Volume 29 Issue 2

Coppell High School 185 W. Parkway Blvd. Coppell, Texas 75019 Volume 29

Issue 2

November 2017

Coppell High School cracks down on vaping and e-cigarettes on campus pages 12-13

Inside

Advocating for honesty

Lost communication

Football fruition

Coppell High School makes changes to academic integrety code

CHS students seperated from family due to problems in Venezuela

McGill’s football career develops from family tradition to college offers

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Page 11

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www.coppellstudentmedia.com

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november 2017

TEACHER OF THE ISSUE

Whitfield’s winning ways written by Akarsh Velagapudi Staff Writer @akarshvv_29 Coppell High School Honors Physics I teacher Evan Whitfield is known to be humorous, friendly and empathetic, characteristics which helped him become The Sidekick’s November Teacher of the Issue.

Whitfield takes the time and effort to engage his students in what they are learning.

“I am appropriately relaxed with my students and try to make them have some fun in the class even though it’s still a serious class,” Whitfield said. “I want them to want to come to class in order to be engaged in the classroom and some relaxation in the class definitely helps them be engaged.”

He thinks there should be a balance in work and fun in a classroom environment in order for the students to be captivated by his teaching.

“Whenever you don’t understand a certain concept, he will make you understand by starting over and repeating a step by step process,” CHS junior Manisha Reddy said.

“Whitfield pressures students to come to tutorials whenever they don’t understand something in order for them to completely comprehend the concept. Whitfield uses different teaching methods in order to comfort us when learning and allow us to gain the knowledge he is teaching.”

The attention he gives students shows the amount of encouragement and dedication he puts into teaching.

His character brings a sense of energy and humor to not only his students, but also his fellow colleagues.

“Whitfield is a very enthusiastic and ‘upbeat’ person,” Earth and Space Science and Astronomy teacher Angela Barnes said. “He really enjoys being around his students and having a good time in the classroom. He makes the classroom very engaging

along with being ‘off-the-wall’ and keep people active in the classroom.”

Congratulations to Mr. Whitfield

from The Sidekick newspaper staff for being recognized as our Teacher of the Issue.

photo by Bren Flechtner On Nov. 1 during sixth period, Honors Physics I teacher Evan Whitfield engages with students over horizontal and vertical projectile. Whitfield teaches his students in an inelastic way, and enjoys being with his students.

Building confidence

photo by Anika Arutla

Womens’ self defense classes at Coppell Police Department bring self-assurance written by Anika Arutla Staff Writer @anikaarutla Thanks to the self defense classes held at the police department, the women living in Coppell have felt more safe and secure for 16 years.

Classes are held every fall and spring and the dates and vary from year to year.

“It’s important for a woman to know how to defend herself or at the very least know the importance of being

aware of your surroundings,” Coppell resident and second time attendee Audrey McNabb said.

Casey Sessions has been the lead instructor for six years and enjoys seeing women in the program improve through the course.

“My favorite part of the program is seeing the progression and the development of the ladies that take the class and seeing their confidence level build over the six weeks,” Sessions said.

During the six week class duration, attendees learn everything from

learning to hit the right places when being assaulted like the nose and pressure points to how to avoid dangerous situation altogether.

“The instructors are very supportive, they critique you, they take it very seriously, they’ll tell you when you’re doing something wrong and doing something right so you feel confident,” Coppell resident Kylien Tiehen said. “You’ll learn different strikes and different kicks. They’ll teach you the correct form, they teach you how to look at your attacker, how you need to respond to the

attacker and different scenarios and combinations of the moves.”

The classes run from 6:30 - 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and participants must be over 18.

“My daughter graduated from Coppell High School, she took the senior girls defense class and she felt like she learned a lot and I think that even in a town that’s as safe as Coppell, it’s important for, especially women, to be aware of their surroundings and to feel like they have at least the minimal amount of knowledge to protect themselves,” McNabb said.

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news 3

HONING IN ON HONESTY

graphic by Sruthi Boppuri This year Coppell High School has introduced a new set of academic integrity conduct codes to decrease the amount of cheating that occurs at CHS. Dr. Jund and CHS staff members hope that this new rule will create a positive effect on the students at CHS.

Coppell High School introduces revised policy to discourage cheating written by Nishant Medicharla Staff Writer @nishantnm1

T

he class sighs in frustration as its teacher removes yesterday’s test scores from the grade book. Now, because one student cheated on the exam, the entire class is in a bind.

This scenario is coming up more often around Coppell High School. Teachers continue to report students for academic dishonesty, and students continue to find creative ways to cheat on assessments.

Cheating rates throughout many high schools have increased by almost 60 percent from the 1940s to now in the United States, according to the Educational Testing Service. Many high schools have taken initiative to decrease these rates including Coppell High School.

This year, CHS has implemented new academic integrity conduct codes to decrease the amount of academic dishonesty at CHS.

If caught cheating the first time, offenders will receive a zero on the assignment with a chance for reassessment up to a 65. Offenders will also have to attend Saturday School to make up that assessment.

If caught cheating for the second time, offenders will receive a zero on the assignment and a reassessment up to a 50. Additionally, they will get a minimum of three days in In School Suspension (ISS). If someone is caught distributing an exam, there will be consideration for additional days.

If caught cheating the third time, offenders will receive a zero with no opportunity for reassessment. They will also be in Out of School Suspension for a minimum of three days and will be taken out of any extracurricular activities.

“The rules that we had before were not being enforced consistently, and there were not harsh enough consequences,” CHS associate principal Sean Bagley said. “We needed to have stricter policies to discipline students.”

Even teachers had many concerns with the codes last year.

“The rules during the previous year were very vague,” IB/Honors Chemistry teacher Susan Shep-

pard said. “All that happened last year was that the assessment would be taken up, and there would be parent and principal referral. It really wasn’t severe”.

Even senior Mihir Chadaga said that the issue at CHS was getting out of hand.

“Cheating here as become like a game to get the highest GPA,” Chadaga said.” A lot of kids now, are taking a lot of AP courses, and if cheating continues then we won’t be able to learn anything that will be needed for college.”

Sheppard predicted that there would be an impact on students, since the consequences were not seen as severe. She hopes that this new set of codes will help kids in the near future.

“I personally have submitted referrals for cheating. It frustrated me that students who cheated got the same rewards as students who didn’t cheat,” Sheppard said.

The school has also made students sign honor statements before assessments to ensure that students understand what cheating is, and what will happen if they violate the terms of the handbook.

This has been included at this year so that students will clearly understand all forms of cheating.

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november 2017

2017 SENIOR GIFTS

Missing water fountains leave students confused

photo by Bren Flechtner Student at Pinkerton Elementary fills up her water bottle with new water fountains. These encourage students to refill reusable water bottles instead of buying plastic ones. written by Anthony Cesario Staff Writer @anthony_SK2017 The water fountains at Coppell High School have been a long-standing complaint among students and staff members alike, who noted the unpleasant aftertaste of the water and how much water can be wasted by the current design.

However, nothing was done about the situation until last year.

At the end of each year in AP/IB Environmental Science teacher Holly Anderson’s class, students do a project in which they investigate a problem or issue in their community.

Last school year, Anderson switched things up – instead of having the students working in groups, she made the project classwide. The students decided to install refillable water bottle fountains throughout the school.

“They decided they wanted to look at water use and waste,” Anderson said. “If we could bring our own bottles and refill them, that would be great.

But it’s hard to fill your bottle with the [fountains] we have [at CHS].”

Anderson showed her students a video of the water-filling stations used at Pinkerton Elementary, which in-

dicate the number of bottles people have saved by using them. The students decided to make a proposal to CHS to purchase new environmentally-friendly water filling stations.

“We had [Coppell ISD executive director of facilities and special projects] Louis Macias come in,” Anderson said. “He listened to [the students] and gave them suggestions; he told them that if we raised the money to get the actual stations, he would install them for free.”

Two of Anderson’s students – Ale Ceniceros and Haley Wafford, both juniors at the time – saw an opportunity.

“Ale and I were going to start a club.

[We] came up with methods to raise money, which were selling water bottles with the Coppell logo on them,” Wafford said.

However, the club never became a reality. According to Wafford, the 2017 senior class officers announced later that year at graduation that the water fountains would be a class gift.

“I haven’t heard anything from the campus yet as far as budget comes for the purchase of the new water fountains,” Macias said. “Once I’m able to get that information, I can get these ordered and get them in and we’ll get them installed.”

According to Macias, the new water

fountains run for about $900 a piece.

But with the senior class officers claiming to have already donated the money, and Macias stating he has not received it, students and some staff members involved in the process are left in the dark.

Associate principal Sean Bagley acknowledged the confusion.

“The senior class did donate the money to make that happen last year.

It’s a process,” Bagley said. “We have to go through the bids, the district has to set the timelines up and once they get all that together we’ll be moving forward.”

He also addressed the late arrival of the bottle-filling stations.

“Initially, I thought [the installation of the fountains] was going to happen with the reconstruction of all the bathrooms, but what I’ve been told now, it’s going to happen after they get all the bathrooms done,” Bagley said. “It’s coming out of two separate budgets in two separate areas and supposedly it’s happening after we get done with the construction.”

Students will have to wait longer than expected for the awaited bottle-filling stations to arrive, but they can know that the district is aware of the situation and is working on getting the fountains installed.

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news 5

LASSOING THE COMMUNITY

CISD stays close to home with selection of Simpson as director of communications written by Tanya Raghu Enterprise Editor @tanya_raghu

There is something uniquely rewarding about living in the same community you work in everyday to create a better educational experience for countless Coppell ISD students,

teachers and even your own children.

Recently named the Coppell ISD director of communication, Amanda Simpson is in this special position as she is also a 12 year resident of Coppell. Her oldest child, Aubrey, started her educational career at Mockingbird Elementary just two years ago.

“Once I became part of the Cop-

pell ISD community, I thought, this is the place that I really like to work and help using my communications background,” Simpson said.

Simpson attended the Moody School of Communication’s at the University of Texas at Austin and received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

Using her writing and oral com-

photo by Ale Ceniceros On Oct. 2, Amanda Simpson started her job at Coppell ISD as district director of communications. Simpson is a longtime resident of Coppell and both of her children attend Mockingbird Elementary.

munications skills, she has previously filled roles in government and higher education such as serving as the director of public relations for Texas Woman’s University and prior to that, the public information officer for Dallas County Health and Human Services.

Simpson’s official first day at the CISD Vonita White Administration building was Oct. 2. She replaced Mandy McCune, who joined former CISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip at Frisco ISD. CISD director of community engagement Tammy Taylor was on interview panel and works in the same communications/public relations department as Simpson.

“When you live in the community and have kids in the district, you naturally have a very vested interest [in the district],” Taylor said.

Simpson’s job description includes overseeing the district’s various communications channels, gathering community input to finalize the district calendar for the upcoming two years, facilitating communication regarding the construction at the new ninth grade campus and middle school and managing CISD social media accounts.

“My philosophy has always been to utilize a variety of communication channels to get the message across,” Simpson said.

Simpson has two children, both who are enrolled in Mockingbird Elementary, one as a fifth grader and the other as a kindergartener.

“I also liked that she and her family live in Coppell and two of her own children go to school in Coppell so she has that ,” CISD assistant superintendent for administrative services Kristen Streeter said.

According to Simpson, the district has a genuine interest in the parents, students and faculty, creating a comforting environment where “the people come first.”

The emphasis on an interdisciplinary and individualized education, two qualities that make CISD one of the best school districts in the nation, appeals to Simpson as both a parent and an administrator.

“We want to educate students at the holistic level,” Simpson said. “Not more about what you learn but how you learn and also the emphasis on character, creating well-rounded individuals.”

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november 2017

Gender roles in society altered by integration into Boy Scouts On Oct. 11, the Boy Scouts of America announced it will allow girls to join the organization in 2018.

This news has received a variety of reactions, from Girl Scouts expressing dissent to the National Organization for Women showing agreement with the controversial decision.

What is happening now is not just about Boy Scouts letting girls in - it is about the change of gender roles in our society, and the change of our society for the better.

Girl Scouts of America has always been associated with its famous cookies, and the practice of learning to sell them, whereas Boy Scouts has been associated with backpacking in the woods and more ‘adventurous’ activities. The focus for girls in the past has always been the traditional housewife role, while men have been in the workforce. Now, things are changing, with more women being represented in formerly male dominated fields such as STEM. In several of the engineering programs at Copell High School, such as the E-Sports Club, there is an overwhelming majority of boys, with 38 guys to eight or nine girls, as it fluctuates. That means that there is roughly five guys for every girl.

However, the CHS Society of Women Engineers (SWE) aims to combat this by creating a club for young women to be united and fight against the sexism

they face in the STEM field together.

SWE president and CHS senior Mackenzie Becker explained that she has experienced sexism and misconceptions on whether women belong in STEM. However, SWE has made girls like her feel more accepted and empowered.

This is also not the first time that girls have been allowed in Boy Scouts.

While girls have never technically been allowed in the actual organization, there has been a separate wing for them owned by Boy Scouts of America, allowing for girls to participate in activities that are generally associated with boys.

However, most people still think this is not enough.

CHS senior Abby Hymer, who is a member of Adventure Crew, a codivision of Boy Scouts of America, believes that this change in the organization’s policies will change gender roles to a large extent, because it allows kids of each gender to come out of the ‘box’ that society places on them due to their gender, and with this change, it will definitely start breaking down barriers.

According to a recent poll on Twitter, most people think that Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts should be gender separated, with 53 percent voting in favor of separation, in comparison to 35 percent thinking it is a good thing.

Like it or not, the world is changing,

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Photography Editor

Adviser

Student Life Editor

Chase Wofford

Farah Merchant

Executive Editor-in-Chief

Graphics Editor

Amelia Vanyo

Elena Gillis

Ale Ceniceros

Executive Design Editor

Wren Lee Executive Digital Content / Sports Editor

Lili Lomas EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP Art and Entertainment Editor

Kelly Wei Editorial Page Editor

Fiona Koshy Enterprise Editor

Tanya Raghu

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP Business Manager

Gracie Blackwell Communications Manager

Sofia Guerrero Jess Hernandez Pramika Kadari Siraj Mahmud Molly McGill Nishant Medicharla Arman Merchant Nicholas Prankse Reid Valentine Akarsh Velagapudi Christine Zacuai

Sruthi Boppuri STAFF WRITERS Tara Ansari Anika Arutla Renata Barona Andres Bear Anthony Cesario Claire Clements

PHOTOGRAPHERS Akif Abidi Laura Amador-Toro Rylee Ferguson Bren Flechtner Varsha Kanneganti Disha Kohli Quyenh Phang

and with it, gender roles.

We are no longer living in the 1950s, a time in which the man went out and worked all day and came back to the lovely housewife cooking his dinner.

We are in 2017, a time in which women can work in engineering and men can be stay-athome dads.

This change has been a step for the better.

We are not all the way there, as Girl Scouts has yet to allow boys into its own organization, but we have made a step: a step that is changing the stereotypes of what it means to me a male or female, encouraging people to be defined not by their gender, but by their character and interests.

Aubrey Phillips Mari Pletta Nolan Sanders Nadia Scalzo Karis Thomas GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Kaylee Aguilar Cristina Gomez Bella Mora Britain Stanley

The Sidekick is the student newspaper for Coppell High School and is published six times per school year.

The newspaper is a member of National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, and Interscholastic League Press Conference. The editorials and columns presented in this paper reflect the views of its student writers and not Coppell High School or Coppell Independent School District.

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

The Sidekick welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters can be emailed to cwofford@coppellisd.com or delivered to the D115 newsroom at Coppell High School. A current email address and first and last name for the writer must be included for the letter to be considered for publication.

Contact The Sidekick: 214-496-6239 cwofford@coppellisd.com 185 W. Parkway Blvd Coppell, TX 75019

@CHSCampusNews @SidekickSports @thesidekickcoppell @sidekicknews @sidekick_sports Sidekick Online

november 2017

Screen for thought Koshy logs off phone for two days

written by Fiona Koshy Editorial Page Editor @fionakoshy10 It may seem silly, but I consider my phone one of my ultimate necessities. As in, if I

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could only bring three things to a desert island, my phone would be one of them.

I feel off when it is not within hands reach, and I find myself checking it a lot.

While my phone has never gotten in the way of responsibilities, the time I spend on it is much more than I would like to openly admit.

In an effort to combat this issue, I decided that I would spend an hour on my phone each day for two hours each day for two days.

2

FRIDAY

The school day went about the same as Thursday, however I spent close to 30 minutes on my phone, taking up half of my allotted time before going home.

After school, it was not hard to stay off my phone since my evening consisted of going to the Lariette Spaghetti Dinner and then the football game.

At both events, the pressure to be on my phone was nonexistent.

Heading home later, however, I was shocked to see I had totaled 57 minutes on my phone throughout the day.

How did I manage to spend

27 minutes on my phone when it felt like I had hardly touched it?

Apps such as my camera and photo album (taking pictures at the game), the notes page (typing out reminders) and just using my phone and messages to contact people (arranging rides) had taken up more time than I had expected.

Despite getting home late, I would have usually spent some time browsing through my phone, checking pictures from the game. With only three minutes left, however, I decided to head to bed.

CONCLUSION

1

THURSDAY

Thursday began normal.

I have never been one to wake up with much time to peruse through my phone, so I decided not to touch it until I headed to school.

In one of my classes, the lesson ended a bit early and as if on cue, everyone took out their phones. It felt a bit weird sitting there, watching as others flipped through social media, text messages and games.

With nine minutes until the bell, I decided to read a book, appreciating the extra time I had to myself.

By the end of the school day, I had only spent 20 minutes on my phone.

My after school ritual of checking social media and

watching videos was replaced with petting my cats and starting homework a little earlier than usual.

While doing my homework, I realized how many frequent phone breaks I am prone to taking. Texting was kept to very short, concise answers rather than steady conversations. The occasionally study break was spent listening to music or talking to my family.

By the end of the night, I felt great.

The day felt long, but in the best way possible. It felt as though an extra hour or two had been added into my day, as I had so many more pockets of time to fill.

Despite learning a lot about myself and my phone habits, this challenge is not realistic long term. Using my phone for its basic necessities, phone calls and text messages, already takes up a longer amount of time than I thought.

These two days, however, were extremely fun. I found myself living my actual life more than being devoured by a screen.

Typically, by the end of the week, days begin to blur together making it hard to distinguish particular moments from each other. Looking back on Thursday and Friday, however, I had so many little memories that I could pin-

point, making them all the more clearer in my mind.

In the end, when you look back at your life, you will not remember the things you experienced through your phone; you will remember the memories you made and things you did.

I know that from here on out, I will be more mindful of my phone usage. Times when I do not have a spare minute can be spent in a million other ways than just mindlessly on my phone.

I encourage you all to try this challenge as well. Track the time spent on your phone and slowly cut it down. You may just be surprised as to how dependent you are on it.

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november 2017

CHS SPEAKS

Campus sees benefits from flexible schedule written by Fiona Koshy Editorial Page Editor @fionakoshy10 One of the biggest differences between high school and college is the structure that high school presents. While a typical day in high school consists of getting up early and staying at school until 3 or 4 p.m., college days present more flexibility.

Coppell High School has implemented release periods, rather than study halls, for

years. Rather than having to stay at school, sophomores, juniors and seniors have the option of going home or using the time off from class to sit in the commons or study in the library.

With an extra period getting added to the school day this year, many more students have taken advantage of this opportunity. In years past, release periods were almost exclusively for upperclassmen, mainly seniors, but this year, release periods are common amongst sophomores and beyond.

Read on to find out what students and faculty at CHS think of the influx of off periods this year.

Laasya Madana

Lynn Hevron

10

Librarian

“[Release periods] are good because people can have time to decompress from school and if they sleep in, they don’t have to worry as much. If it’s an eighth period, they have extra time to do their homework or do things they enjoy that they usually wouldn’t have time to do.

I think it’s fine if [sophomores] take release periods because some like to spend time on things outside of school. Then there’s people who are more focused on academics that can use that time for school as well. I plan on taking one junior year and two senior year because I plan on taking more AP classes...”

“We’ve had some issues with students who have a lot of time on their hands. While we have an open door policy here in the CHS library and love having students in here and want them here, there’s always a tension between that desire to have students in here and having an environment that continues to be academic. We want kids in here to be working and thinking and concentrating and sometimes that’s hard.

This year, it’s been wonderful. The release students are encourage to stay in the commons if they want to hang out with their friends or come to the library if they have work to do. I like that divide; I think it makes sense.”

Debbie Fruithandler

Zane Potts

Counselor

11

“It’s sort of a two sided question because we moved to a different schedule to help relieve stress on students. We do have students who are always trying to push themselves academically and with their extracurricular activities, and I think that is great, but as a counselor, I believe that you’ve got to have balance in life.

Honestly, I think it is probably wise for students to consider having at least one release period. For those students that are in very demanding extracurricular activities, as long as they are taking what they need to take to pursue their long term goals, maybe two release periods are appropriate. It depends on the type of student.”

[Release periods are] a good thing because we’re kind of changing as a campus, and release periods really allow students the freedom to go home and actually relax at night rather than work on home until 2 a.m.

It’s really different because now a lot of people get to leave early, so the traffic is a little bit better everyday since it’s not everyone leaving at the end of school day.

I think that release periods really help people get homework done and allow them to participate in after school activities and things like that. One of the downsides [is] people take them for granted and don’t do their work, even though they have extra time.

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Ranked for success

opinions 9

GPA competition creates unhealthy, unecessary stress in academic environment

written by Nick Pranske Staff Writer @nick_pranske8

From celebrity haircuts to best-selling novels, people are obsessed with ranking, listing and every other form of ordering. However, when this obsession is translated into the classroom, problems start to arise.

Every year in thousands of schools across America, students wait in anticipation for class ranks to be released. Class ranks are a mathematically configured listing of all the students of a grade in order from best to worst grade point average.

The student with the best GPA, or highest rank, is the valedictorian. The second ranked student is known as the salutatorian.

With the release of these ranks, students instantly become more competitive, stressed and even jealous of their classmate’s ranks. In fact, it is fairly common to see students stop having active social lives outside of school or just lose friends altogether because of the added stress.

Because of the competitive drive that is associated with ranks, many students would rather stay home and study than hang out with their friends. “[Students] have to get rest and have some fun in life. They can’t spend all their time on school,” Coppell High School lead counselor Debbie Fruithandler said.

People often associate ranks with cheating, which, in essence, it is true. After being given knowledge of where they stand in the class, many students will cheat their way up the rankings.

Despite this, there are upsides to the ranking system.

Many colleges, such as University of Texas at Austin, have an automatic acceptance policy for the top seven percent of each high school’s graduating class.

By releasing class ranks, high schools give many

graphic by Kaylee Aguilar Students at Coppell High School and across the nation are put under heavy, often unnecessary stress, when ranked within their grade. Many high schools, including CHS, have moved away from a comprehensive class ranking system.

students the chance of admission into a top college.

“There’s a little bit of a misconception,” Fruithandler said. “[The ranking system] has helped our learners more than they know.”

In addition, class ranks are a good way of keeping rigor in the classroom. After all, a little competition never hurt anybody, right?

Well, not always. There is a fine line between healthy competition and flat-out cheating. Being pitted against one’s classmates often causes students to overload their schedule, creating stress for the student that would not necessarily be there without the ranking system. This, more often than not, leads to an increase in cheating within the classroom environment.

It is not uncommon for students to check and compare homework assignments or in-class activities with each other. In fact, many teachers even encourage this collaboration. But, all it takes is one person to forget their math homework and all of the sudden, collaboration becomes collusion and eventually out-right cheating. This is often spurred on by ranking due to the push to compete and match higher-ranked students.

But being in higher-level classes, pressured by class ranks, does not alway lead to cheating. Many high-level courses (AP/IB) set students on a path of success at the college level. So in this aspect, class ranks push students to do better, giving them a competitive drive to work harder and do better.

All in all, class rankings tend to encourage cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty more than it seems to drive students to do well. Many schools, including Coppell High School, are moving away from ranking and making the right decision in doing so.

“The only place that class rank is relevant is in the state of Texas where it matters [to colleges] that you are in the top 10 percent,” Coppell High School Principal Dr. Nicole Jund said. “GPA and... engagement in community involvement is more important.”

Coppell stopped ranking students in the class of 2010 and has since moved to just ranking the top 10 percent for college admission/scholarship purposes. The rest of the class is not provided with a rank and instead is given a “0” to fill in the rank number.

Schools everywhere should follow along this same path and stop ranking all the students in a class due to the added stress and the unhealthy competition it causes.

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november 2017

TEEN TECH TRENDS

Stickers used for decoration, self-expression written by Fiona Koshy Editorial Page Editor @fionakoshy10 Stickers have always been a popular item, especially for younger kids.

Lately, it seems as though the trend has seeped into Coppell High School.

From water bottles to phone cases, teenagers love adorning their items with stickers of all sorts.

A place of choice for stickers for

many has been their laptop cases.

Whether it is to support a cause, express particular interests or just decorate for creative purposes, teenagers have all kinds of reasons for pasting stickers onto their laptops. Whatev-

er the reason, stickers are a form of self-expression and their importance is unique.

CHS students share their opinions on laptop stickers and why they decide to use them.

There’s this website called Red Bubble and I kind of just look off there and see what I like. [The stickers] I choose just kind of represent who I am and what I enjoy. I really like the ‘Hydrate or Dydrate’ one because it’s an inside joke between me and my friends.

Putting stickers on your things just tells the world who you are. If they can’t talk to you or actually get to know you as a person, they can still figure out the things you like in passing. I just think that’s a really cool concept.

Mahati Shastry, sophomore I travel different places, so [collecting stickers] was a thing my sister and [I did]. I [also started to buy] them online. I feel like [stickers] are a way for people to express themselves. [They also] brings back memories because now my sister is in college, so whenever I look back at them, I [see] those memories.

I have this outdoors sticker that says something about ‘loving s’mores in the outdoors.’ It reminds me of when my sister and I used to go camping when we were small.

Nicole Do, junior The type of stickers I put on my MacBook are brand logos, chip companies or shoe companies and stuff like that - any main logos. My favorite sticker is probably the Batman sticker because he’s my favorite superhero. I just think it’s the coolest sticker.

I’ll keep putting stickers on [my MacBook] as they come. Like Supreme stickers and such. [Laptop stickers] shows people the type of things you like, and shows off that you enjoy expressing yourself through stickers.

Taylor Ortiz, junior

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student life 11

Home away from home

Hard times in Venezuela impact CHS students Mejia, German, their every day

photo by Laura Amador Coppell High School senior Isabella Mejia and junior Laura German tell their story about how the current Venezuelan political problems affect their people.

Mejia and German were both born in Venezuela and recently moved to the United States.not forget to get this cutline checked by Ale or Wofford. written by Renata Barona Staff Writer

L

ast year, Coppell High School senior Isabella Mejia left Venezuela and her closest friends and family members in search for bigger opportunities.

Mejia’s stepfather was unable to acquire a passport to leave with Mejia and her mother.

“My stepfather lives there,” Mejia said. “He’s like my closest family member. He’s having troubles finding food because it’s really expensive and whenever he tries to get some he can’t find it at the store.”

Being unable to constantly communicate with her husband has been hard on Mejia’s mother, Kitys Gil. “I feel anguished because I don’t know if they eat, if they have medicine, or even if they are still alive,” Gil said.

Venezuela is located in South America with desirable resources such as oil, diamonds, gold and iron with opportunity for economic growth.

However, right now, Venezuela is going through hard times, including lack of freedom, opportunity and health care, creating discontent among the country.

“It’s really hard to see people who don’t have food, medicine or a place to live,” Mejia said.

Millions of Venezuelans are leaving the country, forcing them to be apart from their family members that have not found their way out of the country. Many are unable to leave due to the lack of materials used to print passports.

Although some Venezuelans have been able to escape the conflict and are attempting to help those left behind, the Venezuelan government has made it more difficult to provide assistance.

“Before we used to send boxes with food and medicine but now that changed and we can’t anymore and it’s frustrating,” Mejia said. “Now we don’t know what to do to help them have a better life.”

Not being able to provide resources

to loved ones has added to the frustration of not being able to help.

“I feel with my hands tied because we don’t have any other way to help Venezuela, we can’t send food [or] money,” Gil said.

Studies show about 9.6 million Venezuelans are eating two or fewer daily meals which causes illness among people. Most Venezuelans live in poverty around Caracas, the capital city, and street children are often the most affected by violence.

Venezuelans are victims of an authoritarian government under the leadership of Nicolas Maduro.

The corruption in the country is higher than ever and poverty is still a big issue. Because of this abuse of power and people’s discontent, antigovernment protests have resulted in at least 70 deaths and more than 4,000 arrests so far, according to local human rights groups.

Many Venezuelans even feel guilty, since leaving others behind makes them feel powerless against the current government.

“It feels awful to have people that are suffering all those consequences while you are in a better situation,” CHS junior Laura German, who left Venezuela when she was nine, said.

“I’m living in a good place with a lot of benefits being unable to help people in my country.”

Though these problems give Venezuela an unfavorable reputation, these do not define the country itself. Also called “Paradise on Earth” Venezuela is a country full of natural beauty. Venezuela rests under an eternal tropical climate, with a great variety of landscape and wildlife.

But beyond that living legacy given by nature, the Venezuelan nation has an architectural, cultural and industrial heritage that is not found elsewhere on the planet.

History could be the best source of knowledge about how to resolve these issues. With a unique culture, landscape and heritage, Venezuela has the resources to provide a rich environment for citizens and tourists alike.

12 centerspread

centerspread 13 From campus to company, consequences for vaping cross loose lines

written by Amelia Vanyo Editor-in-Chief

photos by Ale Ceniceros Photography Editor

graphics by Elena Gillis Graphics Editor

T

he thick, sweet fruity smell fills my head as I step into the bathroom. A girl swipes at the air and slyly pockets a silver device as the space in front of her becomes smudged and blurry.

It is not altogether unusual for students to witness their peers using vape pens or e-cigarettes on the Coppell High School campus. Walking through the hallways, smelling the sickly sweet juices is a very real possibility. However this year, students who have witnessed others illegally using the pens or e-cigs have started to turn in students at fault.

The school is doing what it can to address the problem, but there is only so much they can do to actively combat the issue.

“We have to have reasonable suspicion that somebody is in possession of something like a vape pen or vape product then we have the authority to search,” Jund said.

“We have to actively try to eliminate those things on campus, if we don’t actively try to eliminate that then we are allowing for it to happen.”

The problem extends beyond Coppell High School, with students getting busted for vaping on campus at the middle schools as well.

According to Coppell Middle School North student resource officer Rachel Freeman, there have been a few students caught with vapes on their persons while in the school.

“Vaping is a problem among middle school students in general,” Freeman said. “We did have some isolated incidents [where students were caught with vapes on campus last year.] But what is reported and what is actually going on is very different. We don’t get a lot of reports about it because it’s not something that kids are going to tell on each other [for].”

Freeman thinks students at the middle schools are reluctant to turn in other students for vaping because middle schoolers are still deciding what they do and do not stand for. The lack of maturity makes this age group more susceptible to peer pressure and less likely to stand up against someone. However, high schoolers are more grounded in what they stand for, or in this case, do not stand for, meaning high school students are more comfortable ousting someone for activities they see as wrong.

“At the middle school level kids are just trying to figure out who they are and what they are about, and I think by high school you’ve got it kind of figured out a little bit better,” Freeman said. “I think by high school you’re just a lot more comfortable and a lot more confident about who you are as a person and what you stand for. I think in middle school there’s still a lot of uncertainty, you know the ‘I know this is wrong but I don’t know what I should do about it.’”

While Coppell Middle School East

has yet to catch students vaping on the East campus, Principal Laura Springer is not naive enough to doubt the probability of the existence of the problem.

“So far we’ve had a couple of our kids go to another middle school event and got caught vaping at another school,” Springer said. “We have not caught anyone, that doesn’t mean they’re not doing it - they’re real crafty - but so far we have not caught one person vaping. We have drug dogs come in regularly and we’ve not caught them with any paraphernalia. I’m not going to be naive and say our kids don’t, but they have not been caught at school

doing it yet.”

Springer attributes the East environment of love and support to the impact she makes on the decisions her students come across.

“We really stress respect here,” Springer said. “I try to talk to them about that fact that I’m their school momma, and I would be really disappointed if I caught them doing something they shouldn’t do. We are going to try to keep you safe here and love you. I really believe you’ve gotta love kids hard to keep them from doing horrible things to themselves. I want to make sure that y’all all know that y’all are like my kids, I love you

When I was at the high school it broke my heart how many kids were broken up there. I was trying to put them back together, but once they’re broken it’s hard to put them back together, so I thought I gotta catch them before they break and see if we can keep some of them from breaking at all.

Laura Springer, CMSE principal

like your mom, I do not want any of my kids vaping.”

“You start that by teaching you all very early on to respect yourself, to respect your bodies, to respect each other. It’s one of the reasons I moved to the middle school. When I was at the high school it broke my heart how many kids were broken up there. I was trying to put them back together, but once they’re broken it’s hard to put them back together, so I thought I gotta catch them before they break and see if we can keep some of them from breaking at all.”

According to the 2017-2018 CHS Student Code of Conduct, it is against the rules to possess, use, give, sell or buy “electronic cigarettes and any component, part or accessory for an e-cigarette device.”

The problem does not subside outside school walls. According to SB No. 97, a document outlining the regulation of possession, selling and use of e-cigarettes, possession, purchase, consumption or receipt of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or tobacco products by minors, is prohibited. In addition, there are consequences for minors who are caught possessing, purchasing, consuming or accepting these products, which include attending an e-cigarette and tobacco awareness program, or eight to 12 hours of community service.

According to the CHS Student Code of Conduct, “school administration will report crimes as required by law and will contact local law enforcement regarding suspected criminal activity committed while under the school’s jurisdiction.”

However, a minor vaping is only considered a class C misdemeanor, on par with theft under $100, public intoxication and minor in possession of alcohol or tobacco. Under SB 393, a bill defining the legal prosecution of minors accused of class C misdemeanors, officers cannot write class C tickets on campus to

The use of vapes has increased among students attending Coppell secondary schools. This leads to an addiction for nicotine which can cause vadverse effects on the brain. persons under the age of 18, so class C misdemeanors can only be treated as school administrative or disciplinary issues.

This leaves the school to manage vaping on campus internally, causing the severity of punishment of a minor vaping on campus to have potentially more lenient punishments that getting caught off-campus. Even if a tip is given through Coppell Crime Stoppers about a student vaping on campus the campus, student resource officers must hand the problem over to administration. If the tip is given to the school and not Coppell Crime Stoppers, the school cannot report the offense to the authorities.

The only case where a minor is prosecuted for illegally using a vape is when a tip is called in that is about a minor vaping outside of

school jurisdiction, in which case the police will determine if a citation is necessary.

“End game for us is it needs to not come to school. We did up the consequences for [vaping on campus],” CHS Principal Dr. Nicole Jund said. “We know that it is a community expectation that I do everything I can to keep it out of school.”

This year, when a student is caught on campus with a vape once, the device is confiscated and only returned to the parents of the student.

The student will also be given a minimum of two days of in-school suspension. Jund said that while she could not release exactly what would take place in the circumstance that a student brings a vape to school more than once, consequences do increase

for multiple time offenders.

Another impact of SB 393 is that Coppell Crime Stoppers is not paying for tips about vaping as any tips will not result in an arrest.

Fortunately, despite not receiving a reward, students continue to turn in other students for vaping on campus.

“Other students are starting to report it more because they’ll go into the bathrooms or their classrooms and it’s distracting them,” CHS Student Resource Officer Chris Cobb said.

Even with the tips, it can be difficult to catch a student and correct the behavior.

“Some of the tips aren’t specific enough,” Cobb said. “It’s kind of hard for us or the [assistant principals] to actually go pull a student out to handle a tip, it’s gotta be a little more specific.”

see IGNORED on page 13

What to look out for Juul

Suorin Air

Juno

Halo Reactor

Halo Triton

Halo G6

Each JUULpod contains 0.7 mL with 50 mg/mL nicotine

A Suorin Air contains a 2mL cartridge, 400 mAh rechargeable battery

A Juno contains 36 mg/mL of nicotine per pod

A Halo Reactor contains between 1.5 to 12 mg/mL of nicotine

A Halo Triton contains between 3 and 24 mg/ mL of nicotine

A Halo G6 contains between 3 and 24 mg/mL of nicotine

Source: https://support.juulvapor.com/ home/learn/faqs/juulpods-juice

Source: https://veppocig.com/suorinair-vaporizer/

Source: http://junovapor.com/ twelve-juno-tobacco-kit

Source: https://halocigs.happyfox.com/kb/ article/9-eliquid-selecting-the-nicotine-level

Source: https://halocigs.happyfox.com/kb/ article/9-eliquid-selecting-the-nicotine-level

Source: https://halocigs.happyfox.com/kb/ article/9-eliquid-selecting-the-nicotine-level

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vs

photo by Ale Ceniceros Jetstream Vapor is a vapor store located at 867 S. Denton Tap Rd. Vaping has been an ongoing issue among Coppell secondary school grounds.

facts

Myth: E-Cigarettes and vapes are safe Fact: A lot is still unknown about the health impacts of vapes and e-cigarettes.

Some flavor chemicals, when inhaled, have been known to cause scarring in the lungs, a condition known as “popcorn lungs”

Ignored truths of using vapes, with or without nicotine from page 13 Vapes consist of a battery, a heating coil, and an absorbent material (like cotton) that absorbs liquid called e-juice that contains flavors and sometimes nicotine. As the e-juice is heated up, the device creates an aerosol that is inhaled into the lungs and then exhaled out into the air.

It is important to understand that vapes create an aerosol. Aerosol, unlike vapor which is solely gas, contains solid particles within a gas.

According to Stanford Medicine, rather than mixing with the air as gas does, aerosols leave particles, often containing chemicals, behind. Some of the chemicals that can be found in vapes are known to cause cancer, and while it is currently unknown if second hand smoke is a danger with vaping, third hand smoke is.

The aerosol leaves behind those particles, on surfaces and dust. These particles react with other chemicals nearby and can create dangerous chemicals that can be introduced to others through ingestion, respiration or even skin exposure.

In some cases, vaping is considered a healthier alternative, able to help

people more easily recover from a cigarette smoking addiction.

“A lot of younger kids who are over 18, they do it for the flavor,” managing partner of Jetstream Vape in Coppell Nathan McWhorter said. “A lot of times you get someone who’s 18 or 19 and they’ve never smoked and want to get zero nicotine. But our primary draw is quitting smoking. We put them at the nicotine level they’re used to and we drop them down very slowly.”

However, teenagers who begin using the devices with nicotine risk becoming addicted to the drug and racking up a bill paying for juices because of it. Not only will they have to pay for their addiction, they will have to deal with it when they can not have nicotine, such as during the school day.

Addiction to nicotine is caused by changes in brain chemistry which causes users to crave more nicotine.

Along with addiction, nicotine can cause adverse effects on the brain.

Nicotine causes a flood of chemicals to the brain that cause intense feelings of pleasure, but when it’s gone it leaves the user unable to feel normal

emotions naturally.

The reality is, many students continue to bring vapes or e-cigarettes to school despite the increased risk because they are addicted to nicotine.

Even using a vape with no nicotine can be harmful. Many of the flavors used in vapes are known to contain toxic chemicals. Dicetyl is found in many of the sweet flavors and is known to cause constrictive bronchiolitis obliterans (popcorn lungs) which is scarring within the lungs. Teens vaping with nicotine can cause problems with brain development in the prefrontal cortex that can be long lasting and cause psychiatric disorders later in life.

“There’s this perception that it’s just a cloud of dust,” Jund said “It does have addictive properties. It’s something that is still relatively new, and we don’t know 100 percent what the longterm outcomes and implications vaping will have on our health.”

In addition to these risks, there are probably countless more. It took years to prove that cigarettes are dangerous, who is to say the same thing will not happen with vapes?

Myth: The FDA regulates ingredients in e-juice Fact: The FDA does not regulate the chemicals used in e-juice or monitor the cleanliness of the locations where e-juices are made.

Myth: The amount of nicotine in a pen is labeled correctly Fact: There is no regulation or checking of the nicotine content in a vape-pen. The amount of nicotine the product claims to contain may be more or less than what is actually there.

Source: http://med.stanford.edu/ tobaccopreventiontoolkit

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DEMONSTRATION OF CULTURE

Bhatnagar shines through classical Indian dance on national television written by Claire Clements Staff Writer @cclements825

“I felt great, I actually cried after I was done, I got really emotional,” Coppell High School junior Karvi Bhatnagar says, in recollection of her past summer, performing an arangetram, a classical Indian dance, for Doordarshan India, one of the national TV channels of India, and All India Radio, one of the national radio channels of India.

The arangetram was performed at Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi on July 9.

An arangetram is the final stage of Bharatanatyam, which originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu. It is a two to two and a half hour performance of just Bharatanatyam dancer performing as a soloist. It is the first time the dancer performs as a solo-

ist, and is considered a graduation performance.

What made the arangetram even more impressive for Bhatnagar was that she spent her last year of preparing for it over Skype, after moving from Nebraska to Coppell.

“I really wanted to do my arangetram so I learned over Skype. Luckily, she taught me well from years one through nine, so that year 10 wasn’t that bad,” Bhatnagar said.

For Bhatnagar, Bharatanatyam is about connecting to her culture.

“Being the child of an immigrant, it’s hard to maintain your

culture when you’re surrounded by an entirely different one,” Bhatnagar said.

Her parents also felt it necessary for Bhatnagar to stay connected to her Indian culture and added her in Bharatanatyam as a kid.

“It was the reason that they put me in Bharatanatyam,” Bhatnagar said. “It was also one of the reasons why instead of doing my arangetram here, I did it in Delhi, because I personally wanted to be a little closer to where I originated from.”

The skills she learns in Bharatanatyam is used in more than just her dancing, though. This is clearly

photos by Varsha Kannegati Coppell High School junior Karvi Bhatnagar performs the traditional Indian dance called Bharatnatyam September, 29th after school in the small gym. Bhatnagar performed for national television this summer in India, showcasing her breathtaking talent to the entire country.

shown in other aspects of her life, like show choir.

“She’s super, super talented, super driven, very consistent,” CHS choir director Adam Gillard said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things in why she’s so successful.”

As advice, she has something she has learned through Bharatanatyam that applies to everyone.

“You’re not going to like anything you do until you put your heart into it, because when you start performing with your heart, you start to see better results,” Bhatnagar said.

As far as the performance went, not only was Bhatnagar going on national TV and radio, but she was also performing in front of two dance masters, Dr. K Vageesh and Acharya.

“It was just a mixture of feelings, you know, like I didn’t want this to be over, but at the same time I wanted this to be over,” Bhatnagar said.

Watch a video of Bhatnagar practicing her dance.

Friends Since Sunny Singh

“The best thing about both of them is that they’re really honest and upfront with me. I like having friends like that because every joke has a bit of truth to it so I know what I need to improve to make myself better.”

Steve Koshy “The thing I like about us as a friend group is we put each other first. If one of us is happy the rest of us are happy. Sunny can hype me up like crazy, we vibe really well together. With Camrin, he’s so real, he will flame me up.”

Camrin Wong “Our friendship can be thought of as a group of annoying brothers, we’ll all get on each other’s nerves and enjoy messing with each other, but we know when to be brothers when it matters. With these guys, a minute, a month, or even a year apart won’t change who we are with each other.”

photo by Amelia Vanyo

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Wednesday takes the stage Musical production of “The Addams Family” delivers wicked, funny performance written by Anika Arutla Staff Writer @anikarutla

T

hroughout movie history, “The Addams Family” is known for being dark and wicked, but Coppell High School Theatre takes the family and places them in a musical full of humor.

“We chose ‘The Addams Family’ because I knew last year - and looking at who was still going to be here - that we had a lot of good character actors,” CHS theater director Lisa Tabor said.

“This lent itself toward that.”

The play, which opened on Saturday, was announced in May, with the director and designers beginning to prep over the summer. The actors had about eight weeks to prep, while the tech department had only two weeks.

“In the summer I started to work really hard,” said CHS senior Macy McCready, who plays the leading role

of Wednesday Adams. “[It was] just countless hours, so much of my time.

The past eight weeks of my life, that is what I’ve been doing.”

A lot of hard work, time and dedication went into the production not only by the actors, but also by the tech department, parents, the NAHS (National Art Honor Society) and STEM program. They helped build and decorate the props used in the musical.

“I have spent many days and nights here for the past two, three weeks, it has been eight weeks of pure working nonstop,” said CHS sophomore Fran Jaubert, a member of the flies department. “I would come on Saturdays and Sundays.I would get here around 9 a.m. and I wouldn’t leave until 7 p.m.”

Despite the musical’s success, not everything went according to plan.

“We had [some] kids get hurt, an actress fell into the orchestra pit and broke her wrist,” Tabor said. “But everybody rises to the occasion.”

photos by Quyenh Phang On Thursday, “The Addams Family” cast had a dress rehearsal at CHS in the auditorium. Towards the beginning of the musical, the main cast of “The Addams Family” was being introduced with “The Addams Family” theme song.

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Harvesting smiles Celebrate the new season with relaxing, enjoyable attractions written by Fiona Koshy Editorial Page Editor @fionakoshy10

Living in Texas, the obvious signs of fall are a bit delayed. This seasonal lag, however, in no way impacts the amount of fall related activities going on in the coming months. Ranging from outdoorsy to holiday related, below is a list of five fall festivities that anyone can partake in.

Henrietta Creek Orchard Apple picking is the perfect activity for those looking to enjoy the beautiful fall leaves and variety of colors that come with them. If you are looking to get outside and enjoy nature, head to Henrietta Creek Orchard. The orchard offers a variety of apples to pick throughout the coming months. If interested, give them a call to book a visit.

Autumn in the Arboretum This is a seasonal event that takes place through Nov. 22. Inspired by the popular book, this year’s theme is The Wonderful World of Oz, giving guests the chance to travel on a yellow brick road to places such as “Munchkinland” and “Emerald City.” From historical tours of the site to pumpkin carving, all sorts of activities take place in the Arboretum throughout the entire season.

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TIPS AND TRICKS SAT & ACT

written by Lili Lomas Executive Digital Content Editor

START EARLY

Start at a time that is reasonable to allow preparation for your test date. There is no need to be worrying about test prep immediately coming into high school but it is important to give yourself time.

PRACTICE TESTS

Taking practice tests helps you become familiar with the format and rigor of standardized tests.

Through this, you become better at thinking through the questions and can improve your score with each test. It is also important to set up and stick to a practice schedule to improve your score.

ONLINE RESOURCE Drive-in Movie As the nights begin to grow longer and the temperature grows cooler, fall is the perfect time to head to a drive-in movie with a couple of friends. Grab a couple of snacks and blankets and you have got yourself a fun night. There are plenty of drive-in movie theatres in DFW, the closest being Coyote DriveIn in Lewisville.

There are several online resources available to practice for standardized tests. For example, Khan Academy is a free online SAT practice resource that is partnered with the CollegeBoard. Take advantage of these resources as they can help you establish a practice schedule.

GET REST Dallas Museum of Art Fall Exhibit New to the Dallas Museum of Art is Yayoi Kusama’s gallery, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins. As the title suggests, this gallery is a must for pumpkin lovers. The gallery itself consists of many glowing pumpkins inside of an Infinity Mirror Room that is the only one of its kind in a collection in North America.

The night before, make sure you rest and get to sleep early. This way, you will be more energized and able to focus in the morning for your test than you would be if you sleep late.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

Hiking As the temperature begins to cool, fall is the perfect excuse to partake in outdoor activities. Hiking allows you to enjoy the beauty that the season is known for while being active. There are plenty of places to hike in the DFW area, including Coppell Nature Park, North Shore Trail in Flower Mound and Sam Houston Trail Park in Irving.

When actually taking the test, it is easy to second guess yourself and end up choosing the wrong answer when you had the right one in the first place.

In these situations, your first choice is often correct so go with what feels right.

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Melting pot of literature

Austin book festival celebrates diversity within industry written by Jess Hernandez Staff Writer @jessicamh13 AUSTIN - Jared Suarez had to fight back tears. As the Houston resident listened to Texas Teen Book Festival panel on immigration, he immediately went back to when he first moved to the United States.

“I went to a really nice panel that nearly made me cry because it was focused on immigration” Suarez said.

“It is something that’s very personal to me and getting to relate to authors on that level was an incredible experience.”

Authors moved listeners and readers through the power of literature as they told their stories of finding acceptance within themselves and others even when all odds were against them at the Texas Teen Book Festival (TTBF) on Oct. 7.

More than 40 authors were featured at the festival and thousands of attendees showed up to the event in Austin at St. Edward’s University.

Writing workshops, interviews, indepth discussions about book publishing, signing lines, author panels and book sales took place throughout the day. The festival was put on by one of Austin’s beloved bookshops, BookPeople, the Texas Book Festival and volunteers from the Austin area.

Panels headed by authors of books featuring immigration, characters of diverse backgrounds and the pursuit of happiness in a world where minorities are often swept aside and overlooked were the highlights of the day for many festival-goers.

First time attendees, including Suarez, saw themselves in the authors and the books that were featured at the festival and hopes to see even more diversity at TTBF in the future.

Suarez traveled from Houston alongside two friends for their first time in Austin and at TTBF. This year’s festival was more diverse than ever with its closing and opening keynotes by Marie Lu, author of the Legend series and Warcross, and Jason Reynolds, author of Ghost and Long Way Down.

Lu and Reynolds are two of the young adult book industry’s biggest names and attracted audience members from all over the country with their words of wisdom about writing bestsellers and including parts of

photo courtesy Texas Teen Book Festival Best selling author Marie Lu discusses the imporance of diversity in young adult literature in a pannel hosted by the Texas Book Festival (TBF). On Oct. 7, more than 40 authors were featured at the festival, and thousands of attendees showed up to the event in Austin at St. Edward’s University. themselves and their past experience in everything that they write.

We Need Diverse Books, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness about the necessity of diverse books in the book industry, was featured at the festival and even hosted an essay contest that awarded 20 winners with free books, the chance to have their work read aloud at the closing keynote and the opportunity to attend a closed discussion about diversity in publishing, writing, selling and everything in between led by authors Adam Silvera, Dhonielle Clayton and I.W. Gregorio.

“They’re taking a step in the right direction,” Patterson said. “Last year, the panels were more focused on the genres, which is always great to listen to, but this year they had panels dedicated towards diversity that sparked conversations that really needed to be had.”

Because many young adults and children attend events such as TTBF, festival coordinators recognize they must attempt to educate their audiences on other cultures and groups of people in order to make them more aware of their actions and their perspectives in the future.

“When you start introducing books with diverse characters and stories to younger generations early on, they’re going to grow up without racism, prejudice, and they’re going to be more

open to believe that there are other kinds of people in the world that may not be exactly like them,” Suarez said.

“Before, we didn’t have that. It’s teaching [young adults] to accept and embrace that there’s more to this world than just what they see. That’s something that was executed very well at the festival. I asked a question during a panel and mentioned that I just arrived in the country about a year ago and more than 10 people came up to me and said things like ‘Welcome, welcome to America,’ and it was the nicest thing that could have happened.”

While books are the main reason that booklovers are inclined to attend book festivals, meeting new people and getting to be around people that share their interests is another major reason why festival attendance has increased over the years.

“Getting to meet new people that share the same interests is one of the best parts of book festivals like TTBF,” Suarez said.

As the attendance at TTBF grows and the push for diversity within the book industry and the country in general increases with each passing moment, festival attendees plan on returning to next year’s festival and hope to see another great author lineup with panels that will inspire readers to tell their own stories and read what makes them want to understand the world around them in a new light.

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Darker side to

The Last Jedi trailer gives people a glimpse into upcoming December film release

written by Andrés Bear Staff Writer @_andresbear From Resistance forts being attacked by AT-M6’s to inner struggles haunting both sides of the force, The Last Jedi is looking to be the

most grandiose film in the Star Wars franchise to date.

The Last Jedi is an up and coming film set in the sequel trilogy to the acclaimed franchise.

The film stars a returning cast from 2015’s The Force Awakens with notable additions such as Benicio Del Toro, Kelly Marie Tran and Laura Dern.

Picking up after The Force Awakens ended, The Last Jedi continues the story of Rey and Kylo Ren’s inner struggles. They are a mere backdrop to the galactic conflict between the Resistance and The New Order.

On ESPN, audiences were treated to their first glimpse of The Last

Jedi earlier this month. The trailer opens with a shot of The New Order preparing to launch an attack on a Resistance base on the planet of Crait.

It is reminiscent of the assault on Hoth, which took place in The Empire Strikes Back.

Shots of Rey and Kylo are shown each with their own urgency and tone.

For a majority of the trailer, Rey is training with the long-lost Jedi prodigy, Luke Skywalker, while Kylo Ren deals with the repercussions of his many faults in the past film - one of those being his struggle between choosing the Light or the Dark Side.

When Kylo murdered his father,

Han Solo, he supposedly solidified his status as a member of the Sith.

However, the trailer shows otherwise. Kylo appears to hesitate killing his mother, Leia Organa, while flying aboard his TIE Silencer.

The final shot of the trailer raises more questions than answers. Rey, ridden with a face of anger, asks someone for enlightenment and direction. The camera turns to Kylo reaching his hand out to Rey. “Judging by some clever editing, Rey might even be reaching out for some guidance from the Dark Side,” ComicBook writer Joseph Schmidt said.

The Last Jedi releases on Dec. 15.

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photo by Karis Thomas Coppell senior Anna Wilcox practices freestyle swimming during varsity swim practice on Oct. 19 at the Coppell YMCA. Wilcox was recognized for setting a school record of 54.9 seconds for the 400 free relay at regionals.

Experienced swimmers cruising to top of school record books written by Claire Clements Staff Writer @cclements825 “We were screaming, we were just so happy, so overjoyed, and that was one of the best feelings, it was a lot of fun,” Coppell High School senior Anna Wilcox said, remembering when she and three of her teammates broke the 400 free relay school record.

On Feb. 4, Gabi Badillo, Anna Wilcox, Cambria Henderson and Sydney Blaas competed in the Class 6A Region ll Swimming Regionals meet, and ended up breaking the record, with their total time of 3:41.65.

Badillo and Anna are seniors, and Henderson and Blaas graduated in the Class of 2017.

Badillo, the starter, finished at 56 seconds and Wilcox finished at 54.9 seconds.

“It’s a two day meet, so the first day was just the preliminary trial, and this whole season our goal was to beat the 400 free relay record and we just wanted it really bad, so we actually ended up getting it the first day, in prelimi-

naries, which was a huge deal because that normally doesn’t happen,” Wilcox said. “We were screaming, we were just so happy, so overjoyed, and then we obviously wanted to break it the next day, in the finals, and so we ended up dropping two more seconds, and that was one of the best feelings,” Anna, Gabi and Anna’s twin sister, Sophie, are known as powerhouse for the CHS swim team, and have been swimming together since they were 6.

Outside of the CHS swim team, all three girls swim for the Dallas Mustang Swim Club.

For Anna and Sophie, swim is partly about upholding the family tradition.

“My dad swam in high school and he really liked it, and whenever we [Anna and Sophie] tried it, we both liked it, better than any other sport we had tried, but it was mainly my dad,” Sophie said.

Badillo, Anna and Sophie have worked towards becoming strong swimmers for 11 years, since they started swimming at the Coppell YMCA on the Coppell Cruisers, and it has never been easy for them.

“[Swimming is] a love-hate relationship,” Anna said. “Some days you get up and you’re just like, ‘Why am I doing this, I’ve been doing this for the last 11 years of my life, it’s so pointless’. But then there are days when you break records or achieve one of your goals and it’s such a good feeling.”

Beyond growing in physical strength, all three girls expressed a growth within themselves.

“Swimming is an interesting sport because it’s taught me so many other things than just holding a certain pace or going a certain time, it’s really taught me life skills and life lessons, so I think the most I’ve grown is in discipline, I can put that discipline into other aspects of my life,” Sophie said.

Coppell swimming coach Marieke Roberts expresses pride for relay team for breaking the record.

“All three of these girls are very sweet and hard-working, very social, and interact a lot with their teammates,” Roberts said. “[When they broke the record] It was fantastic. I wasn’t expecting to come in and have our team produce a school record,

and it kind of helped me get hooked on high school coaching because I had never done that before.”

Anna and Sophie have decided this year will be their last season of swimming, while Badillo will be swimming for Oklahoma Christian University.

However, while Anna and Sophia have chosen for this to be their last year, they will always remember the lessons they learned from swimming.

“Even though I’m not going to continue in college, I’m really excited to see what lessons I will still be using 30 years from now,” Sophie said.

They have learned many valuable lessons as swimmers, and they hope to pass it on to other people.

“This is kind of cliche, but don’t give up, and find what fulfills you,” Sophie said. “For me swimming has really fulfilled me even though practices are rough or maybe I’m not happy with my team, but I always find that one feeling, the practice really makes it worth it, like whenever you get an unexpected best time, or your relay wins a really big accomplishment, so the fulfillment will come.”

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BASKETBALL COLUMN

Hierachy of sports

Rise of super teams transcends to high school basketball creating imbalance

written by Nicholas Prankse Staff Writer @nick_pranske8 With the approaching start of the basketball season, many teams and their fans, high school and NBA (National Basketball Association) alike, are anxious for it to begin. But, some teams seem to be less anxious than others.

This could be because a few teams from each league seem to dominate.

These are commonly referred to as super teams. These super teams often lose only to others of the same sort.

This gives other teams less of a chance at success.

Are super teams starting their takeover of basketball?

Starting in 2015 with its 73 win season (the most wins in NBA history, beating out the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls, who won 72) the Golden State Warriors have arguably dominated the league, along with a few other super teams. In their history making 2014-2015 season, they won the NBA championship four games to two against their rivaling super team, the Cavaliers.

In the last three years, the Cavaliers and Warriors have met each other

each year in the Finals without fail.

The Warriors won in 2015 and 2017, with the Cavaliers winning in 2016.

In those years, many have started to think the league is unfair, with certain teams constantly winning with ease. Why does it seem that the same teams dominate every year?

This lopsidedness usually comes from a combination of good players, great coaching and lots of money.

However, when the super team advantage moved to high school, the reasons are slightly different.

The first group of Texas schools with super teams are large public schools such as Allen High School and Skyline High School. Both of these schools have large populations, Allen with about 4,500 students and Skyline with about 4,800. With so many students, these schools naturally dominate in

many aspects of athletics and UIL events.

The second section of schools are private schools. For example, Dallas Jesuit Preparatory School; while Jesuit has just 1,100 students, it still has the same advantages as the schools with nearly 5,000. This is because of the area from which schools like Jesuit can pull from.

Because it is a privately-funded school, Jesuit does not have a designated zone from which students come. This gives Jesuit, as well as other private schools, advantages in competitions with other schools.

“The advantage that Allen and Skyline have is completely different than when Jesuit has,” Coppell basketball head coach Kit Pehl said.

“But either way, I’m going to have my [players] play their hearts out.”

The Sidekick file photo Coppell High School plays Skyline High School on Feb. 3 in the CHS arena. Skyline is an example of a public school with a super team that dominates athletic and University Interscholastic League events.

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Dual threat dominance FOOTBALL FEATURE

McGill’s hard work, character allow him to excel on, off field written by Reid Valentine Staff Writer @reidv9 Jonathan McGill makes plays.

The junior defensive back and offensive terror has been on the varsity squad at Coppell High School since the beginning of his freshman year, and he has does nothing but shine.

“Freshman year, being on varsity, I had to overcome my age,” McGill said. “I was not as big as everyone else. I was 150 [pounds] playing safety against Euless Trinity that runs the ball the whole game.”

Football for McGill started a long time before his freshman year.

he is focused about what he wants to do in life and how far he wants to go with football.”

While he may have been lacking in physical abilities two years ago as a freshman, one thing McGill has had his entire football career is a work ethic that consistently puts him into positions to make plays throughout the game on both sides of the ball. McGill serves as a roaming safety on defense, while offensively he can line up in the backfield or as a wideout.

“There is never any doubt that Jonathan is going to make plays for us,” Coppell football head coach Mike DeWitt said. “He has proven that he is a playmaker and I am so glad that he is on our team.”

Jonathan is always doing the extra stuff, he has high goals because he sets a high standard for himself.

Brady McBride, senior “Growing up in a football heavy house put it into me,” McGill said.

“My dad playing football in college along with really my whole family from my grandparents, to my uncles and my cousins playing football, football was and is loved.”

Jonathan’s father Pastor Norris McGill played college ball at Southern Arkansas University from 1983-86.

From an early age, McGill’s older brother and 2016 Coppell graduate, Jarel, served as a role model and a guideline for his work ethic and football prowess.

“Jarel has impacted me a lot,” McGill said. “Going to all of his games as soon as I would finish mine, and being able to see him go out there and play showed me a lot. He is better than me at a lot of things, he has better hands and he has better route running, so being able to pick up on some of those things helps me as I ask him how to get my game better.”

McGill’s work ethic is something that does not go unnoticed by his teammates, namely his quarterback.

“He has always had a work ethic about him,” senior quarterback Brady McBride said. “Jonathan is always doing the extra stuff, he has high goals because he sets a high standard for himself. Even when he is off the field,

Being a playmaker can only take a player so far, what is under the helmet and who that player is off of the field is what makes a good player great. DeWitt, his coach of nearly three years, is convinced McGill is the real deal.

“He is a high character guy,” DeWitt said. “He is always smiling and in a positive mood. He is really a great kid.”

Whether it is scooping up a blocked kick in Allen Eagle Stadium or sacking the Lake Highlands quarterback to stomp out a possible comeback, McGill is all over the field all of the time, and colleges are taking notice.

With five total offers, including one from perennial powerhouse Stanford University, McGill has no doubt in his mind about what he wants to do in college. Yet this does not change his mindset about where he is and who he is now.

Syracuse, Nevada, SMU and Bowling Green have also offered McGill scholarship opportunities.

“The offers and the visits make me want to work harder,” McGill said.

“There are those who chill out after they get an offer, but if you take a break and check out it not only looks bad, but you get worse. I choose to work hard here at Coppell, and in my senior year when my time comes I want to be the best player I can be.”

Watch McGill’s 2016 season highlights here

photo by Ale Ceniceros Coppell High School junior Jonathan McGill runs downfield to later score a touchdown during the Sept. 1 game at Pennington Field. McGill has five scholarship offers, including one from Stanford University.

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STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

McIntosh headlines Coppell’s growing wrestling program written by Akif Abidi Staff Writer @akifabidi Wrestling has seen some of the largest growth in Coppell High School’s athletic department with around 125 wrestlers in total this year. With all eyes set upon qualifying for state, Coppell wrestlers are eager to get started this month.

The journey to state is no easy task. Athletes have to compete against many wrestlers in their weight class from more than 100 schools, and battle through the district and regional championships to secure a spot at the state level. In the history of Coppell, only six wrestlers have won state, but the team is not planning on stopping there.

One of the stars of the wrestling team is senior Joe Montealegre, the varsity captain. Wrestling runs through Montealegre ’s blood, with his father and uncles being highschool wrestlers in Louisiana and his older brother being former Coppell wrestler with two district titles; it came as no surprise that Montealegre also developed a knack for the sport.

Like others, Montealegre dreams of holding the gold state championship medal in his hands.

“The goal is always to get to state and the state champion,” Montealegre said.

With an impressive high school career so far with two district championships, Montealegre still has a whole senior year ahead of him.

Montealegre provides some words of encouragement to young aspiring wrestler.

Another rising prospect is sophomore Jackson Briscoe from the 150-pound division. Placing third in state in eighth grade and winning the runner-up position in district freshman year, along with being lettered in varsity as a freshman, Briscoe has a promising future. Briscoe does not plan on stopping anytime soon with his ambitions aiming at the state championships and above.

“My personal goal is probably to make it to state, I would really like to try to make it to state and maybe even win state,” Briscoe said. “By the end of the

season, our ultimate goal is to get as many people as possible to qualify to state.”

Wrestlers come in all shapes and sizes, and no two are the same.

“I like wrestling as it has a lot of different approaches,” Briscoe said. “Not everyone looks the same, you have many different types of people with different athletic abilities.”

The United States has a rise in women’s sports in the past few years, especially in wrestling. Wrestling has been and still is often perceived as a “men’s sport”, but the past couple of seasons has seen a tremendous increase in the number of female wrestlers in high schools. This year, CHS has 25 female wrestlers, eight more than the previous record.

Senior Lindsay McIntosh is one of the key wrestlers for CHS, the captain of the girls varsity wrestling team and is also one of few to have qualified for state for three consecutive years. McIntosh has quite a few achievements to proudly bear, having won district and regional titles as a freshman and sophomore.

As a junior, McIntosh won gold at district, silver at regionals and placed third at the Class 6A 165-pound division state meet.

“She has that focus; she was the captain of the varsity last year as a junior and she took that responsibility on, she helped mentor the other girls and helping to keep everything going,” Lowery said.

“She just fits in into that leadership role, she put in the work, and got a state medal to show for it, the girls respect her and she knows what it takes to win.”

McIntosh advocates for girls wrestling.

“Womens wrestling is underappreciated just because there are less programs, but the fact that it is breaking out and becoming more common thing everywhere in the USA and the world is a big thing.”

The girls and boys wrestling season commences on the Nov. 14 at the Coppell Round Up in CHS. With the off season currently in full gear and the wrestling season just around the corner, Coppell High School wrestlers are prepping up for the long haul with relentless vigor.

photo by Nadia Scalzo

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