Vol. 24, Issue 3

THE ROAR NEWS

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1801 HARVEY MITCHELL PKWY. S., COLLEGE STATION, TX 77840 | FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 2019 | VOL. 24 NO. 3 | THEROARNEWS.COM

AP

AP Student Pack 2018

New state policy leads to less funding for AP program For two weeks in May, basketballs and volleyball nets are relegated to gym closets, and replaced with a tarp and rows of tables. Hundreds of students spend hours demonstrating their accumulated knowledge for AP tests on subjects ranging from chemistry to art history. The advertised benefits of the AP program for individual students are numerous: a challenging class environment, an in-depth approach to an academic subject, and the opportunity to earn college credit. But the AP program also benefits the entire school in ways that remain largely invisible to the majority of students participating in the program.

Every year, A&M Consolidated receives a monetary gift from the College Board due to the large numbers of its students taking AP tests.

According to Testing Coordinator Aimee Parsons, the money the school receives from College Board is put back into the AP program budget to purchase materials necessary for students to take tests.

“In the fall, after [College Board] process[es] all the tests, they send us a check and there’s a list of things we can do with it,” Parsons said. “I put it into our activity fund and buy tables and chairs and pay test administrators and buy pencils and black pens and all the things we use for testing.”

This policy is relatively new. About five years ago, the state of Texas changed its policies for paying schools for their AP tests and switched

from rewarding how well students performed on tests to the system of compensation based on how many tests are given. Consol’s AP program has a long history of success, meaning the school used to receive thousands of dollars from College Board.

“Years ago, when they paid us for how well [students] did, that’s what we used to pay for [AP teachers] to go to institutes in the summer for training, and now all that has to come out of our budgets,” Parsons said. “[Around] fifteen AP teachers times $600 conservatively, and that’s if you can find [a training institute] at A&M or Rice or UT. There’s a lot of local colleges that sponsor summer institutes, but they’re still expensive.”

The check given to the school in the fall usually comes out to around one thousand dollars, an amount determined by how many tests are taken in a certain year. Because Consol reliably administers about one thousand AP tests per year, they are compensated accordingly. Parsons attests that other schools with smaller AP programs and fewer tests per year would receive less money from the College Board.

“Most schools don’t do as much AP testing as we do, [so] they might have three or four AP exams, so they only give 100 or 200 AP exams,” Parsons said.

“ap funding” continued on page 3

A cut

above inthisissue

news pages 2-4

opinions pages 5-6

feature pages 7-11, 16

sports pages 12-13

reviews pages 14-15

brief | the roar

UPCOMING

2 | in

NEWS friday, feb. 15, 2019

FEB. 18 Presidents Day (Student/Staff Holiday) FEB. 23 Tiger Wrestling at State Tournament FEB. 28 NHS Induction MAR. 11 Spring Break Begins MAR. 15 Spring Break Ends MAR. 20 Powder Puff MAR. 22 Game Wars MAR. 22-23 One Act Play

IN THE

BPA members place at regions, qualify for state meet

A total of 34 AMCHS students placed at the region BPA, qualifying for the State BPA meet in March. The state qualifiers include seniors Mohammed Ali, Ritika Annapareddy, Noor Bains, Grant Edens, Allyson Fisher, Sarah Kassam, Mitchell Kuppersmith, Emmanuel Muyia, David Nguyen, Emmanuel Preciado, Aabid Razvi, James Rude, Muhammud Sajid, Shiva Saravanan, Roger Wang, juniors David Asatryan, Adrian Guadarrama, Tian-Da Huang, Alireza Mahdaviarab, Samiha Momin, sophomores Nisha Bhaidani, David Chang, Jessica Fisher, Denise Kumar, Pravalika Manchi, Insha Umatiya, and freshman Raisa Prasla. The alternates for BPA state are seniors Joyce Benjamin, Aleck Gonzaga, sophomores Madhu Kannan, Brandon McCrea, and freshman Alina Maknojia.

Four students selected for All-State Choir, All-State Band

Senior Grace Moore was chosen to perform and act as a member of the AllState Choir on February 16 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Center in San Antonio.

Senior Isaac Harris was selected as the alternate. Senior Jacob Speakman and junior Emily Downie will perform February 16 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Center in San Antonio.

Senior Reid Francis poses for a celebratory photo with his friends and teammates after signing to play football at University of Incarnate Word. PHOTO BY OLIVIA CONWAY

Learn to drive the SafeWay!

Senior defends debate 5A state championship title

Senior Aabid Razvi placed first for the second year in a row in the Texas UIL Congressional Debate contest. Sophomore Allen Zhang also competed, making it to the finals.

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AP testing program maintains integrity despite changes resulting in less funding “ap funding” cont. from page 1 “It doesn’t cost them as much to run their program as it costs to run [ours], so they don’t get as much from College Board in terms of money on the back end.”

Simultaneously, the school receives a certain dollar amount from the price of each test. Students pay about $94 for each AP test, and eight or nine of those dollars goes to the school while the rest goes to College Board to pay for the tests. Even with both sources of funding, the school still receives several thousand dollars fewer than from before the state changed its policies.

CONSISTENCY OF PROGRAM Despite the lower AP budget, math teacher Julie Pye maintains that the change does not have a detrimental effect on students or the AP program as a whole.

“Ms. Elder is so supportive of the educational environment of our school. If there’s need, Ms. Elder is going to find funding somewhere to meet that need so that our students are not impacted by some sort of budget cut,” Pye said. “If you go to Ms. Elder and you say you need something for the betterment of your students’ education, she will support you every way she can.”

To ensure the changes in state funding would not negatively impact the quality of the AP program, district budgets or individual department budgets have taken over some of the costs that were previously paid with AP money.

“Our school district is very supportive,” Pye said.

“We are permitted to attend Advanced Placement conferences every year or every other year to keep us abreast of changes in the program, so we’re able to best prepare our students.”

LACKING RESOURCES Parsons agrees that Consol still has a formidable AP program, but she also admits that there are resources the program can no longer afford to buy. What used to be purchased with the money from College Board now has to be purchased through other means, like grants from the Education Foundation, or pushed to a later year after more money has accumulated in the budget.

Junior Nicolas Macri said insufficient funds to purchase materials has not negatively affected his

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education in AP classes, but he thinks that supplemental supplies would still be useful for the program.

“Additional resources can always further enrich student experience,” Macri said. “Maybe the bare minimum is enough, but with additional money it can be even better and that can help more students.”

AP programs are relatively self-funded in that schools are compensated based on the size of their program, but additional costs can add up quickly. Some schools do not have space available for students to test during the two-week period, and are forced to rent out testing areas elsewhere. Parsons considers herself lucky that although she has to rent rooms at Grace Bible Church for students who need to test individually, the majority of testing can take place in the gym.

“It was just nice to get that financial bonus, the icing on the cake for [our] kids doing well.” teacher Julie Pye

“A lot of districts have to rent a space like a church or community center and they have to haul people over there to do tests,” Parsons said. “I’m pretty grateful that the PE department makes that accommodation for us, otherwise it would be a whole lot harder and more inconvenient for [students] to take AP exams, [and] that’s a cost that other schools have.”

Since testing space is not a pressing issue for Consol’s AP program, Parsons uses the money from College Board to purchase items to improve the testing environment for students. A recent purchase was dozens of four-foot tables that allow each student to have their own table. Per College Board rules, all students taking tests must stay five feet away from each other. Before the new tables, students had to sit at opposite ends of a long table and avoid moving too close to each other in order to maintain the five-foot restriction. “[The individual tables are] a luxury that we haven’t had before. I just got tired of being afraid somebody

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would accidentally scoot over and get too close, so I bought four-foot tables, and we used them last year for the first time,” Parsons said. “Everybody loves not having the table move when other people are erasing or right up at your ear sniffing or blowing their nose. That’s what we do with some of that [money]: try and make the testing environment good for you.”

A SOURCE OF SATISFACTION Besides funding supplemental materials or training seminars, Pye said that the school’s AP earnings brought a sense of pride for the students’ high academic performance.

“We always received recognition for the large number of students who take Advanced Placement tests and who perform very well--we’re always among the best of the best,” Pye said. “But it was just nice to get that financial bonus, the icing on the cake for [our] kids doing well.”

While Macri understands that more funding would benefit the program and its students, he said that he does not consider the change to be completely negative.

In particular, he thinks that no longer rewarding high scores could be a positive development.

“I’ve heard of other instances where high test scores were rewarded, and in a lot of cases it leads to cheating or other things,” Macri said. “I feel like if you’re willing to take the AP test it shows that you’re trying on some level. Being willing to invest the time to take a test [is] something that the school can very directly motivate, so I feel like rewarding everybody who takes the test is a good thing.”

If the change in funding has had an impact so far, it has been minimal. Most students and teachers do not see a difference in how the AP program is organized nor in student performance on tests. While it is possible that some supplemental materials that could have been purchased with AP money several years can no longer be purchased for students, Parsons remains dedicated to creating the most beneficial AP program with the funding at her disposal.

“The thousand dollars that comes from the number of tests that we give, that can be used for whatever. When [the AP money] builds to a certain amount I’m like ‘let’s do something good for our kids,’” Parsons said. “I would always give it back to [the AP program].”

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4 | news | the roar

the view from the pit

friday, feb. 15, 2019

Students in pit orchestra for musical reflect on valuable lessons, experiences gained in process elise sawyer | opinions co-editor The creation of the land of Oz took more than just a cast and crew. In this year’s production of “The Wizard of Oz”, the pit orchestra helped bring magic to the environment and songs of the story. Sophomore violist Clara Tremblay said she was inspired to join the orchestra after watching past school musicals, including “Cinderella”, “Fiddler on the Roof ”, “Grease”, and “Bye Bye Birdie”.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming to the musicals here. When I learned that I could be in pit orchestra this year, I [decided] to do that,” Tremblay said. “It’s songs that I know, it’s songs that other people know, and I thought that was really cool to play them in an orchestra with the company.”

Freshman trumpet player Ellie Hague first became motivated to join after Steve Fry, the band director and director of the pit orchestra, mentioned it.

“I remember Mr. Fry came over to us and asked if we had any questions about what high school band is like, and I asked ‘How do you join the pit orchestra’?” Hague said.

“He had a sign up sheet, and I signed up my name. I was the first one.”

Most members, like Hague, had to balance their pit orchestra duties with their daily obligations to concert and competition seasons for orchestra or band. Since musicals are longer than typical concerts, pit orchestra members had to adjust their practice routines to learn more songs.

“I practiced how I normally would, [except] there were a lot of songs that I barely went over. The trumpets weren’t playing, or maybe there were one or two notes— not something rehearsal-worthy,” Hague said. “I rehearsed the big ones, the ones I had to do well on. The opener [was the most important] because that one had a really big trumpet part and if you mess that up, it’s all over.”

Hague said the large volume of pieces meant the orchestra had to focus intently both on the music and the director’s cues.

“When you’ve [only] been playing one or two pieces, you’ve rehearsed that piece

so much that you know exactly when to pick up your horn,” Hague said. “[But] with a musical, you always have to be watching the director to make sure that you come in at the right part.”

The constant attention to the music required more collaboration than usual, something Tremblay said is uncommon between members of the school orchestra and band.

“I think it was really neat [to collaborate with more instruments] because some of the band instruments would have a jazzy solo, or something, and I can’t play something like that [on viola],” Tremblay said. “When you put the music together, it really sounded like a song with all these fun additions. It sounded like a musical.”

Although the partnership between band and orchestra was unfamiliar, Hague and other band members were able to adjust in order to work with the new instruments.

“It was a little bit different with the way the director conducts, since he had to give motions for up-bows and down-bows,” Hague said.“It was kind of embarrassing almost, because the people in orchestra were a little bit better at playing their parts. The band had a lot of contests before and during [rehearsal] for the pit, so the orchestra had more time to practice.”

Although Tremblay said the band’s lack of preparation was somewhat frustrating, she thinks the biggest challenge for the orchestra was having to compensate for the band’s loud playing.

“When everyone was practicing at the beginning [of rehearsal], all you could hear were band instruments,” Tremblay said. “You couldn’t hear the orchestra because we’re not very loud.”

Working with unfamiliar musicians was difficult, but Tremblay said the lessons she’s learned made the challenge worth it.

“It lets you work with different kinds of people who are playing different kinds of instruments and sounds,” Tremblay said. “You get to know everybody well. You get to have memories and have experiences.”

the roar | opinions | 6

friday, feb. 15, 2019

believing in the good

olivia conway managing editor

Student finds strength due to senior year stress In the midst of winter, I lay on a hotel couch sobbing about my apparent lack of future. My invincible summer was nowhere in sight, my swirling thoughts felt more restricting than ever. Trapped in a haze of college applications, my friends and I traded texts about essay questions and ideas, each sentence punctuated with an overwhelming wave of self-doubt. I stopped answering Snapchats.

In the midst of winter, my lips were chapped from stress and my skin broke out with each of my panicked episodes.

Detached and unsure, I struggled through assignments, applications, and activities.

Things were not going well.

In the midst of winter, negativity and pessimism became draining. Maintaining my anxious thought spirals took energy-energy that I no longer had. I had no choice but to listen: to the wind shaking the trees outside my window, to my own steady heartbeat, to my parents’ discussing the most recent political events. In the midst of winter, life went on.

---------------------------------------“Everything will be okay,” I declare every morning when I stand alone in front of the mirror, trying to banish the doubt from my reflection. “Everything will be okay,” I remind myself as I fall asleep at night, my thoughts finally slowing.

Everything will be okay. Four words that I think to myself in moments of panic, fear, and apprehension, practically spoken on every exhale. Everything will be okay.

Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay…

Pessimism came easily. It was easy to assume I failed every test and timed writing and presentation. It was easy to keep my expectations so low that anything even resembling success was a pleasant surprise. It was easy to chip away at my selfconfidence until I no longer believed I had talent for anything.

Descartes wrote “I think, therefore I am” at the end of an existential crisis, signaling his conclusion that even if he believed in nothing else, he could at least

believe in himself. I was stuck at “I think,” not yet reaching “I am”; I remained at the self-esteem level on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, not yet able to achieve selfactualization.

But this wasn’t sustainable. Predicting catastrophes is tiring, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It hurts to rely on external validation, grasping for the smallest crumbs of self-worth.

The list of things I believe in is very short: climate change and evolution are real, vaccines are good, Nazis are bad people, and GoGoSqueeze is the best applesauce…

But the belief I hold the closest, the one I’m willing to fight for, is that everything will be okay.

Someday, somehow, I will wake up to soft sunlight and feel content. The sun will set at night and I will admire the colors of the sky rather than fear the coming darkness. Everything will be okay.

And to my best friends: you will be okay too. I know you don’t believe me, and I know you call my words empty, but the pessimism that we have clung to since the first time our self-esteem faltered is toxic.

Even if you are not ready to believe in yourselves, I believe in you.

Today, as I write this, the sun set at 5:51 pm. Tomorrow it will set at 5:52 pm.

It is a small change, barely noticeable, but it reminds me that darkness does not last forever. And perhaps that is a cliche, but it is a reminder that I need. Life goes on; every panic ends. I sit on the couch across from my doctor on Tuesday mornings, and when she asks how my week was, I can honestly say that I am okay. Everything will be okay. And in a few months, the sky will be blue and the air will be warm and we will be happy. Everything will be beautiful and nothing will hurt. The future is long and largely unknown, but at some point, everything will be okay.

Want to talk about senior stress season?

Contact Olivia at the.roar.conway@gmail. com

Insecurities: popular culture capitalizes on them. They are our deepest flaws. They make us anxious and keep us from achieving things we want. They give us a lack of confidence and a craving to improve ourselves.

They are lies that we begin to believe, leading to self-destruction. They can influence us to make bad decisions that place us in situations too mature for us to handle. These examples are just the surface of an ocean of internal judgements.

It does not help that society feeds into this idea through frequent social media posts and impossible standards set by millenials.

Growing up, women are led to believe that they should be thin and fit, but not fit to the point where they are more muscular than men. They are supposed to have perfectly clear skin. Their lives should be in colorcoded order. They should act cool and Juul, but still portray the “good girl” persona.

Women shouldn’t make too much money, but should continue to have the shiny jewelry, the sparkly dresses and the name-brand clothes. They should not raise their hands too often in class or surpass the knowledge of their male counterparts. They shouldn’t be able to live without a man in the house taking care of them and providing the income for the family.

Society also associates the idea of insecurities to girls, causing men to feel even more insecure about their own self-conscious tendencies. People expect guys to work out everyday and be ripped, while also having a “dad-bod.” They shouldn’t be an inch under six feet tall. They should only be attracted to females, instead of males. They should be able to provide for others in addition to themselves.

They have to be on a planned track to success the first day they enter high school. They most definitely should be

piper hitchcock staff reporter

an accomplished all-star athlete by age eight. And despite all of this pressure that they carry, men are not expected to be sensitive and share what they feel.

When we do not reach one of these unreasonable standards, it breaks us down. We become selfabsorbed by worrying what other people will think of us. We attempt to hide our insecurities, whether it be behind a plastic smile or the designer dress that you spent your college savings on just to wear to a Homecoming dance.

We spend so much time comparing ourselves to others’ fake personalities, we neglect learning to love our own insecurities.

We conform to society’s standards and set out to make better versions of ourselves. But in reality, we aren’t even “ourselves” after we have completed the task. We can use all of the new lingo, eat a salad every day for lunch, or purchase the most overpriced clothing. But the breath we will take will no longer be our own, instead that of the person we have transformed into to fit the unattainable mold our world has created.

And despite all we may do to run from our insecurities, they will continue to constantly find us as long as we worry about others’ opinions.

Insecurities: they ruin the way we live. They hold us back from taking risks necessary to live life to the fullest. They keep us from truly loving someone, being discovered, completing our work, achieving our dreams, and so much more. But, we shouldn’t let them get in the way of something that may be beautiful. Go out into your life with confidence, and make the most of it.

Want to talk about insecurities?

Contact Piper at the.roar.hitchcock@ gmail.com

overcoming standards

Teen grows through facing her insecurities

6 | viewpoints |

the roar

friday, feb. 15, 2019

Is the CSISD GPA weighting system fair?

The current GPA weighting system provides a 4.0 scale for on-level courses and a 5.0 scale for both honors and Pre-AP/AP courses. On Feb. 19, students, parents and teachers from both AMCHS and CSHS will make a case before the school board to create a distinction between the weighting of honors and AP courses, either by lowering the scale for honors or raising the scale for AP. The answer to this question is a resounding no.

The current system renders the distinction between honors and AP courses all but meaningless, effectively punishes those students willing to commit to AP in spite of that fact, and invites students to game the system--making choices based on inflating their GPA instead of on their actual interests and abilities.

The fact that honors and AP courses are weighted equally means that, from the perspective of the all-important high school transcript, there is no difference between the two. This does not make sense in light of the discrepancies in workload and overall difficulty. Since more work is required in AP to do well than in honors, it is logical that more points should be earned.

Opponents to a change in the system would argue that a lack of point distinction means only the most committed students will sign up for AP classes.

However, the result emerging is that those same students, who have proved themselves dedicated by being willing to risk their GPA for a more rigorous course, are seeing their transcripts suffer. Is it truly equitable to create a system specifically to separate out the most driven students, then punish them for being driven? The arrangement is decidedly unjust, especially since a change in the system wouldn’t exactly create a flood of unmotivated students in AP courses. Those who weren’t willing to work for the boost would ultimately drop to a lower level, just as they have always done. True, a higher GPA scale would create incentive for a larger volume of students to sign up, but they would still have to work to earn that higher point scale.

However, the most compelling reason for a change is a widespread negative effect of the current system: what is commonly known as “the GPA game”.

The loopholes that exist in our current setup enable and even encourage students to manipulate their schedules in order to inflate their GPAs. They take less rigorous courses for the same point value, and so don’t have to work as hard for a high GPA. This is unfair to AP students, because it causes them to plummet in the class rankings, even though they may be working as hard or harder than those ranked above them. However, students who game the system are hurting no one more than themselves. Commiting to the GPA game means making decisions about which classes to take based not on interests or dreams, but on a three digit number that has no bearing on their mental or emotional well-being. Students often find themselves forsaking classes that had been their passion in favor of pumping up their GPA. The current five-point scale is responsible for more damage than benefits. Quite apart from being unfair to pre-AP and AP students, the system is riddled with loopholes. In the context of ceaseless pressure and fear around high school transcripts, students can hardly be expected to refrain from taking advantage of them. The purpose of education is to give everyone a fair shot at making a dream into a reality--and education’s own dream is to achieve that high ideal. But equity isn’t always easy. It requires constant examination of our own successes and shortcomings, and the willingness to face up to the truth, even when we don’t like it. We all have to work for our dreams. So let’s get down to business.

“I think it’s fair, because honors and AP should be weighted the same, because you shouldn’t be taking an AP course to get a higher grade point. If you’re taking an AP course it should be to prepare for college, and you get that college credit if you pass the AP test.The 5.0 is already an edge on regular classes. You aren’t getting the college credit in honors.” senior naya noffsker

“I don’t think it’s fair. AP and honors courses are just completely different and shouldn’t be on the same [scale], because if I’m taking an AP course, I’m trying to get college credit, so it’s a lot harder, but in honors, I’m just trying to be in a faster class than regulars so it’s not really worth it to give me a 5.0.” senior michael barondeau

District The Roar 2018-2019 Staff

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Senior Executive Editor Online Editor Opinions co-Editors

Sam de Figueiredo Olivia Conway Alex Roeder Allen Zhang Ruby Perry-Mize Elise Sawyer Staff Reporters Saanya Patel Piper Hitchcock Claire Grace Franklin Emmeline Duhon Allison Segers Faculty Adviser Michael Williams Assistant Adviser Chauncey Lindner The Roar Editorial Board Sam de Figueiredo • Olivia Conway Elise Sawyer • Ruby Perry-Mize

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

Submissions to the editors are welcomed but must be signed and should not exceed 300 words.

The editor reserves the right to edit submissions in the interest of clarity and length or to not print a letter at all. Letters containing obscene or libelous material will not be considered. The Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief, managing editor and opinions editor.

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

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

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the roar | snapshots | 7

friday, feb. 15, 2019

“Not only is it fun to drive it is fast, but it is really convenient and I can take it anywhere.”

“Recently McLaren came out with car called the McLaren Senna, and it is just really impressive with the technology in there.”

- senior Tristan Ament

revvin’ it

Pride in cars reflects driving passion for automobiles alex roeder & claire grace franklin senior-executive editor & staff reporter

“I justed wanted a small sports car that was [something] but was inexpensive.”

“Driving. It feels connected with the road.”

- senior Aaron Becker

8 | student

friday, feb. 15, 2019

life | the roar

the roar | student life | 9

welcome to the real world

CYBERSECURITY

Teachers transfer experience from past careers to shape course curriculum, engage students saanya patel & elise sawyer staff reporter & opinions co-editor

ATHLETIC TRAINING

EMT

Some teachers struggle to convince their students that the curriculum they teach will apply to the real world. However, some teachers at Consol are able to bring the real world into the classroom from their previous careers.

Health Science teacher Kimberly Decker previously held jobs as both a 911 operator and an EMT paramedic, where she dealt with everything from 24-hour ambulance shifts to phone calls about cats stuck in trees. Her current courses allow students take shifts in the real-world medical field, where they can get a taste of her previous “hectic” jobs.

“When I was working on the ambulance and in dispatch, it was very unpredictable, which I liked,” Decker said. “You could go through a shift with two calls, or you could go through a shift where you had CPR, a motorcycle accident, and a crazy structure fire.”

As Decker continued working as an EMT while pursuing a health degree, she developed genuine relationships with many of her coworkers.

“You’re together for 24 hours a day. It’s like your family away from family. You talk about the crazy things you saw that day,” Decker said. “There’s bad things, but there’s also good times.

You’re able to bring somebody back and you get to see a reunion, [or] a person you did CPR on could be alive and talking to you.”

When Decker discovered a requirement for her degree plan was an internship, she began to search for one. When she discovered an opening-- an internship in an Emergency Medical Services class-- she never expected to fall in love with the field of education.

“My mom and aunt [are teachers], and they [told me], ‘get your teaching certificate just in case’,” Decker said. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to be a teacher just because y’all are teachers.’ Then I started teaching and I really liked it, which was a nice surprise.”

Though her career change was unplanned, Decker said the transition wasn’t difficult because of the similarities between the two jobs.

“As you are treating patients, you don’t want to just fix their problem now, you’d like it not to happen again,” Decker said.

“Working in that field and talking to people that you don’t know in critical environments made it much easier to come into a classroom environment.”

Decker didn’t know she would end up applying the skills

and other real-world experiences she had acquired as an EMT to the classroom, but was ultimately glad she made the decision to become a teacher.

“There’s some burnout when you work in an emergency environment for a long time. You kind of see the worst parts in humanity and you feel tired and want to do something uplifting,” Decker said. “But I do get this much out of teaching.You can make a difference and people care.”

Decker added that her previous experiences to help educate students, due to the large amount of teaching she had already done as an EMT and 911 operator.

“I [feel] comfortable explaining complicated things in different ways, [and] conflict resolution is huge,” Decker said.

“When people are sick and hurt, it’s not uncommon for them to be upset, [so] conflict de-escalation is [another] skill that I’ve used a lot in teaching.”

“As a teacher, I get to see you exploring your career, what you want to learn and what sparks interest in your life.” teacher MICHAEL HOWARD

While Decker never intended to come into the classroom, Michael Howard, who teaches Principles of IT, Tech II and Tech III, said he always knew he wanted to teach. Howard began his application process for CSISD in 2012, but was declined a position. In the meantime, Howard trained adults in cybersecurity and volunteered at the high school as a coach for the SkillsUSA team.

“I would train [the team] how to do customer service. In IT, customer service is important and understanding how to help a person with their computer problems and diagnose issues,” Howard said. “It’s very important for young IT people to understand not everyone speaks computer, so you can help someone understand what’s going on with their computer.”

Howard said volunteering allowed him to teach students the significance of technology, but he still hoped to get a full-

time job at the school to help students progress towards their futures in a more lasting way.

“Students [are] at this different learning methodology when they are high school students, because they are starting to get into adult learning, [which] they haven’t done before. You get to start exploring your career, what you want to learn, and what sparks interest in your life,” Howard said. “I get to be in this fun transition with y’all and help you learn how to do things as a child becoming an adult.”

When Howard finally accepted a job at AMCHS, he initially needed to adjust to a different, more strict schedule to educate high schoolers as opposed to adults. But Howard quickly saw benefits of his adjustment, as he found high schoolers were more willing to learn.

“Typically with adults, they are set in their ways and learning. [With] young adults, everything’s an eye opening experience and they like finding new and more efficient ways of doing things in general,” said Howard. “In my personal opinion, younger adults are keen to learn so its more fun to teach them.”

Health science teacher Katelyn Stone agrees with Howard, saying she has always gravitated towards working with high school students. She traded in her high school athletic training job in San Antonio for a job teaching the introductory health science courses last year.

“As an athletic trainer, every day [was] different and lots of things can get thrown your way. It [taught] me to roll with the punches and go with whatever happens,” Stone said. “Nothing really fazes or surprises me.”

Now that Stone teaches full-time, she said she values relationships with her students, something her previous job working as a high school athletic trainer didn’t give her enough time to enjoy.

“I just felt like I never got out of high school, and I really enjoy spending time with [high school students],” Stone said. “[During] the little bit of time on the football field or the little bit of time in the athletic training room, we could only really work on what our purpose was because our time was limited.”

Stone said she cherishes the time she now gets to spend with her students, as it’s one of her favorite parts of her job.

“In the classroom, I feel like I can really get to develop relationships with my [students by] spending time teaching [kids] and sharing my real world experiences with them,” Stone said. “I hope, if nothing else, they [can be] loved and respected and taken care of and two years down the road they can have [a]

10 | feature | the roar

friday, feb. 15, 2019

THE WRITE STUFF Students describe rewarding nature of free-writing, opportunity to develop new ideas allison segers & allen zhang staff reporter & online editor

“The first time writing an actual story was in second grade when I participated in UIL Creative Writing,” Borcherding said. “[Now] nine years later, I’m editing a book [and] drafting and plotting another one at the same time.”

Borcherding is currently completing the latest installment of a trilogy.

High school is a different experience for everyone. For some, it’s about the classes, “The first book is called ‘Elite’, and it’s a sci-fi dystopian novel about overthrowing for others, it’s about sports. But for sophomores Reece Wright and Abbie Borcherding, the corrupt government,” Borcherding said. “It’s definitely one of [my] favorite stories it’s about writing.

I’ve ever written.”

For Wright, writing has never been a burden.

Since she began writing, Borcherding She’s constantly writing and generating new topic said her dream has always been getting her ideas. stories published.

“I write at least half an hour a day, but if I’m

“I constantly try and find really into a topic, I can write a lot about it,” Wright new techniques of writing and editing,” said. “I write pretty much whenever I have free Borcherding said. “I’ve actually looked into time to do so.” sophomore professional editors and indie publishing, just Wright said she wants to use her writing to to see if I could someday publish my books.”

ABBIE BORCHERDING spread powerful messages. She hopes to attract and

While her efforts are extensive, bring more focus to different issues through her Borcherding said she doesn’t know how big writing.

“I write a lot about mental illness because I can relate to it,” Wright said. “I hope a of a role writing will play into her future.

“Right now, I’m just focusing on getting a book published,” Borcherding said. “But lot more people can learn about it and get to understand it.”

Whatever the topic, Wright always immerses herself heavily in her writing, I don’t know if I really want to pursue writing as a career or just keep writing for fun.”

For Wright, writing has always been a way out. It helps her communicate issues sometimes spending multiple days working on a single idea.

“Sometimes I hear a really interesting idea and I’ll jump into overdrive,” Wright she’s passionate about. “[Writing] allows you to express how you feel about a certain topic,” Wright said. said. “I’ve even written a 19 page script at one point.”

Borcherding also writes at every opportunity, saying she began writing small “You get to show the world how you feel through your creative outlet.” paragraphs at a young age which later developed into writing full on stories.

“My first time writing an actual story was in second grade .[Now] nine years later, I’m editing a book [and] drafting another one at the same time.”

the roar | feature | 11

friday, feb. 15, 2019

MOW MONEY Long-time friends reflect on their roots, growing business olivia conway managing editor “Texan-owned and operated” is written on the back of the business cards seniors Travis McAleer and Jonathan Farrell hand out to their clients for their lawn mowing company, Lone Star Lawns.

Both Farrell and McAleer had mown lawns for their neighbors to make extra money, but one summer, Farrell decided to take his work to the next level.

“I started [Lone Star Lawns] like two years ago to make money and learn more about business, because that’s what I was interested in,” Farrell said. “[McAleer] had something going on with his neighbors, so he joined.”

Working together has helped Farrell and McAleer to become closer friends and grow their clientele to bring in more profits.

“We didn’t have a lot of classes together, but we’ve known each other since elementary school so we kind of rekindled,” Farrell said. “I knew he was a hard worker and he was handling some clients on his own.”

Through word of mouth and advertisements on the NextDoor app, Lone Star Lawns grew to serve clients across College Station. Both Farrell

and McAleer have business aspirations for the future, and they said Lone Star Lawns has given them additional experience before starting college.

“It’s been a really good first job, because it’s taught [me] how to do hard work, [by being] out in the sun working all day long,” McAleer said. “[It’s also] taught [me] how to deal with people, because some clients we’ve had [were] kind of difficult, so [we] just have to work through that.”

quality of service that Lone Star Lawns provides.

“They’re willing to take on different tasks in the yard. We would show them how to do something, and they picked up on it quickly,” Akins said.

“They have done a good job.”

While their work can be strenuous, Farrell and McAleer said they still manage to have a good time.

“We have [another] client in Nantucket, so it’s a little bit [of a] bigger property, and she lets us use a lot of her equipment,” Farrell said. “She has a John Deere we get to ride around on and a little trailer, so that’s pretty fun.”

For McAleer, the best memories come from the time he gets to spend with Farrell after long days of mowing.

“Probably the best experience is the Whataburger we get after we mow our sixth lawn,” McAleer said.

Although Farrell and McAleer do not plan to continue with Lone Star Lawns once they begin college, they said they have gained worthwhile experience and their clients now consider them to be capable workers and business owners.

“They’re dependable and professional in how they handle things [and] they do it in a business-like fashion even though they’re young,” Akins said. “They have good heads on them.”

““They’re willing to take on different tasks in the yard. We would show them how to do something, and they picked up on it quickly.” client SHIRLEY AKINS

In addition to these life-lessons, Farrell attributes skills like budgeting and time management to responsibility of directing their business.

“Even though we get to schedule our hours, which is super nice, [we] also have to schedule [our] week ahead of time so [we] know when [we] can fit in work,” Farrell said. “It was easy to get a client or two in the neighborhood but it was harder to actually grow it, because now we have clients in completely different neighborhoods.”

One of their clients, Shirley Akins, said she was impressed by the

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12| sports | the roar

JUMP START

friday, feb. 15, 2019

PHOTO BY PIPER HITCHCOCK

Varsity players count on team chemistry, fan support for upcoming playoff run saanya patel & piper hitchcock staff reporters

“We’ve played together since elementary school. It’s natural for us,” Smith said.

“We’re a bunch of brothers playing and will finally have a chance to show we’re worthy.”

With a 26-5 record and close-knit players, the varsity basketball team said they’re Peel said the team’s preparation for playoffs is extensive, including watching film ready to dribble into playoff season. of other teams and practicing after-hours.

Junior point guard Reece Peel said although “[We’ve been] taking charge, as well, which he’s excited about the upcoming season, their is really important for our team,” Peel said. “Not record puts a lot of pressure on the team. to play for ourselves, but to play for each other “We’re set to a really high standard,” Peel because at the end of the day that’s what we’re said. “We played well earlier this year, so I think going to need to win this, not one player but all that a lot of people are expecting us to do good.” of us.” senior Some of the team, like senior captain Jordan Smith said this shared drive will lead the JORDAN GRAY Gray, use the stress as a source of motivation. team to victory.

“I like the pressure,” Gray said. “It makes “Making it to the playoffs is it,” Smith said. you play that much harder. You want to make it “It’ll be what we worked for our whole lives.” to state. You want to win more.”

Junior captain Bryce Smith added that the higher stakes bring new responsibilities.

“You’re having to represent your school, your family, and everyone that’s supported you the whole season,” Smith said. “Playoffs [are] intense, but at the same Consol (26-5, 11-3) will face Willis in the Class 5A bi-distict time, it’s a lot of fun because you’re having to play for something really important.” playoffs at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Navasota.

Smith says that the team’s instinctive chemistry paired with their supportive fanbase improve the possibility for success.

“I like the pressure, it makes you play much harder. You want to win more.”

friday, feb. 15, 2019

the roar | sports | 13

ALL IN THE SAME BOOT Boot camp class improves fitness with help from coach, encouraging atmosphere sam de figueiredo & emmeline duhon editor-in-chief & staff reporter In third period boot camp class, students’ growth is more than just physical. As the leader of most workouts, senior Logan Brown said his second year in the class has been full of learning, especially about the health benefits of fitness.

“It’s a period where I can just kind of let off some steam and work out, as opposed to all of my academic classes,” Brown said. “I’ve learned to work harder, help others and judge less.”

Coach Wendy Hines said Brown’s and the other students’ dedication has paid off, the biggest proof being their achievement of new personal records, or PRs, in the weight room.

“I love that, because they’re really getting something out of class,” Hines said. “I’ve seen them really grow, and that’s what I love about it.”

Senior Brandon Dunlap, who enrolled in the class in preparation to join the Coast Guard, said he has definitely seen growth. Previously “too lazy” to maintain a steady workout routine, he said boot camp provided him with a group of peers to keep him inspired.

“It motivates me as a person, especially when you see people like me working out,” Dunlap said. “When you see someone doing their max on something, it makes you want to try your max on something.”

But Dunlap said it’s easy to get carried away in the encouraging atmosphere of the class, a lesson he learned the hard way. After seeing Brown dead-

Senior Oscar Yajure-Vargas squats during boot camp class. He says it is the best class for teaching him how to lift and making him stronger.

lifting his max weight, Dunlap decided to try his max on the leg press.

“I pushed it up pretty easily, but when I went down, my knees decided it wasn’t the right amount of weight, and it collapsed on me,” Dunlap said. “I was stuck there until I [got] the substitute teacher, who wasn’t muscular and like a stick, to push up 600 pounds of weight.”

Dunlap’s unfortunate experience was no surprise, as Hines said she constantly has to reprimand Dunlap and her other students for their “risky behavior” as if they were her own children. Her maternal instinct kicked in again when she heard Dunlap talking about what seemed to be a car crash.

“He started telling a story, and all I heard was something about him getting in a head-on collision. I just went off,” Hines said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’ve told you, you can’t be doing this.’ I lectured him for a good two minutes.”

Dunlap said he didn’t even have time in between her scolding to clarify what he had actually been talking about.

“She started getting really mad at me before I could tell her [the crash] was in a video game,” Dunlap said. “She was screaming at me, saying I was stupid and an idiot. I said ‘Thanks coach, it was a video game.’”

This misunderstanding is just one of the many memorable moments, which Hines believes are sure to last.

“Life’s about stories,” Hines said. “My momma used to say, ‘You have got to make stories, so when you get old, you can laugh sitting in your rocker.

People will wonder what you’re laughing about, but you’re the only one that knows.’”

Hines uses the leg extension machine as she makes casual conversation with the class. She said she views her job as making the class fun and interesting for any student.

PHOTOS BY SAM DE FIGUEIREDO

14 | reviews | the roar

LIGHTS, CAMERA, BINGE

friday, feb. 15, 2019

the roar reviews: netflix originals piper hitchcock | staff reporter

e

th f o s

n a i d me

ld r o W

Co

In Comedians of the World, there are positive and negative aspects. I quite enjoyed the fact that the comedians spoke out about modern issues, making a point while still being funny. I also found it absolutely hilarious when they took the common stereotypes of major world religions and made a act out of them. Despite the humor and flow of the acts, they are politically incorrect, contain profanity, and make frequent sexual references.

If you are easily offended, I do not suggest watching Comedians of the World.

The second episode was the U.K.’s Mae Martin talking about his trip to Australia, but to me it was not interesting. He talked too long on his subjects before changing them and lost the attention of the viewer. He also seemed like he was trying too hard to be funny and paused in awkward places. I would suggest skipping over this episode.

sam de figueiredo | editor-in-chief This fictional comedy series centers around a black college student, Samantha White, who runs a radio show with the same name as the series itself: Dear White People. Snippets from her podcast paired with scenes from her everyday life allow the audience to follow as she navigates through life in an Ivy League university ridden with discrimination, sexism and most importantly, lots of white people. The show’s writing cleverly takes the students’ widely accepted habits and blows them out of proportion until they seem indisputably ridiculous.

While the title suggests the students’ struggles will be shown from a specific angle, the show successfully widens its lens to poke fun at the discriminatory patterns of all groups of people, majorities and minorities alike. This makes the show universal, a quality that allows the show’s satirical commentary to resonate with diverse viewers. The show’s well-executed mockery of society made it easy for me to add it to my list of favorites.

Stranger Things

DEA

WHITE

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PEOPLE

olivia conway | managing editor A few years ago, when Stranger Things reached the peak of its hype, I was skeptical.

The concept seemed bland and overused: a group of friends, a struggle against an evil force, nostalgia for past decades. But the show turned out to be engaging and enjoyable.

I am not typically a fan of science fiction, but Stranger Things created a world that seemed far more plausible than that of a standard sci-fi show. The friendships between the main characters were genuine and endearing, with amusing moments of camaraderie sprinkled within the larger plot line. Additionally, the show addressed issues that are relevant in the modern world as well. Many of the problems in the show resulted from the irresponsibility of professional institutions, and the characters dealt with ideas of accepting differences and preserving lasting relationships.

Stranger Things was more than I expected it to be, and for that I am grateful. I am not really a fan of TV shows in general, but I think that this one lived up to its hype. The only drawback for me is that the episodes are rather long, and I have very little time and a relatively short attention span. But overall, Stranger Things is definitely a show worth watching.

the roar | reviews | 15

friday, feb. 15, 2019

DOLLAR DATES grooves on the green

sam de figueiredo editor-in-chief

$$$

Century Square is jam-packed with aesthetically-pleasing shops and restaurants perfect for a date, but the experience usually comes with a high price tag. The idea of daily shopping sprees at Lululemon and nightly dinners at Porter’s sounds amazing, but it doesn’t fit my high-schooler salary of $0. Fortunately, Century Square has a convenient website with a calendar advertising (mostly) free events. I decided to go to “Grooves on the Green,” somewhat of a mini-concert on the area’s small lawn.

Surrounding restaurants laid out games like giant Jenga and cornhole on the lawn.

Once the sun set, the band began to play. People ate, danced, played games, or simply just sat on the lawn. The air was full of lively conversation and calming music, an environment ideal for a first date. And the best part about the experience: it was free.

PHOTO BY

CENTURY

SQUARE

ice cream & the sunset olivia conway managing editor

$ $$

As a person not involved in a romantic relationship, Valentine’s Day is just another day. But for those who are in relationships and are looking for cute, inexpensive date ideas, I would recommend watching the sunset from the rooftop parking lot above Bed Bath & Beyond. The rooftop parking lot is peaceful and feels removed from the rest of College Station, which could facilitate meaningful conversations and unforgettable memories that would not be possible in more crowded date venues.

And what could be more romantic than watching the sky turn pink as the sun sinks below the horizon? In order to write this review, I hung out at this rooftop parking lot by myself, which was slightly sad, but still very fulfilling. There’s just something so nice about being able to look out over the streets and buildings without being disturbed by any of the activity or traffic. For a bit of added sweetness, perhaps bring some ice cream or other foods to enjoy while watching the sunset. The rooftop parking lot is also a great place to take aesthetic pictures since there’s a lot of space, and the sky provides a beautiful backdrop. If anybody wants to take me on a date here, call me ;).

PHOTO BY

NWAY

OLIVIA CO

dinner & ice- skating

sam de figueiredo editor-in-chief

$ $$

Depending on the day, Spirit Ice Arena either resembles a romantic winter wonderland or the setting of a sad 4th grade field trip. This unpredictability might make some people hesitant to plan an ice-skating date. However, if you look past the risk of skating under harsh fluorescent spotlights as opposed to soft ambient lighting, the ice-skating rink can be a fun place to get to know your date. You can top off the fun night by grabbing dinner before icing your inevitable bruises from skating straight into walls and the occasional child. Romantic.

PHOTO BY ELISE

SAWYER

16 | reviews | the roar

like and subscribe

friday, feb 15, 2019

Students discuss benefits of online persona, creativity associated with video content alex roeder & ruby perry-mize senior executive editor & opinions co-editor Despite YouTube’s increasing success as an entertainment platform, few can say their life centers around it. But some, like freshman Hayden Rye, have made YouTube a much larger part of their lives by starting channels of their own.

Rye initially started a gaming channel to mirror channels that inspired him, but he found that creating original content gave him personal satisfaction.

“That’s what I do to keep myself happy, it’s one of my biggest hobbies,” he said.

“It’s just fun, watching the audience react to things you made.”

Rye isn’t the only one who followed someone else’s example. Senior Bailey Brock structured her channel by watching the popular lifestyle Youtuber Indy Blue.

“My style has been developed by her,” Brock said. “She likes the same things I do, so watching her helps me get confidence for my videos, because she started small and now she’s famous.”

Rye agrees that confidence is key for success on YouTube, saying he applies that principle to all of his videos.

“You want to let your personality out, and you want to feel like an idiot in front of the camera, because then you know you’re doing it right,” Rye said.“If you’re all nervous, it’s really boring to watch.”

Freshman Weston Pate, whose channel content is mostly comedy, said although letting loose is important, the implications of any comments must be considered.

“You have to be really careful of what you say on camera,” Pate said. “Because if you say something that’s not bad, but some people take it the wrong way, it can be really bad.”

Rye said he shares the understanding that audience’s preferences should always be prioritized. “[The channel’s growth] caused me to put much more thought into videos,” Rye said. “You have to think about it from the perspective of a viewer who you may not even know.”

Pate said he appeals to his audience by following popular trends. For example,

Freshman Weston Pate eats a cupcake. “[My faovorite video] is my first. [I] did a mukbang” Pate said.

Senior Bailey Brock holds her vlog camera. “My channel is a just a mixture of videos [and] funny things,” Brock said.

his first upload was a “mukbang,” a video in which people eat large amounts of food while talking conversationally to the camera.

“We did it to be funny,” Pate said. “I enjoyed every single minute of filming and editing, even though editing tires me out.”

Maintaining a channel while also keeping up with classes can certainly be tiring, Rye said.

“Say you’re wanting to make a video this weekend, but you have this huge project you have to do for school,” Rye said. “So you’d have to not release that video for that weekend.”

But despite the drawbacks, freshman Elaine Castro, who started posting her lifestyle videos in the past year, said she believes that the results are worth it. Her experience with YouTube has led her to consider a career in photography and videography.

“After making a video, the joy that it brings me, it’s like ‘okay, this is something I want to continue doing,’” Castro said.

Castro said her channel even led her to create multiple close friendships with some of her followers.

“Last year [they] watched my YouTube videos, and then came up to me and said they enjoyed them, and then we found hobbies that we enjoyed together,” Castro said. “It pushes me out of my comfort zone to put myself out on the internet like that.”

Displaying her private life to such a degree has been a mainly positive experience for Brock.

“Some people will see me in the hallways and be like, ‘Ahh I watched your vlog!’ and I’m like, ‘Ahh thanks!’” Brock said. “It’s something cool that I can connect to other people with.”

Overall, Brock said, YouTube has served as a way to find her voice and her confidence in the midst of the sometimes unforgiving environment of high school.

“In high school it’s really hard to have confidence, because there are so many opinions coming at you,” she said. “It’s a way that I can express myself and show people what I’m actually like.”

Freshman Hayden Rye shows his mouse. “I do a lot of videos about Geometry Dash type stuff” Rye said.

Freshman Elaine Castro blends her makeup. “[My channel] started off as makeup,” Castro said.