Vol. 20 No. 1

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Roar

A&M Consolidated High School

Rap group StereoType makes breaking stereotypes its business. Read more on page 16.

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

Friday, Sept. 26, 2014

Vol. 20 No. 1

inthisissue people

football

8&9

sports

COMPUTER MONITORS

Changes in handling of student data natural consequence of technology by stephanie palazzolo, senior editor

volleyball

13

reviews

F

ifty years ago, student data was locked away in barely-used, rusty filing cabinets that took a kick and a bit of luck to open. Today, however, with the ever increasing growth of technology and the need for information, data on students, whether that be their address, phone number or Internet history, is collected constantly and sent to the ever omnipresent “cloud”.

So it’s no surprise when many students begin to ask themselves: What is the school really doing with our information?

TRADITIONAL DATA COLLECTION

15

coffeeshops

wheretolook

news viewpoints snapshots football people sports entertainment

pages 2-4 pages 5-6 page 7 page 8-9 page 11-12 page 13-14 page 15-16

“I’m very protective because in my position, officially, I am in charge of the records on this campus,” Dean of Students Christi Cheshire said. “A lot of time the military will email us and say, ‘Can I get a list of your current seniors and addresses and phone numbers?’ So does the district release those? Yes. There are some agencies where we have an obligation to release some information, but that information is never grades, that information is never personal information with a counselor.”

In addition to the military, CSISD has contracts with a few other companies, such as Specialties Photography, that lead to an

exchange of student data. However, student consent always comes first, even for the military.

“There’s a federal law, the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act or FERPA,” Cheshire said. “Basically, we’re under this law that says we can’t share your information without your permission. Now when I say ‘your information,’ I’m talking grades, and really, I’m not even allowed to share your attendance or anything like that.”

This permission comes from forms that students’ parents are required to fill out before the beginning of the school year.

“In the past, the parent has received a sheet of paper that says, ‘Information by the FERPA law is protected, do you give your permission to...’ and then there’s about three or four checkboxes there that say, ‘Do you give us permission to release your child’s information for directories, military use, etcetera?’” Cheshire said. “So the parents are aware, but the kids don’t usually fill them out. Maybe we need to do a little better job to get that point across to the students.”

THE INTERNET AGE

Although the laws for collection of physical data are well established and have been for many years, rules for online data

are a little more hazy.

“Nearly every web system on the internet collects data about its users,” CSISD systems analyst Kelly Derrick said. “If necessary, it is possible for administration to request access to a student’s H drive. Our web filter also collects information about the sites visited on all users in the district, [including] all employees and staff, as well as students.”

Derrick works on the CSISD Technology team, and although students may not be aware of her effect on the school’s technology, she and her coworkers play subtle, yet extremely important, roles in the school system.

“All of the Technology team is vital to protecting the student and staff data within our network,” Derrick said. “We work closely with the networking team to make sure that the web applications are able to securely pass data and traffic from our servers to the internet and back again. The systems team is responsible for the servers and computer accounts and make sure that the web servers are secured from unauthorized access. My role is to work with the rest of the technology team to make sure all of our technology is working well and securely for staff and students.”

“Privacy” continued on page 3.

2 | news | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

CSISD child nutrition strives to meet federal guidelines, student needs aaron ross | news editor Cafeteria food gets a bad wrap.

Some students complain about the taste, others the unhealthiness and some even complain at the attempts of integrating healthy items (like whole grain buns, tortillas or G2). Despite all the bad publicity the process of choosing and providing food for the schools is a complicated business.

“We have to meet the federal guidelines, but we could provide the healthiest meal in the world and if nobody wants to eat it it’s not worthwhile,” director of Child Nutrition Diane Dahm said. “On the other hand because we only have so much money we have to make sure it fits our budget.”

Contrary to public opinion, an immense amount of thought is put into what is served. The government regulates school food closely.

“They give us very strict guidelines,” Dahm said. “Each day we have to have a minimum amount of meat and grain offered. We have to offer a fruit or vegetables every day and there is a certain quality we have to offer. With vegetables we have to offer different subsets of vegetables throughout the week, so every week we have to offer so much dark green, so much dark orange or red, and a certain amount of starch. We’ve always

had a minimum amount of calories that we have to provide; now we have a maximum amount of calories we can provide on average per meal.”

Consolidated is part of a co-op, a collective bid where it and other school districts in the greater Houston area purchase food.

“The co-op puts out a bid yearly and we go to the [food] manufactures and ask them for special pricing,” Glazier Foods Schools sales specialist Lynda Azzarello said. “Then in turn when we get the special pricing we attach a fee to it. That’s the final price we give to the district.”

Consolidated gets much of its food from Glazier Foods, which is essentially the middleman between CSISD and food producers like Tyson.

“Food for the K-12 group is very big business, there are millions of meals served every day in public and private schools and a lot of the food companies you see at the grocery store have divisions that make food specifically for schools,” Dahm said. “Our total budget for child nutrition is about $5,000,000 [a year].”

Funding for school meals comes from two sources, the students who pay for the meals, and the subsidies from the government.

“We get government money back for every full meal, so if a student qualifies for free meals we’re getting

full price for that meal,” Dahm said. “If a student qualifies for reduced meals then we’re getting the full price minus 40 cents. Even for somebody who pays $2.50 for the full meal, that’s really not the full price of the meal, we’re still getting a little money from the government to help subsidize that meal. If a student is coming through and just buying a slice of pizza, we have to make sure that what they are paying is covering the true cost.”

This system ensures that school lunches remain in touch with student needs, and rewards successful business.

However Dahm elaborated that any extra money made is not wasted.

“The profit all goes back into the department. At Consolidated we did some remodeling in the cafeteria and were also able to replace equipment that was worn out,” Dahm said. “We have a school this year that’s probably going to need a new dishwasher that will cost probably about $60,000. That will come out of our budget of the additional money we have made.”

This system ensures that cafeteria food and service will always be improving.

“We have progressively been working over [the] years to make our years healthier and more appealing,” Dahm said. “We will continue to do that as more products come out.”

SMART SNACKS All food sold at school during school hours must:

• be a whole grain

product • OR have as its first ingredient a fruit, vegetable, or dairy product • OR be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit or vegetables • OR contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of a nutrient

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the roar | news | 3

friday, sept. 26, 2014

District-wide data collection raises security, privacy concerns among students “Privacy” cont. from page 1 And yes, a small portion of this work does include collecting data on students and staff. Every time someone logs in to one of the public school computers in the library or computer lab, the school automatically saves information about the user and his or her actions.

Despite common belief, though, collecting data does not equate to administrators covertly creeping through students’ H-drives and examining their personal information. Instead, most of the data that is collected is anonymous and general rather than personal.

“We do collect usage data for [the program] Success 24/7 that is shared, but that is limited to generic statistics, and no personally identifying information about students is part of those metrics,” Derrick said.

After the data is compiled, it can be analyzed and used to improve the school’s technological services and programs. “[Collecting data] helps systems administrators identify suspicious behavior,” Derrick said. “For example, if someone had your username and kept trying to log in by guessing your password, we’d be able to easily identify this based on the login attempts and the IP address.

Collecting data can also help improve

systems for the users. Seeing what kind of devices and browsers are used to access applications can make sure that we design and develop systems that work well on those devices and browsers.”

STUDENT CONCERNS

Both students and the CSISD school district benefit from collecting data about students’ online use. however, many students still believe that their private information is just that: private.

“I believe everyone deserves a right to privacy, but that doesn’t mean everyone will have it,” senior Kenny Morgan said.

“Information is power, and companies like Google would not be the company it is today without the sale of collected information. I have personally used software that shows me exactly who is collecting my information and have seen over a hundred different organizations tracking me from a single site.”

Other students agree, citing the lack of student consent as the main reason behind their dislike of student data analysis.

“If the student doesn’t explicitly allow the school to share their information with another party then it shouldn’t, and doing so is a breach of the student’s privacy,” sophomore Brandon Zhao said.

Despite some student opposition, some agree with the school district’s

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actions, believing that the benefits that come from data collection outweigh any of the consequences.

“I think most assume that their files can be viewed by anyone since it is a cloud, a general network,” junior Alex Cantrell said. “I know they have some scanning softwares that scan our files and look for anything offensive or harmful to the school itself that could get the school in trouble.”

Cantrell also reminds his peers that the school owns the computers and network, so allowing students to use the services is a rare privilege.

“If I was paying for my own network, and [administrators] had access to my files, then that’s something that shouldn’t be happening,” Cantrell said. “We don’t have a lot of privacy, but nor should we really because of that fact that [the school network] is a public place and a public service.”

Although many students have strong negative or positive opinions on student data collection, administrators believe that some of them simply aren’t interested.

“It’s kind of like all of your information being out on the Internet or on Facebook.

There are some students that just let it all hang out on Facebook, and they don’t realize that it’s there for the world to see.”

Cheshire said.

However, many students believe that

the indifference towards the issue is caused by a general lack of information, which the school should remedy.

“Internet privacy has received a lot of attention in the media,” Morgan said.

“Students have a right to know the extent to which their data is collected and how it is used.”

Others argue that since students are generally aware that their data is being collected, any notices alerting the students would be useless and a waste of resources.

“Well, I mean, you can answer this question by asking if they should send out a notice notifying students that their lockers are eligible to be searched at any time. It’s common knowledge,” Cantrell said. “And you can correlate the two because what’s the difference between storage in physical life and storage in online life?”

Although the debate over collecting students’ data continues, there’s one thing most people can be certain about: It’s not going to stop anytime soon. “[Data] collected on our custom systems like Cloud CSISD and Success 24/7 is used mainly to help the programmers and systems administrators keep those systems running well for users,” Derrick said. “We make protecting and safeguarding your data and information a priority, and the whole team works diligently to make sure we do just that.”

4 | news | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

District implements grading change to level playing field, aid students alex coopersmith | opinions editor With the goal of helping student athletes, CSISD changed the way grades are defined by removing the D grade and replacing it with an expanded C grade.

This change defines a C as between a 70 and 79. In the past, grades that fell between 70 and 74 were considered a D. “[The change] helps students who are college-bound from an athletic standpoint,” football coach Brian Cope said. “It gives them the opportunity, in the NCAA’s eyes, to boost their GPA.” In order to become academically eligible to play college sports, all student athletes must meet the minimum GPA and test standards set by the NCAA. For instance, if a student athlete has a 3.0 high school GPA, they only need a 620 SAT sum score of reading and math, or a 52 ACT sum score of all four sections. However, if the student has a 2.0 high school GPA, they need higher test scores at a 1010 SAT sum score of reading and math, or an 86 ACT sum score of all sections.

“It doesn’t matter in the NCAA’s mind that a B is an 80 or an 89, you still get 3 points,” Cope said. “Similarly a 90-99 is four points. So, now we’ve made a 70-79 two points.”

Because the NCAA views the D grade as a 1.0, no matter what the actual grade is,

it dragged down student athletes’ NCAA calculated GPA at the consol. By removing the D grade, the school is boosting student athletes’ GPAs by changing what a grade stands for, and not the actual grade.

“The bottom line is that [this change] is going to help our student athletes, instead of hindering them,” principal Gwen Elder said. “Many of our comparable school districts didn’t calculate D’s.”

School districts such as Bryan ISD, Southlake Carrol ISD and Lake Travis ISD all do not give D’s. As a result, their student athletes had higher NCAA-calculated GPAs than consol student athletes.

“We looked at the top ten academic school districts in Texas because we feel that we are a very good school district, and eight out of the top ten do not give D’s,” Cope said. “We wanted to get our students a chance just as much as other students across the state.”

The grading change may also help non-student athletes “I think [the grade change] benefits all students,” Cope said. “It is a good addition that helps kids, and that is what we are in here for.”

No longer will any student feel downtrodden about a D on a report card. In addition, CSISD is now using the same grading standards that many colleges use. But its main goal is improving NCAA calcu-

lated GPA. “This change is designed primarily to help college bound student athletes,” Elder said.

In addition to the removal of D’s, there is an additional change in the grading policy. Classes no longer have to have three academic achievement grades in a six weeks. Now, all classes must have a minimum of two academic achievement grades, but preferably three.

“If we had a shorter six weeks, it was really difficult for some of our teachers to get all the grading done in a timely manner,” Elder said. “Some of our English teachers were taking personal days to get their papers graded and get the feedback to their students by the end of a six weeks.”

These two changes are sincere efforts by the adminstration to improve students education.

“We want to make sure we have a true assessment of what students are supposed to be learning,” Elder said. “Our grades and change in grading policy reflect that.”

Even with all this change, more new policies may be on the horizon.

“Every year we go back and reevaluate our grading policy,” Elder said. “Next year we will go back and look at this, because somebody will bring a concern, and we will do our best to address any concern that is brought to our attention.”

HOW DOES CONSOL CALCULATE GPAs?

Grade

90-100 (A) 80-89 (B) 70-79 (C) 0-69 (F)

GPA

3.0-4.0 2.0-2.9 1.0-1.9 0.0

HOW DOES THE NCAA CALCULATE GPAs?

Grade A B C D F

the

GPA 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0

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5 | viewpoints | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

Family quest for healthier lifestyle leads to fufillment, shared moments stephanie palazzolo

senior editor “This is going to be the summer,” my mom whispered as she unpacked our new smoothie machine. “The summer we finally get in shape.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled, barely even listening. I was sprawled across our living room couch, my laptop warming my belly as I munched from a bag of Hot Cheetos and finished my latest episode of Supernatural.

She finished assembling the smoothie maker and set it on the table. “Uh-uh.”

She grabbed the bag from my hand and snatched the laptop away. “No more junk food. No more lying around. And no more...” She glanced at the laptop screen. “... Ghostbusters or whatever. I’m making you a kale smoothie.”

Before I could remind her that nothing anywhere near a vegetable should go

in a smoothie, she had already dumped a handful of apple slices, pineapples and (gasp) leafy greens into the blender, and with a terrifying roar, my summer of healthiness began.

Since that day, I have endured chunky smoothie after smoothie with varying levels of success, spent hours in the Texas heat sprinting up hills in my neighborhood (and almost getting attacked by a dog in the process, but that’s another story), declined the last piece of cheesecake and listened to the irritatingly high pitched voice of the Wii Fit balance board telling me that after a 1,284 daylong hiatus, I had, in fact, not met my goal of losing five pounds—all in the name of getting fit. And do you know what the worst part is?

I’m actually kind of liking it.

Sure, I still look forward to bingewatching Dance Moms and devouring several ice-cream drumsticks in one sitting, but there’s something invigorating about coming home after a particularly grueling run and realizing that your legs probably won’t be functioning for the next hour. Part of me is still in denial; af-

ter all, I’ve spent most of my teenage life complaining about having to go out and leave the safety of my bedroom.

Strangely enough, though, the best part of all this isn’t losing weight or building muscles, but rather building a stronger bond with the rest of my family. Part of my inner rebellious teenager crumbles as I admit it, but it’s true. Going out for an evening bike ride doesn’t require stilted conversation or awkward questions like a family dinner does. Maybe it’s because we’re all sweating too much to talk, but I’d like to think that it’s our sense of camaraderie that makes the silence a comfortable one instead of an awkward one. And believe me, watching my mom try to ride her bike without falling over is more funnier than any joke my dad could come up with at the dinner table.

Thanks to our newfound love of fitness, we’ve gone on adventures that I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of us even attempting otherwise. My dad is one of those people who thinks that every activity is an invitation for disaster, so we were all surprised when he suggested we go hiking in the Smoky Mountains during

the summer. I mean, there was so many things that could go wrong: we could fall off the face of the mountain, get bitten by snakes, heck, we had even heard of a recent bear attack in the area. And I’m not suggesting that nothing did go wrong —after all, my seven-year-old brother managed to fall into a river and ended up trekking down the mountain minus a pair of pants so he wouldn’t catch a cold—but that was nothing compared to laughing with my cousin as we raced through the trees or posing for a selfie with my sister in front of a pounding waterfall.

Yeah, maybe I woke up every morning with sore legs, and yeah, maybe I still didn’t manage to meet that Wii Fit goal, but those things suddenly didn’t seem to matter anymore. This summer I’ve gained more than just a flat stomach and smaller calves (because, let’s face it, I probably haven’t even gotten those). I regained my sense of family—and that’s worth more to me than a thigh gap ever could be.

Stephanie is senior editor of The Roar.

Got any tips on getting fit? Email her at the.roar.palazzolo@gmail.com.

American culture brings about sense of confusion, yet community B a b y birds are horrible.

They look out of themselves with rojas oliva eyes that managing editor seem like they would melt and bodies whose blue and purple skin doesn’t look like it knows what its supposed to contain, but like it just happened to be stuffed in that way. But still, they’re small enough to be cradled in a spoon and their tiny wings flutter with their heartbeats. You can pick them up from the hard concrete of your back porch and place them back in their nest, from which they’ve fallen. Two hours later they’ll be back. It might be funny, if it wasn’t also the saddest thing you’ve seen. You’ll carefully and slowly raise them back into their nest and later, with what you imagine as a cold and sudden slap, they’ll be right back on the floor looking like life at its absolute weakest and most pitiful.

Eventually you’ll see them do it. Its parents will return to the nest, see their child and push it out. When baby birds are sick, the parents will do this to protect the rest of their young. It’s a practice that’s ancient and ingrained behind their beady little eyes. What can you do

in the face of that?

Lots of people alive right now spend lots of time thinking, writing and making art about changing culture and globalization and exploitation and interpersonal relationships with technology and the Internet as a cause with which to view all these micro and macro changes in our lives. It seems like this is the issue we’ve all got to take some sort of stand on. And it seems like people are sort of vacillating between the ideology that we are losing some profound and complex connection to our art and our friends and our selves in exchange for a mindless and shot-in-the-veins type worldview, and the optimism that the digital age will bring with it a balancing of the scales of information; that knowledge and the power that accompanies it will finally be truly free and democratic.

I’m going to dance around these issues not just because I don’t have the mental firepower to tackle them and convince you of anything, but because it all leaves me feeling uncomfortable and scared and confused. At the end of the day I have no power over the outcome of humanity’s course, whether that’s progressive or regressive. So where does that leave me, here, writing this, and having to live inside of all it?

I love most of my friends because we like lots of the same stuff: movies with swearing, a tired sense of humor, feeling cool and smart, whatever. We also hate and complain about a lot of the same stuff inherent in being alive

and American today: our role in the deaths of countless civilians, how ancient and seemingly ingrained racism and homophobia and classism and all these pathetic excuses to find differences are, fear of sentimentality, how selfish education seems, whatever.

You can read lots about the effects of American culture on individuals and our supposedly post-moral age with regards to television, irony, weary cynicism and the fracturing of identity in the postmodern millennial American subject, but in my daily interactions with whatever is exciting or terrible or sad or lonely or selfish or privileged about America it’s never atomizing. Most people I know aren’t very religious and even fewer hold closely the bonds of their parent’s heritage. We just don’t have much else to believe in.

The other day this band I’m vaguely into, whose front man, Michael Gira, spent his 16th birthday in a Jerusalem prison, were playing on the internet radio of my best friend’s grandma’s SUV. She always has the AC up really high. Sometimes to the point it’s uncomfortable.

The Internet has made this a weird country, if we even still think that way, but we all live in it.

I sat by that bird until its wings stopped fluttering.

Just watching and not knowing if what I was doing was cruel or lazy or all anyone can do.

Rojas is managing editor of The Roar. Seen any birds die lately? Email him at the.roar.roliva@gmail.com.

6 | viewpoints | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

OPPOSING NO

aaron ross news editor

Rock artists continue to be successful both critically and commercially. Rock music is still being created and plenty of people listen to new rock music.

Appreciation for older bands like The Beatles, U2, and Pink Floyd has not diminished over time. In terms of the most albums ever sold, rock bands still reign supreme.

Rock is more than just a type of music. It’s a culture. The spirit of rock can never die, because as long as there are people forming their own bands and playing in garages, rock will live on.

YES

rojas oliva managing editor

The old days of an exclusively white, male-dominated rock genre have been replaced by something a little more pluralistic.

The internet has altered the definitions of and the culture surrounding music consumption.

Of course old marketing genre definitions don’t apply.

Overreaching statements reminiscing about past definitions of rock go against everything that was rad about it; they’re overly concerned with maintaining a long gone status quo, but mostly they’re boring.

Is rock music really dead?

the roar's consensus

Rock not quite dead, will continue to roll A murder’s taken place, according to KISS front man Gene Simmons, and the victim is rock. But is rock really dead — and if so, who’s guilty of the crime?

The big rock acts of decades past are either aging or gone. “Classic rock” is its own genre: its radio stations don’t acquire new artists as the years go by, and haven’t done so for over three decades. Rock from the 1990s and early 2000s is many things, but it isn’t “classic,” despite being old.

Simmons points to illegal file sharing and downloading as the main perpetrator, as well as the fact that such roundabout methods of obtaining music have made profiting from original work difficult for all but the most popular artists around. Many artists occupying newer genres of music, such as rap and EDM, have embraced this, offering their albums free of charge before people start illegally downloading them. Other, older genres—rock among them— have supposedly suffered from a stifling of artistic freedoms.

Perhaps these new acts don’t fall under Simmons’ definition of “rock.” And if he defines “rock” to be only “classic rock”: then yes, rock may be dead, just as disco is dead and punk is dead and baroque is dead. But if we acknowledge that rock’s explosion into a number of different categories is simply a continuation of some intangible principle unifying anyone who ever picked up a guitar, then it seems that rock is remarkably resilient. It’s been able to adapt to the demands of an ever changing culture of music consumption.

Lastly, rock music has always skirted the line between art and commercial product; it’s no surprise that the massive, label supported “classic” rock bands of the 70’s mirrored that eras machismo. Today’s streaming based culture has made it harder to profit, but it’s also allowed rock to move away from corporate gatekeepers and explode into a vibrant community.

The Roar 2014-2015 Staff Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Executive Editor Senior Editor Online & Photography Editor News Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Entertainment Editor Staff Reporter

Faculty Adviser Assistant Adviser

Shilpa Saravanan Rojas Oliva Annie Zhang Stephanie Palazzolo Elizabeth Reed Aaron Ross Alex Coopersmith Austin Coats Zach Kluver Vi Burgess Sydney Garrett Rachel Lamb Haley Mitchell Michael Williams Chauncey Lindner

The Roar Editorial Board

Shilpa Saravanan • Rojas Oliva • Alex Coopersmith

What is rock?

“Rock music has a huge emphasis on the instruments, so you can get lots of emotion from the sound.”

freshman

DELPHINE DJOMO “It comes down to the instruments.

You always have a guitar, drums, singer, basses. That instrument combo makes rock what it is.”

senior

KYLE KRUSEKOPF “Rock music means to me whatever it means. It’s rock music. It’s up to the listener to decide.”

freshman HANNAH BREWER

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, 2000-2014 ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit, the CSPA Gold Medal Award, the NSPA All-American distinction and 2005 & 2014 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 | 7

friday, sept. 26, 2014

PHOTO BY VI BURGESS

PEP

talk

Cheerleading team works to bring crowd together, create school unity sydney garrett | staff reporter

T

he crowd faltered; the football team lagged; the cheerleaders yelled, pushed the crowd to be more. With one second left on the clock and the encouragement of every teenager in the stands, the Tigers scored and won last year’s game against Coppers Cove.

“We were literally in front of the fence telling people to stand up, stand up, yell for your Tigers. And the first glimpse [the cheerleaders] got of the crowd actually responding, they loved it. They want more,” cheer coach Marissa Mitchell said. “Now they know the difference between standing and cheering or really making it work, and they like that feeling.”

The coaches and cheerleaders carry that distinction into their roles in fostering school spirit and unity.

“If we can get kids excited to dress up as a Hawaiian hula girl, then maybe school that day will be a little less blah,” senior cheerleader Mackenzie Morgan said.

However, sometimes it can be hard to remember that this outpouring of pep comes from individuals: high school students with tests, extracurricular activities, and stress.

“If I’m having a bad day, I don’t necessarily want to be the happiest person in the world,” Morgan said. “But the coaches and the other girls on the team really encourage me. If I’m tired, they’ll buy me a cookie at lunch. They’re just really sweet about that. We’re really big on family in cheer.”

This unity is not merely habitual, instead, it is a quality that the coaches and cheerleaders actively pursue.

“We’re really close, [Coach Mitchell]

pours into our lives, not just a coach, but as a mom, basically,” sophomore JV cheerleader Jenna Gray said.

Just like any mother figure, Coach Mitchell has enormously high expectations for Consol’s cheerleading squad; the cheerleaders are not just girls with pom-poms, but rather role models and figures of the school.

“You see all kinds of girls out there in short skirts doing all sorts of dance moves, but there’s a character and a poise that you have to have about yourself when you’re representing somebody,” Mitchell said. “I think that’s really what I want the girls to recognize about being a cheerleader.”

They realize the gravity of their jobs as cheerleaders; they understand that sincerity is necessary in order to inspire the student body to their feet, both literally and figuratively.

“We have to be real. We have to really want to be there, and we really actually do,” freshmen junior varsity cheerleader Kristen Kaiser said.

This passion works hand in hand with their self-respect to make them the figures of school unity and pride that they demand from themselves.

“We don’t just want to be on the sidelines looking pretty or whatever,” varsity cheer captain Morgan Love said. “We want to bring everyone together.”

This spirit is what has changed the squad this year, making them more focused and committed, and Coach Mitchell truly acknowledges the effort the cheerleaders have put forth.

“This group of girls that I have this year, I really don’t have to do much with,” Mitchell said. “Honestly, it’s been a blessing. These girls are truly a blessing.”

The cheerleading team practices stunts. Junior Makayla Baudoin is tossed into the air by fellow teamates. PHOTO BY SYDNEY GARRETT

Cheerleaders work on a dance routine during practice. Juniors Ashley Bolton and Kaitlyn Hooks step into motion. PHOTO BY SYDNEY GARRETT

Cheerleaders practice holding up junior Kenedi Kruger. Junior Taylor Derr and sophomore Mady Schultz support Kruger on the side.

PHOTO BY SYDNEY GARRETT

Scan to read an extra interview with senior cheerleader Mackenzie Morgan.

8 | sports | the roar

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AUSTEN SMITH & JADEN DRISDALE It’s 7:15 pm when they walk out the cafeteria doors, finally ready to go home. It’s been a long day for juniors Austen Smith and Jaden Drisdale. A day starting with football film review, school classes and homework, football practice, and finished off by building sets for Tiger Theater’s upcoming “Peter Pan” production. Except for a few classes, the two spend the whole day together. “[We spend] probably too many hours of the day [with each other],” Smith said.

Football’s probably to blame for that.

In fact, football is how they met. Jaden came to A&M Consolidated from Bryan about a year and a half ago, and the two have been friends ever since. Football works well for them, as they cited competition as a shared interest. It’s a common theme among football players—strong relationships lead to motivation, and motivation to success. “[We get motivated] through supporting each other, pushing ourselves, and making sure we’re getting to the next level,” Smith said. “We’re always saying stuff like ‘Good job — I see you, but you can do better.’”

Smith and Drisdale have five periods of the school day together, including history, Theater Tech, two periods of football, and their academic success period. Motivation also plays a role during school, because the two encourage each other to finish their school work and make good grades.

“Because we have a lot of classes together, [it’s easy for us to say],’ hey, let’s do this homework,’” Drisdale said.

Drisdale plays nose guard for the district-ready varsity team while Smith competes at the strong wide receiver position and, for now, plays for the junior varsity A team. And while football is all about motivation, Smith believes that the team has lost some of that motivation because they started their season 0-3.

“I’m disappointed in the intensity in the practice field and in the weight room,” said Smith. “I feel like we’re not as motivated anymore to go the extra mile because of our record.”

However, he’s optimistic that the team can regain the intensity when district games start.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Smith said.

While many might believe that stats and “x’s and o’s” are the the true building blocks of a football team, the football team begs to differ. They still rely on those things, sure, but what really gives this team its identity is its relationships. These relationships obviously help the team’s unity, but what really makes the team successful is when the members are against each other.

“Sometimes people think when you compete, there’s a winner and a loser,” Raffield said. “I kind of believe when you compete everybody wins.”

Raffield applies this theory to all as-

pects of his coaching. While fighting for positions is a competition in and of itself, Raffield wanted to go beyond such a small aspect of the game so his players could get more out of every workout and drill.

“We compete during weight room, on the track, [and] on the field,” Raffield said, “so the competition allows them to improve.”

The best way to gauge the athletes’ competitive side is through their strong bonds. Friendships, Raffield says, are key to their success as a team. Raffield doesn’t see these relationships as a distraction and believes instead that anything that

happens team.

“I thi together work an bond w for the p Overa the play Tigers h against the scor ing inst Raffield the call.

RILEY GARNER & D It’s spring football, but with the learning curve comes a bit of frustration. It’s not uncommon for fights to break out. Seniors and best friends since childhood, Riley Garner and Daniel Zivney are fighting too, but it’s only to break the tension caused by those legitimately PH going at it. These fake fights to help S OT AT people get along are just one facet of OO O C FD IN their friendship.

T S ANIE L ZIVNEY BY AU “It all started when [Riley] invited me to a sleepover in 7th grade,” Zivney said. “[Now it’s] slumber parties to the max.”

As well as finishing each other’s sentences, Zivney and Garner both enjoy the advantages of XBox Live, “Grand Theft Auto,” Potato Shack and picking up wildlife on the side of the road as game war-

dens pa interest lives, an “We’r win eve This field. B play to lates to “It gi “If Rile better t That Last ye ceiving cement kicker.

On tackles were r

friday, sept. 26, 2014

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austin coats sports editor

ow relationships affect game

hting for of itself, h a small could get rill. oom, on ffield said, m to im-

athletes’ r strong , are key d doesn’t straction ing that

happens between players can benefit the team.

“I think it helps bring the whole team together,” Raffield said. “Those guys that work and push one another have a close bond with each other, and we just use it for the positive.”

Overall, this program has worked for the players. Despite their 0-3 start, the Tigers have put up great performances against teams in higher districts, whether the scorelines highlight that or not. Having instilled in his players a will to win, Raffield recognizes how they answered the call.

“[It’s] a twelve month process, and the group of kids we have right now worked incredibly hard to get to this point,” Raffield said.

In order for the members of the foorball team to reach their goals, they have to follow Raffield’s system—coming together and remaining competitive. That applies personally as well.

“I want our team [members] to support one another and try to become the absolute best football players that they can become,” said Raffield.

RNER & DANIEL ZIVNEY

but with comes a s not unto break t friends y Garner e fighting k the tenitimately s to help e facet of

vited me ney said. e max.” her’s senenjoy the nd Theft up wildame war-

dens pass by. Their most notable common interest pertains to many areas of their lives, and it shows in everything they do.

“We’re both competitive and want to win everything,” Riley said.

This competition shows on the football field. Both enjoy playing and getting to play together, and their friendship translates to motivation for the team.

“It gives us accountability,” Zivney said.

“If Riley’s playing well, then I want to play better than him.”

That accountability apparently works.

Last year Zivney gained a solid 764 receiving yards on 52 receptions while also cementing a place as the team’s starting kicker.

On defense, Garner racked up 110 tackles and forced five fumbles (four were recovered for touchdowns). What

impressed scouts, though, was Garner’s showing at the U.S. Army National Combine in January.

“Riley Garner is an offseason beast,” said Raffield. “He really loved the weight room and loved the running and enjoyed pushing himself to the limit.”

Despite their strong friendship, Zivney and Garner will attend college approximately 883 miles apart from each other next year. Both have committed to play football: Zivney will kick for Air Force, while Garner will play for Texas A&M. However, they plan to remain friends.

“Every time I get off, I’ll try to visit and hang out with [Zivney],” Garner said.

“Yeah and every time I get off, I’ll [go to College Station],” Zivney replied. “We’ll probably completely miss each other.”

PH O

TO O

TS OA C F LU IN KE BENDEN BY AUST

LUKE BENDEN & BRETT HARP It’s another Friday night at Tigerland stadium, and surveying the sideline to study the players’ reactions to the highlights of the game, one can see a head sticking out way above the others. That’s senior wide receiver Luke Benden, and if one looks close enough, one can probably find Brett Harp, also a senior and a wide receiver. The two hang out a little bit.

“Too much,” said Harp.

It’s a friendship so close that they joke about being “shower partners,” but the friendship mostly revolves around normal things for guys: XBox, girls, and athletic activities like swimming and sand volleyball. Of course, their most important exploit is football.

“Football is just a lot [of time] in general,” Benden said.

Benden and Harp want to be the best players they can possibly be before they go to college, so they take the opportunity seriously. Their teammates benefit from it too, as according to Raffield, the two “raise the intensity of the entire team.”

“They spent an amazing amount of time in the weight room so that they can have a successful senior year,” Raffield said.

But when the season’s over, it’s disc golf time. With three nine-hole courses around College Station, Benden and Harp don’t even have to go far to play.

Disc golf is just something out of the ordinary that they‘ve enjoyed doing together.

“In the spring, it was almost every weekend,” Harp said.

Along with this, the two also spend a portion of their time with the United Way of the Brazos Valley. The United Way promotes the improvement of education, financial stability, and healthy living. As part of the United Way youth leadership cabinet, Benden and Harp give back to the community together. “[The program is] basically like a service organization that’s run by high school students,” Benden said. “We raise money for non-profit organizations throughout the Brazos Valley, and we serve at those places too.”

As far as college goes, Benden and Harp both plan to at least finish at Texas A&M. Harp could elect to begin at Blinn or Texas State, and if that happens, Benden threw out the possibility of using “Skype every night.”

“We won’t lose touch,” Harp said. “at all.”

10 | people | the roar

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passion

ting

Club offers community for oft-stigmatized medium zach kluver| entertainment editor At the onset of their meeting, the members of the Anime Manga Otaku club begin putting plastic garbage bags on every available surface of their models, trying to make them look like the anime characters they have decided on.

Eventually the costumes begin to take shape through well-placed tape and cut bags, giving the best approximation of the exaggerated and not overly simplistic clothing design worn by most anime characters.

Anime and manga are Japanese equivalents of cartoons and comic books. Despite the current popularity of comic book movies, most of the people in AMO believe that there is a stigma surrounding anime and manga that has been causing the number of members to drop steadily over the years, from a high of thirty to just ten.

“People don’t really like to come out and say that they like anime,” club president and senior Vicky Lopez said. “They think it’s weird.”

The ridicule directed towards people who watch anime, in the eyes of the members, necessitates the club.

“It’s kind of so you don’t have to be that awkward person who asks ‘Do you like anime?’, and then have the other person respond with ‘No, you’re weird’,” Lopez said.

Other members, however, have other ideas about what the club is about at its core.

“It’s all about meeting and making new friends through mutual interests among peers,” said sophomore Michael Ivey.

This year, in order to increase knowledge of the AMO club around the school, Lopez hopes to have members help around the school and

participate in charities and fundraisers.

“We’re going to try and do some school volunteer stuff, like helping out teachers, and being aides,” Lopez said. “And hopefully, [the club] will keep going through with it throughout the next couple years,” During the first few meetings of AMO, the members mainly play ice breaker games and get to know each other. On the first day, they had a “cosplay” party, where they dressed as their favorite characters. “[During] the first meeting, we take [garbage] bags and make costumes out of colors, scissors, and tape,” Lopez said.

Afterwards, they turned their attention to actual anime and manga.

“We usually just bring food, watch anime, and read manga. We just have fun and get to know each other,” Lopez said. “We discuss which [mangas and animes] we like, and we don’t like, and basically just talk about what we’re going to do for the rest of the year,” The AMO club welcomes everyone to participate, which sometimes leads to arguments as to which anime they should watch.

“Sometimes there’s only like two girls in there, so guys usually win, but we always have fights over what’s best and what we like better and stuff like that, but sometimes it’s the girls choice.” Lopez said. “Sometimes we just watch two things, or we just pick everyone’s favorite, but we rarely agree on something.”

Still, the club is a unifying force for its members. “[The] AMO club is just a place where outsiders, and fans of Japanese culture, can get to meet each other,” Lopez said.

what’s your favorite anime?

“

I like Naruto because the main character is incredibly talented and powerful, and I like his vigorous rivalry with his comrades. sophomore Liam McPeck

“

I like action anime the most because it’s very exciting. freshman Mariah Hays

“

Inuyasha is my favorite. It’s very funny and weird in a good kind of way. senior Vicky Lopez

the roar | people | 11

friday, sept. 26, 2014

Learning multiple languages provides insight into foreign cultures “Since in Syria you have to take English, they are always asking, ‘Hey, are you taking Arabic in America?’ and I’m like, ‘No, we don’t do that,’” Hilal said.

In general, both agree that America doesn’t focus on foreign languages as much as most other countries. As for why, Riaz points to English’s status as the lingua franca of the world. “[In Pakistan,] they put a lot of emphasis on it. By tenth grade, every single one of your subjects is in English, just because English has become such a major language of the world,” Riaz said. “Although [the classes] are stricter, [students] do have better results, as they can understand it, read it and write it. And having taken Spanish for four years, I still have trouble.”

Robin Oberg, director of Special Programs, believes a lack of real-life practice could explain Riaz’s, and many others’, problems.

“Generally, the Spanish speakers learn English more quickly than the English speakers learn Spanish, because English surrounds them when they are not in school,” Oberg said.

A good foundation in the first language is always one of the biggest predictors of success, Oberg said, as students are more likely to connect that kind of information to learning a new language.

Yet, a multitude of languages can cause confusion at times.

rachel lamb & annie zhang staff reporter & executive editor The confusing jumble of accents, words and slang in foreign languages can sound like gibberish to first-time listeners.

Yet more and more people are taking up this difficult challenge in order to take advantage of the opportunities that arise from speaking multiple languages. “[In Pakistan], students start English as soon as they start school,” sophomore Nooran Riaz said. “So even if they don’t know Urdu (the common language of Pakistan) completely, they will already be learning another language, which is always going to be English.”

Another bilingual student, sophomore Nour Hilal, also noticed the influence of English on her cousins in Syria, who thought that Americans reciprocated the action by learning their language.

“Sometimes I will get confused and forget what language I am speaking, and now that I’m learning Spanish, that kind of adds into the mess too,” Riaz said. “So I will switch between three different languages in one sentence and not even know what I’m trying to say.”

But despite the occasional disorientation, Riaz and the others agree that the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences.

“There was a recent study that showed that people who speak more than one language switch personalities; mine didn’t really switch, but it improved because I now can communicate with different people, I can understand them, I can feel what they feel, because I speak what they speak and I can see the world through their eyes,” junior Imane Majid, a foreign exchange student from Morocco, said. “It will help you each time you struggle to communicate with people, and communications is a very important part of our lives because if we can’t communicate with people, then what’s the point?”

Although French and Arabic were her first languages, Majid prefers to think in English in order to be more conscious of her thoughts and their meaning.

“I think in English, because when I think in my language, the words just come out,” Majid said. “But when I think in a different language, I feel the words, I make sure I know which words I have to

use, and when I think like that, I have to think twice about stuff, which makes me realize more than if I thought in Moroccan Arabic.”

In addition, speaking many languages can expand future opportunities, as it provides an opportunity to communicate with a wider spectrum of people.

“It depends on where you are and what you want to do,” Oberg said. “Spanish is great, especially when looking for a job in Texas and many other states, but I have a friend who studied Arabic in order to become a diplomat, so it really does depend on what you want to do with the language.”

Though learning any new language is a challenge, Oberg encourages everyone to study a foreign language.

“You will make mistakes, [but] don’t dwell on them; learn from them. Try to use every chance you can even if you know you will make mistakes,” Oberg said. “Be fearless.”

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12| people | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

Veggie Tales Vegetarians, vegans base meatless diets upon conscience, health benefits, habit haley mitchell | staff reporter

etarians can find other sources to compensate, such as flax seeds.

“In general, animal protein is more easily absorbed than plant protein, but vegetarians can absorb protein In a state that’s enthusiastic about its meat, being a from legumes, such as beans and nuts,” Fan said. “Lots of vegetarian in Texas is a novelty. While there are several plants have high levels of phytochemicals, which are good motives behind this daunting diet decision, for some, it’s for you.” all about animal rights.

Because there generally isn’t as “It started when I watched ‘Forks much fat in vegetarians’ bloodstreams, over Knives’, and then ‘Food, Inc.’,” their muscles get more oxygen. freshman Hannah Chang said. “[Those “Vegetables also have more fiber, films] show how animals are slaughwhich makes you feel full easily,” she tered in the slaughterhouse.” said. “This is also the reason why most Chang made the resolution to be vegetarians are generally thinner.” vegetarian since 2012, but really started The most noticeable difference sticking to the diet in May. among vegetarians is how they think “Vegetarianism is more humane,” about their diets. Sophomore Allie Chang added. “Every time I see a steak, Wenzel thinks of her vegetarian roots I feel like I just saved part of a cow.” as just an eating choice.

For others, like senior Philip Yea“I don’t think my life would be difger, their food has been a part of their ferent if I ate meat because my diet is life from a young age. Yeager, along freshman not my spirit, my diet is not my life, with his mother, has been a vegetarian and my diet does not define me,” WenHANNAH CHANG since birth. zel said.

“It doesn’t really affect how I live Wenzel has been meatless since the my life,” Yeager said. “I guess I just age of six and doesn’t plan on changing formed the habit, so I haven’t gotten the that. In contrast, freshman Hannah Chang feels that vegmotivation to change.”

The biggest incentive for a meatless diet comes from etarianism is a lifestyle.

“People miss out on being vegetarian,” Chang said. its health benefits, according to senior Mattie DeWitt.

“They miss out on feeling humane and benefitting from a “If you’re good at it, it’s really healthy for you,” DeWitt lot of the health opportunities.” said. “You have a lot more energy.”

What most vegetarians have in common is their conNutritionist Yang-Yi Fan thinks that certain myths sciousness in their health decisions. can be misleading.

“They know their nutritional sources are limited, so “Vegetarians regularly miss out on important fatty acid DHA, which is mostly enriched in deep water fish,” they tend to eat smarter,” Yang-Yi Fan said.

The choice to change eating habits is a big step, but Fan said. “Vegetarians are also more likely to be vitamin most seem content with their decision.

B-12 deficient, because the vitamin is more highly en“If you like it and it makes you feel better, it’s definitely riched in red meat.”

While these vitamins and oils are hard to replace, veg- worth it,” freshman Spencer Williamson said.

Every time I see a steak, I feel like I just saved part of a cow.

GUESS-A-TARIAN How well do you know these different types of diets? b)

c) Milk

a) pescatarian b) fruitatarian c) vegan

a)

VEGAN

CHOCOLATE CAKE Ingredients: • 1 1/2 cups allpurpose flour • 1 cup white sugar • 1/4 cup cocoa powder • 1 tsp baking soda • 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup

vegetable oil (or coconut oil) • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1 cup water • choice of frosting* *most canned frostings are vegan

Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 9x5 pan.

2) Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3) Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water. Mix together until smooth.

4) Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes.

5) Remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool.

6) Enjoy! source: allrecipes.com

set for success

New volleyball coach ready to continue winning tradition elizabeth reed online & photography editor A&M Consolidated has welcomed a new face on the volleyball court this season.

No, not a playera coach. Coach Cydryce McMillian, or Coach Mac, as many knew her, left AMCHS last year. McMillian, the head coach of volleyball and instructor of step pilates/yoga, was replaced by new head coach Kate Zora. While the volleyball team misses McMillian, they have adapted their team to the new coach, along with the goals she has set for them.

“The girls have been very welcoming, so I’ve really enjoyed that part,” Zora said.

Part of the easy transition for Zora came from her having similar objectives to the ones Mac had set for the team.

“She emphasizes good attitudes, communication on the court and having good team chemistry,” varsity co-captain junior Haley Slocum said.

Zora, a former volleyball coach at Westwood High School in Austin, came to Consol for “a different change of pace.” “[It’s] just a new challenge of being able to learn personalities, learning them and having them learn me. That’s the biggest challenge right now,” Zora said.

Zora familiarized herself with the team in April of this year by “introducing her vision.” And if there were any worries about a new coach, she put those to rest quickly.

“I was actually kind of scared,” Slocum said. “We were at the field house lifting weights, and she came in to talk to us. She already knew our program was good, but she wanted to make it even better, and I just knew that the intensity was going to rise above what it already was.”

Junior varsity co-captain junior Robin Ealy, who mainly works with the (also new) junior varsity coach Autumn Lance, could tell the team was in good hands.

“Coach Zora just seemed really experienced; she had done really well in other schools,” Ealy said.

From her experience with past teams, Zora knows what works and what doesn’t.

“For the most part, I’ve used a lot of the stuff that we’ve done from my other team,” Zora said. “[I’m] just trying to make sure everybody feels all put together as far as that finishing goal.”

With the season in full swing, Zora has been able to watch her team hard at work.

During a tournament in Arlington, the varsity team came home with a record of seven to one.

“This season could have definitely started out better, but I think we’ve had really great moments and then also had moments where we realized there are things we need to work on,” Slocum said.

Zora like the team to focus on its ambitions.

“We always have really strong goals as for performing in district, as well in state

level, so we wanted to work hard and have good work ethic both on and off the court, whether it is in the classroom or during practice or games,” Zora said. “We just wanted them to play with a lot of intensity.”

Slocum feels like most of the energy is apparent on the court against greater challenges.

“It’s fun, especially at tournaments where we’re playing bigger teams, because we play up to their level,” Slocum said. “Everything’s super quick and intense.”

Zora enjoys coaching because of the excitment of working with youth.

“I really like working with the girls, and we’ve all worked really, really hard,” Zora said.

While the girls have grown accustomed to bonding with Zora, they still fondly remember their former coach.

“Oh man, I miss her craziness and her intensity on the court for sure,” Ealy said.

“But off the court, she was crazy and fun, and we did Zumba and yoga.”

However, according to Slocum, having many coaches throughout the years is valuable.

“The benefit of having new coaches is really just having the variety, because if you have the same coach your whole life, you’re never going to learn something new; all coaches are different,” Slocum said. “You take little pieces from each coach.”

PHOTO OF CHRISTI CORKRAN & MATTIE DEWITT BY ROJAS OLIVA

the roar | sports | 13

friday, sept. 26, 2014

KILLIN’ IT Win/Loss Record: Montgomery: W 3-0 Magnolia: W 3-1 College Park: L 1-3 John Copper-Woodlands: L 2-3 Magnolia West: W 3-0 Tomball: W 3-1 Rudder: L 1-3 Bryan: W 3-0 Livingston: W 3-0 Caney Creek: W 3-0 Overall: 7 wins & 3 losses

14 | sports | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

Soccer, cross-country teams benefit from blending shilpa saravanan | editor-in-chief Six miles—that’s how far the average soccer player runs in an average match. It’s the closest any team sport gets to the grueling mileages of long-distance running. The boys’ soccer and cross-country teams realized this, and—for the first year ever—they have been training together since the summer. “[Head soccer coach Stefano] Salerno is trying to improve his program, and I’m trying to improve mine,” head cross-country coach Kevin Waters said. “We figured that if we were to pool our resources, it would benefit both programs.”

The combined training began with base mileage work that Waters described as “becoming an aerobic monster.” This lay the groundwork for the diverse workouts that the teams now do in the early mornings, including specialized speed work for the soccer players in addition to the cross-country team’s usual long runs.

“Cross-country’s great at improving fitness,” senior Cisco Hurtado, a runner, said.

“It’s not exactly strength or coordination, just running.”

Proper cross-country training, according to Hurtado, is the gift that keeps on giving. Even after the members of the soccer team begin their season in the spring and

cease training with the cross-country team, they will continue to perform at a higher fitness level—and higher fitness is exactly what led Salerno into this arrangement with Waters.

“We’re smaller this year, so we’re trying to find ways to increase their skill and their fitness,” Salerno said of his team. “The idea for this, from the soccer point of view, is to provide extra fitness training.”

Attendance at cross-country practice is not mandatory for the soccer players, but those who choose to run find the experience rewarding both physically and mentally.

“You get out what you put in,” senior Diego Espina said. “At first, it was pretty hard, but now, the people who’ve been working out with cross-country are a lot fitter.”

The fact that many of his players get their fitness work out of the way in the morning allows Salerno to focus on skilloriented drills during the team’s afternoon practices. The team is decidedly youngblooded, having graduated 13 seniors two years ago and 15 seniors last year: Salerno cites the team’s relative youth as one of the primary reasons that he appreciates being able to work on the more technical aspects of the game so early in the year, and the positive effect of this is apparent to Waters.

“They’re getting better,” Waters said.

“They’re more fit. They’re more able. They

don’t have to spend so much time on their fitness.”

The runners’ interest in this bargain may not be as immediately evident as that of the soccer players—after all, the crosscountry team is simply doing what it always does, albeit with more people. However, Waters proposed the combined training for a reason: numbers.

The competing roster for boys’ crosscountry is up to 26 this year from 17 the previous year, and the full roster count (including the soccer players) is 52. No soccer player has yet competed with the crosscountry team, which accounts for the discrepancy between the rosters, but the option, according to Waters, remains open.

Numbers matter even outside of competition, though—Waters enjoys seeing his team motivated and energized by the morepopulated practices. “[Training with the soccer players] is pushing our guys to want to do better,” Waters said. “And it’s become a lot more fun.”

With the strengthening—in more ways than one—of both teams, all involved foresee the partnership continuing indefinitely.

“We want to see the commitment of the soccer and cross-country teams grow,” Waters said. “We’re just excited about it.”

SPORTS SHOWDOWN Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.

Increases aerobic capacity and cardiovascular health.

Soccer improves health due to shifts between walking, running, and sprinting.

Running can boost your immune system and prevent blood clots.

It can also raise self esteem and prevents

depression.

Only cross country skiing burns more calories than running.

SOURCES: BETTER HEALTH CHANNEL, ACTIVE.COM

kicking off the run PHOTO BY STEPHANIE PALAZZOLO

the roar | entertainment | 15

friday, sept. 26, 2014

1541

pastries & coffee

CO V E R IN G G R O U N D S 1541 doesn’t mess around: it sells coffee, pastries and sandwiches. It’s not as atmospheric (read: dimly-lit) or idiosyncratic (read: filled with bizarre art) as other shops, but its contained size and out-of-the-way location make it perfect for getting work done. It’s where you’d go if you needed to file your taxes or prepare a case appealing your court injunction. I know for a fact my English teacher grades timed writings there.

There are plenty of adequately worksized tables scattered around the main floor of the shop, a counter with stools,

rojas oliva | managing editor

and, affording more privacy, two small couch areas off to either side. Overall, 1541 is really conductive to somewhat less fun, focus intensive work.

1541’s only drawback is its high school-unfriendly hours: it doesn’t open on Mondays and closes at six every other day, so getting there might be hard. But once there, you’ll be sold coffee emblazoned with little personal flairs, and are likely to get the owner behind the register—giving the store, and the experience people demand from their coffee crafters, a quality touch.

LUPA’S COFFEE Tucked away in a corner off of one of College Station’s busiest streets—and fairly new on top of that—Lupa’s Coffee might at first sound like a hidden local gem. Locally owned and hidden in plain sight it is, but as for “gem”? That remains to be proven.

Lupa’s is an excellent place in which to do homework. As it isn’t a local mainstay, Lupa’s quiet is a

elizabeth reed | online & photography editor

genuine sort of quiet, not caused so much by subdued chatter as by the lack of much chatter at all.

That being said, the layout of Lupa’s is such that it never feels too big—even if it’s not very full.

The anteroom is small and cozy, but this shop is bigger on the inside: round a corner and you’ll find yourself in a more open (and oddly, more private) area.

Sweet Eugene’s, known as ‘Sweets’ to its regulars, is indeed a sweet place.

From Fuddruckers next door, you can see Sweets’ gazebo—a far cry from the flimsy plastic tables and chairs of other establishments.

If you’re more of an air-conditioned person, Sweets has an even better interior. The whole place is very cozy.

There are tables with seating for two, comfortable couches and several bar stools lined up by a counter next to the window.

The whole place murmurs with

The coffee prices at Lupa’s are par for the course, as is the taste of the coffee, but the food—well, the macarooons and cheesecake slices are far more expensive than their mediocre quality warrants.

If you’re looking for something gourmet, you might try elsewhere. If you’re just looking to get some studying done, though, Lupa’s might be your place.

chatter, but no one is ever extremely loud, so it’s a wonderful place to study, with free Wi-Fi to boot.

The menu includes everything one would expect to order at a coffee shop: different types of coffee concoctions ranging from regular lattes to an “Al Pacino” and pastries for snacking. For something more substantial, they also offer sandwiches and breakfast food.

Nice setting? Check. Good food?

Check. Great coffee? You bet. Overall, Sweets hits the spot.

shilpa saravanan editor-in-chief

SWEET EUGENE’S

HOUSE OF

JAVA

16 | etcetera | the roar

friday, sept. 26, 2014

G N I K A BR E

S E P Y T O E STER

Rap duo releases new mixtape, discusses recent rise in popularity vi burgess | staff reporter

P

hones buzz with a simple message.

Hands dig around for earbuds.

Fingers press a favorite link. When juniors Kennon Williams and Kaleb Chandler upload a new song, people listen. StereoType, as they call themselves, remixes, writes and raps heavily synthesized music, uploading it onto SoundCloud, where they’ve received a total of over 68,000 composite listens.

“I hope it gets [people] to jump up on the tables, swing their hands in the air, and wave them like they just don’t care,” Williams said.

The duo has been uploading its remixes and raps to SoundCloud for two years, but the two have been writing songs together since even before Chandler got his first microphone in eighth grade. Initially, they released their songs under the name K&K Ent., but eventually the right name found them.

“We were listening to music and it was on a stereo, so we were like ‘StereoType’. Also, we’re the opposite of the stereotype,” Williams said.

Chandler puts it more bluntly: “I’m white and I’m the rapper, and usually the rapper isn’t the white dude.”

All of the recording is done in Chandler’s bedroom, rather than a professional studio. On average, recording a single song takes about five hours, making “studio” time the dullest part of the process for Williams.

“The chorus is the first thing we write, because it’s what the song is about basically, and then we just go from there,”

Williams said. “He writes his verse, I write mine; we kind of just work together as one voice.”

Typically, each song that the duo posts generates about a thousand plays.

However, one of their latest songs, “Do My Step / Party’n,” unexpectedly garnered over nineteen thousand.

“

[Performing] is just awesome; it’s probably the most fun thing I could do.

junior

Kennon Williams

“We honestly didn’t think it would blow up like that, but then we just left the account alone and then we looked at it later, and we were like, ‘What is going on?’” Williams said. “It reached the hundred downloads limit in five days.”

Even Chandler and Williams themselves were impressed by the number of people the song reached.

“That’s definitely what we’re most proud of,” Chandler said.

Last winter, Williams and Chandler auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” in Houston, making it through to the third pre-TV cut.

“I kind of felt like we got cut when we were leaving, but whatever. It was a

fun experience,” Williams said. “[We’re] definitely going to do it again next year.

If we get cut on the first TV audition, I don’t care.”

Together and separately, StereoType’s music style has evolved over the years, currently drawing inspiration from artists such as Frank Ocean and Drake.

In retrospect, Williams and Chandler think it took time to achieve their success because they taught themselves how to write, edit and perform their music.

“We knew we had talent, but it didn’t really show through our songs,” Williams said. “At the first show, we were trying to act like hardcore rappers and be like somebody else that we weren’t. There were only twenty people at our first performance; I guess people didn’t think it was bad, but going back on it now and looking at the video, it was bad.”

But now the two feel that they’re able to tap into their talent. “[Performing] is just awesome. It’s probably the most fun thing I could do,” Williams said. “I like it more than playing sports, to be honest. I can be completely myself.”

Between live performances and some local radio air time, Williams and Chandler have released their third mixtape called “Afterparty.” Once they get the equipment to make their own beats, StereoType will be able to completely make music by themselves.

“To be able to perform our music and get paid for it in big bucks, that would probably be the coolest thing ever,” Williams said. “That would be my dream achieved 100 percent.”

The AfterParty StereoType released its latest mixtape in July on SoundCloud, where it has recieved praise from listerners. put on repeat ! #stereotype ~user703042657

Whoa! Turn Up! ~ user182629637

Tracklist Intro Party Bro Turn Up Interlude We Out (Skit) We Out AfterParty Outro Interested? Scan the QR code to listen to StereoType’s songs.