mar uee
the
(3) State cuts AP funding from students, classrooms (7) Secular Humanist club struggles to get off ground
volume 26 | issue 06 | april 5, 2012
(17) Lacrosse player almost loses game, memories forever
The
RACE card
MARCUS HIGH SCHOOL | 5707 MORRISS ROAD. FLOWER MOUND, TX 75028
table contents tableof of contents
pg. 24
the marquee [newsmagazine] editor in chief jasmine sachar
managing editor maria heinonen
photo editor jordan richards
design editor maria heinonen
news editor alex mcginnis
feature editor alex mcginnis
asst. feature editor marisa charpentier
in-depth editor molly spain
entertainment editor juliana adame
sports editor jasmine sachar photo | jordan richards Senior Service Officer Nikki Diez salutes the crowd in a tap dance during the Marquette Spring Show on Feb. 29.
cover photo | jordan richards
news/ [5] SEEKING REFUGE Influx of Chin refugees from Burma into LISD spurs training and tutoring programs for teachers and students. by jasmine sachar
feature/ [8] DOWN TO CLOWN Senior theater student finds unique job as party entertainer. by meghan eurich
entertainment/
[16] STUDENTS GOING WITHOUT The Marquee catches up with students who gave up beloved habits for Lent. by ryan mcdearmont
sports/ [16] A SECOND CHANCE Marcus referee and father gets life-saving lung transplant. by vallery phillips
opinion editor molly spain
online editor meghan eurich
business manager joseph rau
reporters emily aijkens, andrea boyd, kady kohankie, meghan eurich, marisa charpentier, juliana adame, vallery phillips, ryan mcdearmont
designers sydney sund, courtney clubb, joseph rau, amanda collen, preston smith
photographers kathryn petrauskas, sarah sauer, mariah lucy, amanda collen, vallery phillips
adviser lajuana hale
principal gary shafferman The Marquee newsmagazine is a student-generated publication of Marcus High School. It is produced, edited and maintained through the efforts of the school’s advanced journalism class. The Marquee is designed to serve the school and community as a forum for open discussion and student expression. The Marquee encourages letters to the editor as part of its mission to educate, inform and provide an open forum for debate. All submissions must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit all material. Editorials reflect the opinion of the staff, not necessarily that of the administration. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author. Advertising rates are $40 per 1/16 of a page, with discounts available. For more information call 469713-5196. The Marquee is a standing member of ILPC, TAJE, ATPI, CSPA, NSPA, JEA and Quill and Scroll.
news
3
State cuts money towards AP exams, classes Cost of test rises $30, school loses tens of thousands in AP classroom funding story | jasmine sachar
When senior Camila Novoa finished paying for her four AP tests last month, her total rang up to $348. That’s almost twice as much as she would have had to pay last year. That’s because this year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) stopped providing subsidies for AP tests to high schools. For years, the state paid for $30 of each AP test, reducing its cost to $57. This year, students had to pay the entire $87 for each test. “It’s a lot of stress,” Novoa said. “Are they telling us not to take the AP exams? It feels like they’re trying not to help us.” The cut is just one of the latest in a chain of educational budget downsizing from the state, who slashed $4 billion from schools last year. Associate Superintendent for Learning Dr. Penny Reddell said money has been lost across the board. “Tragic is the best word I think I have for it,” Dr. Reddell said. “I can’t tell you how my heart aches with anything that negatively impacts our students.” Last year at Marcus, about 1300 AP exams were taken. School testing director Debbie Rochester said she expects that students will be more cautious now when choosing what exams to take. “I think students will take it more seriously,” Rochester said. “If they are not doing well in a class, I don’t think they’ll sign up for the AP test whereas in the past students who were very marginal in a class would sign up for the test just in case.” AP English teacher Wendi Spurgeon said she will have to be more honest when discussing with students whether they should take the test, but that the test price is still worth
English 4 curriculum. the college credit. “We get tired of teaching the same thing,” Spurgeon “In the long run, if the parents can come up with the money up front, its going to pay off in the end,” Spurgeon said. “Sometimes it’s interesting to add a new work. So (if) we want to teach a new piece of literature, we might not be said. The state will still pay the $30 per test for students on able to do that now.” Rochester said that teachers will have to now apply for free and reduced fee lunches, and Spurgeon said that the school has some money left to help out additional students Lewisville Education Foundation (LEF) grants to get more class cash. who might need it. “The teacher will have to find ways to work around it,” Novoa said that some of her senior friends have decided Rochester said. to opt out of some AP exams. Teachers also used the money to “It’s always visit AP conferences during which because of the money I don’t think that’s fair for people they learned about new instruction issue,” Novoa said. “I don’t think that’s fair who have struggled and done well in techniques and updates on course material. for people who have classes to not take the exam. The district and schools will try to struggled and done provide for this kind of professional well in classes to not development and for resources, take the exam.” Camila Novoa, 12 Dr. Reddell said, to ensure that AP The state also cut classrooms do not suffer. money given to schools for high AP test passing rates, from “The best thing that we can do for our students is to have which Marcus benefited from. Schools used to receive $100 for each passing grade on an AP exam. According to the best trained, the most energetic, up to date teachers we Debbie Rochester, head of testing for the school, generally can get,” Dr. Reddell said. AP classrooms are not the only places in the school that 80 percent of Marcus tests were passing, resulting in are suffering. The district was shorted $23 million last year, hundreds of thousands of dollars handed to the school. and is trying to make the budget for next year. Already this That money was put back into the AP classroom to buy year, class sizes have increased, retiring teachers have resources. AP teachers relied on that state money to buy novels, not been replaced and insurance costs for teachers have AP test review books, practice packets, lab materials increased. “I think it’s going to take a lot of teachers banding and calculators among other tools. Spurgeon called these together and speaking out of one very large voice,” resources “invaluable.” English teachers like Spurgeon relied on that money to Spurgeon said. “Something’s going to have to give, buy new novels that were not covered in the traditional because ultimately, it’s the students who pay the price.”
Dollars and sense Last Year
$57 the marquee | april 5, 2012
This Year
$87
Low Income
- $30 - $26 - $8 - $23 $87 $30 - $87 $87
TEA pays
College Board pays Campus pays
Average or above income TEA does not pay
design | jordan richards
4
news
District moves to accomodate refugee students Hundreds of children struggling with limited English, adjusting to American pace of life story | jasmine sachar
Chin students, tutoring at many schools and yearly sensitivity seminars to teach school personnel about the background and photos | jordan richards culture of the Chin refugees. “We have to be able to understand our students in order to Their English is broken at best, but it’s better than that help them on their road to success,” Baron said. “If they have of their parents, who speak none. Their schooling, if there never been in school, don’t you think the teachers would need was any, has been interrupted by civil war, discrimination to know that? Shame on us for holding them responsible for and time spent praying for a second chance in refugee camps. that without implicitly teaching them.” Books and reading mean little to them, since they aren’t used Schooling in Burma was not mandatory. Many children to obtaining information from written word. They’ve never didn’t attend and have no comprehension of an organized even heard of science. Now, these 343 Chin refugee children school system. If they did attend, Burmese schooling was are struggling to meet the Texas cirriculum standards, the pre-scientific, so science classes are new to the students. TEKS, in Lewisville ISD. The Chin have a long history of oral story telling, so the idea For four years, there has been a steady influx of Chin of reading is difficult for them to grasp, said social worker refugees into Lewisville, fleeing their East Asian home Becky Nelson. country of Burma due to ethnic persecution. LISD has “The biggest problem is you are working with a culture that established several programs to help the Chin students does not view reading as a primary source of information,” assimilate into the American school system, said LISD Nelson said. “They don’t have books and it’s not enough to Recent Immigrant Coordinator Cherylholly Baron. just give them books. They are not accustomed to meaning “It really is a culture shock for them,” Baron said. “Many coming out of books.” of our students have had traumatic experiences that they’re The refugee students are held to the same Texas curriculum dealing with. It’s more than just language.” standards as English speaking students, the TEKS. This puts In their home country of Burma, the Christian Chin, a lot of stress on the older students, said Nelson who works an ethnic minority, were brutalized by the country’s harsh at the Basswood apartment complex in Lewisville. This is a military rule and famine. Many were killed, beaten or forced relocation site where many Chin families live. into labor because of their religion and ethnicity. “It is a lot to expect a brain to learn enough English in The district has been building their programs for the Chin three or four years to be able to pass TAKS tests,” Nelson refugees over the past few years. Now, they offer training said. “The older kids get discouraged very easily.” for teachers, summer school designed specifically for the According to Baron, formally learning a language can take from five to seven years. “If you’re 17 starting high school and you have no English and spotty educational background, how successful are you going to be in graduating in a timely manner?” Baron said. Therefore, Nelson said, when many Chin students reach the age of 16, they drop out of high school to get a job to support the family. “The Chin culture says the oldest must quit and support the rest of the family, and that has not changed,” Nelson said. “The problem with that is the jobs you can get with just a high school education are still going to be minimum wage jobs which is what their parents are working.” At home, their parents work long hours, night shifts at the Tyson Chicken plant or stocking at Walmart. Nelson said she acts as a liason between the school system and the parents, and must teach the families how to fill out school paperwork, the protocols of mandatory vacciantions and school attendance. “The kids learn to fill out their own paperwork and they don’t understand what they’re doing half the time,” Nelson said. “We train the parents and work with parents so that they don’t feel the burden.” Lewisville Education Foundation (LEF) is creating scholarships for the Chin refugees. Some Chin students are choosing to go to college, and then coming back to the community to help, Baron said. LISD has their first Chin student teacher in math this year. “These are not people who are taking everything America can give and not giving back,” Baron said. Lewisville Chin senior Emma Thluai, who has been in America almost four years, joined LHS Student Council and helped integrate incoming Chin refugees. She said that the A refugee from the Chin tribe in Burma wears his new backpack. He started school does a good job with aiding refugees. his first day of school in America on March 27. “They have ESL and they always have tutoring after
design/graphics | amanda collen
school,” Thluai said. “Last week, we had English TAKS test for juniors, and they went there every day.” Thluai said she plans on attending NCTC next year, and wants to become an engineer or a nurse. Baron said that the district has started networking with other school districts and social work agencies to share information and apply it on a campus level. “I think we have come an incredibly long way from where we were, not knowing anything, without having any heads up that we were having this influx,” Baron said.
The refugees sit and play at the Basswood Apartments in Lewisville. Several of the 2000 Chin people live in this complex.
Child refugees Lian and David laugh together on March 26. The refugees have relocated to America due to a dictatorship in Burma.
Where is Burma? Tibet
Nepal
China
Bhutan
India
Burma Bangladesh
Laos
Thailand
Vietnam
Philip
Cambodia april 5, 2012 | the marquee
Back to Back
news 5 photos | jordan richards
Marauders take home the state 5A basketball championship title, winning for second year in row
Top Right: Senior Marcus Smart hugs his mom after winning the Texas 5A State Championship. “She inspires me to never take life for granted and always have faith,” Smart said. Top Left: Senior Nick Banyard shows his excitement after dunking. The State Championship was held at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Bottom Right: Seniors Smart and Jared Hamilton celebrate after claiming the state title. “It was like the Fourth of July; fireworks went off everywhere in my head,” Smart said. Middle Bottom: The Marauder basketball team holds up their state championship trophy. the marquee | april 5, 2012
Bottom Left: Senior Aj Luckey dribbles the ball against Fort Bend Travis. Luckey said winning was “a feeling you really can not describe; you would not want to be in another place.” design| jordan richards
6 sponsors
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feature 7
New student group aims at volunteering, religious discussion
6
story | marisa charpentier
seconds with...
Zach Richardson, 12 compiled | vallery phillips
What’s your worst fear? “Bees because I’ve never been stung, and I’m trying not to get stung.” What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found at the bottom of your backpack? “Old muffins. They were growing a little mold.” If you could have any accent which would you choose? “I want to know how to speak Spanish. I tried and failed (Spanish) I and II.” What’s the nastiest thing you’ve ever eaten? “It was from the cafeteria, and I think it was beef nachos.” If you could be in any commercial which would it be? “An ESPN commercial because I am a sports guy.” If you could go out to dinner with anybody who would it be? “It would either be Michael Jordan or Cody Apfel because Cody is the man.”
Sitting in class, sophomore Nicole Ulakovic glances at the clock on the television screen. Phrases like “Come pray with us!” flash above the time along with FCA meeting updates. She begins to think about the religious organizations present at the school and in the community like YMCA, “I Am Second” and Bible studies that take place at school. She then wonders if a club exists for those who are not religious. Senior Ian Quisenberry has grown up with friends of all different religions. After befriending Sikh and Jewish students as well as agnostics and atheists, Quisenberry understands the diversity of religions present on campus. Driving down the road, senior John Lenard passes billboards filled with Bible verses. On almost every street corner, he spots some type of church and begins to think, what about those who don’t have a religion? Why isn’t that minority group getting represented? Over Thanksgiving break, these students, along with two other seniors, decided they were going to change that. After talking to Principal Gary Shafferman and finding a sponsor, the five co-presidents created the Secular Humanist Club. Their goal was to allow students who don’t necessarily have a religion to volunteer in the community and discuss their personal ideas and philosophies. “You don’t necessarily need a god of any kind to have morals,” Ulakovic said. As the term “atheist” is often associated with negative connotations, one of the goals of the Secular Humanist Club is to dispel these impressions. From the start, the founders said they knew they would have to be respectful of all religions. “We had to be really careful because a Secular Humanist Club in this community could very easily sound like an angry-atheist club,” Ulakovic said. “We’ve been trying very hard not to be that.” To avoid becoming such a club, the group decided to use their organization as a place to discuss religions. At one meeting, the group watched “Jesus Camp,” a documentary about an Evangelical Christian camp in North Dakota. “We are trying to be educated on both sides of the religious debate, so when students get into a religious argument, they can not only defend their own position but also understand the other side of the argument,” Lenard said. The formation of the Secular Humanist Club was recently a topic of discussion among the members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or FCA. FCA faculty advisor Brenda Jacobs said that along with praying for the members of the club, FCA has also examined Christian beliefs as well as the beliefs of the Secular Humanist Club.
“I think that everybody has a right to have their own clubs,” Jacobs said. “I don’t love it, but it is something that I think gives us as Christians an opportunity to witness to those people and to love those kids.” Since January, the Secular Humanist Club has gained over 30 members, some of which are Christians and others who are participants in different religions. “It’s not anti-religion at all,” Quisenberry said. “It’s just a neutral ground where anyone can participate.” In addition to discussion, the club also plans to participate in volunteer work. The group has discussed working at a women’s shelter and also volunteering at a school in an underprivileged neighborhood. “There are a decent amount of people at this campus that don’t really want to affiliate themselves with religion but really want to be active in volunteering,” Quisenberry said. Walking into a meeting, one may find the students discussing politics and scientific studies or watching religious or social documentaries. The students may also be discussing future volunteer projects or dealing with a feat the co-presidents say they often view as a nightmarish task – paperwork. When a new service opportunity arrives, the members must fill out forms to participate in the activity. This does not always work out as planned. The members had intended to work at the Genesis Women’s Shelter, but the lack of people turning in the needed paperwork prevented this activity from gaining any progress. In addition to the paperwork issue, the club recently lost their teacher sponsor. According to Lenard, this happened due to a lack of organization. “It’s a lot harder than any of us anticipated to get a group volunteering,” Ulakovic said. “This year is a lot of trial and error.” Because the club no longer has a sponsor, they plan to continue having meetings on the weekends rather than during the week. In doing so, the club will attempt to set up its framework so that the underclassmen can restart it next year. As a sophomore, Ulakovic is the only co-president that is not graduating this year. Despite the fact that Lenard is attending the University of Arkansas next year, he still plans to help out the club in the future. Aside from providing students with a place to express their ideas and volunteer without any religious affiliation, the Secular Humanist Club also acts as a support group. Some students in the club are atheists while their parents are not. “That’s a terrible environment to be in at home,” Ulakovic said. “So they can come here and realize, ‘Okay, I’m not the only one.’”
Marauder Musings What do you think about having a secular humanist club here at Marcus? I think it’s good because there are some people who don’t want to be labeled a certain way, but they might still want to help. Even people who aren’t necessarily religious can do good things. Tyler Gammon, 9 the marquee | april 5, 2012
I do not think it’s good because the majority of our school, I’m guessing, is of the Christian faith, and I think it would cause conflict. But maybe it’s a good time for change here. Rachel Hergenrether, 10
I’m in favor of it. If there are enough students here who want a club, then I think it’s great that the school can provide them with the oppurtunity to meet and discuss the ideas that they care about. Rob Doyle, Social Studies design | amanda collen
8 feature
Just clowning around
Senior earns pocket money with unusual career choice story | meghan eurich photos | sarah sauer
Senior Zach Pletcher is not your average teenager in the work force. He does not make a living at a fast food joint or a clothing store, mindlessly standing in front of a cash register. He does not show up to work wearing a muted company uniform. Instead, he wears extra-large size 12 red and yellow tennis shoes and a bright red clown nose. It was the summer before Pletcher’s junior year when the owner of a party planning company, Cindie Perry, came to local Highland Village theater Studio B looking for party entertainers. A group of interested kids, including Pletcher, went off with Perry for training and classes on how to morph themselves into various characters, magicians, balloon artists and face painters. “It started off with a lot of us,” Pletcher said. “But it eventually weeded out to me and a few others.” Senior Miranda Hamilton, a friend of Pletcher, also got a job as a party entertainer. “I love performing and I love children, and it’s just a way to put it all together that is creative and fun,” Hamilton said. After spending a little over a month mastering the art of card tricks and memorizing the many intricate knots for a variety of balloon animals, Pletcher was ready to begin. When first starting out as a junior party entertainer, Pletcher performed at as many as four parties a week. These are usually children’s house parties in the DFW area, but there have been a few exceptions, including performing as
a clown for outside linebacker Demarcus Ware of the Dallas children and entertaining. Cowboys. “Zach is hilarious,” Hamilton said. “He is great with kids. It was October 2011 at Ware’s 2-year-old son’s birthday If you give him a character, he goes full out on it. He really party at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. Pletcher was makes the kids believe that when he is playing a character, he dressed in his signature clown outfit: red Converse with bright is that character.” orange knee socks, a tie dye shirt, and rainbow suspenders. Pletcher was recently promoted from a junior entertainer He tied the whole look together with long baggy red shorts, to a professional party entertainer, which will require more which start at the hip and go all the way down to the middle responsibility and more hours. of his calf. According to Through all of the chaos, Pletcher Pletcher, they are “the most still finds time to participate in theater gangster shorts you will ever Zach is hilarious. He is great in school and in the community. As of find.” now, he is preparing for the school’s with kids. If you give him a UIL One-Act Play for advanced There were monkey shows, professional jugglers, magic theater. character, he goes full out on it. shows, face painters and “I’m a theater kid,” Zach said. Miranda Hamilton, 12 clowns that filled the area of “Performance is a lifestyle.” the Pumpkin Patch. Pletcher When he is not working at parties made balloon animals for the or preparing for shows, Pletcher little kids while handing out apple juice and cotton candy works on Friday nights as a clown making balloon animals at with the birthday boy’s face plastered on the wrapper. CiCi’s Pizza from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Though he is usually dressed as “Spike the Clown” when “It’s fun and I enjoy what I do,” Pletcher said. “I think I’ve entertaining at parties, Pletcher has transformed himself into become a better entertainer. You have to deal with twenty various other characters like superheroes, pirates and even screaming kids sometimes and keep their attention. You do Harry Potter. what you’ve got to do.” “At parties, I usually do a 30 minute magic show, and then Pletcher says his passion for performing in front of large some singing and dancing, like the Hokey-Pokey or the Cha audiences, including children, has taken him very far. Cha Slide,” Pletcher said. “Then I will make balloon animals “You’ve got to be outside your bubble,” Pletcher for the rest of the time.” said. “You have to be able to be different characters, and Hamilton has taken notice of Pletcher’s enthusiasm for you can’t be afraid to wear tights.”
How to make a balloon animal
1
Blow up one white balloon and one black balloon. design | sydney sund
2
Tie the ends of the balloons together.
3
From magic tricks to making balloon animals, senior Zach Platcher does it all when it comes to entertaining at children’s parties. The Marquee takes a look at how he makes a penguin balloon animal.
Form the white and black balloons into an oval shape.
4
Add an orange balloon for the beak of the penguin. Draw on the eyes. april 5, 2012 | the marquee
feature 9
Medical issues lead to early teacher retirement story | juliana adame
Business teacher Kay Ward only had one month behind the desk this year before her life came to a screeching halt, causing her to say goodbye to her 12-year teaching career at the school. Over the past year, Ward has had back surgery, thyroid surgery and has been diagnosed with shingles in her right eye, a condition that she had not even heard of until her diagnosis. Ward said that she is in constant pain due to her shingles. She compares the agony to little snakes crawling around in her forehead. “They crawl down the right side of my nose and then they just shoot straight into the middle of my eye,” Ward said. “Then they go into the very back of my eyeball and just stay, crawling around in there. It’s enough to drive you crazy.” Ward’s medical ailments started in September when it was discovered that Ward had degenerative disc disease, meaning that all of the vertebrae discs in her back were drying up and crumbling away. She was scheduled for back surgery in late photo | kathryn petrauskas December. Before this surgery, Ward had to have blood work done Business teacher Kay Ward has been diagnosed with a degenerative disc disease in her back, a tumor in her thyroid and shingles in her right eye. Ward due her high thyroid levels. The endocrinologist discovered a is slowly recovering but is retiring due to her health conditions. tumor on her thyroid. There is little that Ward can do to combat her illness. She have given up some of their local days, which are days that Although the tumor was not cancerous, she had surgery to spends all of her time at home and only leaves the house for teachers have for family emergencies and personal reasons. remove it in late October. Because she had to use her own local days for her thyroid Barely two months later, a caudal catheter was put on doctors’ appointments. “These are my directions,” Ward explained. “Stay as surgery, Ward didn’t have any left. She describes her fellow either side of her spine to fill up each of the vertebrae along still as possible, stay as calm as possible, and don’t miss any teachers’ sacrifices as “the greatest gift a teacher can give.” her back. “I’m so eternally grateful,” Ward said. “I totally stand in Ward was back in the classroom on Jan. 2. She hadn’t dosages of the medicine. That’s all I can do.” Ward must keep her right eye patched almost all the awe of their generosity. Our faculty at Marcus is a family. They been back to school in three months and said she was greatly time. She can only uncover it for an hour a day and when have wrapped their arms around me and taken shockingly relieved to be able to return to her students. “I had 90 perfect students in the fall, and that doesn’t she sleeps. During that hour, she generally spends her time great care of me.” watching the news or checking her Many teachers, such as business teacher Janice Shuffield, happen very often,” Ward said. “I email. Sometimes she will read but keep up regular communication with Ward. didn’t have one single student that My whole routine of life is has taken a liking to audio books. “We’ve gotten to know each other at a whole different was a problem student, and I was so gone as I knew it. Teaching is not Ward has since reluctantly level,” Shuffield said. “Our friendship has gotten really close. blessed to have that. We had really enjoyed the class and I had grown to something that I do, it’s what I am. retired from her job teaching. She It’s a weird way for that to happen.” hadn’t planned to do so for at least Shuffield is one of several teachers who are habitually love each and every one of them.” It’s my whole life. another two years. visiting Ward. She makes the effort to see Ward every However, during second period Kay Ward, former teacher “My whole routine of life is weekend and regularly texts and emails with her. Ward said the next day, she got a massive gone as I knew it,” Ward said. that she is eternally grateful for such care. headache. The pain was so intense “I don’t think I could make it through without them,” that Ward had to go home. It had barely been 24 hours since “Teaching is not something that I do, it’s what I am. It’s my whole life.” Ward said. “It’s their strength and their friendship and the she had been back to work. There is one thing in particular that Ward will miss the love for the Marcus family and my faith in the Lord that will Ward’s eyesight went in and out as she drove. Once see me through.” home, her shocked husband immediately took her to the pain most about her career at Marcus. “Students. Period. Big, huge exclamation point,” Ward said She compares her retirement to a game of baseball, her management doctor. It was there that Ward was diagnosed favorite sport. with what the doctor called “a raging case of shingles” in her without hesitation. “I am a teacher who loves her students.” Her classes have been taken over by two long-term subs “In baseball, you have three strikes, and you’re out,” Ward right eye. said. “And when I was laying there day after day, week after “I was in so much pain, I literally prayed to die,” Ward since January. “Bless their hearts, I didn’t get to meet my spring week, it made me realize that the Lord had flown to my back said. “I literally prayed that the Lord would take me. I have students,” Ward said wistfully. “I had been dreading telling three times this year, and I think He was trying to tell me never in my life known pain like that.” Her case is unusual, as shingles generally affects the skin. my fall students goodbye. But that was all taken away from something. That it was time to quit. That it was time for me to be home.” Because of this, Ward went from doctor to doctor until a me, because I wasn‘t able to be there with them in the end.” Senior Cassandra Lucio was a part of Ward’s fall class at Ward plans to return to Marcus as a substitute teacher once contagious disease doctor made the official diagnosis. By this point, her condition was into a stage where it was very the time of Ward’s thyroid surgery. This was Lucio’s second she is able. In addition to traveling to see her family, she also time being in one of Ward’s classes. hopes to become more involved with her church, possibly difficult to diagnose. “I really liked having her as a teacher,” Lucio said. “I teaching children’s Sunday school. “My first words were, ‘When can I go back to school?’” “She will be really, really missed,” Shuffield said. “She Ward said. “And [the doctor] looked at me with this look that learned a lot from her. I had her for BCIS, so I learned about was just so scary to me and he said, ‘You may not go back to the Internet and computer programs, and I also learned a lot had a way about her teaching and her way of presentation. It was such a sweetness and a unique way. She put a lot of school.’ And it just scared me to death. My heart just dropped from her Money Matters class, too.” In an attempt to help her finish out the year, many teachers herself in our department and as a leader.” right onto the floor.” the marquee | april 5, 2012
design | sydney sund
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in-depth 11
Affirmative Action
The fight over college admissions The policy of Affirmative Action has been used for decades in the United States to increase racial and gender diversity in schools and jobs. Now a Supreme Court case might do away with the policy forever.
the marquee | april 5, 2012
design | courtney clubb
12 in depth
Afffirmative Action policy to be reevaluated Upcoming Supreme Court decision could change way colleges do admission story | alex mcginnis
The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin has recently sparked nationwide controversy over race. The Hispanic neighborhood watchman who shot Martin allegedly acted in self-defense, but there is speculation about the shooting being a hate crime. From an academic perspective, a lawsuit involving the University of Texas at Austin has also raised questions about race and the effectiveness of Affirmative Action in the college admission process. Former applicant Abigail Fisher was rejected from UT Austin in 2008 and filed suit against the university, saying that the policy violated her civil and constitutional rights. Though Affirmative Action is by definition an encouragement of representation of minorities and women, claims that the system may not be ethical have been brought to the forefront. Fisher’s argument touches on the idea of reverse discrimination. According to the UT Austin website, the freshman class is 48% white, 21% Hispanic and 5% African American. School counselor Denine Hammonds said that the system of Affirmative Action has to be looked at from when it was enacted in order to evaluate its effectiveness today. “It goes back to why it was established in the first place, you had people denied several things based on the color of their skin,” Hammonds said. “Part of the decision to come up
with Affirmative Action had to do with making right what “Whether it is ethical to have something be a deciding was wrong, and making sure that it is fair and that they are not factor for college admission should depend on the student’s denied or turned away because of their race or background.” ability to control that certain thing,” Reiner said. “You can Hammonds also said that Fisher’s argument is debatable control your grades. It’s hard to control your skin color.” if she doesn’t have any factual evidence proving that she was Jason Cook, the Vice President for Marketing & rejected for being white, since there are so many other factors Communications at Texas A&M University, said that evaluated in the admission process. Affirmative Action is not applied to their admission “You can have students with the same grades, but when process. Cooke said that the university supports the system they (college admission counselors) go to interview you, they in the employment process but has found other means of may determine that a student who has a GPA less than yours diversifying the campus. is a better fit because of their personality,” Hammonds said. “We have many prospective student centers around the Senior Geoffrey Reiner, who is half Hispanic and will country,” Cooks said. “Aggies reach out to students from be attending Purdue University next year, said that the diverse backgrounds, and we have made tremendous strides only people who seem to oppose in enhancing diversity.” Affirmative Action are those who According to Cook, one in You can control your grades. haven’t met the standards necessary three students at A&M are of a to succeed. minority background. It’s hard to control your skin “If you think about it, people on Hammonds said that the color. top are usually content with being Supreme Court should evaluate Geoffrey Reiner, 12 on top and don’t care much about the facts from several universities the people trying to better themselves,” Reiner said. “The concerning what percentages of different ethnicities of people people who get passed up and fail are the people who yell out are being admitted and if they are admitted fairly. that there was some kind of foul play, because they are just “We all have our different little idiosyncrasies, so you not content with where they are.” have to be careful not to judge a person because of the color Colleges and universities are required consider a variety of of their skin,” Hammonds said. “That’s how Affirmative factors when making admission decisions, race at times being Action was started in the first place.” one of them. Reiner received scholarships despite “average” She also said that she is uncertain about what would grades to Purdue, but he said it was not openly specified if happen to the education system if Affirmative Action were his background helped him achieve those awards. Though eliminated. Affirmative Action may have helped Reiner, and he supports “You have to go back and look and see if there are still the intention of the system as a means to help minorities, he discrepancies,” Hammonds said. “If there is a very high said he does not think race should be evaluated during the percent that there are still inequities, then I think we need to admission process. keep it in place.”
Legal breakdown Timeline of the Supreme Court action regarding Affirmative Action policy compiled | marisa charpentier
1996
University of Texas at Austin was ordered to remove race from admission decisions.
2005
design/graphics | courtney clubb
2008
Race is added back into the admission process, along with factors such as test scores, extracurricular activities, talents, and recommendations.
Abigail Fisher sues the University of Texas at Austin, arguing she wasn’t admitted because she is white.
2012
Supreme Court agrees to hear the case in the fall of 2012, opening up the possibility for affirmative action to be ruled unconstitutional. april 5, 2012 | the marquee
in depth 13
What is Affirmative Action? compiled | marisa charpentier
Affirmative action is a policy that takes race, gender, religion and national origin into account when deciding employment and college admission. This policy was created to give underprivileged minority groups the opportunity to attend college, and it seeks to promote diversity throughout the workplace and universities. Affirmative action is based on one’s identity rather than abilities, but does not affect the Texas top 10 percent rule when determining college admission.
Race distribution in American colleges
1976 Black- 9%
Asian/Pacific- 2% Hispanic- 3% Race not reported- 3% White- 83%
The Marquee sought out academic statistics on two students. Both applied to the prestigious University of Texas at Austin Engineering school. The school accepted Malik, who identifies herself as Indian, and denied Horka. photos | jordan richards compiled | molly spain
Austin Horka Top 4% of the class Number of AP classes taken: 10 Number of AP tests to be taken this year: 5 Number of AP tests passed: 5 Honor societies participated in: National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Science Honor Society Extracurricular activities: Marcus Hockey for 4 years and JV captain in 11th grade, Habitat for Humanity Community Service: CCA SAT: 2050 ACT: Not taken
2009 Black- 14%
Asian/Pacific- 7% Hispanic- 12% Race not reported- 5% White- 62%
source: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98 the marquee | april 5, 2012
Sanchita Malik Top 18% of the class Number of AP classes taken: 10 Number of AP tests to be taken this year: 3 Number of AP tests passed: 3 Honor societies participated in: Mu Alpha Theta, Science Honor Society Extracurricular activities: Dance, asst. coach at Best Gymnastics, officer of Habitat for Humanity, Officer for Fashion Design Club, Robotics Community Service: helped with the Special Olympics, Teen Court and Habitat for Humanity events SAT: 2080 ACT: 29 design/graphics | courtney clubb
14
entertainment
Going home for the remedies Who needs expensive store-bought treatments for your everyday problems when you can find a cheaper alternative in your house? The Marquee gives you six suggestions. compiled | alex mcginnis
allergies
hair
sunburns
Studies have shown that buying honey made locally can reduce allergies. It is more likely that some of the local pollen that causes allergies will end up in the honey, which allows your body to build immunity to it. You can purchase local honey at Sprouts on 2499 and other whole food stores. Additionally, honey is also known to be a natural reliever of sore throats and colds.
The protein in beer adds an extra shine to hair while also repairing damaged ends. Other hair remedies such as adding a teaspoon of baking soda to shampoo removes dirt and grease, leaving your hair soft and shiny. Olive oil can also be used. Heating and applying it to your scalp for 30 minutes, results in a healthier scalp with less flakes.
acne
athlete’s foot
teeth whitening
According to recent research, you can clean your mouth and your feet with the same product. Mouthwash with alcohol has been shown to prevent athlete’s foot. Dabbing some mouthwash in between your toes and on the bottom of your feet with cotton balls can prevent fungal build up because of the high concentration of alcohol.
Fruits and vegetables undeniably benefit your body, including your teeth. Eating fruits that have textures like those of apples and pears can clean your teeth while you eat them. The natural scrubbing of the fruit on your teeth helps to clean while the malic acid in apples helps to remove stains.
You can mix a variety of natural ingredients to make one of the many facial scrubs out there. Using brown sugar and honey is as popular as an exfoliate combined with a cleanser. The salicylic acid in aspirin that is crushed and diluted in water is also commonly used as a scrub to treat acne.
design/graphics | maria heinonen
Aloe vera is a common home remedy for sunburns, but apparently mashed potatoes also come in handy for more than just Thanksgiving. You can blend small pieces of potatoes into a paste and then apply it to the burned areas. Leave the concoction on your sunburn, and rinse with a cool shower for soothing relief.
april 5, 2012 | the marquee
40 days and 40 nights
Lent is revered by Christians as the 40 day period Jesus spent in the desert. Lent ends on Easter Sunday, the day Chrisitans believe Jesus rose from the dead. During the period, most commit to fasting or giving up certain luxuries as a form of penance. Lent’s first day is known as Ash Wednesday, where ashes are put onto the foreheads of worshippers as a sign of mourning and repentance. “Lent is when you add or take away something that strengthens your relationship with the Lord,” said senior Tori Thurman. “When you give up something, it reminds you of what you’re doing it for, why you’re doing it, and who you’re doing it for.” compiled by | ryan mcdearmont
entertainment 15
M
PL YLIST R C H
compiled by | meghan eurich
Girl Named Toby “We Are” “Holding a Hear”
Azure Ray “Azure Ray” “Sleep”
Coldplay
I gave up pizza, pop and chicken wings. Just junk food in general, really. I hope that it’ll help me to be more healthy.
Brett Johnson, 11
Last week I gave up Italian food, this week I’m giving up social networks, and next week I’m giving up coffee. I think it’s worth it. I’m giving up things every week because it’s something we do at our church.
Tori Thurman, 12
“Yellow - Single” “Yellow” Death Cab for Cutie “Narrow Stairs” “Grapevine Fires”
Cold War Kids “Robbers & Cowards” “Hospital Beds”
Tarvis “Singles” “Sing”
John Mayer “Room for Squares” “Neon”
Chips and unhealthy stuff, and it’s really difficult. I get through it by remembering the cause.
Emma Blair, 10
I actually didn’t give anything up. I went to the gym every day to get in shape for summer, since I don’t play a sport.
Alexa Grover, 10
Iron and Wine “The Shepherd’s Dog” “Boy With a Coin”
KT Tunstall “Eye to the Telescope” “Another Place to Fall”
Regina Spector “Far” “Eet”
Soda and Gatorade, which we drink like water. I was able to do it because I ate more chips and salsa.
Brennan Laporte, 12
the marquee | april 5, 2012
I decided to give up all sweets. Mostly Girl Scout cookies, which I eat pretty often. It’s not easy, but I can do it by setting a goal for self-improvement.
Carmen Marxuach, 11
album covers from: itunes
design/graphics | preston smith
16 entertainment
Roanoke goes rad
The growing town of Roanoke is about a 25 minute drive from Flower Mound. Downtown reviews | emily aijkens is thriving with several unique eating establishments and hang outs.
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oanoke is home to the original Babe’s Babe’s. Located in a warehouse from 1908, the building is full of mismatched tables and chairs. When ordering, there are only two options -- fried chicken or chicken fried steak. Included sides are mashed potatoes, cream gravy, green salad, Grandma’s corn and homemade biscuits. While waiting on your meal, pick a song from the jukebox or enjoy the various memorabilia hung on the walls and ceiling. Whenever the Chicken Dance is played, all waitresses stop and join in, diners are encouraged to do the same. On Friday and
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Saturday nights expect a full house. While waiting to be seated enjoy the summer night, with the help of fans, in brightly colored chairs made of old tractor seats.
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or typical German Gerhards food, bratwurst, schnitzel and sauerkraut go to Gerhards. If you aren’t sure what to order and the German is overwhelming, try the sausage sampler. With the sausage sampler, diners choose four different brats to go along with saurkraut and a soft pretzel. Authentic schnitzel is always safe tasty option. For dessert, traditional Apple Strudel with ice cream is the way to go.
he Book Carriage is an independent The Book Carriage book store. Although much smaller than the Highland Village Barnes and Noble, it carries more charm. Downstairs the walls are lined with shelves of books. Inside is a full service coffee shop that sells pastries. They are most famous for their handcrafted lattes. Served in a ceramic cup and saucer, your barista may even use mocha a stage. Every Saturday night, patrons enjoy sauce to make a design in your latte’s foam. music played by local musicians. Above the coffee shop on the second level is
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ith a menu that includes items Twisted Root Burger such as the Bacon Bomb Burger, Chipotle Guacamole Burger, Frito Bandito, The Big German (aka The Dirk), this restaurant is full of unique combinations you can’t find anywhere else. All of the beef they sell comes from grass fed cows. For $8.99 order the Fried Ride, a basket full of fries, fried pickles, fried green beans, milkshakes, which are one hundred percent fried onion rings and sweet potato chips genuine, and made from cream, eggs, sugar that can easily feed four. Try one of their and natural flavors.
or a classic TexMi Familia Mex restaurant experience, visit Mi Familia. The bright orange building is hard to miss. Try a steaming hot plate of fajitas and guacamole, which is made from scratch beside your table. All traditional Tex-Mex dinner plates are available on their menu. For a light meal, try the tortilla soup. If customers are on a budget, try the combo meal. Pick three of twelve options for $9.49.
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owboy Chow, a sister restaurant Cowboy Chow to Twisted Root Burger. Their two most famous dishes are the Mash Tater Parfait with layers of brisket, mashed potatoes, cowboy caviar, cheddar and tortilla strips and the sevenhour baby-back ribs. Anything you order here is sure to be a stomachful. When ordering drinks, don’t forget to ask for their pure cane sugar Mexican enough, come by for brunch to try Breakfast Coke, root beer and Sprite. If you’re up early Tacos.
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rating guide design/graphics | maria heinonen
check please
average
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tasty
mouthwatering
masterpiece april 5, 2012 | the marquee
sports 17
photo | sarah sauer Senior Brian O’Connell suffered a brain injury last spring during a lacrosse game against Frisco. He has regained most of his memory but says he still struggles to remember his sophomore year at Marcus.
Recovering the past
Senior lacrosse player healing from multiple concussions story | andrea boyd
Lacrosse field breakdown
For the past eight years, senior Brian O’Connell has played the game he loves-lacrosse. But due to a series of injuries, he feared that he might have to leave his sport forever. During the ice storm in February, Brian slipped and fell hitting the side of his head on his car. He wasn’t worried about this fall and kept living like normal. But unknown to Brian and his parents, it is not just the severity of a head injury but the number of concussions a person suffers that can cause brain damage. On March 6, 2011, Brian was playing defense on the Flower Mound lacrosse team. During the first quarter he was struck with the ball behind his ear. He heard a loud pop. In
Right Defense Wing
Point
the marquee | april 5, 2012
Left Attack Wing Center
Cover Point Goalie
an instant, he fell to the ground while hearing a loud ringing in the ear that he hit during his previous fall. His parents were worried but hoped that it was just a minor hit. His mom Robin O’Connell was shocked at the unexpected hit as an onlooker. “For someone who was on the sidelines, it was a total freak accident,” Ms. O’Connell said. Running to the field, his dad, Sean O’Connell, asked him a series of questions checking his responses. “He was checked out by a trainer that was there and his vital signs were good,” Mr. O’Connell said. “But he had delayed responses to basic questions.” When Mrs. O’Connell tried to ask him how he was doing, Brian pushed her away. He
3rd Home 2nd Home
3rd Man Left Defense Wing
Right Attack Wing
1st Home
thought, at the time, his injury was not a big concern. “She called and she asked to talk to me and I was like ‘go away mom it’s not that big of deal,’” Brian said. Not fully knowing the severity of his son’s condition, Mr. O’Connell made his son sit out for the rest of the game. Later that night, Brian was taken to the hospital to check out the effects of his hit. Due to the severity, he spent a night in the E. R. at the Children’s Hospital at Legacy, had C.T. scans and had multiple specialist visits and therapy. The doctors said Brian suffered from a brain injury. “So this injury on its own probably wouldn’t have been this bad,” Mrs. O’Connell said. “But because he may have had a slight concussion to begin with, it made it even worse.” His biggest consequence was his memory loss, and his recovery process was slow and took patience. “He had to do a lot of brain rest which meant he slept a lot,” Mrs. O’Connell said. Brian, at times, would get frustrated due to his loss of memory.
“He would get angry because he just couldn’t remember things,” Mrs. O’Connell said. Being out for 12 weeks, Brian said school became really difficult. He had become light sensitive as well as noise sensitive. He was having massive headaches. There was a point when parents thought they would have to pull him out of school and put him in a new school, which could possibly help him with his progress. “We really became panicked not knowing if he was going to bounce back,” Mrs. O’Connell said. But Brian had help from the teachers and staff, making his return much easier. “Nurse Cathy (Saucedo) was great,” Mrs. O’Connell said. “She was a great ally to work with because she understood everything that was going on.” Due to Brian’s various absences he had to somehow make it up. “Now this year he is making up what he lost,” Mrs. O’Connell said. He said his teachers were very understanding of his condition. “I was in AP psychology and AP U.S. History and they were both super chill about it,” Brian said. With support from his family, friends, and school, Brian was on his way to recovery. “My friends were great,” Brian said. “Sometimes we would hang out on the weekends.’’ But after about 20 minutes, Brian would get head pains due to the various conversations, begin to feel sick and would ask to be taken home. Brian’s sister also kept him company, when he became lonely by talking to him and taking him to movies. He says she was a big help and he loved having her around. It turns out that Brian will not have to leave the game forever. Though his injury was serious, he was able to play in one of the biggest games of the year. He was allowed to play for six seconds just to say he participated in the State Championship game. Brian was instructed to run from the ball if it came to him, and he did just as he was told. He has begun to play lacrosse again on the Flower Mound community team and has learned to even joke about his injury. Brian hopes to pursue lacrosse in college and is proud of the scholarship he was offered to Southwestern University. “If accepted, I’ll be the first NCAA nominee from Marcus,” Brian said. He says he loves the game of lacrosse too much to give it all up. “It’s tough not to go back because it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played,” Brian said. design/graphics | preston smith
18
sports
One last blow of the whistle Former Marcus referee undergoes lung transplant, hoping to return to career story | vallery phillips
mucus and help heal the infections. “I felt miserable,” said Ty. “My breathing kept getting worse and worse.” On Aug. 21, 2010, Marcus referee Ty Ty began to take lung function tests. These Mitchell placed his name on the transplant tests accounted for the percentage of the lung list. After many years of difficulty breathing that was actually working. When he was he needed two new lungs. His wife Sheralyn diagnosed, he was at a high percentage. Each Mitchell waited patiently near the phone, year that percentage fell five to 10 percent. waiting for the doctors to call to hear that her “It was like breathing through a straw,” Ty husband is going to be all right. Exactly one said. “A very tiny straw.” month later, the Mitchells received a call. A normal walk to the mailbox felt to him They missed it. like walking up a steep hill. For about 10 years They waited for the next call. Every time the Mitchells discussed a transplant. They the phone rang, they hoped for new lungs on knew at some point it would have to happen, the other end. Ty’s daughter, junior Savanna but they were leaving the decision of when to Mitchell grew worried. put his name on the transplant list completely “I thought they skipped up to the doctor. It was like breathing through Ty knew that the us,” Savanna said. Ty now had to wait transplant lungs a straw, a very tiny straw. once again to receive new would not last lungs. The time he had to forever, he knew Ty Mitchell, former Marcus referee he had to keep wait was unknown. In 1998, Ty was his original lungs diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which is a for as long as possible. genetic disease that affects every system in “These lungs have a timeline,” Ty said. the body but the brain. The most common “They aren’t going to last me 50 years. They symptoms for this disease are problems with may only last 10.” the digestive tract and lung disease. For the past couple of years his lung As a child, Ty was misdiagnosed. When function ranged between 20 to 25 percent. Ty he was growing up he had problems with his and his doctor finally decided it was time to be digestive tract, but not his lungs. Consequently put on the list. By the time he signed up for a Ty was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which transplant, his lung function was down to 18 means he could not eat anything that contained percent. Even though the doctor said Ty should gluten. This caused him to suffer malnutrition receive a transplant soon, Sheralyn was still until he was 23, when he was correctly worried. Statistics say that there is only a 70 diagnosed with CF. Ty had just married his wife percent chance of survival after a transplant or Sheralyn. his body could reject the lungs. “It was a relief to finally find out what was “Seventy percent isn’t that great,” Sheralyn wrong with him,” Sheralyn said. said. “There are a lot of risks.” The newlyweds were just settling in when On a late November afternoon, Ty finally they found that Ty had CF. He was put on received a call he’d been waiting for. He enzymes which made him gain weight. He immediately left work for the hospital. After soon started to feel better. Though he found taking lots of blood and double checking relief, worries suddenly arose. The average life everything, they gave Tythe all clear and expectancy during that time for people with CF wheeled him into surgery. was 15 to 20 years. Ty was 23. He was receiving a new pair of lungs. “I now realized he has this disease that is life “I used to question whether he would be threatening,” Sheralyn said. there at my wedding or if my kids were going to Ty said he always thought he was going to be able to know their grandpa,” Savanna said. live a long life. The thought of dying tomorrow “Then when he went into get his transplant, I or next week was never a concern. When he thought maybe they will.” turned 30, the Mitchells moved to Texas in Patiently waiting, Sheralyn and Savanna 1998. sat together at the hospital. Watching a TV This was when the lung problems began to screen that explained Ty’s surgical process surface. helped Savanna stay calm. After about 1 a.m. As mucus built up in his lungs it became Savanna fell fast asleep on the pull out chair in harder to breathe. Almost every three weeks the waiting room. Sheralyn could not sleep. The he was taken to the hospital to help cure the thought of her husband being in surgery kept infection taking over his lungs. There is no cure her awake, she said. Finally after six hours at 4 for CF, but Ty takes antibiotics to help thin the a.m. he was done. The doctors put him in ICU, design | sydney sund
where he stayed for four days. Fully sedated Ty did not come to until the morning after the surgery. “I was completely helpless,” Ty said. For the next 24 hours after the surgery he was supplied a breathing tube to help his new lungs. Once the tube was taken out, he was able to breathe on his own without any problems. In his chest were four tubes that helped the lungs as well. On Monday the doctors moved him into a regular hospital room. With four tubes in his chest, an IV and new lungs, Ty struggled walking. “I had no idea how painful this would be, or how long the pain would last,” Ty said. After two weeks of being in the hospital Ty was finally released to go home. The tubes were taken out and he was free to live his life again, though he did not completely go back to normal. He was not allowed to return to work for three months after the surgery, and he could not do anything on his own. He became completely dependent on his children and wife. “My wife and kids are my biggest support system,” Ty said. Not even a month after his surgery, he had to return to the hospital. On Thanksgiving Day Ty was taken to the hospital because of nausea. The medication he was taking began to make him sick. Then a month later he was taken again because of pain. “It was really touch and go, he would be sick
one day and fine the next,” Sheralyn said. Though the road has not been easy, Ty hopes to return to refereeing this fall. He loves the game of football, Sheralyn said. Though he has not worked his regular referee schedule since ‘09, Ty hopes to regain everything he lost when his lungs began to worsen. “I knew everything would work out,” Sheralyn said.
photos | submitted Top: Ty Mitchell sits in the referee locker room at Cowboy Stadium during a playoff game in November 2009. Bottom: Junior Savanna Mitchell and her father, Ty Mitchell, wait at the hospital before his surgery in November 2011. Ty was undergoing a double lung transplant. april 5, 2012 | the marquee
The
SPORTS UPDATE
sports 19 The Marquee brings you brief, up to date info about Marauder athletic teams.
Ultimate hopes to Baseball team in make state repeat district play
photo | amanda collen Junior Max McNiel leaps for the disk during a tournament in Oak Point at the Prestonwood Polo Club. The team is currently 7-1.
story | meghan eurich
story | meghan eurich
The ultimate frisbee team is vying to keep their title of state champions that they earned last year. “We have great veteran leadership on our team this year. We are a smart team who can run a lot of defenses and offenses,” ultimate frisbee Coach Rob Doyle said. “The team has amazing flow as a team from building friendships over the years,” senior Captain Doug Fenderson said. The team has been practicing year round, and with their season record of 7-1, has already secured their spot in the State Tournament. They are expected to finish in the top four in the semi-finals. “Our biggest weakness is that we might not be as athletic and big as some of the teams that we are going up against,” Doyle said. For the state championship, the biggest rival is McCallum High School in Austin. The Marauders lost to McCallum in a very close game last fall. “I think that we are playing really good ultimate frisbee right now and my team has exceeded my expectations,” Doyle said. “I think that if we can avoid injuries, and if we continue to progress in the next month then we could potentially repeat as state champions.” The state championship will be held May 5 and 6 just north of Austin in Round Rock, TX.
The baseball team started off the season strong with an overall record of 14-6 at presstime, ranking fifth in district 8-5A. When compared to last year’s season, this season is completely “night and day,” according to Head Coach Dustin Sycora. Last year, Sykora was the team’s third head coach in the past four years. “It’s been very tough on them because it has been consistently changing on them all the time,” Sykora said. According to Sykora, this year, the team has great senior leadership and work ethic, and an overall better attitude. “I feel that we talk to each other more than we did last year and we are more of a family now,” senior left hand pitcher Colin Poche said. “We had the tragedy of losing one of our former teammates, and that really brought everyone closer as a whole.” Despite the struggles, the team has been able to pull through and maintain a close bond. “Our definite strengths are our pitching staff,” Sykora said. “We have also been playing pretty good defense.” As of now, the team is 4-3 in district play. “We struggle sometimes making the routine plays,” Poche said. We have had a couple of errors that have changed the outcomes of some of our games. We just have to work hard to make all of the easy plays.”
Lady Marauders aiming for playoffs story | sydney sund
It’s the ninth inning and the Lady Maruaders are ahead, 7-6 against Hebron. The cheers of an overly-peppy mother can be heard in the crowd. The team is quiet, anxiously watching the game. Head Coach Christy Tumilty stands in the red dirt by the dugout, amidst the many imprints of her shoes. Her arms are crossed and she is staring at the scoreboard, analyzing the game. She watches as sophomore pitcher Madison Greenwell hurls the ball towards home plate. Tumilty’s face remains emotionless as the Hebron batter sends the ball flying over the fence. A white and blue jersey crosses home plate. Tumilty’s pacing must continue for another inning. *** Last year, varsity placed second in district as well as making it all the way to the state qualifying rounds. They ended their season one win away from state playoffs. After losing seven seniors, this year’s varsity team is mostly made up of underclassmen. “We have combined half of last year’s JV with the remainder of varsity,” sophomore Whitney Wolkow said. The team has also lost several players to injuries. Wolkow was benched for a month’s worth of games due to a bruised bone in her elbow and multiple hairline fractures in her ribs. Another sophomore broke her back in pre-season accident and hasn’t been able to participate in any games or practices. Despite the challenges of new team dynamics and overcoming injuries, the coaches and players have high expectations for the the marquee | april 5, 2012
new season. “We’re looking forward to being successful and getting the opportunity to play our hardest at every game,” senior Captain Kendall Bagley said. Tumilty said she hopes to reach at least second place or higher in the district championship, as well as making it to the state playoffs again this year.
photo | amanda collen The softball team gathers together between innings in their game against Lewisville on March 23. The Lady Marauders have a district record of 3-5 at presstime.
“There’s a lot of new [players], but we still expect [the teams] to place in the top spots of districts so we can make it to playoffs,” Tumilty said. In preparation for the new season, the girls have trained nonstop. Even outside of school, the players work hard on softball in their free time. Both Bagley and Wolkow have weekly trips to the hitting cages and regular batting lessons. In general, the girls spend 10 to 12 hours a week on softball including after school practices and weekend tournaments. Despite all the challenges the new season brings, all the girls say that they are determined to make it to state. “We have a great team with three strong pitchers and a strong offense at the plate. As long as we hit well and our defense is strong, I think we will make it to state this year,” Wolkow said. *** It’s the end of the 10th inning and the scoreboard clock begins to counts down, three, two, one, and then zero. The Hebron girls being to scream and cheer, and attack their coaches with hugs and high-fives. From across the field, the Marauders clutch the chain-link dugout fence, staring and glaring with sad eyes at the opposing team. They stand in silence, until the tears start rolling. One sobs because of her poor performance, convinced she was the reason they lost. The cheers of the winning team begin to die down, and the Marauders start hauling their gear back to the bus. Tumilty glances one last time at the score with reserved silence. Their tournament would end early this weekend. design | sydney sund
opinion
BOOMBAS [things we like]
20
Respect my authoritah
Taking a stand
In Memoriam
Teams on top
Bullying is a problem in every school. But the “antibullying” posters Marcus students put in elementary schools serve as inspiration for younger kids. It’s great that students are promoting a good cause.
Though the school has suffered through some tough times with the passing of students and alumni, it’s comforting to know that the school can come together to suppport one another.
Basketball has receieved a lot of deserved attention, but other teams should be congratulated as well. Bowling, DECA, swim, ACDEC and wrestling are entitled to their own recognition.
Juliana Adame
Odd and quirky, but lovable I’m a bit of a strange cookie. According to my Facebook, I am currently employed by Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Scranton branch of course, and I studied musical theatre at Hogwarts. Some of my closest friends are the ink and paper creations of J.K. Rowling, who can’t talk back to me if I disagree with their decision making. My idea of an all-nighter generally involves creating dream houses for my Sims to the ambience of whatever I’m watching on Netflix. Needless to say, I’m basically the world’s most offbeat teenage girl. At a very young age, I vowed to never settle for ordinary. In fact, I wanted to be anything but ordinary, which may or may not have something to do with my pre-teen obsession with Avril Lavigne, but that’s beside the point. Many may dismiss me as just another anti-social, nerdy, hipster wannabe, and I can’t say I blame them. But it’s not like I go around purposely waving my freak flag in people’s faces. I generally keep my social commentary to myself. For example, I like to drive around singing along to the “Weeds” theme song. For those unfamiliar with that little diddy, it depicts a picturesque society where everything is pretty, perfect, and uniform. With that being said, come fall, I’ll be leaving the sweaty glass of social stigma for good. It seems that I’m just a smidge too contrary for some. I vividly remember doing a college project during my sophomore English class. We were being taught how to use an online college search engine and told that we could research whichever colleges we liked. Obviously, I missed something. My friend Zach and I were comparing different college theatre programs when I heard a gasp from behind me. By the pitch of this sudden sharp intake of oxygen, I thought someone’s grandmother had just been round-kicked. Instead, I turned to find the teacher who had been monitoring us gaping at my computer. “You’re not applying to any schools in Texas?” she asked, completely flabbergasted. “Um… I wasn’t planning on it… maybe UT?” I replied, my heart rate steadily returning to normal. “Hm. Okay,” she said in a tone that suggested that she knew better. I purposely perused New York’s finest liberal arts colleges for the rest of the period. In the end, I did end up applying to UT. About a month or so later, I got rejected. Meanwhile, I’ve been accepted to both of the New York schools to which I had applied, not to mention, been chosen for audition for the University of Michigan’s theatre department after my video submission. In about six months or so, I’ll be taking a stroll through Central Park, while a sizable chunk of my peers remain, forever bound to small town/suburban Texas. Haters gonna hate. I’m not saying that my lifestyle of choice is for everyone, but it’s the one that works for me. My future self looks a lot like Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon, give or take a few additional feline friends. It’s true I won’t grow up to be a doctor, a lawyer or a business executive, but I think that perhaps Kristen Wiig could use an apprentice… So, I will leave you with the wise words of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore: nitwit, oddment, blubber, tweak, thank you. design | joe rau
Tall, dark and handsome
Joseph Rau
Hypothetically Flawless
When I have kids, they better be extremely intelligent and athletic. I refuse to pay for their college educations. Here’s my plan: At the age of one, Princeton, who will be born a boy not out of pure luck but because I insist upon it, will begin intensive SAT prep while simultaneously learning to walk, talk, drink from a sippy cup, and defecate in a toilet. Scratch that, 1 is way too old to learn all that. I better start at three months. At the same time, I will introduce him to a variety of sports, to gauge which sport he will excel in the most. Instead of play dates with his peers, Princeton will learn to converse with my friends, learn the art of a firm handshake, as well as to fully develop a stance on all the pressing political issues. Parenting is all about being strict. Parents who give their children any morsel of freedom soon understand the mistake they have made when they catch their children binge drinking, on chocolate milk, since you know high schoolers don’t drink alcohol. Ultimately, Princeton will make it into the one of the most prestigious preschools in the country, as a stepping stone to gain admittance into an Ivy League.
?
In high school, I will show Princeton the way of the GPA game he needs to know to become number one academically, and win the senior superlative for most humorous boy. Princeton will take as many AP courses as possible, and if he receives anything less than a 5 on the test, his nearly nonexistent social life will be completely eradicated. The truth is, Princeton won’t need a social life because people will naturally be swooning over his good looks and charming humor. By the time Princeton has to plan which university he would like to attend, he will have many options, due to his valedictorian status and coupled with his recognition as a tennis prodigy. Personal liberties such as dessert and birthday parties should be earned, not expected. At the Ivy League chosen for him by me, Princeton will expend every waking second to his studies and all his other moments to practicing with his team. There will be no time to enjoy a typical “Thirsty Thursday” college life. My hopes are that my tiger parent antics will be imprinted on his brain. By the time he is ready to procreate, and we will continue the cycle of perfection. Ideally, Princeton will be able to provide for me when I retire at the age of 50. And when I say ideally, I know it will of course go according to plan, starting with the fact that he will have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a nearly fatless body, modeled directly after his father. He will be the culmination of a super nerd with a super stud. Princeton will pay me back for the hundreds of thousands of dollars that I invested into his studies and sport, not to mention the tons of five-star meals that I provided for him. When he thinks he’s finally gained financial freedom, I’ll slap him with the bill for 18 years of living expenses. Overall, producing the perfect child is quite simple. The degree of perfection of any certain child is directly correlated to the deprivation of a social life as well as the over attention to that child’s academics and sports. Any freedom or trust given to the child simply leads to a complete failure. Well, now that I think about it, this whole having kids thing sounds like a hassle. I think I’m just going to get a dog.
How do you
state cutting
AP funding
compiled | meghan eurich photos | vallery phillips
“I understand why they are making the cuts. People usually don’t care about the amount. They just want to get the college credit out of the way.”
Dylan Cooney, 9
“I think it is bad because it costs too much money for the AP students.”
Patrick Mixon, 10 april 5, 2012 | the marquee
HEYS [things we don’t like]
opinion Cutting the fun If we have to take time out of class to practice TAKS questions, it would be a lot more fun if there was some background music on the TV like in previous years. Make TAKS practice more interesting for the students.
Mr. Marcus diversity
Turn down the tunes
At Marcus, 21 percent of males are minorities. It would be nice next year to adequately represent our student body in the pageant with at least one or two of the eleven participants being of a different race.
When students have music cranked up, it bothers people around them. Turn it down and be courteous to peers and teachers. Also, turning down the volume reduces the risk of bursting an eardrum.
The fortune cookie
Road Rage
Meghan Eurich
Friendship found in felines
I don’t understand people who don’t like cats. How can someone blatantly come out and say that they despise such a sophisticated, intelligent and innocent animal? I have found that most of the time, the people who hate cats so much have never actually owned one. Sure they are not “man’s best friends”, and they won’t continually chase after a ball for hours and hours, but do cat haters really think that a pet needs these qualifications in order to be capable of your affection? I, and the rest of the self-described cat enthusiasts out there, think not. There are two types of cat lovers in the world. The first are the few who actually have cats. The other are the people who sport t-shirts from Forever 21 with the cats wearing grandpa glasses and bow ties. They are the ones with the Pinterest boards dedicated to their cat obsession, but sadly they do not actually own one. While the latter type of cat lovers are common, I think that in order to truly appreciate cats, you have to experience the joy they bring first hand. His name was Pumpkin and I can truly say that he was the best cat I ever had. Pumpkin fit his name well. He had fiery
orange hair and when curling his massive twenty-pound body into a tight ball, he truly resembled the Halloween decoration after which my 7-year-old self named him. Not only was Pumpkin the first pet that I was ever responsible for, but he was my friend. He didn’t mind being used as my pillow, and on restless nights, his constant heart-beat-like purr instantly allowed me to drift off to sleep. Pumpkin died unexpectedly when I was fourteen, on Dec. 7 from cancer in his intestines. He was only 6. I don’t think there is anything harder than saying goodbye to a pet, because after being in your life for so long, they seem so much more than just an animal. I can still remember how he would sit in my bathroom sink every morning before school and watched me while I put on my makeup. Or the time I got so mad at him when he fell asleep on my Barbie Dream House, and it broke due to stress from his weight. My mom and I waited a whole year after he died until finally deciding to bring a new cat into our home. While flipping through the classified ads in the local paper, we saw an advertisement from a woman looking to give away her kittens. My mom immediately called the woman to see if we could come see them, and once she gave us the OK, we were on our way. After driving on country road to what felt like the middle of nowhere, we pulled up to a great big white house. We walked through the tall wooden front doors then we were led to the laundry room of the house. There he was. A little six-weekold orange fluff-ball snuggled next to seven other kittens in the middle of a purple wicker basket. He was perfect. We named him Toby. I feel like Pumpkin’s spirit came back to me in Toby. They look just the same, act just the same and both have a strange love for purple grapes and cantaloupe. Though no one can replace Pumpkin, Toby comes pretty close. I guess you could say that I have a special place for cats in my heart. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that 60 percent of Americans are dog lovers, but unless you have a legitimate reason for hating cats, don’t tell me. Because I love mine too much to be swayed by your misinformed opinions.
MARQUEE REMARKS “I think it is unfair to (the AP students) because they are the ones who work the hardest in the school, yet they are the ones who are being punished.”
“I disagree with it. I find it sad that the Texas government is making the economy a higher priority than education, which is the future of the economy.”
“I feel very strongly that they never should have done that. They don’t want to invest in our best kids’ futures and it’s a disappointment.”
Kaitlyn Abraham, 11
Morgan Edgerton, 12
Jennifer Forthun, English
the marquee | april 5, 2012
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Marisa Charpentier
Eyes open to materialism
When I envision an ideal life, the word simplistic comes to mind. While some may imagine fancy cars and endless cash, I can’t help but picture an existence where I’m not attached to any one material object. A life where cell phones and designer clothes don’t matter. A life where merely living is enough. Being young was easy. I didn’t know any better than to think that toys and television were normal, or even essential, parts of life. What’s always confused me, though, is how we came to want so many things. For me, I guess it began the Christmas my older sister Alexa got a life-size Barbie doll, and I did not. Silly, I know, but to a 4-year-old, it was a pretty big deal. Clad in my white tights and holiday dress, I strolled through my grandparent’s family room. Presents were strewn across the floor, gift wrapped with red and green bows and signed to each of the grandchildren. I was not interested in those gifts. Something else had caught my eye. Standing against the wall stood a doll about the same height as myself, adorned with flowing blonde hair and a wide smile. Instantly, I wanted her to be mine. I soon found out, however, that the doll did not belong to me but Alexa instead. Teardrops slid down my cheeks, and I purposely frowned at the camera as my mom tried to take a picture of my sister and me together. After growing out of the “doll phase,” I began to want bigger things. A camera, a laptop, a cell phone, fancier clothes. I don’t recall outwardly expressing these wants to my parents, but after viewing endless amounts of commercials on television and seeing others flash around their new cell phones, I couldn’t help but yearn for what others had and I did not. What scares me, though, is that I know I wasn’t the only one. Today, we see shows on television displaying children begging their parents for the newest toy craze. Walking through the halls of our school, I see teenagers obsessing over the brand of clothes they’re wearing or what type of car they drive. Sometimes I feel like we’re living in a real life “Suburgatory.” Does it truly matter what kind of expensive Miss Me jeans we’re sporting or the type of designer boots we walk the halls in? I know I’ve cared about these things before, but after taking a second to look around at the materialistic lives we’re living in, I’ve realized material objects are not what’s important. In a world where having the most advanced technology and in-style clothes seems to be the main focus of our thoughts, it’s hard to imagine a material-free world ever existed, let alone will come again. I’m not saying we should drop everything and go join an Amish village, but maybe if we just turn off the TV and shut our laptops for a few hours a day, we wouldn’t be so consumed by the material objects that seem to control our lives. So, I guess if the world can’t go back to a time where a simple, unmaterialistic life was possible, we must come to a compromise. We spend so much time focusing on the stuff we want. If all this time and energy was put towards the people around us instead, who knows what we could accomplish? A new pair of shoes may bring joy for only an hour, but people and the relationships we build will last a lifetime. So, maybe it’s not so important that the Barbie doll you wanted when you were 4 made an appearance in your life, but that your little sister came along instead. design | joe rau
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editorials
Students should not have pay full cost for AP exams potential college credit for students. The opportunity of AP exams symbolizes the goal of education. The exams demand students to work and study more, which in turn, rewards the school. Cutting state subsidies of AP exams contradicts the goal of education. Budget cuts are understandable due to the condition of the economy. However, it is possible to make budget cuts in other areas. Budget cuts can be made in areas such as unnecessary technology for the school. In a
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by the state for their excellence in academics with a $90 charge. It discourages kids from trying to enrich their academic careers. It is the responsibility of the school to challenge students academically and push students to strive to higher academic levels in classrooms to churn out distinguished scholars that represent the school well. The higher prices of AP exams will inevitably lead to students taking fewer tests. The AP classes and exams represent more than just
time where parents are pinching pennies in preparation for rising college tuition, they shouldn’t have to pay for expensive exams in high school. It is not fair to take away $30 from each AP student in districts who continually score passing grades of a 3, 4 or 5 on exams. Contact a local representative or the TEA and let the opinions of students and schools be heard. It should not be this expensive for students to further their education.
What’s next on the chopping block?
AP
State spending on students in Texas public schools has dropped sharply from previous years. Texas spends about $3,000 less than the national average on each student. Additionally, the state legislature cut funding for schools by $5.4 billion for the 2012-13 school year. Due to recent budget cuts, state funding for Advanced Placement exams was eliminated, whereas before, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) provided a $30 subsidy for each student per AP exam. Now, Texas students must pay the full College Board cost of $87 per exam. AP exams are a major college accelerant for high school students, and funding for exams should be restored. Some students take between two and five tests in one school year, and a lot of seniors take even more, so paying the full price is an immediate financial burden. Though the TEA still provides the $30 subsidy to students on the free or reduced lunch programs, some students are paying up to $435 or more to take these tests. While this is great for students in need, the rest of the student body who does not qualify for these reductions are expected to pay for this high cost. AP classes and AP exams set a higher academic standard for students and promote hard work. Students in AP classes are sometimes working double the challenge, double the homework and dealing with double the stress. They shouldn’t have to pay $87 to take a test that they spend hours upon hours studying for and months preparing. Their hard work should be rewarded with a $30 subsidy. Students should not be punished
The State
Non- AP Students SS
Affirmative action has negative effect on admissions Affirmative action has been brought into the spotlight after Abigail Fisher, a white senior at Louisiana State University, sued the University of Texas Austin saying she had been discriminated against during the admission process. In Texas, if a student graduates in the top 8 percent of their class, they receive automatic admission into UT and any other Texas public school. This process accounts for 75 percent of admitted freshmen into UT, and does not discriminate against race. Howevever, it is the other 25 percent of students getting admitted into UT that is the cause of debate. Students are accepted based on GPA, difficulty of classes, extracurricular activities, and race. UT follows a policy of affirmative action, a system where ethnic minorities are given preference in admissions. Although affirmative action was originally introduced as a positive action to increase the representation of races that are discriminated against, today its use is questionable. Affirmative action should not be used in college admissions because it keeps more qualified students from design | joe rau
being accepted. Affirmative action sometimes causes students with better resumes not to get in. For example, white and Asian students are kept out of many schools because they make up the majority of college applicants. To keep the campus racially diverse, students who may not do as well academically in high school are being accepted over the students who had better qualifications. Students that have worked hard to get accepted into prestigious schools are not being accepted. Students who are only one-half or one-fourth of a minority are getting special privilege over majority race students. To truly get a diverse campus, schools should look at a complete person. In poor and developing neighborhoods people of all races are struggling. Students of all races, who attend less privileged and underfunded schools, have to struggle to compete with schools who offer better learning programs. Teenagers across America struggle with family hardships. These obstacles affect all races. Where a person has come
from, obstacles that someone has overcome, these are factors that truly shape a person. Colleges should strive for a diversity of backgrounds, not just a diversity of race. There is no doubt that having a diverse campus benefits the college experience. Having people with different backgrounds and life experiences mimics life in the real world, but it seems college acceptance is now focused too much on skin color. To get further in a career someone has to prove that they are capable and hardworking. Receiving special treatment merely because of one’s race does not mimic the real world. A truly diverse campus is one where people who have had different experiences and new outlooks can come together and learn from each other. If two students with the exact same application apply to a college or university, then yes, it is understandable to favor the minority. However, schools should not consider race as a main factor. We will have true equality only when we have equal standards. april 5, 2012 | the marquee
sponsors 23
Don’t forget to order the 2012 Marcus High School Yearbook!! $80 The price wil increase later in the year.
the marquee | april 5, 2012
Order now at Balfour.com. Select yearbook and Marcus High School.
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spotlight
Heroic feets
Marquette dance team puts on annual spring show with theme of “Heroes”
Top Right: Various Marquettes strike a pose in a hiphop number in the Marquette Spring Show. This dance recognized everyday heroes in the community, such as firemen. Middle Right: Juniors Aloria Prince and Kiara Mitchell begin Captain Robin Richardson’s officer dance. Her performance highlighted the ups and downs in life. Top Right: Senior Lieutenant Katelyn Warner leaps in her final solo performance in the Marquette Spring Show.
Bottom Right: Various team members participate in junior Rebecca Reed’s officer dance. The Spring Show was held at the Larry Sigler Auditorium.
Bottom Left: The JV dance team, the Silver Stars, danced in the Marquette Spring Show on Feb. 29. The Silver Stars were featured four times in the show.
Middle: Senior Nikki Diez and Robin Richardson kneel in the Senior Dance of the show. This was the concluding number in the Marquette Spring Show.
design | maria heinonen
april 5, 2012 | the marquee