February 2012- You snooze, you lose

the

mar uee

volume 26 | issue 05 | february 24, 2012

(3) Posts on Facebook and Twitter are being watched by colleges

(7) Junior to vye for Miss Teen Texas pageant title (17) Senior loses grasp of future football plans after shoulder injury

You snooze, you lose 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

asst. in-depth editor emily aijkens

entertainment editor juliana adame

sports editor jasmine sachar

news/

photo | amanda collen cover photo | kathryn petrauskas

[4] CYBER TEXTBOOKS AP World History students are first to try new line of electronic textbooks. by meghan eurich

feature/ [8] HERE LIES THE CITY Long time student band has history of playing at big time venues like the House of Blues and Six Flags. by emily aijkens

entertainment/

[14] BEHIND THE MENU The Marquee uncovers several “secret” items on menus of popular restaurants. by ryan mcdearmont

sports/ [19] AIMING FOR VICTORY Sophomore competes on professional paintball team. by molly spain

opinion editor molly spain

business manager joseph rau

reporters emily aijkens, andrea boyd, kady kohankie, meghan eurich, marisa charpentier, juliana adame, mckenna autem, 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

Your Facebook is showing Survey shows majority of colleges check and evaluate students’ social media profiles during undergraduate admissions process story | jasmine sachar

in the spring. In the background of the shot was a pyramid of beer cans, though she didn’t have any in her possession.

“I truly believe she wasn’t there to make any bad What teens share on Facebook and Twitter profiles might be being checked out by more than friends. A recent survey choices,” Richie said. “She had great grades. She was not

by Kaplan Test Prep found that over 80 percent of colleges a drinker, she was not a partyer. She wasn’t actively doing and universities consider an applicant’s social media profiles anything.”

Many colleges have people hired to monitor applicants’ when evaluating applications and recruiting freshmen.

The statistic is up 60 percent from a similar Kaplan and accepted students’ profiles, Richie said.

“I don’t know that they go into great detail,” Richie said. survey performed in 2008. Head counselor Cheryl Richie said the phenomenon is not new, and that she first heard “I’m guessing that they just put the name out there, and if anything comes up they flag it. They can’t catch everything, about it when Myspace was the most popular social site.

“Colleges...worry about their reputation,” Richie said. but they can catch a lot.”

Director of Admissions at Baylor, Jessica King-Gereghty “They want a lot of kids to go to their school. If they have a reputation as the party school...many parents won’t want said that now Baylor has too many applications, and not their child to go to that school. They do everything they can enough time to check students’ profiles. She said that medium and smaller sized schools to lessen that problem.”

The study surveyed 500 top I would want to know that their Facebook do peek at profiles, but that Baylor universities listed in the U.S. was consistent with the values that we’re prefers to look more at a student’s academic background as presented and World Report ranking looking for in our students. in the application. system. One of the biggest “I think (smaller schools) problems colleges are having, Jessica King-Gereghty, Baylor Admissions are doing it to learn more about Richie said, is the abundance students individually, and maybe of underage college drinking that would be the case here but and rowdy parties. Therefore, she said colleges should be able to look at social media we receive over 40,000 applications every year for our freshman class, so quite frankly we don’t have the time to profiles.

“Anything (colleges) can do to lessen that or weed those dig into that for every student,” Gereghty said.

Still, Gereghty said that if questionable information about kids out that are publicly sharing that information, I think an applicant was brought to the attention of an admission’s they have to,” Richie said.

One fifth of all Facebook users are high school students. officer, Baylor would investigate the student’s social profile.

“I would want to know that their Facebook was consistent Senior Christine Stray has a Facebook and Twitter profile with the values that we’re looking for in our students,” and said she tries to keep them both clean.

“I made a point to not cuss, and not be in pictures Gereghty said.

Senior Emily Dombrowski is applying to several small with anything (bad),” Stray said. “As for my Twitter, it’s more personal. I state my opinion about things. I’ll cuss selective schools like Brown, Dartmouth and Georgetown. sometimes, or tell everybody I’m in detention. I think its She said she doesn’t post on Facebook often, but that there is a lot of information that can be learned about a teenager more of a personal level than Facebook.”

Her peers’ posts, she said, are much worse, and consist from social media.

“They can figure out what kind of person you are, of pictures of partying, drinking and other illegal activities.

“They’ll publicly talk about pornography and sex right what your interests are, who you’re friends with and what on Facebook, where their grandparents can see it,” Stray they do,” Dombrowski said. “They can gauge what your reputation is based on what you’re posting.” said.

During each of her class meetings, Richie tells her This kind of behavior can have serious consequences for high school seniors applying to college. About nine years freshmen students to clean up their profile. She also advises ago, one of Richie’s students lost her full-ride scholarship to students to delete friends who post suggestive things on Baylor Baptist University along with her acceptance over a their profile page.

“Your Facebook page needs to be one of character,” picture posted on her Myspace.

The senior took a picture with her best friend at a party Richie said.

the marquee | february 24, 2012

@ThinkBeforeYouPost @ThinkBeforeYouPost 1289

28

539

Profanity

Profanity

Any language that is obscene and Anything that is obscene distasteful will be frowned upon by distasteful willandbe frowned upon by admissions officers and employers.and Use grandmother language. admissions officers employers.

Use grandmother language.

Party pictures

Party Pics

The notorious red cup might hide theare you alcohol, college Who fooling withbut that red cup? You’readmissions not drinking apple officers are good atsmart. making educated juice, and admissions officers are Avoid being pictured guesses.

Avoid being pictured withon with questionable bottles and containers, and avoid dancing any questionable containers, or in any top of tables. suggestive poses.

Avoid offensive groups Offensive groups

On Facebook, the pages that you “like” of are usually public, so On Facebook, thejoin pages that “like” watch what you click. Don’t “Slap a Slut day”you or “I love getting are usually public.

So watch what you stoned.” click. Don’t join pages that could be deemed offensive and reflect your character in a negative way.

design | preston smith

4

news

Leaving the print behind photos | jordan richards

LISD plans to discontinue paper textbooks, eventually move to electronic learning tools

B

story | meghan eurich

y the time midterms roll around this semester in a few weeks, the average AP World History classroom will be changed forever.

At the beginning of the second nine weeks, the school district will be replacing all of the AP World textbooks with brand new, glossy iPads. AP World History students will not have to worry about an overload of heavy textbooks or filling out textbook damage reports.

“The idea is that the district as a whole will be moving to electronic textbooks as opposed to paper textbooks,” AP World History teacher Danelda Crouse said. “And we are the guinea pigs.”

AP World History students will be the first to test the new concept this semester. According to Crouse, since there are only around 1,000 students in the AP World History program district wide, the school board feels that the small group of students will be able to test the program effectively, and report on any negative aspects.

Printed textbooks are adopted, or purchased, every seven to 10 years. Due to the continuous changes in history, it has been particularly hard in the past to keep all social studies textbooks up to date, Crouse said.

In addition, the College Board has recently redesigned the entire AP World History course this year. Instead of creating a new textbook, the district decided to begin the shift from paper textbooks to an online version.

The state wants to be able to update courses as needed, instead of having teachers teach out of outdated textbooks.

The iPads will allow this.

According to the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for LISD, Laurie Rapp, the iPad will be a great addition to the high school classroom.

“The district can adopt a wide variety of materials, such as electronic [resources],” Rapp said. “This is our first opportunity… to instead of adopting a printed book, to adopt an electronic textbook.” design | courtney clubb

Students will be able to bring the iPads to and from school everyday while in class. The iPads will connect to the school’s WiFi system when in use and will allow students to utilize the schools “Bring Your Own Technology” program, or BYOT. “[The school board] likes the fact that because we have BYOT, students can utilize their own devices too,” Rapp said.

“We don’t have to wait for the school district to buy iPads for everybody. If you have your own, hopefully in a couple of years, you will be able to download your own content to them.”

With the school issuing technology to the students, it will level the field so that everyone will be able to participate in all technological activities.

“One of the problems right now with technology is that not everybody has it,” Crouse said. “By issuing every student an iPad …there will be no question about having to share. This will be a help to make sure that everyone has technology.”

By introducing electronic textbooks, with a constantly updated database, they will be the primary learning tool in classrooms.

“Our thought is that in the next 10 years, you will see [paper] textbooks go by the wayside,” Rapp said.

The decision as to which types of textbooks, such as iPads, Nooks or Kindles, that will be in the classrooms is up to the textbook publishers.

“You would be surprised at the number of publishers who do not have their books ready to go digitally,” Rapp said.

By estimation, it will take several years to see exactly into what format the publishers put their content in, but for now the iPads will meet the requirements of the AP World History students.

Not only will the electronic books better support the needs of students, but in the long run, it will be easier on the school board’s pocket books, Rapp said.

“What we have found now with the digital content that is out there is that it is cheaper to buy digital licenses for a certain number of years tha to buy an actual printed textbook,” Rapp said.

According to the school board, the district would pay for insurance for damaged or broken electronics issued to students.

The next textbooks to be adopted will be those of the science classes next year. As for now, the school board is trying to increase the student use of technology and to make sure that it is being used properly.

weighing in Here’s a comparison of the weight of a typical sophomore’s book load to an Ipad.

Ipad total weight: 1.35 lbs

books

total weight: 20.6 lbs

february 24,2012 | the marquee

news 5

District to open freshman center in 2014

Plans being finalized for ninth grade campus as LISD evaluates property value story | juliana adame

LISD plans on opening a freshman center for Marcus in 2014. In 2008, LISD began plans for a freshman center that was set to open in 2013, but the date has been gradually pushed back. School board member Kathy Duke said that progress on the freshman center will soon be underway.

According to Duke, Dr. Quentin Burnett, who is the Chief Financial Officer for the district, told the board that the district is moving forward on the ninth grade campuses for Flower Mound and Marcus.

Lately, LISD has been discussing renovations to schools throughout the district. Summer 2012 holds district-wide roof and bathroom renovations.

Lewisville High School recently opened their own ninth

and tenth grade center and the school as a whole is being considered for facility-wide updates and renovations.

The district is moving forward on the construction of both additional facilities, but several steps must still be taken before the actual construction begins.

“They’re looking at the land,” Duke said. “For Flower Mound, it was never totally decided where the campus should be.”

Once location is decided upon, city processes, such as getting permits, must be completed before going to the school board for approval. With that being said, the progress is at a very early stage.

According to LISD superintendent Dr. Stephen Waddell, the plans were originally put on hold due to the economy.

The 2008 bond passed for the payment of construction in

New Briarhill zoning cancelled story | juliana adame

moving over 100 Briarhill students living in western Highland Village and Copper Canyon to Downing Middle School.

Plans to relocate students to Downing Middle School from If approved, a letter would be sent home with students Briarhill Middle School have been discontinued. affected by the boundary changes along with a school choice Before the 2010-2011 school I’m just irritated that it form to those staying on the campus. year, LISD officials held a public Polly Gilg, who was previously the never seems to go through... receptionist at Briarhill, said that she hearing in an attempt to discuss Briarhill is so overcrowded. proposals to alleviate overcrowding would have preferred the change over at Briarhill Middle School. the current situation.

Polly Gilg Although a public hearing “I’m just irritated that it never seems was not required, LISD officials wanted to ensure that the to go through,” Gilg said. “Briarhill is so overcrowded.” community had the opportunity to express its concerns before The attempted relocation of the students at Briarhill was adopting the new boundaries. an effort to bring the school closer to the district’s targeted At that time, school board memebers were looking at middle school enrollment of 750.

UIL changes form athletic rivals story | juliana adame, andrea boyd and kady kohankie

Every two years, the district creates new UIL district alignments.

In next year’s district, Marcus will play against Coppell High School, Denton Ryan High School, Flower Mound High School, Hebron High School, and Lewisville High School in a number of UIL events.

Since there are some new additions to the district, there will most definitely be a few new found rivalries. This will affect every UIL event, but in different ways.

According to boys’ soccer coach John Gall, the realignment would make playoff advancement an advantage.

“We are down to a 16 district rather than an 8,” Gall said. the marquee | february 24, 2012

“[Coppell] has got a great program and we’ve had a great rivalry with them over the years.”

According to football and baseball coach Kevin Williamson, many changes regarding football and baseball will occur.

“It’ll be a little different for football,” Williamson said.

“We’ll have a new schedule and it should give us one less district game.”

But Marquette coach Alice Dack said that Marquettes won’t see any particular changes other than the anticipation of some new faces.

“I don’t think it’ll mean a whole lot except that we’ll get to see some new drill teams that we haven’t seen in the past, which is exciting,” Dack said.

schools throughout the district was supposed to help out in the construction of the freshman center. However, according to counselor Cheryl Richey, it was a non-specific construction bond, and could therefore be used in any type of construction occurring within LISD. In September, LISD presented a demographic study to the Board of Trustees to later be approved by a group of 14 LISD citizens, called the Strategic Design Team.

This group reviewed the projects LISD paid for with the money from the 2008 bond and made recommendations as to what to use the rest of the money for. Waddell said that utilizing this group is a way to get more citizen input and oversight transparency.

The freshman center construction will continue to progress as plans are finalized and put into action.

Freshman center timeline 2008

LISD construction bond passed, economy begins to decline and plans are put on hold.

New LHS ninth and tenth grade center is built.

august 2011

849 freshmen are added to the Marcus population.

Strategic Design Team approves LISD demographic study.

january 2011

september 2011

Plans for the MHS freshmen center are said to continue.

Original completion date

2014

summer 2011

2013

New completion date design | courtney clubb

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feature 7

Junior wins Miss Teen Fort Worth title

Pageant contestant competes with platform to better community, spread hope story | ryan mcdearmont

Junior Aloria Prince stands backstage, waiting for the Miss Teen Fort Worth 2012 pageant to begin. It is only her second pageant, but her hopes are high. All around her is chaos as the other contestants prepare to go onstage. Girls apply their makeup and organize clothes for the night’s dress competitions of evening and fitness wear. She joins them, carefully arranging her glittering pink dress, her athletic shorts and the matching red top.

The other contestants begin their pre-pageant rituals. Some take deep breaths. Others sing to themselves to loosen nerves and relieve tension. Prince sits. And she prays.

A Christian who regularly attends Westside Baptist in Lewisville, Prince believes that religion is a key part of a person.

“Religion is who you are, not something to hide,” Prince said.

Prince stated that her religion is one of her biggest inspirations to help those who need it and spread hope. In her eyes, victory is spreading a cause for the betterment of others, not simply a plastic crown and a title.

She knows her mother is out in the audience, a huge supporter as always, even more nervous than Prince herself.

All throughout, Prince keeps her goal in mind. She thinks of what her purpose is tonight.

“Everyone has to have a platform,” Prince said. “Mine is hope. It’s about getting the community involved.”

The contestants’ platforms vary, including things like spreading education or feeding the hungry. However, Prince says these are not the stereotypical catty contestants who are at each other’s throat during a pageant. There is no overbearing hate between them, no petty fights.

“Sure, there is competition,” said Prince. “But it’s like a sisterhood.”

Prince reflects back on the months leading up to the pageant. She had attended monthly interview training to prepare for an interview with the judges. Prince also exercised and maintained a low-fat diet with the help of a personal

6

seconds with...

Haley Allman, 12

compiled | andrea boyd photo | mariah lucy the marquee | february 24, 2012

trainer. Restaurants like McDonalds were out of the picture.

“We worked out every morning before school,” Prince said. “It’s all about presenting a healthy lifestyle and image, which is good.”

Indeed, this goes hand-in-hand with Prince’s platform, “hope,” which she stated is all about bettering the community and getting people involved. In fact, Prince, who is also a Marquette, hopes to start a free dance camp for girls in LISD, as well as dance classes at CCA. “Aloria is a very strong, quiet leader,” head Marquette coach Alice Dack said. “She leads by example.”

However, training for the pageant was not the only challenge she had to overcome. She suffered from floating kneecaps, as well as having torn her MCL, a joint behind her knee.

“I had to be careful since my talent in pageants is dance,” said Prince.

Prince soon finds it is time for the talent portion of the competition. She steps onto the stage, prepared to perform her much-practiced dance routine.

Prince’s dancing is only one part in a four part competition.

Aside from the fashion contests of evening and fitness wear, she will also have to win a talent portion as well as succeed in a question and answer session.

Even though the interview is worth the most points, the most important part of the pageant to her is using it to get her message across.

“I did this pageant because I saw an opportunity for scholarships and service,” Prince said. “And it was my last year before I aged out, so I thought I might as well try.”

Next year, she will no longer be able to enter the teen competition.

Before she knows it, the pageant is reaching its end.

Prince stands on the stage with the other contestants, waiting in anticipation for the name of the winner to be announced.

The announcer steps forward.

“Aloria Prince!”

Overcome with emotion, she steps forward as applause fills the audience.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Prince said.

Prince won the title of Miss Teen Fort Worth 2012. She plans to compete in the next Miss Teen Texas pageant. Prince said this means the training will continue, but so will her message.

“For me, what’s important is spreading a good message to the community,” Prince said. “I feel like I accomplished that.”

photo | jordan richards In her second pageant, junior Aloria Prince recently won Miss Fort Worth Teen 2012.

What’s your biggest fear?

What would you like written on your tombstone?

“Toilets, because I had really bad traumatizing experiences when I was in pre-school. The toilets would always overflow.”

“Probably that she had a good life. She was happy, and was very talented in bowling, and very athletic.’”

What’s the last text message received on your phone?

What’s the most favorite age that you’ve been so far?

“Probably something really pointless, probably something from my mom. That’s how cool I am.”

What’s your dream date?

“8-years-old was a pretty good year because you didn’t have to worry about anything.”

“In a perfect world, I would love to go on a date where I would ride horses on the beach and then have a picnic on the beach with Joe Rau.”

“I’m secretly like a magician. I feel like people might not believe that, but I feel that I have secret powers.”

Do you have a secret talent?

design | maria heinonen

8 feature

Here lies the city Student band to headline at Dallas concert venue

story | emily aijkens

A steady tempo eases from sophomore John Patrick’s drum set. Practice was supposed to begin at 5 p.m. It’s now 6:30 p.m.

Four boys stand in one room, playing on their own. The sound of each instrument collides and shakes the walls.

Getting them together in one room to practice is a feat in itself. Getting everyone to play the same song is entirely another.

“When one person is trying to talk, we cannot get every single person to stop playing,” Patrick said.

A bystander would never guess that these boys, as freshmen, have played to an audience at the House of Blues.

Or that lead vocalist, keyboard player and songwriter sophomore Kevin Easley has worked with Justin Bieber and the Fray.

When Easley was 13, he sent in video submissions of him singing and playing “Miserable at Best” by Mayday Parade for a 106.1 F.M. radio contest. He was chosen, along with other teens from around the Metroplex, to be part of the band, One Week, sponsored by Kidd Kraddic, The Fray and Justin Bieber.

“A lot of people hate on Justin Bieber, but really he is the man,” Easley said. “He has a great voice and great talent.”

One Week was solely playing covers, and Easley wanted to change that. When the band ended, it prompted Easley to want to start an original band.

Easley formed Here Lies the City, which has played all over the metroplex at venues such as Six Flags, House of Blues, The Door, Battle of the Bands and even a church.

The band also consists of other Marcus students, sophomore rhythm guitarist Ben Jester, sophomore lead guitarist Bill Hall, senior bassist Marco Molina and Patrick, who is a drummer.

As he has grown older, his writing style has changed.

“A lot of songs back then were about just girls,” Easley said. “That was when I was not really writing about what I felt. That was when I was writing just to write because I thought it would be cool and I’d get all the girls. Then I started realizing that better music comes from the soul and from the heart.”

When introducing a new song to the band, Easley feels uncomfortable because he knows he will be questioned.

“Which girl is this song about? What’s the story behind this one?”

Although band members have come and gone, Here Lies the City has been in existence since 2010.

“It feels weird when we have to vote someone off, it is like I was losing a brother because we’re together all the time,” Hall said.

“Being on stage I get nervous every time,” Easley said.

“It’s recently been going away a little bit. Once you get on stage and start seeing the people’s reaction, it really takes a hold of you.” design/graphics | sydney sund

They contribute some of their success to their frequency of playing shows.

“The big thing that sets us apart is that we are not a screamo band,” Patrick said. “You would be surprised at all the talent at Marcus.” *** Hall plays his own melody on guitar. The sound travels through the black cord tangled on the floor and moves from the amplifier through the garage. The sound from the garage shakes the entire house. Easley stands behind his keyboard bobbing his head along to his own tune.

In his own world, Jester strums along. The door opens but no one hears it over the mayhem of drums, guitar and keyboard. Molina sneaks around and plugs in his bass guitar.

His face is covered by a mat of black curly hair as he focuses on his fingers and plays the bass.

“Quiet!” Patrick yells.

No response.

From behind his drum set, he throws a drumstick at Easley, then at Hall. One miss, then another.

“Guys!” Patrick screams. Slowly instruments stop playing.

The silence cuts against the once shaking walls. Finally it is quiet, it takes awhile for the ears to adjust to this new silence.

Time for practice.

PLAYING TONIGHT @ The Door 2513 Main St. Dallas, TX

Prophets & Outlaws Tonight Tonight The Buffalo Parade Here Lies the City Nova Chaser

photo | www.raulcevallos.com The band consists of five members from left to right, sophomore Bill Hall, senior Marco Molina, sophmore John Patrick, sophmore Ben Jester and lastly sophomore Kevin Easley. Hall and Jester both play electric guitar. Easley plays electric guitar along with keyboard, Patrick plays the drums and Molina specializes in the bass guitar. february 24, 2012 | the marquee

feature 9

Ryan Lambert

Title: “Manly”

How he’ll help change the world: “I’m going to fix the economy by taking all of the Xboxes in the world, and I’m going to use all the video game nerds that play it and convert their time span on the Xbox into energy.”

Best attribute: “Coordinated”

Zach Carlson Title: “Stud”

Suiting up for victory

How he’ll help change the world: “By being Zach Carlson.”

Best attribute: “Everything”

For the first time, fifteen boys will compete for the title of “Mr. Marcus” by showing off their best qualities.

The boys will participate in five categories - swimwear, formal wear, an opening number, displaying a talent and answering a final question. The pageant will be held in the auditorium on March 29 at 7:00 p.m. story | vallery phillips and andrea boyd photo | kathryn petrauskas and jordan richards

Stetler Eppley

Title: “The Mormon”

How he’ll help change the world: “I would spread country music world wide.”

Best attribute: “Achilles tendon”

Robby Hobson Title: “Original”

How he’ll help change the world: “Slowing down this technology race. It’s freaking me out when I see my 4-year-old neighbor with an iPhone better than mine. We need to just go back to the Gameboy colors.”

Best attribute: “Hair”

Jeffery Nichols Title: “The Indescribable One”

How he’ll help change the world: “I might discover something, and I will constantly try to make people happy.”

Best attribute: “Insightful”

Alex Olson

Matt Fortado

Dalton Dallas

How he’ll help change the world: “I’d definitely fix the economic problem and politics because it’s so messed up.”

Best attribute: “Hard-working”

How he’ll help change the world: “I’m going to change the world by doing the best I can.”

Best attribute: “Determination”

How he’ll help change the world: “I’m going to rock people’s minds out with music and peace and unity.”

Best attribute: “Big hands”

Title: “Athletic”

Title: “Friendly”

Title: “The King”

Sam Dorsch

Brandon Rawls

L.C. Wright

How he’ll help change the world: “I’d probably make math not a requirement in schools.”

Best attribute: “Muscle tone”

How he’ll help change the world: “I’m going to work hard at whatever I’m doing.”

Best attribute: “Good looks”

How he’ll help change the world: “By making everything free.”

Best attribute: “Personality”

Title: “The Cool Kid”

the marquee | february 24, 2012

Title: “Outgoing”

Title: “Chill”

design | sydney sund

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1.800.777.7000 C2EDUCATE.COM february 24, 2012 | the marquee

in-depth 11

Sleepless in the suburbs

the marquee | february 24, 2012

Because teens are preoccupied with social media, phones and school work, studies show that they are getting just half of the sleep they need for a healthy lifestyle.

design | amanda collen

12 in depth

Lack of sleep has detrimental consequences Junior experiences firsthand cost of missing hours of sleep each night story | marisa charpentier

It was Nov. 26, 2010. Black Friday. The clock on the dashboard read 3:00 a.m. as junior Jacob Cole pulled into the Best Buy parking lot after only a few hours of sleep. Once he loaded up on sale items, Cole carried on throughout the rest of his day.

He never went back to sleep.

On the same day, twenty-one sleepless hours later, Cole was out at midnight driving home from his older brother’s house. His younger brother was in the back seat, asleep. As Cole cruised down the darkening streets, his eyelids slowly began to close.

*** Cole was no stranger to sleep deprivation. Just days before, he was beginning his daily routine early and ending it late. As a Mormon, Cole attended Bible study before school every morning. After school, he would spend hours at the pool, diving for the school’s dive team.

According to a survey of 300 students at Marcus, 65 percent say they are getting between five and six hours of sleep a night, half as much as the recommended amount.

According to Psychology teacher Emily Worland, teenagers need about 10 to 12 hours.

“We start school so early, and there’s so much homework and so much to do at night,” Worland said. “You want to watch television and do all of your sports. There’s just simply not enough hours in the day to do it all.”

For teenagers, the brain is still developing and chemicals Cole woke with a start. The car skidded off the road, and hormones are constantly changing and developing as mounting the sidewalk and continuing off the street until it well, Worland said. With sleep, the body can complete these slowed to a stop. Darkness surrounded the boys. Quickly, processes. Sleep deprivation, however, stunts such growth.

Cole called his mother.

A lack of sleep impedes concentration and can often lead Cole soon discovered he had received a concussion from to falling asleep in class. More than half of the 300 surveyed hitting his head during the crash. For the next six weeks, he students say they have fallen asleep in class. Worland said could not do schoolwork, read, watch TV or use a computer that she has noticed when students in or phone. His brother remained I think a lot of teenagers don’t unharmed, but the damage to his car her class have not received enough sleep because they are lethargic and realize that if you are sleepy and cost him $2,100. in a down mood.

“The scariest thing about sleep you are driving, it’s equivalent to Sleep deprivation can also lead to driving is that you don’t even know driving drunk. weight gain because it prevents the it’s happening,” Cole said. “It could Anna Cash, sleep specialist have easily killed me and my brother.” body from digesting food properly, Worland said. Another danger of a Although he says he is getting one lack of sleep is psychosis. If one goes over 48 hours without to two more hours of sleep each day, Cole must participate in sleep, they can enter this state of mind where they begin to Bible study in the mornings and work after school. have hallucinations and delusions.

“I think students need to prioritize what they can get done Sleep deprivation can also be caused by sleep disorders like in the day, what they can cut out and if they need to be in a insomnia and restless legs syndrome. The Sleep Diagnostic sport,” Worland said.

Institute at Lewisville Medical Center studies patients with According to Cash, keeping a relaxed routine at night and these disorders to help them receive more sleep. Manager of not using stimulants like caffeine will also help students get the Institute, Anna Cash, said that one of the biggest dangers more sleep. Stimulants and stimulating activities like playing of daytime sleepiness is drowsy driving. sports and computer games in the evenings keep the brain “I think a lot of teenagers don’t realize that if you are awake and active, preventing one from sleeping. sleepy and you are driving, it’s equivalent to driving drunk,” “Getting the right amount of sleep is really important,” Cash said.

Worland said. “You can’t catch up on the weekends. That’s

*** a myth.”

Marquee surveys 300 students on their Tallying a sleepless trend The sleeping habits and the negative effects that How often Students Think Homework compiled | ryan mcdearmont Contributes to How Late You Stay Up

How often students think homework contributes to how late they stay up

come with staying awake at night

How many students have fallen asleep during the day

not often often

Hours of sleep per night

very often

Hours that students sleep per night

1 design/graphics | amanda collen

2

Have students ever fallen asleep during the day?

On ayesScale of 1-5 How Tired Students Feel no During School

On a scale of 1-5 how tired students feel during a school day

1-2 hours 3-4 hours 5 6 hours 7-8 hours 9-10 hours

3 february 24, 2012 | the marquee

1 2 3 4 5

in depth 13

Dazed and confused

Marquee staffers test how not sleeping affects their daily lives

story | ryan mcdearmont

People always say that a lack of sleep is bad for your health. It messes with your body in a way that makes it hard to recover. You can’t just sleep a whole bunch after staying up late and be done with it. It adds up and eventually takes its toll. But really, how bad is it?

For two nights, Jan. 24 and 25, I tried to see how long I could go without sleep. I did not tell anyone outside of the newspaper

staff. I wanted to see if anyone would notice a change in my personality. I wanted to see what would happen to my ability to perform daily tasks. One thing was definitely proven: staying awake all night is a terrible idea.

9:30 p.m., Tuesday Jan. 24: I read some of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” got Humanities homework done and watched the movie “Face/Off.” It was around 2:00 a.m. before I started feeling tired. I wasn’t nearly tired enough to consider going to bed. Earlier, I made the decision to try this experiment without taking in caffeine. This was probably the worst choice I made.

It was around 4:30 a.m. when I fell asleep.

It was only for 30 minutes, but I had still fallen asleep. That’s the thing I discovered about staying awake, I had to keep myself occupied or my mind would drift and I’d fall asleep, without meaning to. My body would fight me when I’d stay awake. When I made it to 6:00 a.m., I tried doing some simple Sudoku puzzles to see how well I could function. I managed to get through one, but it took much longer than it should have.

How lack of sleep impairs performance If a person gets six hours of sleep instead of the recomended eight, the two hour sleep loss can have major effects:

poorer judgement

reduced alertness

story | mckenna autem

My mom has always said that I haven’t slept much, even when I was a baby. So, when the opportunity was presented to me to stay up for as long as I could, I thought “Easy.

This will be a piece of cake.”

I was wrong.

On the nights of Monday, Jan. 23 and Tuesday, Jan. 24, I attempted to stay up all night.

The first night I did everything slowly and the marquee | february 24, 2012

4

meticulously to take up time. I took a near 45-minute shower, scrubbing every inch of my body and washing my hair and face twice. Then I spread my homework out on the breakfast table and began to work through it, one subject at a time. This is probably the first time I’ve completed a night’s worth of homework in six years. When it was finished at around 2:20 a.m., I collapsed on the sofa and clicked on the TV. I scrolled my way through the shows on my DVR, a good four hours worth. My eyes began to get heavy at around 6:00 a.m., so I decided to get back in the shower and get ready for school.

Even after taking my ADD medicine at around 7:00 a.m., I was hyper. My mind was flitting from one thought to another and I couldn’t keep my feet still. And eventually dark, purple circles began to form around my drooping eyes that warranted the need for a good five stage sleep cycle. The day wore on slower than usual, and by fourth period I was ready to come home and melt into the sheets of my bed.

Eventually, I needed to get ready for school.

7:45 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25: When I got to school, no one I saw before class noticed.

By second period people noted that I looked tired, and by third period I was hyperactive due to lack of sleep. I was unable to sit still and constantly fidgeting. I thought everything was funnier than it should be. I was irritable.

The entire time I felt like a haze was over my brain. It was hard to focus on physics work.

I somehow managed not to sleep during the school day.

4:15 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25: When I got home that day, I knew staying up was going to be difficult. By the time it was 5:00 p.m., I was already close to nodding off. I had a headache, but thankfully it was nowhere near the worst I’ve evr had. I still managed to avoid caffeine, despite our house being stocked with enough tea and coffee to power the Energizer bunny. I needed a plan to stay awake. So, around 8:00 p.m., I lined up a stack of movies that I had every intention of working through. “The Shining,” “Alien,” “Adaptation,” “Wicker Man”

5

and “Pulp Fiction,” not necessarily in that order. However, I couldn’t focus. Dialogue and scenes just blurred together, and had little idea about what was going on. Even the hilarious awfulness of the Nicolas Cage remake of “Wicker Man” couldn’t keep me occupied enough. Sometime around 2:00 a.m., I was out.

I didn’t remember falling asleep, but luckily I had set my alarm in case I did. I woke up at 6:30 a.m., with around four and a half hours of sleep. Somehow, I felt rested. I was disappointed I didn’t make it the whole way, but I wasn’t expecting to. The experiment was over, and I had a full night of sleep to look forward to.

So how did it turn out? I’ve come to appreciate being able to get decent sleep at night. I learned the symptoms of sleep deprivation first hand. Feeling tired, obviously. Irritability. Lack of focus.

Headaches. Minor delirium. But still, the question stands: how bad is it really when you don’t sleep? I guess it depends on the person.

My experience certainly wasn’t pleasant.

poorer memory

6

After school, I went to Chipotle with two friends, ready to indulge myself in the delightfulness that is a burrito bowl. I took my respective place at the bar by the window with my bowl, ate three bites then practically sprinted to the restroom with fear of vomiting my guts out. I ran my wrists under cold water to keep my heart rate at bay then splashed some on my face. After a few moments to collect myself, I returned to the window seat and got my burrito bowl to go. I assume from the lack of sleep my bodily functions were so out of sync that it rejected food.

On the way home from Chipotle, my friend got into a car accident. I was sitting in the backseat, looking out the window when the black car attempted to stop before slamming into the left side of Emily’s green Ford. We pulled into the next parking lot and Emily got out to exchange phone numbers and insurance, and that’s when it hit me.

We had gotten into a wreck. My brain was so slow to react to the accident from lack of sleep that it didn’t register at the moment of

shortened attention span impact, even when I watched it occur right before my eyes.

I got home from Chipotle at around 6:45 p.m. and took my respective seat on the sofa again while my mother asked me from the kitchen if I had slept at all, that I looked exhausted. I remember watching “50/50” from 9:45 p.m. until about midnight and attempting to watch “The Little Mermaid,” but my mind couldn’t stay focused on one single thing.

Other than that, it’s a blur. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but Wednesday morning I woke up on the floor of my parents bedroom to my mother asking me if I planned on going to school.

My main focus for this experiment was college. Everyone says that all nighters will happen. They’re essentially unavoidable. My ability to function and go to class after one all nighter wasn’t greatly disturbed, but by the end of the day my equilibrium wasn’t in balance. I will definitely not make all nighters a habit by the time college rolls around. design/graphics | amanda collen

14

entertainment

SECRET menus

Wendy’s is your standard fast food restaurant, serving everything from hamburgers and fries to chicken salads.

They’re known for their classic Frosty, as well as their newer creation, the Baconator, a burger stacked from top to bottom with bacon. However, very few know of their secret menu. This menu includes items like the Grand Slam, a massive burger with four meat patties, and the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, a value size burger that includes bacon, lettuce, mayo and tomatoes. The crown jewel of this hidden menu is a secret concoction known only as the Barnyard: a spicy chicken sandwich with bacon, ham and beef. Truly, the Wendy’s secret menu is a meat-lover’s dream. While these secret items have somewhat unique flavors, they’re probably not good enough to become a regularly ordered item.

Sonic

photos | jordan richards, sarah sauer, and kathryn petrauskas

Jamba Juice

Wendy’s

Secret Level

They could be anywhere, lurking at your favorite fast food hangout. Very few people may know of them, and even fewer dare to try them. What are they? They are the “secret menus” of fast food restaurants, items not displayed on the mainstream menu. Here are some of food establishments’ best kept secrets. story | ryan mcdearmont

Taste Level

Jamba Juice is a restaurant enjoyed by both health enthusiasts and smoothie fanatics alike. Loved for classic creations like Aloha Pineapple and Strawberry Surf Rider, Jamba Juice is yet another restaurant with a secret menu. While Jamba Juice keeps their ingredients a bigger secret than any menu, the names of the secret smoothies are interesting enough to tempt anyone to try. Although this selection includes the sweet Bodacious Blueberry, two of the best are Pineapple Dreamin’, which is a tasty mix of fruit dominated by pineapple, and Rainbow Sherbet, a cool swirl of several different fruits that definitely lives up to the name of its ice cream predecessor. All in all, the Jamba Juice secret menu could possibly have better options than the regular one.

Secret Level

Taste Level

Sonic is famous for their extensive, customizable drink menu, as well as their chili cheese tots and Coney. It should only make sense that most of the items on their secret menu are variations of these two famous menu items. Sonics’ secret drinks aren’t too secret, considering they could be made with just a little imagination. Two of the best of these drinks are the Sonic Sunrise (a fruity mix of orange juice and cherry limeade) and Purple Sprite (a colorful mix of Powerade, lemonade, Sprite and cranberry juice). Food wise, the secret menu includes the classic Frito Pie (chili and cheese with Fritos on top) and a simple Grilled Ham-and-Cheese Sandwich. Sonics’ secret menu is good for those who like the regular items and just might want something a little different, Taste Level Secret Level or even those who never get tired of customizing a drink order. design | jordan richards

In-N-Out Burger

In n’ Out is a California-based restaurant new to the Dallas area that is widely renowned for delicious hamburgers, and their not-sosecret secret menu. Really, the secret menu is so un-secret that you can find some of it on In n’ Out’s website. Among these options are the famous Animal Style items which entail a burger or fries cooked in mustard and slathered with extra toppings like grilled onions and diced pickles, and the Protein Style lettuce-wrapped burger. However, there are still certain items you can only get by knowing them from hearsay. These items include the simple Flying Dutchman (two patties and cheese with nothing else, not even buns) and the ridiculously excessive 100x100 (a hamburger with one hundred patties and one hundred slice of cheese) which is so big it has to be carried in a specialized box. Even though these items might look tempting and taste decent, they seem to only exist for a sort of novelty appeal. In fact, the best “secret” item from In n’ Out would have to be their deliciously non-secret Animal Style fries and burger.

Secret Level

Taste Level

february 24, 2012 | the marquee

entertainment 15 ““

GUIDE TO THE OSCARS story | juliana adame

2012

graphic | sydney sund

The Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC on Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. Here’s a look at some of the contenders: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

BEST BEST ACTOR ACTOR

BEST BEST PICTURE PICTURE “The Artist” Taking place in the 1927 Hollywood scene, this silent, black and white film tells the story of a silent film star and a young starlet at the start of talking pictures.

10 nominations

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Nine-year-old amateur inventor and pacifist hunts throughout New York City for a lock that matches a mysterious key left to him by his father, who was killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Two nominations

Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”

Oscar History: First nomination You may know him from: ShowTime’s “Weeds”

George Clooney, “The Descendants” Oscar History: Six previous nominations, 1 win You may know him from: “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Up in the Air”, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Oscar History: First nomination You may know him from: Probably just “The Artist”, unless you’re a serious French cinema buff.

“The Descendants” Set in Hawaii, Matt King, along with his daughters work to pick up the pieces their comatose wife and mother left behind.

Five nominations

Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Oscar History: First nomination You may know him from: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, “The Dark Knight”

Brad Pitt, “Moneyball” Oscar History: Four nominations, no wins You may know him from: “Fight Club”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

BEST BEST ACTRESS ACTRESS Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn” Oscar History: Third nomination You may know her from: “Blue Valentine”, “Shutter Island”, “Brokeback Mountain”

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”

Oscar History: Five nominations, no wins You may know her from: “101 Dalmations”, “Fatal Attraction”

Viola Davis, “The Help”

Oscar History: Second nomintaion You may know her from: “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Oscar History: First nomination You may know her from: Youth in Revolt, The Social Network

Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

Oscar History: 17 nominations, two wins You may know him from: “The Devil Wears Prada”, “Mamma Mia!”

the marquee | february 24, 2012

“Midnight in Paris”

“The Help” Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the story follows an aspiring writer living in Mississippi during the 1960s who sparks controversy by writing a book from the point of view of the African American maids.

Four nominations

“Hugo”

A young engaged couple, Gil and Inez, travel to Paris for business. Each night at midnight, Gil is whisked away to the 1920s, forcing him to choose between realities.

Hugo is an orphan boy who lives within the walls of a train station. He works to solve a mystery involving his late father and an automaton with the help of his friend Isabelle through 1930s Paris.

Four nominations

11 nominations

“Moneyball”

“War Horse”

Set in 2001, General Manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane, works to put together a successful baseball club on a budget with the help of recent Yale graduate and baseball statistics whiz, Peter Brand.

After his beloved horse Joey is sold to the war cavalry, young Albert enlists in WWI. Spielberg’s adaption of the 2011 Tony winner for Best Play follows Joey across Europe in his pursuit of returning to Albert.

Six nominations

Six nominations

“The Tree of Life” Centered around a family of five, the story takes place in 1950s Texas.

The eldest son, Jack, finds himself a lost in the modern world, seeking answers the meaning of life and faith.

Three nominations

movie posters from: imdb.com actor/actress pictures from: imdb.com design | maria heinonen

16 entertainment

“I Love Lucy”

1957

1951

TV through the Ages

Television content has changed a lot since the 50’s. The Marquee takes a look at how shows have shifted due to changing societal values. story | emily aijkens and mckenna autem

“Leave It To Beaver”

Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, played by real life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, were the first interracial couple on television. The two provided a look into the social and cultural climate in North America during the Cold War.

The CBS network was apprehensive about displaying a bathroom on television, not to mention the actual toilet. They allowed the episode to air with only shots of the toilet tank, but not of the toilet .

MTV

“The Cosby Show”

On August 1, 1981, MTV first launched with the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The first music video ever played on MTV was for the song “Video Killed the Radio Star”

by The Buggles. Bands such as Def Leppard, The Police, Duran Duran and Van Halan have MTV to attribute to some of their success. In 1983, black artists such as Michael Jackson had to fight to receive airtime. This made it possible for artists such as Run DMC and L.L. Cool J to

1981

1984

The Huxtable family was a wealthy AfricanAmerican family that lived in Brooklyn, New York. “The Cosby Show” was the first predominantly black TV show where the woman of the family made an equal share of money as her husband, as Clair Huxtable was a lawyer and Cliff Huxtable was a doctor. The show aired for eight seasons and paved the way for other African-American sitcoms, such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire.”

be played. Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991 led the way for alternative artists, such as Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails to hit the main stream. Electronic and pop music, such as Madonna, U2 and Radiohead came into rotation by 1997. When MTV first aired it played 24 hours of music a day. By 2008, an average of three hours of music were played per day. In that same year, the network officially excluded the words “Music Television” from their logo.

After making her homosexuality public on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, Ellen DeGeneres’ character of the same name on her sitcom entitled “Ellen,” also came out of the closet.

“Susan, I’m gay.” Regular advertisers such as J.C. Penney and Chrysler did not buy time during the episode. Wendy’s never advertised on “Ellen” again. Ellen began “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2003 on NBC.

Whether snorting wasabi, bowling with humans or sky diving without a parachute, friends Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, “Wee Man” and their group of friends have done it.

Despite the warning at the beginning of each show stating that no one should attempt to recreate or reenact any stunt or activity performed on this show, teenagers across the country still tried. The show was moved to air only after 10:00 p.m., but Senator Joseph Lieberman continued to campaign against it, causing MTV to cancel the show.

2000

“Jackass”

2012

“Modern Family”

A television show known for pushing the limits on American television audiences recently dropped the “F-bomb”, by a twoyear-old girl. This raised concerns from the Parents Television Council and the “nocussing club.”

“The OC” “The OC” was a teen soap drama that aired in the early 2000s and was centered around the lives of four prep school teenage friends.

In the first episode, audiences were introduced to a high school party complete with alcohol, skimpily dressed girls and lines of cocaine on the living room coffee table. After this, partying became prevalent in shows aimed for teens.

2003

1997

“Ellen”

design/graphics | maria heinonen

MUSIC TELEVISION

february 24, 2012 | the marquee

sports 17

Time heals

wounds

photo | sarah sauer

Senior recovers from injury that halts football career story | vallery phillips

something in his shoulder. However, just two weeks after the injury occurred, doctors felt Wright had healed enough During a football game in 2010, free safety LC Wright to play football again. Still, he had to wear a protective was sprinting to tackle the Plano Senior High running back brace to keep the joint in place. hurling towards him.

Despite knowing he would have to get orthopedic As he dived, the player’s knee slammed into Wright’s surgery after the season was over and would not be able to right shoulder, knocking it completely out of socket. have full contact for nine months, Wright decided to play Wright collapsed to the ground. in first round of the 8-5A playoffs, against Guyer.

Sitting in the stands, his mother Carol Wright sat at the He played the game against Guyer with no further bottom of the bleachers with her mother in the handicapped problems. section. Not in her usual spot, Mrs. Wright could not see *** the commotion stirring on the field.

Once the season was over, Wright had surgery. Doctors His dad, Jeff Wright, sat in the family’s usual seats in performed the arthroscopic the reserved section, watching every operation, leaving only a small With all the decisions we scar on top of his right shoulder. move made during the game.

“It was a freak accident,” Wright made, we still ended up with The summer before his senior said. year and only months after his nothing.

Wright lay flat on the ground, not past injury and surgery, Wright Carol Wright, Mom was put into a scrimmage game moving. Coaches and trainers ran towards him. They found Wright to play seven-on-seven - a play gripping his arm. that designates seven players to cover seven players. Mr. “I was crying so hard, that the coaches in the booth Wright watched as his son once again was injured. could hear me through the headset,” Wright said.

“He should not have been out there playing seven-onAs the coaches and trainers walked Wright back to the seven,” Mr. Wright said. “I started second guessing myself sidelines, he cradled his injured arm close to his body. as a parent.”

Sitting him down, the trainers rotated his arm around until As two receivers and two defensive backs went for the it slipped back into place. Realizing that it was her son that ball Wright did as well. Once gravity hit, the four players was injured, Mrs. Wright stood up in panic. She looked fell back on Wright. He was stiff armed. His shoulder up to her husband in the stands, watching as they carried pulled out of socket again.

Wright to the sidelines.

“I was devastated,” Mrs. Wright said. “We thought “At that point I couldn’t tell what was wrong, but I knew we had dealt with it when he got his surgery and it was it was bad,” Mrs. Wright said. repaired.”

The next day, doctors found that Wright had torn Once again, Wright would have to have surgery on his the marquee | february 24, 2012

shoulder. The surgeons went to his shoulder bone. They spent three and a half hours reconstructing his shoulder.

This was his second surgery in less than a year.

Since Wright’s injury, head football coach Bryan Erwin has decided to never use the seven-on-seven while he is the coach.

“We have never been big on seven-on-seven,” Erwin said. “It isn’t a part of our program, due to the fact that guys are running around full speed with no helmets on.

They are not protected. We just think that the risks are bigger than the rewards.”

The 2011 football season Wright rode the bench and was replaced by junior Dylan Ward as safety.

“It was like watching my little brother play instead of me and it was hard in the beginning,” Wright said. “I should be out there. I should be playing. But I can’t.”

His parents found it hard to attend the games to watch their son on the sidelines, a place where he had never been before.

“I wanted to be there to support him, but I couldn’t go and watch him standing on the sidelines,” Mrs. Wright said.

As a child, Wright’s dream was to graduate from high school and play college football at the University of Texas, and hope to later move onto the NFL. It was painful because Wright’s life had always been about football. Since he was 5, Wright played. He started with the Lewisville Football Association, then played at Lamar Middle School and finally at Marcus. He made the varsity team his freshman year. To remember the day he made the team, the Wright family marked Feb. 19, 2009 on their family kitchen calendar.

Wright’s future looked good. Starting his junior year, he began to get letters from colleges. Oklahoma State sent Wright an invitation to come and watch their spring practice. He was also receiving letters from the Air Force every other week. Colleges were waiting to scout Wright his senior year, but when he stopped playing, the letters stopped coming.

“With all the decisions we made, we still ended up with nothing,” Mrs. Wright said. *** Just a few months before graduation, his plans for college have changed. He hoped to college on an athletic scholarship. Now must get in by his grades.

Instead he watched on Feb. 1, senior football players signed their letters of intent in front of friends and family.

A picture and list of everyone that committed was sent out to all football parents. His friends signed to colleges such as TCU, Texas A&M Kingsville, UNT, and Benedictine.

“It was really hard,” Mrs. Wright said. “Boys that played with him got scholarships and he didn’t.”

At the beginning of the month, Wright received positive news for his shoulder. His shoulder is fully recovered. He will no longer have to attend physical rehab, and he can begin to lift weights to gain his strength in his shoulder once again. He recently was accepted to the University of Arkansas, and will be attending next fall, hoping to major in Business.

When his life was absorbed in football, it was all Wright ever knew. He now finds the sport is not everything, and that he will have to move on without knowing what his future will hold.

“I might try to walk on, but my real focus right now is to be a normal person,” Wright said. “I’m healed.” design | jordan richards

18

sports

Pumped up kicks The Boss

Chad Hobbs, coach

When Coach Chad Hobbs first came to the program last year, he said he mainly just watched the team play so he could evaluate what he had to work with.

“I knew immediately that we were talented enough,” Hobbs said. “Now it’s a matter of can we be consistent, can we put it on the field, can we get results when we need to.”

Hobbs said the team’s main offensive focus has been finishing more chances. Lurvey said that winning games 1-0 isn’t enough.

“That’s why we’ve stressed this season once we get a goal, don’t let down, get another one,” Lurvey said. “We have to destroy their spirits. We can’t keep them in the game.”

Last year, the team scored 32 goals in the entire season. This season they reached 32 goals by the beginning of district play. As of Feb. 21, their record is 15-1-0.

On the defensive end, the same starting defenders have returned and are maintaining the sole focus of making it hard for other teams to score.

Fresh legs

story | alex mcginnis photos | kathryn petrauskas

Dani Murphy, freshman

Keeping the intensity

Position: Outside midfielder Strengths: Pace, field vision, crossing

Meg Smith, sophomore

Murphy, who starts as a freshman, said she was nervous about coming to the team but was welcomed by everyone. Hobbs said that given the competitive nature of the program, it says a lot about her as a player that she starts.

“All of these girls want to play,” Hobbs said. “So Dani comes in as a freshman. It’s her first year and she’s starting, that can rub some people the wrong way. But instead of them creating conflict about it, they realized that she can help us win.”

Murphy said the team gets along well and that playing varsity has been a blessing.

“They’re all incredible soccer players, obviously,” Murphy said. “But they’re awesome people too.”

Back for more

The veteran Molly Weeks, senior Position: Forward Strengths: Creativity on the ball, technique,

work rate Weeks is the only senior who has played on varsity for four years. She said her experience has helped her understand the way the team works.

“Four years being with varsity, you start to pick up how to play,” Weeks said. “I’m used to playing fast and the atmosphere on varsity is very competitive so I’m used to it.”

Hobbs said Weeks has improved on scoring, making her an asset to their attack.

“We know if we can find her, she’ll keep the ball for us,” Hobbs said. “Last year she had a lot of chances but didn’t finish a lot. This year she is finishing, which is big for us.”

design | courtney clubb

After an early playoff loss last year, the girls’ soccer team is preparing to compete for the state championship this season. Taking a look at players from each grade, The Marquee looks at what has changed this season and how they plan to be successful.

Position:

Goalkeeper

MJ Eckhart, junior

Position: Center midfielder Strengths: Calm on the ball, composed

defensive presence Eckhart played on varsity last year and is ready to get back on the road towards the playoffs. Hobbs said she has delivered on his challenge to take a more offensive role in midfield.

“MJ doesn’t get flustered, she plays at a very even keel and she doesn’t get bothered by the pressure of the game or anything,” Hobbs said. “We’re working on her trying to shoot more…she can add a lot to our attack.”

The Captain

Strengths: Good communicator, shot stopper, reading balls in the air Smith had little playing time on varsity last year with graduate Reily Fetzko starting in goal. However, Smith got the chance to play in the first two games of playoffs last season, both ending in shutouts.

“It was a lot harder than I was expecting it to be just because I wasn’t used to playing as much,” Smith said.

According to Hobbs, Smith understands what needs to be done defensively and distributes the ball well.

He also said she is getting comfortable with being more vocal towards the defense.

“The more confidence they have in her, the more confidence she has to tell them what to do,” Hobbs said.

Rachel Lurvey, senior

Position: Outside

midfielder

Strengths: Aggressiveness, leadership, work ethic

Lurvey is leading the team as a co-captain with seniors Lexi Jordan, Sidney Blaney and Kailey Tue. Lurvey is confident in the team’s ability to advance in the playoffs based on their chemistry and the loss against Colleyville last year.

“A lot of us were there last year,” Lurvey said. “We lost to Colleyville and we know how it feels to see it all slip away. I think that experience and that desire will take us a long way.”

february 24, 2012 | the marquee

sports 19

Gunning for it Sophomore finds athletic niche through professional paintball team story | molly spain

When it comes to sports, sophomore Patrick Shaw has tried everything. He played baseball as early as 5. He competed on the Downing Middle School football team, and he even tried karate for a few years. But those sports were just playing to Shaw.

It wasn’t until 2008 that Shaw decided to try a sport that was perfect for him – paintball.

“I did a lot of research on it, and it was the perfect sport for me,” Shaw said. “Honestly, I like to shoot people and get all my anger and frustration out. Paintball is another basic form of life for me.”

Currently, Shaw is a member of the professional paintball team, Team Virus, belonging to the Paintball Sports Promotions League (PSP). He has been playing paintball as a sport since 2008, but what really got him started was a friend’s birthday party he attended when he was just 8-years-old.

Shaw formed Team Virus himself about two years ago, and said he is excited the team has made it all the way to a professional division team. Out of the six divisions, Team Virus is in Division 4, which, Shaw said, is the “minor leagues” of paintball.

Patrick’s mom, Elizabeth Rheams-Shaw, who calls herself a “paintball mom,” said she wasn’t surprised when he said he wanted to try paintball. Rheams-Shaw said she was proud of him for forming his own team, which required finding a coach.

“Forming a paintball team was difficult,” Rheams-Shaw said. “It showed me how much paintball meant to him, and it showed Patrick that if you want something enough and you are willing to work for it, you can do anything.”

The team practices 10 hours a week on Saturdays and Sundays at the indoor paintball field, GatSplat in Lewisville. Paintball is a year-round sport, and Shaw said it exercises everything that sports like baseball, football and cross country do.

“You work hard to excel,” Shaw said. “We don’t have a break at all. We have to keep practicing every week to maintain

The price is right graphics | sydney sund

photo | submitted Sophomore Patrick Shaw practices paintball in Gun Barrell City, Texas. Shaw started his team in 2010 and is now competing on a professional level.

constant flow of these tournaments that are coming in.

The goal of the game is to capture the flag and hang it on the opposite side of the field, or eliminate all of the opposing team’s players by shooting them all. Each game lasts about five to ten minutes with five players on each side, though there are 12 players on Team Virus.

“Paintball is all about teamwork,” Shaw said. “You really have to know your friends. A lot of it is communication... you’re probably going to want to be one step ahead of him so you can help him make that move.”

But the sport comes at a price. Paintball gun prices can reach $1300, and a case of 2000 paintballs costs $70. Shaw’s parents pay for the out-of-state tournaments that Shaw said can range from $2,000-$3,000, but Shaw said he tries to pay for a lot of the sport himself with his job at the airport.

“The cost of paintball is like any other sport,” Rheams- Shaw said. “It is as expensive as you want to make it. I equate the cost of paintball to that of being on a select baseball team.”

The cost is not the only lasting effect of the sport. Shaw said

Professional paintballing equipment can be expensive. Here’s a sampling of the prices of essential equipment for the game.

Mask $20 to $135

Tournament case of 2000 paintballs $70 the marquee | february 24, 2012

he once got a bruise on his neck that lasted a couple months. He said though paintball is one of the safest active sports, it can give result in some moderate injuries.

“This guy just came down and put his barrel on my neck,” Shaw said. “It really hurt. It popped one of the blood vessels in my neck. It was awful.”

The players on the team range from 14 to 18 years old in age.

Shaw’s position is a front player, because he is one of the faster team members, he said.

“I’m what’s called a flying monkey,” Shaw said. “I try to get out as many people as I can before I get shot out. You usually put your fast people out front. Of course you put your slower, but smarter players in the back. I’m not really paintball tactical.”

Rheams-Shaw said she likes that her son is part of a team sport, and said she is pleased that paintball has brought out some good qualities in Shaw.

“Patrick is very good at unifying his team,” Rheams-Shaw said. “He challenges himself to play a hard, fair game and challenges his teammates to do the same.”

Gun $460 to $1500

Paintball pad with belt $10 to $40

design | courtney clubb

opinion

BOOMBAS [things we like]

20

Crazy Irish-Catholic

Turning a new page

Front office guards

Fight to the top

It’s refreshing to see a book club that encourages literature in teenagers and discusses novels students want to read. English classes don’t always inspire a love of reading for students.

Though the ladies of the front office most likely have higher priorities, it’s comforting to know that if a parent drops off a lunch, it will be kept safe until we are able to collect them come third period.

Way to go wrestling for a fantastic season.

From individual guys holding records of 39-3 to advancing two to state, wrestling deserves kudos for hard work, despite many trials presented.

Alex McGinnis

A severe case of senioritis This senioritis thing has really caught me off guard. I thought I could muster out the motivation for one more year, but it didn’t take me long to realize what a joke that idea was. I have absolutely no desire to come to school. Lately, and when I say lately I mean since August 22, I’m completely content with dressing like a hobo. My hair probably has about four inches of split ends. I think it adds a nice touch to the whole homeless-student thing. I haven’t once checked my grades and I can find no good reason why I should miss Criminal Minds to read and analyze poetry.

On reflecting upon the cause of my academic demise, I can only place the blame on what sent me to my limit. Junior year. I worked as hard as I could until I eventually cracked.

I remember Mrs. Hutley telling our AP chemistry class on the first day that in 27 weeks, we were going to want to quit. We would be burnt out. I didn’t believe her. Ha. When I think about last year, the phrase, “so much to do, so little time” comes to mind. I can recall multiple occasions when I sat crying in my room at ungodly hours of the night over all of my unfinished work. My math homework was always strewn across the floor, the batteries from my calculator scattered around from when I chucked it at the wall in frustration. My AP Chemistry notes sat in threatening stacks and Grapes of Wrath sat untouched in my backpack because--well it’s Grapes of Wrath! And in my lap sat the epitome of academic torture, The American Pageant, mocking me with its unnecessary adjectives and analogies. Yes, junior year was peachy.

By the time AP testing came around last May, I was living off of raspberry sweet tea, Chipotle burritos and pure adrenaline.

I had spent hours studying history and English notes while neglecting, as Mrs. Hutley had forewarned, studying for chemistry. As I sat in my desk on the stage of the auditorium, I laughed with my classmates about the unavoidable difficulty that waited inside the sealed tests. The proctors didn’t really like our giggling. I think I remember them saying we wouldn’t be laughing so hard when we got the test.

It was really funny until it turned out to be true. Though I scored well on my other tests, I opened my AP scores that summer to find that I had gotten a 1 on the Chemistry exam.

My mother laughed out loud. So did I. I guess it was still pretty hilarious, anyway. Sorry, Mrs. Hutley.

After the tests were over, I spent the next four weeks playing minesweeper, shooting innocent bystanders with a Nerf gun during passing periods and making history videos about being a hobo. Basically, I did nothing. I should have known there was no going back from there. I had reached my academic limit, and the desire to learn has yet to return to me.

Overall, junior year was humbling. I never thought that the peak of my academic efforts would plunge me into such a lazy state of mind, but I just can’t seem to care. I managed to find the motivation to apply for college this year and surprisingly enough get accepted to Texas A&M University, where I’ll be attending next year. Sadly, that has only fueled my chronic disease. That’s why I’m sitting in my room writing this at midnight, because I spent the whole class period looking at “Anchorman” and “Mean Girls” references on Pinterest. But hey, I’m a senior. design | joe rau

Hillary is my homegirl

Jasmine Sachar

Why I love “The Bachelor” It occurred to me last week while I was watching “The Bachelor” for the first time how wrong I’ve been about love, women and the way the world works.

I can’t place my finger on what appealed to me about the show that so many of my peers and teachers are watching religiously.

Perhaps it was the intrigue of discovering the mysteries of true, deep, long-lasting love. Or maybe it was the plethora of life lessons each episode taught hopeful, doe-eyed audiences.

Love. What a mysterious thing. But let me ask you, who really knows what love is, or what makes two people soul mates?

Apparently the brilliant, sensitive creators of “The Bachelor” know what’s up. After all, they have, season after season, managed to create a calm, beautiful, natural environment where true love can flourish.

With 25 women per one man, let’s say, the Bachelor has a pretty sweet gig. His make-out list is endless. He has girls of every shape, size and color at his masculine disposal. Snotty model?

He’s got that. Sweet country girl? He’s got that. Spicy Latina? Si si, that too. While girls passionately throw themselves at him, he lounges back and gets to pick and choose which ones are the most worthy, which ones are the hotte—I mean, which ones he has the

Does

?

Facebook

role with

colleges and employers compiled | kady kohankie photos | vallery phillips

deepest connection with.

They say that the best television shows are the ones that insightfully reveal aspects of humanity. The show displays women showing off their best characteristics. Cattiness, superficiality, and shocking intelligence. The earrings come off. The women, hearts sworn passionately to a man they just met five days ago, fight with words and with slaps, like starving animals fighting over the same piece of meat.

When the contestants are sent home by the suave Bachelor (who is really too good for any of them, so deep and sophisticated) they blubber on about how he was “the One,” how they wish they were good enough, or that they should have tried harder. Darn straight they should have. Their self-worth should be tied to a man they just met 14 days ago. That’s common sense. Shame on them for being so boring, and so unworthy of his gracious love!

Some might say that dating multiple women at the same time is sleazy. Some might say that the idea of waiting topless on a beach for some guy you only met a few weeks ago is revolting, a true setback for women, who have advanced so far in the past decades. I like to call it determination. We are all on earth to fight for limited resources. Why not put all our energy into fighting viciously over men? “The Bachelor” teaches its hopeful female viewers to go after what they want, using whatever, ahem—assets they have.

All the struggles are worth the true love. The winning lady gets an everlasting relationship with a man who has picked her above all the rest of the pack. He has weeded out the unqualified, the ugly and the unexciting, and picked her as his golden prize.

She gets the warm satisfaction of knowing that her new man is an evident polygamist, and that now she can watch all his make-out sessions with his other girlfriends on television. Then, the couple can show the world their love, appear on the front cover of People magazine and be interviewed on national talk shows. Couples coming off the show have an unbelievably high* success rate.

Love doesn’t take time to develop. Sometimes, it happens to you all at once. And to 25 other girls. At the same time. *I lied. This column is most likely longer than most “Bachelor” relationships.

“Yes, you can get in trouble for Facebook through colleges.

They can look back to see if you did anything wrong. If you’re partying, and pictures are up about that stuff, then you could get in trouble.”

Krystal Fox, 9

“Facebook is kind of a big thing for college because if you do something really crazy and put that on your Facebook they go and check that.

They won’t accept someone going and doing this.”

Walter Morrison, 10 february 24, 2012 | the marquee

HEYS [things we don’t like]

opinion Keep it on the DL

Continue on It’s hard enough navigating through the crowds, but when students stand in the middle of the hallway, it makes it even worse.

Students need to walk and talk, not stop and block.

Stay to the sides.

When teachers come in to gossip during class, it disturbs students who are trying to work. Do it more discreetly. Keep the gossip between two people, or wait until school is over to spread the word.

Feed the hungry We realize there are a lot of students, but it’s hardly fair to kids who have D-lunch when the cafeteria runs out of food. Leave some chicken for the rest of us hungry students. Shouldn’t we save the best for last?

Like my status

Spain, like the country

Molly Spain

Secular without judgement I used to dread the moment when people would discover I had no religion – that I belong to no church and am neither Catholic nor Baptist. But I shouldn’t have to.

Religion was never forced upon me when I was younger, nor was it prohibited. If I had told my parents one day that I wanted to be Catholic or go to church every Sunday, they would have wholeheartedly supported me. I did however grow up in a world where church was not the center of life, and where people were not ostracized by society for not believing in God. I can’t force myself to believe in a higher being, not because it wasn’t instilled in me from an early age, nor because I feel it will make me more socially acceptable. I can’t because my mind doesn’t accept that the world was created by one being – evolution makes sense to me. And just because I don’t believe in God, I don’t think I’m a bad person. I still devote time as a volunteer for my community. I love my family and friends. I study hard in school and have commendable grades to prove it, and I don’t think I’ve ever committed an act of pure maliciousness. Still, I can’t help but feel as though I’m constantly being judged on my lack of belief in religion.

I’m tired of the questions, “What church do you go to?” And

when I answer, “I don’t,” I hate the awkward “Oh,” in response and arched eyebrows. I hate when people try to convert me to believe what they do. No matter how much they argue with me, I’m not going to acquiesce to their religion. I want to be accepted in all my non-religious glory.

I’ve fruitlessly tried to find something to believe in, some way to fit in, but my efforts were in vain. I couldn’t force myself to believe God exists. Then one day I discovered Buddhism on the shelves of Half Price Books. I had encountered it in school – AP World History sophomore year – but I’d never really thought too much into it. For some reason this time, it stuck in my mind. The Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the three Dharma seals (or three basic facts about Being). It all made sense. However, I’m not going to call myself a Buddhist – I’m hardly a disciple.

But for me, it’s not a religion. It’s a philosophy.

Buddha was not a god. That’s what makes the philosophy so clear to me. I like to read endlessly about Buddhism, the art of Zen and even the story of Buddha’s life. Buddhism provides an outlet for the faith I don’t have – and for the beliefs within me.

Because life does contain suffering. I maintain that the Eightfold Path will eventually bring me a life full of peace rather than pain, and that this world is not the only reality we may live in.

I embrace the Buddhist ideal that when we die, our souls never leave the earth. Rather we are transformed into the soil beneath our feet, or the flowers sprouting from the ground. Life within one’s soul is perpetual. Buddhism is something for me to believe in while the whole world is telling me it’s God, heaven and hell.

I don’t tell people that they can’t have faith in God or that I think it’s ludicrous to wake up early on Sunday mornings to attend church, because I don’t think it is ludicrous. I am accepting of all faiths, so I would appreciate it if people would accept mine.

If I don’t criticize others for praying to God, I wish they would peacefully acknowledge my spirituality.

But again, Buddhism is just what I take comfort in, and I have no issue with other people seeking comfort in other convictions.

I will not defame those who have religious beliefs nor do I insult their religions, and I would wish the same from them.

MARQUEE REMARKS “It plays a little bit of a role. I think (colleges) should because it is a big part of who you are.”

“I think it does because they can look at your Facebook to see if you’re a good kid.”

“There have been stories that people have had a perfect job and then the employer goes to Facebook and sees inappropriate pictures.”

Lauren Stotler, 11

Kyle Condry, 12

Jason Poe, English

the marquee | february 24, 2012

21

Jordan Richards

Illness, death unites family

It was always something I heard stories about. Something that I thought would never affect my family. I was wrong and unclear about how serious it was until it affected me. I asked myself, why does death have to be so scary?

Last January my uncle was diagnosed with colon cancer. The news spread throughout my family as the disease did inside his body. This disease is harmful, the cancerous cells rapidly took over. This resulted in a major surgery that ended up removing part of his colon. I had no idea of the changes it could make to a family, especially mine. My family is close and communicative.

The times we have spent together were always happy. We laugh together and endure our struggles together.

Everything went like it was supposed to, there were never any surprises. I thought nothing could stop that. We were untouchable, until the day we were blindsided. The diagnosis of colon cancer was finalized and I disregarded it, hoping in a couple of weeks everything would be back to normal. That wasn’t the case. I soon began to find out this was much more serious. He started chemotherapy immediately, resulting in good weeks and bad weeks. But the chemotherapy sessions brought my family even closer. Things began to look up.

Everything was running smoothly until about two months ago. We were informed that the cancer spread to his liver. The doctors said he would only live for two to five more months.

A couple weeks after this was revealed, he and his kids came and stayed at my house for a week. They wanted to spend some quality time together as a family.

I remember the first time I saw him after the cancer had spread. He slowly opened the door as if something was holding him back. That something was the disease. Through his yellow tainted skin and deep black sockets holding his eyes I saw his suffering. He took every step with caution knowing that his body was under attack. I walked to his car and helped carry his bags inside. Each piece of clothing was neatly folded inside each of the two Walmart bags. I looked down and on top of one of the bags was a worn Bible. I smiled. I knew no matter what happened as long as it was put in God’s hands, He would make the right decision.

The third night of his stay he was rushed into the hospital.

The doctors said he had very little time left. The two to five months promised turned into a matter weeks. My family did not take this well. We were all saddened and shocked by this news, but continued to stay strong. Now suffering from a major hit, we tried to maintain ourselves. The days were slow and my aunts and cousins took turns staying with him in the hospital to make sure he had 24-hour attention. Each hour was taken one step at a time, and spent like it was his last day. The future was unpredictable, all we knew was that the end was near.

On January 31, 2012 my aunts were all called down to the hospital. He waited until everyone arrived, then he peacefully passed away.

What I thought at first would tear my family apart now brought us even closer. I’m not so scared anymore because I know my uncle is walking on streets of gold. God places these moments in our lives to show us what is important, family. design | joe rau

22

editorials

Censorship laws on cable television are necessary The Supreme Court is contemplating ending the Federal Communications Commission laws that do not allow the broadcasting of profane language and indecent programming on television from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. These censorship laws should remain in place to prevent television from becoming even more full of profanities and promiscuity.

Simply because society’s standards are changing does not mean laws should change as well. Society is forcing television to evolve so fast that more inappropriate subjects like cussing and sexual references are now available on screen. Present-day television is unrecognizable when compared to television 30 years ago, when filming a toilet was considered inappropriate for viewers. If this pattern continues and censorship laws are removed, the public will be in for a rude awakening.

Some parents do not want their children hearing profanities or seeing nudity. If the Supreme Court allows these indecencies to be broadcast on television, parents will have trouble finding suitable channels for their kids. Parental controls will still be available, but if more and more channels begin showing explicit themes, more channel blocking will

be necessary. Fewer channels will then be available for children. Of course, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and other channels targeted for children will be accessible, but children and parents often want to watch TV shows together that both parties enjoy. Watching Spongebob Squarepants and shows about magical wizards may not be very enjoyable for parents.

At the same time, parents don’t want to expose their children to channels with explicit cussing and sexual references.

Family programs will be harder to find, and worrying about hearing profanities or seeing nudity will ruin this shared activity.

To ensure that television remains viewable for families, censorship must continue. If profanity, nudity and other indecent topics are broadcast on public television, parents will constantly be fretting about what their children may stumble upon while surfing channels. Parents may then become sick and tired of having to protect their children from such obscenities and may decide to simply turn off the device altogether. Other people besides parents may begin to lose interest as well. If television becomes an endless reel of profanities and nudity, watching TV will be boring and

predictable.

Some may argue that if one is not capable of handling certain material, they simply should not watch it. However, young viewers cannot control what could appear on screen at any given time. If censorship laws are removed, the FCC will no longer be able to ensure that children aren’t exposed to profane language and promiscuity. This will anger parents and those who fear society’s acceptance of explicit themes is growing too rapidly.

Increasing acceptance of explicit themes, parents having to protect their children more and dullness are all possible results of removing censorship laws. These issues could lead to less television viewing because parents and others will grow weary of constantly having to censor their children and of continually hearing profanities and sexual references.

People may then turn to other sources to watch videos like YouTube and Netflix. Many already have done so.

To voice opinions about the removal of television censorship laws, television viewers should contact the Federal Communications Commission. If enough opinions are voiced, censorship laws may remain.

Students should be wary when posting on Facebook When it comes to sharing personal thoughts and feelings, the teenage population tends to be blunt. Whether it’s vulgar comments, provocative photos or mean statuses, many people do not think twice before hitting “enter”. While a picture may be worth a thousand words, those put onto a Facebook profile could be damaging when it comes to colleges. Though it is easy to think that no one will take pictures or mean comments seriously, students should not forget that those dream colleges, and others in the community are watching. By refraining from posting explicit photos and hurtful statues about others on Facebook, teens may avoid rejection and heartache.

The simple fact is that all colleges are checking social networks when going through admission applications.

Unbeknownst to many students, social media websites work both ways when it comes to colleges. While many high school students are guilty of searching their dream colleges on Google, colleges are known to search students as well.

Most colleges across the nation use some sort of social

media in order to get in touch with applicants and to promote their school. So if the schools have Facebook accounts, who’s to say that they will not search their potential students in order to measure their qualification. About 24 percent of colleges randomly search their applicant’s Facebook profiles and 20 percent have admitted to “Googling” potential students, according to the education experts at Kaplan Test Preparation.

There are over 2,000 colleges in the United States alone and many of them get over 25,000 applications each year. To think that someone is up at the admissions offices checking each and every profile is somewhat ridiculous. But still, it is best to be overly cautious than to get denied by colleges because of inappropriate content online.

Colleges do have the right to look at potential students’ profile pages. They only want to have the best students possible on campus. While posting drunken pictures from last weekend on Facebook may seem harmless at the time, they can be something potential colleges don’t want to see.

Not only are colleges looking at Facebook profiles, but so

are parents and friends. More and more bullying is taking place over the internet now by posting hurtful comments about other people. Not only will the loved ones and the person being bullied be harmed, but the comments are also damaging to the reputation of the person posting the content.

In a society where everyone feels the need to share everything online, keeping the box labeled private checked at all times is the only way to go. Or better yet, do not post questionable content at all. It may seem unfair to have to watch word choices on a personal Facebook page, but the content may be something that could hurt others or possibly make colleges take a second look at an application.

It is important to keep in mind who may be typing in the Facebook search bar. Whether it be the college admissions officers, or the teachers who are writing letters of recommendation, or the parents of a bullied student, students need to make a good impression and clean up their online image. Don’t let one nasty comment ruin a great educational or social future.

FACEBOOK FACEBOOK

“My blood-alcohol level is almost as high as my GPA!:D”

College Application

D E T JEC

RE

Posted one hour ago

“My design | joe rau blood-alcohol level is

almost as high as my GPA!:D”

Posted one hour ago

february 24, 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 | february 24, 2012

Order now at Balfour.com.

Select yearbook and Marcus High School.

24

spotlight

South of Paradise

Choir, theater and dance department put on winter musical “South Pacific”

Top left: The sailors gather around while junior Giovanni Kennedy shows them the boars tooth bracelet. “We are all interested because we want to go to Bali High, because that’s where all the women are,” Kennedy said.

photos | amanda collen

Bottom Middle: Kennedy dresses up as a girl on stage. “It takes a lot of man pride,” Kennedy said.

Top right: Junior Max McNiel, who plays the part of Emile de Becque sings “This Nearly Was Mine.”

Middle right: McNiel and McGhee sing and dance to “Cockeyed Optimist.” “He is a really professional person, and it was an honor to be beside him,” McGhee said about her experience working with McNiel.

Bottom Left: McNiel and junior Robyn McGhee are the lead roles of this play. “There was a lot of pressure, but that only created more energy,” McNiel said about being a lead role.

Bottom right: McGhee played the part of Nellie Forbush, a southern young women who joined the US Navy as a nurse. She is holding Emile de Becque’s top hat.

design | sydney sund

february 20, 2012 | the marquee