The Kinkaid Falcon - Issue 2 , Vol. 72

FALCON

THE

The Kinkaid School 201 Kinkaid School Dr. Houston, TX 77024

WHEN IDEALS CLASH INSIDE

News | 2 Arts & Culture | 5 Opinion | 7 Features | 10 Entertainment | 16 Sports | 18

November 2, 2018 Volume 72, Issue 2

We live in a completely polarized, partisan nation. Nowadays, it’s more about proving a point than choosing what’s right or what aligns with our morals. What happens when this dissonance works itself into the classrooms?

Onto the field?

Into our society?

News In Brief

Bake sale earns funds for breast cancer awareness

Big Sisters make big impact On Oct. 21, the Big Sisters Club put on an event for a group of girls, ranging from 3 to 12-years-old at Big Brothers, Big Sisters Houston.

“It has been a crazy beautiful experience,” said Ryan Whitcomb (10).

The Big Sisters Club at Kinkaid coordinates and organizes events that help give younger girls someone to look up to and spend time with.

The girls have parents serving in prison or a single parent who has a full-time job. They serve as an older figure that the younger girls don’t have at home. Students give them ad-

vice, help them recognize their self worth, and help them form strong bonds with someone new.

“Our job is to emphasize the worth and potential of these little girls,” Whitcomb said. “As a club, we teach the girls the importance of inner beauty and loving yourself.”

The event not only teaches young girls the important of self-worth, but also teaches the Big Sisters how much younger girls look up to high schoolers as role models.

“As my 7-year-old buddy sat in my lap, she whispered to me, ‘Today was the best day of my life,’” Whitcomb said.

Photo courtesy of Kate Riley (11)

NEWS

2 | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

Maggie Johnston (11), president of Big Sisters Club, meets one of the little girls from the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Houston organization.

From malfunction to finalists Film students attended the annual the Crave Arts Film Invitational in New York this September.

The goal of the convention was to give film students a chance to experiment with filming in a short 48-hour timeframe. The two-day conference began with one day of filming and the team completed editing on the second day. There was even some preparation before the group left for New York and it paid off.

Their film had to be turned in by 4 p.m. on the last day of the conference, but then they encountered a problem.

Their film didn’t fully export

to the hard drive.

It deleted.

Julia Burpeau (11) described it as “pretty stressful,” when they had to turn in a “rough cut with minimal sound.” But, organizers let them edit it back home before it was put on their website.

Despite the difficulties, the team became finalists.

The students participated in the Crave Arts Film Invitational 2018 festival, learning the true meaning of team work.

Aside from the event, the students also attended a film festival and various workshops to learn and expand their knowledge on film.

The smell of brownies, cookies and cupcakes filled the senior hallway as students flocked to the Student Athletic Advisory Commitee’s yearly “Play for Pink” bake sale.

Falcons for pink is a fundraiser in October hosted by the community service board, promoting all things pink.

“Students bring in baked goods made from scratch or from stores, along with goodies and accessories such as beaded necklaces, pompoms, head boppers, and wrist bands,” said Rylan Whitcomb (10).

Some examples of the treats brought in include chocolate covered pretzels, macaroons, pink popcorn and themed rice crispy treats.

The money that was raised

by SAAC was the donted to the Side Out Foundations.

The Side Out Foundation is an American nonprofit breast cancer charity that raises awareness and funds for the treatment of metastaic breast cancer.

Although the goods were sold for low prices, SAAC exceeded its goal by raising $1,895 nearly double of what they raised last year.

“The bake sale booths were a blast to work and beneficial to informing the general public about our cause,” Whitcomb said.

Upcoming Dates and Events

FALCON staff

The Kinkaid Falcon’s mission is to be an accurate and reliable source of information for the Kinkaid community by informing readers about topics that are interesting, thought-provoking, and impactful from the school, local Houston area and Texas, as well as other parts of the world.

Questions or comments? We welcome your voice and feedback in the form of email, letters and guest articles. Please email student.publications@kinkaid. org or use the contact form at thefalcon.kinkaid.org.

Letters can be sent to: The Kinkaid School 201 Kinkaid School Dr. Houston, TX 77024 Corrections will be addressed on our website and published in the subsequent issue. Please direct advertising inquiries to nicole. fernandez@kinkaid.org.

The opinions expressed in The Kinkaid Falcon belong solely to the writer and are not a reflection or representation of the opinions of the school or its administrators.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emma Stout ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sarah Kate Padon & Emma Gilliam ASSISTANT EDITOR Megha Neelapu

Friday, November 2, 7:30 p.m.

Varsity Football St. John’s game at Rice Stadium

NEWS EDITOR Ayush Krishnamoorti

Wednesday, November 7, all day.

Diwali

FEATURES EDITOR Madi Babine

Thursday, November 8, all day.

Fall sports SPC starts Saturday, November 10, 7-9 p.m., Sunday, November 11, 2-4 p.m.

Mosaic Dance Company performance Monday November 12, all day.

Tuesday, November 13, all day.

Book Fair November 19-23.

Thanksgiving break (no classes for students) Saturday, December 1, 7-10 p.m.

US coffee house Compiled by Jordan Guy

Corrections

THE KINKAID

The Falcon welcomes comments and suggestions. We seek to publish corrections and clarifications in the subsequent issue. Please email any corrections to student.publications@kinkaid.org or megha.neelapu@kinkaid. org. Corrections in Issue 2, published Sept. 28, 2018: Pg. 1: The header incorrectly showed “Volume 71.” This is Volume 72 of The Falcon. “News in Brief,” pg. 2: Debate had one bid to national tournament (TOC), not two. “Kinkaid faculty, staff put art on display,” pg. 6: there was an incorrect caption under the photograph representing work next to Mrs. McMillan’s four paintings; it was incorrectly attributed to Ms. Bess Garison. “Kinkaid welcomes AFS exchange student,” pg. 14: Tommaso Casavecchi (11) last name was spelled incorrectly as “Casavechhi” and “Cassachevi.”

“Pop Culture,” pg. 17: Duryn Dunbar (11) quote was attributed to Jordan Ricks (11). “The Falcon Staff makes MLB playoff predictions,” pg. 20: The bracket inaccurately describes the A’s playing the A’s; it was supposed to show the A’s playing the Yankees. “Kinkaid welcomes new faculty,” pg. 28: Dr. Kimetris Baltrip’s biography was cut off; it continues to say, “[working as]....Bugs Bunny and Sylvester Looney Tunes characters that danced in shows and greeted guests at AstroWorld.” Additionally, Adam Capitano is referred to is “Mr.,” while his professional prefix is actually “Dr.”

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Megan Riley

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Olivia Marrus OPINION EDITORS Eliza Griggs & Maggie Johnston SPORTS EDITORS Sterling Elias & Jordan Jafarnia STAFF WRITERS Connor Blake Brady Brazda Sally Buck Sloan Colt Nicole Fernandez Mya Franklin Charles Garrison Lily Gunn Jordan Guy Kyla Henderson Wilson Kelsey Jack Klosek Allison Le Vedul Palavajjhala William Scott Chris Stallings Camila Vicens Frankie Wimbish Ali Yousuf ADVISER Dr. Kimetris Baltrip The Falcon is published six times a school year. Eight hundred free print copies are distributed to 613 Upper School students and 94 faculty members, and 235 copies are mailed to subscribers. The Kinkaid Falcon is a member of the CSPA and NSPA.

NEWS | November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon

Snapshots capture student involvement

BY ALLISON LE

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1 Mr. Esteban Longoria teaches his Spanish II-Honors class about "el DĂ­a de los Muertos," the Day of the Dead. This year the altar, also called an ofrenda, was set up by Priscilla Mach (11), President of the Student Diversity Leadership Board, the Viva la Raza club, and Ms. Vanessa ZamudioLara, Spanish III and V teacher.

Merritt Cozby (12) works on cutting out a chandelier for the Student Center in the midst of SOK Week. Every year, on the week of the St. John's game, the SOK club decorates the Student Center with dedications to the varsity fall sports team members, the SOK board, non-sports seniors, and students who have left the graduating class over the years.

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Seniors Madi Malouf and Chloe Hunter sell goodies at the Falcons for Pink bake sale.

The Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) raised $1,895.75 for the Side-Out Foundation as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The baked goods were brought by various members of the fall sports teams.

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The Falcon Fuel Bar features the design submission of Lara Lin (12), one of the first entries submitted for the Falcon Fuel logo that will be printed on the coffee cups. Seven designs were submitted to the Falcon Fuel Bar and Chef Mark Harris for a prize of $50 credit to the Falcon Fuel Bar. Faculty and staff will vote starting next Monday until Nov. 14.

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Photos by Allison Le

Halloween characters fill hallways with wonder

Photo by Frankie Wimbish

A pint-size Elvis, mini super heroes and other fictional characters created a trail around campus Wednesday during Kinkaid's annual Halloween parade for pre-K and kindergarten students. Cate Utterback, 6, came to school dressed as a "zom-

bie cheerleader." Although distribution of candy was not allowed along the parade route, students bagged trinkets that were handed out at pre-planned stops, which suited Utterback just fine. "I liked getting stuff," she said.

4 NEWS | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

Alumnus runs to fix a ‘broken’ system in D.C.

“I am running for the U.S. House of Representatives, not the Republican House or the Democrat House,” said Mr. Todd Litton, a Democrat running for the 2nd Congressional District.

Mr. Litton, a Kinkaid alumnus who graduated in 1988, has been campaigning for more than a year in an attempt to win over a gerrymandered district that historically leans Republican.

His father is a Republican and his mother is a Democrat; in his youth, Mr. Litton interned for former President George H.W. Bush; and he has supported both Democratic and Republican candidates in the past.

Having grown up in a home in which the dinner table was graced with heated political discussions, Mr. Litton said he truly has the ability to understand and respect both political parties.

“I always say don’t get furious, get curious,” he said.

This race is being referred to by The Economist as one of the 20 “toss-up” races in the country.

Running against Mr. Litton is former Navy Seal Mr. Dan Crenshaw. Though they are like-minded on some issues, they disagree on topics such as immigration, climate change,

ment,” he said. “I don’t want to take anyone’s guns away, but I don’t think an 18 year old should be able to purchase a gun that can shoot up to 600 rounds a minute.”

However, unlike Mr. Litton, Mr. Crenshaw has voiced his undying advocacy for the 10th Amendment and the idea of federalism. He believes the power should be taken out of Washington and put back into the hands of the people.

Also in line with each candidates political parties, with regard to abortion, Mr. Crenshaw is anti-abortion and Mr. Litton supports abortion rights.

The predicted vote share in this race, as of Oct. 25, has Republicans with 51 percent of the votes and Democrats with 45 percent.

Mr. Litton said he is striving to become an independent voice for the country and the district.

“I would like to build bridges Kinkaid alumnus Todd Litton is running for the 2nd Congressional District. Litton between communities, build said he wants to be an independent voice regardless of his party affiliation. bridges between parties, and It doesn’t matter where they are abortion and gun rights. figure out how we can work born,” he said. “I don’t look at Mr. Litton does not support together,” he said. immigration as a red and blue the building of a wall on the Mr. Litton decided to run issue. I look at it as a red, white southern U.S. border; however, for office because he saw how and blue issue.” he said the country needs to “broken” Washington seems to Mr. Litton supports universal be and how nothing seems to be increase border security with background checks on guns, but getting done. more officers on the ground. does not want to infringe in the “I don’t think any person is He said our country has Second Amendment. illegal. Every person is deservbecome so bipartisan that it “I support the Second Amend- feels as though Americans are ing of love and respect. Period.

Photo courtesy of Mr. Todd Litton

BY ELIZA GRIGGS

working against each other: both sides, Republican and Democrat.

“We have got to quit talking about these false manufactured controversies and start working on stuff that matters,” Mr. Litton said.

He advised Kinkaid students to vote, get involved and volunteer.

“I would also tell students they should really consider running for office. We need people to step up,” he said, adding that Kinkaid provided him with a sense of community and experience in how personal involvement can make a difference.

“It’s about representing everybody. I’m not running to represent Democrats. I’m running to represent every person in this district.”

- Mr. Todd Litton The line between political parties is unyielding, now more than ever. Followers of both parties are criticizing the extremes of the other and rejecting common ground.

Every person is entitled to an opinion, but Mr. Litton urges all Kinkaid students and people around the globe to “be thoughtful and listen to all sides.”

NASA offers aerospace opportunities to juniors

BY VEDUL PALAVAJJHALA & CONNOR BLAKE

Houston goes by many nicknames: H-town, Bayou City and Clutch City, but officially, its nickname is Space City.

Among other strong cultural icons, Houston sports franchises, the Astros and Rockets, are direct references to the city’s historic ties to space exploration. In fact, after a string of technical commands and checks, Houston was the first word spoken on the moon.

Houston was selected in 1961 when NASA was looking to build a command hub for its operations. The city was attractive because of its airport, mild climate, transport systems and proximity to water.

Since its inception, Houston’s Johnson Space Center has been the center for manned missions, and this past October, NASA celebrated its 60th birthday.

For the last 20 years, the agency has also been training the next generation of NASA engineers through its High School Aerospace Scholars program (HAS).

The scholars program has provided an opportunity for Texas high school juniors to work with NASA employees online and onsite since 1999.

Students apply during the fall and participate in online activities from November to February.

In the four months of online sessions, they work on four modules, each having components of science, technology, engineering and mathematics with an overall focus on designing a mission to Mars.

These sessions also include live chat “webinars” with NASA engineers and scientists.

After the online sessions,

the top scorers are selected lot of the stuff that he had said. to attend a weeklong summer I read his book, and I really internship at the Johnson Space loved my physics class, and I Center. wanted to take advantage of the With help from a grant from opportunities that were so close the Houston Livestock Show to me and learn more about the and Rodeo, the program is universe and the world around completely free to the 900 parme.” ticipants in the online program During the summer program and the more than 250 who are at the Johnson Space Center, able to go on site to the Johnson Mings said he really enjoyed Space Center each year. being able to meet the astro Two Kinkaid students have nauts and see what their jobs participated in the program in were like day to day. recent years.

Mings also said the program Seb Seager (12) qualified helped him see the applicato attend the program this past tions of new technologies and summer. how they will work on future Seager said what he most missions. liked about the program was beJessica Cordero, the maning able to interact with NASA ager of the HAS program said: experts and tour the facilities of “HAS attracts the students who one of NASA’s most important are interested in the STEM space flight centers. fields… If we provide students “HAS is probably one of the with this unique NASA experimost inspiring and interesting ence they get to learn from and aerospace programs that I know collaborate with scientists and of,” Seager said. “For me, it engineers and hear about all was an excellent opportunity the different disciplines that are to get an idea of what goes on available to them in the STEM inside NASA and to experience fields.” how scientists and engineers NASA is encouraging stuapproach their high-stakes dents to enter the STEM fields problems.” by giving them a chance to Mason Mings, currently work with the scientists at the a junior at the University of Johnson Space Center.

Pennsylvania, participated in “Having the students on the High School Aerospace site… is not only exciting for Scholars program when he was the students, but it’s equally at Kinkaid in 2015. exciting for the... Space Center Mings, who saw a flyer for workforce that also volunteer the program on a school bulletin their time as... experts during board, said he was inspired to the HAS program… It brings a follow his interests in space lot of excitement knowing that and the universe after a guest we have a really bright future speaker’s presentation. ahead of us,,” Cordero said.

“I decided to do it because She said she believes the proI was super fascinated by gram is important to the future space,” Mings said. “When of the STEM fields in general, I was a sophomore or junior not only for NASA. Brian Greene came to speak at Applications for the program Kinkaid — a theoretical physiare due in mid October. The cist — and I was fascinated by a current due date has passed.

Spacecraft through the ages From putting the first man in space to building a permanently inhabitable laboratory in orbit, NASA has accomplished many historic feats of engineering. In its 60 years of operation, NASA has also used a variety of spacecraft. Here are a few of NASA’s most iconic launch vehicles.

Saturn V Height: 363 feet Weight: 6.2 million pounds Thrust: 7.6 million lbf (pounds of force) Piloted missions: Apollo 8 Apollo 17 First used: 1967

Space Shuttle Height: 184 feet Weight: 4.5 million pounds Thrust: 7.8 million lbf Piloted missions: STS-1 STS-135 First used: 1981

Mercury-Redstone Height: 83 feet Weight: 66,000 pounds Thrust: 79,000 lbf Piloted missions: Freedom 7, Liberty Bell 7 First used: 1961

Illustration courtesy of NASA photos

ARTS & CULTURE

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon

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Without spotlights, backstage crew shines bright

BY MAGGIE JOHNSTON Seven days, 31 hours.

On top of academic and athletic commitments, every student in “These Shining Lives,” from the tech and lighting crew to the lead actresses and stage managers, spent 31 hours in Kinkaid’s Black Box theater to perfect every detail in the week leading to the opening night of the show.

One person who knows just how much work it takes to master any job in theater is Eliza Moldawer (11).

Moldawer has been an active member of three distinct parts of the productions at Kinkaid: helping behind the curtain as head of wigs in the musical “Crazy for You,” acting as a minor character in the one-act play, “Visions of Paris,” and

starring as a lead character in the feature-length play, “These Shining Lives.”

She stressed that while audience members easily recognize the actors as vital to the show, few people realize the importance of the backstage team when it comes to getting ready for opening night.

The stage managers, Duncan Lambert (10) and Artemis Postolos (10), worked hand in hand with the show’s director, Ms. Michelle Ludwig, to ensure that the performance ran smoothly.

“If the stage managers weren’t there, the show almost literally could not go on. Nobody would enter the stage on time. The lights would not come on. The sound would not come on,” Moldawer said.

It is on the stage managers’ cue that shows start each night,

and without that cue the show would be incomplete.

Prop master Alex Nigro (11) made sure props were in place at the beginning of each show and at the end of every night.

“Without Alex there would be no watches for us to paint and no paintbrushes for us to use; therefore, the powerful message of this show would not be conveyed,” Moldawer said.

The tech crew was responsible for building the entire set; tech theater students began cutting and carving wood for the performers’ stage months before the show was even cast At late-night practices during tech week, they made sure lights came on at the right time, cast members’ microphones were up and special effects went off without a hitch.

“Every piece of this show

Eliza Moldawer (11), playing Charlotte Purcell, gets ready for the first performance of “These Shining Lives.”

Moldawer has experience in different parts of theater production.

contributes to the audience members’ experience and receiving how powerful the story is,” Ms. Ludwig said.

Moldawer, along with the three other female leads, said she went on an emotional journey every night both in practice and during performances to deliver the powerful story of the trials faced by ordinary girls who just wanted to work during the 1920s and 30s.

“Radium Dial is known for its impeccable success, and for paying generous wages to unskilled workers,” said Carson Keller (11), who played a reporter in the performance.

Reporters interjected newscast-style briefings that represented Radium Dial as a well-meaning company and served to undermine the credibility of the women who were standing against the company’s unethical treatment of its workers.

Though Keller had only five lines to memorize, Ms. Ludwig acknowledged that the reporter role was especially significant because it revealed important themes of the show.

Kinkaid directors stressed that in every show, characters who have five lines or who never leave the stage must exert equal work ethic and enthusiasm to create an impactful show.

“Every piece of this show contributes to the audience members’ experience and receiving how powerful the story is.”

— Ms. Ludwig,

director of “These Shining Lives”

Photo By Maggie Johnston (11)

“These Shining Lives” tells the true, heroic journey that four female factory workers went on for a decade, beginning in the 1920s. Working in a radium watch factory, Charlotte Purcell, Pearl Payne, Frances O’Connell and Catherine Donehue were oblivious to the fact that every single day they were working with a deadly chemical. Their bosses were aware of the health hazard they were issuing to their employees. Fighting in a lawsuit against their company, Radium Dial, these women tell the untold story of a crisis in the safety regulations of workplaces and reveal how strong a group working together for a life-changing cause can be.

Writer’s BLOCK

I Crave Eight

BY GUEST WRITER, SOFIA BAJWA (11)

When I was eight I used to string dandelions through my hair And weave wishes throughout my heart. I used to smack my bubble gum and drink orange juice with a curly straw only, the ones that were hard for my mother to wash.

Now I twirl split ends around my fingers, letting the hair get caught in a hangnail as I mend broken hearts, I put the pieces back together with the same glue that I used for my eight-year-old art projects, and I crave childhood as easily and as often as I do chocolate cake.

6 ARTS & CULTURE | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

‘Agnes of God’ drama opens ‘Underground’

BY MADI BABINE As the audience surrounds the stage set in the “well” of Kinkaid’s Commons, gothic hymns fill the silence. Agnes, dressed in pure white, appears from behind the wall singing “Kyrie Eleison,” translated, “Lord Have Mercy.”

The usual tables filled with binders, strewn Dorito wrappers, and water rings from the cafeteria cups were no more as the Commons was transformed into a stage for KinkADE Underground’s first production.

KinkADE Underground “provides an opportunity for our advanced acting students to create an ‘actor-driven event’... while working on literature that challenges both actor and audience to critically think about more complicated social issues,” said Mr. Scott Lambert, director of the show and Kinkaid’s Visual and Performing Acts program.

The show’s three actresses: Riley Shaper (12), Avery Looser (12) and Carlie Sachs (11) entranced the audience with their haunting performance.

The two-hour play, written

by Mr. John Pielmeier, is about a psychiatrist, Martha Livingston (played by Shaper), who interrogates Mother Superior (played by Sachs) and Agnes (played by Looser) to find the truth about a child who was killed after birth and stuffed in a wastepaper basket.

This production of “Agnes of God” was not a typical play: the actresses performed with no sets, no lights and no costumes.

The play was a challenge meant for advanced acting students, as it takes a certain proficiency to act without props, a set, lighting and costumes.

Although there were some lights on the floor and on the mantle, little pieces of ribbon— representing blood—and Agnes dressed in white, the actresses had little to utilize to not only entertain but also educate the audience.

Acting in the Commons also was not an easy task.

Mr. Lambert explained how “there were certainly struggles in the space… If you were to go back and watch the show again you would realize that the actors were constantly moving on angles in order to allow the audience to get glimpses of them rather consistently.”

Sachs further clarified how “the walls in the ‘well’ in the center of the Commons are fairly high… so it was very difficult to stage and make blocking choices when you have to play to three sides rather than just one side, like in a normal proscenium stage.”

Mr. Lambert said “Agnes of God” offered “something on a Kinkaid stage [we] don’t see in [our] everyday lives… forcing us to look into the gray areas between science and religion and between facts and faith.”

Some scenes featured arguments between Mother Superior and Martha Livingston, while others portrayed Agnes during a hypnosis, remembering her conception and birth of her dead newborn.

With each scene, the audience members could become more captivated by forming their predictions as to who killed the newborn baby.

The three actresses worked on the play for almost eight weeks, rehearsing several hours each day.

Shaper, Sachs and Looser agreed that finishing a run was by far the most rewarding part of the show.

“All of us put so much emotion into our performances and finishing a run is not only exhausting, but also extremely rewarding,” Looser explained.

“Agnes of God” was alluring because it “asks us to ask questions to better understand the other whole, telling us it is OK to live in a world that is not neat and clear,” Mr. Lambert said.

Shows took place from Oct. 17-21 in the Commons, with a huge success.

Sachs explained how the first and third shows completely sold out, and they even had to add additional chairs to accommodate more people; the second show came close, only to fall short five seats.

“Agnes of God” was “such a journey and an emotional roller coaster,” Sachs said.

Photo by Madi Babine

Burger lovers break down the best in H-Town THE BURGER. An American icon consisting of a juicy meat patty with a slice of melted cheese and fresh veggies sandwiched between two toasted buns.

42/50

Taste: 10/10 Size: 9/10 Presentation: 8/10 W/ fries: 8/10 Structure: 7/10

36/50

Taste: 8/10 Size: 7/10 Presentation: 8/10 W/ fries: 5/10 Structure: 8/10

35/50

Taste: 6/10 Size: 9/10 Presentation: 6/10 W/ fries: 6/10 Structure: 8/10

From the contemporary veggie burger to the classic cheeseburger, these sandwiches have continued to revolutionize the food industry.

BY SLOAN COLT & ALI YOUSUF

wooden mini-fork lodged in the buttered brioche bun.

Using three food critic sites, The plain Hopdoddy fries Foursquare, Thrillist and Housthemselves were nothing speton Eater, we found Houston’s cial, but when put together with five most common burger spots. the burger, the extra flavor of Out of this list, students in the burger was able to compenthe Upper School voted for sate for the lack of taste in the Hopdoddy, Shake Shack and fries, so we gave the fries an 8 Fuddruckers as their favorites in out of 10. an Oct. 3 poll.

However, the burger had an Over the Columbus Day excessive amount of grease, weekend, we tried these three which caused some of the restaurants and created a definiingredients to fall out of the tive ranking. sandwich, so it only received a We used five factors on a 7 out of 10 in how well it stayed scale of 1 to 10 to rate the best together. burgers: size, taste, presentation, Second place went to Shake fries and durability.

Shack, which narrowly defeated The gourmet Hopdoddy Fuddruckers with an overall burger, with a perfect taste rating of 36 out of 50 compared rating of 10 out of 10, pleased to Fuddruckers’ score of 35 out both of our palettes and every of 50. ingredient complemented the The Shake Shack burger burgers’ taste, especially the received a score of 8 out of 10 secret “Sassy Sauce,” which in both presentation and taste. provided the “it” factor.

The burger was laid out to The size was not overwhelm- highlight the shiny texture of ing but not miniscule either. each ingredient and the fries Hopdoddy also received an 8 came in classic red and white out of 10 for its presentation on paper wrapping. The texture of a tray with brown paper and a the patty was phenomenal, not

too chewy and not too rough.

However, the price of $7 did not reflect in the petite burger, getting a 7 out of 10 for size.

In last place, Fuddruckers’ burger was a disappointment.

The taste, presentation and side of fries all scored 6 out of 10. The flavor of the patty was nothing special, and the cheese negated the taste of the patty.

Toppings were choppily thrown on and drooping on the sides. Its taste with fries was given a low rating as the fries and potato slices were oversized. However, when it came to size, we got our money’s worth. The beef patty was the perfect size and the ingredients were generous, giving the burger a nearly perfect score of 9 out of 10 on size. It also stayed together well considering it was bigger than the Shake Shack burger.

Being the No. 1 burger in Houston is no easy task, considering the city is known for its diverse food options. Yet, there is always a No. 1 and this time the crown goes to Hopdoddy Burger Bar.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | ARTS & CULTURE 7

A Model Student

How two sophomores manage school alongside fashion careers

BY ALLISON LE & MEGAN RILEY York show helped Butcher break out of her shell. She said Learning to balance she’s grown so used to posing attending school with attending in front of strangers that she fashion shows requires a special doesn’t get as nervous in class type of focus. presentations or discussions and Model Courtney Magelssen her face doesn’t get as “tomato (10) shared her experience in red” as it did before when she learning to control both worlds. “was very shy in front of the Scouted in a Tom Ford shop class and could barely answer a in River Oaks nearly two years question.” ago, Magelssen said she has Magelssen also learned how “always been super tall,” but it to build her confidence as she was not until she turned 14 that continued her career. she decided to pursue a career “Since I was never in modeling. Later that year, comfortable with my height, Magelssen signed with the Neal [modeling] made me more Hamil Agency, a distinguished comfortable with it,” she said.

Texas agency based in Houston.

Typically when models’ Lilly Butcher (10) is another careers advance, they attend an student signed with the Neal online high school and model Hamil Agency. Butcher jumped full time. However, that is onto the modeling train a few not the case for Magelssen or years after she had been scouted Butcher. at a concert in 2014. In January Balancing a typical school 2017, her older sister Madeline day with the inconsistent work (12) encouraged her to pursue hours of modeling can it and “try something new, be tricky and they and if it didn’t work [she] have figured could stop,” but she out a system. has not regretted the Most of the decision. shows they Participating attended in various shoots happen and walking around a runway lunch time in New or in the mornings.

To maintain her hectic schedule,

Magelssen said she uses her sick days to miss school for modeling and makes sure she gets ahead in her school work. She considers modeling a serious job, which can sometimes bring up obstacles when it comes to makeup work and scheduling missed days.

For Butcher, it is hard to prioritize one over the other.

“I’m going to continue my academics, but if I had a significant opportunity in modeling, I would prioritize modeling,” she said.

Like Magelssen, she will use her sick days for a job when she needs to but will still prioritize school assessments like tests and projects. Butcher sees her career as a chance to network to establish connections while she has the opportunity.

As minors, both girls face obstacles that are different from models who are 18 and older.

For instance, sometimes nonlocal brands will not reach out to girls who are still in school because it is harder to work around their schedule than a model who is full time.

When talking about the future of the industry and where the girls see their careers going, both mentioned that there is no way to predict what could happen because the modeling industry is constantly evolving.

Magelssen said she takes her career pretty seriously and is currently pursuing some agencies in New York City.

“I would be open to really anything if it seemed promising or it would be a successful career for me,” Magelssen said.

She has had the opportunity to walk in shows with Oscar de la Renta and Loro Piana pieces, and hopes that later she will be able to sign

internationally and model in some of the most fashionrenowned cities.

Entering an industry that is commonly promoted through media can raise myths and rumors about models. For one, despite popular belief, casting shows or shoots is not based solely on appearance. People may think being serious is vital to being a model, but it is important to have an engaging and confident personality.

“A company does not want to book a boring or shy model that is hard to work with,” Butcher said.

Those who are more engaging and enthusiastic are more likely to be picked over someone who is more moody. Models also have to be flexible and open minded because they have little say in what they wear.

Another misconception is that modeling is easy.

Photoshoot schedules range from two hours to two days and “can be pretty draining because you don’t really have breaks,” Butcher said.

The experience however, is not only to establish a career but also to create long-lasting relationships.

“I’ve met a lot of really close friends through it,” Magelssen said. “You can meet a lot of interesting people,” said Butcher. “I once worked with this girl who only spoke Portuguese, but we were able to communicate over Google Translate.”

Butcher said that while though it’s not a cutthroat industry nor a walk in the park, making conversation and getting to know everyone from the photographer to the stylist to the makeup artist is what makes the job worthwhile.

Photos courtesy of Neil Hamil Modeling Agency

OPINION

8 The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

Illustration courtesy of Priscilla Mach (11)

New mandates strip old traditions

BY MAGGIE JOHNSTON

O

n the first day of the school year, seniors storm the halls ready to spray water on anyone in sight; during SOK week, Spirit of Kinkaid members spend sleepless nights preparing decorations to transform the school; before the rivalry game aganist St. John’s, students choose the perfect outfits and accessories to wear to Rice Stadium.

Kinkaid is a school with a rich history of tradition and community, but I worry that traditions will be lost in a misguided attempt at pleasing everyone.

The school’s administrators and faculty have done an incredible job of making sure that students can always feel safe and have a strong sense of community; but in the past few years, new rules have become more and more limiting. This brings up the question: Where should Kinkaid draw the line between well-intended traditions and potentially harmful customs, and who should make those decisions?

Starting in fall 2017, new varsity football players were no longer allowed to participate in the eight-year tradition of receiving ridiculous haircuts the weekend before the St. John’s game.

The tradition started in fall 2009 when Kinkaid made it to the SPC football championship game for the first time in eight years. To get hyped before the game, all varsity players had their hair shaved into mohawks.

Over the years, this tradition became one that only first-year varsity players participated in. This may have seemed like a tradition based on punishment and humiliation — or even hazing — to outsiders.

But, Kinkaid football players viewed the ritual as a humorous

bonding exercise; to them, it was anything but hazing. They had no voice in the decision to discontinue the practice. They were simply told shaving their heads before rivalry games or at the beginning of the season would no longer be allowed.

“Going to Kinkaid and being involved in the athletic program here all of my life, I always knew about football players getting their head shaved their first year on varsity,” said linebacker Michael Duncan (11).

“Although some may see this as a small or petty symbol, for me it meant a lot more. I looked forward to spending the day with my teammates off the field, messing around and receiving a terrible haircut. This was never viewed as something that was a punishment, but something we looked forward to. Underclassmen were excited to get a ‘football players’ haircut and then get to give a haircut to a new player the next year. I can honestly say I am so disappointed that we do not get to do this anymore.”

New member haircuts were a rite of passage in the eyes of some players.

“This is an especially personal tradition for me. I got a pretty bad haircut myself and, unfortunately, that was the last of them,” said slot receiver Wyatt Young (12). “As a freshmen, it was a fun way to bond with the upperclassmen on the team.

Even though my haircut was embarrassing at times, there was a special pride to it. As a lower schooler, I saw the varsity players with their heads shaved and then when mine was shaved, I felt a connection to those players.”

Mrs. Jennifer Kehler, a 10thgrade English teacher who is also coordinator of Student Life and the facility sponsor for the SOK club, said some football players have a different perspective.

“We have just as many play-

In my mind, it is not the abolishment that is really the issue, but the fact that student groups too often do not get a say in their own activities. ers on the other side, but those kids do not want to come up and talk about it,” Mrs. Kehler said.

Still, Mr. David Holm, director of athletics, said he was unaware of concerns.

“To my knowledge, there was no single act or parental concern that stipulated that we needed to do something about this,” Mr. Holm said.

The administration put another new and seemingly nonsensical rule in place and prevented SOK members from hanging “fish” signs on freshmen’s lockers.

“The idea and question was already being discussed when I got to Kinkaid,” said Mr. Peter Behr, head of the Upper School.

However, Mr. Behr said he supported the idea and insisted that the decision was not related to bullying. Rather, it was an effort to include every class in the SOK theme at the beginning of the school year.

Many students view this decision as one that is not reflective of their feelings or thoughts.

“SOK is full of traditions and the fish on the freshmen lockers were one of them,” said Laine Jacobe, SOK president. “We were told that the reason we were not allowed to do fish this

year was because they were offensive to the freshmen and that they did not fit with the theme and, therefore, was alienating the freshmen. I was naturally confused because I always thought they were conveying the message of ‘little fish in the big sea’... Despite the setback we felt was unnecessary, I along with the rest of SOK rose above and maintained our positive spirit.”

Kinkaid’s archivist Mr. John Rovell said dating back to 1927, before Kinkaid even had a high school, students who were new to middle school were referred to as “frosh” and had to undergo a week of hazing called initiation. The label changed to “fish” in the late 1930s, as the term was applied to high school freshmen and the week before the start of freshman year at many universities became known as “fish camp.”

Some students have found it hard to wrap their heads around the decision to abolish fish decoration for freshmen because “fish” is such a seemingly universal and harmless term for 9th-grade students. In my eyes, the term was endearing. No other grade had a cute animal nickname.

“Around the nation, everyone seems to call freshmen fish.

Since it is not unique to Kinkaid and it doesn’t give Kinkaid a bad look or reputation, it would seem OK for us to do the same,” said senior Jordan Jafarnia.

Each year, the administration’s decisions about what to abolish seems more and more random.

After talking with five of Kinkaid’s administrators, I learned that no one reportedly expressed a concern about either tradition. So it appears the administration decided to ban new varsity member haircuts and the “fish” label for freshmen as as a pre-emptive strike against hazing and bullying trends in

high schools in America.

Mrs. Kehler has coached, taught, led and befriended students at Kinkaid for over 15 years.

“My goal and my hope is that we always lead students to make the right decision on their own,” she said.

I wonder what students’ opinions would have been on the abolishment of these traditions if the decisions were left to their peers.

In my mind, it is not the abolishment that is really the issue, but the fact that student groups too often do not get a say in their own activities.

“There is a balance between students feeling like they are walking on eggshells and adults providing an environment where students feel accepted,” said Dr. Ed Trusty, interim headmaster.

I do not condone any type of bullying — emotional or physical. I do not want students to feel singled out or isolated, but it seems like some of the traditions that have been limited did not merit school-wide abolishment.

When making decisions, the administration would best protect the community by considering the intersection of safety and the traditions that students treasure, and students’ opinions should be a part of their decisions.

Maybe students still would not have come to a consensus, but at least a student-led and student-announced decision would result in less ambiguity and prevent the endless questions that the ultimatums have caused.

A school-wide ban on certain traditions might protect students from potentially feeling as though they have no voice; however, it might also cause students who miss time-honored traditions to feel as if their voices are being silenced.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | OPINION 9

Future federal debt could drain millennials

BY SALLY BUCK

Climate change, violent

conflict, inequality.

Millennials rank these as the most pressing issues of our time, according to a February 2018 survey by Business Insider.

While these three issues are certainly grave, it is time for our nation to realize what will prove to be the gravest problem it faces: the federal deficit.

In the past, governments generated deficits during recessions and wartime, but they leveled out during years surplus years.

The U.S., however, has acquired over $21 trillion in debt since 1998, and the number is only increasing. The two most recent former presidents – Barack Obama and George W. Bush – are arguably to blame for much of it.

With the war on terror (the Afghanistan and the Iraq wars) and several tax cuts, Bush more than doubled the deficit leftover from the Clinton administration.

Obama added over $8 trillion – more than any other president in American history – while increasing the federal defense budget and tax cuts in the wake of the 2008 recession.

According to The New York Times, under President Donald Trump, the deficit is projected to increase $1 trillion each year until the 2020, the next U.S. presidential election. This projection is largely attributed to increases in federal spending on military and other domestic expenses; however, large tax cuts that have stimulated a large global and national economic

boom have also caused the deficit to increase.

The government’s shortage of liquid income requires it to borrow even more money on top of the debt already accumulated from creditors: government operatives such as Social Security, Medicare, and the Federal Reserve; foreign governments including China; and other private creditors.

Borrowing causes interest rates to skyrocket.

According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the current 2 percent interest rate on the debt amounts to over $390 billion annually. However, this rate is set to increase: the Congressional Budget Office also predicts that in the next decade, interest payments may reach almost $1 trillion.

Politicians must cooperate and realize that tackling the federal debt cannot remain a partisan issue.

As the debt continues to grow, foreign creditors become less and less willing to loan money to the U.S. because there is no indication of the American government ever fully paying off its debt.

Additionally, Social Security, one of the largest domestic creditors, no longer maintains the surplus of income it once did.

For the 2018 fiscal year, the Social Security Administration

projects its cost will exceed its total income, generating a deficit of its own.

If the U.S. is never able to gather the money needed to pay off interest rates, forcing the Treasury to declare bankruptcy, the U.S. will experience one of, if not the greatest, economic depressions in its history.

The value of the dollar would plummet to near nothing, threatening the life savings of millions of people.

Additionally, government officials (regardless of their party’s stance on increased taxation) would be left with no choice but to raise tax rates in order to pay creditors back on time.

With no surplus of income, the future of government benefits such as food stamps and Medicare, and the millions of people who rely on these benefits, would be jeopardized.

Millennials, the next generation in line to take office, tend to disregard the federal deficit, as do plenty of current politicians.

In Congress, both Democrats and Republican representatives annually attempt to create a budget plan; however, all too often the inability to compromise results in the government shutting down instead of developing an adequate plan.

Students of today are the politicians of tomorrow.

In the coming years, current Kinkaid high schoolers will become alumni with the power to create change in our country.

While being free from the burden of student loans as adults would be ideal, no one

can ever be completely debt free until our nation is.

To protect the state of the nation and the global economy, U.S. politicians must cooperate and realize that tackling the federal debt cannot remain as a partisan issue.

The consequences of a continuous deficit are too grave to allow the federal debt to become yet another issue dividing our country.

Politicians must establish a new budget plan that is best for the nation as a whole, and its economy, instead of what best aligns with their parties agenda.

The federal debt should be not just another issue that pits Democrats and Republicans against each other, nor should it be ignored.

The consequences of an increasing deficit will, in fact, affect every single American, and their political affiliations will not protect them.

To see change, Americans must call upon representatives in this nation’s cities, in its states, in the federal government and the president in the White House to re-evaluate their agendas and save the nation from chaos and decay.

Drivers don’t get enough brakes on Houston streets

BY MADI BABINE

I

t fills our news headlines: “Teen killed in Montgomery County rollover crash,” reported

by KPRC, July 30, 2018.

“Man killed in crash on I-10 East,” reported by KPRC, Aug. 29, 2018.

“Motorcyclist found dead by friends after crashing in west Harris County,” reported on ABC 13, Sept. 29, 2018.

“Driver charged with intoxication manslaughter in road rage crash that killed innocent man, ” reported on ABC 13, Oct. 22, 2018.

We are enclosed with

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com

dangers. Everywhere we go, we are at risk of getting in a car accident. It could happen to anyone. But we think it will never happen to us.

Until it does.

Houston has become the most deadly major metro area in the nation for not only drivers but also passengers, according to a 2017 Houston Chronicle analysis of 16 years of federal highway data.

Having the second-most deadly freeway — Interstate 45 — passing right through the center of the city, over 3,721 people died on Houston roads, and 2,850 more are seriously injured,

a 2016 Houston Chronicle article reports.

Jeff Weatherford, deputy director of Houston Public Works, said “the [fatality] count, it’s up there. But the public is not paying attention.”

So how does the city of Houston go about fixing this?

If the Houston police department were to give out more tickets, the number of fatalities and car crashes would significantly diminish, showed a 2015 study published by Dara Lee Luca, an expertise in policy and program evaluations. However, as straightforward as that may sound, giving out more tickets is easier said than done.

The HPD struggles to employ a large number of police officers, retaining about 5,200 officers — the lowest in 20 years — which is not nearly enough to patrol the city.

Greg DeAngelo, an economics professor who consults for the Houston police, said “the thing that used to keep drivers in check was police, but when you remove those, you’ve removed a significant concern for drivers who

might otherwise drive recklessly. We see those areas becoming more dangerous.”

The HPD revealed a new program in 2017 that targets areas with serious and frequent wrecks. The program analyzes past wrecks involving serious injuries or deaths, and what causes them. It then targets the underlying problem, whether it may be red-light running or speeding. The program has seen a 15 percent decline in fatal accidents within city limits just in the past year.

But most of people drive a little faster and little more reckless when no one is watching.

(I’ll admit, including me.)

There are drivers who speed just for fun. But then, there slow drivers who are oblivious to the speeding cars behind them.

Even more, Texas roadways have high speed limits, with the highest speed limit in the country at 85 mph. And the worst part to this whole situation is that no one can ever find a happy medium in Houston. It is either a full-on speed chase, or a leisure cruise.

But it is not rather Houston’s high speed that causes these accidents, but the slow-poke driving slower than the flow of traffic in the leftmost lane.

According to an Institute of Transportation Engineers Study in 2015, “those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are six times as likely to be

involved in an accident. That means that if the average speed on an interstate is 70 mph, the person traveling at 60 mph is far more likely to be involved in an accident than someone going 70 or even 80 mph.”

These slow drivers in the fast lane result in drivers tailing, and cutting people off by switching lanes trying to get ahead. Texas State Law states that the leftmost lane on a multi-lane road is used for passing only, not for the people who wish to take a “Sunday stroll.”

A 2018 Houston Chronicle article explained that “Houston police officers ticketed 41 percent fewer drivers in 2017 than they did in 2012, even as the number of vehicle miles traveled in Houston grew 23 percent.” Despite the decrease in ticketing, fatality levels continue to rise.

Every 57 seconds, a motor-vehicle crash is reported in Houston, and even more alarming, the rate of fatalities associated with car accidents has increased by 5.45 percent since 2003 reports the Daspit Law Firm.

Although Houston seems to be making changes, it cannot impede the dangers Houstonians face every day when they get into their cars.

The question here is simple: Is Houston losing control of its city?

And I think we all know the answer.

10 OPINION | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018 Republicans are appalled by the immigration system in our country and they have a right to be. There are thousands of legal immigrants who have been an integral part of our nation for centuries, but the increasing light shed on undocumented immigration, and the problems it causes, cannot be overshadowed by the accomplishments of legal immigrants. We must separate the two.

Coming from a family of immigrants, I understand the importance of immigrants and what they add to our nation. My dad worked hard to gain citizenship; therefore, it is fundamentally immoral for someone who has not worked for the right to gain U.S. citizenship.

Some people who enter the U.S. illegally, especially in the great numbers that we see today, compared to the 1990s, are not only hurting hard-working Americans by draining economic resources, but they also pose a threat to national security.

Between 2011 and September 2018, the Texas Department of Public Safety found that 179,000 people who immigrated to the U.S. illegally in Texas alone committed over 281,000 criminal offenses, including over 500 homicides, 375 kidnappings, 15,367 thefts, and 31,245 assaults. The data also included over 5,000 sexual assaults and over 35,000 were drug-related offenses.

The numbers don’t lie.

Crime that is perpetrated by people who are in the country illegally is a serious problem. We all want to act with compassion toward them, but we forget to ask ourselves if we are showing compassion for U.S. citizens.

The economic effect is another problem we cannot ignore.

People arriving illegally often come with little education and skills because of a general lack of resources.

Many can wind up stuck on the lowest economic rungs, where they often end up relying on a vast welfare and social-service apparatus. This raises the strain on our economy, which is estimated at $116 billion by the most recent analysis done by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

As Dr. Milton Friedman, famed Nobel Prize winner, put it in an interview: “It’s just

The Split: Illegal Immigration Two first-generation Americans show two different sides of the debate obvious that you can’t have free immigration and welfare” This becomes obvious when looking into how health care is financed for immigrants who enter the country illegally, costing taxpayers around $18.5 billion in 2016, according to a study

by Chris Conover, a research scholar at Duke University.

Additionally, people who live in the U.S. illegally are often underpaid because employers have the opportunity to save money, which hurts U.S. citizens by lowering wages. For instance, high school dropouts earned about $25,000 annually in 2016. Coupled with census data showing that immigrants who are undocumented and lack a high school diploma increased the size of the low-skilled workforce by roughly 25 percent in just two years, the monetary loss is significant.

The solution is not an easy one. In fact, there is no one policy prescription that will solve the migrant crisis. The problem is our government’s inability or unwillingness to promote change.

We have come to a stalemate where politicians have decided stasis is the best option.

Republicans and Democrats are best off doing nothing since any move they make will be highly scrutinized by both sides.

If the Republicans propose a policy, the left will claim it is not enough and blame them for the immigration problems.

We, the people, are left with nothing but a country plagued with problems.

Regardless of one’s feelings about the immigration system, we should draw the line at letting people come unchecked.

Our nation provides rights found in few other places.

Living here is a privilege and people seem to have forgotten it.

BY CAMILA VICENS & AYUSH KRISHNAMOORTI

3/4

The proportion of students think that immigration is one of the most prevalent issues in today’s society

51%

Percentage of students believe that immigrants are beneficial to the economy

135 out of 145 Number of students who believe the current immigration system flawed

63%

Percentage of students believe that at least some immigrants here illegally are a threat to national security

Letter from the editor

In case you haven’t noticed, there is an abundance of ‘things’ happening in the world. Midterm elections are approaching.

Gun control. #MeToo. We’re mindlessly clutching our TV screens for a number—Category 4? How many women? How much debt?

A message to the next generation, our generation, who will be addressing these issues—col-

lege is not the only answer to these questions.

Yes, it is a facilitator that enables us to learn how to solve ‘real world’ problems. But, the world consists of people—not degrees.

We need people to solve people problems, not tuition or acceptance rates or class sizes.

These ambiguous, non-contextual numbers have no relevance to our self-worth or our ability to make a change in the world.

People grow because they are thrown into an environment where they’re forced to make decisions for themselves, which, in the end, helps develop their personal moral codes. And this doesn’t solely apply to college. Life is a constant battle that forces us to question our principles. It’s not about getting into the ‘best’ school or taking the ‘hardest’ classes, just as it’s not about picking a political side

based on the headlines or what a friend says.

It’s about actually creating constructive political and social discourse in the classroom and in the real world. We must move past the concept of winning an argument and focus on approaching it as people.

So, I challenge you to read the following articles not in accordance to what you heard last night on the news or what you’ve been brought up to believe.

Push back against them.

Question them. Ask yourself: What is right? What makes sense based on your experiences and principles?

Sincerely, Emma Stout

Democrats generally agree that while illegal immigration is wrong, the fundamental issue is not with the immigrants who enter the country without permission. The issue is the immigration system.

Legal immigrants far outnumber immigrants who came illegally.

The Washington Post reported this year that 75 percent of immigrants in the U.S. have documents; however, the estimated 11.5 million immigrants who entered illegally pose an issue that cannot be taken lightly.

Hard-working immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally often take jobs that our citizens don’t want. According to a 2017 Pew Research study, they make up 3.7 percent of the U.S. population, but they are more than 5.5 percent of the labor force.

One opinion that many like to perpetrate is that immigrants in the U.S. illegally steal jobs from hard-working citizens; but, in fact, they work in some of the most difficult jobs available.

These laborious sectors of work include farming, construction and services such as janitorial and housework. Despite making up about 5 percent of the labor force, these immigrants make up 53 percent of the farming sector, 15 percent of the construction sector, and 10 percent of the services sector, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a 2017 study.

Another mistaken presumption is that illegal immigration creates a large security issue for the U.S. In 2018, the Cato Institute reported that on a per capita basis, immigrants who were in the country illegally commit almost half as many crimes as native-born citizens and fewer homicides.

The actions of a few should

not hold an entire demographic responsible. Generalizations have caused deep sentiments of hatred. We cannot allow this to continue.

If people who enter the country illegally do not pose a greater risk to society and they contribute to the economy, they should have a path to citizenship that is easily acquirable.

Immigrants come to the U.S. illegally because they cannot afford the time or money to come legally. This is a fundamental problem of the current immigration system: it is hard to enter legally and quickly; most VISAs take at least a month to get, and then Green Cards and citizenship takes between 5-10 more years to attain.

My parents, immigrants from India, took over 10 years of innovational work, despite being in one of the highest tax brackets; teaching students, which is essentially a public service; and having no criminal records.

This shows the problem. The question is how to fix it.

It is clear that we need immigration: it has fueled many projects throughout U.S. history and has been fundamental to our country’s growth (take the building of railroads and the Erie Canal in the 1800s). This country needs the labor that many immigrants provide.

We need to make legal immigration to this country easier, which starts with making a type of VISA for laborers. Currently, the U.S. only offers employment-based VISAs to those who are receiving education, are considered exceptional in their field, or meet some “specified categories” that are limited to innovational jobs. But, whether we like it or not, this nation needs those who will do difficult, manual labor.

It is unfair that hard-working, peaceful immigrants should need to wait for so long without becoming a citizen. If these laborers are given a clear, easy path to citizenship, they won’t have to illegally immigrate here.

I find it ironic that many U.S. citizens rely on immigrant labor for so much of their daily lives, but many Americans are against the idea of immigration.

Illegal immigration isn’t the problem we need to address. We need to fix our flawed system.

Got Opinions?

Write for The Falcon.

Email maggie.johnston@kinkaid.org, eliza.griggs@kinkaid.org or student.publications@kinkaid.org.

Got Art?

Submit it to our website.

Email emma.stout@kinkaid.org or student. publications@kinkaid.org to have your media, print, visual, or film art uploaded to our website.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | OPINION 11

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12 FEATURES | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

In a seemingly polarized nation, education can be a tool for young

BY EMMA STOUT & OLIVIA MARRUS Let’s face it.

We live in a completely polarized, partisan nation. Or at least that’s what the media tells us.

The notion that our nation is divided into two political parties, each housing different personalities and completely dissonant ideals, is often cementented in our schools, families and communities by the media.

This frequently leads us to the current and pressing question: Should politics be allowed in schools?

Ms. Casey Fleming, Upper School English teacher and adviser for Young Liberals Club, has answers. She said it’s tricky presenting literature to teenagers, as the role of literary authors is “to step outside and look in and pay attention to what's happening in the world, then name it and reveal it.”

This can be dangerous, of course, when people don’t want certain things said.

It’s easier to get mad at a teacher than to be angry with a book, especially when people think what a teacher says conflicts with their morals or with what they’ve been told or led to believe. It’s a form of cognitive dissonance. People have dissonating ideals, so they subconsciously refuse to open their minds to the questions literature poses.

“Literature is meant to open minds and force questions. That’s the whole goal of writers really...to reflect society back

on itself,” Ms. Fleming said. “[Teachers are] walking this tightrope of allowing students to have the beliefs they have and support the politicians they support while also working to educate the whole student in our core values when those things don't align necessarily.”

Her role as an English teacher–and the role of all teachers–she said, is to provide a framework in which students can question and address the concepts that literature, math, history, science, provoke.

Ms. Beth Fayard, Upper School history teacher and adviser for the Young Republicans Club, offered her perspective in regard to the place of politics in her classroom.

political issues discussed today–racism, gun control, abortion rights.

“What teenagers actually care about is not all that political, but what you guys think about the world is pretty similar. ‘I want to have good friendships. I want to feel safe. I want to feel like I’m helping make the world a better place.’ All of those things tend to be fairly universal,” Ms. Fleming said. “And the way that people express those politically is another thing. But I really don’t think that the vast majority of teenagers actually know what they think politically yet.”

"OUR JOB AS TEACHERS IS TO TEACH YOU HOW TO THINK, NOT TELL YOU WHAT TO THINK." - MS. FAYARD

“Our job as teachers is to teach you how to think, not tell you what to think, but how to think and formulate your ideas,” Ms. Fayard said.

However, Ms. Fayard expressed a different opinion on whether or not teachers should give their own political views in

their opinions.

As young people and young voters, finding unbiased information is almost impossible to come across. This is why we need young voters to read more and understand on what they’re basing

“Everyone has a bias. It’s impossible to find completely neutral information anywhere -- it’s human nature to have a bias. We all have opinions. However, in order to formulate opinions, you need

WHY PEOPLE DON'T VOTE

the classroom.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “The classroom is a place for learning and development, and I think that when students are worried about writing or speaking to appease their teachers, we are teaching them to cover up their real views. The one thing I really push in my classroom is for kids to back everything up. If a student can use evidence to prove their point, then they should state their point of view, regardless of what they think the teacher wants to hear.”

Preston Frede, Senior President of the Young Republicans Club, notes that politics in the classroom can be interesting and relevant when discussing historical events or ideas in the history and English classes. Frede, however, says that “young people can be easily influenced by others and when teachers only present their views and no others, then students only hear one side of an issue and start to hold beliefs without knowing why.”

“If issues are discussed, teachers should present unbiased information and allow students to decide a position for themselves. I support students debating when they are making a coherent and factually based argument, but I disagree with teachers taking a side, whether that be liberal or conservative,” said Frede.

Picture yourself, a high school student, or reflect on your time in teenage years.

What are your concerns? Your upcoming math test? What’s on the menu for lunch? Will you get into college? In reality, these seem to speak little to the

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | FEATURES 13

voters to develop moral codes to know both sides. So read both sides,” Ms. Fayard said. “I think social media has conditioned people to just read the headlines and formulate their opinions from that. Each side is going to twist a story based on their opinions – it’s what they do. If you read both sides of a story, you can better find that middle ground and the truth in the situation. From there you can decide which side you agree with.”

Our role as citizens is to understand our moral values and use them to address larger issues. Whether in high school we’re questioning how we should budget our allowance or how we should email a teacher about a late assignment, we are developing our own moral code.

“Question to question what is the right thing? The kind thing? The respectful thing? The honest thing?” Ms. Fleming said.

Where you land politically should (hopefully) stem from your rudimentary core values and questions that you ask yourself on a daily basis. And that’s really the goal of education–to create competent, self-aware citizens who can make decisions for themselves. This is hard in our era.

“The breadth of thinking on various issues that exists in literature, in art, in history is important because then one is less capable of succumbing to empty rhetoric on either side… what teachers want are active citizens who are immune from complacency or nihilism,” Ms. Fleming said. “And [when] the empty rhetoric of today is really extreme partisanship,

28%

it runs the risk of making young people drop out entirely.”

Megha Neelapu, who headed voting registration in the Upper School as co-president of the Young Liberals Club, shares that idea.

“What’s more dangerous… is when people get their news off of social media, they don’t read the whole story. They just skim it or read the headline and what that leads to is that there’s no nuance in the political conversations we’re having and [people] just don’t know what [they’re] talking about,” Neelapu said.

“My goal as President of the Kinkaid Young Republicans Club is to foster an environment that allows for conservative students to voice their opinions... by having a club dedicated to discussing conservatism (and related ideas), that allows conservative students a time to speak freely and openly in a school with a liberal faculty and administration that is not always completely tolerant to these conservative beliefs and views,” said Frede.

"THE GOAL OF EDUCATION IS TO CREATE COMPETENT CITIZENS" - MS.FLEMING

Scrolling through Twitter, Snapchat, and other media platforms, we’re bombarded with a surplus of political facts–or so it seems. It simply feels as though we’re receiving intellectually sound, unbiased information because the headlines and first couple of paragraphs are supposed to supply us with a synopsis of what’s actually happening. However, political news these days is commonly used as a way to sway people toward voting for one party or person – it’s pathos, not logos.

voter turnout in Texas in the 2014 Midterm elections, making it the lowest state.

In the midst of misinformation and confusing rhetoric, Frede and Neelapu seek to offer guidance to their fellow students.

Neelapu has varying ideals regarding the goals of her club.

“Our overall goal is to increase political activity and awareness in the school and to motivate people to get involved and to have their voices be heard. There is a huge disparity we see between the number of people who join Young Liberals Club versus Young Republicans Club. Liberals at the school tend to be less likely to get involved –

37%

of eligible voters cast ballots nationally in the 2014 Midterm elections.

and that needs to change,” Neelapu said.

In regard to expressing these opinions that leaders like Frede and Neelapu are promoting, faculty sponsors have their own ideas on how we should process and communicate our political speech.

“We're in danger of normalizing speech that is outside the bounds of decency and certainly counter to our core values.

Everyone has the right to opinions and speech, but not every opinion or speech act is equal or legitimate. Our job is to help students discern the difference,” Ms. Fleming said.

“We all have the right to free speech, but unfortunately in this day people think they have the right to not be offended – at some point in your life you will be offended, that is fact. In my classroom, as long as you are presenting your opinions in a respectful manner with facts to back it up, I support what you say,” said Ms. Fayard.

Current seniors, juniors and some current sophomores will be casting their votes in the next presidential election. Some seniors are even participating in the upcoming midterms.

We are the next generation, the young people of America, and our votes matter.

Should our opinions be decided in the classroom?

This issue is one we are still trying to navigate – and it is one that will most definitely play a role in the future of this country.

508%

increase in young voter, ages 18-29, turnout in Texas since the 2014 Midterm elections.

Statistics from The Independent and Fairvote.

FEATURES

14 The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

Episcopal replaces St. John’s as new adversary The infamous St. John’s-Kinkaid rivalry is one of the biggest in Houston. The history behind these two teams continues to grow in every sport. Though the feud between the Falcons and the Mavericks is unmatched in regard to its history, the Episcopal Knights are beginning to pose more of a threat to Kinkaid’s sports teams. These two rivals have impacted the history of Kinkaid’s athletics, but Episcopal’s talent is offering a potential shift as Kinkaid’s ultimate competitor.

BY WILLIAM SCOTT & CHRIS STALLINGS

ST. JOHN’S Every fall for nearly four decades, Kinkaid’s football team has taken on their notorious rival—St. John’s—at the Rice Football Stadium; however, eyes as the falcons standards rise, so does the competition.

The football matchup between Kinkaid and St. John’s has provided both teams with a game to look forward to and has also given all students from both schools an opportunity to congregate together in one stadium.

Although this annual tradition will most likely continue for many years to come, the game has recently been on a slow, constant decline in intensity and competitiveness, as the scores have gotten less close each year. Many football players and other Kinkaid athletes would say Episcopal has replaced St. John’s as the Falcons number one athletic rivalry; however, St. John’s field hockey team has proved to be exceptionally competitive and has been for several seasons. “St. John’s is our biggest competition in SPC every year and it’s always a

close game,” said senior captain Merritt Cozby.

The initial game that commenced the long-lived rivalry took place in 1951, the first year Kinkaid could fill an 11-man roster. Prior to 1951, Kinkaid had a six-man football team because of its lack of students.

Kinkaid lost its first three games against St. John’s before achieving its first victory in 1954.

With a relatively even record by 1979, their 28th year of playing each other, both schools instituted a new tradition of holding the event at the Rice Owls’ football stadium. This widely recognized, annual game has been important for Kinkaid’s football season and, just like all SPC matchups, is critical for the team’s placement in SPC. By 2002, Kinkaid had won 31 of the 52 games played against St. John’s, giving St. Johns a total of 21 victories. The Falcons have displayed dominance over the Mavericks giving them their last victory in 2012.

Photo by kinkaid.org

Photo by kinkaid.org

EPISCOPAL

Photo courtesy of Mr. David Shutts Top right: Junior Mary Katherine Rice blocks St. John’s player from regaining possesion of the ball. Middle right: Senior Josh Williams drives through St. John’s defence at Rice Stadium. Bottom left: Junior Victor Garza pursues the play while shedding Episcopal’s offensive player in the 2017 SPC championship game.

Competitors throughout the SPC are emerging to take out the Falcons’ talented sports teams, who recently, have been displaying successes in both mens and womens athletics.

Episcopal High School is a rival that is consistently producing talented sports teams. After meetings between the Knights and the Falcons in the SPC Championship matchups for football, baseball, and softball last year, the feud between the two schools has resparked. Before a roaring crowd at the final SPC football matchup at The University of Houston football stadium last year, the Kinkaid Varsity Football team came out with a 38-21 win, topping the Knights with a mix of astounding offensive play and a shutdown defense. Though the rematch between these two teams during the 2018-19 regular season ended in a cancellation of the game after the first half of play, sports fans witnessed a preview of the competitiveness

both teams possess.

As for baseball and softball, though these two teams endured hard fought games against the Knights, they both experienced a loss in the championship.

Many would say the Knights are bound to take the top spot as Kinkaid’s ultimate sports rival, including 2019 Kinkaid graduate, Johnathan Thomas.

Throughout his high school career, Thomas discussed his experience concerning the rivalry between his freshman and senior year, he said, “Not really, my freshman year everyone hated Episcopal and my senior year nothing changed, they were the team everyone in school wanted to beat.” Thomas also mentioned how the rivalry was steadily rising stating that, “Episcopal is by far the most competitive team in every sport within SPC.” Through the continuous rise of competitiveness and talent Episcopal has to offer, the future between the Knights and the Falcons holds a lot of potential.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | FEATURES 15

The 2018 Midterm Elections: Can Democrats win in red Texas?

BY MEGHA NEELAPU

“Sometimes you can get there with consensus and compromise, but sometimes you have to fight for it,” said Ms. Lizzie Fletcher, when she talked to Kinkaid students in February 2018.

And Ms. Fletcher has been doing both.

As a Democrat, she is running against Republican Rep. John Culberson in the 7th Congressional District, the same district that Kinkaid is in.

The two candidates are in a dead heat in this toss-up race. It’s one of the most closely watched House races in the country as it’s the ideal district Democrats are trying to flip to take back control of the House during the midterm elections.

The district has been solidly Republican for more than 50 years, but in the 2016 presidential election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly won the district. This didn’t show a love for Mrs. Clinton, but rather a disapproval with now President Donald Trump.

Ms. Fletcher’s campaign is capitalizing on this general mood of dissatisfaction with the status quo, both attacking President Trump and Rep. Culberson for their unwillingness to compromise and get legislation passed on issues such as immigration.

She tries to keep the issues local and focus on attacking Rep. Culberson. She has pointed to the fact that he has voted with the president nearly 98 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight, but also to his record on flooding.

“We’re not worried about water on Europa, we’re worried about water in our living rooms,” Ms. Fletcher said in the congressional debate on Oct. 21, criticizing Rep. Culberson on flooding preparedness.

Rep. Culberson has also focused on his efforts in Congress for local issues. He has especially emphasized his role on the House Appropriations Committee, trying to secure funding for flooding prevention projects.

Yet, Ms. Fletcher has national momentum on her side.

She is one of a record number Democratic women running for office in this election. There are 183 women running for a seat in the House in the midterms, the vast majority of whom are Democrats inspired to run after the election of President Trump.

Ms. Fletcher was endorsed early in her campaign by EMILY’s List, an influential political action committee that helps get Democratic women who support abortion rights elected.

In the 2016 election, a record-breaking 920 women contacted the organization about running for office. Then, in 2018, the record was shattered when over 34,000 women reached out, according to a press release from EMILY’s List.

Texas has not elected a woman to Congress in over 20 years, but that may change this election with Ms. Fletcher’s campaign.

The Stat Breakdown

50% The percentage that Rep. Culberson and Ms. Fletcher are currently polling in their district

The two candidates have both released attack ads against each other on the district’s leading issue after flooding: health care. Rep. John Culberson accused Ms. Lizzie Fletcher of supporting single-payer health care; she denied that she supports the policy. Ms. Fletcher blamed Rep. Culberson for failing to protect healthcare coverage for those with pre-existing conditions (he said the Republican health care bill prevents price discrimination).

The 7th Congressional District is unique.

It is racially diverse; only about 40 percent of its population is white. At the same time, it has a higher median income than the rest of the country and includes several of the wealthy neighborhoods of Houston, including Bellaire, River Oaks, and Piney Point.

Source: Census Reporter

6 in 7

6 in 7

The chance Republicans keep control of the Senate

The chance Democrats take back the House

50th

Texas is ranked last for voter turnout. Twenty-eight percent of eligible adults voted in the last midterm elections in 2014

63,000 MORE THAN

Number of people that cast in-person ballots on the first day of early voting this year in Harris County, a record number

Nov. 6 Election Day 2018

Two other Texas races to watch

The Kinkaid School

Ms. Gina Ortiz Jones and Mr. Colin Allred are two candidates running in congeressional districts that Democrats are trying to flip. Ms. Jones is running in the 23rd Congressional District, while Mr. Allred is running in the 32nd.

Source: FiveThirtyEight as of Oct. 31.

16 FEATURES | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

The YOUTH OLYMPICS

Senior AnaClare Solé and her partner Nico Martin sailing in Alamitos Bay, California, in March 2018.

This race was crucial in qualifying them for the Youth Olympics.

Photo courtesy of AnaClare Solé

Solé takes the Youth Olympics Senior sails in 2018 Summer Olympics in Buenos Aires

BY EMMA GILLIAM

Senior AnaClare Solé just returned from a 21-day stay in Argentina, where she competed in sailing at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

Together with her sailing partner Nico Martin, who is also from Houston, Solé represented the U.S. sailing team in the NACRA 15, a coed seven-day regatta against 14 competing countries.

The Summer Youth Olympics is a multi-sport, international competition with more than 4,000 participating athletes, ranging in age from 15 to 18 years old.

Solé and her partner trained for the NACRA 15 race for more than a year, and in order to qualify, Solé had to compete in three highly competitive sailing events in Clearwater amdMiami, Florida and Alamitos Bay, California.

“My teammate and I were really lucky. We jumped in the boat last October and sailed for a month, and then we qualified for the U.S. in November,” Solé said. “The Youth Olympics is only every four years, so the timing was perfect.”

At the Youth Olympics, Solé and her teammates, coaches and team officials stayed in the Olympic Village. The entire Team USA was housed in seven different apartment buildings, and Solé stayed with two tennis players, two rowers, two kayakers, and one of her sailing teammates, Dominique.

Beginning Oct. 2, Solé and her teammates sailed for several days in preparation for their races.

Each morning Team USA athletes took a two-hour bus ride, complete with police escort, from the Olympic Village to Club Náutico San Isidro, where they rigged up their boats and trained for the race.

The Youth Olympic events began with the lighting of the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony on Oct. 6. This festive ceremony

was open to the public and took place in downtown Buenos Aires at the Obelisco Monument.

The week long regatta had some tough competition, but Solé and her partner represented the country extremely well, placing sixth overall.

“We were pretty happy when we got sixth place because we had been sailing this boat for a year and we definitely improved from this summer when we placed seventh at the Sailing Youth Worlds in Corpus Christi,” Solé said. “The Argentines won the race so everyone was going crazy and hundreds of boats came out of the water and cheered them on.”

Solé and her team were required by the Youth Olympics to stay in the Village for four days following their race, and Solé was able to tour Buenos Aires with her father and meet the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, Edward C. Prado, at his residence, The Bosch Palace.

She and her teammates also visited a unique local athletics school for underprivileged children.

“The U.S. Embassy organized this Sports Exchange to give youth Olympians the experience of diplomacy though sports,” Solé explained. “First we talked to the kids panel style about how we made it to the Youth Olympic Games, sacrifices we have made along the way, and more. Then we played soccer with them and took some pictures.

This was a highlight for me because I saw myself as a role model and know that as an athlete, I have the ability to represent the U.S. with pride and sportsmanship.”

In addition to competing and participating in cultural activities, Solé also had to keep up with her school work during the 21-day trip.

“My teachers have been really supportive with my sailing and this experience,” Solé said. “One thing that’s really cool is that with

technology I was able to doing things like watch video recordings of my stat class online. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected to keep up with my work.”

Solé is no stranger to balancing school and sailing, as she began sailing at only 5 years old.

“When my sister was younger she didn’t like going to summer camp, so my parents wanted to find something for us to do in the summer. Houston’s so hot in the summer and my grandfather had a big boat, so they thought it would be cool and unique to do sailing as just a summer activity. Luckily, there was a really strong program right when we started at Houston Yacht Club in Pasadena and we just kept sailing from then,” Solé said.

Nearly 13 years later, Solé now plans to join her sister, Sophia (class of 2016), at Stanford University next fall as a member of Stanford’s sailing team.

Solé committed to Stanford this fall after a lengthy search of colleges, campus visits and communication with multiple college sailing coaches.

“Stanford was my top choice and I know a lot of people on the team. Sailing is a very unique sport in that way. It’s a very small community and you know a lot of the people in it,” Solé said.

The Stanford Women’s Sailing team is ranked fifth in the country.

Along with sailing, Solé will be persuing her academic interests as a product design major.

What once started out as a summer activity for Solé has brought her new experiences, trips to seven different countries, international accolades, and a sport she can continue to grow upon in college.

The Youth Olympics is a multi-sport, international competition governed by the International Olympic Committee for 15to 18-year-old elite atheletes.

206

countries represented

4,000 atheletes who competed

68

sports played

241

competitions

The Youth Olympics occurs every four years, alternating between summer and winter games every two years. In January 2020, the next winter games will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland.

87 Team USA athletes from

28 different states

215,000

people who flocked to Avenida 9 de Julio to experience the first-ever Olympic Opening Ceremony to be held in the streets of a city.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | FEATURES 17

The Man Behind the Camera

Mr. David Shutts has been capturing every moment at Kinkaid since 2006, giving new insight to the environment and culture of the school things for people, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him Whether on the sidelines, in a over the years.”

His photography debut was balcony, or behind the curtains, in 1970, during Kinkaid’s first if something is going on at Interim Term, where he enrolled Kinkaid it’s almost a guarantee in his first photography class. that Mr. David Shutts will be Even though this introducthere, hiding behind his camera tion to photography class only lens capturing candids, staging taught him the fundamentals photos, and conversing with of the camera and the basics of those around him. photography, it laid the groundShutts has played a promiwork for Mr. Shutts’ future nent role in capturing moments career in photography. at Kinkaid since 2006, when He graduated from Kinkaid Mr. Tom Moore, director of in 1974 and attended the Uniadvancement, reached out versity of Houston, where he to him and asked if he could photograph Kinkaid’s centennial received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance. functions.

He was given three career Since then, Mr. Shutts has choices: doctor, lawyer or been on campus almost every week, capturing a wide range of banker. Despite his passion events, from sports competitions for photography, he decided to pursue a banking career. to annual school dances.

His first banking job was “Photographing at Kinkaid has given me a newfound appre- with the Texas Commerce Bank in 1979. ciation for Kinkaid,” Mr. Shutts Although he rarely vensaid. “After I graduated, I hardly tured back to Kinkaid, entering went back to school for any the business world made him events. I attended my reunions, realize the importance of his but I never really went back to Kinkaid diploma, as he was able school.” to connect and work with other He has photographed stualumni. dents in the Lower School and His career as a banker came watched them grow through the to an end in 1995, when Mr. years; he has seen the transShutts decided to start his own formation of the campus; he photography business. has created close bonds with At first, his photo shoots conKinkaid faculty and staff.

Coach Bobby Eggleston, one sisted of mainly event photography, commercial photography, of the many faculty members and real estate. However after who has grown close to him, his career kicked off, he started said: “We met five or six years to shoot at St. Francis, while his ago. We have a lot in common, son, Sam Shutts, enrolled there. you know. He loves sports, so Then, finally after 32 years, we’ll talk about that some and Mr. Shutts returned to Kinkaid we also went through the flood together. His house was flooding and has remained since then.

Mr. Shutts’ company is not and so was mine, so we spent restricted to Kinkaid events, a lot of time talking about that though. He covers a wide range also. But David is a gentle soul, of photography—anywhere you know, loves doing good

BY JORDAN JAFARNIA

between family portraits, wedding photos, president and heads of state photos, catalog work, architectural photography, sports photography, fine arts.

Growing up swimming, playing football, soccer, and golf, Mr. Shutts said sports photography takes a special place in his career.

In particular, he said he enjoys capturing football, soccer, golf, volleyball, and lacrosse. He is often spotted maneuvering around the sidelines of every home football game, too, with his equipment in hand and not missing a move.

Next to him, Frankie Wimbish (11) can be spotted shadowing his work and observing his skills.

“One of the most unique things about Mr. Shutts is his ability to make connections,” Wimbish said.

“He always seems to know every parent he comes across and will know the names of their kids. He is always kind and is unafraid Photo by Frankie Wimbish to share advice, with any Mr. David Shutts photographs Kinkaid’s varsity football game as The Falcon take on the student he comes across.”

Episcopal School of Dallas during this year’s Homecoming.

On a typical day, Mr. Where people are in the frame.

Shutts will do anything between people’s expressions and intricate details.

Often while What is exciting about it.” one to four shoots. he is shooting, he tries to spark Photographs capture the A few days before every conversations with the subjects entire truth, Mr. Shutts said. shoot, he researches and visits in order to make them feel more “When I take a picture the venue and talks to the client relaxed and to show more natuof something, it captures an about what they are looking to ral expressions. individual or event in an exact get out of his photos.

Mr. Shutts said his work with unique moment in time.

It is Because all shoots vary and photography has allowed him to never to be repeated,” he said.

Houston has unpredictable think like a camera.

With his unique perspective, weather, Mr. Shutts makes sure “Every day when I look at Mr. Shutts’ work has shed a new to bring extra backup equipment something, I view things like I light on life here at Kinkaid. every time he has a client. Every am looking through a viewfindHe has taken photos since photo Shutts takes exemplifies er, as if I was taking a picture,” students were in pre-K and he his “clean style.” he said.

“How I would crop seems to never fail to miss a He said he aims to shoot things?

Where I would stand. moment. tight, focused shots that show

Mr. David Shutts said this image was his proudest moment as a photographer. He was on vacation, visiting Stonehenge in England. While he was holding his camera, the raven

happened to fly into the frame and Shutts was able to capture the bird in focus with Stonehenge in the background.

18 FEATURES | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018 NEW FACULTY SERIES

Kinkaid welcomes new faces

BY SARAH KATE PADON

Mr. BJ

Garmon

Ms. Bess

Mr. BJ Garmon has come to Kinkaid after spending seven years working at St. John’s as a technical director. Along with his experience at St. John’s, he worked as the production assistant for Steve Harvey’s “Family Feud.”

He made the decision to come to Kinkaid because it was better for his growing family.

“My family is excited that we have a second daughter due in October,” Mr. Garmon said at the time. (She has since been born.)

He said he is most excited about “designing Shrek Jr., the 8th-grade musical.”

Ms. Frances

Limoncelli

Ms. Bess Garison joined as the Upper School photography teacher. However, she does not limit herself to photography.

“I enjoy all forms of creating art. I make and sell jewelry. I paint and draw, and am currently remodeling my guest bathroom with my dad!” Ms. Garison said.

Previously working at Stratford High School, she could not pass up the opportunities Kinkaid provided.

“I love working with film and in the darkroom and missed not having the opportunity to share that love with my students. Kinkaid has the facilities to teach film and so it was a very easy decision,” Ms. Garison said.

Mr. Vladimir

Ms. Frances Limoncelli came to Kinkaid as a Middle School and Upper School theater teacher from her job as artistic director at The Magik Theatre in San Antonio.

“I’m excited to come to Kinkaid, where I can be a part of a dynamic, supportive team in a city where I have some close friends,” Ms. Limoncelli said.

Most notably, she will get to work alongside her friend of 30 years, Mr. Calcasi, the Middle School choir teacher, with whom she went to college.

Ms. Limoncelli shared the meaning behind her last name: “my last name means ‘little lemons.’”

Ms. Kristen

Garison

Madison

Mr. Vladimir Lopez came to Kinkaid from East Early College High School--another school with a falcon mascot--as an addition to the Upper School Science department. He is excited to join the Kinkaid community.

“It is great to be in such a good school and learn so much from new colleagues,” Mr. Lopez said.

He learns in all aspects of his life, including in his family Scrabble competitions.

“I am learning two-letter words to improve my Scrabble scores. I am very competitive and my son and my wife are beating me!” Mr. Lopez said.

Mr. José

Ms. Kristen Madison, an Upper School math teacher, came back to her native state of Texas to teach at Kinkaid. After living in Tampa, Florida, and teaching at Berkeley Preparatory School, she said she chose to come to Kinkaid “for its commitment to find balance in academics, arts, athletics and life.”

Ms. Madison said she is excited about “helping students find creative ways to solve new problems.”

Outside of school, she enjoys reading about math history. She has also spent time exploring Houston through its outdoor spaces, including parks, fountains and public art.

Lopez

Narbona

Mr. José Narbona is from Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. He spent the past 20 years teaching at Rice University.

After retiring from Rice in June 2017, he knew “it was the right moment to do something new!”

“I am excited to learn from my colleagues and students. Every day is a new adventure!” Mr. Narbona said.

He appreciates that Houston is an international city because he has friends from everywhere.

Mr. Narbona also maintains his connection with Spain by writing for the famous Spanish magazine “Jot Down” in his spare time.

Questions about vape detectors answered

BY FRANKIE WIMBISH Vape detectors were installed in certain locations around the Upper School prior to the start of the fall semester.

Vaporizers, especially the JUUL brand, have erupted in popularity in schools across the country, so Kinkaid’s administration has taken action to prevent and curb usage of the devices on campus.

Mr. Josh Ramey, Dean of

Students, informed Upper School students about the detectors in the first assembly and explained that he receives notifications on his cell phone whenever there is a detection of vaping in the building.

“We feel like we have a problem here… primarily, of course, our concern is the health and well being of the students, and this is a dangerous habit,” Mr. Ramey said.

The rising concern about vaping at Kinkaid may have been caused by a survey conducted

by Freedom from Chemical Dependency, which is a nonprofit provider of school-based substance abuse prevention services. The organization determined in a 2017 survey that 15 percent of Kinkaid students reported using an electronic vaporizer in the month before the survey was given.

Users are consuming nicotine despite decades of research pointing to how hazardous and addictive it is. The effect of nicotine on the brain is a subject that has been covered in classes and assemblies, but students are still vaping.

“Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and JUUL contains among the highest nicotine content of any e-cigarette on the U.S. market,” the CDC wrote in

an Oct. 8, 2018, press release.

The high usage and addictive nature of nicotine were primary factors leading to the installation of vape detectors. Mr. Ramey made it explicitly clear that the administration is trying to prevent substance abuse on campus, not punish students.

“If we really wanted to catch people...we wouldn’t have told the student body that we had installed vape detectors,” he said.

Q & A with Mr. Ramey: How many times have the detectors gone off since the start of the year?

What other measures are being taken to prevent vaping?

Who receives the notifications that the detector has been set off?

How are the notifications sent and received?

“Quite a few times, many many times. When they were first installed, they went bonkers. They were going off all the time.”

“We are always looking for new things to do…

Who knows what will be new after this?… You’re always trying to keep ahead of the game.”

“Anybody can… if there was an emergent situation I can go into the boy’s bathroom… and it says specifically... whether it’s the boy’s or the girl’s.”

ENTERTAINMENT

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | 19

Hot or Not

The Falcon staff tells you what’s cool so that you don’t have to guess

BY OLIVIA MARRUS & EMMA GILLIAM

Trashcans

Gongs

Responding when your peer mentors say hi to you in the hallway

Underclassmen going 100 mph up the ramp

Juniors staying *on campus* for lunch

Cotillion claiming in September

Practicing your right to vote if you’re 18+

How moist the stairwell gets in the parking garage

Walking at a normal to brisk pace in the hallway

“Community group”

Fall Crossword Puzzle Take a crack at it.

BY SARAH KATE PADON

Across 2 Crop plants in the family cucurbitaceae, like pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, luffa, and melons 5 Spending time with _____ over the holidays 7 Autumn or _____

8 “Please _____ me alone!”

10 Pumpkin ______ latte 11 ______ the turkey to keep it moist while cooking 13 A Thankgiving sauce served in a boat

Down 1 The superstar at Thanksgiving dinner 3 A Thanksgiving _____ is held in celebration of the all the things we’re greatful for 4 A ______ fall day calls for a sweater

6 Corn or ______ 9 Warm ______ cider is the quintessential fall drink 12 Squirrels collect ______

20 ENTERTAINMENT | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018 Where we get to know the Kinkaidian tastes and the talk around campus.

Pop Culture Chart

BY MEGAN RILEY

What is your favorite Halloween show?

“Scooby Doo but the live version.”

-Tristan Riley (9)

“I don’t like horror movies.”

-Anatoly Bourenin (12)

“Twitches, it’s such a classic.”

-Lexi Strauss (10) “I love Monstober on Disney channel; it’s just the best.”

-Lily Crowe (11)

What is the weirdest What is your pumpkin favorite flavored Halloween costume thing you’ve you’ve ever had? worn?

“I was once a princess

“I was a bag of rice last year.”

-Justin Li (10)

football player.”

-Mallory Sikes (9)

What is the weirdest pumpkin flavored thing you’ve had?

“The inside of a pumpkin!”

-John Richards (9)

“The time I

one year and I won 300 bucks for it in a costume contest.”

-Chloe Hunter (12)

“Honest Kitchen’s

“Pumpkin

Jello.”

-Suzannah Gilmartin (10)

“I was the Mad Hatter

dressed up as myself.”

-Adryana Minooe (11)

“Pumpkin waffles; it was actually pretty good.”

-Derin Baysal (11)

Instant Pumpkin Spice Latte for dogs.”

-Madi Malouf (12)

What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

“I don’t know, but my favorite rapper is Lil’ Pump.”

-Jerry Restrepo (9)

“Fiji Water.”

-Hudson Davis (10)

“Mashed Potatoes.”

“Turkey.”

-Tyler Newton (11)

-Henry Stone (12)

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | ENTERTAINMENT 21

austin city limits Photo courtsey of Carolyn Lobb (10)

Students storm Zilker Park for the biggest music festival in Texas

BY NICOLE FERNANDEZ

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People flood the pits in front of the stages, singing and dancing to their favorite artists. Among the crowds at Austin City Limits were many Kinkaid students enjoying the food, music, and activities. This year’s headliners were Paul McCartney, Odesza, Metallica, Justice, Travis Scott, and Arctic Monkeys.

Kinkaid families and students explored the music festival cultureall throguhout this fun filled weekend.

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Photo courtesy of Stella Pintar (10)

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SPORTS

22 | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

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Photo courtesy of Mr. David Shutts

Falcons Play for Pink

BY LILY GUNN

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Photo courtesy of Mr. David Shutts

Photo courtesy of Mr. David Shutts

Photo courtesy of Mr. David Shutts

Photo by Lily Gunn

1. Junior varsity volleyball players celebrate during their Falcons for Pink game.

2. Junior varsity football players huddle up before their game.

3. Daniel King (12) and Katherine Jacobe (12) work the bake sale during a volleyball game.

4. Madison Edwards (10) cheers on the football team with her pink pompoms.

5. Team Rouge shows off their breast cancer bandanas and pink socks before their first game.

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Shades of pink flooded the hallways, smells of fresh cookies drew passersby to the bake sale, bright posters hung on the walls, and fall sports teams added pink details to their game-day uniforms.

Every October, the National Breast Cancer Foundation leads a campaign—Breast Cancer Awareness Month—to spread awareness and increase support for breast cancer; and, every year the Upper School participates in its own breast cancer awareness campaign.

Falcons for Pink, once known as “Playing4Pink,” is a community service event, led by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) in conjunction with fall athletes, during the week of October 15. To start off the week, cross country, volleyball, and field hockey athletes made and hung signs around the Upper School. On Wednesday and Thursday during school and at the field hockey and volleyball games after school, SAAC, girls varsity volleyball and varsity field hockey athletes hosted a bake sale. They baked and sold a variety of pink desserts, to raise money for the Side-Out Foundation’s Dig Pink movement: a nationwide effort that supports stage IV breast cancer patients and the foundation’s breast cancer research and clinical trials. This year, $1,895 was raised at the bake sale, double the amount raised the previous year.

In addition, fall sports teams added pink accents to their uniforms throughout the month of October to support breast cancer awareness; specifically on Thursday the 18th, many of the fall teams played for pink. The Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity Purple volleyball teams played John Cooper. Even though they lost their games, the girls were able to succeed in spreading The Side Out Foundation’s message of siding out breast cancer and helping patients regain control of their lives, just as they side out and regain control of the ball on the court. They were able to accomplish this through the bake sales during the games, bright pink signs hung outside Melcher Gym, and the pink accessories they wore during the game.

While volleyball was siding out breast cancer on the court, the field hockey teams took the field for a competitive, intersquad round robin. In the past, field hockey teams have played opponents from other schools in their pink games; however, this year they faced each other. The athletes were divided into three teams — Team Rouge, Team Fuchsia, and Team Magenta — and each played four 12-minute games. The players hung signs and hosted a bake sale at the game, and sported many pink accessories such as, socks, hair ribbons, and even bandanas.

Junior Varsity football also added pink to their uniforms for their game on the 18th where they beat Episcopal 20-8. The boys wore pink, breast cancer ribbon socks, mouth guards and gloves to demonstrate their support.

The Varsity Football team along with the Varsity Cheer team also supported breast cancer awareness throughout the month of October.

The boys, like junior varsity players, wore pink, breast cancer ribbon socks, mouth guards and gloves at their games as a way to raise awareness; similarly, contributing to the pink theme for the month, the cheerleaders switched out their gold bows for pink ones to support the movement.

November 2, 2018 | The Kinkaid Falcon | SPORTS 23

Falcon teams soar toward SPC fall championships

BY AYUSH KRISHNAMOORTI, WILSON KELSEY & CHARLES GARRISON

Football

The Kinkaid football team is off to an exceptional run, suffering only one loss all season. The Falcons have gone on a sixgame win streak since that loss in August. Additionally, they have yet to face defeat against a conference opponent, having only a tie against Episcopal in a game that was stopped because of thunder and lightning shortly after halftime. Kinkaid is currently tied for first with Episcopal in Class 4A in SPC standings.

Junior defensive back Matthew Bale said team MVP and senior running back Josh “King Joshee” Williams has been instrumental in the success of the squad. With only St. John’s left on the regular season schedule, Kinkaid now looks to play in its second consecutive SPC championship.

Boys Volleyball

The boys volleyball team has been executing well, going 6-2 in its last eight games after starting 4-4, which puts the team in third place in the South Zone in SPC play. The team has a tournament at St. Stephen’s, a trimatch at Episcopal, and a match vs. Episcopal before heading to the SPC Championships in Dallas, starting Nov. 8, under senior captain Alex Frumovitz.

Girls Volleyball

The girls volleyball team started the season off slowly, finishing 1-7 in their first eight matches. As the season has progressed though, they have only improved. The team has gone an impressive 14-4-1 since those first eight. They are 1-2 against SPC teams, and they have three matchups remaining in the regular season against Houston Christian, St. Andrew’s, and St. John’s.

Boys Cross Country

Josh Williams (12)

The boys cross country team has performed well throughout this year, but the loss of its top six runners has changed the team dynamic. While many of the leaders left last year, new ones such as Melendez and Heyser have stepped up and led the team to strong finishes.

Nearly every player on the team has broken personal records for both 5k and two-mile races, and some have broken it more than once. Their record-break-

Photo by Frankie Wimbish

Seniors Cole Nockolds, Rohan Kumar, Antonio Castro, Eli Bakht, Taylor Knauth, Olivia Marrus, and Hudson Marix cheer on the Kinkaid Football team en route to their 47-14 win against St. Mark’s on September 21.

ing performances leave a lot of hope for a high finish at SPC. The team is preparing for its final run for SPC in Dallas on Nov. 10.

Girls Cross Country

The girls cross country team performed incredibly in their meets throughout the nation, finishing in the top spot multiple times and receiving a third-place finish in a national meet at Stanford.

Led by five seniors, Jordan Jafarnia, Ellie Lucke, Lindsey Ho, Anaclare Sole and Caroline Keller, the team worked its way up to beat Greenhill and St. John’s at their largest meet of the year, which was held at

St. John’s. This top finish can be credited to Kevriana Scott’s (9) third-place finish and junior Camila Vicens’ fifth-place finish.

To finish out the top six runners for the team, Alexandra Blake (11), Laura Behr (10), Ellie Lucke (12) and Caroline Keller (12) combined to provide a comfortable lead on the other teams.“We have high hopes to finish first at SPC,” Vicens said.

The team is young in comparison to previous years, but they are looking to repeat their victory from two years ago.

Louis). Since then, the team has gone 10-1 in a stretch that included two separate five-game win streaks. The second-ranked falcons played a pivotal game against first-ranked St. John’s on Nov. 1. The winner of that game should take the number one seed going into the SPC tournament starting Nov. 8.

Field Hockey

Field hockey had a rough start to the season, going 1-4 through its first five games (however, these were non-conference games played in St.

Merritt Cozby (12)

SATIRE

The one, the only: the Kinkaid Rec Tennis team A look into the most competitive athletic conglomerate to grace our campus

BY STERLING ELIAS All the players gather in Houston Plaza, but not a word is said among them.

They sit quietly, waiting in anticipation for their respected Coach Andy Long, the most highly achieved Recreational Tennis coach in the entire state of Texas.

Not just anyone can make Long’s team; it isn’t the kind just any athlete can sign up for.

Rather, there is a rigorous process of meeting with one’s dean, being added to the sign-up list, and most competitively, making

the cut before the class fills up.

No, the Rec Tennis team does not compete for a championship, not because the team is not good enough but because there is nobody close to match them. No other school in the greater Houston Area has even attempted to match up against this prestigious group of superstars.

Every single day, unless there are terrible weather conditions, there is a little water on the court, or Dr. Charlie Scott and Coach Long just don’t feel like playing tennis, the team members take the courts at 3:30

Photo by Sterling Elias

The recreational tennis team plays on the newly constructed tennis courts on the west side campus.

on the dot (although they usually don’t make it over there until closer to 3:40.)

A casual observer may walk over to the courts on a Wednesday afternoon and not see much tennis going on; there are players hitting balls off the walls, smacking strikes at other players that are facing away, and more often than not, just sitting down.

While this may seem from the outside like a disorganized group of students trying to get a sports credit with the least amount of effort, that observation could not be further from the truth. What these athletes are actually partaking in is an extreme training regimen that includes power training, precision training, and focus meditation.

See, Coach Long’s expertise combined with the intense dedication to excellence and improvement from the players enables this team, this powerhouse, to transcend typical training and coaching practices and enter a new dimension of sports training rarely seen in sports before. They undertake a nuanced approach toward reaching their goal of being the best Rec Tennis team in the state and quite possibly the country

(which, let’s be honest, they have already achieved.)

Perhaps the most unique innovation of the team is a training drill called “Wall Tennis.”

Two players stand on either side of the net, but rather than just hitting it over the net like they would in regular tennis, they must bounce each shot off the giant westward facing wall of the parking garage adjacent to the courts and land the ball on the other side of the net. This method of training stretches the mind as players must adapt to the new rules of the game, which is crucial to improving tennis skills because above all else, tennis is a mental game.

It also improves reaction skills, another significant aspect of tennis, in that the ball could take any bounce off the wall, especially if it hits a crease between the concrete slabs of the wall, so the players must anticipate all possible outcomes.

“This drill not only teaches us how to perfectly balance the amount of power we exert on the ball, but it is also a fun way to bond with our teammates in a competitive setting which is really the reason that I play tennis,” stated senior Trip Horlock.

Perhaps training tennis skills in conjunction with a focus on

team chemistry has enabled this team to put together all facets of the game and achieve successes unreached by other teams. Even the coaches are involved in the process, as Coach Long said, “My favorite part of coaching this team is having the opportunity to meet and get to know students that I otherwise would not be able to.”

All of the team’s training, bonding, dedication, and overall talent have enabled them to reach heights that were not even dreamed of when the team was first founded.

“It’s amazing what this team has accomplished in only three years of existence,” said Margaret Bass (11) of the team’s immense success since it’s conception in fall of 2016.

From where the team began all the way to where it is in three short years is nothing short of remarkable, and all the team’s members could not be happier to be along for the ride.

“My favorite part of Rec Tennis is being part of such an exclusive and talented team.

Something about the competitiveness and emphasis on hard work and dedication makes this team special,” said Simi Bontha (12).

24 SPORTS | The Kinkaid Falcon | November 2, 2018

Looking back into the MLB playoff series

BY BRADY BRAZDA & JACK KLOSEK

The American League featured powerhouses, including the Yankees, Astros and the Red Sox. Boston flexed their muscles on the Yankees and won in four games. The Astros also looked in playoff form when they defeated the Indians in the ALDS. The Red Sox and Astros cruised their way into the ALCS. Game one was a beat down by the Astros. Winning in every phase of the game, the Astros looked sharp. The end score was 7-2. Justin Verlander was his routine self, only allowing two runs that game. The Astros confidence was at an all-time high going into the rest of the series.

However, the Astros taste of victory was short-lived. In the next three games the Astros did not play well and were very unlucky. From trying to catch balls off of the green monster to David Price pitching the best he has all season, the Astros could not outlast the Red Sox. In game four, the Astros started to find their stride in the late inning, getting on base in scoring position. With the bases loaded, Alex Bregman, arguably the best Astros hitter dropped one into left field but, Andrew Benintendi made a clutch catch that saved the game with a final score of 8-6.

As the pressure increased with hitters constantly on base, the Astros folded pitchers started to panic, allowing too many runs to get on base. Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton both retired early putting A.J. Hinch in some bad situations. The Soxs capitalized on great pitching and

outfield play in the late inning that finished off the Astros. In desperation, Tony Kemp decided to push his luck and run to second base off of a RBI single.

Mookie Betts lasered the ball over to second for an easy out.

The Astros struggled against the Red Sox and lost in only five games.

The Red Sox outfield is the best in the game right now; led

by Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox athletic outfield makes key outs and throws that stopped runs from getting home during the regular season and postseason play. Benintendi saved game four, making an incredible dive from a ball hit

by Alex Bregman into the hole in left field. Additionally, the Red Sox hitters are unique in the fact that their line up can hit everything.

From home runs to getting on base to stealing bases, the Red Soxs hitters are like a swiss army knife: they do it all.

Looking forward, the Red Sox will beat the Dodgers in five games. The Dodgers will win at least one at home with Kershaw on the mound.

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American League

David Price throws his signature pitch: the cutter per the Bost Globe

Photo courtesy of Metro US

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National League

Clayton Kershaw focuses on his next pitch.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun Times

While the AL Playoffs featured 300 win teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and New York Yankees, the NL featured two tie-breakers and a nail-biting, t13-inning wild card game. On Oct. 1, the Milwaukee Brewers captured the Central Division title with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their sixth consecutive division title with a 5-2 win over

the Colorado Rockies.

In an absolute thriller, the Colorado Rockies upset the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field with the unsung hero being Tony Wolters who had not had a hit since mid-September.

The Rockies would then get demolished by the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game sweep.

Mike Moustakas walked off Game 1 in the 10th inning with a RBI single in the bottom of the tenth to win 3-2. The Brewers then shut out Colorado in the next two games, outscoring them 13-2.

The Dodgers, on the other hand, dominated a young and inexperienced Braves team.

The Braves were not expected to win even 75 games. Hyunjin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw both threw gems resulting in two shutouts, and after a loss in game three in Atlanta, David Freese played postseason hero once again and delivered a go ahead two RBI single off of Brad Brach, giving them the lead and, ultimately, knocking out the Braves with a 6-2 win.

The NLCS began on Oct. 12 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, with the Dodger’s drawing first blood on a Manny Machado home run. In the bottom of the third, Brandon Woodruff, a relief pitcher for the Brewers, launched a solo home run to deep right center field off none other than Clayton Kershaw.

Hernán Pérez’s sacrifice fly gave the Brewers the lead and

they never relinquished it. They went on to win 6-5.

In game two the following night, the Brewers had an early 3-0 league on home runs by Travis Shaw and Orlando Arcia.

The Dodgers pulled within one in the seventh inning and in the eighth, Justin Turner pulled a towering home run down the line to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead, going on to win by that score. Game three in Los Angeles featured a strong start from Jhoulys Chacín that led to a 4-0 win. The Dodgers gained momentum in game four as the series tied up at two. In a tie game in the bottom of the 13th inning, Cody Bellinger walked it off with an RBI single scoring Manny Machado.

Clayton Kershaw followed the dramatic win with a great outing leading to a 5-2 win. On Oct. 19, the Brewers tied the series up, dominating the Dodgers, and evening the series at three apiece, forcing a game seven.

In game seven, after Christian Yelich’s home run in the bottom of the first, Cody Bellinger launched a home run to deep right, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. The Dodgers added on with a three-run home run by Yasiel Puig, giving them a 5-1 lead. Clayton Kershaw dramatically closed out game seven to send them to the World Series.

Despite the Dodgers outstanding season, we predict they will be swept by the Red Sox and the MVP will be Mookie Betts.