Volume 31 Issue 4

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CHANGING LANDSCAPE

VOLUME 31 • ISSUE 4

C O P P E L L H I G H S C H O O L 1 8 5 W. PA R K W AY B LV D . C O P P E L L , T X 7 5 0 1 9

COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM

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W H AT ’ S I N S I D E

EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

PG. 6

O P I N I O N S Why schools need classes that

teach practical skills

BROKEN BOUNDARIES

PG. 14

S T U D E N T L I F E Coppell junior defying social

norms by using makeup to express creativity

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NEWS

I started writing a novel again.

For friends and family keeping count, this is approximately the 100th time I’ve said that.

Since I was a child, it has been my dream to publish a book.

However, being the impatient person and perfectionist I am, I would plan and plan and picture myself as a world-famous author, then when the first plot hole or instance of writer’s block hit, I would become discouraged and give up before I even began. A couple of months later, I would be hit with inspiration again, and the cycle would repeat.

The same thing happened with fencing, a sport that initially excited me. I took it up the summer before sophomore year, but by the end of the year, I had quit — partially because I dreaded lugging around so much equipment, but more because I got incredibly frustrated each time I lost a practice match and felt like I was not at all improving.

The standards we set for ourselves can often get out of control. Whenever I read an amazing page-turner, I would immediately lose confidence and believe I could never write a story as impactful. Each time I went to fencing practice, I was surrounded by kids my age parrying and recovering valiantly, and I hated myself for not being as good.

Never mind that these authors and fencers had years of experience on me, and it was illogical to compare myself to them.

This is an issue plaguing Coppell High School. As students, we are wired to compare our grades, extracurriculars and course load to those of our peers, to push ourselves beyond our limits just to be as good as everyone else. But if we base all of our worth on the accomplishments of others — or the accomplishments we expect of ourselves — particularly in activities that are supposed to be for enjoyment, we lose ourselves in the process.

I have currently written about 35,000 words of my novel. That’s pretty impressive, considering I’ve never gotten past the planning stages before, and the only reason I’ve gotten this far is by freeing myself of unnecessary expectations.

We could all use a little less of that weight on our shoulders.

Faces of CISD is a Sidekick series in which executive news/enterprise editor Pramika Kadari profiles an influential member of Coppell ISD to commemorate the district’s 60-year anniversary.

Coppell ISD bus driver John Bokon moved to Texas five years ago and deeply enjoys his job. Prior to working in CISD, he worked at Lewisville ISD for two years.

fifth grade to 12th grade, undefeated except for in ninth grade, I took second chair to a senior. Way back then, I got my varsity letter in band, which was a long time ago.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My kids are all grown, my granddaughter is up in northern Michigan with my son, so I don’t see her very often.

So, just the interaction. I got a bunch of elementary kids - they told me those kids were trouble, but I got them getting off the bus [one] seat at a time. They enjoy riding with me.

How long did you run Paintin’ Place?

I ran my parents’ greenhouse business for a lot of years, and I started that company out of the garage. But then I moved it full-time to northern Michigan in 1998, and pretty much ran it for 15 years or so, if you count the part-time years. And I did airbrushing, which is kind of a lost art. Airbrushing is like a high-tech spray painting.

How is driving for CISD different than for Lewisville ISD? This is way better. Way better. I was a sub driver there for two years, so I picked up and delivered kids to every one of their 66 schools. I’ve never had a group of high schoolers as polite as the ones I have here.

What do you enjoy doing outside of your job?

I’m a musician and an artist. I’ve been playing drums ever since the fifth grade, but I have no desire to be in a band at my age. I had a graphic arts business [called Paintin’ Place] in Michigan for a while. I was a commercial artist. Now, I paint and do artwork just for fun.

Coppell High School bus driver John Bokon drives bus 119 each morning and afternoon. Bokon has been a bus driver for five years and used to own a graphic design company in Michigan.

Photo by Lilly Gorman

What got you into drums?

I was very young. Watching “The Lawrence Welk Show” on TV with my mom [got me into drums] when I was really little. I started playing at 10, and I was in all the bands all through school. I was really good at it; I was first chair from

EDITOR- IN-CHIEF

2020

Do you still enjoy creating art?

I used to do painting and graphics for a living, and there was always a time clock. So now that I’m down here in Texas, and I’m just painting for fun, I don’t have any time clock. I can do it at my own pace. If I feel like doing it tonight, I do it tonight, if I don’t, I don’t. And what I’ve recently done is combine the airbrush with acrylic paint brush painting and came up with some pretty cool stuff.

Do you have any pet peeves related to the bus driving job?

People who run our red lights. It’s unbelievable how many people will run the red lights [on my bus stop sign]. In the five years now, I know at least 300 people have done it, which is ridiculous. It’s extremely dangerous. And it’s a very expensive ticket, but the only way a person can get that ticket is if a police officer sees it.

PRAMIKA ‘20 can be reached at psk7733@g.coppellisd.com

THE SIDEKICK

NEWS

News HOLMES BUILDING HOME FOR COMIC LOVERS P. 4

3

“[This class] is going to change lives.” P. 4

RESTROOM REHAUL P. 4

CREATIVITY TRAVERSING CONTINENTS P. 5

Recommendation letters aid celestial experiences ANIKA ARUTLA SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER @AnikaArutla Earth is a small, insignificant factor in the equation of the universe, and programs such as NASA spend many resources exploring the world outside this planet.

Every year, it brings in high school students from across the state to help in the age of new discovery through the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars.

The Aerospace scholars program admits only juniors. This year, nine students were selected from Coppell High School: Hannah George, Fiona Lopez, Abigail Simon, Mattthew O’Quinn, Calen Halcom, LeeAn Zhong, Marcos Morales-Martinez, Akash Vijay and Greg Sabancuyan.

The past few years, every student who applied from CHS has been accepted.

This is largely due to STEM teacher Pilar Castro-Zena.

“Ms. Castro, the way she structured the class, it brings everyone up through a kind of structured course to make everyone stay on task and get to where she knows we can be,” Halcom said.

In addition, Castro-Zena teaches all of the students who apply to the program their sophomore and junior years, allowing her to write extraordinary recommendation letters.

“The letters of recommendation that I write take me a whole day for each student,” Castro said. “I go to their portfolios, I see their designs. By the time they’re juniors, I have had two full years to know

them. I put my heart into those letters.”

To apply for the program, students must be U.S. citizens, high school juniors and Texas residents. Students must also be interested in the STEM field, have access to the internet and fully committed to completing online lessons. Furthermore, they write an essay explaining their interest in the program and the STEM program.

The program is 16 weeks and includes interactive lessons on NASA activities related to space exploration, design challenges and virtual chats with NASA engineers and scientists.

“In general, it’s cool learning more about NASA,” Lopez said. “They teach you a lot more science and math that I wouldn’t have known.”

If the program is completed, students have the opportunity to travel to Houston through a six-day summer experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. They will be able to tour NASA facilities, participate in team projects and briefings directed by NASA engineers and scientists and a hands-on design challenge to plan a mission to Mars.

After completing the program and the summer experience in Houston, there is an internship opportunity to further work with NASA. “It gives me an experience that hardly anyone gets to receive before going into college and trying to apply what they’ve learned previously in that professional setting,” Halcom said.

ANIKA ‘20 can be reached at asa7712@g.coppellisd.com

Coppell High School juniors Calen Halcom, Marcos Morales-Martinez, Matthew O’Quinn, Gregory Sabancuyan, Akash Vijay, Abigail Simon, Fiona Lopez and LeeAn Zhong were selected to participate in the High School Aerospace Scholars. Not pictured is junior Hannah George, who was also selected, and STEM teacher Pilar Castro-Zena. Photo by Kyah Jones

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

Instagram: thesidekickcoppell

Graphic by Samantha Freeman

Facebook: Sidekick Online

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NEWS

Holmes brings P O W ! !

M !

G O N BA BO comics to life PRAMIKA KADARI EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR @pramikakadari

THE STORY BEGINS...

Coppell High School AP English IV teacher Alexander Holmes is launching a new English class based around graphic novels. Holmes’ interest in graphic novels dates back to his childhood. Photo by Neveah Jones

Read the full story on coppellstudentmedia.com

With his walls covered in Frankenstein and Marvel posters and his bookshelves overflowing, Coppell High School English teacher Alexander Holmes’s devotion to storytelling becomes crystal-clear the moment one walks into his classroom.

Now, he is using that devotion to launch a new English class – a version of English IV that utilizes graphic novels instead of traditional literature.

Holmes began brainstorming this class while in his master’s program at Trinity University. Teaching American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang during a unit on East Asian Literacy helped spark the idea.

“I was teaching freshmen, but even so I realized the richness of graphic novels, and understood the level of

analysis that applied to them could be just as interesting as it is on any literary work,” Holmes said. “[I’ve been interested in comics and graphic novels] as long as I can remember. I started getting into superheroes when I was really, really young. I grew up with the Spiderman and X-Men cartoons when they were coming on the TV. Then as soon as I realized that Barnes & Noble had a comics and graphic novel section – probably when I was in fifth or sixth grade – every time I went to a bookstore, I was looking for that.”

As all high schoolers need a fourth credit of English to graduate, Holmes’s new class will be an alternate way to provide that. Open to all seniors, it will earn students an on-level GPA weight.

“People who struggle with reading or like to read graphic novels, or just want to take a different approach to learning English, are really going to appreciate and get excited about this course,” CHS associate principal Melissa Arnold said.

Multiple students have already approached Holmes with questions about the class, so he is not too concerned about marketing it to obtain interest. In fact, he is strongly considering recruiting other teachers to help him teach the class. “[This class] is going to change lives,” Arnold said.

...THE END. PRAMIKA ‘20 can be reached at psk7733@g.coppellisd.com

Campus restrooms undergoing renovations NISHANT MEDICHARLA BUSINESS MANAGER @nishantnm1

With renovations expanding from hallways to classrooms at Coppell High School, the restrooms are no exception. Currently, most CHS restrooms are undergoing another renovation project to meet the standards for the new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance change the school must follow because of the various upgrades happening.

The ADA mandates all public and private sectors provide the same opportunities to those with disabilities. To satisfy this requirement, Coppell ISD is redesigning all the student restrooms to ensure those with disabilities can use the restroom in an efficient manner.

In each restroom, one stall will be removed to make space for a handicap stall and an ambulatory stall. Due to the shifting of the stalls, some pipes have been and will be readjusted to accommodate for the change.

While the construction has caused an inconvenience for some, the CHS administration and the Northstar Builders Group are optimistic that all renovations will be completed by August.

NISHANT ‘20 can be reached at nxm6285@g.coppellisd.com

A row of toilets sits without stalls in the upstairs B-hall bathroom on Jan. 17.

Due to a communication error with the construction company, some of the restroom stalls were removed. The administration has since added the stalls back to the restroom, which is now in full use. Photo by Blanche Harris Read the full story on coppellstudentmedia.com

2020

THE SIDEKICK

NEWS

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THE BEAT FROM CHS9 Lesley Field is getting a makeover. Changes in the works include the track, restrooms and concession stands.

Get to know English teacher Summer Ward. When she is not running marathons, she is running the classroom as Teacher of the Year.

For these stories and more, visit coppellstudentmedia.com

Taking creativity across the world S H R AV YA M A H E S H ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR @shravyamahesh

Across nearly 9,000 miles of land and sea, CHS9 student Shraavya Pydisetti picked up everything, ready to start over…again.

However, she knew the one thing she would never leave behind was her love for the arts. Despite moving multiple times between Mumbai, India and Coppell, Pydisetti has remained close with four friends – physical art, guitar, writing and dance.

Pydisetti first picked up physical art at a very young age, doing crafts and basic paintings at workshops.

In the fourth grade at Denton Creek Elementary, a year after moving to Coppell, Pydisetti won the annual district

holiday greeting card competition.

Since, Pydisetti has taken in-school art classes throughout all her years in Coppell.

“Art is that one consistent thing I’ve had in my life,” Pydisetti said.

“Everything else has been a stop and a start and a stop and a start, because I’ve been moving everywhere. I can do it anytime; I don’t need to be in a specific place to do it.”

Ever since Pydisetti’s interest in dance began in early childhood, she has dabbled in a variety of styles, including Indian classical, contemporary, shadow dance (where the dancers’ shadows are cast on a screen) and freestyle hip-hop. She currently learns from highly-reputed dancer Erem Khan. “[Dance] is my way of getting on stage and actually performing in front of a big crowd and inter-

acting with a lot of people,” Pydisetti said. “I can meet other dancers and learn from them.”

In seventh grade in India, a deep love for music brought Pydisetti to the guitar. After seeing her childhood friend from India Arnav Sharma playing, she adopted the guitar, learning “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic as her first song. Since then, exposure and practice have augmented her skill, as Pydisetti plans to start making her own music with singer and CHS9 student Sumita Bhattacharyya.

“Whenever you listen to a song, it’s not about the melody as much as the lyrics, because that’s the thought behind the song,” Pydisetti said. “In art, you tell a story and music also tells a story. When I’m playing, I’m telling my own story.”

Pydisetti takes a more serious approach to her writing, as she tackles social issues that affect her. She has written about her experiences moving, social c l i q u e s and physical judgment. She recently opened a blog entitled Wait Up World that houses her writing

Freshman Shraavya Pydisetti has moved multiple times between Mumbai, India and Coppell. She is involved in a variety of artistic interests, such as art, writing, dance and guitar.

Photo

by Samantha Freeman

works, along with her art.

“Writing is my actual voice,” Pydisetti said. “Whenever I’m going through something that’s really hard or difficult, I can just write it down.

It really helps me reflect on how I was and how to improve on that.”

However, Pydisetti’s interests have been affected by migration.

After moving to Coppell in third grade, she moved back to Mumbai after four years for her father’s job.

They only stayed for a year before moving back to the United States.

The back and forth proved difficult for Pydisetti, but her interests allowed her to adjust, finding solace in the comforts of her beloved arts.

Over the years, Pydisetti has numerous accolades in all four of her hobbies. Her designs were chosen for student directory covers twice and a Coppell Middle School North T-shirt. She plays guitar at malls and does many group performances. She also got an honorable mention in the poetry category last year at Coppell Gifted Association’s creative writing competition.

“I know [Shraavya] will be successful no matter where she decides to go or what path she decides to take,” Coppell Middle School North art teacher Shannon Nop said. “Art will continue to be a love of hers and will influence her in whatever path she takes.”

SHRAVYA ‘20 can be reached at smm8670@g.coppellisd.com

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

Instagram: thesidekickcoppell

Facebook: Sidekick Online

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FEBRUARY

THE SIDEKICK VIEW

2019-2020

Staff

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP CHASE WOFFORD Staff Adviser ANTHONY CESARIO* Editor-in-Chief PRAMIKA KADARI* News and Enterprise Editor NICK PRANSKE* Copy and Design Editor CLAIRE CLEMENTS Editorial Page Editor SALLY PARAMPOTTIL Sports Editor EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP KAREN LU Daily News Editor SHIVI SHARMA CHS9 Editor NEHA DESARAJU Student Life Editor SHRAVYA MAHESH Entertainment Editor CHARLOTTE VANYO Visual Media Editor NISHANT MEDICHARLA* Business Manager ANIKA ARUTLA Social Media Manager ANDRÉS BEAR CSM Web Producer WRITERS Akansha Singh Akhila Gunturu Akif Abidi Alishba Javaid Angela Yuan Anjali Krishna Anvitha Reddy Arman Merchant Avani Kashyap Arman Merchant Camila Villarreal Christie Hernandez Emma Meehan Jillian Moore Joanne Kim Laasya Achanta

Meer Mahfuz Nanette Pottoore Nicolas Reyes Rithik Chennupati Sapna Amin Sarah Habib Sarah Woo Shreya Beldona Sreeja Mudumby Sydney Rowe Tracy Tran Trisha Atluri Victoria Hertel Yash Ravula Yasemin Ragland

PHOTOGRAPHERS Anthony Onalaja Ava Mora Blanche Harris Camden Southwick Camila Flores-Sanchez Elaina Hair Kyah Jones

Lilly Gorman Liza Martinez Mari Pletta Neveah Jones Sneha Sash Precious Onalaja

DESIGNERS Bella Mora Kaylee Aguilar* Ryan Kim

Samantha Freeman* Shriya Vanparia*

*Indicates Volume 31 No. 4 issue page designer

THE SIDEKICK is the official student newspaper for Coppell High School. Its purpose is to inform, entertain and provide an educational resource for its readers. This newspaper is a public forum for student expression, with staff members (with assistance from their adviser) making content decisions. The editorials and columns in this paper reflect the view of their writers.

The Sidekick is a member of Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA).

The Sidekick welcomes all letters to the editor, but letters must be signed before consideration for publication. Send letters to cwofford@coppellisd.com or bring them by D115.

Advertisements are sold as full, 1/2 page, 1/4 page and 1/8 page sizes in black and white or color.

C O N TA C T U S (214) 496 6239 / cwofford@coppellisd.com 185 W. Parkway Blvd. Coppell, TX 75019

STAFF EDITORIAL

Teach us something we actually need If Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer had not taken the initiative to establish a #Adulting experience for the seniors of the school, nearly 900 young adults could have graduated and entered the world without acquiring some essential life skills.

According to the survey Springer emailed out, the proposed adulting day, which is still in its planning stages, is a day or half-day where seniors can learn about topics such as professional communications and selfdefense and safety.

The concept of an adulting day is incredibly beneficial, especially as CHS is one of many schools around Texas and the nation that does not offer home economics or a similar life skills course. Home economics, also sometimes called family and consumer science, has been steadily decreasing in popularity across the nation over the years.

CHS, which once offered it until a lack of interested students for two straight years led to the dissipation of the course, now does not even offer an alternative class.

For such an opportunity to be reintroduced to life skills through school, we are incredibly grateful. In addition to the arsenal of less than necessary facts we possess upon graduation, we can now have at least a basic understanding of a few more important things which all adults need to know.

However, this concept can go further and be significantly more beneficial if offered to the entire student population throughout the year rather than just a single day.

The best way to accomplish this is through the implementation of a monthly occurrence throughout the entire year in which both CHS and CHS9 follow the traditional pep rally schedule, with a life skill class in place of the pep rally.

Each grade would have a main focus on its life skills.

One grade would focus on financial matters, another would take health and wellness, one would handle basic job preparation and the last would tackle living at home.

Within each of those years, smaller focus classes would take place; for example, living at home would include cooking, house security and basic maintenance.

The proposed plan would not even cut into other classes. Though life skill classes would be required to attend, they would not be a required class in the sense of home economics that would take up a period on one’s schedule.

Some may suggest parents should be teaching us these non-specialized skills or that we should just learn them through experience once we are set loose in adulthood.

However, many parents will not take the time or even

2020

have the time to teach their children how to budget or buy large purchases such as cars or houses. Not every person wants to risk going out in the real world to “learn as they go” when it comes to trying to survive, and although knowledge can come from experience, there should be some sort of foundation to build upon. The only sure way to prepare us is to provide a foundation of basic knowledge through a system all children go through: school.

When it comes down to it, long term life skills are what we need to learn. The mitochondria may be the powerhouse of the cell, but we will need much more than biology to power through the rest of our lives.

GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? We are always happy to accept tips and guest columns. Email cwofford@coppellisd.com with your suggestions, feedback, stories or letters to our editors. We’re all ears!

DO YOU THINK HOME ECONOMICS IS A NECESSARY CLASS? LUKE MOYER - SOPHOMORE “Yes. They are extremely important for your life outside of school. Learning how to balance a checkbook, file taxes, how to balance a credit card, it’s all super important because if you get a bad start with your credit card, you can be screwed up for the rest of your life with not being able to get student loans, mortgage a house, car payments or any of that. If we taught it in school, it would be better to set people up for their future and what they can do outside of school.”

MANASI VIPAT - JUNIOR “No...When you’re learning it in a class, you’re going to learn one way of doing it but there is not going to be any other option for you to explore what you like.

In other classes, there are methods of doing things that work best like math or science. In this case, managing a household and these home economics topics are just based on how you want to do something.”

THE SIDEKICK

OPINIONS

Opinions ACCEPTING ALL SEXUALITIES P. 8

“They chose to leave my grandpa out in the cold.”

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P. 9

IGNORING OTHER’S NEEDS P. 9

CONSIDERING ORGAN DONATION P. 9

Dear "Real Man":

How does it feel to show emotion?

YA S H R AV U L A STAFF WRITER @yashravula

“Y

ou don’t look like your age at all!” is one of the most awkward comments when you are short. Standing at about five feet, four and a half inches and very skinny with a prepubescent-looking face, it has been a part of all the family get-together conversations since I can remember.

This is toxic masculinity being imposed on a child, and it happens far more often than people think. Toxic masculinity is present in many forms: holding back emotions, male beauty standards and the way men are expected to treat others.

Throughout history, we’ve seen a male-dominated society in which men were big, strong knights and ladies swoon around them. Anyone who wasn’t anything like that was considered an outlier. This mentality got ingrained into the minds of men, which got worse and worse throughout the years.

Over the past decade, many influencers such as Lizzo and Gigi Hadid have come forward to shed some light on what women’s beauty standards are and should be, and have started campaigns against the modeling industry for body shaming. When I was looking for statistics about the number of people who have come forward about body shaming in the male modeling industry, I could

not find any.

What appears in magazines has defined what a man looks like for generations. These magazines have little to no diversity. They are almost always white, flawless and extremely fit. Boys and men reading these magazines get a false sense of what people consider “manly” and “hot”; this can lead to issues such as body dysmorphia, which causes devastating eating disorders.

One of the emerging male voices in this conversation is “Jane the Virgin” actor, Justin Baldoni.

“I’m tired of being man enough for everyone all the time… I’m just a guy who realized after living for 30 years, I’ve been living in a state of conflict; conflict with who I feel like I am at the core, and conflict with who the world tells me as a man I should be,” Baldoni said at the TED Women’s conference in New Orleans.

Baldoni explains about being mad at his father for not teaching him to be like other guys and explains how men can be more “feminine” by talking to the women in their lives and not by talking over them.

I remember in third grade, I saw boys being aggressive and rude to girls. Even though I strongly disliked what they were doing, I felt as if I had to follow their lead. Some may argue, “That’s what they do” or “Boys will be boys.”

This mentality is one of the

many ways adults impose gender stereotypes into little vulnerable children. According to psychologists, this prompts students to construct gender stereotypes. Instead of parents and teachers encouraging students by saying, “Boys will be boys,” one could teach students to be good human beings.

Teaching boys, while they are young to love and empathize, will give them the opportunity to be empathetic as adults, which could help them in their professional and personal relationships.

Although this habit will be hard for older men to adapt to, they should try and give it a chance rather than ridiculing it, and learn from the other genders and try to be vulnerable with other men. For those who are having a hard time being insecure about how they look, remember fitness does not equal beauty.

One of the things that make a person a “manly man” is being vulnerable and showing love and emotions.

Next family gathering, when someone tells me, “You look too young for people your age” or “You should eat more” and look at me weird, I have to own up to the fact that I am a five feet, four and a half inches; prepubescentlooking, average faced and very skinny boy, who is breaking stereotypes about what men look and think like.

YASH‘20 can be reached at yxr6555@g.coppellisd.com

The discussion around toxic masculinity has been changing over the years. The Sidekick staff writer Yash Ravula joins the conversation by discussing the impact of toxic masculinity in his life. Photo Illustration by Samantha Freeman and by Shriya Vanparia

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

Instagram: thesidekickcoppell

Facebook: Sidekick Online

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FEBRUARY

OPINIONS

Being gay is not a trend “It is amazing what happens in someone’s life when they are accepted for who they are.”

- CHS Principal Laura Springer Photo by Tracy Tran

CAMILA VILLARREAL STAFF WRITER @fliipthewriter

Being queer is not like being straight.

When you are straight, you never worry about whether people will leave you because of who you cannot help but love or hear the word, “OK, just don’t hit on me, please” when you come out to someone for being straight - which you would ever do anyway.

Most importantly, you never worry whether your parents will be ashamed of you or ignore you as if they are avoiding a problem.

“When you’re straight, people don’t care about your sex life, but if they find our you’re gay, that’s what they’ll lead with. That’s what they’ll see you as,” Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer said. “It saddens me that we are so judgemental and so worried of something different than us. How sad that we think [gay people] should have to hide themselves, because it is amazing what happens in someone’s life when they are accepted for who they are.”

To be fair, being gay today is a lot

easier than it was 40 years ago. In 1977, only 43% of the population believed same-sex marriages should be legal. Today, that number has nearly doubled. Seventy-five percent of Americans support gay adoption rights and 93% believe gay people should have equal access to all jobs.

Approximately nine million Americans are gay.

That is around 3.8% of the population. Roughly 8% of all high school kids reported being gay, lesbian or bisexual. Our presence is felt internationally and because of that, studies show that Americans overestimate the number of queer people by more than five times the actual percentage. This, the queer community is realizing, leads to homophobic outrage and the all-too-familiar complaint that “everyone is gay now.”

From drag races to wild hair colors to eccentric makeup, queer culture has seduced the Internet worldwide. Because the culture is emerging, so are the people. In truth, homosexuality can be traced back for centuries, but the idea was so repressed in previous societies that hardly anyone noticed it. As the years went by, the queer communties grew and the world became a more inclusive place for them.

It was not so easy to get there though.

Gay violence and discrimintation has been around just as long as gay people have.

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 47% of transgender women have experience sexual assult at some point in their life. In 1980, a former

2020

psycology instructor published false studies “proving” gay people commit more severe crimes. In 2000, the United States Supreme Court ruled to continue to ban gay scoutmasters for the Boy Scouts of America.

“When I was hitting puberty I [endured] a lot of self-hate because I realized I was a girl who likes girls,” CHS junior Abby Smith said. “But there are a lot more people out there to support [queers] than you’d originally think, it’s about reaching out as much as you can to find someone who gets it.”

With all those people and all that history behind us, it is the equivalent to a slap in the face when people dismiss us and our sexualities as a trend simply because we took advantage of our right to exist and express ourselves. We do not withstand years of inner-confusion, exclusion, fear and homophobia because that’s what’s in right now, and we do not love who we love because all of our friends are doing it. Sexuality is not the same as poodle skirts from the 50s or mullets from the 80s.

“If you are truly part of the LGBT community, you don’t [come out] for the hashtag, you do it for the sake of feeling in your own skin,” CHS LOTE teacher Michael Egan said. “I was disowned twice in my life by two families - my biological parents as a baby and my [adopted] family when I came out. But the beauty of what these people chose to do by walking through the fire is getting to choose a family.”

Sexuality is one small fraction of what makes up a person, but that small fraction may or may not have come at a big cost to the person behind it. Demoting someone else’s life as a fad in today’s world where the spectrum of lifestyles is grand and glorious is, if it is not yet apparent, rude.

Being gay is not a trend. The queers are here to stay.

CAMILA ‘21 can be reached at cxv8266@g.coppellisd.com

THE SIDEKICK

OPINIONS

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Let your organs save lives instead of rot NICOLAS REYES STAFF WRITER @nico_reyes19

HOW TO BECOME A

DONOR

Register while at the Department of Motor Vehicles Answer ‘yes’ to become an organ donor when renewing your license Sign up online at organdonor.gov

Their loved one died, but mine did not have to.

They chose to leave my grandpa out in the cold.

The immediate family of the deceased had promised they would donate the organs of their fallen loved one. But as more family members decided to interject, they decided to recant their vows. I do not know if it was apathy or ignorance that pulled their strings, but I know that for many more months, my grandpa’s cancerous kidney continued to tighten its grip on his life.

Though my grandpa was lucky to find another donor, it was not enough. For a year, my family believed he was cured, only for us to discover his cancer had been insidious until it had gained too much strength to be fought.

He lost weight rapidly. His glowing eyes began to dim. And then my grandpa died.

I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had the potential donor’s family decided to put her organs to use instead of leaving them to decompose in a vain casket.

Anyone physically capable of being an organ donor should be; there is absolutely no excuse not to be.

If the deceased had been a registered organ donor, her family would not have been able to take such a life changing u-turn in taking back their promise to donate. My grandpa could still be alive.

One donor alone is capable of saving eight lives,

improving the lives of 60 more and correcting the eyesight of two. The family of Taylor Storch alone, a former Coppell Middle School East student, saved five lives when they donated her organs, so why are only 38% of American young adults willing to donate?

Some refuse to donate for the same reason as the family previously described: the belief of preserving body integrity. Though sects of religious communities rebuff the idea of modifying the body, there is nothing unethical about donation.

This is a statement prominent religious leaders from all the major belief systems have affirmed.

Religion should not be an excuse to deny someone the chance to live. A common theme among the world’s religions is the spirit of giving, and there is nothing that screams gluttony more than hoarding organs that no longer are of use to the owner. With religious leaders pushing their followers to support the transplanting process, few people are in the room to claim their religion is inhibiting them from participating.

The religious excuse the family of my grandfather’s potential donor presented was ludicrous; their religion promotes it.

A conspiracy theory saying doctors put forth less effort into saving the lives of registered organ donors is also a leading factor in low levels of donations. However, this conspiracy could not be further from the truth.

NICOLAS ‘20 can be reached at nxr7863@g.coppellisd.com

Claire’s Corner: Don’t say never mind CLAIRE CLEMENTS EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR @cclements825

Have you ever been left out of an inside joke?

You’re with a group of friends, and they’re all laughing about some joke that you do not understand.

It hurts, right?

But imagine instead of an inside joke, it’s just a regular joke anyone can understand, but you do not hear it. Or it’s just literally anything someone says, and you do not hear it, and people refuse to repeat it for you to hear it.

They brush you off by saying “never mind” or “It doesn’t matter.” That would be super annoying, right?

I hear these things on a daily basis. As a deaf person, it is all too easy to miss something someone says, especially when I am in a conversation with a group of people. What’s not easy, surprisingly, is getting people to repeat what was said.

For some reason, people do not enjoy repeating something they said. When you read that, it sounds pretty stupid. Repeating something should take five seconds. But on a daily basis, I, alongside many other Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing people, struggle to get others to repeat something they said, under the guise it is “not important.”

The thing is, when you refuse to repeat something for people, you are doing a lot more than

you think you are: you are controlling their environment, controlling what information they have access to and ultimately, showing them you do not care for them.

What is important to people is their own choice. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If they missed out on some “unimportant” information, they may find it important. Ultimately, it’s their decision.

Even if it’s not what you mean or feel, being too lazy to repeat something suggests you do not care about that person. I might be sensitive, but I’ve gone to the bathroom in tears because I just felt so left out with a group of friends who refuse to repeat anything, because I felt they did not care.

In a situation where someone missed what you said, rather than brushing off someone, take five, 10 seconds at most, and repeat what you said. Honestly, repeating something should be common sense, and it definitely should be when it comes to Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing people.

Being kind and considerate of other people’s issues should be something we ingrain in our everyday life. A great place to start is to stop brushing off people, especially disabled people’s needs.

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

CLAIRE ‘20 can be reached at cec4824@g.coppellisd.com

Instagram: thesidekickcoppell

Photo illustration by Mari Pletta and Shriya Vanparia

Facebook: Sidekick Online

10

FEBRUARY

STUDENT LIFE

“I am still me and I am not going to change that for anyone.” P. 15

Student Life DING! DING! DING! P. 11

OUTDOORS COME NATURAL FOR REED P. 15

DEWIMPIFIED P.15

Barnes finds new lifestyle in tiny home CLAIRE CLEMENTS EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR @cclements825

Y

A house tour

ou step inside your house, drop your backpack and head to your bedroom, ready to escape into the comfort of your bed. For average people, it might take a minute to get to their room, maybe a little less.

For Coppell High School astronomy and earth & space science teacher Angela Barnes, it takes only a couple seconds to travel through her tiny home, which she has been living in since July 2019.

“It all started when those TV shows and other media came out showing the tiny house trend and it was something I was interested in because I am really into living sustainably,” Barnes said. “To be honest, I’m not from Dallas and there’s a part of me that just had a problem buying a house here and permanently settling here, and to buy a house that’s on wheels just made more sense for me.”

Tiny houses are commonly defined as a house ranging from 100 to 400 square feet. In

recent years, with the sustainability movement growing traction, so have tiny houses, with tiny houses being naturally green. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, more than 53% of Americans would consider living in a tiny house.

The reasons for this choice vary, but commonly cited is that they reduce carbon impact, foster a more minimalist lifestyle and lower cost.

“I knew having a tiny house and a smaller footprint would, for financial reasons, be more beneficial,” said neighbor Carl Pigg, who also lives in a tiny house.

A lot of people assume living in a tiny house can induce claustrophobia or be uncomfortable, but many tiny house owners disagree.

“One of the misconceptions of a tiny house is that people always [say], ‘Oh, you can live in a small space because you’re going to spend so much time outdoors,’ but I love being in my house,” Barnes’ neighbor Erica Jawett Hirst said.

TO READ MORE, VISIT COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM CLAIRE ‘20 can be reached at cec4824@g.coppellisd.com

Coppell High School science teacher Angela Barnes’s living space includes an all-in-one space with a kitchen, living room and stairs leading up to her bedroom.

Barnes’s home, which is 26 x 8 feet, is designed in a way where sustainibility meets with feasibility.

Barnes chose to live in a tiny house to have a smaller footprint and reduce financial costs.

Photos by Yash Ravula

2020

THE SIDEKICK

STUDENT LIFE

11

Mundhada whipping up charity support ANGELA YUAN STAFF WRITER @anglealey Coppell High School senior Pragati Mundhada is the co-president of Cooking For A Cause.

Cooking For A Cause is a club that makes food for events and donates profits to charities. In addition, she is an AP student in National Honor Society and Health Occupations Students of America.

How does Cooking for a Cause support the community?

When [CHS senior co-President Aditi Manjrekar and I] first started this club [in the 2017-2018 school year], we went [and gave food] to local places such as [Cozby Library and Community Commons], the fire department and the police department. A lot of elementary teachers have certain days where they want treats. Every year, we’ve also [been to] the Bayerische Motoren Werke Dallas Marathon, and that’s a really big one, because thousands of people participate in that, and we get to hand food to the volunteers. There are elementary school carnivals that we help out with, and we’ve done fundraisers for charities that the club members decide.

Coppell High School senior Cooking For A Cause co-President and co-founder Pragati Mundhada applies frosting to a cupcake in her free time. Cooking For A Cause members make food for events and charities around Coppell. Photo by Nishant Medicharla

What do you enjoy about the club?

I found that I’ve developed a lot of new skills. I used to be very shy in school. I wouldn’t answer questions. Forcing myself to be a leader in something has helped

me a lot, not only in the classroom but outside of school as well. I became more ready to take initiative and started to make more decisions for myself and others rather than following others.

What inspired you to start the club Cooking For A Cause?

[In fall of 2017], my friend and I went to [CHS health science teacher Gary Beyer]. He enjoyed cooking and baking, so we asked him to start this club, and it’s been up and running since. A lot of what I was worried about was that I wouldn’t have these central skills needed for life, and one of them was cooking. Throughout our club we try to implement these skills.

Although we don’t outright say it, students are starting to get a better sense of converting measurements, what tools to use, things like that.

What food does the club make?

We’ve gone towards the sweeter side.

We’ve made brownies, cookies and cupcakes. For fall, we made stuffed, baked apple desserts. We’ve also made Rice Krispie treats, and we’ve decorated them to reflect that month’s holiday, like Halloween or Christmas.

TO READ MORE, VISIT COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM ANGELA ‘22 can be reached at axy7572@g.coppellisd.com

Quiz Bowl taking strides for bright future R I T H I K C H E N N U PAT I STAFF WRITER @rithikc11 Quiz Bowl is a game in which two teams compete head-to-head to answer questions from all areas of knowledge, including history, literature, science, fine arts, current events, popular culture, sports and more. There are individual tournaments as well as team tournaments. In the team setting each team has four members and answers questions based on provided clues. Questions increase in difficulty and a team can get points depending on difficulty and time taken to answer.

Coppell High School junior Vishal Sivamani started the team his seventh grade year at Coppell Middle School West and was the fifth scorer out of around 80 at his first tournament and brought his team to the national bid round where they lost to Parish Episcipol which was the 20th ranked team in the country and located in Dallas, Texas. When Sivamani started the club, he wanted to make sure it had room to grow through the years. Keeping that goal in mind, Sivamani started the club at CHS with friends from middle school who competed with him.

“We started the club with members that competed at the middle school level so we knew we had a good start to our club,” Sivamani said. “Now that I look back on it I am glad we did that because it gave us more of a solid base.”

According to Sivamani, it is hard to find someone who knows all of the events well because of the number of topics the

competition includes. The club does not look specifically for students who simply get good grades but students who have a genuine passion for learning.

Since the team was founded, it has grown significantly, allowing it to compete at a higher level. The team started with smaller practices and expanded as more people gained more interest in the club, then the team qualified for nationals after its first year in seventh grade and the entire program gained a bit of recognition. It has continued to grow.

“When we started the program we realized it would be hard to get it to where it is at now but we are happy with the progression that we are seeing,” Sivamani said. “It is our whole team’s responsibility to try to learn as much as we can in the next few months and by doing so we can try to achieve our goals this year.”

Coppell High School junior Quiz Bowl co-captain Vishal Sivamani studies for a tournament. The Quiz Bowl team qualified for the Pace National Scholastic Championship this year which will take place in Virginia and the HSNCT National Championship in Atlanta. Photo

by Trisha Atluri

TO READ MORE, VISIT COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM RITHIK ‘20 can be reached at rxc6440@g.coppellisd.com

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

Instagram: thesidekickcoppell

Facebook: Sidekick Online

12

13 STORY BY SHRAVYA MAHESH PHOTOS BY LILLY GORMAN AND CHARLOTTE VANYO DESIGN BY SAMANTHA FREEMAN

I

Next generation of artists flourishing through evolving visual art fields

n a rapidly changing society entranced by technology, art has transformed into a digitized hybrid “that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies.” Thanks to these modernized innovations, the art world has grown and evolved, allowing for previously unimaginable new possibilities for budding artists and demanding consumers alike.

Bold strokes of vivid color. Clean, orderly lines sweeping from top to bottom. A cursor tracing the edges of an object. A screen, a mouse and a hand. This is the modern reality of art.

A FOUNDATIONAL STEPPING STONE Many aspiring artists begin their computer or digital art experience from a young age. At Coppell High School, students are offered numerous classes focusing on aspects of the tech art field. The most common are art teacher Cameron Tiede’s, under the arts and humanities endorsement pathway. Digital arts and media is the class that most closely matches careers in art and tech, as it introduces students to both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, two of the most commonly used tools by industry professionals, using assignments inspired by real world projects.

Having worked for Michaels and freelanced for the industry for seven to eight years, Tiede uses his own experiences to give students the skill set required to succeed in the field. “[Digital arts and media] is not so much a class about learning the tool,” Tiede said. “It’s a class about design and about storytelling. The computer is just like a pencil - it’s a tool. It’s what you bring to it and what you do with it that matters.”

After digital arts and media, students have the option to go into AP 2-D Design, which largely focuses on design principles and concepts used in art and tech industries. Most use the computer for their 15-piece portfolio, but students are expected to already have sufficient knowledge of software through the preceding class.

While these classes have a heavy emphasis on the fine arts, Career art in future. I found [the Arts & Entertainment Technologies] and Technical Education teacher Cynthia Wolfe’s classes, graphic program and it was a perfect integration between engineering design and illustration, animation and digital media, put a technical and art. It was perfect for me.” spin on the same subject. Rather than delving straight into the Adobe Aguilar now plans to do a certificate in computer science Creative Cloud, the students start out using Microsoft PowerPoint, alongside her current study of game design, allowing her to turn her creating illustrations and motion graphics in the presentation software. own visions into realities without the aid of technical specialists.

As much of digitized art requires an equal portion of both “Because I was aiming to do art that is more technical, I art and science, the computer science classes at CHS give thought especially for game development, having a computer students essential knowledge in science background is programming, algorithms and really important, even hardware. Computer science more important than teacher Michael McCabe heads knowing how to draw beginner level computer science or do art,” Aguilar said. principles, while Michael Finnegan “Especially when you’re heads more advanced classes on a team with both programming I and II, AP Computer software engineers Science A and practicum. and pure studio artists, For 2019 CHS graduate Alyssa you’re kind of almost Aguilar, also Sidekick staff designer acting as the bridge Kaylee Aguilar’s older sister, who between those two.” is now a freshman in the Arts & University of Southern Entertainment Technologies major California graduate Sagar at the University of Texas at Austin, Ramesh, who graduated CAMERON TIEDE the fine arts and engineering classes from CHS in 2015, works CHS ART TEACHER she took throughout high school as a product designer at gave her the tools necessary to be virtual reality company on the path to success in her major.

Oculus’s headquarters in “When I was trying to choose Menlo Park, Calif. During a major around junior year, I was kind of stuck, because I was in his time at Coppell, Ramesh took fine arts classes including AP the engineering program at CHS and I just wasn’t feeling that Drawing, but only actively decided to go into art as a career after engineering was for me,” Aguilar said. “At the same time, I was college counselors from USC, CalArts and other schools visited CHS enjoying art a lot, but I couldn’t see myself doing pure studio during his sophomore year.

The computer is just like a pencil - it’s a tool. It’s what you bring to it and what you do with it that matters.

Digital design programs such as Adobe Photoshop can be used to recreate physical pieces of art, including this mural in Downtown Carrollton depicting the Plaza Arts Center.

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

“Initially, because I come from a fine arts background, I understood it wouldn’t be practical to continue doing fine arts,” Ramesh said. “A lot of my peers and people who are older than me ended up going into animation, so I started seeing animation as a viable path.”

Though he initially planned to study film animation, he found his calling in virtual reality and learned computer science, so he would be able to bring his ideas to life on his own.

“When I started as an artist, I had a strong grasp on [an] idea I wanted to manifest into something real,” Ramesh said. “But until I was able to do it myself, I was always dependent on someone else to do it. So learning how to code or learning how to build things in AR (augmented reality) and VR just allowed me to build better things overall.”

Using drawings and notes from her sketchbook, Coppell High School junior Sydney Sun utilizes a Wacom tablet for her AP 2-D design class.

A MODERNIZED PERCEPTION Though digitized art has evolved to suit modern times, first strides in the emerging field occurred years in the 1960s with the advent of new technologies, such as the digital camera and the computer. Suddenly, it became evident art did not only have to be created using physical mediums - the up-andcoming inventions of the time could serve a similar purpose.

Despite its technical intricacies, the movement is far from inaccessible to the general public. The forerunner of the digital art movement since 1982, Adobe Inc. offers a wide range of programs through the Adobe Creative Cloud which specialize in different subsects of digital art, including CHS’s preferred Illustrator and Photoshop. While these focus on a more technical aspect, software such as Clip Studio Paint and iPad app Procreate allow for more artistic work that mimics traditional artwork. Digital sculpting and virtual three-dimensional models can also be created with tools like Autodesk Maya (which was used by the“Stranger Things” team to create realistic animations) and Blender. Adobe also offers an animation tool, Adobe After Effects, to create motion graphics.

Because of the growing popularity of the field, artists can more easily find success and job opportunities. As dependent as modern society is on technology, the tech industry rakes in millions of dollars, making the hybrids of virtual reality and graphic design, among others, increasingly lucrative.

Since such careers are so specialized, the demand for experienced artists to aid in the design aspect of a company is high. Even outside tech, artists who work for studios such as Pixar or Dreamworks can amass a hefty annual income, as their services are so in-demand.

“Before, art was a lot more competitive,” Ramesh said.

“Just because a lot of the work was subjective, a lot of people were basically competing for the same job. Whereas now, thanks to the internet and a lot of other distribution

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Facebook: Sidekick Online

platforms, it’s a lot easier for artists to make work or draw attention to themselves, because they basically own their own distribution.”

Independent artists can also find success, though typically to a lesser extent, through the use of platforms such as Patreon and Gumroad, where artists can sell directly to their fans through e-commerce. Artists can also simply share work through social media, getting their name out there to garner a following before opening up shops or starting commissions.

“The really unique thing about technology is it just scales way more than something that’s physical,” Ramesh said. “Something that appears on [social media] can be reached by a million people, whereas something that appears in a museum might only be accessed by maybe thousands of people. People who work in art or tech realize how powerful technology is, just for the distribution, so that’s where a lot of the people here are coming from. That’s why tech is so appealing.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE As a rapidly evolving industry, the possibilities under the computerized field are limitless. Now, people can interact with art unlike ever before. Interactive installations allow people to actively experience art, as though the entire space is the art piece. Projection mapping transforms 3-D structures, visuals wrapping around complex figures to create larger-than-life art pieces. Virtual reality brings people to new and exciting worlds and augmented reality adds unique features to our world.

With virtual reality exploding in popularity, things previously thought to be impossible are coming true. Virtual production allows filmmakers to create motion capture films, seeing the actors in a virtual world while acting on a special stage. This technology enabled director Jon Favreau to direct The Lion King (2019), where all the characters are computer-generated.

As more obstacles are being challenged with the aid of rapidly

growing technology, the hardware, evolves to keep up, creating a positive feedback loop of growth and evolution, where things only consistently get better and better.

“If it wasn’t for art, we wouldn’t have the hardware that we do today,” Finnegan said. “There’s nothing that’s pushed hardware harder and faster than art through games.

Because we don’t need this kind of power to run Excel or Word. We push the hardware limits with entertainment, with visuals within games, and that’s all art.”

However, rapid change can pose a challenge as well, as sudden developments can turn an entire industry upside down. When a new technology completely upstages a thriving industry, the people in it can find themselves in a difficult position.

“When I was freelancing years ago, I was doing a lot of [Adobe] Flash video games,” Tiede said. “I would do the animation and artwork. I’d put it all together and they would turn it into a video game. But then the iPhone came out and Flash all went away. Where you could make a lot of money one day or one year suddenly all dried up right away. And when you put a whole bunch of work and time and effort into something and then it just disappears, that makes it really difficult.”

However, a strong skill set and background can combat sudden changes, allowing higher adaptability as artists can transition into whatever the industry currently presents and what people want.

“People love the idea of visual communication and stories and there’s far more of that going on now in the world than there ever used to be,” Tiede said. “There’s endless opportunities for it, but human nature will still be the same. We’ll still want to read, we’ll still want to tell stories, we’ll still want games and movies and all the things that we as creatives can still feed people. It just might be in a completely different way.”

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FEBRUARY

STUDENT LIFE

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

O N E PA L E T T E AT A T I M E YA S H R AV U L A STAFF WRITER @yashravula

Highlight poppin’. Eyeliner winged. Face snatched.

Coppell High School sophomore Michael Creed, at the mere age of 12 found his love for makeup. Since, nothing has stopped him from pursuing it and constantly improving his artistic ability and breaking gender stereotypes.

“I was playing with makeup when my mother was not around,” Creed said. “I have always loved watching my mom [put on makeup] every morning, watching her highlight the good parts of her face—that is what really got me into wanting to try it even more.”

The concept of makeup has been around for centuries—the earliest record comes from the 1st Dynasty of Egypt (3100-2907 BC). Both men and women in many different countries used kohl, a black powder to line their eyes to make their eyes seem more dominant, according to Michael. Although there was a widespread use of makeup that transcended gender in the earlier histories of makeup, makeup today is largely gendered, and men who wear makeup are often shamed for doing so.

“For certain people, makeup can be forced upon them [by society], but [that] is not the case of Michael,” CHS sophomore Kaitlyn Huellemann said. “His take on beauty is more about being artistic and pushing the boundaries on the binary system [of gender] that society has put.”

The biggest obstacle for Creed was finding the money for his makeup.

“When I turned 15 was when I started working to buy my own palettes and brushes and got to experiment with different techniques and different styles that I had seen beauty gurus use,” Creed said.

Coppell resident Allyson Tudor has known Creed’s family since he was a toddler and saw him develop both artistically and personally.

“He demonstrated his artistic skills since [Denton Creek] elementary school,” Tudor said. “He found a skincare routine that cleared up his face and it made his makeup so much smoother, and you can see a big difference between when he first put on makeup to today.”

Like all art forms, makeup is not something that can be perfected in one day, according to Creed.

“It took so much time and effort and dedication to find my style and improve it,” Creed said. “Not many people have the time and dedication to do it. It all comes down to doing what you are good at and sticking with it,” Although Creed had to go through personal struggles to get to where he is now, being a teenager in high school came with its own problems. “[Creed] is defying norms,” Huellemann said. “Society tells how men are supposed to be and act a certain way, and he is taking it and throwing it out of the window.

Although it is more chill now, people are [still] very ignorant,” There are many people in the world who are afraid of expressing themselves through mediums such as makeup, and art, according to the Telegraph.

“I am essentially pushing boundaries that have been constructed for many, many years,” Creed said. “I was very nervous to show people, and I was afraid of being judged or people saying things, but at that point, I have done so many gender-bending things that I did not care anymore. I liked it. I am still me and I am not going to change that for anyone.

Makeup does not have a gender. It’s only until recently people have been gendering makeup.”

Creed reflects on his experiences and offers advice for others who wish to dive into makeup.

“If you want to start doing makeup and if it is something you are passionate about it, slowly introduce the topic to your parents, they might not accept it at first because most of the time they are scared for you, but they will come around because they love you,” Creed said. “And get a job. That’s the best way you can buy your own makeup.”

Creed has the love and support of his family.

“I’m so proud of the person he is becoming and so

2020

grateful that I get to see him grow into a young adult,” CHS 2008 graduate and Michael’s brother Cody Creed said. “Parents and family should accept their children.

Family is unconditional love, and if you can’t support your child then you don’t really deserve to call yourself family.It breaks my heart that some kids are being disowned for something as trivial as sexuality or just wanting to express themselves in what society calls weird.”

YASH ‘20 can be reached at yxr6555@g.coppellisd.com

Coppell High School sophomore Michael Creed adds the finishing touches to his makeup with mascara and fake eyelashes in his bedroom mirror on Jan. 11. Creed uses makeup as an artistic tool to push gender boundaries. Photos

by Samantha Freeman

THE SIDEKICK

STUDENT LIFE

15

FORCE OF NATURE INSIDE AND OUT

Reed combining love for outdoors, education using permanent position CAMILA VILLARREAL STAFF WRITER @fliipthewriter At the Biodiversity Education Center in the Coppell Nature Park, three people (or team members) run the facility day in and day out, dedicated to the city of Coppell, the children who come to learn and most of all, the environment around them.

For them, nature is a beautiful, ever-present thing.

The BEC began as an initiative to promote sustainability. It is one of Coppell’s newest facilities to be built for this purpose, following the lead of other Coppell environmental and sustainability programs such as the Coppell Community Garden and the Coppell Farmers Market.

Maura Reed found her way to Coppell from Ohio and has been in love with the city’s environment, both in work and in nature, ever since. She started as an intern at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens in 2014 when she heard of a part-time job available at the BEC. Reed’s dedication to her job led her to a promotion in 2018 to BEC coordinator.

Reed is a force of nature all on her own when it comes to doing her job. She manages marketing, calendar coordinating, contacting people to teach classes or camps and purchasing necessities for the facility as well as maintenance. She often leads lectures and classes at the BEC. “Sometimes it just blows my mind people aren’t as aware of certain aspects about nature and their environment as they should be,” Reed said. “The world is our home and we want to be as educated about it as possible.”

For Reed, one of the biggest joys is the natural light the BEC has to offer. Most of the walls are see-through glass to bridge the gap between indoors and outdoors. Reed and her coworkers will find their eyes caught by something fascinating outside and yell, “Pause for nature!” to take a

excitement is what they hope to share with the community.

“I have been working with [Reed] for about a year now, and she’s honestly one of the most supportive and inspiring mentors I’ve ever had,” Coppell High School junior and member of the Keep Coppell Beautiful Committee Suchira Karusala said. “The nature of our committee is we come up with all the projects and ideas we want to implement within the community, and [Reed] uses her connections with the BEC to executive them.”

The staff of three at the BEC juggles Coppell Biodiversity Education Center employee Maura Reed is very many responsibilities. passionate about promoting sustainability. The Biodiversity Center offers Education coordinator programs and initiatives to implement sustainability in the community.

Cynthia Contreras was Photo by Camila Villarreal a sixth grade science teacher for several years and has a science and education degree; customer Reed’s career plans are not certain, but one thing is service attendant Susan Richmond was a science teacher for sure - Reed wants to work outside. After doing her as well and Reed has a degree in environmental science. fair share of time in Coppell, she hopes to move back up “The work environment is amazing because we may north to be closer to family, but for now, Reed and her be a small group but we’re a great team, and we en- love for nature are Coppell’s to enjoy. joy bouncing ideas off of each other,” Richmond said. “[Reed] is a great leader who is incredibly supportive and CAMILA ‘21 can be reached at creative. We are lucky to have her.” cxv8266@g.coppellisd.com.

TEACHER ISSUE: OF THE

The sound of chalk on a blackboard melds with the sound of a presentation, connections drawn between different periods and events in the expanse of time. Having spent time as a member of the military and wrestling coach, Coppell High School AP World History teacher and academic decathlon coach Tim Dixon brings a different approach to his teaching - ranging from chalkboard lectures to related current events from the The New York Times, which he tweets out from his account, @Vladstock.

What was your transition like after your time in the Army?

It’s softening and weakening and letting your guard down. I used to be more hardcore, a little bit more abrasive. It’s funny because people even think I’m that way now and I’m like, “Man, it’s like, not only is it not close to what I used to be, it was pretty rough around the edges.” But I wasn’t as rough as any of my friends. They were much rougher than I was. So in my world, where I was out in Nebraska was infantry. It was tough guys who hunt.

Guys are outdoorsmen, they’ve been in the military, getting in fights and it was kind of something we did in college. And it was just rough around the edges but I wasn’t near as rough. And when you become a teacher, all of a sudden all that starts to go away.

Coppell High School AP World History teacher Tim Dixon discusses thesis statements during his second period class on Feb. 6. Dixon previously served in the military and as a wrestling coach and was named The Sidekick’s February teacher of the issue. Photo by Neveah Jones

Twitter: @CHSCampusNews

What’s the story behind your Twitter handle, @Vladstock?

[There] was a revolution going on in Iran in 2009 called the Green Revolution. It was just interesting news. But the problem is, it

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all went away. [News networks] stopped reporting on it.

It just went blank, I couldn’t believe it. So somebody had a website that had a collage of tweets [from Iranian protesters].

I didn’t know what a Twitter account was. One thing led to another and I eventually figured out what Twitter was, so I created my Twitter account - but I was afraid that maybe Iranian terrorists would locate me for researching because I was scared about the internet. I just didn’t want to be identified so I thought, “I’ve got to come up with a name.” My name was Vladivostok, which I always tell kids in my classroom is my favorite city name to yell. I love to kind of make fun of that name.

So my Twitter handle was Vlad. Then the middle initial E. Vladstock. And I put on there that I was from Tehran, Iran. That way if any terrorist saw me, they think, “Oh we need to go look for him in Tehran.” I really didn’t know any of this stuff, I was just scared, I didn’t want anyone to know who I was.

So that was my Twitter handle and I followed that revolution, which was unbelievable because now that I’m on Twitter, they were doing live updates and you would actually follow the procession down the street, when they’re attacking the police, when they’re getting attacked, it was unbelievable.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment CELEBRATE COPPELL TALENTS P. 17

CHOREOGRAPHING EXPERTISE P. 18

“Seeing a woman of color in a position of power inspired me.” P. 18 DUAL PANELS P. 19

DANCING QUEEN

McCann dances her way through Lariettes, Netflix show AKHILA GUNTURU STAFF WRITER @akhila_gunturu

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Coppell High School junior Kennedy McCann was in the Netflix show “Dancing Queen” with the dance team Beyond Belief. Photo by Blanche Harris

hen Coppell High School junior Kennedy McCann’s longtime dance company merged with a new one, she had no idea she would star in a Netflix show.

McCann, one of the CHS Lariettes junior lieutenants, starred in the Netflix docuseries “Dancing Queen”. The show released Oct. 5, 2018, during McCann’s freshman year at CHS. It follows Justin Johnson, better known as Alyssa Edwards from the fifth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, as he prepares dancers at Beyond Belief Dance Company for the stage while highlighting how he explores his drag, dance, family and love lives.

McCann was originally part of Prestige Dance Performing Arts Center in Addison, Texas, which later merged with Beyond Belief Dance Company, a dance company founded by Johnson. Soon, Johnson announced Beyond Belief Dance Company would be starting a show.

Beyond Belief Dancers Molly McKinnon, Riley Canterbury and Kennedy McCann wear special “Dancing Queens” shirts at Beyond Belief Dance Company director Justin Johnson’s house in Mesquite, Texas. McCann was in the Netflix show “Dancing Queen” with the dance team Beyond Belief. Photo courtesy Kennedy McCann “Dancing Queen” involves dancers from the company trying out for different teams that travel across the country on tour. The teams consist of the Beyond Belief Elite and the Mini Elite teams, which compete in conventions and competitions. The Mini Elite team was composed of dancers age 9 and younger. McCann made the Beyond Belief Elite team.

“This whole process was very stressful for all of us that started at Prestige, but it was really fun,” McCann said. “We traveled to Arkansas, Los Angeles, New York and all these fun places to film and have a fun experience.”

McCann goes to Beyond Belief Dance Company’s Mesquite dance studio three times a week.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, she practices for about four hours after school, and on Sundays,

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she goes for six hours. In Lariettes, she practices from 8:50 to 9:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “[Kennedy is] really, really inspiring because she’s never too tired or says, ‘I’m done’,” Marcus High School junior and Beyond Belief dancer Annalise Nevitt said. “Not only is she at the studio for all these hours, but she also has drill team.

She’s over here waking up at 5:30 every morning and going to help other people in her team.”

McCann joined the Lariettes as a sophomore and is currently part of the officer line. As one of the junior lieutenants, she choreographs dances and leads the Lariettes with the other officers.

“She’s especially grown this past year in a leadership position,” CHS Lariettes junior lieutenant Mia Freedman said. “She inspires everyone around her to love dance as much as she does.”

When McCann was in sixth grade, CHS junior Riley Glowacki invited her to join Prestige Dance Performing Arts Center, and she was instantly enraptured by dance.

“I had never danced before,” McCann said.

“I wasn’t really into sports at all, but [Glowacki] said, ‘Hey, you should try this,’ and I did. I just fell in love with it ever since.”

Although a season two of “Dancing Queen” is uncertain, McCann is positive her time at Beyond Belief has helped her grow as a dancer.

“It’s very stressful [at Beyond Belief],” McCann said. “There’s a lot of chaos going on. [Johnson] has helped me a lot. He’s pushed me past my limits and that helps me grow a lot. It helped me be a leader for Lariettes.”

McCann hopes to be on a dance team, work with a dance company or study dance but is still unsure about her future. Her passion and dedication to dance shines regardless. “[McCann] loves to dance,” Freedman said.

“I’ve never met anybody who loves to dance as much as [McCann]. She never gets tired of it and loves what she does, which is what I love most about her.”

TO READ MORE, VISIT COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM AKHILA ‘22 can be reached at axg0588@g.coppellisd.com

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TAO DRUMMING TO ANIKA ARUTLA SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER @AnikaArutla

Out of the 60 years Coppell ISD has existed, only three students have made All-State Band all four years of their high school career. This year, Coppell High School senior Andrew Tao became the third in the legacy.

Tao is also the first percussionist from Coppell to make All-State all four years. He started playing seven years ago and officially joined percussion at the end of fifth grade.

Since then, Tao has put all of his free time into improving his percussionist skills. “[Younger students] see how hard he works,” CHS band director Gerard Miller said. “The advantage of what we do here is, especially with percussion, you kind of have to practice here because you don’t own all of those instruments at home. As a result, most of his practice is done here in front of his peers. They see him after school, staying here until seven, eight, nine o’clock at night. They know the dedication it takes to be at that level.

They have a tremendous amount of respect for him because they know he sacrifices in other areas.”

This achievement can be attributed to hard work, but it mostly depends on consistency and not having an off day, especially when it comes to auditions. This makes the All-State process very subjective.

“It’s not a perfect process, and I don’t think people should give it the

weight that some people sometimes do,” Tao said. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, this guy made All-State four times’ and kind of compare themselves, when in reality, we’ve had people make it freshman, sophomore, junior and then not make it their senior year. It happens all the time. If that doesn’t show you the process isn’t perfect, then I don’t know what else could.”

When Tao made All-State Band his freshman year, he had no expectations for himself and no one put them on him. As the years went on and he made All-State year after year, those expectations weighed heavily.

“Honestly, a lot of people haven’t given me the opportunity to be surprised or happy, because it’s more like an expectation,” Tao said. ”It’s extremely relieving to be done with the four years.”

However, he was able to put in the time and work to meet these expectations instead of letting them crush him, allowing him to focus to achieve his goals.

“He put in a lot of work, but he wasn’t expecting that it would be automatic and that it would come to him,” CHS senior bandmate Mihir Ranjan said. “It was a pleasant surprise the first time around for him and afterward to match that same result again, if not the same work, more work. “ ANIKA ‘20 can be reached at asa7712@g.coppellisd.com Coppell High School senior Andrew Taois a percussionist with the CHS band who has qualified to All-State for all four years of high school. Photo by Trisha Atluri

UPCOMING EVENTS

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LET PEOPLE DEFINE

THEMSELVES ANJALI KRISHNA STAFF WRITER @anjalikrishna_ When Washington fixer Olivia Pope was portrayed as the world’s most powerful person in Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal”, millions of minds began to turn, shaping and adjusting their ideas of black women to include power.

I grew up watching “iCarly” and “Phineas and Ferb”, both shows with dominatingly white casts and one or two people of color, usually used as comedic fodder. In a white neighborhood in a then-white town, it was hard to believe that I, an Indian girl, could amount to more than being the punchline of a subtly racist joke.

Seeing a woman of color in a position of power inspired me; the characters I saw and loved were people I wanted to be like, but I was always set apart by the difference of my skin tone. When I saw a non-white woman being addressed as the most powerful person on the planet, I felt that I could be that as well.

The real excellence to “Scandal”, though, is the fact Pope is never defined by her skin color, but she never ignores it either. Pope is simply human, with real issues, real feelings and a real job. It is wonderful to see someone defined not only by their race but their talent. Even more wonderful is seeing someone acknowledge the role of race in her life but forbid it from stopping them.

When I look on TV and see characters who look like me, I find myself compelled to watch them. However, when directors and producers look on TV and see a character who looks like me, they see a risky venture.

Shows with people of color, especially women of color, are believed to have niche audiences limited to that minority. Why are shows with people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community considered to have niche audiences, but shows with only straight, white men are supposed to fulfill all of America?

Only 1.4 of 10 lead actors are people of color, while around 3.9 of 10 Americans are people of color. Even in their roles, they play versions of negative racial stereotypes, and as majority groups continue to see them portrayed this way, it is easy for them to believe people of color are what they see.

Women make up 45% of characters on streaming programs, but 50% of the American population. Although the discrepancy may seem small, in a time of change for women’s rights, feminists hope to even out the gap to accurate numbers. Even when women are cast, the nature of the characters almost always support gender roles.

Only 5% of women act as leaders and 53% of female characters play roles such as wife or mother, compared to 39% of males acting as fathers and husbands.

In a time of change for women’s equality, the nature and number of female TV characters is worrisome. On popular ensemble shows such as “Criminal Minds” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, casts are overwhelmingly male, which is especially prominent in these two shows due to the genre of the shows. Both of these are crime related shows, although “Brooklyn Nine-Nine“ has a much lighter air to it, often spoken of for its progressiveness. This genre has majority male viewers and mostly features women as dead bodies.

In contrast, the LGBTQ+ community is currently well represented in TV, perhaps even overly so. 4.5% of Americans have come out as LGBTQ+ and 10.2% of characters on television are part of the community. LGBTQ+ Americans have long endured hate and disgust, but in a growingly accepting 2020, things are changing. Several shows exploring sexual identity have emerged in the past years, such as “Glow” and “The L Word” and with each of these, the LGBTQ+ community is one step closer to being accepted.

In a growingly diverse America, an essential key to changing stereotypes and self image in is the accurate and positive portrayal of racial minorities, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community in TV. Let people define themselves.

Keating is not only a successful law professor and lawyer, she is a bisexual black female with her own complex issues and plot.

VIOLA DAVIS as ANNALISE KEATING in “How to Get Away With Murder”

One of the few fully fleshed out black characters, Pope is simply human as she fixes Washington’s problems by day and hers by night.

KERRY WASHINGTON as OLIVIA POPE in “Scandal”

Clarke’s bisexuality is not the focus of her life; saving humanity is. She is one of the 5% female leaders on TV and has one of the greatest LGBTQ+ love stories on TV.

ANJALI ‘22 can be reached at axk8800@g.coppellisd.com ELIZA TAYLOR as CLARKE GRIFFIN in “The 100”

Graphics by SHRIYA VANPARIA

Artist Spotlight Ronak Indurti

Story by Tracy Tran, Photo by Lilly Gorman

He closes his eyes. Each step is graceful. Forward and backward.

The completed song was choreographed in Coppell High School senior Ronak Indurti’s audio room. Indurti dances annually at Heritage Night and channels his choreography talents into teaching dance every week in his Dance To Make A Difference club, of which he is the president.

How long have you been dancing?

I have been dancing since I was in kindergarten, so it has been 13 years.

What do you enjoy about dancing?

Whenever I dance with my friends, it’s the best feeling, because dance is something we love. It’s all really laid back with the choreographing and dancing together. It’s just a really fun experience.

Read the full Q&A on coppellstudentmedia.com

2020

What difficulties do you experience during the choreographing process?

Making up steps you have never done before and trying not to be repetitive are probably the hardest parts. When I choreograph, I first try to listen to the music, the beats and the background drums repeatedly. I close my eyes and in my room, I move or dance, trying to see how everything works.

I also look at my [previously choreographed songs] if there have been dances that I have done [that match] this song. I get inspiration from those for [my current song].

TRACY ‘22 can be reached at alt0592@g.coppellisd.com

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“This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, mentally and physically, because it took away basketball, and it took away a part of me” P. 22

Sports SPORTY SIBLINGS P. 21

A GOAL FOR SOCCER P. 22

ROLE PLAYER TO LEADER P. 23

Grappling to top state ranking

New Tech High @ Coppell senior captain Brooke Massaviol wrestles in top position against Frisco Independence junior Sariah Ferguson at the Knockout Sportswear Cowgirl Classic on Dec. 6 in the CHS Arena. Massaviol is currently the No. 1 ranked girls wrestler in the 148 pound weight class in the state. Photo

by Ava Mora S A L LY P A R A M P O T T I L EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR @sparampottil

T

he hardest moment in her wrestling career was the loss at regionals her sophomore year.

New Tech High @ Coppell’s Brooke Massaviol was in the finals – winning. Then, her opponent got a takedown and Massaviol was pinned, losing the match.

“I got yelled at so hard and I was like, ‘why am I even in this?’” Massaviol said. “It was a moment I kind of questioned what the point of it all was. Then I went to state [that same year] and watched one of my teammates win state and I went, ‘oh, that’s why.’”

After junior year, in which Massaviol went to state again and placed fifth, she now stands as the No. 1 girls wrestler in her division (the 148 pound weight class) in Texas. In her fourth year of wrestling, Massaviol serves as the Coppell girls team captain, having earned three district titles and aiming for a full sweep.

“It’s been crazy, I’ve grown so much – as a wrestler and a person,” Massaviol said. “When I started, I was so quiet and kept to myself all the time. I was really just timid, as most freshmen are. Through the sport, I’ve become so much more confident in my abilities as a wrestler. The way I approach matches has changed so much now that I have the confidence and in school and life, I just have so much more confidence.”

Having begun wrestling as a freshman – as many high school wrestlers lack experience prior to their high school career – Massaviol learned the sport from scratch.

Massaviol was actually ahead of the curve in terms of her progress – so much, in fact, that Lowery made her captain in her junior year.

New Tech High @ Coppell senior Brooke Massaviol tackles Coppell Stars coach Mark McPherson during fifth period on Jan. 24 in the CHS Field House. Currently, Massaviol is ranked No. 1 in the state for girls wrestling in the 148 pound weight class. Photos by Blanche Harris “We don’t usually have two-year captains,” Coppell coach Chip Lowery said. “[Massaviol] always puts in the work. She’s worked hard, she’s led by example, she’s fair in judgment, and she comes out and gets everything done she needs to get done all the time.”

Leadership skills are evident to her teammates as well, including Coppell junior Dorian Villalba, who joined the team when Massaviol first became captain last year.

“She’s definitely a leader for the team,” Villalba said.

“She definitely sets an example. I can personally say she’s inspired me, she pushes me to come in every day. I come in before school, I come in after school, we practice on the weekends – she really pushes me.”

Despite being a rare individual to be captain for two years in a row, according to Massaviol, actions speak louder than any rank she holds.

“The title doesn’t matter so much,” Massaviol said.

“It’s just about being someone who is always down to practice and always working hard, leading more by example than by telling others what to do. Really, it’s just about me pushing myself as hard as I can so the other girls know what it’s like to work a hundred percent.”

Softball was actually Massaviol’s main sport from age 7 until her sophomore year when she quit because

2020

she enjoyed wrestling more. Even so, the sheer vigor of wrestling was much to take in at the beginning.

“It was a lot,” Massaviol said. “It was really overwhelming, really intense, and I wasn’t used to it. But, I knew everybody cared about each other so much, that my coach cared about me so much, if he’s willing to yell at me and put all this extra work into me even though I just joined. The environment really kept me in the sport.”

Overcoming the initial discomfort and working hard throughout her high school career, Massaviol saw the fruits of her labor in her numerous awards, ranging from her district titles to being named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the 2020 Chicken Wing Invitational at Houston Westside after defeating the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the state, Nia Miranda of Cypress Ranch.

“When I came into wrestling, [Massaviol] was already really good,” Villalba said. “Last year, she would usually get third or second at tournaments, if she got first place it was like a big deal. This year, she’s undefeated. She gets first at every tournament, if there’s a struggle, we’re surprised. It looks easy at this point.”

SALLY‘21 can be reached at scp7918@g.coppellisd.com

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Chasing dreams from Croatia to Coppell

Emerging as tenacious swim ca

ptain

KAREN LU DAILY NEWS/ASSIGNMENT EDITOR @_karenlu_ New Tech High @ Coppell senior AnaMarija Radicic’s father, Tomislav Radicic, holds an enormous red, white and blue Croatian flag, waving it and cheering at the top of his lungs at his daughter’s swim meet.

For AnaMarija, this is the cross section of two very prominent aspects of her life: her Croatian background and living there for nine years, along with her position as a team captain on Coppell’s varsity swim team.

Though she started swimming in first grade, AnaMarija only started taking the sport seriously once she started swimming with Coppell after moving to Texas before her freshman year.

“I always liked the sport, but my passion just grew over time,” AnaMarija said. “In Croatia, I wasn’t really competitive, so I wasn’t learning or improving much. I was just swimming to swim, but when I got here with [Coppell swim coach Marieke Mastebroek], she’s amazing with technique work, so I improved a lot.”

AnaMarija’s steep learning curve caused her to go from being a freshman on JV for one semester to a senior varsity swim captain.

“From when she first got here to now, she became super competitive and a huge role model to where she’s the hardest worker in the girls group,” Mastebroek said.

“I didn’t initially pick her as a captain, but she’s been so intense and so on top of her swimming, and now is really one of the best girls on the team. She went from being one of the slowest girls on the team to one of the fastest.

It’s a complete transformation, and it’s really impressive what she’s done.”

Born in Palo Alto, Calif. before moving to Croatia in 2007 and back to the United States

F

g n i h s i r u o l

in 2016, AnaMarija didn’t struggle with a language barrier when first coming to Coppell. However, moving right before the start of high school still presented itself with challenges regarding developing new friendships and relationships.

“After finishing eight years of school in Croatia, she already had strong relationships, so [adjusting] was hard for her,” AnaMarija’s mom, Vesna Radicic, said. “But she really found her friends on the swim team. Those are the people who share the same love for the pool, for water as her. When you share the same love from the start, it’s much easier to make friends.”

More than just giving her a sense of family and camaraderie, the swim team fosters an environment where each swimmer is pushing each other and constantly seeking improvement.

“My teammates and coach are New Tech High @ Coppell senior AnaMarija always pushing me to do better,” Radicic dives at practice at the Coppell YMCA AnaMarija said. “Being in an on Jan. 24. Coming from Croatia after living environment where everyone there for nine years, Radicic adjusted to her new is competitive and working on environment and is now a captain of the varsity themselves to get better makes me swim team. Photo by Neveah Jones want to work on myself and get better results.”

KAREN‘20 can be reached at kll7800@g.coppellisd.com

s r a e y 4 1 h wit KAREN LU DAILY NEWS/ASSIGNMENT EDITOR @_karenlu_

As an 18-month-old crawling with a soccer ball in Mommy and Me class to a center midfielder on varsity, Coppell freshman Nicolas Radicic has been immersed in soccer for as long as he can remember.

Growing up learning how to play soccer in Croatia, Nicolas was part of a professional youth system and only played with others in his age group. While exposed to professional coaches, training and players, Radicic never truly experienced being on a team with those older than him. As one of two freshmen on varsity soccer at Coppell, Nicolas had to adjust to the new environment.

“Playing with the older guys, I’m learning more things through them,” Coppell freshman center midfielder Nicolas Nicolas said. “Playing with others my Radicic dribbles during the scrimmage against age, I never saw how much more I Frisco Wakeland on Dec. 12 at Buddy Echols could improve and would be fine with Field. After playing soccer for 14 years, Radicic is where I was. But on the [Coppell] one of two freshmen on the varsity team. Photo team, some of the guys are better than

by Sally Parampottil me, and I want to prove myself to the coach. It makes me want to work

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e c n e i r e p x E

harder, play harder.”

Despite being younger than almost all his teammates, the age gap does not make Nicolas afraid of playing his best and pushing others to do he same.

“As a freshman, he comes in not necessarily nervous or afraid to step on anybody’s toes,” Coppell coach James Balcom said. “Because he’s trained at high levels, he sees we’re here for one purpose: to get the team better. He knows it’s about all being high-level players, training together and getting better together regardless of what grade he’s in.”

The decision to move from Croatia to America in 2016 stems from greater opportunity and a more hopeful future for him and his sister, AnaMarija Radicic.

“Opportunities in the [United States] versus opportunities in Croatia are not even comparable,” Nicolas’s mother Vesna Radicic said. “Croatia is a beautiful country but very politically damaged, economically damaged and corrupted. We knew that was not the place for [AnaMarija and Nicolas] to build their future. We as parents wanted to give them the most we can.”

Playing on varsity has allowed Nicolas to more than just increase his soccer skills, but has also given him lifelong lessons and a family he can always count on.

“I’ve learned so much through soccer with my friends on the team,” Nicolas said. “I now know how to persevere through things. I can’t think everything will go on by itself; I have to work hard for the things that I want and just keep on moving and going forward.”

KAREN‘20 can be reached at kll7800@g.coppellisd.com

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FEBRUARY

SPORTS Alonzo shines in her usual position of left forward. Her strong presence on the field, however, was no easy feat. Coppell High School chemistry teacher and former girls soccer coach Chris Stricker trains Alonzo in private sessions focused on skills and becoming comfortable with using both feet.

“We have really worked on her shot,” Stricker said. “She really has worked hard at building up her right side.

When I first started working with her, her right foot wasn’t that good but now we’ve built up to where she can score with both feet.”

Her work to gain ambidextrous abilities has worked well to her advantage, as she is able to switch the field easily and score numerous goals with either foot.

“Goalscorers, it’s hard to find goalscorers,” Stricker said. “She’s not the most physical presence, but she’s very technical and since she’s worked on it, she has a knack for putting the ball in the back of the goal.”

C o p pell coach Ryan Dunlevy noticed he had something special very early in the program. Her attitude and hard work

Ambidextrous athlete: Alonzo collects accolades

SYDNEY ROWE STAFF WRITER @syd218 Within a team, sport and world dominated by righties, Coppell junior left forward Jojo Alonzo has fought to stand out as a left-footed leader. Her skills and accolades through Coppell soccer and her club team, Solar Soccer Club, allowed her to commit to the University of Memphis, which is one of the top Division I women’s soccer programs in the country.

stood out as a freshman on varsity and even garnered the attention of higher-level coaches at one of her first tournaments with the team.

“Whenever we went down to Georgetown her freshman year, we were borrowing a facility at Westwood High School and some coaches came and watched us do a run-through,” Dunlevy said. “One said ‘Who’s that one, with the green cleats?’ It was [Alonzo] and he told me, ‘Man, that’s special.’”

Her skills have not gone unrecognized, as she has won multiple awards such as District 9-6A Newcomer of the Year her freshman year and Co-Utility Player of the Year for her s o ph o m o r e season.

Her accolades attracted collegiate attention and after what she describes as a difficult recruiting process, Alonzo verbally committed to the University of Memphis on May 1.

TO READ MORE, VISIT COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM SYDNEY ‘20 can be reached at ssr6043@g.coppellisd.com Coppell junior left forward Jojo Alonzo looks to pass against Irving MacArthur on Jan. 28 at Buddy Echols Field. Alonzo’s unique ambidextrous abilities and versatility gained the attention on collegiate programs, allowing her to commit to the University of Memphis. Photo by Mari Pletta

LaMendola excels as varsity freshman despite injury AVA N I K A S H YA P STAFF WRITER @avanikashyap03 From years of playing for fun in her family’s driveway to playing competitively on the varsity girls’ team, basketball is an integral part of Coppell freshman guard Julianna “Jules” LaMendola’s life.

LaMendola, who comes from a family of athletes, has had a passion for sports her entire life. Her mother was a student athlete, her twin sister freshman right side hitter Skye LaMendola is on the varsity volleyball team and her brother senior linebacker Max LaMendola is on the varsity football team. Being surrounded by an athletic family has fostered a strong sense of competition in Jules’s life, which is evident in her success with basketball.

To Jules’s mother Janice LaMendola, who played volleyball and basketball at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, her daughter’s experience is indicative of the values participating in athletics brings.

“You learn a lot of great values that you can use for the rest of your life,” Mrs. LaMendola said. “You learn how to be a team member, how to schedule your time between academics and sports, how to be a leader, how to compromise, how to persevere, and how to move through winning and losing.”

Before moving to Coppell ISD in eighth grade, Jules attended Greenhill School in Addison. While she mainly

played volleyball at Greenhill, she shifted her focus to basketball in Coppell. “[The move to Coppell] was definitely an experience, because here, it’s way more competitive and it’s a new lifestyle,” Jules said. “Greenhill was kind of like a bubble, and this popped that.”

When Jules tried out for the basketball team, she immediately loved the culture and decided to make basketball her main sport during her high school career.

“We’re trying to build a winning culture and I like being a part of that,” Jules said. “I love the people, I love the coach [Ryan Murphy], and it’s just a great environment to be in. It’s very competitive Coppell freshman guard Jules LaMendola dribbles on Feb. 7 against Flower Mound and it makes you want to in the CHS Arena. LaMendola is on the varsity team and is back on the court after be better.” suffering an injury in November. Photo by Tracy Tran Although Jules is one team, Jules quickly showed great poten- two months, as she had torn a ligament of only two freshmen on the varsity team, she was quickly wel- tial. Against Kennedale, she led the team requiring foot surgery. comed by all the upperclassmen. Despite by scoring 14 points. She also led the team thinking it was scary to play with upper- in the Classic Chevrolet Coppell ShowTO READ MORE, VISIT classmen at first, Jules found they were case with an average of 8 points per game.

COPPELLSTUDENTMEDIA.COM Jules suffered an injury in Novemkind and taught her what the program ber and was not able to play for most was all about.

AVANI ‘21 can be reached at During her first few months on the of the district season. She was out for ask6086@g.coppellisd.com

2020

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Coppell senior guard Brandon Taylor attempts to make a play against Irving Nimitz on Jan. 17. The Cowboys defeated the Vikings, 61-35, in District 6-6A play in the CHS Arena. Photo by Sydney Rowe

le o r g in c a r b m e r o l y Ta with confidence

R I T H I K C H E N N U PAT I STAFF WRITER @rithikc11 Not many sophomores get the opportunity to be on the varsity basketball team at Coppell, but senior point guard Brandon Taylor got that opportunity and has grown in his ability every year.

Taylor’s role has expanded since the start of his varsity career. As a sophomore on varsity, Taylor was the backup to former Coppell point guard and CHS 2019 graduate, Tariq Aman.

Aman is a freshman on the Temple College in Taylor, Texas basketball team.

“From what I have seen this year, he is a huge part of the team and since they have a younger team, they look up to him,” Aman said. “I have noticed big steps in how he leads over the course of his three years.

He went from trying to figure out his role in leading his team to wins.”

Aman was seen as the leader and go-to guy on the team when they needed a shot.

This year, Taylor has gotten comfortable in that role, not only by being the leading scorer in multiple games, but also getting everyone involved and keeping the energy up even when he is not on the court.

“This year, I have to be more confident because I am the three-year letterman,” Taylor said. “I did not start most games last year but this year, I was looking forward to stepping into that role.”

With a considerably young team, Taylor’s role on the team has expanded on and off the court. Going from a backup to a starter is not easy, but confidence is one thing Taylor does not lack.

“When he was first on the varsity team, he was trying to find his way and was not used to being in the role that he was in, just like anyone would be that’s new to a team,” Aman said. “His second year on varsity, he stepped into a bigger role since we lost so many starters from

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t h e year before, it was more of a limited leadership role.”

Not every high school basketball player wants to be a leader or has the poise to step into that role, but Taylor has been seen filling that role with dignity.

“I could always tell Taylor wanted to be a leader,” Aman said. “There are guys who are the best player on their team but they don’t want to be a leader. Even when he was a backup and didn’t have as big of a role, I could tell he could be a great leader.”

In a game that moves at such a fast pace, mistakes are bound to happen yet, Taylor has not wavered in his energy, focusing on the next-play mentality Schnell brought in with him last year.

“Taylor has always been a vocal kid and by doing that guys are following and rallying behind him. He has the most experience on varsity this year and has

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helped lead us to the record we have now,” Schnell said. “He has a great personality and is caring with his teammates. He is competitive and fun-loving, and all of those things add up to him having great character.”

RITHIK ‘20 can be reached at rxc6440@g.coppellisd.com

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