hang out.”

Senior and library aide Katelyn Williamson agreed that libraries becoming hangouts has become the trend, and possibly their most important characteristics.

“It’s a place where you can research or study quietly,” Williamson said. “So, going virtual would cause the library to lose that aspect.”

Lamar High School in Houston has already transitioned to a digital library, but maintains a physical library about half the size of Consol’s library. “[The digital library] seems to be working for them, as long as everyone learns how to download and access them,” Gary said. “The problem is, for a school, there are still many kids who don’t have access to a computer, and many of the campuses who are going completely to ebooks are also providing a laptop for each of their students. That’s the only way that everybody will have access.”

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For Williamson, a traditional library that provides free access to hard copy books and documents is more advantageous than a digital one.

“The virtual libraries are a good step, but they mainly cater towards people with electronic devices, while having a traditional library that also caters towards eBooks and tablets benefits those who don’t have access to them, so that they can still read books without having a device,” Williamson said.

However, Pillai disagreed, saying that a digital library would “remove many of the knowledge barriers to library use and help a lot with attracting more clients,” as well as conserve resources by storing books and documents in digital form.

“Libraries need to stop trying to cling to the past; they need to stop trying to use outdated systems for example, the Dewey Decimal system, in exchange for an electronic filing system,” Pillai said.

Gary agreed that many students tend to use the library more for computers to type or read online due to convenience rather than paying attention to the physical books.

“There are many students who come in when they’re desperate to use the computers, and that’s OK, as long as we’re available to everyone,” Gary said. “Not everybody has the same access at their homes that we

can offer at school, and that’s why libraries are so important.”

Pillai attributes one of the reasons why he rarely visits the library to the fact that using his Kindle is much more practical.

“In terms of logistics, I would rather read a book on my Kindle app, but in terms of the pleasure of reading, a physical book is more enjoyable,” Pillai said. “But I’m willing to sacrifice that for convenience, because I don’t want to carry twenty books in my backpack.”

However, one big problem lies in that many students are unaware that Consol’s library owns and rents eBooks.

“We have so much, but we need more access to the students, to teach them how to use the different applications. It’s not really a money issue, but a time issue, and I wish the teachers would bring the students down here and show them how to use the library,” Gary said. “We’re talking about changing advocates, and I would like to offer classes to students so they can use different apps, so that’s one way we can hopefully broaden our scope.”

Gary said her next big job will be to improve the website and promote the resources available in the library.

“I’ve told someone that we had ‘Into the Wild’ online, and he said, ‘Uh, what?’ so I definitely need to do a better job marketing this collection,” Gary said. “It takes

someone to keep up with the technology, the big reason to have libraries and librarians, to make sure everybody knows what’s coming out and what’s next.”

Currently, whenever the library buys a hard copy of a book, a digital copy is bought as well, and students can check out eooks on the library website, without needing to go to the library. By next year, students will be able to use their log-in to sign into Follettshelf, where all the ebooks are stored.

As for the future, Gary, Pillai and Williamson believe that digital libraries will soon replace the more traditional ones.

“Traditional libraries are in the process of dying away, but the concept of a library will never die away,” Pillai said. “It’s been around since ancient times, just a collective knowledge base, and it’s going to be around as long as civilization is around, but what is dying is the brick-and-mortar that is lending out physical books.”

Williamson, however, added that she is still a little conflicted about the idea, saying that although it’s good that libraries are changing, digital libraries may become distracting.

“Technology and libraries still have growing pains to get along with each other,” Williamson said. “And right now, they’re uneasy friends.”

4 | news | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Teen Lit Club provides outlet for avid, apprehensive readers alike tiffany hammond assistant editor

to read [instead of] being forced to do it.”

Denise Gary, Consol’s librarian, jumped on board with the idea of a reading group, happy to offer a comfortable place Books can create a whole new world where the group now meets. for a reader to live in, whether it be an “Everything she’s doing is really excitadored easy-going, stereotypical high ing,” Gary said. “They talk about not only school romance or a brutal dystopian novel their favorite part of the book and ask queswhere all has gone corrupt. However, some tions but will [also] ask questions to the auteens today find reading Twitter and Face- thor, [who] answers them telling why [he book statuses easier or she] did certain and maybe more inthings.” triguing than books.

From all the ef“My goal for this group Teen Lit Club, a relafort Fairbanks puts tively new group, has is to let it grow and get into the group and formed to bring the her extreme interest love of books into more people wanting to for reading, one may students’ lives and be surprised to learn offer a welcoming read [instead of] being how she first got into place for people to books. share their passion forced to.”

“Sixth grade was or create an interest when my passion freshman Aly Fairbanks in books and the stofor reading began. I ries they tell. was forced to read a Freshman Aly book, [and] I was not Fairbanks started the club with hopes of allowed to leave my room until I finished being able to enjoy books with other stu- that book,” Fairbanks said. “It wound up dents and allow for people to fall in love being a pretty good book. Then, I went on with reading just as she had. to read other books. It takes one good book “I like to read a lot, so I thought I’d to really get into reading.” get more people involved in this school,” Fairbanks works hard to ensure that Fairbanks said. “My goal for this group is the members of the group feel appreciated to let it grow and get more people wanting when coming to Teen Lit Club.

Freshman Andrei Todd jokes around with Laura Anderson Kurk, author of “Glass Girl,” in a Teen Lit Club meeting on Jan. 29. The club offers students the chance to talk with published authors about the books they are reading. PHOTO BY NICOLE FARRELL

“It’s a friendly get-together, so there’s no judging or bullying. It’s somewhere where people are comfortable to talk about the book,” Fairbanks said. “People don’t have to worry about not having food necessarily, because there is food and surprise door prizes.”

Gary agrees that the group is very accommodating to the members, even to the books they pick.

“As librarians, we’re taught to let you guys make the choices,” Gary said. “They pick books they want to read.”

As the group continues to grow, the plans for the future also expand.

“We [want to] do a fundraiser to get books from people and donate them to elementary school teachers,” Fairbanks said.

“They don’t have a necessarily big library, and it’d be good to have [more books].”

the roar | viewpoints | 5

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Old-fashioned form of entertainment still relevant to younger generation alex coopersmith staff reporter

For my birthday last year, one of my friends got me a book. Everything else I got was either money or gift cards, but that one person gave me a book.

Now, while I originally would have preferred to have been given money, that book turned out to be my favorite birthday present. You see, I love to read, and many other teenagers like to read as well. Yet every year, fewer and fewer high school students read books for fun or even at all. This is mostly due to all the other ways we can spend our time.

When my parents were my age, they had limited opportunities for entertainment. They might have ridden their bikes, socialized with their friends or played Monopoly. They could have watched their new color television with its three channels. Yet they still had copious free time remaining, and they used that time to read. Now in 2014, we have limitless opportunities for entertainment. We still ride our bikes (well, occasionally) socialize with friends in person and play Monopoly (usually on our phones). We also have television, but instead of three channels, we have over 50 to choose from, and that’s just if you have the basic cable package.

Our generation has electronics ga-

Take a look; it’s in a book.

lore, plus Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and all those other social media sites. We have more ways to spend our time than we used to, and reading is being left by the wayside.

But some people (like myself) still read real books for fun. So why do I still read for fun when there are so many other things I could be doing? Why do people read in the first place? I’m really not sure, but I know why I read.

First off, reading allows me to escape. It doesn’t matter what I am escaping from, reading gives me peace and tranquility. It might be that I don’t want to do my physics homework, or that I am stressed out. Reading helps calms me down and take my mind off of life’s distractions. A University of Sussex study in 2009 showed that reading was the most successful way to overcome stress, beating out taking a walk, listening to music or having a cup of tea.

Reading allows me to escape and reduces stress, something that I and all high school students are trying to do. Reading a book allows all your attention to be focused on the book and the story, blocking out everything else.

I read for more than a way to escape. Reading gives me a place to escape to. When you read, you become immersed in the world of a book. You aren’t reading about Hogwarts, you are at Hogwarts! One of my favorite television shows, “Reading Rainbow” says, “I can go anywhere! I can be anything!”

That’s exactly what reading is all about! You can be anything when reading a book; you can go anywhere! That’s why reading is great. Getting lost in a

good work of fiction is one of the best feelings ever, and a fantastic use of your time.

The number one reason I read is because I like to know things. Let me put that another way; I like to learn.

Reading is the best method for learning.

Now, I know that nobody enjoys reading our school textbooks, but try reading an actual book about the subject.

It’s amazing how much you can learn from a single page, not to mention an entire book. Books can help you look at common occurrences in new ways, like how the names of babies can explain their parents’ socio-economic status, as explained in “Freakonomics.” They can help you to understand our complex world, like how globalization is the future, as Thomas Friedman writes in “The World is Flat”. Or they could even tell a good story and bring you back to a historical occurrence, like a baseball season via the “Summer of ’49.” Books can even be about cool subjects, like “Roving Mars”. Not everyone has the same interests that I do. But there are books to match any subject a person has an interest in.

I have no regrets about spending so much time of my life reading. I only wish I had spent more time reading as opposed to less. That’s why I read.

In our age of countless entertainment reading is still the best choice.

Alex Coopersmith is a staff reporter for The Roar. If you enjoyed “Reading Rainbow” as much as he did, let him know at the.roar.coopersmith@gmail. com.

POLITICS or POP CULTURE?

{ 30% 51%

The Roar checks up on our priorities: do we as a school tend to pay more attention to popular culture or political issues? 82 students answered our 6-question survey:

knew that JOHN ROBERTS is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court knew that Miley Cyrus twerked on ROBIN THICKE at the VMAs

}

45%

could name one current Texas senator (JOHN CORNYN or TED CRUZ)

51%

could name JOHN BOEHNER as the Speaker of the House

71%

knew that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s baby is named NORTH WEST

96%

knew that FROZEN was a Disney animated movie that involved a snowman

11%

answered all six questions correctly

6 | viewpoints | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Unrealistic beauty ideals lead to reflection on pressure from society stephanie palazzolo assistant editor

“Stephanie, is my forehead too flat?”

I froze, holding the toothbrush in front of my mouth. “What?”

My sister stood in front of the mirror, tilting her head to the side and leaning forward to examine her face. “I said, is my forehead too flat?”

“Um, no?” I continued brushing my teeth, raising an eyebrow at her. “Plus, why would it matter even if it was?”

She shrugged, squinting at herself in the mirror. “I don’t know. It’s just ugly, I guess.” I ignored her, thinking that it was yet another one of those weird questions that all little siblings seem to come up with.

However, the strange conversation never left my mind.

My sister is 12 years old. She still obsesses over “Twilight” (whether she admits it or not) and thinks of most boys as disgusting creatures that consist of body odor, boogers and raging hormones. So where between playing house and discovering

cheesy preteen romance did she figure out what exactly was supposed to be “beautiful?”

Every year, it seems like there’s a drive for young girls to look prettier, more beautiful, even sexier earlier. It’s not something that you notice every day; rather, it’s a more subtle undertone present in everything from commercials on TV to preteen websites.

Think about the number of people who pass by a Victoria’s Secret advertisement in the mall, or how many times a photoshopped celebrity shows up on a magazine cover. People compare themselves to these images every day when the person in these pictures has been covered in makeup and airbrushed to the point where they’re not even identifiable. Our culture has taught us that a size two is ideal when this “perfect size” is impossible for many people to gain, including some of the stars that are worshipped through these photoshopped pictures.

And not only does society try and set up its own idea of the physical traits that make someone beautiful, but it also deems which personality traits are attractive as well. I still remember people telling me to “act like a girl” when I played cops and robbers with the boys in elementary school.

They acted as if being a tomboy was some-

thing to be ashamed of, as if my own personality was something I should hide.

And the pressure to adhere to society’s rules of beauty doesn’t lessen at all. According the the 2012 State of Plastic Surgery Annual Report, more than 1 million people in America got cosmetic surgery

“Whether you’re curvy or stick straight, love math or love fashion design, the key to beauty is to be confident about yourself.” in 2012, already five percent higher than the year before. By conforming to society’s image of beauty, people think that they’re becoming more attractive. But beauty appears in the little quirks and oddities of life.

Being unique is beautiful; trying to transform into a clone of a movie star or popular girl isn’t. In addition, the idea of beauty is changing everyday. A couple centuries ago, being chubby would have been considered attractive, because it meant you had

enough money to feed yourself well. Even a couple of decades ago, people who were considered beautiful weren’t as skinny as runway models gracing the covers of fashion magazines today.

But does conforming to society’s idea of beauty even matter? If you wear dresses that you’re uncomfortable in, it shows; if you try and act ditzy and bubbly even though you’re not, it shows. People can tell when others aren’t acting like themselves, and being fake is definitely not attractive.

Your appearance isn’t going to keep you from making good grades, being accepted into your dream college or getting your dream job, so why let it stop you?

Whether you’re curvy or stick straight, love math or love fashion design, the key to beauty is to be confident about yourself.

Be proud of not only your looks, but your accomplishments as well, because those are what make you who you are. And being yourself is what truly makes you beautiful, both inside and out.

Stephanie Palazzolo is an assistant editor for The Roar. Do you think society puts too much pressure on girls to be beautiful (or maybe you just have a particularly strange sibling too)? Email her at the.roar. palazzolo@gmail.com.

College-bound sibling reinforces importance of cherishing memories elizabeth reed assistant editor

“Maybe tomorrow,” my sister sincerely says as she heads to work. Lately, this feels like the majority of what I’ve been hearing from her.

My sister hasn’t had to come to school this semester since she tested out of the credit she needed to graduate.

The first week of this semester I absentmindedly looked for her on the way to lunch and again on the way to fifth period but as expected she was nowhere to be seen.

Funny enough, I was a little apprehensive about attending high school with my sister. I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I was used to high school being just my friends—not mixing in my family. Once I started, though I realized it was nice to be able to talk about past classes she’s had, and teachers we’ve had in common. If anything, it brought us closer together. Suddenly, not seeing her at

school has become parallel to life at home. Whether it’s A shift in her life has made me realize there will be work, friends or errands, she always seems to be away from an effect on mine too. While she’s becoming an adult and the house. You would think that you’d get to spend more preparing for college, I’m mentally preparing to move onto time with someone who will prepare to leave next semes- a part of my life without being joined at the hip to my best ter. However, my situation is the opposite. friend at all times. Although change is good—necessary, Maybe I’m overreacting, or maybe I’ve gotten too used even— it’s a messy process. to her being around. Even though she hasn’t left yet and However, if I can see the silver lining in this, I realize her bedroom is steps away from that my sister’s preparing for colmine, I’m already missing her. lege is a good change. The silver I miss waltzing in and plopping lining is that she wants to move down on her bed to talk about silly Although change is good— forward in her life and further her things or about our days at school. education; when spun that way, Now it seems her mind is on some- necessary, even—it’s a messy this shift seems like the best posthing else—her future. sible outcome.

The two-year gap between process.”

More importantly though, my sister and me has never been a this shift has made me appreciproblem in regards to hanging out ate the amazing sister I have, the and communication. We’ve always memories we share, and even the gotten along easily since we were the closest in age of my petty fights that lasted a total of five minutes. Along with siblings. cherishing the memories we already have, I can certainly Despite this, it feels as if a chasm (if chasms can be look forward to the ones we will make. one-sided, of course) has appeared between us. It’s not the Elizabeth Reed is an assistant editor for The Roar. If fact that I don’t see her as much because she isn’t in school you’d like to share your experiences with a college-bound sibanymore; her not being in school has opened my eyes to ling, email her at the.roar.reed@gmail.com. the fact that her priorities are changing.

“

the roar | viewpoints | 7

friday, feb. 14, 2014

moments with

Dad

The Roar asked students how they bond with their fathers.

the thunder to my lightning

senior Abi McDougal

Storm-watching leads to greater appreciation for father annie zhang news editor

As the rain pounds on the roof and the wind howls outside, I lay shivering underneath my covers. With my flashlight in one hand and AP Human textbook in another, I begin reading the thirty-page chapter for the first time. (Yes, I know the test is tomorrow morning.) In my head, I can hear Thomas Malthus doing a not-so-good job of explaining why humans are going to die if we continue reproducing…and my dad calling me to go outside.

It’s 9:30. I haven’t finished (or started) my studying and it’s raining and thundering, which is precisely why my dad wants me to go outside—to show me the beauty of rain and lightning, otherwise known as water and electricity. As an atmospheric scientist, it’s his job and passion to watch storms raging outside and study anything in the air.

So I crawl out of bed, still in my pajamas and make my way to the living room, where he’s earnestly waving his hands, beckoning me to come outside and observe a storm, that to me, seems to be just like the last fifty-seven storms we’ve watched together.

We sit on the hood of the cars in complete silence and darkness in the open garage, the rain pounding furiously around us. As a child, I was afraid of storms, afraid of the loud, cold and wet atmosphere. But as I grew older, my dad would take me outside, and no matter how scared I was, I would follow him. During each storm, he would tell me almost the exact same things: why sometimes it would rain everywhere except our street, how lightning is made, why thunder was always heard after lightning and how to tell how far away the storm was. The explanations were always beyond my comprehension, but I never forgot a word he said. Eventually, I understood what he said, and we would have a heated discussion about the relationship between pressure and storms. When the storm abated, we would return, and my mom would look up, sighing at my dad for wasting my time again. But I really don’t mind, because those moments are few, just my dad and I trying to talk about something in common.

I’ve long since forgiven him for going hiking for six hours instead of shopping with me for two hours, because even though he smiles and says I look beautiful no matter what I wear, we both know that he cannot wait to get out of the mall. So, instead, we spend our time walking around the park, him explaining to me why the sky is blue and what chlorofluorocarbons are, and me drawing the structure of ethanol at age twelve. I wasn’t born with a passion for

chemistry—or anything scientific, for that matter—but I’d much rather answer a combustion problem than make small talk with him, listen to his awkward inquiries after my friends, or repeat our previous conversations. We still play football and basketball together with my brother, but I’ve found that I prefer my dad with his ramblings about storms and pollution to him trying to be someone he isn’t.

We stand in the rain, and my dad wraps up the same old lecture. After another pause of silence, he asks, “So…you’re uh…sixteen, right?”

I roll my eyes. Of course he can’t remember how old I am, but I can’t exactly remember how old he is either. I tell him yes.

“So that means…you’ll be in college in two years,” he says. “Big girl now, huh?”

“Yeah,” I reply.

“So when you’re off to college by yourself, you’ll remember everything I’ve told you about storms?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I reply.

In that moment I realize just how short two years is. In two years, I won’t be able to watch every storm with my dad again.

But that’s okay, because he’s already taught me everything I’ve needed to know about storms, and much more.

Annie Zhang is news editor for The Roar. If you’d like to share what you do with your dad with Annie, e-mail her at the.roar. alzhang@gmail.com.

“Growing up, my dad always took me to breakfast on my birthday. He also used to read aloud to my whole family after dinner.”

senior Safina Maredia “About once every two weeks, my dad and I sit down with something to drink, coffee or tea or whatever, and talk about something we’ve read that week, or our struggles: just anything going on in life.

It’s really made me more of open-minded person, and I hope to be the kind of person my dad is some day.”

8 | viewpoints | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

OPPOSING YES

nicole farrell senior editor

Music is now available to basically everyone online, at little to no cost.

Music libraries are now theoretically limitless.

Going digital allows for more variety—burning files and creating completely mobile collections means more discovery, easier sharing and instant access.

Web-based music lends itself to direct interaction with artists.

NO

leah crisman executive editor

A bit of the personality is sucked out of music when it’s placed next to ads (Spotify) or riddled with statistics (iTunes) or is of sketchy origin (8tracks).

The black market for physical copies of music is less nebulous of an affair than is Internet piracy.

Online, your music tastes are on display for friends to judge and companies to exploit. CDs, on the other hand, are as private as you want them to be.

Do Internet downloads deserve their current status as our primary source of music?

the roar's consensus

Strike balance between old and new Unwanted CDs collect dust in Half Price Books. In contrast, iTunes and Amazon (and even more so, the illegal download market) are thriving. That society is moving away from traditional forms of media consumption (books excluded) is, at this point, indisputable.

But should society continue in this direction so far as to wipe away traditional CDs and DVDs completely? The Roar thinks not. Our safest bet is to keep the these old hats around as we move into the clutter-free future.

The cloud, people may say, is merely the next step in the future of media—the logical next step after CDs. Records, cassette tapes and CDs have indeed come and gone as our primary means of owning music, but they all had one thing in common: a person could go to the store and hold the object. The “files” that are, essentially, our medium of choice today are certainly more convenient than clunky CDs. Now, a person can now access their music collection from literally anywhere.

The downside to this convenience? If—say—the World Wide Web came crashing down, what’d happen to all that music? Given the huge number of people who don’t back up their files, it’d be as if it had never existed in the first place.

The web’s newfound influence also spells doom for sentimentality. Streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora and the like have made it possible for people to listen to whatever they want—even if they don’t own it—whenever they want.

Gone are the days of mixtapes; their successors, mix CDs, are already fading into obsolescence. It’s much easier now to simply send someone music on Spotify or just stick a relevant YouTube link into a Facebook message. Nobody really gives CDs as presents anymore (or music at all, really—iTunes gift cards had their brief vogue in the early 2000s, but illegal downloading soon became so mainstream that they lost their relevance). Music has become impersonal.

That’s not to say that we should abandon the convenience of the cloud in favor of clunky disks. It’s not so much striking a balance as doubling the work to keep a CD collection and an iTunes collection in sync with each other. Doing so, though, will retain both the sentimental value of physical items and the convenience of files stored on the web. And if the “cloud” crashes—or if a real cloud comes crashing down on College Station—the songs and films and television episodes we value most will be safe somewhere.

The Roar 2013-2014 Staff Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Senior Editor Executive Editor Opinions Editor Photography Editor News Editor Sports Editor Entertainment Editor Assistant Editors

Staff Reporters Faculty Adviser Assistant Adviser

Dana Branham Michelle Liu Nicole Farrell Leah Crisman Shilpa Saravanan Eva Araujo Annie Zhang Channing Young Rojas Oliva Tiffany Hammond Stephanie Palazzolo Elizabeth Reed Aaron Ross Austin Coats Alex Coopersmith Zach Kluver Michael Williams Chauncey Lindner

The Roar Editorial Board

Dana Branham • Michelle Liu • Shilpa Saravanan

How do you store & consume your music?

"Google Play.

Even though it’s $10 a month, there is an unlimited amount of music to download." senior

NODIR SATTAROV

"Spotify, because you can choose the songs you like. And it’s pretty good for discovering new music." junior

MATI CASTRO

“Mooching off of family/ friends and listening to YouTube. Free and legal albums, hooray.” senior

PATRICK LYNCH

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, 2000-2011 ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit, the CSPA Gold Medal Award, the NSPA All-American distinction and 2005 ILPC Bronze Star and 2007-2013 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. Glynn Walker, 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. Catherine George, 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.

the roar | snapshots | 9

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Invisible Children hosts fashion show to raise money for Uganda dana branham & eva araujo editor-in-chief & photography editor On Feb. 1, carefully selected models strutted down the runway for the Invisible Children fashion show as the audience cheered for the familiar faces.

With these students modeling clothes from local boutiques like Buckle, Merge, Pine and Charli, the show was able to raise funds for the nonprofit organization Invisible Children.

Senior and Invis-

bile Children club president Channing Young expresses her graditude to all who helped and supported the fundraiser.

“I am so thankful for the turn out we had,” Young said.

“Having so much support here in little College Station really means a lot to not only those of us in the club, but in the end so many individual lives in Uganda.”

Senior Julianna Masabni’s dress flows as she struts down the runway. Masabni was modeling a dress from Merge Boutique. PHOTO BY EVA ARAUJO

FASHION YOUR S E AT B E LT S PHOTO OF KAMAI WILLIAMS BY DANA BRANHAM

Sophomore Tori Eidson strikes a pose in clothing provided by Pine Boutique. This was Eidson’s first year in the show. PHOTO BY DANA BRANHAM

Freshman Mady Schultz and senior Avery Keese pose at the end of the runway. Schultz is wearing Merge Boutique and Keese, Buckle. PHOTO BY EVA ARAUJO

10 | special

feature | the roar

friday, feb

burning down, buildin

1966 fire at local black high school permanently alters race r

L

incoln High School, previously located at the current site of the Lincoln Center, burned down to the ground on January 20, 1966. Remaining high school students were immediately transferred to A&M Consolidated High School.

Lincoln was an all-black school.

A&M Consolidated was all white.

However, before the forced move, in late summer of 1965, an important letter was mailed to all black families.

For high schoolers, a new and unusual choice was offered: remain at Lincoln or go to A&M Consolidated, starting that school year.

An ambitious student named Paul Stewart Garvin had petitioned for admission to A&M Consolidated just a few months earlier with a letter to the school board, after previous disputes and refusals. Garvin was strongly encouraged by his mother and Mary Leland, a former Consol math teacher and mother of art teacher Bob Leland. The school board ran the item on their agenda and the motion for integration by choice was unanimously decided. Garvin and many others enrolled at the beginning of the 1965-1966 school year.

“The majority of us did go,” former Lincoln student and Consol transfer Rasteen Wilson said. “It was something we wanted all the time.”

To these transfer students, A&M Consolidated High School was the golden land of opportunity.

“There were other fields that were opened up to us that we didn’t even know about,” Lincoln transfer William Roy said.

At Lincoln, everything had been worse: books, classroom equipment and facilities.

Both Roy and Wilson fondly remember the closeness of Lincoln, despite its lacking in key areas.

“Teachers at Lincoln, because we knew them anyways, played a special

role in our lives,” Roy said. “They had leverage on us, and they’d tell our moms and dads. We had to follow suit of what the teachers said.”

Similarly, because Lincoln was so small, everyone knew everyone. It was like a big family. Students usually came into the classroom following siblings, so teachers already knew the students by their last name alone.

Wilson remembers the disconnect he felt from Consol.

“I remember getting books, and I didn’t know the kids’ names in the book,” he said. “They were used books.”

No matter how close the family at Lincoln was, it couldn’t hide the fact that they weren’t part of the white educational community.

It wasn’t as if they were completely separated from whites, though.

DIVIDED LIVES LIVES DIVIDED Wilson grew up in the country, near Wellborn. His father worked for a white man, and the only kids for Wilson to play with were the man’s grandchildren.

“I was integrating with white kids long before integration,” he said.

Roy recalls white boys throwing water balloons full of urine or rotten eggs in his neighborhood.

“But that was life,” he said.

Consol alum Anne Boykin said her interactions with blacks in her early childhood were only postive.

On the weekends, kids would congregate at Holick’s Store. She remembers Mrs. Holick only allowing the black and white kids to be in the store at separate times.

“Whoever got there first would be allowed in,” Boykin said. “We would press our noses up against the screen door and watch them. They would watch us too.”

She remembers being jealous of this special, gold liquid the black children took home in big glass jars. She’d

ask for it, but Mrs. Holick was adamant, telling her she didn’t need it.

“I felt so deprived,” she said.

She realized later the gold “drink” was actually kerosene for lighting lamps and stoves, because many black families did not have electricity. It was humbling experience.

Jamie Bassett, former full-time math teacher at Consol, doesn’t remember any interactions with black people at all before integration when he was a freshman.

“I was sort of sheltered,” he said.

But, to this day, he keeps up with students he met from Lincoln, who became his classmates and friends.

He graduated in 1969, along with Roy and Wilson, and the class is meeting for their 45th anniversary this April.

Relationships naturally developed and matured over time, just as they would have if his peers were still all-white. It didn’t matter.

Both black and white students describe the transition and first year as relatively smooth.

“It was nothing like Alabama or Mississippi,” Roy said. “There were few kids on both sides that were still holding grudges because of their backgrounds: people on my side were brought up to never trust the whites, and the whites were raised up to fear the blacks.”

There weren’t any fights that students remember, and if there were, it was simply a personality issue.

“The dark side of both sides was pushed under the carpet,” said Roy. “We reasoned with people on our side, they tried to reason with people on their side.”

If anything, Lincoln students were eager to mingle. Consol was just better and bigger. The opportunity to be there was incredible to them— more classes, better equipment.

Wilson remembers feeling behind because the freshmen he met had already used science laboratories and

he hadn’t. Some students struggled, but others excelled easily.

The integration changed everything, both academically and socially.

Roy remembers his bewilderment at classes like Basic Business Administration and Computer Science.

“We were all saying, ‘What the hell’s a computer? How do you use this thing?’” he said.

But there was a relief in no longer having to borrow everything. Wilson described it as “sitting at a table where everyone has the same meal.”

However, Wilson felt slightly overwhelmed in face of the new challenges.

“It was like being thrown in the ocean: ‘Okay, swim,” Wilson said.

And for the black students, the ocean was unfamiliar and didn’t look like them.

“There were some things I missed,” Wilson said. “I didn’t see a black face in my classroom anywhere.

I saw some of them during lunch hour and in P.E., I saw some black faces, but that was it.”

UP UP IN IN FLAMES FLAMES The teachers were overwhelmingly white as well. When Lincoln burned in 1966, the students that had elected to remain at Lincoln really had no option but to now go to Consol. The teachers at Lincoln, were, for the most part, now unemployed.

A few teachers were offered teacher’s assistant-like jobs at Consol.

“My personal opinion is that the school burned down for a reason,” Boykin said. “Some people felt that integration wasn’t happening fast enough [or there was hesitation].”

No further investigation was conducted besides the standard fire report, but rumors of purposeful arson were numerous.

Boykin cited odd aspects to the situation such as delay in fire trucks, witnesses immediately or even simul-

taneously on the s that all of the stud destroyed.

“All those stud a clean slate,” she opinion, was a goo When those either in Septembe denly that January usual for the facult “I remember o ing on the interco “He just said, ‘We’r ing some new stud for them in the cla come them.’ That w There was lit minor disciplinary dress code occurred “Some of the g sunglasses all day,” the administration that.”

MORE MORE THAN THAN C All students, ducted class and friendships.

Sports definite cant role of the rea black students.

“There were li dice on both sides we started playing all together against people.”

Roy was a sta but didn’t even noti and the contributi Lincoln transfers. Th ing records went up “We started games than losing,” Wilson points began to improve, c a whole as a time ment in sports rang nis, track, to baske advanced further in “Our class rea for the students wh

relations

scene, and the fact dents records were

dents started with said, which in her d thing. students arrived, er of 1965 or sudy, business went as y. our principal comom,” Boykin said. re going to be havdents. Make room assrooms and welwas it.” ttle tension. Only y issues regarding d. guys liked wearing Boykin said. “But n couldn’t allow

CLASSMATES CLASSMATES now mixed, conbegan to form

ely played a signifil integration of the

ttle hints of preju,” Roy said. “Once sports, it pulled us a lot of the outside

ar football player, ice his own success ions of his fellow The school’s sportp. winning more ” Roy said. out that all sports citing the sixties as of huge improveging from golf, tenetball. More teams n district play. ally paved the way ho participate now,”

nicole farrell | senior editor

Wilson said. “There’s more black starters, and they’re all going to college now.”

SCHOOL SCHOOL SPIRIT… SPIRIT...

FOR A NEW SCHOOL Wilson recalls the loss of the Lincoln High identity as one particularly difficult aspect of the integration.

“We lost the purple and the Panthers [Lincoln’s mascot],” he said.

The perspective changed as the students changed. They were one student body now, but in order to unite, they had to lose something.

“You lose that goal of ‘you’re going to graduate from here,’” Wilson said. “All that was snatched away.”

Graduation was hard for some.

Classmates dropped out because they “slipped through the cracks” or “felt displaced,” Roy said.

“The majority of us held our own,” Roy said. “It wasn’t any harder, there was just more to offer.”

For example, Roy joined FFA and judged chickens.

“FFA was good for me,” he said.

“I bettered myself.”

LESSONS LEARNED LEARNED LESSONS Not only were there more extracurricular activities, but academics were just different.

Wilson laughs now, but he remembered taking a “pop quiz” early after his transfer, a foreign concept to him.

“My teacher announced, ‘We’re going to have a pop quiz,’” Wilson said. “There were only two questions: the title and the author. Each one was worth 50 points. I didn’t remember who had wrote it!”

This kind of new teaching was something Wilson grew to appreciate.

“That [type of quiz] quickened me to change my thinking,” he said.

“It made me aware to pay attention.

That’s the way life is. Things come up.”

Roy and Wilson remember specific teachers that made a difference.

The teachers may not have known them as intimately as those at Lincoln, but they were willing to help if asked and recognized each student’s potential. The education they received shaped the lives of those who had previously been excluded, and the empowerment of equality was life-changing.

“You don’t have to be white to be prejudiced. It comes from a person’s training, you’re not born like that,” Wilson said. “When someone needs a blood transfusion, you don’t ask what color person it came from. Look and see how successful A&M Consolidated has been. Everyone’s input made it better.”

To learn about earlier local desegregation efforts, please visit the.

roarnews.com.

The City of College Station Project HOLD (Historic Online Database) contains a number of primary sources relating to the desegregation of College Station schools. Consol graduate Anne Boykin was the Heritage Programs Coordinator at this time.

LEROY CLARK

Project

ng up

HOLD

the roar | special feature | 11

. 14, 2014

Headshots from Consol’s 1968 football brochure.

Clark, a senior and tricaptain at the time, was number 84. Roy, a junior then, was number 79.

While previous school boards had investigated (and decided against) integration, 1963 was the year College Station had to start stair-step integration– integrating class by class, beginning with kindergarten.

WILLIAM ROY

1963 SCHOOL BOARD

You can access Project HOLD at docarc.cstx. gov/docarc/

The Lincoln School in the 1960s. All photos provided by Project HOLD.

12 | people | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZACH GRIGGS

LET’S GET

Off-road drivers rev up for warm weather despite legal consequences channing young | sports editor

O

nce spring rolls around and the April showers hit the ground, senior Zach Griggs and his friends can be found taking their trucks out to make use of the fresh mud.

Griggs goes mudding whenever it rains, as long as it’s not cold outside.

“It’s usually more of a summer or spring thing. In the summer, I do it all the time,” Griggs said.

Although mudding is considered a fun pastime, there are dangers and legal issues involved. Recently, the Brazos County has been cracking down on those who trespass and go mudding on private property or county roads because of the damage the activity causes. Griggs himself has encountered such an issue.

“It was actually the first time I’d ever gone,” Griggs said. “We got stuck on a Thursday night and I had work right

after, so I had to leave my truck there that night.”

It wasn’t until after school the next day that Griggs and his friends were able to go back to the land to retrieve his truck. Once they finally dug up his truck, the police arrived.

“Right as we were pulling the truck out, a cop came by and asked if we needed help,” Griggs said. “Once we got it out, he asked if we knew whose property it was, and well, his guess was as good as mine.”

Criminal trespassing is a class B misdemeanor, but Griggs avoided fines and jail time by doing community service.

After this experience, Griggs still muds but realizes the consequences if he does not use his own land.

“It depends on what you’re doing,” Griggs said. “If you’re on your friend’s land that is okay, but mudding on county roads is dumb. That’s how I got caught.”

Griggs’s truck has also suffered due to mudding.

“I’ve messed up my front wheel drive, I’ve torn my bumper off several times, and I’ve torn other people’s bumpers off several times,” Griggs said. “My headlight isn’t even in place right now, and my grill has a big chunk out of it. All from mudding.”

Although Griggs’s car is damaged, when asked if it’s worth it he said, “Heck yeah, it’s worth it. I’d do it all over again.”

While Griggs loves to mud as much as he can, his peers don’t necessarily agree that the consequences are always necessarily worth it.

Senior Clint Hollis will also go mudding with fellow senior Corey Stoll, but they mostly go out when people need to be pulled out of the mud.

“You just have to be smart and responsible about it,” Hollis said.

Trucks, preferably 4-wheel drive or Jeeps, which “don’t weigh anything, and rarely get stuck,” are best for a good mud run, according to senior Clint Hollis.

Any vehicle will sustain bumper breaks, clogged engines, displaced headlights, & damaged grills when mudding.

the roar | people | 13

friday, feb. 14, 2014

bodylanguage

Junior responds to strangers’ insensitivity with wit michelle liu | managing editor

I

t’s not hard to mistake junior Mamie Barnhardt for a boy. After all, her hair is cropped short, and she generally wears t-shirts and basketball shorts. She doesn’t mind invasive questions about her gender—just don’t go so far as to peek through the restroom stall at her.

But some people do, and that’s why she made a Facebook status about it.

“One point I was trying to get across was that the issue isn’t that I’m being confused for a guy—I’m not offended by that, but the issue is that when people figure out I’m a girl, they can still be pretty disrespectful in the bathrooms,” Barnhardt said.

After a couple of restroom incidents—one where a woman called her a “creep” after she walked out from the women’s room, and another where girls discussed her within earshot outside of the stalls—Barnhardt published a status detailing what not to do if you’re unsure about who’s in the stall right next to you.

“I think that’s what kind of pushed me to write it, like, ‘Hey you guys, I can still hear you, I’m still in here!’” Barnhardt said. “‘I can actually see you through the crack in the stall talking about me!’”

The status, drawn from her own experiences, isn’t a sympathy-seeking plea: instead, it features the grace and humor with which Barnhardt has responded to in situations like these.

There’s a pun or two thrown in, a few parenthetical asides and even a reminder to wash your hands.

“Most of the time I’m not angry, especially when people don’t realize they’re doing it,” Barnhardt said.

But what is “it?” Is “it” when

people judge her for not meeting standards of what many think a teenage girl should look like, or when they call her out for daring to use the women’s restroom? Barnhardt says, however, that her status isn’t making any statements about gender, but rather just calling for courtesy.

“This is more about basically how you treat people that seem different from you, and being conscious

This is more about basically how you treat people that seem different from you. junior Mamie Barnhardt about your body language and how names can be offending,” she said.

Barnhardt’s good nature towards those unsure of her gender carries past the restroom, though: she isn’t one to be hurt by remarks in the classroom, either. For example, when substitute teachers doubt that she is indeed Mamie Barnhardt, she understands—if someone who appears to be a boy answers “here” to a girl’s name, you’d be doubtful too, Barnhardt states.

“One kid asked me one time if I was changing genders,” she said. “We were sitting in class and he looked over and he was like, ‘Are you on hormones?’ and I was like, ‘Are you on hormones?’”

Barnhardt claims that she hasn’t received any negative feedback on her status (which, as of publication time,

has 70 likes) and that her friends have been supportive of it (a look at the 19 comments yields “you are the human embodiment of a greater-than sign,” “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS” and “You’re a beautiful human, Mamie”).

“I know it’s been an issue for a few years definitely, and we’ve always had a kind of joke that I’m going to make her an ‘I am a woman’ t-shirt,” junior Joanna Lyle, a close friend of Barnhardt’s, said. “When she goes in the bathroom, she’ll know, ‘Yes, I am a woman, it says it right here on my chest!’”

Lyle mentions that no matter how much Barnhardt downplays it, the way people treat her in public restrooms—screaming in mock horror, yelling at her to get out and sometimes looking through stall cracks to make sure she belongs—often becomes “completely inappropriate in any sort of context,” she said.

“It’s always kind of joking, but at the same time, I mean, it makes me really upset,” Lyle said. “Mamie’s never been someone to attack people.

She’s as understanding as she can be in her situation, which is a lot more understanding than I think a lot of people would be.”

According to Barnhardt’s sister, freshman Eva Barnhardt, the message—and Barnhardt’s attitude—all boil down to a few simple concepts.

“She’s trying to make the best out of it, and to inform people of what they should and shouldn’t do if they do wonder if you’re in the right bathroom or not,” Eva Barnhardt said.

PHOTO OF MAMIE BARNHARDT

BY LEAH CRISMAN

A look at junior Mamie Barnhardt’s Facebook profile yields some of the following advice:

“If you happen to see someone that may or may not be in the wrong restroom, here are a few things I would like to put out there: Blatantly staring as the individual walks into the stall, and then peeping through the crack to watch them use the bathroom could, in some cultures be considered creepy and inappropriate.

The stalls are not soundproof. If that individual walks in and then you loudly ask the person next to you “IS THAT A BOY OR A GIRL?” that individual will hear you (and they might answer from in the stall).

Do not scream or (or gasp) and press yourself up against a wall. You are not in a cheesy action movie: they can see you. Also, that person is not contagious (and if they are, it is probably too late anyway).

Lastly, please wash your hands (just for people in general).”Thanks!

Fishing for Bytes 14 | people | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

S

Rising global online currency finds local following alex coopersmith staff reporter

RAT I ON SB

they exist solely online.

Bitcoins are obtained either by purchasing or mining them.

In order to mine a bitcoin, you There is a new currency in this world. Not a physical currency use a computer to crack detailed belonging to a country, but a dig- algorithms, which yield bitcoins ital currency that comes from the in return.

“I got [my part of a bitcoin] internet. It’s called Bitcoin.

All across America, and the by spending computer cycles world, bitcoins can now be used and using a fast graphics card to to purchase a growing variety mine them by cracking [an] alof goods. A CNN article from gorithm,” Suh said. “You connect last November states that you to a network and work away with can now purchase the following your computer.”

After a bitcoin is obtained it is items with bitcoins: a Subway sandwich, a haircut, a lawyer, stored in a paper wallet which is martial arts classes and even a a chain of letters and numbers.

Once a bitcoin is stored, there college education at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. While are many different ways they can Bitcoin might seem to be an on- be used. They can buy items, or line currency solely for techies, be converted to U.S dollars.

One aspect that makes Bitcoin there are people who use and understand Bitcoin right here at unique from any other form of currency is its volatility. Junior Consol.

“Bitcoins are a crypto-cur- Kenny Morgan, whose interrency, meaning they are a vir- est in bitcoins began a few years tual currency created completely ago, explained that their value over the Internet on computers,” has fluctuated significantly since junior Sam Suh, a tech student their popularity began to rise.

“Bitcoins were $7 when I familiar with Bitcoin said. “You obtain them by cracking en- started out, and on Jan. 1, 2013, they were only $13. So I was like crypted data.”

The other main difference be- ‘wow, it doubled.’ That’s pretty tween bitcoins and regular mon- good. By November, there was ey is that bitcoins are decentral- a 9,000% increase when it hit ized—there is no central bank $1,200,” Kenny Morgan said. for them, and nothing controls “The bitcoin value did drop down to $400, but [it their movement. Furthermore, has] gone back they are limited—only up to over 21 million will exist A V $900.” in the world—and I OL JAS O R

The rapid rise in the price of bitcoins has led many to believe that there is a bitcoin bubble, meaning that the price of the bitcoin is above its actual value and that the price will soon drop.

“The bubble will burst and people will lose a ton of money,” senior Paul Morgan, who has been interested in bitcoins ever since he heard of them, said. “But then it might turn back into an internet currency instead of just another stock people buy and sell.”

Yet, despite the current price changes bitcoins are going through, Paul Morgan said he believes the idea behind Bitcoin will prove advantageous to business.

“I think Bitcoin is a brilliant idea,” Paul Morgan said. “In the world of business there are always barriers between people who just don’t use the same currency, don’t speak the same language, don’t have the same customs, but bitcoins are another way to break down those barriers.”

The anonymity of bitcoins has contributed to its popularity.

“You don’t have to go through a bank or pay a fee,” Kenny Morgan said. “You can virtually send anybody in the entire world money without paying fees.”

This anonymous money does have its disadvantages. Bitcoins have been used to purchase illegal drugs and other illegal items

online. One such instance was the Silk Road, an online black market that sold drugs and accepted bitcoins for payment.

It was shut down by the government and over $3.6 million worth of bitcoins were seized.

“Just like regular currency, bitcoins can be used for illegal trade,” Paul Morgan said. “However, there is no reason to discount a currency because it can be used for the wrongs reasons.

Currencies are being used illegally all the time, and that’s no reason to devalue Bitcoin.”

In addition to purchasing drugs or other illegal items, Suh explained that bitcoins can now be used to buy many things online, and some items in real life as well.

“People use bitcoins as credit cards,” Suh said. “You can pay for gift cards and PayPal with [bitcoins].”

Similarly, Kenny Morgan noted that in 2014, companies such as Amazon, Ebay and Netflix are planning to accept bitcoins as payment.

There is great potential for the future of Bitcoin, but Suh and others believe that there are many obstacles in its way.

“It’s a great idea,” Suh said.

“But the people behind it that use it make it so that its uses are too vast and too scary to be properly put in the hands of people.”

Growing bit by bit Mining a bitcoin on your own?

Fastest processor:

three years vs.

Slowest processor:

203 years

Global profit produced by bitcoins in 24 hours:

$681,000 Price of electricity used each day by bitcoin miners:

$150,000 Bitcoin growth in value per year:

21% Source: visual.ly/thinkyou-can-mine-bitcoin

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the roar | sports | 15

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Boys track emphasizes individual improvement, unity michelle liu | managing editor

Boys track season starts a day after Valentine’s Day, but the team has already fallen well in love with its new coach—and he feels the same way.

“I love it,” head coach Kevin Waters said. “I love the school, I love the spirit, I love how the kids here are great.”

For junior Dante Reed, who runs the 400-meter and the 800-meter races, having a new coach creates a more cohesive track experience. “[Waters] really wants to implement that we are a team, and he really emphasizes that one event doesn’t win a whole track meet,” Reed said. “He wants us, as a team, to come together and set goals.”

Likewise, the boys are raving about how they’re no longer doing one-size-fits-all workouts: instead, they’re getting personalized plans from Waters, tailored to fit their events.

Sprinters aren’t running the same amounts (in the same intervals) as long-distance runners anymore. “[Waters] won’t have sprinters running three, four, five miles because he knows that’s counterproductive, so I feel that’s smart on his half, and I’m really enjoying it,” Reed said.

Hence, mid-distance runners like Reed will do ladders (increasing distances of 200 to 400 to 600 meters, and then back down), while long-distance runners have a different

workout program.

“Instead of doing an eightmile run, we’ll do eight milerepeats, so we’ll run a mile really fast, and then get a minute rest, and then run a mile really fast,” junior Cisco Hurtado, who competes in the mile and two mile races, said. “It keeps your endurance because it keeps the distance, but you work on your speed more.”

It’s not just the mere nature of the workout; it’s also how the boys approach workouts, starting with the warm-up—which some of the athletes weren’t accustomed to as an integral part of their regular practices.

“It’s actually part of the workout,” Waters said. “Maybe we’re not going to be doing as much volume on the workout side, but part of that workout will be doing the warm-up. It’s really important that we get strong, we get flexible and we prevent a lot of injuries.”

With all of the changes to their practices, the runners are seeing seconds shaved off their previous times, along with increased endurance.

“As a mile runner, that speed is what wins you the race.

In the past, I would be able to hang on until the last lap, and then everybody would just leave me,” senior Kyle Bohne said.

“Now, with that extra training, it just really helps to be able to finish out the race. I’ve already run a faster mile this year than I ever have before.”

Despite aiming for individual improvement, the boys

recognize that being a team—a major focus of Waters’s coaching—is what really leads to success.

“The team has to set goals for themselves. That way they have some ownership and some accountability for that,” Waters said. “Whatever we decide to do as a team, and whatever goals we set—we’re going to go after them tooth and nail.”

Bohne concurs.

“I wouldn’t be as good as I am now without everyone else on the team because it might be individual on a large basis, but each day in practice, we push each other and we compete against each other even though we’re friends,” Bohne said. “That makes us better. You have to have those people with you pushing you, making you faster. It still takes a team to win a cross country meet.”

Still, there’s a fine balance to be had.

“I try to keep things light and fun. I try to be as honest as I possibly can. I always will say, ‘If it’s good, you’ll know it. If it’s not good, you’ll know it.’ I think that kind of honesty—and then being able to find positives from that—is really key,” Waters said.

“It’s just about personalizing it for each kid. It’s just about finding that one thing that sings to that individual and then trying to tap into that.”

a new

balance

Juniors Cade Thibodeaux and Ben Thorton practice for their upcoming season. The first meet will be held on Feb. 15 at Oak Ridge High School. PHOTO BY ANNIE ZHANG

DATES FOR THIS SEASON’S MEETS

coming up

Feb. 15 Feb. 20 Feb. 21 Feb. 27

Oak Ridge Invitational Waller Northshore Invitational Montgomery

Feb. 28 Mar. 5 Mar. 6 Mar. 20 Mar. 21

Bryan Relays Huntsville Atascosita Invitational Consol Conroe Invitational

Senior outside midfielder Shayleigh Vinson prepares for a crossover pass against Lufkin.

Consolidated defeated Lufkin 1-0 on Jan. 31.

16 | sports | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

PHOTO BY SHILPA SARAVANAN

a family on the

field

Team of varying ages prepares for season, share special relationships shilpa saravanan | opinions editor

The varsity girls’ soccer team faces a new season in a challenging district— but with its ten returning seniors, it’s got plenty of old blood to lead it through.

Senior cocaptain Megan Lewis tries to gain control of the ball.

Lewis has scored one goal this season in district play.

PHOTO

BY SHILPA SARAVANAN

“All of us seniors, we’ve known each other for a while,” senior co-captain Megan Lewis said. “Most of us played club soccer together.”

Lewis and fellow senior co-captain Jenna Harrison have stepped up to fill their leadership roles on the team this season, but both are quick to point out the democratic nature of the team, Lewis stating that they’re merely “captains on paper.”

“We just make sure things get done,” Harrison said. “But I don’t feel like that puts us above anyone else.”

Lewis concurs, emphasizing the equality between all of the returning seniors.

“We’re all pretty big leaders on the team,” Lewis said.

The ten returning seniors may be old blood, ripe for graduation, but on the opposite end of the age spectrum, there’s new blood in the form of the large freshman class of girls’ soccer players, including three freshmen who currently play on the varsity squad—an out-of-the-ordinary number that head coach Stuart Keogh called “kind of unusual,” but also “pretty special.”

“The freshmen—these new faces coming in—will fill the void that the seniors are going to leave when they graduate,” Keogh said.

Freshman Eva Barnhardt, one of the three varsity freshmen, describes her transition from middle school soccer to the varsity high school team as “crazy,” but cherishes the role that soccer plays in her life.

“It’s pretty cool being a part of something as awesome as this team,” Barnhardt said. “We’re a family.”

And those last three words—we’re

a family—are indeed what this season has shaped up to be all about for this close-knit team. The death of soccer player Sydney Jeter merely a month before the start of the school year struck a powerful emotional blow and left many of Jeter’s closest teammates reeling.

“Everything since has been sort of a humbling experience,” Lewis said.

“We realized that we’re playing for more than our own selves—that there’s a bigger picture than this. We’re playing for us.”

The evident togetherness present among the teammates has been a key focus for them all. Through the intense practices of the offseason and into the regular season, the athletes worked and continue to work as a team.

“A lot of times, we’ll get exhausted and tired,” Harrison said. “But then we remember—we’re playing for this team.”

Indeed, the phrase “exhausted and tired” seems to about sum up Keogh’s description of the team’s offseason practice schedule in preparation for their new, tougher district—the team did “as much as they possibly could” before the start of the season proper, so that after the start of the season, they could focus on “the small things.”

“It becomes a lot more difficult to do intense practices and things like that when you’re playing games,” Keogh said. “But we’ve always been a team that’s very, very dedicated.”

Dedication, the two co-captains concur, is what will get the team through the season.

“We’ll give it our all,” Harrison said.

“And we’ll see how it goes from there.”

the roar | sports | 17

friday, feb. 14, 2014

and they strike again

Boys varsity soccer returns with high expecations for new season austin coats | staff reporter A new year brings big hopes for the boys varsity soccer team as they near district play. After a successful 2013 season, varsity soccer hopes to repeat and further the success in their season.

“We have high expectations as long as everybody works hard,” head coach Stefano Salerno said.

Once again, they face the difficult task of playing challenging teams in their district including the Woodlands, Conroe, Lufkin and Oak Ridge.

Salerno said he believes that Lufkin and Oak Ridge will be especially threatening because they have new coaches, which tends to translate to a certain level of success, and he should know: his squad made a playoff run in his first year coaching varsity soccer.

Despite this daunting schedule, Salerno said the team’s minimum was to make play offs.

Salerno said his players have certainly bought into this goal and will build on this confidence throughout the season.

Junior and starting striker Daniel Zivney has especially high goals for the season.

“My goal for the team this year is to win district,” Zivney said.

Zivney will be a driving force for Tiger soccer this season after scoring 16 goals in his sophomore season and scoring nine goals in the seven matches he has played in this year. He seems to have a good start for his lofty personal goals, which will be a posi-

tive result for the team as a whole.

The team is already showing great signs of success as they have only one loss in ten matches in predistrict games and tournaments. This includes a 1-0 win against College Station High School, 6-0 against Brenham and 13-0 against Bellville as well as winning the Kilt Cup tournament at the Woodlands.

“Our recent success gives us confidence and mental fortitude,” Zivney said.

Another big challenge for Salerno’s squad is replacing a line-up’s worth of players after 11 players from last year’s squad graduated last June.

“We lost a lot of extremely strong seniors and a lot of size. It just means we have to work harder for goals,” Zivney said.

This loss is certainly felt by all members of the team.

“It’s definitely a transitional period,” Salerno said, “We need to get everyone to play well together.”

A huge part of dealing with these challenges is preparation. Salerno makes sure that there is ample research and practice for each game in order to give the team the best opportunity to win. However, a portion of Salerno’s coaching focuses on repetition of their success.

“We have to keep working on what we do well,” Salerno said.

While this Tiger team has their share of trials, do not expect them to go down easily. Their recent success and mental fortitude bode well for a strong season.

[clockwise from top] Seniors Josh Schecter and David Blinn lead the team out of the locker room as the start of the second half draws near. The team ended the scrimmage against the Waco University Trojans with a 3-2 win on Jan. 21.

Junior Daniel Zivney outstrips an opposing defender while his teammates follow close behind to back him up. The Tigers broke the Trojans’ 33-game win streak on Jan. 21. PHOTOS BY SHILPA SARAVANAN

UPCOMING GAMES DATE:

OPPONENTS:

Varsity:

JV-A:

JV-B:

2/18 2/25 3/4

Conroe Lufkin Bryan

7:30 pm 6:00 pm 6:30 pm

5:30 pm 4:00 pm 4:30 pm

4:00 pm 4:00 pm

18 | entertainment | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

what we’re roaring about: movies Roar staffers review depictions of love throughout time

the Her new: 2014 Plot

Director: Spike Jonze

eva araujo | photography editor

the (sort of) Groundhog Day old: 1993

In a small, highly futuristic Los Angeles apartment lives a melancholy fellow named Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) who might as well be the loneliest man in the city. Ever since his wife filed for a divorce, Twombly has used technology to occupy his time. Whether that be by playing advanced interactive video games or partaking in sketchy online chat rooms, the man is hooked on technology. His life consists of a pretty normal schedule: strap on some high-waisted trousers, ride a bus full of people engrossed in their mobile devices, return to work at HandWrittenLetters.com, go home, get cursed out by a video game character, have a few provocative chats with unknown, sad women, then finally, try to get some sleep without thinking about the love of his life leaving him forever. He repeats this depressing routine until one day he happens upon an ad for a device that will change his life. She’s an operating system, a state-of-the-art voice interface named Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), that can organize files, schedule appointments, and give advice amongst other things. She’s like a highly intelligent “life” assistant without a body and he falls head-over-heels in love. Soon after a couple of dates and a few nights of casual sex talk, a relationship ensues which may or may not be as odd as it sounds.

Romance Director Spike Jonze’s purpose is to plant a series of conflicting questions in the minds of the viewers. It’s expected for the audience to feel a bit weird after 126 minutes of watching a human being fall in love with a non-human being. However, is it that crazy? Don’t people fall more and more in love with technology every day? It’s something people claim they can’t live without, spending more and more time on their phones or computers than socializing with people in real life. Most teens addicted to technology even sleep with their electronic devices, falling asleep to the humming sound of their computer fan. Twombly certainly begins to feel more connected to his OSS device than to actual people.

The film warns against a love for technology that leaves you with a tiny bit of happiness and a whole lot of wasted time.

In short The film’s cinematography was beautiful. Everything is crisp and clean, and warm colors glowed through the screen. Not a cheesy moment could be found in this romance movie; from the acting to the script, this movie screams perfection. However, it might be much harder for the audience to feel a connection with the story than with a typical romance movie. However, the disconnection almost seems intentional. This way the lack of connection Twombly feels with the world, love and himself can be transferred to the audience. Overall, the film is more than excellent.

Director: Harold Amis

austin coats | staff reporter

With Valentine’s Day upon us, romance movies are becoming popular again and not many romances are as good as “Groundhog Day.” The 1993 comedy stars the great Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a weatherman from Pittsburgh, who finds himself in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on a trip to cover Groundhog Day. Phil tries to leave Punxsutawney, but gets turned around on the way because of blizzard conditions. When he wakes up the next day, Phil finds that the same things that happened to him the day before are happening to him again. He’s repeating Groundhog Day. And it isn’t just once—it’s over and over again.

While Phil starts out baffled by this strange occurrence, he begins to get used to it and starts living like there’s no tomorrow. Everyday it’s something new, whether it’s starting a police chase, stealing the celebratory groundhog and committing suicide, courting women he doesn’t know or courting Rita, the producer of his news coverage (played by Andie MacDowell). He can do it all with no consequences because there is no tomorrow for him.

And it’s from these experiences that Phil learns something important.

When he tries to court Rita, Phil goes through each Groundhog Day campaigning for her heart and learning how to gain her favor; he learns French poetry, what to toast to, and develops opinions similar to hers all because he learned it the day before… Well, the today before. When he becomes dissatisfied with the false relationship that he’s building, he realizes that love shouldn’t be built on one person’s interests and dishonesty. So Phil tries a new tactic: he admits how he’s repeating the same day and shows how his experience helps the people of Punxsutawney in their troubles on Groundhog Day by knowing in advance what would happen to them…because at this point, he’s repeated the same day for over 30 years. As a result, he learns the true components of a working relationship: honesty and chemistry between two individuals.

Though “Groundhog Day” has a theme; what makes it work is the comedy aspect of the movie. As one can probably imagine, the repetition of the same general events can be pretty brutal to watch; however, the one-liners keeps the audience on their feet. For example, he asks his bed and breakfast proprietor: “Do you ever have déjà vu, Mrs. Lancaster?”

“I don’t think so, but I could check with the kitchen.”

Additionally, Phil asks two town drunks, “What would you do, if you were stuck in one place, and everyday was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” only to have one reply with a shot and the other say, “Pretty much sums it up for me.” Comedy like this takes away from the tedious repetition of Groundhog Day and in that way makes the whole movie more enjoyable.

This classic film is a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day and is definitely worth seeing for its comedy and central theme, no matter what the occasion.

the roar | entertainment | 19

friday, feb. 14, 2014

BACKtoSCHOOL BACKtoHEALTH

art teacher Bob Leland

Art teacher declared cancer-free elizabeth reed | assistant editor PHOTO OF BOB LELAND BY ELIZABETH REED

growing beards, raising funds Last semester, computer tech teacher Bart Taylor organized a contest, called “The Noble Men of No Shave November,” to see who could grow (or fabricate) the best beard and, more importantly, to raise money for art teacher Bob Leland, who was battling cancer at the time. Students and groups voted for their favorite bearded team by making monetary donations.

total funds raised: $1590.07 league 1 (the real beards) 1 place: Brotherhood of the Beard comprised of 12 members of Mr. Taylor’s computer tech classes, plus Mr. Taylor st

league 2 (not the real beards)

2nd place: Medrano’s Moustache-teers

1st place: Lord of the Beards comprised of seniors Anna Chernikova, Hannah Moore, Montana Caler, Cayley Elsik and Carolyn Frankson donation votes: $21.99

donation votes: $15.00

2nd place: Extra, Extra! Beard All About It!

donation votes: $29.33

donation votes: $15.05

N

o Shave November was a while ago, but it was a time to get creative with beards for a good cause—a way to support art teacher and coach Bob Leland in his fight against cancer. Leaving during the fall, Leland didn’t return until spring semester. After going through three surgeries (including one that took 16 hours), Leland is back.

“So far I’m free and clear,” Leland said. “I’m starting to get my strength back but I’m still coming back from the shock of surgery.”

Not only did the surgeries take a toll physically, but the cost was taxing itself.

“You wouldn’t believe the cost just for transportation, parking, meals, overnight and just driving down [to Houston],” Leland said.

However, the school, staff and student body contributed to help, and Leland said he couldn’t be more thankful.

“Teachers are usually on the giving hand,” Leland said, “so I find myself in new territory when people do things for me and I didn’t do anything but get sick.”

The school’s involvement in No Shave November also resonated with his daughter, sophomore Jenna Leland.

“It meant a lot that the school cared so much about my dad,” Jenna Leland said. “And I know it meant a lot to him.”

Leland was awed by the stur-

dy support of the staff. Not only was No Shave November (put together by tech teacher Bart Taylor) in Leland’s honor but principal Gwen Elder put together a faculty jeans day, too.

“Our staff was unbelievable— No Shave November was just one example,” Leland said. “They always had positive comments in the hallway, always checking up on me, [sending] cards and the caring comments.”

Along with the support, Leland loved the idea behind No Shave November.

“I think the staff had fun with it. Everybody had fun with it,” Leland said.

Through the whole process of fighting cancer, Leland felt that his faith contributed to his health.

“I just want to say prayers are answered,” Leland said. “I give the credit to God, and it’s amazing that we caught [the cancer] early.”

Even after thanking the faculty and staff, Leland said he still feels like a “thank you” doesn’t suffice for the support he was given.

“How do you thank somebody—you can’t really,” Leland said. “It was challenging for me to accept it. I’m learning that I can’t do everything, can’t fight by myself.”◆ Previously published on The Roar Online.

NO-STRESS DRESS

20 | etcetera | the roar

friday, feb. 14, 2014

Project offers options for students in need of prom dresses

E

avesdrop on a lunch table full of high school girls and you might hear conversations about the book they’re reading for English, how ridiculous that chem test was, and how the cafeteria sandwiches really aren’t all that good, but wait around long enough and you’ll almost inevitably hear one topic: prom.

While this theoretical table of girls discusses prom, they’ll almost inevitably happen upon another topic: the dress, and where they’re buying it. FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) has taken that step out of the equation with their year-long project, Say Yes to the Dress.

“Basically what we’re doing is collecting prom dresses from organizations at A&M, especially sororities and freshman leadership organizations.

And then, we’re hosting an event where any girl can come to the school and look at prom dresses,” FCCLA president Hannah Reynolds said. “It’s open to anyone, because it’s hard for some girls to get the dress of their dreams, and it can be a lot to afford.”

The idea for Say Yes to the Dress came about a few years ago, when Tami Dudo, math teacher and AVID sponsor, says it “fell into her lap.”

“At the time, I was in the front office as student success coordinator, and we got a phone call from a lady who said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a prom dress that I’d really like to donate to a student. Would you accept it?’” Dudo said. “I had already been collecting school supplies and that kind of stuff, so I was like, alright, prom dresses. We’ll do that too.”

Soon, other students, parents and community members

dana branham | editor-in-chief heard that Dudo had begun collecting prom dresses and wanted to add to her collection. Some even offered to contact sororities to ask for their unneeded prom dresses.

“It just kind of snowballed from there, because then other teachers were like ‘Wait, I have prom dresses from my kids— can I bring those?’” Dudo said.

“So that first year, we had about 150 prom dresses that were donated through the teachers, through the community and through the sororities.”

Of those 150 prom dresses, 50 dresses were given away to students. The next year, however, Dudo started teaching math and AVID classes again, and with a busier schedule that year, she had less time to coordinate the project. From there, FCCLA saw an opportunity to help Dudo coordinate the event.

FCCLA vice-president junior Jaiden Harrison said that when the club’s sponsor told them about about the project, they unanimously decided that it was important for them to help.

“I really wanted to do something big and special for my third year in FCCLA. When this project presented itself to us, we had a couple different things that we were throwing around, things we wanted to raise money for, but this one was special to me because I know how excited I am for prom,” Harrison said. “I’ve heard how awesome [the project] is from seniors.”

Certainly, Say Yes to the Dress has been well-received and successful in the past.

Each year, faculty members help organize two shopping events on Saturdays, where girls are invited to come to the school and try on dresses.

“I think the first time we did the Saturday event and had

girls come in and find a dress, and seeing that big old smile, it was just like, oh my gosh,” Dudo said. “Then, going to prom and seeing them in [the dress], that made me think, ‘Okay, we need to do this every year.’”

Reynolds agreed, saying that the project’s reputation for being able to help many girls made FCCLA want to be a part of it.

“So far, just knowing how girls have been blessed by it in the past and knowing that we are going to be able to serve our community is rewarding,” Reynolds said. “And it’s cool to get the college students involved because a lot of them maybe don’t realize that there’s a community outside of A&M. It’s an opportunity for them to see that, oh, there are high school students here.”

Both Reynolds and Harrison emphasized that the events are open to any student who needs a prom dress.

“Know that if you were to participate in Say Yes to the Dress, it wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Harrison said. “It’s about you wanting to get the dress that you want—that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to find in a store or necessarily be able to buy. So you spent your last paycheck on too much Sonic—it happens. You can still have the prom dress you want.”

While the club is not asking for student donations of dresses (to avoid potential cattiness at the dance, Dudo said), Harrison explained that they still need help spreading the word.

“If someone still wanted to help, the best thing they could do is spread knowledge,” Harrison said. “It’s not for a select group of people; it’s for everyone.”

HOW to

HELP IF YOU’RE A

STUDENT HELP SORT DRESSES

talk to Hannah Reynolds or Mrs. Dudo.

DONATE used shoes & accessories in good condition.

SPREAD THE WORD about Say Yes to the Dress!

IF YOU’RE NOT

DONATE A DRESS

contact Mrs. Poe, Mrs. Dudo or Mrs. Gardenhire.

HELP FACILITATE the event on Saturday, April 5 from 2-5 p.m.

DONATE GIFT CERTIFICATES for manicures & pedicures.