Volume 34 Issue 4

Decrypting the future

Artificial intelligence creating new frontiers for education and economy

How can I help today?

Solve the equation for x by finding a, b and c of the quadratic then applying the quadratic formula. Enter

Grammarly

In the early parts of the 20th century, science fiction introduced the world to the concept of artificial intelligence technology, specifically AI robots. It begin with Karel Capek and his science fiction play “Rossum’s Universal Robots” released in 1921 where he explored the idea of factory-made artificial people whom he called robots. In 1927, the world saw Metropolis, in which a robotic girl was physically indistinguishable

I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you

Neatly organized in the lefthand corner of a storage closet in my home, there is a collection of photo albums. The newer albums that contain pictures of me are big, green and bulky while photos taken at my parent’s wedding are kept in a smaller, gray binder with floral print.

Stories over the years of trips to a rental house in the West Virginian countryside with a plaque of the memory of a deceased grandmother, a less than satisfactory communal bathroom and a hotel that served breakfast strictly from the hours of 4-6 a.m now exist as old photographs neatly organized in soft vinyl casing.

I find myself reminiscing on these prints from time to time, my fingers sifting through the dated photographs. In one yellowing photo, my arms are raised, and I am joyously celebrating in a light blue windbreaker as I build sandcastles along the shore, my wide grin revealing buck teeth.

I cling to these physical memories that encapsulate the greatest bonds between my family and me. Each photo tells a different story, each expression frozen in time. Assuming the role behind the camera, I document various events and people for The Sidekick. Portraits of tennis players, teachers and drum majors clutter my SD card as I skim carefully to pick the perfect one. My favorites to capture are football and basketball games, the intensity and emotion frozen in a thousandth of a second at the lowest aperture.

2023-24 course guide released

Every year, students coming back from winter break are struck with decisions for their next school year. Almost immediately, a new course guide is introduced, usually containing more options than the last.

This year, an email was sent out to Coppell High School students and parents listing the new courses that will be added for the 2023-24 school year. These classes include Guitar I, AP Pre-Calculus, Honors Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies, Vivace! Show Choir and Debate Mock Trial.

Much like a photo, a story serves the same purpose. The moment in time is fleeting, but the contents of it are documented. A story is often tucked away, hidden in a stack of research documents or sandwiched between memories. It resides as a trophy in a room, a talent that can only be seen on the field or stage.

I find purpose in uncovering its depth. A moment in time is intimate, only shared with those who have the privilege to be included. As I observe the faded and stained photos of myself, knowing things about the moment that only I know, I search for these same details in the sources that I interview and the photos I take. I selfishly want to be let in, invade the intimacy and look into the context. I want to ask questions, experience the pregnant pause before they are truthfully answered.

I cherish these moments in which I can be included, these sacred memories that are graciously shared with me to be documented. I find joy in the idea that one day, my work could possibly sit in a cloth-bound photo book in the closet of a stranger and be kept safe from the elements of time. The moment and all of its emotions are frozen, the contents and its significance in time recorded.

According to the 2022-23 CHS course guide, the class’s curriculum was set to cover the contributions of Mexican Americans in a historical perspective, detailing events prior to and during the 20th and 21st centuries. Due to low enrollment, however, the class wasn’t offered, but it is now re-introduced for the 2023-24 school year.

Coppell Choir’s spring show choir known as Vivace! is a mixed show choir in which students both sing and dance throughout a themed performance. Vivace! currently runs as an extracurric-

ular program with rehearsals on Mondays and Wednesdays leading up to its spring show in April. As listed in the course guide, Vivace! seeks to evolve singers into performers with the involvement of choreography and singing through two performances a year. The primary function of Vivace! won’t have any difference, but a prominent distinction may be found in the performance.

“If this becomes a successful thing where we have it during the day, we will start competing,” Coronado said. “Most of it is just for fun [right now] and we do a really great show where we are at the level to be able to compete, but the way the schedule works, it doesn’t align with how we do show choir.”

Guitar I will focus on building the basics of beginner technique with guitar, attempting to gain mastery in the fundamentals of playing and reading music. Guitar I was added as a replacement to Tech Theater I, which is being removed from CHS. Tech theater I will remain at the CHS9 campus.

Similar to an actual trial, in Debate Mock Trial, students are given cases to work with in which they must prep both sides for argument. According to the CHS course guide, Mock Trial

is designed to further research and speaking skills for students through competitions and tournaments.

“I think it’s a lot more realistic to what a trial really is, as most people go into debate wanting to be a lawyer but they won’t really understand how it works,” CHS junior Mock Trial Club president Rishi Dasari said.

Along with the premise of the class, Dasari also emphasizes what he hopes students will get out of the class and what he hopes will carry over from the club to the class.

“I hope that students will get better argumentative skills, better researching skills and become more confident in their speaking,” Dasari said. “I hope working as a group and having everyone involved [will carry over].”

Although these classes are open for registration, factors such as low enrollment could alter whether these classes are solidified in the 2023-24 school year.

“Giving options is super important because it helps [students] decide what [they] like and don’t like,” Cinelli said. “We want you to figure out the things you like and the things you’re good at and showcase it.”

Getting to know our neighbors

As you drive southeast of Coppell, you can see the master-planned development of Valley Ranch. The city center is full of restaurants, stores and parks that give vibrancy to the development. With 3.75 sq miles of land, its population is just under 40,000.

According to Valley Ranch master board of directors president Steve Adams, Valley Ranch was originally formed by a property developer in the mid1980s. It was first envisioned as a multi-faceted community including residential, inner island and light industrial properties. The original developer was unable to complete the project, but a new owner redesigned the project to become the residential and retail/office community we have today.

With the The Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965, the population of South Asians in the DFW area increased and affected the culture of the city. New housing developments in Valley Ranch allowed South Asians to relocate. Over the years, Valley Ranch adapted to the change in culture by opening restaurants,

stores and religious sites.

“[Coppell] was already developed when Valley Ranch started gaining its Indian population, so they haven’t been able to make as many cultural changes and introduce new culture until Valley Ranch students got zoned to Coppell ISD,” Valley Ranch resident Mira Daniel said. “Valley Ranch was able to bring so much more culture in terms of things like food and religion to Coppell. ”

Valley Ranch has adapted to the South Asian population, specifically the Indian population, by opening multiple restaurants that cater to the Indian culture. Desi grocery stores retain food and ingredients native to Indian cuisine to keep in touch with citizens.

“We’re so fortunate to have Valley Ranch as part of the CISD family.” CISD Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt said. “They’ve been part of our family even prior to Valley Ranch Elementary opening, so we’ve had some really great families from there and we just continue to see more and more families move to that area and bring their kids to CISD. We’ve been fortunate to have some amazing kids come through the Valley Ranch area

and we look forward to many more families and kids coming through and adding to that part of our committee.”

The development’s student population is divided into Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and CISD. CISD covers about 52% of Valley Ranch. Valley Ranch holds two CISD schools: Valley Ranch Elementary and Canyon Ranch Elementary.

“Valley Ranch Elementary was added to the CISD family in 1996,” Hunt said. “Valley Ranch in general continued to grow and really increase our student population, so we added Canyon Ranch during the 2019-20 school year. That has really helped our Valley Ranch families have a neighborhood school that they could go to that is walking distance or a place to ride their bike to and it’s been two great additions to the CISD family”

Valley Ranch has a community feel, where residents tend to know each other better. The population grows stronger relationships and interconnections with one another. With new housing continuing to be built in Valley Ranch, the population continues to grow and develop in terms of education, culture and community as a whole.

Ainsley Dwyer Staff Writer @ainsleydwyer

The Sidekick executive editor-in-chief has many photo albums in her home. Liu thinks physical memories are one of the most important things one can possess. Photo courtesy Angelina Liu

Valley Ranch Elementary opened in 1996 as the first CISD school to open in the Valley Ranch area. The master-planned development of Valley Ranch is located in Irving southeast of Coppell and is home to many of the CISD families. Kayla Nguyen

Rhea Chowdhary Staff Photographer @rhea_chowdary

On the former location of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility, The Star, new housing is being built with streets named after former players on the team. The master-planned development of Valley Ranch is located in Irving southeast of Coppell and is home to many of the CISD families. Kayla Nguyen

Graphic by Minori Kunte

Breaking down college tuition

Manasa Mohan Executive Editorial Page Editor @Manasa_Mohan_7

“Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to our school. We’re excited for you to begin your journey with us.”

Coppell High School senior

Uma Uppuloori’s heart dropped as she read the email from Texas A&M. Now she was one step closer from becoming an Aggie.

Then she pulled up the tuition and costs tab on the A&M website. Her excitement turned to worry.

Uppuloori knew college would be expensive, but not this much. Now, she is facing the cold facts about a college education all aspiring college students face. “How am I going to pay for this?”

Texas A&M has an average cost of attendance of $32,026 for residents, but $61,310 for non-residents.

With tuition and fees at private national universities jumping by 134%, out-of-state tuition and fees at public universities rising 141% and in-state tuition and fees at public universities growing by 175% over the past 10 years according to U.S. News & World Report, the hurry to find money to pay for college has become all the more intense to avoid the repayment cycle of student loans.

But, Uppuloori and other college applicants do have options.

plications, they may opt out of the graduation requirement if a parent or guardian submits a signed form, the student is 18 years or older and submits a signed form or a school counselor authorizes the student to decline to submit the applications.

“With our student population, the majority of students can qualify, but not all students can apply for the FAFSA,” Coppell High School counselor Lindsey Oh said.

“All of that is based off of parent’s income, that’s just an assessment to see how much they make, what schools are you looking at to apply to and how much financially do you actually need to pay for.

It’s such an important picture for a student to be able to see what they are ultimately working with [and] what is their estimated cost of tuition based off of the parent income. Some students realistically can look into FAFSA information and know if [they’re] not going to qualify at all. But then there’s some schools that automatically want a student to fill out the FAFSA and some don’t require it.”

er Scholarship fund. CHS Principal Laura Springer identified students that exemplified gratitude, respect, integrity and trust (GRIT), leadership, teamwork and the love of learning; those students were awarded scholarships of $1,000 to support their future education endeavors.

“I really want to honor kids who really [make] their academics very important in their life, but also are members of different organizations and clubs in this building and give their time to those things to make this a well-rounded, great place to go,” Springer said. “We picked those kids because they displayed those characteristics and I definitely wanted kids that really did express gratitude, show respect, had integrity and all that trust we have in them. I wanted to make sure we got the kids that we need to honor for their sacrifice, for their time that they put into making this place a great place, making us one of the best academic

Federal Aid Scholarships

The first avenue that seniors should take to discover ways to lessen the burden of paying for college is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA can be a quite tedious process, but is one that is worth the end result. In order to submit the form on time, there are eight basic steps outlined by the U.S. Department of Education: create a FSA ID, start the FAFSA form at studentaid.gov, create a save key, complete the student demographic information, answer the dependency status questions, complete the parent demographic information, provide financial information and sign and submit the completed form.

However, the FAFSA has specific eligibility requirements. Students must demonstrate financial need for need-based federal student aid programs, be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, have a valid Social Security number, be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student in a degree or certificate program, be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for Direct Loan program funds, maintain satisfactory academic progress in college or career school and show they are qualified to obtain a college and/ or career school education. For the students who are not eligible to apply to the FAFSA, the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) is yet another option for students to consider.

Under the House Bill 3 Financial Aid Application Requirement, as of fall 2021, it is now a high school graduation requirement for students to either fill out the FAFSA or TASFA. If a student chooses not to complete either one of the ap-

The key with federal aid is simply to complete and submit it. Sallie Mae reports for the 2020-21 application cycle, only 68% of families submitted the FAFSA form meaning that in one academic year, more than $2 billion in federal student grants go unclaimed according to the Education Data Initiative. Even with the low number of applications, the Education Data Initiative found that 83.8% of college students benefit from some form of financial aid with 36.7% of undergraduates each receiving an average of $8,285 in federal loans and 42% of undergraduates each receiving an average of $5,179 in federal grants.

For some students, it is inevitable to have loans in one way or another. Even if student loans are a viable option, students can find ways to alleviate the burden of loans via FAFSA, attending community college to obtain either an associate’s degree or simply finish basic classes before transferring to another university or by applying for scholarships. For CHS students, there are a great deal of scholarships available from the Coppell community. For the 202122 school year, scholarships were offered from the Coppell Community Development Foundation, the Coppell Community Garden, the Coppell Rotary Club and others.

“Whenever I got [to Texas A&M], there were so many fees for my classes and all that, and that ended up adding to $500,” CHS 2022 graduate and Coppell Rotary Club scholarship recipient Uma Uppuloori said. “[The scholarship] really helped me in terms of fees and those smaller costs that you don’t really expect.”

For the 2021-22 school year, Vari CEO and co-founder Jason McCann and his wife Cari McCann made a donation to the Coppell Community Development Foundation to create the Laura Spring-

college saddled with debt that gets harder to pay as time moves on.

In fact, College Board reports that in 2020-21, 51% of bachelor’s degree recipients from a public four year institution that graduated with federal loans owed an average federal debt level of $21,400 per borrower. Fifty-three percent of bachelor’s degree holders from a private four-year institution that graduated with federal loans had an average debt level of $22,600.

“It’s about being smart with the loan,” Oh said. “Looking at what type of loans you qualify [for], what [do] those interest rates look like, how much money are they offering in the loan and how much do you really need. That’s the biggest thing I always emphasize to students is that most likely the loan they’re going to offer, the amount is going to be more than what the student really financially needs to live on. But that should be after you exhausted filling out any free applications, any grants, any scholarships, that’s at the end.”

According to College Board, as of March 2022, 33% of borrowers owed less than $10,000 and 21% of borrowers owed between $10,000 and $20,000 in federal loan debt.

high schools in the area, but also making this a great place as far as our Student Council goes, as far as our band goes, as far as all of our fine arts and our athletics.”

When students look to apply for scholarships, it is common to aim for the national scholarships that are larger and more publicized. However, despite the larger amount of money, typically these scholarships are sought out by thousands of applicants which can make locally based scholarships a more feasible alternative.

“There’s less competition [with local scholarships], so it’s easier for you to get it,” Uppuloori said. “If you aim for the smaller ones, they add up. If you aim for the popular ones, everyone tries to apply to that, but it’s also a big amount. If there’s a lot of competition and it’s a big amount, the chances of you getting it is a little low. Even though you’re targeting smaller ones, since you have a better chance of getting it, they can rack up and it’s actually viable.”

Student Loans

There have been increasingly prevalent discussions regarding the risks that could potentially outweigh the benefits when it comes to student loans as students tend to leave

As reported by Experian, student loans are open to students with limited or no credit histories which make them more accessible, can help cover major expenses so students do not have to worry about paying college expenses in full and offer lower interest rates than other options. For the 2022-23 school year, federal student loans come with a 4.99% interest rate for undergraduate students and either 6.54% or 7.54% for graduate students. However, for a student without an established credit history and income, it would be difficult to obtain a comparable interest rate.

Despite the benefits, student loan debt can be crippling as the average monthly payment ranges from $200 to $299; however, with a higher loan, the monthly payment could become even higher. Payments get even larger when loans add up with accumulated interest, so students have to be careful when considering the loan amount they take at first. Even if student loans cover some expenses, it still may not be enough to cover all associated expenses with college which may require students to look for other sources of income.

Regardless of the avenue that students take, whether that be student loans or financial aid, as long as students receive the help they need to pay for the ever-increasing costs of college that is all that is truly important.

Even if a student doesn’t believe that they could qualify for certain avenues that help pay for college, trying out for various (including local) scholarships, applying for FAFSA and TAFSA, taking out a small loan, etc. can make all the difference in the long run.

I wanted to make sure we got the kids that we need to honor for their sacrifice, for their time that they put into making this place a great place.”

LAURA SPRINGER CHS PRINCIPAL

Corners of Coppell

Tattered Style taking trips through time

sale, so that’s what the initial intent was, to be more of a studio for her. But as we got into the sort of remodel, she became more intrigued with the idea of making it a retail hub, causing the business mode to switch from a lot of design appointments and work with a little bit of retail to pretty much all retail.

How do you go about curating and locating decorative pieces and furnishings for the store?

Sri Achanta Executive News Editor @sriachanta_

Dana and Nate Pugh, owners of Tattered Style in Old Town Coppell, are more than designers and curators; they’re decorative detectives and experts. From a natural oak butcher board countertop to a dated black and white photograph of students at Baylor University, the Pughs look for clues to trace back the hidden origins of their found, vintage goods.

Perusing the two buildings comprising their shop, it is clear Tattered Style sequesters varied stories and histories in the trinkets and furnishings that line the store, floor to ceiling. Their pieces

come from various locations such as South Texas and London, which attract sums of customers by appointment or chance to the repurposed gas station and home that now serve as a brickand-mortar store. And in speaking with Nate, it is evident there is hidden away in the store’s pieces.

What was the inspiration for starting the business and locating it here in Old Town Coppell?

My wife, Dana, was doing the [interior] design of George Coffee + Provisions, and one night we were driving by and noticed that this was an old dress shop that was going out of business. She had always had in her mind a hope that she would open a brick-and-mortar place to meet clients and maybe have a few things for

[Dana] has been in the business for a long time: 30 years. She has a wide variety of contacts that she will source and go to when she knows that she’s needing more inventory. At times, people will come to us and say, “Hey, I’ve got this, and it looks like it might fit in your shop. Would you be interested in buying it from me?” Other times we go on buying trips, seeking pieces. We’ve gone to Brimfield, Mass. and California. Of course, we go down to South Texas, East Texas, all the way around. In the summer we go to Europe, so just all over all the time.

What is your favorite piece in the store?

Our silver eagles punch bowl piece. It is truly one of a kind. It was commissioned by Anheuser-Busch corporation to an international silver company to make a bowl. It features the Budweiser eagles on it, and it’s truly never been sold or been up for sale. Doing the research and finding out what it was was a lot of fun and then realizing the significance and how unusual it is was [fun] as well.

To read the full story, visit coppellstudentmedia.com

Silver Line to run through Coppell, providing community connections

Sri Achanta Executive News Editor @sriachanta_

At the intersection between Denton Tap and Belt Line Roads, orange cones line the street closing off parts of the road and redirecting traffic.

Similar construction can be seen throughout Coppell, some changes being implemented for the creation of the DART Silver Line Project. A 2006 decision is now in its implementation stages 16 years later, hoping to forge city connections.

Debriefing the Silver Line Project

According to DART, the Silver Line Regional Rail Project, formerly referred to as the Cotton Belt Corridor is a 26-mile line that will traverse through seven cities: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano.

Its objective is to connect people throughout North Texas in a reliable manner, providing rail connections that will improve mobility to major employment, population and activity centers.

The Silver Line Project will interface with three existing DART Light Rail Lines, the Red and Orange Lines in Richardson and Plano, the Green Line in Carrollton and the Orange Line at DFW Airport. Furthermore, the line will connect to the Fort Worth Transportation Authority TEXRail Regional Rail Line and provide access to the DFW Airport Skylink People Mover.

According to the DART website, the train itself is diesel powered and equipped with 230 seats. The vehicle is able to accommodate up to 485 passengers.

DART anticipates weekday service to be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the Silver Line running every hour.

Construction in Coppell

Along the 26-mile line, 10 different stations will be built. One of those stations will be located in Cypress Waters at 445 E. Belt Line Road. A parking lot will be built adjacent to the station for users of the rail line.

DART has hired Archer Western on the grounds of a design build job. DART provided the company with a certain criteria of specifics it wants to construct and

Archer Western, working as the general contractor, took over from there. The project started at the beginning of 2019 and residents will be able to travel on the trains by the end of 2025.

Hints of construction for this project can be found scattered throughout Coppell. Most notably, a bridge for trains to cross Denton Tap Road will be constructed.. The roadway work beneath the bridge does not fall under the scope of Archer Western. Once the railway is up and running, there should be no interference with the traffic on Belt Line Road.

Working with all seven cities is not the only push back that the company has dealt with. Coordination with two airports, five railroads and two other government agencies has affected the building process. Furthermore, with prices rising due to inflation, material prices have increased and diesel prices have skyrocketed.

Community implications

As construction occurs closer to homeowners, mailers are sent to notify the community regarding construction. Archer Western’s community outreach

group offers a hotline number and DART offers community meetings.

As the DART line connects North Texas from east to west, residents fear that unsafe individuals will travel on the rail and bring unsafe conditions to Coppell. According to The Dallas Morning News, from “January to March 2022, 235 [National Incident-Based Reporting System] occurrences and 153 arrests were reported for train stations. For buses and bus stops, 20 NIBRS occurrences and 20 arrests were reported. In April, two people died at two DART stations.”

According to the DART website, “Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTV) will be used to monitor every Silver Line vehicle. These on-board internal and external camera systems feature recording capabilities that can be remotely monitored by DART Police from a manned central monitoring station and other remote locations.”

The Cypress Waters station location falls near Coppell Middle School West. According to the Coppell Gazette, “DART also plans on conducting school outreach with Coppell ISD to discuss public transport safety with students upon the Silver Line’s completion.”

The Side-ticker is a series in which executive news editor Sri Achanta updates readers on local news that has happened between the issues.

Council to brand Coppell as Smart City by 2024

Council renews Enterprise Asset Management System user licenses

Pinkerton students share love for school to trustees

HOSA sending record 45 winners to state competition

Shrayes Gunna

Student Life Edior

@shrayesgunna

Vintage decor and furniture dapple Tattered Style, a furnishings store in Old Town Coppell. Tattered Style owners Dana and Nate Pugh travel the world to curate pieces for the shop. Shrayes Gunna

The DART Silver Line is under construction along Belt Line Road on Friday. DART’s Silver Line will feature an overhead bridge that will run over Belt Line Road and the line is expected to run by 2025. Aliya Zakir

Pham carries torch of ancient traditions through bonds

Yaamini Jois CHS9 Editor @yjois12

Coppell freshman Taylor

Pham dons the intricately decorated red and yellow lân costume as she gets ready to perform. Onlookers in traditional attire huddle around excitedly in the crisp, smoke-filled air around bright red paper — both remnants of the firecrackers — and colorful props.

Born to two longtime leaders of the Pháp Quang Temple in Grand Prairie, Pham has been actively involved with youth groups and volunteering for the temple since a young age.

“Taylor has always been a great student inside and outside of our youth group,” temple leader Hien Minh Nguyen said.

“She’s always stepped up to represent her group, even oth-

ers would shy away from responsibilities. She’s always been a step above the rest.”

In 2021, Pham joined the lion dancing group at the temple. Lion dancing demands often physically-tolling and hard-tomaster stunts from those who undertake it, and as such has been a typically male-dominated activity. On the contrary, the Pháp Quang troupe comprises mainly younger girls.

“I’m proud to say that our girls have the mentality of, ‘anything you can do, I can do better,” Nguyen said. “Starting with the group of lion dancers two groups behind Taylor’s, the girls have done almost everything the boys would typically do.”

All performers can pick which role and routine they take in the show, and each routine tells the story of the playful, mischievous lion getting into mishaps or adventures. The lion is a powerful mythical figure, and lion dancing is an important part of the new year season in blessing the community and stores.

“I chose to perform the bench routine because it was the most interesting to me,”

Pham said. “Last year, I was a beginner

and learned most of the basics. This year, I’m more involved with a routine and I’ve gotten closer to my team.”

Taylor’s routine unfolded the tale of two lions trying to get flowers out of a pot while struggling to travel through an obstacle, represented by the tall red benches. Her role as a tail demanded strength and precision, supporting the head in stunts to make the lion jump and walk.

“The tails have to communicate effectively with the head, every movement that a head makes needs to be detailed,” said Taylor’s father Ken Pham, who is also a temple leader. “One foot cannot be out and the other foot in, they always have to be in sync.”

To celebrate Lunar New Year on Jan. 22, the troupe dedicated up to 10 hours every weekend in the months leading up to the performance to stay in shape and master each routine with trainers, starting as early as September. Perfecting the bench routine as a tail required Taylor to maintain physical strength throughout the year.

“I had to work a lot to get stronger so I was able to lift up my partner on the benches and crates,” Taylor said. “I also had to work on my form and posture so it looked better in the lion.”

Additionally, the troupe performed their first full routine since the pandemic this year, which presented challenges of its own.

“Just getting back into the groove of things was tough, and we had to stay conscious of ev-

THREE DECADES OF SERVICE TO COPPELL

eryone’s health through their work,” Nguyen said. “We had to balance our practices with the dancers’ other extracurricular activities as well. She jumping in and picking back up on the routine shows you the creativity and hard work on-the-spot of [Taylor and her partner].”

On Lunar New Year, Taylor found herself at the center of festivities in Asia Times Square.

To the leaders of the temple, seeing dancers like Taylor take on responsibilities to keep traditions alive and tie the larger community together is an invaluable experience to everyone involved in celebrating, audiences included.

“[The dancers] feel such a sense of accomplishment when they elicit an emotion in the audience,” Nguyen said. “It’s a joy

to give back to the community. They feel responsibility when they provide [this experience] to their community and know how to become more than just the paper, paint and cloth they put on. They’ve joined a unique membership here, and as I tell them, they’ve had to earn the right to put on the lion.”

To Taylor, lion dancing has become an integral part of her life and a performance that she’ll undertake wholeheartedly each year.

“Lion dancing is an outlet for me to get away from any problems,” Taylor said. “Every Saturday and Sunday when I go back, I forget what the rest of my world is like: I just focus on doing what I love with the people I love, and that’s truly refreshing for me.”

Moore lends helping hand to the community

Sahasra Chakilam

Staff Writer @sahasrachak24

For CHS9 library aide Marcia Moore, an ideal day consists of the following: waking up and walking her American boxer, Lady Delilah, as she watches a beautiful sunrise painted with vibrant hues, tidying up her yard, opening the doors to CHS9 to greet the freshmen at 8 a.m. and leaving school for CHS to keep score of a sports game for the rest of the evening.

Moore attended the College of San Mateo in California for two years where she attained an associate arts degree, graduated from San Jose State with a Bachelor’s de gree in Arts and Home Economics with an emphasis on Nutrition and Dietetics and proceeded to the University of Califor nia Health to work a dietetic internship.

Although Moore was occupied in the world of health and wellbeing, she was no stranger to Coppell ISD. She fostered an appreciation for helping the community and did so in various ways for the school district.

“I was a volunteer when they opened up Mockingbird Elementary [in 1991] and my children attended there,” Moore said. “As a volunteer, I coordinated and planned different activities at Mockingbird Elementary and was also a [volunteer] at Austin Elementary.”

Moore’s favorite minutes

Favorite sport to score: girls basketball

Favorite thing to crochet: sock monkey outfit for babies

Her volunteering efforts enabled Moore to discover a different passion of hers, shifting her over into the education field in 2000. She taught fifth grade GT science teacher in Irving for a couple of years and came to CISD in 2006.

Favorite genre: historical fiction

Time period you want to visit: medieval England

Following her ed ucation, she became a clinical dietician and a certified diabetes edu cator at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center

“I realized not only I loved to help out, but I also love to work with kids,” Moore

Moore worked as the service learning coordinator at Coppell Middle School West for 12

years, and soon came over to CHS9 when it opened in 2018, obtaining the role of library aide.

As the library aide, Moore makes sure the functions of not only the library, but different parts of the school are up and running. Being new to CISD this year, CHS9 librarian Brenna Conway has experienced Moore’s altruistic embrace.

“[Moore] will often do something that needs to be done without needing to be asked,” Conway said. “She is considerate of me and often asks and makes sure that I have eaten lunch especially when we have really busy days in the library. She has been a huge help in acclimating to the campus and has been one of the most welcoming people here.”

As a paraprofessional, Moore performs different tasks around the school for both the students and the teachers.

CHS9 Honors and GT Biology teacher Laronna Doggett has benefitted from Moore’s benevolence, through her help with the technical facets that her job contains on a daily basis.

“[Moore] is a very kind and passionate person,” Doggett said. “She is super helpful and makes my job easier. There are multiple ways she helps me as she laminates things for me, prints things out in color or in poster form and she covers for me at morning duty whenever I have [it]. She is always quick in doing these things.”

Moore is hopeful that through her endeavors she provides for the students, they are able to

gain from it and feel at peace in their learning atmosphere.

“I get to open the doors and greet the students for the first 20 minutes of the day,” Moore said. “So, I am the first person they see at CHS9 to remind them to wait in the cafeteria or if they have passes for tutoring, they attend that. I want them to feel that they have a positive learning environment where they can relate to their fellow students, staff and teachers as well as being successful so they can find what they want to do with their world.”

Even outside of CHS9, Moore makes it a priority to provide her time to CISD by scoring athletic events.

“I love facilitating the [Coppell] teams, collecting statistics

and keeping track of the scores for different sports and working the board for football,” Moore said. “I have been doing this since my children competed in sports when they were younger.”

Moore has also spread her enthusiasm for swimming by implementing swimming lessons that are open to the Coppell community.

Whether it’s laminating pieces of papers for the teachers to volunteering out in different charity organizations and projects, Moore’s passions lie in putting her hand out to help.

“I am a service-provider,” Moore said. “When you spend one-third of your day in a facility, you have to have a good time, you have to feel useful and you have to be there for service.”

CHS9 library aide Marcia Moore observes as Plano East’s JV boys basketball team pushes towards the net at CHS Arena on Friday evening. Moore is a paraprofessional who has been an involved member of the Coppell community since 1991, aiding in student activities in and out of CHS9. Rhea Chowdhary

CHS9 student and lion dancer Taylor Pham performs a bench routine with her partner Goldie Ly. The Pháp Quang lion dance group performed traditional lion dancing as a part of Lunar New Year celebrations at Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie on Jan. 22. Sruthi Lingam

Don’t put us in a box

Labels ruin our ability to express ourselves

Labels. Some of them are positive, however a lot of them are negative.

As teenagers, we love to use them, both for ourselves and each other. Some might say it is our way of making sense of being in a confusing age and maintaining control, but a lot of labels can turn out to be very harmful.

The second you label someone, you are putting them in a box; You are telling them that this is what they have to be and they are not allowed to change or disagree. What is worse is that a lot of these labels tend to be dangerous, especially with the judgment attached to them.

When we label someone, it not only limits them in reality, but psychologically as well. We do not allow that person to grow and change and it hinders us from trying to get to know them for who they actually are, apart from the label we’ve coined for them in our heads. From that

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point on, they are frozen in these roles and we operate of of a judgment that can be com

pletely inaccurate and not who that person actually is.

Some of the worst labels we experience and impose on others as teenagers are things like “basic,” but when we’re older, it can evolve into truly harmful stereotypes in the workplace.

The most common stereotypes in the workplace include women lacking confdence, women’s attire, ageism, fewer promotions for women, education shaming and just like high school: cliques. Those stereotypes and cliques that are formed are yet another example of how those labels do not stop at high school or college, they carry into the future in a professional work setting.

We need to remember that a person might like to be something or engage in certain activities, such as band or theater, without it making up their en-

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tire personality. They also might ft into that stereotype because they choose to, we don’t need to judge them for it.

High school is a time when teenagers tend to worry the most over how they are being perceived by others. There is a constant concern over how they look to others, how they are labeled and whether it’s positive or negative. They worry so much about their appearance to others that they can spend their time trying hard not to ft into a certain stereotype which leads to them not being their authentic selves.

Labeling can create unrealistic expectations for a person. They are constantly trying to live up to this version of themselves that sometimes may not actually exist.

It contributes to one of the biggest problems we face as teens: not feeling like we are being truly understood or seen for who we really are. We already feel like nobody will understand who we

are, but then being forced into a box of what is an “acceptable” version of yourself makes that feeling persist.

Whether someone recognizes it or not, forcing stereotypes onto others destroys their self-esteem because they now have this “negative” image of themselves and it feels impossible to change.

With one phrase, one word even, you have the power to do great amounts of damage, to the extent of making or breaking someone’s day and the power to control someone’s identity. You decide for someone else who they are going to be in the eyes of the world.

We need to learn how to embrace and love each other for the unique and wildly diferent people we are, not force them into a mold that for some reason our brains need them to be.

All people are original and that’s what makes humans so beautiful. It is time we learn how to accept that.

The Sidekick is the oficial 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 staf members (with assistance from their adviser) making content decisions. The editorials and columns in this paper refect the view of their writers.

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Correction: Wrestling secures 5-0 win at Coppell Round-Up (Volume 34 No. 3, p. 21) In our previous issue, senior Isaiah Francis was incorrectly identifed as junior Elijah Houston in a photograph. The Sidekick regrets the error.

Girl, you’re so basic.

Bro, you’re such a tryhard.

You’re such a weird kid.

Saniya Koppikar Entertainment Editor @SaniyaKoppikar

Disco lights groove along the walls of my living room. There––almost lost amongst singing and chanting, almost swallowed up by the clinking of glittery flutes––rests a promise.

A new year, a fresh start, a blank slate.

I am not sure what it all means, but I do know I am ready for it.

Later, soothed by a few regained hours of rest, I sit at my desk and uncap a pen. I am a goal-oriented person and the new year presents a prime incentive for change. With a bookmark on the last chapter, it’s easier to put the next one into perspective.

As I jot down goals (sleep eight hours, drink the prescribed 2.7 liters of water, finally develop a perfect work-life balance), though, I feel a sense of deja vu. I’ve been here before: at this desk, with this pen, writing down the same goals. And a realization hits me then, with all the grace of a misfired confetti popper and the badly-synced countdown broadcast on the living room TV.

New Year’s resolutions don’t work––for me, and for most people I have discussed this with. Time after time, year after year, we limp back to the drawing board with tired, worn-down promises and expect something different. It is Einstein’s very definition of insanity.

Though I am not an expert on the intricacies of human behavior, this year I finally think I understand the brains behind it all. Or rather, the lack of brains.

First: new year, new me. Seemingly innocuous, the phrase implies one of the main

problems with New Year’s res olutions. When we make goals, we strive for a new, perfect self.

Key word: perfect. The culture surrounding resolutions de mands a perfect regimen, which gets increasingly difficult to deal with under a heavy load of self-imposed pressure.

Perfectionism doesn’t lead to productivity. This is common ly known, but when the idea is bundled up in a palatable way, it is easy to forget. Therefore, the first step to making successful resolutions this year is accept ing less than your best.

As you strive to reach great er heights, do not be surprised if you fall down a few times. Be forgiving and find your way back to your goal even if you sometimes stray from it. Accept that you’re not going to become a new person, you’re just trying to be a better one.

Now, you are on the right track to achieving your goals. You are cruising along the path of self-improvement and stopping to fill up for gas when the tank runs low.

As we all know, though, gas costs money––effort, in this case. After a few skittering stops, it might start to occur to you that maybe you do not really need to get to your destination.

Quick! Before you give up, take a look at your goals. Ask yourself why you made them and why you decided you were going to stick with them. Was it just because it was a new year? Here’s something I have learned: you cannot be a new person just because the countdown ended.

My why was opportunity.

I am in the second semes

ter of my senior year, which is commonly accepted to be one of the most peaceful times of one’s high school career. This is quite clearly the best year to start getting a full night’s sleep and achieving a great work-life balance, especially since I had erroneously convinced myself I could not during the first three years of high school. And, of course, I received that crisp white water bottle for Christmas. After years of dehydration caused by a refusal to drink from communal water fountains and a stubborn forgetfulness for keeping my own bottle full during the school day,

So, as I traced my glittery gel pen across a neon sticky note (garish, but definitely hard to ignore), I resolved that this would be the year of productive resolutions. Not perfect, because I’m a night owl and the delayed effect of staying up until four in the morning on the first day of the year took a few days to subside, but productive. I would keep taking steps towards the promises I made myself, even if the journey seemed neverending.

Anyway, the best promises are ones you can actually keep.

BENEATH THE FILTER

Shrayes Gunna

Student Life Editor @shrayesgunna

Come get ready with me!

My phone reverberates alongside the familiar phrase as I scroll through TikTok. I’m instantly transported.

What once was an app that filled the few moments of periodic silence throughout my day has become a vessel into the lives of others through an endless cycle of Get Ready With Me videos. While content like this—short-form breakdowns of the creator’s daily routine—is nothing new, its resurgence on TikTok has taken the masses by storm.

The term first circulated on YouTube in the early 2010s amongst the beauty community, but it truly heightened as editorial magazines like Vogue and Refinery 29 capitalized on celebrity networks to establish their own multimedia presence. Who wouldn’t want to see what products the revered Bella Hadid or Kaia Gerber apply?

Subsequently, just as attention spans, these simple yet addictive videos got shorter and shorter throughout the years as well as far less exclusive. But what is the allure of the classic “Get Ready With Me To…”?

Spearheaded by influencers such as Alix Earle (@alix_earle on Instagram), Get Ready With Me offers a recurring comfort, that each morning a familiar

FILTER

face will light up your screen. In the grand scheme of things, it’s small, but, for many, it’s an escape. No longer do you have to confront the stacks of science textbooks and math homework on your desk. No longer do you have to sit in blaring silence alone because your friends were too busy to go out.

Instead, you can live vicariously through content creators and their extravagant escapades to upper-crust parties and exclusive events or laid-back routine grocery runs.

Earle’s comment section, for one, is brimming with users that resonate with her, whether it be sharing a favorite blush or getting ready to go out and try Hailey Bieber’s strawberry Erewhon smoothie.

These momentary excursions away from the stress and weight of the real world not only unite social media users beneath tried-and-true favorites or special activities, but also facilitate a personable relationship. To hide beneath an audacious make-up routine or outfit is common, but Get Ready With Me strips the layers back and illuminates an unfiltered image of the creator and their lifestyle. One that’s relatable, intimate and inspiring—grocery runs, New Year’s Eve parties and all. However, I can’t help but feel a semblance of resignation when scrolling now. Sure, they began as fun and inviting, but in the mess of these supposed-

ly realistic routines are shreds of individualism.

As more and more creators begin to explore the video style and showcase their skincare/ makeup repertoire, it is clear that almost everyone is starting to use the same products, love the same col ors, wear the same pieces and shed the nuances and details that make us human. While the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush is luscious in its application and moisturizing in its formulation or the Lu lulemon Belt Bag is a versatile yet stylish piece, it is harmful that those who do not partake in the trends propagated by these videos can feel less-than.

Some of Earle’s aforementioned comment section even deem the classic Get Ready With Me as, to a degree, dystopian in nature. The fictitious sense of perfection makes everybody want to be, in short, the same.

People often look to Gen Z as a hub for individualism, but Get Ready With Me is functionally the antithesis. It is a culmination of trends writ large that are multiplied and amplified with each 60-second video.

It is implausible to think that the influencers popularizing the video are authentic and real, especially when so much of their lives is filtered. This internal dilemma is what catalyzes my contention. It starts with a laugh or smile when watching a

TikTok, but quickly can evolve into self-doubt, comparison and a dwindling self-esteem.

What’s worse?

According to Andrea Cheng of Refinery 29, 81% of girls compare the way that they look in photos to those of their closest friends. In a world in which young, impressionable minds perceive relationships – marked by proximity – between themselves and influencers, they are far more likely to compare themselves to the guise of authenticity portrayed by the standard Get Ready With Me. Compare themselves to what is a picture-perfect, tailored image of what life ought to look like.

The picture-perfect image served on a silver platter in

cosm of the world can enjoy a $9 glorified smoothie and apply an excessive amount of YSL concealer and foundation every morning. It sounds outlandish, I know.

But, there are creators whose entire platforms subsist on romanticizing opulence, as a result fueling comparison and self-doubt.

In the spiral of TikToks, Reels and Shorts, the standard Get Ready With Me is turning society into a big, fat we, one without the quirks and nuances that previously defined humanity.

Photo by Saniya Koppikar

A deeper look at beauty

Beauty standards prove dangerous

Nyah Rama Staff Writer @Nyah_Rama

Oh my goodness she’s so beautiful, I wish I could look like her.

“I should eat less and workout more, maybe then I’ll be as beautiful as she is.”

“I need a tiny nose and straight hair, I’d be perfect then.”

These are just a few of the millions of thoughts that have gone through teenagers minds, but often are not fleeting feelings.

Thoughts like these can signify much bigger body image issues, such as body dysmorphia, or lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.

What is leading to these thoughts though? Why are so many teenagers afflicted with body image issues and why is it teenagers specifically that are the most affected by it?

Social media.

Social media is not the only reason teenagers fall prey to this line of thinking, but it is definitely a contributing factor.

Social media is designed to show people who you really are, but ever since its inception, people have used it to put out this “perfect” image of themselves rather than their actual identity.

One of the biggest ways social media has done this is through the usage of filters.

Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok utilize a very Eurocentric beauty standard through their filters. A Eurocentric beauty standard is one which promotes American and European looks such as tiny noses, straight and shiny hair, prominent bone structure and lean figure steering away from more ethnic features like bigger lips and darker skin tones.

These filters alter your face to make your nose appear smaller, your hair seem straighter and your skin seem tighter or even lighter; overall, it tries to make your face seem tinier and demure. This can be damaging because teenagers then think that this is how you have to look to be beautiful and what makes it worse is that most influencers and celebrities tend to lean into that beauty standard like when Hailey Bieber did “brownie-glazed lips” and it immediately became a trend.

What is even worse is that people of color had been doing this for many years but only when Bieber did it did it become a big trend.

This perpetuates the narrative in teens minds, “if I don’t look like that I’m nothing.” It creates this idea that if we can’t make ourselves look a certain way we aren’t acceptable, both to ourselves and society.

“Social media definitely does promote a toxic beauty standard,” Coppell High School sophomore Chandana Pagadala said. “It’s impressionable and it gives off [a false idea] with all these influencers doing unrealistic things and having this

impression on young kids, [specifically young girls] and that’s a very toxic thing. It implements a mindset for kids to not love who they are as themselves.”

The pressures of high school certainly do not ease the pain of this narrative either. The constant fear of judgment and glances can be overwhelming and it doesn’t help that our peers actually can create cultures of criticism. Teenagers can be so quick to judge, even as they’re all going through the same things. This can be the result of our own self hatred.

Teenagers will try so hard to project the “perfect” image of themselves onto the world through their social media, which not only makes those platforms the instigator, but the tool used to perpetuate our own narratives as well which can be extraordinarily damaging to our physical and mental health.

In addition to creating body image issues, social media can damage one’s sense of identity. Teenagers will spend all this time trying to look like or be like someone that they don’t act like themselves anymore, there is always some trend they’re trying to follow.

Social media is constantly showing you these unattainable ideals, which leads to teenagers who are so desperate for the narrative of “perfection” that they begin to live unhealthy lifestyles.

We have to remember that social media isn’t reality. It is just one big highlight reel of people trying to be something they’re not and calling it “perfection.”

Social media is also the source of a great deal of self–esteem issues. The constant comparison of ourselves to these unattainable “ideals” produces so much negativity in our minds.

In a world where teenagers are already comparing themselves to each other on a daily basis, the last thing we need is social media reminding us of how “inferior” we are.

The language that teens can use towards each other doesn’t help either, because even when teens do try and follow the trends on social media they can end up getting labeled with words like “basic” or a “tryhard.”

In this culture of negativity and body shaming, teens need to find various ways to uplift each oth er and support one another instead of saying things like “you’re not that fat.”

We need to learn how to respect each other and how to talk to each other because social media and the rest of the world are already telling us that we aren’t good enough. The last place we need to hear it from is the ones closest to us.

Most importantly, we need to learn how to embrace ourselves for who we are because we are all so different and so beautiful.

MYTH OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Our fairytale ending isn’t what we thought it was

You’ve heard it before. The classic tale where the female lead falls in love with a male prince. Some obstacle or challenge gets in the way of their “happily ever after.” The prince valiantly fights whatever he has to, whether it’s a dragon or monster, to be reunited with his true love.

The inevitable happens: the screen flashes to a “and they lived happily ever after” and that’s it. End of story.

Well, not necessarily.

The story begins in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film catapulted Walt Disney to fame and established him as “one of the world’s most innovative and creative moviemakers.” Disney went on to create countless iconic princesses, such as Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Tiana, Anna and Elsa; but the list never really ends.

These princesses are and will remain popular role models for young children likely because of their global reach and the constantly outpouring live action adaptations. Their popularity does not detract from the fact that they are, simply put, bad role models for children.

Above Average, an internet production company, found that in six out of 11 Disney princesses, their eyes were larger than their waist. Examples include Elsa, Belle, Jasmine and Aurora––some of the most popular princesses of the studio. Ultimately you cannot ignore the completely unrealistic standards and proportions perpetuated by Disney princesses.

The Middlebury blog network reports physical appearance is discussed on average 13.6 times with a range from zero to 114 times for female physical appearance and a range of zero to 35 times for male physical appearance.

More often than not, when the Disney villains are examined, they have certain “imperfections” that are highlighted. Characters like Ursula from the Little Mermaid, Anastasia and Drizella from Cinderella leave a lasting

impression on children: there is a correlation between people who do not conform to society’s beauty standards and negative, even villainous, personality traits.

Take a look at the romantic relationships in these films, which are some of the most prominent facets of a Disney film. Ariel changed her entire personality to fit into Prince Eric’s world. The Snow White and Sleeping Beauty films have obvious issues regarding consent. Belle developed Stockholm syndrome.

No matter how the movies end, it does not detract from the blatant truth: these relationships are toxic and unhealthy and paint a negative picture of relationships that young children now idolize and grow up to believe are picture perfect. The ideal, fairy-tale romance.

In these relationships, it is a common theme that the female lead plays the “damsel in distress.” That stereotype imposes the wrong idea on impressionable girls that they need to wait for her knight in shining armor to come and save her, rather than picking up the sword and saving herself. In Princess Jasmine’s case, she was set to marry someone at 16 if she wished to be queen. Her capabilities and abilities played no part in her ascension to the throne in any way whatsoever. All of these situations make it out to be that a man, or a charming prince in Disney’s case, will come into the picture and all of the woman’s difficulties and hardships will simply vanish with his presence in her life.

Disney has certainly worked to rectify some of these issues with some more powerful leads in their films: Mulan, Moana, Anna, Elsa, Bella and Merida and those characters deserve to be appreciated and applauded.

Still, Disney has a long way to go to help young children realize that they don’t need to fit into certain stereotypes to be loved or feel the need to shape themselves to fit a certain standard.

your own SIDEKICK

Your Own Sidekick is an advice column series tackling topics about overcoming challenges in high school. To read more, visit coppellstudentmedia.com

Identifying a toxic relationship

Identifying toxic relationships can be very difficult, especially if it’s with someone close to you. Your judgment becomes clouded with memories and you want to believe that it could never happen.

Toxic relationships come in all forms whether it be romantic, platonic or familial, and it’s important to recognize that they aren’t categorized by extreme situations. Pinpointing a toxic relationship can be done by anyone, but changing the dynamic or ending this relationship is up to the individual. If you’re reading this, I assume you are questioning if you may be in this situation; so, here are some ways to find out.

The first tip is to always follow your intuition, that gut feeling you get when

something is off. Most of the time we know deep down that we are in a bad situation, but it’s blurred by the feelings we hold for them. Think about it like this: if your friend was treated this way by someone, what would your opinion be?

These relationships are full of sacrifice, specifically self sacrifice, that typically hurts one party in the end. With these dilemmas, only one person is required to give up something; whether it be identity, morals or anything of that nature. Along with that, you may be put in situations that cross a personal boundary, where you feel the need to forfeit a line you have set for yourself. Focus on the little things that happen and have happened in the past. Is this a person who belittles your interests, shifts conversations to themselves or causes you to feel like you’re inferior?

Most of the time you’ll be confused and may ask for advice constantly because the way they talk to you or treat you doesn’t connect all the dots. Con-

Navigating peer pressure

Struggling with peer pressure is something that people often talk about, but never how to overcome it.

Commercials and TV shows typically show peer pressure as something the peers are doing directly, with one vulnerable person not doing it. The peers tell them to do it, and when the vulnerable person says no, they continue to convince the person to do it.

What they don’t discuss, is that sometimes peer pressure is all in your head. Sometimes no one tells you to do something, but you feel like you should. You want them to believe you’re “cool” when you don’t want to feel excluded.

According to Merriam-Webster, peer pressure is a feeling that “one must do the same things as other people of one’s age and social group to be liked or respected by them.”

FOMO: fear of missing out, is a common cause of peer pressure. When a group of people has something they all do, but you

don’t do it, you have the feeling of missing out. People don’t want to feel excluded, so they do things they wouldn’t typically do to feel like they’re a part of something.

In my freshman year, peer pressure was a struggle for me. I realized that I was changing who I was for the satisfaction of feeling accepted by my friends at the time. I talked to my parents about the urge I had to fit in. They told me I was smart enough to know the right thing to do and that my future shouldn’t be focused on what others are doing. I re-evaluated my goals and my priorities. I focused on what I needed. I met some new friends who respect who I am and have the same goals as me.

It is hard to come to terms with the fact that you need to prioritize your needs first and that you shouldn’t need to change yourself for your friends. If you think your friends or brain are pressuring you to do something you don’t want to, think about the future and the potential outcome of doing this. Put yourself on the path to success and focus on what you want your life to be.

If you find yourself in a position where you start ignoring the consequenc es of something so you can fit in, tell yourself that you don’t need to do this and have it in your head that you are going to say no and stick by your decision. Remember the consequences and have confidence in yourself. Respect yourself enough to where you can be independent in your own actions. If others are encouraging you, tell them you don’t want to do it and you have every right not to. If they keep pressuring you, stick to your choice and if you have to, simply walk away.

fusion in these situations is a result of a lack of communication or clarity. Being stuck in conflict where one party cannot explain their feelings only leads to chaos. These types of people make you feel as if no matter what you do, it’s never going to be enough. Being there for every call, always being a shoulder to cry on or being the only one who initiates plans. You never do anything wrong but somehow the kindness you offer holds no value. Not just for them, but it feels that way for everyone.

It is important to know, no matter how hurtful it may be, that these relationships are never a reflection of who you are or your value as a person. Looking at these potential traits in others offers an explanation of how they act, not an excuse.

Getting over an embarrasing moment

We’ve all been there.

Eyes wide, frozen with fear, sweat beading down your forehead: you got utterly embarrassed.

Embarrassment has many synonyms - shame, self-consciousness or awkwardness. All in all, a typically negative connotation.

It is a fact you’ve messed up sometime in your life. Many times, actually. Maybe once a week, once a I’ll let you in on a little secret: I know you’ve messed up because it’s happened

I have a tendency to say whatever first comes to my mind out loud. It’s a part of who I am. The trait is funny and witty, but has gotten me into some sticky situations. Sometimes class stops after hearing what I said as everyone absorbs the comment.

My friends have told me they have often experienced second hand embarrassment whenever I say or do some-

thing of that nature, but I’ve gained the ability to easily get over anything.

It is not like I don’t get embarrassed. Some of those times when I find myself in the moment, I feel like I have to cover my face in my hands and internally scream. Thank you, loud mouth.

Encountering awkward experiences is inevitable and needs to be addressed every time. It doesn’t matter if you’re quiet and try to not be the center of attention: embarrassment targets everyone, no matter how often. It doesn’t get easier, but you can find ways to expertly navigate the situation that you find yourself in.

First off, you need to stop taking yourself too seriously. What you did is not as important as you perceive it as. The world doesn’t really care if your pants ripped or you laughed too loudly. When you get past your own critical viewpoint of yourself and assumptions of other people’s judgment, it’ll help you tremendously.

So, try to stop catering to what you deem as perfect. Be embarrassing, be loud and slip up; everyone will understand because everyone knows what you are going through. Your friends,

your siblings, your classmates, even your teachers and parents have tales of their own.

Doing something embarrassing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it’ll redden your cheeks and sting in the moment, but in the grand scheme of things, it will not matter. Soon, the world around you will move on from your mistake. As they move along, you should too.

Your reputation or self worth won’t be challenged by the silly errors you commit or embarrassing encounters you have. Getting up and brushing off your shoulders is all that matters.

Hold your head high after it happens, even if you have your friends tease you. Don’t give attention to the whispers and judgmental giggling. Look at this moment as it is: a harmless and funny experience you’ll be able to look back on in the future.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and get embarrassed. You will be OK.

Graphics by Sri Achanta and Aliya Zakir

Harwadekar advocating for children’s rights

Divya Sivalenka Staff Writer @ DivyaSivalenka

Did you know that 53% of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries are unable to read or understand a short age-appropriate text? In light of greater public recognition of this startling disparity between developed and developing nations, Coppell High School senior Pranav Hardwekar is taking action.

On Sept. 14, Harwadekar was selected as a National Youth Representative for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. He is one of 30 youth reps across the nation and is one of the five members selected from the state of Texas.

Even though he is now a part of UNICEF on a national level, Harwadekar started his journey here in Coppell. Back in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he co-founded the CHS UNICEF Club with senior Kanna Iyyappan.

“Here in Coppell, we had access to virtual education, where we could do online learning, but I knew many people around the world didn’t have the same privilege, so that’s when we started UNICEF,” Harwadekar said. “[We] just want to basically advocate for children’s rights around the world and protect that.”

Born and raised in Bangalore, India, Harwadekar moved to Irving in 2014. He was motivated by his upbringing to give back to his community.

“I got to see a lot of kids, who might’ve not had the same privilege as us,” Hardwekar said. “Some of them might be forced to work or marry at a young age; they don’t have the same [freedom] to focus on their education and passion, which inspired me and made me want to

contribute to society.”

The competitive application process began in July with applicants submitting a detailed resume and then getting called for an interview process to shortlist the applicants.

“One thing that stood out about Harwadekar is that he is the leader of his UNICEF club at Coppell, and he has also exemplified different ways he’s involved in his community, especially serving locally and feeding lower-income communities,” said UNICEF Community Engagement Associate Maryann Wanjau, Harwadekar’s interviewer. “He was also very involved in advocacy work through UNICEF, having participated in Advocacy Week in 2021. Pranav was a very active volunteer even before the Youth Rep position was available, so he’s a great fit for this role.”

Wanjau had met Harwadekar long before interviewing him for the position during preparation for an August Recess meeting, where representatives from UNICEF meet with Congressional Representatives and ask for their support on behalf of UNICEF’s mission.

“I am always surprised and impressed when high school students make time to attend these meetings, especially when they’re in the middle of the day, that stuck out with me even before the interview process,” Wanjau said.

Describing his work ethic, CHS senior UNICEF Club president Sowbarnika Morsa expressed gratitude for his constant presence since the club’s inception.

“I really am grateful for the fact that he always showed up to online meetings,” Morsa said.

“He’s very passionate about UNICEF. Even though he already had a hectic schedule, he always put time aside to work on UNICEF, and he helped with the foundation a lot. He was one of the biggest reasons the club was able to grow as much as it had today because now, we have over 100 members, and his con-

tribution with the amount of the work he put in led to that.”

Harwadekar highlighted that his biggest role as a youth representative is being an advocate for UNICEF’s mission and policies.

“I meet with other Youth Reps around the nation, and we discuss advocacy and how we can empower the youth,” Harwadekar said. “We also set goals for the year and discussed how we would like to bring that into our community and school. Our main goal is spreading awareness about UNICEF and their policies because the more people engage in UNICEF, the bigger impact we can make.”

Harwadekar is also interested in bringing initiatives from other places into the Dallas area.

“I would like to bring in the Houston area initiative called the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI), which is basically an initiative that

advocates for children’s rights and making sure that children have a safe place to live in the community,” Harwadekar said.

“I think if we bring something like that into our school and UNICEF clubs around us, that will not only help extend Houston’s impact, but also bring something that’s more valuable into our community.”

Harwadekar hopes to continue UNICEF throughout college and work towards building a better community for everyone.

“Being in UNICEF has opened up a lot for me in public speaking, and it’s helped me become better in advocating for others’ rights and also ensuring that I give back to the community,” Harwadekar said.

“[Being selected] has been a great opportunity for me, but I feel like my work doesn’t stop there. It’s important that even though I got selected, I continue doing that work.”

- Varsity tennis player

- Physics club president as a junior - Active member of Technology Student Association (TSA)

Black Student Union to create a sense of community

Rhea Choudhary Staff Writer @rhea_choud

Last May, Coppell High School juniors Sedem Buatsi and Brandalyn Veail alongside sophomore Sweetie Ansah came together in an effort to instill unity among the African American students at Coppell High School, forming the Black Student Union.

As three young girls feeling stressed due to the daily endeavors of high school, they felt as if there should be an organization enabling them to feel comfortable going to each other—people who understand their backgrounds and perspectives. Prior to the 2022-2023 school year, the three presidents of this club spent time researching to find a sponsor, selecting eight club officer positions and coming up with ways to properly launch the Black Student Union by August of 2022.

“Our goal was to bring the Black community together because even in our classes, we started to notice there were very few of us with the same skin color,” Buatsi said. “We all want to encourage each other to stay motivated and to have a safe space to feel connected through our culture, along with

working together to raise funds for various charities.”

The club’s membership is not exclusive to just African American students, but open to all students who want to learn more about their culture. The Black Student Union focuses on uniting students from different cultural backgrounds and teaching members more about significant events in African American history, such as Black excellence.

Since this club was recently incepted at CHS, the Black Student Union was promptly advertised through the club expo and by word of mouth. With approximately 20 members, they hold club meetings every other week in their sponsor, anatomy and physiology teacher, Ray Pool’s room.

“When it was just us three trying to make this an official club, we realized we underestimated how much there is to do and that we literally have no idea what we’re doing to get everyone involved,” Ansah said. “We wanted there to be a sufficient number of officer positions to have good ideas and for the club to have a stronger leadership team.”

Partnering with the African American studies class, the Black Student Union is making the most out of Black History Month in February. It is hold-

ing volunteer events, including attracting students’ attention through a football and basketball tournament with the tickets’ funds fully directed towards the Black student union.

“This club makes us all feel as if we are a family and I enjoy it because I get to meet all these people I have things in common with, so the club is bringing us together,” Veail said. “It encourages our members to respect everyone’s opinions, and the skills we learn in this club help us build a better future at our school.”

Furthermore, the Black Student Union’s overall goal is to unite the Black community as a whole and teach those interested the importance of their heritage.

“The reason we are so determined to give back to our community is because of all the historic events and people that our teachers don’t inform us enough about in our history lessons or give as much value towards,” Ansah said. “The book The New Jim Crow Laws opened my eyes to what reality actually is, along with teaching me so much about America’s society and hierarchy. However, our teachers tell us these things like it’s in the past, when we see the opposite occur daily.”

Coppell High School senior Pranav Harwadekar is the co-president of the Coppell UNICEF club and aims to encourage the youth to have local community engagement by advocating for bills. Harwadekar is one of the five members selected from Texas as a National Youth Representative for UNICEF USA. Photo courtesy Pranav Harwadekar

Photos by Vibha Viswanath

Co-President Brandalyn Veail

Co-President Sedem Buatsi

Co-President Sweetie Ansah

Harwadekar’s ACHIEVEMENTS

Dr. Johnson applies past experiences into teaching

Iniya Nathan Features Editor @iniya_v

and practiced law in Minnesota, Nebraska and New York as a trial attorney in civil and criminal litiga tion. After five years, Dr. Johnson then decided to study economics.

“I always wanted to go back and study economics,” Dr. John son said. “I wanted to study why some countries develop and others

immediately practicing law, however, Dr. Johnson joined the Peace Corps.

pleased and happy with everything that he said during that interview. So when it came

Dr. Johnson got a master’s in eco nomics at the University of Nebras ka, got his doctorate at Rutgers University and started working in New York for Law and Economics Consulting Group.

Due to family reasons, Dr. John son moved to Dallas, still doing consulting work but this time fo cused on international taxes. Five years later, one of his clients hired him to become their international tax director. Dr. Johnson taught himself accounting and tax to bet ter fulfill the role. After nearly 11 years in that position, Dr. Johnson realized he was not learning any thing new. He decided to come back to teaching, making his way to Coppell ISD at last.

helps you figure out who you are and what’s important.”

After his years of traveling, Dr. Johnson put his law degree to use

“Teaching is a craft that you get better at,” Dr. Johnson said. “It’s something that you can work on. That you improve on every year. It is not about knowing your content. It is about being able to connect with students and that’s a craft. That is something that you work on. I’m still learning.”

The only school Dr. Johnson

wants to help other people, like be better because of the expe-

ing us for a long time. I want to give some students the tools that can help solve conflict, can help lead to solutions that are evidence based, not just knee jerk political responses. I want to give kids the empathy and worldview that is needed to motivate them.”

I want to give students tools that they can use to help solve problems that have lasted far too long, like racism, economic inequality, climate change, issues that are going to be plaguing us for a long time.

DR. LOWELL JOHNSON AP STATISTICS TEACHER

Coppell High School AP Statistics teacher Dr. Lowell Johnson juggles bowling pins and does card tricks in his classroom on Feb. 8. Prior to teaching at CHS for the past nine years, Dr. Johnson worked in the Peace Corps and practiced law and economics. Nandini Muresh

In-Depth

AI paves way for new era

A deep dive into the world

Story by Manasa Mohan

Introduction

n the early parts of the 20th century, science fiction introduced the world to the concept of artificial intelligence technology, specifically AI robots. It began with Karel Capek and his science fiction play “Rossum’s Universal Robots” released in 1921 where he explored the idea of factory-made artificial people whom he called robots. In 1927, the world saw Metropolis, in which a robotic girl was physically indistinguishable from her human counterpart. 1937, the “heartless” Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

The rise of ChatGPT

The first use of artificial intelligence was during World War II (1940) via the decoding of an enigma machine by Alan Turing, a British mathematician. Ten years later, Turing released a test to test for machine intelligence, but it was in 1955 when John McCarthy coined the term “AI.”

Over the course of the next several decades, more robots were introduced to the world, but it wasn’t until 1997 when DeepBlue (an IBM computer) triumphed over legendary world chess champion Garry Kasporav when people took notice of the new developments and were left questioning how a robot could outmatch and outperform a human.

In 1998, Kismet was created, the first robot that could demonstrate social and emotional interactions with humans. Through vocalizations, facial expressions and other motor capabilities, Kismet had the capability to express various emotions: disgust, surprise, sadness, interest, anger and calmness.

In 2016, the first robot to have citizenship in any country, Sophia, was created. A humanoid robot equipped with artificial intelligence, Sophia can imitate facial expressions, language and form opinions and can get smarter over time.

On Nov. 30, 2022 a new chatbot was released to the public: ChatGPT. Taking the world by storm, it gained one million users in just five days after going public.

ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI that is trained on a massive dataset of conversational text. It is designed to generate human-like responses to text-based prompts, and can be used for a wide variety of natural language processing tasks such as language translation, question answering, and text summarization.

As with most AI technology, the introduction of ChatGPT to the public has raised some concerns, namely that it can be used for malicious purposes such as creating fake news or impersonating others. Considering the model is based on text data, the model can produce biased or discriminatory outputs and the model may be too accurate when it comes to generating human-like text which lends itself to deep fake attacks.

At the Wharton School of Business, ChatGPT earned a B to B- grade in a business management course exam. A Wharton business professor Christian Terwiesch said that the bot did “an amazing job” at responding to basic operations management and process-analysis questions, but had a harder time with more advanced prompts and made “surprising mistakes” with basic math.

AI changing the face of education

With the variety of uses that ChatGPT offers as a part of the platform, students have begun to increasingly use the platform to aid in their schoolwork: writing essays or short answers, answering questions, writing forms of code, projects and more.

“Even before this ChatGPT started, we have been seeing the effects of technology with different sites that people would send essays to and sharing answers,” Coppell High School IB English III teacher Stephanie Spaete said. “I think it's been long since coming. have seen some of this start to show up in some of the responses, even short answers, so it's a little concerning.”

Because of its popularity and rise, especially seen in English classes or more discussion based/essay writing classes, teachers such as Spaete have had to modify their curriculum and instruction in order to ensure students are still receiving a quality education, one that is not hindered by AI and technology that

of smart technology

can potentially do the work for them.

In the case of Spaete’s IB classroom, she has found herself moving more towards a pen and paper environment rather than digital learning. The class itself is heavily focused on reading and discussion and although annotation and writing assignments persist, she has found herself modifying curriculum to where students complete the reading at home and are required to complete the annotations or written component in class to monitor students and ensure their thoughts are being evaluated.

“I think AI skills are hurting students in a number of ways,” Spaete said. “It’s hindering the capability to think critically because you’re using a tool that does all the thinking for you and you’re losing the human aspect or the connections you would make in your own mind. You’re not actually thinking through something, it's just processed for you. Also, it would create further problems with people’s ability to communicate and later in life, it will end up harming them when they look for jobs and they have to do skills on their own because they won’t be able to have that foundation.”

Using AI platforms, the outcomes seemed limitless. However the chatbot raises an important concern in a high school setting: the large potential for plagiarism of work. Furthermore,

Quote

— CHS Principal Laura Springer

the chatbot creates individualized responses each time the prompt is entered. That aspect of the AI platform creates a unique challenge for instructors to combat as they attempt to differentiate between a student’s writing and the work of ChatGPT.

“[When teachers allow students to use ChatGPT], they’re giving [students] a resource they’re already probably going to use and giving to them and saying ‘use this wisely,” CHS junior Samhitha Kona said. “Now [the students] can’t just fully cheat and have ChatGPT completely make an essay for them. can definitely see how using it in your classroom and saying ‘you can use this as long as you use it wisely’ is better than just saying nothing about it. Then it feels like the students have the upper hand and [this way] the teacher does because they are fully aware about it.”

Using a combination of platforms, ChatGPT can be utilized to create text to prompt videos that can be used as an instructional tool for both teachers and students. Thus, if teachers give a prompt of instruction that explains a topic discussed in the classroom, a video can be generated that students can refer back to when needed to refresh their memory on the topic or simply to understand it better.

“At its current ability level, I would not use it as a teaching tool, but could foresee in the future that it certainly will improve,” CHS AP Statistics teacher Dr. Lowell Johnson said.

“One downside going forward is that right now ChatGPT is free. expect that’s going to change and that might change what schools do with it because if they can’t access it for free, it might not be something they’re so excivted about using. That raises another question about once they start charging for it then it’s going to be a tool that well to-do families can use and poor families will not be able to have access to it so there’s an equity issue there and if we use it in education.”

One of the unique abilities and main uses of ChatGPT has been its ability to write accurate, programmable code. Moreover, ChatGPT can produce code in a variety of languages including C++ and MicroPython. With that unique functionality, AI can

AI-generated art

Ex. 1

Changes to the global economy

It is Jan. 22, 2018 in Seattle.

Normally welcomed with a greeter, you now encounter a train station style row of gates that guard the door, only allowing people with the store’s app inside.

The 1,800 square-foot store is packed with shelves of food that is typical of other stores. It is not the products that make the store unique. It is the actual shopping experience.

Prompt: a drawing in the style of microsoft paint of a person playing table tennis

Ex. 2

Prompt: “a windows 95 pop up window displaying a warning about a computer virus” DALL•E 2 is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Though it has made considerable progress and is largely able to mimic styles of visual media (as can be seen in Example 1), it still has its flaws, including the inability to generate actual words or phrases (as can be seen in Example 2).

therefore serve to reduce the time spent on certain tasks and the money needed. Despite AI not being able to change based on data, it can evolve and that creates better backend processes and better code.

“With early development in reading skills and so forth, there really is a process to learn how to read and write,” CHS AP Computer Science Principles teacher Michael McCabe said. “The same thing goes for using an AI. It’s an easy quick fix or it can be. The kids still need to learn the material. However, think it could be a useful tool in developing some of those skills.”

Despite the impressive writing capabilities of ChatGPT, there still is, according to CHS teachers, the major differentiation between a human’s writing and ChatGPT’s writing: an actual human-like component to the writing. Although there is that aspect missing, the program is still “creative and its answers can sound downright authoritative.”

“I think we'll always have to have human beings that know how to discriminate between what's right and what's wrong,” CHS Principal Laura Springer said. “I think that a computer can imitate you to a certain degree, but I think that human characteristic, social things that we need to be teaching you, those character traits that we need to be teaching you, a computer can't do that for you. I'm not afraid of [AI]. I think you can use it as a tool. Let's use it, let's let it be a tool to enhance, but let's not be afraid that it's going to take over because do believe we still need that human interaction, we still need those human skills that we need to teach.”

As for CISD schools and buildings, the effect of AI technology remains unclear as platforms like ChatGPT, Grammarly, Mathway and Photomath are still being used, as with any form of technology, room for improvement still stands.

"AI in technology is going to be a game changer, to what extent is still to be determined,” CISD Executive Director of Technology Stephen McGilvray said. “Specific to CISD, the Curriculum and Instruction team will determine what will be incorporated into the classroom and the instructional lessons being taught. [The] technology [department] will be here to support that direction."

Quote

— CHS IB English III teacher Stephanie Spaete

There are no cashiers or registers anyway. As shoppers get ready to leave the store, they pass through the same entry gates without having to pull their wallets out at any point. Rather, as customers place items into their cart, their Amazon account is automatically charged for the products and the opposite applies when products are removed from the cart. Customers are then charged for the products they go home with.

The employees who are working at these stores are tasked primarily with stocking shelves and answering customer’s questions.

As of January 2023, there are 33 Amazon Go stores throughout the United States and 15 in the United Kingdom. But the concept of a store that incorporates AI technology is not necessarily new. McDonald’s, Walmart, Lowe’s, Walgreens, Sephora, Taco Bell, Macy’s and H&M are just a few of the many stores that have begun the transition to implement new technologies in their stores.

The case of Walmart doing away with cashiers in stores to offer “new checkout experiences” for customers via self-checkouts, pickup and delivery provide the perfect example of one of the major concerns when it comes to AI technology. It could replace human workers.

“In economics, we kind of push back on [the idea that AI will replace human workers] quite a bit,” University of Dallas assistant professor of economics Dr. Malcolm Kass said. “While some jobs or trade does disappear because of technology, that just opens up new markets, while maybe in the near term, it's hard to transition over, eventually people start to take those jobs and we have different job mixes. Once you release this labor supply, there's other ways the labor supply can be used and they'll find new ways to use them. We’ve been going down this since the last industrial age for the last 300 years and we have yet to find widespread unemployment because of technology [in the developed world.]”

Despite that fear, Accenture covered 12 developed economies that comprise more than 0.5 percent of the world’s economic output and found that AI could double their annual global economic growth rates by 2035. There are three primary reasons for this type of rapid growth: an increase in labor productivity, the creation of a virtual workforce and the diffusion of innovation.

“[AI] is like most technological innovation, at the beginning there’s some fear because the first thing you immediately recognize is what sorts of functions it will replace,” University of Dallas associate professor of economics and Chair of the Economics department Dr. Tammy Leonard said. “But, as we’ve seen throughout history, with every new technology that enters the workforce, new jobs are created and things change and are modified. expect it to work out much like we see happening in so many other places in that it’s going to cause a shift in the labor market, but it’s not going to be a net negative, think it’s going to be a net positive.”

A study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers approximates that global gross domestic product could increase by up to 14 percent (around $15.7 trillion) by 2030 as AI is incorporated more and more into the economy and society. But the distribution of those gains is not spread as evenly with North America potentially seeing a 14.5 percent gain ($3.7 trillion) and China would see a 26 percent increase ($7 trillion). On the other hand, Latin America can only foresee a 5.4 percent increase ($0.7 trillion) and Africa, Oceania and others would witness 5.6 percent growth ($1.2 trillion).

“Essentially, we’re missing out on the human capacity in [less advanced] countries,” Leonard said. “In a developed country like the United States, when you have these great wealth gaps it often means that people at the bottom are not able to develop their human capacities. We, as a society, all of us benefit if all the people can flourish and contribute to society. So when we have these growing gaps, one of the negative outcomes is that you miss out on the potential for people at the bottom end of that spectrum.”

In computer science, AI is leading to the development of new algorithms, models and techniques for building intelligent systems. It is also driving innovation in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision and robotics. In engineering, AI is being used to optimize design processes, improve product quality and increase efficiency in manufacturing. For example, AI is being used to develop predictive maintenance systems that can detect potential equipment failures before they occur, reducing downtime and increasing efficiency.

“Everyone just thinks that AI is going to take over all of these jobs, but in reality the professionals in computer science and engineering careers are the people creating these AIs,” CHS junior Naisha Jain said. “You’re developing these, you have to refine them and constantly make them better. It wouldn’t get rid of too many jobs because they’re always ways to improve a website or the functionality or the aesthetics and that's the computer science aspect. Computer science is navigation and engineering could

Quote

— University of Dallas associate professor of economics and Chair of the Economics department Dr. Tammy Leonard

include marketing it because that's part of the engineering design plan, you have to produce, market and sell it to the world.”

Apart from just ChatGPT, other AI powered platforms have existed that have provided tutoring services and homework help for students of all ages including Photomath, Mathway even Grammarly. But those apps have the potential to take business away from physical tutoring services, some of which many CHS students work at.

“Personally when it comes to Gideon, we cater towards younger kids,” CHS Sowbarnika Morsa said. “Our highest math is geometry and our highest reading is comprehension. Typically our age goes from about 4 years to 12 so don't think we have as much of an issue with ChatGPT because mostly those tools are used in high school and we have almost no students in high school. I think maybe centers that cater towards older kids who go to high school may be more affected by it because their clients are more likely to use online tools compared to tutoring centers.”

One of the other industries that stands to be affected to a great degree once AI is incorporated into it is the healthcare industry. AI can be used to do claims processing, clinical documentation, revenue cycle management, medical records management and can go as far to improve medical diagnoses.

“If we’re talking AI, they already use robotics in surgeries, I know they’re using AI in that application as well and that's given us more precise surgeries with less trauma to patient tissues with faster recovery times, so that's phenomenal,” CHS Medical Assistant teacher Rachel Chesney said. “I just don’t want it to eliminate jobs from real people and eliminate that connection and listening.

Artificial intelligence can’t pick up on emotional context and be able to decipher what that means underneath it all. They may be able to understand an inflection in voice that says a patient is upset, but can they help that patient cope? So by having a one-on-one conversation with the patient, you can often pick up on those little nuances and lead with your patient history to try to figure out what’s going on with that patient so you can truly help them. Then that further information helps us to create a better diagnosis. AI can’t do that.”

“You’re not actually thinking through something, it’s just processed for you.”

“Let's use it, let's let it be a tool to enhance, but let's not be afraid that it's going to take over.”

“[AI] is like most technological innovation, at the beginning there’s some fear because the first thing you immediately recognize is what sorts of functions it will replace.”

Jain’s business savvy paying o as DECA VP

Ishana Sharma Staf Writer @CHSCampusNews

Senior Executive Vice President Vrishti Jain has been in Coppell High School’s DECA chapter since her Freshman year with this year being her fourth and final year.

Inspired by her sister Aditi Jain, a 2018 CHS graduate, Jain decided that she too would take up a career in the business pathway.

“I knew that I wanted to go into the business endorsement, and that I wanted to see how competition would work, especially how I can use my skills and my experience to create a project,” Jain said. “My sister made DECA Internationals so I wanted to follow in her footsteps and see how far I could go.”

As Senior Executive Vice President, Jain inputs data for all the major items, and implements, which means monitoring and adjusting plans. The executive vice presidents report to Jain, who works with the president, Tavishka Arora and the CEO, Dilan Patel to make decisions and regulate those concerns.

“A lot falls on Vrishti to work on administrative duties and to take care of the day-to-day items of the chapter from working on financial documents of who’s paid for what items to registration and other administrative duties as well as delegating other items to other departments in

DECA,” DECA sponsor Richard Chamberlain said.

Being vice president comes with challenging responsibilities, but Jain handles them gracefully.

“She is very dependable and organized,” senior DECA President Tavishka Arora said “She is the person that checks their email the most and responds very quickly, so sheis the frst person to get onto tasks which is very nice.”

Jain’s passion and pride in DECA is refected in her actions as she does what is best for the organization as a whole, regardless of her title.

“She gets tasks accomplished,” Chamberlain said. “I was so impressed with her willingness to come work before the [DECA oficer] elections and before she had a title as an oficer, to show that it wasn’t about the title or being an oficial oficer. It was about doing the best thing for the chapter and accomplishing what was needed. I think her biggest strength is that I know that I can go to her for anything, from A to Z, one to infnity, and that she will hop right on it and get it accomplished at the highest levels.”

Jain displays other leadership qualities apart from her known dependability.

“She’s very systematic and an easy person to get along with,” senior DECA Written Event Coordinator Nischintha Srinivasan said. “She is very determined to fnish a task, but at the same time she is not strict.” senior DECA oficer Nischintha Srinivasan said.

Being the Vice President comes with the thrill of

playing a key role in the organization, but Jain still enjoys the other aspects of being in DECA.

“I look forward to just collaborating with like-minded people and having conversations about growing up as seniors, and going from freshman year to now, and working alongside each other and having these memories,” Jain said. “I enjoy going in and knowing that what I am doing is helping and afecting such a large number of people.”

In addition to creating cherishable memories and special bonds with her fellow team members, the DECA experience for Jain has taught her how to deal with business issues and learn new information as one would in the real world.

“You have to learn how to deal with rejections and failures from companies, and you have to learn how to problem solve with diferent areas,” Jain said. “You are learning about issues that exist within a company that you have to work around, and you really have to improvise. That has taught me how to deal with issues and setbacks.”

Jain participated in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), a worldwide DECA conference at the highest level, in her sophomore and junior years of high school. In this competition, there are about seven countries as well as 10,000 other members from the nation who are competing.

“The actual experience of going to internationals in person is so much more of a

learning curve because you are learning to live with the people who you are rooming with,” Jain said. “It can be daunting, but it’s really fun when you go to a different city because it’s also reaping the rewards of what you’ve been working towards the entire year.”

After high school, Jain has ambitious plans of diving further into the world of business by starting up

new initiatives that can help numerous people.

“I want to help others and create a service for others that could possibly beneft a large number of people, just like how we do in DECA as well,” Jain said. “I want to go toward the more philanthropic side of [business] as well with whatever profts I make or whatever rewards I reap from it. I want to make sure that’s helping a cause that is underprivileged and doesn’t have that much of a voice.”

Saldana impacting others through attitude

Sukirtha Muthiah Staf Writer @CHSCampusNews

Hot or cold, rain or shine, as students arrive at Coppell High School, there is always a familiar face waiting to greet them at the crosswalk. Day in and day out, CHS parking and security attendant Anthony Saldana strives to make school a safer place.

Saldana was promoted to the position of head parking and security attendant four years ago when his partner resigned. His many duties include directing trafic both before and after school and making sure all doors are locked during the day.

As schools made the transition back to in-person learning in 2021, it was up to Saldana to navigate the trafic and security situation at CHS.

“I love [Saldana’s] tenacity and will to help others,” CHS School Resource Oficer Tee Walker said. “He’s always making things happen even if no one else sees it.”

Even though his job can be challenging at times, Saldana thinks it is important to focus on the high points and move past the lows. Working at a high school, where teenagers are the main demographic is not easy, according to Saldana, but it is the kids that recognize and appreciate him that make his job worth doing.

“[The students] have shown me a lot of love, a lot of respect,” Saldana said.

He hopes to instill a sense of protection and resourcefulness in students. After graduation, many kids head off to college, where they are left to fend for themselves. Saldana explains that though he may not be there with them, he hopes to teach students life lessons that they can hold on to.

“Once you get out of high school, you’re not protected anymore, which was something that I really struggled with,” Saldana said. “We’re so insulated in this little bubble and that might make it hard for some kids when they leave, so I want them to know that I will always be there for them.”

Often, when visitors or district officials visit CHS multiple times, they are amazed to see that Saldana is still there. He explains that although his current job was not his intended plan of becoming a certified athletic trainer, he genu -

inely enjoys coming to school everyday and making the best of it.

“I love what I do but back when I was in high school, I was an athletic trainer, and that’s still a dream of mine,” Saldana said. “That’s why I am so attached to the athletic department.”

Saldana strives to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing as long as you are happy doing it.

“[Saldana] just reminds me of joy every time I see him,” CHS library aide Robin Woodby said. “He’s just always smiling and you can tell that he’s genuinely happy.”

Coppell High School parking and security attendant Anthony Saldana directs traffc after school on Jan. 18. Saldana has worked at CHS for four years and serves as the head of security. Sahasra Chakilam

Coppell High School senior Vrishti Jain is the 2022-23 DECA vice president. Jain has been involved in DECA for four years and advanced to International Career Development Conference (ICDC) for the past two years. Sannidhi Arimanda

He’s always making things happen even if no one else sees it.”

TEE WALKER CHS RESOURCE OFFICER

Park exemplifying taekwondo prowess in elite tournaments

Angelina Liu Executive Editor-in-Chief @angelinaliiu

In the otherwise dimly lit and empty shopping plaza in Plano, the warm inviting glow of mustard yellow walls poured through clear window panes, illuminating the White Tiger Martial Arts and Taekwondo dojang.

Despite the freezing rain just outside the brick exterior, Coppell High School junior Jisu Park arrived promptly at 7 p.m. and began stretching her legs. She grabs a black folding chair for balance, utilizing a strap to lift her leg above her head.

Feeling satisfied, she begins practicing taekwondo forms on the soft multi-colored mat, rhythmic movements bringing her closer to the Korean and American flags that hang side by side in the front of the dojang. Her face is concentrated and unwavering, each breath calculated and steady. She moves through the forms several times by the count of her master, replicating each of the 24 positions with perfection.

Park’s high kicks resemble those performed on the football field with the Lariettes at halftime, her flexibility and lithe figure carrying out the duties of martial and dance arts.

Park started at NCAA Taekwondo in Coppell after moving from New York in 2012. Competing at a national level was not the most important goal, rather the aspect of self defense. Moving through her years in the sport, she began competing in local and regional competitions whilst trying to find a dojang that supported her needs.

“My masters encouraged me to compete because I worked hard and they wanted me to represent the team,” Park said. “I started around fifth grade. I competed often, but only in local and regional competitions. Towards the end of eighth grade, I moved to Kim’s Taekwondo School for a short amount of time. It wasn’t a bad school, it just wasn’t productive for me and the goals that I wanted to achieve. I then moved to Dragon Skin Taekwondo, but I felt like I needed to move. I went to White Tiger’s taekwondo, which is now my base taekwondo school.”

Getting home from school, Park has a tight window where she can complete homework and relax. She arrives at school every morning at 8 a.m. for Lariettes practice. On Mondays, she rushes to gymnastics practice when the 4:15 p.m. bell rings. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she trains at White Tiger. On Saturday, she travels to Texas

Forge Taekwondo in Fort Worth to train with her competition team for five to eight hours.

“When I first met her, I was intimidated because of how good she was,” competition teammate Jamie Bang said. “She doesn’t give up and concentrates. She doesn’t lose her confidence.”

Last summer, Park was invited to compete at the Pan American International Championships in Costa Rica, where she represented the United States in Freestyle Pairs and placed second.

“There’s so many friends, so many good people,” Park said. “I like taekwondo. I don’t know if there’s a deeper reason than that, but just doing it makes me happy. The feeling of winning is not everything obviously, but whenever my hard work pays off and I achieve a goal that I set for myself for each competition, it just makes me want to work harder than before. Learning discipline and managing my time has made me love the sport even more.”

Park was one of the top 16 athletes in the world in her event to be invited to compete in the 2021 Grand Slam competition, but did not place. However, the following year, she was invited back to the Grand Slam in Colorado Springs. Park placed second for her individual freestyle.

“What impresses me is that no matter how early [Park] comes in or how late in the day she stays, she’s always giving 110% effort,” competition master AJ Munouz said. “She always wants to make sure that she’s making progress towards her goal whether that’s big or small. [Park] is a really sweet person. Don’t let that sweetness fool you because when she steps on the mat she is such a fierce competitor. That really shows a lot about her character overall. She’s got

so much determination for whatever goals she has and I know that she’ll succeed in anything that she does. I think that’s something very special to see.”

However, Park’s involvement with the arts does not stop there. Up until ninth grade, she played the violin and became first chair for the full harmonic orchestra. Although she quit due to scheduling issues, she still continues to explore her other hobbies such as painting, drawing and swimming.

In the future, Park hopes to compete officially on the USA National Team and join it for the 2024 technical competition.

“One thing I always believe in is working hard, especially through taekwondo,” Park said. “I have seen that working hard will never turn out bad. People always assume that I’m forced to do these things. Why would I take six AP classes? Why would I train so hard until my body literally hurts? It’s because I truly like it. I’ve developed a stronger passion as I go by. I like to challenge myself because I know my limits.”

Park’s Picks

- Favorite dance style: contemporary

- Favorite K-Drama: “Fight for My Way”

- born in : Ann Arbor, Mich.

Anupindi, Aguirre-Jimenez sewing strings together

Anushree De Advertising/Circulation Manager @anushree_night

Finding Coppell High School juniors Ananya Anupindi and Julieta Aguirre-Jimenez within a crowd wouldn’t be hard. The pair’s prominence is not just because of their expressive smiles on a Saturday afternoon or their identical blue-jean-black-converse outfits.

Slung on their arms are two crocheted bags, that are entirely handmade.

We sit down at a table at the Coppell Farmers Market, where just two months ago Anupindi and Aguirre-Jimenez were selling their products. The idea for AJ Crochet Shop, inspired by the initials of Anupindi and Aguirre-Jimenez, started more than a year ago.

“During sophomore year, my mom’s friends came over to my house one day,” Anupindi said. “They were talking to my mom. And my mom always keeps my work out for everyone to see. I made my first sale then. I sold two plants and a bag, and I made $50 from

sale), I catch myself smiling, growing as they take each piece out.

Aguirre-Jimenez tells me about one of the first things she crocheted: a pink sheep. She jokes about her progress, and it is clear that each of these pieces hold sentimental value to them, crafted with love and time. Crocheting had always been a refuge of recreation for both Aguirre-Jimenez and Anupindi.

It was Aguirre-Jimenez’s knowledge in crocheting that would serve as the fuel to Anupindi’s eventual liking of the hobby. But Aguirre-Jimenez’s lessons, as Anupindi explains, served a deeper purpose than just learning crocheting. Crocheting became an outlet for Anupindi to cope with the tumultuous timing of COVID-19.

“The pandemic was pretty awful, and I was not in a good place,” Anupindi said. “Middle school had not been a great experience. I moved to Coppell in eighth grade from Universal Academy. Right be fore that, I was in India. I didn’t have many friends going into the pandemic. But, I did have Julieta. She told me how she crocheted, and I started using it as a way to cope with the loneliness.”

At one point, Anupindi and Agu irre-Jimenez pull out their needles, and I sense that crochet comes as intuitively to them as blinking does to me. A crucial characteris tic of crochet culture, as I’ll later learn, is crocheting upon every sec

Due to the time intensive process of crocheting in bulk for a sale, Anupindi and Aguirre-Jimenez host three sales a year at the Coppell Farmers Market, during the summer, fall and winter. The tri-annual sale helps the duo maintain a school-business balance while simultaneously devoting quality time to crocheting their next batch of products.

As I talk to Anupindi a couple days later, I am not surprised to see her yet again with two needles in hand, at the advent of a new project. But this time, it’s not crocheting.

“There’s this girl in my AP Biology class,” Anupindi said. “And she just started bringing yarn and knitting in class. And I said ‘can I try’ because I’ve never tried knitting before.”

Anupindi’s hands, which were once occupied with needles, become expressive as she tells me

Coppell High School juniors Ananya Anupindi and Julieta Aguirre-Jimenez have run AJ Crochet Shop, a local crochet business, since summer of 2022. Anupindi and Aguirre-Jimenez hold tri-annual sales for their products at the Coppell Farmers Market. Anushree De

Coppell High School junior Jisu Park practices Taekwondo forms at US White Tiger Martial Arts on Jan. 27. Park explores similar movements such as a front aerial in both dance and Taekwondo, combining the two art forms. Shrayes Gunna

Kalra takes spotlight as State Thespian Officer

Aliza Abidi Business Manager @aliza_abidi

Making Coppell High School history, junior Cowboy Theatre Company webmaster Anish Kalra will bring his theatrical talents to a national level this semester after receiving the formal title of Texas State Thespian Oficer.

The Texas Thespians, which is the state chapter of the International Thespian Society, represents its adult members, Thespians and Junior Thespians on a local, state and national level. Texas Thespians comprises more than 16,000 middle school and high school students, enabling them to show their skills beyond their communities.

As a State Thespian oficer (STO), Kalra is expected to represent Texas as a servant leader by taking on a mentorship role, conducting community outreach and focusing on leadership development. The 14 Texas representatives display talents and guidance at a national and international level, participating in festivals, competitions and organizations.

With hopes to develop his leadership and make change possible through his responsibilities, Kalra frst undertook the daunting task of applying for STO last September and in two long months, the role was his.

“The professionalism with which he approached us made him stand out immediately,”

CHS theater director Lisa Stucker said. “He’s driven and courteous, and always thinking about what he can do to help improve our theater department. He has excellent leadership qualities and works daily to make sure he is setting a positive example for his peers, I have no doubt he will make a stellar STO.”

Since attending Coppell Middle School East, Kalra has been captivated by action acting, inspired by actor and producer Tom Cruise. Kalra also developed friendships and personal growth through theater, having been involved since taking it as a sixth grade elective. The vibrancy of drama–special relationships with directors and exciting processes experienced with new friends–was captivating.

“CHS is awesome, specifcally the theater department. There is so much communication and cohesion between the oficers and directors,” Kalra said. “I have met some of my closest friends in the theater, it’s just a diferent kind of relationship you can form with the shared experience that enables us to connect on a deeper level.”

Soon, Kalra embraced the leadership position of the webmaster, the Cowboy Theatre Company’s social media manager, offering him a new opportunity to represent CHS and the talent of his peers.

Through COVID-19 in his freshman year, Kalra had to stop

performing in person with his peers. Though the interruption devastated him, he grew in his persistence and continued to act. With new dedication, Kalra renewed his goal: to shine the best he could and positively impact the people around him, whether it be with his leadership or acting skills.

“I came in sophomore year with no experience under my belt, and undergoing that process was extremely insightful because it taught me that theater was something that I truly loved, even in the dark times,” Kalra said. “It taught me a lot about maintaining tenacity and pursuing the thing that I love, I knew then that I am always going to pursue this passion.”

With upperclassman guidance, senior CHS theater co-president Reagann Stolar’s assistance applying to the program, his parents’ support and hard work from his teachers, Kalra was ready to selflessly devote himself to represent and lead.

“This position is amazing both for [Kalra] and our department,” Stolar said. “There is never a dull moment if he is in the room. I cannot think of anyone better suited for this opportunity. ”

This chance is an open door for Kalra to reach new heights and represent Coppell for the frst time, a change and responsibility with the embrace of open arms.

Stepping onto the silver screen, Willey lands role in short film

Sri Achanta Executive News Editor @sriachanta_

For Coppell High School junior Olivia Willey, pursuing flm was always a dream - a hazy possibility obscured by the stigma of becoming an actress; a lifestyle deemed unsustainable. But after leaving her driver’s education class at One Way Driver Training School, she passed by DeNardo Talent Ventures Studios and took it as a sign to start her flm career.

With DTV, Willey secured her spot as a lead in the short flm, Spencer Stone Is In The Building. The short flm, directed by the acclaimed Curt Mega, is about Immie, a wealthy young girl whose friends surprise her by getting her favorite celebrity, Spencer Stone, to come to her birthday party. However, disaster quickly ensues.

Willey, notable for her sweet disposition, took on the role of Lily in the show. Lily is best described as an All-American Girl, who may come of as a know it all, with a strong moral compass that guides her actions. As Lily’s purehearted motivations coexist with admittedly confrontational tendencies, the role provided an opportunity for Willey’s nuanced acting to shine through.

“She did an amazing job stepping into her character’s role,” said co-lead Stormy Stanford, who plays Immie. “It can be challenging having this sort of bratty character but you also have to play that of as likable. It’s really being a sweet person, but then you want to play of the vengeance. She did really well with that because she just has the natural ability to take on difer-

ent characters really well. At the end she was a very sweet and caring character and everyone had a come together moment; everyone was really heartwarming towards each other, and that’s the part that showed her true colors the most.”

But Willey’s acting roots grow deeper than flm.

In fact, her career started at age 8 as a coyote in the musical “Myth of the West.” Her frst lead role was Unhappy Person in the Audience in “I Hate Shakespeare!” at Coppell Middle School North. She played Mrs. Puf in the Cowboy Theatre Company’s 2022 production of “The SpongeBob Musical,” and is in the ensemble for “Mamma Mia!” She has also taken on the role of understudy for every female character in the one-act play, “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

The majority of Willey’s experience lies in stage acting, but her ability to portray the subtlety of emotions has expanded her love for flm.

“Film is so fun. The biggest difference between flm acting and stage acting is [that] flm is a lot more internalized,” Willey said.

“I can get deeper into my character with flm and be more of a real person. Whereas for theater, you have to be a real person, but you have to show people that you are this person - in flm, you can just be that person.”

Even while acting on stage, Willey’s emphatic performances and strong vocals put her ahead of her peers. Though a quiet character in class, her personality opens up on stage with hints of her flm acting style.

“She does well on stage because the diference between

the two is if you’re acting on stage, you have to take up more space - physically, vocally - and she does that,” CHS theater director Lisa Stucker said. “We just auditioned for ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ which is our contest show, and at her audition she understood the nuances of text really well. When I put her in a scene, she grasps what’s going on in the text and then I see it translate on her face, in some ways that are really subtle, which is great for flm.”

A young actress in the making, Willey can be found taking on any and every opportunity presented her way without feeling in over her head.

“My biggest advice is don’t overthink it and just do it,” Willey said. “I spent so much of my life idealizing flm acting, and these people who did it, and I was like ‘That’s so amazing. There’s no way I can do that.’ But then to fnd the start for me was just right next door to my driver’s ed classes, was just eye opening.”

As of now, Willey plans to continue her journey in acting, as both a theater and flm actress.

“She could do either one,” Stucker said. “She’s got the singing chops to do stage if she wants to do that, but she understands the intricacies to [pull of] flm.”

Photos by Wendy Le

Photos by Aliza Abidi and Photo Courtesy Anish Kalra

Into the tablework: Schweitzer acting from the mind, heart

Schweitzer reaches deep within his toolbox of vast emotions to etch swaths of paper with notes of his several roles.

It is presumptuous to think that all actors dive in headfirst––or should I say break a leg without a second thought? For Coppell High School senior Tyler Schweitzer, theater is far more technical, tactful and thoughtful.

Schweitzer pauses not with resignation, but duty before replying to my first question; because, in part, he is rehearsed. He recognizes theater as an art, that just as much must go into the leg work as it does beneath stage lights.

Alongside the Cowboy Theatre Company, Schweitzer utilizes a technique dubbed “Character Therapy” by head director Lisa Stucker in order to embody the stories he tells. He jokes that, essentially, the process is one of embracing your “lizard brain,” or the simplest form of human desires, motivations and conditions.

“What it comes down to is making the character a real person, giving them real actions to achieve what they want and getting into why they are who they are,” Schweitzer said. “It’s sort of like that teacher in the back of your mind that’s always asking “but why, but why?” As you go down the rabbit hole, you start to see why these characters continue to take the actions that they do, and it’s a process that can be applied to something as serious as Hamlet or something as silly as Aladdin Jr.”

Having portrayed Father in the fall production of “Eurydice,” Sam Carmichael in the spring musical “Mamma Mia!” and Jack Worthing in the UIL competition piece “The Importance of Being Earnest” within the school year,

“The thought that Tyler puts behind his characters is very invoking,” said CHS senior Lauren Beach, who plays Sophie alongside Schweitzer’s Sam. “At the end of the day that thoughtfulness builds up to being able to read his every move on stage. Just being there with Tyler and watching him play Sam, I can read the expressions on his face and what he’s thinking, and if I’m

to love interest Donna played by CHS senior Trinity Tacket while simultaneously singing “SOS,” his staunch vocal talent is unaffected by the evocative emotions painted on his face. The audience, including myself, claps in a boisterous cadence, subsumed by the story unraveling onstage.

But this depth does not come effortlessly; rather, it is the product of hours of dedication and rehearsals.

“I’ve seen him get a little bit more comfortable with experimenting with characters physically. because he’s really a thinker,” Stucker said. “When he thinks about his character and develops the character, it’s all there, and what I’m trying to get him to do is take that and put it into the body.”

into, as he gets stuck in his head, but I’m seeing him start to come out of that a little bit and play around a little bit more on stage.”

Schweitzer attributes his unwavering commitment to character analysis and performance to his baseball background, having played the sport since the age of three.

“I grew up in sports and therefore [with] the philosophy that if you’re going to do anything, give it 100%, and do everything you can to the best of your ability,”

solidified his understanding that he’d rather be on stage than on the baseball diamond, a transition made easier with his overwhelming dedication. Dedication that students and faculty, whether it be in the CHS Drama Club or CHS Red Jackets, learn from.

Coppell High School senior Tyler Schweitzer dances along to “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” during the Coppell Theatre Company’s performance of “Mamma Mia!” on Friday. Schweitzer utilizes poignant emotions and character analysis to bring the characters he plays to life. Shreya

able to do that, as an actor, then I know that our audience can as well.”

During Schweitzer’s threehour portrayal of Sam, there are hints of listfulness, scorn and love in the purest form. Repeatedly reaching his hand out

Schweitzer laughs as he recalls one particular moment with Stucker during rehearsals for the fall production of “Eurydice.” His character is stripped away from his daughter for years until they are reunited in the Underworld, where he details his youth and history in brief anecdotes. While Schweitzer was solemn in his initial display, Stucker pushed for more energy and the enthusiasm of familial love.

Schweitzer leaped six-feet into the air, marched around the CHS Black Box and emphatically waved his hands around, sending his castmates into a laughing frenzy. It was unexpected, and the push he needed according to Stucker.

“He’s trying more and more things, and I think that’s helping him grow as an actor,” Stucker said. “I hope he’s feeling it, but I enjoy seeing him experiment and make more discoveries about what he can do. I think there is a lot of potential there as an actor that he hasn’t tapped

Schweitzer said. “Now, senior year, no longer in baseball, I put all of that competitive drive and hard work into my theatrical processes, and I think that has just given me a deeper and enriched understanding of the art of acting as well as has paid off in my personal performances.”

It was with his freshman year role in “Newsies” that Schweitzer

“Tyler is just an outstanding young man; I love his passion for theater and how much he pours into the program,” CHS Principal Laura Springer said. “He’s personable, he’s hardworking, he’s a friend to all and he just has a great attitude. He’s one of those young men you love having in your building because he gives you 110%.”

And it is that extra 10%—the extra mile—that Schweitzer will go that renders him a formidable actor and leader from paperwork and research to the imagi native stage.

There is no definition of good music

Ainsley Dwyer Staff Writer @ainsleydwyer

Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance, what are we?

So I say thank you for the music

For giving it to me.

The words to the brilliant ABBA song “Thank You For The Music” utilize beautiful lyricism to define the importance of music: no matter the genre you may listen to, one’s personal connection to music as a whole connects humanity.

In the third issue of The Sidekick, the staff voted on its favorite album and song of the year. The wide range of music easily displayed how people tend to perceive different kinds of music in their own ways. From The Weeknd to Zach Bryan, staffers wrote a paragraph about their connection to what they voted to be the song and album of the year.

Music taste is all up to who you are and what you like. There is no such thing as the perfect song that everyone loves. Genres of music can define a person; knowing their music taste can tell you a lot about their personality. How they listen and interpret music shows how they inhabit the world. Even within the same song, people find varying meanings and flow to different instruments.

I love rock music because of the energy and because it brings

up childhood nostalgia. My dad is a big fan of classic rock music, so it is the music I grew up on. I connect to the brilliant lyrics and love the way I get lost in the rhythm when Jimi Hendrix starts playing a guitar solo. It is the type of music I can jam out to when I’m cleaning my room or walking in the hallway at school.

I also grew up listening to country music. In fact, I was a fan for years, before I realized I had a hard time connecting with it. That doesn’t mean that country music is bad; it means it is not the style of music that I like.

My dad grew up in the 1970s and was a teen in the 1980s. He had opportunities to go to concerts and experience the release of great albums like Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction. On our road trips, I play my six and half hour classic rock playlist and watch him light up with memories of seeing the artist in concert in high school or college.

People often like a certain type of music because it makes them think of what they love. They enjoy songs that remind them of a time in their life when they were joyful. Both my dad and I love classic rock because it brings back memories of our childhood when we are in the car singing along to The Beatles.

There are surely people who do not like rock music for their own reasons, but they can not invalidate my love for rock music solely because they are not fans. There are people who do

not want to like popular music because they do not want to be called basic, when in reality, sometimes popular music is popular because it is good.

Liking certain music should not be about fitting a social norm; rather, it should be about making a connection to the song, finding beauty in its rhythm and lyrics, seeing the world through the eyes of the artist and falling in love with the way the music makes you feel.

Everyone is different and deserves their own opinion on what they think is good music. No genre of music is bad or should have a stigma attached to it because no one deserves to be told that the music they love is bad. Music is a way of finding who you are. Bonding over music is one of the most beautiful conversations people can have. There is no simple definition of what is good music and how it can be discovered. Music isn’t

meant to be liked by everyone, it is meant to be meaningful. It is meant to be a form of expression and poetry that artists create. When a person connects and feels a sense of freedom with their music–– that is what makes music good.

Coppell High School seniors Tyler Schweitzer and Lauren Beach sing “Thank You For The Music” during the Coppell Theatre Company’s performance of “Mamma Mia!” on Friday. Schweitzer utilizes poignant emotions and character analysis to bring the characters he plays to life. Shreya Ravi

Ravi

THE SIDEKICK

Aberdeen Is Dead brings Deep Ellum to life

Josh Campbell

Page Design Editor

DALLAS – After an initial postponement due to ¾ of the band falling ill after traveling on its first out of state tour from Denver to Mesa, Ariz., Aberdeen Is Dead moved its hometown show from Dec. 29 to Jan. 13.

What could go wrong in Deep Ellum on Friday the 13th?

Turns out, nothing besides the tragedy of paid parking.

After a plethora of missed exits, I arrived at Deep Ellum Art Co. My go-to parking lot was seemingly abandoned, without any cars in the lot and or lights in the adjacent building. I reluctantly circled the venue in hopes of finding another mystical free parking spot to no avail, and eventually gave in to paid parking. Really, it was only $15––the same price I paid for the concert ticket. Worthy sacrifices.

Entering the venue around 7:30 p.m., I paid my $5 liability tax for being under 21 and made my way to the merch stand. I always love smaller shows: the band runs its own merch table, and I don’t have to show up an hour early to get a good spot. Just people there for good music and a good time.

Gathering my assortment of stickers and a shirt, I strolled over to the stage, with plenty of room still at the front. As the bands wandered back and forth from the merch stand to the side room, I waited for the first of three openers.

First up was Mudd Puppies, though it’s a bit hard to consider the band an opener when really it was the Aberdeen Is Dead bassist Anthony Brown and singer Jake Linder performing as a duo. Mudd Puppies strays from the larger band’s typical grungy sound, leaning into more of an alternative pop realm with a laptop to fill in for the lack of an accompanying band.

There is tangible potential in Mudd Puppies’ sound, and I’m interested to see how the dynamic of balancing the two bands plays out in the future. Currently, it has a discography of two albums ranging around 30 minutes each.

Next up was Denton-based punk band Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, whose name, aside from being a bit of a mouthful, is a reference to Quentin Tarantino’s blockbuster Kill Bill: Vol. 1. It’s fitting for the band’s manic sound.

The most unforgettable thing about this band is the inclusion of a violin amongst other typically punk instruments. While it initially didn’t stand out sonically, it really drove the emotion behind their performance in latter songs. While asking

the crowd for song requests, a band member jokingly suggested Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff.” Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique promptly belted into their rendition.

Their stage presence was strong, and nothing gets a crowd going like Limp Bizkit.

“This is the biggest show we’ve ever played, and it was revolutionary. We got more connections than we thought and honestly, this is really changing for us,” Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique lead singer Luke Flashpohler said.

The final opener was Max Diaz, who performed a more stripped-back acoustic set. The talent is definitely there; he’s got quite the voice and I do wish I could’ve seen a more complete performance with an entire band. The energy behind his studio recordings would have been quite a lot of fun in a live setting.

Finally, the time came for Aberdeen Is Dead. The band leans heavily into 90s grunge influences and got the crowd going immediately. Here’s another reason Deep Ellum Art Co. is so great: guitarist Matt Linder was only about a foot away from me.

The stand out songs of the night for me would have to be “December Blood” from the band’s latest record, as well as “We’re all mad here,” which is one of its best songs released so far. Catchy choruses alongside washed heavy riffs are what makes Aberdeen Is Dead so memorable.

As it stood atop the unstable tables which separated the crowd from the stage, the crowd jumped along to the blaring guitar and soaring vocals. Aberdeen Is Dead also performed a cover of Tame Impala’s “Elephant”, the riffs roaring louder and the solo ascending beyond the source material in a definite standout moment of the show.

My personal favorite of the night would have to be “Uppers Downers All Arounders,” a dreary yet fast paced pick with clever lyricism and poignant delivery reminiscent of the spoken word approach of British rock band Yard Act.

“We went through a blizzard, we went through [the] hills of California, we went through the desert and circled all the way back to play this show and the crowd definitely came through,” Linder said.

Aberdeen Is Dead, along with the other performances that night, truly highlighted the fact that even while rock isn’t quite as mainstream as it once was, the smaller cultures of punk and alternative are still thriving right here in DFW. Intimate and energetic shows like these are out there, if you care to find them.

@JoshDC004

“”This is the biggest show we’ve ever played, and it was revolutionary. We got more connections than we thought and honestly, this is really changing for us”

Aberdeen Is Dead performed at Deep Ellum Art Co. alongside openers Max Diaz, Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique and Mudd Puppies on Jan. 13. Josh Campbell

- Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique lead singer Luke

LaMendola’s leaving a legacy of perseverance and success

Ava

Johnson

Staff Writer @avakjohnson4

TWEET! Coppell senior guard

Jules LaMendola is knocked down once again after driving to the basket, the opposition doing everything in its power to deter her from scoring. Her teammates rush to her side, supporting her as she picks herself back up, embodying the Cowgirl spirit.

LaMendola’s resume is extensive; leading the Coppell girls basketball team to the area championship in 2022, named District 6-6A MVP last season, selected to the Texas Class 6A All-State team, ranked No. 53 in the country according to ESPN’s class of 2023, is a McDonald’s Top 100 All-American nominee and signed to Indiana University to continue her basketball career.

While all of these titles illustrate the accomplished athlete LaMendola has become, those outside the arena may overlook

the countless hours of practice and the level of sacrifice it took to become a player of that caliber.

“She’s self-made,” Coppell girls basketball coach Ryan Murphy said. “She’s gone from a zero star that was on nobody’s radar to a top 100 player in the nation and committed to Indiana. That’s a lot of hard work when nobody else is around that she’s put in to make herself that player.”

While Murphy’s words echo truth, if you ask LaMendola about her success, she’ll respond by describing the Cowgirls’ accolades rather than her own, demonstrating her complete willingness to put her team above herself.

“[In] my junior year, we went from being an unknown team in the state of Texas to being a top ranked team in the state,

and proving everybody wrong,” LaMendola said. “Proving that we are a team that can compete [and be] successful.”

LaMendola’s junior year is the one that turned her high school career, as Murphy describes her sophomore year as a year of growth. She was inconsistent and missed time due to contact tracing during the pandemic, prohibiting her from reaching her full potential.

Every time LaMendola pulled herself up to go to the gym, gave up social time for the sport, or stayed after practice to get in extra shots, she was faced with a simple question.

“Is this what I want to do with my life?”

Every time, she answered yes. It was all of those moments, all of those small sacrifices, rather than a singular one, that defined

her career and herself.

Besides her own love for the sport, another influence inspiring LaMendola to play is her mother, Janice LaMendola. She describes how her mother played basketball in college (Kankakee Community College in Illinois and University of Arkansas at Little Rock) and instilled the sport into her childhood, her own competitiveness bleeding through to LaMendola and her twin sister Skye LaMendola.

Every play LaMendola makes, every foul she takes, every point she scores reinforces that bond with her mother, leaving a familial feeling on the court that other players can’t help but pick up on.

“Jules is like a big sister,” Coppell junior guard Ella Spiller said. “We all look up to her because

she’s one of the biggest pieces on our team, and we always take what she says to heart.”

LaMendola describes how the basketball programs she plays for - ProSkills 17U of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and the Cowgirls – creates little families wherever she goes, bonds that she can reignite later down the road as her career continues.

Whether it’s running sprints together, or pushing each other in the weight room, everything the Cowgirls do reinforces the bonds between the players, creating a sisterhood that will last for decades to come.

Despite the sheer size of LaMendola’s influence on the team, from being a vocal leader to taking a foul to win a play, it is the bonds of the players that hold the team together; something that LaMendola has been cultivating for years, creating a Cowgirl family that she will always be able to return to.

Photo by Shreya Ravi

are nfl players overpaid ?

Araceli Reynoso Staff Writer @aracelireynoso_

“Blue 180, set, hike!”

The quarterback snaps the ball, and the play becomes alive with energy. The score is tied, with only a few seconds left on the clock. The play goes on to be the game-winning touchdown, and cheers fill the air.

For many of today’s young players, it has been their dream to play in the NFL. To grow up and be a successful quarterback such as the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning or to win seven Super Bowls like former New England Patriots’ Tom Brady.

Some of these young players are already having success, such as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who won Super Bowl LIV when he was just 24, Mahomes was going on in his third season in the league. Or there’s Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, who played in Super Bowl LVI just last year, during his second season. These players have made it a reality, and are now in the league with these superstars.

But whether the position is quarterback, wide receiver, or running back, for any of their dreams to happen, these young players must put in hours of hard work and dedication.

All of their hard work pays off the moment that their name is called on draft day, when they sign that first rookie contract. I know that it’s probably one of the best feelings out there, taking the pen and signing the paper.

Even though the world of the NFL to me is bright and wonderful, at the end of the day I often remember that it is all about money. Players do not get to choose where they want to go when they are traded or cut. And sometimes, contracts are just the very reason why a player doesn’t play.

When I see player interviews, they are often asked about whether or not a certain play was difficult or how other teammates being hurt has affected their team. It is not always easy for them to answer. In the comments, I’ll see people saying how ‘it must be so hard for the players to run around throwing a ball for three hours’, and that because they’re ‘getting paid so much money, they really don’t have anything to complain about. Some people say that these players are overpaid.

I think there’s definitely somewhere to draw the line on whether or not NFL players are overpaid.

One thing that I dislike is when a player wants a certain amount of money, and will not practice until they receive a word or some sort of notice that they will get the contract they want. I feel that this hurts the team because that player could be a big part of their stronger plays, and they are not practicing.

For example, in 2019, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott had one year left on his rookie contract. During this time, he chose to hold out on the season. Players eventually want to get paid, and at this point in his career, I believe that Ezekiel Elliott was deserving of his new contract, when the time came to be. In the 2019 season he had al-

ready run for 1,357 yards with 12 touchdowns. So after his rookie contract was done, Elliott signed his new contract which was a six-year, $90 million dollar contract.

Now, three years later, I do not feel that he has lived up to the potential of his contract, which has also hurt the team in other ways, such as cap space. In 2022’s offseason, The Cowboys were limited when it came to signing new players. In the end, The Cowboys were only able to sign wide receiver James Washington, who used to be with The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dallas wanted to do more, because signing on more free agents during the 2022 offseason was a major goal for The Cowboys after struggling in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, and losing wide receiver Amari Cooper who was traded to The Cleveland Browns. Because of cap space, however, there was not enough room.

A similar situation could be seen with Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell was drafted in the 2013 NFL draft in the second round. In 2016, Bell ran for 1,884 yards in 12 regular season games and went on to rush for 170 yards in the playoffs. It was a great season.

But after not coming to terms with a long term deal that same season, Le’Veon Bell chose to skip training camp until he signed his franchise-tag deal before the 2017 season started. Going into the 2018 season, once again Bell and the team were unable to come to terms with a deal, and he did not return to The Steelers that season.

While Pittsburgh did not completely exclude the thought of Bell returning, and even offered him a five-year deal that would have made him the highest paid running back in the league during that time, Bell did not take the offer. To him there was a “lack of money.” Bell’s current salary at the time was less than what Pittsburgh was offering him. Le’Veon Bell later signed with the New York Jets in 2019.

The contract was a four-years, $52.5 million with $35 million guaranteed. During this time, it made Bell the second highest paid running back in the league.

Both situations are similar. Receiving large contracts that the player wants can have the effects of not playing as well, or leading to other outcomes such as not being able to sign other players that are needed to help the team improve. In other ways, there can also be outcomes when a player holds out. This then makes it hard for the team, especially if it’s an important starter. The team won’t know if they will have their starter ready to play until they get paid.

While I do know that NFL players work extremely hard to get where they are, it just doesn’t sit well with me when they holdout, or do not perform well under a large contract. It does not seem fair to the rest of the team.

And when it comes down to that final touchdown or field goal, their decision matters the most.

The Dallas Cowboys practice in the CHS Field House on Oct. 23 2015 due to weather conditions. The Sidekick staff writer Araceli Reynoso goes in detail about NFL contracts and holdouts. Sidekick File Photos

Coppell’s Radicic, Myers compete in prestigious All-American Bowl

It began with a phone call and ended with a whistle. Between picking up the phone last year and stepping onto the field on Jan. 7, plays were practiced, memories were made and brothers were bonded.

Coppell senior kicker Nicolas Radicic and cornerback Braxton Myers, who graduated in December and is now enrolled at Ole Miss, experienced a six-day event with two practices a day, hotel room shenanigans and lifelong bonds forged between brothers who had only met that week.

“Nobody really cared about what the result was, really it was about the whole weekend ahead of it,” Radicic said. “We traveled around San Antonio driving scooters and making memories, it was a fun experience. I’ve got guys who, even though I’ve just met them, I can call my brothers. When you’re around people who have a lot in common with you, who’ve all gone down their own paths and how we all got here, it was great.”

The All-American Bowl is an accolade given to high school football players for being the best, not just of their school

or region, but across the country. With past attendees combining for 86 Super Bowl champions and 16 Heisman Trophy finalists, the invite is steeped in prestige and validation.

“It cements their legacy as high school football players,” Coppell football coach Antonio Wiley said. “They’ve been recognized as some of the top athletes in their class and the bowl gives them that last chance to compete on a high school level before getting to college. Once you’re there, with someone paying for your education, you have a job to do; the Bowl is that last chance to just be a kid and play the game for fun.”

Radicic got his shot off his leg, sending a 55-yard field goal through the uprights and a call to his inbox confirming his invitation to the game.

“I had to compete against 300 top kids in my class at a two-day camp. It came down to eight kids and the last man to miss a field goal,” Radicic said. “I kicked about 15, 50 plus-yard field goals and I finished with a 55 yarder. I heard about this game and got an invite to fly out to Las Vegas and compete for the spot. Once I [was] selected I knew I had to flip the switch, it was a dream to get that spot.”

Myers could not be reached for

comment.

As their story concludes, Radicic and Myers are aware of the impact and legacy they’ve left behind as Coppell athletes and community members, and their coaches know it.

“For seniors, setting the bar is a big deal,” Wiley said. “When you walk out of a program, you set that bar as high as you can, and you make everybody chase it. I think we have a lot of young talent here and those guys should be chasing the guys like Nic Radicic and Braxton Myers, trying to outdo their accolades and be better. If you chase somebody, even if you fall short of what they’ve done, you’re still going to land in a re ally great place, but if you exceed what they’ve done, where’s that going to take you?”

The selection is a culmination of hard work, but not the end of their journey –Radicic will enroll at Indiana University and become a Hoosier this fall while My ers has already enrolled at Ole Miss as a current Landshark. The two aren’t only football players, rather using football as an avenue to develop themselves as hu man beings.

“There was no one thing that [Radicic and Myers] did, it was a cu mulative body of work, long hours on the football field practicing, mastering and perfecting their craft,” Wiley said. “It’s like play ing a video game: you’re work ing through stages. The All-Amer ican Bowl is that final stage in that high school era of athletics, but it’s also the door to that college era. The great ones are the ones who can handle that big transition – you’ve got to prove yourself again.”

Their chapter as Cowboys coming to a close, both young men seek to turn the page onto the new life they’re writ ing for themselves. You might find them spending hours on the gridiron or roll

ing around the city on scooters, but rest assured that they’ll be working hard to set the bar ever higher for those that seek to follow in their footsteps.

“They’re free spirits out there, but we make sure we also build the young men, making sure that they’re always doing the right things, in the hallways as well as on the football field,” Coppell assistant Abu Conteh said. “I think that’s what we do a good job of: we let them be themselves, but we hold them accountable at the same time. They’ve bought in and they truly believe that they’re winners

Coppell senior kicker Nicolas Radicic attempts a field goal during the All-American Bowl week. The All-American Bowl is an invite-only gathering of the 100 best high school football players in the country to participate in an East vs. West game. Photo courtesy Nicolas Radicic

Coppell senior kicker Nicolas Radicic acccepts his invitation to play at The All-American Bowl. The All-American Bowl is an invite-only gathering of the 100 best high school football players in the country. Olivia Short

Sahith Mocharla Staff Writer @SahithMocharla

Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community

Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community Ultimate Frisbee team provides unconventional community

Maya Palavali Staff Cartoonist @mvpalovalley

From being a group of people with no title, the co-founders molded it into a school club and a part of the coed Ultimate Frisbee team.

“When we started last year, there were five or six of us with no coach, playing for fun,” Horng said. “Then, we decided, ‘you know what? Let’s start a team.’”

Coppell senior Ethan Horng and Coppell 2022 alum Sharan Sethi co-founded the current Coppell Ultimate Frisbee team last year based on their mutual love for the game.

“Everybody’s throwing a Frisbee at some point,” Horng said. “But most people have never put the time into actually learning the proper way to play.”

Despite the COVID pandemic, students all over the country have maintained their dedication to the Ultimate Frisbee league, including students from Coppell High School.

“COVID killed almost every team in the state a couple of years ago,” Horng said. “We had to rebuild every team that wanted to play again.”

Unlike Horng and Sethi, most of the members had less experience playing. Instead of falling behind, the more experienced players helped anyone who needed it.

“I never played Ultimate Frisbee before joining the team,” Coppell senior co-head captain Nandhini Parthi pan said. “The [officers] and coaches were very sup portive and created a positive environment where we could develop our skills.”

CHS senior Kaveen Patel serves as a co-head cap tain. The team practices three times per week, in ad dition to competing in tournaments and scrimmages.

The field is always dotted with athletic shirts every practice, filled with dedicated team members com peting. Horng said 20 members is the ideal size for a frisbee team, as his Coppell team typically has about 14 players. Along with weekly practices, the team com petes across the state. The Coppell team plays many matches with organizations in the DFW area, including Plano, Flower Mound Marcus and Lake Highlands. The team participates in state and college tournaments.

“We recently played down in Waco tin,” Horng said.“The whole team

three cars and everybody squeezed in there as we drove a couple hours.”

Despite being player officiated, the state competitions are organized by Texas Youth Ultimate and are bracket-style. The coach’s job is unconventional; rather than being an active teacher, Coppell 2016 alum Aaron

facilitate this environment where the players can grow not just as athletes, but also as young adults.” Being on the team means more to the players than just having a good time. For most, it provides a special community.

“When I first joined, I was new to the U.S. and didn’t have many friends,” Coppell senior social media manager Vivek Ghadicherla said. “They were some of the first ones I made here.”

From throwing a disc in their backyard, Horng has been able to play with his younger brother as peers rather than siblings.

“This is the only time I’ve been on the same team as Ethan for a sport,” Coppell sophomore Jadon Horng said. “I’m glad I get to be able to do it with him before he leaves for college.”

The team is focusing on getting more upperclassmen and underclassmen to join for the last semesters, a time of many activities.

“We are starting our major recruiting push for the spring season,” Horng said. “The more people we can recruit, now we can train them to play at state.”

In addition to the push to recruit players, the team’s priority is to make sure the Coppell Ultimate Frisbee

If you introduce somebody to Ultimate Frisbee it’s very rare that they’ll play for a while

The Coppell Ultimate Frisbee team practices at Wagon Wheel Park on Feb. 6. The team was founded as a school sponsored club in 2022 and competes in the DFW area as well as state and college tournaments. Shreya Ravi